Is Entrepreneurship the only way?

[mjr88]

@jok Well, IDK, man. Your ill-informed denial as to the role of market-based economies in raising standards of living worldwide over the past 150 years undercuts the thrust of your assertion that 90% of people are worse off. That is just objectively false. Moreover, your "hate the rich" invective merely vilifies many who seek the betterment of humankind. As in: when's the last time a poor person offered anyone a job?

 

[scientartist]

@jok Uh oh, /r/antiwork is leaking

 

[jok]

@scientartist I’m not anti work, I’m a square with a 401k, career, equity, manageable debts, blah blah blah, and generally happy under capitalism.

I’m just super pro-union I guess?

 

[adebamigbe]

@a83 It’s very hard to be born outside of the upper class and then become upper class from a salary.

Entrepreneurship is definitely the way to go unless you are confident in entering a highly compensated career.

There’s a continuum of employment to business ownership, many small businesses are really just owning a job (which still has advantages). Also many people do both.

It’s not necessarily a bunch of binary decisions.

And remember, you will quit or be fired from 9 out of 10 jobs. Clearly a risky route.

 

[a83]

@adebamigbe A friend of mine is a Mac Tools Franchisee and owns one of those big tool trucks that’s goes shop to shop selling directly to mechanics etc

He spent the first 5 years as an owner operator, if he wasn’t working then the truck wasn’t moving and he wasn’t making money, it was 100% him… so any family vacation he took = zero income during that period

Two or so years ago he ended up hiring a “assistant” to be on the truck with him, spent a couple months basically teaching him everything he knew.

Now in current day the owner doesn’t even go on the truck anymore, his employee runs the truck for him and the dude is just at home or on vacation somewhere 24/7

 

[adebamigbe]

@a83 Yeah, that stuff happens all the time. Ownership is the way to go, even if you start out just owning a job. Most people who are naysayers don’t know shit about running a business.

And like I said in my previous post it’s not always binary. A lot of married couples have one spouse with a stable job while the other starts a business. Sometimes the business owner still works for an employer for a while as the business starts. A lot of new businesses are just owned jobs anyway so it’s not that big of a difference between that and a normal job anyway.

 

[scientartist]

@a83 No one needs to get "lucky" with investments. Market index funds are guaranteed to outperform 99% of professional investors in the long run.

 

[a83]

@scientartist Or just copy Nancy Pelosi trade for trade and beat the market every time

 

[stefanm]

@a83 Education can be a gateway to higher income if you're in the right field and know how to parlay your skills. My wife makes 3x my modest income because she got a STEM degree and combined it with an MBA and Project Management certificate.

I've got a social science background with a library science MA, I do okay but much like my father who was out gunned by my mom, the nurse, I'm bringing home the wonder-bread while she brings home a more quality salary.

Without her I would be living in some guy's closet eating hot pockets, just like I was (no joke) before we met.

 

[bluejacketslunatic]

@a83 My dad was pretty well off from starting and running a successful small business. He always said that every RICH person that he knew got that way by SELLING companies.

 

[jessicaaddslove]

@a83

they may make 800,000 a year, but when they retire, so does the income. The only way to get residual passive income is to own things and put a team in place to operate the day to day for you

no, w/ 800k/yr you can build a massive stock portfolio and live off of it forever with a withdrawal rate well below 4%.

 

[snowkatcher]

@a83 Owning a small business has its ups and downs. Most small business owners won't tell you that they work 12 hours sometimes 7 days a week, come home late at night, forego vacations, and make not much profits after expenses and paying employees. There's no company match, build your own 401k, etc.. pay for your own health benefits. Even if you want to scale your small business it'll require more time and effort. how much is your time worth to you?

With that said I come from a family on both sides with small business so I'm aware. Yes they drive nicer cars, have nicer homes, etc. but they also work more than the average person. We are only in our late 30s and we are about to reach FIRE in 4 years. Most small business owners can't do that, expenses eats up a lot of the money coming in.

 

[dennyg1]

@a83 You're asking the wrong question. Its not about being an Entrepreneur or not. Its about being a Capitalist or not. The upper class is the capital class. "Having your money work for you instead" is literally having capital. Being an Investor, means buying capital.

So yes, if you want to be truly "upper class" you need to transcend to the Capitalist class.

This is how you play the game by the rules the government has made.

 

[jebzuz]

@a83 No. I joined a tech company as middle class. Am now in upper middle class cause stock compensation has grown.

 

[mindyy137]

@a83 You can definitely invest your way to upperclass. Lol.

If you make $75k and your wife makes $75k and you have $2 million+ saved/invest. You're basically reaching the point where your TOTAL income is like $400k a year or something.
That's upper middle class in every since of the word.

 

[resjudicata]

@a83 Many entrepreneurs fail.

 

[yazzy]

@a83 No, entrepreneurship is not the only way to become upper class. That 800k per year surgeon you spoke about is in the upper class, and if he’s smart he will have a very comfortable retirement.