Pyrpolizer wrote:I 've heard all those theories of becoming rich from doing business , getting risks, starting from zero, applying innovative/clever ideas etc from people who have never tried it, that makes me laugh .
Yeah try doing it and you will see how easy it is....
For a start notice that the majority of "successful" businessmen are in reality very stupid. In most cases they were just lucky to have employed a really clever person who boosted their company. I have worked overseas and when I came back to Cyprus i worked for 3 different "successful" companies in Cyprus. All 3 owners them were such cases. The owners of the last one was really acting like a spoiled child bugging me (and others)all day to tell him" new ideas". Point is he always turned them down. I told myself "you idiot you think this idea won't work? Wait till i leave you and start my own business". And in fact that's what I did.... but that was out of necessity. The guy was at the verge of bankruptcy and within just 5 years I remained jobless for the 3rd time. There was no other choice for me other start my own business.And I was shit scared, desperate, and without much savings.
It lasted up until the crash of 2013.Thank God I was not one of those who was depended on Banks, I just cashed all my capital and just saved my money while still keeping the company alive without any profit (actually some minor annual loss). So that's it, it's over for me, just some illusion that the good old days may come back. I just keep the company alive with no profit, because it keeps me busy, otherwise I would go crazy doing nothing all day
What I would like to point out is this:You don't need to apply super innovative/clever ideas or get into too much of a risk to make it.
Business opportunities are obvious most of the times.
UNFORTUNATELY and I would stress that, it's always a matter of how much capital you have. Nobody is that crazy to risk it all. The logical thing to do is risk some 25%
I would say some recent business opportunities here in Cyprus are:
a)Recycling business --> sucking money from EU funds. You need to have connections with the government. Plus 2-3 million capital
b)Photovoltaics.You need to have connections mainly with Electricity Authority or other government bodies because they are subsidized. Capital required between 30-300K
Traditional business opportunities
a)Importing cheap clothing/shoes/appliances from China with just minimum capital about 20K was a business opportunity the last 25 years
b)Franchising known names of restaurants/cafes etc minimum capital about 150K but a very risky business and the profit not that much
c)Land Developing and hotel business were the fruit of the past, dead nowadays
Basically there are business opportunities in every field you can imagine.Even in the aviation industry. However I don't think anyone who has a good fixed income like Paphitis would ever be that crazy to set up an aviation company (either alone or with a few other partners) by renting planes, put all their savings at risk just to become millionaires. Some people did it in Cyprus setting up Helios and we 've seen what happened .
I would say if you have a steady job, and you get paid above average, and you have no savings to put at risk, just forget about it.Happiness is not about money, and life is pretty short.
NB. The video is not watchable. i am not sure of what goes on in other Countries, but here in Cyprus the middle class is by 90% made of overpaid public servants, and Bank employees. How long will it last I don't know, but it's really sad watching young people working in the private sector for salaries as low as 500- 700 Euros.
What I think we are heading at is a new social class. The class
of the working slaves who get paid just above the poverty line
No it is NEVER easy and I wouldn't call it stress free. There are major risks and it takes a particular person. And business makes them happy because they are ambitious and don't want to settle for an average job or an average lifestyle.
You will find that most successful business people are very driven, and yes there are ways of raising cash but you need to fulfill many criteria.
First, people need to stick to what they know best and where their passion lies. Never go into anything you know nothing about unless you have partners that do.
How do you raise money. There are many ways, but first you require a business plan. And in that plan you need to somehow forecast your projections. You could be way off mark but sources of Capital could be from any of the following:
1) Equity Loans from the Bank. A Bank can lend you up to 80% of everything you own without insurance,
2) Angel Sponsors - a Rich Benefactor or Investor who will hand over cash, usually for a silent stake in the business,
3) Tenders and Contracts - Government or Business. Yes you can tender for a number of Government Contracts even before you're set up and if you get them, then you sub lease what is required until you buy your plant and equipment.
4) A business can also be a number of individuals and entities forming a Consortium which increases their liquidity and borrowing power and what they get in return is a stake - Business Partnerships.
Now obviously, if someone limits their exposure to the Banks, they also reduce their overhead but that will depend on the type of business.
Business people are usually just wired differently. A lot of them say they just can't work for other people. Or they have some ambition if you are going into something more than a take away for instance.
Let's say Aviation is your game. Well, all you need is the following amounts of money:
1) For 2 Gulfstreams or 2 Hawker 400s, you will need about $10 million USD from buy from America. A lot of cheap hardware there!
2) Insurance and Air Operators Certificate circa 500K
3) Running Capital about a million.
Doesn't sound that unachievable now as opposed to what most people believe is the case. I still recommend staying away unless you know the industry inside out. It can be very brutal. One engine change and you have blown 500K overnight! On the bright side, that's only about 5 Charters potentially.
We are talking about money that is not hard to raise. It's also a growth market because the richer are only gonna get richer and you would be feeding on their audacious vanity.
You could start with 1 and have a cross hire agreement.
To get contracts in the hand to actually have the work for these aircraft is actually very easy. You can negotiate contracts with some high flyers - businesses in China for instance. A Government Tender to transport dignitaries although that is more difficult until you're known.
You have the image of being very wealthy (part of the 0.01 percenters) but you're not at all. You're basically just a smart Fifiri playing with expensive toys.
Now I don't recommend anyone take any gambles like this unless you know the industry inside out. Now, I am not doing it, but I know people who are.
Oh and they are NOT stupid! They are risk takers though, because there are many of these types of Jet's owned by Rich people who don't know what they are doing and because their business is down, they have them re-possessed.
