I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: This Is How Much I Made In My First Job

Most self-made millionaires don’t start out rich, and most don’t land a cushy, well-paying job right out of the gate. Most started with a modest job at best, and a terrible one at worst.

Learn More: I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: 5 Stocks You Shouldn’t Sell

See Also: 6 Money Moves You Must Make If You Want To Be Like the Wealthy

We asked a few self-made millionaires to share their stories of how they became wealthy and how humble their starting points were. Here’s how much these self-made millionaire made in their first job.

Money mistakes the super wealthy never make - that you might be doing now.

Floor Sweeper to Sales Coach

Doug C. Brown previously served as the former president of sales of Chet Holmes and Tony Robbins companies and currently leads CEO Sales Strategies . But he didn’t start there.

“As a child, I made 25 cents an hour sweeping floors for my dad’s electrical machinery repair company,” he said.

He went on to add, “While working for my father, we used to sell services and parts. I noticed that if we paid $5 for a part, we would sell it for $10, and the salesperson would get a 20% commission. This revealed to me the power of leverage, where I could make more money in the same time frame by doing a different activity. This encouraged me to go into sales and build wealth through my career.”

For those looking to get into sales and follow a similar path, he offered some advice.

“Learn how to market and sell. Learn how to generate a lead, qualify it, communicate with the person, and help them to solve a problem or gain a better future using a product or service and they will pay you for it. Get away from the notion that your value is based on an hourly rate,” Brown said.

“Your value is a percentage of solving someone’s problem or helping them gain a better future, and you should be paid accordingly for that. This gives you leverage. Learn how to leverage every aspect of your life through time, people, and systems.”

Check Out: I Made $10,000 Using One of Dave Ramsey’s Best Passive Income Ideas

Reporter to PR Entrepreneur

Serial entrepreneur Brenda Christensen has earned millions selling her startup businesses. She currently runs Stellar Public Relations as its founder and principal. But she told us that she started as a daily newspaper reporter making a whopping $12,000 per year.

“I jumped to PR the following year and made a bit more $14,000, despite having world-class Fortune 500 clients like Domino’s Pizza, Kmart and GM,” she said.

But the experience was invaluable, and leveraged that to pick up some clients and started making $10 per hour.

“It took a lot of grit and determination, but the first 10 years of my career in PR tech was rewarding but very low pay. By 1995, I was making about $30,000 a year working for a Big 3 tech company. I took a chance and jumped to a startup and got equity and later cashed out from an exit of $100M,” she added.

She offered these words of encouragement to other entrepreneurs.

“Never stop believing in yourself and keep doing what you love. Seek those opportunities that have maximum potential for advancement — both professionally and monetarily. Your payday will come. As a self-made millionaire, I’m living proof.”

Web Designer to Early Retiree, Author and Speaker

After semi-retiring at 40, David Delisle started writing financial books and speaking at events. But his career started in the tech world.

“My first corporate job was a web design position in 2000, where I was earning $42,000 per year,” he explained. “I started building wealth by saving most of what I earned and investing in real estate. Those early years are so, so important. Investing in my 20s has allowed me to become a self-made millionaire even with a moderate salary, and enjoy financial freedom today.”

His advice to others?

“As I mention in my book ‘The Golden Quest’, always save first. That’s it. Personally, I recommend saving 20% of every paycheck. Think of that savings as something you never touch. You’re not saving to buy something more expensive later. You’re saving to allow your money to grow and generate wealth and income for you.

“This is how your wealth continues to grow and grow by taking advantage of compound growth.”

Salesman to Entrepreneur

Self-made millionaire Gene Caballero founded an online platform called GreenPal , connecting homeowners with local lawn care services.

“My first job after I received my MBA was in sales. That entry-level job paid me $32,000 a year. After getting a few promotions, I was there for nine years before I quit to grow GreenPal, which I had been working on as a side hustle for three years,” he said. “GreenPal now does over $40 million in gross revenue per year.”

He explained how he grew his wealth. “The way I transitioned to building wealth was [by] seeing the opportunity of growth that my side hustle had and pursuing that opportunity. I knew that in a corporate structure, I would never be able to become a millionaire unless I wanted to work until I was 65 years old.”

He encouraged others to consider his words of wisdom.

“If you’re looking to become a millionaire, do it on your own. Do not rely on the corporate path to becoming a millionaire — look for ways to start your own business or create your own product or service. I would absolutely let the corporate path underwrite your product or service until you can quit and that product or service is able to take care of your basic needs … It’s more work but the financial rewards are limitless.”

If you’ve noticed a pattern in the stories above, it’s that three of the four case studies started businesses, to leverage other people’s time to generate revenue for you. The fourth invested enough money to reach financial independence and semi-retire young. In other words, he leveraged his savings to generate revenue.

If you want to stop trading your time for money, start building a framework to generate passive income. You can do that by building a business or building an investment portfolio — or ideally both.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: This Is How Much I Made In My First Job