An investor builds earnings power through a business ownership mind-set.
Investing in publicly listed businesses is a great way to passively reap most of the major benefits of running one’s own business, without being exposed to the disproportionate risks emanating from the usual vagaries of directly running a business.
Stocks are not just pieces of paper but fractional ownership stakes in real businesses. They are a claim to a piece of a business’s profits, which grows as the business invests in productive activities, executes well, and generates returns.
Be passionate about the business but dispassionate about the stock.
When you think like a business owner, you no longer view stocks as pieces of paper or buy them with “target prices” in mind.
Instead, you view stocks as part ownership in a business and you want to savor the journey alongside the promoters.
Such a passive approach offers multiple benefits:
The possibility of partly owning a business with a small investment corpus
Minimizing risk through diversification
Access to top-notch managers to run the business.
Buying business ownership on your own terms.
Opportunity to shoot rare, fast-moving elephants.
The invaluable flexibility of a quick and smooth exit.