The income inequality gap continues to grow wider every day. The rich are getting richer while the poor become poorer. Although it seems unfair, the truth is that the rich seem to have found a secret, in fact, many secrets that are setting them apart from the rest of us and here are the the strategies they are using to do just that!
Number 1: They Know Their Value
The first reason why the rich are getting richer is that they know their value. Rich people know their value and because of that, they are more confident than the poor are. They believe that they deserve to be rich so they do everything possible to make it happen. The amount of value you can contribute determines the amount of money you will be paid. However, poor people usually don’t know their value. Some of them may even get angry when they see rich people because they believe they don’t deserve to be that rich. However, money always goes to people who have value. Since the rich know their value, it makes it easy for them to make more money than the poor.
The rich are getting richer not just because they know their value but, they also will not accept anything less than that. They place high value on their time and they undertake more productive activities than the poor do. For instance, rich people will spend their extra time learning new things or reading books. However, a poor person will see it as an opportunity to have fun without doing anything that will help them increase their value.
Other people see the rich as valuable because they first see themselves as valuable. They have been able to use this to their advantage to promote themselves. Since they know their value, they use every opportunity that they have to tell others about what they can do. They sell their ideas to others confidently because they know what they are worth. Also, they don’t wait for others to promote them or give them opportunities. They sell themselves and create the opportunities they desire!
Number 2: They Over-deliver
The rich understand that the growth of any business is dependent on their customers. The rich understand this so they do everything possible to retain their old customers and gain new ones. One way they go about this is to over-deliver. They always make sure that they go beyond the expectation of their customers. For instance, if a customer is expecting a product in 3 days, rich people will find a means to deliver the product in a lesser timeframe. This will make their customers see them as being efficient and reliable, and they will be willing to do more business with them.
However, poor people do the opposite. Poor people make many promises that they cannot fulfill and at the end of the day, they end up doing a job that is below the expectations of their customers. In a bid to attract more customers, poor people may tell lies about what they can do. They may tell a customer that they are able to deliver a product in two days whereas it will take them nothing less than four days. Customers will soon lose trust in such people and they will avoid them the next time.
Rich people never reveal their true potential to their customers in an effort to appease them with good service. They under-promise and over-deliver. They go out of their way to give extra effort that will go beyond the expectations of their customers. They know the value of building good relationships with other people and they know that the only way to get more is by doing more so they do it without minding what it will cost them.
Number 3: They Consistently Hone Their Craft
Another reason why the rich are getting richer is, rich people always want to be the best at whatever they do. They don’t rely on what they already know and instead consistently hone their craft. They know that if they want to stay relevant then they must consistently keep themselves up to date. Most rich people will pay any amount to improve their skills because they know that at the end of the day, the reward will be greater than the price they paid. Poor people on the other hand will complain and whine about the cost of learning new skills because they don’t know the value of offering a premium service.
One way the rich hone their craft is by reading. One may wonder why they still have to read when they have a lot of money. Most millionaires and billionaires spend a large part of their days reading books. They do this to develop and keep themselves informed. They are eager to learn and grow. They don’t just read novels or other entertainment books, their library contains books in self-help, business, history and the like.
Sadly, the only qualification that most people have today is their degree and they wonder why they are not getting richer. While it is good to get a degree, it is never enough if you want to become rich. The world is changing and people are rewarded for what they can do and not what they learned in school. Rich people don’t rely on formal education alone. They engage in self-education and learn new things all the time. Someone who studied computer science in school 20 years ago and relies only on that edification, will not be as relevant as another person who consistently takes courses in computer science. The only way to stay relevant in any field is to hone your craft consistently. The knowledge you acquired in school is constantly changing and the world around you is evolving so you must stay up to date.
Number 4: They Don’t Expect Anything For Free
The rich believe that there is no such thing as a free lunch so they work hard for their money. By working hard, I do not mean that they do the hardest jobs but they work for long hours and show up consistently. They don’t sit down and just wish they had more money. They know that if money is what they want then they must be ready to work hard for it.
Rich people always think of ways to create value. They know that the more value that they create the more money they will make. The rich also develop their value, that’s why most poor people are major consumers while rich people are producers.
The rich also know that there is a price for anything that they want and they are always willing to pay. They don’t expect to go to the market and suddenly find out that everything is now free. Therefore, they work hard and make enough money to pay their bills and still have enough left to save and invest.
Number 5: They Are Confident In Their Abilities
Rich people have learned to develop confidence in their abilities. They know what they are capable of doing and what they cannot do. They also do not doubt themselves as most people do. They know that their abilities are what made them rich in the first place so, they take pride in them. Their confidence in their abilities is what makes people easily trust them and be willing to do business with them.
It is true that the rich are not necessarily the most skillful people. Some poor people have the ability to do things that rich people can’t but what differentiates them from the rich is the confidence they have in their abilities. Because of this, poor people will only talk casually about their abilities because they don’t believe in themselves. A rich person with similar abilities as a poor person can spend hours telling others about him or herself. The rich use every opportunity they have to show others how they can use their ability to help them. This simple act of confidence is one of the major differences between the rich and the poor.
Hence, the rich are good salespeople because of their confidence. They learn to sell themselves at every opportunity they have. Poor people who are not confident will most of the time avoid telling anybody about what they do. But at every opportunity, the rich are always eager to tell someone about what they do. For instance, most rich people network with others, engage them in conversation and ask questions about the other person. They do this to build relationships and increase their network. They look out for problems people are faced with and then offer high-end solutions. This is a very common reason why the rich are getting richer.
Number 6: They Earn and Re-invest
One other secret as to why the rich are getting richer is that they earn and reinvest. Rich people don’t spend everything they earn. They always keep a part of their profit and reinvest the remaining to make more profit. They understand that if they want to earn more money then they need to reinvest to build for tomorrow.
There is a popular story of Warren Buffett and his high school friend. The two of them bought a used pinball machine and installed it in a barber’s shop. People loved the game and soon enough it became very popular, so much so that that they began to earn a profit from its use. What they did was reinvest their profit back into the business by buying more pinball machines. They eventually sold the business and used those profits to fund their next endeavour.
When poor people make a profit they usually spend it on things that are not productive. They spend it on liabilities and not on assets. For example, poor people may buy a new car when they make more money instead of reinvesting the money and expanding their business. The rich on the other hand will reinvest their earning and expand their business. They also spend their profit on buying assets rather than buying things that will take away money from them.
Number 7: They Know How To Protect Their Money
Making more money is important but it is not enough if you don’t know how to keep that money. What makes one wealthy is not the amount of money they make but, the amount they have after spending. Rich people are getting richer because they don’t only know how to make more money, they also know how to protect their money.
The only way poor people protect their money is to put all of it in a savings account because they think that is the safest place to store their cash. But, saving all your money in a bank is really not the safest way to protect it. The value of the money will reduce over time due to inflation and when this happens, you will get back the same amount of money you put in the bank but, the value would have reduced as the cost of living increases over time. It’s not like rich people place absolutely no money in savings accounts but they ensure that the majority of it is stored effectively. Rich people find and use better means to protect their money, that’s why they keep getting richer.
For instance, rich people protect their money by putting it into multiple investments and businesses. They understand that having multiple investments will protect their money from unexpected financial situations. They also have businesses that do not only protect their money but also multiply it.
The rich are getting richer…and now you know why!