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 

Finding Value in Media and Sports Stocks

Time to get back to the basics. I've been laying the ground work for how to build a successful business, but it's time to get back to the basics of investing.  Remember, investing is something every person should consider once you pay down your debts and establish a rainy day fund (savings account).  In my perfect social media world, people would go viral for:

- Paying off their school debt

- Putting off unnecessary purchases

- Improving their credit score

- Hitting their retirement goals 

While I personally turn off the tweets and so-called influencers, I do not deny the irrational impulses of the masses. Everyone wants instant gratification, personalization, and to think they are influencing someone else's opinion.  So I try to keep it simple by recognizing the trend: "Content Is King".  Some of my recent investments over the last few years have been media AND social media stocks:

Social Media - Twitter (TWTR); Facebook (FB); Snap (SNAP)

Media - Time Warner (Acquired); Time Warner Cable (I think Acquired), AMC Theatres (AMC); ROKU (ROKU); Twenty First Century Fox (Recently Acquired); Verizon (VZ); Disney (obtained through FOXA shares)

Sports - Manchester United

My investing logic is simple. With cutting the cord coming and the fact that I DVR record and stream most of my television viewing due to my busy schedule, I want to own the content and pipes.  My influencers love Netflix, Apple TV and Roku and I buy the content that they are paying top dollar for to watch on all their devices.  Because everyone is giving themselves (free content) away for free on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube for cheap...my investments are focusing on content specifically Sports.  Why!! Because Sports is one of the last few things that people WANT to watch live.  Take March Madness, NFL, NBA, and the English Premier League. This is amazing content bringing lots of viewers to the media stocks listed above. The games and players are the real influencers and it actually drives more business.  You do not have to believe me, just look at the how your favorite politician has flipped in the last decade. Very soon, a majority of states will allow legal sports betting to cash in on the trend.  If you do don't know now ya know: Fan Duel, Draft Kings are partnering with major sports leagues to get everyone betting Billions of dollars.  What am I watching next:

Media - CBS (CBS), Liberty Media, Madison Square Garden

Sports Betting - Ceasars Entertainment (CZR)  

The value is there for good content. I owned and watched Twenty First Century Fox's stock skyrocket as multiple companies fought to buy it out and Disney eventually paid top dollar. Then I inherited a new company with AMAZING content Disney. Every movie my daughter watches 50 times over are Disney movies. And sports is the Top Dog! 

URB Prediction: So I think Ceasars and their big bets on online gambling are good for business and they will be bought out in the next few years. If the NBA, NFL, and MLB were smart...they would form a consortium and purchase Ceasars outright.

How I Slay Life, One Hack at a Time…

Hello everyone! If you have ever read one of my posts you know I often write about the 4 Pillars of maintaining a strong balanced core to your life.  The purpose of a strong core is staying Physically, Financially, Mentally, and Spiritually fit.  I like “fit”, “woke” will do, and if you enjoyed the movie series “The Matrix”, try “unplugged from the matrix”.  Many of us claim we are woke but I’m not always so sure. Why?? Because life is constantly throwing things at us to weaken our core (e.g., tough jobs, debt, car issues, risk, etc.).  Then, there are self-inflicted things keeping us from truly being unplugged, fit, or woke: Procrastination and Lack of Accountability.

I joke that “The Matrix” is like the mainstream machine to get you to always consume, constantly share (reality TV style), and amazingly disregard facts and reason in lieu of opinions. Let’s take a look:

Need to Consume:

Every day is now a “National Day” to consume. Let’s see how many I can rattle off in seconds: Valentine’s, Halloween, Thanksgiving (which is really Black Friday…extended to Cyber Monday), Amazon Day, Christmas, and Alibaba even has Single’s Day (a made up event).  Goal: We help the Matrix break their sales record, while they help you break your wallet.  And it accomplishes one other key thing…it helps keep everyone hooked into the Matrix. Your friends, family, kids, spouse, co-workers, neighbors all try to outspend, over decorate, and stress over all of it. 

Ready for change, try these hacks:

Urbanomics Hack of the Century – I epically took down the need consume by setting a budget. This cool hack forces me to plan for things. Built into that budget is a buffer. Yes, for all those amazing “National” taco, donut, bosses, kids, and pet days.  Once I get to my budget limit, I stop. So commercials, spam emails, and all those amazing deals in the mail just don’t faze me because I slay them all with a few words: “Not In My Budget”.

How to Slay Digital Anxiety – My longtime hack of the digital era is a few cool things that most have not heard of. I simply do not take my phone most places. It has a really cool feature called voice mail. Next, I realized every beep is not so I initiated an premium upgrade (hackers special) that does not require me to respond to everything instantly.  I (whips the upgrade) pick moments during the day when I thumb through my texts, alerts, vmail, and e-mail and respond accordingly.

Epic Takedown of Apps – To truly stay woke, fit, and unplugged I eviscerate all mobile apps. Yes, I throw shade on every app, no exceptions. I simply do a few things that keep my life simple and focused.  I do not download apps unless there is an extreme necessity. For example, when I switched phones recently I did not add an app until a dire situation presents itself. It is strange to see all those lonely apps still waiting to be downloaded, but I’ll pass. And you’ll love this ultimate hack: I’ve never downloaded Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Instagram…whoever.  Two reasons: By forcing myself to login directly, I limit my screen time.  I’ll conclude my article with the 2^nd reason: I’m the product.  Whenever someone allows you to use something for free, WE are the “product”.  Which means The Matrix is getting way more value out of it than we are.  I recall from my educational binge watching of “Mad Men” that advertising companies are paid to know your age, preferences, views, and buying habits.  When the companies above finally decide to pay me accordingly for the information I provide them maybe I’ll download their app or use it more. I don’t need them…they need m and we just need to negotiate what I’m worth. Ironically, I have always kept a contact history, used job boards, and saved my photos through different methods over the years. It had me thinking back when peopled used rolodexes if they people were addicted to flipping through it and liking things. Or if they did the rationale thing…picked up the phone and had conversation, planned a trip, or closed it and had fun.  

Full disclaimer: I've invested in Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter multiple times this year. (Note: LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft and Instagram is owned by Facebook). I would be a FOOL to deny the mainstream draw to these platforms but I wonder about the unintended consequences. I'm sporadically only on FB and LI and try to disclose as little as possible. And until the model is figured out (note: regulation is coming soon), I'll gladly find ways to make money off of these platforms, while their users (who should be called talent or broadcasters) give their worth away for free.  And because I mainly post about investments, I don't think Snap, owner of Snapchat, is a good investment long term because I don't know what they do. Ads alienate their users and I would pick up the phone if I really wanted my message to disappear.

Facebook: Internet Rolodex

LinkedIn – Job Board / Staffing Agency

Snapchat - ???

Twitter - News?

Instagram – Hard Drive for Pics