Petros
Regular Contributor
After my junior year of college, I spent the summer in Columbus, IN. I had landed an engineering internship with Cummins Inc and had the opportunity to work in the corporate headquarters building. It was definitely the nicest building to work in in the company. It had a great energy to it and at the time I thought it was cool to be in the same buildings as all the corporate bigwigs. This made we want to explore business and see how it fit with engineering and technology.
Several months later I was back at school. Fortunately, senior year was lighter schedule wise, so I had some more free time. I decided to buy some business-related books and learn on my own. I literally just googled “Best Business Books” and clicked on some random top 10 list. I bought three of the books that stuck out to me:
Now I know many people have a strong opinion on The 4-hour Workweek. Some people like it, others think it sucks. For me, it was the first book I read that opened my mind to the possibilities of entrepreneurship. Up until this point, I never thought someone like me could start a real business and make money. After reading it, I knew that I needed to start some kind of business by the end of the year.
Ever since then, I’ve tried to make money on my own outside of my engineering job. Some of these ideas have made money, and others have not.
Businesses that made/make money:
When I chased needs, I made money.
When I chased money, I made nothing.
It’s not that you can’t make money doing the things I failed at, but now I realize that MY MIND was in the wrong place. I was being selfish and only cared about getting money, not solving a problem.
TL/DR:
Don’t look for books/resources to be perfect. Read them, figure out what works and discard the rest. Sometimes a book can change your mindset and that in itself is worth it.
Chase needs, not money.
Several months later I was back at school. Fortunately, senior year was lighter schedule wise, so I had some more free time. I decided to buy some business-related books and learn on my own. I literally just googled “Best Business Books” and clicked on some random top 10 list. I bought three of the books that stuck out to me:
- The 4-hour Workweek
- The $100 Start-up
- Rework
Now I know many people have a strong opinion on The 4-hour Workweek. Some people like it, others think it sucks. For me, it was the first book I read that opened my mind to the possibilities of entrepreneurship. Up until this point, I never thought someone like me could start a real business and make money. After reading it, I knew that I needed to start some kind of business by the end of the year.
Ever since then, I’ve tried to make money on my own outside of my engineering job. Some of these ideas have made money, and others have not.
Businesses that made/make money:
- Online Computer Rentals Business: Started because I wanted to learn business and fill a niche market need.
- Flipping Classic Cars: Started because my Dad (who loves working on cars) saw an opportunity to add value while doing something he loved.
- Rental Properties: Started because there were lots of advantages financially, and people need places to live.
- FBA Online Arbitrage: Started because I saw a system that I could build/streamline. I could sell products that I knew people actually wanted to buy.
- Flipping Laptops on Craigslist: Started because I wanted to make money and outsource all the work.
- SEO: Started because I saw a rich youtuber with a Lamborghini who sold SEO products and I wanted to make money like he did.
- AdSense Websites: Saw an ad for “passive AdSense income websites”. All I had to do was buy the domains, pay the company to build the sites, and the money would flow in every month. SCAM.
- Amazon Affiliate Websites: Saw an ad for “passive Amazon Affiliate income websites”. All I had to do was buy the domains, pay the company to build the sites, and the money would flow in every month. SCAM.
When I chased needs, I made money.
When I chased money, I made nothing.
It’s not that you can’t make money doing the things I failed at, but now I realize that MY MIND was in the wrong place. I was being selfish and only cared about getting money, not solving a problem.
TL/DR:
Don’t look for books/resources to be perfect. Read them, figure out what works and discard the rest. Sometimes a book can change your mindset and that in itself is worth it.
Chase needs, not money.
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