" Many people find investing risky because they are not in control of one or more of these ten investor controls. This book will not go into all of these controls. As you read this book, however, you may gain some insights on how you can gain greater control as an investor-especially control number 7, the control over entity, timing, and charac- teristics. This is where many investors lack control, need more control, or simply lack any basic understanding about investing. The first phase of this book was dedicated to rich dad's most important investor control-CONTROL OVER YOUR- SELF. If you are not mentally prepared and committed to be- coming a successful investor, you should turn your money 236 Rich Dad's Guide to Investing over to a professional financial advisor or team trained to help you choose your investments. / Was More Than Ready At this point in my financial education, rich dad knew I had made the choice: / was mentally prepared to become an investor. I wanted to become a very successful investor. I knew I was mentally prepared and that I wanted to be rich. However, rich dad now asked me, "What kind of investor do you want to become?" 'A rich investor" was my answer. This is when rich dad brought out his yellow pad again and wrote down the follow- ing categories of investors: 1. The accredited investor 2. The qualified investor 3. The sophisticated investor 4. The inside investor 5. The ultimate investor "What is the difference?" I asked. Rich dad added a description to each type of investor: 1. The accredited investor earns a lot of money and/or has a high net worth. 2. The qualified investor knows fundamental and techni- cal investing. f 3. The sophisticated investor understands investing and the law. 4. The inside investor creates the investment. 5. The ultimate investor becomes the selling share- holder. Rich Dad's Categories of Investors 237 When I read the definition of the accredited investor, I felt pretty hopeless. I had no money and no job. Rich dad saw my reaction, took the yellow pad back, and circled inside investor. Start As an Insider "This is where you'll start, Robert," rich dad said as he pointed to inside investor. "Even if you have very little money and very little experi- ence, it is possible to start at the inside level of investing," rich dad continued. "You need to start small and keep learning. It does not take money to make money." At this point, he listed his three Es on the tablet: 1. Education 2. Experience 3. Excessive cash "Once you have all three Es, you will have become a suc- cessful investor," rich dad said. "You've done well with your fi- nancial education, but now you need the experience. When you have the right experience combined with good financial literacy, the excessive cash will come." "But you have inside investor listed fourth. How can I start as an inside investor?" I said, still confused.