What would you do

[Nickolai Naydenov]

"My poor dad thought money made you rich. My rich dad said what really makes you rich are your money habits."
Robert Kiyosaki

[adrianh]

I honestly think that the ability to make money is not a direct function of particular industries or businesses. It seems to be a thought process honed over time. What do we call it 'The midas touch' my brother is a prime example, he is one of those people that enjoy the business of doing business. He calls himself a 'connector', because of his wide network and varied interests he is able to connect buyers and sellers, wheelers & dealers. And because he holds both financial and law degrees he is able to help the people that he connects together. I've seen him take weeny companies and help them grow big, over and over again. When I think of business I see it as a large airport with each business being a vehicle (trucks, busses, aeroplanes, etc) Each business does its own thing but it does interact with air traffic control and the other vehicles, be it to avoid them in the dark or to refuel. Some businesses are tiny, like the little carts that ferry the baggage to the planes and some businesses are huge Airbus A380's, A340's and a rake of A330's. The ground and air traffic controllers coordinate the whole lot as best they can (policy makers, bankers, etc). My brother is the guy that, when the radar is out, is able to see the air traffic pattern in his mind's eyes and deduce from that how the ground traffic should be regulated. It is absolutely uncanny how wide and how deep he can think simultaneously.

Another person that has the same wide and deep thinking ability is Mr Rohan Vos of Rovos Rail. I've spent time with him and its always amazing to see the simultaneous width and depth of thinking. He is able to see a very big picture and simultaneously zoom in on lots of tiny details without any loss of focus or clarity.

Ok, so what is the bottom line, I think that a lot of people make a lot of money by following a formula (like Justin Bieber - he is rich but is he good at what he does, I don't think so), some people make no money even though they are absolutely brilliant (Vincent Van Gogh), but there are people that make lots of money through the sheer enjoyment of using their skills over and over again (Tiger Woods, Donald Trump, Raymond Ackerman, Rohan Vos, and my brother - we call them lucky but the reality is that they honed their skills over many years. They are able to simultaneously think wide and deep and they equipped themselves the appropriate tools, be it education, mentors or staff)

Does anything I said have anything to do with making lots of money in a particular industry, no, not at all, my thinking is that it is the individual that makes the money, not the industry (in line with what Blurock said)

[Christel]

Hi Nickolai,
Mine is also not a "brand new" idea, but if I had some cash to spend, I would buy a house in a business area - (ie. Walmer PE or even Newton Park), and then modify it and rent out the different rooms i.e. have a nail salon in one; maybe a bead shop or mosaic workshop place; a hairdresser; etc. And off course a small coffee shop & nice play are for kiddies. I can then just sit back, do maintenance etc and (hopefully) in a few years time see some money growing on this investment.

[Blurock]

Adrian, it is clear that your brother understands economics. We all work together like cogs in a machine. We can even decide which cog we want to be, but if you do not have a passion for what you are doing, rather go do something else.

If I had money to throw around, I would start a Daddy Daycare in a large shopping centre. Let the women shop while daddy can have a beer, neck massage and haircut. (do we want to include haircut?Manicure, pedicure?) All while watching his favourite sport or DVD, or just sit and talk shop with the other guys in the lounge area.

What would you want in your daycare?

[shani]

Leadership is about people. Know yourself and know your people.
i believe this.