Ever dream of becoming a millionaire but feel like it's impossible? Rachel Rodgers wants you to know it's within your reach.
As the CEO of Hello Seven and author of “We Should All Be Millionaires,” Rachel has made it her mission to help others join the millionaire club.
In an episode of Erika Taught Me, she shared her three-step strategy for building wealth — and it starts with changing how you think about money.
Erika & Rachel Taught Me
- Your mindset shapes your wealth — switch from “broke decisions” to “million-dollar decisions.”
- Don’t be afraid to ask for (or hire) help. We can’t do it all and trying to do it all often holds people, especially women, back.
- Take baby steps: Set your million-dollar vision, assess your skillset, and launch the offer.
. . .
Broke Decisions vs. Million-Dollar Decisions
Your path to becoming a millionaire starts with how you think.
Rachel explains that the key difference lies in making “million-dollar decisions” versus “broke decisions.”
Million-dollar decisions
“Million-dollar decisions take you towards your dreams,” Rachel explains. “They feel expansive, like growth and opportunity.”
Million-dollar decisions are:
- Rooted in abundance
- Focused on growth and opportunity
- Supportive of investing in yourself and your dreams
- Long-term
For example, investing in a course that will teach you valuable skills is a million-dollar decision.
READ MORE: Short-Term vs. Long-Term Financial Goals
Broke decisions
“It’s when we let scarcity rule our decision-making, and say, ‘Well, I gotta save the money instead of investing in myself,'” says Rachel. “I can't buy that thing that makes me feel good, I can't spend that time doing what I want to do.”
Broke decisions are:
- Rooted in scarcity
- Focused on immediate savings
- Fearful of necessary investments
- Short-term
For example, refusing to hire help even when you're overwhelmed could be a broke decision.
What Holds People Back from Becoming a Millionaire?
Most women entrepreneurs hit a wall around $250,000 in revenue. Why? According to Rachel, they resist getting help.
“It's part of why so few of us hit seven figures and beyond — because we're not hiring people. We're not delegating.”
Rachel admits that even she let broke decisions hold her back when she was younger.
These decisions were “ruled by fear, and not putting myself out there, not asking for the sale, not networking, not asking for the internship or the opportunity.”
Baby Steps to Become a Millionaire
For many of us, becoming a millionaire seems like a distant dream. But you can make this dream a reality with Rachel’s three baby steps.
1. Set your million-dollar vision
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Where are you now?
- What do you want for your life?
- How much will your goals cost monthly?
Rachel wanted things like a nicer house, extracurricular activities for her kids, to cover her mom's rent, and to have more savings.
When she did the math, she found she needed to earn $300,000 yearly ($30,000 monthly) — far above her then-income of $100,000.
This meant Rachel needed to set a specific financial target of making around $20,000 more a month.
2. Assess your skill set
After your vision is set, brainstorm ideas that help you get to your target.
Rachel suggests you dig deep, even back to childhood. What were you good at as a kid? How do you add talent to the world?
“We're all talented, we're all skilled,” says Rachel. “We are our greatest asset. So we need to know this asset really well, so that we understand how you can build wealth.”
Identify what skills you have, then take those skills and match them to your brainstorming list. From there, you can pick which makes the most sense to use to make money.
READ MORE: How to Side Hustle Your Way to a Million
3. Launch the offer
You don’t need a huge following to start, according to Rachel.
“You all know people. Even if you don’t have a mailing list, if you don’t have a huge professional network, you know people.”
Tap into your family, friends, neighbors, and people you know from college. Create a list of 100 people you know and send them an email or a postcard.
“Say, ‘Hey, I have a new business. This is my offer. I would love for you to work with me. Or if you know someone who could work with me, please send me a referral,’” says Rachel. “That is how I got my first few clients.”
It’s also important to build a community. Rachel says that who you spend time with will affect whether you're going to be successful.
“95% of our success or failure can be predicted based on who we spend time with.“
READ MORE: How to Start a Business with No Money
TL;DR: Easy Steps to Become a Millionaire
Becoming a millionaire is about making million-dollar decisions instead of broke decisions. Broke decisions hold us back, while decisions made with abundance propel us.
Set your vision, assess your skillset, and launch your offer. And build a community that lifts each other up.
“It's wild how much faster you will go if you are surrounded by people who are out there doing it,” says Rachel.
Listen to the full interview with Rachel for more tips on making your first million, or check out these other episodes of the Erika Taught Me podcast:
- Side Hustle Your Way to a Million
- The 4 Simple Steps to Becoming a Multi-Millionaire
- Four Pillars of Success to Make Millions
Learn With Erika
- Free Travel Secrets Workshop
- Learn how to get your next vacation for practically free with Erika’s step-by-step system
- Free 5 Day Investing Challenge
- Learn how to get started as a beginner investor and make your first $10,000
- Free 5 Day Savings Challenge
- Discover how you can save $1,000 without penny pinching or making major life sacrifices
- Join Erika Kullberg Insiders
- Ask investing questions, share successes and participate in monthly challenges and expert workshops
. . .
Summer is a financial services professional and business school graduate turned personal finance writer. Through her careers in banking and corporate finance, she realized her true passion is to educate consumers about the complicated facets of all things money. Being immersed in the world of finance also inspired her to hit her own major financial milestones — and she's dedicated to sharing those tips with you! When Summer isn't writing, she is enjoying her time with her husband, daughter, and three cats.