If you're seeking a more measured and incremental approach to establishing a comfortable life, the truth is incredibly straightforward. Foundational skills are indispensable yet often undervalued. If you're fortunate enough to be in a profession or trade with a barrier to entry, such as registration or licensure, all the better. From that starting point, obsessively refine your foundational skills. Build your reputation, develop your sales acumen, and cultivate your network. Networking is pivotal. It creates opportunities that may not outwardly exist, simply because people like you. However, understand that goodwill is fragile. Reputation and trust, painstakingly built over years, can be obliterated in an instant. Your personal brand is the currency of trust.
Adopt a staggered approach to building. Begin with a business rooted in your foundational skillset - something you've spent years honing. This initial venture should serve as your stable income source, meeting your financial needs while funding your next opportunities. Typically, it takes two to three years to establish consistent profitability in most industries. Once this foundation is secure, create workflows and automate processes wherever possible to minimise your time investment. Your ultimate objective is to free up your time.
For your second venture, I recommend a higher-risk enterprise, ideally one adjacent to or synergistic with your first. Such a business should offer scalable potential - leveraging the stability of your initial endeavour to enable exponential growth.
Above all, be generous. Lead with value - offer help without expecting anything in return. Most people, being inherently reciprocal, respond to genuine goodwill. Once trust is granted, it must be nurtured with care. Remember, you're playing the long game. Approach it with kindness, but also with a perceptiveness that commands respect.