448: Income is Different from Wealth

When I talk about the mathematical Wealth Formula, I describe it as Wealth = Leverage (Mass X Velocity). For you physics geeks out there, you can see that I’m ripping off Newton a little bit. In this equation, velocity is your rate of return and leverage is debt such as a mortgage that amplifies positive returns. Mass is simply the amount of money you actually invest. Mass is critically important. After all, if you don’t invest any of your money, it doesn’t matter how good the other variables are.  Now luckily most in the Wealth Formula community have plenty of mass. Our community is made up of a lot of high paid professionals. Income is not typically our main problem—it’s the other variables that help turn that income into wealth that provide us with our biggest challenges. I tend to think of my businesses as the fuel that ignites my investments that then turn into wealth. The more fuel I’ve got, the more ability I have to grow my wealth. Imagine me shoveling cash from my businesses into a bunch of real estate to keep the wealth churning—that’s literally how I think about it. Now you may be quite happy with the amount of money you are able to put into your investments, but if you’re not, one option is to consider is start or buy a business.  There’s no doubt that businesses require more work. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. However, that’s also the reason they tend to cash flow more. There are a lot more variables in businesses making them more risky then a piece of brick and mortar. And because there is more risk, there is more reward. Nevertheless, it might be a risk worth taking. And if you are not a start-up type or need a little bit more structure, franchising might be worth looking into. This week’s guest on Wealth Formula Podcast is an expert on franchises and gives us all the ins and outs you need to know to determine whether you should consider it for yourself. 08:10 Franchising in Uncertain Times 12:53 Return Profile on Franchises 16:59 Advantages of Franchising Compared to Buying a Business 20:42 Partnerships and Hiring in Franchising 24:33 Initial Capital Investment in Franchising