How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth by Martin Fridson is the perfect antidote for The Secret’s “get money for nothingâ€? philosophy. It’s a book about people who actually made their own money. Yes, that’s “madeâ€? as in “Donna Summer working hard for her money” made. And, we’re not just talking about a little bit of pocket change.
Initially, I struggled with the concept of How to be a Billionaire, because, despite my age, I tend to lean towards the gen y philosophy of making just enough to cover your preferred lifestyle over the entire course of your life. Add to this the fact that I’m an “accidental entrepreneur,â€? who would’ve gone on being a corporate “cogâ€? for life (as my ToonTown-addicted son calls it), had I not discovered that being a single mom with a baby didn’t exactly endear me to corporate America. Yet, I realize that if my company is to succeed it needs to be extremely profitable, and to do so, who better to learn from than the men (yes, it’s all men) who have done this.Â
Interestingly, my life philosophy wasn’t diametrically opposed to those of the self-made billionaire set. Almost all of the men profiled – Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Wayne Huizenga, and Sam Walton, to name a few – were not motivated by a desire to become wealthy; instead, they were motivated by the accumulation of wealth. Most, in fact, kept their modest lifestyles even after they passed the billion dollar mark.Â
In short, they were fascinated and motivated by the process, not the result. You can call it a challenge, a game, a desire to beat others, a test of will; but while others play baseball, these guys play industry hardball. The book is not a step by step guide, so you have to draw out the lessons and apply them yourselves. And, it sounded (I listened to the audio) more like a series of magazine profiles than a cohesive book. But, each profile ties back in varying degrees to the following nine strategies:Â
- Take monumental risks
- Do business in new ways
- Dominate your market
- Consolidate an industry
- Buy low
- Thrive on deals
- Out-manage the competition
- Invest in political influence
- Resist unions
And basic principles:Â
- Pursue the money in ideas
- Rules are breakable
- Copying pays better than innovating
- Keep on growing
- Hold on to your equity
- Hard work is essential
- Use financial leverage
- Keep the back door open
- Make mistakes, then learn from them
- Frugality pays
- Enjoy the pursuit
- Develop a thick skin
Hmmmm. I noted that there was nothing on the lists about “asking the Universe to give you the goods.â€? Guess no one told these guys about The Secret.Â
The Bottom Line: This book is clearly for entrepreneurs and not someone trying to make it to a billion on a salary. What I liked best about the book was that it’s a reality slap for “wanna be entrepreneurs.â€? Sure, I might not be able to emulate these self-made billionaires in every way, especially when right off the bat, the author says these guys all neglected their families in pursuit of their goals. (Doh! I’m an entrepreneur because I didn’t want to neglect my son.) But, as shown in the profile of Sam Walton, copying pays better than innovating. So, I will employ as many of their strategies and principles as I can, and console myself with the fact that they didn’t have all these great business books to learn from.Â
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 at 8:30 pm and is filed under Nonfiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.8 Responses to “How to be a Billionaire”
Leave a Reply
August 17th, 2007 at 2:59 am
Can I get this book as Audio CD..?
August 17th, 2007 at 4:45 am
I got it from my local library. But, Amazon sometimes carries audio CD’s as well as books.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:29 am
[...] | Top Shelf Entrepreneur En El Blog Salmón | Los más ricos de la historia de EEUU, Bill Gates y Warren Buffet pierden [...]
August 20th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Another important aspect of becoming a billionaire (or even just a millionaire) is networking. Knowing the right people is sometimes just as important as having the right product or service!
August 20th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Hi Diane,
Your blog is great and I enjoyed your review of How to Be A Billionaire. I blog for womenentrepreneur.com too and look forward to checking back on a regular basis.
Btw, I took a moment to read your bio. Congrats on all of your stellar accomplishments.
Michelle Anton
http://weekend.entrepreneur.com
August 26th, 2007 at 7:56 am
How to be a billionaire?
I have seen a very interesting post Top Shelf Entrepreneur in which Diane K. Danielson writes a review about the book:
How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth by Martin Fridson..%2
August 26th, 2007 at 10:15 am
I have been writing about this book and billionaire strategies over the past few weeks and will write more. You can read read more at http://smartstartup.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/08/a-billionaires-.html
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Thanks for all the great input and info. Bizuddy – it’s interesting you pointed out networking. When I was “listening” to the book, I noted that all these billionaires could meet with anyone they wanted to. They were well-networked. So, taht is a big factor they don’t mention.