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Hello,
I live in NYC, am in my late thirties and am at a pivotal point in trying to break out of my scripted existence to become truly free. Some background:
During my late teens and early twenties, I was heavily involved in stock option trading. Back then, markets were much less efficient. A trading strategy that provided an edge could work for a while, even if it was published online or in a book! Market Makers were very lax about adjusting premium to upcoming events and thus I was able to make money with such strategies such as:
A. Buying a call and a put right before earnings reports for Dell Computers. An Almost guarantee of a 700 dollar profit.
B. Simple momentum moves based on semi-predictable events such as a new Windows release (during Microsoft's glory days).
However, eventually market makers became wise to these games. LESSON: The problem with money chasing ( a strategy based on trying to arbitrage a very specific loophole as opposed to creating value is that as mentioned in the Fastlane book, such money making methods eventually dry up. See the discussion in TMF on how Ebay for the most part really made money for EBAY and for some time the early adopters.
Additionally, I had a brief one-hit wonder Hollywood acting career and was involved in a startup that had a great product and a great strategy in theory. It was an early version of an electric car motor. Since there was great technology and a decent business plan, it could have been TESLA MOTORS. I did some consulting work in exchange for stock. Sadly, the CEO was very dysfunctional in actually EXECUTING, thus teaching me the hard way the importance of EXECUTION. Gradually, I fell away from ventures and drifted into routine work.
Fast forward almost two decades later. Currently, I:
1. Have a day job working as a paralegal for a City Agency doing some relatively routine administrative work that is vital to my department's mission, but is quite specialized. This work involves going to various other government agencies around New York City, locating specific documents, and ensuring that the agency in question certifies them. I am considering parlaying my experience working as a paralegal to apply to law school. I know that there have been cases of attorney's who have done decent work for entrepreneurial ventures in exchange for a percentage point or so. However, I may need some other venture to pay for law school, since I am very wary of taking out student loans in this economy.
2. Work evenings and weekends for some online delivery services to earn extra money. IMHO, despite being a service sector job, it has a feel of a video game, since I am paid per delivery plus tip and:
A. There is some small scale business reasoning involved since, I have had to really learn my market to determine what specific delivery apps on what days, in what neighborhoods, and at what times, I am most likely to receive the best paying delivery gigs.
B. Since, my sideline is very tip dependent as opposed to purely wage based, I have learned the importance of providing value and giving each and every customer REGAL treatment from a drug addict in a halfway house ordering Mexican takeout to a customer in a 10 million dollar loft ordering a 200 dollar steak dinner. I go the extra mile in terms of a speedy delivery, keeping all items intact, hot food hot and ice cream cold, handling any special requests, and even avoiding as much as 10 second delay when unpacking items at the customer's door, to deliver an EXCELLENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE! This has truly paid off in terms of customer ratings and tips. I also am trying to obtain an acting agent to perhaps get back into the movie industry.
Right now, I am at juncture where I am trying to determine where I fit in terms of Fastlane ventures. One poster stated that "In my experience, apart from real estate and straight up marketing grinds like selling stuff on Amazon, real business start when the founder is involved in a industry or market for a long time and has detected a specialized need."INTRO - Recently red-pilled, broke 23 year old. Can I make it?
I have not had any business experience at a high professional level at this time in my life. (i.e. many of the presenters on shark tank have worked at a managerial, professional, or executive level within an industry.) I am not sure if any of my experiences at this time would necessarily translate into a fastlane venture.
I am wondering if I should perhaps try a straight marketing grind like Amazon or should perhaps learn some other business related skills to better position myself. For example, I might study over the next year or so the specific strategies needed to launch a new product, ala Shark Tank.
At any rate, I am tremendously impressed with the caliber of some of the posters here in terms of results and wisdom. I hope to truly contribute and learn.
I live in NYC, am in my late thirties and am at a pivotal point in trying to break out of my scripted existence to become truly free. Some background:
During my late teens and early twenties, I was heavily involved in stock option trading. Back then, markets were much less efficient. A trading strategy that provided an edge could work for a while, even if it was published online or in a book! Market Makers were very lax about adjusting premium to upcoming events and thus I was able to make money with such strategies such as:
A. Buying a call and a put right before earnings reports for Dell Computers. An Almost guarantee of a 700 dollar profit.
B. Simple momentum moves based on semi-predictable events such as a new Windows release (during Microsoft's glory days).
However, eventually market makers became wise to these games. LESSON: The problem with money chasing ( a strategy based on trying to arbitrage a very specific loophole as opposed to creating value is that as mentioned in the Fastlane book, such money making methods eventually dry up. See the discussion in TMF on how Ebay for the most part really made money for EBAY and for some time the early adopters.
Additionally, I had a brief one-hit wonder Hollywood acting career and was involved in a startup that had a great product and a great strategy in theory. It was an early version of an electric car motor. Since there was great technology and a decent business plan, it could have been TESLA MOTORS. I did some consulting work in exchange for stock. Sadly, the CEO was very dysfunctional in actually EXECUTING, thus teaching me the hard way the importance of EXECUTION. Gradually, I fell away from ventures and drifted into routine work.
Fast forward almost two decades later. Currently, I:
1. Have a day job working as a paralegal for a City Agency doing some relatively routine administrative work that is vital to my department's mission, but is quite specialized. This work involves going to various other government agencies around New York City, locating specific documents, and ensuring that the agency in question certifies them. I am considering parlaying my experience working as a paralegal to apply to law school. I know that there have been cases of attorney's who have done decent work for entrepreneurial ventures in exchange for a percentage point or so. However, I may need some other venture to pay for law school, since I am very wary of taking out student loans in this economy.
2. Work evenings and weekends for some online delivery services to earn extra money. IMHO, despite being a service sector job, it has a feel of a video game, since I am paid per delivery plus tip and:
A. There is some small scale business reasoning involved since, I have had to really learn my market to determine what specific delivery apps on what days, in what neighborhoods, and at what times, I am most likely to receive the best paying delivery gigs.
B. Since, my sideline is very tip dependent as opposed to purely wage based, I have learned the importance of providing value and giving each and every customer REGAL treatment from a drug addict in a halfway house ordering Mexican takeout to a customer in a 10 million dollar loft ordering a 200 dollar steak dinner. I go the extra mile in terms of a speedy delivery, keeping all items intact, hot food hot and ice cream cold, handling any special requests, and even avoiding as much as 10 second delay when unpacking items at the customer's door, to deliver an EXCELLENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE! This has truly paid off in terms of customer ratings and tips. I also am trying to obtain an acting agent to perhaps get back into the movie industry.
Right now, I am at juncture where I am trying to determine where I fit in terms of Fastlane ventures. One poster stated that "In my experience, apart from real estate and straight up marketing grinds like selling stuff on Amazon, real business start when the founder is involved in a industry or market for a long time and has detected a specialized need."INTRO - Recently red-pilled, broke 23 year old. Can I make it?
I have not had any business experience at a high professional level at this time in my life. (i.e. many of the presenters on shark tank have worked at a managerial, professional, or executive level within an industry.) I am not sure if any of my experiences at this time would necessarily translate into a fastlane venture.
I am wondering if I should perhaps try a straight marketing grind like Amazon or should perhaps learn some other business related skills to better position myself. For example, I might study over the next year or so the specific strategies needed to launch a new product, ala Shark Tank.
At any rate, I am tremendously impressed with the caliber of some of the posters here in terms of results and wisdom. I hope to truly contribute and learn.
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