Catching Up With The Layman Investor

AKA Rahul Rai

I recently got to catch up with one of my good friends, Rahul Rai. If you don’t know Rahul, also known as The Layman Investor on social media, man are you missing out. He creates some of the best finance and side hustle-related content on the internet. His work ethic is crazy and I’ve learned so much from him in the short time that we’ve been friends. Plus, he’s just a really cool dude.

Rahul has had a record year, both financially and professionally. He explained to me how it’s simultaneously very fulfilling yet scary…

“No matter how much success you have, you will never escape the idea that there is more you can do.”

Upon talking further, Rahul noted how he hasn’t always had the money he has today. Before he found recognition on the internet, he relied on odd side jobs to pay the bills or he would have to borrow money from family. Although Rahul has made over six figures this year between brand deals, affiliate marketing, and e-commerce, he told me that he still has a fear of someday living like he had to all those years ago.

“I don’t think people will ever escape their incessant need to survive. There’s never going to be a time in your life where you think you’re about that — our species has an incessant need to survive. Luckily, it’s not life or death for us… it’s financial. If you become an entrepreneur or go into freelance work, you will wrestle one-on-one with the people who still buy into the idea that a piece of paper or degree gives them actual security.”

Rahul walked me through how his favorite moments are when he thinks of something funny that makes him laugh, turns it into a video, and in turn makes others laugh too. There’s no formula, it just works.

He relates this scenario to the proverbial pill. Learning the skills to be an entrepreneur is like taking the red pill. Not everybody wants it or is going to take it. Not everybody is going to be convinced by some dude on the internet. Rahul argues that the majority of learning to make money online needs to be done alone. We (the gurus) can teach you the science behind how to run an ad. But, it’s up to the learner to connect science…