Investment or Speculation?

I was talking to a business colleague who purchased a property in Florida with the idea of flipping it in a year. Unfortunately, this property was purchased right before the real estate collapse and was also a first-time venture in this type of money-making strategy for my colleague.

 

I said to him, “Well, you made an investment and unfortunately it went sour.” His response was, “I didn’t make an investment, I made a speculation. An investment is something you are comfortable with, in your interest and knowledge-base, that makes money, and you invest in it for long-term gain. I made a speculation.”

 

That simple conversation opened my eyes to my own company. What future ideas are we going to implement? Will they be investments or speculations? I feel it’s important to have the right balance of both.

 

Our publishing company, 9^th Street Publishing, was an investment. I studied the profits of publishing and I had my book, The Brander-In-Chief, to release. The About Me Program, on the other hand, is more of a speculation because it’s cutting-edge in helping managers understand and motivate their employees; I couldn’t find anything to compare it to.

 

It’s important to be cutting-edge in today’s business world. In order to do so you will need to invest in speculation–assuming there’s a need and many people are saying, “YES!” When it comes to innovation we tend to be protective thinkers: “Someone will steal my idea and take the money away from me!”

 

I don’t think that way. I say share it with the right people–the people who would be most likely to buy my idea (including strangers who won’t tell you what you want to hear). Allow them to sample the product or service, rather than just hearing an explanation. The goal is to create an awareness that takes off– where strangers are calling you asking for your product! We call these strangers new customers who later become new friends and, eventually, raving fans!

 

I hope this bit of wisdom has you looking at current and future opportunities in a new light. Is it an investment or a speculation? I say have a healthy mix of both.

 

Joe Kiedinger

 

ACTION PLAN: Make a list of all the things you’re involved in or are thinking of being involved in and determine your mix of investments and speculations.