While I was finishing studying engineering and playing volleyball I was introduced to a new and revolutionary concept, the e-commerce. An amazing family took the time and willigness to explain to me, during several months, what they did and what was their most important source of income. And so it was that I learned about this new way of doing business which gives happiness (and money) to so many people around the world.
One of the first concepts that were introduced to me was the Cashflow Quadrant. This concept was created and explained in detail by Robert T. Kiyosaki in his series of Rich Dad books. Basically, the main idea is:
On the left side of the quadrant we see the letter "E" which stands for Employee. In this square, the person has a job and and a boss and the money he or she makes is directly proportional to the amount of working hours.
On the other square on the left side, the "S" represents the Self-Employed, usually professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, etc.) who have no boss since theyare their own boss but at the same time are completely dependent on the hours a day they can work.
Therefore, on the left side of the quadrant, if the employee or the self-employed person doesn't work, he or she doesn't get paid!!!
On the right side of the quadrant, the letter "B" stands for Business Owner. He or she has a system and a group of people working for them and if the Business Owner does not work for a period of time (illness, vacation, etc.), the business will keep running and the money coming in.
Finally, the "I" represent the Investors, those who have money making money. This is the case of renting properties and stocks, among others. We can conclude that on the right side of the Cashflow Quadrant the money keeps coming in whether or not the person is present. This happens because money is generated based on the efforts of other people and/or the good use of money.
It took me a while to understand what all this meant, and specially what it all meant to me: where am I right now? and where would I like to be? are not simple questions. It is even harder, once we actually have the answers to those questions, to learn and take action on HOW am I going to get there.
Other Business Concepts:
Personally, I was lucky to have great teachers on all of these subjects; they have guided me and helped me to understand how to reach and maintain the way of life of my choice. My idea is then to share with you, not only the idea of economic independence, but also the system and the structure that I'm currently using to reach my goals.
If you found any part of this story interesting and you would like to know more about these concepts, please write me to: empresaindependiente@gmail.com and I'll be happy to share more business ideas with you.
