Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Preparing for success
• Part 2 of 3: Managing your money
• Part 3 of 3: Doing business
• Tips
• Warnings

Many people want to become millionaires, but not many do their best enough to achieve that goal. In a world where the immensely wealthy focus on billionaires, Jan Modaal has more than ever the chance to become a millionaire. It mainly comes down to good management, common sense and the occasional calculated risk.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Preparing for success

1. Set yourself concrete goals. Proper preparation is imperative when it comes to a major challenge such as wanting to become a millionaire. And it all starts with setting concrete, measurable goals that you can focus on.
   • Maybe you want to be a millionaire at a certain age, for example at the age of 30.
   • Or perhaps your first goal is to be out of debt within two years.
   • Break big goals into easier-to-maintain small goals. For example, if one of your goals is to get a growing business off the ground within a year, start working out the business plan in the first month.
2. Get a good education. While there are plenty of examples of millionaires or billionaires who never went to college, the statistics show a link between education and wealth. The higher the education, the more opportunities you get and the more likely you are to become a millionaire.
3. Watch your health. Making money and making the right decisions to get more money requires you to be in good shape. Stay fit, eat well and take care of your body. Only when you are healthy do you have the energy and resources to remain committed to your goal.
4. Be persistent. Success requires the ability to back out if you have fallen. And you will often fail trying to find the best way to make a million or more. You don't have a safety net of an average salary, or a boss telling you what to do. To become a millionaire, you need to be prepared that your decisions won't always work out, but if you don't take risks, you won't be successful.
5. See if you have enough confidence. If not, now is the time to build it. A lot of self-esteem and confidence are essential on your path to success. Don't let it stop you, though. You can pretend you're self-confident, and you'll soon start to believe in it.
6. Read the opinions of people who made it. It never hurts to capitalize on the wisdom of successful people, but be careful not to get stuck in the planning and preparation stage. However, do read the advice of other millionaires. Some suitable books are:
   • Become and remain a millionaire (2004, Herman Bouter & Kapé Breukelaar)
   • How does a millionaire think? (2002, Liesbeth Noordegraaf-Eelens)
   • However you become a millionaire! (2000, B.H.A. van Leeuwen)
7. Find a mentor who has been through it all and ask for advice. Surround yourself with millionaire people. You can find them in all kinds of places, there are even websites where you can find a mentor who can show you how to make money online in all kinds of ways.

Part 2 of 3: Managing your money

1. Stop spending and get thrifty. This is an important part of becoming a millionaire. You have money in your savings account, or you spend it on things. You can't do both if you want to become a millionaire. Most millionaires (who have from 1 to 10 million) live very frugally and cost effectively, without spending their money on ridiculously expensive things. This implies:
   • Live below your level. A good guideline is to spend no more than a third of your salary per month on rent.
   • Buy good quality clothes, but don't pay ridiculous prices. A pack under € 400 is fine.
   • Wear cheap watches, jewelry, and accessories.
   • Collect nothing.
   • Having a reliable but affordable car from a common brand.
   • Don't buy luxury brands to show that you have money.
   • Not comparing yourself to others and wanting to spend as much as they do.
2. Familiarize yourself with saving. If you are used to always using the maximum amount on your credit card and not saving much, you will not easily become a millionaire. Start by opening a savings account so you can put money aside and top it up regularly. This should be a different account than your daily checking account that you use to pay bills, and it would be best if you get a little more interest on it than on a normal savings account.
   • A savings account is one of the many ways you can make your money work for you. The first sum you deposit will always grow through the interest, whether you supplement it yourself now and then or not. Dive into different types of savings accounts.
   • If you want to save, you have to learn to control yourself well. Work on bad habits that can hurt your self-discipline. Focus on what you could achieve by saving, rather than wanting to keep getting new stuff or bragging by buying expensive things.
3. Invest in stocks. If you are passionate about stocks, buy stocks of companies whose products or services you use yourself. One of the best ways to buy stock is through an investor club; you can also form one yourself with friends. But whatever way you buy shares, get very good financial advice first. And do a thorough research on the reputation of the financial advisor first.
   • "Blue chip investments" may be slower to monetize and not as exciting as other stocks, but they are less risky in the long run.
4. Buy a mutual fund. An investment fund is in fact a "gathering point" for investors. If you own a mutual fund, you own your own securities (stocks, bonds, cash) within the joint. With an investment fund you bundle your money with other investors and spread your investment.

Part 3 of 3: Doing business

1. Think about what people need, not necessarily what you want when you start a business. There will always be things people need and want to be done well. Things like waste disposal, energy, health products and funeral services, for example. In addition, you should not think too easily about the certainty that you will have customers. Choose a company that offers people what they really need, and be willing to put in the effort to make your products or services either the best, the cheapest, or the most special.
2. Start with a small startup. You often hear that a company should look "slick". But looking slick when it costs you a fortune doesn't help you much and your customers aren't willing to pay for it. Buy a nice suit that you can wear every day and that you feel confident in when you have an appointment, but be very careful with the layout of your office and other business elements. Here are some ideas to help you get started:
   • Consider renting a shared office that is furnished and includes cleaning. Only rent it when you need it to keep costs down.
   • If you do have your own office, rent the furniture or buy it cheaply second-hand.
   • Lease anything that needs constant updating, such as computers.
   • Keep personnel costs under control right from the start.
   • Travel cheap and fly economy class. Or rather use Skype or email for a virtual meeting, then you save travel costs.
   • Be environmentally conscious and always turn off all unused devices. Save the planet and your budget.
3. Keep a close eye on your money flow. This is the only point in life where obsession is a good quality. Every cent counts and if it's not in your savings account or put back into the business, it's in someone else's pocket.
   • Pay close attention to whether your business is viable. Keep an eye on what works and what doesn't and try to fix it as soon as possible.
   • Do not neglect the mundane but essential parts of the business, such as time registration, tax, cash book, invoicing, etc. Keep it regularly or hire someone who can do these things well.
   • Deal with creditors as soon as you deal with it. They don't go away on their own, so the sooner you tackle them the better.
4. Find the gap in the market. There are three parts to this. Firstly, you need to know which unique strengths you have, or at least with which you can add unique added value. Then you have to find a market or target group that wants what you have to offer. Finally, you need to make those people want to pay for what you have to offer.
5. Define your brand. A brand is nothing more than a belief that people have about you and your company. People want to do business with someone or a company that they believe can solve their specific problem. You should be seen as the solution to that problem.
6. Create a business model. Your business model must either have a high reliability or a high ease of use. If it is high reliability, you will have fewer customers paying a lot. You need 100 customers who each pay $ 10,000 to earn $ 1,000,000. If it is high ease of use, you have a lot of customers who pay you a little bit. Then you need 100,000 customers who each pay € 10 to raise € 1,000,000.
7. Determine your exit strategy. The easiest way to make a million is to set up a business that you can sell. People are often willing to pay two annual sales for a business. That means that if you have a turnover of € 500,000 you can sell the company for € 1,000,000. That equates to a turnover of approximately € 40,000 per month.
8. Get more profit from existing customers. The fastest way to increase your sales is to sell more products or services to existing customers. Find ways to add value and offer the products or services to your existing customer base.
9. Build systems and scale up. If you create a product that costs $ 100, and you find yourself always selling a product when you spend $ 50 on advertising, you have a winning model as long as you've chosen a large market. Increase your scale.
10. Hire great people. One of the best ways to grow from $ 60,000 in sales per year into a multi-millionaire is to hire great people. That's why all major companies focus on building a great team and leadership. And you can only build a great team if you are a great leader.

Tips

• Read. The more you know, the more opportunities you see and the more you can earn.
• Help others. Learn to take care of others so that you can make the world better for yourself and the people around you. Then even more positivity will come your way. By the way, you can often deduct donations to charities from your tax.
• Find one system that has proven itself as a money maker. The top 5 is: technology, internet marketing, working from home, product distribution and investments (stocks, real estate, etc.)
• Try to make as much of your pension as possible. And put as much money as possible in a savings account.
• Befriend dissenters. They can inspire you and show you different perspectives.
• Never invest more than you are willing to lose. This is especially important in the beginning. The more experience you have, the better you weigh your risks.
• Use your credit card as little as possible, do everything with your debit card. That way you keep your expenses under control. Only use your credit card in an emergency.
• Make sure it's not all about money. It should be fun too. You do it to benefit financially, but not many rich people get enough satisfaction from it.

Warnings

• Besides saving, there is no guarantee that you will earn money with securities (shares, securities). Be careful of people who claim otherwise.
• The internet is teeming with scams. Never invest money in something that you don't know is legal.
• Put wealth and money in perspective. Be careful not to kill the hen that lays the golden eggs. In other words, be careful not to lose sight of the source of wealth (if it harms your health, for example).