05/01/2024
The "$3 Latte" has gotten more blame for lack of financial success than any other thing that I can think of.
I'm not exactly sure where anyone is buying a latte for $3, the last one I bought was $5.99 before the tip!
Lately I've been seeing a lot of chatter about how skipping on the latte isn't how people become successful, blaming inequity and social ills for their inability to make a deposit on a home or start a business.
I agree that there is vast inequity in our society and odds are not in the entrepreneur's favor. But I also have personal experience in beating the odds.
Ten years ago, when my brothers and I bought our family business, I walked into that partnership with the highest personal equity, a whopping $13k. We took on a failing job shop with huge debt to a private lender. And we turned that place around and made it a successful, profitable business.
How?
We gave up everything but the essentials. We shared a rental, ate beans and rice and flour tortillas, made our own coffee, and worked our butts off.
I had a personal goal to make a 20% deposit on a property within 5 years of business ownership. So I gave up eating out, getting my hair and nails done, wore my clothes longer, watched movies with ads, and drove a be**er car. Less than 4 years later I bought a home with 20% down.
I gave up so much more than lattes.
Success comes at a personal cost. Blaming social ills is an excuse for not taking personal responsibility and getting what you want in life.
If you have a financial goal, do whatever it takes to meet that goal. Don't let anyone tell you it's out of reach. You get what you fight for.
Give up the latte if that's what it takes.
