BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & PERSONAL GROWTH
Kiyosaki’s bestseller review and takeaways
The year 2020. Globally crazy time for everyone. With all the troubles it brought to the world, the year also provided many great opportunities. As one of the greatest said, “Hard times make people strong” (purely rephrased by the author). I believe with the option to work remotely and save time on commuting, many had a chance to temporarily escape the rat race, rethink and start working on the ideas they had been dreaming about. I’m sure we will see many significant innovations soon.
Something similar happened to me. In late 2020, I started thinking if I should continue contracting or make my humble dream of my own business come true. My contract with gov was about to expire in Jan, right two weeks before the summer holidays were over (yep, in Australia, school summer holidays are from Dec to Jan). I realised that was a fantastic opportunity to spend time with family and plan the future. SDCentrum Australia was born four weeks later.
In this article, I want to share what I learned from “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki and how I apply the ideas to my business these days. Some ideas were eye-opening, some a good reminder.
To be honest, I tried the book three times. First two attempts, I put it away because I didn’t see any application. I wasn’t ready for the book and the ideas it shares until now. Some of my friends asked me, “So, are you gonna step into the properties market?” when I said that I had finished the book. Clearly, people understand Rich Dad Poor Dad differently, so if you haven’t read it yet, please do. I’m pretty sure your takeaways will differ from mine. So, those are the points I learned:
- The need for financial education,
- Liability vs Asset,
- Gold is everywhere,
- Pay yourself first,
- Strictly follow the recipe,
- Do for others, not for yourself,
- Give before you were given,
- Treat each client as the most important customer!
The need for financial education
Robert stresses the need to be educated in finance. He points that money is your most dedicated employee that works 24/7 and don’t take sick leaves. And if you don’t know how to manage them, well, you’re losing a great opportunity.
Action
Probably it’s not such a bad idea to join some account classes and learn the principles, e.g. the difference between DR and CR, double-entry systems, taxation and how the business is operating in your country in general.
Asset vs Liability
The asset is something you’re getting money from, and liability is something you’re paying for out of your pocket. Robert explains that trich people build their assets and get rid of liabilities. He also points that you buy luxuries from asset’s earnings only. Don’t put them in your liabilities list.
Action
Tracking your personal income and expenses the same way you track the business transactions may be a good starting point.
Gold is everywhere
I really love this point because Robert’s example in the book described me. If you cannot achieve something, it’s not because there are no opportunities. Most probably, it’s because you don’t know how to find them or you don’t see them (lack of knowledge/experience). His example was around the properties market, but it applies to a small IT business. I remember the time I was desperately looking for clients without any success.
Action
When I got a thought, “Probably there’s no opportunity for a foreign guy in this small town”, — I asked myself “, Is that? Or maybe I don’t know how to do the business here, yet?”
Pay yourself first
Oh, this was a huge one and shook me from top to bottom. I’m a very particular person. I’ve always been paying the bills on time and often way before the invoice date (times to times getting into trouble for early buyouts and refunds). What Robert suggests is that you don’t have to pay before the deadline. It’s better to operate this money till the final day. For example, if you’re a business in Australia, you pay your tax at the end of the financial year, and if you work with an agent, you got an extra nine-month extension (confirm with your accountant). The next lever is GST (Australian version of VAT), you must report/pay quarterly, but if you’re with an agent, you got another month of extension.
Action
Opening a new savings bank account for investment purposes where you put all the tax money + GST and learning short investments might be something to look for.
Follow the recipe
Robert gives an example of a chef cooking a meal. They always follow a strict recipe, even if it’s in their head. The same way an entrepreneur needs to find the recipe for the business they’re diving into.
Action
Honestly, I’m not a big adviser because I’m still working on the formula, mostly this is a trials and errors path. I would be happy to learn from those already in this field, but I don’t know anyone personally, so I’m trying to replicate what other businesses do.
Do for others
In other words, “Why should people work with you/buy from you?” My mistake was that I often guessed that clients might want to buy this from us or hire us because we provide such fantastic service. I didn’t ask what clients needed.
Action
Don’t guess; ask what issues your client got and see how you can solve them.
Give before you were given
Another one that hit me. Another example from Robert that described me. A person who’s willing to donate but waiting till he gets extra cash to afford the donation. “It’s pointless to expect an oven cooking without starting a fire”, Robert says.
I’m happy to share my knowledge and experience every time I have a message with a question from a stranger. I’m doing my best to give such a comprehensive answer as I’d give it to my best friend. I thought that would count as a “donation to the universe” as well. However, what Mr Kiyosaki says is that you give what you want to receive. Hence, if it’s money, I must donate money.
Action
Monthly donations to the organisations I care about and keep writing useful articles.
Treat each client as the most important customer!
Early days, I hungrily grub every work I was offered. Those were small contracts with the little dollar and a massive headache. But, I still loved them because those were my very first clients, 💲 I got without an employment contract.
I noticed that my attitude was changing each time I won a better & wealthier project. Here’s the thing, if you signed in a customer, regardless of the client’s size or profit you make working with this client, you have to treat them the same way you treat your favourite customer. Otherwise, don’t sign in.
Afterword
I’m probably the only person who finally finished the book in 2021. If you haven’t read it and are concerned about your current financial state, put it on your reading list right now. I mentioned only a few points, but in fact, the book got much more to teach you.
I’m planning to re-read it again in a year or so. I’m pretty sure I’ll find something new or rediscover the points I mentioned above.
Have a great day!
