the goose

Having pints on the train with @revahealth does wonders for my pontification muscle.  We were on our way back from Bizcamp Belfast where we’d done a two handed presentation on building niche directories.  Windows 7 garbled our powerpoint presentation as soon as we plugged it into the projector so it was even more hap hazard than expected.  It was a hoot though and it got me thinking.  Caelen’s business is going for the jackpot. In a massive market, RevaHealth is investing its time with a view to achieveing a big win.  It contrasts with our approach and got me thinking about how there are really three ages of ‘investor’ – or entrepreneur.

1.  Survival

First up is having enough money coming in every month to cover the basics.  Food, rent and kids education.  This is the level I’m at and for me that really means automating enough income to make sure I don’t have to work for someone else.  This is as much about frugality as it is revenue generation and the aim is to simply build enough income to be in control of your own time.  Profit it key here.  We are looking for a steady stream of reliable income.  With as little risk as possible  – bring in the bacon.  Fancy newfangled ideas need not apply.  Proven methods of creating a cash flow are the rule here.  That included (or used to include) property investment, share dealing and in our case the safest of internet businesses.

2.  Enrichment

Having covered the basics and avoiding selling time, we can start to look at ventures which have potential for greater reward but may involve more risk.  I guess on some level I have been tinkering with projects such as agtweet which don’t really have much potential for cash flow generation on the face of it but do help me learn a little, build profile and potentially bring in a bigger pay day.  Given that the basics are covered we can afford to play around a little more.  I’m willing to take on a little more risk – although if truth be told I should really be sticking to the day job and building on what we already have.  A good example here might be expanding Piehole into other terretories.  It is riskier and harder to do but could bring in much greater rewards. The aim here is to basically pay for a far higher level of lifestyle.  For us it means building a spectacular lifestyle where we can do pretty much anything we chose.

3.  Jackpot

Having secured the basics, and generated a revenue stream that really caters for a dream lifestyle (whatever that might mean to you) – it becomes about winning big.  The super-rich can afford to assign some of their investment income to risky ventures which have potential to create a spectacular return.  Money per se isn’t an issue any more.  It is about building a legacy and proving what you are truely capable of.  Typically this means building something for IPO or trade sale.  Profit is not so important here.  What is important is the return -  a big pay day.

I’m not sure that I’ll experience the third or even second level of investment but it does strike me that each requires a very different type of business.  While a business that provides survival might migrate to one that provides enrichment and even a jackpot, their goals and metrics are very different.

I don’t doubt that some people look at piehole and wonder why we are putting so much effort into a market that is so small.  The maximum potential income is pretty slim by most standards.  At the same time I look at larger ventures and am a little befuddled by why anyone would take such risks.  Of course it all depends on what stage each entrepreneur is at.  Some might be going for survival while others are already ready to go for the jackpot.