Simple Wisdom from Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin crafted some wonderful pearls of wisdom for business owners. This quote is one of them:

If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher’s stone.

The internet is filled with fake Ben Franklin quotes, but this is a real one. It’s one of many gems from Poor Richard’s Almanack. Yes, that’s the correct historical spelling, even though today it’s different.

The context is more about personal wealth than business success, but it’s equally applicable. The key to financial business success is as simple in concept, and as difficult to achieve in practice, as taking in more cash in revenue than you spend in expenses.

It’s another way of saying: Happiness is positive cash flow.