For many employees who do not have the courage to leave their job and start their own business, they may find being an intrapreneur appealing.
This is because when you have an investing mindset you will see that being an intrapreneur is a leveraged, low risk route to becoming wealthy.
Who are intrapreneurs?
The American heritage dictionary defines an intrapreneur as
“A person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation”
The bottom-line for being an intrapreneur is taking responsibility of an idea, creating new products and adding to the bottom line of your company.
The other benefit of being an intrapreneur is you are using OPM- other people’s money so you are not risking your own capital.
I first read about this idea in one of the wealth building programs I bought. H I was only able to grasp the meaning reading Michael Masterson’s bestselling book Seven years to seven figures: the fast track to becoming a millionaire
Before I tell you more about how to get equity in your company, I thought it would be nice you know some famous intrapreneurs.
- Lee Iacocca – former CEO Chrysler motors
- Michael Eisner- Former CEO Walt Disney
- Jack Welch- CEO General Electric
- Wedelin Wiedeking former CEO Porsche motors
- Lloyd Blankfein CEO Goldman Sach
- Bob Diamond President Barclays Capitals Plc
The list is exhaustive and I am sure you know one or 2 intrapreneurs if you use my definition.
Getting equity in a business without investing is a tough call. But if you can work your way up to the position of CEO, you will have a good chance to get at the very least, an incentive-based compensation that equates with equity
Michael Masterson believes there are four steps to getting wealthy as an employee:
- Get marketing, sales or other key job with a company that has growth potential.
- Make yourself invaluable to that company by helping it to grow
- Make yourself known as a dependable, trustworthy money maker
- Convince the stockholders that the company will be more profitable if they give you profit based incentives.
I believe in order to implement this plan you should look for smaller, faster growing company over larger or Fortune 500 companies.
Why smaller companies? Because the bureaucracy in the larger companies will not allow you to meet the centers of influence that will enable you put forward your ideas.
If you want to significantly increase your income in the company you have chosen, Michael recommends doing the following;
- Working longer hours. You see 98 percent of employees want to do the 9-5 hours, so when you work longer hours you get noticed. This also demonstrates your commitment to your company
- Understanding your responsibility. This means you go beyond your job description to figure out how the company works, how it makes its money, how it creates a profit and what place it occupies in the marketplace. Until you are able to figure out these points you won’t know what really matters in your company
- Working harder. You want to work harder because you want a higher income. You recognize you can only get one by becoming a more valuable employee.
- Work smarter. Ask questions. Read memos. Take work-related courses. Do everything you can to make yourself smarter and more effective at what you do.
- Helping your boss do his job better. Doing your job well and helping your boss do his job is a whole lot better than doing your own job. Here is a secret in most businesses…. most of the time power is transferred from the boss to his best employee. Now if that’s the way business your business works, when you help your boss move up by making him look good, he’ll do the same for you.
How to move from valuable to invaluable employee.
Good employees earn good salaries because they are valued. But great employees earn amazing salaries because they are considered invaluable.
Before we continue lets define what I mean by “valuable” and “invaluable”
I almost got confused by these terms and I think it’s best to clarify issues
Let me explain.
Your boss may say for instance you are an invaluable assistant when she is only means you take care of all her needs and you make her life a lot easier.
But are you invaluable in the sense of being worth a u unlimited amount of money? Would your boss double your salary to keep you?
I used to feel “invaluable” and could not understand this concept until I caught the meaning of invaluable…
You see to be truly invaluable you have to be more or less irreplaceable.
I must admit it’s absolutely not possible to be irreplaceable but the closer you are to seeming irreplaceable, the better your chances of increasing your income.
How to make yourself, known as a dependable, trustworthy moneymaker
It’s not enough to be invaluable. The people in charge of the company you work for need to know how good you are. Being good means you are good at making money.
No other business skill matters more than the ability to generate sales and profits. And as you develop your profit-generating skills, find a way to let the people that matter know what you are doing.
The bottom line is that you are seen as someone who will repay kindness with loyalty, someone who does what you say you will do ,even if it means pulling all stops to make sure it happens, And also someone who is a moneymaker for your company. I f you can get the key people in your business to see these qualities in you, you won’t find it hard to get higher incomes and equity in the company.
How to convince your company to give you profit based compensation
This part of getting equity is tricky but if you understand it, you can work your way into a fortune in your industry.
What is one of the most important risk entrepreneurs have when starting a new company? It is the chance they take on appointing a CEO.
Why is this? Because at the back f their mind they are thinking…Can this person do what is needed to turn a profit? In this situation it’s not your resumes or MBA from an Ivy League school that matter…..
It’s your track record of performance.
If you have a track record of performance because you know your onions when it comes to your industry…you can get yourself into the catbird seat of negotiating for profit based compensation.
The idea here is this: to get your employer to give you an incentive based bonus or even equity you need to focus on……his needs not yours.
This means doing one or two things:
- Find out what his biggest financial problem is and solve it.
- Discover a new way to increase sales and put it into action
When you can do this that is focus on the needs of your employer then you are in a better position to get that raise or equity
You may be saying this is not for me, it’s all hard stuff…. But wait a minute
You can at least give it a short.
Here is a parting shot.
Eric Schmidt CEO of Google earns $$1 a year as salary but has options Google of 9.5 million shares.
$1 salary a year is nothing but when you look at the market value of his share with Google trading at $460 per share he is worth $4.37 billion. That’s not bad for being an invaluable employee.
Mr. Schmidt has a rich mindset and an investing mindset.
Think rich and grow rich
Akin Osho