How many ways can you make €100?
Not "how fast" and not "how much" — just: how many different ways?
🤔 Almost everyone writes "get a job" first. But is that one way — or many?
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There are at least five big ways people earn money. They look similar from outside, but they work completely differently — and they carry different risk.
One pizza place, five earners
1 · The employee — she works in the kitchen and gets paid for the time she works. Two ways to write that down:
2 · The designer made the menu. She has no boss and works for many customers — she is self-employed.
3 · The owner owns the pizza place. She pays rent, food and wages first. What is left is her profit — and in a bad month there is none.
4 · The investor put money in at the start. He does not work there. If the business grows, his part becomes more valuable.
5 · The creator makes videos about the best pizza in town and earns from views and ads.
🤔 Which of the five knows exactly how much money arrives at the end of the month?
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Only the employee — that is the deal: less risk, but also a limit. The owner, the investor and the creator can earn more or nothing at all.
Who is who?
Read each person. Decide first — employee, self-employed, business owner, investor or creator? Then check.
🤔 Mia works in a café every Saturday for €12 per hour.
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Employee. She works for the café and gets a wage per hour.
🤔 Leo designs logos for many different companies. He has no boss.
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Self-employed. He works for himself and finds his own customers.
🤔 Sara owns a small online shop with two employees.
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Business owner. She pays the costs — and keeps the profit if there is one.
🤔 Tom owns small parts of several companies.
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Investor. His money works in the companies. We look at this closely in Block 3.
🤔 Ana posts videos online and earns money from ads.
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Creator. Her videos can earn money even while she sleeps — but most creators earn very little, and only a few earn a lot.
Every way has a price
🤔 True or false: "Earning more money always means working more hours."
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False. An employee earns per hour or per month, so more money usually means more hours. An owner, an investor or a creator can earn more without more hours — and can also lose money.
More freedom usually comes with more risk. Neither side is better; they are different deals.
Zusatzwissen · extra knowledge
Many people combine two or three of the five. A nurse with a small online shop is an employee and a business owner. Most adults change the mix a few times in their life.
Four words you now own
You met all of them in the pizza place. Now say them out loud and use one in your own sentence.