Book review: Billionaire in Training by Bradley Sugars

Billionaire in Training (Because Millionaire just isn’t rich enough…) by Bradley J Sugars

Synopsis:
As the title suggests, this book is focused on creating and continuously increasing your wealth. The author explains important concepts such as cash-flow and passive income and looks at different stages in business and how people at those stages can improve their wealth situation. The method this book uses is on creating a business and building that business into a profitable one so you can sell and repeat the process. The author looks at ‘five levels of entrepreneurs’ and how each level thinks about money and how they can reach the next level.

What I gained from reading this book:
I had low expectations for this book based on the title. I expected another book on how to use massive amounts of debt and buy foreclosed properties to build wealth. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. After the first few chapters I was worried it was just another marketing hype book focused on selling seminars and other books by the author. While this is partly true, I did find valuable information that really made me think about my current situation and why I need to do something about it.

First, the negatives. In one way, this book is a vehicle the author uses to sell his workshops, business coaching services, books and a board game. Almost every chapter you are reminded that you can contact an ‘ACTION business coach’ to get you on track to wealth. For some people, it will be too much marketing but for me it wasn’t enough to annoy me. It’s actually interesting to read the book to see the techniques the author uses to promote his other products and services. After all, his cross product selling is one of the reasons he is rich! One technique that is commonly (or overly) used is when the author uses uppercase type to highlight certain words. Turn to any page and you will without a doubt find words in uppercase like RICH, LEAD, PASSIVE, WEALTH, MAKE MONEY WITH MONEY, CASH etc. Whenever I see this it puts me off because it has been abused so many times by bad salespeople. If I make EVERY other WORD uppercase, it REALLY gets ANNOYING to read. Also, you begin to THINK that everything you are READING is only HYPE and SALES PITCH. But in this case, I didn’t believe it was hype.

Another thing that bothered me was how many times the author would say something like “Later I’ll show you how to…” “More on this later” “I’ll go into more detail later”. It makes the whole book sound like a sales pitch. Most people will probably be fine with that style of writing, but it bothered me.

Now for the positives. I found most of the points the author made had excellent foundation and really made sense. For example, the author suggests that you do not create a business in a field you excel in, which is something most people would think the opposite. So if you can give a good haircut, you shouldn’t start a hairdressing business. Why? Because instead of working on the business and thinking of ways to increase cash-flow and profitability, you will be stuck cutting hair. Also, because of your skill and knowledge as a hairdresser, you won’t be happy with the other employee’s haircutting skills so you won’t be able to move away from that position yourself. In essence, you will be stuck with a job instead of running a business. Points like these really give insight as to why so many businesses fail. I really felt that most of the points were very logical. Simple observations like how an employee ‘earns’ money while a manager ‘makes’ money really give good insight to how people in different positions think about money.

Overall, I felt I really learned something from this book and will really try to use the concepts in my life.

As a side note, I did notice after reading it that although the title reads “Billionaire in Training”, the word Billionaire wasn’t used once in the entire book. Or at least I never saw it. Which makes me believe the title was chosen for marketing reasons, not to describe the content. Hmm.. Bit misleading but still a good book.

Positives:
Many of the points make sense. Some of the points are very unique and stand against popular belief, which gives a great way to look at your current situation and how to improve it.

Negatives:
One of the purposes of the book is to promote other products and services. Some people may find this annoying as it does distract from the real information. The use of uppercase to highlight words is overused and cheapens what the author is saying.

Recommended for: People wanting to quit being an employee
This book gives an excellent overview on how to move from being an employee to a self-employed person to a manager all the way to an Entrepreneur. While the book may be light on information, the information it does provide is very thought provoking and logical.

Genre: Wealth

Overall rating: 7 out of 10 stars



Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:


Where to from here:
In this book the author mentions The E-Myth Revisited and I suggest this book after you have read this one. The book also has a recommended reading list of books I have not read yet but would be a good source to continue on the topic. It should be noted that 8 out of 17 of the books listed in this list is by Brad Sugars - another example of cross selling in action.

If you have read this book, feel free to give it your own rating by posting a comment below.

Four books you must read before starting your own business

If you are thinking about starting your own business, the hardest part is probably the very start. There is a wealth of information out there on a wide range of topics that business owners must know. Rather than guessing where to start, I have made this list of books that will give you a basic starting point with essential principles and concepts. After you read these books, you will know what needs to be done next.

1. The E-Myth Revisited

This book is an essential starting point for anybody considering starting their own business. The author explains to Susie, somebody who has already started their business, why her results have not been what she expected. A wide range of topics are explained very well from lessons in franchising all the way to the mindset a business owner must have.
By the end of this book, you will have a much clearer idea of what you need to do, and more importantly, how you must think.



2. MBA in a day

For those who don’t want to spend 3+ years studying business at university, this book is a way to gain a basic understanding of the principles and concepts that would have been taught. By no way am I saying that this book compares with three years of study, but it does give a good summary of the topics. Everything from accounting and finance to marketing and strategy is discussed.
After reading this book you will have a very basic understanding of all the topics you will need to understand to successfully run a business. From there you can find more books or even short courses on the specific subjects you want to learn. It is important to be aware of what you need to learn and why you should learn it. This book does a good job in increasing your awareness in business subjects.



3. How to win friends and influence people

No matter what type of business you plan to start, you will be involved with people. Even if you are starting an internet only business, your customer service and networking skills will determine your success or failure. This book teaches essential people skills that everybody in business must recognize and apply. Ever walked out of a store disgusted by the lack of customer service and decided never to go back? Well if you don’t have first class people skills, there is the chance that people will react that way to your business.
This book will teach you everything from improving customer (or supplier) relationships to handling conflicts and arguments. Applying the principles in this book is an easy and effective way to improve your business’ reputation.


4. Getting to YES (Negotiating agreement without giving in)

Like this book states “like it or not, you are a negotiator”. Regardless of your business, eventually you will need to negotiate with somebody. How you handle that negotiation (and all future negotiations) will have a huge impact of your business’ performance. Whether you are hiring somebody and negotiating their pay and benefits, or negotiating with your suppliers, having an understanding of negotiating and how to effectively do it is essential. This book is most effective to protect you from people who will try to take advantage of you or use dirty tactics. The small cost of this book outweighs the raw deals and manipulation you could have encountered had you not read it.
This book will introduce you to what negotiating is and what it is not. Most people don’t really understand negotiating to begin with so reading this book will already put you at an advantage. With starting businesses, the more advantages you can get, the more likely you will be successful. Even if you think you are a good negotiator, you can always improve. Grasp hold of any advantage you can get your hands on. A solid understanding of negotiating is a clear advantage.



I have chosen these books because they are topics that many people would neglect or completely overlook. The main lesson is that the right frame of mind is essential for success. Topics such as accounting or marketing are easy to learn, so after you read these books you can continue to study them as you like. On the other hand, developing the mindset capable of running a successful company is so important, yet many people don’t even consider learning how to do it.