There is no figuring it out.
I experienced homelessness before I was old enough to work (thank you, child labor laws), I made a promise to myself: I would escape poverty by building something from nothing. No capital, no connections—just raw effort.
I taught myself how to code. PHP and WordPress related scripts were full of errors, and I found freelance work fixing them. It wasn't much, but it was something. Then I stepped into the world of online business, and that's when I saw Red Flag #1—the only people making real money were selling others the idea of how to make money.
After high school, I entered the workforce. By pure chance, I competed in an app development contest—going up against college grads—and won. That moment gave me the confidence to self-publish.
I poured everything into developing. Hundreds of software releases, across a dozen operating systems. My biggest win? A paid Android app that trended on the Android Market. But when I looked at the numbers, Red Flag #2 appeared. Apps don't make enough money to sustain a business.
I did the math. I could never afford to hire people. So how do app companies survive? I found the answer: they're funded by corporate contracts.
But then Red Flag #3 hit me—if these corporations were paying for software that didn't make money, then how were they affording it? The truth? Corporations don't "earn" their money. They start with it.
This was the final piece. Red Flag #4.
To some extent, every successful business is built on unearned money. The idea that selling goods alone guarantees financial independence is a myth perpetuated among the poor. In reality, consistent success in business typically happens when sales are, in some way, funded by unearned capital. The system is flawed and does not function as it should.
The truth is, money isn't earned—it's accessed.
