The 4 Ladders of Wealth Creation
How to become a millionaire, buy back your time, and make money while you sleep
Most people think about wealth the wrong way.
They assume it’s about earning more at their job, working longer hours, or making a lucky investment.
But real wealth isn’t built by trading time for money—it’s built by owning assets, leveraging skills, and moving up the right financial ladders.
Today’s newsletter is a financial roadmap—the same one that helped me go from a burned-out concrete guy doing every job myself and landing in the hospital…
To where I am today as an 8-figure revenue construction entrepreneur, developer, and real estate investor without trading all my time for the next paycheck.
Let’s break it down.
The Four Ladders of Wealth
Your financial future depends on which ladder you’re climbing. Each step up requires learning new skills, taking bigger risks, and thinking differently than the average person.
1. Trading Time for Money (The Employee Path)
The first step on the wealth ladder is getting paid for your time. This is where most people stay their entire lives.
Hourly jobs (construction, plumbing, customer service, retail)
Salaried jobs (engineering, finance, law, medicine)
At this level, you’re 100% dependent on an employer. If you stop working, your income stops too.
How to escape this level:
Master a high-value skill (real estate, sales, digital marketing, construction trades)
Live below your means and save aggressively
Invest early in real estate or a side business
Your goal? Move from working a job to owning an income-producing asset.
2. Owning a Blue-Collar or Real Estate Business
The second wealth ladder is owning a business that provides a service or cash-flowing real estate.
Examples:
Owning a plumbing, HVAC, or contracting business (instead of working for one)
House flipping or buying rental properties
Owning a car wash, laundromat, or small trucking company
This is where real financial freedom begins because you control your time and income. Instead of trading hours for dollars, you build a system that generates income.
Key skills to learn:
Sales & Marketing – Finding clients or tenants
Operations & Hiring – Building a team so you’re not doing all the work
Basic Finance – Managing cash flow, taxes, and reinvesting profits
Most people never make this jump because it’s uncomfortable. But this is where real money is made.
Here’s what I’d do if I was building from $0-$100,000/month in my first business:
3. Productized Services & Passive Income
The third ladder is turning your service business into a systemized, scalable operation.
Instead of making money one job at a time, you create repeatable systems that generate cash on autopilot.
Examples:
Turning a one-man HVAC business into a service company with 10+ techs
Creating a property management company that services your real estate and others
Productizing a service (ex: charging a flat fee for property maintenance instead of hourly rates)
How to scale from here:
Remove yourself from daily operations – Hire, automate, and build systems
Leverage technology – Online booking, automatic invoicing, marketing systems
Build recurring revenue – Subscription-based models (monthly maintenance plans, property management fees)
At this stage, you go from owning a business to owning a machine that runs itself.
Here’s my playbook for 10Xing a blue-collar business:
4. Selling or Investing in Assets (True Wealth Creation)
The fourth and final ladder is when your money works for you. This is where the wealthy play the game.
Examples:
Owning multiple rental properties that generate six figures in passive income
Selling your business for millions
Investing in other businesses, real estate syndications, or private equity deals
Becoming a lender or investor instead of an operator
This is where you stop worrying about making money and start focusing on multiplying wealth.
The keys to staying wealthy:
Never stop reinvesting – Wealthy people don’t cash out and blow it; they buy more income-producing assets.
Understand leverage – Using debt smartly to buy bigger assets
Avoid lifestyle inflation – Don’t fall into the trap of spending more just because you make more
Once you reach this level, you no longer have to work for money—your money works for you.
Unfollow the Herd Wealth Principles
Regardless of which ladder you’re on, these principles will help you accelerate your path to financial freedom.
1. Your Extra Time & Money Must Be Reinvested
Most people spend every extra dollar they make—new cars, vacations, expensive houses. Wealthy people reinvest every extra dollar into cash-flowing assets.
Example: Instead of blowing $50K on a new truck, put that money into a down payment on a rental property or equipment for your business.
2. You Can Skip Steps, But You Can’t Skip Learning
Some people jump straight into real estate or business ownership. That’s fine, but you still need to learn the skills—sales, hiring, operations, and managing money.
Example: If you’re a blue-collar worker looking to start a business, start learning sales and customer acquisition before you quit your job.
3. Apply Your Skills in a New Way
Your existing skills can be turned into wealth-building opportunities.
Example: A construction worker who flips houses or starts a contracting business is using the same skills—but making 10X more.
4. Understand the Difference Between Income & Wealth
A six-figure job won’t make you rich if you trade time for money forever. You need to own something—real estate, a business, or investments.
Example: A doctor making $500K is still on the first ladder if they don’t own income-producing assets.
5. Use One Ladder to Fund the Next
Most people should stay in their 9-5 long enough to fund their escape.
Example: A blue-collar worker saving aggressively to buy their first rental property. Or a business owner using service revenue to build passive income streams.
6. Moving Up Ladders Often Means a Temporary Income Drop
When you jump from a job to starting a business, your income might drop at first. The key is having enough savings or side income to survive the transition.
Example: Most successful real estate investors had years of low income before they built serious wealth.
7. Build an Audience to Make Every Step Easier
The more people who know, like, and trust you, the easier it is to find customers, investors, and opportunities.
Example: Real estate investors and business owners with strong social media followings raise capital faster and get better deals.
8. It Takes Longer Than You Think, But The Results Are Worth It
Most people quit too soon. Wealth isn’t built in a year—it’s built over decades of smart decisions.
Example: Someone who buys one rental property per year for 20 years will be a multi-millionaire—but most people don’t have the patience.
Which Ladder Step Are You On?
If you’re serious about escaping the 9-5 and building wealth, ask yourself:
What ladder am I on?
What’s the next logical step?
What skills do I need to develop?
How can I use my current income to fund my next move?
The path is clear:
✔️ Stop trading time for money
✔️ Own cash-flowing assets
✔️ Scale your wealth by reinvesting
The herd will keep grinding away at their jobs, buying liabilities, and waiting for retirement.
But you?
You subscribe because you Unfollow the Herd.
That’s all for today. Drop your questions in the comments!
Marc Kuhn,
CEO at MAK Capital
P.S. If you want to learn how accredited investors build passive wealth with multifamily & luxury storage real estate — check out our projects and reach out here to learn more.