BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

Surfview Drive

So, Surfview Drive is where my grandparents lived in Cali when I was a little kid... They were at the very top of the street in the Pacific Palisades.

I've decided that I want to use Surfview as the name of my capital management/holding company.

As of right now, for all intents and purposes, it's not a real company.  It's just something I've decided to add to kind of connect the past and present.

Plus it just sounds cool.

I plan to get some business cards made up, just for fun as a party gag.  Who knows, maybe one day I'll actually incorporate it legitimately with that name, or another name.  I haven't decided yet.

Right now what I'm doing, is I'm taking the money that I've received in various capacities, be it trust receipts, estate receipts, or my own personal income from the years I've worked my 9-5 job.

All of this money, is becoming capital for future investments.  I plan to take all this capital to make investments... then, the returns on those investments... Will be used for further, future investments.

Waves of investments.  Each future wave, funded from previous waves.

So, my made up company is... Surfview Capital.  It will hold investments, at first, in boring crap.  Stocks, bonds, whatever.

Once those are all in place... it will then begin making investments in private equity.  Friends that want to make music, or movies... books... my own stuff as well.

I may make an entire holding company and then have that company hold sub companies...

Surfview Studios, Surfview Productions, Surfview Records...

Whatever.  It's all just for fun at this point.

Right now, it's just the fictitious name I've decided to give my investments, so I can be the president and CEO of my investment company.  I'm my only client, and it's all my stuff that I'm investing.

My goal at the moment is just to learn, focus on growing the investments and building up a steady income coming off those investments.

Basically build something that can't be stopped.  Just build up an entire mountain of investments and income... That even if I just slept all day, interest on the capital would keep coming in to no end.

Surfview Capital can then use that money coming in off the investments, to invest in new things... While keeping the old investments as a bedrock foundation.

That way, if a more risky investment fails... There's the next round of interest right around the corner, and the next investment.

Anyways, right now, it's just small change... It's just small potatoes.

But the wheels are already in motion.  My current income from my investments is over 1200 bucks from January 1st until today.  If I did nothing, didn't make any future trades, made no further action on the investments...

This time next year, I'd have another 1200, or actually since I've added the past few months several new investments... It would be more like 2 or 3 grand.  It would just keep coming in...

I wouldn't have to do anything.  The money would just keep coming.

This is my first goal.

To set something up where... interest just flows... like a river.

Like waves on the ocean that surfers catch.  They just keep coming.

See, the real reason for all this is... I want to fund creative ventures.  I want to make music, write books, produce films... I have LOTS of ideas for things.

I want this to be the start.  The problem is.. It's HARD to do creative things when you work 9-5 Monday through Friday 40 hours a week.

It's just hard to dedicate that time on top of having a 9 to 5 job.

But, I'm not one to leap before I look.  I want to replace my current job salary with an alternate passive investment salary.

This is what I'm doing with my investment account.

Once that has completed... I'll leave my current job and transition over to creative ventures and projects.

I'm actually really excited about it.  It gives me something to look forward to.  It's not that I hate the whole 9 to 5 thing... Or IT work... But it's just not my passion.  My passion is the creative stuff.  When I think of actually being excited about going to work each morning when my eyes first open...

That's books/music/films... Venture capital.

It's not... An IT guy 9 to 5.

I don't get in my car on my way to work and say to myself... I CAN'T WAIT to work on things at work today...

I say to myself...I can't wait until AFTER work when I can work more on this song I'm recording.

I can't wait until AFTER work when I can do investment research.

I can't wait until AFTER work when I can work on my books...

Etc. Etc.

But, I'm a responsible person and a realistic person... So, I'm going to go about it in a way that is sustainable and responsible.

I need health insurance... I have bills to pay with owning  a house... Electric bills and water and gas bills, and home insurance, and property taxes don't pay themselves.

So, I work a 9-5 tech IT job... Until Surfview Capital has sufficient investment income stream to replace my current salary.  Then I work on creative ventures full time.

It's not a matter of IF it happens... It's a matter of when.

When my investment income outpaces my job income... That's the when.

Right now I don't have an ACTUAL time frame... Just a goal of 2 to 3 years.  So, we'll see how it goes.  The good news is, a few of my dividend producing stocks recently increased their divided payout.  One actually gave me a 10 percent raise!  That means, by simply sitting here and continuing to hold my shares, I'll be making 10 percent MORE this next year for my 4 quarterly dividend payments than I did last year.

Some of my other dividend producing stocks that I hold in my portfolio have also incrementally increased payouts... some 5 percent, another 2 percent.

So, that means... Given a long enough time line... If nothing else... As my investments continue to not only pay me income, but increase the amount of income they pay me on a regular basis...

It's only a matter of time until my investment salary as hedge fund manager at Surfview Capital outpaces my 9 to 5 day job salary.

Pretty cool eh?

I think so.

But again, it's all just a hobby at this point.  I mean no one can live off 1200 bucks a year.  But, I'll check back in next year around this time and see where I'm at.