Hey there! Welcome to the Independent Money newsletter 👋 We’ll be exploring the latest financial news and discussing how it affects entrepreneurs like you. Plus, we'll share some awesome wealth creation insights from successful entrepreneurs that you won't find anywhere else.

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In this newsletter, we’ll discuss:

• Inside An Entrepreneur’s Financial Journey: Nick Gray is a serial entrepreneur and best selling author. Today, he gives us an inside look at his personal financial journey and provides advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.

• The Road To A $10+ Million Net Worth: Noah Kagan is a tech entrepreneur with a net worth north of $10 million. Below we’ll highlight some of the key lessons he shared in a video he created that walks us through how he achieved his wealth.

• Financial Wisdom: Alex Hormozi shares a simple yet very true viewpoint on wealth creation.

Inside An Entrepreneur’s Financial Journey: Nick Gray

Hi Everyone! I hope that this newsletter and my introduction is meeting you with a nice cup of coffee or tea or whatever your favorite beverage is. Here is the official bio that is about me when I do fancy speaking gigs or attend conferences:

“Nick Gray is an entrepreneur and best-selling author living in Austin, Texas. He started and sold two successful companies: Flight Display Systems and Museum Hack. Nick is the author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party, a step-by-step handbook that teaches you how to build big relationships by hosting small gatherings. Over 75,000 people have watched his TEDx talk about why he hates most museums. He’s been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Magazine called him a host of “culturally significant parties.”

1. Have you faced any significant financial setbacks or challenges in the past, and how did you overcome them?

I grew up very frugal and I still maintain that mindset. I have always lived beneath my means and had a nice cushion for savings.

Mentally, 2022 was tough because I saw my net worth drop by 30% or 40% after a massive run-up in high-tech stocks where I have most of my investments. That is still a problem of privilege so I do not consider it as a hardship. I am very lucky in life and have my fingers crossed for the future.

2. Following up on that last question, what lessons did you learn from those experiences?

It is easy in hindsight to take some money off of the table but I have also benefited from never selling some of my other stocks. I think I learned to make my investments a little more slowly and to be mindful of valuations. I certainly have also learned a lot more about the interest rate environment.

3. Looking back, is there any financial advice you would give to aspiring entrepreneurs based on your experiences?

Do not raise Venture Capital. Try not to take outside investors. Never have debt if possible. Build a product that is so good that your friends are begging you to pay for it.

Start to work on your business on nights and weekends while you have the safety and security of a full time job.

4. Where can our readers follow you to learn more?

I have a very active blog and I list a bunch of advice for hosting events. You can also find me on almost all of the social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

The Road To A Net Worth Of $10+ Million

Noah Kagan is a tech entrepreneur with a net worth north of $10 million, though it wasn’t an overnight success. He breaks down his entire journey, including the failed businesses he ran and the lessons he learned along the way.

Here are a few of his main tips for building wealth:

1. Get started now: Noah began his career working at Intel. If he had stayed in that job, he would currently have a net worth of $500,000. Instead, he started tinkering with side projects, which led to other opportunities, like becoming #30 at Facebook. Using the skills he learned, he eventually became an entrepreneur running his own business and now has a net worth of $10 million.

2. Live life below your means: Noah always kept his cost of living relatively low. This made it easier for him to experiment with different side projects, and he always had a cushion of savings to fall back on in case something didn’t work out. He even moved to Argentina for a time, where his cost of living was significantly lower than in San Francisco.

3. Most things won’t work: Noah revealed all the businesses he started and tried before landing on AppSumo… and there were over 20!

4. Invest in relationships: Noah hosted conferences and events to meet up with other cool and interesting people. Many of these people became incredibly successful entrepreneurs, like Ramit Sethi, Tim Ferriss, and Andrew Chen, and he still remains friends with them today.

5. Consistency and focus pays off: His net worth skyrocketed when he eliminated other businesses and went all in on the one that was working.

Financial Wisdom

Alex Hormozi recently shared this interesting viewpoint on money:

The good news is that if you can make other people a lot of money, you’ll also receive a percentage of their wealth. So shift your thought process from “how can I make $1 million” to “how can I create $10 million of wealth for others?”

What’s Happening at Carry?

Here’s what you can expect in the coming weeks

See the full list of events here. ⏰

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If you want more resources on building wealth as an solopreneur/entrepreneur, check these out:

• The Solo 401k handbook 

• What is a Solo 401k?

• How to Open a Solo 401k

• Solo 401k Contribution Calculator