Monopoly is one game I fell in love with from the first day I learnt to play, maybe because I could earn and spend money in acquiring assets that for a moment seemed real. First, we need to understand the meaning of the word MONOPOLY. In the world of Economics, A monopoly is a Sole Seller, which means he or she has the ability and right to make decisions and the autonomy over prices. In the Legal term, A monopoly is a business that has significant market power, which means that business has the power to charge and inflate prices at will. Whichever way you choose to look at the meaning, whether it’s in law, economics or politics, it has the same fundamental meaning. Though it may seem like it’s just a game, but trust me it’s loaded with many business lessons. On this note we’ll be discussing how monopoly can lead you into making a fortune.
- MONEY MANAGEMENT; In monopoly, it is impossible to win by deciding to save all your cash and not buy an asset. Monopoly teaches you that all the money you have isn’t necessarily in the cash at hand, in real life cash at hand could easily be spent due to the constant needs and wants of human nature. When cash is invested wisely, then a foundation is made for constant cash flow.
- ASSET MANAGEMENT; While playing the game monopoly, I learned to buy every property my number lands on, at the beginning of the game, most importantly to build on my lands. You need to see how the game turns around when I start building houses and hotels on my lands. Although this move may not be immediate, I acquire these properties, but gradually I build until I build a hotel subsequently. This teaches that it’s not enough to acquire assets, you must also upgrade those assets to bring more returns. For example, if you acquire land, you don’t necessarily have to let it turn into a forest, you could start building residential quarters on it or even start a farm!
- INVESTMENT DIVERSIFICATION; Every wealthy person knows that you can’t get rich by having just one channel of income. The more money you want to make, the more investments you make to yield more returns. In Monopoly, it’s impossible to win by owning just one asset and the more assets you acquire, the greater advantage you have in winning the game. For those of us who are familiar with the London monopoly board, we usually target those properties like Mayfair and Park Lane because you know you’ll make a fortune from whoever lands there especially when you build. Instead of saving all that money in the bank, have you considered buying that property whose value will appreciate in the next few years based on the development coming to that environment? The richest people in the world today have a broad net of investments. The broader your investments, the less disadvantaged you’ll be when one fails. Just like the common adage ‘Do not put all your eggs in one basket’.
- MAKING LOGICAL RATHER THAN EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT CHOICES; There are times in the game when you may be desperate to sell or acquire a property may be to the disadvantage of your opponent or to complete a set, and the offer is inflated, the best decision isn’t to indulge especially when you have to mortgage your present assets to acquire the desired asset. Also in reality, at such times a more calculated decision should be considered in order to prevent making fatal investment choices.
On a concluding note, Monopoly educates on some key lessons every business person should know about how their investments will affect their cash flow.
Don’t Miss: Low Cost Life Insurance
