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What fastlane businesses can be started and ran anonymously?

WTF

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If I'm to ever get wealthy, I'd like for it to be done anonymously. I want stealth wealth -- I don't want my friends or family ever knowing I'm wealthy. I'd like to just be well-off and free of financial worry. I don't care for flashy things or for lifestyle inflation.

What are some businesses that can be started and ran anonymously? The few things I know I could do, and potentially make a killing at, require that I show my face in public light -- and I just don't want to be a public figure (or for my family/others to know I'm rich).

Advice? (And b4 that I shouldn't even worry about this and I should just become rich).
 
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WTF

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Yeah, you can't hide from your friends and family. You should face them now before you have billions otherwise you'll just look petty.


Harty har har. I'm not joking.

Don't act as if there isn't practical benefit to becoming wealthy anonymously.

Either post something constructive to the topic at hand or your posts will be considered trolling -- which is against the rules of the forum.

Not trying to be a dick -- just trying to get answers. Thanks.
 

minivanman

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I am kind of the same way. Yes, my family knows and for a few years they thought they could be a faster talker than I was and get money from me but here is what I've always told them..... I either have a job for you or let's start a business together. They are always gung-ho on starting a business together..... been several years now and not 1 of them has busted a grape to get something started except my oldest sister. Making lots of profit with her.

As for friends knowing..... they really don't know. They used to see some of the cars I would drive but now I just have normal cars/vans and live in a normal house. My friends range from the very wealthy to poor and we all hang out together and never has any of the poor people talked about money and we don't bring it up.

As for being in the public eye, I guess it depends on your business. I dealt with the public and still do but they have no idea what I have. Why or how would they know? My one business I'm involved with has a meeting with a local school district next week for a multi-million dollar contract and the person presenting it is very well off..... but how will they ever know? How would they know YOU was well off just because you are in the public eye?
 
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CROJosh

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Harty har har. I'm not joking.

Don't act as if there isn't practical benefit to becoming wealthy anonymously.

Either post something constructive to the topic at hand or your posts will be considered trolling -- which is against the rules of the forum.

Not trying to be a dick -- just trying to get answers. Thanks.
Well, I wasn't joking either. They may not know your account balance but they'll see all the things you don't do because you don't have to.

Ok seriously: think of the unsexiest industries that have been around for at least 100 years. Accounting, construction, insurance, commodities, food distribution, etc. Incredible wealth in them and no one will ever know your name.
 

Xeon

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I sometimes have the same worry too. What if my boss knows I'm hustling on the side? (the contract says no moonlighting).
 

Bulgano

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I want stealth wealth -- I don't want my friends or family ever knowing I'm wealthy. I'd like to just be well-off and free of financial worry. I don't care for flashy things or for lifestyle inflation.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you have your priorities wrong. You should be focusing more on actually getting wealth first before deciding how you are going to “hide it”.
This is a great example of ‘Don't count your chickens before they hatch’.

I just don't want to be a public figure (or for my family/others to know I'm rich).

Being rich doesn't guarantee you will become a ‘public figure’. There are plenty of incredibly successful people who browse this forum who are incredibly wealthy and you wouldn't even know, even if you walked past them on the street. Another example, look at Jeff Bezos. You never hear anything about him unless it is him doubling/tripling his net-worth. You never hear anything about his family life, his personal life, or anything. He is practically a ghost despite being the richest guy in the world.

If you want some cold honesty, it seems like you are using this as an excuse to action fake. ”I don't want to work yet because I need to figure out how I'm going to keep myself and my money away from the public eye.”

As opposed to just doing it, and then worrying about that later.
 
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D

Deleted50669

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I've considered this too, since I don't want an employer to legally use my eye socket as a fleshlight for moonlighting.

My perspective is that product-based businesses are easier to have anonymity than service-based businesses. In the former you are selling a thing to the public, in the later you are selling yourself. Selling oneself requires a pretty strong amount of self-promotion, at least early in the process, so it creates more discovery risk. Conversely, building a product only requires human contact with entities who touch the process, usually. Granted there are public-facing activities that expedite the success of product-based endeavors (e.g., public speaking, guest posting on a blog, etc.), they aren't required. That's my perspective, anyway. My SaaS product will have a ghost CEO until I leave work for good, or I will have a mannequin CEO with virtually no purpose other than to be a face.
 

minivanman

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When I had my cleaning business and 12-15 girls working for me, all of our customers thought it was just a 2 man show. I played it off like I was small and had a helper doing the work. That way they thought they got a more personal service instead of a bigger company with lots of workers. I don't think I would have gotten 1/2 my customer base if they would have known. They had no clue I was making twice as much as they were! :rofl:
 

WTF

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Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you have your priorities wrong. You should be focusing more on actually getting wealth first before deciding how you are going to “hide it”.
This is a great example of ‘Don't count your chickens before they hatch’.



Being rich doesn't guarantee you will become a ‘public figure’. There are plenty of incredibly successful people who browse this forum who are incredibly wealthy and you wouldn't even know, even if you walked past them on the street. Another example, look at Jeff Bezos. You never hear anything about him unless it is him doubling/tripling his net-worth. You never hear anything about his family life, his personal life, or anything. He is practically a ghost despite being the richest guy in the world.

If you want some cold honesty, it seems like you are using this as an excuse to action fake. ”I don't want to work yet because I need to figure out how I'm going to keep myself and my money away from the public eye.”

As opposed to just doing it, and then worrying about that later.

Do it and then worry about it later? Uh, no thanks.

I'd rather have a plan that works for my goals, work that plan, and then accomplish something. Seems like it's an action fake, but it's not.

I'm pretty confident I know a few ways I could become wealthy (it's just I would have to be a public figure to fulfill them (and I don't really wish to do that)).

Just looking for some alternative ideas... Affiliate marketing and real estate are the first things that come to mind (for anonymous ways).
 
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SquatchMan

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If you want some cold honesty, it seems like you are using this as an excuse to action fake. ”I don't want to work yet because I need to figure out how I'm going to keep myself and my money away from the public eye.”

As opposed to just doing it, and then worrying about that later.

Yeah this is definitely an action fake. I put this in the same category as, "I could have made it to the NFL Hall of Fame, but I don't want to be famous, so I never played football."

To OP: Any business that isn't a 'human service" type business. There's your answer, now what?

PS: Affiliate marketing isn't fastlane.
 

DST

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What are some businesses that can be started and ran anonymously?
All of them? Seems like you're just looking for excuses not to start. Perhaps its some sort of anxiety, either performance wise or social?

The few things I know I could do, and potentially make a killing at, require that I show my face in public light -- and I just don't want to be a public figure (or for my family/others to know I'm rich.
So hire someone to do the public thingy for you instead. This post reminds me of "what should the color of my lambo" be. Seems like you're putting the rich thing way too much on the pedestal. Lots of people around here are rich but no one cares or flocks around them.. at all
 
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biophase

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Umm, pretty much any business? I mean if I never joined the forum or bought nice things only my accountant would know.

Do you know the owners of the restaurants you go too?

When someone asks what you do you can always say you run an online store and send them to a small tiny Ecom store that sells fidget spinners. Everyone will think you’re making $20k a year. Lol
 

SebPP

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Not wanting to be a public figure, hiding your entreprenarual venture to your current boss or hiding your wealth to your friends and familly are actually 3 separate things.

You also have to consider the level of anonymity you want to achieve (ie how easy it would be for someone who google your name to find your fastlane activities). If you want complete anomity, make sure to include privacy options when you buy a domain name.

Now, I'm just currious, what are the reason why you want to be anymous even from your friend and familly?
Is it because they think money is bad and you don't want to be juged by them?
What level of apparent wealth or income you should not exceed according to them to be ok?
 
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Late Bloomer

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There are very few businesses where you can't be under the radar.

The exceptions? If you have made yourself the public figure, as the genius or star of the show.
Nobody would accept, "We know you bought a ticket to the Rolling Stones, but they wanted a day off so here's a different band you might like as much." Same with sports. Same with Warren Buffet's investment choices, as long as he hasn't retired. Same with any business where the marketing includes the person who says, "I'm also a client," "I personally guarantee it," "It's my own good idea," "I bought the company."

Some advertising geniuses point out that it helps to have a public face for the company. But it doesn't have to be the owner. It could be a hired celebrity, paid to come to the party. It coudl be a made-up character, like Betty Crocker.

Outside of something like that, you can live and work as modestly or extravagantly as you like, and who cares? Your name will be in the public records for corporate filings, unless your attorney goes through some extra steps. Is it worth the extra money and paperwork to make sure your nosy, prying, judgmental friends and family never find out who owns that specialty company they've never even heard of? Only you can decide.

It's hard to change your family, but maybe you could move into a circle of friends who are happy and proud for you if you succeed?
 

Nmm540

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I totally get your desire to remain anonymously wealthy. Im a serious introvert and I completely dislike any attention or fame. Im a quiet, reserved, soft spoken individual. Some ways to remain anonymous that I've found have been:
-Dropshipping and affiliate marketing. Ive read of people pulling in $750,000 profit in one year
-Some computer based online service such as lead gen
-Selling ebooks
-Book arbitrage. buy cheaps book from thrift shops and sell on amazon.
-Freelancing
-Maybe try creating an LLC and putting that name down for everything. Lots of lottery winners put down LLCs on their checks
-Sell a personally made product

Do you mind a job that requires socializing to promote or are you just trying to stay low key?
I personally dont mind attention its the socializing that I mainly want to avoid. I avoid attention and fame but if its part of the process Ill accept it and carry on.
 

Late Bloomer

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Inspiration for you:
Pace Analytical quietly grew over 40 years to be one of America's largest environmental labs

Study questions for this article:
1. How important were TV, radio, newpaper and magazine ads and interviews featuring the founder, to the company's growth?
2. Had you ever heard of the founder before?
3. Would you like a company with as much growth and success as his?
4. What will be the founder's reason for selling the company some day, but not yet?
 
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