• Tribute to Charlie Munger - 3 investment Nuggets Charlie Munger left behind

• How to start a business with no money and no idea

• Interesting read: If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes

• Tweet of the week

3 Investment Nuggets Charlie Munger Left Behind

Charlie Munger died last month at the age of 99. Munger hailed from Omaha just like his business partner of over 50 years, Warren Buffet. But although the two men became friends and business partners much later on in life, it seemed certain they were fated to cross each other paths. As teens, they both worked at a grocery store owned by Buffet’s grandfather.

As adults, they both worked in one of the most successful conglomerates Berkshire Hathaway. Munger remained Warren Buffet’s right-hand man and together both men grew the company to what it is today. During this time, Warren Buffet learned a lot from Munger and despite having a much larger fortune than his friend and business partner, Buffet was quick to give Munger the accolades he deserved stating that Charlie Munger had given him a “better life.”

Buffet went on to say that “Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom, and participation. Here are 3 things you can learn from the legendary investor and polymath.

#1. Learn, Learn, and Learn some more - “I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than they were when they got up and boy does that help, particularly when you have a long run ahead of you.”

Charlie Munger broadened the scope of his knowledge earning him the reputation of a polymath. It turns out the secret to his success wasn’t anything extraordinary. Knowledge adds up over time and through learning, ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results.

Continued…..

#2. Patience - “The big money is not in the buying and the selling but in the waiting.” As an investor, one of Charlie Munger’s strategies was to buy and hold for years, giving his investments enough time to grow. His patience paid off greatly. Not everybody is cut out this way.

Most investors and even entrepreneurs prefer to swing in and out of the market. While this may be a profitable strategy, it leaves a lot of what-ifs on the table. You need patience to see the full potential of an investment whether it is stocks or business. But it doesn’t end there, according to Munger, when it is time to strike, you must do so aggressively.

#3. Be prepared at all times - “I always knew from when I was a little boy that the opportunities that were important that were going to come to me were few and that the trick was to prepare myself for seizing the few that came.”

Munger was very selective when it concerned investments that interested him. To an onlooker, this could be interpreted as missing opportunities. But Munger knew too well that not everything that seemed like an opportunity was truly an opportunity. In between waiting for the right opportunity and attacking it aggressively, Munger would spend his time sharpening his sword.

Whether you an an investor, or an entrepreneur, it goes without saying that knowledge and patience are two indispensable tools in your arsenal. And like Munger said, genuine opportunities are rare and only those who are prepared can take advantage of such opportunities when it comes.

How to start a business with no money and no idea

When it comes to starting a business, every entrepreneur knows that it is almost impossible to do so without money. Aside from money, the second most important element for any aspiring entrepreneur is a good idea. Most entrepreneurs struggle with one or the other. If you have money, you may find yourself struggling to come up with a great business idea. If you have a good idea, then you may likely be struggling to raise some money. Thankfully, there are options like crowdfunding that make raising money a little bit easier.

But, what if I told you that you can start a business without money or a great business idea?

You may think there is a catch. Well, there is. I first came across a similar question on Quora and I needed to dig deeper so I started searching for answers. Surprisingly, the answer wasn’t at all that complicated. In fact, the very first result on Google answered my question.

“Start a Service-based business”

So what is a service business? To put it simply, you have a skill that people are willing to pay you for. If you are good at doing something but feel nobody will be willing to pay for it, you might be surprised at just how wrong you are. Also, if you believe you don’t have any skill in particular, then find one that interests you and learn it.

Learning a new skill to start a business is far less expensive than say trying to open an online store, starting a blog, or becoming an affiliate marketer. With platforms like YouTube, it is very possible to learn a new skill without having to pay a dime. The only catch here is that you will have to dedicate a good amount of time to learning any skill if you want to be good enough to get paid for it.

Once you have acquired the skill, then it is all about selling yourself. Thanks to social media and freelance platforms like Upwork, it has become very easy to put yourself out there and get seen, for free. So rather than beating yourself up for not having a good enough idea or money to start a business, why not learn a skill, generate enough income, and then use that to fund any other business idea you may have?

Remember, it doesn’t have to be anything complex, just make sure whatever skill you picked is one you are passionate about. It’s this passion that will drive you to success.

Interesting Read - If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes

Stop and ask yourself one question. Are you satisfied with where you are? If the answer to this question is a big fat NO. Then here is something you have to do. Pick up a book and pen and write down what you need to change in your present reality to get you the reality you envisage for yourself.

Change is something we may not really like to think of or even practice but the truth is, if you need to go from Point A to Point B, something needs to change. It reminds me of the First Law of Motion which says “A body will remain in a state of rest or motion unless acted upon by a force”. You will remain where you are if you do not act.

Your action is the force required to cause the change you want to see. Now how far your action takes you depends on how badly you need this change. Let me chip in another law of motion here - Action and reaction are equal and opposite. The further you want to go, the greater the force required. 

So what is it going to be? Are you willing to put in the work that will cause the change you wish to see in your life and business?

This section was inspired by a Medium article titled - If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes. Click here to read the full article.

Tweet of the week

Calm seas don’t make good sailors and that’s as true for sailors as it is for entrepreneurs. If you bend to every wind of criticism that comes your way as an entrepreneur, then you are never going to leave your mark. You need to know when to take a stand and accept that not everyone will take your side, and that is perfectly fine.