If you're of the "Millionaire Next Door" mindset and your underwear tightens up at the thought of a new, exotic car; or a second home in Maui then I suggest you stop reading now. If you read this, you're going to be offended. You have been warned. I'm writing this for those of us who are entrepreneurs because we want a better lifestyle now. We got started to make it big, and to do it a hell of a lot faster than we ever could working for someone else. This is a message for the rest of us who aren't shy about the fact that the purpose of a business is to make the owner(s) rich; and rich means we want to get paid like rock stars - got it? I'm making the radical suggestion that it is not only possible to support the lifestyle of your choosing now, while building wealth for the future, but that it is absolutely necessary to do so. If not then there is no point in starting a business.

Step number one then is getting paid. Getting paid begins with starting a business for the purpose of making money. I highly recommend that you do not start a business to "change the world". Get rich, and you'll be in a better position to change the world than you'll ever be if you cling to the nebulous idealism of confusing a business with a "cause". You can't change the world if you're broke, or out of business anyway, so you may as well get rich.

Pay yourself first! Many, if not most business owners do not pay themselves first, or even second, or third. They pay themselves out of what's left over after they've paid all the expenses of the business and "reinvested" money in any number of areas like new equipment, marketing, and other growth-oriented practices. It's not that these practices are bad, and I'm certainly not ignoring the fact that a lot of businesses have failed because the owners took too much cash out to support their lifestyle, and failed to appropriately reinvest profits. However, you do need a plan to get paid from day one. Because here's the thing: If you don't have a plan in place to pay yourself on day one, you'll never do it. For a number of practical reasons, your role(s) in the business must be well defined, and there should be a pay structure in place for each and every one.

Second, determine what your role is worth in the marketplace. As an upstart, you're probably filling multiple positions yourself. Figure out what those positions are, and come up with a job description and salary for each. This will help you eventually replace yourself and still have the business function well (and pay you). This practice alone is what separates the sheep from the goats in business. I just do not see the point of leaving the corporate prison only to construct a new dungeon, yet this is precisely what most small business owners do. The thought never occurs to them to build a business that runs without them. Ego plays no small part in this, but a close secondary cause is the false belief that they're the only one capable of doing what they do, and the belief that they "can't afford" to hire it done.

Another key move is to know what you're great at, and what your time is actually worth. If you want to make it big in business, do what you do best and outsource the rest. I've never asked someone what they're time was worth and had them respond, "Oh, I don't know- about $8 bucks an hour". I doubt you're going to be the first which begs the question: Why are you doing so much $8 an hour work? If you're up until the wee hours doing your own payroll, answering your own phone, cleaning your own home or office, shoveling your own snow, mowing your own lawn, and any number of other tasks that you could hire the kid next door to do then you're in trouble. Once you figure out what your time is worth a few magical things will happen to you. First, you'll finally realize that you can't afford not to hire things done. Second, you'll start putting a meter on others use of your time. As business owners, we're all guilty of doing the exact wrong thing on both counts. We allow ourselves to get bogged down in minor tasks in the business, and let others waste our time because we're answering the phones, getting the mail, checking e-mail, and voicemail ourselves.

Think abundance. This is especially difficult if you've got some twisted inherited notions about money; or you've been an employee for a long period of time and you're used to a relatively fixed income. You get a paycheck and that's all there is until you get a raise- you've got to make this work. As an entrepreneur, it's different. You want money- go make a sale. You determine your income. So, give away money, and spend money more freely. There's a lot more where it came from. Learn to make decisions quicker, and don't fear spending or even losing money, but know you can just make more of it.

Don't get trapped in the "payday someday" mindset. If you're uptight, worried, and scroogish about your money, and living for one magical day in the future sometime when it will all pay off at once-- the big pay day when you sell the business you're setting yourself up for misery. I've seen the big pay day several times. One business owner I know got $32 million dollars and was disappointed about where his life went, had a mid-life crisis to the extreme and was broke in less than six years. Has a job now- working in sales for the company he built and sold. Another sold for $12 million-- another nice payday-- but again-- missed priceless days of his life, and relationships with his kids, seeing them grow up, and laments that he can't get that time back. What's worse is he still lives like a pauper because that $12MM is all he's got and he's afraid of losing it. Also works a full time job. Blech!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!? And by the way-- when an eventual economic recession, or depression comes (and it will) you better have had some joy in the journey. If all your money is tied up in your traditional, long-term pay day some day business you could watch it evaporate overnight. It's nice to have a recession-proof cash-cow that mooooves right along regardless of market ups and downs-- and may in fact pay better in the down times providing you with money to snatch up some real traditional business bargains.

Avoid the seduction of the large return. I'm a real estate investor, and I've done the fabled "no money down" deals on several occasions. If you know how to calculate cash on cash return, then you know that any return on none of my own money is an infinite return. I don't know about you, but when there are people who'd give their eye teeth to make 12.5% in the market right now, "infinite" just sounds sexy. An infinite return of $100 per month (net) on a zero down property is exciting on paper-- the return is infinite, how can it not sound exciting? But the reality of $100 per month really doesn't arouse the senses the way a warm breeze off the ocean in Tahiti does- and it's tough to do with $100 bucks a month anyway. So, I do BOTH. I hold properties for equity build up, tax advantages, and income- but I also eagerly-- even cheerfully trade away equity for cash NOW.

Build a lifestyle business, even if you have to start another business to do it. I sure as hell didn't start this journey to ultimately become a stressed out penny-organizer. I invest, but I also GIVE freely, take some chances, and enjoy life. As important as managing money, and investing is; I would argue that equally important are the tasks of brainstorming new ideas, and re-thinking your business, break-throughs, opportunities; Developing a wealthy mindset- the psychology of wealth, wealth attraction; and ENJOYING LIFE to the full. Most people I know who start businesses, even those who start out to be financially free, end up bogged down in "management", they do very little, if any, of the mental, intellectual, creative work of wealth, and they do almost ZERO enjoying themselves.

I recommend finding, or starting a business that allows you to take as much cash out as possible. It doesn't matter what it is- vending, eBay, wholesaling, consulting, marketing, etc. Start something that allows you to spend the money, and generate more quickly.

Most of the wealthy people I know that are also happy live this way. We all live better, have far better balanced lives. In addition to real estate, to a person- we've all built additional businesses that allow us to take a lot of cash out-- high margin, low overhead, zero inventory, fluid, flexible marketing businesses to be exact. Not only does it provide a lot more cash out on regular basis than my real estate business does- it also enhances my other endeavors. I'm passionate about my marketing business because it's the real life-style generator.

The over-all point is don't downplay lifestyle. There are people who have indulged at the expense of the business, and paid dearly for it. Horror stories abound, but I've already recounted two "success stories" that are every bit as frightening to me as going broke. I believe pretty strongly that for most of us, self-restraint over-done is eventually destructive-- you're lying to yourself about who you are, and what your needs truly are and you'll eventually "snap" back the other way. A word of caution, too if you're one of those weirdos I never could relate to with hang-ups about getting rich, spending money, or enhancing lifestyle-- get over it. I promise you if you don't, you'll destroy your most precious relationships over it. Do not think that I'm advocating foolish or cavalier attitude towards money, or self-destructive spending ala my friend with the mid-life crisis. I'm simply saying plan to get paid early and often, easily and frequently. Give some away, spend some, and take some calculated risks with some.

Enjoy the journey. Scary fact about life-- it's amazingly fragile, and often short. The journey may be all you get. Don't miss out.