BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

Venturing

So, I've been kind of kicking around the idea of looking for a business investment.

Right now my investment portfolio is comprised of publicly listed stocks and bonds and ETFs etc. etc.

I think it would be interesting to make an investment in a business.  Take a small stake in something local... Find someone that wants to start something and needs some capital and go part way in... And in exchange I get part ownership and a small say.  Although, I'm not too interesting in being bossy, or any kind of boss.  I mostly just want to be a backseat driver and ask questions and just kind of let the other person run the show.  I just have a small vested interest.

I don't know much about how it would go down.

I feel like that private stuff is a little more risky and nebulous.  Like, there's always the risk that someone could be up to some shady shenanigans... Or there's always the risk that it tanks.

Stocks have these risks too, but, with the SEC regulation and mandator quarterly and annual reporting... Plus, the thing is, with stocks, you get dividends.  Okay, not ALWAYS, but the ones I prefer to own, there's dividends.

Also with stocks you can sell and buy on an open exchange.

Private business is tough, you have to negotiate sales of your stake in things, or purchases.  And who knows if the amount you're getting is a fair amount.

You kind of have to be a little bit sharky... I'm not sharky.

I feel like for now, I'll just stick with my general portfolio management of publicly traded securities.

Perhaps one day when I have enough to divide off where I could risk the loss and it wouldn't be all that painful, I'll step into funding a small business or something like that, or go in on a house flip...

See, that's the other thing too, the barriers to entry is a bit high.  With stocks, I could just get in with only even a thousand dollars to start a position, or sometimes less, depends on the share price.

One stock I bought was at 6 bucks a share when I bought it, so I bought 144 shares and let it ride.

It's hard to make a business deal with that small of a stake.  You have to do significantly higher amounts, and it's a big risk, at least to me...

But, I'll keep kicking around the idea, if I find something, I might be keen to invest.

I'd love to start kind of a mini venture fund and accept business plans and what not and browse through them and eventually invest in one out of 500 business plans that I received in exchange for shares, or part ownership.

Maybe I'll start looking around the Philly area here to see what the venture scene is like, I wouldn't mind going to a meet up or two.  I'm not about to write a check for like my entire savings, but hey maybe I'm wrong and there's an opportunity to help fund a startup with only a thousand dollars and get in as part ownership.  Never know.

Honestly, and I don't know how possible anything like this would be...

I'd love to kind of become an independent investor for specific groups of people...

This sounds weird... Or possible discriminatory?  And I don't know if I can get into any kind of hot water doing this, like legally, which is probably why I will just stick with publicly traded stocks and bonds and REITS and all that good stuff...

But I'm just curiously wondering, can I become an private investor for like... Let's say women entrepreneurs who are seeking capital for their business, you know?

 

Like there's that meetup group.  I randomly stumbled upon that... And was just like... Hmmm... You know... I wonder.

Again, maybe that's not allowed.

But, I'd love to kind of gear my resources toward places where resources generally aren't as much geared.

Like, there's still a wage gap between men and women, where women are generally paid less on average... So, if I gear my resources that I have at my disposal predominantly in that direction... Help women entrepreneurs.  Again, maybe that's illegal or something, but it's my own personal wealth, so I don't know if that same equal opportunity type lender rules would apply to an independent investor.  I feel like people with crazy amounts of money invest in very specific things all the time depending on their views in life.  I feel like I read news articles all the time about that.

I don't know, I'm just brainstorming here.

What I do know is that I want to eventually branch out my investments from traditional stocks and bonds and what not.

Maybe I could be a passive investor that specializes in investing in specific types of businesses.

Who knows.

I mean, I feel like most business owners don't need investors.  They already have what they need, hence, being in business.  Plus there's a million banks chomping at the bit to lend money out left and right,  So who am I?

I guess eventually the right thing will come along,  for now I just keep the course with my dividend investment plan of generating a solid income portfolio that has growing dividends.

Well, that's the extent of my musings for the evening.  Time to go to bed.