Oh, stop rolling your eyes. You can be the next Warren Buffett. Just hear me out.
Sure, the man is a living legend, worth somewhere around $50 billion, but it's not like there's any big secret to how he does what he does. (Well, there's one, but we'll get to that.) He reads, researches, buys businesses for the long term, and holds. That's basically it. You can do that, can't you? Of course you can!
I know what you're thinking ... it's not that easy. You have to know which stocks to buy and when to buy them. Well, yes and no. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) has historically invested in businesses that he knows well: businesses like insurance, railroads, his beloved Washington Post, and the manufacturer of his favorite soft drink, Coca-Cola.
When you know the businesses you own stock in as well as Buffett knows the ones he owns, it's fun to follow them. And following them closely means you'll likely notice when the company's products begin to lose their place in the market, or when changes in management have a negative effect on the business. See? I told you it was easy.
The secret, revealed
I also told you I'd reveal Buffett's one secret to his investing success. Actually, I'll do even better and give you two. First, he started investing very early, at age 11. My time machine is in the shop right now, so that option's out for me, and I'm guessing for most of you.
But while we're probably too late to amass $50 billion, it's never too late to get started. I don't know about you, but I'd be OK with even a small percentage of Buffett's wealth. And it's definitely not too late to put the kids in our lives on the path to investing glory -- the younger they start investing, the better their chances of becoming the next Buffett.
And here's the second secret: He invests like a girl.
Hey, there you go rolling those eyes again! Look, investing like a girl is a good thing -- at least if you want to be the next Buffett. It means being patient, avoiding risk, buying what you know, and staying calm when the market is anything but. See, it turns out women are naturally pretty good at all those things, and Buffett excels at them. And there you have it: Warren Buffett invests like a girl.
It's a bold claim, but if you're willing to embrace your feminine side, you can, too. Learn more at fool.com/girl. We'll even send you the first chapter of our upcoming book for FREE to get you started.
