Actually, everyone is an investor. At least we like to see ourselves as investors. If nothing else, we invest our time and energy. But we also invest our money. Sometimes too much of it and the returns are not as high as originally anticipated. Most of our investing is not planned.
Our educational systems do not teach systematically about the social and economic benefits of investing. The subject is mystified in literature and the media; traditional stereotypes, ignorant generalizations are attached to the concept and it is very difficult for individuals to break out of the mental grip and self-censoring behavior of families where investors are seen as greedy exploiters. Societies with strong anti-capitalistic traditions expect the state to take care of their needs by frequently intervening into the economy. There is often surprise and embarrassment when there is talk of fundraising, financing, and investor interests. Some people, departments and organizations are used to spending money without ever asking the question about where money comes from and why. In fact, the more money they spend, the more they will have the following year, because the budget committee has noticed increased spending. As we can see in organizations, corporations, financial institutions, and even on the level of countries, the flow of money is not automatic. Sometimes it is abruptly cut and people are dumbfounded. We do not appreciate investors enough.
Investors take risks and create jobs. At the same time investors are looking to make a profit. Investors can be convinced to take on social responsibility and establish a long-term presence in a community, however the ultimate purpose of making a profit remains a priority. Investors are not an alien species who descend on us from some remote unfamiliar world. Investors are ordinary people like you and I who have a vision and determination to initiate projects and carry them through. The economy is here for all of us to take part in it. Don’t become a victim of ignorance, educate yourself. Start small, start now. Invest!
Leverage
Did you know that you don’t even need your own capital to be an investor? Not all investors are super rich. They are just smart enough to use leverage, other people’s money. For example a bank loan, which enables you to control a much larger asset than your invested capital. The earnings on a larger value asset are also larger. Often investors are not the people with the big money, but they are the professional project managers who can arrange for financing, once the conditions are right. The DealWorkshop is exactly the place where these conditions can be tweaked.
The beauty of creating something, of exercising control through your assets, of acting with responsibility, of being assertive instead of letting other people set the agenda, this is the essence of the investor mentality. Until now other people have been responsible for your life. Now it is your turn to take responsibility and make decisions.
There is also a need to invest. One of the greatest silent killers of financial assets is inflation. Enormous amounts of capital in bank accounts and investment funds are waiting for allocation in verified double-digit opportunities. Fortunes are transferred to better yielding assets in the blink of an eye, the click of a mouse by the “electronic herd,” as referred to in the book The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas L. Friedman. If we don’t invest, we lose money. Financial managers can lose their job if they don’t find appropriate assets, “deals,” for the funds they are entrusted with. This is the reason there is virtually unlimited capital available for investment products with the right credentials.
The DealWorkshop presents the countless investment opportunities all around us in a standardized format, so everyone who wants to make some money can spend their time browsing through the options and engage in the hatching process. Owners and Experts in the workshop are trying to prove that the emerging deal has a high return. Investors have the option of following deals, inquiring about their progress, actually helping the process by asking the right questions, and engaging with the parties at an early stage. Investors and their agents force the Owners and Experts to maximize an Opportunity and provide objective feedback about the validity of the asking price. In the end the leverage options offered by the Investor may completely change the Deal to the benefit of all parties.
Another way to make money on the DealWorkshop is investing your time as an Expert and securing future earnings in upcoming deals. Better than the stock market because you have more control over the deal. Better than the lottery because everything is better than the odds at the lottery. The best way to spend your time if you are really good at something, because you are carving out a stake for yourself in a project, while creating professional and genuine personal relationships in an industry.