Lessons I have Learned from Others

My life story will jump around quite a bit in this blog. Approximately 4 years ago I started my own business helping other businesses:

This has had several impacts on how I look at money:

1. I like paying taxes. Yes, I like paying taxes. I don't like paying too much tax but paying tax means that I am making money.
2. A good business understands revenue recognition- every expenses should be tied to a corresponding revenue source. An outgoing expense should match incoming revenue. If it does not, the money should not be spent. It sounds simple but if you ever read the business news how many times have you heard about a business that started "empire building" and met financial set-backs (Time Warner-AOL comes to mind)? Or, closer to home, I always worry about people who buy investment property and say "at the very worse, I can write off my losses and pay less tax?" It sounds like a strange proposition that someone would invest money with the goal of losing it.
3. The most successful business people do not have access to different products or networks than middle class citizens. They just think in a manner middle class citizens are not conditioned to.

I'll expand on this last point in my next blog.