Turning 20,000 - 1 Million

cabla

I'm thinking of setting myself a challenge and possibly writing a blog about my progress. I'm Irish but currently living and working in the Middle East.

Being out here makes you think a lot, a lot about "what the hell am I doing here"? What am I gonna do next? Where am I going to go from here etc? People are here for the money for the most part, simple as that. My plan is to join the masses and save about 20k by December 2014. It might be a bit ambitious but who knows - there's no point in not having a goal.

Now why 20k? I don't really know to be honest, it's a nice round number and should be achievable. When I was young people used to ask what I would like to be when I was older and I always said a millionaire. Well then I became a little older, reality kind of kicked in, had a few crappy (yet full of experience) jobs, Ireland went into the sink and then I decided to roast my ass off in the desert. Slowly though I'm beginning to think though that my "younger self" goals could potentially become a reality if I do it right and manage it carefully.

My plan is to make the 20k then I don't really know. I know I'm not going to make a million working for someone unless I'm a super smart IT/Scientist guy. Now I've a couple of guys that could join in with me, some I work with with similar goals so that 20 could easily become 40-50 and so on.

My question is simple, what would YOU do if you had 20,000 Euro and your goal was to turn that to 1,000,000 big ones!?!

lucky john

cabla wrote: »

I'm thinking of setting myself a challenge and possibly writing a blog about my progress. I'm Irish but currently living and working in the Middle East.

Being out here makes you think a lot, a lot about "what the hell am I doing here"? What am I gonna do next? Where am I going to go from here etc? People are here for the money for the most part, simple as that. My plan is to join the masses and save about 20k by December 2014. It might be a bit ambitious but who knows - there's no point in not having a goal.

Now why 20k? I don't really know to be honest, it's a nice round number and should be achievable. When I was young people used to ask what I would like to be when I was older and I always said a millionaire. Well then I became a little older, reality kind of kicked in, had a few crappy (yet full of experience) jobs, Ireland went into the sink and then I decided to roast my ass off in the desert. Slowly though I'm beginning to think though that my "younger self" goals could potentially become a reality if I do it right and manage it carefully.
7
My plan is to make the 20k then I don't really know. I know I'm not going to make a million working for someone unless I'm a super smart IT/Scientist guy. Now I've a couple of guys that could join in with me, some I work with with similar goals so that 20 could easily become 40-50 and so on.

My question is simple, what would YOU do if you had 20,000 Euro and your goal was to turn that to 1,000,000 big ones!?!

I'd post on boards.ie, get contributor's to give me their ideas, pick the best one and for sure make a million

steppintoe

Don't trust this guy.
I have had dealings with him in the past.
Shady character to say the least.

cabla

steppintoe wrote: »

Don't trust this guy.
I have had dealings with him in the past.
Shady character to say the least.

Says the person with 1 post!

Peterdalkey

It is easy to end up with a million, start with two!

relaxed

banners brokers, your e wallet gets to 7 figures in no time.

steppintoe

Sorry about the above I was only messing!

To turn 20,000 into a million I would do the following:

Think about what I want and what makes me happy. Get a very clear picture of what it is that I want, what I need to do to make it happen and what it will look like when I have it. If I wanted to open a restaurant I would try to visualise what the place will look like on the interior, what the mood of the place would be, what music I will play, what staff to hire etc.... I would try to build it in my mind from the ground up. In doing so you will find out how passionate you are for something and be able to identify somethin you want.

Once you have identified your passion tell everyone about it, parents, friends etc as these guys will give you the criticisms and support you need to start a venture, it's like having a free session with a consultant!
I believe that if you find something youre passionate about that the money will come. Seriously imagine owning your own place, I would be more excited to get out of bed in the morning to work for me.
Hope that helps and good luck!!

jimmii

You can't really do a lot of damage with €20k unless you have something really really good that for some reason isn't going to take a lot of money. Creating a product of some kind would be your best bet to a million but if you had an idea good enough I would imagine you wouldn't need to be asking here! Find someone with an idea but no money and see if €20k is going to be enough to make it happen.

cabla

jimmii wrote: »

You can't really do a lot of damage with €20k unless you have something really really good that for some reason isn't going to take a lot of money. Creating a product of some kind would be your best bet to a million but if you had an idea good enough I would imagine you wouldn't need to be asking here! Find someone with an idea but no money and see if €20k is going to be enough to make it happen.

Thanks for that. I've a few ideas and a few people in mind to work with. Just a general thought really, I'm not looking I suppose for ideas but suppose guidance or if anyone has any similar stories to share.

It's just the thought and challenge of 20k to 1 million. Bit like the guy who started with a pin and traded his way up to owning a house!

lucky john

http://firstround.com/article/Theres-a-00006-Chance-of-Building-a-Billion-Dollar-Company-How-This-Man-Did-It#ixzz2h9xC3lPZ

I think this article might be written for you op. It makes interesting reading if you get the chance.

I also heard a guy on the radio not so long ago that was living homeless in Louth ( I think), who has managed recently to form a very successful company. If I can find a link for him I'll post it.

kippy

There is only so much you can do your self.
At some point luck, or lack of it, will come into play.

ifah

I'll tell you in 9 months time after my business has taken off. Investment is < 20k at present.

thecommander

steppintoe wrote: »

Sorry about the above I was only messing!

To turn 20,000 into a million I would do the following:

Think about what I want and what makes me happy. Get a very clear picture of what it is that I want, what I need to do to make it happen and what it will look like when I have it. If I wanted to open a restaurant I would try to visualise what the place will look like on the interior, what the mood of the place would be, what music I will play, what staff to hire etc.... I would try to build it in my mind from the ground up. In doing so you will find out how passionate you are for something and be able to identify somethin you want.

Once you have identified your passion tell everyone about it, parents, friends etc as these guys will give you the criticisms and support you need to start a venture, it's like having a free session with a consultant!
I believe that if you find something youre passionate about that the money will come. Seriously imagine owning your own place, I would be more excited to get out of bed in the morning to work for me.
Hope that helps and good luck!!

So visualising something and then telling everyone about it will make 20k turn to a million? Hippy dippy nonsense.

If I ran my company idea by friends and family before I set it up they would have rubbished it and it never would have been done. Take advice from people that know what they're at, rather than just family etc.

steppintoe

^^
That's not exactly what I was meaning I'm sure you may see it that way. Rather I think that if you are to approach it in this way you will expose potential problems before they arise. I always love to hear why something won't work from my peers as they have a different viewpoint than myself.

The visualization aspect isn't for everyone, I'm just throwing in my idea.

Mustard1972

I've done similar. £25k to just under €1M.
I should hopefully pass the million in another year.
that's assets - liabilities.
No.point having a million if you owe two.
don't have time tonpost now but will later.
I'm not the only one who has done it either that I know.

AlmightyCushion

Mustard1972 wrote: »

I've done similar. £25k to just under €1M.

I didn't realise the exchange rate was that bad.

steppintoe

I would be very interested to learn how you did it!
I'm sure it would make for an interesting story.

cabla

Some good words coming here as I'd expect from Boards. I suppose after reading more I should probably edit the opening post more to see who has done it and how, rather than what would you do. The best advice I'll get I suppose is from people who have done it and stuck by their ideas and goals. A year is a good amount of time to start putting my head and thoughts together or maybe it's not. It will depend I guess.

fAzI

for 20.000 you should buy some land in ireland then sell the ground to American Irish for let say 5€/g

If you sell like 200 tons for 5€/g there will be a million euro

After 200 tons sended you can build lake or swimming pull at that place and get profit

131spanner

I'd place a €20,000 bet that the song "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams will be either re-released or covered in the year 2069 and make it into the top 3 in the the UK singles chart.

I wonder what odds you'd get..?

Tugboats

I'd buy an RV and put my chemistry degree to good use

jimmii

fAzI wrote: »

for 20.000 you should buy some land in ireland then sell the ground to American Irish for let say 5€/g

If you sell like 200 tons for 5€/g there will be a million euro

After 200 tons sended you can build lake or swimming pull at that place and get profit

I was really tempted to do something like this once upon a time they would lap it up! It was just after I had two people bid on my ebay auction for 50 used Dublin bus tickets. People be crazy.

jimmii

131spanner wrote: »

I'd place a €20,000 bet that the song "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams will be either re-released or covered in the year 2069 and make it into the top 3 in the the UK singles chart.

I wonder what odds you'd get..?

Guessing about 69/1 but they won't take the bet unless you are over 50 and you will have to collect the winnings yourself.

PlanBee

cabla wrote: »

My question is simple, what would YOU do if you had 20,000 Euro and your goal was to turn that to 1,000,000 big ones!?!

Why don't try a way for reasonable investments ?
1 million is bigger than 20 K just in 50 times, what you need is just to find an investment with the 30%
return for the year, to achieve the goal 1 mln using cumulative counting takes 15 years only.
If there are friends with the money, the 1 mln goal could be achieved earlier

The One Who Knocks

fAzI wrote: »

for 20.000 you should buy some land in ireland then sell the ground to American Irish for let say 5€/g

If you sell like 200 tons for 5€/g there will be a million euro

After 200 tons sended you can build lake or swimming pull at that place and get profit

Didn't someone already do that?

Peterdalkey

PlanBee wrote: »

Why don't try a way for reasonable investments ?
1 million is bigger than 20 K just in 50 times, what you need is just to find an investment with the 30%
return for the year, to achieve the goal 1 mln using cumulative counting takes 15 years only.
If there are friends with the money, the 1 mln goal could be achieved earlier

Brilliant... The town is full of outfits offering a 30% return on investment. Every year for 15 years... No bother at all!

PlanBee

Peterdalkey wrote: »

Brilliant... 30% return on investment.

That's true ! Some businesses sell their product or services with the minimum of 30% margin profit

Peterdalkey

PlanBee wrote: »

That's true ! Some businesses sell their product or services with the minimum of 30% margin profit

Pure genius.. Now all he has to do is find a business for 20k that offers a guaranteed 30% ROI and in 15 years.. Voila!

PlanBee

Peterdalkey wrote: »

Pure genius.. Now all he has to do is find a business for 20k that offers a guaranteed 30% ROI and in 15 years.. Voila!

That's correct, at least he knows now exactly what to do to achieve his goal: find a business or investment with the 30% ROI guaranteed, is this not possible at all?

Fukuyama

Convert it to Zimbabwean Dollars .... enjoy life. :P

I've a few ideas myself, but they're mine. But if more people in Ireland had this kind of idea we'd be a start-up hub. Unfortunately, nobody is willing to risk their reputation or cash by throwing all they've got into an idea.

I normally come up with good ideas by examining how business already operate and asking "Could this be done in a better way?". A lot of the time, the answer is yes.

I then try to pull apart my idea to see how strong it really is. 95% of the time I tear it to shreds and realise it was a crappy idea. But every once in a while, I discover a good one that gets stored away in a secret little notebook I keep.

One day...

Sam Kade

The best way to make a million fast starting from very little money is to become an Irish politician and bluff your way to the top

stcstc

only way to make serious money

win it, steal it, inherit it

Rabbo

Mustard1972 wrote: »

I've done similar. £25k to just under €1M.
I should hopefully pass the million in another year.
that's assets - liabilities.
No.point having a million if you owe two.
don't have time tonpost now but will later.
I'm not the only one who has done it either that I know.

*Still waiting patiently for Mustard to return*

Mustard1972

Rabbo wrote: »

*Still waiting patiently for Mustard to return*

Will come back when I have time to write a long post. Lets just say it involved a lot of luck and taking opportunities when they arose.

lomb

It is easy(I think see below) on paper to make 1 million from 25k. Its only paper after all , there is no real secret to accumulating it, yet most people are unable to. Logically it requires-
selling a product with a healthy margin between the gross and net margins with less than 25k of capital to do it. This could only be done by not having any premises, very few staff etc, as they all waste your energy and resources making you second guess yourself:D As a previous poster said you would have to use any potential opportunity that came your way to do it keeping your eyes peeled for same . It involves you spending as little as possible on non yielding junk ie new cars, sofas, holiday and yes even houses for yourself. It involves treating people -staff,customers, trading standards ,tax authorities with policies laid out and followed fairly but with an iron fist as they are unlikely to give you any peace if you dont.
Il let you know how Im getting on on this thread in a year although I am flexible how much I put in as I have a profession and personal funding. Im doing it as a 'hobby' to see how easy it is to become a millionaire. When I do it I will see how easy it is to make a second million and so on. I actually have no interest in money and would be happy with very little personally and see it as something that creates massive disagreements, splits, divorces and even marriages , stress etc but it can be good and you have to do something with your time to entertain yourself and later you can give it away to a useful cause Im thinking.

The most important thing in business is the gross and net margin and the factors that effect these coupled with treating people fairly. If you can provide something with more perceived value (expensive marketing possibly-not a good idea when new ) or can lower the overhead (thats fairly easy as a new start cutting out all the useless employees out there on old terms and conditions) you manipulate the margin.

Woody_FX

Hi guys,

Anybody able to recommend a supplier for padded envelopes/jiffy bags?

Need them for my business so will be ordering in bulk. Prices in places like Viking seam on the high side.

Any recommendations?

Many Thanks,
W

Peterdalkey

Woody_FX wrote: »

Hi guys,

Anybody able to recommend a supplier for padded envelopes/jiffy bags?

Need them for my business so will be ordering in bulk. Prices in places like Viking seam on the high side.

Any recommendations?

Many Thanks,
W

http://www.discountpackaging.ie/padded-envelopes.html Give Cherise a call at 01 464 7300 or email cherise@faulkner.ie, she will be delighted to help!

superelliptic

Mustard1972 wrote: »

I've done similar. £25k to just under €1M.
I should hopefully pass the million in another year.
that's assets - liabilities.
No.point having a million if you owe two.
don't have time tonpost now but will later.
I'm not the only one who has done it either that I know.

Hey Mustard,

Not asking you for the secret sauce here or anything but could you give us some specifics, such as;

• How long did it take to turn your 25K into sub 1M
• Did you stay within your area of expertise or have an idea for a business that you had never worked in before?
• Did you work alone or with a group?

EIREHotspur

lomb wrote: »

It is easy(I think see below) on paper to make 1 million from 25k. Its only paper after all , there is no real secret to accumulating it, yet most people are unable to. Logically it requires-
selling a product with a healthy margin between the gross and net margins with less than 25k of capital to do it. This could only be done by not having any premises, very few staff etc, as they all waste your energy and resources making you second guess yourself:D As a previous poster said you would have to use any potential opportunity that came your way to do it keeping your eyes peeled for same . It involves you spending as little as possible on non yielding junk ie new cars, sofas, holiday and yes even houses for yourself. It involves treating people -staff,customers, trading standards ,tax authorities with policies laid out and followed fairly but with an iron fist as they are unlikely to give you any peace if you dont.
Il let you know how Im getting on on this thread in a year although I am flexible how much I put in as I have a profession and personal funding. Im doing it as a 'hobby' to see how easy it is to become a millionaire. When I do it I will see how easy it is to make a second million and so on. I actually have no interest in money and would be happy with very little personally and see it as something that creates massive disagreements, splits, divorces and even marriages , stress etc but it can be good and you have to do something with your time to entertain yourself and later you can give it away to a useful cause Im thinking.

The most important thing in business is the gross and net margin and the factors that effect these coupled with treating people fairly. If you can provide something with more perceived value (expensive marketing possibly-not a good idea when new ) or can lower the overhead (thats fairly easy as a new start cutting out all the useless employees out there on old terms and conditions) you manipulate the margin.

That's a great post and a lot of sound advice there.

I always think of those people who go into Dragons Den and pitch and whose idea or/and personality the Dragons love but say to them "We could invest in you but what happens when you take on people who are not as enthusiastic as you in your business".
That's where a lot of Business falls down....the quality of the people you employ.

Making a load of money or 1 million for a lot of people who are not Actors, Sports Stars or Rich Peoples kids usually means either
A: Corner the Market with a product or service
B: Do a product or a service a lot better than someone else

Treating people fairly is sound advice too because that's creates good word of mouth and reputation and draws in good karma.

I read a great book....actually the original Business Book off which everyone else has copied and turned into a fortune ..."Think and Grow Rich".
Lots of great stories of which one phrase has always stuck with me that went something like..."People only hang onto the money they deserve to make".
As in all the people who don't have a skill for what they are doing usually end up losing the money they make doing a particular thing.

think Celtic Tiger.....everyone thought they were a property developer.
Bill Cullen thought he was a Hotelier.....had he stuck to what he knew best and banked his money he would have not lost as much as he did.

The One Who Knocks

EIREHotspur wrote: »

Lots of great stories of which one phrase has always stuck with me that went something like..."People only hang onto the money they deserve to make".
As in all the people who don't have a skill for what they are doing usually end up losing the money they make doing a particular thing.

think Celtic Tiger.....everyone thought they were a property developer.
Bill Cullen thought he was a Hotelier.....had he stuck to what he knew best and banked his money he would have not lost as much as he did.

I'd have to disagree with that, take Richard Branson for example

As for the Celtic Tiger, the only reason people failed was because it was just a bubble. Even if you don't have a skill for something doesn't mean you can't learn it and become the expert in that field. In the end it just comes down to perseverance.

EIREHotspur

The One Who Knocks wrote: »

I'd have to disagree with that, take Richard Branson for example

As for the Celtic Tiger, the only reason people failed was because it was just a bubble. Even if you don't have a skill for something doesn't mean you can't learn it and become the expert in that field. In the end it just comes down to perseverance.

We will have to agree to disagree then.....Branson made his money on his core Business in Virgin Airways...he never sold that branch of his company and that gives him his core wealth to invest in other ventures. There was an awful lot of things he failed at. There are also exceptions to every rule.

It all being a Bubble is too simplistic....it was every Tom, Dick and Harry buying second homes to make a profit on....and we know how that went.

relaxed

EIREHotspur wrote: »

We will have to agree to disagree then.....Branson made his money on his core Business in Virgin Airways...he never sold that branch of his company and that gives him his core wealth to invest in other ventures. There was an awful lot of things he failed at. There are also exceptions to every rule.

It all being a Bubble is too simplistic....it was every Tom, Dick and Harry buying second homes to make a profit on....and we know how that went.

Actually it was the record stores that he started with.

Fair enough Virgin airways survived but in a lot of cases people who go into something different fail badly.

I think the saying goes, the best way to become a millionaire is to start off as a billionaire and open and airline.

Also as I have seen them say on dragons den a few times - keep the main thing main.

lucky john

EIREHotspur wrote: »

We will have to agree to disagree then.....Branson made his money on his core Business in Virgin Airways...he never sold that branch of his company and that gives him his core wealth to invest in other ventures. There was an awful lot of things he failed at. There are also exceptions to every rule.

It all being a Bubble is too simplistic....it was every Tom, Dick and Harry buying second homes to make a profit on....and we know how that went.

As relaxed said Branson's core business was music. Starting virgin airways was a vanity project than almost broke him. The banks were ready to bankrupt him so he was forced to sell vergin music against his will but that sale was the making of him in the end. . Branson is a rare breed of risk taker and had a huge amount of luck along the way. However he does prove that anything is possible with vison, determination and a lot of luck.

cabla

Right I'm over half way now to the 20k. I should be very close by the end of March if my calculations are right. I thought I'd dig this thread up again to see if anyone else may comment if this can be done or not!

pedronomix

cabla wrote: »

Right I'm over half way now to the 20k. I should be very close by the end of March if my calculations are right. I thought I'd dig this thread up again to see if anyone else may comment if this can be done or not!

So only 990,000 to go!!

jimmii

cabla wrote: »

Right I'm over half way now to the 20k. I should be very close by the end of March if my calculations are right. I thought I'd dig this thread up again to see if anyone else may comment if this can be done or not!

Of course it can be done!

I plan on turning my 50k into 1m+ a year turnover in the next few years. We'll be going two years in just over a month and so far so good. We'll be expanding this year and I am expecting year 3 to be >5x year 1. Its been some craic so far.

cabla

jimmii wrote: »

Of course it can be done!

I plan on turning my 50k into 1m+ a year turnover in the next few years. We'll be going two years in just over a month and so far so good. We'll be expanding this year and I am expecting year 3 to be >5x year 1. Its been some craic so far.

Thanks Jimmii - good to see you're doing so well. Probably the first post with actual proof. Do you mind me asking what business you're running?

jimmii

cabla wrote: »

Thanks Jimmii - good to see you're doing so well. Probably the first post with actual proof. Do you mind me asking what business you're running?

Its been done many, many times before with a lot less than €20k unfortunately a hell of a lot more have gone broke trying it!!

You need a good idea, a good business head and a lot of luck but it certainly can be done. The shorter the time frame the more luck involved. You need to be sensible and give yourself as much chance to succeed as possible.

I am in Retail. They say those who can do, those who can't teach. They should add those who can't teach open a shop! Whatever you do come up with don't get into retail!!

If you can find the right magic a highly scaleable and monitisable service (ideally an app) looks to be the best low start up cost high potential option right now. Lots of competition there though!!

cabla

jimmii wrote: »

Its been done many, many times before with a lot less than €20k unfortunately a hell of a lot more have gone broke trying it!!

You need a good idea, a good business head and a lot of luck but it certainly can be done. The shorter the time frame the more luck involved. You need to be sensible and give yourself as much chance to succeed as possible.

I am in Retail. They say those who can do, those who can't teach. They should add those who can't teach open a shop! Whatever you do come up with don't get into retail!!

If you can find the right magic a highly scaleable and monitisable service (ideally an app) looks to be the best low start up cost high potential option right now. Lots of competition there though!!

Thanks Jimmii - you don't like the retail world eventhough you're doing so well?

At the moment I'm not in a position to be opening a fixed premises sort of business. I do have some ideas but I'm trying as stated above to be careful and give myself the best foot forward. I'm speaking with a couple of other friends at the moment who also have money and are interested. Again none of these are in a position to settle somewhere permanentely so we are discussing some online sort of ideas.

I'll keep you updated as I go. I'm at the idea generating stage but by the end of 2015 I would like to have something up and running even if it's not making much but for some experience to begin. I don't want to give up my job just yet until I'm 100% confident.

jimmii

cabla wrote: »

Thanks Jimmii - you don't like the retail world eventhough you're doing so well?

At the moment I'm not in a position to be opening a fixed premises sort of business. I do have some ideas but I'm trying as stated above to be careful and give myself the best foot forward. I'm speaking with a couple of other friends at the moment who also have money and are interested. Again none of these are in a position to settle somewhere permanentely so we are discussing some online sort of ideas.

I'll keep you updated as I go. I'm at the idea generating stage but by the end of 2015 I would like to have something up and running even if it's not making much but for some experience to begin. I don't want to give up my job just yet until I'm 100% confident.

Retail is a pretty high cost way to go into business and with a very high failure rate. We have been exceptionally lucky so far fingers crossed it continues! I know from talking to other retailers, even in areas that look very profitable, that they are only just hanging on one won a shop of the year award a few years back that got a lot of national coverage and is in a prime location and they are having to borrow money from all over the place every week just to be able to get by.

cabla

jimmii wrote: »

Retail is a pretty high cost way to go into business and with a very high failure rate. We have been exceptionally lucky so far fingers crossed it continues! I know from talking to other retailers, even in areas that look very profitable, that they are only just hanging on one won a shop of the year award a few years back that got a lot of national coverage and is in a prime location and they are having to borrow money from all over the place every week just to be able to get by.

Crazy! Ye to be honest, I wouldn't be into the retail business at the moment anyway for sure. It's a tough game I'd imagine.

Congrats on your success btw, I hope it continues.