echospheregroup

Category: Style Samples

  • Should a 21 year old give all money to investors

    A 21 year old who had a company that was sold for $30,000,000.00 would almost certainly not be on Quora asking this question.

    A company that size would have many employees, and either a smart owner or great counsel. Board of advisers, or investors already who have advised the company to that size. 30 Million Dollars is no small feat.

    I’ll assume this is hypothetical and I’ll answer this all the same.

    You diversify. You don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

    First, we’re going to assume that you owned only 50% of the business. I’ll throw that in there. As it’s rare to sell a 30 million dollar business and have 100% ownership. For the sake of argument, and to make things simple, 50%.

    Then, we’re going to assume you have sales costs, lawyer fees, and taxes to pay on your earnings.

    So all in, I’m going to assign a number of money you actually made on that sale, we’re going to say you earned 9.5 million dollar from your share after all expenses. So of your 15 million (50%), 5.5m went to taxes and other expenses. You made 9.5 million.

    Putting all 9.5 million to investors would be a bad and risky move. You are young, so if you want to turn that money into more money, you need to invest in yourself.

    • 1.2 million into savings.

    You want enough into savings that you can live minimally off the interest. Depending on what type of savings it’ll be different. I’m not going to get into inflation and other factors. But let’s assume at a solid 2% return (still a bit high). To simplify things, that’s $24,000 year earnings.

    That should be enough money for you to live off of until you get going with your next project. That’ll cover food, living, travel/gas, everything as if you were making minimum wage. This is free money.

    • 2.5 million into stocks and higher risk investments.

    Get yourself two primary brokers to each manage 750 thousand. Then get a third broker and use 1 million and copy Warren Buffet’s top 5 portfolio stock investments. They don’t need to know about each other.

    Diversify your portfolio for each of the two 750 thousand ones. You want a nice range of options. But keep focused. Maybe have one do energy and the other do health care related or something.

    • 500 thousand into cryptocurrency.

    Crypto is a thing right now. But don’t put too much into it. Just see where it goes. I’d recommend using 400 thousand and spread that between 5–6 major cryptos (seek advice on the market), then spend that last 100 thousand and put a small amount into every single new crypto as it gets released. Expect to throw a lot of money away, but you never know when that next bitcoin will come. Being first in the door could potentially have a massive payout.

    • 350 thousand (value) to go towards your parents.

    You wouldn’t be where you are now without your parents. If you sold a company for 30 million. Then your parents did something right.

    Time to pay them back. Pay off their mortgage, buy them a new car, send them on vacation. They’ve earned it, dealing with you for 21 years.

    • 50 thousand into something nice for yourself.

    Wait, why only 50 thousand?

    You are young. You have a lot to learn, and the biggest mistake anyone makes when coming into money is spending too much on themselves for “extra” luxury uneeded things. You do not want to tempt yourself and get that ‘taste’ of success too early.

    Always set the bar low first. Because no matter what you do, each time you get wins in life, you’re going to raise that bar to reward yourself. And if you set it too high, you will be broke.

    You will thank yourself in your future if you can keep this to under 50 thousand.

    What do you do with that 50 thousand? You buy a lower end brand new car. Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford. Or you buy a used higher end car. A used lambo, a used mercedes. You do not buy a brand new luxury car. Worst investment you can ever do.

    • 1.5 million into investing in yourself.

    So what is investing in yourself?

    Investing in yourself is learning, getting knowledge, getting educated. You want to improve yourself daily. Get a mentor. Pay for coaching lessons.

    I would recommend getting a coach for stocks, investments, and crypto. Pay for someone to teach you these things.

    Buy a ton of books, every business book you can get your hands. Read every single day.

    Take webinars online, go to local seminars, anything business related to help your future.

    Hire some top coaches to get you up to speed and provide you the most value possible. Lessons that will follow you for life. Lessons you can utilize and earn more money. The more you invest in yourself, the faster, and further you will go in life, and the more money you will make.

    • 1.2 million into private investment.

    Work together with your lawyer and find local angel investors, and Entrepreneurs and do private investments together with them.

    This is extremely high risk, but you can still diversify and start small. 1.2 million can fund a lot of start-ups and small businesses. With the right guidance, and starting young like you can be extremely rewarding.

    I would also look into real estate. Especially global, China and Hong Kong have massively growing markets. Doing private real estate deals can pay off well.

    • 2 million into your next business venture.

    You’ll put aside 2 million into your next business venture that will hopefully give you another 30+ million dollar sale.

    As you’ve already been successful once as an Entrepreneur, it only makes sense to do it again. Each time you do a business, you are better off then the last time.

    Do not use all the money at once. Spend it wisely. Hire a proper CEO for your start-up. Put together a proper team. And get an adviser to manage that 2 million dollars for you.

    • 200 thousand into other expenses.

    The last 200 thousand will go towards your lawyer and other costs you have for doing all the above things.

  • Why covering your laptop camera with tape is important

    Camera’s and microphones are the two easiest things things to hack on a laptop. And I mean very easy. Anyone with a few months to spare and access to google can learn how to do it.

    Years ago when I was in China I was getting updated on cyber security from one of our partnerships.

    We were going over everything from basic hacks a 9 year old could do to more sophisticated ones that professional blackhats do. This was to ensure all of our companies assets were up to date and complaint with expectations to be working with sensitive data from our clients and customers from China.

    One of the first things they showed me was how easy it is to get access a camera remotely. And over a dozen different methods of doing it.

    Back at my hotel where I was staying at the time, I had a laptop on my desk by my bed which I always left on, but locked.

    As well as at my home office in Canada, I had a few laptops there as well I had plugged into a backup battery power bar, so they had about 42 hours total of backup battery should power ever go out. I was using these as self cloud storage’s. So they were on as well.

    Within 5 minutes of the lesson just knowing my IP address (for my Canada office) and my QQ chat account on my hotel laptop they had access to my cameras in both my hotel room, and my home office. I was able to see my rooms from the board meeting through the eyes of my camera. And this was an amateur hack, something a 12 year old could learn online. The laptops did all have anti virus.

    Not only with cameras. We did microphone as well as other windows processes as well. All basic methods. They were able to push software onto the devices through vulnerabilities in the router/network and other means.

    No system is safe, but there are steps you can take to prevent certain methods (especially amateur). Most people though are not aware, and probably never need to.

    We did some advanced security lessons by which one of the professional consultants showed us how easily he can obtain direct access to devices, not just amateur stuff like cameras.

    He was able to get full remote access to my home office laptops in under 4 minutes of his demonstration. Which then he had full mouse/keyboard and screen share on. He was able to access emails, web browser, and over a dozen external harddrives and all contents connected to my network. Prior to that meeting I wasn’t even aware that was possible.

    We also did a safety test on my VPS (virtual private server) that I had hosted with Hostmonster and Godaddy at the time. This was a few years ago. I got permission to test our VPS’s security. The consultant wouldn’t do it without permission, which we got from a live chat agent.

    Within 4 minutes again he had access to our root VPS server. He bypassed the hosting servers basic security that was loaded by default on our virtual server. He was able to show me the root files of all of my CPANEL accounts that hosted our websites on Magento and WordPress and we were able to make live changes to my sites. To that, I was not happy. I was expecting a lot more security from those hosting companies, not with them anymore though.

    And this all done by an experienced consultant who works in the security industry to prevent malicious intent. Not a blackhat with evil intentions.

    This was a two day consult. About 11 hours total. So we covered a lot of what can happen in the world. It was then and there I realized the need for certain companies, and high profile people to utilize cyber security firms.

    Since then I always cover my mic and camera with tape, as well as make adjustments to device settings and network advanced settings to reduce amateur hacks.

    But if an experienced blackhat wants in, they’ll get in.

  • My Opinion on China and Chinese People

    I’ve been in and out of China since 2010. More times than I can count. I stopped counting. Overall I have a really high opinion for most of China, the Chinese citizens, and the culture.

    It has it’s ups, and downs. It’s flaws, just like every country.

    One of the things I don’t really like is the censorship, the great wall. Not that it matters anymore. It’s more of a nuisance. Anyone who knows how to use a phone or laptop has a VPN in China. The great wall that China uses only affects non-tech people. With the generations growing up on computers and tech, every single person knows how to bypass the block, so essentially the great wall serves no purpose.

    The best thing about China, and the culture there is how friendly everyone is. It’s positive discrimination. Everyone wants to meet you, everyone wants to take a picture. People who are complete strangers will meet you and 5 minutes after talking they are inviting you to their homes to share a meal. Overall, from a foreigners perspective, they are very friendly.

    One thing about being a foreigner there for a while, is you get introduced to something people refer to as a white monkey job. White monkey jobs in China is where the only qualification to 100% get the job, is being white. That’s it, you don’t need to know any Chinese. And in some cases if you do, they’ll tell you to pretend you dont know it. Whether your paid to eat at a certain restaurant, or paid to sit quietly in a board meeting for a company, or paid to give a speech about – it doesn’t matter as long as it’s not in the Chinese language. Being white in China attracts customers, it attracts better business deals. Especially if they want investors. And these (usually illegal) jobs sometimes pay very well.

    Dogs. I personally have always thought of dogs as a pet, growing up in Canada, it’s the culture. Seeing thousands of dogs in marketplaces in China was a culture shock. I’m used it now. I’ve sat at hundreds of tables over the years where people eat dogs in restaurants. I’ve never personally ate dog as far as I am aware. I do not condone the abuse the dogs receive before being slaughtered. But I still respect the traditions (that is dying out). Less and less people eat dogs, and I think it’ll phase out within 40–50 years.

    Recently in China more and more insurance companies are now offering what is called helping insurance. This is where if another human in China needs assistance, you are insured to help them. Now you might be thinking, what, why? China has a very ‘it’s not my business’ type of approach to everything. If it doesn’t affect you, don’t interfere. This can be attributed to the growing scams that affect China. It’s not uncommon that the person you may want to help, ends up blaming you. Example: lady falls, you help her up. She blames you since you touched her to help, saying you caused it from the start…. you pay her medical bills.

    Besides the government issues, and alarming growth rate of scams, just about all else in China is amazing.

    Not all of the China government is what I feel to be backwards, they have made great progress the last 5 or more years especially with the economy, and environment.

    China is in the position with it’s growth to be the worlds biggest powerhouse, and it’s doing it. China makes more millionaires than any other country. China’s catching up in the tech world and surpassing everyone. It’s the best opportunity as a foreigner to make a lot of money by investing in China’s businesses.

    China also has the best food. You can live in China for 20 years, travel all over and never eat the same food. Every province you go to has a complete different palate.

    I’ve eaten everywhere, and wow, the food is amazing. I’ve got over 7200 images saved up over the years from food pictures I’ve taken. I would have had more too if two of my phones weren’t stolen while I was there. If you are a big foodie, then China has to be one of your stops.

    Corruption in China exists, it exists in all levels of society, military, and government. It’s not really growing, but it’s not really going away. It’s not too too bad, there are many other countries that are worse. And I got to experience it first hand from spending a lot of time in China.

    One thing is driving as a foreigner, whether you have a license or not, it doesn’t always matter. Some police, not all, if they want money will target foreigners who are driving, and may make up a fake excuse that you did something wrong. What they want is money, you pay them money, and they won’t write you a ticket and let you go on your way. This is true even if you have no license, they’ll let you drive off once paying them their fee. This doesn’t happen in big cities where things are more strict, but it still happens in other areas.

    Toll routes. Tolls routes are very easy to get by without ever paying, even as a foreigner. There are countless places that will make you ID’s. Teacher, Special Driver, even Military. Flash a military fake ID at a checkpoint/toll route and you can get by without paying the 5, 10 or 20 RMB (varies). But if they catch you, they will either call the police, or request under the table payment. It depends on who you get.

    Import/export corruption exists too, it’s very political. Everything that high up has to do with relationships. If you have a great relationship with very powerful people in China, their influence has a lot of reach. So much so that certain people (even if they are not government) has the power to restrict or change exportation out of China. So if a large company like Walmart pisses the wrong person off, they could essentially increase Walmarts export tax rate on their own. And I’ve seen how this can work (Walmart was just an example). Or if some powerful person doesn’t like a foreign company, suddenly that company can be cut off from all Chinese business.

    Because of all the government work on environmental issues, pollution in China is decreasing. Areas that were smog before and hard to breathe have great big blue skies and fresh air.

    Which brings me to my next point, China has the best locations. China is an amazing country for tourists. You can go to China 20 different times, to 20 complete different areas and still not see everything.

    The first week I was in China for business, I got off the plane in Shanghai back in 2010, and took a 8 hour bus to Yiwu. On that trip I went to zoo’s, I went white water rafting and got a bad sunburn, I went to water parks, ice caves, etc. I got to see ancient cities and film/movie locations. There is just soo much to see there.

    Each time I went, I got to do new stuff. In 2011 I did archery for the first time. But I never hit the mark, so I didn’t win a free chicken. I saw even more ancient cities from famous movies. Soo many to see.

    Then there is the really famous tourist locations.

    I’m talking GuiLin. The Li River. Yangshuo. And all the areas around there.

    Without a doubt the best area in all of China for tourists. It deserves to be talked about more.

    GuiLin area is my favorite in all of China. So much so I own a ton of property there. Farmland, factories, retail stores, houses, apartments, you name it, I got it now.

    Each time I go to China, I got to go there also. If not for the scenery, then for the noodles.

    The Li River, is a great quiet place. It smells fresh, and amazing. Nature there sounds wonderful.

    There is nothing like the feeling of being on a raft in the river, and just drifting. From sun up, to sun down. It’s amazing.

    It’s such a calming area, that you can literally fall asleep on a raft, on the river and have the best sleep you’ll ever have in your life. I just wish I could get wifi there and I’d be taking out my laptop there to get work done.

    One other great thing I like about China is the shopping/night life. When the sun goes down, the street vendors come out. And as a foreigner, it’s really cool to see it all.

    Side/smaller streets get closed off from calls, and Chinese Entrepreneurs with a cart comes and setups. They unfold their carts and tents come out, tables, and all their products.

    Food vendors setup, with beer, BBQ and everything you could want in an evening meal. Tables and chairs get setup and they’ll come take your order. Meats and vegetables fried in oil, then grilled on the BBQ with tons of chili sauce. Mmmmmm, even spicy grilled corn on the cob.

    Everything in China is very inexpensive compared to other countries. So this makes China great for foreigners.

    You can work 1 year in a pace like Canada, or the USA, and live off of that money for 5 years in China.

    Everything is cheap from internet, rent, travel, phones, food, drinks, etc.

    I was given a VIP Exclusive Lifetime Pass for free to all movies in China. Because I am a foreigner and I like to drink there. I can see any movie I want for free.

    Beer in China is around $0.50 cents Canadian (CAD), where as in Canada, that size would be about $6.50.

    I paid I think $50 CAD per year for Internet in China at one of my apartments. In Canada I pay $119 CAD per month. That’s 28x cheaper in China.

    Phone, same thing, cheap in China, expensive everywhere else.

    Out in the country is unique in itself. Seeing where all the vegetables, fruits and rice is produced that makes it’s way to the USA and Canada. I got my hands in all of it just to try it out.

    And I have respect now for the farmers in China. A regular tourist to China wouldn’t normally get to the countryside in China, it’s too far out from the tourist locations.

    But I got to haul rice up to rooftops by hand, big bags. Up two, three, sometimes four flights of stairs, and dump the rice out on flat roof tops to let it dry before it gets sold.

    I got to move up and down rows of fresh growing produce. Like lettuce, taro, celery, cabbage, and more, and learn how to ‘weed’ it to get rid of the bad stuff.

    It’s been an amazing experience that I was doing between my business work there.

    You can even pay a camera and makeup/costume crew of 10–12 people to follow you around for 2 days for same price as getting 1 person for 1 hour in Canada.

    Most of everyone I have met in China has been amazing.

    China does have some issues, but the good is way better. It’s a great country. And everyone needs to visit it at least once in their lifetime.

    I have just over 19,000 photos taken in China since 2010. I never did sort it all, there is just too much. 40% is food, 40% is scenery, the rest is mixed.