Smart ways to earn extra money in the mean time?

I have never seen that one before,

 

 

Seriously?

 

 

That was in response to one of the self agrandizing ferrari-chat guys... Joe Martz. who posted THIS pile of pap all over the internet:

 

http://www.espritfactfile.com/codeofconduct.html

Seriously?

 

 

That was in response to one of the self agrandizing ferrari-chat guys... Joe Martz. who posted THIS pile of pap all over the internet:

 

http://www.espritfactfile.com/codeofconduct.html

 

lol I like yours better.

Seriously?

 

 

That was in response to one of the self agrandizing ferrari-chat guys... Joe Martz. who posted THIS pile of pap all over the internet:

 

http://www.espritfactfile.com/codeofconduct.html

 

I see.

I remember when that exotic car code of conduct was around pre-forums.....hehe.

 

And before Joe Martz gets slammed as an F guy, he had a Countach at the same time.

 

I've never owned an exotic but extrapolating some of my few lavish purchases in this lifetime, I can totally see where Webster and all is coming from.

 

If I would make one modification is that I bet it is magical for a day/week/month, just like any special toy....hehe.

Serious question, how did your employees manage to get that figure to $4m and $300k/mo without you knowing it? I don't mean to delve into your private business, but I'm wanting to learn from this so I can cover my ass in the future. It seems like it would be difficult to hide that kind of money and sneak it out the back door, without it being super easy to trace and have them all in prison for the foreseeable future.

 

It started in July 2013. In Jan through May sales were triple month over from the year previous. June was double year previous. In July it was about even. In August my monthly nut needed to break even was around $250K and we only did $40K in sales. I was like WTF. They were all like dude we got blacklisted, and this happened and that. Then next month $40K, then $30K, then we couldn't make payroll. Then people started to quit. Then I found old emails between my sales staff and customers where they were redirecting them to a company that they had set up on the side. Like I said we were doing $400-$500K per month in sales or more but probably $400K on average. We are now averaging about $80K-$125K. So that is where the $300K per month came from. The $4 Mil came from all of the intellectual property that they stole. They stole items with registered copyrights, items with trademarks, customers with contracts, employees with non competes.

 

The one thing I did good or bad was that I pulled out about 1.5 to 2M in cash and put it into some long term investments that I really can't access. Because of this I am set up pretty good long term, but things are pretty hard short term.

 

As far as why didn't I pay off the house. I was doing REALLY good in the stock market at the time. and I got my house at 2.75% 15 year fixed rate loan and got the Lambo for 2.xx% fixed rate loan. With rates that low it didn't make any sense to pay them off early.

 

Sounds easy though. Just sue them. Yep. Doing that. In three different states. Problem now is that lawyers won't take this on a contingency basis because they are afraid these guys don't have any real money. So after them taking all of my monthly income my Iowa lawyers want $50,000 before they will do any more. My Florida lawyers want $30,000 before they do any more. Even if I win then I have to collect which, good luck on that. My lawyers have told me I will most likely have to spend $750,000 in legal fees just to go after these guys. I seriously don't know what to do from a legal standpoint. I feel I am just throwing money down a hole. In the back of my mind I feel there are things i could do beyond the courtroom, but....

It started in July 2013. In Jan through May sales were triple month over from the year previous. June was double year previous. In July it was about even. In August my monthly nut needed to break even was around $250K and we only did $40K in sales. I was like WTF. They were all like dude we got blacklisted, and this happened and that. Then next month $40K, then $30K, then we couldn't make payroll. Then people started to quit. Then I found old emails between my sales staff and customers where they were redirecting them to a company that they had set up on the side. Like I said we were doing $400-$500K per month in sales or more but probably $400K on average. We are now averaging about $80K-$125K. So that is where the $300K per month came from. The $4 Mil came from all of the intellectual property that they stole. They stole items with registered copyrights, items with trademarks, customers with contracts, employees with non competes.

 

The one thing I did good or bad was that I pulled out about 1.5 to 2M in cash and put it into some long term investments that I really can't access. Because of this I am set up pretty good long term, but things are pretty hard short term.

 

As far as why didn't I pay off the house. I was doing REALLY good in the stock market at the time. and I got my house at 2.75% 15 year fixed rate loan and got the Lambo for 2.xx% fixed rate loan. With rates that low it didn't make any sense to pay them off early.

 

Sounds easy though. Just sue them. Yep. Doing that. In three different states. Problem now is that lawyers won't take this on a contingency basis because they are afraid these guys don't have any real money. So after them taking all of my monthly income my Iowa lawyers want $50,000 before they will do any more. My Florida lawyers want $30,000 before they do any more. Even if I win then I have to collect which, good luck on that. My lawyers have told me I will most likely have to spend $750,000 in legal fees just to go after these guys. I seriously don't know what to do from a legal standpoint. I feel I am just throwing money down a hole. In the back of my mind I feel there are things i could do beyond the courtroom, but....

 

Thats horrible man. I wish you the best of success in finding whatever the best/quickest way to make you whole again (or as close to it as possible). Karma is a bitch and hopefully justice will be served one way or another.

Thats horrible man. I wish you the best of success in finding whatever the best/quickest way to make you whole again (or as close to it as possible). Karma is a bitch and hopefully justice will be served one way or another.

 

 

Keep your head and keep going

Bigbadlambo,

Sorry to hear about this. That is a raw deal for sure but I am glad to hear that (in the big picture/long-term scheme of things) you are still doing well. That being said, you seem pretty savvy and given what you have built and your success, I think this is just a detour (albeit a bumpy one) for you. I have no doubt in 10 years you'll be at new heights in your career entirely, and this will be nothing but a rough patch.

 

 

I found myself in deep thought pondering my own situation when the question of "why didn't you pay things off" came up, and again when the stock market was mentioned. Truth be told, I ask myself that same question (and many other "What if's?") in my personal life all the time. Back in late 2009 and throughout 2010/part of 2011, I was riding high. I was investing in real-estate and trading microcaps in the stock market, and took one of my accounts from a $20k personal investment to $267,000. (while that is small potatoes to many on this board, it is a number I will always remember as that was my all-time high in a single trading account. I had been hovering around $250k in that one for a while but could never seem to get above that). Unfortunately, I got greedy, and the higher my account rose in those 2 years, the more sure of myself I became. I also have a decent "job" so at the time, I was making around $90k a year, which easily paid the bills and allowed me to look at my stock account as purely "gambling" or "future/speculative" money. After being on a winning streak for so long and convincing myself that a lot of "luck" was actually expertise and skill, I began swinging for the fence at every opportunity.

 

At the same time, a member here (and someone very local to me!) listed his Blue Caelum Gallardo for sale for a STEAL at $85k, and my Wife (then GF) walked in on me one night while I was looking at the ad. When I told her that I was seriously considering pulling the trigger and finally becoming a "Lambo Owner", she asked me how I was going to do it? (she knew that I was a trader and that I was always reading and researching at night, but didnt know much else about it or exactly what I had been up to). When I pulled back the curtain and finally showed her how much money I had between my Bank Account and 2 trading accounts, she was dumbfounded. I'll never forget the look on her face. I ended up passing on the Gallardo, telling myself that I was doing the smart thing and "delaying gratification", and that by waiting another 2 years to buy the car I'd have quadrupled my net worth again and would be worth millions (the "day-trading" success story that proved everyone wrong!). I became pretty respected on a few boards and trading groups, and I began networking with some very high net-worth individuals, exchanging ideas and sharing my research and DD with them while they returned the favor. Unfortunately, that is around the time things started to go bad for me. As I began (what would become) a very big U-turn or losing streak in my financial life, I continued to pour money into the market (moving $10-20k into my account at a time over lunch breaks) until eventually, I found a play that I was SURE was a game-changer. I went almost all in on a couple stocks over the course of a few months, and in the 6 months that followed most of my gains from years prior had evaporated. Again, like I said...i had gotten cocky and thought I had it ALL figured out. I think I went through a period where I became shell-shocked, refusing to cut losses and becoming more and more stubborn. I was SURE that I was just weathering a storm and that "things were going to turn around!" soon. I never even fathomed the amount I would end up losing, or that I would essentially have to start over when the dust cleared.

 

I remember talking to my Mom one night back then and telling her proudly "not to worry about things". We grew up very poor so I watched my parents struggle with money and putting food on the table for us my entire life. I told her that "I was going to change everything for her later that year, and that she wouldn't need to worry any longer". She didn't know what I meant at the time, and unfortunately, I never (or should I say, "Haven't YET" made good on that promise. The sad thing is, I regret not accomplishing that more than I will EVER regret not buying that Lambo. I don't know where I'd be without my parents, my Father died in 2009, and after working hard and struggling their entire lives, both of them deserve way more than life ever gave them.

 

Nowadays, I look back and ask myself constantly what life would be like if I had played things a little smarter during that period (or more accurately, had not been stupid and let greed overcome me). What if I had paid off my house in full back then? What if I had paid off my Mom's house, or bought her that new Cadillac she always wanted? What if I had put the majority of the money I was making aside in a savings account and had not touched it instead of consistently "doubling down" over and over again. Instead, 5 years later, I am still stuck in the rat race, waking up at 6AM to head an hour away to work, taking an hour for lunch and waiting for the clock to strike 5PM every evening. I still trade on the side part time, and while I do very well at my job I am nowhere near that "good life" or "escape" from the grind that I have imagined for so many years (the one where I am working for myself and don't have to answer to someone else for 9 hours a day). I feel like I set myself back a decade with the mistakes I made in those couple of years, but whether it is through smart investing, real-estate, or finally starting my own business...I am hoping to prove myself wrong very soon.

 

Funny thing, that Gallardo I was considering back then would be worth about $10-$15k today OVER what I could have bought it for back then (even 5 years later and if I had put tens of thousands of miles on it! And don't even get me started on if I had bought a Countach instead that year...).

 

Instead, I put the money I would have spent on my Gallardo back into the market, and ended up losing almost all of it the next year (the damn car would have been a better investment!).

 

The lesson in all of this? Always buy the Lambo!

The lesson in all of this? Always buy the Lambo!

 

fcuk cars. It's just a Lambo, not a holy grail. Don't let it drag you down, just keep your head up and learn from your mistakes and life will be better

Love this entire thread and hearing everyone's stories and advice!

My lawyers have told me I will most likely have to spend $750,000 in legal fees just to go after these guys. I seriously don't know what to do from a legal standpoint. I feel I am just throwing money down a hole. In the back of my mind I feel there are things i could do beyond the courtroom, but....

 

Damn, that's for sure a hard pill to swallow. Have you considered just taking 50% of that cash, throwing it into a marketing/promotional budget and do everything in your power to crush the other guys?

 

Best of luck man, i'm sure you'll land on your feet.

I learned one thing,

 

A wealthy man can afford anything but a conscience.

Im reading that 4 hour work week books and its fantastic! Contradicts a lot of advice given by many members here though haha

Back in late 2009 and throughout 2010/part of 2011, I was riding high. I was investing in real-estate and trading microcaps in the stock market, and took one of my accounts from a $20k personal investment to $267,000 it is a number I will always remember as that was my all-time high in a single trading account. I had been hovering around $250k in that one for a while but could never seem to get above that). Unfortunately, I got greedy, and the higher my account rose in those 2 years, the more sure of myself I became. I also have a decent "job" so at the time, I was making around $90k a year, which easily paid the bills and allowed me to look at my stock account as purely "gambling" or "future/speculative" money. After being on a winning streak for so long and convincing myself that a lot of "luck" was actually expertise and skill, I began swinging for the fence at every opportunity.

 

Mike that is very impressive.

I am sorry to hear that your streak came to a less than desirable ending, however I am sure you learned a lot.

Nobody can take that away from you. The stock market can humble even the most savvy investors.

I got an education myself in the markets back in 2000-2002.

I stumbled across these Dilbert cartoons a couple months back and saved them as I can laugh at them now.

Sincerely Vic

So, serious question bro. Have you ever fallen over from patting yourself on the back a little too hard ?

 

 

no i haven't, never will either. at least i got something to talk about. i lost millions too want me to brag about that-i got no problems admitting my weakness or my strengths. i've done things in my life, if i get cancer tomaro sure i'd be pissed off, but i have no regrets that i didnt do what i set out in life to do(except buying a jet-but i aint got cancer and i aint too old, there is time), i love the shit i accomplished and i'm proud of it. is that a bad thing? if i worked for 40 years at the auto plant and was a union member i'd brag about that-probably not get the attention but i'd still be proud of it.

 

What I dont have is pics of my cars plastered everywhere, the one pic with all of them was for a photo shoot I asked not to be named in, and WAS NAMED IN WHICH STILL PISSES ME OFF!!!, I dont have a facebook page-and WTF is that but a platform for little people to act big-it does serve biz purposes for some people. I dont post my resteraunt tabs online, there are no pics of my houses i ever posted online.

 

infact i dont know how to post a pic on a message board i never learned. so any of my shit you see is someone else putting my shit up 99.9% of the time, i have asked a couple people here to post a pic a hand full of times in 10 years.

 

i paint pics with words, i love my money, life, girl, cars, small cock, and bare feet

 

 

next victim....

 

 

eric

 

 

a man who has never made a mistake, has never done anything<--heard that one the other day, i liked it.