Thread: Opportunity Here!

That's a fantastic idea! And I can only imagine how fulfilling it would be to have former students come back to tell you how you had radically altered their financial futures.

My question is, do you set up the school to teach all these people "the fast lane" approach :-)

Yup, you create a school (doesn't have to be a building, could just be in a stripmall). The school isn't just for Fastlane stuff, but for basic finance. Teaching the Slowlane is also a Billion dollar business.

Hmmm... That is an intriguing concept! If you were to go about this, would you have set classes for large groups of people? Or focus on individually instructing people?
Also, would you charge a set "tuition" for classes attended?
It might be kind of cool to format it sort of like a university where there is a 100 level class about basic personal finance (budgeting, balancing checkbook, etc) 200 level class could cover things like savings, 401k, etc. 300 level class could begin to cover the amazing power of compound interest over time, amortization on mortgages, toxic credit card debt etc. 400 level class could cover advanced trading strategies (selling short), tax minimization strategies, and real estate investment stuff (all fastlane type thinking at this level).

I dunno. Kind of a fun idea. Just sort of thinking out loud for everyone to read.

The opportunity is in both Slowlane and Fastlane. Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur or wants to get rich. Some are mighty fine with "save 50 years and then retire". However, even in that strategy, there is a disconnect between the people and the know-how.

For example, some people don't have a clue why stock prices rise and fall. They just think they move.

Originally Posted by PhxMJ

Some folks on this board have already expressed in interest in attacking this opportunity hidden in this article ....

Perfect for a teacher who wants to get in the Fastlane ...

Create a financial school in your local area that teaches adults (young and old) basic economics and finance ... then franchise it to other teachers who want to be entrepreneurs.

U.S. gets mixed marks on personal-finance know-how - MarketWatch

I've not read that you intend to do this, but I thought that you would possibly do something comparable with the release of your book. Develop a curriculum and have events throughout the country in typical "Guru" fashion. Once you've established your brand, have trained speakers go out and teach for you.

Even if you have no intention of doing that, you have amassed a group of very knowledgeable individuals here. Have you considered publishing a second book based on Relevant Posts here? Have successful members write articles.

Break down money making strategies into various categories and have those who HAVE already succeeded write about that field.


For example:

Real Estate: Steve O

E Commerce: Biohphase

News Sites: Runum

Web Development: Andviv
Jonlee

Kicking your Opponents Butt: Yves Joke

Hospitality Industry: Russ H.

Buddha’s Business Strategies: Fanocks (also joking)

I know there are others, Hakrjak, ATW,Wild, LaugedAt, and many more.
Sorry If I overlooked you, I know I’ll remember after I post.


Basically, have successful people explain how they succeeded and then condense this info into a book. You put a "How To" book out there, and I think the market would eat it up. Just my opinion.

Originally Posted by Russ H

People like journalists who cover Wall St?

Funniest part of my day is hearing these pundits talk about why the market indexes (Dow, S&P, NasDaq) went up or down.

Why funny?

Because if you told them it went up, they'd tell you why.

And if-instead--you told them it went DOWN, they'd tell you why!

There are "reasons" each day they choose to support their thesis.

But I seldom see consistency, or logical reasoning, having anything to do w/the daily rise and fall of stocks.

You could have a day where all kinds of great reports come out, and the markets fall.

Analysts say "this is why"-- but had the markets gone up, they'd have told us it was b/c of all the good reports.

OK, rant over.

Perhaps I'm the one who falls into the category of "not having a clue why stock prices rise and fall"-- at least on a day to day level. I certainly do understand the factors that cause the sea changes/big shifts up and down.

But day to day? I'm clueless.

-Russ H.

I am with you here! I can't remember for the life of me where I read this, but somewhere I read about a graduate thesis that was done, about major moves in the market over the past 80 years, and something like only 1/3 of the 100 biggest daily moves could be directly linked to any logical cause.
I know if I could tell what makes a stock rise or fall day to day, I would not be on here talking about stocks, I would be day trading my way to exorbitant wealth.

Originally Posted by LaughedAt

Hey Sparlin, I like your ideas, rep++
Just wanted to point out that I'm a 19-year-old college student, I'm far from being successful for the time being, but definitely working on it

Thanks, to be honest I wasn't sure what you had done. At least you are educating yourself about wealth building at a young age. You are also on the welcoming crew to a Millionaire Website. That has to count for something. You can be inspirational young kid that makes millions in just a few years. If that happens, remember I gave you props now (jk)

Re: Stocks moving

They move because of supply / demand. When a stock moves up, it is in demand. When it moves down, it is being supplied.

The bigger question is what moves supply/demand? That is what investors/pundits have been trying to figure out for decades.

Absolutely. The dynamics driving supply and demand (in this case in securities markets) are much too complex and varied to say with any certainty what will transpire in future periods. Accounting for every possible variable is virtually impossible, and it may be the most obscure and illogical one(s) you don't or can't see that determines whether either upward or downward pressure will be exerted on a particular stock's market value. This is why speculating on stocks etc. is considered by many as analogous to gambling. The adage hindsight is 20/20 applies here (actually, maybe not even...), as until a move actually happens, it is virtually impossible to tell for sure (and even then, as Russ H and CamInBoise mentioned, it is still not an exact science given the multitude of variables at play). Factors such as prevailing consumer sentiment, price variations in substitute or complimentary products or services, government regulation, etc. are but a couple of elementary economic principles determining these behaviors. In competitive markets, the 'invisible hand' of the market will generally seek to return supply and demand to an equilibrium condition.

I just stumbled upon this post. Its a great idea and I'm wondering if anyone has done this yet?

We need MJ or Russ or someone back on this thread to explain this. I’m not sure this is feasible, the reason i say that is how would you get customers? If you think about it from a poor persons perspective, or even a financial illiterate person, why would they come to this school? I know several poor and middle class people and they have never made, to my knowledge, an effort to increase their education about money or anything related. Financial education is available for free on the net (even though it is biased) most people just don’t make the effort in my opinion. A great idea nonetheless, I am not sure if you could get people to show up. But I so see a huge need for this for sure. Any thoughts?

This is an amazing idea !! It can be done online and offline !! I know that I could get people to show up . I think there should be like an 8 week follow up support after the classes to track progress and then once people have tangible results more people will want to get on board .

PrincessK

I have thrown this idea around a few times as well. I have often said that basic economics/finance is the most overlooked subject in our education system. It is also arguably the MOST important subject that we all need to understand at least on a basic level. I took the standard High school --> college route, and did not take a single class on the matter until my sophomore year when I finally got to choose my own classes.

My opinion on supply/demand:
The demand for this service is there...customers just don't know it yet! I think more and more people are starting to find out that a college degree doesn't necessarily equal success anymore. I think the marketing side of this biz should emphasize the NEED for people to improve their understanding. This may require going out and finding your customers at first. Maybe market on the basis of how much it could improve your life, or try to show customers just how few people truly understand it.