I finished reading How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets by Felix Dennis today.

This book isn’t just about getting rich. It’s about succeeding as an entrepreneur. Riches are a byproduct of building a successful company. That mental framing was helpful as I read the book.

Here are my takeaways from the last third of the book:

Part Three: Succeeding as an Entrepreneur

• Focus – Felix Dennis’s goal was to create wealth for himself. After stumbling into magazines and succeeding, he believed he was “born a magazine publisher.” He regrets lying to himself. Focusing on something he didn’t love but happened to be good at “cut me off from more lucrative endeavors,” he said. Magazine publishing is a mature business, so outsize success was harder to achieve and took longer. He advises staying focused on your objective (for him, wealth) and picking the best path to that goal (i.e., an industry with a tailwind).
• Luck – Dennis and a partner decided to write a biography of Bruce Lee. Sadly, Lee unexpectedly died young just as they were finishing the book. International demand for their biography rocketed, and that led to several other opportunities. Their focus on Lee’s biography put them in a position to capitalize after his tragic passing. This morbid story highlights Dennis’s psychology (for better or worse) and how luck isn’t always blind. Focus and hard work often precede lucky breaks.
• Do an outstanding job – Your company should always do an outstanding job. High-quality people are attracted to quality products and services, so you’ll attract and hire the best talent. The company will make fewer errors, which will reduce costs. If your company is known for quality, it will get a premium valuation and you’ll be wealthier (on paper). And doing a good job is just more fun.

Part Four: The Endgame

• Closing costs – The cost of shuttering a business can be material, and founders underestimate that fact. Selling the business for anything is better than shutting it down.
• Selling a failing business – Determine your financial runway. Think about ways competitors can use what you’ve built. Think of ways you can modify the business. Articulate how your business could add value to acquirers as-is or in a modified form. Start letting people know the business is for sale and how it can add value to their operations. Two interested parties equal a sale process. It takes only one to close a deal.
• Shuttering the business – Closing is the last resort. Pursue this path only after you’ve tried to sell the business. Never announce the business is winding down until you’ve exhausted all options for selling.

I now understand why Dennis wrote this book. He genuinely wanted to help other people become successful entrepreneurs and achieve financial independence. Sharing what he learned the hard way was his way of giving back.

Dennis was a colorful, mercenary entrepreneur. He started multiple businesses, and I didn’t pick up on a burning passion for any of them. He wanted financial freedom and everything that came with it, which wasn’t always good for Dennis.

Prefer listening? Catch audio versions of these blog posts, with more context added, on Apple Podcasts here or Spotify here!