Jamieson Lee Hill, July 16th 2023

Success stories are often the stuff of myths. Let’s explore 7 reasons why you don’t have to build a multi-billion dollar empire like Elon Musk to make something of your life.

Success Stories Galore!

In today’s world, we seem to be perpetually bombarded with the latest news about how much richer Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Elon Musk all are. Especially sickening for those who had a torrid time during the lockdowns. But have you ever questioned the myth that is forced upon us that being a multi-billionaire is the ideal dream?

Every week you see a story of an entrepreneur who started a small business  and went on to be worth a billion. Now there is nothing wrong with being driven and ambitious like Elon Musk. Setting your targets high is an admirable thing and running a global multinational may make you feel happy and fulfilled. Nevertheless, being a billionaire is not necessarily the El Dorado that the media promises. You may prefer a life of passive incomes from automated businesses that provide a lifetime of cash flow but with a lower profile.

Becoming a multi-billionaire tycoon building a space race to Mars like Elon Musk’s Space X, or launching satellites or producing electric cars like the Tesla CEO is not for everyone. Focusing on local markets and running an SME can still generate considerable wealth, but without the stress of a billion dollar global empire. Oh and don’t believe the hype on social media that the famous and super rich people post about perfect lives. Even Elon doesn't buy into it:

"Some of the happiest seeming people — actually some of the saddest people in reality,"

ELON MUSK 

International Fame Comes At a Price

If your brand gains global fame, then you may have to kiss goodbye to your privacy. Be ready for the media glare and journalists persistently trying to interview you.  Worldwide success as an entrepreneur often means media attention and hiding away will be hard as Elon will testify. Plus, prepare for any gaffes you make, cue Elon Musk’s Twitter debacles, e.g. cannabis remarks that hit share prices.

SMEs Are The Backbone of the World Economy

If you believed the global media, you would be inclined to think that Microsoft, Apple and Google have the most influence on people’s daily lives. But the actual truth is they are often faceless giants in comparison with the daily interactions people have with SMES in their communities. SMEs are the backbone of the world economy. Also, small and medium-sized businesses may serve your locality with charity projects as forces of positive change. SMEs might not make billions each year but they are still an essential part of the local and national economy. 

Running A Billion Dollar Company Means Complications and Stress 

Expanding your business to be a billion dollar operation means the whole process becomes much more complicated. For one thing, operating in different countries means you need experts to ensure align with the culture of each location. Also, you have to comply with local legislation and taxation, so that means lawyers and accounting professionals.

You will also have to recruit new staff, so you will need a bigger HR team. Global success quickly means a steep learning curve; you go from leading a small team to having hundreds or thousands of staff. Each decision you make has the potential to affect many different lives. Plus off-the-cuff, Elonesque remarks could have a big impact on share prices and jobs.

Alternatively, having an automated online business in cleaning, digital marketing or beauty can bring in regular cash flow every month without the stress of global expansion or managing big teams. You won’t earn billions but you can still earn hundreds of thousands of dollars or pounds a year or even millions, but minus the stress of leading a multinational like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

More People Prefer To Support Their Local Businesses

When it started out the ‘Buy Local, Think Global’ movement was relatively small. This motto for sustainable eating has since become a global movement. The truth is a lot of people got fed up with the dominance of multinationals and preferred the competition of local and national SMEs. Also, it gave consumers a choice to shop locally and feel good about supporting local businesses. Visiting the local baker or wine merchant is not like ordering from some faceless and impersonal multinational. 

It is healthy for SMES to take their share of the market and it puts money into the local and national economy and secures jobs for locals. Setting up your own Digital Marketing or Facebook Social media firm is a great way to be part of the SME economy. Or another popular trend is to run a Networking Events Company.

So whilst creating eco-friendly, electric cars and building civilisations on other planets (Elon Musk on Mars) may be exciting, it is the SMES that are the backbone of the community, not Elon’s Tesla or SpaceX Mars

Be Driven By Passion Not Money

Ask Elon about his own motivations. Elon may be on the world’s richest people, but he was driven to get into business by a passion and purpose to bring about change. It wasn’t just about becoming a famous billionaire. Those were by-products of his determination and focus.

The takeaway for us all is to focus on what you love, not on becoming a billionaire and thinking that is the ultimate goal. You can still be rich without all the stress. Elon Musk was thinking about the impact of his businesses rather than becoming outrageously rich:

“I didn’t go into the rocket business, the car business or the solar business thinking this is a great opportunity, I just thought, in order to make a difference, something needed to be done. I wanted to have an impact. I wanted to create something substantially better than what came before.”

ELON MUSK

Still Not Convinced?

A day doesn’t go by without hearing about Elon Musk and cryptocurrency or some tale of Elon Musk’s companies. If it is not Elon, it is Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos blasted cross the pages of international media. So despite the ground we’ve covered, you may still be itching to be the next Elon Musk and have your own billion dollar empire. If that is the case, we don’t want to put you off. But just realise that the media is piping more hype per second than rice is eaten in South East Asia about the billionaire dream because it brings in readers. Instead, base your success and happiness on the goals that matter to you and don’t be drawn into the media hype. 

There are plenty of ways you can set up and run automated online businesses which will make you 6 or 7 figures a year. Plus you can retire before you’re 40 in many cases. But that doesn't have to be at the expense of your privacy or being stressed out running a global empire. Running a small online businesses is often the best choice for a better quality of life, rather than false dreams of multi-billion dollar empires.

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