Why do many people earn more money in the U.S. by running businesses like cleaning, moving, repairs, and landscaping than they do in China? Because they’re not selling physical labor—they’re selling prices under different system structures. The same work, in China, has long been trapped in low-price competition and an oversupply, so its value is hard to show; whereas in the U.S., labor is scarce, time is expensive, and the credit system is well developed—so people are willing to pay for peace of mind, time savings, and certainty. That means the same capability gets repriced. Of course, at their core, these businesses are still cash-flow businesses, with limited compounding, making them more suitable for completing the first phase of wealth accumulation. Many people also think that building software or products is automatically better, but that may not be the case. Products do have a compounding effect, but they still have to face intense competition, and today’s AI is also continually lowering the barriers to entry. What truly determines how much you earn has never been whether it’s a service or a product—it’s whether your ability is scarce within the current system, and whether the competition is small enough. Finding a position with less competition and higher value is more important than choosing which industry to enter.