Top ten collectible items that can land you a fortune

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Collectibles|TOP TEN COLLECTIBLE ITEMS THAT CAN LAND YOU A FORTUNECan someone be luckier than the young girl from Congo who discovered The Incomparable? As estimated to be worth $55 million, this diamond adorns the world’s most expensive necklace. That’s just one example of how collecting rare items can land you an unexpected fortune. Your grandfather might’ve owned an ordinary car back in the ’40s. He probably never thought it would become a vintage object in the future. Now you can sell this vehicle for millions of dollars. Do you know how rare William Shakespeare’s signatures are? Do you have a copy of Gutenberg’s first print of the Bible, or does your family own a book signed by its long-dead author? You can make easy money by selling an authentic photograph of Billy the Kid. A croquet picture of the American outlaw valued almost around $5 million in 2015. That’s how much people are willing to pay for rare collectibles. Collecting stuff is a healthy hobby. And, if you can contact the right pawn shop, this hobby often turns into sweet green. The requirements for a fortune-landing collectible are simple. They must be old, rare, and in demand. Below is the list of ten collectible items that can make you a millionaire in no time.

BOOKS

Books have always been a real attraction for the masses. Some have caused revolutions in human history, and some have changed our perception of the world. No wonder if da Vinci’s Codex Leicester gets sold for $31 million. You may have some rare first prints of the Harry Potter series in your attic. Signed copies by J. K. Rowling can earn you up to $2000. If you have first editions of the Kite Runner or the Twilight, that’s some treasure you’re sitting on right now.

GOLD

A wedding ring worn by your grandma can be worth millions today. There are gold watches with a price tag of more than ten million dollars. The 1933 Double Eagle gold coin is worth $7.5 million. Gold items can be sold for more than their face value if they have a history attached to them. If you are looking for an authentic platform to sell some gold, try Meriden Pawn in Connecticut for smart and secure trading. Jewelry will always keep its place among the most expensive collectibles in the world.

TRADING CARDS

The purpose of trading cards is for people to collect them. Kids have been collecting Dragon Ball, Pokemon, or Dual Masters cards for ages. The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card is supposed to be a rare collectible. These cards bring people into debates about their authenticity. A unique Pikachu Illustrator Card has only six copies left in the world, and each one will cost you a hundred thousand dollars. Your playable collectibles can make you productive overnight.

MOVIE POSTERS

What if your ancestors went to see Gone with the Wind and brought back a poster? Is it likely for you to have an old poster depicting Marilyn Monroe’s signature skirt? These things do have their market among connoisseurs. In 2012, a guy paid a million euros for nine vintage posters, including one from Metropolis. Someone paid $435 thousand for a one-sheet poster of The Mummy (1932). Even the relatively-modern ones from Casablanca and Pulp Fiction can easily make you a lucky fellow.

STAMPS

Stamps collection is one of the most common trends among collectors. This hobby isn’t always just-entertainment. Sometimes, you find in your possession a rare vintage stamp that is now worth millions. Only two Benjamin Franklin Z Grill postage stamps are in existence today. One in the ownership of William H. Gross is worth $3 million. The same goes for Inverted Jenny, Hawaiian Missionary, and Black Empress; all these stamps are valuable collectibles and are worth a fortune. The mistake of a careless printer can be the source of someone’s wealth.

VIDEO GAMES

If you were a fan of Nintendo games in the ’90s, you might be hoarding an expensive collectible. In 2010, the only known complete version of Atari’s Air Raid made a sale of $33 thousand. Possessing a rare copy of Tetris or Birthday Mania can be your key to untouched wealth. These video games have now become a cultural obsession because of their rarity and previous popularity. Atari only produced one cartridge of Gamma Attack, which is now worth $50 thousand. That’s how much you can make if you’ve carefully preserved your childhood memories.

DOLLS

Yes, dolls aren’t just for girls to play with interestingly. Some toys are worth millions if people count them as collectibles. A Barbie doll from the late ’50s can land you a quick fortune. A porcelain doll made 80-100 years ago is a luxurious vintage item. In 2014, an auction house sold one such Parisian collectible for $300 thousand. There are multiple ways to determine if your doll collection is a treasure or not. The mark of the manufacturer matters just as the age of the doll does.

COINS

Collecting coins is probably the second most common hobby after stamps. Some people have an obsession with gathering coins from different countries. Others go a step further and try their luck with the currency of the past. It’s sporadic to find coins buried in the earth. But you may have some vintage ones in your collection. Flowing Hair Silver is the costliest coin in the world. Someone bought it in 2013 for an incredible sum of $10 million.

COMIC BOOKS

Possessing an old comic book or the first print of a famous manga can be quite rewarding. A 1938 comic book depicting the first appearance of Superman made $3.2 million in 2014. The hapless guy who owned this collectible started the bid at 99 cents. But eBay proved to be quite generous to Darren Adams. Two hours into an auction and people were offering millions to purchase the debut issue of Clark Kent. If someone in your family loved DC/Marvel, you should try your luck with their belongings.

ACTION FIGURES

If you have an action figure in pristine condition, it can get sold as a rare collectible. A Darth Vader or Babe Ruth action figure is worth thousands of dollars. In 2009, an auction sold a 1963 GI. Joe figurine for $200 thousand. Do you know that there exist only two Elastic Batman figures left in the world? These stretchable collectibles are worth a lot of bucks. The market’s quite crazy for Star Wars action figures if you have the rarest pieces. The Goku Yardrat Variant Full Action Figure is so unique that only a few photographs of it are available online. It’s one of the most sought-after collectibles in the world of anime.

CONCLUSION

A 2000 research suggested that 73 million American citizens were collectors. It means that around 35% of the US population used to collect vintage items. Pamela Danziger stated that most Americans collected coins, figurines, trading cards, and dolls. From books and cars to Victorians and autographs, collectibles make a vast industry. A Forbes study revealed that collectibles constitute a $200 billion market. Therefore, there’s a good chance you’re one of those lucky guys with a rarity in his/her possession. So, start going through your memorabilia because a fortune’s waiting for you.

Where to make your first steps into property investment

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Where to make your first steps into property investmentWhether it’s something you’re considering as a new career path or a way of making your savings grow further, property investment can be advantageous. With so many options, it can often be hard to decide where exactly to invest your money in first. Here’s a look at the different types of properties you could invest in, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

General Real Estate

Most homes on the market are already lived in, and therefore ready to be sold on again as soon as possible. If you choose a house that is already decorated to a good standard, there’s very little you could do to increase its value. The obvious way to make money is to rent the property. To put it simply, the monthly price you’re renting the property, minus the cost of the mortgage repayments and any other expenses, is a nice profit in your pocket every month. This process isn’t without risk, though, and you’ll need to secure proper insurance if you go down this road.

Unless you are going to rent your property, it can be hard to make a profit on a general real estate property. You’d have to hold on to the property for several years and wait for an increase in the property’s value to even make the smallest of profits. Sometimes you can secure a good deal on a property if they want a quick sale, but you’ll have to work just as quickly to secure any extra money to close the deal. Hard money lenders such as Sachem Lending can offer you additional cash flow within days. They make their decisions based on the value of the property, so they won’t have to spend a long time reviewing your personal income and outgoings in detail. This means you could have the money in a matter of days, putting you in the strongest position to secure a deal.

Fix and Flip

This kind of property can offer a much higher return in a small amount of time, but it also involves the most amount of effort. The critical thing to realize when purchasing a property that needs a lot of work is just how much work it needs doing to it. Paying for someone to inspect the property might seem like an unnecessary extra expense. Still, it can be the most important investment you’ll make if they spot something which needs significant work and reduces the potential value of the property. If you’re buying a property that just needs a lick of paint and maybe a new kitchen or bathroom, you could have it back on the market in weeks with a much bigger price tag.

New Constructions

While starting a build from scratch might seem like the best way to be sure of investing in valuable property, several things could go wrong. Whether it’s how much property tax will be, how popular the area will be, the quality of the work completed, or even the taste of the potential market, there are a lot of uncertainties with this kind of property. The good news is this kind of property is often the most readily available so you could negotiate a good deal.

5 Reasons to Use a Mobile Office for Your Business

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | 5 Reasons to Use a Mobile Office for Your Business

If you’re considering taking your workplace mobile, you’re not alone.

Experts predict that the global market for small, mobile offices will reach $49.7 billion by 2024, as increasing numbers of businesses adapt to more flexible workplace practices.

There are many benefits to switching to a mobile office, and a wide range of mobile office designs to suit every company.

If you are unsure of whether or not to use a mobile office for your business, here are five reasons to do so.

1. Meet Your Clients Anywhere

One of the more obvious benefits of using a remote office is that you can offer maximum flexibility to your clients.

No matter what industry you are in, knowing that you no longer need to worry about locations for job sites is a liberating feeling.

Rather than forcing your clients to travel inconvenient distances to sign a contract or hear a pitch, you can come directly to them. This kind of customer service will be something your competitors simply cannot offer.

2. Visit Every Part of Your Business Operations

The same logic extends to every part of your operations and supply chain. Let’s say you are one of the countless companies that are considering using a co-packing service to package all of your products for delivery.

Once you have figured out how to find a co packer, you might want to bring your operations closer to them, to shorten the supply chain, and save money.

With a mobile office, you can bring the nerve center of your business wherever it needs to be. The cost-saving benefits of this are difficult to overstate.

3. Design an Office to Suit Your Needs

You want an office that suits the needs of you and your company.

If like millions of other companies in America right now, you have lots of employees working remotely, then you don’t want to be shelling out significant sums on oversized office space.

A mobile office can slim down your operational costs to exactly what you need, eliminating waste. You can also design an office that features all of the amenities that you need, and nothing more.

4. Eliminate Distractions and Increase Productivity

Common office distractions are a major drain on productivity across all sectors.

There are the common areas where employees gather to chit-chat all day. There are unnecessary trinkets scattered across desks. There is even the time-wasting activity of actually navigating a large office building.

All of these problems are eliminated with a mobile office, ensuring total focus on the task at hand.

5. Use a Mobile Office To Save Money

It almost goes without saying that a typical mobile office cost is significantly lower than the costs of renting conventional office space.

Typical offices have high energy costs, rip-off leases, and unnecessary charges for facilities and perks.

With a mobile office, you can cut out all of those costs that are impacting your bottom line, ensuring that every single penny is put to good use. For businesses with razor-thin margins, this can make the world of difference.

Learn More 

Now that you know the main reasons to use a mobile office, it’s time to learn more. Make sure to consult our Operations guides for regularly updated, expert advice on fine-tuning every aspect of your business operations today.

A Beginners’ Guide to Investing in Real Estate

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | A Beginners' Guide to Investing in Real EstateInvesting in real estate is a dream many share. And utopia is reaching a place where your investments not only achieve financial independence — where they pay for themselves — but also become a viable revenue stream. However, everyone has to start somewhere, and even the most renowned property moguls purchased their first property at some point. If you’re keen to begin your investment journey, here are some tips to get you started.

Boost Your Savings

Where are you financially? Before you look at properties, first focus on you. Before you research how to invest in real estate, you must do the groundwork and get a significant amount of savings behind you. How much of your monthly salary are you saving each month? Can you bump that up to 25-50% of your earnings, maybe more? What lifestyle changes do you need to make? Once you get yourself out of survival mode, you’re on your way to becoming a real estate investor.

Consider Your Strategy

Nobody should go into real estate investment without a strategy — a plan on achieving success. It will include exploring the types of properties you plan on buying, whether you intend on flipping or renting, and what your ideal portfolio will comprise. You should have a strategy for each stage of your journey, focused on getting you on the next rung of the ladder.

Do Your Research

While you’re saving, learn as much as you can about real estate. Keep an eye on the housing market. Follow investors and property developers on social media. If you have some free time, take up a side-hustle as a buyer’s or leasing agent helping busy buyers or renters find their dream home. Glean as much insight into the industry as you can so you’re knowledgeable and connected by the time you’re ready to buy.

Investing in real estate is a long game; but, if you play it right, it can be highly profitable. Stay on top of the market and learn as much as possible, and you’ll be well-positioned to take advantage of it.

Which Countries Love their Beer the Most?

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Beer|Which Countries Love their Beer the MostWe all love our beer. Regardless of country of origin, beer enthusiasts exist all the world over. Whether you’re enjoying a pint in the pub with a friend, sharing beers with a group while watching some sports, or kicking back after a long work week with your favorite IPA, beer is one of those things that everyone loves (and has a strong opinion about).

It will come as a surprise to no-one that the UK and the United States are two of the world’s largest consumers and manufacturers of beer. But which one gets the top prize? Let’s take a look at the countries where beer is most popular.

You might be very surprised to learn that when it comes to top countries for beer consumption per capita, that neither the United States nor the UK are even in the Top 10. Shocking, right? As it turns out, beer consumption per capita is highest for Equatorial Guinea, closely followed by Seychelles, Gabon, proving that African Nations certainly love their brews. Rounding out the top five are Czech Republic and Lithuania, proving that Eastern European nations love theirs as well.

While these numbers are a little surprising, they shouldn’t be. Beer is a great unifier, a beverage that has been around for centuries and is beloved all over the world. It is especially popular in countries where sport is a huge cultural factor, and each of these countries fits the bill.

Of course, the UK and the United States, as well as other western countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Germany love their beer too, especially if the sheer number of breweries and microbreweries that have cropped up in industry in recent years are any indication. Both the UK and the United States have seen a huge boom in the percentage of these microbreweries in recent years, with “craft beer” and custom IPAs, gose, lagers and stouts growing more and more in popularity on the daily.

These innovative microbreweries have taken the industry by storm, relying on recent trends and ever-changing tastes to bring unique flavor and technique to the art of brewing beer. These days, you can easily buy a hazelnut-chocolate stout at your favorite pub, or pick out a six pack of prickly pear pale ale at your local grocery store, just as easily as grabbing that old standby of Budweiser or Guinness. These breweries release new flavors and ideas with the seasons, in order to keep up with trends and popular demand.

Latin American beers or Cervezas can be counted out, either, as these are growing in popularity among beer enthusiasts around the world, as more and more microbreweries crop up in Central and South America.

One thing is sure: beer is just as popular as it ever was. While tastes and varieties might change, and enterprising young brewers unleash their creations onto the market, the one that will always stay the same is a love for the brew itself, regardless of culture or country.