How to make a Million Dollars

I was browsing the web and I came across an interesting blog by a man named Michael Brain, yep, Michael Brain, who happen to create the site “How stuff works “ which he sold to Discovery Communications  for a whopping $250 million.  He was asked to speak to the Graduating Class of Duke University and he chose the topic, how to make a million dollars.  He has actually started 3 successful businesses so you could certainly say he is an expert in this field and knows what he’s talking about.

He gave a pretty direct presentation with a lot of common sense advice. Here are a few of the basic points. It’s best to start your own business.  This is the most effective way that allows the most control.  You can either have the intention of building it to create an income for yourself or to sell it. In most instances, if successful , you could do both. 

Once you start a business, or businesses, don’t give up until you are successful. You have a one in ten chance of succeeding, if you stick with it and persevere. Those are much better odds than playing the lottery.   Over time, you get better at doing business and it becomes more natural to you, just like learning and playing  video games.

The internet is an awesome tool to utilize to create a business and in my opinion, every business should have an internet presence.

 According to Mr. Brain, “We could talk for a very long time about the Web, but let me briefly say that, today, there is a lot of money to be made. Google, with its Adsense program and search revenue program, has made it extremely easy to make money on the web. All that you have to do is create a web site that attracts a big audience, and you can make money.”

If you come up with a simple business idea where you can make people’s lives easier or give them what they want, you can find yourself with a successful business online or offline.

He suggested some great books to read. Here are a few, just visit the Amazon search button on my site, reneestarms.com  and pick up a few copies. They all cover different areas of being successful at business; some for the proper mindset, some about the basics of running a business as well as examples of successful business people.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

The One Minute Millionaire

The Automatic Millionaire

Dave’s Way

Built From Scratch

Well,  I hope you found this helpful. My goal in 2012 is to jump of the path to creating a successful business and achieving my goal of making a million dollars. It’s not as daunting as it may seem, with a little perseverance , faith and determination I truly think I can do it. And so can you!

All the best!

Renee Starms