I should be reading more books to improve myself. But the only thing I read lately are things that are online. OK, I know this is bad habit. I should go back to reading more books again. Got several books on the shelf waiting for me to read.

Anyway, one of my favorite book is “Rich Dad’s Before You Quit Your Job” by Robert Kiyosaki. And yes, I read that book before I quit my previous job. It is a very good read and I would suggest it to everybody, even if you don’t have the intention to quit your current job and start your own business.

One of the most important thing that I’ve learn from that book is the The Cashflow Quadrant. Basically, there are 4 groups of people:

E: Employee — Working for someone else.
S: Small business owner — Where a person owns his own job and is his own boss.
B: Business owner — Where a person owns a “system” of making money, rather than a job to make money.
I: Investor — Spending money in order to receive a larger payout in.

I will not say too much about the 4 groups here. You should read Robert Kiyosaki’s book to learn more about it. (There is another book called “Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad’s Guide to Financial Freedom” which I also highly recommend) But in summary, the gold mine is at the ‘B’ and the ‘I’. That is where you should aim if you want to get rich and retire early.

Here is the problem: most Singapore entrepreneur, including myself, belongs to the ‘S’ group instead of the ‘B’ group where we should strive to be. We own our job. We are our business. Remove ourselves from the company and it can’t operate.

There is a need for startup to change. It’s hard for a startup to move from ‘S’ to ‘B’. But it is a step that all entrepreneur must try or risk closing down. A company shouldn’t be too dependent on a single person. It should be able to operate with or without the person. If the person is not there, another person should be able to take up the role with ease and operate as per normal. Just like Starbucks, where you can change the barista anytime and the coffee still taste the same. (Or at least almost the same)

Make your business a Starfish. A company which you can cut off the arm and it will regenerate and function like normal.

Related posts:

1. The next book
2. Review of my 2007 resolution
3. Review of my 2007 New Year Resolution
4. Why We Want You To Be Rich
5. Not my type of retirement