The Proverbs 13:11 rule for building wealth

A lot of people think that wealth changes you.

Personally, I don’t.

I think it reveals who you already are.

There’s a Bible verse I love that captures this idea perfectly:

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.”
 — Proverbs 13:11, ESV

To me, this verse cuts straight to the heart of how getting rich quickly changes people for the worse.

You see this play out in the news all the time. Somehow, some guy hits it big overnight with a lotto ticket or a crypto moonshot. But over the next few years, he finds a way to blow a hundred million dollars and winds up broke, in jail, and on drugs.

And you look at that, shake your head, and think:

“Why wouldn’t they just slam that money into stocks or a retirement account, and forget about it? How could they lose all that money so quickly?”

And the answer always loops back around to this Bible verse.

The point I’m getting at here is: there’s a lot of hype out there in the acquisitions world.

Tons of people want shortcuts. They want quick flips, instant passive income, or some flashy strategy that skips over the hard parts.

But that’s not how this game works.

Yes, you’ve probably seen some of my students go from working W2 jobs to owning cash-flowing businesses, seemingly overnight. And yes, some have made an absolutely insane return on their investment almost immediately.

So from the outside, it might look like they hit the jackpot.

But what you don’t see is all the slow, steady effort behind the scenes that goes into it.

Not just in terms of securing those deals (which can take many months), but also character and ability. You have to be the kind of person who can step into a profitable business like that, and keep growing it.

That’s why I actively try to repel people whose main goal is to “get rich quick.”

Because even if they end up making a ton of money from an acquisition, they’re just as likely to blow it all out of greed or incompetence.

If you’ve been nodding along to this, that’s a good sign.

It means you’re not looking at acquisitions as a lottery ticket.

And that also means you’re exactly the kind of person I want to hear from.

If you’re interested in buying or passively investing into a small business in the near future, fill out this quick 2-minute survey at the link below.

Let me know what kind of deals you’re interested in, and if I come across one that’s a good match, you’ll be the first to know:

👉 I want to buy or invest in a business

Or, if you own a small business already and want to sell it, tell me the details below. I’ll reach out if I find a suitable buyer.

👉 I want to sell my business

Onward,

— Ben Kelly