In college I first heard Jason Fried from Basecamp talk about how making money is a skill—like playing the drums or piano—that you can get better at over time. That resonated with me immediately. I wouldn’t expect to be able to sit down at a piano for the first time and immediately play a concerto.
在大学里，我第一次听到 Basecamp 的杰森·弗里德 (Jason Fried) 谈论赚钱是一种技能，就像打鼓或弹钢琴一样，随着时间的推移，你可以变得更好。这立即引起了我的共鸣。我没想到能够第一次坐在钢琴前并立即演奏一首协奏曲。
We could outline the progression to mastering a musical instrument, so we should also be able to do the same with earning a living.
我们可以概述掌握乐器的进展，因此我们也应该能够在谋生方面做同样的事情。
What lessons do you need to learn to go from odd jobs around the neighborhood to owning a real estate empire? From working as a freelancer to selling your own digital products? What about from working at Wendy’s to owning a SaaS company earning over $1 million per month? That last one is my own path.
从在附近打零工到拥有一个房地产帝国，你需要学习哪些经验教训？从自由职业者到销售自己的数字产品？从在 Wendy’s 工作到拥有一家每月收入超过 100 万美元的 SaaS 公司怎么样？最后一条是我自己的路。
There’s a reliable progression that anyone can take to earn more and build wealth. In fact, I like to think of it as a series of ladders side by side. Each one can climb to different heights in both the quality of business and potential earnings.
任何人都可以采取可靠的进步来赚取更多并积累财富。事实上，我喜欢将其视为一系列并排的梯子。每个人在业务质量和潜在收入方面都可以攀登到不同的高度。
In this model the potential earnings increase the higher up each ladder you climb. They also increase as you move left to right to more advanced ladders. But the difficulty increases with each move as well.
在这个模型中，你攀登的阶梯越高，潜在收入就会增加。当您从左向右移动到更高级的梯子时，它们也会增加。但难度也会随着每一步的增加而增加。
Each step requires that you learn new skills to overcome those new challenges. Let’s break down a few of those skills and opportunities at each stage:
每一步都需要您学习新技能来克服这些新挑战。让我们分解一下每个阶段的一些技能和机会：
Time for money 赚钱的时间
Our first ladder is trading time for money. This is how most people you know earn a living. It may start with an hourly job working for Starbucks, but then transition into a salaried position working at a company.
我们的第一个阶梯是以时间换取金钱。这就是您认识的大多数人谋生的方式。它可能会从在星巴克工作的小时工开始，然后过渡到在公司工作的带薪职位。
At the most basic level you need the skills of:
在最基本的层面上，您需要具备以下技能：
- Showing up consistently 持续出现
- Being reliable 可靠
- Learning new skills on the job
在工作中学习新技能
Every job, even the most entry level, require those three things.
每项工作，即使是最低级别的工作，都需要这三件事。
Then in order to take the next step up the ladder you will need to specialize in certain skills (design, copywriting, legal, becoming a nurse, etc) to gain a salaried position.
然后，为了在阶梯上更进一步，您将需要专注于某些技能（设计、文案、法律、成为一名护士等）以获得带薪职位。
Your own service business
您自己的服务业务
If you choose to make the jump to the next ladder of running your own services business there’s an entirely new set of skills you need to learn that build on the last step. Things like:
如果您选择跳到经营自己的服务业务的下一个阶梯，那么您需要在最后一步的基础上学习一套全新的技能。像：
- Setting up a company 成立公司
- Finding clients 寻找客户
- Creating proposals 创建提案
- Pricing services 定价服务
- Hiring employees 雇用员工
- Establishing an online presence
建立在线形象 - Accounting, finance, business operations, etc
会计、财务、商业运营等
Looking back there are so many things that seem easy and intuitive now (such as filing for an LLC with the Secretary of State) that were daunting to me at the time.
回想起来，有很多现在看起来简单直观的事情（例如向国务卿申请有限责任公司）当时对我来说是令人畏惧的。
This is also where many business owners expand beyond their ability and start to lose the lessons they should have mastered from the previous ladder like being reliable and showing up consistently. Which is how a friend of mine with no plumbing experience bought a small plumbing company and doubled revenue in the first year with two simple changes:
这也是许多企业主超越自己能力的地方，并开始失去他们应该从之前的阶梯中掌握的经验教训，例如可靠和始终如一的表现。我的一个没有管道经验的朋友就是这样购买了一家小型管道公司，并通过两个简单的改变在第一年使收入翻倍：
- Following up with customers
跟进客户 - Doing what he said he was going to do
做他说他要做的事
As business owners we underestimate just how much there is to learn so we get overwhelmed and start dropping the ball on the basics.
作为企业主，我们低估了需要学习的东西，因此我们不知所措，开始在基础知识上犯错。
Productized services 产品化服务
Up until now each sale has been made by talking to customers or an employer directly in person or over the phone or email. But to truly reach new levels of income you need to learn a different lesson: how to sell without ever talking to the customer.
到目前为止，每笔销售都是通过直接亲自或通过电话或电子邮件与客户或雇主交谈来完成的。但要真正达到新的收入水平，您需要学习不同的课程：如何在不与客户交谈的情况下进行销售。
Our goal is to scale sales to new levels. That means removing every possible bottleneck. On the productized service we’ll remove the sales bottleneck, then on the next ladder we’ll remove the product delivery bottleneck.
我们的目标是将销售额扩大到新的水平。这意味着消除所有可能的瓶颈。在产品化服务上我们将消除销售瓶颈，然后在下一个阶梯上我们将消除产品交付瓶颈。
A productized service is when we take a set offering (e.g. search engine consulting) and bundle it up as a set offering with a fixed price (an SEO site audit for $1,000).
产品化服务是指我们采用一套产品（例如搜索引擎咨询）并将其捆绑为固定价格的一套产品（SEO 网站审核费用为 1,000 美元）。
A few examples include:
一些例子包括：
- A designer moving from designing websites at $100 per hour to charging a $2,500 for designing a 5 page website.
一名设计师从每小时 100 美元的网站设计费用转变为设计 5 页网站的收费 2,500 美元。 - A video editor charging $250 per video instead of $50 per hour.
视频编辑器每个视频收费 250 美元，而不是每小时 50 美元。 - A handyman charging $50 per visit rather than an hourly rate.
杂工每次上门收费 50 美元，而不是按小时收费。
Because the project scope and price are fixed the service provider will make more on some projects than others, but the profits will average out.
由于项目范围和价格是固定的，服务提供商在某些项目上的收入将高于其他项目，但利润会趋于平均。
On this ladder we need to learn:
在这个阶梯上我们需要学习：
- Writing sales copy that can make a sale without talking to the customer
撰写无需与客户交谈即可完成销售的销售文案 - Designing a sales page (or hiring experts to do it for you)
设计销售页面（或聘请专家为您完成） - Processing online payments
处理在线支付 - Standardizing systems to deliver repeatable quality with each service
标准化系统，为每项服务提供可重复的质量
If you choose to move further up this ladder you can add recurring revenue and employees to scale further and add predictability. For example, my brother-in-law Daniel used to edit any video for $30 per hour, but now he’s launched a recurring productized service to edit up to four vlog episodes per month for $1,000.
如果您选择在这个阶梯上进一步提升，您可以增加经常性收入和员工，以进一步扩大规模并增加可预测性。例如，我的姐夫 Daniel 过去以每小时 30 美元的价格编辑任何视频，但现在他推出了一项定期产品化服务，每月编辑最多四集视频博客，费用为 1,000 美元。
First he answered the question, “how many hours will this take?” by moving from hourly to a fixed per video cost. Then he clarified exactly who it is for by specifying vlogs, rather than just any video. And finally he made it recurring by moving to a monthly price, rather than a per video price.
他首先回答了一个问题：“这需要多少小时？”从按小时收费改为按视频固定收费。然后他通过指定视频博客（而不是任何视频）来明确说明它的用途。最后，他通过改为按月收费而不是按视频收费，使其重复出现。
Now he has a predictable income stream from a handful of clients and a waiting list for those who want to sign up when he has more availability.
现在，他从少数客户那里获得了可预测的收入来源，并且在他有更多空闲时间时为那些想要注册的人提供了等待名单。
Selling products 销售产品
A productized service works to remove the manual work from making the sale and selling a full product continues that trend by also removing the manual work from delivering the product.
产品化服务致力于消除销售过程中的手工工作，而销售完整产品也通过消除交付产品的手工工作延续了这一趋势。
Physical products fall into two categories: handmade and manufactured.
实物产品分为两类：手工制作和制造。
- Handmade – Handmade products are great to get started because you can make a few without spending a ton of money, but then they are closer to productized services in that each one takes time to make, so you can’t scale seamlessly yourself.
手工制作 – 手工制作的产品非常适合入门，因为您无需花费大量资金即可制作一些产品，但它们更接近产品化服务，因为每一件产品都需要时间来制作，因此您无法自己无缝扩展。 - Manufactured – Manufactured products are hard to do at a small scale, but if you can sell enough of them you can make them in bulk and then you can scale an impressive business.
制造——制造产品很难小规模生产，但如果你能销售足够多的产品，你就可以批量生产它们，然后你就可以扩展令人印象深刻的业务。
A product takes far more work to create up front, but then each individual sale and the fulfillment of that sale happens without much (or any) additional effort from the business owner.
产品需要大量的工作来预先创建，但是每次单独的销售和销售的履行都不需要企业主付出太多（或任何）额外的努力。
Examples include: 示例包括：
- An ebook on how to learn a new programming language
关于如何学习新的编程语言的电子书 - A video course on new cooking techniques
新烹饪技术视频课程 - A new tripod for vloggers
适合视频博主的新三脚架
At this stage there are an entirely new set of skills you have to learn in order to sell products in bulk:
在此阶段，您必须学习一套全新的技能才能批量销售产品：
- Customer support at scale
大规模客户支持 - Gathering customers at scale
大规模聚集客户 - Supply chain (if it’s a physical product)
供应链（如果是实体产品） - Fraud as nefarious people use your site for credit card testing and more
不法分子使用您的网站进行信用卡测试等活动，从而造成欺诈
That’s just a few of dozens of skills you’ll need. With that intro to the ladders of wealth covered, let’s turn to principles that will help you navigate this new concept.
这只是您需要的数十种技能中的一小部分。在介绍了财富阶梯之后，让我们转向帮助您驾驭这个新概念的原则。
8 principles to grow your wealth and income over time
随着时间的推移增加您的财富和收入的 8 条原则
- Extra time and money need to be reinvested
额外的时间和金钱需要再投资 - You can skip ahead, but you still have to learn the lessons from each step
您可以跳过，但您仍然需要从每一步中吸取教训 - Apply your existing skills in a new way to build wealth
以新的方式运用您现有的技能来积累财富 - There’s a difference between working for a better wage and truly building wealth
为了更好的工资而工作和真正积累财富之间是有区别的 - Using an earlier rung on the ladder to fund the next one
使用阶梯上较早的一级为下一级提供资金 - Moving between ladders often means a decrease in income
在阶梯之间移动通常意味着收入的减少 - Each step is easier with an audience
有了观众，每一步都会变得更容易 - It takes longer than you think, but the results can be incredible
花费的时间比您想象的要长，但结果可能令人难以置信
1. Extra time and money need to be reinvested
1.需要额外的时间和金钱进行再投资
On a recent trip to Seattle I talked to my Uber driver between SeaTac and downtown Seattle. The conversation ranged from travel, our favorite islands in Hawaii, his love for music and gadgets, what he does for work, and why he’s driving for Uber on the side.
在最近一次去西雅图的旅行中，我与我在西塔科和西雅图市中心之间的优步司机进行了交谈。谈话内容包括旅行、我们最喜欢的夏威夷岛屿、他对音乐和小玩意的热爱、他的工作内容以及他为什么兼职为 Uber 开车。
He has a solid career working downtown for the City of Seattle and Uber allows him to earn a little extra on the side driving a couple mornings a week. It’s fantastic that services like Airbnb and Uber allow those on with a set salary to earn more on the side.
他在西雅图市中心工作，有着稳定的职业生涯，而优步让他每周有几个早上开车可以赚取一点额外的收入。 Airbnb 和 Uber 这样的服务让那些拿着固定工资的人可以赚取更多的副业，这真是太棒了。
So what was he spending this extra money on? Well, he loves gadgets and wants two things:
那么他额外花的钱都用来做什么呢？嗯，他喜欢小玩意，想要两件事：
- To replace a broken speaker in his home theatre system.
更换家庭影院系统中损坏的扬声器。 - To buy a DJI Mavic drone.
购买大疆Mavic无人机。
Those are both super fun purchases and it’s great he’s able to work extra to make those happen. But it reminded me of why most people don’t build wealth: increased earnings never go into wealth.
这些都是超级有趣的购买，很高兴他能够付出额外的努力来实现这些目标。但这让我想起了为什么大多数人不积累财富：增加的收入永远不会转化为财富。
All across society extra money—whether from a raise or working extra—disappears into lifestyle inflation or temporary purchases, when it could be put to work so much more effectively.
全社会多余的钱——无论是来自加薪还是额外工作——都消失在生活方式的膨胀或临时购买中，而这些钱可以更有效地发挥作用。
The drone would be really fun, but there are so many small parts and fancy electronics that it’s bound to break after a couple years—and that’s if you don’t fly it into a tree before then.
无人机真的很有趣，但有太多小零件和精美的电子设备，几年后它肯定会坏掉——如果你不在那之前把它飞到树上的话。
If you want to build wealth that thousand dollars should be spent on new skills or invested in the stock market, retirement accounts, or another business, rather than burned on the latest gadget.
如果你想积累财富，那么这千美元应该花在新技能上，或者投资于股票市场、退休账户或其他业务，而不是花在最新的小玩意上。
2. You can skip ahead, but you still have to learn the lessons from each step
2.你可以跳过，但你仍然需要从每一步中吸取教训
At ConvertKit we run one of the largest affiliate marketing programs of any SaaS company, bringing in nearly half a million dollars in revenue each month. But it’s a pain. None of the software available to manage these systems works well and as a result we spend at least one day a month doing manual work.
在 ConvertKit，我们运营着所有 SaaS 公司中最大的联属营销计划之一，每月带来近 50 万美元的收入。但这很痛苦。用于管理这些系统的软件都无法正常工作，因此我们每个月至少花一天时间进行手动工作。
My brother-in-law, Philip, saw this manual work and decided to build a better platform for SaaS companies to run affiliate programs. His new tool, called LinkMink, is gaining traction, but still early. After working on it for nearly two years he can’t help but feel frustrated he and his co-founder are only at a couple thousand a month in revenue.
我的姐夫 Philip 看到了这份手工工作，并决定为 SaaS 公司建立一个更好的平台来运行联属计划。他的新工具 LinkMink 正在获得关注，但仍处于早期阶段。经过近两年的努力，他不禁感到沮丧，因为他和他的联合创始人每月的收入只有几千美元。
I can relate to this. 2 years into starting ConvertKit we were at the same level. It sucks how slow SaaS can be.
我可以理解这一点。启动 ConvertKit 两年后，我们处于同一水平。 SaaS 的速度实在是太慢了。
But then I started thinking about Philip’s path. He’s got a bachelor’s degree in business, has worked as a designer, then as a software developer. Then he started working on LinkMink.
但后来我开始思考菲利普的道路。他拥有商业学士学位，曾担任设计师，然后担任软件开发人员。然后他开始研究 LinkMink。
His path has been:
他的道路是：
- Hourly work for a company (in a wide range of jobs as anyone joining the workforce has)
为公司按小时工作（任何加入劳动力队伍的人都从事各种工作） - Salaried work at a company (both as a designer early on, then a web developer)
在一家公司从事受薪工作（早期担任设计师，然后担任网络开发人员）
Okay, so far this is great. On our income-earning ladder he has gone from the first rung to the second and done it quite quickly. In just four years going from an entry-level position to a fantastic salary.
好的，到目前为止这一切都很棒。在我们的收入阶梯上，他已经从第一级上升到第二级，而且速度很快。在短短四年内，从入门级职位到了丰厚的薪水。
Somewhere in there he also did a little bit of contract design work, so he picked up the basics of invoicing, finding clients, and marketing your services.
在那里，他还做了一些合同设计工作，因此他掌握了开具发票、寻找客户和营销服务的基础知识。
So let’s look at his next step, which was too… Start LinkMink.
那么让我们看看他的下一步，这太……启动 LinkMink。
Starting a software-as-a-service app isn’t the next step on the spectrum. Hell, it’s not even in the next 10 steps!
启动软件即服务应用程序并不是下一步。天哪，接下来的 10 步还不到！
Running a SaaS company is incredibly hard with so many moving pieces: development, servers, customer support, legal, payment processing, etc. No wonder it’s taking a while!
运营一家 SaaS 公司非常困难，有很多变动的部分：开发、服务器、客户支持、法律、支付处理等。难怪它需要一段时间！
It’s not that he can’t do this or that he even made a poor choice in jumping to this step: simply that he has a lot of lessons to learn and he chose to learn them all here, rather than slowly in incremental steps throughout the journey.
这并不是说他不能做到这一点，或者说他甚至在跳到这一步时做出了错误的选择：只是他有很多教训要学习，他选择在这里全部学习，而不是在整个过程中慢慢地逐步逐步学习。旅行。
Because of that, he should set his expectations that this will take longer and feel harder than it does for other people.
正因为如此，他应该设定自己的期望，即这将比其他人花费更长的时间并且感觉更困难。
Those downsides are balanced by the fact that it can also have an incredible reward because recurring software is one of the greatest business models on the planet, which is why acquiring companies and investors will pay an incredible premium to own them.
这些缺点被以下事实所平衡：它还可以获得令人难以置信的回报，因为循环软件是地球上最伟大的商业模式之一，这就是为什么收购公司和投资者会支付令人难以置信的溢价来拥有它们。
3. Apply your existing skills in a new way to build wealth
3. 以新的方式运用您现有的技能来创造财富
My friend Patrick bought a house that needed plenty of work and immediately dove into renovating it himself. Since he works construction full-time he was well equipped with the skills to transform this fixer-upper.
我的朋友帕特里克买了一座需要大量工作的房子，并立即亲自投入翻新。由于他全职从事建筑工作，因此他完全具备改造这个固定装置的技能。
But the real magic and value wasn’t in the main house, which he is remodeling for his family, but in a detached 1-car garage that is accessible from the back alley. Originally this building was so run down that you wouldn’t even park a car in it, but after 6 months of work on nights and weekends Patrick renovated it into a beautiful little 300 square foot studio apartment.
但真正的魔力和价值并不在于他正在为家人改造的主屋，而是在一个可从后巷进入的独立的一车位车库中。最初，这栋建筑非常破旧，你甚至无法在里面停放一辆车，但经过 6 个月的晚上和周末工作，帕特里克将其装修成了一套漂亮的 300 平方英尺的小单间公寓。
Just a couple hours after listing it for rent on Airbnb he had his first booking. His first month booked up immediately generating over $1,800 in revenue. When combined with his job working on a construction crew, this new revenue stream was a 50% increase in his monthly earnings.
在 Airbnb 上挂牌出租几个小时后，他就收到了第一次预订。他第一个月的订单立即就被预订满，创造了超过 1,800 美元的收入。加上他在建筑队的工作，这个新的收入来源使他的月收入增加了 50%。
Because Airbnb already exists he has a product to sell (a cozy place to stay), in an existing marketplace, to a steady stream of buyers.
由于 Airbnb 已经存在，他可以在现有市场上向源源不断的买家出售产品（舒适的住宿地点）。
The best part is that not only is this making him money while he works construction, and that the extra work he put in will raise the resale value of his house, but really that for as long as he holds on to it, he has steady cashflow to more than cover his mortgage no matter what job he does.
最好的部分是，这不仅能让他在建筑工作时赚钱，而且他投入的额外工作会提高他的房子的转售价值，而且实际上，只要他坚持持有它，他就有稳定的收入。无论他从事什么工作，现金流都足以支付他的抵押贷款。
4. There’s a difference between working for a higher wage and truly building wealth
4. 为更高的工资而工作和真正创造财富之间是有区别的
While I love working on the computer and creating digitally, often I want an escape from that and to see projects come together in real life. Like many people I’ve been fascinated by tiny houses for years, so this year I decided to pull the trigger and build one myself. While it’s been a lot of learning and quite challenging at times, the break from sitting in front of a computer to start creating in real life has been so rewarding.
虽然我喜欢在计算机上工作并进行数字化创作，但我常常希望摆脱这种束缚并看到项目在现实生活中结合在一起。像许多人一样，多年来我一直对小房子着迷，所以今年我决定自己建造一栋。虽然这需要大量的学习，有时也相当具有挑战性，但从坐在电脑前开始在现实生活中创作的休息是非常有意义的。
Since I’m a complete novice when it comes to home building, I’ve relied on experienced friends like Patrick for the trickier parts, such as installing a double-swing french door.
由于我在房屋建筑方面完全是新手，因此我依靠像帕特里克这样经验丰富的朋友来完成更棘手的部分，例如安装双开法式门。
After finishing his own tiny studio and helping me build my tiny house Patrick said, “Maybe I should quit my construction job”—which is something he’s wanted to do for a long time—”and build tiny houses for other people.”
在完成了他自己的小工作室并帮助我建造我的小房子后，帕特里克说，“也许我应该辞掉我的建筑工作”——这是他长期以来想做的事情——“为其他人建造小房子。”
While it’s a solid idea, and would certainly be more fun than working for a construction company, I talked Patrick out of it. Not because I want to crush someone’s dream, but because it would be a step backwards on our earning a living ladder.
虽然这是一个可靠的想法，而且肯定比在建筑公司工作更有趣，但我说服帕特里克打消了这个想法。不是因为我想粉碎某人的梦想，而是因为这将是我们谋生阶梯的倒退。
Patrick was on the first ladder of hourly or salaried work for a company. The next logical step would be to start his own company doing similar work. That actually takes him to the next ladder.
帕特里克是一家公司的第一梯级小时工或带薪工作。下一个合乎逻辑的步骤是创办自己的公司从事类似的工作。这实际上把他带到了下一个梯子。
Then if he were building tiny houses specifically he could specialize and sell them more as a product—not just labor for x dollars per hour, but actually selling the completed tiny house for a fixed price. Which would mean any efficiencies gained would be his to keep.
然后，如果他专门建造微型房屋，他可以专业化并将其作为产品进行更多销售——不仅仅是每小时 x 美元的劳动力，而是实际上以固定价格出售完工的微型房屋。这意味着所获得的任何效率都将归他所有。
Wait, those all sound like good things and steps forward, so why discourage it?
等等，这些听起来都是好事并且向前迈出了一步，那么为什么要阻止呢？
Because Patrick actually has a solid footing on a much more advanced ladder: selling products. His Airbnb is selling a product into an existing marketplace. He’s making money while he sleeps! So instead of using his time and skills to create another hourly or project based income source, he should build a tiny house for himself, put it on Airbnb, and double his product revenue.
因为帕特里克实际上在更高级的阶梯上站稳了脚跟：销售产品。他的 Airbnb 正在向现有市场销售产品。他睡觉的时候也在赚钱！因此，他不应该利用自己的时间和技能来创造另一个基于小时或项目的收入来源，而应该为自己建造一座小房子，将其放在 Airbnb 上，从而使产品收入翻倍。
5. Use an earlier rung on the ladder to fund the next one
5.利用阶梯上较早的一级为下一级提供资金
The one downside to jumping ahead is that it often costs money before you will get money back. Because he did all the work himself, Patrick’s studio renovation only cost about $10,000. While it’s a great return, $10,000 is a lot to come up with!
提前行动的一个缺点是，在收回资金之前通常要先花钱。由于所有工作都是他自己做的，帕特里克的工作室装修只花费了约1万美元。虽然回报率很高，但 10,000 美元还是很多！
In the same way Patrick’s biggest obstacle to running another airbnb unit is actually initial capital to get started through buying land and building materials.
同样，帕特里克经营另一个爱彼迎单位的最大障碍实际上是通过购买土地和建筑材料启动的初始资金。
That’s where the early rung on the ladders can help. You might stay at your software job longer to stockpile savings to fund your living expenses longer, or you might pick up extra shifts as a bartender to help save for your next set of building materials (which is what Patrick did). Often it requires extra work on one rung of the ladder to fund the jump to the next one.
这就是梯子上的早期梯级可以提供帮助的地方。您可能会在软件工作上停留更长时间，以积蓄储蓄来维持更长时间的生活费用，或者您可能会担任调酒师的额外轮班，以帮助节省下一套建筑材料的费用（帕特里克就是这样做的）。通常，需要在阶梯的某一级上进行额外的工作才能为跳到下一级提供资金。
When is it worth it to work for a wage?
什么时候值得为了工资而工作？
You may have heard the quote, “you shouldn’t trade time for money.” While true that there are better ways to build wealth, early in my career I found that advice quite discouraging. That was the only way I knew how to make money and apparently it was wrong!
您可能听过这样一句话：“你不应该用时间换取金钱。”虽然确实有更好的方法来积累财富，但在我职业生涯的早期，我发现这个建议相当令人沮丧。那是我知道如何赚钱的唯一方法，但显然这是错误的！
You should trade time for money, especially early in your career when it’s the only option available with your current skill set. So rather than writing off entire methods for earning a living, let’s break down five examples of when you should trade time for money:
你应该用时间换取金钱，尤其是在你职业生涯的早期，因为这是你当前技能组合的唯一选择。因此，与其放弃整个谋生方法，不如让我们分解五个例子来说明何时应该用时间换取金钱：
- When you are just getting started. Early in your career, the important thing is to make enough to pay rent and buy groceries. Don’t look down on any job that allows you to do that. Once you have a stable foundation you can start to pursue better opportunities.
当你刚刚开始时。在你职业生涯的早期，重要的是赚到足够的钱来支付房租和购买杂货。不要小看任何能让你做到这一点的工作。一旦你有了稳定的基础，你就可以开始寻求更好的机会。 - When you are learning a new skill. If you can get paid to learn a new skill that will grow your earning potential you absolutely should! Let’s say I want to be a YouTuber and are just getting started. Working as a camera assistant for an ad agency would be a great way to learn more about cameras and video while still paying rent.
当你学习一项新技能时。如果您可以通过学习一项新技能来获得报酬，从而增加您的收入潜力，那么您绝对应该这样做！假设我想成为一名 YouTuber，而且才刚刚开始。在广告公司担任摄像助理将是一个在支付租金的同时了解更多有关摄像头和视频的好方法。 - As a step in getting to a higher rung or on to the next ladder. It always takes time, money, or both to move to a higher rung on the ladder. If you spend conservatively and save any extra money you can have enough to buy the tools, training, or time necessary to get to the next level.
作为到达更高梯级或进入下一个梯子的一步。想要晋升到更高的阶梯总是需要时间、金钱或两者兼而有之。如果您花费保守并节省额外的钱，您就可以有足够的钱来购买达到下一个级别所需的工具、培训或时间。 - To build relationships and find mentors. The right people will shape your mindset and opportunities. You should absolutely trade time for money if it means expanding your network to people who can help you jump to the next ladder.
建立关系并寻找导师。合适的人将塑造您的心态和机会。如果这意味着将你的网络扩展到可以帮助你跳到下一个阶梯的人，那么你绝对应该用时间换金钱。 - When the work is rewarding and meaningful in its own right. If you found work that you find meaningful and fulfilling, you should do that. Even if some expert says you shouldn’t trade time for money. A lot of money is far from the only kind of wealth.
当工作本身是有回报且有意义的时候。如果你找到了有意义且有成就感的工作，你就应该去做。即使有些专家说你不应该用时间换金钱。很多钱远不是唯一的财富。
The most important thing is that you aren’t just treading water as you work for a wage. As much of that money as possible should be saved and invested to help you jump to the next ladder.
最重要的是，当你为了工资而工作时，你不会只是原地踏步。应该尽可能多地储蓄和投资这些钱，以帮助您跳到下一个阶梯。
6. Moving between ladders often means a decrease in income
6. 在阶梯之间移动通常意味着收入的减少
I hope this has been helpful and inspiring so far, because I’m about to hit you with some bad news: while income increases as you move up any one ladder, it often decreases when you jump between ladders. Sometimes that drop may be only for a few months, other times it could be a few years. Let me give you an extreme example.
我希望到目前为止这对您有所帮助和启发，因为我即将向您传达一些坏消息：虽然随着您在任何一个梯子上的上升，收入都会增加，但当您在梯子之间跳跃时，收入往往会减少。有时这种下降可能只会持续几个月，有时可能会持续几年。让我给你举一个极端的例子。
In 2013 I earned over $250,000 from selling books and courses on design. My income had been steadily increasing for the last few years and I was damn proud of my blog and business. But then I decided to make the leap and switch from selling ebooks to starting a software company—one of the most difficult rungs on the product ladder.
2013 年，我通过销售设计书籍和课程赚取了超过 25 万美元。在过去的几年里，我的收入一直在稳步增长，我对我的博客和业务感到非常自豪。但后来我决定实现跨越，从销售电子书转向创办一家软件公司——这是产品阶梯上最困难的阶梯之一。
My income immediately and substantially dropped as I focused on ConvertKit. So how long do you think it took to set a new one year income record? A year? Two years?
当我专注于 ConvertKit 时，我的收入立即大幅下降。那么您认为创下新的一年收入记录需要多长时间？一年？两年？
Nope. I didn’t earn over $250,000 in a year again until…2018. 5 years later!
没有。直到 2018 年，我的一年收入才再次超过 25 万美元。 5年后！
Software can take a long time to get going and for years after we got traction I still reinvested everything. Now, because of the exponential growth of ConvertKit (more on that later), I’m now earning far more than my previous record of $250,000.
软件可能需要很长时间才能启动，在我们获得关注后的几年里，我仍然重新投资了一切。现在，由于 ConvertKit 的指数级增长（稍后详细介绍），我现在的收入远远超过了之前 25 万美元的记录。
As you eye the next ladder to make the leap from a stable job to freelancing, or from a successful freelancing business to your next product, plan for a valley to follow your current revenue peak.
当您着眼于从稳定的工作到自由职业的跨越，或从成功的自由职业企业到下一个产品的跨越时，请计划一个山谷以跟随您当前的收入峰值。
This is especially hard when you’re used to being successful in one area and then you start over in a new area and lose the signs of progress and forward momentum.
当你习惯在一个领域取得成功，然后在一个新领域重新开始并失去进步和前进动力的迹象时，这一点尤其困难。
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing
不一定是全有或全无
You can start your blog while still helping freelance clients. Build the habit of writing while you still have your full-time job. Or do what I did and use book and course revenue to help fund building a software company.
您可以在创建博客的同时仍然帮助自由职业客户。在你还有全职工作的时候养成写作的习惯。或者像我一样，利用书籍和课程收入来帮助资助建立一家软件公司。
A side project is an incredible way to bridge the gap and cover the dip as you move between ladders. Just one note: I said, “a side project” not “side projects.”
当你在梯子之间移动时，副业项目是一种弥合差距和弥补低谷的令人难以置信的方法。请注意：我说的是“一个副业项目”而不是“副业项目”。
It’s so easy to get carried away with dozens of exciting ideas, working on each one as motivation and inspiration are there. But if you keep that cycle going it’s so easy to be spread thin between so many projects that will prevent you from making any one of them actually successful.
人们很容易被几十个令人兴奋的想法冲昏头脑，并在每一个想法都有动力和灵感的情况下努力工作。但如果你继续这个循环，很容易在这么多项目之间分散，这将阻止你让其中任何一个项目真正取得成功。
7. Each step is easier with an audience.
7. 有了观众，每一步都会变得更容易。
While the dip is always going to be frustrating, imagine that instead of making the leap alone you had dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people cheering you on at each stage. Each person enjoying hearing about your journey and eager to help you make the next step.
虽然下滑总是令人沮丧，但想象一下，在每个阶段都有数十、数百甚至数千人为你加油，而不是独自实现这一飞跃。每个人都喜欢听到您的旅程，并渴望帮助您迈出下一步。
Sound too good to be true?
听起来好得令人难以置信？
It’s not. It’s called an audience.
它不是。这就是所谓的观众。
By sharing your journey publicly—and inviting friends, family, and complete strangers along for the ride—you will create your own fan club who are actively rooting for your success.
通过公开分享您的旅程，并邀请朋友、家人和完全陌生的人一起旅行，您将创建自己的粉丝俱乐部，他们会积极支持您的成功。
That’s exactly what I did when I made the jump from selling ebooks about design to starting a software company: I talked about the entire journey through what I called The Web App Challenge. A public challenge to build a customer-funded SaaS product from scratch to $5,000 in recurring revenue in six months.
这正是我从销售设计电子书到创办软件公司时所做的事情：我通过我所谓的“网络应用挑战赛”谈论了整个旅程。一项公开挑战，要求在六个月内从头开始构建客户资助的 SaaS 产品，使其经常性收入达到 5,000 美元。
While I didn’t hit the goal—only achieving just over $2,000 per month—the people who rallied around to support my public journey were incredible.
虽然我没有达到目标——每个月只赚了 2,000 美元多一点——但那些团结起来支持我的公众旅程的人们是令人难以置信的。
That next endeavor that you launch, whether it’s creating handcrafted products for the farmers market, starting a new coffee shop, if you share your story and give people a way to follow your journey, they will. Some will buy your products, others will tell their friends, and still more will cheer you on.
您发起的下一个努力，无论是为农贸市场创造手工产品，还是开设一家新咖啡店，如果您分享您的故事并为人们提供一种跟随您的旅程的方式，他们就会这么做。有些人会购买您的产品，其他人会告诉他们的朋友，还有更多的人会为您加油。
An audience is actually easier to build than we make it seem:
建立受众实际上比我们看起来更容易：
- Have a goal. The goal could be to make your first sale at a farmers market, write a book, renovate an airbnb, pay off your debt, landing your first four design clients, or just about anything else. The point is for it to be clear who you are and what you are trying to accomplish.
有一个目标。目标可能是在农贸市场进行第一次销售、写一本书、翻修爱彼迎、还清债务、获得前四个设计客户，或者其他任何事情。关键是要清楚你是谁以及你想要实现什么目标。 - Document your progress. This next step is a little harder—not because it’s difficult to document progress, but because it’s difficult to do consistently. Choose a cadence and write updates reminding people of what you are trying to accomplish and sharing your progress, learnings, and challenges on that journey. That could be through a monthly blog post or even just through more regular Instagram posts.
记录你的进步。下一步有点困难——不是因为很难记录进展，而是因为很难始终如一地做到这一点。选择节奏并撰写更新，提醒人们您正在努力实现的目标，并分享您在此过程中的进展、学习和挑战。这可以通过每月发布一篇博客文章，甚至只是通过更定期的 Instagram 帖子来实现。 - Ask for help. Finally, understand that everyone wants to help, so let them! If you need advice on how to price your products or how to setup your business, just ask. If someone in your small audience doesn’t know, they most likely know someone who does. Throughout my journey I’ve been blown away by how many people step up with advice, introductions, and support whenever I’ve asked.
请求帮忙。最后，要明白每个人都想提供帮助，所以就让他们帮忙吧！如果您需要有关如何为产品定价或如何开展业务的建议，请直接询问。如果你的小观众中有人不知道，他们很可能知道有人知道。在我的整个旅程中，每当我提出要求时，有那么多人站出来提供建议、介绍和支持，这让我感到震惊。
So as you plan your next big step to build wealth I encourage you to set a clear goal, share it publicly, and give your community the opportunity to rally behind you and make it happen.
因此，当您计划积累财富的下一个重大步骤时，我鼓励您设定明确的目标，公开分享，并让您的社区有机会团结在您身后并实现这一目标。
8. It takes longer than you think, but the results can be incredible
8. 花费的时间比你想象的要长，但结果却令人难以置信
A few years ago my friend James’ grandmother passed away in her 90’s. She had grown up in the small town of Council in central Idaho. When she was 60 years old her husband, my friend’s grandfather, passed away. Leaving her alone. She was financially secure through two paid off houses, one in Boise, the other in Council, but she still had a long life ahead of her.
几年前，我朋友詹姆斯的祖母于 90 多岁时去世了。她在爱达荷州中部的康瑟尔小镇长大。当她 60 岁时，她的丈夫，也就是我朋友的祖父去世了。留下她一个人。她通过两套还清了的房子，一所在博伊西，另一所在议会，在经济上有保障，但她的人生还有很长的路要走。
She always loved cute little houses and decided to buy one to rent out as a new hobby to fill her time. A couple years later she bought another and rented it out as well. Then another and another.
她一直很喜欢可爱的小房子，并决定买一栋出租，作为一种新的爱好来打发时间。几年后，她又买了一套，也把它租了出去。然后又一个又一个。
By the time I met her she was 80 years old and in the 20 years since she started, she had acquired more than 25 cute little homes throughout Southwest Idaho. None were very expensive, probably around $100,000 each, but combined they turned into quite the real estate empire. Each returning a great monthly cashflow that she rolled into buying the next property.
当我见到她时，她已经 80 岁了，自她创业以来的 20 年里，她在爱达荷州西南部购买了超过 25 套可爱的小房子。这些都不是很贵，大概每个都在 10 万美元左右，但加起来它们就变成了一个相当大的房地产帝国。每个人每月都会获得丰厚的现金流，她将这些现金流用于购买下一套房产。
In addition to this she bought a one hundred acre ranch on the Boise river outside of town.
除此之外，她还在城外的博伊西河畔购买了一座一百英亩的牧场。
What had started as a hobby to pass her time and distract from loneliness turned into a real estate empire worth over $5 million.
她最初只是为了打发时间、排遣孤独的爱好，后来发展成了价值超过 500 万美元的房地产帝国。
The takeaway is not necessarily to buy more houses (though that has been a great path to wealth for many), but that consistently reinvesting time and money into wealth creation rather than lifestyle inflation can have incredible results if allowed to play out for long enough.
要点不一定是购买更多的房子（尽管这对许多人来说是一条通往财富的伟大道路），但如果持续足够长的时间，持续将时间和金钱再投资于财富创造而不是生活方式的通货膨胀，可以产生令人难以置信的结果。
The unique shapes of increasing income
收入增加的独特形式
I mentioned earlier that the further to the right on the income ladders you go the more difficult they become, but also the greater the upside. It may be hard to understand exactly why that is, so let’s explain it with three visuals:
我之前提到过，收入阶梯越靠右，难度就越大，但上升空间也越大。可能很难理解到底为什么，所以让我们用三个视觉效果来解释一下：
- Stair step 楼梯台阶
- Linear 线性
- Exponential 指数
Stair step 楼梯台阶
Most people will experience a stair step approach to income in their life. As they move from an hourly position to a salary that comes with a raise, which would be a step up in income. Then each additional salary increase will be another step. In some careers these may be small and often, in others they may be spaced out over more time and be quite large (residency to a full doctor or making partner at a law firm).
大多数人在一生中都会经历收入的阶梯式增长。当他们从按小时计酬的职位转到加薪的工资时，这将是收入的增加。那么每一次加薪，都会是又一个台阶。在某些职业中，这些可能很小，而且经常发生，而在另一些职业中，它们可能会间隔更长的时间，而且相当大（全职医生的住院医师或律师事务所的合伙人）。
You can also supplement a salary with an additional project (a rental property, buying an e-commerce site, a recurring consulting agreement) that will result in another stair step in your income.
您还可以通过额外的项目（租赁房产、购买电子商务网站、经常性咨询协议）来补充薪水，这将使您的收入进一步增加。
While this model isn’t the best possible, it is how nearly all wealthy people built their wealth. You won’t have unlimited upside, but over 40+ years it is one of the most reliable paths to wealth.
虽然这种模式并不是最好的，但几乎所有富人都是通过这种方式积累财富的。您不会拥有无限的上升空间，但 40 多年来，它是最可靠的致富之路之一。
Linear 线性
Enough stair steps that are close together will simply look like a linear growth curve when you zoom out. So while a raise every few years will look like a stair step, a freelancer steadily able to increase her rate will look linear. In the same way that adding a rental property once is a worthwhile stair step, adding one per year is linear.
当你缩小时，足够多的靠近的楼梯看起来就像一条线性增长曲线。因此，虽然每隔几年加薪看起来就像一个阶梯，但能够稳定提高加薪的自由职业者看起来是线性的。就像增加一次出租房产是值得的阶梯一样，每年增加一处出租房产也是线性的。
The most common linear growth that I see in my work is in selling digital products: as traffic increases, so do sales. It isn’t exponential because traffic is still the bottleneck, but each new blog post or search engine ranking brings a few hundred more people to the site each month. Over time that drives more sales and income increases.
我在工作中看到的最常见的线性增长是销售数字产品：随着流量的增加，销售额也会增加。它不是指数级的，因为流量仍然是瓶颈，但每个新的博客文章或搜索引擎排名每个月都会为该网站带来数百人的访问量。随着时间的推移，这会推动更多的销售和收入增加。
Exponential 指数
Exponential growth comes from when each sale of a product truly makes the next sale come more easily. It requires a product that you can sell repeatedly (whether physical or digital) that can be created at a large scale. Meaning you can’t be selling your time.
当产品的每次销售真正使下一次销售变得更容易时，就会出现指数级增长。它需要一种可以大规模生产、可以重复销售的产品（无论是实体的还是数字的）。这意味着你不能出卖你的时间。
Exponential growth often starts slowly, taking months or years to reach any kind of meaningful revenue. But fast forward a few years or a decade and the growth can be absolutely astounding.
指数增长通常开始缓慢，需要数月或数年才能达到任何有意义的收入。但快进几年或十年，增长绝对是惊人的。
Software companies, marketplaces, and large e-commerce companies have an incredibly high ceiling and can grow insanely fast in their prime. But that usually takes time, significant skill, and meaningful capital.
软件公司、市场和大型电子商务公司的上限非常高，并且在鼎盛时期可以疯狂快速地增长。但这通常需要时间、重要的技能和有意义的资本。
My own journey to building wealth
我自己的财富积累之旅
The one thing I can guarantee is that your journey won’t be linear. Mine own journey involved jumping all over the place. Let me show you:
我可以保证的一件事是你的旅程不会是线性的。我自己的旅程就是到处跳跃。我来给你展示：
- Woodworking (2003 — 13 years old). The very first way I made money—other than my parents paying me for work around the house—was making wood carvings on a scroll saw a family friend had given me, and selling them around the neighborhood. Each one making between $10-$40, depending on the complexity. While after that it would be a few years before I would revisit products, I still find it interesting that I had such an early foray into products.
木工（2003年——13岁）。我赚钱的第一个方式——除了父母付钱给我做家务之外——就是在家里朋友给我的卷轴锯上制作木雕，然后在附近卖掉。每一项的收入在 10 至 40 美元之间，具体取决于复杂程度。虽然在那之后我会重新审视产品，但我仍然觉得很有趣，因为我很早就涉足了产品。
Most important skill acquired: the courage to knock on a stranger’s door and sell them something.
获得的最重要的技能：有勇气去敲陌生人的门并向他们推销东西。 - Wendy’s (2005 — 15 years old). I was in a hurry to grow up and wanted to start taking college classes. I needed money in order to pay tuition. So I picked up the phonebook and started calling businesses asking how old you had to be to work there. Most said 16. Wendy’s was the first to say they’d hire at 15.
温迪（2005 年 - 15 岁）。我急于长大并想开始上大学课程。我需要钱来支付学费。于是我拿起电话簿，开始给企业打电话，询问你必须多大年纪才能在那里工作。大多数人说 16 岁。Wendy's 是第一个说他们会在 15 岁雇用的人。
Working the drive through we would compete with other local stores to set the fastest drive through services times. I worked the cash register and learned to type on it without looking in order to make sure I wasn’t the bottleneck.
在驾车服务中，我们将与其他当地商店竞争，以设定最快的驾车服务时间。我在收银机工作，学会了不看就打字，以确保我不是瓶颈。
Most important skill acquired: how to work very fast.
获得的最重要的技能：如何快速工作。 - Freelance web design (2006 — 16 years old). I learned web design in high school and started to make money designing websites and logos. In 2007 I dropped out of college to do it full time. My biggest success was building a web application for $10,000.
自由网页设计（2006 年 — 16 岁）。我在高中学习了网页设计，并开始通过设计网站和徽标来赚钱。 2007年，我从大学退学，开始全职工作。我最大的成功是以 10,000 美元构建一个 Web 应用程序。
Most important skill acquired: how to find, work with, and charge clients.
获得的最重要的技能：如何寻找客户、与客户合作以及向客户收费。 - Lead designer in a startup (2009 — 19 years old). In 2009 I was hired on full time by one of my clients (a 14 person venture backed startup). I stayed for nearly three years, growing to lead their product design team. I spent my time designing in Photoshop, learning to code iOS apps, and working with a large team as the company eventually grew to over 80 team members.
一家初创公司的首席设计师（2009 年 - 19 岁）。 2009 年，我的一位客户（一家 14 人风险投资支持的初创公司）全职雇用了我。我在那里待了近三年，逐渐领导他们的产品设计团队。我花了很多时间在 Photoshop 中进行设计，学习编写 iOS 应用程序代码，并与一个大型团队合作，最终公司发展到拥有 80 多名团队成员。
Most important skill acquired: an introduction to leading a team.
获得的最重要的技能：介绍如何领导团队。 - Building and selling iOS apps (2011 — 21 years old). While working for the software startup I started building iOS apps on the side. Then I went out on my own to freelance and continue to build my own apps. As my first venture back into products since the days of selling handmade goods door to door, I had to learn to write a sales page, code apps, market products, and launch into the iOS app ecosystem.
构建和销售 iOS 应用程序（2011 年 - 21 岁）。在为软件初创公司工作期间，我开始兼职构建 iOS 应用程序。然后我自己出去当自由职业者并继续构建我自己的应用程序。自从挨家挨户销售手工制品以来，这是我第一次重新涉足产品领域，我必须学习编写销售页面、编写应用程序、营销产品以及进入 iOS 应用程序生态系统。
Most important skill acquired: building a product and selling into an existing marketplace.
获得的最重要的技能：构建产品并将其销售到现有市场。 - Selling my first book (2012 — 22 years old). After building quite a few iOS apps I turned to writing a blog and then eventually writing a book teaching how to design apps. The book was quite successful, selling nearly $20,000 worth in the first week! This launched my entire journey with building an audience and self-publishing.
出售我的第一本书（2012 年 - 22 岁）。在构建了相当多的 iOS 应用程序后，我开始写博客，最后写了一本教授如何设计应用程序的书。这本书相当成功，第一周就卖出了近2万美元！这开启了我建立受众群体和自我出版的整个旅程。
Most important skill acquired: how to build an audience.
获得的最重要的技能：如何建立受众。 - Building a software company (2013 — 23 years old). My next—and final—venture was to focus on software again and build the email marketing company I wish I had when I started growing an audience. Today ConvertKit earns over $18 million per year.
建立一家软件公司（2013年——23岁）。我的下一个（也是最后一个）冒险是再次专注于软件，并建立一家电子邮件营销公司，我希望在我开始增加受众时就拥有这样的公司。如今，ConvertKit 的年收入超过 1800 万美元。
Nearly seven years after starting ConvertKit it is what I’m still doing and plan to do for at least the next decade.
在开始使用 ConvertKit 近七年之后，这仍然是我仍在做的事情，并且计划至少在未来十年内做。
Most important skill acquired: how to work relentlessly on one idea for long enough to reach its full potential.
获得的最重要的技能：如何为一个想法坚持不懈地工作足够长的时间以充分发挥其潜力。
Over the years I’ve done so many different things, but each one was a step towards learning the skills required to earn a living and build wealth.
多年来，我做了很多不同的事情，但每一件都是朝着学习谋生和积累财富所需的技能迈出的一步。
Considering leveling up your income and wealth?
考虑提高您的收入和财富？
As you’re considering making the jump to the next level, ask yourself these questions:
当您考虑跳到下一个级别时，问自己以下问题：
- What rung am I on in my journey to build wealth?
我在积累财富的旅程中处于哪个阶段？ - Which ladder is this new idea on?
这个新想法在哪个阶梯上？ - How far is it from the rung and ladder I am on currently?
距我当前所处的梯级和梯子有多远？ - What new skills would I need to close the gap between where I am now and where I want to go?
我需要哪些新技能来缩小我现在的状况和我想要去的地方之间的差距？ - How long will it take to acquire those skills and get initial traction?
获得这些技能并获得初步吸引力需要多长时间？ - Do I have the runway (both in time and financial security) to make that jump without putting my finances in danger?
我是否有足够的时间（时间和财务安全）来实现这一跳跃而不会让我的财务处于危险之中？
These aren’t meant to discourage you from making a move. Instead, the answers to these questions will give you awareness to make you more likely to succeed in the journey ahead.
这些并不是要阻止您采取行动。相反，这些问题的答案将使您意识到，使您更有可能在未来的旅程中取得成功。
Let’s close with one final example.
让我们以最后一个例子作为结束。
The Patel Motel Cartel
帕特尔汽车旅馆卡特尔
Did you know that 50% of motels in the United States are owned and operated by people of Indian origin? One of my favorite articles I’ve read in the last year was in the New York Times and was actually written back in 1999, it’s titled, A Patel Motel Cartel?
您是否知道美国 50% 的汽车旅馆由印度裔拥有和经营？去年我读过的最喜欢的一篇文章是在《纽约时报》上，实际上写于 1999 年，标题为“帕特尔汽车旅馆卡特尔？”
In the 1950s families from India started to immigrate to the United States. Because it was so expensive they often relied on money from family to help them get settled.
20 世纪 50 年代，来自印度的家庭开始移民到美国。由于生活费用昂贵，他们常常依靠家人的钱来帮助他们安顿下来。
Once in the United States they got jobs, earned more, and paid it forward to others in their family to help them make the same move. The money was never repaid, but always paid forward.
到达美国后，他们找到了工作，赚了更多钱，并将其转嫁给家人，以帮助他们做出同样的举动。这笔钱从未被偿还，但总是向前支付。
But the real magic came with what they did next. Instead of pursuing normal jobs a family would pull together all the money they could (from their own savings and from extended family) and use it as a down payment on a small motel. The family would then move into it and run it full time. Spending their days and weekends working the front desk, cleaning rooms, and making beds.
但真正的魔力来自他们接下来所做的事情。一个家庭不会追求正常的工作，而是会筹集所有可能的钱（来自自己的储蓄和大家庭），并将其用作小型汽车旅馆的首付。然后一家人就会搬进去并全职经营。白天和周末都在前台工作，打扫房间，整理床铺。
Over time as it grew into a meaningful business they would have some free capital to pay forward to another relative who would do the same thing.
随着时间的推移，当它发展成为一项有意义的业务时，他们将有一些自由资本来支付给另一个会做同样事情的亲戚。
They worked hard hosting thousands of guests and carefully stockpiling money. Whenever the stockpile grew large enough it didn’t go into increasing their lifestyle, but instead into the next opportunity, which was nearly always another motel.
他们努力接待数千名客人，并精心储备资金。每当库存增长到足够大时，它就不会用来改善他们的生活方式，而是会带来下一个机会，而下一个机会几乎总是另一家汽车旅馆。
By 2003, when the article was written, Indian immigrants owned half of all the motels in the United States. Not only were they continue to earn great revenue from each booking, but the land has appreciated over the decades to become incredibly valuable, making these families rich.
到 2003 年本文撰写时，印度移民已经拥有美国一半的汽车旅馆。他们不仅继续从每次预订中赚取巨额收入，而且几十年来土地不断升值，变得非常有价值，使这些家庭变得富有。
My three favorite things are that they:
我最喜欢的三件事是：
- Rallied together to make one family succeed, and in doing so raised the tide for everyone.
齐心协力，让一个家庭取得成功，并以此为每个人掀起浪潮。 - Never paid back the money, but instead paid it forward to the next family member to create opportunity for them.
从来没有偿还过这笔钱，而是将其转发给下一个家庭成员，为他们创造机会。 - Always poured the money into the next revenue generating asset (another motel) rather than inflating their lifestyle.
总是把钱投入到下一个创收资产（另一家汽车旅馆），而不是夸大他们的生活方式。
While he doesn’t come from a culture where that kind of assistance and collaboration is common, my friend Patrick is well on his way to creating wealth through following the same model as he leverages his construction skills to build more Airbnbs.
虽然我的朋友帕特里克并不来自那种普遍提供帮助和合作的文化，但他正在通过遵循相同的模式来创造财富，因为他利用自己的建筑技能建造了更多的 Airbnb 房屋。
Philip is doing the hard work to launch a SaaS company—learning all the skills necessary to jump 3 ladders in a single move. His company, LinkMink, is now growing quickly and we even switched ConvertKit to their platform a few months ago.
Philip 正在努力创办一家 SaaS 公司，学习一次性跳过 3 个梯子所需的所有技能。他的公司 LinkMink 现在正在快速发展，我们甚至在几个月前将 ConvertKit 切换到了他们的平台。
And I’ve used the skills I learned from each ladder to build a company to nearly $20 million in revenue.
我利用从每一个阶梯中学到的技能来建立一家收入近 2000 万美元的公司。
No matter where you are in your journey, whether you are searching for a job, living paycheck to paycheck, launching your first business, growing an audience, starting a side project, scaling your company, or looking for the next venture to invest in, I hope this article helps to serve as a roadmap of what’s possible.
无论您处于旅程的哪个阶段，无论您是在寻找工作、靠薪水过活、创办您的第一个企业、扩大受众、开始一个副业项目、扩大您的公司规模，还是正在寻找下一个投资项目，我希望这篇文章能够作为一个可行的路线图。
Building wealth is a skill. A skill anyone can master given enough time and a relentless desire to learn and work hard.
积累财富是一项技能。只要有足够的时间和不懈的学习和努力工作的愿望，任何人都可以掌握这项技能。
Thank you to James Clear for riffing on these ideas with me over the last year! And to Nick Loper for providing feedback on an early draft.
感谢 James Clear 在过去的一年里与我反复讨论这些想法！感谢尼克·洛珀 (Nick Loper) 对早期草稿提供的反馈。
Man, this is straight up hustle porn.
伙计，这就是直接的色情片。
Its not that it isn’t ever successful, its that its a lifetime of hustling that is not about building wealth so much as scratching Life/Business lotto tickets until one finally takes off (preferably sustainably). Had your woodworking biz taken off and been sustainable (in other words, been a winning lotto ticket), you’d probably be still doing that, largely discrediting the notion of a ladder. This is not without its costs and penalties (incredible strain on family, relationships, personal health). You talked about it in your own life, I’ve witnessed in my own circle; where similar tactics ended up in hospital visits for panic attacks, marriages get beat to shreds, and overall very crazed living.
并不是说它永远不会成功，而是它一生的忙碌并不是为了积累财富，而是为了刮刮生活/商业乐透彩票，直到最终起飞（最好是可持续的）。如果您的木工业务起飞并可持续发展（换句话说，成为中奖的乐透彩票），您可能仍然会这样做，这在很大程度上质疑了梯子的概念。这并非没有代价和惩罚（对家庭、人际关系、个人健康造成难以置信的压力）。你在自己的生活中谈到过，我在自己的圈子里亲眼目睹过；类似的策略最终会导致因惊恐发作而去医院、婚姻被撕成碎片，以及总体上非常疯狂的生活。
Might I suggest adding an addendum for Roth IRA, HSA, 401k, pay off home in 10 years? Apparently, the largest interview of millionaires in the USA (Chris Hogan’s book) documented that it generally wasn’t hustle porn that built that wealth, but rather regular investing into retirement accounts, tax planning, and paying off your house in 10 years. The nice thing about this is it doesn’t involve playing handyman/landlord, cleaning up airbnb’s, or risking everything on the next big play. And if you’re young (18-20), early boring investing can offer a stable foundation that offers opportunity to work in bad paying but fulfilling careers (teaching, wood working, small ice cream shop, Forestry service, civil etc).
我是否可以建议为 Roth IRA、HSA、401k 添加一份附录，10 年后还清家庭费用？显然，美国最大的百万富翁访谈（克里斯·霍根的书）记录了，积累财富的通常不是色情片，而是定期投资退休账户、税务规划和 10 年内还清房贷。这样做的好处是，它不需要扮演勤杂工/房东，清理爱彼迎，或者在下一场大戏中冒一切风险。如果你很年轻（18-20岁），早期无聊的投资可以提供一个稳定的基础，提供从事低薪但充实的职业的机会（教学、木工、小冰淇淋店、林业服务、土木等）。
We’re about same age and neighbors, so I get where you’re coming from. But I’d argue this isn’t wealth creation but rather “How to double down until you finally make it”, or at very least, Dangerous Wealth Building. In ConvertKit’s case, it took off, Huzzah! Time and breathing room to rebuilding tarnished relationships, mental issues that cropped up, and physical health. Many attempts don’t take off and recovery doesn’t/couldn’t happen leading to loss of “everything” – or if they do succeed, some things too far gone to save (marriages/health/mental state/etc).
我们年龄相仿，邻居也差不多，所以我明白你来自哪里。但我认为这不是创造财富，而是“如何加倍努力，直到最终成功”，或者至少是危险的财富积累。以 ConvertKit 为例，它取得了成功，好极了！有时间和喘息空间来重建受损的关系、突然出现的精神问题和身体健康。许多尝试都没有成功，恢复也没有/不可能发生，导致失去“一切”——或者即使成功了，有些东西也已经无法挽救（婚姻/健康/精神状态/等）。
Wealth is nice, be safe getting there even if it means a smaller monetary piece – your relationships and health are often irreplaceable.
财富是美好的，即使这意味着更少的金钱，也要安全地到达那里——你的人际关系和健康往往是不可替代的。
Here’s where we agree: you should max out your 401k, IRA, etc and save aggressively.
我们同意这一点：您应该最大限度地使用您的 401k、IRA 等资金并积极储蓄。
I cover that here:
我在这里介绍一下：
“If you want to build wealth that thousand dollars should be spent on new skills or invested in the stock market, retirement accounts, or another business, rather than burned on the latest gadget.”
“如果你想积累财富，那么这千美元应该花在新技能上，或者投资于股票市场、退休账户或其他业务，而不是花在最新的小玩意上。”
Right now it’s trendy for everyone to claim that success is just luck. It makes those who haven’t yet built wealth feel better about themselves. There’s always an element of luck, but those who believe luck is the primary factor and sit back waiting to get lucky create a self-fulfilling prophecy for themselves.
现在，每个人都流行声称成功只是运气。它让那些尚未积累财富的人自我感觉更好。运气总是有一部分的，但那些相信运气是主要因素并坐等幸运的人为自己创造了一个自我实现的预言。
Instead this is all about learning skills and principles to build wealth. You certainly don’t have to adopt every one of the principles or climb to the top of every ladder to get wealthy. The FIRE crew has effectively demonstrated that just with the first principle (Extra time and money need to be reinvested) you can do quite well and be better off than 90+% of the population.
相反，这一切都是关于学习技能和原则来积累财富。当然，你不必采用每一项原则或爬到每一个阶梯的顶端才能致富。 FIRE 团队有效地证明，只要遵循第一个原则（需要再投资额外的时间和金钱），您就可以做得很好，并且比 90% 以上的人过得更好。
But they often miss out on the fact that it’s more effective to increase income than cut expenses on the path to building wealth.
但他们常常忽视这样一个事实：在积累财富的道路上，增加收入比削减开支更有效。
Regarding “Double down until you make it” or “Dangerous Wealth Building,” it’s no surprise that I disagree here as well. With the skills I learned at each step I did build wealth. I chose to roll it forward into the next thing and take a big bet on ConvertKit, but this article is certainly not advocating everyone do that.
关于“加倍努力，直到成功”或“危险的财富积累”，我在这里也不同意，这并不奇怪。凭借我在每一步中学到的技能，我确实积累了财富。我选择将其推进到下一件事中，并在 ConvertKit 上下了很大的赌注，但本文当然不是提倡每个人都这样做。
The other fact that surprises most people is that low upside businesses are often just as much work as high upside businesses. Most people I know who run small businesses for $200k per year work very hard to make that happen! The owner of the landscaping company I hire for work on my farm works at least as hard as I do. It’s not just about hard work, it’s knowing what you want and understanding the principles to get there.
另一个令大多数人感到惊讶的事实是，低收益业务通常与高收益业务一样繁重。我认识的大多数每年以 20 万美元经营小型企业的人都非常努力地工作以实现这一目标！我雇用在我的农场工作的园林绿化公司的老板至少和我一样努力工作。这不仅仅是努力工作，而是知道自己想要什么并理解实现目标的原则。
My lotto analogy sounds like taken wrong way: that success === luck. Not my intention; The analogy was meant to emphasize the risk taking/”bets” behavior, but not intended to diminish the amount of hard work required to seeing those risks through (and it’s often years of blood sweat tears and sacrifice).
我的乐透类比听起来像是错误的方式：成功 === 运气。不是我的本意；这个类比的目的是强调冒险/“赌注”行为，但并不是为了减少克服这些风险所需的艰苦工作（而且通常需要多年的血汗泪水和牺牲）。
Mulled this over and I think here it boils down to: This article describes how to be a smarter/better/faster hustler, not enough practical wealth building. I get it though, this is not a personal finance focused post.
仔细考虑了一下，我认为这里可以归结为：这篇文章描述了如何成为一个更聪明/更好/更快的骗子，没有足够的实际财富积累。不过我明白了，这不是一篇以个人理财为重点的帖子。
Where this coming from: 这是从哪里来的：
My nephew is kind of person who would read this blog. He is a young adult trying to hustle his way up, currently as a real estate agent. I talked with him for hours, trying to point him in the direction of prudent wealth building behavior ($500/month in IRA while living under parents roof is hard but very doable). Could care less if he is making 30k/year or 300k/year – wealth building behavior applies at both levels. Two years later: no progress on wealth building.
我的侄子是那种会读这个博客的人。他是一个努力向上的年轻人，目前是一名房地产经纪人。我和他聊了几个小时，试图向他指出谨慎的财富积累行为的方向（在父母的屋檐下生活，每月存入 500 美元的 IRA 虽然很难，但非常可行）。不在乎他每年赚 3 万还是 30 万——财富积累行为在两个层面都适用。两年后：财富积累没有任何进展。
He reads articles like this and doesn’t realize that IRA/HSA/401K/HomeEquity are what happens behind the scenes when people say “reinvest”. Young adults hear the word “reinvest” and they think that’s upgrading to a leased Audi/fancier clothes/Chandlers-level dinners (cause like, gotta look like a baller to be a baller, right?)! And this doesn’t cover dumb decision like attending charlatan investing seminars and leveraging big to buy depressed real estate, YIKES! Then when things don’t pan out, they start beating themselves up and build up negative physical and mental tendencies, some of which don’t go away once they finally do become successful or cause lasting damage (divorce etc.).
他读了这样的文章，但没有意识到当人们说“再投资”时，IRA/HSA/401K/HomeEquity 就是幕后发生的事情。年轻人听到“再投资”这个词，他们认为这就是升级到租用的奥迪/更高档的衣服/钱德勒级别的晚餐（因为，要成为一名芭蕾舞演员，就必须看起来像芭蕾舞演员，对吧？）！这并不包括愚蠢的决定，比如参加骗子投资研讨会和利用大笔资金购买萧条的房地产，哎呀！然后，当事情没有成功时，他们就会开始打击自己，并在身体和精神上形成负面倾向，其中一些倾向在他们最终成功或造成持久损害（离婚等）后就不会消失。
I suppose that those of us who believe in choosing to live an adventurous (all be it, maybe somewhat riskier life) are fortunate that most others cannot tolerate this mindset in their own lives; take the safe road if you cannot handle the pressure of the road less traveled; but know that the road less traveled is the one where the greatest paths can be found; and seriously, I’d rather die seeking a new path than taking the same path as 99% of the population…
我想，我们这些相信选择冒险的人（无论如何，也许有点冒险的生活）是幸运的，因为大多数其他人在自己的生活中无法容忍这种心态；如果您无法应对少有人走的路的压力，请选择安全的道路；但要知道，在人迹罕至的道路上，可以找到最伟大的道路；说真的，我宁愿死去寻找一条新的道路，也不愿走上 99% 的人一样的道路……
Nothing about this says “hustle porn” to me.
对我来说，这并没有什么“喧嚣色情”的意思。
If you want to be financially wealthy, you have to work hard for a long time and not give up. That’s just a fact.
如果你想在经济上变得富有，你就必须长期努力工作，不能放弃。这只是事实。
The only other way is to be born to a wealthy family, inherit money from a rich uncle, or win the lottery — all of which depend on luck and are outside your control.
唯一的另一种方式就是出生在富裕家庭，从有钱的叔叔那里继承财产，或者中彩票——所有这些都取决于运气，而不是你所能控制的。
Choosing to run a business—the right kind of business that allows for wealth—is completely within your control and doesn’t depend on luck. Sacrificing relationships and mental health isn’t a requirement.
选择经营一家企业——选择能够带来财富的正确企业——完全在你的掌控之中，并不取决于运气。牺牲人际关系和心理健康并不是必需的。
Of course, if you don’t care about being financially wealthy, that’s a choice too!
当然，如果你不在乎经济上的富有，那也是一个选择！
I agree, nothing in this article is about “hustling”, its about taking your gains and investing them to get to the next level (or ladder). just straight up common sense for success. Nathan said as much over and over… invest your gains and pay it forward. The “hustle porn” comment above probably reflects the commenters mind set more than anything.
我同意，本文中没有任何内容是关于“努力”的，而是关于获取你的收益并将其投资以达到下一个水平（或阶梯）。只是成功的直接常识。内森一遍又一遍地说过……投资你的收益并将其转发出去。上面的“喧嚣色情”评论可能最能反映评论者的心态。
Great article Nathan. I always enjoy reading your work.
很棒的文章内森。我一直很喜欢阅读你的作品。
Awesome article. The ladders analogy made a lot of sense.
很棒的文章。梯子的比喻很有意义。
Thank you so much for sharing this!
非常感谢你分享这个！
Thank you for making this so accessible and clear! I’m still processing- what a read!!
感谢您让这变得如此容易和清晰！我还在处理——读得真好！
Awesome article, thanks Nathan. I’d love to see a deeper dive into Principle #6 – income taking a dip when moving between ladders. I’m experiencing that now moving from productized services to digital products. The good news is things are moving in the right direction, but it’s definitely taking longer than I thought!
很棒的文章，谢谢内森。我希望看到更深入地探讨原则#6——在阶梯之间移动时收入会下降。我现在正在经历从产品化服务转向数字产品的过程。好消息是事情正在朝着正确的方向发展，但这肯定比我想象的要花更长的时间！
1.
In 2011, I had a conversation with a very smart friend who was starting a social media service agency. I had just started building a SaaS business at that time. And was trying to convince him to build a social media SaaS tool instead of going with a service model. By 2015-16, he had grown to over 150 employees and ended up selling his service business to J Walter Thomson. While my SaaS business was just chugging along – making a decent profit but would never have realised the exit size he got.
2011年，我和一位非常聪明的朋友进行了交谈，他正在创办一家社交媒体服务机构。那时我刚刚开始建立 SaaS 业务。并试图说服他构建一个社交媒体 SaaS 工具，而不是采用服务模型。到 2015-16 年，他的员工数量已超过 150 名，并最终将其服务业务出售给 J Walter Thomson。虽然我的 SaaS 业务刚刚起步，赚取了可观的利润，但他永远不会意识到他获得的退出规模。
My friend didn’t see a difference between a product or a service business. He considered other peoples skills and time as the “product”.
我的朋友没有看到产品业务和服务业务之间有什么区别。他将其他人的技能和时间视为“产品”。
I feel parlaying and scaling are important concepts on building wealth. Companies like Infosys and IBM have built billion dollar ventures providing mere services too. Because they managed scaling.
我认为连本带利和规模化是积累财富的重要概念。 Infosys 和 IBM 等公司也建立了价值数十亿美元的企业，仅提供服务。因为他们成功实现了规模化。
2.
Ownership builds wealth. There are uber successful people like Harvey Brody who do really well running a 2-3 people company but generating millions in revenue. Their entire model is buying patents and then outsourcing everything else from manufacturing to supply chain to distribution.
所有权创造财富。有像哈维·布罗迪这样的超级成功人士，他们经营着一家 2-3 人的公司，但创造了数百万美元的收入。他们的整个模式是购买专利，然后外包从制造到供应链再到分销的所有其他内容。
Try to negotiate to own things even at the expense of current pay cheques.
即使以当前的工资为代价，也要尝试通过谈判拥有自己的东西。
Thanks for another awesome article, Nathan!
感谢内森的另一篇精彩文章！
Some time ago, when you mentioned you had moved and bought the acreage in town, you said you put down 20% on the house; as a wealth strategy, how/why did you conclude that paying loan interest over time was a better option than outright purchase (if the cash was available)? Curious for your mental model on that particular transaction :)
前段时间，当你提到你搬家并购买了城里的土地时，你说你付了20%的首付；作为一种财富策略，您如何/为何得出这样的结论：随着时间的推移支付贷款利息是比直接购买（如果有现金）更好的选择？对您针对该特定交易的心理模型感到好奇:)
The property cost $540,000 and I didn’t (still don’t) have that in cash. I prefer to keep the money in investments. Even if I did have that much cash interest rates are so low right now that I find the optionality of cash more valuable than being mortgage free. A little later when I sold my first half (I owned both for about 7 months) I held that in cash for about a year, then found a new investment property that had to be purchased in cash as it was in such poor condition banks wouldn’t lend on it. Though once that is remodeled (another 3 months) I plan to refinance it to get my cash back out and ready for the next opportunity.
该房产价值 540,000 美元，而我没有（仍然没有）现金。我更喜欢把钱留在投资上。即使我确实有那么多现金，现在利率也很低，我发现现金的选择性比无抵押贷款更有价值。不久之后，当我卖掉我的前半部分（我拥有这两个房产大约7个月）时，我以现金持有了大约一年，然后发现了一个新的投资房产，必须用现金购买，因为它的状况如此糟糕，银行不会这样做不要借给它。不过，一旦改造完成（另外三个月），我计划对其进行再融资，以收回我的现金，并为下一次机会做好准备。
All that said I do plan to pay off my our farm sooner rather than later, even though intellectually I don’t think it’s the best use of money. There’s something to the security of knowing that if ConvertKit and every other income stream disappeared tomorrow I could live on my farm mortgage free.
话虽如此，我确实计划尽快还清我们的农场，尽管从理智上来说，我认为这不是金钱的最佳用途。知道如果明天 ConvertKit 和其他所有收入来源都消失，我就可以免费靠农场抵押贷款生活，这是有安全感的。
Nathan, this article is excellent!
内森，这篇文章非常棒！
I couldn’t disagree more that this is “hustle porn”. The person that said that is clearly not an entrepreneur. Some people are better off taking the safe, well-known path through life, and others of us want to make our own path. I’m not saying one is better than the other, except for myself. I can’t imagine anything more boring or depressing than following the safe path that everyone else follows.
我完全不同意这是“喧嚣的色情片”。说这话的人显然不是企业家。有些人最好走安全、众所周知的人生道路，而我们中的其他人则想走自己的路。我并不是说一个人比另一个人好，除了我自己。我无法想象还有什么比遵循其他人都遵循的安全道路更无聊或更令人沮丧的了。
I’m currently transitioning from ladder 3 (productized services) to ladder 4 (selling products).
我目前正在从阶梯 3（产品化服务）过渡到阶梯 4（销售产品）。
The only thing I would add is for ladder 4 I think you need online memberships as one of the options. My membership is the product I sell. The recurring revenue is hard to not love!
我唯一要补充的是，对于阶梯 4，我认为您需要在线会员资格作为选项之一。我的会员资格就是我销售的产品。经常性收入很难不爱！
Thanks again for sharing! I’ve been following you for years and always enjoy your insights!
再次感谢分享！我多年来一直关注您，并且一直很欣赏您的见解！
Fantastic article Nathan. This and and the ladder image will be shown to my kids. To me, this has little to do with hustle and everything to do with planning and analyzing your path. Realizing you’re on one ladder and being content with that is just fine.
精彩的文章内森。这个和梯子图像将展示给我的孩子们。对我来说，这与忙碌无关，而与规划和分析你的道路有关。意识到自己处于同一个梯子上并对此感到满意就很好了。
It’s like a roadmap where you can choose the destination based on your preference of work and risk.
这就像一个路线图，您可以根据自己的工作偏好和风险来选择目的地。
Thank you so much.
太感谢了。
Good stuff! 好东西！
This is great, Nathan! I’ve thought about a lot of these same ideas but your writing lays them out in a very sharp and clarifying way.
这太棒了，内森！我思考过很多相同的想法，但你的写作以非常尖锐和清晰的方式阐述了它们。
One quick question on the ordering of the right ladder: Why are digital products on one’s own at the bottom of the ladder instead of two rungs further up? Is it really easier to sell an app or course built completely on your own platform than it is to sell something similar on an app store or course marketplace?
关于正确梯子排序的一个简单问题：为什么数字产品单独位于梯子的底部，而不是向上两级？销售完全在您自己的平台上构建的应用程序或课程真的比在应用程序商店或课程市场上销售类似的东西更容易吗？
That’s a good question. How to rank those two things for difficulty really depends on two factors, which makes it difficult to put one over the other. The factors I would consider are:
这是个好问题。如何对这两件事的难度进行排名实际上取决于两个因素，这使得很难将其中一个因素放在另一个因素之上。我会考虑的因素是：
1. Difficulty to create the product (e.g. ebooks are easier to create than WordPress plugins)
1. 创建产品困难（例如，电子书比 WordPress 插件更容易创建）
2. Infrastructure and existing marketplace (e.g. The App Store provides a built in distribution system and some demand that you can insert yourself into)
2. 基础设施和现有市场（例如，App Store 提供内置的分发系统和一些您可以插入的需求）
I’d still rank them in the order that I did, but you’re right that selling a digital product like a course or book can be difficult when you have to create the product AND find the customers outside of any ecosystem. But often in the big marketplaces like the App Store you still have to create the demand.
我仍然会按照我所做的顺序对它们进行排名，但你是对的，当你必须创建产品并找到任何生态系统之外的客户时，销售课程或书籍等数字产品可能会很困难。但通常在 App Store 等大型市场中，您仍然需要创造需求。
One that is different (at least in my experience) is Airbnb. The market for a new listing just isn’t that crowded in Boise. So if you have a solid product (both the house/apartment and your photos/description) with the right price you’re basically guaranteed steady bookings. So far I haven’t had the need to learn “airbnb seo” or something similar that you might need to understand on Amazon, YouTube, or the App Store.
Airbnb 是一个不同的地方（至少根据我的经验）。博伊西的新上市市场并不那么拥挤。因此，如果您有可靠的产品（包括房屋/公寓和您的照片/描述）且价格合适，那么您基本上可以保证稳定的预订。到目前为止，我还不需要学习“airbnb seo”或类似的内容，而您可能需要在亚马逊、YouTube 或 App Store 上了解这些内容。
So good! Love the details and examples you shared, Nathan. If you add to this or make into an ebook, I’d love more insight on how to decide what the next step should be. I haven’t had to take too many risks in my new business since my husband has a full time job. But, now that we’re seeing results, I’m struggling with knowing how much money I put back into the business, how much do I pay myself, and if I were to invest in something, what would that even be? It’s all so new to me. But, I completely agree on not just building a bigger lifestyle. My husband and I just talked about this a few nights ago. His grandpa was one of the largest construction companies in southeastern Idaho in the 60’s/70’s. They did really well. But they never bought a large home. They paid cash for things and invested in properties and land. They always had more than enough and eventually passed a lot of money on to their children and grandchildren. I want to be that person! Thanks for the inspiration! Keep it up.
超好的！喜欢你分享的细节和例子，内森。如果您添加到此内容或制作成电子书，我希望能更深入地了解如何决定下一步应该做什么。自从我丈夫有一份全职工作以来，我不必在我的新生意中冒太多风险。但是，现在我们看到了结果，我很难知道我向企业投入了多少钱，我给自己支付了多少钱，以及如果我要投资某样东西，那会是什么？这一切对我来说都是那么新鲜。但是，我完全同意不仅仅是建立一种更美好的生活方式。我和我丈夫前几天晚上才讨论过这个问题。他的祖父是 60 年代/70 年代爱达荷州东南部最大的建筑公司之一。他们做得非常好。但他们从未买过大房子。他们用现金购买物品并投资房产和土地。他们总是有足够的钱，并最终将很多钱传给了他们的子孙。我想成为那样的人！感谢您的灵感！继续努力吧。
Nathan 内森
Very well thought out information, however you are “trading your time for money” as you say by writing this. I am your 12th response and what validation does that give you? 18 million business, concentrate on that and quit looking for validation from your “fans”! Life is short, shit happens, you have made it, just take it to the next level. Forget sharing your journey, experiences, in the end no one cares and your advice means nothing. You want a customer…sell me on why ConvertKit is the best!
经过深思熟虑的信息，但是正如您所说，您写这篇文章是在“用时间换金钱”。我是你的第 12 个回复，这给了你什么验证？ 1800万生意，专注于此，不要再寻求“粉丝”的认可！人生苦短，难免会发生一些事情，你已经成功了，只需将其提升到一个新的水平。忘记分享你的旅程、经历，最终没有人在乎，你的建议毫无意义。您想要一位客户……向我推销为什么 ConvertKit 是最好的！
Haha, actually I don’t make any money from this site anymore. I’m purely trading time for joy and impact in writing this.
哈哈，其实我已经不再从这个网站赚钱了。我写这篇文章纯粹是用时间来换取快乐和影响力。
Nathan writes this => ConvertKit users make more money => their list grows => ConvertKit makes more money.
Nathan 写道 => ConvertKit 用户赚更多钱 => 他们的列表增长 => ConvertKit 赚更多钱。
I see he said he wrote it just for the pure enjoyment of it. That’s great too.
我看到他说他写它只是为了纯粹的享受。那也很棒。
But it’s short sighted if you don’t see that this public writing is an exponential investment in anything Nathan does.
但如果你看不到这篇公开写作对内森所做的任何事情都是指数级的投资，那就太短视了。
I always read your articles. I’ve never commented. Just want to say thank you
我总是读你的文章。我从来没有评论过。只是想说谢谢
Great article as always, Nathan!
一如既往的好文章，内森！
This is just what I needed. I just got a job so I can pay the bills while I save up to start a business I’ve been wanting to do for years but cos of cash constraints.
这正是我所需要的。我刚刚找到了一份工作，这样我就可以一边支付账单，一边存钱创办一家我多年来一直想做的生意，但由于现金有限。
Thanks for this. 谢谢你。
I love having the visual of the ladders. That and the questions you pose for anyone considering leveling up will be helpful in filtering all my ideas. (I’m always thinking, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I…” but I never am sure if it’s a solid idea or a pipe dream.)
我喜欢梯子的视觉效果。这以及你向任何考虑升级的人提出的问题将有助于过滤我的所有想法。 （我总是在想，“如果我……那不是很酷吗？”但我从来不确定这是一个可靠的想法还是一个白日梦。）
This is an INCREDIBLE article. Thank you so much for it. Is it the ONLY way to build wealth? No. BUT for creators (aka your main audience) this is perfect and so inspiring! I’m on ladder 4 – have created a $1M per year business (with the help of convertkit!) selling an online course. I have a Saas idea that I would LOVE to make happen within the next few years. Any tips / suggestions on resources for starting that journey would be AMAZING! Thanks again for this post. I’ll be sharing it with my audience!
这是一篇令人难以置信的文章。非常感谢你。这是积累财富的唯一途径吗？不。但是对于创作者（也就是您的主要受众）来说，这是完美的，而且非常鼓舞人心！我处于第 4 梯子 – 销售在线课程，创建了每年 100 万美元的业务（在 Convertkit 的帮助下！）。我有一个 Saas 想法，希望在未来几年内实现。任何关于开始这一旅程的资源的提示/建议都会很棒！再次感谢这篇文章。我将与我的观众分享！
Thanks, I appreciate your insight and perspective. I’ve been on many of these rungs, and the ladder metaphor works well. Especially the notion that moving between ladders can be a temporary but worthwhile lowering of income (to gain learning).
谢谢，我很欣赏你的洞察力和观点。我经历过很多这样的梯级，梯子的比喻很有效。尤其是这样一种观念，即在阶梯之间移动可能会暂时但值得降低收入（以获取学习）。
Best article I’ve ever read in my life!
我一生中读过的最好的文章！
What’s an example of subscription software launched with consulting services?
与咨询服务一起推出的订阅软件的例子是什么？
Fantastic works Nathan ! 内森的出色作品！
Thank you for sharing.
感谢你的分享。
I definitely agree with what you say, and I will add that for me, building your own business is definitely the most reliable way to build wealth.
我绝对同意你的说法，我还要补充一点，对我来说，建立自己的企业绝对是积累财富最可靠的方式。
Thank you Nathan for sharing your thoughts so openly, it’s very helpful!
感谢内森如此公开地分享您的想法，这非常有帮助！
While I don’t consider this to be “hustle-porn” kind of thing, I think I understand what may be difficult about this story for many people.
虽然我不认为这是“色情片”之类的事情，但我想我理解这个故事对很多人来说可能有什么困难。
I think even though you mentioned it was a long road, it looks quite smooth when you look back and see the final outcome, but I also have examples around me that show it’s a bumpy road and sometimes things don’t work out. Sometimes people fail, because they had bad luck and they couldn’t get over it one more time.
我想，虽然你提到这是一条漫长的路，但当你回头看最后的结果时，看起来很顺利，但我身边也有例子表明，这是一条坎坷的路，有时事情并不顺利。有时候，人会失败，因为运气不好，无法再克服一次。
I’m still exchanging time for money, but also have 4 rentals (long term) and look into creating some products. Looks nice now, but boy… we’ve learned a lot over the last few years of renting and many times I thought we should just stop doing that :)
我仍在用时间换金钱，但也有 4 笔租金（长期），并考虑创造一些产品。现在看起来不错，但是天哪……我们在过去几年的租房中学到了很多东西，很多时候我认为我们应该停止这样做:)
So now when my friends ask me whether they should do a silar thing, the first thing I recommend is to clarify your goals, align your strategy with goals, skills, personal situation, acceptable risk level and learn a lot from other’s mistakes. I share mine openly, but there are many more ;)
因此，现在当我的朋友问我是否应该做类似的事情时，我建议的第一件事就是明确你的目标，将你的策略与目标、技能、个人情况、可接受的风险水平相结合，并从别人的错误中学习很多东西。我公开分享我的，但还有更多；）
Thanks for sharing your product journey, I’m learning a lot from it.
感谢您分享您的产品之旅，我从中学到了很多东西。
Hey Nathan, 嘿内森，
On which ladder and rung would you put affiliate marketing revenues? And recurring sponsored posts?
您将联属网络营销收入放在哪个阶梯和梯级上？以及经常性的赞助帖子？
Great article!! Love it. Corey
很棒的文章！！爱它。科里
Fantastic article. I have read this post a few times. I will also print it.
很棒的文章。我读过这篇文章几次。我也打印一下。
It has given me immense faith in my process of building a product.
它让我对自己构建产品的过程充满信心。
Fascinating read! Really enjoy your thoughts about going from strength-to-strength.
读起来很有趣！真正享受你关于不断壮大的想法。
I know a lot of career people, who eventually found out the ‘security’ was an illusion.
我认识很多职业人士，他们最终发现“安全感”只是一种幻觉。
These principles, applied diligently over time, will lead to actual independence. The school of hard-knocks led me to many of these same lessons, but I wish I’d heard them so clearly articulated at the beginning of my career!
随着时间的推移，勤奋地应用这些原则将带来真正的独立。艰苦的学习让我学到了许多同样的教训，但我希望在我职业生涯的开始时就听到这些教训如此清晰！
I will share this with my kids who are just getting started and your legacy will carry on. Thank you for sharing your time instead of only focussing on the gravy-train.
我将与我刚刚起步的孩子们分享这一点，你们的遗产将继续下去。感谢您分享您的时间，而不是只关注肉汁火车。
Love the ladders concept and the diagrams are fine as hell!
喜欢梯子的概念，图表非常棒！
I keep coming back to this article, on the ladder 2 & 3 with some bits of linear and exponential income graphs, totally align with everything you said above, thanks for sharing it all in such an elaborate and detailed manner!
我不断地回到这篇文章，在梯子 2 和 3 上有一些线性和指数收入图，完全符合你上面所说的一切，感谢你以如此复杂和详细的方式分享这一切！
Thank you so much for writing this Nathan! I don’t think we talk about income enough on the path of entrepreneurship.
非常感谢你写这篇文章内森！我认为我们在创业的道路上谈论收入还不够。
You voiced pretty much everything I’m going through in this blog post. Nice to know I’m on the “right” path :)
你在这篇博文中表达了我所经历的几乎所有事情。很高兴知道我走在“正确”的道路上:)
This is the article I needed now when I try to dive into that business/creator/builder mentality. But I have one question though: if everything is just about building wealth continuously and not investing in my “pleasures” (travels, cool gear) as well…when will I get to enjoy that wealth though? Hmm…I think I still have that consumer mentality I need to get rid of..
当我尝试深入探讨业务/创造者/建设者心态时，这就是我现在需要的文章。但我有一个问题：如果一切都只是为了不断积累财富，而不是投资于我的“乐趣”（旅行、炫酷装备）……那么我什么时候才能享受到这笔财富呢？嗯……我想我仍然有需要摆脱的消费心态……
Wow. 哇。
What a fabulous, deeply impacting article.
多么精彩、影响深远的文章啊。
Your ladder analogy makes so much sense to me.
你的梯子比喻对我来说很有意义。
Your skill at articulating complex thoughts in an intelligent and compelling way is truly remarkable.I will come back to this again and again.
您以明智且令人信服的方式阐明复杂思想的能力确实令人惊叹。我会一次又一次地回顾这一点。
Thanks, Nathan. 谢谢，内森。