A business question for Motion (and anyone else) . . .
 

I'm curious as to your thoughts on this, as you've seemed to lived it/done it several times (maybe not exactly, but roughly).

What would you do today to make money in this economic environment?

To give you some working capital and make it more interesting, say you had $500,000 to $1 million in hand.

People say that there are opportunities in every economy, I'd like to know what our esteemed members think they are today.

Pay Day lending

Private ATMs

Cake, 500 large will get you at least 2 infomercials with test air time.

Get a good MER and your rollin like Bernanke.

"Girls Gone Gaga!"

wow, only 8 minutes and some interesting ideas.

I've been involved in the infomercial/direct marketing business, so I've seen it in quite a bit of detail. It is risky, but I've seen a lot of money made very quickly.

I've also seen a lot of money lost very quickly.

And, seen a lot of money made, then lost!

One I was involved with (not as an equity participant) was a huge, huge success and made incredible money. $1 million/month or so, at its peak. Until the FDA got involved. It all went very quickly after that.

You want a quick kill or establish a business?

Buy Gold on Dips in price..in the last week it traded in over a 100 an oz range...100/1800 = 5.5% return on your money in one week..

Buy and sell Spoons..U do have to have some expertise.. recently I bought 2 identical items at auction sold one in about 3 weeks for a 39.32% return (profit) on total investment for both items and still have the second to sell for apx the same price as the first. Which is apx a 12.5% return per week before the capital investment was returned. The general range can be a <10%> to 300%+ profit, and is a catch as catch can biz.

Art can be a 4000% to 8900 % bizness on the up side with a 10% to 25% downside...with a turn around in capital in say 6 months..

These are good sideline or hobby type of biznesses, that a lot of VERY wealthy people that I have met do..

we buy gold now!

safe route is to buy a bunch of solid co. stocks that are raising their dividends & growing their businesses well

Ditto...I seem to have recommended that route in a previous Thread on this Board in the past month...J&J, Exxon, CVX have not missed a dividend payment in over 50 years...plus if the stock price rises you get capital gain.

Agreed! You could then declare yourself as a bank and watch all that federal bail-out money come rolling in! ;)

Get some fellow investors and start a bank.

You'll 'make' money faster than you can spend it. No joke.

...but first you have to make a couple billion $$ swindling the public and others - then stake the claim for a bailout!

My neighbors Dad in AL did just that. He is a Chino Valley Dairy owner, so he got a bunch fellow Dairy owners together and opened Chino Valley Bank. Bought 100 shares for $20 a share so I could go to the Share Holders Buffet Meeting near Ontario AP...Sold the shares for $3500 within the year...At the time her Dad's stake in the bank was 65M....

Marijuana dispensary
Exporting autos to Europe
Craft Brewery/Distillery

That's a nice bundle of scratch for starters...

I don't have much tolerance for risk these days, and have lost too much money on equities, so I'm playing it much safer. My plays:

Microlending: Lendingclub.com, prosper.com. 11-15% interest is fairly safe.

Collectibles: I'm focusing on rare two-stroke motorcycles. They don't take up too much space and I am seeing 20-30% appreciation per year easily.

Start an Internet biz. Possibly an affiliate site for Amazon. Good money and it all happens 24/7.

People make money in every sector. You just have to be wise, smart and work hard. It will happen.

"say you had $500,000 to $1 million in hand"

I wouldn't need near that much to start another pawn shop.
Jim

Yup, pawn shop or liquor store...



Or both. :D

I like 4000% better....which if turned would be enugh to buy a professionaly resotred 356..you can see it on the wall of the pic of myself recently posted on this Board.

Or the ELSIE Spoon that I recently picked up that Targa and I talked about that is a 242% return on capital anyway...Only one available for sale online is just about 6X's as expensive...

You find with collectables that they go up and will level off for awhile, maybe come down a bit and then go up again...it is like the tide..

Geezus you wana talk about fking risk...whew...Everything is a fking risk including CASH...

GOVT Bonds = a NEGATIVE RETURN..

Spoons are the only thing that I have seen in the past 3 years that have minimal risk...a guy dropped 920K into a Colt Walker in oct 08, the day the market dropped a 1000 pts...That is a record for a spoon at auction. I would swear that people would rather have Spoons than cash. All U have to do is watch the auctions..

Gold goes up and down like a yo yo...so at these levels you can drop a bundle real quick and the next day be up real quick. Silver is better if bought around 35 an oz..it is more stable with potential to go higher as Gold goes higher.

I watch all this fking cr@p on a daily basis..

Where to put the real money...Big Cap Stocks that are consumer staples that pay a now healthy dividend..J&J, Coke, 3M, XOM, CVX...Your buying them when the market is soft so you have potential Capital gain and your getting the dividend or income stream if they dip lower so U can wait it out. And if those companies go, well not to worry as nothing will be left standing.

I got a little missive from Mother in Tucson this week, she has connections into the FED and she says we are on the "BRINK"...

It's interesting to note—and perhaps symptomatic—that almost none of the suggestions are for activities that produce real economic value.

You could, for example, use the money to get a good degree, or learn a good trade that would make you indispensable in an economic downtown.

I suppose much depends on your age and the timeline you have.

…and quietly starve to death in the process. An education is very, very expensive in the states with no likelihood that youll wind up doing anything other than waiting tables or mowing lawns when you're done.

not that interesting, more like expected. Something for nothing is fully ingrained in the US mindset.

but it's the parasitic suggestions that really bother me.

That's about what I've been paying through friends/family/angel loans to cover expansion and cash flow. To me, it's cheap money as I have the opportunity to grow in a down economy while banks do nothing for Main Street. Hope to close a small private placement by the end of the year though.

This is often quoted, but not correct. It is true that the best schools can be quite expensive. But most place have "Community" colleges, which offer 2 year degrees and advanced vocational training. These are not expensive, and many are quite cheap. And if you are a low or no income person, you can get both loans and grants.

If your plans are for a 4 year degree, you then can go to a tier 2 or 3 state school. Again, these are relatively inexpensive and loans and grants are available.

The general problem is that a 4 year degree does not mean you will get a job. You need to pick the right degree. Studying english or art or philosophy or even a hard science does not generally lead to a high paying job with a 4 year degree. Engineering does.

Anyone with the brains and the drive can go to college here.

Back on topic, again, it depends on what the person wants, what their drive is, what their capabilities are, etc.

My sister finished a ballet career and asked me what she could do to make a lot of money without too much work. The only 2 things that came to mind were stripping and hooking. She finally, after a lot of pushing, started a ballet studio. She has little head for business; it just isn't her thing. She has a setup at a community center which will collect the money and pay the bills, she teaches the classes.

She has had a taste of running a business with her yearly "Nutcracker" shows. But she doesn't want to do that year round.

I would look into starting some sort of NON-PROFIT organization to help the downtrodden youths of today learn a trade.

You get to earn a directors fee $150k is max if what I heard is true plus plenty of tax bennys.

You saved my bacon.

Start a liquor store across the street from Arizona State University. Accept anything that remotely resembles a drivers license.

Wait...we already have that

Jackson

beer bait and bullets INC!

Start a ballet studio that is really a front for the ballerina/hookers.

I would probably buy rental property.

start a cathouse (brothel).

Write a book; 100 UNSOLVEABLE PUZZLES

Sell it on the Internet. People love challenges.

Somebody has to say it, hookers and blow.

Are you talking make quick money and get out or invest in a business?
For a value-added, income producing investment that's likely to stay around I would go with a food franchise.
If you want to shuffle money around trading wealth other people have created, - my opinion is we already have too many people wanting to get rich without contributing to the economy and it is one of our nation's biggest problems.

Forensic Auditing.
If you gave me 500K-1million I would get into the forensic auditing business. Simple model , fee based on realized gains, say 35-45%.
You would need several good accountants and scratch for advertising / sales, but with the government set to take more and more Companies are going to be looking at ways to get back some serious money from previous over payments. Things like sales taxes paid on materials that went into manufacturing that can be recouped. In large volumes it can be serious money with no up front cost or risks to the company.

The other option would be legal pirating. You can legally hold a ship (container or otherwise) in port if you file a lien against the company for outstanding debt. Ships don't make money sitting in port and firm are usually quick to pay. Nice thing is it can all be done from your home office with enough money to pay brokers and bondsmen in foreign ports. Your not going to make many friends and probably a few rather nasty enemies but it is very lucrative.
Again little up front costs, fee based on realized gains to your clients

Steve

At my age, I'd probably buy as many chrome bumper, wire wheeled Ferraris as the money would allow. Obviously staying away from the ones that would cost more than the whole nut.