From employee to employer
Many people would say that doing business is the way to get rich since being an employee and a slave to your company will only make the company richer but not yourself. I would say there is some truths in this but of course we know only a few businesses succeed in the end. You either make it or lose it. Older people would say doing business is risky. Young people who have got nothing much to lose are willing to take that risk. If they succeed, the rewards are extremely great.
From employee to shareholder
Some other people would say invest in the stock market and you can get rich. Being a shareholder in a company makes you effectively higher than the managers, the vice president, the managing director and even the CEO in the company. No? Try going to a company's AGM and ask the CEO questions. In fact, the company's top management knows they are working for the shareholders.
Investing in the stock market is risky too. You may have heard your grandparents or your parents caution you to avoid the stock market. They are right in a way. Invest in the right company and you will make money but invest in the wrong one and you can potentially lose all your money. So which is more risky? Doing business or investing in the stock market?
Putting business and investing together
Many people separate business and investing which in my opinion is a wrong way to look at it. How do people separate it?
Firstly, some businessman say investing is risky and they are afraid to invest now as the market looks like its going to crash. But at the same time, they are still doing their business. Won't their business be affected when the market crashes? Yes it would affect but they have backup plans and they are prepared for it.
Secondly, some investors say doing business is risky and we shouldn't start a business now because the economy doesn't look too good. But at the same time, they are still invested in the stock market. Won't their investments be affected when the economy declines? Again, the answer is yes but they too have backup plans and they are prepared for it.
The mystery of the backup plan
To eliminate risk, we need to have proper risk management. The backup plans are part of the risk management procedures which successful business owner and investors have. The 2 different backup plans are actually similar in concept.
Business people still do business even though they may expect the economy to deteriorate next year. They just reduce their exposure of risk by managing their expenses. As profits can hurt badly during an economic crisis, businessman can hold more cash and moderate expansion plans in anticipation of the crisis. When crisis hits, they will be able to tide it out and even find opportunities for expansion at much cheaper prices.
Similarly, investors still invest even though they may expect the economy or market to deteriorate next year. Investors reduce their risk by moderating their purchase of stocks and hold more cash in anticipation of the crisis. When crisis hits, they will still be able to live normally and also find opportunities to buy good companies at much cheaper prices.
Timing the market
It is impossible to time the market. No one can be certain of what will happen in the future. Even the best economist or the best financial/business analyst can have their predictions wrong. If we are always waiting for the right time to start a business or start investing, most likely we'll never even start at all. In 10 years time, you'll still be waiting.
The correct way is to start now but always have a backup plan in case a crisis hits. Don't throw all your money in to start a business or invest in stocks. Always have a stash of cash ready to deploy when crisis comes. Even in wars, generals do not send all their soldiers all out at once. If all get killed, they have nothing left. They send out troops assigned to do different task in different batches. This way, their chances of winning will be much higher. This is the art of war.
The art of doing business and investing lies in asset allocation. Your cash is like the soldiers which you can deploy. Break them down into different troops and deploy in batches. No matter what, always have one reserve troop on standby. This will only be used when the enemy is at its weakest point and the battle is a sure win. This is like a war chest which we keep to deploy when the market crashes and there are lots of opportunities to buy good companies at extremely cheap prices.
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1. The benefits of investing when you're young
2. Buying the company on the streets (Part 1) - Discovery stage
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