My Entrepreneurial Journey - Part Seven I promise you that from now on, things are going to get very interesting… So, let's get to it! I even worked at the famous Outback, where I met a guy who studied economics at the federal university. We talked about investment, and he lent me a book that I didn't understand anything about. Moving on, I went to work at another restaurant the following year. I talked to a more experienced guy. Until he brought up the topic and said: "-Man, my Ambev shares paid dividends." I was curious about that. I asked for help, and he showed me what to study. Needless to say, I devoured every book and recommended course available. It was love at first sight! The year was 2016, no gurus galore, no YouTubers, everything was just starting to develop. It was the perfect scenario to learn things. Economic crises, Dilma, and the first money earned I spent the entire year of 2015 studying. Hours and hours on end, conversations with this investing colleague, and many stories… In March 2016, I bought R$50 in Ambev shares. At the time, the brokerage statement came to our house by mail. When I showed it to my brother, I felt like an astronaut landing on the moon. It was like: mission accomplished! Little by little, I kept investing more and more money. My system was simple: I looked for shares with intrinsic value that paid dividends => 4% per year. I read this in a book that I asked my father for my birthday (because he insisted on giving me a gift). I didn't look at prices or have time for news. The formula was: Did salary drop? Invest! Did commission drop? Invest! Gradually, by September 2016, I was investing 50% of everything I earned. At the time, the economy was struggling. Money had disappeared from the market, robberies were becoming more and more common (even in broad daylight). Unfortunately, at the time, I witnessed 3 and suffered 1. :( It was my first lesson in macroeconomics… When money disappears from the market, everything and everyone feels it. Desperate measures come into play. And truly, anything goes. Despite everything, I was young and still lived with my parents. Although I paid some bills, I earned above average and was always a saver. At the time, a friend played some online games, and he mentioned a digital currency that could also be used in the physical world. It was Bitcoin… When he showed it to me, I said I didn't have time for that. But he insisted, and I bought 12 bitcoins and some mining contracts. A year later, maintaining the investment pace, focused on work, studies, and self-improvement, gradually buying bitcoin, I had a huge scare. When I stopped to add up how much money I had, I discovered I had made my first 100 thousand! Who wants to be an internet guru? I need to tell you that all of this came with costs. Emotional cost was the biggest. I dedicated myself so much to the mission that I didn't see my siblings grow up. I didn't have moments with my family, I lost girlfriends along the way, and I met many self-serving people. My family was the people I worked with, 10-12 hours a day. Exhausted, physically and emotionally, I decided to quit my job and take new directions. At that time, this blog was created (which I only resumed now). I traveled alone through Europe for a month and a half, ran the Pampulha circuit, and… I went to work in an investment office… That's right, I participated in a selection process with 30 people. Five of us, including me, passed. It was 3 months of intense learning. I joined as an intern and left as one. Haha. I didn't agree with the way we traded, and the owner was inflexible. In the end, finishing that cycle was important. But it gave me a lot of foundation and power to trade. I was already trading forex at the time. I wanted to participate in the world championship. Reviewing and researching the list of former champions, I saw that there was a Brazilian on the list. I searched for him on Google and sent a message. He replied, and since then, we became acquainted and started exchanging many messages. Forex and adventures And it's exactly here that a crazy journey begins. I traded forex throughout 2017. I made a 110% return in the year (trading riskily). Getting to know this Brazilian, who was formally trained in the area (I graduated in Business Administration), gave me the scientific basis I lacked. And it greatly improved my vision and approach. Two years later, through a contact, I was introduced to an investor residing in the USA. His idea was simple: invest in something, double the money, and withdraw. We talked, agreed, and did so. I traded his money in forex for a year. It involved thousands of dollars in responsibility. We bought all the tools we thought useful, created an algorithm to assist, and made a 70% return in the year. There, I saw a profitable business. Investing other people's money (which is something I love) and also earning a commission in return. #bitcoin #entrepreneurship #business

My Entrepreneurial Journey - Part Six A year after we launched the dessert delivery service, our third partner left. My partner decided it was time. So, that's when I decided it was time to move on. I come from a family of administrators; I became a manager at 17 and maintained that in all the jobs I had. I returned to the job market and was hired again. Since 2014, I've been investing in the stock market, NYSE, and crypto. I always liked to read a lot and combined that hobby with my new passion. I studied a lot about investments, had the opportunity to work in an investment office, and also had the chance to meet and train with some professional traders. Looking back, I realize I was very blessed on this journey. I made good sums, lost some, and learned my lessons. I clearly understood that my problem was cash flow. I was always good with money: earning, saving, investing, and putting money to work for me. But now I needed to fix two problems: income streams and a robust reserve. Now, hold on a moment, because all of this will make sense when we get to the next topic. I'll write about it and clarify it for you there. #world #business #entrepreneuship

My Entrepreneurial Journey - Part Five After my experience with events, I took a break from getting involved in new businesses. 4 years to be precise. During this period, I learned to invest. I first invested in the Brazilian stock exchange, then in the NYSE, and finally in Bitcoin. By far, Bitcoin has given me the best return to date. But I also made good sums during times of crisis. However, that's not what I want to talk about. Let's fast forward and talk about the pandemic. At that time, I had money saved for 4 months of expenses. In the third month, I realized it was a political play and the lockdown would last longer. I took all my money, went to São Paulo, and bought phone merchandise: cables, chargers, and portable batteries. I resold them with great profit on Mercado Livre, OLX, and Facebook Marketplace. I also sold to people I knew. At the time, Apple stopped sending the charger box. So I invested 80% of my money in that demand, and it sold the fastest. The experience was great because I learned about e-commerce and better understood how it works. But... we were in the pandemic. Money had disappeared from the market. I took all the profit and the money that returned. I paid bills, survived, and with what was left, I thought: "I need to multiply it again..." I immediately started researching businesses to start with little money. I searched the internet extensively until I found confectionery... Low initial cost, women have PMS (loyal customers), and cheap ingredients that take a long time to spoil. There was no other way... my intuition buzzed, and I knew I had to go all in on this. I had worked for 8 years managing restaurants. At the time, my ex, who is a cook, agreed. We researched, calculated recipes, did the marketing, and registered on online delivery apps. Another journey began at that time. #journey #entrepreneuship #business

Nobody knows…

My Entrepreneurial Journey - Part Eight Onward with my adventures (and misadventures) as an entrepreneur. In my last article, I told you about how I made money using OPM (Other People's Money). So let's skip ahead a few chapters and get right to it. Naturally, after the success of investing other people's money, I figured all I had to do was get more money from more people and my commission would take off. I was wrong. Immediately, I used my experience and results to attract new clients. It worked! The year was 2020. The pandemic was easing, and people were starting to have faith again. At that moment, the financial market did something never seen before: an incredible upward curve of growth. Many "experts" said it was going to crash, that it was impossible to keep going up, that we were at the top. But none of them managed to spot the most important thing at that moment: THE WORLD HAD CHANGED! And for good. New fortunes were made (and lost), new professions emerged. Being a YouTuber was now a legitimate career, and we discovered that we didn't need offices for work to get done. And just like that, the financial market changed too. Cryptocurrencies exploded, new financial instruments were created, and ETFs emerged (including crypto ETFs). More and more "artificial money" was created. All of this happened with the "blessing of the Father Fed." [I'll leave these two excellent videos that explain why our system was, is, and will continue to be manipulated. (Sorry...) * https://youtu.be/PHe0bXAIuk0?si=a1IcYYpeZRwO6thV * https://youtu.be/DyV0OfU3-FU?si=9sTB6Wp1rPmuHDll In short, everyone wanted to get rich from the stock market opportunities. Opportunity, Patience, and More Money By then, I had raised a six-figure sum from a handful of clients. I invested in undervalued stocks with a good performance record for the year. We saw an 18% return in 2020, then 12% in 2021. In absolute terms, these were solid numbers with low risk exposure. However, you already know what clients want, right? 100, 200, 300% annual returns. That was the REAL expectation of the clients. Honestly, if I knew how to achieve those numbers, I wouldn't have taken money from anyone else to invest. I would have mortgaged everything my family owned and gotten rich in 3, 2, 1... In the end, patience (or the lack of it) is what beat me. I always traded very little—maybe two or three trades per month. Most of my time was dedicated to reading, researching, understanding, and tracking the businesses we were invested in. Each month, I'd make small adjustments, either reducing or increasing our position based on the company's value movement each quarter or significant news. Disillusionment or a Lack of Understanding? The part of the financial market that frustrated me the most was always having to warn people about the risks and manage their expectations. And in the end, I'd hear the same excuses. Investors need to understand how boring and complex the financial market is. In the end, what we know is just a drop in the ocean of what we don't know. That's why my recommendation is (if possible): Never sell anything! Good investment ideas are rare. You're lucky if you have two or three good ideas a year, except during major events like the COVID pandemic. We have less control over a company's price and fundamentals than we like to assume. I always recommend: have savings, avoid debt, have a three-month emergency fund, and have cash-generating assets or a highly specialized job (because it increases your salary). Only then should you invest. At the end of 2021, I returned 100% of the money to investors without charging my commission fee. Making 12% for the year wasn't enough for them. Lesson learned: Create businesses where you have the most control over the outcomes. In Part 9, I'll talk about the next steps I took toward the business I have today and how my path was shaped. Until next time. #business #nostr #ideas #entrepreneuship

My Entrepreneurial Journey - Part Five Today I'm going to share with you how I transitioned from the party business and got into the next venture. But, to start, I have to explain that my fascination with creating these things had two reasons: Learning and making money. Therefore, I started to notice that people would go to parties and not dress well. However, I had the demand and the desire. There was no other way... I started designing and manufacturing shirts. I studied everything I could, but it was a field where I had zero hours of experience and zero hours of flight time. The result? You already know... It went terribly wrong! I wasted a lot of time on logos, designing shirts, defining details, and overthinking everything from A to Z. And, in fact, I should have been 100% focused on SELLING! I'll repeat it again, SELLING! Every business needs to sell to survive, from the largest to the smallest. You need to generate value with a product/service and sell it. And I had ignored the basic principle of any business. Sales are the soul of the business when you're starting small. In the end, I made two batches of 50 shirts. I sold everything, by sheer force of will. But it took too long to sell the shirts. And that's when the first lesson came: Marketing is everything! At the time, I also slowed down the pace of the parties. I had two with losses and one that ended up balancing the books. However, I ended up with a guest who got sick from drinking too much. And then I knew it was time to put an end to that and move on. By then, I was 21 years old. I tried two different businesses, where I had no and very little experience. At least, I closed this cycle without financial loss. Coupled with the gain in experience, I consider it to have been a good investment. #diary #entrepreneurship #business