Wall Street Playboys - Advice from Real Wall Street Professionals

  • * Start Here *
  • Approved Products
  • FAQ
  • IB Interview
  • Top Posts
  • Efficiency
  • Triangle Investing

December 27, 2018 by Wall Street Playboys 129 Comments

December Q&A is Closed

Q&A is now closed thanks!

Filed Under: Life

Comments

  1. AvatarAnonymous says

    December 27, 2018 at 1:18 am

    What would you say matters most to surviving multiple years of little or no cash flow trying to make an asset/biz successful: net worth prior to starting venture, network, pure skills i.e. ability to make money in face of market and competition)?

    That is, is it a game of survival or a game of playing smart?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 1:40 am

      The amount of money you have access to. If you raise money (or have it yourself ideally) then take that number and divide by your annual spend. That’s the ticking time you have to make it. Once it goes to zero you’re in a tough spot since you have to convince someone you can turn it around (with no prior success). Highly unlikely.

      Remember your question was surviving negative cash flow, if you meant success in general it would be pure skills (no talent = no chance).

      Reply
      • AvatarAnonymous says

        December 27, 2018 at 1:55 am

        Thanks. I’m guessing when given the choice of (a) $X where X is a lot of money and (b) the skills to make X, you would pick (b) so you could make X multiple times over.

      • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

        December 27, 2018 at 11:46 am

        Yes

  2. AvatarSpouse Stall Close No.3 says

    December 27, 2018 at 1:34 am

    Do you see Communism becoming a reality in the USA within our lifetimes? If so, will it be addressed on the site in the future? As it would affect everyone’s finances.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 1:38 am

      Funny question! No don’t see it. If we see it happen we’ll definitely write a post on leaving the country.

      Reply
  3. AvatarAndy says

    December 27, 2018 at 1:59 am

    What “skills” you would recommend that someone can learn to make money online?
    I know you guys are big on copywriting but I am below average in it(improving slowly)
    The end goal is business but not really in a situation to start one right now.(Saving every penny for it)
    Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:45 am

      The only skills you need: Design and any type of sales

      There are no other skills, if you can sell something and make it look good… that’s really all there is. Everything else is riff raff.

      Reply
  4. AvatarSoftwareDev1234 says

    December 27, 2018 at 4:03 am

    I’m 2 years out of college working as a software engineer. Work for a small startup with a lot of funding (owned by a blue chip company) in a big city but not SF/NYC. Making about the average software dev comp. In the past year I broke my back for the company by working long hours (first dev hired) with the expectation that I would be rewarded at the end of the year. Had a good performance review but the company only gave me a 3% raise in my base (even more pathetic when you look at inflation). I feel like the “company man” guy from one of your posts.

    I want more money. Step one is going to be taking the foot of the gas pedal at work and starting an online biz but when I go back I want to negotiate a raise in the ballpark of 10%, not 3%. How would you recommend I approach asking for more?

    Thanks for taking the time!

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:44 am

      Wouldn’t waste your time begging for 7%.

      Either 1) start the business or 2) get another offer somewhere else.

      If you just try to ask for money they will label you as a complainer who can be fired immediately. The only item that talks for you is a job offer.

      Reply
      • AvatarSoftwareDev1234 says

        December 27, 2018 at 12:04 pm

        That’s what I was worried about. I went into the performance review prepared with a deck etc. and they were like “yup you did great but company is only in a position for 3%” makes my blood boil. Really went out of my way to knock it out the park this year but oh well live and learn I guess.

        Will be doing both. Thanks for taking the time.

  5. AvatarMartin says

    December 27, 2018 at 5:23 am

    I assume you’re set for life now. Since you no longer worry about money, you probably don’t set financial goals anymore. What other goals do you pursue now? How do you spend your days nowadays to feel fulfilled and have a sense of meaning?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:43 am

      This was quite literally in the book! In a sentence below.

      The goal now is earn more (or the same) with less hours.

      Also #1 priority is health and free time. Only way to work hard is if there is something really exciting with a lot of upside

      Reply
  6. AvatarLostBanker says

    December 27, 2018 at 6:50 am

    Background:
    – 3rd world immigrant inspired by WSP to get into Wall Street
    – Finished Masters at a Top tier school in order to break in
    – Broke in and 1yr working for top BB in an IB analyst function
    – Hate the hours and the job itself
    – Living in a low COL zone, therefore salary is not up to par with the street
    – Main goal is to start a business in the long term
    – However, have the opportunity to work for FAANG in a Project Management position next year

    Question:

    Would you consider switching to Tech for a ~110k salary and significant lower hours in order to start a venture?

    or Keep grinding in banking until a significant amount of money has been saved?(Age is 25 with a negative networth due to some student loans)

    Happy Holidays!

    WSP we really appreciate your help.

    PS: A combination of this blog and Wall Street Oasis changed my life.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:42 am

      Stick it out in banking, it’s awful but if you’re in debt and need to climb out of a hole… Banking is the easiest way to do it.

      The longer you survive the better, those other corporate positions will be there when you need it

      Reply
  7. AvatarAC says

    December 27, 2018 at 7:53 am

    1) What are your thoughts on Stem cells?

    2) For the 3% risk free return are you buying a CD from your bank account or you are using a financial services broker like Interactive Brokers? Looking for options if you are not living in the US.

    Thanks, Happy Holidays!

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:37 am

      1) Fantastic will help solve a lot of injuries in the future. Have actually used stem cell treatment before and it worked. Took more time than expected but the result was positive
      2) We don’t know how it works outside of the USA, simply search aggressively for the highest rates and if you can’t get exactly 3% maybe you get 2.75%, good enough!

      Reply
  8. AvatarMBA Mayhem says

    December 27, 2018 at 8:30 am

    Background: FP&A at F500. Now evaluating 2 offers post-MBA. Age 30+. Could not get IB offers.

    Firm 1: PE FoF ($1 billion fund based in NY)
    – Pros: Higher base and with carried interest.
    – Cons: Poor and non-transferable skill set as does secondaries / co-investments.

    Firm 2: VC fund ($150 million fund based in NY)
    – Pros: More interesting work + build a transferrable skillset.
    – Cons: Lower pay and bonus. No carried interest. New fund so no track record.

    Question 1: What to consider?
    Question 2: Which to take?

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:35 am

      Doesn’t help if we don’t know how much you’re worth.

      If you’re rich, it doesnt matter. If you are not rich, you should choose Firm 1 and work on a real business on the side.

      Seems like you’re not focusing on important questions: http://wallstreetplayboys.com/think-like-youre-in-the-1-focus-energy-on-important-questions/

      Reply
  9. AvatarMichalis says

    December 27, 2018 at 8:39 am

    Thoughts on preparing for a first child and balancing all of life’s responsibilities before/after, even if you don’t have any children.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:34 am

      As you know we don’t answer when we don’t know… and we don’t know.

      Since you added the caveat we’d guess the biggest issue is cash flow and time. So make sure you have extra time and money for the first 5 years so they can grow up and then reduce your time commitment. Probably the worst place on the internet to ask about this topic

      Reply
  10. AvatarTouristTrap says

    December 27, 2018 at 9:01 am

    1) If forced to leave U.S., which country would you guys become expats in and why?

    2) For motivational e-products targeting younger (18-25) women, what are the best marketing channels? (e.g. social media, influencers, paid traffic, blog advertising)

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:32 am

      1) Not sure, if forced would probably choose a beach town in Europe. Really haven’t thought about this one much
      2) we don’t know as we never sold such a product, our info wouldn’t be useful here unfortunately

      Reply
  11. AvatarChris says

    December 27, 2018 at 9:24 am

    Question: Apply for McKinsey and have them pay for my MBA, then switch to investment banking. OR pay for cheaper MBA in Scotland and apply directly to banking, while doing emergency shifts to pay bills. Or apply for analyst internship in banking. Or back to uni 3 years and study mathematics.

    If you cannot comment because of no knowledge of how UK finance works:

    I’ve noticed some pro Bono ads on your website lately (mainly medscape). What’s your personal stance on giving to charity?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:30 am

      We would go with the Free MBA. That is an easy call. worst case you work at a top consulting place and can leave start something earlier.

      End of day career changes don’t matter as we have stated millions of times here, only thing that matters is ownership and equity long term if you want to be rich

      Reply
  12. AvatarFernando says

    December 27, 2018 at 9:48 am

    Advice to a 25-year old? Spent time studying liberal arts, writing novels and music (ofc no one cares). Too late to go to college to become an engineer? Maybe learn a trade?Should I get a job to cover the bills, working at a business on the side? Problem is I’ve got a hard time making money. I tend to be drawn to unlucrative fields (like arts)… Affiliate marketing perhaps?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:29 am

      In your case easy answer, Sales. Unless you have a tech background then go to a coding school and go into tech.

      Reply
  13. AvatarInProgress says

    December 27, 2018 at 10:04 am

    Currently in the phase of having a couple of weeks of focused work followed by few days of slacking and getting distracted.

    Do you have any actionable advice on improving work ethics (other than gradually working on will power and the post from recent graduate about developing habits)?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 2:14 pm

      No we don’t. As we’ve said motivation is for the weak, just realize you’re getting older by the second.

      Unless you’re already at your quit number, you should be working like a maniac

      Reply
  14. AvatarAnthony says

    December 27, 2018 at 10:40 am

    Should I be concerned with social media pages for an affiliate site or focus on the site itself?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:28 am

      Depends on what type you’re doing. But. Push comes to shove just get the website working and ads working. Everything else is secondary

      Reply
  15. AvatarCopywritingRonin says

    December 27, 2018 at 10:47 am

    Question: Which living situation is the better option for long-term career progression and wealth creation.

    Cities are:
    1. Scranton, PA.
    2. Fort Collins Co,

    Rent is $400 per month and solid job prospects in both places.

    My background is in sales and technology.

    Thank You.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:27 am

      Won’t make a big difference but we’d go with Colorado as it has a bigger tech franchise.

      Neither spot is going to change your life since we’re guessing they are basic positions that don’t make $500K+

      Reply
  16. AvatarPeter says

    December 27, 2018 at 10:56 am

    2) Should I continue to dollar cost average into the S&P (been doing it for 2 years) or should I take the money I’ve been investing and more aggressively grow my crypto position?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:26 am

      We are doing cash, crypto (since it crashed could go lower) and bonds now. Up to you as we don’t know your age

      Reply
      • AvatarPeter says

        December 27, 2018 at 11:41 am

        22 years old, in IB, risk on, leads itself to more crypto! Thanks guys!

  17. AvatarPete says

    December 27, 2018 at 10:57 am

    1) What sources do you guys use to keep up with the financial markets and cyrpto, how do you guys stay up to date in an efficient manner?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:24 am

      As stated before we don’t. In triangle investing you see our long-term views (10-20 years) and other than that we dollar cost average into indexes.

      So essentially all we do is three things 1) identify a long-term trend get in 10 years early, 2) dollar cost into indexes as long as valuations are within 20% of the average and 3) go into cash when valuations are 30% too high. Same old same old! We don’t read much news at all since it adds no value.

      Reply
  18. AvatarSO says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:03 am

    I’m in my early-20s following your risk-on strategy from Triangle Investing. Given the dip in the stock markets right now, it seems really tempting to buy stocks in “solid” companies (oil, banks, etc.) at discount prices.

    I have no finance background and I realize that what I’m suggesting, is to time the market. How dumb is this? Would you change any advice from the book due to the recent correction?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 2:13 pm

      Stocks look cheap on the way down, so instead wait for it to break the average then look.

      If you’re young you’re wasting your time, you need $1M to really care about investing.

      Otherwise every cent should go to starting a biz.

      Reply
  19. Avatarkowloonboys says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:13 am

    Read couple of your CFA/MBA posts. Decided to go for CFA 1 to prove that I am somehow financial literate. How do I use it in case I need to change career during the coming recession?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 2:11 pm

      It won’t do much just knock it out and apply for as many positions as possible. It improves your chances maybe 15% for an entry level position.

      Reply
  20. AvatarGreg says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:20 am

    Just starting to get into side business. Will be selling basic jewelry as a test to start off, so low risk of massive legal liability/likely no need for corporate veil for now.

    Worth it to incorporate company? I’ll need to incorporate eventually anyway, but right now I feel like going thru incorporation process will kill my momentum.

    Thoughts? When did you incorporate? Thx.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:25 am

      No information is available that is helpful we can’t answer this. If you’re at $0 in revenue, it doesn’t really matter how you incorporate. If you scale you’ll be doing an S-corp.

      Reply
  21. AvatarOopsies says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:24 am

    -Currently capping out commission pot in low end B2C sales which before tax works out at about $4000 pm. Been here 10 months

    -I have 2 options:
    1) Stay here for another 6-12 months , saving and building a stellar sales record, then and to a B2B hub (better city)
    2) Take a promotion internally that was offered. Consulting. Exposure to senior staff (“C-suit and department heads and decision makers), less pay, more responsibility. Do *this* for 6-12 months then look at B2B with a clear promotion and more experience under belt.

    Do you think it’s worth sticking to what I’ve got at low end retail sales and smashing it out for a bit, also start plastering the walls with applications and cold calls? or would the experience in proper business decisions like vendors we use, etc. and working close to senior management be better in terms of making the jump towards enterprise?

    You guys were wall st so might be difficult to say if industry specific. Maybe it’s simpler than I’m making it.

    Cheers

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:40 am

      Take the promotion and use that white collar position to start a business, like the prior comment this is about time not a few extra dollars here and there.

      http://wallstreetplayboys.com/think-like-youre-in-the-1-focus-energy-on-important-questions/

      Reply
  22. AvatarStandup says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:27 am

    My #1 talent is stand up comedy

    #2 is SEO affiliate marketing niche sites

    I’m rubbish at all your other careers.

    I know you don’t have any experience in the Arts space, but some of you guys seem to have been near pro level athletes which is basically the same as trying to make it in art (winner takes all)

    Do I go all in on my #1 talent or should I still spend about 10 hours a week running & growing my affiliate sites as a backup plan?

    About 65% of my articles rank 1st/2nd/3rd place google in 4-8 months no link building so the idea of walking away completely from affiliate sites makes me cringe

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:39 am

      Well if it’s a winner take all market you need to figure out if you legitimately have a shot at it. Have someone who does not know you grade your performance. This will help you get an idea.

      If you’re good at SEO we see no reason you can’t do both.

      Reply
  23. AvatarWill says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:40 am

    About to make a major move to diversify income streams. Currently making a killing in Real Estate investing (~$1 Mil/year)

    Want to branch out into online product sales with a mentoring programs and looking for a competent paid coach to get me up to speed on internet marketing, specifically in the realm of online product sales of an information product in the shortest time. I know there’s 30 DaystoX and all the other forums like StackThatMoney but I have enough money to be able to spend on the best training so I don’t waste any time in the learning process. Is Russell Brunson’s mastermind program for $10K legit? Literally only thing thing holding me back from pulling the trigger is that ClickFunnels is so widely used that I’m afraid the advice I’ll get will be too watered down and mainstream to be effective. Much thanks in advance for your help, you guys are amazing!

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:48 am

      We can’t recommend a single program, practically all of them are scams. You have to just “start” from the bottom and figure it out yourself through the advice given in the book. It’s the only legitimate way unless you get connected to someone.

      Reply
      • AvatarWill says

        December 27, 2018 at 11:53 am

        Sounds fair enough. I still remember in that section of the Efficiency where you mentioned that close to 100% of so called marketing geniuses that hit it out of the park the first year are using Cloaking and other shady tactics.

        Was just trying to leverage money to find a shortcut lol

    • AvatarManchesterBoy says

      December 28, 2018 at 7:12 am

      Will – i would not pay for high ticket courses. Instead, go to niche forums / groups of online business owners (ecommerce fuel / dynamite circle are good examples) – Post what you have just put, and you may be able to get one on one time with someone legit who is “in the trenches” rather than someone who is purely making money selling courses. HTH.

      Reply
  24. AvatarHiggs Boson says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:41 am

    If you were a career person in your early 30’s and looking to transition to starting a business within the next year, would you rather work at:

    1) Company that pays less cash. More equity. Industry related to business interests

    Or

    2) Company that pays significantly more cash. No equity. Industry not related to business interests

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 11:47 am

      Option one only if it gives you an ability to really learn a skill that gets you ahead. Otherwise cash wins.

      Reply
  25. AvatarTech bro says

    December 27, 2018 at 12:06 pm

    1. Do you believe in/ how do you decide whether to give people 2nd chances. Example: new business associate dropping the ball on something important once – whether to let go (‘people don’t change’) or give 2nd chance.

    2. Is there any point of paying back a <4% pa loan more aggressively than just regular monthly payments, when you can make 7% dollar cost averaging or more by deploying this amount into your own business?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 1:48 pm

      1) no, 90% of time people don’t change
      2) yes, if you believe the market will decline then you are better off with the guaranteed 4% pay down. Your call my man!

      Reply
      • AvatarTech bro says

        December 27, 2018 at 3:40 pm

        Hoping to sneak one more question in: in triangle’s RE section you mention ‘we’re looking for high cash flow, high income properties (we’re not interested in chasing price appreciation)’. Why aren’t you interested in ‘chasing appreciation’? A lot of RE investors have got v rich off appreciation.

      • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

        December 27, 2018 at 3:48 pm

        Since it’s a third stream of income we’re looking for cash flow not paper gains.

        Just a difference in preference

  26. AvatarMarc A says

    December 27, 2018 at 1:19 pm

    Which option would you choose for a ecomm business selling consumable products, using drop shipping to start and a $2,000 initial budget?

    Option 1)Spend $600 to private label 4 products with my own branding but only be able to start by selling 4 products.
    Option 2)Put the $600 towards ads(FB and Google AdWords aren’t an option due to the nature of what I sell- possibly will try FB anyway given the twitter post you made about their stock decline) and sell my suppliers branded products to start and test 15-20+ products, see what works, then private label.

    Thanks for the great content!

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 1:46 pm

      Tough call but we would go with option one, if you have a background in selling it should result in higher risk/reward outcome.

      If you are newer and just want experience go with option 2 much less upside though as you aren’t building a brand.

      Reply
  27. AvatarTechSalesLatino says

    December 27, 2018 at 1:31 pm

    Here is my current situation:
    -$60k/year+$7k (signing bonus) in Dallas fresh out of school.
    -after 6 months of training I go into an 18 month rotation, before going on quota, where I get paid in MBO’s and would creep close to $100k/yr If I hit my goals, more If I surpass them.
    -My company offers top notch training and has a good level of prestige.

    I am not a fan of waiting 2 years before making REAL money, although the training, network and resume value has opened doors at other big wig companies.

    Would I be better off waiting it out or looking for a switch after I get a year in with good numbers ?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 1:43 pm

      Not going to make a difference, would get the sales numbers up and spend less than 0.01% of your time looking for other options.

      If you want to make real money you have to start a biz. Otherwise you’re doing the right thing, go into sales in a performance based position. Don’t see a real question here, stick with anything that is performance based. You should be up to your eyeballs in work trying to start a real biz already.

      Reply
      • AvatarTechSalesLatino says

        December 28, 2018 at 2:59 am

        I am leaning towards being the career guy mentioned in Efficiency. My goal is to get to VP of sales level by my 30’s (salaries can be near $400-$500k in the right company.)

        Having said that, I am looking at copywriting courses to learn and use it to create a business that way.

    • Avatarwayneredacted says

      December 27, 2018 at 3:28 pm

      i believe i know which company you’re working for and can answer this question in very valuable detail, specific to that company

      i believe you’re located in northwest Dallas close to the airport. if so, dm me on twitter @wayneredacted

      Reply
  28. AvatarJivesh neetye says

    December 27, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    Hi , I just graduated from college in marketing and would like to go in advertising.
    Would you recommend a career in the advertising industry? And how to get into the industry?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 3:29 pm

      Absolutely not, our career recommendations are in Efficiency no other solutions.

      Sales is probably best for you to get rich.

      Also we have never worked in ads for a reason (automation of digital advertising in the future).

      Reply
  29. AvatarJoe Blow says

    December 27, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    The current B2B sales cycle for a $100k per year service:
    Cold email -> phone call (on same day or a few days after) -> live presentation (on call or few days after call) -> payment terms -> profit

    Currently it takes 3-4 weeks to close deals.

    How to *shorten* the sales cycle and build up trust more efficiently/create urgency?

    Target group are intelligent people, so saying the Kardashians are buying the whole thing in 2 weeks won’t work

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 3:27 pm

      Buy leads in that case, if the leads are good you don’t have to cold email and the sales are faster and more consistent

      Reply
      • AvatarJoe Blow says

        December 27, 2018 at 3:37 pm

        Thank you.

        We are already getting lead lists from our virtual assistants. We provide keywords (mostly our target group which are saas/ecommerce biz), get a list and then cold email.

        Don’t quite understand what you mean with getting even more qualified leads. Aren’t leads always cold when you buy them?

        May seem like a dumb question, but I have no clue how to get more qualified leads.

      • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

        December 27, 2018 at 3:38 pm

        There isn’t much else you can do in that case, outsource the sales funnel so you only close the deals etc. Just a volume game of contacting millions of people to sell the product. No way to short cut that biz model.

  30. AvatarHDV says

    December 27, 2018 at 3:09 pm

    In two years, I’m leaving the business I started with a partner with ~$50 million in cash. I could live comfortably with 3% every year instead of risk losing it in a new venture. I have a finance background and could easily multiply that return. But I will be in the mid-30s still. Would you risk it or manage the money?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 3:26 pm

      Congratulations!

      You can do whatever you want. Our choice would be to 1) calculate how much you want to spend per year, then put millions into risk free to match that amount + 10% buffer, 2) rest invest into what you think will get better returns

      This makes you set for life and also juice the returns

      Reply
  31. AvatarTony says

    December 27, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    Background:
    – 23 y/o
    – Work in asset management, sales, NYC
    – Gross income of $115k

    First off, thank you for the legwork you gentlemen put into this blog. I’ve gained a lot from Efficiency and could not agree more that starting your own business is the key to getting rich. However, I’m currently in the process of building out several income streams through real estate to get the cash flow going. Right now, I have one rental property that generates $1,000/month net. Do you believe I should continue to scale this out or focus entirely on an online biz?

    Thanks!
    T

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 3:31 pm

      Real estate is a perfectly fine way to get rich. Only do online sales if you have free time.

      If you are good at RE that’s a perfectly fine second source to build

      You can do online sales after RE deals are no longer attractive. We did the reverse, online then RE

      Reply
    • AvatarCanadianRE says

      December 28, 2018 at 11:44 am

      This is pretty much me. Bought my first property around 21.

      Currently own 7 properties in my city. Each property cash flows just north of 1000$ per month net.

      Did this while working full time. Going to retire from the day job next year, and use that time to solidify my RE portfolio, and start building online income.

      Reply
      • AvatarUKRE says

        December 28, 2018 at 1:02 pm

        how are you guys doing 1k / month from a property?

        is the gameplan: buy with low deposit, rent out + make money on rent / mortgage spread?

        in the UK you will be lucky to hit 100 / month on that (unless property is 800k+)

      • AvatarManchesterBoy says

        December 29, 2018 at 8:47 am

        @UKRE – Heres an example property i own here in the UK. Freehold building split into 3 x 2 bed apartments. Purchase price was £245,000. 25% down payment. Loan @ around 4%. Cashflow is £900 per month. They are tough to find, but they do pop up from time to time.

  32. Avatarja says

    December 27, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    1. Do you guys have experience with cold calling? If so any tips or resources to get better at it?

    2. Any chance of some new RE Guy or Ownmyhood content?

    Thanks, Merry Christmas+ Happy New Year

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 3:40 pm

      1) no online sales was the only path, never did that
      2) sure if they read this maybe they will want to do another post, they are welcome any time but seem to be quite busy lately!

      Reply
    • AvatarAcheron says

      January 3, 2019 at 4:42 pm

      I’ve got this one, was an SDR for a year, recently got promoted to Account Exec. John Barrows on Youtube has the best cold calling content you can find. Super actionable info, you can try everything he suggests and test it out right away. Had a lot of success and improved my conversion rates exponentially with that info.

      Reply
  33. AvatarIgor says

    December 27, 2018 at 4:02 pm

    Do you have recommendations for FB Ads resources?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 4:09 pm

      No we do not, your best bet is the same, copy the ads of competitors. It’s how the industry works

      Reply
  34. Avatarsteven says

    December 27, 2018 at 4:27 pm

    I know in the book #1 thing is sales and business.

    But for high paying careers, been applying and preparing for interviews for high paying positions. I

    What’s the best thing to keep in mind when talking to hiring managers, or best thing to do to prepare?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 4:37 pm

      All an interview is “what can he do for me”

      So just put yourself in the managers position and spin all your experience to match what he wants. That’s really all it is, rest is just sales.

      Reply
  35. AvatarPromoteContent says

    December 27, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    With respect to the upcoming recession and the bear market, do you think it’s wise to become involved in copywriting in the real estate niche?

    I’m thinking as opposed to copywriting for more mundane everyday items (sold in funnels and so on) that people likely have to cut back on buying once they start losing their jobs, their homes and so on.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 4:43 pm

      Even in bear markets there is still demand, copy writing could be used for another product.

      So not sure what the question is here, copy writing is a life long skill that will make money in any market. Just more lucrative in booming markets.

      Reply
      • AvatarPromoteContent says

        December 27, 2018 at 5:02 pm

        I just have this thing in my head that all these entrepreneurs who currently make money selling flashlights and so on through Clickfunnels will have a harder time selling when the recession hits. Some of them have gotten very rich very fast in a bull market.

        As opposed to real estate which will always be there, particularly those big apartment multiplexes in large US cities that have great locations.

      • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

        December 27, 2018 at 5:04 pm

        that is true, those discretionary items get killed. Instead though you’ll see an increase in sales for skin care/cosmetics as women try to look better to search for a rich man, happened in 2008/2009… hint hint on what you should sell in a down turn

  36. AvatarTactician says

    December 27, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    Do You think it is Diabolical what Deep Soy has done To the Millennials?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 5:32 pm

      Do people still make soy jokes, it has been about 2 years now… We don’t really follow that stuff

      Reply
  37. AvatarSiddha says

    December 27, 2018 at 5:18 pm

    Why did you delete your old drug post from the blog?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 5:31 pm

      Attracted too many idiots and weirdos. Filtered them out

      Reply
      • AvatarSiddha says

        December 27, 2018 at 5:51 pm

        Got it. Never had a chance to see it but saw some old tweets about it and was just interested in your take.

  38. AvatarLord Wilmore says

    December 27, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    What do you think about peak-oilers and doomers in general who think that the world economy is about to collapse?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 5:31 pm

      Nothing at all, there are always doomsday people out there. They aren’t relevant

      Reply
  39. Avatarc says

    December 27, 2018 at 5:54 pm

    I’m selling a high ticket, done-for-you service (completely hands off on the customer’s end)

    Traffic – value/sales video – application – call – profit

    What are some key questions to ask on the application form to qualify my prospects and to preframe them for buying?

    I’ve already got a question asking how much they’re willing to invest

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 6:20 pm

      cannot help here as we do not know, we don’t sell high ticket items. We’ve dropped enough hints on what we’ve sold and unfortunately that’s not one of them

      Actually just realized we’d do the same thing, copy the sales funnel of a competitor ha! So same answer as regular products, copy their questionnaires and make edits

      Reply
    • AvatarMG says

      December 28, 2018 at 1:48 pm

      WSP nailed it here. Seen a lot of these funnels up close. Look around for competitors or high ticket coaching funnels to get a good idea.

      It’s a filtering mechanism so basically should fill the qualifying step in your sales process. What makes a good buyer? Ask about their current situation, desired situation, 1-10 desire to get it, open ended questions etc.

      Reply
  40. AvatarDr. Liquidity says

    December 27, 2018 at 6:16 pm

    Thank you for your wisdom, utmost respect and admiration.

    There are many “influencers” and gurus (particularly in ecommerce) online selling courses, get rich schemes, doing “personal branding” and showing off a lot of shiny objects trying to appear rich on Instagram and Youtube.

    Should these “flexers” be ignored and the best thing to do is focus on selling product online without putting one’s identity out on social media?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 6:22 pm

      Not sure what you mean, if it creates sales (photos of ferraris and lambos done by photoshoots) then do it. All depends on what you’re selling

      If you’re selling a basic product, instagram accounts of fake cars and jets isn’t going to do you any good

      Reply
    • AvatarMoneytrain says

      December 27, 2018 at 10:05 pm

      Here’s Alex Becker’s most recent on going down the Gooroo path: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go-nAxSesw4

      Food for thots

      Reply
  41. AvatarAnonymous says

    December 27, 2018 at 6:48 pm

    24, stupid choices didn’t go university when younger. Read efficiency, and just starting to build a biz but got an offer from a top 50 university now. Could get an ROI but I may be too old already. Should I take it or nah?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 6:54 pm

      Tough call if you can go to school for free then sure.

      Otherwise we’d go the trade route and start a biz, your shoes RE is prob the best option by far. Get cash flow then go RE, there are many posts on this blog on getting started there.

      Reply
  42. AvatarPP says

    December 27, 2018 at 6:59 pm

    Recently started a private label on Amazon under the kitchen / giftable category. It costs under $25 and sold well. It’s a generic product but the design and packaging is pretty.

    I’m looking to develop the brand and drive more traffic outside of Amazon with plans of launching more products. I have very little experience outside of Amazon. What is the most important thing for me to focus on/do first?

    Thank you for your help, any advice is appreciated.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 7:43 pm

      Easy
      1) see if you can get it to convert with ads
      2) if that fails go with trying to get influencers to promote your stuff (give out freebies)

      You want to build a customer base and recognition outside of search terms on Amazon.

      Reply
      • AvatarPp says

        December 28, 2018 at 12:51 am

        Thanks. I have a website built but the “buy” button leads to Amazon’s listing page.

        I’m guessing for 1) the route is, send ads to website, collect emails and test to see how well they convert.

        Any particular ad platforms you recommend?

  43. AvatarAnonymous says

    December 27, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    I am 32 German in Germany, single, profit/year (before taxes) 50k-200k €(Amazon FBA, dropshipping), net worth: 400k €. Tax rate: ca. 40% and big regulations, speak german, english, french and a little mandarin.

    Should I move to another country for tax/regulation purposes or try to increase my income first?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 7:27 pm

      Too high of tax rate would move unless it would impact your biz that’s awfully high!

      Reply
  44. AvatarAlex says

    December 27, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    I quit my job at the small PE shop as per your recommendation and got a job as an account exec for a payments company startup!

    Any advice on how to negotiate initial salary or specific employment clauses to protect myself? initial offer is 50k (Canadian) base with commission and 1% equity over 4 years.

    I understand crypto is poised to disrupt payments. I will carefully watch the space and invest a % into crypto to hedge myself. (while building my business on the side)

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 7:41 pm

      Not sure why you would waste that time on a $50K job… we honestly don’t know as negotiating entry level positions is usually bad roi. Makes them dislike you up front, better to be well liked politically so you hours are lower than be disliked with an extra $100-200 a month

      We’d spend time focusing on a new biz ASAP and avoid worrying about the small things, not worth the brain drain.

      Reply
      • AvatarAlex says

        December 27, 2018 at 8:26 pm

        Seems like my best option atm. Company is seeing some great traction at the moment so the equity could be worth quite a bit. Just have to hope crypto doesn’t take over the world in the next 4 years.

        My goal is to save 50k usd for a business and it seems achievable with the commission structure. – living expenses in the city are pretty low and I’ll be able to network into a better sales job if it doesn’t work out.

      • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

        December 27, 2018 at 8:27 pm

        Perfect

  45. Avatardamon says

    December 27, 2018 at 7:51 pm

    25 years old, recently had a one-time event windfall of $100K. Was planning to use it to buy real estate, something similar to your quad-plex strategy but agree with you guys on timing. Not really looking to hide in cash for a year though (3% is only $3K). What would you do if you were in my shoes?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 7:55 pm

      Start a biz, active income is “forced” returns. You’re too young to care about set it and forget it options.

      If you really don’t want to do that, then you have to do a fixer upper in real estate and learn that one the hard way.

      Both choices require you to spend time, since forced returns are the best ones in a weaker market.

      Reply
      • Avatardamon says

        December 27, 2018 at 8:04 pm

        Perfect, thanks

  46. AvatarD says

    December 27, 2018 at 7:58 pm

    As ETH is used for ICOs some people sayits not good for long term hold. What’s your take on that?

    At what criteria would you consider starting to invest vs putting money back into business?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 8:20 pm

      1) Disagree the whole point is to get more Dapps on there. We’re still early and all crypto that we know today could go to zero. That said don’t know how they would be able to help get more dapps on the platform without funding.

      2) If you think your returns would be under 20%. Since it’s active income it better be 20% or better otherwise not worth the stress

      Reply
  47. AvatarKeyser says

    December 27, 2018 at 8:00 pm

    Do you think a free MBA (top 15 school w/ a fellowship) is worth the time in your mid20s, or is it better to go all in with building a business? I agree w/ you guys that the ROI on an MBA is not great ($150k + 2 years of lost money/time) but is it worth taking it with minimal financial cost and less opportunity cost with work (can still make some money with career). Main loss is time invested into side biz.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 8:18 pm

      Only go to MBA for free, if it isn’t free forget about it. If it’s free start side biz while in school. No real exceptions here unless it’s harvard or something insane with a guaranteed huge career after.

      Do as you wish though, this is just our view

      Reply
  48. AvatarDG1 says

    December 27, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    Corporate reorganization taking place as a result of the company I work for making a big acquisition. I played the office politics well and leveraged it to get a better position, higher comp, working with the team rainmaker early in my career, great opportunities etc. With the reorganization, senior leadership is changing and all the people I had built relationships with internally may be out or in a weaker position.

    Any advice on how to navigate such situations from a career perspective to maintain or keep momentum that I’ve worked on for years? It’s a fortune 250 company, I’m at global hq location, sector is finance and I’m 7yrs into my career (setting up side biz but that will take some time to launch and build momentum).

    Thanks as always

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 8:21 pm

      Sounds like you did it all correct. So not sure if there is a question here. You are already playing the game right now it’s time to scale at work and get out.

      Reply
      • AvatarDG1 says

        December 27, 2018 at 8:28 pm

        Sorry maybe I wasn’t too clear in phrasing it. With all the people I had played the game well with potentially in a weaker position or being forced out/leaving, I’m not sure if I’ll still get good ops or have a good income trajectory. Was wondering if you had any advice on how to navigate during such times since all my political positioning may be undone with all these potential changes. Sit tight, head down or back the folks who have helped me so far but may be losing their influence at the firm?

      • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

        December 27, 2018 at 9:05 pm

        That’s not possible for us to help, you have to make a judgement call on who will have the power and who to align with.

        In reality, it’s actually better to get laid off (keep head down) since you’ll have the cleanest excuse possible for being cut. “Change in work force due to acquisition” No one would even consider that a negative. You would be able to get some money and then just get another position, could be a blessing if played correctly.

  49. AvatarAndrew says

    December 27, 2018 at 8:18 pm

    Out of curiosity…

    Had two offers for my company/website:

    1) £2.3m cash + 1 year caretaker period. Sale to private company.
    2) £3m to public company. £1.5m cash + £1.5m stock. +£50k salary/£50k bonus per year. Two-year tie in period running the websites for them.

    OR

    Continue running the company/website, currently gross revenue £900k. Profit £650k.

    What would you do? Assuming no other details added. Revenue model is affiliate SEO. Commission a mixture of CPA/Rev share.

    I currently have about £1.2m of assets if you count cash, house equity and retirement accounts, trading accounts.

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 8:24 pm

      That is a very tough one, we’d go with running it for another 3 years or so, you’d have 3M then if you sold you’d get to at least 5M assuming you remain stable. If you’re ready to quit though then go with option 2 since you’ll do a poor job for 2 years and collect 3.2 million (don’t kid yourself you wont work hard for someone else for 50K/50K cash stock ha!)

      Reply
  50. Avataranonymous4 says

    December 27, 2018 at 9:31 pm

    1) Are you going to ASW in Jan

    2) If starting out would you suggest going all in on mastering paid traffic with something like native/fb or start building a brand and doing eCommerce?

    Reply
    • Wall Street PlayboysWall Street Playboys says

      December 27, 2018 at 10:17 pm

      1) no we are not
      2) we covered this in the book, we’d go with mastering paid traffic if you’re on a budget and no experience. If you have some money $50K+ you’re willing to risk and some transferable skills to sales then go with eCommerce. End of the day eCommerce is the only real solution long-term

      Reply
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply to Wall Street Playboys Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Advice From Real Wall Street Professionals

Subscriptions are for *future* products/services only. Your email is never shared.

Thanks!

Street Tweets

Working 60 hours a week in your 20s. The only thing you miss out on is “Un-happy hour” (bunch of complaining corporate get together). And... matinee movies on Sunday. You didn’t lose anything.

In order to actually care about bitcoin what is a socially acceptable amount to own (otherwise shouldn’t waste time talking about it). Should make this a social rule.

Follow @WallStPlayboys

Disclosure


Links to products contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking a link, we may receive a commission. This commission comes at no charge to you.