💼I’m Not a Businessman, I’m a Business Man

🎓 The Education Gap

🗣️ I love speaking with young people, especially those in their late teens and early 20s.
It’s such an interesting stage of life — full of ambition, pressure, and questions about what’s next.

But here’s the problem: the things that really matter in adulthood often aren’t taught in school.
🏠 How to apply for a mortgage.
💳 How credit scores work.
💰 How to budget, invest, or even understand taxes.

Many leave school unprepared for real life — unless they’re lucky enough to get that knowledge from family or mentors.
And when you step back, it almost makes sense. Schools were never built to teach ownership or independence.
They were designed to create employees.

⚙️ The system still works the way it was intended — producing dependable workers rather than independent thinkers.

💼 The Employee Trap

Now, there’s nothing wrong with being an employee.
In fact, I’m employed myself — and I’ve learned from great leaders, built strong relationships, and gained experience that shaped me.

But here’s the truth: in today’s world, being only an employee can be risky.

🥊 In boxing, they say, “You’re only as good as your last fight.”
The same applies to work. The job market moves fast. Stability isn’t what it used to be.
Gone are the days when one company carried you for 40 years.

💡 Thinking Beyond a Paycheck

That’s why it’s important to think differently about how you earn.

One framework that changed how I see money is the Cashflow Quadrant, which breaks income into four groups:
1️⃣ Employee – You have a job.
2️⃣ Self-Employed – You own a job.
3️⃣ Business Owner – You own a system that makes money.
4️⃣ Investor – You own assets that make money.

⏳ Most people in the first two groups trade time for money.
But time is limited — eventually, you run out of it.
That’s why learning to leverage your resources matters — through investing, entrepreneurship, or building systems that create value beyond your hours.

🔷 The Blueprint — Jay-Z Style

💬 This is where Jay-Z’s line — “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man” — really hits.

He wasn’t bragging about wealth. He was sharing a mindset — a blueprint for scale.

To grow, you have to think like a business.
💭 Every choice, every project, every interaction adds to your brand.
🚀 Talent opens doors — execution builds empires.
It’s how you deliver, show up, and systemise your skills that separates hustle from legacy.

You don’t have to be the next Jay-Z.
But you do need to realise you’re already in business.

💼 Even if your only customer right now is your employer — that’s still your client.
Your job is to create value, solve problems, and deliver results that keep that client coming back.

📈 Expanding Your “Business”

Here’s the exciting part: you don’t have to stop there.

💹 You can grow your business beyond that single client.
📊 You can invest and literally own a slice of hundreds of companies through a single ETF.
🧠 You can build skills that create options — not obligations.

When you start thinking like an owner, you stop waiting for opportunities and start creating them.

🤝 Let’s Build Better Foundations

If you’d like to bring this mindset to your school, organisation, or community, I deliver financial education and career development workshops that make money, work, and growth simple — and are instantly actionable.

📩 For partnerships or bespoke 1:1 sessions, reach out at info@toyosisho.com.
Let’s help people stop thinking like employees and start operating like a business.