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SirVladimir

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Nov 5, 2019
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Today, I'll set the record straight about my situation. If you are serious about giving me a feedback, please read first my introduction thread here. There are lines about who I am, what my strengths are etc.

While I have 1,5 years of high school left (IT and programming -- though I lost interest a long time ago), these are the things I've been working on. I'll go over them quickly and rate them on the CENTS perspective.

1) Trading Signals Provider
Read my introduction thread here for details about my history. Because I found a strategy almost no one else in the world uses, it gives me more time freedom. What it effectively means is that I won't have to post multiple signals daily, but only a few bigger ones weekly.
C - I'm not tied to one platform, one market or one direction. Preferably, as chat platforms are getting more popular, I'd start on Telegram using a subscription bot as a monthly paid private channel.
E - This one is... well, a bit trickier. While reading the charts properly and giving off signals requires knowledge and time, others could essentially subscribe to my signals, re-create the platform and handle out the same signals without thinking about them.
N - I think there are a lot trading-junkies who are willing to hand off 20 bucks for a much greater profit. This motto could be well used, of course, in marketing, as all you gotta do is effectively pay once, and every next month will pay itself off. Proof? Giving out free signals on Facebook and Telegram and other platforms. This is how I would differentiate myself from others too - many providers supply you with 10-15 signals daily, and it's very hard to manage. I prefer quality over quantity.
T - It doesn't take much time to sweep around my chart list and find a signal, not at all. If you're so well educated with your own strategy, the signals pop up themselves.
S - I love crypto because of its volatility, but my strategy could scale to forex and stocks without any problem. The thing about forex and stocks though - while the strategy works like a charm, the volatility is lower, and therefore I'd have to publish much more signals, and therefore I'd have to spend much more time.

2) Instagram Niche Account
Check the mentioned introduction thread. I'm doing this because it essentially takes no time to post a picture once a day, and I want to see where it goes, even if just for the sake of it. The tag is @goimagination on Instagram; you may go ahead and check it out. I made some money on paid promotions, but because the account itself provides almost zero original value, I've been thinking about how to engage with the community and differentiate. One simple idea I had (and which was taken quite well by the peeps when I proposed it) is to create a clothing store. The products would either be limited collection, or not, nevertheless most designs would be made by the community. There would be monthly (or however common) contests, and people would then vote about the best design/s. The winning designs would then be added to the store and the profit would be split 50/50. The idea somehow helps artists and kicks-off a change from the rest. Therefore, I will analyze THIS idea on the scale.
C - I do not have control over the printing and shipping. The front-end is a classic platform such as Shopify. If Instagram closes my account, I am out of business, too.
E - The unique part are the designs, other than that, pretty easy to replicate.
N - People in the art and fantasy industry are generally supportive of each other, and while there is no huge "need" for T-Shirts or Hoodies as they stand, it's more about the brand and the story behind them.
T - No big obstacles here. Once you get a product running, that's if - you require time to promote it. It would definitely be a welcomed step up from a student's life.
S - The Instagram account targets the digital art, fantasy, adventure and perhaps the gaming industry. Thinking about it I see how little I have studied scale on this one.
NOTE: Over the last few days, I found an amazing, aesthetically looking product in the industry, which could be sold even for up to $75-$100 a piece. It instantly caught my eye. What's good is that it is an everyday object that most people use. The value is only perceived as such because handwork has been done to improve its appearance and "specialize" it for the industry. Anywhere else, it would sell for $5-$10 without the custom work. I have no experience with contacting manufacturers, especially when the desired product requires hours of handwork even with experience. I don't even know if anyone would be able to make this one. Essentially I could flip some and see. I'd love your opinions, leads or tutorials on this one, thank you!

End Note: That's it for now. Over the last few days I realized one of my greatest passions. What is it? Well, essentially it's feeling on fire while fighting for a cause or solving a problem I care about. Not the cause itself, not the problem itself, but the feeling. I'd say it's my second greatest passion (first one being very non-pragmatic in itself, I literally call it exploring different dimensions of reality, or exploring the "w" axis in an "xyz" world.)
 
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alexkuzmov

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1) Trading Signals Provider
Str8 up NO from me. I wouldnt touch this with a 10 meter pole.
Market speculation is a scam. It doesnt solve a problem, helps no body.
My advice is strear clear from it.


2) Instagram Niche Account
Do you plan to have the winning designs only on clothes, or?
I like the idea of having designer contests.
Why not show the fantasy design on all sorts of things? Clothes, mouse pads, hats, earings, necklaces, shoes etc. etc. just let your imaginationg guide you.
That way people will not only be choosing the design but they will choose where to put it on.
What you are left with is to create the product and to sell it to a market you`ve just created.
 

SirVladimir

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@alexkuzmov

Thank you, Alex. It is true that by trading alone, you're not providing any meaningful value to society whatsoever. Could you go more in depth on saying "market speculation is a scam?" Did you mean what I just described? Or that providing signals wouldn't be considered valuable from your pov? Or something else entirely?

I like the designer contest idea too, especially if you consider the famous motto: Artists will always be poor. What I perceive it as, is an opportunity. The designs could of course be applied to any object, and not just on clothes. I went around and sought artists I would explicitly contact at the start of the contest. I targeted artists from second and lesser world countries, or at least those with little following, but amazing skills. I feel like this group of artists would perceive the event as an opportunity to shine, and even to make some money. You wouldn't believe how many hidden gems you find, only when you dare to look!

I will also start looking into the process of contacting manufacturers and such; just to learn for now. The product I talked about is not mass-produced anywhere. I do not know how hard it would be to produce, nor if there are manufacturers focused on "DIY things." Oh well, all the more looking! I feel like the harder the process, the better the outcome.
 
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Jesse Harris

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A wise professor once told me about a man she knew who managed an investment fund. She said he used technical analysis to time buying and selling AFTER the fund had identified assets it wanted to buy or sell. Basically it was like knowing you need toilet paper, and waiting for it to go on sale at Target. You didn't buy because it was on-sale(like buying dog food on sale but you don't own a dog because it is good deal) or because the price is going up and up (ride the bull). She said he would get maybe a 3% boost to the initial price compared to simply just pulling the trigger whenever. This is slight difference can be huge when you are trying to get your fund to outperform an index fund, but you aren't going to turn $20 in to $20 million even with some magic knowledge.

I want to echo @alexkuzmov about it doesn't solve a problem and doesn't help anybody.

I know next to nothing about Instagram niche marketing but I can tell you this, we are in age of authenticity. You need to live the lifestyle your followers want for themselves 24/7.Otherwise you are faking it and no one will buy anything from you. Also, you are never selling just T-Shirts or the "everyday object", you are selling emotion, you are selling status, you are selling tribal membership, you are selling a dream.

My advice, take a look at the Supreme brand. Once you truly understand why it is successful, I think you are in a better place to evaluate your own idea.

Oh, and don't let anyone here shoot down your dreams. Just remember that it takes a ton of hard work to make them more than just dreams.
 
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alexkuzmov

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@alexkuzmov

Thank you, Alex. It is true that by trading alone, you're not providing any meaningful value to society whatsoever. Could you go more in depth on saying "market speculation is a scam?" Did you mean what I just described? Or that providing signals wouldn't be considered valuable from your pov? Or something else entirely?

I like the designer contest idea too, especially if you consider the famous motto: Artists will always be poor. What I perceive it as, is an opportunity. The designs could of course be applied to any object, and not just on clothes. I went around and sought artists I would explicitly contact at the start of the contest. I targeted artists from second and lesser world countries, or at least those with little following, but amazing skills. I feel like this group of artists would perceive the event as an opportunity to shine, and even to make some money. You wouldn't believe how many hidden gems you find, only when you dare to look!

I will also start looking into the process of contacting manufacturers and such; just to learn for now. The product I talked about is not mass-produced anywhere. I do not know how hard it would be to produce, nor if there are manufacturers focused on "DIY things." Oh well, all the more looking! I feel like the harder the process, the better the outcome.
Well to put it simply, frequent trading on markets, any markets, ignores the underlying value of what's being traded.
If you are day/week trading based on daily/weekly price movements, then you are speculating, not investing.
Almost 100% of day/week traders lose money.
Who makes the money? The brokers.
To me that is an absolute scam and in prays on peoples' greed.
 

SirVladimir

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Nov 5, 2019
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@Jesse Harris @alexkuzmov
You both hit the nail about fundamentals. Trading and Speculating are parable. You may eliminate some risk by trading on volatility/probability, but I agree that institutions are the real deal. To be engaged in a Fastlane, one should really strive to create a leading exchange, for example, which is out of question for me currently.

I loved the insight about Supreme, and although I used the terms "clothing" and "everyday object" as physical references, I understand that what you are selling is an emotion, a story, a relationship. I'll study the brand more closely, and I thank you for that, Jess.

I have also started looking into ways how to easen and replicate the production of the other product. I know I am being vague and not telling much right now, but I may be on the right track with printing forms.
 

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