Millionaire Challenge

Muhren · 23 April 2017 at 11:01AM

Hi everyone, I've not posted in a while but I have been reading. Sounds like everyone is cracking on nicely!

My update is that I have been busy having my kitchen updated, it was ripped out and redone from scratch. Still not 100% there but not too far off now. Even with the outlay for that I have managed to pass £150k as my net worth.

Thanks for posting the link Broken Biscuits, very interesting indeed, I have worked it out that I have around £61k invested at the moment over a combination of pensions, s&s ISA and shares in the company I work for. I like you only have 2, possibily 3 doubling periods, so I am well short if I am going to make that million.

I am in the process of deciding whether to up my pension contributions or open a LISA, I thought the LISA would be a no brainer but from reading lots of peoples advice on these forums it seems the better option would be to increase pension contributions. I am just about to post in the pensions section to clarify the best route for my situation.

ms_night_ryder · 23 April 2017 at 11:43AM

Broken_Biscuits wrote: »

Well done on your first sale. Hopefully it's the first of many!

If the sales don't keep coming it would be worth re-reviewing profit margins and competitors prices. No point working for free by having ridiculous low prices but it's better to sell multiple items at a slightly lower profit than to sell very few at a higher markup.

It's it's the sort of thing people only buy once or very rarely your customers may not notice if you drop and then raise your prices later. (Hoping that because the product is good, increased sales when the price is dropped will lead to more positive reviews and more positive word of mouth... Resulting in again more sales even when you creep the price back up)

Best of luck

Thanks for the advice BB.

I sell plus size clothes, I have worked the prices out to include a £10 an hour wage for myself which is pretty standard amongst seamstress' , obviously I won't be taking that money for myself, it will go towards new materials. I also work on a basis where I make the clothing sample to be photographed in my own size, i fighred if I do that, then really there is no loss of money, because I have a item of clothing to wear, so I don't have any dead stock so to speak.

The only way is up now I guess, I have a lot to work on and I will start documenting my progress more to see what I can achieve.

Happy Sunday all.

Broken_Biscuits · 23 April 2017 at 9:13PM

Saw the site "future learn" linked into another thread. I've not heard of it before so had a quick look. Seems to be free business advice with the option to upgrade at a cost to a better package from them. So I guess they hope you like what they do and upgrade to mean they make some profit.

If I'm right and it is completely free at the lower level, you may want to have a look at the link below about product pricing

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/pricing-strategy-revenue-management

I've not used the site and so apologies if it's not the freebie i think it is.

Broken_Biscuits · 23 April 2017 at 9:37PM

Muhren wrote: »

I am in the process of deciding whether to up my pension contributions or open a LISA, I thought the LISA would be a no brainer but from reading lots of peoples advice on these forums it seems the better option would be to increase pension contributions.

I've done a little research on the life time ISA and it seems it's only really a benefit if you are self employed. The tax benefit comes at the end (the opposite of a standard pension) and (unless you use it for a property) the LISA can only be accessed at 60 and I can't see a reason why you would invest in it after 50 (top up bonus ends) ... Massive costs if you decide to pull out before 60.

If you are putting in money that you have already paid tax on ( perhaps sat in high interest current accounts) there may be some benefit to reducing cash exposure and putting this into a LISA but if you are planning on using new money from your wages as an employee it's likely you will be better off just upping pension contributions.

Obviously if you want to retire before 60 (Lisa access) or 58 (likely age we will be able to access work pension money) then you need to invest outside of both these options (innovative finance ISA, S+S ISA + p2p)*

*This is what I'm doing, with the exception of putting the minimum possible into my pension that gets the maximum match (and therefore most free money) out of my employers.

Obviously do your own research, which is difficult as there isn't enough information out there as yet and a number of major banks have shunned the LISA as they seem to consider it's too complicated to suggest to their average customer.

CEW · 23 April 2017 at 10:19PM

Broken_Biscuits wrote: »

Saw the site "future learn" linked into another thread. I've not heard of it before so had a quick look. Seems to be free business advice with the option to upgrade at a cost to a better package from them. So I guess they hope you like what they do and upgrade to mean they make some profit.

If I'm right and it is completely free at the lower level, you may want to have a look at the link below about product pricing

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/pricing-strategy-revenue-management

I've not used the site and so apologies if it's not the freebie i think it is.

Long time lurker but only posted once or twice before.

Just thought I would clarify. Future Learn offers online courses on many subjects for free. The only charge is if you want a certificate to prove you have taken the course you have to pay for it.

All the courses are produced by universities, or similar, from around the world. I have personally taken a few of their courses and have found some value in them even when the subject is one that I am already familiar with.

Well worth a look as they have a reasonable selection of business related courses as well as many others.

Hope this helps

CEW

Luckystepho · 24 April 2017 at 9:43PM

I read something interesting about the doubling your money thing... it suggested that you would need to use different strategies for the later 'doublings' than the earlier ones. For instance, to double from £100 to £200 you might be buying widgets and selling them for a profit, or providing a service, by, say, using the £100 to buy a bucket, squeedgee and sponge and cleaning windows.
Once you get past a certain point it becomes very time consuming to do it yourself so you might other people to clean the windows and you keep a percentage or pay someone to fulfil your widget orders.
That way you could have a whole team of window cleaners and you're making money each time they clean a window but as you're no longer cleaning them yourself it's freed up your time.
One you get to the higher 'doublings' you might choose to pay someone to manage your team of window cleaners or widget packers and eventually sell the business, or invest in other people's business for a good return.
I think that the idea is that you wouldn't necessarily be risking £400,000 in one businesss but, say, £50,000 in one business, £50,000 in another etc so you're not wiped out if it goes wrong!

Kayalana99 · 25 April 2017 at 7:58AM

Luckystepho wrote: »

I read something interesting about the doubling your money thing... it suggested that you would need to use different strategies for the later 'doublings' than the earlier ones. For instance, to double from £100 to £200 you might be buying widgets and selling them for a profit, or providing a service, by, say, using the £100 to buy a bucket, squeedgee and sponge and cleaning windows.
Once you get past a certain point it becomes very time consuming to do it yourself so you might other people to clean the windows and you keep a percentage or pay someone to fulfil your widget orders.
That way you could have a whole team of window cleaners and you're making money each time they clean a window but as you're no longer cleaning them yourself it's freed up your time.
One you get to the higher 'doublings' you might choose to pay someone to manage your team of window cleaners or widget packers and eventually sell the business, or invest in other people's business for a good return.
I think that the idea is that you wouldn't necessarily be risking £400,000 in one businesss but, say, £50,000 in one business, £50,000 in another etc so you're not wiped out if it goes wrong!

I don't get on with the doubling your money but it's whatever works for you.

It reminds me of that save a penny a day, then 2p the next day and by the end of the year you'll have £2,000 saved or something and everyone swoops in saying how good of an idea it is but in reality it only works whilst you can afford it, so as soon as you get to a week where you can't spare the money you'll give up.

droopsnoot · 25 April 2017 at 1:04PM

Luckystepho wrote: »

Once you get past a certain point it becomes very time consuming to do it yourself so you might other people to clean the windows and you keep a percentage or pay someone to fulfil your widget orders.

I think you're absolutely right, really - there are only so many hours in the day, so you've either got to do the same number of transactions at a higher value, or do more transactions at the value, or many many more at a lower value. Scalability, I think, is the term people use for it. I was reading another forum (what? kill the heretic!) and their main mantra seems to be not just figuring out a money-making business idea, but also making sure it's scalable.

My concern with it is that it's a very different kind of person who can buy and sell a few old bits and pieces on a car boot sale and come away with double their money, to the kind who can be employing and managing other people. Not to say incompatible, or impossible, just that it's one thing to ramp up prices, an entirely different one to become an employer.

Luckystepho · 25 April 2017 at 9:26PM

I agree that the doubling and managing businesses are not for everybody, that's the fun part of this journey, there are so many ways to make a million!

I think I would prefer to be a passive investor in someone else's business- investing a chunk of money in the expectation of a return within two to three years. I believe that there are companies who will match investors up with companies looking to raise capital to expand etc.

There's also peer to peer lending etc

try_harder · 28 April 2017 at 4:11PM

I have now completed step 3 and have doubled £400 and made £800 .I have put £600 into my ISA into its own stocks and shares fund so i know exactly how its doing and will now set about doubling up the other £200 to make £400 but very pleased to be on step 4 of taking £800 and making £1600 ,i may leave 3/4 of every £800 i make and just keep doubling the £200 that way i am investing at the same time .

Millionaire Challenge

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free