Value Comes From Operating

One of the books that shaped how I think about money was Robert Kiyosaki's Increase Your Financial IQ. The premise that stuck: if you own something, the best way to generate income from it is to operate it well - better than your competition.

That idea lodged somewhere in the back of my mind and quietly influenced the path I've been on since.

Today, I'm a full-time investor with a portfolio of 9 companies. I'm not a passive shareholder in any of them. I work alongside each leadership team to drive results. The returns come from operating, not just owning.

But how do you get there?

For me, it wasn't a straight line. It was a series of stepping stones - each one building skills I didn't know I'd need later.

• College: I majored in financial economics and minored in rhetoric. Translation - I liked numbers and I liked talking about them.

• Agency: I started Pneuma, a marketing agency. It taught me how to sell, how to deliver, how to manage people, and how to run a P&L under pressure.

• Portfolio: When I sold Pneuma, I had the capital and the operating skills to step into something bigger.

Why an agency?

A good friend of mine, Tim Stoddart, wrote about this recently - and it's worth reading if you're considering the path. Link here

His take: agencies aren't sexy, but they generate cash. Fast. And cash gives you options.

I'd add one thing. Agencies don't just produce cash - they produce skills. Client management. Hiring. Firing. Pricing. Scope creep. Difficult conversations. You get reps on all of it in compressed time.

And my favorite part - all of those skills transfer elsewhere. The same skills I used to run a small agency transfer to managing 8 figures in revenue and nearly 100 employees.

If you're stuck - whether in a 9-5 or running something that feels like a dead end - consider an agency. There's no better business to learn with, grow with, scale with, and maybe even sell.

The point isn't to stay there forever. The point is to use it as a launchpad