To understand business a little bit better, and be able to see how one can fit in all these actors to find a path to financial freedom – here is my attempt to dissect a business.

In my mind there are always 4 actors in any business. They include the Government, the Investor, the Business Owner, and the Operator.

Lets first get the BAD actor out of the way. Regardless, how well one develop a business plan, the Government will surely get a piece of the action. Older I get more I realized Government is like a legitimize gangster. Give Uncle Sam his share and all is well (regardless you made or lose money — that’s the great part for being the Government.) Unfortunately, most of us won’t be able to play that role.

The Investor

All business has an investor whether you know it or not. Investor is the role when you put the initial seed money to buy or to build a business. It can also be the additional money that is put into the business to expand a business. In my mind, buying the company’s stock does not make you an investor for the majority of us.

The Owner

The owner who can also play the role of an investor, owns the business entity. He is the guy that assumed the risk of the business to pay back creditors, suppliers, and assume all business liabilities for owning a company. He can be involved with the day-to-day activities of a business, or be an absentee owner like Warren Buffett – who is a legendary investor with uncanny ability to spot an under perform or profitable business with an exceptional management team. He would buy out the business (inject more money for expansion), and let the existing management team to run the company. He plays the role of an absentee owner and the only request he has of the management team is to transfer all of the company’s profit to his holding company at the end of the year. The man is exceptionally shrewd and gifted with making money.

The Operator

Lastly, there is the business operator, who can also be the investor and the owner. As a business operator you manage and run the business day-to-day activities. Most small business owners play all 3 roles (the investor, the owner, and operator). This can be quite lucrative if the business yields more money than one can earn from having a job with the same amount of work. Often though that is not the case for successful professionals who earn high $xx,xxx to low $xxx,xxx which is enough to live comfortably, but far from being rich.

Rich and Financial Freedom

Well, I guess the definition of being rich is having enough money to live an extravagant life without having to work (at least not the day-to-day grind). That may not be totally accurate — but that’s what most of us would define as being rich.

So, my life long exploration like most of you, is to uncover the methods of achieving financial success by understanding the component of these 4 business actors. Someone is said to have achieved financial freedom, when he no long had to worry about money. And in my mind, that makes you rich.

Uncle may be old…but or maybe that’s why he loves to know where the money is.
Without a doubt America is the best place for average Joe to make a buck. Big buck if you are lucky and talented.
According to Business Week, the 2011 top 10 richest zip codes in America are:

1. Palm Beach, Florida – 33480
2. Old Westbury, New York – 11568
3. Kenilworth, Illinios – 60043
4. Beverly Hills, California – 90210
5. Portola Valley, California – 94028
6. Bel Air, California – 90077
7. Gladwyne, PA – 19035
8. Purchase, New York – 10577
9. Los Altos, California – 94022
10. Santa Monica, California – 90402

As you can see half of the list richest zip codes are in California. For a screw up & indebted state, we sure have a lot of rich people here. Next time you want to make some money, target these zip codes. To make money – go where the money is!