[Nakano]

Greetings from a long time reader of this forum,

Lately I've been listening to Stanford's entrepreneurship podcasts:
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/podcasts.html

I find them to be very inspiring, and they generally put my head in a more constructive/proactive frame of mind. I normally listen to political radio shows, alternative media drivel, which doesn't really help me make it in this world....just a never ending stream of festering negativity, regardless of how true any of it is. It is important to note, however, that the alternative media turns people on to thinking more about the well-being of the world. Nowadays, with the popularity of alternative media, there are more people striving to make the world a better place for everyone.

The general social consciousness has reached a tipping point that is extremely favorable to philanthropic endeavors.

200+ years of industrial society is definitely having its consequences on humanity's ability to sustain a future for itself on this planet.

But alas, let's not get into that discussion....

One particular podcast from Stanford that I found very inspiring is the one from Steven McCormick titled "Drive Change Through Entrepreneurship."

I agree with his assertion that there is going to be huge amounts of money being spent on philanthropy in the next 10-15 years. Environmental remediation, food security, water security, alternative energies...these are all worthwhile areas to concentrate on. Also, McCormick expels the myth that you can't make a decent amount of money from running a non-profit.

Personally, I've been grappling with the idea of heading into the non-profit sector vs. starting a for-profit endeavor. I'm not totally comfortable with the idea of having to rely on handouts (i.e. donations). Yet, a non-profit framework is probably more supportive of my field of interest: regenerative agriculture (using agriculture to actually solve some environmental problems). So my area of expertise has the ability to simultaneously address soil erosion, food security and water security over the long term.

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To back up, I'll tell you a little about myself: I'm in my late twenties, don't have a trust fund or anything like that to rely on. I have less than 10k in my name. I managed to milk my college education and use it to leverage me to travel (and live) in many countries, so I thankfully know firsthand that there are better and worse places to be, from a social perspective, than the US. Currently, I've got a book coming out, which is relevant to my field of expertise, and I am still deciding exactly where I want it to take me.

The best marketing advice I've heard for authors/self-publishers is to not rely on your book's profits, but to use the book as a calling card to leverage your other (higher-earning) products. So, what are some other higher-earning spinoff products after you publish your non-fiction book? I haven't brainstormed this very much, so I'd be interested in hearing what you all suggest. Consulting/coaching and information bundles (DVD's, audio tapes, etc.) are basically my only two ideas.

I'm debating whether to do more school (Masters and PHD), or if it's just a waste of time, and a vain crutch to lend more credibility to what I do. Personally, I don't think it's necessary since I'm a very auto-didactic person, and the best education is to learn from real world experience. Still, how do you address that issue of people not thinking you're credible, because you don't have some special college degree?

What I like to do is regenerative agriculture using novel tree crops. That's why I believe it should be executed through the framework of a non-profit. Since we're talking about trees, it may be ~20 years before some start to produce. Plus, the quality is variable from tree to tree. Therefore, this is all extremely risky from a mainstream investor’s perspective. I don't even think there is any investment that deals with that long of a timescale.

The best way to make this work would be to setup a non-profit demonstration farm in a foreign country to draw upon a cheaper labor force, and to donate some of the produce to smallholder farmers that are being pushed off their land because of bigger industries. Heck, you could even advertise, "exciting volunteer opportunities" to naive enviro university students living on mommy and daddy's dime. Also, there is potential for profit through: tourism (it would be an extremely unique, edible botanic garden), courses (e.g. people will pay several thousand dollars for a permaculture course that lasts for just a few weeks), and selecting reliable new crop cultivars that can earn royalties everytime any of them are sold throughout the world. Also, there are plenty of opportunities for university students to conduct field studies.

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The biggest challenge is time management. As an entrepreneur and “expert” in your field, you may often feel discouraged that you are not able to pursue your passion while you are hammering away on the business logistics. I certainly have felt this way because of my self-publishing. Also, it’s important to not submerse yourself too deeply for too long in the business side, or your bread-and-butter skills may become rusty.

Anyway, I’ve seen plenty of business books recommended on this forum. However, I’d like to get some recommendations for business books with the caveat of being geared towards an international business in a foreign country as well as being a non-profit. How can you setup a non-profit elsewhere as a non-citizen?

Since I saw it here on the forum, I’ll be reading the book, Million Dollar Consulting. Does this book address the issue of potential clients feeling like you always need another college degree or another internship or another apprenticeship, or another job before you’re “good enough”?

Hey Roosh, why don’t you do some coaching? Or another idea I have for you is to become a tour manager for teaching guys to seduce women in foreign countries so they can marry them and get a second passport. Also, you could probably make bank by tapping into the study abroad market, and offering a Cusco fuckfest crash course for virgin undergrads from the US.

[xsplat]

When I was researching starting a bamboo farm, I stumbled across a website explaining purchasing inexpensive land in brazil and making it suitable for farming through soil amendment using lime and rotating through some crops that eventually made it suitable for high yield food production. This is a new agricultural technology - previously the land was considered unsuitable for farming, and only useful for grazing.

I can't find the link now. I remember that land in Brazil is often sold for bags of soybeans per hectare, and that for farming on a profitable scale land size was recommended to cost about a million dollars and up. It was some of the least expensive land left on the planet.

I've also seen people investing in bamboo farms. So you could do as I was looking into, and convert the land to cultivating bamboo, instead of corn. You might even be able to sell carbon credits. The bamboo has strong industrial use value, and the farms should turn a profit in a shorter time frame - even as the remedial production of soy-beans and so forth brings in money. In fact you could be self sustaining financially within three years - even having paid off your land and land improvement costs, and use the food harvest profits to fund bamboo planting. Bamboo takes about 7 years from planting to harvest. And of course you could also mix in some of the tree crops you have been considering, using the bamboo and other crops to be profitable within an investor friendly time frame.

You could fund this as green investment, relying on both the greed motivation and the motivation to do good. There are other very large bamboo farms that also fund themselves through investors. There is no reason not to think very big for a project like this.

That land won't be cheap forever though. Now would be a good time to jump on it.

I haven't found my original in depth article, which was by a company that helped to broker land deals, but this might be relevant: http://www.businessinsider.com/brazil-ag...ure-2010-8 . The price per hectare that they mention is much higher than what I remember from the other article. I could be wrong but the figure of $300/hectare before your land improvement costs at the low end is what I remember was possible.

My original plan was to situate a factory on the farm to produce ply-boo and pickup-truck bed linings and wood flooring, and perhaps some finished cabinetry or even boats and barges.

I think you'll find that the environmental impact of farming bamboo would compete favorably with planting other tree crops, or even with rainforest restoration. The demand for the fiber products is only going to increase, and the bamboo farm will ease the pressure from other resources and produce the products in the fastest way.

I don't mind sharing these ideas as the market for such products is big enough. If you do this eventually I might even be one of your investors. I really like the idea of taking land only suitable for grazing, if that, and turning it into a vast lush bamboo forest, and having a small town of employees working on it in the factory.

[RichieP]

Why dont you go work for a couple first and learn the ropes?

Business is kinda a game unto itself and takes a few years before you even go "oh yeah... that's how it kindof-sortof works..."

Sounds like you've got alot of great ideas.

On needing a degree: you almost certainly wouldn't - not in terms of "having credentials" anyway. It might give you relevant skills/knowledge, but for something like starting a farm... no. No one will think you're not credible - the only people you need to impress are a) potential customers and b) investors. You do that by a) convincing them you can solve their problem/fulfil their desire, and b) convincing them they're going to get a return on their investment. You just need to know your shit and be able to pitch, market and sell.

Since you asked for book recommendations:

-Personal MBA - great overview of shitloads of business concepts
-Just Start - the entrepreneurial mindset in a nutshell (i.e. ready,aim,fire; learn from your experiences)

[Nakano]

Great responses!

The only problem with this sort of career is that it gets you out in the bush (and I'm not talking about the female kind), away from civilization.

How does the carbon credit "scam" work? I've heard of similar things, but I've never bothered to look into them in depth.
I know little about Bamboo. Why is there such a good market for it? What do people use it for?

My first choice would have to be the Chaco region of Northern Paraguay. You can buy FORESTED land for as cheap as USD $250 per hectare (2.47 acres) in some areas. I know many species of plants that can be grown very well in this climate as alternative crops. Also, I could manage a farm so that it starts producing niche crops its first year. Heck, selling sustainably harvested native mesquite timber for the charcoal industry would essentially pay for the land.
Here's a website to give you an idea:
http://www.ventacamposparaguay.com/farmland.htm

The cons are naturally salty groundwater in most areas, poor infrastructure and remoteness (landlocked country; essentially only one sizeable population center).

I was interested in a similar endeavor in central Mexico, but I don't feel like it's safe to do this sort of business in Mexico.

2nd response: I'll check out those books you recommend. By the way, I'm already working for a non-profit. What did you have in mind though? I assume you mean work for a for-profit company that is doing something like what I describe. Mostly what I need to work on is just teaching myself entrepreneurship, business, securing investments, pitching ideas, recruiting specialists, etc.

[lurker]

This is actually a FANTASTIC scam, especially for any US readers that have federal student loans to pay off. The NGO/nonprofit structure of the foreign entity you set up will count for IBR, you can essentially control your own AGI as the company isn't going to file a W2 on your behalf, and nonprofits can often provide their members with tax-free housing and automobile subsidies.

Which, of course, leads me to give out the ethically required lawyer-warning:
***NOTHING IN THIS POST SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS ADVICE TO EVADE TAXES***

...just remember, kids: tax AVOIDANCE is legal. Tax EVASION is not. Structure wisely.