Hi everyone,
I'm really excited to have joined this forum and to have found a community of like-minded people. I mean people have often looked at me like I'm some sort of psycho when they ask what career I want to go into and I tell them that I don't want a regular job. I hope to meet other like-minded people on here so we can exchange tips and advice and support each other in achieving our goals.
I wanted to make a progress thread, but it seems that I need to be an Insider to do that, so until I have enough funds to subscribe, this will serve as a replacement.
The start of my journey seems almost mundane in comparison to some of the incredible threads I've read on here, but it started when I was in high school (I think the US equivalent is Grade 8). You see, our school had prohibited students from leaving school at break and lunch time and all the counters selling sweets and other confectionery were removed, leading to a situation of high demand and no supply. So anyway, I thought this would serve as a good opportunity to make money and buy this game I really wanted and although it was against school rules, the Year Leader was on good terms with me so I thought there would be little risk of getting into trouble.
I bought large quantities of sweets from the local discount store and then proceeded to sell them in school. I had made around £20 in a few days by myself and when I enlisted a friend to sell them in return for a cut, the takings started to become substantial (at least to my 14 year old brain they were). This side-business ended swiftly when the bullies in our year threatened to tell the headteacher what we doing and had started a physical fight over it (we had refused to give our stock to them). This in effect taught me the Commandment of Control and so I resolved the next venture I went into would be one that would be immune to being destroyed by the actions of others or reliant on one source of customers.
This brings me onto the next venture I thought of. I had read numerous books and online articles about the toxic chemicals used in most personal care products and fancying a bit of a challenge, I decided to make my own organic skincare products in house and sell them to family and friends. This worked quite well and word of mouth meant I was quickly building up sales volumes. However, this venture had twos gaping problems: I could only produce a limited number of creams and I had little time to put into this venture considering the last exams of high school were close. It was with some sadness that I decided I could no longer continue this venture with the model I was currently using.
After seeing the problems caused by entering a venture which ate up too much time and had limited scale and with important exams coming up, I decided to lay off the business side of things for a while. After my exams were done and I had succeeded in entering what we call 'Sixth Form' over here (sort of the 2 last years of school before university), I had embarked on yet another project. Only this time, it was a charitable venture. A drought had wreaked my country of origin and I had decided that I should try to do something about it. This would be a project that would last much longer than I anticipated- even to this day. I had determined to do something that would last for generations, not a simple aid donation that would only benefit affected families in the short-term. I spent weeks learning about development and environmental conservation in my spare time.
Once I had decided I knew enough to execute my project, I decided to contact a Japanese biologist who had implemented a remarkable scheme in Eritrea using only mangroves. Simply by placing bags containing fertiliser along desert land facing the Red Sea, he had managed to turn a vast area of arid wasteland in a lush mangrove forest and subsequently alleviated the poverty of the locals living in the surrounding region. I sought to implement a similar scheme in my own country of origin, but it was to be far more difficult than I expected. I knew the government there was insanely corrupt, but even I was surprised by how carelessly they responded to my proposal. Here was a government which was fragile and weak, you’d expect them to welcome outside help. But it was not to be. I repeatedly called the Presidential Palace to try and get the President on the line. On all the numerous occasions I called, I met with a cold response along the lines of “Stop calling punk or you’ll see what happens to you”. I still don’t understand to this day why they rejected my proposal. It required nothing on their part except their cooperation and sending students to be trained in Eritrea for FREE (I’d managed to arrange this with the Japanese biologist after several months). Anyway, I decided if the government wanted no part in this project, then I would turn to other bodies. Finally, I decided to use family networks to gain the financial and technical support needed and in a few short months, I intend on going there to implement my project.
This last event brings me near to what I am doing now. Essentially, I rejected an offer from someone who had recently won £100 million to manage their investments, reduce their tax liabilities and establish a family trust for them. It was painful to see what appeared to be a once in a lifetime opportunity turn out to be something I couldn’t execute. This isn’t because I didn’t have the necessary skills, after all I had read up on what the client needed for my own benefit. The problem was that this client had amassed this wealth in such a way that went against my personal values and so although I really wanted to take the opportunity, I knew that I would regret my decision for the rest of my life if I did.
And so, at the end of this series of events, I find myself exploring two new opportunities which meet all five commandments. One is an idea I’ve had for a new product solving a problem in the baby product industry; the other involves perfumes. Unfortunately, that’s all I can tell you for now.
I hope this intro was of value and I can’t wait to meet you guys and continue on my journey to become an entrepreneur.
I'm really excited to have joined this forum and to have found a community of like-minded people. I mean people have often looked at me like I'm some sort of psycho when they ask what career I want to go into and I tell them that I don't want a regular job. I hope to meet other like-minded people on here so we can exchange tips and advice and support each other in achieving our goals.
I wanted to make a progress thread, but it seems that I need to be an Insider to do that, so until I have enough funds to subscribe, this will serve as a replacement.
The start of my journey seems almost mundane in comparison to some of the incredible threads I've read on here, but it started when I was in high school (I think the US equivalent is Grade 8). You see, our school had prohibited students from leaving school at break and lunch time and all the counters selling sweets and other confectionery were removed, leading to a situation of high demand and no supply. So anyway, I thought this would serve as a good opportunity to make money and buy this game I really wanted and although it was against school rules, the Year Leader was on good terms with me so I thought there would be little risk of getting into trouble.
I bought large quantities of sweets from the local discount store and then proceeded to sell them in school. I had made around £20 in a few days by myself and when I enlisted a friend to sell them in return for a cut, the takings started to become substantial (at least to my 14 year old brain they were). This side-business ended swiftly when the bullies in our year threatened to tell the headteacher what we doing and had started a physical fight over it (we had refused to give our stock to them). This in effect taught me the Commandment of Control and so I resolved the next venture I went into would be one that would be immune to being destroyed by the actions of others or reliant on one source of customers.
This brings me onto the next venture I thought of. I had read numerous books and online articles about the toxic chemicals used in most personal care products and fancying a bit of a challenge, I decided to make my own organic skincare products in house and sell them to family and friends. This worked quite well and word of mouth meant I was quickly building up sales volumes. However, this venture had twos gaping problems: I could only produce a limited number of creams and I had little time to put into this venture considering the last exams of high school were close. It was with some sadness that I decided I could no longer continue this venture with the model I was currently using.
After seeing the problems caused by entering a venture which ate up too much time and had limited scale and with important exams coming up, I decided to lay off the business side of things for a while. After my exams were done and I had succeeded in entering what we call 'Sixth Form' over here (sort of the 2 last years of school before university), I had embarked on yet another project. Only this time, it was a charitable venture. A drought had wreaked my country of origin and I had decided that I should try to do something about it. This would be a project that would last much longer than I anticipated- even to this day. I had determined to do something that would last for generations, not a simple aid donation that would only benefit affected families in the short-term. I spent weeks learning about development and environmental conservation in my spare time.
Once I had decided I knew enough to execute my project, I decided to contact a Japanese biologist who had implemented a remarkable scheme in Eritrea using only mangroves. Simply by placing bags containing fertiliser along desert land facing the Red Sea, he had managed to turn a vast area of arid wasteland in a lush mangrove forest and subsequently alleviated the poverty of the locals living in the surrounding region. I sought to implement a similar scheme in my own country of origin, but it was to be far more difficult than I expected. I knew the government there was insanely corrupt, but even I was surprised by how carelessly they responded to my proposal. Here was a government which was fragile and weak, you’d expect them to welcome outside help. But it was not to be. I repeatedly called the Presidential Palace to try and get the President on the line. On all the numerous occasions I called, I met with a cold response along the lines of “Stop calling punk or you’ll see what happens to you”. I still don’t understand to this day why they rejected my proposal. It required nothing on their part except their cooperation and sending students to be trained in Eritrea for FREE (I’d managed to arrange this with the Japanese biologist after several months). Anyway, I decided if the government wanted no part in this project, then I would turn to other bodies. Finally, I decided to use family networks to gain the financial and technical support needed and in a few short months, I intend on going there to implement my project.
This last event brings me near to what I am doing now. Essentially, I rejected an offer from someone who had recently won £100 million to manage their investments, reduce their tax liabilities and establish a family trust for them. It was painful to see what appeared to be a once in a lifetime opportunity turn out to be something I couldn’t execute. This isn’t because I didn’t have the necessary skills, after all I had read up on what the client needed for my own benefit. The problem was that this client had amassed this wealth in such a way that went against my personal values and so although I really wanted to take the opportunity, I knew that I would regret my decision for the rest of my life if I did.
And so, at the end of this series of events, I find myself exploring two new opportunities which meet all five commandments. One is an idea I’ve had for a new product solving a problem in the baby product industry; the other involves perfumes. Unfortunately, that’s all I can tell you for now.
I hope this intro was of value and I can’t wait to meet you guys and continue on my journey to become an entrepreneur.
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