If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Sign Up for my Rich Habits Daily Tips/Articles. No one succeeds on their own. Thank You!
TOM@RICHHABITS.NET
Successful entrepreneurs build wealth through strategic business activities, underpinned by disciplined habits. My Rich Habits Study, which examined 233 millionaires (177 self-made) over five years, reveals the behaviors that drive entrepreneurial success. This article outlines the top ten business activities that propelled entrepreneurs to accumulate millions, offering actionable steps for aspiring entrepreneurs.
1. Launching Scalable Tech Startups
Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk built fortunes by launching tech startups with scalable products. Musk’s Tesla revolutionized electric vehicles, scaling through Gigafactory production, per Forbes. In my Rich Habits study, the millionaires who pursue innovative ventures accumulated the most wealth in the shortest amount of time: $7.4 million in wealth in just 12 years.
Rich Habit Action Tip: Identify a tech-driven problem (e.g., renewable energy) and develop a minimum viable product (MVP). Then, pilot, pivot and re-pilot your product until you figure out what works and what doesn’t work.
2. Developing Innovative Consumer Products
Sara Blakely created Spanx by designing shapewear to solve a personal pain point, disrupting the fashion industry, as per Inc. In my study, I found that 60% of the Entrepreneur-Dreamer millionaires built their wealth through passion-driven products.
Rich Habit Action Tip: Brainstorm any product that either solves a problem or adds value to the lives of others.
3. Scaling E-Commerce Platforms
Jeff Bezos grew Amazon by reinvesting profits into logistics and warehousing, dominating online retail. In my study the entrepreneurs reinvested almost all of their profits back into their businesses.
Rich Habit Action Tip: Start an e-commerce store on Shopify, focusing on a high-demand niche like sustainable goods, and reinvest early profits to scale your business.
4. Forming Strategic Media Partnerships
Oprah Winfrey built her empire through partnerships, launching OWN and co-producing films, per Harvard Business Review. I learned from my Rich Habits study that successful entrepreneurs devoted a large portion of their time to building “Power Relationships” with influencers and other business partners, who could help them open doors and gain access to working capital in order to grow their businesses.
Rich Habit Action Tip: Partner with content creators or brands to co-develop a media project, like a podcast or YouTube channel, to expand your reach.
5. Creating Subscription-Based Services
Reed Hastings pivoted Netflix to a streaming subscription model, investing in original content like Stranger Things, per Entrepreneur. The wealthy entrepreneurs in my study all shared one common Rich Habits – Pivoting in the face of adversity. Oftentimes, my entrepreneurs would pivot multiple times in an effort to figure out what worked and what didn’t work.
Rich Habit Action Tip: Develop a subscription service (e.g., a fitness app) and test it with a small audience, pivoting along the way, in an effort to refine/improve your business model.
6. Diversify Your Wealth
Many of my successful entrepreneurs, once their venture began to turn a profit, diversified into real estate, like rental properties or secured the services of wealth managers.
Rich Habit Action Tip: Once your business turns a profit, invest 20% or more of the profits, every year, into alternative wealth-building investments such as: real estate, equities, side business hustles, annuities, retirement plans or passive-income generating investments.
7. Building Digital Platforms
Mark Zuckerberg scaled Meta by acquiring synergistic platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp.
Rich Habit Action Tip: Launch a digital platform, like a niche social network or SaaS tool, and commit to regular updates to attract users. Then, reinvest your profits into synergistic businesses to help grow your wealth.
8. Diversifying Through Angel Investing
Daymond John (FUBU) expanded his wealth by investing in startups via Shark Tank, per CNBC. Like Daymond, the millionaires in my Rich Habits study created multiple income streams. 84% had 3 streams, 39% had 4 streams, and 27% reported that they had 5 streams or more.
Rich Habit Action Tip: Start a synergistic side hustle, Invest small amounts in local startups or use platforms like AngelList to diversify your portfolio.
9. Launching Health and Wellness Brands
Richard Branson’s Virgin Active gyms capitalized on the fitness trend, per Business Insider. According to my Rich Habits research data, self-made entrepreneurs 95% exercised aerobically 30 minutes or more every day. This helped improve/maximize brain performance by increasing the supply of oxygen to their brain cells and also boosted their energy levels, allowing them to work and focus longer during each day.
Rich Habit Action Tip: With an increasingly health-conscious society, start a wellness brand, like a fitness app or organic product line, targeting health-conscious consumers.
10. Consulting in High-Demand Industries
Mark Cuban grew Broadcast.com with mentorship from tech veterans, later offering consulting services, per Inc.. In my Rich Habits Study, successful entrepreneurs who found mentors (only 19% found a success mentor) attributed almost 100% of their success to their mentors.
Rich Habit Action Tip: Find a success mentor who has had success in the exact same field/industry you are in. In my Rich habits study, 73% of the successful entrepreneurs said they actively mentored other to help them become successful.
Conclusion
My Rich Habits research, paired with examples from entrepreneurs like Musk, Winfrey, and Cuban, shows that wealth stems from strategic business activities like tech startups, e-commerce, and real estate. These activities, supported by habits like Dream-Setting, forging “Power Relationships”, re-investing profits, creating scalable businesses, daily goal-setting to dos and creating multiple streams of income around your core business model, offer a blueprint for success. Start small, leverage your strengths and innate talents, and explore one of these activities to start building your fortune.
Tom Corley is an accountant, financial planner and author of “Rich Kids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life”, Effort-Less Wealth, Change Your Habits Change Your Life, Rich Habits Poor Habits and “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.”
