Is investing the best way to start a business?
Recently, I came across a viewpoint from a financial blogger: "In the next five years, investing is the best way to start a business."
Here, "investment" mainly refers to stock investment.
His logic is straightforward: If you have some funds and want to increase the value of your assets, it's better to become a shareholder of those successful companies rather than starting your own business or going into entrepreneurship.
For instance, if you want to open a coffee shop? Maybe it's better to hold stocks of Lululemon. If you want to get involved in AI? The threshold is too high. It's better to consider Google and NVIDIA.
I fully agree with this perspective, but I also realize that - this path is far from being as simple as it sounds.
My journey of learning about the stock market
At the beginning of the pandemic, I started systematically learning about stocks. Initially, I just wanted to understand why people always say that the stock market is "seven losses, two draws, and one gain"?
I began by studying K-line charts, MACD, and KDJ. I took online courses, read books, and even re-read classics like "The Intelligent Investor" and " insider buy superstocks" several times.
The more I learned, the more I felt that this was a world as profound as the ocean.
Over the years, I have developed a great deal of respect for it.
The intensity of learning required for the stock market is no less than obtaining a degree, and it even requires continuous mental cultivation.
So, when you say "Investment is a great way to start a business", I agree. But don't forget, it is also very difficult.
No matter how difficult the environment is, we must keep moving forward.
The current overall situation is indeed full of challenges.
As financial writer Wu Xiaobo said, "No matter how disappointed you are with the present, you still need to live each day well."
Rather than being pessimistic, it's better to actively seek solutions.
If traditional industries are under pressure, then try to keep up with new trends, learn about new media and new skills, or re-examine your choices.
At any time, people need to have the courage to accept difficulties. Continuously learning is the only behavior that will never be wrong.
Investment or Business? The Essence is All About Cultivation
Whether it's investing in stocks or starting a business, both require full commitment and continuous learning, and they are accompanied by risks and opportunities.
Being a shareholder of a large company sounds easier, but the stock market is not always a straight upward line. It is an undulating curve.
- Can you predict the cycle?
- Can you hold on during a downturn?
- Can you withstand the pressure of possible long-term sluggishness?
Starting a business is also not easy.
But recently, I saw a video: A local TV host, due to the industry's poor performance, earned only about 3,000 yuan per month. But he resolutely resigned and opened a rice noodle shop.
From a host to a chef, a waiter, he did everything himself.
He gave up his past glory and achieved profitability in less than a year.
He also shared his daily life through short videos, not only making his business popular, but also attracting more and more people who came to learn how to make rice noodles from him.
His story made me feel: Success is not necessarily far away. It might be right where you are willing to bend down.
Finally, I would like to say:
In this era of uncertainty, perhaps we need to "calm down" more - find our place, study hard, take practical actions, and use time to shape ourselves.
Whether it's the stock market or starting a business, there may be failures or successes.
The key is not which path to choose, but how much you are willing to invest and whether you can remain clear-headed and resilient throughout the process.
If I were to summarize, I would say:
- Investing is the entrepreneurship of cognition;
- Starting a business is the investment of action.
In essence, both are a deep self-training.
-----Extended reading
1）Benjamin Graham said: "One notable feature of the art of investing is that amateurs can achieve respectable results with just a little effort and ability." But what is this "little effort"? It's not predicting the market; rather, it's building a "margin of safety" for oneself that ensures no loss regardless of market fluctuations.
2）Why are most stocks just average, while only a few can yield a hundredfold return? "insider buy Superstocks " reveals the core principle behind it: **"Super Market Segment" + "Super Fundamental Factors" + "Super Timing"**.