Perhaps more than ever before, as I sit down to write an article about this New Year we’ve found ourselves in, I know it is going to be a crazy one. There will be big opportunities and big risks, all rolled into new possibilities like never before.
This is one of the greatest times to be an entrepreneur, and it is an uneasy time to be an old one if you are planning to keep operating the way you have done in the past. The rules in business and investing are changing rapidly and that makes everyone uneasy… except for new entrepreneurs entering into business free of the burdens of knowing that things don’t always work out the way you want. To be a millennial today, with an open mind, is an exciting opportunity!
I love a good challenge, and although I am certainly not a millennial, I am excited about the opportunities ahead. However, I’m also jaded enough to know there are problems too. Today, we are in the longest running bull market of modern history. I hope you’ve made lots of money in the market, and other areas of the economy, that haven’t run the normal way over the past eight years. But, what do you do now? Take some of your invested money off the table and wait for a pull back?
I know one young man who just graduated from college and made a $200k paper profit on Bitcoins. He wanted to know what he should do, buy more or sell? I had my own ideas, but then again I have never faced the type of fast profit he experienced. Historically, only the tulip craze and crash had a similar fast-price run up.
I remember four years ago Peter Diamandis gave all 250 people at one of his conferences one bit coin. I smiled at the time, because the value was only a few dollars. I am now trying to dig through my junk pile to find it! That coin is now worth $19,000. Oh what a world we live in! Is this the next tulip bulb crash, or a new currency for us to pay attention to? I don’t know the answer to that, but I sure wish I could find the one Bitcoin that Peter gave me.
One game-changer this year is the tax bill, which will have passed by the time you read this, and I am expecting there to be some very cool things that all of us entrepreneurs will be able to take advantage of to reduce taxes. The extra money you save on taxes will go in your pocket, or back into the economy to make more. And, if that is what happens, the economy will offer some very unique opportunities to take advantage of. But, and yes there is always a “but,” please keep in mind, we are about to go into the longest run in the market since I have been around. That makes me historically nervous. As I said in the beginning… it’s going to be an interesting year.
What should you do in times like this? Invest in what you know… your business. If you ever wanted to grow it big, this is the time. Interest rates are still at an all time low and you can borrow all you want, even if you have marginal credit. I think the stock market will have a pull back, but I don’t think it will be big because there is too much money waiting to be invested. So, if you get the extra money from the tax changes, increase your marketing budget and keep doing what works. Your marketing will work better now because the mood of buyers will be more optimistic and ready to spend. You should look at ways of increasing your marketing and in newer areas. We are still having good success with Facebook ads, but adding video is now increasing response.
On top of the business and investing opportunities there is tremendous news being made in the possibilities of human growth and development. Nick and I are still in close contact with Peter Diamandis, his work with the XPrize, and the many companies he has started, are taking advantage of anti-aging, health improvement and cutting edge treatments for cancer, alzheimers, gene therapy, and stem cell research.
Peter has been committed to and lived up to his bargain to change the world in many areas. The most recent XPrize was awarded for the creation of a tricorder, a portable, wireless device that monitors and diagnoses your health conditions (it rivals the Star Trek Version). The next XPrize is focusing on worldwide education using technology to replace our outdated learning processes. In less than a generation, this educational process will change the world opening new markets and new ideas.
Yes, this is going to be a very exciting year! I ask you to keep an open mind to some of the information we send you, because it is leading edge, but it comes from the brightest minds in the world. Ray Kurzweil, author, futurist and one of Peter’s friends, partners, and teachers says that we have now entered a period of time where for every additional year you live, technology will add an additional year to your life span. Keep an open mind to these new life changing events happening now, and profit from the discoveries both personally and professionally.
As Dr. Spock would say… “Live long and prosper!”
