We're have no economic topic yet. so here I go... Nowdays i'm interested on subject investing and business. But i got ZERO background in it. ZERO experience. I'm an engineer. I only have experience to manage people a little bit. I just find out that the key to grow wealth is to manage cashflow, so we have more asset than expense in my balance. We also got to have a business plan. We also got to learn accounting and law (according to interest and tax). Since I have zero backround and experience, I got to ask you guys: - Where / how do I start? - Is it possible to make a million buck in a year or three started with very limited cash? (not qualified in stock market) - Do you have any idea / example of business plan? Tnx.
First a question. Why do you want to make a million bucks, at the least, in a year? Just curious... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Do you think i'm broke because of gambling? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! No I don't do gambling. I just wanna compare what it read in the book with oppinion from experienced businessmen. I need some examples and see, is it make sense. Another motive of mine is i try to find best option to plan my future. What I suppose to do when I'm too old to work. I don't work for government, so I got to take care of myself. Actually i'll take 10 years good plan. But I want to retired in wealth soon, so I can enjoy my life while I'm still young and health. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
1 million dollar in one year is improbably if not impossible. Average return for stock is 7% a year. Real estate 5%. Bond is less. You do the math. A few suggestions to grow wealth (speaking from my personal experience. I am an engineer also) 1. Start your own business. Since you are an engineer, try starting out doing some freelance work to build connections and to gain knowledge in the industry. You should do that for 5 years at least. When you first start your own business, do it as a hobby with minimal overhead. Don't quit your day time job. 2. Leave stock trading to the professionals. Have you talked to any money managers who trade stocks for a living? They are 100 times more knowledgable than you do. 100 times is a very conservative estimate. They do it for a living and you don't. Buy stock, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate. This is a start. Hope it helps.
Hey Ismu, all you need to do is kill some hot-shot guy, then make like a face dancer and steal his identity! It's easy. I do it all the time!Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
ismu If you're interested in taking the next 3 or so years of your life off to make a million, I'll let you know the way the Q did it. It will of course require huge commitment, hard work, massive will power and extreme focus. In other words, be prepared that the next few years of your life will probably be the worst years you'll ever have to endure. The risks are high but so are the gains.
Methinks the Q is pulling our legs. However, let's hear it. Well if that's the attitude you're going to take... If he's going to talk about buying a '71 Mustang Mach1 Actually, I'm going to take Bebe's advice and buy both the Stang and the Skylark. I love collecting classic cars. Heres what the Skylark looks like: http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/0/6/25082706.htm Heres what the Mustang looks like except in sky blue: http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/8/4/25027684.htm Both together will cost me about $21,000.
The way Q made his bucks. Real Estate. First you need to find a real estate agent and explain to him your plan. You must convince him that he will only make money on the sale of your houses and NOT the buying. He will most likely agree considering you'll be providing him with a lot of houses to sell. This guy or gal is key to your profit margin. He has to be good at what he does. Shop around until you find a good one. Next you need a good contractor. Again shop around. Tell him your plan and convince him he will only be paid a percentage of the profit on the sold houses. DO NOT pay him an hourly wage. He will most likely agree considering you'll be providing him with a lot of work and the fact that he'll make more money on a percentage payout. Now you need to get financing. This is the hardest part of the deal. However, once you've proved yourself on the first house, you should have no trouble getting ongoing financing. The key here is to get the financing without providing a down payment. Remember, you're basically applying for a mortgage and not a business loan. Mortgages are much easier to get then any other kind of financing. Banks nowadays are throwing money at people. You'll have to start small, therefore the amount of mortgage you'll need shouldn't be that much. Note: This is one area the Q really did his homework. It was tough at first, but all it took was one institute to take the bait. Now you need to find a house. One of the best ways is through personal bankruptcies and mortgage defaults. You may also try city hall for property auctions due to property tax defaults. You're looking for places that are run down and need work. This is where your contractor and real estate agent come in. They can help you to determine what house can be fixed up for the least amount of money and most amount of labor; usually cosmetic stuff, carpets, paint, roof, landscaping, windows, kitchen and bathroom. You must keep the cost of materials down between 5-10 thousand dollars if you want to make any money. This should not be that difficult considering the contractor can get materials cheap. Many second hand building stores will provide ample cheap materials at a fraction of the cost of new. The contractor can get it all on credit. Next, you and the contractor work your asses off day and night to turn that pile of rubble into a nice house. It shouldn't take very long if you work hard every day. The real estate agent should already be setting the price of the house and lining up buyers. Try and do the outside first in order for the real estate agent to take pictures. Once you've finished the house, it's now up to the real estate agent to make a sale. If he's good, the house should sell in less than 2 weeks. And now you divvy up the profits. This process is slow to start, however once you get enough capital, you should be able to get several houses going at the same time within 6-12 months. You should be able to pull in about 150,000 - 250,000 in your first year. The second year should get you to at least 350,000 or more and the next year about the same or better. Within 3-4 years you can make a million. Make sure you get a good accountant that will keep your taxes payable to a minimum. I should mention that your living expenses during this time should be kept to an absolute minimum. If you can live at home with your parents, great. If not, rent a tiny apartment for low dollars and eat a lot of Kraft dinner. You won't be spending much time at home anyway. If you can, buy a cheap pick-up truck to haul materials. You may not be able to do this until you've realized the profit from your first sale. This system has worked for the Q and many others. It is no big secret. All it takes is the willpower to do it. And the Q did it before the ripe old age of 25. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Actually many of my friends are doing it. There is a lot of demand for houses in US. They only do it one or two houses at a time and keep their day job. You get into trouble if you can't build and sell your houses fast enough. That is the risk of this strategy.
My uncle did the same thing, but basically on a larger scale. He had an entire town wrapped up in his money-making. All gambling on the sales. When a couple of big sales didn't go down, the whole chain of people and businesses fell apart. He was busted big time by the feds. In the end he was charged with just about every crime there is involving bad business practices.
Basically this strategy works because the cost of the land + the cost of the house does not equal to the cost of the house. The price of a house is determined by supply and demand. If That price is higher than the land plus the cost to build the house, you can pocket the difference. That tactic doesn't always work. In a small town in midwest some contractors will con you into building a fancy house for $200K but no one would be willing to pay more than $150k. It happened to someone I know. Also if you can't build and sell in time you will just keep paying the bank interest.
Joeman They only do it one or two houses at a time and keep their day job. You get into trouble if you can't build and sell your houses fast enough. That is the risk of this strategy. Yes, it is risky. But no one makes money without risks. And it's not a matter of building houses, that requires capital up front. I'm talking about renovating at the cosmetic level. Sometimes a little plumbing and wiring is necessary, but one should try to avoid those houses if possible. And no, you don't need to keep a day job as long as you can keep the living expenses to a minimum, especially in the beginning. That way you have more time to dedicate to the projects. I did not have a problem with money after the first house sold. Once that happened the Q was on his way. Xev Quite interesting, Q. I hear of such things on late-night television, but I've never 'met' anyone who tried it. Late night television ??? Sorry, not familiar with TV. You probably won't meet anyone unless you search them out. One cannot have a social life if one is dedicated to this system. That is, no social life until one needs not work anymore. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Beautiful cars, by the way. Excellent taste! It's become one of my hobbies. Now I buy and sell classic cars and motorcycles. I'm buying the Skylark for $12,000 and I already have a buyer willing to pay $17,000. It's almost too easy. I can get the Mustang for about $9000. I don't have a buyer for that but summer is coming and I want a convertible. I prefer to keep the Skylark. P.S: I note that you haven't posted a picture of yourself. But you could post one of your cars...... *Bats eyes* You little gold-digger...you. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Added note: The Q has had to work this system a couple of times due to deals falling through. The idea is to get back up on the horse as quickly as possible and move on. You have to be able to take your lumps and let it run off your back like water off a duck. Besides, it's all just water under the fridge. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
(Q), you're genius. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!. And Joeman I like your ideas too[/b] too keep the job first. Many thanks to you guys. So I think I better sell my car and change it to cheap pick-up truck for starting capital. But I can't leave my job now too soon because I'm in the way turn my products into intelectual asset, so then I can use my royalties payment to support my expenses while starting real estate business. Hmmm... lots homework to do... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I'm still wander is there any better ideas. Is multi level marketing has a good prospect?
OR...you can get into business consulting which has a higher profit. You can easily get $50 per hour from a consultant at a client (the differential between what you charge your client vs what you pay) for medium level consulting. Put 10 people to work - you get $500/hr = $1,000,000 per year gross income. Investment = your time plus wining and dining experience.... Enjoy your retirement...
kmguru Urrr... let me see... Assume 8 hours work a day. 365 days a year - holidays, lets make it 300 days a year. So we got 300 x 8 = 2400 working hours per year. We got 10 employee wich give us $500/hr. So we got 2400 x $500 = $1,200,000 per year. IF ONLY there is a client for each consultant every hours, it gonna works. And I'll still have to pay for building, phone bill, electrics, tax, papers, etc. I don't think $200,000 per year enouh to cover it. And I'm not sure we can get a client for each consultant every hours in a year. But I like the idea to get gross income without too much starting capital.
The last company through which I did some consulting, numbers are as follows. Total income in one year ending 3/31/02 = $120,000,000 Number of employees = 500 (actual 495) Income per employee = $240,000 Let us assume, average payout to employee = $100,000 That leaves $140,000 per employee as income to the company. You do the math. They have been in business for many years, with worldwide offices - as do many other consulting companies. Good Luck
Interesting story Q. Could you not have taken out the Salesman's cut too, and sold the house yourself? You appear to have the required skills.
