If you come across an idea you are half-way there. But if you don’t do anything with your ideas nothing will happen, ever.
Even if it’s a really great idea, zero action means nothing will happen. One times zero is still zero.
Get your ideas out
Bring them out and do something with it! Pull out your notebook, dust off your notepad, find your notes. Then test them, try something out, talk to people, simulate stuff.
We are now in quarantine for 5+ weeks. And there is no end in sight. Recently I noticed how days and weeks blur into one long stretch. Then I thought of a way how to break the quarantine monotony.
This is not a complaint. We are blessed to be in a safe and comfortable place with all necessities still being available. And I hope it’s the same for you!
Everyone is home now
It’s just a realisation of how things are different to the time before the quarantine. But at the same time the days we spend in quarantine are pretty much the same. This is at least our observation. We have routines (and it’s a good thing to have some routines and good habits in your life). And I’m used to working from home since I started freelancing and then founded my own company.
But then it changed: My fiancé is working from home full time (until further notice). We are very happy to have enough space in our home. We work alongside each other or separately if we have meetings and calls.
One long blurry day
But then every day started to look the same. No change of scenery. Not meeting other people. No distinct event to distinguish one day from another. Just an endless stream of meals, work and tasks. What day of the week is today?
Again, not complaining – everything is good and we are happy. But there is a monotony to the days that it’s hard to think of what you did yesterday or the day before.
Break the quarantine monotony
That’s when I thought of a way to break that stream. Break the blur. Make things more colorful again! And that’s when I thought of themed weeks: A theme or topic for the week.
You might have been to a themed party before and everyone knows seasonal differences. Why not bring it into your home during this time? Think of a topic, then sprinkle elements of it over your week like seasoning over a meal.
Themes during quarantine
Season-based, i. e. Summer BBQ or Festive Winter
Holiday-based, i. e. NYC trip, Ski Holiday
Geography-based, i. e. Caribbean, Scandinavian
Sunshine
Indoor BBQ
Summer feelings
Our first theme: summer
What to do during a themed week
Think of the activities you do on a daily or weekly basis. Then consider how you could infuse it with elements of your theme.
Meals: think of meals and snacks that remind you of the theme. Make an effort and prepare things you only have during that time or in that place.
Drinks: replace some of your usual drinks with something that reminds you of the theme. Inspire your senses with the taste.
Decoration: do you have anything that you can decorate to emphasize the theme? Put it on the walls or your furniture. Have some souvenirs from a special place? Bring them out and display them for the week. Put pictures up from that time, replace your screensaver with matching photos.
Music: listening to music often? Select a suitable playlist.
Video: watching something to wind down? How about themed movies or a matching TV series? One that plays during that season or in the place of your theme.
Our ideas for the coming weeks
The themes I thought of so far are: Summer, New York and Scandinavia
For our week of summer I thought of the BBQ garden parties I used to have with friends. The cool drinks we enjoyed and the things we saw during that season.
New York Times is our opportunity to relive the good memories from our holiday. We plan to reach out to friends, sing the same songs, eat the same food we had there.
Our Scandinavian-week will the time to envision being there again, with all it’s nature, foods and people.
And if you are really really into Christmas, why not have a Christmas week? Bring out the Christmas decoration! I won’t judge you ?
Now I’m now looking forward to the coming weeks. And it’ll be fun thinking about the themes, meals, drinks, decoration and so on.
Instill some excitement for the time to come
What theme would you pick to break the quarantine monotony?
Leave a comment below with your theme and what would you do during that week?
At some point I came across this new business model “Amazon FBA” (Fulfillment by Amazon). It sounded like the ideal way to get into e-commerce – which I always wanted to do.
What is Amazon FBA?
The Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) business model continues to grow in popularity. Fundamentally, it’s the same as a traditional e-commerce business. But, instead of your having to fulfill orders one by one, Amazon stores your products for you and even picks, packs and ships them out to customers.
The FBA process explained
This makes it a lot easier for you to build your business without having to worry about the logistics of warehouses, packaging materials, couriers and so on. With private labeling, you also have the opportunity to build your own brand and website, thereby increasing the value of your business. (This is a summary from Entrepreneur.com)
How I started
I looked into all forms of information: blog posts, videos, facebook groups. I even attended lokal events via Meetup and even a professional event with several hundred attendees.
There is a lot of good information out there: guides, tutorials. But also expensive courses and self-proclaimed gurus. Be aware of anyone trying to sell you an expensive training or info-package.
My first product on Amazon
First thing to do is market research: What is a product that people want but not yet sold on Amazon? Answer: very few items are NOT available on Amazon.
Therefore the question usually is: What product can I sell that people will buy from me? And often the answer is to get a product and put your own label on it (your own brand) or add value (eg. a new feature). Or something else that makes it stand out.
I came across the travel-category. I thought it’s a good enough niche where I can get some products out and sell it under my unique brand.
And here it is – my revolutionary luggage belt!
Just wrap it around your luggage and it stays save…
Also, thanks to the rather unique design, it will be very easy to identify.
Within a couple of weeks I found the product idea and did some research. The travel-niche seemed like a good idea.
Then I sourced it from China (find manufacturer, get samples, finalise design) and placed an order for 500 units.
I was excited when the packages arrived. I checked all units by hand, fixed some smaller issues and forwarded it to the Amazon warehouse.
My first product was also my last one
But I stopped Amazon FBA after releasing my first product. Why?
It’s an interesting business model. I met people that are successful and some earning lots of money. Amazons systems are fairly sophisticated and they got better. There are lots of external tools for the FBA-seller available as well.
I had a process of all the steps and worked through them from beginning to end. There is a good network and community of other sellers that help you along the way.
But I didn’t like it.
I didn’t like the fact that anyone can come along and offer the same product for less. A race to the bottom.
I didn’t like the fact that you would need new products all the time. Just selling one product is not enough. You need to find new products or a new niche – and get something to the market.
I didn’t like the fact that you are at the mercy of Amazon. It’s their market place, they have complete control. What’s worse, you do the market testing for them by releasing new products. And if your product is successful, Amazon might release a similar one itself. Then, out of a sudden, your bestseller doesn’t sell that well anymore.
But ultimately I didn’t like to put more (relatively) useless products into the world. If you know me, you know I care for the environment. And I just didn’t want to take part in a system that’s all about producing more stuff.
This is not a guide or review on Amazon FBA
I am not trying to tell you everything about this business model. This is not a guide on how to do it or how a review. I honestly think it still is an interesting business model. It’s really good if you are a retail or rather a product guy.
Your money looses value every day and pensions won’t save your retirement. Start investing today.
Every year your money looses value
Your pension is not guaranteed
How do I start investing
Your money looses value
This is due to inflation: This is the rate at which the average level of prices for goods and services is rising. Therefore, the purchasing power of currency is falling.
On average your money looses 2 to 4% per year based on the global inflation rate index. You can monitor the inflation through indexes like the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Graph, Falling Buying Power
Let’s assume you have 100 units of money in your account (eg. $100, €100 or £100 – currency doesn’t matter) . It looses buying power every year. With an inflation of 3% it looses 3% every year. Every year things become more expensive due to inflation and down the line your 100 can buy you less.
Graph, Value of Money vs. Risings Costs due to Inflation
Why is inflation happening?
Many factory play into this. We can’t expand on all of them but the most important theories around this are the cost-push and demand-pull theory. In short; prices rise because the demand for goods and services rises more rapidly than an economy’s productive capacity (demand-pull) or when prices of production process inputs increase, for example through wage increases or rising raw material prices (cost-push).
What can I do about it?
That’s the right question to ask! Here are the straight-forward questions:
Get an annual pay-rise that’s higher than the inflation rate,
Save more money than you are “loosing” to inflation or
Invest your money and get an interest higher than the inflation rate.
The first option depends on your career and job: Can you out-earn the inflation just through a rise in your pay? You will probably have little control over it other than doing a great job and hope to be rewarded.
The second option is the default for many – simply save money. But since your money is loosing value every year you would need to increase your annual saving rate too.
My favourite option – and strong recommendation – is to invest your money. Let your money work for you. And at least at an interest rate that is higher than the inflation rate. You need to take tax into consideration as well. That’s why you have to investing today
Graph, Investing Money vs. Rising Costs
Here we see the comparison if you invest your 100 “something” ($/€/£) for a moderate 5% interest rate per year. This increase in value of 5% per year outpaces the 3% inflation rate of our example.
Your money keeps its value. But on top of that, your money is growing in value – even vs. the inflation.
Your pension is not guaranteed
Even if you live in a country that provides pension, it’s not a guarantee anymore. This safety net set up by the government has holes. The social security is already under a lot of pressure – and it will get worse. It’s very likely that soon the governments can’t pay out a decent pension to its citizens anymore.
What can I do about it?
Get a pension plan
Invest for your retirement
Getting a pension plan, or retirement plan, is usually a great idea if it’s sponsored or subsidised by your employer. Even if it’s not supported by your employer it’s probably a good idea. Often they come with tax benefits and other advantages.
However, investing for your own future is my recommendation here too. Maybe in addition to a pension plan. But l strongly advise to look into it yourself.
Why you have to start investing today? The earlier you start the better it is.
Get started with investing
I am not selling you anything, no worries. I just have this online course… just kidding.
Great and practical advice on where to get started can be found here on the site of Mr Money Mustache. He shares a good amount of advice on where to start.
I do not provide personal investment advice and I am not a qualified licensed investment advisor. I am just an investor who’s trying to help others by inspiring to get educated in this field.
Do you know the feeling when you played something for a while and then stop. You go back to the real world but your mind still applies the same thinking patters like in the game? You brain still recognises shapes everywhere and tries to stack objects?
Since games often consist of obstacles and problems thrown at the player, you can be stuck in that problem-solving mode. Your brain might take a while to transition back.
Recently, when I finished a session of rapidly falling blocks, I still had the visuals in my head when I switched from the game to a conversation. My inner eye could still see the shapes and patterns in front of me. Until my brain finally ended up back in reality.
That’s when this metaphor came to my mind:
Sometimes life is like Tetris
You go through life and collect non tangible things sich as experience and connections. Let’s envision them as blocks for now.
Then you move through life and collect more and more; education, training, certificates, jobs. All make up building blocks of your life. And you build layer by layer.
Sometimes it fits perfectly and your CV is perfect and you land that new job. You align a full row (called Tetris in the very same game) and it’s great.
Other times it doesn’t fit as nicely; you don’t land the job you wanted or a project derails. Its like you’ve built a stack with gaps and can’t complete the row. Things seem to go haywire.
As you go along more blocks are thrown your way. More opportunities come along. And quite often there comes a series of blocks that just match wonderfully! This one goes here, that one over there. Boom, Tetris!
Building blocks of your life
In my mind I see the blocks as your achievements, jobs you had, people you met, a business you build, networks you create.
Sometimes things don’t seem to add up or don’t see to go the right way; the new role you got doesn’t fit into your career as expected, that Side-project you started doesn’t seem to lead anywhere.
And then there it is, the 1×4 block that will save the day! It all makes sense now; you met someone through the job you started and later you start working on that side-project of yours together and it’s great!
I’ve seen that in my life too: did something here, then there, worked on this then that. Years later I got to use it all again in my own business. The blocks fell into the right places. Tetris!
What am I getting at?
Blocks coming at you are new opportunities
Don’t wait for the one piece forever, use the blocks you have
