How To Create Financial Opportunities

Today is a momentous occasion for my journey as a blogger.  This is my 100th post!  For an educator, author, and investor, turned blogger and entrepreneur, I am pleased thus far with my outcomes.  I've made many new friends and contacts while blogging.  I've also set-up the start of what can be a nice little side business or even more one day.  All this being said, I'd like to mark the start of my next 100 posts by giving all of you a sneak peek of my newsletter for subscribers: Bold in America: How to create financial opportunities.  What follows is installment number one of many more to come.  If you like what you read, I urge you to consider subscribing to CCM blog.  Use the left sidebar, "Follow CCM by email…"  Enjoy!

Cosmo Kramer is one of my all-time favorite TV characters.  I could not get enough of him, watching him on Seinfeld during the nineties.  Although Kramer had many faults, brutal honesty and no tact to speak of (remember the Nose Job episode), for example, these never really got him in any trouble.  On the contrary, Kramer’s friends, Jerry, George, and Elaine, were often the ones to pay for his wacky antics.  This is not why I liked Kramer, however.

Kramer had many qualities I admired.  He was kind to his friends, serving as a referral and associate link to the things his friends needed.  Kramer was the most social out of the entire Seinfeld crew.  He always had multiple irons in the fire.  Hardly a scene was shot with him at a typical 9-5 job, unlike his buddy, George Costanza, the often unemployed and unskilled white-collar worker, yet Kramer could afford an apartment in Manhattan.  Sure he’d eat for free at Jerry’s place, but still, he knew how to make money when needed.  He is the poster child of hustling.  In fact, when asked on an episode by George how he makes a living, what was Kramer’s response?  “I get by.”

Kramer is the type of individual that would fall ass-backwards into a million dollar idea.  His signature on the show was violently sliding into Jerry’s apartment.  If that is not a metaphor for what to do given an opportunity, then I don’t know what is.  Jerry, of course, would leave his apartment door unlocked for Kramer all of the time.  Jerry, therefore, presented Kramer with the opportunity to come inside, eat whatever food was in the refrigerator, lounge around, watch television, etc., and Kramer rightfully abused it.  Jerry is the metaphorical gatekeeper.  He will not open the door for anyone that doesn’t knock first, and even then, he is checking to see who is coming up, and eventually on the other side.  He will sometimes leave the door handle unlocked, and you can choose to storm in if you like.

On the Importance of Being a Generalist Opportunist

Most Americans in the United States are like Jerry, George, and Elaine.  I’d say less than one in four is like Kramer, a Generalist Opportunist.  What is a Generalist Opportunist?

A Generalist Opportunist is an open-minded individual that seizes almost any type of financial opportunity that comes their way.  These individuals are generalist in nature, knowing many different things, but are not an expert in any one of them.  They do not let their fear of the unknown stand in their way.  Cosmo Kramer would be a Generalist Opportunist.

A Generalist Opportunist makes money in multiple ways, especially if he sees an open door.  In fact, a GO is constantly checking door handles, to see if some careless gatekeeper, like Jerry, left the handle unlocked.

Examples of GOs:

Hackers are computer savvy people whose skills encompass being able to find and exploit an opening in a software program.  They can find the glitch.  They don’t care where in the code the front door has been left unlocked, they will storm inside, do what they want once inside, like install a data-stealing trojan, and then bug out leaving everything intact to avoid detection.

Unspecific-asset-class investors go from one deal to the next, regardless of the investment.  They know just enough about real estate, securities, commodities, currencies, etc., to get into an opportunistic deal.  Unlike specific-asset-class investors, u-a-c investors don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, as the saying goes.  They learn to deal in any investment that can make them money.

Serial entrepreneurs create product after product and business after business.  If one idea for a business or a product fails, they go on to their next, learning from each experience until they hit the big one.

Freelance writers of both non-fiction and fiction/non-technical and technical writing will bid for almost any type of writing job there is on Elance.com.  Their email inboxes will be full with job recommendations.

Though sadly you don’t see them around as often as before, a handyman also qualifies as a GO.

A Clear Observation about GOs:

GOs have large networks of contacts.  They belong to underground or above the radar communities.  More importantly, they cultivate relationships with people in these communities.  They actively participate in sharing information and spend time scouring information distribution channels for leads.  But when a new financial opportunity is discovered, they will stop at nothing to beat you to it!

This is the end of the sneak peek.  If you want to finish reading this piece, and read more like them in the future, please subscribe to CCM blog.  Remember, I'll also throw in my eBook: CCM Financial Literacy… for free!