A Phone, $500 in Cash, Is All Mark Cuban Needs to Make as Much Money as Possible in 6 Months

In a 2023 Wired Tech Support Q&A, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban pondered over the 'how would you start over' question again. 'That is the best question I have ever been asked in my entire adult life,' Cuban had said before revealing a straightforward strategy for earning as much money as possible within six months using only a phone and $500 in cash.

Finding a Sales Job, Aiming for Top Performer

Cuban simply said he would first land a sales job. 'Because I already know that if I'm down to my last $500, and all I have is a phone, I am going to get that job and I am going to learn more about that industry than anyone on the planet,' he noted.

For the first three months, Cuban would strive to become the best salesperson in the company and live on commissions. He would cash in after that and then head right over to leadership, asking for a pay hike.

'Three months in, when I've demonstrated that I am the best salesperson in the history of that company, I'm going to walk into my boss' office and I'm going to tell him or her: "You're either going to pay me this amount of money to keep me, or I'm going to start my own business selling this stuff,"' he said. 'That is exactly what I would do.'

In his early days, Cuban sold garbage bags, made cold calls to pitch his business ideas, and launched MicroSolutions from his apartment. His major breakthrough was when he sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion.

Cuban Warns of Recession, Reveals Industries That Will Go Down First

In a more recent interview, Cuban said he believes a recession is imminent and that at least three market sectors would be the first to be affected by a downturn. He believes the traditional media industry will be the most susceptible to a recession as media firms struggle to adapt to changes in consumer attention from print newspapers to digital platforms. The industry's revenue depends on advertising income, which generally declines during economic downturns.

The digital media space is now more fragmented than ever, as audiences increasingly turn to social platforms. Meanwhile, AI advances have made it easier to generate media content, diverting consumer interest away from traditional outlets. Advertisers tend to trim market spend during recessions, which considerably impacts the revenue streams of media companies.

Elsewhere, it should be noted that the restaurant and dining sector operates on very narrow profit margins due to rising labour and operating overheads. Increasing costs of basic food ingredients are also a major factor compressing margins. According to Cuban, these factors make the sector particularly vulnerable during a full-blown recession.

Lastly, industries that depend on government funding also face risks during economic upheaval. While non-profit organisations and government contractors often benefit from long-term government grants during market booms, the future of these contracts frequently comes into question when government spending tightens during a recession, as tax revenues decline and budgets are reassessed.