My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

With the novel coronavirus spreading like bushfire all over the world, it is a terrifying time for both individuals and businesses. The future is indeed uncertain, and the anxiety is setting in. Andrew Stotz has lived through many different personal and financial crises over the years. Today he shares his story of loss. It’s not his worst investment but his worst personal moment, and it came with lots of lessons that we can all borrow from to carry us through the current COVID-19 pandemic and the looming economic crisis.   “Stay calm, and look forward to a great future because things will turn around.” Andrew Stotz   Worst moment ever The calm before the storm It was around 1995, and I was riding high as a stock market analyst in Thailand. I had been promoted to be the head of research of W.I. Carr, which was the number one foreign broker in Thailand at the time. All was going well. My best friend Dale came to visit and suggested we set up a coffee business in Thailand. Initially, we were going to buy coffee from other roasting companies, package it, and then sell it. However, we couldn’t find companies that would be able to produce the coffee to our standard, so we decided to build a coffee factory. Well, no problem. I was making good money and had already saved a lot. Dale moved to Thailand, and we set up CoffeeWORKS. We started our sales in 1996. Riding my first wave of a financial crisis In 1997, the Asian financial crisis happened. I remember walking into work in July, and the news was that the Thai government could no longer defend its currency, the Thai Baht, and it was going to collapse. The collapse soon started. The Baht at that time was 25 to the US dollar. By the end of 1997, it was at 60 Baht to the US dollar. Companies that had US dollar debt were in serious trouble because they didn’t have enough money to pay it back. The economy started to collapse, and everything got worse. Our plans for our business soon disappeared. We had plans to sell coffee to many companies as the economy was expanding in Thailand before the financial crisis. But instead, our sales dried up to almost nothing. Every day, we saw no new customers come in, and existing customers disappeared. And of course, no income. Yet we still had a factory and people working in it. Gloom was setting in fast. Riding my second wave of loss As if the poor launch of our coffee business was not enough, in April of 1998, I lost my job working in an investment bank. All of a sudden, we had a business and a factory, and a lot of costs, but no revenue, and no employment for me to feed the cash needs of the company. There was very little hope that I would get a job again in the financial industry because everything seemed to be decimated by the collapse that had now hit Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and later on many other countries in Asia. Time to scale down Dale and I had lived together in a house in Bangkok. We decided to move out to cut down costs. So we moved into the coffee factory. We moved the sales team out of one of the rooms that had air conditioning, put two beds in it, and it became our new home. It was like going back to college days, two beds, one room, and a bathroom outside of that room. The angel of doom visits again One day in August of 1998, Dale and I had woken up to an empty factory. No workers, nothing going on, it was raining heavily outside, and it was just a depressing day. I got a call from my sister Kelly, and she said that her cancer had come back. The doctor said she had only one month to live. She asked me to go home to see her. When I hung up the phone, Dale and I looked at each other and just cried. We were at the absolute bottom that August Sunday of 1998. A professional bottom and a personal bottom. Within one week of arriving in America, my sister passed away. I got one week to spend with her. I stayed for a couple more weeks with her family, and then I had to come back to Thailand. I came back completely depressed and defeated. Time to buckle up and deal with all the loss Dale decided that living in the factory would eventually break us and so we moved into a tiny low-cost apartment nearby that cost $150 per month for the two of us. I was so depressed to even think about our coffee business. Dale is an Iron Man, and he kept doing the next best thing that he could do to continue the business. Dale was a very honest and sincere man during these desperate times, and he continued slowly. In 1999, I got a call for a job offer to work for a bank. The economy was starting to go up slowly. CoffeeWORKS began to recover as Dale continued making the next right steps. We made mistakes along the way, but today we’re a company with more than 100 staff in a robust business, and we’re celebrating 25 years in existence. Lessons learned You can’t stop an economic crisis When a financial crisis comes, there’s not a lot that you can do to change it. You’ve got to buckle down, keep your costs low, and come up with ways to cope with the situation because it isn’t going to turn around quickly. Don’t let desperation lead you astray Don’t cheat, lie, steal, or do other things that some people do in times of desperation. Everyone is suffering, don’t add to their suffering by being inhumane. Keep walking forward In times of crisis, small businesses are trapped. You can’t sell the company because no one wants to buy, and you are not making any sales to secure your future. All you have to do is to keep moving forward until the dust settles down. Actionable advice When a crisis comes, take it easy. Don’t let panic and fear drive you into the ground. You will make it. It’s just going to happen slowly, step by step. Don’t cheat or defraud people. But if you can’t pay, just tell them, “I can’t pay right now.” And work it out together. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months My number one goal for the next 12 months is to have 80% of my company’s revenue come from my online courses and other digital assets. Parting words   “Take it easy, stick close to the people that you love and the people that care about you.” Andrew Stotz   Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Yasmine Khater is the founder of the Sales Story Method and the Host of the Sales Story Podcast. For the past five years, she’s been helping senior leaders in over 75 MNCs, governments, and entrepreneurs use stories to stand out, attract more customers, inspire their team, and grow their business (and careers). Armed with a degree in psychology, Yasmine is an aspiring “armchair” neuroscientist who loves to study how to improve sales by applying discoveries about the brain. She comes from a mixed heritage, having lived in seven countries and traveled to nearly a quarter of the world. Crafting and sharing stories have helped her sell her ideas, crowdfund, land speaking engagements, and press appearances.   “You can do so much more if you just work in small challenges and constantly stretch yourself to get a little bit more uncomfortable every single day.” Yasmine Khater   Worst investment ever What do I do with all this money? When Yasmine started working, she suddenly found herself with more money than she knew what to do with. She just couldn’t spend it all, so she figured she could invest it. Admittedly, she was clueless about investing. This was something she had always figured was supposed to be done by a man. So she never bothered to learn how it worked. Now here she was with lots of money that she wanted to invest but no man in her life to handle it for her. Letting others decide her investment move for her Yasmine did what she thought was best. She walked to her bank and went straight to the first bank teller that she saw. The bank teller talked her into buying a mutual trust. Four years into it, Yasmine realized that the trust was making money, but she wasn’t because of the high bank fees she was being charged. Even though she kept investing a chunk of her change into the trust every month, she just kept losing her money. Yasmine decided she was done and stopped investing in the mutual trust. Ignorance makes her lose again Around the same time, she was traveling in Bali and went to this event where they were talking about Bitcoin. Attendants were asked to invest $100 to buy Bitcoin. At the time, each Bitcoin was less than $1. Yasmine, still ignorant towards investing, decided Bitcoin was not for her. Fast forward to a few years later, and Bitcoin was selling at $20,000. Imagine how much Yasmine would have made had she invested the $100 to buy Bitcoin! Well, her ignorance saw her make her worst investment ever. She, however, figured it was about time to learn how investing works. Lessons learned Learn how to do the things you avoid doing The same way you learned how to deal with challenges in your life and to overcome something, is the same way you can learn how to do the things you avoid doing. If you avoid investing, learn about it, and you won’t have to avoid doing it. Success starts with believing that you can do it If you keep telling yourself that you can’t do something, then you’re just going to keep finding ways to prove yourself right. You don’t need to be a math guru to start investing You don’t have to breathe math to begin investing your money. Simply understand the mechanics of business, profit versus loss, and you’re good to go. Andrew’s takeaways Investment doesn’t have to be overwhelming For many people out there, the concept of learning how to invest is just overwhelming. However, there are simple ways to understand investing for beginners. Find these simple courses and start learning. Let go of the phobia of numbers Most people, women, in particular, are incredibly negative about numbers. The phobia of numbers is what holds most people from investing. Invest a little over time. Investing in stocks for beginners can be scary, especially when the stock market seems to be crashing. The truth is that the market won’t stay down. Get started by putting in a small monthly contribution and build wealth over time. Actionable advice Commit to learning about investing. Whether it’s picking up a book or signing up for a course, just challenge yourself to think about what needs to get done. Once you learn how to do it, you’ll get the peace of mind of knowing at least one aspect of your life is covered. And that comes from starting. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Yasmine’s goal this year is to help 1,000 people to get more comfortable with getting uncomfortable. She just launched her 30 Day Fearless Challenge and will be doing a company diary to go along with it, and also a course to help people become better at telling their stories. Parting words   “Have fun, learn, put yourself out there, and invest. It’s amazing.” Yasmine Khater    Connect with Yasmine Khater LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Website Blog Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Bijay Gautam is the Co-founder of WYN Studio, a company that creates podcasts for brands. He hosts one of the top podcasts in India, The Inspiring Talk. On this podcast, he chats with top entrepreneurs, best-selling authors, thought leaders, and celebrities about their journey. As India’s first Podcast Coach and Consultant, he has coached over 100 people and helped over five organizations launch their podcasts. He has conducted podcast workshops and training across the country, reaching over 2,000 participants. Bijay has been featured in various media and is a frequent speaker at conferences and events. Before all this began, Bijay was working as a Research Scientist in a leading Pharmaceutical Company. He was losing motivation and drive in his life, and that’s when he started The Inspiring Talk. Within 15 months of starting his podcast, he quit his job to follow his passion for podcasting and inspiring people through his podcast.   “Don’t take advice from someone who has not walked the path that you want to walk.” Bijay Gautam   Worst investment ever A natural orator Bijay was always that guy who loved talking and being in front of people. He’s the guy every club in high school wanted to emcee their event. Debate and public speaking clubs were his favorite. And so, naturally, Bijay knew that he needed to study communication and media and become a radio jockey, television presenter, or anything to do with putting his face out there and talking. Seeking the best career advice When Bijay completed high school and was preparing to join college, he spoke to a couple of people asking what they thought about media as a career. They advised him against it, claiming that media was going down and would have no secure career options. They told him that he’d not make a lot of money from it and he was better off picking a more popular course. The interesting thing is that these people had no background in media and had no idea what they were talking about. But, Bijay looked up to them, and so he took their advice and enrolled for a course in pharmacy. The ever-rising star Bijay invested four years studying pharmacy. Even though he was doing well topping his class, getting scholarships, and also being awarded as the best student of pharmacy, in the back of his mind, he hated the choice he made. But he kept at it. He finished at the top of his class, and in the final year, he got placed at the top pharmaceutical company in India. To the outside world, this was a huge success. Bijay had made it. His stellar performance continued even at his job. In the first year, he got recognized as the most promising candidate for his organization. Quitting the act and staying true to his dreams But even though he was a success, Bijay hated his job. After three years of working in a pharmaceutical company, he realized he was running a race and winning that race, but he wasn’t sure that was the race he wanted to be running. After investing lots of tuition money, four years of college and three years of working, Bijay realized that he had made his worst investment by going into pharmacy instead of following his heart and getting into media. And so he quit, started a podcast, and he hasn’t looked back since. Lessons learned Take career advice from the right people Your best career advice will come from someone who has walked the path that you want to walk. Follow your gut For the jobseeker choosing a career path, follow your gut without thinking about if you’re going to make a lot of money or if you’re going to make it big in this or not. You need to listen to your own heart and just go with it without listening to a lot of people. Andrew’s takeaways Break free from the sunk cost fallacy Just because you’ve sunk time, money, and energy into something doesn’t mean that you have to keep doing it. To manage your risk, stop sinking further immediately. The reality is what is gone and done is already gone and done no need to keep doing it. You can make your mark anywhere Find a place that you enjoy what you’re doing and build your little area in that spot. Don’t worry about the overall industry. A mantra can get you out of a negative mindset Find a positive mantra and repeat it every single day several times until it creates a little radar in you. You’ll find that it does change your thinking, and it helps you to get out of a harmful environment. Actionable advice Stop and ask yourself one question; Is this the investment that I wanted to make? Whether that’s time invested in your relationship or financial investment in something. Whatever it is, ask yourself if this investment is going to help you to achieve your dreams or goals. If the answer is no, no matter how difficult it is, move on from that situation. It’s the right thing to do for your happiness and peace of mind. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Bijay’s goal for the next 12 months is laying the foundation for WYN Studio so he can build a great company. He hopes to use WYN Studio to create amazing shows that people would want to listen to and hear some of the beautiful stories to share. Parting words   “Don’t forget to ask yourself, ‘Is this the investment that I wanted to make?’” Bijay Gautam   Connect with Bijay Gautam LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Michael Michelini is an American social media, e-commerce, and SEO Specialist who has lived in China since 2007. He is a passionate business connector who helps companies do business in China as well as Chinese companies to work in overseas markets. Michael built Global From Asia, a cross-border e-commerce community, to help cross border business owners learn, network, make business partnerships, and grow global businesses. Most recently, he has joined as a partner at Alpha Rock Capital, which is an Amazon FBA investment company.   “Don’t get caught up in patents if you’re entrepreneur and investor. Of course, it’s important to have your IP, but I think the most important one is a brand trademark.” Michael Michelini   Worst investment ever Setting sail in China Michael moved to China in late 2007 with interest in living and doing business there. A few months later, he met a businessman, Andrew, who was all too willing to take him under his wing. Andrew was a sourcing agency and a product specialist who had been in China for 10 years already. He took Michael through the backstreets of China, and in the process, Michael got to learn all the insights of Chinese business. It’s in these backstreets that Michael got to know where the best deals happen, the inside scoop about manufacturing, who is who in business, and so much more information that helped him build on to his business plans. Forging a business partnership Andrew was impressed by Michael’s internet marketing skills and abilities. He had so many product ideas which he shared with Michael. One of the ideas that got Michael very excited about was a light-up, pour spout. This is a bottle top that you put on top of a vodka bottle or any kind of liquid, and when you pour, it lights up the stream of alcohol to the color of the LED. Michael was already selling bar supplies through his e-commerce business and had customers and distribution pipelines. Andrew would help engineer it, and together they would produce and market it from China. From an idea to a real product They embarked on the journey to get the product ready. First, they brought on a partner with a legal background. Then they found the guy who had a patent to the product idea but had never made a product. Hurdle after hurdle Getting the patent was the first hurdle. They spent so much time going back and forth without reaching a compromise. The patent owner wanted more money than Michael was willing to pay to transfer the patent. Eventually, after months of arguing, Michael put his foot down and told the patent owner to take his offer or forget the whole deal. He accepted the offer. The second hardball Michael faced was that his friend Andrew wanted him to use his friend’s factory. But he quoted an upfront fee of about $20,000 for the manufacturing of the product. This is not to make the product but just the setup fee. Michael asked around and got a few other factories that gave him  $3,000-$5,000 quotes for the same thing. So he refused to use Andrew’s friend’s factory, and Andrew was extremely mad with him. Being young and naive, Michael still kept Andrew in the deal. Michael went ahead and paid $5,000 to the factory that he chose and went ahead with the manufacturing. Marketing hard Michael started sending samples to his friends and business partners back in the US, who all got excited about the product. Everyone called it the million-dollar product. One of his friends got in touch with Bacardi, who loved the product and was interested in having exclusive rights in the US. The problems just won’t go away Michael ran into manufacturing issues with the production time taking forever. At one point, the LED wasn’t bright enough and had to source for LEDs from a different supplier. Bacardi kept asking for changes to make the product better. Then they insisted on buying the product at $1 per piece because they’d use it as a promotional item and offer it to its customers for free. All while, Michael was the one who was funding the entire process and had spent over $20,000 so far and was still required to spend more. Then when Michael thought he was about to strike a deal with Bacardi, the company rejected the product internally because even though it had passed US FDA checks, apparently, it failed Bacardi’s internal quality control tests. Counting his losses Michael bought off Andrew and the legal partner from the business and decided to sell the 10,000 pieces he had produced on his e-commerce site, eBay, and Amazon. He, however, didn’t make much, and eventually, he decided to let the product die a slow death and accepted that he had made the worst investment of his life. Lessons learned Validate your market first Before you plan your new product launch, validate your market by selling a few pieces first. This will help you know the market and confirm if your product fits it. Have the proper paperwork when forming partnerships When forming business partnerships, have the appropriate paperwork in place. Have contracts with clear exit strategies that stipulate what happens if the partnership doesn’t work out. Andrew’s takeaways Do proper market research Don’t let the excitement of a new product make you forget that the market is more important than the product. Conducting market research will help you understand the market before you launch your new product. Know what your market needs so that you can ensure your product meets the market requirements for better success. If you have no sales, you have no business Without sizable sales or a proper vision on how to reach these sales, your business will not be able to scale properly. Form proper business partnerships You need different people involved in a business for you to succeed. These could be people giving you capital or expertise. But most importantly, know how to keep these people satisfied to prevent future misunderstandings that might end up destroying the business. Actionable advice Leverage crowdfunding if you have a unique product or if you’re doing something unique. Try to sell it first. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Michael’s goal for the next 12 months is to scale his investment company. The company is buying out more brands to scale. Parting words   “Take action, and don’t be afraid to fail. If you’re afraid to fail, you never do anything.” Michael Michelini   Connect with Michael Michelini LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Somdutta Sarkar is the host of Intensify Humanity Podcast, a bestselling author, an NLP practitioner, a thought leader, a passionpreneur, and an Intensifier Mentor. Her book is called 7 STEPS from SHAME to being BACK IN THE GAME.   “Ignorance is not bliss; it’s a disease.” Somdutta Sarkar   Worst investment ever Living in the city of dreams Somdutta moved to Mumbai, known as the city of dreams in India, where she got a job after finishing college. She was working a job that she loved and making a decent income. She was indeed settled in life. A friendly soul Somdutta is naturally a friendly person, so she made so many friends while living and working in Mumbai. She was always kind enough to help anyone who came to her in need of help, no matter what day or time they came calling. This happened over and over again. Her kindness leaves her in debt Somdutta’s friendly nature soon enough landed her into trouble. One day a friend came to her in need of financial help, and in her true nature, she accepted to help him. She took a bank loan in her name and gave the money to her friend. When the time to pay the loan came, her friend went quiet. He blocked her, making it impossible to reach him. She tried all possible ways to get him to pay the loan, but he never did. Somdutta’s worst mistake was trusting her friend, who left her with a debt of $35,000. Rebuilding herself Somdutta suffered greatly mentally and emotionally. She felt enormous shame for having made what she thought was the most stupid decision of her life. During this phase of her life, she lost so many friends. After a few months of suffering, she decided to work on herself, her mind, her awareness about society, psychology, finance, everything. She worked on her self-development, and she was able to pull herself out of that phase. Now she is helping people who are stuck in that kind of stage in life to revive and relive their life again and gain back the freedom and power they never had. Lessons learned Ignorance is part of our system Ignorance is a disease in our society these days. We are taught from childhood that ignorance is bliss. Every problem has a hidden meaning in it Through self-development, you’ll be able to find this hidden meaning, and in return, you will be able to solve the problem. Sometimes you have to jump in the deep end You’ll never know your full potential until to jump into the waters. Avoid the shortfall risk If you are not taking calculated risks, you’re putting yourself at risk. There is simply no way to exist without taking on risk. Andrew’s takeaways High risk is not always equal to high return There are certain risks that you take that you’re not compensated for. These kinds of risks can be mitigated. For instance, in investing, if you only buy one stock, instead of diversifying across maybe 10 or 20 stocks, you increase your risk. Risk management is one of the essential things that that you can learn as a young person. Get yourself out of your framework We all have a framework, a kind of lense through which we see the world. One of the hardest things that someone can do is to get themselves out of their framework. The majority of people never do. But when you move beyond your framework, you have true freedom. Actionable advice Focus on self-development. If you don’t invest in yourself and your mind, you are taking the most significant risk in your life. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Somdutta has set a target of interviewing 200 people for her podcast Intensify Humanity. She also plans to launch her online program this year. The program will be an entirely unconventional education system, everything that is not taught in schools and colleges. Parting words   “If you feel stuck and you do not see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel, know that there is a hidden meaning out there, and it is trying to tell you something. Start investing in self-development because all the answers are here.” Somdutta Sarkar   Connect with Somdutta Sarkar LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

With a background in Business Economics, IT, and Logistics, Simon de Raadt has been living in Asia since 2011. He is now Managing Partner of MAiNS International, Co-Founder of DigiDutch, and investor in Cross-Border solutions. He helps companies understand the whole supply chain, from beginning to end, so that they can add more value in that supply chain. The starting point of his entrepreneurial success in China has been building an outbound mail solution for one of his customers from scratch. This led him into various businesses related to inbound trading.   “Be more flexible and accepting of whatever comes on the way. It might not go as planned. But you know, that’s part of the journey.” Simon de Raadt   Worst investment ever His heart has always been in China Simon had always dreamt of living and working in China. While still working a corporate job, he went to China, and the country completely stole his heart. While on holiday, he decided to look for a job. He was fortunate to get one in no time. Becoming a small business owner in a foreign country In just six months, Simon found himself jobless. The company he was working for closed down. He knew he was meant to stay in China, so he put on a brave face and started job hunting again. Simon tapped into his networks, and soon enough, he got introduced to someone at  MAiNS International, where he went on to become a co-founder. Starting from scratch When Simon joined MAiNS International, the existing business was all gone. It was now just him and his Chinese partner, and they had to start from scratch. Given that it was just the two of them, Simon and his partner ignored lots of business frameworks and just focused on growing their business. Hiring people the old school way In about a year or so, Simon’s business had taken ground and was recruiting people, and suddenly the company had 12 people. While the growth was good, Simon and his partner were hiring all these people, not because there were positions to be filled as there were no existing jobs. Jobs were created and filled based on opportunity. They had no structured way of recruitment. In came the chaos With no formal work structures, chaos hit the company. People were working independently with no clear vision. Everyone was on their own little island, and this started affecting the business. While everyone was hard at work, running in different directions was hurting the business’s bottom line. Most of Simon’s best employees left the company as they no longer saw the company’s vision. This was a huge blow on Simon as these were people he had fought for to get them to work for him, he’d groomed them and worked hard to get them excited. Simon realized that his worst investment was not investing in proper business structures. Without structures, his people couldn’t work as a team, and in the process, they lost the company’s vision and confidence in the success of the company. Lessons learned Define your company roles Even if it’s just you, when starting your own business, define all the roles that you might have in your company, and then assign these roles to a person. In doing so, you get clearer on where you want to go and what every person’s task and responsibilities are without creating any confusion. Put structures in place first For successful operations management, put structures in place. Once you create your structure, let the people grow within the structure. Let your team develop themselves and give them freedom within the structure. But if there are no boundaries to that freedom, things will get out of hand. Apply knowledge from books in real life You can read a textbook, but to be able to learn, you must experience it yourself. Books have a lot of wisdom in it. But reading a book is one thing, and applying it is another. Andrew’s takeaways Get your people to work together as a team You can take some of the best people and put them together, but without some concerted effort to get them to work together towards a common goal, you’re never going to achieve much. Let’s say you get good people that are sincere, smart, hardworking, and know their part. But if they don’t see how their part interacts with the rest of the organization, then they will never create something great. Build confidence Ultimately, people agree to work for you, because they’re confident in you and your vision. But if you fail to communicate your vision clearly, they won’t be able to work together and will eventually lose confidence. Once confidence is lost, all is lost. Actionable advice Take your time and define the structure of your small business. Think about what roles you need to be able to be successful. Do you need a finance person? Do you need an HR person? Do you need customer service or operations? What kind of operations? Come up with the task because the task belongs to the role and the responsibility that comes with it. So have a role and responsibility matrix. That will help you to clarify what it is that that person needs to be doing. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Simon’s goal is to create a healthy morning routine because if he doesn’t take care of himself, he cannot take care of others. He’s been so obsessed with what happened within the company that he neglected himself and his health. Parting words   “Stay safe and be prepared because we don’t know what’s gonna come tomorrow.” Simon de Raadt   Connect with Simon de Raadt LinkedIn Facebook Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Michael E. Gerber (2004) The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It Tom Culley (1996) Beating the Odds in Small Business Verne Harnish (2014) Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don’t  

Nicholas Patrick is the Founder of Ekho Academy, a media platform dedicated to helping you enhance the quality of your career. After overcoming a decade long battle with clinical depression, Nic’s mission is to help working professionals stay mentally healthy and strong. Nic is most active on LinkedIn and Instagram, where you can find him using his full name Nicholas Patrick.   “If you don’t have to rush it, don’t rush it.” Nicholas Patrick   Worst investment ever Coping with mental health issues Nic’s symptoms started around 2007/8. His mood started being affected, and he could no longer cope with the everyday stresses and challenges of life. He, however, chose to ignore these symptoms. He thought it was one of those things that eventually would go away on its own. Nic decided to do nothing and wait it out. Unfortunately, things got really bad to the point where sometimes he couldn’t get out of bed and missed so many days of school. Divine Intervention Things got so bad that Nic thought about suicide. He was standing on the ledge, ready to take his own life when his phone vibrated. He paused to check his phone when he saw an email from a university. The subject of that email was Ways of Managing Depression. This email knocked him out of his trance and helped him understand that he wasn’t trying to deal with his mental issues. He realized that his worst investment was not taking care of his mental health. He took his power back, and from then on, he committed to get well. Which he did, and went on to form his academy with the vision to help other people going through a similar situation. Lessons learned Be patient with yourself Patience is a really easy concept, but something that people constantly forget and don’t pay attention to. Sometimes you might have to go slow and achieve your goals later than you planned. That’s ok; be patient with yourself. You will get there no need to put pressure on yourself. Build your support system When building your support system, there are three categories that people fall into: the outermost circle, people who don’t care, the middle circle, people who care about you but don’t know how to help you, the innermost circle, people who care and know how to help you. Categorize your support system accordingly to receive the most appropriate mental health solution. Mental health recovery is not time-bound When you’re recovering from anything, including mental health issues, don’t work with a clock. Instead, have milestones and work through them one by one and take as much time as it takes. So don’t say you’re going to give yourself five years to overcome depression. Andrew’s takeaways Don’t be afraid to miss out on life your recovery matters more Don’t refuse to work through your problems for fear of missing out on life while you’re doing it. Take the time to take care of yourself; life will be better when you get back. Don’t compare yourself to others Take a good look at your weaknesses, your pains, and the ways you’ve been hurt. You’re the only one who can see those things clearly. Be brave to bring these things out as a first step to dealing with them. Don’t let other people’s seemingly perfect lives cause you to hide your problems and allow them to keep harming you. Actionable advice Learn about yourself, feed your mind and your body. But, don’t focus just on the information out there because it’s easy to get lost in it. Instead, seek professional mental health services, whether it’s from a therapist or licensed psychiatrist. Because their main function is not to prescribe solutions but to work with you to get to your ideal way of recovery. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Nic’s goal for the next 12 months is to make Ekho Academy a place that enhances everyone’s quality of career by addressing all the topics that people have about their careers. Issues they find challenging, the stress in their workplaces, and dealing with difficult relationships in the workplace. These are important topics because these are the small micro issues that can affect your total mental well being. Parting words   “It’s ok to get help because we don’t have all the solutions. So don’t be afraid to ask.” Nicholas Patrick   Connect with Nicholas Patrick LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

As an Intercultural Strategist, Ling Ling Tai helps people and organizations develop intercultural skills to foster successful collaboration and build important relationships to ensure continued business success in a globalized environment. She is a podcaster for the Leaders of Learning podcast, and she offers her insights through her website www.culturesparkglobal.com.   “If it’s a problem that can be solved with money, it’s not a problem at all. If it’s a problem that cannot be solved with money, then it’s something you have to look into.” Ling Ling Tai   Worst investment ever Inheriting her parents’ attitude towards risk Ling Ling and her siblings grew up in a traditional Chinese family and were taught the value of being prudent and frugal from a very early age. According to her parents, when it comes to taking risk, it’s either low risk or no risk at all. This shaped the decisions in her life and the things that she chose to do. Chasing independence Throughout her life, Ling Ling wanted to be independent, self-sufficient, and be able to rely on herself. She didn’t want to be a housewife and rely on a rich man, even though that’s what most Chinese parents want for their daughters. So she invested all her time in building up her career. Sacrificing her relationships Ling Ling had no time to invest in relationships as her focus was on building a career that would help her become financially independent. So she ended up spending very little time on people who mattered to her, including her parents and siblings. When death shakes your value system Ling Ling’s mom got sick in 2016 and died three months after she was diagnosed. Her death hit Ling Ling quite hard as it was fast and unexpected. During the time her mom was sick, her mindset changed about life. Seeing death right in front of her changed her whole outlook on life. Life stopped being about money and accumulating material wealth. She started evaluating what values are important to her. She realized that her worst investment was not investing enough time on the things that mattered to her, and instead, she was just chasing dollar signs, neglecting the people important to her, her well being, and the things that gave her joy. Lessons learned Money is not everything What do you value most in life besides money and wealth? Start looking into things that are not monetary, such as your wellbeing, health, relationship with your family, the kind of impact that you want to make on the world, etc. You may have a flourishing career and amass wealth, but when death comes knocking on your door, you can’t bring it with you anymore. So ask yourself, what values are important to you, and what do you want to leave behind? There is a downside to low risk and no risk If you avoid taking any risk, you will be so afraid of investing in anything, so you miss the opportunity to invest in things that matter to you. Andrew’s takeaways Think about your legacy What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? Let that guide the way you live your life. Live in a way that when you die, you live on in the spirit of others. By touching the lives of others, there will be something that lives on from you. What do you value and are most passionate about? Find what you’re passionate about and do it. Passion and energy for what you’re doing can change the world and your life. Actionable advice It’s okay to take time and reflect on what values are important to you. Because when we’re too busy with our day to day life, we don’t sit to think whether what we are doing means anything in the long run. What impact will what you’re doing have on you in one year, or five, or 10 years? If the impact is not significant, then then it’s okay not to do it. Sit and reflect, because everyone has a time limit, we just don’t know when that limit is. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Ling Ling’s goal for the next 12 months is to produce two more seasons for her podcast and get more downloads. She’s also working on a new training program through her business, Spark Global. She’s doing some research and putting some materials together. The program will be focused on helping leaders and managers to lead a multicultural team better. Parting words   “Your decisions determine your destiny. What you decide from moment to moment will help you shape where you’re going to go in life. So be very mindful of what you decide to do with every moment.” Ling Ling Tai   Connect with Ling Ling Tai LinkedIn Twitter Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Ziv Nakajima-Magen was born in Israel, migrated first to Australia, then finally to Japan, where he and his wife run a buyers’ agency and portfolio management company, helping foreigners invest in Japanese property and manage their investments.   “When investing away from home, choose the right people to work with, and learn how to trust and listen to them.” Ziv Nakajima-Magen   Worst investment ever Investing in Asia for the first time When Ziv and his wife moved to Japan, having some experience with real estate property investment in Australia, he decided to get into the Japanese real estate industry. Ziv felt that he knew what property investment is all about. How to price rent for rental property, what’s a good or bad property, locations, and so forth. Cash flow investments Ziv looked for the highest rental income that they could find in areas that they were comfortable with. He found a bulk purchase of three condo units in a city not too far from Fukuoka, where the couple lives. The units came at a discounted price because the seller wanted to get rid of all three of them and was happy to discount the price if it was all to the same buyer. The tenants had been in place for like 15 years, so it was quite a good investment, tenancy wise and return was through the roof at about 15-16%. Coming in guns blazing While doing the math, Excel sheet style, the couple realized that one of the units had slightly lower rent than the others, about $20 or $30 a month. Ziv, thinking that he knew what they were doing as they’d been in the property market for a while now and knew all about globalization, decided that when that tenancy lease was about to be renewed, they should raise the rent to bring it up to the same level as the other two units. It was just a small amount anyway, the tenant wouldn’t mind, or so they thought. In Japan, you don’t increase the rent When they told the property manager to increase the rent for that lease, he asked them if they were sure about it, and they said yes without giving it much thought. What they didn’t realize was that you don’t raise rents in Japan. A tenant would be paying the same rent that they paid when they moved into the property say eight, 10 or even 20 years ago. And they wouldn’t ask you to reduce the rent when the contract is renewed because for them any negotiation is considered and feels like a conflict. The Japanese tend to avoid conflict at any cost. Ziv’s tenant did not renew the lease; instead, they moved to another vacant unit in the very same building that was renting for about half the rent. Ziv stayed with a vacant unit for about a year and a half, losing a third of their income stream. When they got another tenant, they had to rent it at a much lower amount. Eventually, they sold it at about 20 or 30% loss compared to when they bought it. Had they just taken time to learn this new market, they would have known about the Japanese culture regarding raising and lowering rent, and it would have saved them from making their worst investment. Lessons learned Consider cultural and emotional differences when doing your due diligence In our minds, due diligence tends to be a very practical sort of numbers related matter. So we look at income streams and risk factors in the sense that something might suddenly happen. But we don’t think about cultural and emotional differences when we’re dealing in another country. So, yes, the numbers probably apply the same anywhere you go. But there are a lot of other factors that you need to take into account. Not all real estate locations are the same Relying on your knowledge that was gained in another location when you’ve been investing in a familiar market might not be applicable. Your market might be the stark opposite of the one that you’re going into next. Learn about the professionals that you’re dealing with Understand how professionals in the new location you want to invest in work. Also, learn to trust their advice, and try to read between the lines when they say something or trying to gauge what it is that they might be trying to say to you but are maybe avoiding for various reasons. Andrew’s takeaways Avoid downtime in between tenants Rental property owners often forget about the damage that can be done by having downtime in between tenants. That can destroy what looks like a beautiful yield. Don’t focus on numbers only Don’t be the Excel expert type that focuses on numbers only. Not everything can be measured in a spreadsheet. The most important things often in business are unknown, unknowable, and unmeasurable. A little resistance in Asia could mean trouble In Asia, a tiny amount of resistance is a signal that you have to stop pushing something through and ask yourself why you’re getting this little bit of resistance. One of the biggest mistakes that people make coming to Asia from the West is that they push through and think, “let’s get this done.” That can be a huge mistake. Actionable advice If you’re investing away from your familiar market, and especially if it’s for the first time, focus a lot more on the companies and the professionals that you’re going to do business with. Because you’re not going to be present in person and you’re not familiar with that market, you’re not going to be able just to walk in there and make things right again. So what you really want to do is make sure that you choose the right people to work with. And once you feel confident that you’ve done that, listen to them, talk to them and try to find a way to align your goals with that particular environment and what the people working in it are suggesting to you. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Ziv’s goal for the next 12 months is to set up his business infrastructure, automate processes, and get things done a lot more smoothly and profitably. Parting words   “You don’t have to stay in your backyard and what you’re familiar with. If the attractive investments are not there, just go out and explore. The world is your oyster.” Ziv Nakajima-Magen   Connect with Ziv Nakajima-Magen LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Brendan Davis is a writer-director-producer working internationally in film & TV. He began his entertainment career in Atlanta in 1990, moved to Los Angeles in 2002, and has split his time between Beijing and Los Angeles since 2013. In December 2019, Davis was recognized for his cross-cultural leadership by being appointed to serve as a Distinguished Special Foreign Expert with the Beijing Global Talent Exchange Association. His appointment as an advisor runs through 2024.   “Pick your battles carefully. Set yourself up for success as much as possible.” Brendan Davis   Worst investment ever Exploring an international investment opportunity In 2013/14, China was wide open to foreign investment co-productions trying to work with other treaty partners. One of the countries the Chinese were the keenest to work with was New Zealand. Brendan happened to have two partners in New Zealand and a Chinese partner in Los Angeles. The partners had been working on a project together for a while now. He figured that this project would be a good co-production with China. And so he decided to explore this international partnership. Changing the script The project was initially developed as a Western New Zealand Hollywood type of project. So the first step was to change the script to fit the co-production requirements of New Zealand and China. Due to cultural differences, censorship, and sensitivities in China, they had to re-examine and rebuild the whole story and characters. Finding a Chinese financier For the project to receive the co-production incentives, Brendan had to find a Chinese financier. Through former colleagues and his Chinese partner, he found someone who fit the bill. The gentleman was a second-generation wealthy guy in China and a Vice President of a big studio film finance entity. He was one of the guys deciding where to spend money. The gentleman had been rewarded for his success so far, with a few 50% government investments in a new firm all his own to develop and produce projects. So he was just getting going with this new company when Brendan and his project came along. And it seemed like they were the answer to each other’s dreams. Sealing the deal Because Brendan at the time barely spoke any Chinese and the gentleman spoke zero English, they each got an interpreter. Brendan and his team went to Beijing, met him, liked each other, and things got onto a great start. The gentleman had very fancy offices. He was seemingly very rich and powerful. Everything about him validated that he would be the guy to do this. He even gave them a suite of offices in his fancy custom design, new headquarters building. The business plan seemed to be coming together very smoothly. After a couple of back and forth trips between Beijing and LA, and discussions, they signed a deal that detailed everything about how Brendan and his team were supposed to operate, and it also spelled out exactly what the financier was committing to do as the executive producer and a financier. Introducing the human speed bump As Brendan and his partner were preparing to leave China to start pre-production, the gentleman told them that they would appear at the 2014 Beijing Film Festival to make the big announcement of their partnership together. The gentleman built for his company a very fancy booth. They did dozens of interviews in English and Chinese, took many photos, and told many stories. There were about 80 photographers at their press conference. It was a pretty big public deal. But the troubles started immediately after that press conference. They were sitting at their booth just catching their breath when this angry, short little woman who they’d never met, never heard of, and had no idea who she was appeared out of nowhere. She introduced herself as a friend of the gentleman. She was freaking out and grilling Brendan with creative issues she had with the story. Brendan was shocked to learn that this stranger knew all these delicate details of their business. It turned out; she was meant to buy the gentleman time to get his act together. It was all falling apart behind the scenes It turns out that the gentleman’s father, from where his power and wealth is derived, got caught up in a corruption scandal. He lost his influence in his high position and was likely going to go to jail. All this mess was trickling down to the son who was about to lose everything. He was desperately covering it as fast as he could. The gentleman could no longer afford to finance the project, and just like that, the project died an abrupt death. He kept Brendan and his team completely in the dark about the true nature of the situation for over six months. Had they known this, they would have pivoted to somebody else and probably salvaged the project. Lessons learned Cultural differences are real Cultural differences are very real around the world. Business deals and contracts could have completely different meanings from what you’re used to. So, understand the cultural differences first before you sign any deal. Choose your international partners carefully The best way to apply foreign risk management is to only work with people with whom you can have trust and full, clear communication. Andrew’s takeaways Be wary of complexity Some deals can be too complex for you to handle. If that’s the case, never be afraid to walk away from such deals. You never truly know what’s happening behind the scenes A lot could be happening behind the scenes without your knowledge unless you’re working with someone you know and trust. People will always try to put on their best face when making a deal. Never believe they’re truly genuine until the money is in the bank. Investigate your foreign investment Don’t be afraid to investigate your intended investment, because you never know what’s going on behind the scenes. Actionable advice Develop empathy for the people you’re working with. Make sure that you truly have a clear understanding of where your other party in the deal is coming from, and then tailor your strategy accordingly. Continue to be empathetic, keep your eyes and ears open, and see how they react as things develop. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Brendan’s goal for the next 12 months is to make his current feature film project called My Favorite Season, which is set in the world of Paris Fashion and then settle in what he hopes to be his new home in Auckland, New Zealand. Parting words   “Send your best wishes, prayers, whatever works for you to China as it deals with this novel coronavirus situation. They really need all the support they can get, and I’m rooting for them.” Brendan Davis   Connect with Brendan Davis LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast