Add value to others, and the money will follow. Always add value and people will want to play with you, and pay you.

Jacques had been working remotely since 2015, so he was ready for the shock that Covid brought. It also gave him many more consulting clients, who were now open to remote IT management, support, and consulting. His brick-and-mortar bookstore for students suffered, but he quickly moved online and built new sales channels. It was a short-lived rescue as the market had changed. Many entrepreneurs hold onto their babies no matter what, but Jacques has made the hard decision to shut things down. It was a great business when he started it in 2009, but things change. “This is mainly due to the economy and other options for textbooks for university students (and my desire not to rescue it, but rather to focus on other businesses)” Escaping the 9 to 5 is a process and sometimes there are multiple steps along the way. Some activities are just bridges to what comes next.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is a wave that is rapidly impacting many entrepreneurs. In some cases, it may replace certain businesses. For others, it makes new things possible. AI has already started to impact Jacques’ blogging business. “We’ve used AI tools to generate a LOT more content, but the industry is now on steroids and I’m not sure how that will pan out in Google Search and monetization in the future, especially if users choose to engage with AI as opposed to search engines (or AI that search engines now provide and they don’t redirect to your website).”

Recommended books, and websites, for escaping the 9 to 5

  • The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
  •  Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
  •  Robin Booth’s Airbnb Course (for Airbnb arbitrage). I’m also a reseller of this course in one of my online course companies
  •  Mr. Money Mustache’s website for financial freedom and early retirement
  •  Afford Anything website and property course by Paula Pant
  •  Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joseph Dominguez (lifechanging)

Enjoying Freedom

Like most escapees from the 9 to 5, Jacques values the ability to work anywhere at any time. Being that he’s active in finance and bitcoin he also enjoys the ability to earn and save in stronger currencies. Being focused on financial freedom, Jacques enjoys living in places where life is good, but cheap, to fast-track financial freedom. Regardless of where you are in the world, Jacques recommends saving at least 10-20% of your income. And definitely take charge of your own money. “Focus on earnings, predominantly, not saving. This is where your power lies. Also, Investing is much easier than you think. Learn to read a financial statement and keep a budget. Then scale from there. It’s easy to find good property deals with a bit of education and learning to invest in stocks, equities, commodities and crypto (Bitcoin only!) is easy enough to learn” Jacques recommends developing a mindset of ”enough”, but at the same time spending on the things that make you happy. “For each of us, that’s different, but there are many similarities, like travel, experiences, passions, your family, etc. Don’t wait until some indeterminate future where you can spend – you’ll miss the sunshine on the way there.”

What’s Next

Jacques would like to share his journeys with a larger audience, showing that there are many paths and strategies to financial independence. Like many entrepreneurs, he has spawned multiple businesses. And while multiple streams of income are a great idea, multiple businesses can pull you in too many directions. Jacques enjoys creating businesses and then turning them over to a team to run. He’s already planning to shut down the bookstore, and there may be more consolidation going forward. Jacques wants to expand his Bitcoin mining (at scale) and expand his content generation. And most importantly, he plans on focusing both his businesses and his life.

Primary URL: www.jacquesdutoit.com