When Fastlane doesn't make sense?

I read “The Fastlane” book and agree with the general concept that Fastlane is better than Slowlane.

However, I am struggling to think about how/if it applies to my situation.

• I am ~30yo
• I live in a European country with a relatively low cost of living (prices around -50% vs US)
• Currently, I and my wife make 100k USD net and have a 60% saving-to-income ratio
• Just for context, my salary is in the top 1% in my country
• I am working in top-tier consulting (MBB) - I like the job, although shitty WLB (60-70h workweek)
• I am considering moving to Dubai, where I alone can make in the next 10y 5m USD net (assuming salary in 1st year 200k USD and growing till 1m USD over next 7y, not assuming any inflation) at 60h workweek

Treating the above as a baseline, combined with my wife's earning, high savings to income, compound interests (ETFs, properties for rent, crypto), I should achieve ~5m USD in 10y with a relatively low risk.

Now I struggle to think if trying to switch, in my case, to Fastlane does make sense, as:

• The risk of failure is significant (% of companies that achieve success is relatively low)
• It is not worth risking something that you need (low-risk path to 5m USD in 10y) for something that you do not need (wealth of >5m USD)

What are your thoughts on that? It is a kind of edge scenario like old CEOs (although I won’t be so old ) mentioned in the book.

P.S. An alternative option that I am considering is decrease in investment in ETFs and be a business angel as a side hustle to work in consulting, with some luck, it can break the 5m USD threshold

 

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[Kevin88660]

To make one M a year you need to be a CEO of an averaged size listed company or a large reputable private company. And the one M is not all cash.

I find your salary growth projection hopiumistic.

 

[consultantMBB]

The benefit of working in MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) is that the promotion path and salary per grade are very clear. I confirmed that with multiple sources, partners earn from 0.6 to several m USD with no taxes in Middle East, and it is cash.

The potential issues that I see:

• need to move out from the home country
• risk of ME market collapses
• risk of introducing personal income tax in ME
• risk of getting a promotion from associate partner to partner; at that level, politics and different skills are improtant

 

[Trismigistus]

To me this sounds like, "I aim to be king of the rat race, why become a scientist?" You still have no control over the economy, whether or not your investments grow, whether you will be promoted, whether you will get a raise, whether you will even get fired or the company you work for stays afloat. If you build your own business system that you control and is also a productocracy, then that is a way better situation than still playing the rat race.

 

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[BizyDad]

I read “The Fastlane” book and agree with the general concept that Fastlane is better than Slowlane.

However, I am struggling to think about how/if it applies to my situation.

• I am ~30yo
• I live in a European country with a relatively low cost of living (prices around -50% vs US)
• Currently, I and my wife make 100k USD net and have a 60% saving-to-income ratio
• Just for context, my salary is in the top 1% in my country
• I am working in top-tier consulting (MBB) - I like the job, although shitty WLB (60-70h workweek)
• I am considering moving to Dubai, where I alone can make in the next 10y 5m USD net (assuming salary in 1st year 200k USD and growing till 1m USD over next 7y, not assuming any inflation) at 60h workweek

Treating the above as a baseline, combined with my wife's earning, high savings to income, compound interests (ETFs, properties for rent, crypto), I should achieve ~5m USD in 10y with a relatively low risk.

Now I struggle to think if trying to switch, in my case, to Fastlane does make sense, as:

• The risk of failure is significant (% of companies that achieve success is relatively low)
• It is not worth risking something that you need (low-risk path to 5m USD in 10y) for something that you do not need (wealth of >5m USD)

What are your thoughts on that? It is a kind of edge scenario like old CEOs (although I won’t be so old ) mentioned in the book.

P.S. An alternative option that I am considering is decrease in investment in ETFs and be a business angel as a side hustle to work in consulting, with some luck, it can break the 5m USD threshold

I don't think the responders understand your situation.

How good are you at acquisition? If you are good to great, your numbers make sense, perhaps even are conservative. You don't have to worry about "losing your job".

Unless catastrophe strikes, like war, but in this case the same would befall you running your own business.

You might have to worry about all those hours taking a toll on your health. How will this impact raising kids? Still the move could facilitate your wife being a homemaker if that's the way you want to go.

Much like anyone, I'd say don't leave your current position until you have a company, side hustle, etc that would replace the income you earn.

 

[consultantMBB]

I got your points all of them are from the book. I do agree that the risks exist, however, the current path is by far less risky, being an entrepreneur, you can also face COVID and other market disruptions that can crash you fast, plus the statistic that ~50% of new businesses fail in the first 5y (not mentioning how many do not generate 5m USD).

To respond to each risk mentioned
- market economy -> properties and broad ETFs are rather secure and it is enough to get market average return
- promotions are easy as it is up or out, so they will not keep you long in one position long
- raise is connected to grade, you do not negotiate that
- MBB employers have existed for ~50y and the market is hard to disrupt, e.g., we cannot be replaced by AI

 

[Jon822]

The only cases where the Fastlane is objectively worse is if you've been given 6 months to live and it is 100% certain to be the case. In all other cases, the Fastlane is better because it generates income proportional to the value you provide to other people. Just because you decide to go Fastlane does not mean you have to slam the gas pedal into the floor -- there are a continuum of speeds that will allow you to generate wealth faster than the Slowlane could. The most simplified reason why the Fastlane is almost always better is that it allows you to maximize your income while minimizing your time investment.

I am considering moving to Dubai, where I alone can make in the next 10y 5m USD net (assuming salary in 1st year 200k USD and growing till 1m USD over next 7y, not assuming any inflation) at 60h workweek

Your rationale for being against a Fastlane approach hides behind a lot of ifs. And the worst part is the conditions are outside of your control. When you merge into the Fastlane, the only conditions to overcome are the ones you write.

The answer to which is better is very obvious. Do you want to keep pretending like it isn't and gamble the next 10 years away hoping all of your external conditions pan out?

 

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[ZCP]

Use the high paying gigs and 'investment' of your time to create a 'pay yourself first' financial machine that helps you divorce your time from your money. stack cash from high paying job to buy companies and cashflow.

 

[MTF]

If you don't see anything wrong with working SIXTY freaking hours a week for someone else for the next ten years then Fastlane indeed isn't for you.

 

[consultantMBB]

I don't think the responders understand your situation.

How good are you at acquisition? If you are good to great, your numbers make sense, perhaps even are conservative. You don't have to worry about "losing your job".

Unless catastrophe strikes, like war, but in this case the same would befall you running your own business.

You might have to worry about all those hours taking a toll on your health. How will this impact raising kids? Still the move could facilitate your wife being a homemaker if that's the way you want to go.

Much like anyone, I'd say don't leave your current position until you have a company, side hustle, etc that would replace the income you earn.

I have been working in the industry for ~4 years, and I do not see a material risk of not getting promoted to associate partner, with a partner promotion it might be more tricky, but there are no red flags as of now.

With work-life balance, it is more tricky. One thing that I might consider is a 2-month leave of absence (unpaid holidays) per year, so a total of 3 months/year not working. It would slow down a bit of building wealth but I think the mini-retirements might be worth it (enjoying life) and they will not impact my promotions.

My wife likely will want to work anyway, but she also might consider not working full-time (e.g., 4 days/week).

Re the side hustle, it is not easy to create a side hustle that would be as profitable as a strategic consultant job, especially having so little spare time.

 

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[consultantMBB]

Use the high paying gigs and 'investment' of your time to create a 'pay yourself first' financial machine that helps you divorce your time from your money. stack cash from high paying job to buy companies and cashflow.

That is the reason for 60% of my savings to income, in reality, ~1m USD assets would be enough to maintain my current standard of living in a passive way. And I really do not complain on my standard of living.

If you don't see anything wrong with working SIXTY freaking hours a week for someone else for the next ten years then Fastlane indeed isn't for you.

Yeah, my experience is that most entrepreneurs work like that or even more, often without holidays, and with issue of taking work to home (working over weekends, or at least thinking about that). So as long as comparing my working hours to a 9 to 5 job it seems crazy I wouldn't say so when compared to being a business owner, even looking on MJ...

 

[Trismigistus]

I dont understand, why come to a forum about/promoting entrepreneurship, and make the case for a 9-5 working for someone else?

 

[Devilery]

Honestly, I'll side with you (although I don't know how realistic your salary projection is). If you have certainty over it, I would move to Dubai (definitely not a dream to me but I'd do it for a million), and invest as much as possible in diversified assets - real estate, stock market, tech startups.

I'd do the math this way - how much do you need to afford your "dream" lifestyle and how long would it take you to invest enough to fund your dream lifestyle with passive income from investments?

If you have a 90% chance of earning mid-5 figures passively after a decade and you'd be only 40, it's statistically better (aka - higher probability of success) to stick with it. However, if you would grind 60 hours a week for a decade and have all of your money tied to assets that you can't liquidate quickly, and that wouldn't net you enough passive income to live your dream, you should consider alternatives.

I have nothing to lose by committing to an entrepreneurial path as I essentially have nothing but a solid-ish stack of skills I can leverage to make money remotely, which is why I'm not saying: "OP is a pussy, get him out of here."

It's a mental challenge, 90%+ will never make it as entrepreneurs but those who do would easily say: "F*ck that fancy job, you could make 10X more in 10 years building a business".

Fastlane always makes sense but the odds are statistically and objectively against you, do you have the mentality required to see it through anyway?

 

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[Johnny boy]

Go back 10 years and you could’ve started something and be past your 5m mark today instead of maybe in another 10 years.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

I have a very unpopular opinion here, BUT if your goal in life is to make $10-20M in the easiest way possible, with the least amount of stress, and you’re highly educated and intelligent, with a good degree, don’t start a business.

Just do what this guy does: get a job in high finance, elite consulting or early startup positions. Then just fish for the winners and always work with them.

I mean if that’s your goal, who would you rather be? Dustin Moskovitz (worth $13bn) or Mark Zuckerberg? It’s so easy to get rich… just join someone already on the path and help them out. Why stress yourself to be the hero, when you can be the hero’s helper? Sure, you won’t get as rich, but you can expect to get pretty darn wealthy with 10% of the stress.

 

[MTF]

Yeah, my experience is that most entrepreneurs work like that or even more, often without holidays, and with issue of taking work to home (working over weekends, or at least thinking about that). So as long as comparing my working hours to a 9 to 5 job it seems crazy I wouldn't say so when compared to being a business owner, even looking on MJ...

That's my point.

Entrepreneurs don't care how much they work as long as they're working for themselves.

If you don't see the difference and compare only hours worked then Fastlane isn't for you. An entrepreneur would rather work 60 hours for themselves than even 20 for someone else, having no control and not building any assets.

Also, I've never worked on average more than maybe 30 hours a week yet I'm retired. It's not about mindlessly working as much as you can.

 

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[BizyDad]

Re the side hustle, it is not easy to create a side hustle that would be as profitable as a strategic consultant job, especially having so little spare time.

Who said create one?

You literally just told me you're going to take 2 months off every year, and you're making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

So buy one. And spend two months making sure it runs right without you.

Next year, do it again.

The key important part of all of this is having managerial expertise. And sales expertise wouldn't hurt. Is there any chance you happen to possess managerial and sales expertise?

 

[ZCP]

I would hitch my wagon to some bigger fish and take advantage of some bigger opportunities if given the track to run again. The days of running your own thing are no longer required. There are SO many opportunities to take over boomer companies or partner on moonshots. Sure, some need to be their own boss. Most have no idea HOW to be the boss and might be better served being on a team or taking advantage of big golden handcuffs to INVEST in businesses (which is fastlane!). @consultantMBB just needs to find a way to 4HWW this and work fewer hours. how can you be SO GOOD that you do twice as much in 1/2 the time?

 

[Black_Dragon43]

Entrepreneurs don't care how much they work as long as they're working for themselves.

If you don't see the difference and compare only hours worked then Fastlane isn't for you. An entrepreneur would rather work 60 hours for themselves than even 20 for someone else, having no control and not building any assets.

I agree. I am an entrepreneur because I can’t stand being employed and working for someone. I love to have control and to implement my vision, do my own thing. It’s a personality thing first and foremost, then a money thing.

 

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[BizyDad]

I would hitch my wagon to some bigger fish and take advantage of some bigger opportunities if given the track to run again. The days of running your own thing are no longer required. There are SO many opportunities to take over boomer companies or partner on moonshots. Sure, some need to be their own boss. Most have no idea HOW to be the boss and might be better served being on a team or taking advantage of big golden handcuffs to INVEST in businesses (which is fastlane!). @consultantMBB just needs to find a way to 4HWW this and work fewer hours. how can you be SO GOOD that you do twice as much in 1/2 the time?

Exactly. I would hope the guy consulting at an MBB firm has leadership ability and managerial acumen.

 

[Kevin88660]

I have been working in the industry for ~4 years, and I do not see a material risk of not getting promoted to associate partner, with a partner promotion it might be more tricky, but there are no red flags as of now.

With work-life balance, it is more tricky. One thing that I might consider is a 2-month leave of absence (unpaid holidays) per year, so a total of 3 months/year not working. It would slow down a bit of building wealth but I think the mini-retirements might be worth it (enjoying life) and they will not impact my promotions.

My wife likely will want to work anyway, but she also might consider not working full-time (e.g., 4 days/week).

Re the side hustle, it is not easy to create a side hustle that would be as profitable as a strategic consultant job, especially having so little spare time.

Can you give some reasoning why you do not see a material risk of not getting promoted to an associate partner?

To rise to be a partner in a globally recognized brand name you need to be extremely valuable and be able to bring business to the company. Also there are many hungry young people pulling all nighters to fight for the role.

Collecting high 6 figure yearly paycheck “risk-free” naturally attract competition among ambitious young men. People already are dying literally collapsing in office in investment banking roles that pay $100k a year.

 

[consultantMBB]

I dont understand, why come to a forum about/promoting entrepreneurship, and make the case for a 9-5 working for someone else?

For me, the book was about how to be wealthy fast, I do not really care to be or not to be an entrepreneur. If I would decide 5-10y ago then going into entrepreneurship would be no brianer, but in the current circumstance it is more tricky.

Honestly, I'll side with you (although I don't know how realistic your salary projection is). If you have certainty over it, I would move to Dubai (definitely not a dream to me but I'd do it for a million), and invest as much as possible in diversified assets - real estate, stock market, tech startups.

I'd do the math this way - how much do you need to afford your "dream" lifestyle and how long would it take you to invest enough to fund your dream lifestyle with passive income from investments?

If you have a 90% chance of earning mid-5 figures passively after a decade and you'd be only 40, it's statistically better (aka - higher probability of success) to stick with it. However, if you would grind 60 hours a week for a decade and have all of your money tied to assets that you can't liquidate quickly, and that wouldn't net you enough passive income to live your dream, you should consider alternatives.

I have nothing to lose by committing to an entrepreneurial path as I essentially have nothing but a solid-ish stack of skills I can leverage to make money remotely, which is why I'm not saying: "OP is a pussy, get him out of here."

It's a mental challenge, 90%+ will never make it as entrepreneurs but those who do would easily say: "F*ck that fancy job, you could make 10X more in 10 years building a business".

Fastlane always makes sense but the odds are statistically and objectively against you, do you have the mentality required to see it through anyway?

Yeah, you got that right.

"The dream lifestyle" you can't really predict in advance, so easy. In 5y I would definitely have enough wealth to not need to work (assuming ~current standard of living), then the question will be how many more years do I want to work (e.g. if I still enjoy the work, if I want more monthly passive income, etc.).

My assets can be liquidated quickly (apartments for rent can take several weeks).

Go back 10 years and you could’ve started something and be past your 5m mark today instead of maybe in another 10 years.

If I could go back 10y ago I would likely take another path, but now I need to play with what I have.

I have a very unpopular opinion here, BUT if your goal in life is to make $10-20M in the easiest way possible, with the least amount of stress, and you’re highly educated and intelligent, with a good degree, don’t start a business.

Just do what this guy does: get a job in high finance, elite consulting or early startup positions. Then just fish for the winners and always work with them.

I mean if that’s your goal, who would you rather be? Dustin Moskovitz (worth $13bn) or Mark Zuckerberg? It’s so easy to get rich… just join someone already on the path and help them out. Why stress yourself to be the hero, when you can be the hero’s helper? Sure, you won’t get as rich, but you can expect to get pretty darn wealthy with 10% of the stress.

That is kind of my thinking with the part of becoming a business angel as a side hustle. You do not need to bet one one company, one industry, etc.

That's my point.

Entrepreneurs don't care how much they work as long as they're working for themselves.

If you don't see the difference and compare only hours worked then Fastlane isn't for you. An entrepreneur would rather work 60 hours for themselves than even 20 for someone else, having no control and not building any assets.

Also, I've never worked on average more than maybe 30 hours a week yet I'm retired. It's not about mindlessly working as much as you can.

Yeah, I am not really a fanatic and I do not feel pressure to be an entrepreneur and work for myself.

Sure you can find exceptions, successful entrepreneurs who haven't worked long hours. but is a minority. I wouldn't associate being an entrepreneur with short working hours, as statistically, it is not the case.

Who said create one?

You literally just told me you're going to take 2 months off every year, and you're making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

So buy one. And spend two months making sure it runs right without you.

Next year, do it again.

The key important part of all of this is having managerial expertise. And sales expertise wouldn't hurt. Is there any chance you happen to possess managerial and sales expertise?

@BizyDad that is an interesting idea, do you mean to be a kind of business angel or something more specific?

I do have managerial expertise as I managed ecomm, and now I am managing project teams, and our projects are kind of solving CEOs problems. However, managing people in consulting is kind of easier as you manage highly intelligent and highly motivated people, in normal business it is not the case.

I do not have experience in sales, and in the next 4+y it will not be required at consulting work.

I agree. I am an entrepreneur because I can’t stand being employed and working for someone. I love to have control and to implement my vision, do my own thing. It’s a personality thing first and foremost, then a money thing.

For me, it is the opposite. Money is the most important. I worked a bit as a kind of business owner (family business) and you need to hustle with a lot of operational topics, while being a strategic consultant (at least in top tier) you solve the most important questions for companies, working often closely with CEOs. I my experience I enjoyed more doing consulting work than being an entrepreneur (although it could be because the type of business I have done was boring).

Exactly. I would hope the guy consulting at an MBB firm has leadership ability and managerial acumen.

I read the 4HWW, I am leveraging some of the tips and tricks, but it is mostly not applicable in strategic consulting.
In MBB
- you have the smartest people possible
- the scope of the project usually are topics that would take organizations months to do/solve, and we have only weeks to do so
- you have 1-2 alignments per day to discuss "to-do"

In best case scenario you can cut hours by 20-30% and it varies a lot between projects.

 

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[consultantMBB]

Can you give some reasoning why you do not see a material risk of not getting promoted to an associate partner?

To rise to be a partner in a globally recognized brand name you need to be extremely valuable and be able to bring business to the company. Also there are many hungry young people pulling all nighters to fight for the role.

Collecting high 6 figure yearly paycheck “risk-free” naturally attract competition among ambitious young men. People already are dying literally collapsing in office in investment banking roles that pay $100k a year.

Sure, here are the points:

• In theory, you have an "up or out" policy, but in reality, ~90% leave MBB on their own (valid at least for my country and ME)
• I have good scores on the evaluation panels, so I am above average, I aim to shorten to promotion path (although not assumed in the baseline scenario)
• Kind of "Risk-free" but you pay with long working hours, a stressful and highly demanding job, with some offices a lot of travel is required, people leaving MBB are willing to take a pay cut to have e.g. better work-life balance
• You are wrong about "bringing the business", as an associate partner you do not have any sales KPIs, they are on a partner level, although to get a promotion to partner you need to have some success cases with selling projects (is it a reason why I flagged getting a promotion to partner as a potential risk)
• I like my job and the working hours are not as bad as in investment banking (a lot of people hate consulting / investment banking so they cannot survive)

 

[biophase]

For me, the book was about how to be wealthy fast, I do not really care to be or not to be an entrepreneur. If I would decide 5-10y ago then going into entrepreneurship would be no brianer, but in the current circumstance it is more tricky.


Yeah, you got that right.

"The dream lifestyle" you can't really predict in advance, so easy. In 5y I would definitely have enough wealth to not need to work (assuming ~current standard of living), then the question will be how many more years do I want to work (e.g. if I still enjoy the work, if I want more monthly passive income, etc.).

My assets can be liquidated quickly (apartments for rent can take several weeks).


If I could go back 10y ago I would likely take another path, but now I need to play with what I have.


That is kind of my thinking with the part of becoming a business angel as a side hustle. You do not need to bet one one company, one industry, etc.


Yeah, I am not really a fanatic and I do not feel pressure to be an entrepreneur and work for myself.

Sure you can find exceptions, successful entrepreneurs who haven't worked long hours. but is a minority. I wouldn't associate being an entrepreneur with short working hours, as statistically, it is not the case.



@BizyDad that is an interesting idea, do you mean to be a kind of business angel or something more specific?

I do have managerial expertise as I managed ecomm, and now I am managing project teams, and our projects are kind of solving CEOs problems. However, managing people in consulting is kind of easier as you manage highly intelligent and highly motivated people, in normal business it is not the case.

I do not have experience in sales, and in the next 4+y it will not be required at consulting work.


For me, it is the opposite. Money is the most important. I worked a bit as a kind of business owner (family business) and you need to hustle with a lot of operational topics, while being a strategic consultant (at least in top tier) you solve the most important questions for companies, working often closely with CEOs. I my experience I enjoyed more doing consulting work than being an entrepreneur (although it could be because the type of business I have done was boring).

I read the 4HWW, I am leveraging some of the tips and tricks, but it is mostly not applicable in strategic consulting.
In MBB
- you have the smartest people possible
- the scope of the project usually are topics that would take organizations months to do/solve, and we have only weeks to do so
- you have 1-2 alignments per day to discuss "to-do"

In best case scenario you can cut hours by 20-30% and it varies a lot between projects.

Definitely stay at your job. It doesn’t sound like the fastlane is for you.

 

[Panos Daras]

I am going to say something that you will absolutely hate.

If the way to make money is by trying to provide as little value as possible while getting as much money as you can, then management and strategy consulting is the way to go. If you want to be a better human being and provide real value to society, I would strongly advise you to quit. But if the only thing that matters to you is money, then yeah, stay in strategy consulting.

Don't take it personally; apparently, you've found a cheat code in the system, and you're really smart. But yeah, it is what it is. In my book, being successful isn't only about how much money you make but also how you make your money.

PS---
This video summarizes perfectly what I am referring to, for those who do not know what management and strategy consulting is:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu6x6dy7oKA&t=600s&ab_channel=HowMoneyWorks

 

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[Kevin88660]

Sure, here are the points:

• In theory, you have an "up or out" policy, but in reality, ~90% leave MBB on their own (valid at least for my country and ME)
• I have good scores on the evaluation panels, so I am above average, I aim to shorten to promotion path (although not assumed in the baseline scenario)
• Kind of "Risk-free" but you pay with long working hours, a stressful and highly demanding job, with some offices a lot of travel is required, people leaving MBB are willing to take a pay cut to have e.g. better work-life balance
• You are wrong about "bringing the business", as an associate partner you do not have any sales KPIs, they are on a partner level, although to get a promotion to partner you need to have some success cases with selling projects (is it a reason why I flagged getting a promotion to partner as a potential risk)
• I like my job and the working hours are not as bad as in investment banking (a lot of people hate consulting / investment banking so they cannot survive)

Ah, I see. Thanks for the detailed response.

The thought-provoking challenge is, what if the future didn't play out as you predicted?

Most people start businesses because they don't like their jobs, and for good reasons.

Business has a much higher risk of failure, but it is not a fragile strategy. People expect to start the next business idea when the current one fails.

Again, you can start your consulting firm if you grab the book of business. Maybe that's something you can look into. I will never let my future be forecasted on some industry norm.

If you look at any small country on map now there is non-zero chance that they won't exist in the next 20-30 years.

 

[consultantMBB]

I am going to say something that you will absolutely hate.

If the way to make money is by trying to provide as little value as possible while getting as much money as you can, then management and strategy consulting is the way to go. If you want to be a better human being and provide real value to society, I would strongly advise you to quit. But if the only thing that matters to you is money, then yeah, stay in strategy consulting.

Don't take it personally; apparently, you've found a cheat code in the system, and you're really smart. But yeah, it is what it is. In my book, being successful isn't only about how much money you make but also how you make your money.

PS---
This video summarizes perfectly what I am referring to, for those who do not know what management and strategy consulting is:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu6x6dy7oKA&t=600s&ab_channel=HowMoneyWorks

Hahaha.. I saw that video earlier (btw it is a good YT channel), it is very biased. I would say that management consulting is like a hammer: it can be good, it can be bad, and it is up to who and how uses it. (I do not want to go into a debate and create off-topic). That being said, I do not feel offended, and I do not really care, as long as stuff is legal.

Ah, I see. Thanks for the detailed response.

The thought-provoking challenge is, what if the future didn't play out as you predicted?

Most people start businesses because they don't like their jobs, and for good reasons.

Business has a much higher risk of failure, but it is not a fragile strategy. People expect to start the next business idea when the current one fails.

Again, you can start your consulting firm if you grab the book of business. Maybe that's something you can look into. I will never let my future be forecasted on some industry norm.

If you look at any small country on map now there is non-zero chance that they won't exist in the next 20-30 years.

Every choice will have risks, but the odds on paper look like staying in consulting is a smarter move.

Let's consider worst case scenario:

• staying in consulting and being fired / the company going bankrupt, etc.
  • I ended up with a lot of savings accumulated over the years
  • I can go to different consulting companies (other MBB -> same salary, consulting boutiques -> salary -15%, big4 -> salary -30% but better lifestyle)
  • I can go to any other company (both corporates and startups love to hire ex MBB, the best case scenario is without a pay cut, worst case scenario is salary -50% and with a better work-life balance -> better work-life balance enables opening a side hustle)
  • time to financial independence prolonged but not much, still I am in better position than in 2023
• launching own business, and it fails
  • I lose capital invested + savings that I would generate staying in consulting
  • I can go back to consulting (loosing x years of promotions)
  • or opening a next business (that might fail)
  • I can end up more far away in from finance independence than I am in 2023

" I will never let my future be forecasted on some industry norm." -> a lot of markets are fragile and can be disrupted (e.g., be technology or change in regulations); being a business owner you are betting on the industry and a lot of stuff cannot be predicted. Consulting is kind of stable industry, hardly to be impacted (beside economic slow down).

P.S. Opening own consulting firm does not make sense, risk vs reward wouldn't make sense.

 

[consultantMBB]

And just to be clear, I enjoy discussions with all of you guys and highly appreciate that, I like to be challenged and hear different opinions as it stimulates my thinking about that topic.

Also is kind of interesting how the responses can be divided into two segments
- open-minded people who just want to have (a lot of) money
- fanatics of being an entrepreneur and Fastline for life (money to risk less important)

 

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[Lou7]

The only cases where the Fastlane is objectively worse is if you've been given 6 months to live and it is 100% certain to be the case. In all other cases, the Fastlane is better because it generates income proportional to the value you provide to other people. Just because you decide to go Fastlane does not mean you have to slam the gas pedal into the floor -- there are a continuum of speeds that will allow you to generate wealth faster than the Slowlane could. The most simplified reason why the Fastlane is almost always better is that it allows you to maximize your income while minimizing your time investment.


Your rationale for being against a Fastlane approach hides behind a lot of ifs. And the worst part is the conditions are outside of your control. When you merge into the Fastlane, the only conditions to overcome are the ones you write.

The answer to which is better is very obvious. Do you want to keep pretending like it isn't and gamble the next 10 years away hoping all of your external conditions pan out?

"And the worst part is the conditions are outside of your control. When you merge into the Fastlane, the only conditions to overcome are the ones you write."

This is false. That a lot of variables outside your control both in slow and fastlane

 

[Kevin88660]

Hahaha.. I saw that video earlier (btw it is a good YT channel), it is very biased. I would say that management consulting is like a hammer: it can be good, it can be bad, and it is up to who and how uses it. (I do not want to go into a debate and create off-topic). That being said, I do not feel offended, and I do not really care, as long as stuff is legal.



Every choice will have risks, but the odds on paper look like staying in consulting is a smarter move.

Let's consider worst case scenario:

• staying in consulting and being fired / the company going bankrupt, etc.
  • I ended up with a lot of savings accumulated over the years
  • I can go to different consulting companies (other MBB -> same salary, consulting boutiques -> salary -15%, big4 -> salary -30% but better lifestyle)
  • I can go to any other company (both corporates and startups love to hire ex MBB, the best case scenario is without a pay cut, worst case scenario is salary -50% and with a better work-life balance -> better work-life balance enables opening a side hustle)
  • time to financial independence prolonged but not much, still I am in better position than in 2023
• launching own business, and it fails
  • I lose capital invested + savings that I would generate staying in consulting
  • I can go back to consulting (loosing x years of promotions)
  • or opening a next business (that might fail)
  • I can end up more far away in from finance independence than I am in 2023

" I will never let my future be forecasted on some industry norm." -> a lot of markets are fragile and can be disrupted (e.g., be technology or change in regulations); being a business owner you are betting on the industry and a lot of stuff cannot be predicted. Consulting is kind of stable industry, hardly to be impacted (beside economic slow down).

P.S. Opening own consulting firm does not make sense, risk vs reward wouldn't make sense.

It is not about the narrative. It is about the numbers.

You were arguing against Fastlane using the better-than-best-case scenario of your career progression. 1M annual income in 7 years, saving rate 40%, net asset close to 5M in 10 years.

I am from Singapore, one of the most "expensive" cities in the world. Many CEOs of the local publicly traded companies do not make 1M annual income.

You can also look into the book Lean Start-up. You don't have to take heavy financial and time losses into a bad idea that will never fly.

The only exception I think of a slowlane employee with fat paycheque is a Machine learning Ph.D. working in a reputable quantitative trading firm managing a significant AUM.

You are right to point out the opportunity cost of business, loss in savings, and career progression. That's expected.

Over the past 15 years, I saw firsthand how MBAs are becoming useless in asset management and getting replaced by college kids with mediocre grades so long they can backtest and code trading strategies. Very soon coders are getting replaced by discretionary traders assisted by AI fed with data and human-generated strategies.