5 Reasons Jay-Z Can Teach Young Entrepreneurs About Getting Rich
In recent years, rapper Jay-Z has gone from a regular street rapper to a business mogul and all-around marketing tour-de-force. As an end result, outlets such as The Motley Fool and The Daily Beast have taken note, and have suggested that Mr. Carter's path to success is not only emulatable by young professionals, it can be mapped out step by step!
Here, then, are five reasons why Jay-Z's model of business can teach young entrepreneurs about getting rich.
1. His Story is the All-American Dream: For all intents and purposes, Jay-Z is hip hop's Horatio Alger. If a fatherless boy from the Brooklyn projects who was a former crack dealer can become a multi-millionaire, thereby defying all odds and going against centuries of racism and poverty, then we all can achieve that impossible dream. If that doesn't motivate you to work harder and do better, nothing will.
2. He Doesn't Find Truth In Numbers Alone: Similar to Warren Buffett -- himself a billionaire -- Jay-Z doesn't put stock in just stocks. "Because if you don't look at the tickers, you're really just searching for the truth within all the numbers and all the chaos. And that's the key to being a recording artist. You're telling your story or finding your truth at the moment," he told The Motley Fool.
3. He Shifted His Focus: Rather than be a rapper who does business deals occasionally, he's a businessman who raps occasionally. Rap, like rock, is a young man's game, and Jay-Z is in his 40s (and no longer the crack dealer from the Marcy projects that he once rapped about).
4. He's Not Caught in the Moment or the Trends: Jay-Z's brand had been firmly established long before he became a half-billionaire and Beyonce's husband. Sometimes he was up, sometimes he was down, but he never compromised who he was for even a half-minute.
5. He Recognizes New Opportunities Before They Come to Full Fruition: Just like the partnership with Android for the release of "Magna Carta Holy Grail," Jay-Z recognizes a growing industry when he sees it, and he isn't afraid to break new ground.