The one thing I never learned while in school was how to raise capital. This is the foundation of starting any business venture. I decided to create an experiment to find out how to raise capital for my current projects. I am launching a crowdfunding campaign to begin my trip down the rabbit hole. My initial goal is $2,000 which will fully fund my projects. The projects aim at launching a website, publishing kindle singles, and hiring a graphic designer.
http://www.gofundme.com/mxxp9w
It is essential for every budding business to be able to raise capital to invest. My project is to fund my kindle singles projects. I aim to write short reads about various topics to be sold on Amazon for a price range of $0.99-$2.99.
My first topics include:
Usury- Usury is the practice of charging interest and sometimes excessive interest rates. In our current monetary system banks are allow to borrow for 0% interest and then charge customers excessive interest rates. The system is set up for the Federal Reserve to create money from nothing, loan it to banks for free, and then charge the American people to use it. The American people have to repay their debts with money that is earned through production to pay creditors what they created from nothing. It is money begetting money.
A Monetary System Of Checks And Balances- When the founding fathers set up the government they insured no branch of government could hold too much power. They did this by creating three branches of government with separate powers. Where the founders fell short was disagreement of our country’s monetary policy. I propose a solution based on the three currency system of gold and silver (bimetallism) , cryptocurrency, and fiat money. All with separate purposes to create a monetary system of checks and balances with multiple currencies to stop the boom-bust cycles and keep currency rates pegged.
The Seven-Thirties Notes- Was a paper currency during the civil war issued through the treasury. The note allowed the government to borrow directly from the public and the notes could be redeemed after three years for a return of investment of 7.30%. There are various forms of currency notes during the civil war called compound interest notes. Using these types of notes our current government could issue fiat currency directly to the people without a Central Bank and it would place the power for the Federal Government to borrow in the control of the American people.
Stephanie
You have your first donation. Good luck.
Sweet! Thanks Admin!
The central banks control the flow of credit. They are never going to give up that power. It will have to be taken from them by war.
I found in my early years family was the best way to get money.My brother loaned me a large amount of money to buy first house. I had about 20000 saved up and he put up the rest.My family members have been slowly dying over the last couple decades. Anyway that’s what I have done over the years. Good luck.
Who gave me a thumbs down. Damn cowards… I have borrowed from family before going to banks.Best way to get money if you have family members that can help.My way is simple. Save up what you can and borrow the rest from family if they can help. You got a better way?
bb- I don’t get the thumbs down either. I think it is wiser to go to sources that do not charge you interest. Why give your money away for free to the banks in interest and fees when you can borrow from family?
That’s the Chinese way, borrow from family. Share rent or mortgage. Buy Mercedes and share rides. American way, everybody buys car, house, boat…uses up cash that could be invested in a family business.
Strictly speaking, “The system is set up for the Federal Reserve to create money from nothing, loan it to banks for free, and then charge the American people to use it.,” this is one way of several in which money may be created.
Most money is created as bank loans, by banks – which (effectively) let the Fed skim a percentage of the interest on the loan.
Where money comes from:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarterlybulletin/2014/qb14q1prereleasemoneycreation.pdf
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Modern_Money_Mechanics.pdf
The way my family always viewed it was, ‘Why should we loan you money at no interest when we can invest it somewhere else and earn a return?’
When I borrowed from family, they always charged me anywhere from 5%-8% interest.
“When I borrowed from family, they always charged me anywhere from 5%-8% interest.”
That would be a better ROI currently than they can find in any other market. But you just described what Chen said about the American way. We are all seeing how worse off the general populous is because of this individualist mindset concerning finances. Despite most of human existence being co-dependent for success. This is also why I think social security will collapse, because essentially it is selfish and detached from family wealth.
My great-great grandparents immigrated at the turn of the 20th century with nothing. They bought a farm and used the land. They had many children who during the great depression spread out across the country to earn money. They in turn sent money home and later returned to start their own families. When my great-great grandparents could no longer work (around the time of social security) they already own their land and were later cared for by family on the same land they bought. That property was in my family for 90 years until my baby boomer grandfather took out two mortgages against it and lost everything. He died with debts and liens against our family property. What took decades to obtain was lost within one decade. Such a shame…
I’m actually looking to invest cash in a local business or two. It’s not as easy as you might think.
I see nothing at all wrong with charging interest when family borrows money. At a very minimum it teaches several important lessons. I’ve long felt that Americans should follow the Asian method of building something for the common good of the family. For family I’d offer a reduced interest rate but you’d still have to have excellent character and reputation to qualify and the reason for going into debt would have to be prudent.
Our owners, (Rothschilds, Warburgs, and their ilk) think in terms of centuries when it comes to family and the rest of us could rid ourselves of them and the tyranny of govt if we did the same. Establish a long term plan to ensure the family’s future and stick to it. If a family member comes along and wants to step outside the plan, they can get to know their “local Rothchild” (as bankers used to be called) and step out on their own.
IS- I can absolutely believe it is not easy. I have worked for private businesses along side owners. Some are too emotionally attached to their business and make silly mistakes. One business owner I worked for lost everything because they only planned for best case scenario and over leveraged their business in the boom market.
Clammy, I applaud your effort so please don’t think of my comments as criticism however, begging for donations seems like a far cry from what most people call “raising capital”. Why would I, or anyone else, not just Google your topics and learn for free what your articles aim to provide?
You call this an experiment so I’m curious what you expect to learn?
In my state where weed is legal, I’ve had a couple of opportunities to invest in the weed business and I’m quite certain both they and I would make loads of money but weed is still a federal crime. If I did invest and make loads of money (or a single penny) it seems to me that I could eventually be prosecuted under federal law for profiting from a federal crime not to mention funding a criminal enterprise so until that is resolved I have to pass. By the time they get it sorted out, big business and their lobbying efforts will shut out the little guy like myself. I can easily see big tobacco taking over the entire industry before long.
Donations can be a part of raising capital. I started with crowdfunding because I know absolutely nothing about raising capital. It is not taught in school and none of my family are small business owners. The biggest down sides to our institutional school system is it only teaches people to be employees. It goes back to the old saying of those who can”t do, teach.
As for googling my topics, I don’t think so. I have limited what topics I want to write on the internet after I started blogging two years ago. I found how easy it was for someone to use or repost my articles without permission and sometimes without giving me credit. Other website I have written for I would only write fluff because the website that was publishing my articles would “own” my articles, and thus the idea.
When it comes to kindle singles being attractive to me is first the audience. There are no middle men between the author and the audience on Amazon. With their short reads I can write without having to add fluff to meet a 300 page book. I have read 300 page books filled with fluff that would’ve been better as a 70 page book. On Amazon I get to publish directly and earn royalties. Singles prices from $0.99-1.99 get 35% royalties, and $2.99 and above get 70% royalties.
Clammy said:
“As for googling my topics, I don’t think so.”
Prior to 2007 I had almost no practical knowledge of the topics you mentioned in this post and I had little desire to learn about them. I had one question in my mind that I began seeking answers to in high school and that was: How could the govt. sustain such high levels of debt?. None of my teachers could ever provide an answer that seemed to fit and then life and youthful enthusiasm got in the way of finding answers until 2007. Since 2007 I’ve not only found the answer I was seeking but I’ve learned more about the it and the topics you suggest by using the internet and my local library.
I know I’m “old” at 48 but this old dog see’s no reason to pay (even as little as $0.99) for something he can get for free. In 8-9 years of acquiring my free education, TBP is the only site I’ve ever donated to. I know that you have a better grasp on the topics than 99% of millenials but I fail to see why most people would not just google the topics for themselves and find answers on dozens of sites like TBP?.
I actually believe that you could learn more about raising capital for small businesses in a few months of internet and library study than most schools would teach on the subject and you could get it all for free. You’d probably spend a third of your time sorting the wheat from the chaff but you could very easily distill the best info from numerous sites into a serious plan pretty quickly.
Heh,I should explain something about Amazon and their singles. When someone has Amazon Prime they can “check out” singles for free as part of their subscription. An author can offer their books for the lending program and still make money off the reads.
I’m not sure we’re on the same page but I wish you luck. Maybe I’ll learn something from your experiment as well.
” …. but this old dog see’s no reason to pay (even as little as $0.99) for something he can get for free ..” —— I_S
I’ll answer that with a question; “How much is your TIME worth.”
As an example only, let’s say I combined all three Car articles I wrote into a little 99 cent booklet. The book would be around 50 pages long. The three articles combined easily took me 60+ hours to write. Yes, ALL of it I got off the internet … FREE … but, again, it took 60+hours. Let’s say you had in interest in “cool” cars, “concept” cars, and “ugly” cars … maybe for a research project, or whatever. Wouldn’t 99 cents be worth 30 hours of your time?? (I say 30 hours, instead of 60, because I believe your are twice as smart and fast as I am.)
That being said, making money by being an Amazon 99 cent author is a TOUGH SLOG. I checked into it once. Very few people make anything approaching decent money. Minimum wage, or worse, is more typical. Very very few do well … maybe Clammy will be one of them.
bb
You said you borrowed a large amount of money from your family. Immediately thereafter you said your family members are dying off. The way I read that is that you didn’t repay them, because they died, and that’s why its great to borrow money from family. And that why I voted you down.
I would never in a million years charge my family interest. It goes against everything I believe about “family” … just my personal choice. In fact, 95% of the time I’ve lent my family money, I wouldn’t even accept repayment. It wound up being a gift. Of course, we’re not talking huge sums … under $2k.
Stucky- It is a tough slog until you build up your inventory. The more you publish the more you earn. The more subjects you write about, the more you earn. It does take awhile to be successful. But even Stephen King has published directly on kindle.
When I borrowed from family, they always charged me anywhere from 5%-8% interest.
A man married a prostitute figuring he could profit twice. When she got home after a long night, he thought a little fun was in order. She demurred, Fifty bucks, asshole, no freebies.
Clammy
Good luck to you. And I really really mean that. Keep us informed on what you learn along the way. My number one question if I wanted to publish would be — “What can I possibly write about that hasn’t bee said before?” — And, “If I don’t have something new to say, how do I present a new/unique spin to it, that will make people interested?”
Those questions would give me nightmares … considering there are hundreds of thousands of authors and millions of articles “out there”.
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Thinking of Self-Publishing Your Book in 2013? Here’s What You Need to Know.
Here’s the problem with self-publishing: no one cares about your book. That’s it in a nutshell.
There are somewhere between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books published every year in the US alone, depending on which stats you believe. Many of those – perhaps as many as half or even more – are self-published. On average, they sell less than 250 copies each. Your book won’t stand out. Hilary Clinton’s will. Yours won’t.
So self-publishing is an exercise in futility and obscurity. Of course, there are the stories of the writers who self-publish and magic happens and they sell millions of books, but those are the rare exceptions. How rare? Well, on the order of 1 or 2 per million.
If you like those odds, go for it. If you don’t, and you still have a book in you, then please, please read Guy Kawasaki’s book APE: How to Publish a Book, co-written with Shawn Welch. It will save you from yourself and that obscurity.
I can give an unqualified rave for the book – if you’ve already decided to self-publish. If not, then you need to think about the only serious quibble I have with APE first. And that is that for most people, the task of developing what the publishing world calls a ‘platform’ is simply too time-consuming and too difficult if you don’t have one already. Guy’s naturally optimistic about creating a platform, because he has an incredibly strong one that he’s developed over a number of years and a number of successful ventures. But if you’re starting from scratch, it’s a different story. Sure, celebrities and CEOs have a huge leg up, but I’m talking about most of us.
What is a platform? It’s getting enough people to care about you and your book, through social media, traditional media, word of mouth, bake sales – anyway you can. It’s creating a community of people with a genuine interest in the idea you’re putting forward. It’s the way in which you create a strong brand around you and the book and get the world to pay attention.
Yes, the good news is that you can create a platform with social media, and that it is virtually free except in terms of your time.
But the bad news is that in a world that is completely oversaturated with traditional media, information, news, hype, marketing, books, other platforms, social media, blogs, magazines, online magazines, advertising everywhere, television, and so on, it’s incredibly difficult to stand out.
To do so, you have to craft an extraordinarily compelling message and story, create a clever platform around it that makes sense for what it is and who you are, and then have the patience to do what it takes to develop that platform through the social media and traditional media you’ve chosen. It can take years.
Do you have the stomach for it? If so, then Guy’s book is your bible. This wonderful book will help you avoid all the pitfalls that await the unwary and inexperienced self-publisher. And those pitfalls are legion. Don’t even think of getting started until you’ve devoured APE. (Which, by the way, stands for “Author – Publisher – Entrepreneur” — all the things you need to be to self-publish.)
Good luck.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorgan/2013/01/08/thinking-of-self-publishing-your-book-in-2013-heres-what-you-need-to-know/
Stucky- From what I have read you have to find a niche market. That is why I chose my above topics. They aren’t being written about, that I know of. I also have many different ideas not applied to economics. One I am working on is X Hilarious Misunderstandings of the Civil War. Another idea I had was writing some fictional comedy. There are two different types of kindle singles; long reads and short reads. I am going for the short read market. Takes less time to write and they have their own section. They are categorized by duration times of 15 min, 30 min, 45 min, and 60 min. The short reads also have their own separate best sellers list than full length books.
Clammy – the key to a small businesses chance of survival is to be in a niche market. And by that I do not necessarily mean to be the only one in the market. It has to be a situation where 1) there are few competitors, and 2) there are barriers to entry. If there are no barriers to entry, then someone will invariably notice that your small business is doing well, and then attack it on price, service, whatever.
So ask yourself – what is the barrier to entry.
Llpoh-
1) It has a lot of competitors. But those who don’t publish regularly push themselves out of the market by not having multiple works to increase their passive income. From my understanding the most successful of this model write at least 2,000 words a day and work to release as often as possible.
2) There is no barrier of entry. It is an open platform and you really can’t undercut your competitor considering many kindles are priced at $0.99 and some are even free.
I think what he’s saying is that crazy guy you picked up hitchhiking, the one who plans to release a workout video called 7 Minute Abs, is going to give 8 Minute Abs a run for its money.
Hitchhiker: You heard of this thing, the 8-Minute Abs?
Ted: Yeah, sure, 8-Minute Abs. Yeah, the excercise video.
Hitchhiker: Yeah, this is going to blow that right out of the water. Listen to this: 7… Minute… Abs.
Ted: Right. Yes. OK, all right. I see where you’re going.
Hitchhiker: Think about it. You walk into a video store, you see 8-Minute Abs sittin’ there, there’s 7-Minute Abs right beside it. Which one are you gonna pick, man?
Ted: I would go for the 7.
Hitchhiker: Bingo, man, bingo. 7-Minute Abs. And we guarantee just as good a workout as the 8-minute folk.
Ted: You guarantee it? That’s – how do you do that?
Hitchhiker: If you’re not happy with the first 7 minutes, we’re gonna send you the extra minute free. You see? That’s it. That’s our motto. That’s where we’re comin’ from. That’s from “A” to “B”.
Ted: That’s right. That’s – that’s good. That’s good. Unless, of course, somebody comes up with 6-Minute Abs. Then you’re in trouble, huh?
[Hitchhiker convulses]
Hitchhiker: No! No, no, not 6! I said 7. Nobody’s comin’ up with 6. Who works out in 6 minutes? You won’t even get your heart goin, not even a mouse on a wheel.
Ted: That – good point.
Hitchhiker: 7’s the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 dwarves. 7, man, that’s the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin’ on a branch, eatin’ lots of sunflowers on my uncle’s ranch. You know that old children’s tale from the sea. It’s like you’re dreamin’ about Gorgonzola cheese when it’s clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office.
Ted: Why?
Hitchhiker: ‘Cause you’re fuckin’ fired! [img
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While I get your example who is going to pay a mass murdering hitchhiker money for 7 minute abs? I know exactly what he was talking about and I have researched the market very well. The model has only been around for 4 years, its still new, and it is an experiment itself. There are plenty of things I won’t know until I push the submit button.
T4C: Barrier to entry is when a company has a unique product (say a patent) that other companies cannot duplicate. Or if the company has skills that cannot be duplicated, or very specialized knowledge that cannot be duplicated. It can also mean a location – a prime corner position for a food truck, or some such. It means that competitors cannot enter your market because you possess something unique that cannot be duplicated.
My business has one unique barrier to entry that keeps competition away. Me. I have unique skills. I tend to kill off competitors, and it is well known in my field. So no one will enter my marketplace, as they know it is the road to bankruptcy. The market is generally small, and to be successful the company would need to be skilled enough to drive me under. I allow one weak competitor to exist – it gives my major customers comfort knowing if something were to happen to my company, they would have some alternative. If I did not permit the one company, my customers would create a competitor.
I let the weak one survive by not attacking its market share. It knows better than to attack mine.
The downside is that it makes my company very difficult to sell. But it makes the company very profitable in the meantime.
Stucky et al, my point is not that the info is NOT worth paying for in itself but that more often than not I can find something comparable that meets my needs for free. That’s the problem with the interwebs when it comes to most writings, music, video and other digital forms of infotainment. Even established artists and writers are giving away their creations now because it’s damn near impossible to control access. I can get just about any book I want through my local library including rare and very expensive books via the inter-library loan system.
Maybe the minnies and most of the sheople are the kind that will use a credit card to pay for inexpensive articles but I’m a cheap bastard and I’ve never had a NEED to purchase info in that way.
llpoh says:
T4C: Barrier to entry is when a company has a unique product (say a patent) that other companies cannot duplicate. Or if the company has skills that cannot be duplicated, or very specialized knowledge that cannot be duplicated. It can also mean a location – a prime corner position for a food truck, or some such. It means that competitors cannot enter your market because you possess something unique that cannot be duplicated.
My business has one unique barrier to entry that keeps competition away. Me. I have unique skills. I tend to kill off competitors, and it is well known in my field. So no one will enter my marketplace, as they know it is the road to bankruptcy. The market is generally small, and to be successful the company would need to be skilled enough to drive me under. I allow one weak competitor to exist – it gives my major customers comfort knowing if something were to happen to my company, they would have some alternative. If I did not permit the one company, my customers would create a competitor.
I let the weak one survive by not attacking its market share. It knows better than to attack mine.
The downside is that it makes my company very difficult to sell. But it makes the company very profitable in the meantime.
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Llpoh, no offense but this sounds like gibberish. Without specifics (and I have no curiosity about them) it just seem you just are waving your dick around.
“Maybe the minnies and most of the sheople are the kind that will use a credit card to pay for inexpensive articles but I’m a cheap bastard and I’ve never had a NEED to purchase info in that way.”
I read that Millennials actually buy more books than Xers and Boomers. I buy books and I also read books online. Ever wonder how books such as Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Divergent got so big? Those were marketed and read by Millennials.
Stucky , I paid my family members back.My brother owned half of the house.
As far as family members dying I meant there are fewer family members for me to get money.Next time if I need money I’ll probably have to go to a bank.Now go masturbate.
Z – it is impossible to describe all involved in knocking off a competitor. But generally you attack their markets. You undercut their price on a product or two, provide superior quality and service, and keep at it until they disappear.
When I began in this industry more than two decades ago, there were eight companies in the industry. Now there are two. One by one they disappeared. None were bought out. All went bankrupt. I took their sales and their customers, slowly and steadily. To the victor goes the spoils and all that.
My company had twenty people, now it has in excess of a hundred. The only other company to survive is the one mentioned above. They are not a tiny company. But they do not make much profit. By attacking their market and undercutting their prices in just a few areas, I would send them broke. It would probably take six months. My company has higher quality, service, delivery – by a wide margin.
In many cases, the biggest asset a small company has is its owner. Without the owner, the business is worthless. Knowledge and skill reside in the owner. And the value of the business resides there, too.
And that is largely the case with my business. I make more profit each year than I could sell the business for, assuming I do not come with the transaction. So it is nigh on impossible for me to sell – it does not make financial sense. I will let it fade away.
As I said, it is not a rare situation.
I do not feel the need for false modesty when talking about running a business. T4c asked for example. Many times, the barrier to entry is the skill of a manager or owner. That is the case with my business.
Capitalism is ruthless. I do not regret that six businesses went bankrupt because I competed too well (actually more than that – a few more tried to crack the market but failed).
The market I am in is limited in size, so it is of no real value for big players to come after. Smaller players will need to take me on, and I am entrenched, I am the market leader in every aspect, I get the best prices on raw materials, I am cashed up, with no debt, and I have an experienced workforce, and personally I am highly skilled and experienced. New players would be overmatched in every area. And I do not need a third company in the market, so I would attack their business at every turn. They would bleed money and disappear, like the dozen or so before them.
Z- I have to (sigh) agree with Llpoh. It is more beneficial to the local economy to bump off a few mediocre companies and expand to employing over a hundred employees with one successful company. Any new competitors to the market will go after the weak link company left over as bait. Knocking them out of business would be a trophy accomplishment and make them over confident.
Zarathustra said:
“Llpoh, no offense but this sounds like gibberish. Without specifics (and I have no curiosity about them) it just seem you just are waving your dick around.”
Not really. This is pretty much how it works in the field I’m in. There are only three companies in the world that do what we do. Our management is not our strength but the size and quality of our product is unmatched in the world. Our closest competitor ended up buying the company I work for as part of a larger plan to dominate the III-V semiconductor market. Our other competitor was bought up by a huge metals refining group but they mismanaged their III-V dept so bad that they finally shut it down. The key people from that group are now starting a new operation in Utah to compete with us. I suspect the company that owns ours may be allowing them to incur the costs of tooling up and then run them out of business by selling to their customers what for us is essentially scrap but still better than what they produce and then buy them out for pennies on the dollar when they go broke.
Funny thing is that the new company attempted to get one of their guys hired at our company when we advertised an opening. He never even got an interview.
“As far as family members dying I meant there are fewer family members for me to get money. ….. Now go masturbate.” ————- bb
I don’t masturbate before 1PM. But, per your explanation, I did go back and change my vote.