So you want to be a millionaire?

If you’ve wondered what it is that the very rich do to be … well, very rich, here’s a report from the U.S.-based Spectrum Group that shines some light. You can be a millionaire too if:

You’re prepared to bust your butt. You don’t get to be a millionaire working a 37.5 hour week. According to the research, the higher the net worth of the household, the more hours worked. Is anyone surprised? And yet, routinely I meet people who want to have it all while they work a 37-hour work week. Hey, you can have more time or you can have more money. It’s a choice.

You’re educated. According to Spectrum’s research, almost 90% of millionaires have post-secondary education, many with advanced degrees.

You’re smart about investing. That doesn’t mean doing it yourself interestingly enough. It means hiring the right guy to do it for you; seventy percent of millionaires use an advisor.

You own your own business. Yup, doing it for yourself gets you more money than working for The Man.

You don’t waste money. Frugality is a trend among millionaires who believe that living well below their means is the ticket. How else do you save up a million dollars?

Interestingly enough, getting an inheritance, using family connections and winning the lottery didn’t make the list as factors in becoming a millionaire. But being willing to take some risk to achieve a goal did. That’s not stupid risk. That’s the kind of risk that comes after a lot of preparation. It’s often the thing the guys looking in wishfully like to call “luck.”