I just finished my second Book by Robert Kiyosaki (RK), Cashflow Quadrant.  It’s the follow-up book to Rich Dad Poor Dad.  It does go into more detail about how you would begin to go from an employee or self-employed to a business owner and investor.   

Because I have a hardcore employee mindset, it was really difficult to wrap my head around a  new way of thinking.  But RK is so repetitive, that eventually the philosophy gets ingrained.  I have read his sceptics criticize his repetitiveness, saying it’s like an infomercial, and he must not really have what to talk about.  I don’t agree.  It was a little annoying after a while, but he succeeded in ingraining his philosophy.  I do agree that this book may be juvenile to the business school graduate, but I don’t think that he is targeting people who know anything about business (Me).  Perhaps one may think that I’m the typical sucker for paying for RK’s books, but I don’t have money for books…. it’s called a Library Card, and I’m using it!

RK sometimes seems to advocate against the traditional educational system, which could be misleading.  For the school slacker, this sounds amazing because it sounds like he’s saying that you don’t have to go to school to be rich.  That’s not the case.  He’s basically sending a message that is not new: Education should be more engaging and less spoon-feeding information.

Pros:

He gets you to think differently about your spending habits and about your financial future.  He motivates you to search for an alternative way to generate income in your life. 

He admits that the process will be hard and you will most likely have failures. 

He goes into detail about what kind of investors are out there and encourages you to find where you fit.

He gives you your first step to begin on your path to financial freedom.  It’s as simple as creating a personal financial statement.  It’s so simple, It’s almost comical that he needs to put it in his book, but it fits with his target market. 

Cons:

RK tells you about three kinds of business systems you can get into, but doesn’t give you the first step into how you’d get into them. 

Some of his deals seem impossible or unlikely, but it could be that it’s because he doesn’t go into much detail about the steps he used to make them.  His critics say that some of his personal stories are just that: stories.  Even if that’s the case,  his general message is still worth something.

He begins the book by telling you the story of when he was homeless in order to show that you don’t need money to make money.  But he doesn’t go into the details about how he was able to create his business system at the time of no money, and I sense it was because he somehow used some money in the end…..He tells you to use knowledgable people like financial planners and accountants and such in your business….. those people’s advice costs money…. 

Conclusion:

Although RK has his shortcomings (one even being that his critics accuse him of making up this “Rich Dad”), the message of his book is still clear and rational.  You need to know about money in order to make money.  Get an education in money making.  If you didn’t go to school to learn this, then take classes, seminars, and read.  I intend to read.

Stay tuned for my next business book review!