It’s not a secret I have always been interested in wealth. Since I was a little kid and watched my mother worry about money I have been interested in learning what the wealthy knew that we didn’t know. I have spent a lifetime studying the differences and been lucky enough to adopt some of the principles that separate the wealthy from almost everyone else.
In one month twenty-six million people in the USA lost their jobs and even more had their pay reduced…the stock market lost trillions in valuation, people worldwide are concerned about their finances and their health…and thirty two million businesses in America had their revenues either stopped or interrupted.
While money won’t buy you happiness, it’s the only thing that pays the rent, health care, toilet paper, mask, food and the like. Unfortunately during this time, like any other crisis, the wealthy will get wealthier and everyone else will end up with less. It’s sad but it’s true. And this redistribution has been happening since the Great Depression (or before) and it makes me question again, how the wealthy treat money differently than others.
HERE ARE MY TEN OBSERVATIONS OF HOW THE WEALTHY VIEW AND TREAT MONEY DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHERS.
The WealthyEveryone Else
1. Money is Good 1. Money is Bad
2. Investors 2. Spenders
3. Uses Debt 3. Used by Debt
4. Money & Happiness 4. Money or Happiness
5. Tax Savvy 5. Tax Victims
6. Seeking Freedom 6. Seeking Comfort
7. Buys Time 7. Sells Time
8. Multiple Flows 8. Single Flow of Income
9. Wealth Driven 9. Income Driven
10. Opportunity Focused 10. Obstacle Focused
I am sure there is more you can add to this list. Add your favorite difference in comments and if you have a question I will do my best to answer. I wrote a book called The Millionaire Booklet that covers these difference in detail and you can get it free.
I trust you will get through this time and are in a better position on the other side.
One more big difference between the wealthy and the non-wealthy is the ability to execute.
They see their small-business clients suffering–and they fear being judged by the actions of others–but Lyfe Marketing’s co-founders are doubling down on optimism and faith in other entrepreneurs.
As nationwide protests against the killing of black Americans by police continue, Inc. has asked black business leaders in or near hot zones to tell us what they are experiencing.
The founders of Atlanta-based Lyfe Marketing were on a high-flying growth trajectory, overseeing digital marketing for more than 400 small businesses and landing the No. 299 spot on the 2019 Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies. But in the past week, Keran Smith and brothers Sean Standberry and Sherman Standberry watched many of their clients suffer from looting sprees. Below, they describe living and working in that atmosphere–and how they will help their community move forward. –As told to Cameron Albert-Deitch
Sherman Standberry: It’s definitely tense. We all live in midtown Atlanta, and this week, I literally saw protests crowding the street that I live on. Businesses by our office building are being vandalized and destroyed. Emotions are definitely high in the city.
It’s tense over the racial issues, and then marrying that with the pandemic: Atlanta had a spike in cases a few weeks ago, so it’s really weird seeing these huge crowds of people gathering despite the health concerns.
Smith: While I’m jogging down the street, I actively see military vehicles, military personnel blocking off highways. That’s something I’ve never seen before.
Sean Standberry: When I step outside my doors, I have this internal fear that I, as a black man, may be judged by the actions of others.
Internally, at our company, I feel really encouraged. We do stand for diversity, and we stand for equality, and our team is really just one unit. When we see stuff in the outside world fragment and pull apart, our team pulls together even stronger–communicating more, smiling more, uplifting each other more, putting inspirational quotes in chats, and stuff like that.
But it does worry me when I step outside of that environment and face the real world, so to speak.
Smith: I think we’ve done a good job at doing our work when it’s time to do work. And then keeping any emotions we have outside of that, during that time. It’s a luxury to be able to do that. There are a lot of people who are protesting at 1 p.m. because that’s what they are called to do in that time.
Sean Standberry: The business has been an escape route. It’s something that I love. Just being able to escape in the world of business, work hard for a better future, is really the only thing that’s keeping me sane right now.
We stand for peaceful protests. We don’t stand for the opposite–the rioting and the looting. It’s truly something that’s destroying our community before our eyes. It’s hurting small businesses, and that’s the part that directly affects us, because our mission as an agency is to help small businesses grow.
We’ve had several clients who’ve been abused by rioters. I got a call this week from a client with many offices downtown in Atlanta. They’ve all been broken into, looted. We’re trying to be as flexible as possible, as understanding as possible, with clients like that. We’re likely going to have to pause advertising campaigns, stop marketing, and just try to give our clients solutions in terms of how to get back on their feet.
Sherman Standberry: I don’t think our roles as leaders have changed. If anything, it reemphasized what I care about. For me personally, as a black business owner, I’ve always known the risk and the challenges that we face. I use my voice to encourage people–and in some cases, explain to people how to best deal with it in a peaceful way.
Smith: Now more than ever, equality is important. Diversity is important. Loving everyone equally is important. Diversity of a company’s infrastructure is important, because it promotes loving everyone equally. If your company, your board, your team doesn’t have a diverse nature, what does that say to the world around you? Your actions in this time promote what you believe.
Sean Standberry: We move forward with more hope, more optimism that the entrepreneurs and small businesses we work with aren’t pushover types of people. These are fighters. They’re going to keep going to work, keep repairing. They’re going to figure out how to operate even when it doesn’t look possible. We’ll support them in any way we can.
In the wake of nationwide protests against the killing of black Americans by police, Inc. asked black business leaders in or near hot zones to tell us what they are experiencing.
Tomme Beevas co-founded his Twin Cities-based Pimento Jamaican Kitchen with just a gas grill and a $99 tent from Target. The Jamaican native moved to the U.S. in 1999 to study economics and political science. He would come home from his corporate job–leading community involvement at Cargill–and fire up his backyard grill to create the tastes of home. It ignited a business. Beevas and his neighbor Yoni Reinharz launched Pimento Jamaican Kitchen in 2012 and quickly gained recognition–the duo won on the Food Network’s reality competition show Food Court Wars a year later. Now the pair have a Minneapolis restaurant, a St. Paul eatery, an outpost in the Minneapolis TCF Bank Stadium, and a food truck. The company has grown revenue by20 percent annually and booked more than $2 million in revenue last year, Beevas told Inc.
On Sunday, Beevas and his team turned the Minneapolis location into a donation and staging center for essential supplies like masks, gloves, food, and water. The protests made it difficult for people to get crucial goods, prompting Beevas to issue a call on Twitter asking for supplies. He shares how he’s faced threats against his business and how he’s continued to give back to his community. –As told to Emily Canal
Since Covid-19, we’ve had to close our St. Paul location. We also haven’t been able to open our stadium location or food truck this year. We had carryout at our Minneapolis location and were allowed to slowly open on June 1.
The next pandemic we had to focus on was black people being murdered by police officers in this country. We’ve traditionally stayed out of it, but it’s gone on for too long now. Why should I stay quiet to protect my business when people are already on the front lines trying to protect my life? What’s the purpose of having a business if I don’t have a life?
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We saw the need to step up. We closed the restaurant’s food services on Sunday to focus on relief services. Neighbors and people from around the world have been sending Amazon orders filled with things our community needs. We’re getting supplies and passing them directly to our community because grocery stores are closed. We’ve been able to feed 2,000 neighbors between Thursday and Tuesday.
We knew that by putting ourselves out there, we would naturally be a target. We planned for that. We know there are people out there who don’t want to see a black business or a black business leader have this much influence. By being in a leadership [role] and taking care of our community, there are people who are like, “That’s not the way that should be.”
There have been numerous messages about people targeting us. But we haven’t had anyone successfully attack us directly. We’re fully prepared. We’re protecting people first and protecting the property second. The only reason we are protecting the property is because it’s a symbol for the community. Because of the resources for our community that we have in our facility. We’re ensuring that the people who need food can get the supplies and equipment that have been donated.
Locals donate essential goods for community members affected by the protests in Minneapolis. CAITLIN ABRAMS
Someone posted a video of an employee on TikTok and the comments range from “great that you’re doing that” to “he’s looting” and “we need to take this guy out.”
As a black man in America, we have always lived with the threats and comments being made. In my ultra-liberal, ultra-educated, and ultra-affluent community, I fear taking my garbage out every single night. The fear that I could be targeted, or the restaurant could be targeted, is an everyday occurrence in our lives in America. That’s why we’re at the forefront ensuring that it never happens again. I think it’s about damn time all of us are able to walk in peace in our neighborhood and not fear our own neighbors calling the police on us.
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I lost a former employee to police brutality. I’d always known him to have mental health issues. He had his neighbors call the police because he was threatening to hurt himself. The police came, and before they even engaged him, he was dead. They killed him. That is the reality that is pervasive within our society.
We are in this for the long haul; we’re going to solve this permanently. Not just for convictions [of policemen who have committed crimes], but we’re also expecting a change in legislation ensuring we have long-term, sustainable peace and safety for all citizens in Minneapolis.
The world is much different than it was just 60 days ago.
New words never heard before such as “social distancing” and “self quarantine” are now the norm.
Regardless of what Covid19 or Coronavirus actually is, or where it came from, the effects on the people of the world will be around for a long time to come.
Just because economies are beginning to open up in different countries including the United States, does not mean things are going back to the way they were.
There is no going back.
Supply chains have been broken from China and will not be fixed.
The United States in particular will have to reinvent itself and in some ways go back to the way things were back in the 1970’s.
The trades such as carpenter’s, mechanics, tool & die maker’s, and many more will be once again in demand.
The United States must become a producer nation instead of a consumer nation.
We have got to start making things like we did decades ago.
There are those who do not have the skills of a tradesman, but still need to be able to survive in this new environment or the “new economy”.
For them, the best option would be to start a business or businesses from home.
Even though states and countries are beginning to open up, does not mean people will want to go back to work.
Covid19 has really affected people psychologically, if nothing else.
For them and many others, it is time to learn new skills and market them online.
This can be done by taking online classes in digital marketing or by using a digital marketing platform not only to learn new skills, but also to learn how to make money with them and teach others and share your new found knowledge.
TW3 is one of the best platforms available to do this.
You can also begin writing a book and then publishing it online.
There are literally thousands of ways to make money online.
Even people like self made millionaire and real estate expert Grant Cardone will have to change the way he does business.
Cardone is primarily in the apartment business which should be safe even during difficult times, but these times are not your typical recession.
The banks were already in trouble going back to September 2019 with the freeze up in the Repo markets.
Covid19 is just another issue that will make it more difficult for you to survive and thrive.
Millions of renters are not going to pay their rent because they have been out of work and quarantined like everyone else.
Don’t look to Washington for help.
They don’t care about you in D.C.
You have got to rely on yourself, family, and friends to work together, and think for yourself.
There is nothing but fear porn on T.V. and social media.
Unless you are making money by being on social media, I would advise you to stay away.
A $1200 check won’t go very far especially with food prices on the rise.
The banks once again got bailed out to the tune of trillions just like in 2008 and Mr. & Mrs. America get a measly $1200 check.
It may not seem fair, but, life isn’t fair.
Take action today and make concrete steps to walk on and build a business from home.
Jeffrey L. Klump is a writer, blogger, digital marketer, work from home business opportunity specialist, and former member of the Guardian Angels St. Louis Chapter.
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