I often write on Quora.com, where I am the most viewed writer on financial matters, with over 338.9 million views in recent years.
In the answers below I focused on the following topics and issues:
- How can one teach their spoiled kids the value of money in an effective and preferably less harsh way? I speak about what some famous entrepreneurs can teach us here.
- Speaking about entrepreneurs, how can they get funding?
- What is the theory behind the “everything bubble” and is it worth worrying about?
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Source for all answers – Adam Fayed’s Quora page.
How can one teach their spoiled kids the value of money in an effective and preferably less harsh way?
I was listening to the billionaire Shark Tank judge Mark Cuban speak about this.
He teaches his child to see the value in products falling. When his favorite shavers are on offer on Amazon, he tells his kid to inform him so he can bulk buy.
He clearly doesn’t need to save the money, but he wants to teach his kid a session.
This actually appeals to kids who want to be “adults” and help make decisions, including buying ones.
His fellow Shark Tank judge Kevin O’Leary wrote a book on this:
He mentioned how his mum told him that he would be financially supported after college, but not after.
She cut him off financially, but not emotionally, which was painful for him. His kid, who he said was a slacker as a teenager, was given the same news.
Removing all financial risks from a kid’s life is dangerous, which is why plenty of wealthy people also don’t want their children to inherit much money.
These days, with widespread consumer gadgets and other distractions, it isn’t just the kids of the wealthy who can be spoiled.
The book below also gives some good tips on the issue:
What should an entrepreneur do to get an investment?
Firstly, as per the quote above, I find that people who call themselves the word, are less likely to be investable, to begin with.
Apart from that, I would say:
- Executional skills
Somebody who has demonstrated:
- Prior success and a track record showing this.
- Experience in the domain as an employee if you don’t have prior business success as an owner.
- Overachieving expectations.
- Have they actually done some of the key tasks, or is it a big part of the strategy to hire people?
- Have they actually built up something organically, often called “sweat equity”, or are they only focused on using other people’s money? If somebody has built up something but is looking for funding to take it to the next level, that is a decent sign.
- Here is a big one. Have you shown in the past that you can execute during unexpected events? For example, did you help an airline do marketing after 9/11, or pivot well after the Covid-crisis? Or perhaps there was an internal crisis like losing many business bank accounts at the same time. Either way, if somebody has never seen a major crisis, it is difficult to know how they will react next time one comes along.
It is far easier to take somebody seriously if they have previously succeeded, and have more than a great idea.
Even a business that isn’t yet profitable can be a good investment if the revenues are high enough, and those customer acquisition costs can be reduced.
2. Knowing your numbers
Anybody can learn a bunch of numbers, so it isn’t that impressive if you know them.
However, not knowing basic numbers can be a concern, such as:
- How big the market is, and therefore the opportunities
- Your previous sales and profits
- In some industries, gross profit margins
- How many customers do you have now
- The amount of residual income you have in some situations.
- If there is a crisis, how much cashflow do you have, and how long could you survive for if new customer acquisition falls by X and Y percentage?
People who don’t know the numbers are more likely only interested in the idea and passion alone.
I am not saying having a great idea isn’t important. It is. I am not saying that having a passion isn’t good – it can be excellent.
I am also not saying that having some grand moral purpose is bad. It can also be useful in some situations.
Merely, many people have these things.
What is the everything bubble, and are we currently in it?
It is the idea that everything is in a bubble. I wouldn’t pay any attention to it for three reasons.
- It is absurd considering how cheap many global stock markets are on various ratios like cheap and p/e. What is more, plenty of assets, like some forms of commercial real estate, haven’t recovered from 2020 yet
- Those people predicting it has done it every single year in recent history:
Here is from 2014 –Welcome to the Everything Boom, or Maybe the Everything Bubble (Published 2014)
2015:THE EVERYTHING BUBBLE | Vanity Fair
And I could go on and on.
You would have missed out on huge growth if you would have paid attention to any of these articles.
3. You won’t “win” by staying in cash and waiting for the right moment to buy. The reasons are simple enough to understand, and the above information is only part of that.
Even when markets do fall, as they did at the end of 2018 and more memorably in 2020, most people who were staying on the sidelines will wait and see if the markets will fall even harder.
Once afraid, always afraid.
It is far better to be once serene, always serene and calm.
Pained by financial indecision? Want to invest with Adam?
Adam is an internationally recognised author on financial matters, with over 666.9 million answer views on Quora.com, a widely sold book on Amazon, and a contributor on Forbes.
Further Reading
In the answers below, taken from my online Quora answers, I spoke about the following issues and questions:
- What is a financial bubble and how does one identify it? Why is it so difficult to take advantage of bubbles?
- How can you keep to New Year’s resolutions?
To read more, click on the link below:
