Tag Archives: Business

The Five Levels of investors

Posted on by under Bibliophile: Cashflow Quadrant

Being Financially uneducated is riskier rather invest.

Learning investment is more essential than any other profession. Because other professions teach us to work for money and investment teaches us how money works for us.

We have to learn financial knowledge by ourselves because if you go for the insurance salesman and ask that insurance is essential or not then he sells you his product. If we want to learn about investment then go with the advisor who is investing their fund, not to them who just sell advice. Also, we need to keep in mind that there is not a single assets class that is responsible to create wealth.

Success or failure, wealth or poverty, depends solely on how smart the investor is. A smart investor will make millions in the stock market. An amateur will lose millions.

Different levels of investors

  • The Zero-Financial-Intelligence Level

These are people who do not have any financial intelligence, they spend more than they earn. They believe in looks like rich rather be rich. Though they are earning well, they will reach zero due to their zero financial intelligence. If we do not have any savings, have liabilities, no income generation from the assets column then we need to first focus on repayment of liabilities. These will help us to come out from these levels.

  • The Savers-Are-Losers Level

These people know that savings are essential for future unforeseen events. But they keep saving money either into a saving account or into the government bond / FD. These all instruments are considered safer but when we compared them with inflation, these instruments do not provide us with protection against inflation. Due to its nature of not protecting against inflation, it even becomes riskier. In general, savers are losers.

  • The I’m-Too-Busy Level

These people are busy with their careers, family, other interests, and vacation. And due to such a busy schedule, they do not have time to become financially intelligent. So that they deliver their money to the expert to manage on behalf of them. They consider experts have expertise. When the market is into the bull phase, everyone is an expert but we can come to know about the real expert during the bear phase of the market. They invest in many of the avenues but if the market phase changes to the bear then they will also lose everything.

  • The I’m-a-Professional Level

This is the do-it-yourself investor. This investor may buy and sell a few stocks, often from a discount broker. They think that why should pay a broker when they can do investment by themselves. These people spend their lives in a small area of assets class but we have to understand that investment is a huge subject and we should keep learning about the wider area of it. Those who understand this concept and invest time in learning about investment can able to move to level five. Level-4 investors take control of their lives, knowing that their mistakes are their opportunities to learn and to grow. The fear of investing does not frighten them. It challenges them.

  • The Capitalist Level

These can be rich people, businessmen, or moves from level 4 to level 5.

These people know that they have to give more to receive more. They focus on raising more money which requires them to focus on their skills, business systems, and people.

We have seen in the first article of the series that the author did not have money and from zero, he has created wealth. So we also can create wealth from zero. Thus, we stop giving the excuse of not having money.

We have to perform a self-analysis about where we stand today? What is our level?

The “I” quadrant is the most important quadrant for our future. If we do not focus on it then we cannot have a good financial future.

Read for more detail: Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant: Guide to Financial Freedom

I am grateful to Mr.Meihol Jhaveri (Founder of Gatisofttech) for the development of the Lucky Idiot website.

THE THREE KINDS OF BUSINESS SYSTEMS

Posted on by under Bibliophile: Cashflow Quadrant

When we have to choose the B quadrant then we have to create a system and people will work for that system.

In the B quadrant, we need to know both system and people. It can be possible that our initial business might not work but we just have to focus on improving ourselves, our knowledge of the system, and people. Improvement in our knowledge only brings success in front of us. And it’s essential to get failure in initial business because if not then we will end up with big blunders later on. So, success is a poor teacher and failure teaches us a good lesson. Welcome failure, not run away from it. Learn from it and grow well.

If both the people and the system are leaky, the chances of failure are great. Sometimes it’s hard to know whether the problem is the person or the system that is failing.

There are few ways by which we can get support for starting a business

  • Find a mentor

A mentor who has operated his own business, not an advisor who has not operated any business. We need to learn from a mentor. Mr Sanjeev Bhikhchandani (Founder of Naukri) has supported Zomato.

We have to become a leader, not a manager. A manager sees subordinates as inferior but the leader appreciates smarts and brings them with him.

  • Buy a franchise

Franchises are a proven system. So here we are directly buying a system, not building our own. Now, we have to work as an E and follow what they told us to do. Because they have done it rightly, we should follow it right to get succeed. Investors or bank would lend money to a system rather than to a product.

  • Get involved in network marketing

Here also buy the existing system at a reasonable value and build own business. We get infrastructural benefits from a network marketing company. It’s a kind of buying a personal franchise.

For becoming a successful B, we require to have a few things to keep in mind

  • Don’t be fearful

People feel fear of what others say to them. Feel fear of getting a rejection.

  • Have to work with different kinds of people. For becoming successful, we need to learn to work with different kinds of people, lead them.

The system is only going to help us to drive successfully towards the B quadrant from the E or S quadrant. Building a system and working with people is lifelong learning for becoming successful in the B quadrant.

Read for more detail: Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant: Guide to Financial Freedom

I am grateful to Mr.Meihol Jhaveri (Founder of Gatisofttech) for development of Lucky Idiot website.

DON’T CLING TO THINGS Endowment Effect

Posted on by under Behavioral Finance

When we own something, the value of that particular things has psychologically increased for us. Loss aversion stops us from giving up what we own. We are slowly getting emotionally attached to particular products and automatically the value of that product increases for us.

We consider things to be more valuable the moment we own them. In other words, if we are selling something, we charge more for it than what we would be willing to spend for the same thing. We get attached to things we own and we keep on collecting different things. We can safely say that we are better at collecting things than at casting them off. Not only does this explain why we fill our homes with junk, but also why lovers of stamps, watches and pieces of art part with them so seldomly.

We should understand that everything which we own is given by the universe to us for temporary time so should not get attached to it. These things can get separated from us in the blink of eyes.

Business – We can see that owner of the business who is facing losses then also not ready to sell off the business. Also, they seek higher prices to divest business though business incurring losses. The founder of the business is emotionally attached to the business and want to focus on making it profitable. 

Investment – When we own any stocks in our portfolio then we value it more and think that all others own fewer valuable stocks in their portfolio. We tend to sell our ownership for more than what it’s demanded. We feel portfolio companies have higher value and should trade higher than our acquired price. We also keep on purchasing stocks and then when we have owned it, we want to sell it for higher.

This attachment with our portfolio makes us blind to make a rational decision. That’s the reason our portfolio gets flooded with junks and we sell quality because the quality we can sell at a higher value than what we own.

Rather than keep focusing on the purchase price, we should focus on what is a current intrinsic value and fundamental of the company. When we start to avoid looking at the purchase price, the time we start reducing a few mistakes. First, we should write down the exit strategy during the entry time itself and follow it thoroughly. When our exit strategy has been triggered, we should not look at the trading price and dump a particular investment. A clear strategy helps us from the endowment effect.

This entire series will be review with various examples from books which are “Thinking, Fast and Slow” and “The Art of Thinking Clearly“.

WHY PEOPLE CHOOSE SECURITY OVER FREEDOM

Posted on by under Bibliophile: Cashflow Quadrant

Why we seek job security over freedom? Because we taught in such a way at school as well as at home. Our mindset has to get developed in a similar way where we seek security first. So, E & S quadrant people are motivated by security whereas B & I quadrant people are motivated by freedom.

Similar to the debt trap, there is a very interesting success trap. When B quadrant person gets success, they expand their system, then hire new talent, they work hard. B quadrant person also invests and when it meets succeed, they reinvest it. So that as time passes, they attract more success and which results in the freedom of time. They have time for family, for their hobby, etc.

Financial intelligence does not mean by how much money we make but it’s how much money we keep and that work for us. Also, money keeps working for how many of our generations.

Rather than this, what middle-class people do it. They work hard for a paycheck then they make a plan to save tax, take a home loan to write off interest to save tax. So, they again work hard to pay bills. When people get a job with a high paycheck and benefits, they work hard more to pay bills and increase more liabilities which increases more bills. They jump from one job to other to get a higher amount of paycheck with job security.

S quadrant is the riskiest and needed huge efforts. As they have to do it by themselves so for achieving success and keeping it, they have to work harder.

Many of the E quadrant people start a business by deploying their lifelong savings, borrowing from friend’s family to start a business. And after 2-3 years when the business starts generating cash flow then they have to pay debt first. ~99% of the business getting disappeared in the first 10 years of establishment.

B and I quadrant person also legally take tax advantages compared to the E and S quadrant person. Most people do not focus on the asset column to generate more income but they focus on income and increase in liabilities. Knowledge is a power which used by B and I quadrant people to grab opportunities when it arises. This also gives them confidence. So, if we are into an E quadrant and simultaneously learn about the I quadrant then it will help us to get financially free, also make us confident. Few people are good with both the side of a quadrant, they get a good paycheck, security as an employee and also invest to create more wealth. People those do not have investment knowledge, then they tend to park money in FD or other deposit which is good compare to people who do not save or invest. But this investment does not help us to fight against inflation. If we rely on our employers that they will make us rich then it’s not to be their responsibility. Their responsibility is to provide a steady paycheck to us. It’s our responsibility to create investment to become rich. When we have an abundance of money and time then we directly jump to the I quadrant. But if we do not have time and money then we have to follow the safer path.

Investing is also an investment into the business so it’s advisable to understand businesses. Investing is capital and knowledge-intensive so we have to ready with both for being successful in it.

Read for more detail: Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant: Guide to Financial Freedom

I am grateful to Mr.Meihol Jhaveri (Founder of Gatisofttech) for development of Lucky Idiot website.