Adrian Nantchev's Blog, page 22

Become a Jack of All Trades, Master of One - 67/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

This is a profound principle that I came across in February 2016.You have got to become, what is called, a Renaissance Man. Meaning that you need to have knowledge in everything subject and field, so that you can draw knowledge and influence from other fields that you know something about, and you can discuss and talk about these topics with other people.Because you may one day find yourself in a situation where a basic knowledge of botany may come in useful. You want to impress the people and give them a good image of yourself.You've got to be jack of all trades and a master of one.My father was always telling just to keep up to date with the sports. Who is playing, who won, what's happening. So whenever you are in social circles you can discuss sports and generally understand what people are talking about.Leonardo Da Vinci knew a lot, he was a serious jack of all trades and master of one, because he knew and studied about a whole variety of subjects: investing, painting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, astronomy, botany, history and cartography. Yet he is known for his art and science.This way you can be able to talk to almostanyone about any topic when you meet them, so you can impress them and be knowledgeable in all social situations.You want to impress them because you never know who they may be- you may end up working with him.But people do not like a know it all, so it's better to say less, so that way people will perceive you higher than you actually are. Humans are designed to interpret and understand things, so when you stay quiet they cannot understand you as easily, and will see you more as enigmatic and want to know more about you.Learn about marketing, finance, business, FOREX, the stock exchange, investing, etc. The more you know, the more aware you become about the complexities of life and the modern age.Become a jack of all trades and a master of one.Question of the day: what are you a master at?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.

Find Inspiration from Other People - 66/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

This is an interesting principle that I seek to apply all the time: to learn from others' experiences.People come and go, and when they were alive they did amazing or successful things that you can learn from, regardless of the character.You can learn from some of history's most famous, infamous, successful or hardened people. Through their biographies, or firsthand accounts.The point is that you want to listen to the stories of other successful people, because as you do, it gives you strength and confidence when you know that this person, whom is successful and famous now, overcame these challenges in life that you are reading about.For example, Sir Earnest Shackleton was a polar explorer who led British expeditions to the Antarctic. A British folklore hero. Tony Blair, British Prime minister from 1997 to 2007. Or even, Albert Speer the German Armaments minster during the second world war.Each of these people have achieved great things in their own right. You have to overlook your disdain for the person, because by doing so you are blinding yourself to the knowledge and life experience that they may have picked up and are now sharing with you in their autobiographies, biographies or journals.Like with the convergence rate principle I talked about a few times, these people have achieved things and have laid the ground work for future generations. We stand on the shoulders of giants, so why not learn from Men and Women who did amazing things in their lifetime.Shackleton travelled across the Antarctic continent with crew members, surviving harsh conditions and a colossal task of human endeavor. Tony Blair was prime minister of Britain for 10 years, that is a colossal political task to achieve. Albert Speer managed to unify Germany's factories to enhance logistics and manufacturing, a colossal feat of engineering, planning and preparation.There is something you can learn from these people, whether you like them or not. Read about other peoples' lives, you can learn a lot of things and from their life experiences.Question of the day: who are you taking inspiration from?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.

Outsource Before it is Comfortable for you and Before You Need to - 65/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

This is something that I was taught by one of my mentors, and it is something that I will soon need to work on.I was taught that you need to outsource your work before you are ready/comfortable to do it. I'm guessing so you can grow, develop and create things faster.One of the first ways that people outsource is to get a virtual assistant and/or a personal assistant. Which helps with the day to day managing of your tasks: email inbox, account set up, buying from Amazon, etc. The individual tasks that can clutter up your time and day.This is something I'm a little reluctant to do just yet. It's a case of I do not have much that I need outsourcing and I'd rather produce more income before I can hire someone.But, as soon as you begin to outsource parts of your daily life for others to fulfil, you're saving time that you can focus on doing income producing activities.You've got to value your time and realize that it is valuable and scarce. Time is the most scarce resource on the planet. You cannot get any more of it, you cannot buy, trade or sell time. So you have to manage it as well as possible.Let's say that through your business you are making £100/hour. So if you had to spend 1 hour doing chores, you'd be losing out on the £100 income.Rather, you can hire someone for £10 a hour to do the chores around your home. So by spending £10, you have the time and focus to generate £100. Whereas if you were doing the house chores the opportunity cost would working on your business and producing that £100.An investor's approach to time management: what will give me the best result by managing this scarce recourse?You are getting more done by leveraging other people's time and skill, so you can focus on your business.One place that I know of to get work done is UpWork. Another one is Fiverr, but they are often not as professional.Question of the day: do you need to outsource parts of your business?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.

Don't Be Busy, Be Productive - 64/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

I personally do not like it when people talk about being busy. This is something that annoys me and is a pet peeve.I prefer to set a goal, a deadline and work towards it. I prefer to work towards a worthy ideal. When you are working towards a worthy goal you are making progress in your life. You're advancing through life and striving for success.When you are busy you are just that- busy! I can be busy running in circles exerting tremendous energy and getting nowhere in life.What annoys me about people being 'busy' is that they see work as an escapism, to get away from their life or troubles. Granted that some people think better when they are preoccupied with something and that's ok.But, I'd prefer not to be 'busy', but working towards a goal, working on my purpose.The way I see it is: I think goals, not tasks. I think what are the main objectives that I need to complete to work towards my aims.Be productive and work towards something of value and is ideal.Us the Pareto principle: 80/20. Understand, identify and focus on the 20% of your tasks/activities that will produce 80% of your results and income.This is why I encourage you to set goals and deadlines. When you do you are striving onwards and up words.This is also why I say that as an entrepreneur, you've got to live the life others will not, so you can then one day live the life others cannot. And that means working towards something.When other people that you know are not willing to work on the kind of things you determine will change your life, then soon you can live the standard of living that they simply cannot.Work on things that produce results, and do not be busy for the sake of being busy, as you'll end up wasting time or at the very least, you'd not be as efficient as you could be.Do not be busy for the sake of it, but work towards a goal. Think objectives, not tasks. Completing objectives gets you closer to your destination.Question of the day: are you being busy or produtive?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.

Don't Boast About Your Achievements. - 63/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

This is something that I have had to personally deal with. I know that other people do not like it when you talk about yourself all the time and when you talk about your achievements and such. But I've often found it is hard not to talk about yourself, when everyone else is not very talkative, and unless I don't talk about my plans and what's going on, the conversation is rather boring.When I had some successes with my second business that was rather public: on the radio , local newspapers and national newspapers, a lot of people saw me. I realized that it was better for people to recognize your achievements and successes for themselves, as opposed to you telling them about it.People don't like it when you are a braggart, meaning that when you brag or boast about your achievements. People are jealous, or they see your success as something that they cannot attain.It could be any reason, but I feel that when you talk too much about what it is that you are doing, people can be annoyed. Now, I'm conscious as to what people think about me, so I'm conscious as to how they feel. You may be different. But the principle is that not every likes a braggart, especially a vocal one without any evidence of success.It's easier for people to see your achievements for themselves. When they see your success in the papers or in the press.Success builds your confidence and when it goes public, you can then focus on surpassing it. I'm have success with my second business that I'm going to replicate and over take in my third business and with my books. Strive to outperform yourself, and let your successes speak for themselves.Let your results speak for themselves, because when you do, people will have more respect for you than if you just boasted.People naturally root for the underdog- they love a success story that comes from nowhere. But when the underdog becomes the top dog and starts to boast without evidence of success or leadership, then people will begin to despise you.Question of the day: how do you like to boast about your achievements?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.

Remember Your Roots - 62/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

This is something at first I did not quite understand, but now I see it as a memorial and as a way to acknowledge your personal history and past.You've got to remember your roots because it is those that, indirectly, made you what you are today.Being rich takes the sting out of being poor, and you never want to forget what made you and where you came from. Because it is humbling when people recognize what struggle and effort you went through in order to change your world and situation. Everyone wants to change their situation, but few people actually dare to make a change in the right direction.Never forget where you came from. Never forget those whom you worked with. Never forget your childhood.Remember the 53 lesson: The mistakes and actions you've taken has molded you into the person you are today.When you lose your roots, you lose your identity.When you lose your identity you can get carried away with the success that you've achieved.Money only amplifies the person that you already are. More money amplifies your personality. There is an old saying: absolute power corrupts absolutely.Remember the lessons that your parents taught you, remember the lessons you learnt at school about being a better person. Now that you are at the stage where you are a better person, you need to lead by example.Question of the day: What are your roots? Who are you?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.

Keep Your End Goal in Sight - 61/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

This is something that I've come to realize is important in entrepreneurship: keeping your goals in sight and focusing on them.I was a little distracted throughout 2016, as I mentioned earlier. And recently I heard about a story between Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, two of the world's richest men. When they both met for the first time in the early 1990s, Bill Gate's father asked Warren what his secret to success, he then said "focus", to which Bill as surprised and said his success was from focus too. This has rung true to me ever since I first heard it and has emphasized the need for focus.Action and focus are the two most important things in business. You've got to define your goals and create deadlines, and then through action and focus, you have to keep working towards your deadlines and achieving your goals. When you define a deadline and stick to it, you can achieve more in that space of time, than most people do in their lives.I'd like to go out socializing, meet some nice women, but I want to and have to focus on this book and other books, before I can relax; I have got work to do. Again, I'm doing the work once and getting paid forever. I'm doing the work that other people will not do, so I can live the life others cannot live.Focus is imperative, and do not allow yourself to become distracted.I'm moving forward to make my late Mother proud, that is the overarching principle and purpose to why I do what I do. I want to make her proud. I want to do the things she never imagined me doing. She died on the 27th September 2010 at 4:45pm from secondary breast and lung cancer, after battling it for 7 years. She used to want to me read books, but I hardly ever read one. Yet, now, I am writing them like crazy!Everything I do, I do for her, in her memory and to make her proud.I have no idea how she would react to me writing books and building business- proud no doubt. Because she died when I was 17, way before I started my journey.So, never lose sight as to what is driving you forward. The day you do, is the day you'll lose. Because when you lose your driving force, you'll be left in the dust as people overtake you.Don't lose track of what is pushing you forward!Question of the day: what is your end goal, and how are you working towards it?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.

Understanding Balance Sheets - 60/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

When you are in the real world; bankers, investors, accountants and business partners, among other people, only care for your balance sheet. Few people care about the grades you got from university or school.This is not to say your schooling was in vein, but you've got to realize what the world's priorities are.When I first started my journey I learnt that some business people, especially in the USA, will mainly care about how many times you've failed in business already. So they can figure out whether you are worth working with or not.One of the most important aspects of a balance sheet is your number of assets, which are things that put money into your pockets. The more of these you have, the richer you become. An asset, really, is anything that puts money into your pocket- you do not want to get income mixed up with capital appreciation, which is the value of something going up. The problem with capital appreciation is that you do not have easy access to that cash from the newly appreciated asset.Liabilities are the opposite to assets: they take  money from your pockets, and you may be able to use capital depreciation as a tax deductible, depending on where you live. But this is another conversation and topic.Your net worth is the collective value of all your stuff. So people will look at our car, your property and other tangible things that you own.I'd prefer to look at income, as opposed to net worth. Because income is cash that you have access to right now. The problem with things like property going up in value is that it is hard to get that cash. What is called illiquid, meaning that to extract the new value of the house you have to sell it, which could be a lengthy and costly process.Rich people invest in, buy and build assets.Middle class people buy liabilities, thinking they are assets. And poor people buy knick knacks.So, you've got to ask yourself: what do you spend your time and money on?Question of the day: what do you understand about balance sheets?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.

Learn How Investors Think and Work - 59/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

When you look at the Forbes 400, you'll notice that investors are the most common form of Billionaires.When you approach life like an investor, then you can begin to see the rewards and risks involved in actions and activities:What you need to focus on?Will this waste your time?Will I better off with or without this?You need to think like an investor. You need to think and approach things logically, rationally and mathematically. You need to begin to see the world through the lens of rationale and logic. Especially when it comes to business and money. You can still have emotions and fun, but when it comes to money you've got to master it by controlling your emotions.Some of the concepts mentioned earlier affects investor's approach to life and money.One way they control risk is that they calculate the value of their time and quantify whether something is worth while doing themselves, or outsourcing and getting someone else to do it for them.Investors think about getting more out, than the amount of money they put into something.They will use their money and invest it in stocks, crowd funding, property, etc, in the aim of getting a good return of income. They will understand all aspects of risk that the investment has before they will invest in it.What they are ultimately after is control and to guarantee their returns as much as possible. They understand risk, but they do not see it as a problem, but only to be contained and controlled.One common principle that you can understand and apply to your life is the concept of . If you were to go on a day trip somewhere, what would be the opportunity cost of doing so? Meaning: what would you miss out on, work wise, by going? If you stayed at home you'd achieve X amount of progress and accomplish Y goal. Is the loss and delay of achieving these worth going on a day trip?Question of the day: do you let your emotions control you? If so, what are you going to do about it?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.

Understand FOREX and Stock Exchange - 58/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

This is something that I started to come across when I did a 2 day weekend learning how to make money from FOREX trading.The financial world is key to how our world functions. You can have a downturn in one nation, which can affect other nations and have a ripple effect throughout the world.There is an old saying: when America coughs, the rest of the world catches a cold. Meaning, when there is a problem in the USA, the entire world suffers too.It is possible to make money trading FOREX, because FOREX is essentially charting the differences in value between currencies. It is also a market that is unregulated because it is global and cannot be governed by a single government.My problem with FOREX trading is you are not doing the work once, it is rather time efficient, and can be an emotional rollercoaster, but I'm too lazy to keep checking my computer to see how my trade is going.Trading stocks can be just as fast and lucrative as FOREX, but stocks are a long term game.When you understand different investing principles, such as value investing, then with a large stock portfolio you can earn an income from dividends. Which is like a reverse membership fee.This topic goes beyond the scope of this book and goes beyond the theme of this book. But, there are some important aspects to understand and research about in your free time:Non Farm Payroll.Libor rate.Inflation reports.Futures market, futures contractsETF's, Mutual Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Hedge funds, Holding companies, high frequency trading.Swing trades, value investing, dividends.Retail price index.I recommend that you research these topics to and understand how they affect our world.Like with understanding how capitalism works, you don't need to be an expert in them, you just need to understand the basics about how they work and how they affect the world. As soon as you understand them, you know more than potentially 99% of the world's population.Question of the day: what don't I know about the stock exchange and FOREX market?There are another 100 mistakes that I made here.