I did a call last week with a 33 year old guy who makes $150k a year at a fully remote job.
The situation:
30-40 hrs a week of work. Fully remote. Stay home wife + 2 kids. Low cost of living area in Georgia. Owns a home and nearly paid off.
Not happy (and I don't blame him because I wouldn't be either).
He wants more. He wants true wealth and time freedom.
He makes $2k a month more than he spends - $24k per year going into savings.
He's a member at a country club. He drives a new truck. His wife doesn't work. They have some help with cleaning and child care. They go on a nice vacation every year.
My read:
This is a really tough spot to be in and I didn't have clear, straightforward advice.
At his saving pace there is zero chance at long term wealth - but the job is too easy and profitable to leave. Lifestyle creep is real.
This is the definition of golden handcuffs.
But lets also be honest:
Working 30-40 hours a week fully remote and making $150k a year is a damn good gig. He can play golf 2x a week. He never misses a kid's practice or game. He can buy what he wants and when he wants.
For a normal person with average ambition this guy has made it. He should work this job until 65 and then retire. He has it better than 99% of humans.
But for an ambitious person working 40 hours a week for somebody else for years and years is a death sentence.
--
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My version of wealth:
Wealth = doing what I want to do, with whom I want to do it, and when I want to do it.
If you share that version, keep reading. If you don't, stop here.
This guy has ambition. He knows he could do more. He knows he could build a business. He wants generational wealth. He wants to call his own shots and control his own life.
For these people this situation is a really tough spot to be in.
The truth:
It takes a serious level of ambition to get out of this situation and go buy or start a company or side gig.
It’s hard to get excited about scraping and fixing toilets or power washing sidewalks or doing consulting when you make $75 an hour at your day job.
This is exactly why most people are not entrepreneurs. That paycheck is the most addicting drug in the world. They have everything and if the money stops coming in things get very stressful quick. Especially if there are children, house payments and other things involved.
Should I buy a company?
It is nearly impossible to feel comfortable buying a company if you don’t start out lower and work your way up (with that stuff that isn’t exciting) when you get a taste of decent money.
Should I start a company?
Startup companies aren't seriously profitable for 18 months or longer, no matter how good you are at building businesses. So it must be built on the side while working the day job?
So this means:
Giving up nights, weekends, afternoons and mornings to work on your side business.
My advice to him:
Have a meeting with your wife and make sure she is on board with you working long hours in the near term for potential gain in the long term. Missing family stuff. Missing little league practices. Giving up on vacations.
Assess your own level of ambition and decide if you're willing to do the work to make this happen.
Start consulting or offering a service on the side. Here is a list of ideas. Buy real estate and make it more valuable. Do anything that fits your skill profile.
Assess if you are willing to take the risk required to do that and if you can source capital elsewhere.
Grow the main business or real estate portfolio. Quit the main thing when you
It is way easier said than done and this is difficult stuff.
I actually really feel for people in this situation. Making serious money is not easy.
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This topic got 6.6 million views on Twitter.
Follow the discussion above on this tweet. The internet got very angry that this guy wants more and that I called this a difficult situation.
It just goes to show you how most people do not have a serious level of ambition or a desire for more.
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PSA:
I'm hosting 3 free online workshops over the next few weeks.
Click the links to register, and I'll send you the recording when it is over.
Onward and upward,
Nick Huber
P.S.
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