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Live: Investment Guide
At Cense we emphasize taking action on your personal finances. One of the most confusing yet most important parts of managing your money is starting investing.
So we wanted to make that easier. If you’re interested in starting investing, we put together a step-by-step guide to get started.
What’s the catch? You have to invite someone to join the Cense Newsletter. Consider it helping your friend with their personal finances. You’re doing them a favor, and getting something nice in return.
We hope this helps! Now back to our regularly scheduled…
Live: Shaq Owns What?!?
Shaq doesn’t just dunk basketballs. He dunks entire industries.
After retiring from the NBA, the Big Aristotle decided he’d rather collect companies than championship rings.
His portfolio boasts over 50 brands including everything from Auntie Anne’s pretzels to Papa John’s, car washes, 24-Hour Fitness, and even a piece of Google.
At one point, he even owned 155 Five Guys locations. That’s a lot of burgers.
So What?
Even NBA stars show that income is the least efficient way to make money. Shaq figured out early that wealth isn’t built from one paycheck.
When you make money on an hourly or salary basis, you are trading your time for money.
This is okay when you’re first starting in your career, but as you gain expertise, you don’t want your wealth to be limited by the hours in the day.
You don’t need to buy a Five Guys empire to leverage-up your earnings. But you should…
Learn: Efficient Ways to Earn
The harsh truth is that working harder at your job doesn’t always mean earning more.
In the long run, instead of trading time for money, you should ideally be trading your money for more money.
This means making your income scale non-linearly. It’s gotta go up like a 12-year-old’s blood sugar on Halloween night.
Here’s what the different types of income look like:
1. Active Income (a.k.a. Your Job)
Typically what your first couple jobs will look like.
You trade time for money.
You stop working → you stop earning.
Efficient? Only if you’re compensated very well or gaining skills to level up.
2. Semi-Active Income (Side Businesses / Freelancing)
Can start this at any point.
Still involves work, but you control the pace.
Example: Selling digital templates, tutoring, flipping furniture, or running a small e-comm store.
Once you systemize it (automate orders, outsource tasks), your income is no longer limited by your time.
3. Passive Income (Investments & Ownership)
You don’t trade time — you trade money.
Stocks, rental properties, or buying existing businesses.
High entry cost, but this is how you build “sleep money.”
The most tax-advantaged ways to earn money are real estate, business, and investing.
Lawyers work insane hours for the chance to be partner, where they get part ownership of the firm.
Executives in the C-suite usually get equity packages.
90% of millionaires get their wealth through real estate.
Don’t think you need to buy a house next year to be successful. But it’s important that you leverage your skills and money that you earn to do more than you could ever do between 9 am and 5 pm.
Leverage: BizBuySell & Acquire.com
Becoming a business owner can be easier than you think.
You don’t need to be an NBA multimillionaire to buy a business, you can actually buy your own empire for much cheaper.
Two top sites for this are BizBuySell and Acquire.com.
Platform | What It Is | Best For |
BizBuySell | Marketplace for buying traditional small businesses (restaurants, laundromats, gyms). | People who want a local or physical business. |
Acquire.com | Marketplace for buying online businesses (SaaS, e-commerce, newsletters, apps). | Digital-first buyers or tech-savvy investors. |
Whether it’s a Teletubby distribution e-commerce brand or something even more grand, there are all sorts of businesses online, for sale.
Gif by teletubbiesofficial on Giphy, Yesssss… these will fetch a fair price >:)
Pros:
These sites let you skip the painful startup phase.
You can get instant cash flow (if the biz is already profitable).
Your work creates value in the business.
Cons:
Upfront cost can be high.
Do your homework before buying any business.
Owning a business is not the only way to achieve wealth as I noted above, but thinking about how to disconnect your time from the amount of wealth you have is important when thinking about your finances.
Also, quick reminder that I am not sponsored by any of the tools I note here. I wish I was! These are just the tools I use.
Launch!
Think about how you want to scale your income in the future.
You don’t need to be a 7-foot Five Guys fanatic, and you don’t need to buy a house.
But if you want to start investing, consider opening a Roth IRA and putting some money in it.
If you want to buy property, open a high-yield savings account and start saving toward your future home there.
You don’t need to be a millionaire tomorrow, but you can start heading there today. ;)
Hey!
Thank you so much for being a part of this newsletter. I am grateful to write to you weekly and I hope this helps you feel more confident with your finances.
If you found this newsletter helpful, please share it with a friend and invite them to subscribe.
I have a goal of helping people learn personal finance. It works better when more people get my emails.
Thank you for helping me (and your friend) out!
—Ben Brosnahan
