FINANCE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Moses Ayiku, Jr. MBA OP/ED
Investing Ideas – Part 1
When the pandemic started in March 2020 with global lockdowns, etc., it dawned on me that while many existing businesses would be severely challenged, there would also be opportunities created by Covid for some creative business owners.
Last year we all started using Zoom for example. While this service existed prior to the pandemic, the company made tremendous financial strides in 2020. As of May 2020, Zoom had 200 million daily meeting participants. In June, the figure had risen to 300 million. Zoom had 10 million daily participants in December 2019. The company had a phenomenal year!
The growth continues into 2021. Other businesses that thrived during the pandemic were the online sales, especially through Amazon. Drive thrus and delivery businesses also gained large numbers of clients in the past 12 months.
For an individual looking for investment options, the first place one can start is from looking at one’s own skills and capabilities. Some people have been able to successfully develop businesses utilizing their professional skills. The easiest skills to commercialize are in the areas of accounting, computer science and bookkeeping. Having noted that, there are still more areas of expertise that can be commercialized.
For example, writers have many opportunities to obtain contracts these days. With sites such as Fiverrr.com and Frelancer.com, one can register and bid for contracts. Fiverr.com is especially suitable for social media professionals, artists and web developers. People are seeking websites, marketing assistance and social media expertise amongst others.
Where do the ideas come from? One option for ideas is the environment within which one lives. It is possible that specific business opportunities could be within your grasp simply because you are within that environment. This is an opportunity that can be taken care of.
For example, if one is living in a community that does not have a wide variety of restaurants, this could be an opportunity to introduce a new restaurant that could be quite successful. In New Jersey for example, some investors took the risk and started chains of the popular franchise, Golden Crust. The chain sells mainly Jamaican food.
In Downtown Newark and other parts of New Jersey, this chain is thriving! I used to live near a Golden Crust store in New Jersey not too long ago. Each time that I went to this restaurant, I was met with lines of customers stretching out the door! This summer in Atlanta, Georgia, I noticed that Golden Crust had a large following in the South as well!
Apart from looking at one’s environment, one can also look further and wider into other environments. Opportunities appear daily to provide a better product or service that people are willing to pay for. The basic areas to start researching for investments thus fall into the areas of food and clothing. The reason why many people look at these investment areas because the start up capital options varies from very low to very high. To a large extent, the scale of startup is dependent on you!
The first step in identifying investment options is to conduct a brainstorming session to organize all the investment ideas from most possible to least possible. The brainstorming session can be done on your own, or you could identify strategic people that could join you for the session. It is amazing how others are able to see things right before us that we do not initially recognize! That is why you should consider getting an outside person to assist with the brainstorming session.
Once you have listed all the investment options, please make the time to conduct a SWOT analysis of each investment. Assess the Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats. A lot of information can be found online to assist with undertaking the SWOT analysis. This will assist you in determining which options should be your top priority.
Next week, we shall continue to share pertinent information about developing investment ideas.
Please feel free to share with me your questions and experiences on investing in stocks. I will do my best to respond, and, in some cases, I will write on some of these questions .
Your questions and comments can be sent to localtalknews@gmail.com.
