@Netgames999: What are you doing right now?
Just wanna share some thoughts after having done business for 2 years (more, if you count the time I wrote my own books and made my own courses).
Business is not easy - It's often a grind, sometimes you sink a bunch of money in without too much returns, you have to manage a ton of people. But it's fun, and very fulfilling. I could never imagine myself working at some shit-ass job doing some brain-dead work (like I did in the army). Of course it could be ok to work for others if I had a nice cozy office desk at Google or Facebook but such job opportunities are rare.
Anyway, I think it is WAY easier for poker players to transition into business.
1. We understand the importance of the Hourly Rate
I don't care if an Investment Banker makes $10k, or $20k a month, if he has to bust his ass working 300+ hours a month. His hourly is terrible and he sacrifices his lifespan + sells his soul to the devil for that money.
2. We are able to handle massive amounts of risks and swings
When you have experienced 50k losses in a single day before, nothing ever comes close to that anymore in the business world, unless you are Zuckerberg/Musk and your share prices tank like crazy.
3. We usually have a larger bankroll than our peers (if you are moderately successful in poker)
Many of my family members and friends found it very hard to spend $100 a day on Advertising, or even $50 a day. That's a huge chunk of their salary. However, the guys who transitioned from poker to ecomm were able to blast ads with more courage.
4. We are used to being in charge of our own schedule and work
I'm still a little bit of a lazy ass, but I think I started working harder when I started ecommerce. I'm also able to focus hard when I have a clear goal/task at hand, be it grinding out products, creating marketing campaigns, or writing powerpoint lessons for my poker school. In Poker, focusing harder might increase your winrate but it can't make your session end faster (technically you could leave earlier) and get it over and down with earlier.
5. A huge focus on self-development
Good Poker Players are always trying to improve, work on themselves, their mental game, improve their diet, go to the gym, because they can attribute this to an immediate ROI. On the other hand, most people working in regular jobs don't have the right mindset to constantly grow and improve. They are still earning a fixed wage. This gives poker players a huge edge in business.
Main Differences
1. You might be doing something more fulfilling.
Especially if your business truly helps others
2. There might be value in what you are creating
If you build a brand, loyal following and stable revenue streams, you could sell your business for a price eventually. For poker, it all amounts to nothing. When the grinding stops, so does the money.
3. Management/Delegation of Other People + Having to Network
I'm so used to working as a lone wolf. I don't exactly like going out to network with others but it's super important. It's impossible to learn everything on your own so I always try to find people who are smarter than me, try to provide some value for them in some way and hopefully they'll share something back with me. Management of team is also quite tough - You need to make sure people don't fuck up, keep them motivated and focused on certain goals. Keep them in line, delegate the right tasks to the right person.
4. It's more stable than poker swings
Business Swings each month range from breakeven to mega bull-run. For Poker, I've had plenty of heartbreaking losing months in the past earlier in my career. Nothing comes close to poker, unless you're a trader.
5. Accounting is a Pain in the ass
For Online Poker you have HM2
For Offline Poker I would juts record every session in an excel spreadsheet, with the number of hours and profit for the session.
For Business, you need to count salary expenses, Cost of Goods, Marketing Expenses, other fixed costs, taxes etc. It's a massive pain in the butt.
