[SteezeySteve]

Anyone here make money doing stuff like going to africa and securing coffee beans for export,finding emeralds in south America,securing luxury goods for warlords, smuggling blood diamonds,or any other adventurous solo wheeling and dealing in international non American countries gmanifesto style. (Just wondering if anyone is doing anything of this nature for a living and how you had the balls to find the opportunity to make your money in such an unconventional way) I know theres money to be made online with hard work and ingenuity that would allow you to travel and have freedom but something about the old school way of doing business in person appeals to me and long term if you can get to the level where you can work on deals and take vacations in between that would be pretty sweet.

Drugs or whatever super illegal stuff would be an obvious choice but there's the whole issue of ending up regretting your time spent in jail and record ruined...death/injury is less of an issue and more of risk i'd be willing to take...I'm one of those idiots who's almost joined the military just cause I wanna go to the field and have considered the legion a lot but the lack of money and legally binding cantract shit sucks.

Saw this documentary years ago and found it inspiring.

I'm turkish and have family in turkey so maybe that would give me a decent advantage if I decided to start looking into options available over there?
Anyways I know that there's people out there making money this way but how the fuck do you get into off the beaten path ways of making money like that?


Would it be better to dedicate yourself to the off the beaten path of success while young or get a career save money first then give your ideas a go?

[ProGambler]

Africa is a complete joke. My buddy (dark black) went there to make his fortune and couldn't get anywhere. Everyone wants a bribe and then runs without lifting a finger. Then I heard a friend of a friend made millions flipping land and real estate near infrastructure projects with inside info. Only go for it if you want to be dirty and are exceptional at manipulating people for your ends.

[scotian]

If you’re an attractive gringo, you can make decent money slanging cock in South America.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

(01-25-2018 10:33 PM)ProGambler Wrote:  

Africa is a complete joke. My buddy (dark black) went there to make his fortune and couldn't get anywhere. Everyone wants a bribe and then runs without lifting a finger. Then I heard a friend of a friend made millions flipping land and real estate near infrastructure projects with inside info. Only go for it if you want to be dirty and are exceptional at manipulating people for your ends.

I tried some business in Africa too - and I even knew the ruling family. The corruption is deep, you need even deeper pockets and insider knowledge. Our pockets back then were not deep enough.

The real estate project described above sounds about right.

But I would not call these things jobs in the real sense.

[Teep]

The opportunity in Africa and other 4th world countries is going to be with the NGOs and intl governments operating there. They're honest, and they have big budgets.

They're always contracting work out (construction, security, etc.).

[GyopoPlayboy]

Nigerian guy I know bought up used smartphones in Korea super cheap...like cents on the dollar, to resell in his home country. Was a multi millionaire.

I guess you just gotta know how to spot the opportunities yourself.

[Hypno]

I have a friend who is a Polish citizen who lives in the U.S.

He created an "employment agency" to source English speaking nurses in Poland to work in the U.S. Hospitals in the U.S. are keen to get nurses because they are relatively low paid and always in demand. You could probably do something similar in the Phillipines, or some other countries.

[Icarus]

Oddest way of making money I ever heard of was Save Toby. In short, "pay me or I will eat my pet rabbit!!"

[germanico]

[tomzestatlu]

Interesting thread. I am that kind of person, who would leave in a day for adventurous opportunity. But I think, that due to globalisation, these times are gone.
All the personell is provided by NGOs and contractor agencies.

[Jetset]

I've seriously looked into various export/import schemes over the years, but never got anything going. Garbage is a surprisingly interesting business with multiple layers of revenue streams and probably where I would look first.

Most areas already have local scrap lords capturing manufacturing waste, etc., but line up some non-traditional sources and you could control a huge vertical. The Weitsman shredding operation in the rust belt got so big he had to buy out a yard at Port of Albany.

Cans, bottles, jewelry, cars, electronics, everything goes back in the supply chain and often goes around the world first. Even some developed countries are importing to burn for energy.

[kosko]

(01-25-2018 10:33 PM)ProGambler Wrote:  

Africa is a complete joke. My buddy (dark black) went there to make his fortune and couldn't get anywhere. Everyone wants a bribe and then runs without lifting a finger. Then I heard a friend of a friend made millions flipping land and real estate near infrastructure projects with inside info. Only go for it if you want to be dirty and are exceptional at manipulating people for your ends.

Africa is a big place you know...

Yes, bribes are a price of admission to get things moving, even the locals have to pay them.

For your friends who all ran off, I know much more who are making a killing doing simple things. I have told the example of a connection which is making truckloads of money merely providing ice to hotels, nobody had a way to do it consistently, so he stepped in.

Car export to West Africa still can be good for easy 4-5 figures but you have to establish a connection who will always bring you, buyers when you decide to put down money up for a container.

Africa, it is the last frontier. You can stick your hand in the ground and find gold in many places. Some folks can't tolerate the risk or the customs, but I am sure California in the height of the Gold Rush was a place of moral stability also.

[Tail Gunner]

There are always arbitrage opportunities. It is not even necessary to do it internationally. Years ago, I knew a guy who made big bucks simply buying diesel Mercedes on the East Coast of the U.S. and then transporting them to the West Coast and selling them there. He made more than $10 grand per car.

It seems that, at that time, Mercedes only periodically imported diesel cars into the U.S. and, when it did, provided them only to its East Coast dealers. So, very few diesel Mercedes ever made it to the West Coast and, as a result, there was a huge price difference for used diesel Mercedes in these two areas. So, in his spare time, he located cars, bought them, and then transported them across the continent. During some years, he made more money in this part-time arbitrage scheme than he made in his day job.

Believe me, traveling to Africa is not necessary. Everyone seems to believe that the grass is always greener elsewhere. Educate yourself and keep your eyes open and opportunities will reveal themselves. Having said that, one great way to make money is to take something that already works well in the U.S. and transplant that business to Latin America or some other third-world country where there is a need. Unlike in the U.S., you will have no immediate competition. Kosko's example of providing ice to hotels, because nobody else did it well, is a good example.