KUUMBA | CREATIVITY - Creativity Comes in All Forms

 Day 6 of Kwanzaa bring us Kuumba, or creativity. Full disclosure: I have tens of cousins and extended family members named Kumba so first I want to send a shout out to all my second born girl cousins who all seem to be creative souls. 

For me I wanted to speak on Creativity in a slightly different matter. When I think of creativity I think of resilience. I'll start with people I find creative:

Stevie Wonder - One of the youngest musical prodigies, Stevie overcame his disabilities to make music that touches the soul and creatively matches the activist mood of the country every step of the way.

LeBron James - As a 20 something, he was a super resilient athlete who knew his legacy would be tied to competing at the highest level and winning championships. Despite an owner and city bad-mouthing him (for leaving Cleveland) and fans burning his jersey he maneuvered the National Basketball Association (which primary is managed and coached by white males) to win championships with the Miami Heat. He returned to Cleveland and "delivered" a championship, and returned the luster and shine to my beloved LA Lakers franchise by winning a 4th title. He creatively did this when no other players did these types of things. He recruited players, now negotiates short-term deals so he can maximize his value (sound familiar), and uses his brand and platform for a school in Akron, his management team are people of color, his agent Rich Paul is black, and he is active politically... when most players previously didn't want to impact their business dealings and brand. Remember: "Shut Up and Dribble"

Streaming Content / Cord Cutters - A whole industry has been built off a simple premise I've written about here of the years. Why do I pay for channels I don't use?? When we cut the cord this year out of frustration with Comcast jacking their prices up (even though we could afford it), my technology boundaries led me to install an HD antennae. This was perfect for the kids as we get PBS, not much of a drop of there. It wasn't bad for the wife as most of her shows are actually non-cable TV shows. But boy, I took a hit, which the industry knew, because I follow sports and a few cable TV shows. Our family has saved easily over $150 a month by cutting the cord and just going to high speed internet and we showed resilience by not crawling back but creativity by treating ourselves to a ROKU streambar. A small investment got me a soundbar (not the best but decent) and introduced us to the creative world of streaming content. I can stream news channels and stock broadcasts and the kids can stream PBS and a few different cartoon options. My wife tapped her social network and now flips through Apple, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and who knows what else. The most ironic thing is I recommended this stock and didn't fully understand the flexibility its technology was providing for this new generation of streaming and cutting traditional cord options. I now understand why Hulu wants to sell Live Sports and why Fubotv, a sports only streaming channel, skyrocketed 330% this year. 

State's Get Creative - Maybe the most creative thing I do, because of my job as a consultant/auditor is I am forced to listen to both sides. So I am one of the rare people that you will meet that wants to hear all angles before I begin my own investigation. I roll over in laughter as state and federal politicians preach those good ole puritan values. But the data tells me and it should tell you...they are doubling down in vices or supposed sin to fill their budget coffers. I won't go Boardwalk Empire on you...but you don't find it odd that your state:

• Offer Lottery Tickets
• Expanded Casinos and now is offering or looking into the growing world of sports gambling
• Offers Medicinal marijuana and many now make bank off of recreational marijuana (after years jailing minorities for something that magically becomes legal with the stroke of a pen?)
• Many cities are discussing reducing or removing drug tests because with the saturation of Meth throughout poor and middle-class America, Corporate America now can't find lower income white talent who can pass rigorously screening that often kept minorities out of their ivory towers. In my state, we've even discussed remediation centers, so these persons don't fill the jails and get a different path. Where was this creativity during the crack epidemic? Where were the work release programs for minority dealers selling weed, which we can't seem to control because the people have spoken: they were buying all that weed being sold and don't see the harm?

Front Line Workers - A personal message to the persons on the front lines. To be a part of the richest nation and day after day you had to patch together solutions so that you could try to have effective PPE, because we didn't stockpile or purchase enough is unacceptable. That is creative and God Bless You

My creativity I believe comes from going against the grain. When people turned against Tesla and Elon Musk, I decided to invest. When, I saw COVID-19 ravage China, I spoke out early. When many said the Sprint deal couldn't get done I creatively looked to simple clues like my Billionaire buddy and Sprint Chairman Masa Son selling his mansion (Mission Hills, KS) months before the deal as vindication this deal was gonna get done. Finally, in late Nov/early Dec I landed my 2nd corporate cyber project in as many months. The meetings were very smooth, so smooth our client decided to contact me directly via LinkedIn immediately after our discussion. Due to my company size, I often work through a middleman (because I still have a 9-5 job)...so when I learned I didn't receive the project I was floored. How could everything go so right with my client and this middleman tell me it's not going to happen. So I thought creatively, reached out on LinkedIn and voice my surprise but willingness to help him and his organization now and in the future. Strangely, a week later I get a call, the middleman now needs my help as the client wants me and my organization for the cyber project.

Don't be shy like Black Lives Matter was to be the voice that goes against the grain. The grain sometimes means you have a bunch of people entrenched that don't want to see change. I'm not sure city halls, police unions, and some people in our community want to see change...many love their comfort. Like my contract negotiation, some want to cut you, and maybe offer a lower priced vendor. I represented change a minority partner that was demanding my fair and sizeable share of the revenue for the work my company would be performing.  They didn't account for my subject matter expertise and my subtle comment to my client that we has so much in common there was no way we didn't have common colleagues in our line of work. That sowed a seed that creatively bucked the system wanting to cut me out of what I was entitled to. 

Please be resilient and use your KUUMBA. It's New Year's Eve, I wish you all a Happy and prosperous New Years. Peace and Love

NIA | Purpose - Purpose Driven Investing

 What is your Purpose? I've heard the best inventors, investors, musicians, and operators in the world are driven almost to madness to achieve their mission or purpose. If you recall my post of Netflix movies, you'll find a show called "Mindhunters". This show follows the development of the FBI's first behavioral analysis unit. No disrespect to local law enforcement, but it helped them stop guessing and use clues from the crime scene to narrow down a subject based on their behavior. One of the key persons in the show was an academic that first assisted the FBI as this unit was being developed. What stuck with me was she said after years of interviewing and analyzing people, CEOs and Politicians often have similar traits to the psychopaths they were tracking, interviewing, and studying. So a subtle reminder to be careful in your purpose driven mission because it's a thin line between helping people and filling your self-interest bucket.

So on day 5 of Kwanzaa I challenge you to find your purpose by finding ways to serve. The inventors who solve society's problems are celebrated. Facebook is my rolodex to everyone in my life before their were cell phones (I know imagine there was a time without cell phones). And what a compromise, I hate their data privacy practices but occasionally log on so I no longer have to keep a spreadsheet of my contacts (yes years back I kept a spreadsheet). Today my buddies on Wall Street are falling over themselves for ESG Investing. ESG is short for environmental, social, and corporate governance. So you mean the smartest nation in the world just NOW realized that we should be interested in preserving our planet, social justice and diversity issues, and ensuring that those CEOs who use their power to have relationships with their subordinates maintain good corporate governance. Wow it's 2020 and I need my billionaire friends on Wall Street telling me that ESG is in vogue and now is the time to move away from coal and eventually transition to electric, wind, hydrogen, and other solutions. I need my billionaire buddies to tell me its time to measure how many people of color and women are employed at some of the largest companies in the world AND more importantly how many of those persons are in senior management and C-Suite roles (positions of real power). It's hard for me to take them seriously because I see historically what I saw with colonialism. You stayed with strategies (slavery, coal, colonization, globalization) until they served your "purpose"...and then you peaced out.

So for me my overriding purpose is to serve by teaching those how I continue to build my core, my pillars. Being independent, able to strategically think on my own, able to complete in any setting in any part of the world means I am not easily influenced. We all have obstacles:

• When my last employer couldn't support the need for me to take care of an elderly parent in their golden years -- my approach allowed me to leave
• When I was told not to purchase a home on the South Side of Chicago - my purpose was public/private, a play on doing something that was good for me and my community. My home will double in price soon as I bought during the depths of recession (buy low, sell high) and I assisted in stabilizing my community
• When I first started as an independent contractor people told me I needed the safety of Corporate America -- haha I remembered laughing often and telling people companies stopped offering pensions decades ago. My CEO buddies come on CNBC and speak everyday and must hit quarterly earnings targets. Let's just say, they'll do what they have to make the numbers. I'm not concerned because with my dedication to my craft and 3 certifications, I have the confidence that I will be one of the few left standing --- but am I describing a job or the cutthroat show "Survivor". So I struck out on my own, negotiated deals in my favor, and actually stumbled into the best of both worlds. I have both a Corp job and a startup...funny thing is my client asked me to come on full-time...not me.

My startup company is to invest in people that are underrepresented in Corporate America so we can get them in the door. Next, I plan to invest in real estate for persons that usually get the worst housing selections because no one there isn't much choice for low-income Americans. I also want to create a hedge fund or wealth advisory/family office firm in the next 5-7 years. They don't know it but my mentors: Peter Lynch, Warren Buffet, Cathie Woods, Mario Gabelli, Seth Klarman, John Rogers and a few others have dropped enough nuggets over the years that my investing portfolio is achieving it's purpose - giving me an opportunity to retire early, invest in other projects, and donate to worthy causes.

So I challenge you to define your NIA, and together let's serve with a purpose by investing in our community and the world. God bless 

Stock Update: Today I am employing Tax Loss Harvesting. If you had a big year, many wins in your portfolio...did you know that yes the tax code allows you to sell losers in your portfolio and they offset the gains. You can carry a loss of $3K into the next tax year, no fear the government is here. But imagine that, most middle class Americans can't take advantage of this because they don't own stocks or manage their own portfolios. 

Ujamaa | Cooperative Economics - Master P + Baron Davis to Buy Reebok

 I got my toughest challenge a few months ago when someone tried to label me. I'm not one for labels, so I stumbled when asked "What are you?": a Mentor, Wellness Trainer, Personal Finance Advisor, Life Coach. I simply tell people I am a businessperson. I challenge everyone in the world to begin to act and think like one. Why??? Because once you leave the safety net of your parents home (usually @ 18 years of age), everything else in your life with be a contract --- economically and spiritually. I think back to leaving college and everything from the cell phone, apartment lease, rental truck, job offer, car loan, and monthly credit card bill were all contractual obligations. If I'm not a businessperson, then why am I signing a contract??

So it's only fitting that the black candle of Kwanzaa on Day 4 symbolizes my most blogged about subject, Cooperative Economics. Economics was one of my favorite subjects in school because it had basic assumptions that focus on what humans do when they are facing certain options --- the guns vs butter theory. A quick trip down memory lane:

A nation, and I apply this to your concept specifically to your household, must determine how to spend its monies (budget). If you spend it all on butter (food, schools, etc.) then everyone's bellies are full but this nation may not be safe. If you spend it all on guns (fences, alarms, rifles), then you may feel very safe but go hungry. Ironically, these are the simple items most people and politicians still fight about today. 

• Increase the security defense budget?
• Decrease the budget for food, school, and health assistance?
• What about arts, culture, drug mitigation, violence mitigation?

In your home, one must decide:

• Do you buy a home, how much?
• Do you buy that new car or take the bus?
• How much do we spend on food, toys, education?

All tough decisions but necessary ones that must be made. So my challenge is for people to be humble, focus on strengthening your knowledge and collectively working together to build and expand the economic profile of yourself and your family. Work hard, then harder as we have one life to live. If you're pop culture, you now call this concept the gig economy or accumulating side hustles. 

I call it UJAMMA - I look at how history has treated the middle class in America and across the world and more importantly I looked at how history has treated people of color, anyone who looks different. I took Economics and loved it and realized very quickly the data doesn't lie. The middle class is getting gutted and poorer, year after year. Communities of color make advancements, but due to government policies or the lack thereof suffer massive setback during recessions, depressions, and periods of health pandemics. If you've read my previous posts on this subject, this equates to a person of color losing a massive amount of their equity or wealth roughly every 8-12 years. 

So I challenge you to focus on where I spend most of my energy, achieving balance and UJAMAA. I have a cooperative of investments that ensure I will withstand things I cannot control and the things I know people will try to do to hold me down. 

• I have a saving account that will withstand 1-2 economic recessions
• I have an investment account to supplement my retirement and fund investments
• I work a Corporate job, earning pay and benefits such as a 401K which I've maxed out every year for 18 years (someone is giving you free money)
• I have a side hustle, where I work with persons of color, veterans, woman, single moms as I try to diversify Corporate America while bring them value in the Cybersecurity space
• I own real estate which pays for itself and provides income for my next real estate venture

I just learned that Master P and Baron Davis are looking to buy Reebok for roughly $2.4 Billion dollars. Ironically, what I was more interested in is who is the investment team that came together to pitch the deal terms. Fact is most deals done are done as a cooperative, in Silicon Valley they rely on Venture Capitalists and in our community we must embrace this concept. I also challenge you to shop with black owners but I challenge my black owners to think bold. My cyber services are not limited to a group of people, many of your products will need to be able to supply the world. This helps you achieve SCALE. A level where you can supply many people across the country and eventually the world. Sky's the limit

Ujima | Collective Work and Responsibility

 We often hear the phrase..."It Takes A Village", but as COVID-19 rages on I truly wonder if as a country we share those collective values. Growing up in the African community, Ujima or the belief in communal society was on display everyday. As a child, my parents were so avid that we did most things as a group...a community.  For example, when the seasons changed and spring was upon us my parents would remind our large family of the importance of being unified (Umoja) in our work and each of us being determined (Kujichagulia) in adding value to the garden we spent endless weeks of cultivating. Digging, tilling, seeding, watering, and fencing were the activities completed together until the project was done. I remember looking over at the basketball court that was calling me and my younger brothers names but my parents were adamant that we must collectively finish the task at hand first. Weeks and months later, it was hard to believe all of the plants and vegetables that were sprouting (some native to West Africa) in our backyard. I would laugh, my new "responsibility" was keeping our basketball away from the garden. 

The principle of Ujima is so important in my daily life. It helps me collectively work in Corporate America, it assists me in collaborating and debating contracts with companies/vendors, and it deepens my ties with my friends and colleagues who span many races, cultures, and points of time in my life. Successful people in Corporate America constantly talk about the importance of their network --- I call it their Ujima. Why because they use their network to collectively invest, manage risk, and build businesses together. There is not a day that goes by that I don't speak with persons in my network to grow my knowledge, challenge my thoughts, or to invest alongside with me should an opportunity exist. Unfortunately, there are not enough people of color yet that are able to invest in some of the assets I'm interested in. 

I'm sure my parents were teaching us life lessons each year we went out to garden, plant, and work together. Due to these lessons learned as a child, I was able to handle college group projects, Corporate America's hourly team meetings, and the responsibility of communicating goals and objectives that benefit my stakeholders (me, my family, my community). This is why I'm so outspoken about the African and African-American community getting stronger about defining their top 5-10 goals. Then going on an awareness campaign to educate ourselves and other communities about how helping us achieve those 5 - 10 goals will better the global community. For example, I do this for my business, myself, and I truly think this is what people like Ice Cube are trying to do when they create "plans" or "bill of rights" for our community. To avoid missteps made, this is not something to go at it alone, we need a collective to manage the risks, the optics, and fund the push.

My dad laid out our family's Ujima goals, which I think are similar to my pillars:

Education First - I remember having a stern discussion when I brought home all A's and 1 "B"; he knew I had it in me to consistently bring home all A's

Work - At 14, he used his "network" and the CEO of a local retail company gave me my first job at 14. I've never forget that summer I put in 40 hours a week @ $4.25. Boy was I tired that summer.

Health - To many peoples surprise, my father would randomly have us run down the block, and began having us participate is sports an early age. It was critical in our physical development, team/collective awareness, competitive nature, and humility in the face of defeat (we always shook hands). 

Spirituality - No matter what, we always made it to church. I remember reading scriptures to the Church as I completed confirmation and more importantly I remember how my father could lead prayers in both the Christian and Muslim faiths...not an easy task but what a way to collectively bring people together.

I wonder if our community and our plan could rally around some of these principles?? Finally, I would add in this day and age it takes financial support. We need to look to the government but also to these celebrated figures in our community to do their part. To be fair not all of them are billionaires but here a few examples of what some of my billionaire buddies give their money to which helps their communities:

David Tepper (Worth: $13.5 Billion, former minority share owner in Pittsburgh Steelers, now owner of the NFL Carolina Panthers, and MLS soccer team: Charlotte FC) - His donations of $67M to Carnegie Mellon will impact many in that community

Seth Klarman (Worth $1.5 Billion, investor trying to bring MLS soccer team to Las Vegas) - Mr. Klarman is a value investor like myself so we go way back just not as far back and me and Warren. Seth founded a foundation that clearly lays out the communities and areas of interest his donations serve: 

• Advancing understanding of the biological basis of health and illness
• Ensuring a healthy democracy
• Expanding access to vital services and enrichment opportunities in Greater Boston
• Supporting the global Jewish community and Israel

So on the 3rd Day of Kwanzaa, I remind people of Ujima. Don't just call on me for my vote. My community has needs that differ sometimes from that of other communities. It's okay to invest with me to advance, expand and support the global African community. My belief is that investments in my community will ensure a vibrant, diverse, and healthy democracy. Finally, to our growing list of million and billionaires (Jay Z, Robert F. Smith), please continue your collective work and focus on our community's goals just like my buddies David Tepper and Seth Klarman do. Your work will help our growing list of millionaires to learn how to do their part. Peace and love

Quick Stock Note: I finally bought a Roku device. I cut the cord many months back and love the decision. I do miss my sports and wonder if FUBO TV will benefit from those like me willing to pay for live sports. I'm nibbling at this trend, needs more research: Fubotv Inc (FUBO:NYSE)

Kujichagulia | Self-Determination - Own Your Destiny

 On the second day of Kwanzaa, I wanted to chat about Kujichagulia (self-determination). With so many obstacles affecting middle and lower class America, no matter your race you must be personally accountable every day for your actions. These actions each and every day are shaping the path you are and will take in life. I train people and coach them on how to improve their financial and personal well-being and often the common responses I get are:

"If you can do that for me"

"If you think this will work for me"

"So what do you think"

"I don't like all the changes/instructions/direction"

I remind those persons each and every day you choose your own path. I can't do anything for you (you can). I can provide my experiences and journey but you must tell me what works for your life. It doesn't matter what I think, it's your life to live. If you don't like what you see --- why did you choose it? And if you didn't choose anything yet, why do you feel compelled someone has made a decision for you...when they haven't. Do you feel the personal responsibility of having to decide, being accountable for the decision you made, and being on the hook for seeing it through.

For me, when I was 18, I looked back and had already seen a life of systemic oppression. In kindergarten, I was told I'd be yanked out of my public school path and put into a magnet school because of my then smarts. Yes a blessing, but a new path that meant two different buses to school each day and classes where most people did not look like me. I remember my 12th Grade teacher give me a surprising look when I told her I needed my National Honor Society document signed by her. I remember every white person in college, at work, and in my personal life asking me and my friends do we play sports. I remember most vacations, young white teens asking me if I could sell them drugs. I vividly remember coming back to my alma mater to assist with intern interviews and calling a candidate's name and no one came up. As I went to go back to my company's cubicle, a young white man called out, hey I "think" you're looking for me. I said you been sitting in the waiting room the whole time (with other students), why would you NOT answer after I've clearly read your name out loud. He said: "I was scared, I saw a big (pause) man standing there...and". I quietly knew the code he was speaking of. This young white man was willing to miss an interview with a premier consulting firm because a black man IN A SUIT, in a large room full of recruiters (and students) in cubicles (tens of us) --- called his name. Again I repeat, he almost missed an interview because of his privilege and prejudices. 

This is why roughly two decades ago I started this blog with one thing in mind. A determination to always be balanced because I have and will always face obstacles in my life. I needed options so my balance stems from my pillars and I vowed to never be financially dependent on anyone or any company (entity). That why I work in Corporate America on terms I find manageable, own my own startup consulting firm, managed a growing investment portfolio and have a rental property to mine name. I can individually live of each of these separately except for my rental property. I technically retired a few years ago (2 years behind my goal of 35) as I humble enough to retire to a modest ranch home paid off in most urban cities of America. But I'm also determined to help people understand how to be personally responsible for their own path and independence -- but you must be determined to roll up your sleeves and do the work yourself.

Kujichagulia (self-determination)

New Stock Shout-Out: Game Stop (if you read until the end, now tell me how can I like a company so hated)

Umoja | Unity - Unity in Life, Investing, and Service

 I start of this post remember the acts of my late father. He was a professor, spiritual leader, and African elder who took the responsibility of passing down history and culture seriously.  I am a better servant and businessman because of the life principles he shared with me every day. As a professor of geography and sociology, he taught me about how human society developed and evolved and as the world evolved I had deep recognition of different countries and cultures of the world. So I begin my post as he began his prayers: recognizing our ancestors and their contributions, praying for those who've left us but still watch over us, and a principled message to all, but in particular the youth who will carry the torch in the future.  After Christmas, this principled message was about the teaching of Kwanzaa.

Umoja | Unity

My parents were and are the depiction Umoja. They believed so much in unity that for over 20+ years they held a multi-cultural New Year's Eve party that would pack our tiny 3 bedroom 1 bathroom ranch home with over 50,75, 100+ people each year. The goal was to bring Africans from entire diaspora, Americans, and anyone that needed a safe place to ring in the New Years. People would travel from all parts of the US to be at this party. And each year it started the same way:

Prayer - We prayed for Unity, Love, Good Heath, and so much more

Libation - We poured libation and remembered our ancestors and loved ones that have past. This is critical is a year marred by COVID-19. Don't forget

Lighting of Kwanzaa Candles - Finally after teaching the youth about the principles of Kwanzaa (yes Africans bring their kids to a party), a young person from the crowd would light the Kwanzaa candles.

Today is first day of Kwanzaa and I want to remind everyone of the importance of UNITY. We are a village and your actions or inactions can have collateral damage to your network. For example, you have a right to not wear a mask, but if you are the reason why some contracts COVID-19, have you no responsibility in their outcome? I remind people that I have billionaire buddies (not really but you get the point) that most people outside of the business community have no clue who they are:

Bill Ackman, Seth Klarman, Paul Singer, Mario Gabelli, Carl Icahn, Reid Hoffman, Jack Dorsey, Marc Lasry, Steve Cohen, Robert F. Smith. (I held off naming: Mark Cuban, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk to make my point)

I say this on a day of Unity --- You are not my competition. Truss...so when I or someone asks for a vendor referral, ask for advice on a new investment, help you increase your net worth I implore you to be principled in helping others. This mentality that you did it on your own, you got that great mortgage, house, job, investment on your own is flawed. Everyone has had help along the way. So many where influential in helping me, and yes I did the heavy lifting but the key they gave me to opening that door was so important. We will need to be unified to play in the Big Leagues against my buddies I mentioned above...and truss they believe in herd mentality. Many invest together, donate together, and influence politics together because they realize their is strength in numbers. There is a reason why most of my buddies own sports teams, outside of the countries that own a majority of the oil deposits around the world, sports is the last known cartel. The price NEVER goes down, need proof: just from the list above Marc Lasry (owner of Milwaukee Bucks), Steve Cohen (owner of NY Mets), Tillman F (owner of Houston Rockets)...the list goes on. They partner and invest together often through knowledge sharing and compensating each other when they've truly been helped. I haven't even mentioned my Asset Management and hedge fund billionaire buddies at Blackstone, KKR, The Carlyle Group, and Apollo who often collect 2% of all assets they manage annually and 20% of any profits they make for their uber wealthy clients. We call this 2 and 20 in the industry and the wealthy across the world line up to invest in their funds...not for a hook up or for free...but so that they continue to collectively win.

It's time for us to collectively win...Umoja

Managing Dave Chappelle's Contract | Leeds x Roc Nation | Chris Paul + Bill Ackman

 My job is to manage risks and for some of the largest organizations around the world. They run some of the most complex business activities and I often keep my head on a swivel to ensure that the impact of various risks (political, economic, social, technology, legal, and environment) are thoughtfully considered. It often leads me to believe that people often incorrectly:

a) take on too much risk

b) assume risks they were unaware of

c) calculate risk vs reward (can lead to not taking action when things are actually in your favor)

Here are the concepts I consider everyday when managing risks and negotiating deals:

1) Leverage / Strength in Numbers - I list this as my first concept I often think about when I'm doing business negotiations. It's necessary because far too often the persons on the other side of the table do NOT look like me, may not take/respond to my call or business offer, or take your meeting BUT do not take you seriously. Here is Dave Chappelle with little leverage when he was first pitching his show:

Chappelle revealed that he pitched the concept for “Chappelle’s Show” to HBO before it landed at Comedy Central in the early 2000’s. The comedian claimed that the premium cabler’s execs “kicked me out of the office,” and asked him “what do we need you for?”

2) Own Your Work / Know The Terms of the Deal - You often hear me cite this as my most important principle because everyone signs contracts/agreements in life. IF you do not know what any terms in that document mean...use my rule: stop / question / demand. Being a risk manager, I read many of my own and other people's contracts - so I stop reading, question a section, and demand a change that's more favorable to my cause. A recent example of this is I was awarded my 2nd contract in as many months. I spent over 4 hours reading the 18+ page contract and made significant changes to the language that were NOT in my best interest. If you have "Leverage" (like I shared before) it will be easier to get these changes across. And always know which terms/risks are dealbreakers --- yes some terms are not meant to be compromised. Once you hand me a contract, I trust no one. And for very complex items, I am NOT afraid or too cheap to go and get additional legal representation to further review the deal. 

Dave on his first Contract: “I was desperate, I needed a way out,” Chappelle claimed was his reasoning at the time. “It wasn’t good money and it wasn’t good circumstances, but what else am I going to do I said? All these white people sitting at that table told me trust us Dave it’s a good contract, and I looked around the table and they all seemed to agree it was a good contract. But what if it was like that game of three-card monte? What if they were all friends and I didn’t know it?”

I often focus on terms that indicate "all the ways" I might owe you money (usually I'm on the receiving end of being paid as an in demand consultant) and "all the ways" you owe me or might make money off of me. It's unclear but I think Dave may have had a resident deal - meaning he got paid as long as he worked/was an employee of the company. My question to a younger Dave is: a) Who owns the work, you or them?? b) what happens if you leave -- do you still get paid? c) What happens if your show hits syndication, re-run status, sold to another network do you get incremental / royalty / payments for your work still being used?? (Notice a simple question like this is not unheard of as the Cosby Show went into syndication if I am correct AND it would have address future situations and oddly enough new tech like streaming)

Dave on NOT being paid after leaving ViacomCBS: "They (ViacomCBS) didn't have to pay me because I signed the contract" "But is that right? I found out that these people were streaming my work and they never had to ask me or they never had to tell me. Perfectly legal 'cause I signed the contract. But is that right?"

3) Know Your Value / "ADD VALUE" to your Customers - At the beginning, negotiating deals was difficult because I would often think every deal is the most important deal and then I would be frustrated as the deals were close to being completed but NOT ultimately the terms I wanted. I had my lightbulb moment one day, when 3 companies called me about the same deal. haha the funniest or most maddening thing was the terms of the deal were very different even though all 3 companies were calling about THE SAME PROJECT. I started with the highest bidder and forced the others to match and/or come in higher -- amazingly I got the following "please allow me to escalate this to my senior level executive we don't want to lose you". Yeah that's what I thought. So from then on I set my own terms, take it or leave it. I know my value/my worth and what I offer and I'm sure it's hard to find in the industry. Please put me in contact with a decision maker. As you know, I am owner of Manchester United's stock so I was pleased to see another English Premier League club in the news and THEY had decided to partner their marketing/growth vision with Roc Nation. Leeds is tiny compared to Man U but relax and take notes, they wanna go places and teaming up with a black-owned enterprise when you participate in a sport that has many black, African and international players is simply strategic. I hope more ownership in the NFL take note as Colin Kaep is still not on the field...unacceptable. Here is the Leeds Mural celebrating their partnership:

4) Social Justice (No Longer Be Silent) - Affordable housing is becoming a bigger issue as the United States is becoming more of a renter nation. The new trend is new homes are built and being sold to investors like myself who in turn rent those immediately to renters. Not sure who can afford to rent a brand new house but I am just sharing the latest trends we talk about. Well my billionaire buddy Bill Ackman (who is worth $2.2 Billion) and Chris Paul appear to be investing through their family foundations (yeah you're rich when your family has a foundation) in affordable housing. The $357 million investments appear going to Bobby Turner the CEO of Turner Impact Capital to develop affordable housing for working families. This appears to have a social impact to it, but to be clear, I've not read the prospectus for this fund. I truly hope it targets the communities of color that are disproportionately affected by the affordable housing crisis. But again I don't judge, maybe I'll see if I can learn more about the investment fund and if I like what I see...why not invest.

Bill Ackman and Chris Paul Affordable Housing

Stitch Fix (SFIX) -- How Your Shopping Actually Helps My Wallet

 Stitch Fix reported quarterly earnings today and they blew their expected earnings number out of the water. The online personalization shopping experiment is here to stay for now. I tiptoed into this stock probably around the middle of May 2019 and the ride has been bumpy since then.  Being that I'm a bit old school, I actually like this stock for a simple reason...if my online personalization shopper (likely a combo between a computer and real person) finds something that works for me, I joke I don't even want you to experiment...just get me one of every color of that shirt. And comfortable pair of jeans, nope don't need new ones until these are worn out. Now I'm sure their tool is way more sophisticated then that but heck as long as they don't veer too far off from what works and fits well --- I think many people will give up the department store shuffle. Clothes off rack --- race to the fitting booth ---- damn how does a size smaller fit me in this designer and I need a size bigger with a different designer. 

I think the lazy habits of us all makes this an ideal play for measure me, I try it on, once you know what works --- bingo, keep repeating that model.  So back to the reason for my post. 

Stitch Fix is UP more than 30% and it just occurred after they reported earning. SFIX was one of the few retail stocks that was a downer in my portfolio and I'm surprised to say no more. I have a healthy profit and hope you do too if you've been following and stuck with the downers in my portfolio. Little tip, these are the stocks in the last few weeks that are starting to outperform. Don't remember those names, well just click here for SFIX and my retail stocks that are now soaring:

How My Defensive Stocks Are Now on Offense

Chart Game:

And yes if you eat Red Robin, by shoes from Foot Locker, use Kohls cash, buy Coach bags, watch CBS, ready USA Today or watch your local news station --- I'm a fan of your and appreciate you.

Stock Motivation 101 - Standing Ovation: Your 1st 10 Bagger

These are more than words, this is more than rap

This is the streets and I am the trap

Standing ovation

Standing ovation

Once upon a time, I used to grind all night (grind all night)

With that laptop screen, that was iPod white (yeeeeeah)

I'm a boss, I got Juice like the magazine (jeah)

And everyday I see CEOs like a magazine (ha ha)

Psychopathic wordplay, schizophrenic flow (flow)

I guess it's safe to say I got schizophrenic dough (daaaaamn)

Artist: Young Jeezy / Album: Thug Motivation 101 / Song: Standing Ovation

Not too long ago, I watched two rappers, Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane square off on the VERZUZ platform. For me, VERZUZ is a musical boxing ring - one artist plays/performs a song and then the next artist gets their opportunity to play a memorable track. This internet only event live streamed over 1.6M+ people watching two titans of the south battle over of the world's favorite trap rap classics. Before I segway, I want to remind people this is the power of positivity as this internet only event easily competed with the viewership of the American Music Awards and many other prime time events that week. This event showcased two talented people of color who have been at a literal cold war for over two decades and shows how growth, maturity, and time can begin to heals old wounds. Imagine the business that can be done for our people in Atlanta if these two dare to work together in the future...powerful stuff.  Shout out to Stacey Abrams for making a brief appearance during the show. She reminded us of the important work that needs to be done on the streets. Voting, changing hearts, changing lives.

I'll segway to a first ever event I've had as an investor, Collectors Universe deserves a "Standing Ovation".  Why does it deserve a standing ovation? Well when I first taught myself to begin trading stocks at the age of 17, I use to listen to my dawg, the big homie Mario Gabelli. Yes, he's on the Forbes Billionaire list, has a business school named after him, has large stakes is a shitload of companies...and most people don't know he's one of the top 1500 of billionaires. 

Over the years on CNBC, Mario would describe this almost magical feeling (in my mind) about owning an asset that increases over time to a monumental threshold called a "10 BAGGER"! This sweet utopian moment is when your investment has increased over 10 FOLD! Collectors Universe has been on an amazing tear this year and hit this unicorn status for me, for us this year. Here was the latest news that jointly cemented our legacy in history:

Collectors Universe to be Acquired by Investor Group Led by Entrepreneur and Collector Nat Turner for Approximately $700 Million.  

Note: Don't forget Steve Cohen, yes the investor who just bought the New York Mets is a part of this investment group as well.

Steve and this Nat Turner fellow ended my run but let's take a bow. Here is a nice montage to CLCT, they were a part of the family. Here is what Collectors Universe does: 

A 10 bagger means if you would have invested $1K with me it would have gone to $10K. This deal closes in in 2021. Can't wait to get into some "Good Trouble" with such a profitable investment. 

#mariogabelli #natturner #stevencohen #collectorsuniverse #10bagger #youngjeezy #stockmotivation101

Side Hustle 101 - AR/AP | Pay Debts Like a Lannister

Side Hustle 101 Series

Starting Your Own Small Business
https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2018/12/side-hustle-101-start-your-business.html

Running a Small Business
https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/02/side-hustle-101-own-your-business.html
https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/03/side-hustle-101-are-open-for-business.html
https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/03/a-21-savage-look-into-business-income.html

How to Manage Small Business Risks
https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2018/11/side-hustles-101-risk-vs-reward.html

Small Business Benefits
https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2018/12/side-hustle-101-pay-yourself-first-with.html

Small Business Diversification
          Keep Your 9-5 Job: 

https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/11/hey-henry-high-earner-not-yet-rich.html

Know Your Worth: 

https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2020/10/what-you-need-in-life-invest-like.html

Know When You're Speculating: 

https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2020/10/oh-snapchat-whats-difference-between.html

This past week marked another significant milestone in building a side hustle that earns more than my main hustle (or 9-5 job).  Over the years, I've documented the slow build up of how to start, run, and manage a small business. A key part of this process is managing risk, something I help large corporations all across the world do. In particular I am building a business that helps me diversify my risk. 

My goal is to never be reliant on one source of income. 

My other goal is to add value to people's lives and this world.

I'm well onto my way of achieving these goals as my side hustles are getting close to eclipsing the relevance of my main hustle. Secondly, I continue to build a professional services business that is growing without a website, any marketing or overall push --- remember I have a 9-5 job. I landed my first major contract in San Antonio, Texas and this leads me to my second goal. I'm proud to be an employer --- I'm not just responsible for myself but my business has given someone a job and that speaks volumes. This person is well qualified but with the backdrop of a nation divided, my focus is on hiring people of color, veterans, women (in particular single moms), and anyone who wants to work hard while giving back to others. 

Due to the fact that I have to pay employees and vendors I wanted to quickly discuss how you manage your cash flow, prepare payroll, and make payments. First, I always remind people to understand who you're doing business with and get all terms documented in a contract. Being a risk manager, I review all my contracts and remove terms that ARE BAD FOR MY BUSINESS.

Cash Flow (Sales | Invoices | Receivables)

Sales - Review my Side Hustle series above and knowing your worth goes a long way into negotiating a sale of your product or service. My firm charges at a range where it's a win for my client, my employee, and myself.

Invoices - Next, I'm careful to invoice my customers on time and per the terms we agreed upon.

Receivables - Finally, I'm a hawk on knowing when and IF we got paid for the services we provided.

Payroll

If you have W2 employees, the best bet is to get a good payroll software here to help you ensure that you are deducting payroll taxes according to state and federal laws. If you only have 1099 or Corp2Corp relationships, you can accomplish this with requiring those relationships to invoice you according to a contractual agreement you've established.

Payables

You've seen me write before, I pay people according to the agreed upon terms "Like I'm a Lannister". Yes as in the dubious Lannister family in Game of Thrones, notoriously known for paying their debts or obligations. I keep my employees and vendors happy if I am paying them on-time and of course the right amounts. I've used a few companies this week to help me receive my cash timely and pay people time. I'll list a bunch (which include a few I use):

• Paycom
• Intuit Quickbooks
• ADP
• Paychex
• Gusto
• Your Bank

To keep things simple, for

Cash Flow and Receivables --- I channel The Notorious BIG on the song Get Money. Good contracts and tracking how much and when you're owed will ensure you'll never have to say the following lines: "Guess you could say your the one I trusted / Who would ever think that you would spread like mustard?"  

Payroll - Get help here, you're dealing with the laws. Don't be cheap on getting this right, as there are plenty of online software.

Payables - Paper or Plastic?  Believe it or not checks are the primary option for free delivery of payments to you employees or vendors. NOW you see why this area is ripe for disruption by startups. (hmmm maybe that will be my next startup company). Expect to pay a fee here to deliver payments directly to a bank account (direct deposit) --- but it reduces the risk of lost checks...and saves time.

#sidehustleseries   #paydebtslikealannister   #dontletcontractsspreadlikemustard  #paperorplastic #sanantonio  

Pfizer + BioNTech Announce Phase 3 COVID-19 Trials are 90% Effective

 Currently, the stock market is surging by over 5% in the pre-market (before it has even opened) signaling the direction of this good news. Key Points:

Pfizer - American Company

BioNTech - German Company

Industries that will benefit the most: Travel, Airlines, Hospitality, Restaurant and in general value stocks

If you recall in March, I pull all of my personal retirement funds OUT OF the stock market. Quite simply, this is a game-changer. I will be moving my retirement funds back into the market. I may be a bit pre-mature but finally there is a small light at the end of the tunnel. 

More to come but I need to make these portfolio adjustments and share the positive news.

CRONOS | ROKU | COLLECTORS UNIVERSE - 20% Increases After Earnings

ROKU - The reason I'm not active on social media is so it doesn't distract my investing. People tend to push their views on each other --- they call it their platform nowadays. I tend to allow data, research and science do the talking. For example, I wrote a post back in March about how we needed to aggressively defend against the virus. When it was clear our administration had no interest in taking the prudent steps I saw other countries taking, I didn't go Batman and start yelling on social media. I told my community to invest and go in Robin mode. Robinhood that is, we invest in things that unfortunately will benefit in this tough environment. Invest and then plant seeds in your community. 

Roku hit a low of high $50s and now just topped $250 after it reported earnings on Nov 5th. Just a few days ago this stock was touching $200, see the red highlight below. 

 

I have been speculating, guilty as charged, placing additional bets this stock wouldn't go parabolic before it reported earnings. It was a tight window and the trade worked beautifully. I saw a trend yesterday and pulled out after making over $5.5K in about a month on this stock. I'm glad I did b/c you could see this trending higher in the graph above. I put the trade on and took the trade off @ 3:59 yesterday, 1 minute before the market closed! It would not have gone well if I held on until today as the stock has gone parabolic baby!!! Not advised for rookies but how you play both sides as I actually own the stock as well and benefiting from this ride up. Here's that trade, time to find another trade to make: 

Stock                                                     Purch Date        Sold Date                   Gain   % Gain

CRONOS - Legalized marijuana was on the ballot in roughly 5 states. Again, I don't judge I just bet on the direction that the people's will is taking them. #countthevotes

Trust me people are moving to medical and personal marijuana use and less collateral damage on communities of color because they were in the past getting locked up for selling something that may not be legal. Cronos is up 20% and do to the % short (or ppl betting against this stock) there will be a party to get out of that trade leading this stock and other MJ stocks higher.

COLLECTORS UNIVERSE Thank you Warren for teaching me patience. I've owned this stock at least since 2008. Through the good and the bad I've held with strong conviction and received a healthy dividend and now I'm reaping the benefits of the growth or appreciation. Congratulations Collectors you are my first ever 10 bagger as billionaire investor Mario Gabelli often says. This stock have increased over 10 tenfold for me and proof as to why we should defy labels, boxes, and barriers!!!

 I'm investing my way out and teaching other people that look like me how to do the same. Just this year alone you could have been up over 700%, and the reason I know this is because I added this stock this year to my 401K plans and advised others who added it to their portfolios.

Oh Snapchat - What's the Difference Between Speculation + Investing

 Hello All - I've got a lot of things cooking, as day by day we incrementally improve our lives and the lives of others. More to come on what we've been up to. Really quickly --- I read an article about passive investing and the focus of the article is there is no such thing. I somewhat agree with the premise, but one must know the term usually stems from a financial and tax code designation of whether you are "active" in the management of a business or "passive".  It's only natural that other areas within the business and investment world have piggybacked off of this term. 

It was a cute discussion but not very helpful in the sense that legally you must determine whether you are an active participant in a business and how it functions. Quite simply, if you are not active --- you are considered a passive manager --- or in simpler terms it's NOT your day job. 

I wanted to change the objective of the topic and focus on what we agree on. We agree that there is really no such thing as being a "passive" or "part-time", or "arm-chair" investor in anything that you do in life. Think about how I view investing --- it's more akin to planting seeds. When you plant seeds you must dig, till the land, plant seeds, fertilize, water, prune, and pick the fruits of your labor. So if you find an investment that doesn't take this kind of maintenance in life please, please SHOW me. I believe in the theory that there are main hustles and side hustles. It's simply a way of "prioritizing" your investments. For me my hustles include:

• Private Sector Employment (aka Main Hustle, aka 9-5 job)
• Small Business Owner (aka: Side Hustle Number 1)
• Real Estate Owner (aka: Side Hustle Number 2)
• Stock Market Investor (aka: Side Hustle Number 3)

I search for balance in life and also in my investments or hustles. There are days, weeks, months where my Side Hustles eclipse what I earn in my main hustle. Those are great times and some days, although rarely nowadays, my main hustle is primary source of income. While many say this means I'm too busy, I say it FREES me up to spend more time focusing on my #1 priority - family, friends, freedom. When adversity or life events hit, I am phased but like a prize fighter this structure allows me to bounce back quicker...working on my core...my pillars. 

The old American saying goes if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything (I think, remember I'm African). It also should say if you don't own anything, you'll be cornered by anything. Life will take its best shot and we bounce back quickly through our beliefs, values, family, friends, and inner spirit. Not by what special interests say you should do --- which are often in their best interests...not yours.

I share this story because I decided to speculate this week. I did absolutely NO research into the trade I made. I was listening to my PM stock updates and there was a discussion about "unusual activity" being seen in Snapchat, the social media platform. I don't use SNAP and had done no research and simply made a small bet based on this news briefing. I was prepared to LOSE the amount invested. In 24 hours, this bet performed brilliantly. I had no clue Snapchat was reporting it's earning (or how much money it made in the last quarter) and they reported a very positive outlook. I should have done better due diligence, but I knew the difference:

Snapchat - Say Cheese to Speculation ($200 in 24 Hours):

Investing - Want to invest, watch my boy Rick Ross. He prime hustle is rapping. The small business  he owns is his record label (Maybach Music Group). He owns Wingstop franchises, I believe an adult entertainment club off of the water in Miami (I don't judge), and I would say he has an impressive real estate portfolio. He owns the old Evander Holyfield Estate --- ALL 254 acres of it and just purchased 87 more acres of land in Georgia where land is much cheaper than S. Florida. Job well done Rozay. You take everything away from him and at least he has land --- land to build on or even camp on should times ever get rough (but I doubt that will happen...he's planting seeds). Don't let special interests take options away from your life...nurture your pillars, invest in yourself, and to a better future.

Source: Rick Ross, Instagram 

How Netflix Shows Help Me Invest - Mindhunter | Black Mirror | Beats

 

Mindhunter - This show is about the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and how they first formed the Behavioral Science Unit. Simply put, this is the unit that came up with a methodology for investigating the murders that most local police forces couldn't solve. They coined the phrase "serial killer' and how to profile people. Oddly enough, maybe we do operate in "patterns" and when you consider history...it can often be used to solve the most complex murders. The irony in the show is how often people "back then" said this type of thing doesn't happen around here. I guess when it comes to investing, I try to create a profile of the economy. I ask myself what events and triggers are likely to occur because of my profile analysis. I do lots of research, as history tends to tell a story that often and sometimes unfortunately repeats itself. Finally, I look back in time for patterns. Patterns, especially those found in charts historically help me find great entry points to plant seeds --- or invest in companies.  

The simple mind easily complains about the athlete on TV who grinds through a physical game and calls them spoiled brats...the mindhunter wonders who pays all the salaries of the athletes on a team and how can he/she afford that payroll.  Makes you ponder -- if a particular league is 75% one race --- should coaches and executive management look more like the end product.  I guess they've never heard of no taxation without representation. 

More to come from me on Ice Cube's Contract with Black America. Just imagine if the decision - makers (Congress) had a guide to some of the items that could improve life for African Americans. Decent thought Cube, but bend your mind further --- why doesn't Congress simply reflect the represent 15% of the population that African Americans represent. No taxation without real representation. 

In The Dark - This show gets a thumbs up from me. I like the premise of the lead character being a blind person who has a messy life. We all do, so it's refreshing that they add layers of complexity to this show. It even turns the table on of the white savior complex as a black person actually is capable of helping the damsel in distress. While this theme is short-lived,  they go back to a white person saving the day but they tried. I cite this movie, because eventually as a society we are SLOWLY moving away from fake narratives and getting more real. Black people can help and save white people too. The cute white girl that's blind can have a life full of messy complex vices. This is REAL. Just like it's real when states are struggling to make ends meet. It again doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize they will have to find creative ways to balance their budgets. Hence my mindhunter investments into stocks like: Ceasars, Draftkings, and other gaming stocks. Just image that, the culture that holds puritan values so high needs gaming to save the day. It's just reality. When I travel to the United Kingdom, sports betting is prevalent on every corner. I can walk into a store that looks a lot like how a cell phone store is constructed here in the US. Instead of buying an I-Phone you can place a bet. Makes you wonder who is actually "In The Dark". 

Dark - After Black Mirror, the show "Dark" was easily next favorite series to watch. I couldn't spoil this show for you even if I tried. It's a German series that attempts to discuss how life is connected in more ways that we can imagine. I like the premise because as humans we attempt to dumb down life by only talking about the duality of life. What does this mean --- well have you ever heard someone describe things as simply black or white...good versus bad/evil?? This shows turns that concept on its head and blows up the duality narrative of life. We all know the concept is BS but we go along for the ride at every step of the way. What explains gay marriage, legalized drugs and gambling, priests who abuse their power, white supremacists', and so many other complex subjects. Boardwalk Empire shows us that will enough $$$ the prohibition of alcohol can be done away. The three-fifths clause in the constitution shows you how dark the human mind can delve to justify a means to an end. I am pro-business but I also recognize that business invest in the areas that need transformation --- in government we call this entitlements. I believe in social values so why don't we pay government workers private sector rates so that they can put food on the table and fund their own retirements and even possibly rid the system of pensions (or contractual obligations) that now many want to backtrack on and not pay? Why is this all so DARK, maybe because we try to simplify this into a dual world - good vs bad and black vs white...and it ain't that simple.

Black Mirror - Black Mirror is hands down my favorite show and describes my persona to a "T". I couldn't understand why so many don't see the harm of social media like I clearly see it. I've only had "that feeling" I get when I log into Facebook one other time and that's when I played a slot machine in Vegas. I've only done it once and it was crazy how it made me feel. I almost lost my entire $40 dollars and was prepared to go against my principle of adding more $$$ when I hit it $400 large. Then stupidly I thought well maybe I could do it again. I probably gave another $60 dollars back and decided. Enough was enough...I pulled the plugged. That dopamine effect was a feeling I've never felt before until I logged onto Facebook. The need for likes, the need to only post my travels, night outs, and big purchases. Then I decided 5+ years ago, this is overrated. So I don't log on and when I do, you get the good, bad and ugly of my life. I remind people, if someone is giving you anything for free in life --- YOU are the product. 

Beats - Finally, I wanted to highlight the movie Beats. This movie is about making it out of your environment and overcoming adversity. I don't always like the background of the need for music to black people's away out --- but music is in our DNA whether you are African, Jamaican, or African-American. I remind people to expect the road to be hard. The biggest thing I tell people to do nowadays is learn how to be independent. Find a service, skill, product that people need and be supply them with that legally. Negotiate your own terms and sleep better at night because I have no one to blame but me. More to come but I signed by first major business contract just a few months ago. I saw the tactics used against me were signs of systemic oppression because I became woke to how people were making money off of me the "talent". I appreciate the introduction, but why do you get paid tens of thousands of dollars when I'm the consultant and doing the actual work. I will tell you about this journey soon and how I am hiring people of color in an IT landscape that screams for diversity.

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My job is to help the largest corporations in the world to simplify their most complex and riskiest businesses. So I do that for people here when it comes to the economic engine of the world. It's a machine that has patterns. People at as if the world operates in a black and white manner but it simply does not. Right now its simple, the US government has printed 13 Trillion dollars. Most of that has gone to companies. Those companies are skyrocketing as their stocks are going through the roof. Roku is up so much that I am simply making trades each week that will make money betting the impossible will not happen. For example, Roku will NOT increase 30% in one week and if does not, please cut me a check. I usually execute these trade when I am supposed to be most scared --- when Roku reached its all-time high of $239 just in the last week. They want me to be scared to put the trade on but I'm not. I simply do it for the culture -- we can be talk about how wrong the system is or we can Robin Hood it and help our folks. I don't see them listening and trust me a system this rigged ain't changing anytime soon. Here is me slamming Roku. I trust you can do math on my gains. Any trades highlighted in Green means I only held the trade for 7 day, IMO a week. Not bad for a guy with a 9-5 and a side hustle.

Note: I'm masking my trades as I hope to dust off an alert service startup company I had dreams of running over 10 years ago. For almost a year, I've been literally an open book in hopes of teaching and showing people a different way. I'm not here to motivate, just to plant seeds. If we plant enough seeds, change gon' come. 

The US Economy Has a Stimulus Hangover

 I fear the US economy is starting to feel the hangover effect, after binging on $13 Trillion, yes with a "T", trillion dollars of stimulus. I'm not going to argue whether it's needed or not because I previously said stimulus to main street America is definitely needed. But the hangover reminds me of how I felt after a Saturday night of partying in Chicago once we officially transitioned from winter to warm weather --- everyone was out drinking.

When I think about government stimulus, everyone this spring and summer was wasted off of stimulus. If you were unemployed you got an extra shot of stimulus in the form of $600 added to your unemployment pay. For small businesses and then surprisingly large business (remember my post on even the LA Lakers organization getting PPP funds), we benefitted from stimulus if we promised to bring workers back. We soon found out many of my business colleagues graciously took the money and then far too many decided NOT to bring workers back --- why because they were more concerned about tying the funds to when business would come back. But being in the RISK MANAGEMENT business, this is fundamentally flawed thinking. The PPP experiment as I call it was a social experiment to see if as a nation we could band together and do what's best for our neighbor financially. I'm sad to say, the experiment didn't work as business people fought it along the way, while cashing in the money. During a health pandemic where people SHOULD stay home quarantined, you cannot expect business to return back to normal --- use government taxpayer money to keep people afloat. 

Note to anyone reading -- What kept people going was the unemployment checks and the extra bump of $600, it caused an e-commerce boom. How do I know, well I am in the Cyber Risk Management business. I have been getting calls from all over the country to help people do more business across the internet. My most amazing story is a company that sells boats and luxury yachts in Florida. They called me and we discussed business. At the beginning of the pandemic, no business because their model was predicated on customers coming in. But they quickly learned they needed a robust web platform as they were getting boat and yacht orders left and right. It sounds like most of us in Corporate America could keep going as we could work from home and buy boats and yachts but I wonder about the front line worker who is exposed to the virus on a daily basis if you're driving a bus, riding the train, or working the grocery checkout system. No national quarantine holiday in my humble opinion was a bad risk management move.

Why do I think we're feeling a hangover let's look at the news:

Company Continue to Announce Layoffs - 

• Airlines - this industry announced 35K job cuts and some anticipate this number will top 100K
• Disney - announced 28K layoffs
• Salesforce - initial pledges were made to not layoff, well soon thereafter they announced 1K layoffs

Jobless Claims Continue to Rise

As an investor, how do I keep track of economy. I use one indicator called the Jobless Claims report from the US Labor Department. The data is staggering:

• As of September 30, 2020 25 million required jobless benefits 
• Last week (Oct 10, 2020), - 898,000 new persons applied for jobless benefit aid for the first time
• To put this data into context, during the 2008 Financial Crisis that I believe was the worth since the Great Depression, the number of first-time applicants peaked @ 665,000 

COVID-19 Continues to Spike 

• France noted that 40% of it's hospital beds are filled w/ COVID patients
• Europe cases are rising
• The rural US is now the leading source of new cases
• And unfortunately people are fatigued or bored with staying home

Like a patient addicted to stimulus, the stock market is calling for more. What happens if we don't get more --- a painful withdrawal??

The ride up has been nice if you bought into e-commerce and stay at home stocks: think ROKU, PELETON, AMAZON, FACEBOOK. Everything else hasn't moved much...need proof I believe the S&P500 is up only 4%. So my barbell approach is still working. My retirement funds are safe (not invested in the market) and my investments in ROKU and Collectors, Sprint, Alibaba Allergan and others have surprisingly made me a tidy fortune during the pandemic. Real Estate is the other area where I'm poking my nose in. 

A reminder to not drink the Kool-Aid --- you'll avoid a hangover. Stick to the pillars.

What You Need in Life -- Invest Like a "Middle Child"

 

Investing In Yourself – Using Pillars to Build Your Core	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/urbanomics-pillars-path-set-for.html
Setting Budgets + Saving for Black Swans	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2013/02/personal-finance-budget-101-free-credit.html
	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/11/hey-henry-high-earner-not-yet-rich.html
How to Open My First Brokerage Account	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/personal-finance-101-starting.html
Diversify your Life (Mind, Body, Soul, + Investments)	Search My Blog

The Pillars - The Miseducation

In my culture, lessons are taught by the elders to the community and especially to the young children. Ironically, one thing has not changed over time which is song is a form of communication used to narrate stories.  This is still on display today with the power of music artists sharing stories through song  If you have read my blog you know that I like a flashback and reference songs that were defining for a generation.  When I thought of this post, a song came to mind popped in my head that defines success.  Success for many could be summed up through the hit track "Money, Power, Respect".  Many will believe this song was a track by Lil Kim.  Simply, before there was a Nicki Minaj or Cardi B there was Lil Kim eviscerating hooks like she did for the L.O.X on this track.  No disrespect to The L.O.X or Lil Kim, but my generation and generations before that bought into the wrong message:

See I believe in money, power, and respect. 

First You get the money. 

Then you get the power. 

After you get the power, MF will respect you

Song: Money, Power, Respect; Artist(s): The L.O.X ft. Lil Kim,

While Lil Kim described one way to obtain respect, she forgot to tell you that this way is not sustainable for everyone.  So I challenge, what you need in life --- are the pillars.  We need to strengthen our mental fortitude through education.  Those are skills that can never be taken away from you.  We need to use our skills to invest in our own assets.  By being independent, no one can dictate the terms to how you live, especially if you live within your means.  I'm proud when I see people discussing the pillars in our community here a few recent examples:

I believe J. Cole's has unplugged from the Matrix and understands the Pillars. He's on the same mission, Check out his lyrics from the track "Middle Child":

What good is the bread if my brothas is broke?

What good is first class if my brothas can't sit?

That's my next mission

That's why I can't quit

Just like LeBron

Get my brothas more chips

I think Kanye read my post on Master P. Go back and read how I wrote that over 20 years ago he inspired me to be independent, black owned, and bout it bout! People are finally understanding the stakes. Yes, Kanye you are the talent, why don't you own your own masters sir. Don't be afraid brotha because as a producer, artist, businessman, and family man you owe it to yourself, family and community to negotiate your own terms as long as you know your worth. Thank you for seeking out Master P and as I've told many people, you will grind for years but you must flip the switch to negotiating own your own terms when the time is right. I look at all my business deals closer, eliminate the middle men, and because it's my business I can choose to keep the money in my community and invest in people who share my values.

For years I've been talking about living within your means and prioritizing ownership and investing in assets that appreciate.  I was pleased to see the rapper Plies make this comment:

Finally, I'm hopeful people are listening.  I read a great story and about a business man, named Young Bleu.  He talked about his goals of being an independent music artist and how he already owns a few assets: a house and a restaurant.  And the thing I love the most about his article was an example that he gave: Young Bleu Interview courtesy of HipHopDx:

"I’m going to put it like this. Just say as a rapper, you got $400,000 in your account. You don’t got a house, right? Now just say that your label say, “F&ck you.” You know what I’m saying? “F&ck you. We don’t want to do nothing with your shit right now. We don’t feel like we want to do shit with you right now.” All right. You got $400,000 right? Okay. A nigga come up to you and say, “Man, shit. I can get your record going. Shit, we can go and do radio 150,000, 200,000.” Okay, there’s always a chance that this shit might not go as planned. So now you only got $400,000 but nowhere to go besides what someone says they can do for you.

Now if you already had a house, you already had cars paid for, why would you spend the $400,000? You know what I’m saying? If all else fails, you have a home to go back to. But if you don’t you’ll be scared to spend that money if you felt like, “Damn. Shit. If I blow this shit, it’s over and I’m back at the bottom. Shit, I’ll probably be back staying with my mama. Goddamn.” You feel me? If you got your shit in order, you will be more comfortable spending money, you know what I’m saying?"

Sound familiar?? All I can say is well said young brotha. This young man understands the game.  If you dissect his statement, he says: "what is the point of having so much capital (or cash) in your account and you own nothing.  If you own a house and have assets to fall back on (especially if this house was paid off), then when someone approaches you about doing business you are more likely to take prudent risks and make more investments knowing that you have something to fall back on.  As he eloquently stated, if you don't own that house (or some asset that appreciates) you will be scared to spend that money. I have a 9-5 job and a side hustle for income; my assets range from: 2 homes, have a individual retirement account that I could live off of and I use my brokerage account as war chest and make numerous investments every day...I'm not scared because I approve every investment. I can't wait to invest with J Cole, Master P, Young Bleu, Kanye if they share my value (b/c I don't always see eye to eye with some folks). But if we can agree people of color need their contracts rewritten, need independence, and they need investment...then let's do business.

#pillars, #independent, #Master P, #Young Bleu, #MiddleChildInvesting, #J Cole #educationispower