There has long been a disagreement whether it is better for the average person to start a business or to work in the corporate world.  Today we dispel the myths.

Let’s start with the first scenario:

#1.  Take a piece of paper out and turn it landscape towards you.  Draw a squiggley line from the bottom to the apex of the triangle.  Place a dot at the top of the triangle.  This is the corporate path.  The corporate path is where you start at the bottom of a corporation.  You spend years working your way through the politics, glass ceilings, bad managers, frustrating waits for a superstar to get promoted or retire and all of the normal corporate trappings.  Finally you reach the pinnacle and become independently wealthy.  Now write a number in that triangle.  That number corresponds to the number of people you know personally that have achieved independent wealth through that path.  Write the number even if it is zero.  Zero is a number you know?  It should look like the diagram below.

#2.  Now draw another triangle on that piece of paper that just has a triangle with a dot on the top.  Inside that circle, I want you to place the number of people you know that have started their own business and become independently wealthy.

Have numbers in both triangles?  Good!  My triangles have the number 2 in the left triangle and I quit counting at 1,250 in the right triangle.  Now, your numbers may not be that high.  But, on average you will have many more in the right triangle than the left triangle.

If the average person is a large percentage more likely to succeed in the right triangle than the left triangle, why is it that the majority of individuals choose the left triangle?

Is it because of security?  Is it because of the lack of people willing to delay their gratification?  Or, is it just a lack of education and knowledge.

The underlying truth is that most people are unaware of the diagram you have just drawn.  They just don’t know the statistics.  Most independent wealth is created through starting a business.  If you fall in this category, congratulations!  You have started on the correct path.  If you do not fall in this category, do not despair.  Starting a business is not as hard as it use to be.  There are many options for starting a business today.  Many can be started very easily part time and can be built slowly over time.

Time is your ally.  You can choose what amount of time you can spare part time.  Jim Rohn, a great personal philosopher states, “Work full time on your job.  Work part time on your FORTUNE.”  I completely agree.  Find an industry or hobby you love and turn it into a part time career.

Keep building your business so that you can be on the “right” side of the equation.  Then come to this blog and comment on it.  Tell me of your success.  I look forward to hearing your stories…

Rob Wheeler