Derrick Morgan Jr. wants enough money to retire by 45 — and he’s saving more than $12,000 a month to make it happen.
The 34-year-old trademark attorney runs his own law firm helping entrepreneurs register and protect their brands — a practice he built after offering his services on Fiverr during the Covid-19 pandemic.
What began as a solo side hustle is now a nearly $500,000-a-year business that Morgan runs with help from a paralegal and an AI assistant. But he isn’t taking the company’s success for granted, which is why he puts roughly 40% of his $350,000 income into investments to achieve his goal of early retirement.
“I don’t know how long my business is going to thrive,” he says. “So I make sure I pay myself first — I front-load my investments.”
Morgan says his approach to money has been shaped by “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Samuel Clason, a bestselling personal finance book that emphasizes saving before spending. One lesson that’s stuck: pay yourself first.
