The Wealth Creation Ladder: A Step-by-Step Guide to Increase Your Earnings
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Nathan Barry transitioned from working at Wendy's to leading a software company that generates $2.5M in monthly revenue. His journey involved several stages, which are the focus of today’s episode. In 2019, Nathan wrote "The Ladders of Wealth Creation," illustrating that to elevate your earning potential, it’s often necessary to enhance your skills.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The four Ladders of Wealth Creation
- How you can potentially introduce new revenue streams to an existing side hustle or business
- A marketing strategy that Nathan is currently utilizing successfully
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**Ladder 1: Time for Money**
The first ladder involves trading time for money in a job, whether hourly or salaried. My past jobs included:
- Shelving books at the library
- Operating the cash register at a Mongolian grill
- Managing pay-per-click ad campaigns as a marketing intern
- Overseeing a sales territory for Ford dealerships
**Ladder #2: Your Own Service Business**
According to Nathan’s framework, the second ladder consists of starting your own service business, whether as a solo freelancer or an agency. In my experience, this included:
- Painting houses
- Editing books
- Freelance writing
For Nathan, this involved designing and developing iOS apps. Transitioning from Ladder #1 requires learning new skills such as:
- Time management
- Customer service
- Project estimation
- Invoicing
- Establishing a business entity
- Possibly hiring team members and overseeing their work
**Ladder #3: Productized Services**
On the next ladder, we continue selling a service but treat it like a product. Examples might include:
- $500 for an SEO Audit
- A 10-page website for $1000
- $450 a month for parking lot maintenance
- Unlimited graphic design for $500 a month
In my case, my video website audits are an example—a defined deliverable for a fixed fee. Nathan explains that to reach this ladder, mastering copywriting and online payment systems is essential for customers to buy from you without prior interaction.
**Ladder #4: Products**
The final ladder, which offers the highest earning potential, involves selling products. This might encompass:
- Digital products like courses, eBooks, and printables
- Apps
- Airbnb rentals
- Software
- Marketplaces and networks
For Nathan, this includes ConvertKit, his widely popular email marketing software for creators. For me, it's Side Hustle Nation. We discussed how a content business fits into this category, as well as the challenges of capturing online attention and the best avenues for directing that attention (ads, affiliates, sponsors, products, etc.). This ladder also entails acquiring a new set of skills, which may include:
- SEO
- Paid acquisition
- Sales funnels
- Team building
- Systems and scaling
- Data analytics
The overarching idea is that you can skip steps on the ladder, but you cannot bypass the necessary skills.
**Links and Resources**
- Nathan Barry’s Ladders of Wealth Creation
- ConvertKit | My affiliate link for ConvertKit
- The $1 Billion Creator
- What We Misunderstand About the Mexican Fisherman Parable (Choose a goal that prompts transformation)
- Art of Newsletters podcast
- FromBoise.com
- Perry Marshall on The Side Hustle Show (The Tactical Triangle)
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- Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is an excellent platform to connect with other side hustlers and get answers to your questions.
- Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast provides actionable weekly episodes on making extra money.
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**About the Author**
Nick Loper is a side hustle
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The Wealth Creation Ladder: A Step-by-Step Guide to Increase Your Earnings
How can you transition from a job at Wendy's to managing a SaaS company that generates $2.5 million each month? By progressively enhancing your skills and ambitions.