In a perfect world, we would all have $500,000 in our bank accounts and we would live out the rest of our lives on a beach in Vietnam or southern Ukraine, surrounded by little hotties and cold drinks. Unfortunately that isn't reality, so I wanted to tell you guys what has worked for me, and hopefully you will also tell me what has worked for you (not what you think will work, but what has worked.)
I tried and tried to make my own business work.
1. Usually I researched the business idea, and in the current economic climate it just wouldn't work. So I dropped it before I even started.
2. If I found out that is WAS viable. It would ussually end up losing me money instead of gaining it.
3. Finally, and most rarely, I WOULD make a profit, but it was less than minimum wage in terms of hours worked and effort put in. That and usually some jealous a-hole would sabotage it, (like the jerk competitor that kept deleting my ads on craigslist for my phone repair business....jealous little b1tch)
I'm actually now of the belief that the world goes through seasons economically, just like the earth literally goes through seasons. This is because I tried so hard and still could not succeed. And yet, my father tells me stories of when he first arrived in Sweden, and he EASILY started a business, without too much research, effort, and VERY little start up money. Everyone I've spoken to that lived in 1960-80s Sweden tells me it was UP, UP, UP economically; like a promised land of sorts. They couldn't find enough people to work all the jobs they needed, wages were through the roof for workers, and profits were through the roof for businesses regardless.
Spring: A time when you can plant (start a business), because demand is plentiful and widespread.
Summer: The hot sun (of competition) has risen on the business world (the ground), but if your business is already started and underway and has established clients, you can get through this slightly tougher time, because you're already established (planted) and hidden from the heat of the sun underground.
Fall: A time for reaping the benefits of your hard work, before the winter comes and destroys it. (The winter being the poverty of others, and you wasting all the money you saved up from your properity, to keep a no-longer-viable business going, when you should really just be keeping the money and living off of it during the winter)
Winter: A time when realistically you can't start a business. You can't plant anything in winter, it will die. But large established businesses can still thrive; especially since there is no competition from "the little guy".
I think what separates these seasons is war. A war is the reset button. Once things get really bad, the politicians will make a boogeyman (ala Russia/Putin in 2016) start a war with this "villain" (since the people aren't going to tolerate the corrupt politicians anymore), and whoever wins gets to be the next land of prosperity/opportunity.
Before anyone says it: I am NOT saying it is IMPOSSIBLE to start a business right now, I am saying it is likely a waste of your time and you should wait until times turn around. You can't plant wheat in the winter and expect it to thrive. Don't believe the American stupidity that "if you just work hard, you'll succeed", that's absolute BS.
Anyway, that is my theory. Now on to how I am DEALING with it. I have bought an apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia. It's paid off. There are no property taxes, or condo fees, or anything else to pay. I pay about $12/mo for electric, $10/mo for gas, $8/mo for internet and a minimul amount for everything else (less than $5). I paid about $10,000 USD for this apartment. It's in a nice area.
This apartment serves more or less a singular purpose. It gives me a place where I can go whenever I decide I don't want to work anymore. I spend about $200/mo total to live here. One of the biggest problems with the west is their high cost of living. Unless you're very wealthy, you feel like you can't stop working because you're spending thousands of dollars every month. Also, if you can't get a job, you can feel like your life is over and you're about to be homeless. Whereas for me, all I do is take a $100 flight to Tbilisi and wait it out. With the money I have now, I could live here for years without working or doing anything else. I'd live simply and frugally, but that's alright with me.
I'm also prospecting. I'm hoping that apartment prices will skyrocket after Russia gains world(ish) hegemony (that's what I think will happen in the next 20 years or so) I own another one but it is not totally finished.
See the photos of the finished one:
Since I believe we're in Winter, I'm just saving whatever I can get my hands on. I'm no longer attempting to start a business.
Anyway, like I said in the beginning of the post: tell me what has worked FOR YOU.
he said turks are everywhere. 
Also Georgian drivers don't stop for pedestrians (cross at your own risk LOL). They are also horrible drivers, with no sense of safety. The people are great. You can find REAL friends here, not like in America where you can know someone for 5 years and they won't loan you 500 bucks when you need it...It's very interesting to me how "Friendship" has different definitions and meanings around the world. The girls are very feminine and traditional. Just a few years ago, it was not socially Ok to have a girlfriend here; you had to court. They are becoming more liberalised.
