Oleksandr Tereshchuk April 29, 2021

Business

2021 Consumer Trends and insights – Brain Food – 65 Takeaways

Consumers, about 55 percent are likely to continue buying more groceries online after the peak of the crisis. Nike’s first-quarter digital sales in China increased 30 percent
one year after the company launched home workouts via its mobile app, while property platform Beike said agent-facilitated property viewings on its virtual reality showroom in February increased by almost 35 times compared with the previous month.
In healthcare, digital interactions accelerated—the rapid growth of online consultations, partly thanks to a regulatory shift in reimbursement policy, as well as broader virtual interactions between pharmaceutical sales agents and physicians. These changes occurred ahead of the wide deployment of 5G technology, which will likely catalyze the use of digital tools.
COVID-19 has intensified the debate, with several governments calling for companies in critical sectors to relocate their operations back to their home countries and announcing financial support packages to facilitate this.
Investing in a supply chain and innovation footprint to serve China will continue to remain important.
Weaker companies, particularly SMEs that are not sufficiently agile or digital-savvy, are vulnerable to cash flow issues, unemployment, and business failure.
Attitudes to spending among consumers in their 20s and 30s, traditionally the engine of China’s consumption growth, have changed markedly in the wake of COVID-19. One survey showed 42 percent of young consumers intend to save more as a result of the virus. Consumer lending has also declined, while four out of five Chinese consumers intend to purchase more insurance products post-crisis. Savings have also rocketed—the country’s household deposit balance increased by 8 percent over the first quarter to reach 87.8 trillion RMB. Meanwhile, 41 percent of consumers said they planned to increase sources of income through wealth management, investments, and mutual funds.
More than 70 percent of respondents in our COVID-19 consumer survey will continue to spend more time and money purchasing safe and eco-friendly products, while three-quarters want to eat more healthily after the crisis.
COVID-19 might be accelerating long-awaited structural reforms to land, labor, and capital markets.
About 55 percent of consumers are likely to continue buying more groceries online after the peak of the crisis.
74 percent of Chinese citizens increased their online grocery visit frequency during the epidemic. Purchasing trade-offs amid a flight to quality: Chinese consumers have become more cautious as a result of the epidemic, tending to spend less but buying better quality products. According to a post-epidemic survey, close to half of Chinese respondents intend to live more frugally and seek value-for-money when selecting products, while 36 percent are more willing to spend more for better quality mproducts.55 Consumers are potentially seeking quality in their necessities, while focusing on value-for-money in other categories. A survey reveals that post-COVID-19, consumers increased their net purchase intention by the largest degree toward essential, health-oriented products, such as sanitary and health products, fresh food, and life insurance, while expressing negative net purchase intention towards non-necessities such as hair and beauty products, and large home appliances.56 Consumer complaints relating to quality have
also increased. In Guangdong for example, consumer complaints rose 40 percent on year in the first quarter to 98,000, suggesting tolerance for low- quality products and poor service is on the decline.
A majority of consumers told us they intend to keep watching e-sports and online fitness programs. Remote learning for adults looks like another trend that might be here to stay.
Trust is vital as consumers navigate an uncertain information environment, with 89 percent telling us they are turning to brands that they trust
Demand for dairy, vegetables, and eggs was 25-50 percent higher during the initial recovery phase than it was before the crisis. Supermarket and convenience store data shows that, aside from fresh food, popular items during and after the peak of the crisis included grains, ready-to- cook meals, packaged food, and snacks.
There was a reduction in demand for personal care products and cosmetics in January and February, and these categories are only recovering slowly.
In-store pickup, QR code and self-check-out are the most widely adopted digital retail initiatives.
About a third of consumers say they prefer organic but only 1 percent actually purchase.
We believe there is a potential 400 billion RMB opportunity for offline grocery retailers that can adjust their formats in line with shifting consumer behavior.
Offline formats such as wet markets, which account for 30 percent of the market, will lose share to modern offline and online channels.
Several convenience stores could achieve rapid growth by perfecting their use of automation and artificial intelligence to optimize operational efficiency, allowing them to compete in economic terms with mature players.
Offline retailers can take advantage of low-cost consumer traffic and mature last-mile delivery operations from delivery platform partners to unlock online business opportunities.
The majority of growth in the next few years will likely come from leading modern players who re-invent themselves in the digital era, ecommerce players, and new retail challengers.
Demand for domestic travel is approaching prepandemic levels. Hotel-occupancy rates and numbers of domestic flight passengers bounced back to around 90 percent of 2019 levels by the end of August, and railway travel also shows a strong recovery (Exhibit 1).
People of all ages are willing to travel again.
Most survey respondents would likely choose a self-guided tour or road trip.
Some types of travel, especially high-end travel, are booming. Borders remain closed for outbound travel, which means that domestic high-end leisure trips are booming. Occupancy rates at luxury and high-end hotels were back at 85 percent of 2019 figures by the end of August,2 representing a significantly faster recovery rate than that seen by midrange and economy hotels. In September, the average price for five-star hotels on leading online-travel- agency (OTA) platforms was up 10 to 15 percent year over year for trips over the National Day holiday in October. Furthermore, leisure travel to destinations in Western China and Hainan Province—which boast beautiful scenery, outdoor activities, and beach resorts—have seen significant growth.
Companies operating in markets with very low transmission rates may focus on rebuilding domestic demand, finding new channels, or exploring opportunities for travel bubbles.
Rebuilding demand and propelling volume (such as through discounts and presales) are key during the early stages of recovery.
For countries where—as in China—the outflow of high-end tourism-related spending is significant, it will again be important to focus on providing new or improved high-end domestic offerings.
The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of mobile and digital tools. Building digital touchpoints and experiences will therefore be essential. In China, social media and new media are now major sources of inspiration and information for travel decisions.
Asian shoppers buy luxury goods outside their home countries not only to benefit from lower prices in Europe, but also because shopping has become an integral part of the travel experience: buying a brand in its country of origin comes with a sense of authenticity and excitement.
Chinese consumers remain the biggest growth opportunity for the luxury sector. Brands, clearly, will need a new approach to attracting luxury shoppers.
From ownership to experience, and back again. “Experiential luxury”—think high-end hotels, resorts, cruises, and restaurants—has been one of the most dynamic and fast-growing components of the luxury sector. Millennials (those born 1980–95) opted more for experiences and “Instagrammable moments” rather than luxury items. Baby boomers (born 1946–64), too, were moving in this direction, having already accumulated luxury products over the years. While we expect the positive momentum of experiential luxury to persist, it will slow down in the short term as consumers temporarily revert to buying goods over experiences.
More than 40 percent of global luxury goods production happens in Italy—and all the Italian facto- ries, including small, family-based façonniers, have temporarily shut down.
Many consumers also craved comfort food during a time of anxiety. And they wanted value for money as they feared for their financial future.
Young people were feeling financial pressure as a result of the crisis–about half our customers said they needed to save more money, which helped us focus our response on value and non-discretionary purchases of things like breakfasts and working lunches.
Now, delivery is the mega trend and is already about 30 percent of total sales.
The rise of mobile pick-ups propels us to rethink restaurant design. How much do we reserve for seating versus bigger catering and kitchen capacity that would allow us to produce food faster? In tier one cities like Beijing, restaurant formats can be smaller because people are looking for fast service; white-collar workers in the central business district have more incidence of ‘grab and go’. If you’re in a lower-tier city, family occasions remain prominent, so we’re still committed to a full-blown dine-in restaurant experience.
The restaurant safety measures we put in place will probably be permanent. We still take crew members’ daily temperatures. If you buy McDonald’s takeaway, the paper bag still carries a record of who prepared it and their body temperature. At the office level, we are cutting back on travel. We found less travel is more efficient. Digitization is helping us reprioritize what needs to be face-to-face and what can be done remotely.
Amid all the uncertainty, clarity of purpose is important to inspire and to guide the whole company. Company values and culture seem to be invisible but are extremely important at times like these. If everyone shares the same values of being passionate in helping others and having pride in serving the community, we will be better people and build a better brand as well. From a business standpoint, it is a good time to reset and to reimagine.
On the consumer side, everything shifted to online. The out-of-home, on-the- go channel completely shut down, and we cut down our stock-keeping units (SKUs) to focus on a core of three or four. That’s all consumers wanted–stuff they knew they could trust: Coke and instant noodles.
The acceleration of the online channel has been breath-taking and is here to stay. Except for market visits, I’ve only been into a supermarket three times since March; I even ordered a dozen eggs on my phone and they arrived in 30 minutes! The hard part is figuring out who pays, the seller or the delivery partner?
All our customers are rethinking what they should do in terms of physical retail. Obviously, in some areas you have to have presence, but to what extent will this be true in the future?
Some of the out-of-home, on-the-go business is bouncing back–maybe to 80 percent of the pre-COVID-19 level–but some will never come back, so what fills that void?
On a daily basis, 855 million Chinese consumers were spending an average of six hours on their phones–twice as much as digital consumers in the US–and buying $2 trillion worth of goods and services annually. Now, since China’s outbreak and subsequent lockdown, consumers have become even more digital, buying additional products on their phones, such as grocery items, that they previously would have purchased in stores.
When COVID-19 closed stores and cancelled public events, digital marketing costs went up further as virtually every brand doubled their efforts to reach Chinese consumers digitally, with some shifting their entire marketing budgets into digital.
Major apps have splintered into hundreds of mini-apps and sub-channels, the popularity of new platforms like Douyin (TikTok) and Bilibili has exploded, and live- streaming has become widely adopted, all leading to what we call the ‘dustification’ of consumer attention, meaning that outlets for reaching consumers are hyper- fragmented.
The basics of marketing haven’t changed–find your target consumers and give them the right product and the right message, at the right place and the right time. The difference in the digital era is that marketing technology, or ‘martech’, allows brands to accelerate and maximize this basic endeavor at minimal cost.
An Internet Celebrity approach uses public social apps and China’s thriving “fan economy” of celebrities, key opinion leaders (KOLs), and key opinion consumers (KOCs) to drive brand image and awareness. It’s a focus most effective for newer brands.
A leading international beauty brand, for instance, taking a Performance. First approach, wanted to identify the best marketing content for different consumer segments on its flagship store at Tmall. The company worked with an AI provider to instantly create thousands of layouts with different models, product photos, and colors. Each was dynamically A/B tested with customers to identify those with the highest purchase rate. The result was an ROI boost of 20 percent and a 50 percent reduction in annual design costs
Social commerce, where social media is the driving force behind sales, is one of the hottest trends in China and a major disrupting force.
The average consumer in China now spends more than seven hours a day on the mobile internet, a figure that increased by a fifth in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. About two-thirds of those seven hours is spent using social or content apps, as users increasingly seek out information from social media, social influencers, and friends in order to make decisions about purchases.
Time spent using social or content apps is now driving 50 percent of shopping interest, and 25 percent of purchases, a marked change from the 2017 figures of 37 percent and 7 percent, respectively (Exhibit 1). And the size of the overall social commerce market is expected to more than double from 2019 levels to reach gross sales of 2.9 trillion renminbi by 2021.
Social-first commerce. Food and lifestyle blogger Li Ziqi is an example of a KOL that has effectively deployed social-first commerce. She has become one of China’s biggest
social media stars by posting artistic videos of traditional life and cooking in Sichuan province’s rural areas. Having built an enormous fan base (26 million on Weibo, 39 million on Douyin, and 11 million on YouTube), she now operates an eponymous brand of traditional Chinese packaged food, promotes third-party brand foods, and operates a store on Tmall to sell directly to her followers.
Li Ziqi sold 100 million renminbi of products in 2019, more than three times the year before, with her success demonstrating the power of converting social engagement into commercial results.
Convenience stores are the fastest-growing store type, while small supermarkets are also large in number. These stores have deeper local coverage and more loyal consumer relationships since they are deeply rooted in their local communities and located closer to customers.
Gen Z represent the next engine of domestic consumption growth. Officially defined globally as the cohort of people who were born between 1996 and 2010, Gen Z make up about 15 percent of China’s population and represent the next engine of domestic consumption growth.
Gen Z spent their childhoods during the fastest sustained expansion of a major economy in history, and are consequently used to rapid improvements in their standard of living.
Gen Z: 10-23
Millennials: 24-38
Gen X: 39-54
This behavior is driven in part by robust confidence in future earnings: 78 percent of Chinese Gen Z respondents said they believe they will earn more, or much more, in the future. This combination of impulsiveness and optimism also leads 36 percent of our survey sample to overspend their budget. In fact, China’s Gen Z refer to themselves as “the moonlight clan” in reference to their propensity to spend their entire monthly salary over the course of a single lunar cycle, effectively living paycheck to paycheck.
Gen Z consumers in the US are similarly inclined to spend big on consumer products, while their outlay on luxury apparel and accessories even surpasses that of Millennial shoppers with higher incomes.
More than half (51 percent) of China’s Gen Z consumers prefer brands that offer customized products, while 53 percent opt for brands that provide tailored services.
Once engaged, China’s Gen Z are also more brand loyal : 47 percent agreed that they stick with brands they like, while 43 percent said they will always choose a brand they know over a new one.
Fifty-one percent of Gen Z consumers say that official social media accounts of consumer brands are one of their top three sources of influence, while 44 percent count bloggers and online influencers among their top three sources of influence. Gen Z value these sources of information more than Millennials and Gen X. Key opinion leaders (KOLs) who resonate with Gen Z are driving this trend, such as Li Jiaqi, whose forthright opinions can make or break a beauty brand or product, and online sales superstar Weiya, whose interactive livestreams on Taobao have helped sell billions of RMB of products.
In the US, social media is most influential for 39 percent of Gen Z consumers when deciding to recommend a product or brand, while online reviews and blogs is top choice for 26 percent. Friends and family offline still have most sway for 15 percent, and just 10 percent are primarily guided by influencers.

References:

China consumer report 2021, Special edition, Understanding Chinese Consumers: Growth Engine of the World (November 2020): https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/china/china%20still%20the%20worlds%20growth%20engine%20after%20covid%2019/mckinsey%20china%20consumer%20report%202021.pdf

Oleksandr Tereshchuk April 16, 2021

Entrepreneurship

So you want to be an entrepreneur…

Ever since I left my corporate job at UBER, I’ve been navigating the entrepreneurial life on my own. It will be a year in three weeks.

What is it like in one word? Exhausting.

Everyone’s journey is different. Below is what my entrepreneurial journey was like.

Most of the waking life I spend thinking and planning what’s next. Every day I wake up and spend time figuring out what to do next. It makes the life so much easier, when you wake up in the morning and know exactly what to do and what is expected from you. Having a boss makes the life easier. You just ask your manager what to do → put the head down, plug your headphones in and execute.

Not having someone telling you what to do is hard. You become your own boss. Sounds sweet to most, isn’t it? Not to me. I am very critical of myself. I am my worst boss.

The boss in my head never takes a break. I work with him, I sleep with him. He is always in my head, no matter where I go or what I do. At the party, in my bed, on a run… My boss never sleep and the second I open my eyes in the morning – he’s telling me what to do. I can’t ignore. I can’t quiet him down.

If I were to visualize my day in the pie chart, it will split as this: 50% planning, thinking what to do; 20% researching, convincing yourself that this is the right way to go; 30% actually doing it. I don’t like such spread. I don’t feel productive. It seems as all I do is daydream. If only I can figure out what makes me feel this way. If only I can put the handle on it…

Feeling ineffective. It burns me on the inside. I am just wasting my time and money… WTF are you doing man? Then you look at others: this business accelerates; that entrepreneur gets the government grant; everyone is doing something while you sit with your idea. Discouraging. We are moving so slow – is always on a back on my mind. They you find our the your competitor already raised $1.6M in pre-seed money. Then you learn that your competitor has the team of eleven… This kills any motivation to continue.

So you want to be an entrepreneur… This is a lonely journey. Unless you get blessed with a cofounder or a few, who are as passionate about your venture as you, prepare to push this hippo on your own. When things go well – you are in the middle of attention. However, the hipe winds down and you are on your own… again.

So you want to be an entrepreneur… You envision bright orange Lamborghini, a big house on a lake and careless job. Maybe, but not in my case. I am considered as unemployed and I have been for the entire year. I haven’t made a single bucks. I am dead broke, living on the edge of poverty. You might become millionaire overnight. I didn’t. Having no income creates stress. Aside of my venture, I need to figure out how to keep myself afloat. Not only to keep myself afloat, but also in a way that allows me to have time for my business.

How many times I dropped everything and did not want to continue anything… How many times I hated myself for moving so slow and not seeing any results… How many tough conversations have I had with myself, doubting and blaming myself… How many times I did not want to wake up the next morning, feeling absolutely exhausted… How many times I thought of dropping everything and begin looking for a job… How many times I burned down…

I am worried about myself. I know for a fact, that if I give up and find a job… I will hate myself. I will absolutely hate myself for not being able to figure it out. I will be eating myself on the inside every single day at that job, no matter how awesome it is. I can already feel what it will be like – to give up. I don’t see another way out of this venture, but success. What is success to me? A profitable business that I CAN BE PROUD OF. God help me.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk March 21, 2021

Entrepreneurship, Mindset

I met hundreds of people

Ever since I left my full-time job at UBER I met hundreds of people. Over the past ten months, I’ve had more human interaction than I did over the past few years. And I am not excruciating. Why so?

My ideas are what had opened up the doors for me. My ideas had changed my lifestyle. Every business I attempted had introduced me to a new set of people. Those new people had introduced me to their friends. Those friends thought I had to meet their other friends and so on… My ideas are what was at the beginning of every new connection.

Ever since I went on my own, one of the biggest discoveries I made was a discovery of other people. I opened up. Not that I was all inside myself, but now I am so much more approachable and friendly. I learned to ask for help. I would share my vision and tell others about my plans. People would often get excited and spread the word to other folks they know. Along the way, I would encounter different challenges and meet different people, each of whom will play a specific role on my journey. Everyone brings a message. Pay attention. Some will stick with me for a while. Others will get dropped in a few days. Nevertheless, every person I met had brought me a message or a lesson.

While working at the corporation, I was always surrounded by the same people. Despite the large size of the company, 90% of the time I was surrounded by the same faces. Now and then, I would make new connections, however most of the time those people already heard about me.

My reputation went ahead of me, I suppose. The point I try to make here is that the World of entrepreneurship is so much bigger in regards to the people you meet and interact with. At this point, I am worried that if I have to go working for an employer, I will feel trapped. I run too fast. The corporate job will hold me back.

It is impossible to become an accomplished entrepreneur without good people’s skills. It is impossible to build something great if you come with a mentality that everyone is here to hurt you or steal from you. You will have a very hard time as a businessman if you are not genuinely interested in other people. An employee? Maybe. But not an entrepreneur. You can be sitting in your side of the office, rarely talking to others, be socially awkward – and that’s fine, as long as you do your job well. However, if you try to build some kind of a business – social skills are a must! Therefore I strongly believe that people’s skill is one of the most important ones to cultivate. The way you talk, handle yourself and interact with others, is a determinant success factor of your project and you as an entrepreneur.

You can not build anything great if you hate other people. They will feel it. People feel the energy. People naturally being attracted to those who radiate love and energy. If you are coming from a bad place and with dark intentions, people will feel it. So, before embarking on an entrepreneurial journey – check yourself. How easy for you to get connected with others? How easy for you to communicate your thoughts and ideas? How easy for you to make friends and cultivate mutually beneficial relationships? This is very important.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk February 4, 2021

Business, Mindset

Think big

You know, you have to have the vision of where you want to be … a dream.

For me, it was six and a half thousand euros. I didn’t have it, but I had a very good friend who just gave me the money. This helped me lift off the ground. I’ve done a lot of groundwork leading into that. I had the website. I had made a lot of contexts, and I had a firm belief in what I was doing. It cost me six thousand euros to build my dream. Also, the guy that gave me the money hasn’t looked for it back, nevertheless, I paid it back. I was just lucky and fortunate.

That was his story. Only two and a half… I am looking for seventy.

That’s my mountain to climb, in some respects – the first mountain to climb. I am climbing a big mountain… So I go and go … around the corner. Sometimes I think I am nearly there. And then there’s another lift and then there’s another lift and then there’s another section. And it’s only when you get to the top and look back, and think to yourself: “Wow, that wasn’t too bad”.

You know, seventy thousand or fifty thousand euros is a lot of money. But I think if I can get it and have the first unit built, I might be amazed how quickly the next phase will come. But it’s just that initial one.

Don’t be disappointed and discouraged because some of the best ideas TAKE TIME. And I know, time isn’t always something that people have a lot of, particularly when you put so much of your time and effort into it. I think it’s very important not to lose your confidence. But that’s difficult because you are working on your own. I don’t have people around me that believe in me… but the most important person is myself. You know, it’s no different than any kind of sales job. You’re going to get knocked and it’s a rollercoaster ride. You’re going to get some serious lows. But there come serious highs.

If you don’t believe in yourself, why anyone else should? No, you should have a very strong belief in yourself and the thing you try to do. The luck is on your side. Believe firmly that you have great potential. You can and will succeed! You have two kinds of thoughts: either it’s complete rubbish or it’s really something innovative. Which thought is more pleasant to have?

For me, it’s just that process of getting the investor, that loan of some kind… You know, to get the first one going. It is my key to open the next door.

No matter what way you look at it, once you built the first one, it will just be like a snowball. But this is going to take time.

And you’re always worried that somebody is going to take this and run. Somebody who has the money will build 10 or 20 units. I’ve heard all of this happen to other people’s ideas. Once people see that it works really well – they copy you, create almost exact replicas. They all can make their own money where I will be relying on a builder who could run with the project himself. Just taking it off me.

It needs to happen… But you know, I have to find that money somewhere to get the first one built because there’s nothing that beats the physical product on the ground where people come and walk into. It needs to be close to where I am, where I am going to be touring people, showing and taking bookings.

You know what I’m saying? Even if it’s just one… that generates income, and allow an investor to go inside and say: “Oh, this is interesting“. All of a sudden you have figures now. You will know how many people are interested. Promote your website and collect sign ups. That’s the key – a physical presence. It’s so important. You know that yourself and it seems unreachable right now. People who invest spend incredible money on chances.

The problem is:
How to build the idea and the interest without the physical products? How do I build the interest without the physical unit?

Put up some kind of questionnaire online – a simple questionnaire and say: “Look, I have this plan to build …. and put them in certain areas across Canada. Are you interested? Would you be interested and have some kind of price structure in your head.” What’s this going to cost to stay for a week or two or a weekend. Then ask: “Are you prepared to spend such money and are you interested? – Yes.” Check the box. And “How far are you willing to travel?” Ask people how much they’re willing to pay, trying to get that kind of numbers together. I need to get some kind of data that gives me confidence. Maybe that’s my next stage. That is… The money will appear from somewhere.

It’s a difficult one and it’s frustrating. I’ve been knocked back, but I just got to keep looking for other directions. I really do.

Ok, well, maybe…. Maybe I am aiming too small. What about the idea of creating a village of my units? Multiple units in a really nice area – that’s just outside a city somewhere where it’s easily accessible. A village for remote workers.

What if I go to local rural development groups that have funding by the state/province? Ask for Grants!

I don’t have to pay it back. It’s almost like free money. The government tries to encourage rural area developments, where they try to build and develop a tourism stroke to get people out of the city to spend time in a rural area. Those areas benefit from it because of the inflow of tourists. So maybe it’s something worth looking into… The location could be not too far from a campground or something.

It needs to be on a good route out of a city that has a good road structure which allows somebody to step in a car and drive for an hour to take a week off. Or even an hour and a half and then leave the city and all the craziness with its noise.

Canada is like that. You step outside of Toronto or Calgary and you’ve got this place where it’s just noiseless but still has the infrastructure. By setting up the village – you can bring eight, nine, ten business people together. Yes, the business village.

Find a location to put eight-ten pods into that little community and let everybody know about it. It will be a talking point. You will have people coming from the City, wherever the place is… even a few hours drive away.

The village is in the middle of nowhere, but it has the infrastructure around: small restaurants, coffee shops etc. And what that does, it puts money into that local community and my company. This is a win-win situation. Applying for grants is a lot of paperwork, however I think that might be something worth looking at.

And it opens opportunities in front of me. If I set up my village in an area where there’s a nice restaurant, a nice coffee shop – all of a sudden I’ve got a place where my customers can go. This village will be a great place for meeting like-minded people.

Creating one single village will take less effort than trying to set up six different locations. Also, if I have a village, I can then target the companies – corporate clients. Yes, it will give me an awful lot more options… I can make it a business hub. It could become quite interesting.

I might find a lot of other routes to go. I can have certain times of the year that it’s business based and then I might have certain times of the year that are more suitable for anything from holistic style retreats to holiday retreats.

It gives me a lot more options when there are multiple units in one location. Really good Internet access, really close amenities in the local area for walks in a park, by a river or trails. Nice cycle routes to different locations. People are not only going to work but when they have the downtime, they’re right in the countryside and they can go for a walk or a bike ride while getting business done. They’re getting that “escape”.

By doing that, it might give me more opportunities. I need to focus on figuring out how to set “villages” or “hubs”. The individual locations might come later and if so, they can be developed quickly.

That might become the way to do things. I might be setting up villages with multiple units rather than trying to go for that one unit in different places. And all of a sudden it grows much, much quicker. And it also gives the manufacturer the ability to price the units in multiples rather than individual pricing. So cost effective.

I like it… then develop city by city, location by location instead of spreading yourself all over the place.

If you look at a city like Toronto or any of the major cities in Canada, if you go north, south, east or west – an hour’s drive, I could have four hubs surrounding. I could have six hubs surrounding Toronto with six units. Now I have thirty-six units within an hour of striking distance of the city. It just happens to be close to villages near lakes or mountains or trails. All the hubs interact with the local communities. Such interaction with the local businesses will be generating income for those businesses and communities.

Look if there is some form of government funding to develop businesses like mine. Instead of thinking about only 70 thousand, think about seven hundred thousand. Think bigger! Get the government funding. Whether it’s seventy thousand seven hundred thousand, it’s not big money for them if they see the returns of the idea is strong.

I think the idea is strong. Definitely so!

If I become a government-funded project – that’s huge. It will give me an awful lot of credibility. I can then go to a manufacturer and say, look, this is my plan. My business is backed up by the government and that’s gold. That speaks a lot to investors and manufacturers.

All of a sudden, I will be approached by people who want to build those units for me. They are going to be jumping at the chance because they see that you are the government founded company. This will almost guarantee you lock them down into a contract with you, where they will be a supplier of these units for the whole country of Canada. That’s huge! And I’m talking big!

That’s the way you have to be thinking. You have to dream! But you also need to get to the next stage and find that funding. Once I do find it – I can shout about that from the treetops and tell everyone we got the government funding. We hope to build such and such units… Who’s in?

Put it on you website, something like: “We already acquired seven hundred thousand from government government money and this is happening.” It’s gold. It’s solid that investors would like to become a part of it.

Speaking of investors – I may not need to worry so much about investors outside of the industry.

It might be the manufacturer of the product, who becomes my main investor. He’s going to be looking for the manufacturing and profit margin on that. And that is my investor who will get the margins I have created with my business model. On top of that, it’s my brand, it’s my idea that they’re manufacturing. I might think about signing some kind of confidentiality agreement and licensing agreements with them. I want it to be only my brand, so I have full control.

It only takes one interested party. Go to the local governments, go as high as you possibly can, try and get in front of people and just keep the enthusiasm because that’s infectious. Some people will respond. A lot of people won’t. Don’t ever take it personally. It’s not going to be easy.

But I could be sitting here in two years, and say: “You know, my biggest problem now is that there’s such a demand that we can’t keep up”. which will be great.

Get in front of the people and say: “Listen guys, this is where the tourism industry is going to be over the next three or four years. We’re only starting here… We are using a different approach…”

I need to work through a government body of some kind that may be an international fund or something.

I’ve got nothing to lose. The worst thing is that they say no. I am not going to die from it!

Look, there are problems, but I will get over them. WE will get over it. Yes, for sure! Just a question of time.

And what’s going to happen is that the government will have to invest in new businesses when everything opens up again.

Start looking at what’s coming down the track for funding to push businesses out and that’s the way I will approach it. People are going to look for alternative ways to work and this is the time for my solution.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk January 16, 2021

Business, Entrepreneurship

THE COACHING HABIT

After you’ve asked a question – be quiet and wait for the answer. Make it a habit

Small talk might be a useful way to warm up, but it’s rarely the bridge that leads to a conversation that matters.

Coaching for Performance

It’s about addressing and fixing a specific problem or challenge. It’s putting out the fire or a building up the fire or banking the fire.

Coaching for Development

It’s about turning the focus from the issue to the person dealing with the issue, the person who is managing the fire.This conversation is more rare and significantly more powerful.

The Kickstart Question

Start a conversation with the question: “WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?”. It invites people to get people to the heart of the matter and share what’s important to them. It’s an encouragement to go right away to what’s exciting, what’s provoking anxiety, what’s all-consuming, what’s waking them up at 4 a.m., what’s got their hearts beating fast.

3P: Projects-People-Patterns

Projects -is the content of the situation, the stuff that’s being worked on;

People – its you relationships with others and your role in them;

Patterns – this are the patterns of behavior and ways of working that you’d like to change. This are personal and challenging questions. Not often appropriate in organizations;

Example:

“What’s on your mind?”, you ask
“The [… thing they are working on…]”, they say
“So there are three different ways that we could look at it”, you offer.
“The Project side – any challenges around the actual content.
The People side – any issue with team members/colleagues/other department/bosses/customers/clients.
Patterns – if there is a way that you’re getting in your own way, and not showing up the best possible way.
Where should we start?”
[Let them pick one P and talk about it. When they done discussing it, take them to other two Ps]

Ask the question

If you know what question to ask, get to the point and ask it. Then shut up and listen.

“Out of curiosity…”
“And What Else?”

Ask it a few times, probably until the person says: “There is nothing else”. That’s good – you’ve reached the end of story.

Start with: “What’s on your mind?”
Then: “What else?”
Then maybe: “What else could you do?”
When trying to finds a the root cause of the issue, ask: “What’s the real challenge here for you?...”. Push further with “And what else is a challenge here for you?”
When starting weekly check-ins: “What’s important right now?”. Keep pressure by asking: “And what else?”
When someone explores new ideas, ask: “And what else might be possible?”

The Focus Question

The goal is to focus on the real problem, not the first problem.

“What’s the real challenge here for you?”
“If you had to pick one of these to focus on, which one here would be the real challenge for you?”

What makes the focus question works so well are those two final words – “for you”.

Tip: Instead of asking Why, reframe to What? Instead of “Why did you do this?” Ask “What were you hoping for here?”, “What made you choose this course of action?”

First Three Questions Combination

Open with:
What’s on your mind? (The perfect way to start; the question is opened but focused)
Check in:
Is there anything else on your mind? (Give the person an option to share additional concerns.)
Then begin to focus:
So what’s the real challenge here for you? (Already the conversation will deepen. Your job now is to find what’s most useful to look at.)
Ask:
And What Else (you’re asking about the real challenge)? Trust me, the person will have something. And there may be more.
Probe again:
Is there is anything else? You’ll have most of what matters in front of you now.
So get to the heart of the problem and ask:
So… what’s the real challenge here for you?

You want those you interact with: your team, your boss, your customers, your suppliers to be engaging rather than with reading. You want your people to feel that working with you is a place of reward, not risk. And you also realize that you want to feel like you are safe so that you can stay at your smartest, rather than in fight or flight mode.

Silence is often a measure of success. When you asked a question and she doesn’t have the answer ready within the first two seconds, take a breath, stay open and keep quiet for another three seconds.

Tip: When someone asks you “How do I … ?” Say, “That’s a great question. I’ve got some ideas, which I will share with you. But before I do, what are your first thoughts?”. And when she answers, which she will, you will not your head and be engaged and interested, and when she finishes, say, “ that’s terrific. What else could you do?”. More nodding, more being interested. Then say, “ this is all good. Is there anything else you could try here?”. And then, only then, you can add your own idea.

The Strategic Question is:

If you are saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?
“What could being fully committed to this idea look like?“
“Just to be clear: what exactly are you saying yes to?”

If you say YES to this:

Projects

What projects do you need to abandon or postpone?
What meetings will you no longer attend?
What resources do you need to divert to the yes?

People

What expectations do you need to manage?
What relationships will you let wither?

Patterns

What habits do you need to break?
What all stories or dating ambitions do you need to update?
What beliefs about yourself do you need to let go of?

Five Strategic Questions

What is our winning aspirations?
What game are you playing and with (against) whom?
What impact do you want to have in/on the world?
Where will we play?
Choosing a sector, geography, product, channel and customer allows you to focus your resources.
How will we win?
What’s the difference between you and others?
What’s your “unfair advantage”?
What capabilities must be in place?
Not just what do you need to do, but how will it become and stay a strength?
What management systems are required?
It’s easy enough to manage stuff. It’s much harder to figure out what you want to measure that actually matters.

What have you learned since the last time we met?
What did you learn?
What was the key insight?
What do you want to remember?
What’s important to capture?
What was the most useful for you about this conversation? Or
What did you find most valuable about this chat? Or
What worked best here?

Oleksandr Tereshchuk January 11, 2021

Business, Entrepreneurship, Mindset

A mentor

Had a meeting with my “business mentor” today. It’s been awhile since we met last time – about a month ago. I’ve done a lot of work since then and I wanted to show him my accomplishments. Mainly I was looking for a feedback on the website and VR model of my product.

First thirty minutes of continuous stream of critique were tolerable. I took a lot of notes and I agreed with most of his suggestions. At some point it started getting under my skin. Now he wasn’t only criticizing my website, but the entire business in general. I spent about two months developing this freaking website and I was sick of it… He totally crashed everything – the formatting, layout… Yes, his comments made sense, but it didn’t feel right. He was hitting on the whole idea.

I was speechless. At first, I tried to explain the concept but I stopped. It felt as I messed up as a kid and was trying to explain my actions. Therefore I shut my mouth and kept listening. I was crushed… I thought of myself as someone who is good at accepting criticism, but maybe I am not? Maybe my business is really a shitty idea? What if he is right and no one needs it?

And the he said: “You must have a lot of cash left, so you continue working on this idea?”. That comment really got me. I started laughing. The criticism was so strong and even personal, so I started laughing in response. This was the self-defence response of my physic…

I thanked him for his time and feedback and left the meeting. I felt crushed. I could not do anything… “All I do is burn my savings”, “all I am doing is just f*cking around… playing the entrepreneur”. It’s been eight months since I got laid off. I’ve been trying lots of ways to make money. I was working hard. I promise I did… I did not party. I slept six hours a night. I could not allow myself to sit down and watch a freaking movie. Hustle, hustle, hustle… Yes, I traveled for a bit, but guess what – I always was working on something! I guess I was working on wrong things. I applied to hundreds of jobs. I had job interviews. It did not lead me anywhere. I guess didn’t try hard enough…

I don’t ask it to be easy. It never was.
I am tired. I don’t want to do anything. Maybe he is right – I’ll just continue playing around while I have the money. Once I drained my bank account I’ll do what everyone does – find a job and settle in. Stupid idea. A lot of wasted time…

Oleksandr Tereshchuk January 11, 2021

Business, Entrepreneurship

FAKE DOOR EXPERIMENT

MVP before the MVP

What’s the purpose of MVP?
The most important role of an MVP is to let us learn about what our users want. MVP’s should provide value to our users, but it is a secondary priority. It should provide value only after we make sure they are actually interested in that value. There is a step before the MVP.

How to quickly measure interest in your product or a new feature without even creating the product itself? There is a concept called a “Fake Door”. This approach involves some manner of pretending you have a product or service, and therefore require you to create a manual, prototype, or page that is a key component used during research.

A Fake Doors experiment is a minimum viable product where you pretend to provide a product, feature, or service to Web page or app visitors. Without developing anything just yet, you communicate to visitors that the thing exists and ask them to act on it. If they do, you know they want it, and it’s time for you to start working on developing it.

Let’s say you would like to build and rent a tiny cabin house. Some Scandinavian designs have inspired you. You will need to find someone, an architect who could help you with the concept. DO NOT invest your hard-earned dollars for an idea you’re not sure about. There are two ways of finding out if potential customers want it:

Launch a landing page with key benefits and a screenshot and collect email addresses of people who are interested. If conversion rates of people giving their email address divided by landing page impressions are high enough, a decision is made to develop the product.

Ask potential customers if they want it. What’s considered as a healthy process in many organizations is sending a team with a new product idea to the organization’s top customers. The team then passionately describes the idea and asks for feedback. Would you use it? Would you pay for it? How much? What features do you want? If 10–15 customers show they are interested, the organization goes ahead and develops the product.

How to design fake door experiment

There are three ways to design a Fake Doors experiment:

Landing or crowdfunding page
Launch a landing page that attempts to prove some kind of commitment on behalf of its visitors. This commitment could be asking them to pay for a product that doesn’t exist yet. Starting an IndieGoGo or Kickstarter project is a variation of evaluating such a commitment. Be aware, though, that crowdfunding attracts very specific types of audiences that might not overlap with yours.
The button to nowhere
When you want to evaluate if people need a certain feature within an existing product, add a button or link or tap target to your product indicating that a certain capability or feature exists behind it. When users press, click, or tap it, show an indication that the feature doesn’t exist yet—a “coming soon” note or an “in progress” banner. Obviously, this technique requires you to have a product and enough visitor traffic.
404 testing
Launch an advertising campaign, for example, with Google Adwords or Facebook Ads. Ads included in the campaign lead to a 404 error page. You don’t need to develop anything. Your only goal is evaluating if people are interested in the product based on the ads.

WHAT I DID WAS:

Spent a small budget on an architect to help me with creating the concept. I used Fiverr.com. Then found the local guy through the word of mouth.
Created several high-fidelity visualizations representing my cabin near a beautiful area – a lake and woods.
I hired professional to develop Virtual Reality model (if your budget allows).
Designed a website with landing page using Themify.me free website theme to represent my dream cabin for rent.
Embed the map to display multiple locations. Don’t stick to only one location – this will help to test different markets. Used the Airbnb website to find approximate addresses for your future cabin. Find the examples and see where they located.
I drove traffic to the landing page through some paid campaigns.
When someone fills in the booking form, you then automatically directed them to the page that explains the concept of testing the demand. I also gave a 10% discount for booking once my service is ready. You need to be transparent and compensate somehow for the effort so as not to leave a bad impression about your brand.
Collected all data regarding: money spent on advertisement, website visits, booking forms filled, emails, customer locations etc.

Below is the screenshot of automated email that was sent out in response to booking request:

You can easily create and present two versions of a product/service and measure which one gets higher demand.

Why should you do it?

You can get qualitative metrics to create a business forecast.
You save a lot of time and money on creating products which your customers don’t want.
You can collect the emails addresses of people who might be your audience to test your next ideas, prototypes, or eventually become your customer.

The goal

What do I try to accomplish with the website and VR prototype?

The main goal is to Validate the Idea. I want to get a good sense of whether people need something like what I am trying to build or not. I need to know for certain if there is demand, before I get myself in debt. The main question I try to answer is: Do people need the product or service?

Validation criteria

To get the accurate feedback from your audience, three things need to happen:

1

They must know about the product. Your marketing and public relations channels must meet your audience.

2

They must understand the product’s value. Words, images, demos, and videos must communicate the value of the product and make potential customers feel it solves a problem or meets a need they have.

3

They must agree to the product’s cost. Potential customers must accept the price point and be willing to pay what you ask for the product.

Alright, I’ve got a good website and the prototype model. Visitors of my website get a good understanding of what this is and why it exists. There are bunch of photos and videos that showcase what it is. There is a blog page and “About” page which have detailed descriptions of the service. Also, VR model allows to get inside and look around. “Cool!” – some people might say. “So what?”. It’s not enough to showcase the idea, but make potential customers act. Preorders? Bookings? To avoid the “So what?” question, my potential customers must accept the price point and be willing to pay what you ask for the product. This means that I need to include the price and a way to pay – “Reserve online”.

It’s not enough just to launch a landing page, thinking it’s the right way to learn if people need you product. The problem is that the only question landing pages answer is “Are people interested enough to give us their email address?” You learn nothing about what people want or need. Humans have no idea what they need and will almost always be nice to people who ask them. It doesn’t cost them much to be nice and say it’s a great idea.

So what will be a good idea validation indicator? What needs to happen, so I can tell for certain – “Yes, people do want my product!”? The answer is – the ratio between how many people showed interest in the product/feature and the number of people who got exposed to the message about it. “Showed interest” means they either paid to buy the product, funded it, clicked the button to nowhere, or clicked through an ad. In my case it was “Reserve Now” button. People who were interested, would pick dates, location and reserve the stay. I will be assessing the ratio between visitors and bookings requests. The lower the ratio – the better.

What ratio will I consider “good enough” to go ahead and start building the product? Anything above 5. This means that out ever 100 visitors, I will want to see at least 20 bookings. In this case, I will be confident to say: “There is a demand for my service! Let’s build it!”. Anything below 5, will make me question my idea: “Do people really need it? Not sure…”.

Also very important to have the “right visitors”. You have to measure the demand among you target audience, not just anybody. Otherwise the results will be screwed and will not represent the real picture.

Experiments are by their very nature prone to failure
Jeff Bezos

After you have collected data, it’s time to evaluate, make an informed decision, iterate, and move on. When the threshold you’ve set in advance is crossed, or if participants are very enthusiastic about your offering, these are all great signals that potential customers recognize the value of your product, feature, or service and that they want it. This serves as validation, and you can go ahead to make progress with developing a product prototype.

In most cases, though, you will find that your assumptions are invalidated. You learn that your idea has failed. Potential customers don’t provide any clear signal they want your product. This is where a lot of entrepreneurs, product managers, and startup founders make bad decisions. Many of them decide to ignore what they learned and still chase their passion for making a product out of their idea.

Make informed decisions that will help you change your idea a little bit so that it appeals to your intended audience.

Research is to help inform your intuition. Sometimes, it’s the audience that you need to pivot, not the product. In any case, be sure to make a decision based on data you collect, then implement it, and experiment again. Iterate and test again. When you get frustrated that people don’t want your product, then change and test it—that’s innovation, design thinking, and user experience.

Before developing anything ask yourself:
Is this really the smallest test to validate my assumption?

References:

Fake door — The MVP before the MVP | Hacker Noon. (2017). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://hackernoon.com/fake-door-the-mvp-before-the-mvp-61197ed264a3

Research, V. (2021). Validating Product Ideas Through Lean User Research :: UXmatters. Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2016/02/validating-product-ideas-through-lean-user-research.php

Ries, Eric. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. New York: Crown Business, 2011.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk January 6, 2021

Entrepreneurship, Mindset

ENDURE. RESIST

THE HUNTER

An ancient village… Most men are the hunters. Some are good, some mediocre, others suck. Good hunters frequently bring the game to the village. They feed their families. Everyone admires and loves them. However, most men are mediocre. They go out for a hunt but usually come with a small game or empty-handed. They try to catch an animal but are often unsuccessful.

The world has changed, however as human beings we are all the same. There is a huge gap between good and bad hunters. No longer do we need to kill an animal to be a hunter, but figure out a way to make money. No longer hunting is limited to men. Women are on the field as well. What is the difference between good and bad hunters?

Good hunters pay the price. They make small deposits of time and work day by day. Good hunter spends most of his time in the forest. He studies animal behaviour. He talks to more experienced hunters. He practices…

Mediocre hunter spends time laying on his couch, scratching his belly. He hangs out with girls. Drinks beer with his mediocre hunter buddies at the bar. He relaxes, because “life is meant to be enjoyed”. He spends his life f*cking around. He does not invest in his future. He does not see further that a few months from now. A good hunter is in the forest… People rarely see him in the village.

The time has come and both men went out for a hunt. An average hunter spent some time walking around with his bow and arrows. He couldn’t catch anything. “Not a good day”, he thinks and goes back to the village empty-handed. No game? Yeah, that sucks… but he and everyone around is used to him coming back with nothing. Maybe next time he will have more luck.

The good hunters stayed. Rain or snow, he sits and waits. He could decide to move 10–20 miles away from the village because there will be more chances. And further… and further. Does he like to be wet and cold? Of course not, but he continues to spend his time and energy. He spends… spends… and spends. This is the key. Sooner or later he kills the animal and brings it back to the village. Even if not this time, statistically he will be much more likely to bring it the next time. When he comes back, everyone will look at him and say: “What a man!”. Kids will look up to him and others will show respect. Other mediocre hunters will find a lot of reasons to disregard his success.

A good hunter is a strategist. His strategy is to put in the effort daily, regardless of the circumstances. He sees his work as an investment into the future. Everything he does and endures — will pay back, just a matter of time. He limits himself here and now, day after day, just so he can get more in the future.

Good hunter has the willpower to limit himself and waits because he believes it will payback. Bad hunter does not have such a will. Bad hunter didn’t catch anything today, so he turned around and went back home. Rain? Snow? Hell no, he is back on his couch. They both had chances.

A good hunter knows what it FEELS like to catch that large game. He knows how it FEELS to bring it back to the village. He’s experienced it before, so he knows exactly what he sacrifices for. We are all driven by emotions. Dopamine, oxytocin… This is why he pushes himself.

A loser had never been successful. He doesn’t know what it feels like to be on top of the game. He does not have such experiences, therefore it’s harder for him to sacrifice for the possibility of success. Bad hunter does not know what he loses if he comes home empty-handed. He loses motivation and becomes okay with being a loser.

It’s easy for me to lose 30 pounds because I know how it feels to be lighter. It’s easier because I remember how it feels when someone at the gym asks how I got so ripped. I know exactly what I sacrifice for. Most people don’t, so they lose motivation before achieving their goals. I push through, I limit myself, I endure. I see and FEEL the reward.

Why do people often prefer an instant pleasure over the long-term one? Why do you take that cupcake when you know that it hurts your health? Why do you smoke or drink when you know for a FACT that it will kill you slowly?

You are not better than my dog. You are just an animal. You react to the immediate impulses and urges of your body. Your actions are driven by anything else, but not you. You and your life are the products of your instincts. You want to eat — you eat. You want to have sex — you have sex. Just like my dog. Actually, Blake is much more intelligent than a lot of people.

Take a lizard as an example. It’s driven solely by instincts and its behavioural model goes like this:

Any objects that are bigger than me — are the enemies. Runaway
Any objects that are smaller than me — I eat.
Any objects that are a similar size as me — I have sex with.

Find any similarities?

The human superpower is to resist temptations. Unlike any other animal in the world — we are capable of controlling our urges and impulses.

THE BETTER YOU ARE AT CONTROLLING YOURSELF — THE MORE OF A HUMAN YOU ARE

We are humans. We can control our urges and temptations. We can fight our instincts. We have the will power. We can use imagination to envision future success. It depends on our ability to resist temptations.

WHAT MAKES A BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEING IS AN ABILITY TO RESIST TEMPTATIONS
THIS IS WHAT DIFFERENTIATE US FROM ANIMALS

ENDURE. RESIST

Oleksandr Tereshchuk January 5, 2021

Business, Entrepreneurship

COMMUNITY-BASED BUSINESS. How to build a Community around your brand?

My product is Deep Work Studio. My brand is based off the need of people for Deep Work – which is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.

My questions are:

How to make deep work hot?
How to make it cool, so people will want to become a part of it? How can I make it mainstream?
Will it be a platform where people can share deep work spots? Places around the city, which are not their home, where they were able to work uninterrupted and get a lot done?
It used to be cool to take photos of your food and post on Insta. Folks can be sharing photos of their work setups? Unique workspots, saying like: “Hey! I’ve been working from this cool place”

In today’s turbulent world, people are hungry for a sense of connection. People participate in communities for a wide variety of reasons—to find emotional support and encouragement, to explore ways to contribute to the greater good, and to cultivate interests and skills, to name a few.

People are more interested in the social links that come from brand affiliations than in the brands themselves.
(HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, 2009)

Oleksandr Tereshchuk November 4, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, deep work, remote work

OFFICE AS AN “EXPERIENCE”

The pace and style of learning were set by the institutions, following a one-size-fits-all model. This model has basically remained unchanged for the past 100 years. To think about that is scary.

As the World Green Building Council said: “There is overwhelming evidence which demonstrates that the design of an office impacts the health, wellbeing and productivity of its occupants”.

The workplace impacts the business results!

The most direct benefit from flexible working comes from a perceived improvement in personal productivity. They attribute this to a less distracting, more conducive work environment away from an office environment.

We could put offices into three bucketts:

Offices as a ‘product’: floor area, for a price (rent) – your typical office
Offices as a ‘service’: space and service, for a simple fee (daily, monthly, etc.) – co-working spaces as an example
Offices as ‘experience’: more than the sum of (a) + (b); attraction; added value;

Office as “experience” is a very interesting idea. What kind of experience will people want to have in such place?

How about the experience of having a place to work in complete silence? Experience of working uninterrupted for hours straight? Experience of feeling concentrated and productive?

“Difficulty staying focused and avoiding distractions was reported by 22% of global knowledge workers and was a top concern for both those with and without children.“
(TEAM OF SLACK, OCTOBER 7, 2020)

To create some kind of experience that sensory deprivation facilities would offer. An experience of working in an unusual environment that is not only cool looking but also enhances your productivity and focus. A “Zen” place. A yoga studio, but in which you can work. How would your ideal workplace look like? What kind of environment do you need to be productive at work? What technology would you like to have at your disposal? Where would you build such a place? Next to your home, in downtown or somewhere in the middle of the forest?

Oleksandr Tereshchuk November 3, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, deep work, remote work

DESIGNING A DEEP FOCUS STUDIO: SUMMARY

We witness real-time the concept of office change. It’s not easy to adapt and every remote employee has his/her own challenges with that.

Top challenges of working from home

Unstable Wi-Fi or internet access – Technical
Maintaining and building working relationships with colleagues – Social
Staying focused and avoiding distractions – Mental
Feelings of loneliness or isolation – Social
Keeping up with what others are working on – Social

The main challenges are “social”. People are social creatures and lack of face-to-face interaction results in feeling isolated and maintaining relationships with others. Among social challenges are technical and mental. While technical problems can be fixed relatively easily, mental ones need a more serious approach. In my quest for helping people to be the best they could in this new environment, I decided to focus on the problem of focus and distractibility.

“Difficulty staying focused and avoiding distractions was reported by 22% of global knowledge workers and was a top concern for both those with and without children.“, (team of Slack, October 7, 2020)

My task is to create a service or product that will improve people’s focus and concentration. I have the assumption that there is a need for a place, where people can work uninterrupted. This place is not home, neither it is in the office. Rather than asking when workers will return to the office, companies should be asking what the office of the future will look like. It’s time to focus on new solutions. I want to create an environment that improves not only productivity but also employee well-being.

As a summary of my research, below are the lists of things I want to see in this “work boxes”:

INTERIOR design

Rooms painted in different colours:
- Blue and green (generating new ideas)
- Red ( attention to details)
Toggle Dimmers (customers set their own level of lighting)
Tall Ceiling (10 feet or taller)
Large Window/Skylight (with a view on nature)
Soundproof (all around)
Heater & AC (to maintain a comfortable temperature and constant ventilation)
Good Airflow (natural ventilation. allow access to operable windows)
Materials and Surfaces (no plastic. natural materials)
Live Plants

EQUIPMENT/FURNITURE

Standup Desk
Video Conferencing Equipment
- High Definition Camera
- Speakers
- Microphone
Super Wide Curved Monitor (w/ ability to adjust the height if on standing)
Large Whiteboard (digital or regular)
Noise Canceling System (either headset or entire room)

Optically, surfaces in cool colours seem to recede, whereas warm colours, such as orange and red, appear to be closer. Walls rendered in cool colours make space feel like it’s expanding outward, while walls in warm hues can make the same space feel as if it were contracting. blue and green indicate that exposure to these hues also improves creative problem solving

BELLS AND WHISTLES

Unlimited snacks (coffee, tea, etc.)
Kitchen (fridge, microwaves) & Dining area
24/7 Secure Access
Vintage Typewriter
Every 90-minute optional Breaks. Yoga and Breathing exercises
Discount for different anti-distraction apps to help people lock their focus (will come free with membership)

Location

Suburban areas of large cities. 30-40 minutes away from downtown. This is a distraction-free office as close as possible to your home, without actually being in your home. No commute. We are accessible and convenient. We are located in your neighbourhood.

College Towns. Especially around engineering/technical colleges. To provide students with a quiet space to study and take exams.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk November 3, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, remote, remote work

DESIGNING A DEEP FOCUS STUDIO: PART 4

“Psychogeography – an approach to geography that emphasizes playfulness and drifting (dérive) around urban environments. It’s about how we’re affected by being in certain places – the architecture, the weather, whom you’re with – a general sense of excitement about a place.”, (Beatriz Arantes)

There are certain key insights that are important to bear in mind when considering the nature of the brain and its role in workplace design and management. These include:

Attention is limited and is a human’s most precious resource
People do not know how to manage their attention
Attention is directly linked to productivity, wellbeing, engagement and overall performance
There are three brain modes—focus, activation and regeneration—that each requires distinct behaviours and settings
The workplace can help mitigate distractions and prime us to better manage our attention

The prefrontal cortex, often described as the executive centre or the CEO of the brain, is the director of our attention. Other brain functions that impact attention include:

The psychological state of arousal: Being alert or lethargic determines if we can control our attention or if our minds are unable to sit still and jump from topic to topic.
Limbic System: Dispersed parts of the brain that deal with emotion help bring attention. Fear or excitement calls for attention more easily than neutral objects or topics.
Motor orientation: The closer our sensory receptors are to a source of stimulation the easier it is to pay attention.
Internal thoughts and concerns: Internally generated lapses in attention are activated by the medial prefrontal cortex, a special part of the prefrontal cortex that’s triggered by thoughts of ourselves and of other people.

The brain comprises merely 2 percent of the body’s weight but consumes more than 20 percent of the daily caloric intake of energy—more than any other organ in the human body. It, therefore, developed mechanisms to ensure that it doesn’t use up finite supplies.

Losing attention is a simple energy-saving mechanism

Never in history has the human brain been asked to track so many data points; people ask more of their brains than they have the energy to handle. But while the brain is on a budget, workers today are constantly trying to stretch it by putting in more hours and focusing harder.

Only 20 percent of people have flow moments at least once a day, while around 15 percent of people never enter flow during a typical day. Entering flow is something workers must consciously choose to do. The mind can only stay in this state for about 45 minutes at any given time until a person needs a well-deserved break.

Multitasking is a myth. Research shows that a person can’t consciously keep more than two things in their brain and that multitasking increases error rates by 50 percent.

Mindfulness trains the brain. Research from Dr. Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin shows that gamma rays of Buddhist monks who practiced intense meditation for years were 30 times stronger than those of a control group of college students. Instead of getting lured into distracting thoughts, the monks had trained themselves to focus at will. As little as 30 minutes of mindfulness a day for eight weeks can physiologically change the brain, according to research in the journal of Psychiatry Research.

Peaks and valleys in the brain’s energy make it impossible for any individual to engage in eight hours of controlled attention with any reasonable expectation of quality or quantity of output.

Focus

Workplaces should include places designed as retreats away from noise distractions and frequent interruptions. When we need to deeply focus on something, it’s important to avoid unwelcome distractions. Whether the distractions are external or internal, every time we switch our attention we burn through finite neural resources and increase opportunities for the limbic system to hijack our focus.

Regeneration and inspiration

When we need to activate our state of arousal, moving our bodies is key. Although we may have learned otherwise in school, static sitting sabotages our ability to concentrate. Numerous studies have proven that movement boosts attention by pumping oxygen and fresh blood through the brain and triggering the release of enhancing hormones.

A study found that those who worked from a treadmill desk were 34.9 percent more likely to answer a comprehension question correctly compared to those who sat in a chair.

References

Arantes, B. (2015, October). Neuroscience: The next great competitive advantage. Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://workplaceinsight.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Work-Place6.pdf#page=10

Oleksandr Tereshchuk November 2, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, remote work

DESIGNING A DEEP FOCUS STUDIO: PART 3

The symbiotic association of special activities with codified rituals is as established as civilization itself; the recognition that settings – temples, town halls and courthouses – and their props – altars, maces and gavels – play an important role, not just in embodying but possibly also in stimulating and facilitating the very activities with which they are associated.

Sound

Environmental noise is distracting and therefore impedes creativity. In contrast, the positive sound has the potential to increase creativity. Music, silence, and the absence of noise as elements that support creativity.

Temperature

Some studies have found that adequate indoor climate (temperature, velocity, humidity, and composition of the air in the workplace) positively influences creativity. Too high temperatures inhibit creativity.

Smell

Positive smell (e.g. fresh air, absence of bad smell) to stimulate creativity. However, Lee (2016) could not confirm that positive smell has an effect on creativity.

AIR

Improve the quality and quantity of natural ventilation, Allow individual access to operable windows, Separate ventilation air from thermal conditioning, Provide task air for individual control.

Materials and surfaces

Various types of material employees are surrounded by in their workplace have an impact on creativity. In their study, manufactured and composite materials (e.g. plastic laminate, synthetic fibres, carpet, and steel) had a strong negative correlation with the perceived creative potential. In contrast, rooms with mainly natural elements (e.g. wood, marble, and leather) were perceived as environments with high creative potential.

Colours

Generally, a room’s colour scheme can be differentiated into cool colour designs (e.g. blue, green, or blue-violet) and warm colour designs (e.g. yellow, orange, or red). Cool colours negatively influence creativity, whereas they found no stimulating effect of warm colours on creativity. Both warm and cool colours are enhancing creativity. Use different colours for different phases of the creative process. Execute divergent thinking activities in an environment with more warm colours, whereas cooler colours should be used to support the convergent phases of the creative process. Sterile environments without colours have a negative impact on creativity.

Plants

All seven studies investigating the influence of plants on creativity confirmed that plants have a creativity-enhancing effect.

Disengaged space

Disengaged space is closely related to a relaxing space, yet it is more than that. It provides possibilities for individual mental breaks through non-work-related activities with others, including play spaces for activities such as billiards and darts, or social hangout spaces, such as cafés and lounges. In his study with innovative start-ups, Lee (2016) found that disengaged space is the most important space type for creativity.

Light

Different light settings can influence creativity. Adequate illumination is necessary for promoting creativity in the physical workspace, whereas insufficient light inhibits creativity. Moreover, current studies have found especially the exposure to daylight as creativity-supporting Different tasks require different lighting settings. Contrary to these findings, Steidle and Werth (2013) showed in multiple experiments that darkness and dim illumination improve creativity, as participants felt less observed and controlled. Moreover, they found that participants in dim rooms performed better on creative tasks and worse on analytical tasks than participants in brighter rooms. Consistent and controllable light is an important determinant of creativity.

Maximize the use of day lighting without glare, Separate task and ambient light, Select the highest quality lighting fixtures, Design plug-and-play lighting and dynamic lighting zones. The premise of this kind of research is that neutral but healthy backdrops to creative activity can foster a state of wellbeing and alertness that is a necessary predisposition to ideation.

Window/view

Windows and views outside the office can positively influence creativity. McCoy and Evans (2002) found that a view in general (visual access to any area outside the immediate setting) and a natural view (visual access to living plants, trees, or sky) strongly correlate with the perceived creative potential of an office. Consequently, offices with no view were associated with low creative potential.

References

Rattner, D. M. (2017, June 30). How to Use the Psychology of Space to Boost Your Creativity. Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://medium.com/s/how-to-design-creative-workspaces/how-to-use-the-psychology-of-space-to-boost-your-creativity-4fe6482ef687

Oleksandr Tereshchuk November 2, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, deep work, remote work

DESIGNING A DEEP FOCUS STUDIO: part 2

COLOR the walls blue or green

Different colours and light levels have different psychological effects, so the ideal situation is to install a lighting system that allows you to alter the hue and brightness of your room to suit the kind of work that you’re engaged in.

Blue and green have been shown to enhance performance on tasks that require generating new ideas
Red has been linked with superior performance on tasks involving attention to detail
The dimmer environment fostered superior creativity in terms of idea generation, probably because it encourages a feeling of freedom
Brighter light levels were more conducive to analytical and evaluative thinking

Ceiling Height

Ceiling height has also been shown to have psychological effects. A 2007 study found that a higher ceiling was associated with feelings of freedom, together with a more abstract and relational thinking style that helped participants see the commonalities between objects and concepts. The most common method of enlarging interior space beyond its enclosing walls is to open it up to the outside by means of windows, French doors, and screens.

The more expansive our sense of surrounding space, the more prone we are to generating original and useful concepts for new products, services, and methods.

According to a 2009 study out of the University of British Columbia, people perform better at tasks requiring creative problem-solving skills under ceilings 10 feet or higher compared to eight-foot ceilings. For instance, a space decorated with vertically striped wallpaper will appear taller than the same space painted in a solid colour or embellished with horizontal stripes.

Designs Of How Vaulted Ceilings Top Off Any Room With Style

“Experimental data and construal level theory support the idea of a direct relationship between proximity and cognitive style. Near things elicit narrow focus. Farthings elicit a holistic outlook.”, Jarrett, C. (2019)

If you only do one thing to optimize your workspace, invest in a green plant or two. Research has repeatedly shown that the presence of office plants has a range of benefits including helping workers recover from demanding activities and lowering stress levels. As a bonus, there’s also evidence that plants can reduce office pollution levels.

Window with a view

Another feature of an optimized office is a window with a view, preferably of a natural landscape. This is because a glance at the hills or a lake recharges your mind.

23 Space-Savvy Home Offices that Utilize their Corner Space | Home study design, Office interior design modern, Modern office interiors

Another means for inducing the mental awareness of physical distance is to embellish your home office with artwork and decorative pieces that suggest far away places and open space. Consider displaying images of landscapes and urban views, travel posters to exotic locations, cultural artifacts from distant countries, or memorabilia collected from trips you’ve taken.

References

Jarrett, C. (2019, August 21). The Perfect Workspace (According to Science). Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://99u.adobe.com/articles/17437/the-perfect-workspace-according-to-science

Oleksandr Tereshchuk November 2, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, remote work

Designing A DEEP FOCUS STUDIO: Part 1

Open workspaces

Commercial real estate in the downtown area is not cheap. To lower real estate costs, employers build their offices with an emphasis on collaboration and open workspaces that encourage group efforts. Open workspaces are great for communication among team members, however, more recent research shows that the costs to individual employee performance in open workspaces can outweigh any benefit of collaborative group work.

Interruptions often come in the form of internal and external distractions, which divides attention between tasks. Once an interruption occurs, it takes time to resume a task. One study of workers (information technology and accounting services) found that it took, on average, 25 minutes for workers to get back to their original task once interrupted, and workers focused on at least two other tasks before resuming the original task.

External distractions, on the other hand, maybe people walking past the line of sight, visual clutter on a work surface, overheard conversations, or ringing phones. Some of these external inputs may help with focus; for example, “office buzz” may create enough white noise to assist concentration. Unfortunately, during focused work, many external distractions are unwanted, making it difficult to keep attention from being divided. Particularly, irrelevant speech consistently ranks as the most distracting element in the office environment.

Despite the obvious need for focus, the emphasis in space design remains on work collaboration. Companies justify their open workspaces by the need to collaborate more, however, oftentimes the real estate cost savings play a major role in the office design. This continues despite research that points out office workers, on average, loses 28 percent of their productive time per day due to interruptions and distractions in open offices. And while open workspaces can support communication among team members, but the cost to individual employee performance in open workspaces outweighs any benefit of collaborative group work.

Achieving Flow

The brain tunes in when speech is recognized; it then diverts attention away from the current task and toward the task of figuring out what is being said. Unfortunately, unlike vision, hearing cannot be turned off—it will sense everything, relevant or irrelevant—and can slow work performance.

Higher multitasking equals lower effectiveness. Focusing on a single task is much more productive, especially if it’s in “flow.”

When in flow, people are wholly focused on a single task, fully involved and energized, internally motivated, and often lose a sense of time; its outcomes are highly productive and creative.

Signs of Achieving Flow

Confronting achievable challenging tasks with clear goals
Deep—yet effortless—involvement and unwavering concentration
Lack of self-awareness
Intrinsic reward
Transformation of time

Workspaces designed for focus work traditionally stress managing external visual and auditory distractions, which is not aligned with the current trend of open shared spaces for collaboration. Previous research indicates spaces for focus work should have

A high degree of enclosure— preferably a private office
Low density with adequate distance from disruptive noise
High-circulation areas
High level of acoustical treatments (sound-absorbing ceilings and walls, sound masking systems, and sound rated walls).

However, these traditional solutions require increased space and are inflexible with rapidly changing organizational needs.

Recharging

After doing intense focus work, everyone needs to recharge. One way to enable recharging is by simply providing views to the outdoors for workers to gaze at as they periodically pause in their focus work. Another way is to have minibreaks throughout the day that consist of caring for physical needs (healthy snacks and clean, comfortable restrooms) and social needs (opportunities to chat with coworkers in lounge areas). One or two larger breaks during the day, like hitting the gym or going for a walk, can invigorate people for a longer stretch of work. Access to all is essential for employees to be well recharged and ready to focus again.

REFERENCES

Nagy, G., Dr, O’Neill, M., Dr, Johnson, B., & Bahr, M. (2016). Designing for Focus Work. Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://www.thercfgroup.com/files/resources/Designing_for_Focus_Work.pdf

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 31, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, remote work

DEEP WORK: THE SOLUTION

In the previous article, I described the problems and struggles knowledge workers have while working remotely. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you start there:

DEEP WORK: The Problem

October 30, 2020

Imagine… Local in your neighbourhood Covid-safe remote workspace. This space is an alternative to large crowded office buildings while providing employees with a simple way to deal with their work-home boundary dilemmas. The focus of such a place is to help knowledge and remote workers to be productive and healthy by providing them with a supportive environment, tools and training. A dedicated distraction-free workspace designed to promote deep focused work. The environment that fulfills people’s need for a safe, private, distraction-free environment which helps people to meet their corporate objectives.

There is a need for dedicated distraction-free workspace in suburban areas. A place, whiting 15 minutes of driving from home, where knowledge workers can engage in deep focused work.

This is a national-wide network of offices for professionals whose work demands privacy and deep focus. Implementing the latest research and technology, we designed an environment that supports people’s concentration and help them to be the best at what they do.

We are not a “co-working space”. We offer privacy and a distraction-free environment. Coworking spaces are built to encourage networking and establish a sense of community. We are the antonym for networking. We are designed for individuals, not the teams. Leave your noise-cancelling headphones at home. You won’t need them here.

You won’t have to introduce yourself when you come in. No talks
You won’t have to smile and try to be friendly. No interaction with others, unless you want
You won’t cross your eyer with anyone else
You won’t have to search for a quiet corner desk to set up your workstation. You were already assigned to your personal desk.
You won’t hear anyone grinding coffee in the kitchen
You won’t hear anyone talking on the phone
You won’t see anyone walking around
You won’t hear anyone typing on the keyboard or clicking the mouse key
You won’t hear anyone laughing on loud
You won’t smell the fish being warmed up in the kitchen’s microwave
There is absolutely nothing that could distract you from your work

We are not the place to get together with your team. We are not the place for meeting friends for a cup of tea. We are not the spot to invite your clients to. Use the co-working spaces and cafes. There are already places to satisfy those needs.

We are the place for software engineers, researchers, writers, scientists or anyone whose work required deep concentration. Our guests are the people who need the work environment that is either at the office or home. Absolutely no distraction. Only you and your thoughts. We are anti-social. We are individualistic. We are self-centred. Not egoistic, but respectful of others’ private space.

We are the distraction-free protective bubble. We are the “Zen” space. We are different and unique.

Location

This is a distraction-free office as close as possible to your home, without actually being in your home. No commute. We are accessible and convenient. We are located in your neighbourhood.

More than a Space

We are much more than a cool physical space. We are the productivity center – a mental gym. Our productivity coaches, yoga and breathing instructors will teach you how to stay centred and focused on the task at hand.

Bells and whistles

Immersive Workspaces: Meeting rooms equipped with Igloo Shared VR technology
Oxygen Rich. (Live plants)
Adjustable Lighting and Temperature
A window view onto nature. Natural Lighting
Unlimited snacks (coffee, tea, etc.)
Kitchen (fridge, microwaves) & Dining area
Digital Whiteboards Boards
Live-streaming Video Conferencing equipment (HD camera, 180 panoramic video projection)
Noise Canceling System. Suppresses all the ambient noise
Standup Desks
Treadmill Desks (UNSIT™)
Virtual Office Mail Service
24/7 Secure Access
Massage Chairs
Vintage Typewriters
Every 90-minute optional Breaks. Yoga and Breathing exercises

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 30, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, remote work

DEEP WORK: The Problem

The Industrial age took us from the farm to the factory. Education took us from the factory to the office. Technology has taken us from the office to the virtual.

At this point it is obvious – our work will never be the same. There are so many ways in which it can be different. Right now is the once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine everything about how we do our jobs. It’s time to work differently.

Companies are on the lookout for tools that will keep their remote employees productive and mentally stable. In October 2020, Slack (the software company) performed research of 4,700 knowledge workers to evaluate their experience with working remotely. They found that the majority never want to go back to the old way of working. Only 12% want to return to full-time office work, and 72% want a hybrid remote-office model moving forward.

A knowledge worker is anyone who holds an office position and/or works with data, analyzes information or thinks creatively in a typical workweek.

According to research, executives, middle managers and self-employed find it challenging to find quiet time to work, suitable places to hold meetings, and strategies to keep children and other family members occupied.

For people with and those without children, the top challenges of remote work include feeling overwhelmed by non-work-related things as well as difficulty staying focused and avoiding distractions. Also, many found it challenging to find stable Wi-Fi and maintain working relationships.

Top challenges of working from home

Unstable Wi-Fi or internet access
Maintaining and building working relationships with colleagues
Staying focused and avoiding distractions
Feelings of loneliness or isolation
Keeping up with what others are working on

Rather than asking when workers will return to the office, companies should be asking what the office of the future will look like. It’s time to focus on new solutions. We need to create environments that improve not only productivity but also employee well-being.

So, if the majority of people are not going back full-time to the office, but also won’t be staying at home full-time – what is the future of workspaces? We need to explore options beyond the ‘one-size-fits-all’ office solution. With Covid-19, we’re rethinking how we design and use our office spaces. We have the opportunity to re-invent our workspaces, placing an emphasis on virtual events. What if you could have access to inspiring workplace locations designed and built specifically for different tasks and projects – wherever you are.

There is no more commute to the office. Thank God! However, we are now challenged with creating a home-work environment that keeps distractions away and allows us to be productive at our jobs. It’s not easy, especially for those with families and kids. In addition, there are so many days a week that you can endure the working from home. No matter how great your home office is, you need to get out. We need a dedicated space for work or study. A place, completely free from distractions, where we can focus and feel productive. A place, where we can find peace of mind and concentrate. If we feel productive at work, we are happy with ourselves. When we are happy – the people around are happy. However, distractions negatively impact or cognitive performance and well overall job satisfaction.

We don’t want to commute and luckily for us – we don’t have to anymore. The dream came true. We are free from a single destination. A lot of people are moving away from downtown into suburban areas. We need to pay close attention to the growing trend of mid-density, urban-suburban – or “surban” – locations. Many Americans are contemplating moving to less densely populated areas.

According to Forbes: ”Within New York City, for example, you’re seeing an explosion of demand to stay within the metro area but move nearby, to suburbs in Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut. The same story is happening in San Francisco, with people moving to the East Bay and other nearby suburbs.”

Businesses now begin to realize the importance of optimizing the work conditions and understand that the individual that has been hired for some sort of knowledge work will perform much better in the environment that supports him or her. Therefore, businesses that employ knowledge workers will be forced to consider the optimization of work conditions at an individual level. Ultimately, businesses will need to create digital workplaces that make it easier for all kinds of employees to work in flexible environments while also living their lives.

As video conferencing technology evolves, the need to go to the office will decrease. There will be demand for workplaces that support seamless live streaming and video conferencing – this is the must have.

Now is the time for a change. I want to build a new type of workspace that will provide knowledge workers with the right tools to get the job done. I see no way around this issue. I propose a new kind of service for knowledge workers: a dedicated distraction-free workspace for deep focused work.

References

Moving beyond remote: Workplace transformation in the wake of Covid-19. (2020). Retrieved 30 October 2020, from https://slack.com/intl/en-ca/blog/collaboration/workplace-transformation-in-the-wake-of-covid-19

New Yorkers Are Fleeing to the Suburbs: ‘The Demand Is Insane’. (2020). Retrieved 30 October 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/nyregion/nyc-suburbs-housing-demand.html

We are not the Co-working space. We are anti-social

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 23, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, remote work

We are not YOUR Co-working space. We are anti-social.

We are very different than most co-working spaces. Typical co-working spaces are built to encourage networking and establish a sense of community. I want to create a space, which goes the other way. In fact, we are the antonym to networking. My place is designed for individuals, not the teams. This is a place for deep focused work. Leave your noise canceling headphones at home. You won’t need them here.

You won’t have to introduce yourself, when you come in. No talk
You won’t have to smile and try to be friendly. No interaction with others, unless you want
You won’t cross your eyer with anyone else
You won’t have to search for a quiet corner desk to setup your workstation. You were already assigned to your personal desk.
You won’t hear anyone grinding coffee on the kitchen
You won’t hear anyone talking on the phone
You won’t see anyone walking around
You won’t hear anyone typing on the keyboard or clicking the mouse key
You won’t hear anyone laughing on loud
You won’t smell the fish being warmed up in the kitchen’s microwave
There is absolutely nothing that could distract you from your work

We are the place for software engineers, researchers, writers, scientists or anyone who’s work required deep concentration. Our guests are the people who needs the work environment that is either at the office or home. Absolutely no distraction. Only you and your thoughts. We are anti-social. We are individualistic. We are self-centered. Not egoistic, but respectful of others private space.

We are the distraction-free protective bubble. We are the “Zen” space. We are different and unique.

Distraction-free Office Space in Your Neighbourhood

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 21, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship

Distraction-free Office Space in Your Neighbourhood

We are now watching in real-time as the relationship between the office and employee changes. We are no longer anchored to the biggest job centers. We don’t need to commute long hours to the office and back. A few years from now, we will be telling our kids the horror stories about our work commute. They would think: “How stupid it was to sit in the car two hours a day commuting to the office and back. I could’ve never done that”. Indeed, I see the commute time as a “wasted time”.

We now work from home, so there is no commute. Thank God! However, we are now challenged with creating a home-work environment that keeps distractions away and allows us to be productive at our jobs. It’s not easy, especially for those with families and kids. There are only so many days a week that you can endure the work from home. We need a dedicated space for work or study. A place, completely free from distractions, where we can focus and feel productive. A place, where you can find peace of mind and concentrate.

Companies are getting out of their office space rents. You don’t need to have an MBA to understand that it doesn’t make any financial sense to pay high rent, maintain the office and its supporting staff, while the biggest part of your employees works from home. However, the need for workspace is still there.

We don’t want to be distracted and we want to be productive at work. At home, we want to rest and decompress. We struggle to draw the line and be as productive as we could while working from home. The work environment plays a huge role in our cognitive performance. After a productive day at work, you are happy with yourself. When you are happy, the people around you are happy as well. When your mind gets distracted the entire day and you can’t get things done – you get upset with yourself. You bring your hard feelings to the dinner table with your family. You become an unpleasant person to be around. At work – work. At home – do everything else.

Where am I going with all this?

People are getting distracted while working from home.
People are not tied down to working from one location. They can work from anywhere.
People need a workspace that is neither their office nor their home.
This place needs to be located in the suburbs, within 15 minutes of driving.

There is a need for dedicated distraction-free workspace in suburban areas. A place, whiting 15 minutes of driving from home, where they can engage in deep focused work.

I want to open a network of offices for professionals whose work demands privacy and deep focus. Implementing the latest research and technology, I want to design an environment that supports people’s concentration and help them to be the best at what they do.

We are not a typical “coworking space”. We offer privacy and a distraction-free environment. Coworking spaces are built to encourage networking and establish a sense of community. They are great for that, however, my quest is to create a space, which is designed for deep focused work. This will be a professional workspace that can be both private and flexible.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 20, 2020

Entrepreneurship business idea

Idea development cycle

Ideas come and go. Some stick with us longer, some come only for brief visits. Inspiration and motivation do not last forever. It has a short lifespan after which it disappears. No matter how exciting and innovative your idea is – it will not seem as cool one week from now. Two weeks later it will lose its shine and become “just another one”. After the third week, it’s a burden. You will find it hard to motivate yourself to push the needle further. This will give you anxiety and a sense of guilt. If you are stubborn enough, you will endure another week, until you ditch your idea. As a result: wasted four weeks of life, guilt and depression. You will feel empty on the inside. She left you because you couldn’t satisfy her needs. You feel like a loser. You doubt your abilities. The next time you will think twice before attempting the new project. You failed to develop your ideas a hundred times before, so why do you think it will work out this time? You don’t even want to try because you don’t want to disappoint yourself. I get that.

Ideas are not what we used to think of them. They are so much more. They are alive.

https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1517976487492-5750f3195933?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=85&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=srgb&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjYzOTIxfQ

At the beginning of your relationship with the new idea, it gives you the maximum amount of energy – the push. Imagine the rocket getting off the ground. The rocket is the idea. Over the course of two-three weeks, the fuel level getting lower and the rocket slows down. An interesting fact is that you can not use too much fuel. You don’t control the amount of energy that is being dispensed to you. It won’t decrease if you were to work days and nights. Neither will it increase if you don’t do anything and just dream about it. The “idea energy” is mainly influenced by time. Time is your enemy, not the lack of resources. It works this way with ALL the ideas, no exceptions. Once inspired – the clock starts ticking. You have a finite amount of time to do something about it.

Let’s imagine that this is really how inspiration works – the fact. What can you do with this knowledge? How can you use it, so the next time you move a bit further with your ideas? How can you prevent yourself from losing inspiration and maintain the energy high?

Be strategic. The next time you get inspired by a new idea, realize that the timer went off. It’s a race. You are running the sprint, not the marathon. You are given the motivation and energy only for a short period of time. Some inspirations last longer, some shorter. Some stay only overnight and the next morning they are gone. Over time you will learn yourself and you will be able to estimate the inspiration intensity. You will be able to approximate how long it will last this time. On average – two-three weeks.

First, you need to understand that everything in life works in cycles. There are big and small cycles. There are yearly and daily cycles. There are cycles within cycles… within cycles. That’s deep. Did I lose you here?

The axis graph describes the idea development cycle. The level of “inspiration energy”. After the initial inspiration had reached it’s lowest point, a person typically drops his work. However, sometimes another person gets inspired by that same idea. You tell a guy at the bar or someone whom you respect. He or she believes that this is something great and you feel the energy come back.

YOU can’t fully develop the idea on your own.
YOU need other people’s energy to keep the momentum going.

I would like you to think of a pendulum. Once you get inspired, you get the momentum. The pendulum swings for a period of time and generates energy. You get this energy in form of motivation and as I already mentioned – inspiration. You get things done. Over time, momentum dies down and the pendulum produces less energy. Lethargy, lack of motivation, depression etc…

In order to keep things moving, you need to gain and maintain that momentum. You need to inspire other people with your idea (pendulum). You will grow the pendulum by bringing new people in. As it swings faster, you and your peers will be drawing the energy from its momentum. …until the cycle brings you to the next lowest point.

Your problem is that you try to do everything by yourself. You try to figure things out and solve the problem by yourself. You want all the rewards. You can’t let go of control.

I want you to be strategic. Don’t try to fully develop the idea or solve the problem during the initial inspiration stage. The energies are high and you optimistic. You want to change the world and all that bullshit. That’s cool, but it’s nothing but a waste of this precious time. You need to be wise with the use of the “idea energy”.

When next time you get inspired with a new idea:

Act as fast as possible. Forget about sleep, there is no time. The highs you experience right now will dissolve in time. The energy will go away. What will you be left with once its gone?
Plan your actions after inspiration goes away. What will you do, when the idea don’t seem as appealing as it did two-three weeks ago? Are you going to abandon it? Will you find an excuse not to continue?

The time of maximum inspiration is given to Shape the idea and pass it along.

The idea is in your head. No one can see, touch or smell it. It’s intangible. You need to give it birth on paper. Take it out and shape it into a format that it easy “consumable” and easy to understand. Don’t try to figure out how to make the idea work, where to find money, how to promote, how to sell etc. That’s important, but not right now. The timer is ticking and the pendulum loses its momentum. You need to convert this “inspiration energy” into an “idea prototype”. Draw the schematics, write the descriptions, make a 3D model, draw… You need to create something that you will use to communicate your idea to other people. Make it as simple as possible. A ten-year-old kid needs to be able to understand it. Make a presentation that will explain your idea to others. Broadcast your thoughts through the right channels. Try to show your idea to as many right people as possible.

Don’t lose the focus

Focus. While energies are high, your main task is to recruit as many people as possible. You need to inspire as many folks as you can. Forget about the business plans and all the “What ifs…”. Don’t let your mind go sideways and engage in solving the problems. There will be time for that, but for now, you need to recruit people into your team. You need to inspire others. They will keep the momentum going. Your “idea pendulum” needs people who believe in it.

Inspire others, before the energy dies down.

Use the initial burst of energy is given to create the draft – a very basic model which you will use to inspire others. If you want your idea to grow, you need to feed it with the energies of other people who believe in it. This is the key to success. Realize that you can’t keep the momentum going on your own.

Create → communicate → inspire → recruit

In the past, you were trying to build it on your own. You would hold your ideas imprisoned in your head. Sometimes you would write about them. Sometimes you would tell your friends and family. They thought it was cool, but they were not inspired by it. The idea pendulum didn’t get the energy to maintain the momentum.

How many ideas have you starved to death? That’s your problem. If you want to move the needle forward, you need others. Thinking that you can do everything on your own is your main limitation. Keeping the pendulum swinging is the key. Maintain the momentum. Inspire others so they feed their energies into the system.

You work on the wrong things at the wrong time. Don’t think ahead and solve all the problems overnight. Make a raw draft and tell others. “Who’s with me?”. No one? – Great! You just saved yourself a shit load of money and time. If your idea does not find supporters, move on to the next one.

Shape the idea.
Communicate.
inspire.
bring the energy in.
Keep the momentum going.

Your job is to bring energy in. You need others to believe in your ideas and willing to share their energies for its development.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 19, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space

Dedicated distraction-free workspace for deep focused work

We tell our kids how to study, where to study and when. We don’t even consider their wishes and desires. Some people find it extremely difficult to see it in a typical classroom for the entire day. There are a lot of people who are learning better when they move — motion learners. There are smart and intelligent individuals who are being forced to work in an environment that does not support their unique needs. Such environments kill creativity and reduce productivity.

Paperback books and sitting desks worked for our parents. They were doing good with 45-minute study sessions. Millennials are different. We need different environments for work and studying. We need to reinvent the classrooms and offices. The new generation has new needs and we need to tailor work environments to those needs and not vice versa. It is unfair to try to fit a person into the environment and ask him or her to perform at their best. The workspace plays a huge role in the way study, create and work. A desk, a chair and coffee is not enough. We need to use technology and research to eliminate distractions.

Coworking spaces are defined as spaces, where people come to work independently or in small groups on a project. They’re great for freelancers who don’t like to or can’t feasibly work from home, and for startups, or small companies that don’t want to rent out a huge office space or don’t have the budget to do so. The fundamentals of coworking spaces and the office spaces are similar. In both settings you’re surrounded by people for long periods, in environments, you can’t control.

Networking – is one of the biggest advantages of coworking spaces. If you’re just starting out and looking to make contacts, this is a great way to meet new people and build your business directory. However, this can be also a disadvantage for introverts or the people who struggle with focus.

Coworking spaces are a great way to avoid procrastination. When surrounded by people who are also working hard, you’ll be influenced by them. If it’s a big space with a lot of people, this can create an overstimulating atmosphere — not the peaceful tranquillity required for deep focused work. This type of atmosphere can actually be a hindrance to productivity, a breeding ground for anxiety and turn your coworking experience into hell.

Everyone needs a quiet place at times, where they can get on with a designated task, without interruption or the feeling of becoming overwhelmed.

What are the downsides of coworking spaces?

Distractions. This is the major disadvantage of typical coworking spaces. Most of the people that work remotely, join coworking spaces in hopes to increase their productivity. Often times these spaces have the exact opposite effect. Some coworking spaces tend to be crowded, noisy, and distracting. While these can be ideal environments for brainstorming and networking, they are rarely good places to hunker down and get work done. When we are crammed in a room with 30 worker bees, we can’t concentrate on the job. How could we? The person in front of us is on the phone, the guy across the room is grinding coffee, and the lady to our left won’t stop popping her gum. And if you’d really like to ensure we get nothing done, throw in an office dog. Few facts:

BBC reports that open offices lower workplace productivity by 15 percent, even when people don’t have ADHD.
A University of Sydney study revealed that 25-30 percent of employees in an open office find the noise level too distracting.
And the Washington Post says, “The open-office trend is destroying the workplace.”

Lack of Privacy. Another one of the disadvantages of coworking is a lack of privacy. You may also struggle to maintain privacy and confidentiality on phone calls with sensitive clients or keep private information protected in public areas.

Internet Security Risks. When you work in a shared office, you tend to use a shared network which might lead to data leakage due to security concerns. So the firms need to take all possible measures to ensure security.

High Costs. Coworking membership fees vary greatly depending on where you’re located and what services are provided. But oftentimes, the high cost of membership doesn’t turn out to be worth the low return that you receive for your commitment and loyalty.

What do I suggest?

Design and build the space solely for deep focused work
Take the concept and best practices of co-working spaces, but remove the “co-working” part. No collaboration only concentrated focused work
Offer Internet security that coworking spaces lack
Locate it more conveniently, in the suburbs, not downtown
Work retreat. Shipping containers, converted into the office – located outside of the city. Promote on Airbnb. Escape their home office and just work. Strictly for work. Unusually high-speed internet connection.

I believe there is a huge unfulfilled need for dedicated, distraction-free workspaces for deep focused work. There is a need for a place where people can deeply concentrate on their studying or working. Such a place will be especially popular among students and creative people. CEOs, managers and executives will also find such environments extremely beneficial for their work performance.

Questions

If you were to design your “focus paradise”, what would it look like?
What technology would you incorporate?
Will it be in the city or somewhere in a remote area?
How much would you pay for a full day of productive, focused work?
How much would you pay for inspiration and new ideas?

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 17, 2020

Entrepreneurship, Mindset

Ideas are alive

Over a year ago, I had an idea to open an “Athletic Recovery Center”. To give you an idea, it was my problem statement: “I solve the problem of limited access to advanced recovery and performance tools used by professional and elite athletes for people who participate in demanding sports like triathlon, CrossFit, cycling, running, swimming, etc. on professional and amateur levels because proper recovery is a key factor in enhancing performance and injury prevention.“

It meant to be a studio in downtown Toronto. I named it the “Recovery Room”. Nothing like this was in the city at that moment and I was excited to be the first. In fact, such service was not very well developed in Canada at that time, so I had little to no competition on the provincial level. I was inspired and driven as I truly believed that it was going to work out. Few months in, I tested the market and determined that there was not enough demand to run a profitable business. I tried different things, but to cut a long story short – I abandoned the idea.

A year later I arrived in Kelowna. A small town in British Columbia, where I had a meeting with my friend at the local cafe. I pulled into the parking and saw this… “The Recovery SPA”. “No, this is not what I am thinking this is”, I thought to myself. Forget the friend who is waiting, I went straight to the entrance door of this place.

I requested the tour. The owner was walking me around his business, showing different equipment and explaining the purpose of each. I knew it all and I could not stop smiling. This was EXACTLY the place I wanted to build in Toronto. I created the 3D model of the facility and the layout was almost identical. I also had the same equipment listed in my business plan. I could not believe how close to my drawings this guy was. It seemed as if he copied my business plan in it’s fine details. Unbelievable.

I wanted to learn more about how the founder came up with that idea, so I asked him out on a walk. Motorcycle accident, prolonged rehabilitation, then he got interested in triathlons… at the end – “The Recovery SPA”. What was fascinating to me is that we both got inspired by the same idea almost at the same time last year. A guy, on the opposite side of the country, five thousand kilometers away… Very interesting… I thought to myself.

Phenomenon of “Multiple Discovery”

Have you ever heard of the concept of “multiple discovery”? Also known as simultaneous invention, it is the hypothesis that most scientific discoveries and inventions are made independently and more or less simultaneously by multiple scientists and inventors. According to Wikipedia, this is a known phenomenon and there are examples:

British physicist-chemist Joseph Swan independently developed the incandescent light bulb at the same time as American inventor Thomas Edison was independently working on his incandescent light bulb
1886: The Hall–Héroult process for inexpensively producing aluminum was independently discovered by the American engineer-inventor Charles Martin Hall and the French scientist Paul Héroult.
1895: Adrenaline was discovered by the Polish physiologist Napoleon Cybulski. It was independently discovered in 1900 by the Japanese chemist Jōkichi Takamine and his assistant Keizo Uenaka.
1902: Richard Assmann and Léon Teisserenc de Bort independently discovered the stratosphere.
1839: Louis Daguerre and Henry Fox Talbot invented the first photographic methods.
1869: Louis Ducos du Hauron and Charles Cros present the earliest workable methods of colour photography on the same day.

What if ideas and creative force are not created by humans? We think that we come up with ideas and create something new, but in reality, those ideas already existed, before we even thought about them. We just received them as the radio receives the signal from the tower. What if ideas are independent living creatures that exist on their own? They are invisible to the human eye, however, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They are completely separate from us but capable of interacting with us. Ideas have no material body, but they do have consciousness, and will. The idea’s main mission is to be manifested in the material world. The only way an idea can manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner. Only the human can transmute the idea from its raw form into the realm of the actual.

Ideas are all over us, flying around and searching for a capable and willing human partner. They see people as tools for work. Big ideas require a lot of energy, therefore they need strong human beings to give them birth. Sick and low on energy, will not handle such a task. There is all kinds of work to do and each requires a different set of tools. You won’t put the nail into the wall with a fork. You need the right tool. If the task is not very demanding, you might get away with a cheap Chinese toolkit. However, the more difficult the idea is – the better tools it requires for its own manifestation.

The more capable the person is –
the bigger ideas chose to collaborate with that individual

When an idea thinks it has found somebody—say, you—who might be able to bring it into the world, the idea will pay you a visit. Out of nothing, you will get hit by inspiration. The lightbulb will light up.

It’s easy to miss the idea. You aren’t receptive to inspiration when you’re so consumed by your own dramas, worries, anxieties, distractions, insecurities, and duties. If you are attentive, you will start seeing the omens and signs that point you toward the idea. Everything around will remind you of the idea. It will wake you up in the middle of the night and distract you from your everyday routine. The idea will not leave you alone until it has your fullest attention. The idea will try to get noticed by you, but if it realizes that you’re non-receptive to its message, it will move on to someone else. Once you notice it – the light bulb will come on. Eureka! You will get this burst of energy out of nowhere. You will get excited and motivated.

Ideas are clots of energy. They feed their human with its energy so he or she can implement them in the world. There are strong and weak ones. Sometimes you get such powerful ideas, that they almost burn you from the inside with their energies.

Once the idea has chosen you, there are two choices to make. Yes or no. If you had chosen that you won’t pursue this idea – you are free to move on with your life. You are off the hook. Most people chose to come up with excuses and pass on it. That’s an option for many. If you say no, nothing happens and the idea simply flies away to search for another capable human.

If you said yes – the timer starts ticking. Every idea has a lifespan. Some live longer, some shorter. If you don’t take action, it will get weaker and weaker with time. The idea loses its faith in you and starts looking around for someone more capable. It stops feeding you with its energy so you feel less motivated. You are no longer so excited to continue working on it, so you drop out. The idea waits patiently for its human to manifest it. You need to act fast, while the energies are high.

The idea will not wait forever.
If not you, someone else will bring it into the world.

Recognize when the idea chooses you. Cooperate fully, humbly, and joyfully with inspiration. Welcome your ideas with respect and curiosity, not with drama or dread. Remember that it has chosen you, among other people because you are capable. In a way, if you said yes to the idea, you become a slave to it. However, you get the opportunity to live an interesting life making and doing really cool things the entire time. You might become the next billionaire with your pursuits or not, but that’s not the point. If you lived your life passionately, believing in the ideas you were trying to implement, money doesn’t matter. A creative and fulfilled life is much more valuable than money. The excitement and energy are much more pleasurable than a stack of green papers.

If you said yes to the idea – go fully in. Don’t try to get away with minimum work. Don’t cheat. Value your idea as something precious. Hold it gently as a little baby. Protect it from distractions.

Never fight against it and never abandon it
Cooperate with it to the utmost of your ability, until the work is done
Clear the space for it
Commit yourself to several hours of research every morning
Make yourself go to bed early so you could get up at dawn and be ready for work
Say no to alluring distractions and social invitations so you can focus on your job
Order tools, buy books, reach out to experts and study the subject
Visualize the end result. Dream

If you fully commit and take it seriously, the idea will grow and start taking shape. If you are not fully committed. If you don’t buy into it and treat it badly – it leaves. It happened to me a lot and it will happen to you. You will feel empty, disoriented and lost. You will start asking what to do with your life. Keep your ears and eyes open. Listen. Be curious. Ask questions. There are beautiful invisible ideas flying around. They are looking for human collaborators. Ideas of every kind are constantly passing through us, constantly trying to get our attention.

Try not to f*ck it up the next time

Elizabeth Gilbert describes her experience with this strange phenomenon in her book “Big Magic”. She got inspired by an idea for a novel about Brazil in the 1960s. The idea seemed epic and thrilling to her. She said yes to it and began to work on it. She did a lot of research and submitted the book proposal to the publishing company. Later on, she had to relocate overseas to deal with some drama and her work had paused.

Two years later she returned home and decided to resume work on her novel about the Amazon jungle. She could not find the inspiration to continue writing. She had no energy to pursue something that she was so passionate about two years ago. All the feelings were gone. She said that it almost seemed as the novel got stolen. As she put it: “It was like poking a stick at a cast-off snakeskin: The more I messed with it, the faster it fell apart and turned to dust”. The idea was gone.

Around the time when Elizabeth completely gave up on her novel, she made a friend. Another writer, whom she met at the library event. They were living in different parts of the world, but they would keep in touch through writing letters to one another. Her new friend mentioned in a letter that she was working on a new novel and that it was about the Amazon jungle. This caught Elizabeth’s attention. A few months later they met in person.

Elizabeth was eager to hear about the Amazon jungle novel that her friend was writing. She said that she also was trying to write a book about Amazon jungle, however, she never finished. “What is your novel about?”, Elizabeth asked her friend. “No, you go first. You were the first one to write about it.”, her friend replied.

Elizabeth summarized her ex-novel in detail. Her friend stared at her from across the table for a long minute. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”, the friend exclaimed. She was writing her novel exactly what Elizabeth just told her about. Almost to the finest details, two stories were almost identical. The writers had also determined that it was around the same time when Elizabeth completely gave up on her novel and her friend got inspired by that same idea.

They both were professional writers – perfect tools for implementing that idea into the world. The novel idea had chosen its human, however she got dropped. The idea waited too long and left. It found another person who was capable of such work.

Your ideas are not yours

You are nothing but a receiver, an antenna. Don’t try to create the idea – you can’t, you won’t. Instead, expand your skillset. Improve yourself, so you become attractive to ideas. There is no lack of ideas. They are swirling all over us searching for the right human. Be attentive to the signs. Be curious and never stop asking questions. Your task is to reduce the clutter in your head and become receptive. Don’t try to create, but tune your antennas to receive the signal. Stay sharp, be in shape because once you receive the idea – you will need to act. Fast! The inspiration and energy will not last forever, so you have to get moving.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 14, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship business idea, coworking space

A new trend on the rise – the “Space Service”

I believe there is a trend on the rise – I call it the “space service”. There are different types of spaces: event space, coworking space, focused workspace, sprint planning space, presentation space. There is a demand for space as a service, where you can use the type of space that fits your needs, on-demand.

There is a need for coworking spaces geared towards independent healthcare practitioners. A workspace for healthcare practitioners outside of large hospitals. How can we fulfill this need?

A note to myself: offer clinical exam rooms, as well as offices with basic medical supplies for clinical professionals such as therapists, primary care physicians and surgeons. Allow customers to pay on a pay-as-you-go membership model, where healthcare professionals can sign up for month-to-month payments.

For instance, if a member needs just one room one day a week, MedCoShare offers a plan to accommodate that.

“Wherever the practitioner is in their business, we can adjust our inventory to suit their needs,” said Ronak.

ACCESS IS BETTER THAN OWNERSHIP

The on-demand business model works on a simple rule: “Access is better than ownership.” The idea is to make workspaces for different types of work easily accessible, including technology and features that the customer otherwise cannot own. Millennials don’t want to own things. People no longer buy cars, they rent them instead. Fewer young people strive to buy a house, they are happy about renting one.

I want to build a holding company that will own real estate and build specialized spaces for rent.

“You focus on your work. We take care of the rest,” is a dream come true to any parent working from home for the past several months. Our basic offer is:

24/7 secure access
Free on-street parking
High-speed secure internet
Mail Services
Unlimited printing
Unlimited coffee and snacks

I have many more ideas around technology and science to be incorporated into the design. This is all for this post. The main takeaway is that the typical office had changed and will continue to evolve. There are new needs emerge and as entrepreneurs, we need to find creative ways to fulfill those needs.

The time of the crysis is the time of opportunities.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 14, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship

Cyber ba – A place to focus

We live in a knowledge economy that values new ideas, creativity and generating knowledge that adds value to the economy.

It is no secret that workspace design and occupancy affects not only how people feel, but also their work performance, their commitment to their employer, and the creation of new knowledge (human capital) in the organization. There are a lot of studies that make direct links between the environmental design of workspace and worker performance. I believe that workspace should be a tool for performing work, as much as say investing in a better computer and better tools for work.

There are countless stressors in the work environment that distract us and affect our performance. High intensity or prolonged distractions slow us down and reduce our ability to process and understand the complex information. What used to seem an easy task, with added distractions – impossible to complete. Environmental stressors influence physiological processes, limit motivation and performance. These physical stressors in the workplace affect our sense of control and effectiveness. I personally like to feel productive and focused, as many other professionals do. This correlates not only with my self-satisfaction but also translates into interaction with other people.

What is Productivity?

There is a concept of ‘workplace performance’. It means the workspace whose explicit objective is to support the performance of work. I want to create a performing workplace that is designed to optimize worker productivity and bring it to the next level. A good question to ask: what is productivity? I found three kinds of productivity that are influenced by environmental design:

Individual productivity. It is evaluated by how a worker’s micro-environment influences his or her task performance, which is how fast and accurately a worker performs his tasks at work. On an individual level, we can affect performance by environmental conditions such as lighting, visual conditions, temperature and humidity, furniture ergonomics and acoustics. Increased individual productivity results in improved speed and accuracy of the tasks performed.
Group productivity is typically evaluated in terms of the quality and quantity of group processes. Teamwork is harder to quantify and it is measured in tangible terms such as new product release time, or in the number of successful new ideas or good recommendations. Environmental determinants of workgroup effectiveness include the positioning of work areas and shared space, as well as access to shared tools and equipment (Heerwagen, Kampschroer, Powell & Loftness, 2004).
Company’s or organization’s productivity. This is the macroenvironment. Productivity on this level is affected by locational benefits and accessibility, balancing consolidation with a dispersion of different groups in different facilities, and building amenities such as fast elevators, convenient bathrooms, adequate parking, and attractive eating areas (Vischer, 2006).

In addition, there are more objective productivity indicators are:

Reduced illness rates
Increased speed and accuracy of task completion
Rate of new ideas generation

What is Comfort?

There are three types of comfort that are being defined in literature:

Physical
Functional
Psychological

Physical comfort refers to meeting basic human needs, such as safety, hygiene and accessibility. Functional comfort is defined as environmental support for employees’ performance of work-related tasks and activities. Functional comfort is also defined by the degree to which workers can perform their tasks in the place of occupancy. One of the measures of functional comfort is whether people can perform tasks easily, with difficulty, or not at all in the workspace occupied.
Psychological comfort includes feelings of belonging, ownership and control over the workspace. An essential component of psychological comfort is a sense of territory. This sense comes from both: individual territory (office, workstation, micro-workspace) and group territory (team, group, midrange workspace). The territory is not simply made up of the walls and doors that enclose space. A sense of privacy largely contributes to psychological comfort.

Creating a Supportive Environment

At home, people are comfortable physically, however, in order to perform at their best it’s not enough. Physical comfort is essential and could not be neglected. To achieve extraordinary results, we need to place the person in an extraordinary environment – the environment that goes beyond physical comfort and designed to improve focus and productivity. I want to create such an environment using the latest research and modern technology.

Studies have found that people moving out of private enclosed offices into open workstations judge their environment more negatively, citing lack of privacy, acoustic conditions, and confidentiality problems (Brennan, Chugh, & Kline, 2002; Rishi, Sinha & Dubey, 2000). This is an important fact to consider nowadays. For the past several months, a lot of people have been working from the privacy of their homes, thus they will find it difficult to move into the open workspace layout. Luckily to me, most coworking space providers have an abundance of such, but lack of individual workspaces. Research suggests that office workers are uncomfortable in open-plan configurations and prefer private enclosed workspace, which may work better for individual tasks but are less successful for teamwork. The BOSTI-Westinghouse study had shown, that employees, especially managers, working in open-plan workstations felt they were more productive in enclosed offices.

Workers in open-plan workspace tend to judge noise to be a primary source of discomfort and reduced productivity (Stokols & Scharf, 1990; Mital, McGlothlin, Faard, 1992). I want to create an environment, using soundproof materials and noise-cancelling systems.

The difference between a supportive and an unsupportive workspace is the degree to which occupants can conserve their attention and energy for their tasks, as opposed to expending it to cope with adverse environmental conditions.

In order to create the optimal workspace for creativity and “flow”, we need to develop different workspace concepts that target different types of people and kinds of work they do. “One size fits all” will not work. Our workspace is not designed to be a one-time, final, and permanent ergonomic support for all office tasks. We are adaptable and ‘negotiable’ to be most supportive of our customers.

The “Ba” concept

The concept termed ‘ba’ – an environment that supports and encourages knowledge creation. The ‘Ba‘ represents a contextual place shared with others from which relationships emerge, and within which knowledge is exchanged or shared. This place may be physical, virtual, or mental or a combination of these.

“The ‘Cyber Ba’ (also called ‘Systemizing Ba’), is a virtual place (or world) in which explicit knowledge can be exchanged in a systematic way. It is usually supported by collaborative environments using information technologies, facilitating knowledge sharing between groups. This includes online networks, databases, and online platforms.”, (The Concept of ‘Ba’, 2017).

I want to create a Cyber Ba space, that is supported by modern technology and science to help people be as effective as possible. I want it to be stimulating for work and creativity. I want it to be inspiring. I want people to wish they never left.

References:

The concept of ‘Ba’. (2017). Retrieved 14 October 2020, from https://theknowledgeexplorer.org/2017/07/05/the-concept-of-ba/#:~:text=The%20’Interacting%20Ba’%20(also,peers%20through%20an%20externalisation%20process.&text=This%20is%20where%20the%20learning,knowledge%20made%20available%20to%20them.
Towards an Environmental Psychology of Workspace: How People are Affected by Environments for Work. (2020). Architectural Science Review. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 13, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space, remote work

A distraction-free dedicated space for a focused work

There is a need for dedicated office space.

I see the need for distraction-free dedicated space to engage in deep focused work. In order to stay active in the new, pandemic-induced business environment, leaders in law, finance, consulting, real estate and other professional services industries need a space that supports their work.

Companies will shift to permanent work-from-home models after COVID-19. Some will adopt the “hybrid” model, where the employees show up at the office a few times a month. There is no more need to own the office. Instead, I see the need for safe offices on a rental basis.

Remote work has been on the rise through the pandemic. There are senior-level professionals and executives who prefer a dedicated and distraction-free workspace. I believe despite the fact that companies close their offices, the work environment is still everything for many professionals, especially for mid-senior executives and managers.

I want to open a network of offices for professionals whose work demands privacy and deep focus. Our walls will be made from materials selected for better soundproofing. We will have the noise cancellation system that turns every office into a quiet room.

I see the demand for industry-specific office space: offices that are meant to support work-life for engineers, lawyers, accountants and other executives who require more from their workspace than just a cool place to collaborate with peers and have coffee. The old coworking model is not relevant anymore. I want to build professional coworking offices. I believe there is a need and we yet to see the rise of such places.

I don’t see my company as a coworking space. We offer more of the privacy, while in the coworking environment. We are different than most coworking spaces. Typical coworking spaces are built to encourage networking and establish a sense of community. I want to create a space, which is designed for deep focused work.

It is beneficial for businesses to have their corporate headquarters near large cities because of the greater opportunities and access to talent. The need for dedicated office space isn’t going anywhere.

The typical coworking sector is transforming. Instead of building one size fits all office, they need to implement alternative office space options for every specific industry. This need for industry-specific co-working spaces had created the demand for professional workspace that can be both private and flexible.

My coworking space will target typical users like freelancers, startuppers and solopreneurs, but also I aim to partner with big companies who want to benefit from using shared offices. I see large companies turn to coworking as a smarter alternative to the traditional office.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 13, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship coworking space

The Future “Office”. You don’t have to work from home.

Cafes are crowded. There is no space to sit and enjoy the drink – it’s occupied by people with laptops. Students and young professionals had flooded cafes. Most of them don’t even order anything. Some don’t even like coffee. They choose this crowded space as the location for work or study. Why not a library? Why not at home? The cafeteria was not meant to be an “office”, but it is now.

Since March, most of us went to work from home. Some like the transition, some don’t, but all agree that the work environment plays a huge role in our productivity and performance. It is obvious that there is a demand for some type of space, where people can work or study. Call it a “co-working” space or an office.

Why do people choose to work from Starbucks? A typical answer sounds like this: “I like coffee and the atmosphere”. What is it about the atmosphere that people like?

What if there was a place that would combine all the benefits of working from Starbucks, a library and the office?

Unlimited printing;
Unlimited tea, coffee and snacks;
Lifestream video conferencing rooms;
Soundproof booths;
Podcast recording studio;
Meeting rooms and opened coworking space;
Washrooms and lockers;
Clean and modern design.

People are looking for something where they can just have it strictly for work. One lady told me: “Sometimes, I just don’t want to do any work, because I’m so comfortable being there.”

I want to create a community hub, where people that have entrepreneurial aspirations can get encouragement, education and training. Coworking was already an option before the pandemic, however now it’s gaining the interest.

A home is an option, and of course, headquarters or the office space or whatever it might be as an option. I see coworking being a beautiful option right in the middle.

I want to provide a five-star workplace. The most professional and inspiring environment, which you will see in Google or Microsoft. You don’t have to commute long hours to the downtown office. You can work from one of our offices, which is much more convenient.

Every morning we see thousands of people sitting in traffic on their way to the office. One hour in the morning, one hour in the afternoon. Two hours of your life is being completely wasted. Coronavirus had given us the opportunity to reinvent the office. Our homes had become the office for millions of people. Luckily modern technology and automation allow us to stay productive and efficient while working from anywhere with an internet connection. But is it true that the recipe for productive work consists of only the computer and internet access? No, it’s not.

Motivated, smart people can be given all the tools, but still, underperform. The work environment plays a huge role in people’s performance.

I want to build a chain of coworking spaces across Canada. Similar to gym chains like LA Fitness and GoodLife Fitness, our customers (members) will be able to access any of our facilities in different parts of the country with a single membership. We will have offices with spaces small enough for freelancers and big enough for businesses to set up their headquarters. Office layout will be determined by location and the need for corporate office space.

It doesn’t make sense to live in one location and work in a drastically different location unless you absolutely have to. The number of people that have to make those commutes is small and getting smaller. Most people had the experience of working remotely before the pandemic, and now it makes sense for us to go permanently.

I want to build something that is more than just space. It will be an environment that encourages innovation and communication. The environment where people can focus and be productive. The place, where large companies can bring their teams together on a regular basis.

Web designers, database programmers, AI researchers, writers, podcasters, YouTubers…all kinds of professionals will have the opportunity to congregate and work under the same roof. Our onsite coordinators/office managers will help people network and connect. There’s a disconnect. I will build the entrepreneurial hubs across the country.

Coming to our office, you will see people working on their own individual projects and businesses. You will feel the energy – the entrepreneurial spirit and then, you will thrive off that energy. You will feel like, “Okay, these people are working”, and motivate you to work.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 11, 2020

Business coworking space

Staples Studio: Coworking Space I love

Cafes are crowded. There is no space to sit and enjoy the drink — it’s occupied by people with laptops. Students and young professionals had flooded cafes. Most of them don’t even order anything. Some even don’t drink coffee, but they choose this crowded space as the location for work or study. Why not a library? Why not at home? The cafeteria was not meant to be an “office”, but it is now.

It is obvious that there is a demand for some type of space, where people can work or study. Call it a “co-working” space or an office.

Why do people choose to work from Starbucks? A typical answer sounds like this: “I like coffee and the atmosphere”. What is it about the atmosphere that people like?

The Freedom. Working from the office makes you go to the same location every single day. No matter how great the office space is — it gets boring. There is more freedom of choice if you choose to work from the cafe. If you ever feel like you need to change the atmosphere, you simply go to another cafe. Living a remote lifestyle — you are not confined by the office walls.

Networking. Working at the cafes give you the opportunity to find brilliant talent and connect with others. You never know who you will meet the next time you’re in a cafe. You might make friends with an artist, an entrepreneur, a headhunter or a real estate agent. Personally, I’ve met a lot of interesting people and made a lot of connections which directly or indirectly helped me in business and life.

Internet. When you are on the road, it’s hard sometimes to catch a good LTE signal. Starbucks becomes a goto place if you need a somewhat stable connection.

What if there was a place that would combine all the benefits of working from Starbucks, a library and the office?

Free unlimited printing;
Free unlimited tea, coffee and snacks;
Lifestream video conferencing rooms;
Soundproof booths;
Podcast recording studio;
Meeting rooms and opened coworking space;
Washrooms and lockers;
Clean and modern design.

Well, that space exists. I recently discovered “Staples Studio” — a coworking space that includes everything from the above. Staples experiments with this new offering and according to its employees, things go really well. The daily fee is $25, which is somewhat pricey when you consider the free use of Starbuck’s space. However, you can’t go to Starbucks after hours. The music and the crowd might destruct you from your work. You can’t print anything. You won’t look professional at the Zoom meeting.

You can access the Staples Studio 24/7, any day of the week, no matter if it’s a Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve. You can leave your laptop or other belongings without worrying that anyone might steal it. Drink as much coffee as you want. There is a fully equipped kitchen with a fridge and microwave. You can even take a nap on the couch if you feel tired…

If you pay out of the pocket, you might think twice, however, if you convince your employer that you are more productive at a space like this — they will cover the costs. I certainly would, if I was an employer. I believe that more companies will start issuing their employees the “stipend” for such things as a co-working space. A membership might even be included in their benefits along with fitness allowances.

The concept of the office had changed. You don’t have to work from home all the time. You need to get out and luckily there are amazing places like Staples Studio, where you can be productive and do your work to the best of your abilities. Look up what Staples currently offers with their membership and decide for yourself. Come for a tour and see what’s inside.

Personally, I chose to work from the Studio because I like space and people. I am accomplishing more and feel productive. This is where I can focus. I didn’t get paid for this review and I did it just because I really like what Staples did with their former warehouse space. I see great potential for this initiative and I believe that the typical office will never be the same.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 11, 2020

Entrepreneurship coworking space, focus

Olympic training facility: We help people focus

Olympic Training Facility

Think about an Olympic training facility. What do you know about such? People come there to work. High performance athletes, best of the best, come to improve physically and break the limits of what’s possible. Our athletes are mental athletes. We work with CEOs, executives, writers, singers, artists and pretty much anyone who makes a living by mental work.

In your life, you know that there are locations and environments in which you are more productive. On the other hand, there are places where you can’t focus and struggle to put two words together. Work environment plays a huge role in your mental performance. I already mentioned that processed foods and sugar will not help you focus. Nutrition must be dialed in as well. No matter how great of potential you have, but all you eat is junk food – you will not reach your full potential. Neither physical nor mental.

We help people focus. Located in remote locations, in the middle of the forest, next to a beautiful lake. Nothing around that could distract you. No bars, no strippers, no casinos, no fast food restaurants, no news or radio, nothing that could potentially distract you.

We are not a typical co-working space. Coming to us – you get into a protective digital bubble. We are your digital shield from the outside disruptions. We provide you with all the support you need to achieve your goals.

Before you come, you have to formulate the question – the one thing that you want to have accomplished. You have to have the problem to solve, so you need to know why you come. If you’ve been struggling with focus. If you tried to write a chapter, a song, record the podcast, draw the picture, plan the next year’s goals for your company, but you couldn’t and feel stuck – come to us. If no one seem to be able to help you find the answer – we are your go to place. We will help you to get into the mental “zone”. We will support you nutritionally and physically. You won’t worry about cooking, because all the food will be prepared for you. The world’s distractions will not sink through our shield. Nothing that could potentially distract you. Our study/work rooms were designed by leading scientists and researchers on human brain. We built a place which maximizes your mental performance. We are your mental workout gym. We are the Olympic training facility for the world-class mind performers. Our creative place is designed with sole purpose to stimulate your mind’s activity. Here, you will start coming with breakthrough ideas and creative solution that you would have never gotten back in your typical environment. In our camp you will gain the laser sharp focus and complete your projects in no time. You came with the question and left with the answer. You came with the problem – but left with the solution. We didn’t tell you the solution, but you developed it. We only provided you with environment and support to help you succeed.

ADHD

Focus is our everything. In the age of information – focus worth more than gold. Information is not the problem and it is available to anyone at any time. Getting focused is the problem. So many great ideas and thoughts were murdered by constant distractions of the outside world. Smart and intelligent people need just a little bit of focused time. Sometimes they do get it, on their own they create the environment or develop a method which helps them to get into the “zone”. Some work at the Starbucks, crowded cafe makes their focus sharp. Others work in their home basement, with no sound nor lights. People escape from distractions into remote locations, far from civilization. People run away from the noise.

What if they were able to hold the focus and stay in the zone for longer? What if there was a place where they could come and achieve this elevated state? A place where they can get into the zone and time didn’t matter anymore. A place, where their brains would work like a well-tuned race car. Once the noise is minimized and distractions are gone – they can achieve greatest things and become unstoppable. Ideas start flooding their minds. We can help people change the world.

We can help people to come up with the answers not us all we do is we do everything possible to help creators get into the zone into the best what they can do they will be able to make connections between thoughts and ideas, to put the dots together. We provide our residents with the environment that promotes a “laser-sharp focus”. We choose our locations in collaboration with researchers who find the best areas in the world which had been known to promote human health, physical and mental performance. Fresh air, nutritious food, favorable electro-magnetic fields and a lot of other factors that we consider. There are places in the world which were chosen by ancient people for their ceremonies and settlements. Those are the “places of power”, which make our minds work on different frequencies. We carefully pick location because we realize that the environment is one of the most important factors to help humans achieve the best state of mind and focus possible.

I want to create a destination where people would come with the question and leave with the answer. I won’t guarantee that they will get the answer overnight or even over course of the week, but I can guarantee that at our location people will have the best chance of getting closer to that answer. We will do everything possible to help you to move your mental performance to the highest level possible. We will use science and work with scientists to develop tools, technology and environment which will help you achieve the things you never thought you could have achieved. How many beautiful things will come out from our facilities? The next time musician produces a song that people all over the world love, he will tell on one of the interviews that he got inspired at one of these “focus places”. He will say that a team of people helped him to get the most out of his creativity and create the song that everybody now enjoys. The next time you read a bestselling book, there is a chance that it was written by somebody who spent some time at our place. We helped the author to tap into his/her creativity and produce a masterpiece.

All our guests need to come with the question or a problem to solve. We won’t give them the answer, neither will we solve the problem, but we will do all we could to move them closer to the solution.

I would really like to hear your thoughts and feedback so please reach out to me at [email protected]

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 11, 2020

Entrepreneurship coworking space

New Age CoWorking Space

Coronavirus had changed the way we work – remotely, from home. Where is home? Home is anywhere with a stable internet connection. You can work from your cabin, the basement of your house, Thailand, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Phoenix, San-Diego… Tech giants like Uber, Microsoft, Google – all moved their employees to remote work until next year. Employees are given the opportunity to remote in until summer next year. My former company where i used to work, Uber ATG, had moved all its employees to remote work until June 2020. That’s almost a year from now. What could happen in a year? What could happen in a month?

Recently I’ve had a zoom call with my friend who lives in the Silicon Valley, SF. I asked how did the Coronavirus lockdown impact Silicon Valley and what were his observations. He said that the streets and offices were empty. No people on streets, at the grocery stores, minimum cars on the roads. Everyone moved away. People went back home, where now they work from. Some even went back to their home countries like India or China, for example. His co-workers are now spread all over the globe and they all work remote in the Zoom meetings. What he described was that commercial spaces and offices in particular were shutting down. Companies took financial loss by breaking the lease. Indeed, it doesn’t make any sense to keep on paying high rent, while all the employees are working from home. It doesn’t make make financial sense to keep security and cleaning stuff on payroll. No need for the catering services and the parking space. Everyone works from home. The companies don’t have the office they used to. Does it mean that they don’t need it? I don’t think so… they do.

Human beings are social creatures. We need to congregate and meet face-to-face. We are more productive and come with better ideas by collaborating with others. We need to share our experiences and thoughts by communicating verbally face-to-face. Video conferencing like Zoom or Google Hangout will never replace the natural human interaction. We need to meet face to face especially when we are working on the same project. Nowadays this becomes a challenge for two reasons: companies don’t have the office anymore; government restrictions to how many people can congregate in an enclosed area at the same time.

Another friend of mine works at UOT – University of Toronto. He manages the team and he is totally fine with people working from home. In fact, a lot of people are being more efficient and productive. Despite the high levels of performance of his team, he recognizes the need to gather them together on regular basis. There is no large space enough to have everyone in at the same time. There are restrictions due to COVID. What he wants to do, is to gather his stuff at least twice a month for meetings, presentations, sprint planning or some sort of team building events. People need to feel as they are a part of something – a company. People need to feel they belong. Working from home all the time does not fulfill this need.

Staples – the office supply company. Recently, I learned about a new venture they got into. On the back of thr Staples store, where used to be a warehouse space is now a co-working space. It’s called a Staples Studio, look it up. The company with its new owners is testing the market. Staples Studio are available in Toronto, Oakville, Kelowna, Ottawa. There are also six locations in Boston, Massachusetts. They plan to continue expanding, however taking it slow. There was a dip in April and May, however now it recovers back, and people are coming back into their coworking spaces. Staples Studios offer live streaming conference rooms, podcast recording booths, fully equipped kitchens with free coffee, tea and snacks, soundproof booths, washrooms, free parking, private conference rooms and 24/7 access. They charge a fee – $25 /day.

I learned that Staples work with big companies like Spotify and Google, where they rent the office space out to those companies. They rent the space for few days or a week, where employees come together to work on projects. Once done, everyone goes back to remote work. Twice or three times a month, employees come together in the rental office space. Staples and other coworking hubs are typically located in urban areas of the city.

In post-COVID world, companies won’t need to own office equipment, computers, furniture, pay high rent, manage security stuff etc. Office space will be rented “on demand”, whenever there is a need to bring the company employees together. Few times a month people gather together and work from home the rest of time. Kudos to Staples for trying new things.

Let’s move this concept a little further. The “new office” don’t have to be in the city. Coworking space can be set up in Banff, for example. Beautiful mountains, surrounded by lakes, in the middle of woods. Our corporate customers would rent co-working space and bring their staff for temporary work engagements.

Why work with us, but not just any coworking place?

We are unique in a way we design, build and situate our offices. Our main goal is to create the environment, where people can focus. We limit any external distractions, so our customers can perform at their best. Beautiful, remote places stimulate creativity and improve work performance.

Our rental offices will provide your team with the following:

24/7 catering service. Our nutritionists prepare meals that support brain activity and improve focus. Our menu is designed to boost your mental performance.
Breathing instructors. Daily breathing sessions to teach you how to improve your focus.
Blasting High-Speed Internet (completely secure).
Soundproof booths.
Livestreaming conference rooms.
Podcast recording rooms.
Video recording studios.

Because we minimize distraction, people are not worried about cooking, so they focus solely on work. All the food is being prepared for them by our cooks. What kind of food? Brain food. We all know that sugar and processed foods harm our mental abilities and fog our brains. Our mental performance declines and our thinking stagnate. Large high-tech companies take exceptionally well care of their employees and invest in their well-being. They realize: the healthier their employees are – the better work they do. Our “brain food” menu is designed in collaboration with leading nutritionists in the field of human brain. Our meal plan provides people’s brains with all it needs to work at the maximum capacity.

Breathing instructors will be working with our clients to help them achieve the level of performance they desire. Science knows that with breathing you can control your body’s states and as a result – mental performance. With shallow, rapid breathing, you can get your body in a fight or flight state or in the state of relaxation. A person cannot create anything meaningful or creative in a stressful state or a fight-or-flight. People need to relax to be able to focus. Our breathing instructors will teach people different breathing techniques and educate consul them on any related questions. When people return back home, they will be bringing an extra skill with them.

High speed secure internet. Internet security is priority for a lot of tech companies. You probably heard about hacker’s attacks on Zoom during pandemic. You are not concerned about security when chatting with friends and family, attending online classes or taking courses. However, if you are a senior executive, CEO or manager and you run a publicly traded company – information security becomes a priority. Beside the fact that our conference rooms and phone booths are soundproof, you can be confident that everything you say will not leave the walls of our place unless you want.

Podcast recording booths. Podcasting is really popular right now. Thousands of podcasters produce content on apple podcasts. If you are one of them, we have recording studio set up for your use. You can work there on your own or invite your guests to record the audio professionally.

If you make a living by producing video content, you will have entire professional video recording space at your disposal at any time 24/7.

Live streaming conference rooms. If you were to be Steve Jobs, you could easily make a video presentation of the next iPhone XX from our live streaming room.

Reinventing the office - Oleksandr Tereshchuk

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 9, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship business, business idea, coworking space, office

Reinventing the “Office”. Business Idea Proposal

Corporate Application

Tech companies are leading the way to a permanent shift to working from home. Corporations don’t need to rent large office spaces. Instead, I suggest bringing the teams together for creative engagements several times a month, but keep the staff working from home on a permanent basis. I propose a new way of organizing office work and team events. I have an idea of building new-age coworking spaces, located in the most beautiful places on earth.

Our locations will provide your team with the following:

24/7 catering service. Our nutritionists prepare meals that support brain activity and improve focus. Our menu is designed to boost your mental performance.
Breathing instructors. Daily breathing sessions to teach you how to improve your focus.
Blasting High-Speed Internet (completely secure)
Soundproof booths
Lifestreaming conference rooms
Podcast recording rooms
Video recording studios

Individual Application

Are you feeling stuck? Can’t focus?

Have you ever noticed that you are more productive in certain places? Somehow you get more things done and feel productive. You are able to focus and get more done in one hour than in the entire day filled with distractions. The environment plays a huge role in the way you think and solve problems.

Come to our high-performance creative lab. It is designed with the sole purpose to stimulate people’s minds to generate break-through ideas and creative solutions. At our “camp” you will gain the laser-sharp focus and complete your projects in no time.

We help people focus. We minimize distractions, which prevent you from performing at your best. We are the shelter for your best ideas and thoughts. We are the digital protective bubble. We designed our facility in a way to keep you calm, steady, and productive. We worked with the best researchers and scientists to develop a working space, which maximizes people’s productivity and brings it to the next level.

Nowadays ADHD is at an all-time high. Intelligent and smart people suffer from the inability to put their minds to the best use. They barely can handle the noise that bombards them from every direction. So many great ideas and thoughts are being killed by constant distractions from the outside world. All they need is a little bit of focused time. Once achieved, they become unstoppable. They generate unique and creative thoughts. They find solutions to the problems that never been solved before. They make odd connections and come up with ideas. ADHD is not a handicap. It can be your biggest gift if applied properly. To harness it, you need the right environment.

I want to create a destination where people come for answers. A please where ideas are born. A place of focus – the Zone.

Our guests come with a question and leave with the answer. We don’t have the answers, but we help you discover them on your own.

Let’s build something great! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

[email protected]

Oleksandr Tereshchuk September 13, 2020

Entrepreneurship, Investing, Real Estate

How much do you need to be happy?

December 2019…

I love my job, however, I have always felt there is something more behind the office window and meaningless conversations with your colleagues over lunch. I knew I can do more, I knew I can be more. Not to prove, not to show off, but because I can.

What happens to a tree when it stops growing?
It dies!
Same with people.

I discovered this simple truth cycling in Spain, on the hills of Marbella. I always draw the analogy between humans and trees and see it works in every aspect of our lives. The environment we grew up in is the soil. Clay or sandy, low in organic matter soils are the synonyms of the environments filled with drugs and abuse, poverty, fighting parents, tears and pain. Family, friends, our core beliefs and principles – are the roots. Work, relationships, health etc. are the branches of our tree. If we put all ourselves into work and forget about health or relationships with others we are risking to crack the tree. Without a counterbalance, the work branch will grow so big and heavy that it will bend the tree to the side and can even brake it under its weight. Ugly tree.
If we stop improving spiritually, mentally and physically we degrade, we die. I live by the motto: To be the best myself – To be the most impactful. Only by being the best version of ourselves, striving for excellence and improving, we find peace and happiness. Once we “filled our cup”, we then can give back to the World, create, build and love. Achieving mastery, when we are at our best at whatever we decide to put our minds to, we begin to love ourselves and we spill the love into the world and people around.

I am searching for freedom. Financial freedom will allow me to do the things I truly enjoy and become an expert in them. I strive for mastery in anything I put my mind to. I am passionate about writing. I enjoy finding a problem other people have and solve it. I enjoy training and seeing my physical body evolve and improve.
By working at my full-time job I essentially trade my time for money, I sell my life. Again, don’t get me wrong, I love the job! Working with self-driving cars, being in this industry at this amazing time, working with some of the smartest people I ever met, are you kidding me? This is a dream job! I truly believe it is and I am endlessly grateful for doing what I’m doing. However, it’s not about the job, its “coolness” or the money it brings. There is something inside of me that whispers there is something bigger, I can create something that will bring the value to others, there is another path to take, there is a new world to discover…

There are so many ways I can give back to the world once I am 100% in control of my time. My search for financial freedom led me to real-estate as a vehicle to achieve it. Besides my work and training I ran few side-project businesses. Quickly I discovered that they didn’t make me any happier. I didn’t feel I got the opportunity to give my all and use my mind to its full capacity. My biggest strength is analysis and analytical thinking. That’s why I want to try myself in investing and specifically real-estate investing. Based on my goals I believe that real estate is the perfect vehicle for getting me to destination I travel.

I am looking to create several “passive” streams of income that will generate monthly income of CAD$5,000 (cash flow). I am planning to build a real estate portfolio of several units to achieve my financial goal.
How did I come up with the number?
Great question! I live a very simple life and try to take from this World only what I need, no more or less. I’ve had luxury cars, I lived in big houses, I stayed at the best 4/5-star hotels and went to fantastic restaurants, I wore nice clothings and traveled to some of the most exotic and expensive destinations in the World. In my short life, I’ve been all over the places just to discover that none of those things or places made me any happier. I realized I don’t need much to be happy and in fact much less than I ever thought. How much is “not much”?
To get the number I did a simple napkin math see how much I need to cover my basic life expenses while staying happy.

napkin math:
Nutritious & Clean Food (just for me and my dog) + Shelter (small warm and clean place, where I feel myself comfortable) + Sport (equipment, clothing, racing and coaching fees) + Emergency Fund + Travel + Shopping (pretty much just books and coffee)

I realize that it’s very difficult to achieve great appreciation and a cash flow simultaneously. I use conservative approach and Looking for investment properties that will bring the maximal cash flow. My research has shown that small multifamily houses tend to be the most profitable rental investment in terms of cash flow (please correct me if I’m wrong). I recently got pre-approved for a mortgage and planning on buying a house as soon as I find a good one, ideally sometime this fall (Oct-Nov). I don’t have any personal preference for location, condition or the look of the house, as I am buying it strategically to generate positive cashflow by renting it out. In my research I found that Peterborough is one of the areas that have a strong cash flow potential.Also, I am able to fix minor things around the house as well as to perform minor improvements. I plan on living at the premises full-time half of the year (winter), another half (Mar-Sep) I’ll be in’n’out, still present whenever I need. As I already mentioned before the main thing I care about is monthly cashflow.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk September 9, 2020

Business autonomus vehicles, job hunt, job search

21 Autonomous Vehicles & Car Companies | Job Availability Research

In this post you will learn about the following 22 autonomous vehicle and car companies:

Some are well-known, some are not. Let’s dive in and explore career opportunities in autonomous vehicle industry.

Amazon recently acquired a startup called Zoox. The company develops self-driving cars and it cost Amazon over $1 billion.

Amazon buys driverless car startup Zoox for undisclosed price

Jobs AT AMAZON

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle related jobs here: Amazon Jobs
Apply for Analyst jobs here: Analyst Jobs at Amazon

Apple keeps its work on self-driving cars behind closed doors. Apple employees spread rumours about work being done on an electric autonomous car. People say different things, but what we know is that there was a project like that, however, the project’s focus has changed to developing self-driving car software instead of an actual vehicle. Few facts:

According to MacRumors:

Apple might still be working on building the self-driving car
The vehicle will be deeply integrated with Apple’s software
DMV issues an autonomous testing permit to Apple
The company is testing self-driving software

Jobs AT APPLE

On their job board web page Apple added the filter named “Home Office”. If applied, you will filter out remote jobs. Search for “self-driving” or “autonomous” keywords.

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Apple here: Apple Jobs
Apply for Analyst jobs at Apple here: Apple Jobs

Also called Apolong, its bus mass production was started three years ago in 2017. Three companies work on its production: Baidu, Kinglong and SB Drive (a subsidiary of Softbank). You won’t find a steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals in the vehicle. It drives at speeds of 20 to 40 kph and is capable of sensing and predicting pedestrian and vehicle movements. It runs on an open-source driverless operating platform called Apollo 3.0.

Baidu just made its 100th autonomous bus ahead of commercial ... — *Baidu’s autonomous busses*

JOBS at BAUIDU

USA-based Autonomous Vehicle jobs at BAIDU: Autonomous Vehicle Opportunities
China-based Autonomous Vehicle Research jobs at BAIDU: Research Job Opportunities

Hyundai-Aptiv joint venture promises commercial autonomous ...

Recently, on August 11, 2020, Aptiv announced its autonomous driving joint venture with Hyundai Motor Group. They called the project Motional.

Motional has its offices in Boston, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, and Singapore.

Jobs at APTIV

The company takes serious precautions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Read more about it on their career page. Also, they warn you about job scams. Nevertheless, you can apply for Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Aptiv here.

Jobs at MOTIONAL

A simple website takes you straight to the one-page career website. Apply for Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Motional here.

In July 2020, BMW Group, Intel, and Mobileye had joined their forces to push the needle further in self-driving vehicle development. Such a partnership will enable developing a truly end-to-end solution. Each company promises to contribute to this partnership in the following ways:

Mobileye contributes expertise in sensing, localization and driver policy. Mobileye currently plans to deliver fully autonomous cars to customers in 2022.
Intel brings a comprehensive portfolio of hardware solutions. The company will supply self-driving vehicles with powerful and reliable electronic brains, capable of processing terabytes of data in a matter of milliseconds.

JOBS AT BMW

Autonomous Vehicle jobs at BMW: Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at BMW Group here.

JOBS AT Intel

Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Intel Automated Driving Group: Apply for numerous Autonomous Vehicle positions at Intel here.

JOBS AT Mobileye

Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Mobileye: Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Mobileye here.

Bosch to Build $1.1 Billion Chip Plant for Self-driving Cars. According to Bloomberg:

Auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH will build a 1 billion-euro (US$1.1 billion) semiconductor plant, the biggest single investment in its history, as the maker of brakes and engines prepares for a surge in demand for components used in self-driving vehicles.
Bloomberg

Australia's first self-driving car hits the road - www.carsales.com.au

Jobs at Bosch

Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence: Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Bosch here.

Currently, Waymo operates their Level 4 robo-taxis in Phoenix, Arizona (there are drivers upfront functioning as a backup driver). Few weeks ago, in July 2020, Waymo LLC and Fiat announced their partnership to commercial vehicles. Fiat Chrysler will produce fully self-driving vehicles exclusively with Waymo going forward.

Since last year, Waymo nearly doubled its headcount from 800 to 1,500 employees. They call them “Waymonauts”. Waymo hopes that hiring of hundreds of engineers will help it achieve a technological breakthrough in developing autonomous vehicles.

Jobs at Waymo

The company warns applicants about potential scams and informs that they “…do not contact candidates about career opportunities through instant messaging apps like Telegram, email addresses from domains other than waymo.com…”
Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Waymo here.

At the end of July 2020, Argo AI was valued at $7.5 billion. Three years ago, in 2017, the company cost just a little more than $1 billion. The company shows significant growth, and expansion, which means more jobs and opportunities for professionals in the autonomous vehicle development industry.

Jobs at Argo AI

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Argo AI here.

Amazon Reportedly in Talks to Buy Autonomous Vehicle Company Zoox ...

The company laid off nearly a hundred employees, under 10% of the entire staff, in April. Zoox’s job openings were the same in February as they were in October, however, fallen down 31% since then. While it doesn’t seem promising for prospective employees, you still should apply and see if you win the lottery.

Amazon buys self-driving cars startup Zoox for $1.2 billion

Jobs at Zoox

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Zoox here.

If you are not familiar, comma ai develops integrated third party autonomous driving solutions that retrofit into your car. The make an “open pilot”, which works by taking your car’s radar data and combs it with the camera built into comma hardware. Then the device determines what acceleration, braking, and steering events are required. The company had the mission to solve Level 3 in 3 years.

Jobs at Comma AI

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Comma AI here.

The Nuro R2 is a self-driving vehicle used only for the delivery of goods. It l transports goods instead of passengers. The vehicle is being tested on public roads in Houston, Texas. What is special about this vehicle is that its the first company to receive an autonomous exemption from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since its vehicles are designed to carry goods instead of humans.

Introducing R2, Nuro's Next Generation Self-Driving Vehicle | by ...

Jobs at Nuro

Apply for Analyst and Autonomy Jobs at Nuro.ai

Lucid Motors, Inc. is an American automotive company specializing in electric cars. The company was founded in 2007, and is based in Newark, California. The company’s CTO, Peter Rawlinson, is the former Tesla Model S chief engineer and their first vehicle is an electric luxury sedan to compete with the Model S.

Lucid is currently best known for supplying batteries to Formula E race cars.

Jobs at Lucid Motors

Good news! CEO of Lucid Motors said that the company is still hiring and moving forward with its plan to bring the Air to production. He told the Silicon Valley Business Journal:

“Leading up to the rise of COVID-19, Lucid had grown to over 1,000 employees and we are maintaining this aggressive growth trajectory even now. We have worked with the HR team to maintain interview schedules for new-hire candidates while switching them to phone calls, and we are also moving forward on talent acquisition strategies.”

Apply for jobs at Lucid Motors here.

The company builds autonomous trucks. From their website:

“TuSimple is a self-driving technology company making it possible for heavy-duty trucks to operate autonomously on highways and surface streets. Founded in 2015, our global headquarters is located in San Diego, and we also operate facilities in Tucson, Shanghai, and Beijing. TuSimple achieved unicorn status in 2019 and is backed by an impressive group of investors which include UPS, NVIDIA, and SINA Corporation among others.”

TuSimple recently unveiled its plans to build out a coast-to-coast freight-hauling business. Following that announcement, US truck maker Navistar had joined forces with TuSimple, to build a self-driving semi-trucks.

TuSimple Expands Autonomous Trucking Program With UPS | Transport ...

JOBS at TuSimple

Apply for jobs at TuSimple here

ON Semiconductor and Pony.ai Collaboration on Next-Gen Image ...

Pony.ai is an autonomous vehicle technology company co-located in Silicon Valley, Beijing and Guangzhou. It was founded in late 2016 by two gentlemen: James Peng and Lou Tiancheng – former developers for Baidu.

The startup aims to build reliable autonomous driving solutions. From their website:

“Pony.ai has been committed to revolutionizing the future of transportation by building the safest and most reliable solution for autonomous mobility. Pony.ai has been testing its Robotaxi pilot service, PonyPilot since late 2018 in Guangzhou, China. With PonyPilot, Pony.ai became the first company to launch a Robotaxi operation and offer self-driving car rides to the general public in China. In November 2019, Pony.ai also became the first company to roll out a public-facing Robotaxi pilot service in California, demonstrating its ambition and commitment to mobility services at a global scale.”

$400 million were invested into the company by Toyota. (Feb, 2020)

Jobs at Pony.ai

Apply for opened positions at Pony.AI here

Embark Unveils Self-Driving Truck | Business Wire

Embark is building self-driving trucks. Their automated trucks performed cross country rides, operating in rain and fog, and navigating between transfer hubs. The company’s website emphasizes the value of the team and employees, which makes it appealing to job seekers. Below is what they say:

“Embark is assembling a world-class group of engineers from companies like Tesla, Google, Audi and NASA with a professional operations team that averages over a million miles per driver. Working together, we are able to develop a system tailored to the demands of real world trucking.”

Embark unveiled its new self-driving truck technology Feb. 24.

Jobs at EmBark

Apply for jobs at Embark here

Four years ago, in 2016, Nissan announced its self-driving system ProPilot. This ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist System), evolved over time and New ProPilot 2.0 now has 3D mapping navigation, and with its advanced sensors and cameras, it even recognizes pedestrians’ faces.

Nissan ProPILOT Assist 2.0 Brings Hands-free Driving to the ...

Jobs at Nissan

Search and apply for Autonomous vehicle technology jobs at Nissan here

Created by former MIT faculty Dr. Karl Lagnemma and professor Emilio Frazzoli, self-driving car startup nuTonomy has been getting autonomous cars on roads from Boston to Singapore, where it has been providing autonomous taxis since 2016. NuTonomy has also partnered with Group PSA, owner of European car brand Peugeot SA, to bring self-driving SUVs to Singapore. In August 2016, it launched its autonomous taxi service using a fleet of 6 modified Renault Zoes and Mitsubishi i-MiEVs.

In June 2017, nuTonomy teamed up with Lyft to figure out how autonomous vehicles work in practice, whether they’re put toward ride-sharing or personal ownership. In the same year, in November, nuTonomy joined Aptiv and is now an integral part of Aptiv’s Automated Mobility team.

Startup bringing driverless taxi service to Singapore | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jobs at APTIV (NuTonomy)

Tesla is one of the early pioneers and leaders in the self-driving cars market. It has the self-driving system “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.”

In his Tweet, Elon Musk wrote: “If you don’t have a college degree, it won’t hold you back from working for Tesla“. “Join AI at Tesla!”. The artificial intelligence team “reports directly to me [and] we meet/email/text almost every day.”

APPLY FOR AI JOB AT TESLA

Autopilot – find jobs related to autonomous vehicles
All Jobs – search through all job postings

Get to Know Uber ATG at ICCV, CoRL, and IROS 2019 | Uber Engineering Blog

Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) is working on developing self-driving cars. The team consists of world-class researchers, engineers, and product specialists. Company’s mission is to bring safe, reliable self-driving transportation to everyone, everywhere.

jobs at Uber

Find and apply for jobs at Uber ATG here

Formerly Known As Azevtec, Outrider – the pioneer in autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, helps large enterprises improve safety and increase efficiency. The only company exclusively focused on automating all aspects of yard operations, Outrider eliminates manual tasks that are hazardous and repetitive. Outrider’s mission is to drive the rapid adoption of sustainable freight transportation by deploying zero-emission systems. Outrider is a private company backed by NEA, 8VC, and other top-tier investors.

Outrider raises $53 million to develop autonomous truck technology | VentureBeat

Jobs at Outrider.ai

Apply for opened job positions at Outrider.ai here.

Self-Driving Car Technology - Autonomous Vehicles | Torc Robotics

Torc Robotics, headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, offers a complete autonomous software solution for mobility applications like self-driving cars and transit by working with partners in automotive, transit and technology. The company produces an autonomous technology that retrofits to existing machinery and vehicles. Its custom products, software and automation kits have been used on vehicles in several industries, including military, mining agriculture, and automotive over the last decade.

Self-driving car arrives in Seattle after 2,500-mile autonomous cross-country trip - GeekWire

Jobs at Torc Robotics

Apply for jobs at TORC here.

GM Cruise, commonly referred to as Cruise, is an American self-driving car company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Cruise is a majority-owned subsidiary of GM. Cruise vehicles are purpose-built for self-driving at a dedicated GM manufacturing plant.

Self-driving cars are built on the platform of Chevrolet Bolts. The company also works on its “electric shuttle”.

Jobs at GM Cruise

Apply for GM Cruise opened jobs here.

2021 Consumer Trends and insights – Brain Food – 65 Takeaways
Consumers, about 55 percent are likely to continue buying more groceries online after the peak of the crisis. Nike’s first-quarter digital sales in China increased 30 percentone year after the company launched home workouts via its mobile app, while […]
So you want to be an entrepreneur…
So you want to be an entrepreneur… Ever since I left my corporate job at UBER, I’ve been navigating the entrepreneurial life on my own. It will be a year in three weeks. What is it like in one […]
I met hundreds of people
Ever since I left my full-time job at UBER I met hundreds of people. Over the past ten months, I’ve had more human interaction than I did over the past few years. And I am not excruciating. Why so? […]
Think big
You know, you have to have the vision of where you want to be … a dream. For me, it was six and a half thousand euros. I didn’t have it, but I had a very good friend who […]
THE COACHING HABIT
After you’ve asked a question – be quiet and wait for the answer. Make it a habit Small talk might be a useful way to warm up, but it’s rarely the bridge that leads to a conversation that matters. […]

Oleksandr Tereshchuk September 8, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship, Mindset data analysis, data analyst, job hunt, job search, project management

I Was Born For This Work

This post is about me, me, me… Why write? Why post? I believe that my job search experience can be useful for those who are in the same boat as me – in transition. This subject is very relevant because a lot of people had lost their jobs because of the COVID pandemic. I would love to hear your thoughts and if you find at least one useful sentence – I am happy.

Analysis, Data Analytics. I enjoy any kind of analysis. My mind is very analytical and always searches for hidden meanings and connections. I question every step I take. Why? To know. To understand. I analyze everything: my thoughts, feelings, actions, decisions. I break down the things into pieces and analyze the crap out of it. I have inborn strong analytical skills. My brain is wired in that way.

Research and analysis is my meditation. I get joy from such work. My recent position at Uber as an Engineer/Project manager required me to work with lots of raw data. Dry numbers and spreadsheets – boring stuff. I loved it. Whenever I sat down to extract, analyze and try to make sense out of datasets – the time flew. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t stop. I would wait to go to the bathroom, so I can dig deeper. I would hold for so long, that I would almost pee in my pants. That’s how consuming this type of work was to me. I would be afraid to lose that state of mind – the “flow state”. I would often skip on meals and drinks. Not because I didn’t want to eat, but because I didn’t want to interrupt that free fly of my mind. I was comfortable in my thoughts and ideas. I would have to force myself to close the laptop, so I can train. I knew I was exhausting myself mentally and I needed to leave the energy for physical training.

People I used to work with often said that I had a very analytical mind. My co-workers praised me for the research I’ve done on various projects. I was not afraid to approach people and ask questions. I asked a lot, a lot of questions. This might be one of the major reasons why I was able to get into the self-driving vehicle industry and learn. My co-workers would often say how disciplined I was. After the fact, I recently learned that three years ago, when I just started working at Uber as an autonomous vehicle reliability technician management saw the qualities in me that I was not aware of. Now my friend, one of the managers said that they saw how disciplined I was. I had the ability to approach people with questions or suggestions. He said that I was perceived as a very reliable person. They knew that if they were to ask me to do something, I will have it done. There was a “management aura” around me. They saw that I had not only the discipline and the skill of managing my own work and execute on the plan, but also influence others.

Discipline at everything:
life and work

I always say: Discipline is Freedom. I really mean it.

Over the course of several years, I managed full-time work with triathlon training and racing. Just for the reference, the training piece typically takes two workouts a day and approximately 15-20 hours a week. I also managed to run several “side hustles” and tried myself as an entrepreneur. I read a lot, I studied, I took courses and I travelled. Oh boy, did I travel?

Because I was interested in so many things, I had to have a system that would help me manage them all. I developed the structure that made it all possible. It all started with “To-Do Lists”. I would have multiple: for work, training, packing for the trips, my dog, my car, reading or studying… Then I evolved to Gant Charts, Calendars and task management tools. I was always on a hunt for tools that would help me organize my life. I was always striving to be as efficient as possible. Why? So, I can fit in more. There are so many cool things I want to try, but I have so much time… I became pretty damn good at managing the most important project – the project of My Life. I read a lot of books in search of structure. Among them are such bestsellers as:

“The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals”, by Chris McChesney
“The ONE Thing”, by Gary W
“Getting Things Done”, by David Allen and more…

Every time I would learn about a new managing tool or technique – I would get excited. I am still searching… The point here is that I became very, very good at scheduling and organizing. I get a sense of joy from turning a mess into a nicely organized and structured thing. Everything in my house has its own place. Everything is organized by colour, purpose, size etc… Yes, I know, I am weird in that way, but I need it. It’s not my preference – it’s my physiological and mental need to have everything in order. I feel uncomfortable when it’s not.

The Sport

Triathlon training involves three sports: swimming, cycling and running. Three separate and different projects to manage in a way that when combined, would result in high athletic performance. This sport had though me a lot about planning, scheduling and logistics. I had learned how to self-motivate and push beyond the limits. The discipline that so many people admire in me, I got from the sport.

Entrepreneurship

I have always had a lot of interest in business. I didn’t care what kind of business. If I saw the opportunity, imaginary or real, I would act on it. I’ve attempted several businesses, which are absolutely unrelated to my education or work experience. Dog grooming salon; Pool Cleaning and Maintenance company; High-performance athletic recovery center… and others. There is a lot to tell about those experiences, but the reason I bring it up is the skill I gained. Every business was a project with a lot of moving pieces. Every time I went into the new venture – I mastered this critical skill – project management. I thought I was working on my business, while in fact I was working on myself. Combined with full-time job and training I became pretty damn good at project management.

I’ve been searching

For the past three-four months I’ve been searching. I’ve been asking: What kind of work do you want to be doing? I did a lot of thinking and analysis of the past events. I’ve spoken to a lot of people, trying to get some clarity and insights into my strengths and weaknesses. I thought I figured it out – analytics. While this remains true, it’s so brought and wide opened. You can be financial analyst, business analyst, investment banking analyst. You can work as such in healthcare, aerospace, real estate, autonomous vehicles… you name it. There are so many different industries and businesses and each one offers data analyst positions. I had a direction, but still it was not clear where to go.

The more people I talked to, the clearer it got. I was able to extract the common theme – analytical, disciplined, well organized, self-motivated… How do use these personal traits in a way that bring me money and pleasure from work? Is there is a job that would require such skillset? If not, can I create such a job for myself? No need… there is one.

I have recently applied for an engineering position at very well-known autonomous vehicle company. I passed the phone screening; however, the manager had more questions. The questions seemed unrelated to position I’ve applied because he was asking a lot about my experience managing my businesses and different projects at work. He asked a lot about my experience with analysing data, drawing conclusions and presenting my findings to the broader audiences. His questions made me wonder if he was looking to put me in another position. Indeed, he was. Even knowing I’ve applied for an engineering role; the company suggested a better fit for me – Technical Project Manager.

I didn’t know much about the TPM role, so I went to people who did. I talked to my former co-workers and friends. Some of them had actually worked as TPMs and knew what it’s like from the inside. I asked questions and listened… The more they told me about their work duties the more I realized – this is it. I’ve been already doing all these things, but in my personal life, training and business. I realized that all I’ve been doing is managing different projects. Everyone Whenever I said that I was interviewing for a Project Manager position, they all said that I would be a perfect fit for that. “You were born to be a TPM”, one of them said. This is when it hit me. What is it’s my calling? What if I can get really damn good? What if this is my “superpower” – to bring the structure into the chaos? I got this euphoric feeling that I’ve found something very valuable in me.

Is this it?

I can help people and businesses to organize themselves. I can bring the order and structure. I can move the projects forward by motivating and keeping people accountable. I enjoy talking and learning new things – cross-team networking. I enjoy research – necessary to understand technical detail of the project. There is an analysis piece to this. I love to analyse data – project metrics and status updates. I love presenting the finding of my analysis, finding new ways of doing things, putting together presentations and delivering my findings. I am very good at planning and scheduling. I have a lot of technical experience and a degree in Computer Science. I have in depth understanding of the different business processes – the MBA degree. I have the energy and ability to motivate others. Holly smokes, this is it! It seems that my entire life was preparing me for this.

I felt euphoric. I have discovered what my talents are and what I am naturally good at. I also know where my skills are in demand and what’s the name of such a job. I know where I can get very good at. A have a feeling that I can get pretty good at this. I am confident! A huge sense of relief – I have found what I was searching for. I still don’t have a job, but I am calm and happy because I know exactly what I want to be doing next. I will try wearing a heat of a TPM – Technical Project Manager. And it’s a fully remote position…

Oleksandr Tereshchuk August 21, 2020

Entrepreneurship job hunt, job search, networking

Strategy, Scripts and Books for Effective Digital Networking

Step 1: Schedule a meeting (Call)

How to start a conversation? How to approach a person? It’s so much easier to shoot a message to the people that know you well, than email a person whom you haven’t talked for years. You got to have a strategy. You need to know what to say.

First, I suggest that you do a little research. Most likely you are connected with the person on Facebook or LinkedIn. Open up the profile and scroll through their newsfeed. You will find out what they’re interested in, what they talk or post about. Maybe there was some significant event in their lives. New job, the birth of a child, gettings engaged, purchase of a house, finishing the first marathon, you name it. Whatever it is – it’s your conversation starter.

Next, message your connection: email or social media. You want to be short and friendly.

Your main objective is to build a relationship

You want to meet to listen and learn. The other person has a lot of experience in his or her space, and you want to sit and learn about the industry they are in. Ask about the challenges they have. What are they proud of?

Another thing to mention is the time we’re in. You got to be empathetic. Coronavirus had impacted a lot of people around the world. Be mindful of that and open up your message with ensuring that the recipient is well and healthy. Nowadays, you need to be as thoughtful as ever. Realize that how you compose the email with another professional entirely depends on whether your relationship is close or distant.

Think twice before you hit “Send”

Generic, lazy man Greetings

“Hope you’re well.”
“Hope this email finds you healthy.”
“Hope you and your family are healthy and safe during these uncertain and unprecedented times.”

Everyone’s writing the same greetings. You can do much better than that.

Get Creative

“I hope you are staying safe, sheltered in place, stocked with toilet paper, and healthy during these absolutely unprecedented, wild, chaotic, terrifying times.”

email script EXAMPLE

Hi [Name],

I hope you are staying safe, sheltered in place, stocked with toilet paper, and healthy during these absolutely unprecedented, wild, chaotic, terrifying times.

I know you have a lot of experience in [their area of expertise], and I would love to have a chat with you over the phone or FaceTime to learn about the industry as well as the “do’s” and “don’ts” as I get started.

Please let me know if you’re free over the next couple of weeks for a quick conversation. I’d appreciate the chance to ask questions.

Regards,
Alex

LINKEDIN SCRIPT EXAMPLE

Hi [Name],

Your LinkedIn profile got my attention OR We are both in the [name the group] group and I wanted to reach out and introduce myself.

In the interest of expanding my professional network and collaborating with fellow professionals, I am hoping we can connect.

Would you be open to a 20-minute phone or video call to get to know each other? If so, please let me know what days/times work for you.

Thanks for considering the possibility,
Alex

Step 2: Have a conversation

tips for conversation with your contact

Once you’ve scheduled a meeting, use these tips to structure an effective conversion with your contact:

Research their connections on Linkedin and determine who you may like to be introduced to
Be enthusiastic, express energy in a way you speak, be personable and curious
Make sure you have good reception/no background noise for phone conversations
Be respectful of their time and pay attention to the clock
Always ask how you can help them, and thank them for their time and support

One-on-One script EXAMPLEs

Before you start talking, you need to know what you want. What is the outcome of the conversation you are after? What do you want as a result of it? I suggest that you ask for connections. Most likely, the person you are going to talk to won’t be able to help you, BUT they probably know someone who can. This must be your main objective – to get a reference. Ideally, the person will introduce to their contact.

Open the conversation
“Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. I am excited to learn more about you and see how we can help each other professionally.”
Learn about them
“How did you get your start? I’d be interested to learn a little bit about you.
What is it that you currently working on? What is the biggest challenge?”
Tell them what is your focus
“… my focus is on data analytics. I would like to land a position with a well established consulting company or a company that’s main focus is on data analysis and research…”
Offer to help
“Who would be beneficial for you to meet right now? I would be happy to make an introduction or be of support in any way if there is someone in my network who could help.”
Make a request
”Do you think there is someone that you know, whom I should talk to? Would you feel comfortable making an introduction?”

Let’s say the conversation went well and someone has made an introduction for you. Here is how you approach your new connection that you’ve been referred to:

Hi [Name],

Nice to meet you! Seeing that you work for [company name] got my attention and [Name] was open to making the introduction. [Name] and I know each other from [explain]. In my current transition, I am researching various companies in the market and wanted to see whether you might be available for an exploratory conversation about your career and how you like working for [company]. I would like to learn about the work that you are doing and see how we can support each other professionally.

[State your PVP (personal value proposition) and focus]
If you are available, let’s schedule a 30-minute phone call to get to know one another better.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to connecting,
Alex

Book SUGGESTIONs

Good luck my friend! Stay tuned.

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Oleksandr Tereshchuk August 21, 2020

Entrepreneurship job hunt, job search, networking

Digital Networking: How to Network Effectively During The LockDown?

If you read the article about “The Three Bucket Method”, you are familiar with this approach and maybe even created the list of people to contact. If you haven’t, I encourage you to take a quick skim at the article and follow the suggestions. Once done, come back and I’ll show you what to do next.

I am sure that the list of people who know you well is much slimmer than the one full of folks whom you met several times in your life. This is normal! In your “bucket exercise”, shoot for at least 30 people in both. This is nothing, considering how many Facebook friends you have. Once done, you need to get in touch.

Ideally, you want to meet with all the people on your list in person. COVID situation does not support effective networking, so you got to get creative. There are a lot of reasons why you can’t meet in person, but that is not mission-critical. A phone call, FaceTime, Video conferencing or email at the very least.

The important thing here is how you approach a meeting and what you say. What you say matters, but what you don’t – matters even more.

Too much talking can and will hurt you.
Talk less, listen more.

Digital Networking

This is not a new thing, however, nowadays it’s as relevant as never before. What is digital networking? To better understand it, we need to refresh the memory on what business networking is. I will answer this question in two parts: “pre-pandemic networking” and “post-pandemic networking”.

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want“
ZIG ZIGLAR

Also, despite the fact that things had changed dramatically over the past several months the concept of networking remained the same – help other people. Networking, particularly business networking is the process where you make an effort to establish a synergetic relationship with other people. It is called “networking” because you build a network of people around yourself. You meet new people and try to figure out how to help one another. The key part of networking is meeting people. Due to an extraordinary time caused by the pandemic, we got to redefine the concept of networking.

Digital networking is the process where you make an effort to establish a synergetic relationship with other people online.

Just one word, but changes everything. Let’s examine how much of different digital networking is from face-to-face networking.

The “Old” – Pre-COVID Networking

The best way to network with other local business owners and entrepreneurs was through face-to-face meetings and local business groups. People would regularly attend networking group meetings. However, networking did not happen only at a “networking event”. There are countless other places to meet people with whom you could build mutually beneficial relationships. Here are the 12 best typical networking places:

Any Business event
A networking club or business organization
Someplace where like-minded people belong
Any type of class you take to learn more and improve yourself
A civic organization
A cultural event
Charity or volunteering event
Trade shows
Private clubs
Health clubs
Sports events
Happy hours

Well, those places were good before the pandemic. As I said, typically networking was done face-to-face. Now things different, and we have to adapt. Let’s move to the “digital” part of the networking.

The “New” – COVID-19 Networking

Going through the list above, none of the typical networking places or events are relevant anymore. At least for now, we need to find better places to connect with others. You already know the answer – online. Everyone needs to be networking online. No matter where you are in your current career stage, networking can and will improve your personal or professional life. Digital networking doesn’t require a lot of tools and resources. A smartphone, email address, a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profile as for the beginning… If you wish to go further, there are 10 alternatives to face-to-face networking, which I guarantee that you haven’t heard of at least a half of them:

The bottom line is that you need to network. Because of situation, you need to network online. You need to know where to find people online and how to approach them. In the next post I will lay out the scripts and strategies for effective networking over the internet. Stay tuned.

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Oleksandr Tereshchuk August 20, 2020

Entrepreneurship job hunt, job search, lost job, networking

Job Hunt: The Three Bucket Method

To begin, let me share with you some recent statistics.

This is sad… It is even more sad to realize that you are one of those millions of unemployed people. What do the numbers tell us?

Millions of Americans have been laid off because of the COVID-19
There are four sectors of the economy that took the biggest hit:
- Private businesses
- Non-farm
- Service
- Leisure and hospitality (to a lesser degree)
There are more chances to find a job in one of the following industries:
- Utilities
- Financial Activities
- Mining and Logging
- Wholesale Trade
- IT
- Construction

What do you expect those millions of people do? That’s right – hunting for a new job. There is no time to feel bad for yourself so get to work! Competition on the job market is sky high, while demand and new job opportunities are at an all-time low. A perfect storm!

At least 70% of jobs are not even listed

According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, 70% of all jobs are found through networking. Another recent survey shows that only 10% of positions were filled through job boards. The survey showed that most jobs are either filled internally or through referrals. What does it mean to you? Use your resources wisely. Time is your no-renewable resource, so make sure you spend it on the right things. Here is how:

Network – 70%
Research – 20%
Apply for jobs – 10%

Is this what the buckets for? Nope, not for that. The Three Bucket concept applies to the main task on your list – Networking.

Bucket #1

List all the people that know you very well. Family members, former colleagues, friends, friend’s friends and so on. Fill the red bucket with all the people you think might fall into this category.

Bucket #2

People who know you a little. This might be a guy you met at a networking event. Somebody you’ve had a brief chat on social media. List anyone you can think of, who you know not so well to put them into the first bucket.

Bucket #3

This is the main bucket, which comes empty by default. You are going to fill it with references from the people in the previous two. As you begin contacting people whom you know, they will refer you to someone they think might help. Those reference links can alight into the long chain of contacts, which will bring you…. somewhere. The idea is that eventually, you will get in touch with the right person and land on the job of your dreams. That’s the idea. Fill the green bucket with the references you obtain from other people. Very simple.

That’s all for now. The subject of my next post will be around effective networking and communication. How to approach people from your list? What to say? What not to say? … and more. I will also include email scripts – the actual things to say. Stay tuned.

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Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine 1

Oleksandr Tereshchuk August 15, 2020

Entrepreneurship

Data Analyst Job Market Highlights (2020-2021)

Good news! Data scientists, data engineers and business analysts positions are in very high demand in the USA and North America. Don’t take my word for it and see the report published by Burning Glass Technologies:

This looks opportunistic. U.S. and Canadian job hunters express a lot of interest in data analyst positions. At the same time, many companies claim they struggle to fill those positions. Furthermore, most recent research indicates the programming language most potential recruits intend to learn is also the dominant language for data science: Python. The difficulty employers have filling DSA roles drives up salaries, and relative to other jobs, DSA jobs pay quite well. Some DSA jobs, such as Data Scientists and Data Engineers, demand salaries well over $100,000.

“Americans are most interested in data analyst jobs, with an average of 26,000 online searches per month”

Due to massive automation, networks are virtually running themselves. People with data science and data analytic skills are in demand to train the algorithms to run the networks. Data science is hot!

“… demand for data science skills will drive a 27.9 percent rise in employment through 2026…”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Four years straight, Glassdoor nominated data scientist job as the number-one in the USA. Knowing how to interact and manipulate big data sets is going to be extremely valuable to your employer.

BEST PLACES TO FIND DATA ANALYST JOB in Canada

Research provided by the government of Canada suggests that data analyst professionals have different job prospects depending on their physical location in Canada. The map below highlights the hottest job markets for analysts in Canada.

Top 6 BEST and worst places to find data analyst jobs IN CANADA

BEST	WORST
British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Ontario Quebec Saskatchewan	Northwest Territories Nunavut Prince Edward Island Yukon Territory Nova Scotia Newfoundland and Labrador

Based on Canadian Job Bank

Best places to work as a data analyst (Break down by province)

British Columbia

Lower Mainland–Southwest Region
Thompson–Okanagan Region
Vancouver Island and Coast Region

Quebec

Capitale-Nationale Région
Estrie Region
Laurentides Region
Laval Region
Montréal Région
Montérégie Region
Outaouais Region

New Brunswick

Fredericton–Oromocto
Moncton–Richibucto Region
Saint John–St. Stephen Region

Saskatchewan

Saskatoon–Biggar Region
Regina–Moose Mountain Region

Manitoba

Winnipeg Region

Ontario

Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula Region
Kingston–Pembroke Region
Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie Region
London Region
Muskoka–Kawarthas Region
Ottawa Region
Stratford–Bruce Peninsula Region
Toronto Region
Windsor-Sarnia Region

How to acquire necessary data analytics skills?

Educational Institutions Certification programs

For example, Harvard offers an online program called Analytics Certificate Program for Business Leaders. In this program, students learn business analytics, emerging technologies, big data, and data visualization.

Top Technology Companies Certifications

For example, IBM, Microsoft, and SAS offer analytics and big data certifications. According to this article, there are several “must-have” data analytics and big data certifications:

Certification of Professional Achievement in Data Sciences
Certified Analytics Professional
Cloudera Certified Associate (CCA) Data Analyst
EMC Proven Professional Data Scientist Associate (EMCDSA)
IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
Microsoft Certified Azure Data Scientist Associate
Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE): Data Management and Analytics
Open Certified Data Scientist
SAS Certified Data Scientist Using SAS 9

Data analyst salaries

According to Indeed, the average salary for data scientists is around $104,000. That’s average and does not include bonuses and extras. On the lower side, Advanced-HR, a San Francisco-based source of compensation data from venture capital and private companies, indicates that compensations for entry-level data scientists in North America fluctuate between $55,000 and mid-$70,000, however, can reach $100,000 a year.

References

Quant Crunch | Data Science Job Market | Burning Glass Technologies Quant Crunch | Data Science Job Market | Burning Glass Technologies. (2020). Retrieved 15 August 2020, from https://www.burning-glass.com/research-project/quant-crunch-data-science-job-market/
Data Analyst – Informatics And Systems in Canada | Job outlook. (2020). Retrieved 15 August 2020, from https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/outlook-occupation/17882/ca
Database analysts and data administrators (2172) | Canada | LMI Explore | Outlooks. (2020). Retrieved 15 August 2020, from https://clmi-explore-icmt.ca/viz?page=outlooks&lang=en&noc=2172&geo=0

In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk August 14, 2020

Entrepreneurship

What job is best for YOU and how to find it?

… most people ask:

What job should I do?
What job should I get?
What job makes the most money?
What job is right for me?
What job should I have?
What job is best for me?
What job suits me best?

…instead you should be asking:

What do you want to be doing in life?
What kind of work do you want to be doing?
What job will you enjoy doing?
What is your ideal case scenario?
Doing what will not feel like work at all, but bring your financial resources?
What type of activity can you do better than anyone else?
What are you good at?…

Follow my thought process, as I answer these questions for myself.

1. Define Your Strengths

If you are in your mid-late 20th you better be knowing what you are good at and where you can improve. I don’t ask you to name your purpose in life. Just tell me, what is it that you think you might be good at? What do other people say?

Meet with your close friend for a coffee, call your family and ask: What do you think I am good at? What are my strengths? The people you ask should’ve known you for at least five year, to give you useful feedback. Don’t forget to inquire about your weaknesses. What are the things that you suck at? Don’t limit your research to only a close group of people. Ask your ex(s) if you can. Ask your boss. How about the people you went to school with? Ask them too.

I keep a strategic list of my core strengths. Asking my friends, family and co-workers had helped me to recognize some of my strengths and weaknesses I was blind to.

Ex-girlfriend: You don’t give up. You always find the way.
A former classmate (friend): You are committed (dedicated, loyal). Commitment is your strength.
Mom: Calmness and perseverance.
Dad: Genuine and open. Weaknesses become your strengths.
Brother: Mindful, caring, hard-working.
Former manager: You are a smart guy. You have the ability to sit down and attack the problem methodically over an extended period of time. You are able to dig into details – that’s your strength.

Three pillars that make me who I am. Once identified yours, build on them. Your ideal job will allow you to apply your best skills and qualities.

Analysis

My mind is very analytical and analyzes everything. I ALWAYS analyze. It is my strength and also my weakness. I feel good analyzing and finding the hidden things based on my analyses. I have the ability to dig into the root cause of things. My power is to throw myself into something and analyze the crap out of it. I strive to understand, I want to know.

I take the analysis a bit further. Documenting and writing about my experiences is a process of analysis. Whenever I face the obstacle or get consumed by a daemon, I always find a way by analyzing. I can analyze the crap out of anything. Analysis sets me free from my misbeliefs or things that don’t serve me. If you can analyze the situation – you can act on it.

Discipline

I have developed extraordinary discipline. Such discipline allows me to work methodically, day after day, step by step. I have the ability to sit down and attack the problem consistently over an extended period of time. This is my superpower. I realize that not every person can do that – methodically and consistently hitting the same goal and not giving up. I have developed into the sharpest tool which can crack anything. If I commit, be sure I will have enough discipline to complete the task and keep the promise. Day in – day out.

Confidence

I look straight and don’t blink. My eyes are the eyes of the hunter. I am calm. I am cold-blooded.

2. Look Back

Go back in memory and pull up the jobs you’ve done in the past. What are those? What did you like doing? What aspects drove you crazy? Make a list, similar to mine:

Systems Administrator

LIKE	HATE
Office gym Plenty of time to myself Feeling useful when helping others to solve their problems Learning new things and systems	Feeling useless when things were going slow Limited/No growth opportunities. Knowing that it was a contract job, I could never get promoted Having to deal with some people I didn’t like Low salary. Barely making the ends meet Monotony of everyday office life

Self-Driving Car Reliability and Test Engineer

LIKE

HATE

* Constant learning. Everything was always changing and evolving. I had to adapt
* Freedom to choose the projects to work on
* Flexible schedule. Being able to combine my triathlon training and work
* Great management
* Travel. Frequent business travels
* Very good salary and bonuses
* Working with smart, very intelligent people
* The feeling of being a part of something big and great
* The fact that I was developing the cars that drive themselves

* Lack of clear directions and expectations
* Fear of losing the job
* Daily long and boring meetings
* Reporting on the job I’ve done. Detailed, granular reports
* Corporate politics and rules. Facing misunderstandings and always being very careful with what you say and do. Race, gender, sexual orientation etc. Behind the scenes of the managerial world. Fights for power, Gossips.

Based on the brain vomit above, what do you value the most?

I Value	I Struggle When
* Freedom Comes from a flexible schedule and the ability to choose the projects to work on. Also, remote work is a must. * Money I perceive money as freedom. Those are synonyms to me. * Sense of Belonging Working on something big. Working on something in team with others. Working on things, which I believe have the potential to impact the world.	* I don’t feel secure at my job. The fear of losing income gives a lot of stress and anxiety. That’s the common theme. * The job is too easy and things are slow. * I don’t have a clear sense of direction and expectations are not clearly defined. * Monetary compensation does not seem to match the effort I put into my work.

3. Look Forward

Goals, goals… blah blah. I know, I am sick of this word myself. All I want you to do here is just answer this question: What do you want? In terms of job and employment, what kind of work do you want to be doing? Based on your strengths and preferences, formulate exactly what you want to be doing. What kind of work will make you happy

Ask the right questions

What kind of work do you think you would enjoy doing?
How much money would you like to make?
How many hours a week do you want to work?
Are you comfortable working from the office or you need flexibility and freedom of remote employment?
What about the benefits?
Would you care if there were none?
Do you want to stay in the field or you want to try yourself at something new?

If you get stuck, these were my answers:

I want a job, where I can utilize my analytical thinking and problem-solving skills. Any kind of data analysis, preferably in the sphere of business and investments. I want to make at least $100K a year. I don’t care if I get paid bi-weekly, monthly or annually. This amount of money will allow me to support my basic needs, travel and use the rest towards other businesses and ventures. Benefits are preferred (especially dental), however, the absence of them is not the deal-breaker. I want to have a flexible schedule. This will allow me to balance my training and other pursuits with work. Remote work – is a must, to live the lifestyle I wish. To be able to work from anywhere in the world. I want to be doing work, which won’t feel like work because I enjoy it.

There are a lot of other things that would be “nice to have”, however, those are not mission-critical. Freedom, meaningful work to do, financial resources. By meaningful work I mean to be doing the work of your calling. The job that you can do better than anyone else. Finding your “special sauce” and monetizing it, while bringing the value to the world.

Great! What you just spilled out is a long-term vision. You will get there, but not tomorrow or even the next week. The next week though, you will have to pay the bills and get groceries to eat. Therefore, let’s step down a level and ask the same “What do you want?” from the short-term perspective. This changes things up a bit and my answer would be this:

You need to create a stream of income that will allow you to live life on your terms. You need to cover the basic financial needs before you aim for the stars. You can not dream and think straight when your stomach is asking for food. You can not live in a shithole and convince yourself that this is your dream life. Well… you can, to a certain degree. Close your eyes on the bad stuff and look the other way. However, you can full others, but not yourself. If you don’t like your living situation, frustration will accumulate over time until you explode. To create, you need to be fed and comfortable. It is hard to create something meaningful in desperation and anger. I am not a very big fan of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but it might be appropriate to include it here. Cover your basic needs first.

4. Jobs that fit

There are thousands of different jobs that could potentially be a good fit for you. A good fit is when the job requirements fit your strengths while remaining challenging and stimulate personal growth. What kind of jobs would that be? I don’t have the answer, but Google does. Look over the posted job requirements and compare them to what you’ve got. Also, don’t limit yourself to the skills that you currently possess. If the job demands a certain skill or knowledge that you don’t have but would like to learn – that’s your job. Below is what I found to be a good fit for myself, at least in theory.

Data scientist Average salary: $129,806 You’ll need specific training and computer language competencies, but it doesn’t hurt to have an advanced degree in math, statistics, engineering or computer science. Data scientists use computing frameworks to analyze large, raw data sets and develop actionable insights in a variety of industries. The non-technical aspect of data science is storytelling — what is the data telling us?	Actuarial analyst Average salary: $102,734 This is a risk management role that uses statistical models to assess the risk and cost that comes with potential events, such as death, accidents or property damage. Actuary jobs require professional certification.
Business Analyst Average salary: $102,936 (Senior Level) Senior business analysts collect data in order to understand the challenges and needs of a business. The role is very collaborative, and you’ll be working with managers across the organization to implement best practices and ensure the recommendations are working. Serious problem-solving skills and good time-management is a must. Also, your communication skills need to be on point; you’ll be writing a lot of proposals and working with managers and their teams on various projects. Any work experience in management, human resources or information technology will increase your value.	Product/Project Manager Estimated salary: $119,289 (Senior Level) A product manager is charged with managing product oversight — from concept to production. While senior product managers should have extensive experience in business and commerce, you don’t need an M.B.A. You should, however, demonstrate familiarity with technical processes, as well as acumen with business and marketing.
Information Security Consultant Estimated salary: $123,039 (Senior Level) This role is responsible for a business’s network security and remediation strategies. Primary duties include performing risk assessments (via IT audits and penetration testing), as well as helping the business meet compliance obligations. How to get the job: While certification isn’t required, it helps to have relevant licenses in CISS, CEH/OSCP, CISA, CIA, QSA, CISM, IRCA and ISMS. Highlight your past experience in IT security (e.g., penetration testing, audit, assessment and compliance).	Investment analyst Average Salary: $60,517 (+ bonuses) Investment analysts collect information, perform research and analyze assets, such as stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities. Investment analysts often focus on specific niches to become experts in their chosen fields, such as a particular industry, a geographical region or a specific asset class.

Hey, wait! It is important at this point to remind yourself that those jobs are only short-term to provide you with a cash flow NOW. You have to create a cash flow to support yourself and your lifestyle now, so you can plan ahead and build a foundation for something greater. Your goal here is not to build a career, but to create a steady income while living the life on your terms.

Alright, with that being clear, let’s get back to the jobs we identified that you might like doing. What’s the next step? Don’t rush to sending your resume all over the places that hire those types of professionals. In my next post, I’ll share my approach to contacting people and companies. It’s not just uploading the Resume and hitting “Send”. Stay tuned.

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Oleksandr Tereshchuk August 13, 2020

Entrepreneurship data analysis, data analyst

I am looking for a Job

If you were to ask me:
Alexander, could you please explain in one word, what do you want to be doing for work? My response would be short and simple: Analysis. Data analytics, data science and research. I like digging into data and make sense of it.

What industry? I am not sure. Ideally, something that involves autonomous vehicles and AI. Why? I believe this is a future, and also because I have experience working in this sphere.

What is it exactly that you want to be doing as an analyst? That’s a good question. I am not sure. To answer this question, first I need to understand why do people hire analysts. It doesn’t matter what we analyze, we do so to understand what they mean to us. Why? To make decisions.
Going back to your question: I want to be the person, or a company, that helps others to make better decisions. I will use analytics tools, my business knowledge and unique experience with self-driving technology to CONSULT other people and companies. This is it – a Consulting Company. More specific … Autonomous vehicle technology consulting company (agency). Terabytes of data are being recorded and stored daily, throughout autonomous vehicle development. Of course, there are systems in place that would analyze it and present the summary in “user-friendly” reports. However, it is extremely time-consuming and a lot of it is being lost or missed. What if companies that develop autonomy were to outsource some of their data analysis processes? This way, they would be able to dedicate more focus on the developmental side of things. Of course, there are companies that already do it. For example labelling and tagging for map building. I am not reinventing the wheel, I explore the ways to apply my mind. My company would be the “third party” that will process and make sense out of data received. What kind of data? I am not ready to answer this question yet. Raw data. We can also work as a “triage agent”, who processes different metrics and outputs PASS or FAIL report. Just one of the avenues of development, one of the services. Most, if not all the companies are already doing such a “triage” type of job on their own, so they might not need extra help. However, I am sure that there are things they struggle to process and analyze. I am not sure what they are, but I know there are needs that my company can fulfill.

My ultimate goal is to build something of my own. I am an entrepreneur in my core and I look at every potential job, as at the classroom where I learn and grow.

Easy is Boring

If the job I do start feeling too easy, I’ll start struggling. If nothing will change and I won’t find a way to make it challenging and interesting – I leave. The job I would like to have will be in the company that is very well-known and respectable. Respectable for what they do and how they do it. The high-quality job – étalon in the industry. I want to be inspired to build something similar or better. I want to be inspired by its story and look up to the founders as role models.

I have no time to waste on easy things.
Show me the tallest mountain and I’ll climb it.

For Example:

CGI is among the largest IT and business consulting services firms in the world. Operating in hundreds of locations across the globe, CGI does strategic IT and business consulting, systems integration, intellectual property and managed IT and business process services.

Another example is Sigma Data Systems. Here is what they do:

Sigma collects data, transform it for analysis, runs analytical algorithms, and prepare visualizations to return the critical findings.

I love it. Collect data and make sense out of it. That’s me.

What about the autonomous vehicle industry?
Surprisingly there are not too many companies that provide such consulting services. My google search showed 5-6… definitely under 10. The one that stood out was McKinsey. This is what they have on their website:

McKinsey Center for Future Mobility: We help leaders across all sectors relevant to the autonomous-driving ecosystem develop a deeper understanding of the disruptions and opportunities ahead.

No need to continue. Less thinking, more doing. I’ve got the direction to move towards. I know what I want and I am confident in my decision.

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Oleksandr Tereshchuk May 21, 2020

Entrepreneurship, Mindset corona virus, coronavirus, covid19, full-time job, laid off, unemployment

Laid Off: Immediate Action Steps. Financials

If you’ve been laid off due to COVID-19, you are not alone. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs because of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. This sucks! I feel bad for all the people who got laid off. I feel terrible for my co-workers and friends, all the bright people who got let go. I know exactly how they feel, as I’ve been laid off myself. I am not a victim and don’t plan to stay without income or rely on a government to buy me food. I am a young, smart and healthy man. I’ve been through a lot and certainly prepared for the times like this. As I pull myself out this hole, I want to help others. How? I’ll write. I will write about the actions I take, thoughts I have to live the trace behind me for other to follow… or not.

My friend, you just “got kicked in your balls” pretty hard. The head spins from Whys and Ifs. Future is uncertain, however, there are few things that I can tell you for a fact:

Your life will change dramatically from now on. Things will never be the same.
You will feel uncomfortable.
You will have put the work to stand back up.
You will need to step over your ego and ask for help.

Realize, that thousand of people are in the same boat as me and you. Realize that NOBODY, I repeat, NOBODY knows what to do. We all just got equalized. This is not the finish, this is a start. The second you got your last paycheck, the gun went off.

“Take a break, you’ve been working so hard for so long. You deserve some time off.”
They say

That’s an option… for someone else. Buds, we’re a different breed. This is not an option for us.

“You’re young, you’ve got a lot of time. Relax.”
They say

The first part of this statement is true – you are young, however, I disagree with the second piece. You have no time! There is no time to waste on goofing around, blaming the virus, your employer, and feeling sorry for yourself. Life is just too great to waste it on those things, the world is too big to sit still. Take action!

Easy to say, but what exactly do I do now? Where do I even start?

Sit down, let’s brainstorm. You are not alone and I will help you figure things out. I don’t have all the answers, but I know the direction. I will help you clear things up and bring more clarity into your head.

First things first:
Food and Shelter

You need something to eat and you need the place to live. It all costs money, therefore the first step for you is to run some numbers and make financial projections.

Financials.
How long will you last?

Your bank account is not the flowing steam anymore, it’s a pond. There is no income coming in, so the pond starts to dry out. If you don’t change anything financially, it will dry out completely, leaving you broke AF. It’s not even a question if, but when. Know the exact date.

You have some savings, how much? Put together all the cash saved from different accounts. Know exactly how much you have on hand.
What are your monthly expenses? Go to your bank account and pull all the charges for the past three months. How much did you spend a month on average? What were the top 3 expenses? Know the numbers.
Run financial forecasts. Experiment with different scenarios. See the example below for $100k saved. It shows how long you will last with this much income at different expense levels:

Calculations won’t be accurate without accounting for inflation. Not many people are aware of, however, this silent sucker takes the money out of your pocket at the rate of 2.27% (May 2020). Because money is not backed up by gold and the government prints it like crazy -> inflation will rise and your $100k will worth less as you go. The worst part is that this number is expected to rise over the next few years, moving the date of your bankruptcy closer at a higher speed.

At the current Inflation rate, your $100k will worth:

2 years -> $95k
3 years -> $93k
4 years -> $90k
6 years -> $86k
8 years -> about $80,000

Over the course of 8 years, you will lose at least $20,000 due to inflation. Of course, the number will fluctuate, however, don’t expect it to be much lower and prepare for the opposite.

Time is money, so how many months of living will the inflation shave off?

2 years -> ~3 month
3 years -> 6 month
4.2 years -> almost a YEAR!
8 years -> ~ 4 years…

As you can tell, the numbers grow exponentially…

Key Takeaways

Know your numbers
Play out different scenarios
A dollar today > A Dollar tomorrow
By holding onto your cash, you lose money daily
You need to find a way to put this money to work, where they at least don’t lose in value over time
If you don’t take action and change anything, your pond will dry out faster than you think. You will go broke

So what do you do now?

Immediate Action Steps

Minimize your expenses. Cut down your expenses and stop spending your resources on anything you can’t eat and/or does not have direct implications on your health
- Stop unnecessary monthly subscriptions (Spotify, Netflix, etc.)
- Cancel all you travel and vacation plans (if you had any)
- Review your grocery bracket. Only necessities
- Do you REALLY need the car? Consider selling your vehicle. This will eliminate car insurance payments, gas, and amortization expenses. If you can’t live without one, get yourself something cheaper. The old beat-up sedan is an excellent choice.
- Lower your rent payments. Downside. If you are renting, this is probably one of the biggest expenses on your balance sheet. Can you move to a cheaper place? How can you minimize the monthly payments? No matter what you do, don’t move into the basement. I’ve got more on it here: 6 Months in Basement. It is not worth the savings! Lessons Learned.

2. Make a Long-Term Plan. Sit down with a pen and lots of paper. You need a plan! Three major questions you need to answer:

How do I develop several streams of income?
How can I get out of deflationary assets (cash)?
How can I make a living with only the internet connection?

3. Execute Immediately. Stand up, wash your face, and get to work!

Oleksandr Tereshchuk May 10, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Real Estate canadian real estate market, economics, economics study, financial freedom, financing, passive income, real estate, real estate canada

Financial Freedom: What It Takes?

$5,000 a Month

What Will it Take to Create Such Passive Stream of Income?

So you want to be financially free you say? Ok cool. I want to be an astronaut. There is a gap between what I want and what I have. I am about to make you feel uncomfortable by asking straight questions and telling you the things you don’t want to hear.

To begin with – you are currently not “financially” free. Just because you say you want to be free, I assume that you are currently not.

“No-no. I am free. I just want to have more freedom” – I hear you say.

Alright, let’s define freedom. Merriam-Webster Thesaurus gives two definitions of freedom:

1. The state of being free from the control or power of another
2. The right to act or move freely

According to the first definition, freedom is a state of being. Also, it assumes that there was some sort of power or another person who was trying to control the one. Question: is the controlling force necessary for being or becoming free? If not, then definition should be the following: freedom is a state of being. Much shorter and simpler, isn’t it?

The second definition states that freedom is the right. Alright, what is the “right”? Google defines it as justified, acceptable, true, or correct as a fact.

My next question is: who is the one that justifies and defines what is acceptable, true, and correct? Who has the authority to extend you the right to be free? I personally don’t know anyone authorized to grant the right to be free. However, I know that the judicial system claims to have the right to limit or take away your freedom by putting you in jail or restricting you from doing certain things and being in certain places. So if there is no-one to ask for freedom, do we get it by default, at birth? Or maybe we need to obtain it somehow, somewhere? It’s confusing and neither of two definitions brought clarity into explaining what freedom is. Maybe other sources have better explanations.

Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus says that freedom is the license to do as one wants and defines the following as the synonyms for it:

So freedom is a license. To be free, I need a license. Again, who is authorized to issue the license to be free? Does anyone know what it looks like? What are the requirements for obtaining one? Does it have an expiry day? How much does it cost? Again, the more I ask, the more questions I get? Let’s move on. Maybe if we try from the opposite end of the spectrum, we will be able to get to the truth.

What is the opposite of freedom? Below are the antonyms for freedom, according to Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus:

Dependence and captivity… According to this definition, freedom is some sort of independence from some external force or power. Therefore to be free means to be in a state of independence. Let’s leave it as is and not dig deeper because I feel it’s a rabbit hole that has no end to it. Independence.

Impotence, inability, weakness…? This is ridiculous. Are there better ways to describe the lack of freedom? Let’s ask Google, he knows everything:

Financial Independence

Every person has his own magic number that will change everything and unlock the way to a beautiful, stress-free, happy life. Ha-ha… Anyways, let’s say you need about $5,000 /month to live comfortably, cover all your expenses. You strive to create a passive stream of income of $5,000 /month that will require little to no work from you. The money will simply land on your bank account while you lay on a couch and repost on Instagram the quotes about successful success. With this money, you don’t worry about where the next paycheck will come from. You think you outsmarted the entire world around you and the sky is not a limit for you. You figured it all out and now you are able to manage your time only as you decide to. No bosses, nowhere to go, nothing to do, only unless you decide otherwise. That’s cool? Sure it does.

You heard a lot of “success stories” in which people obtained that financial freedom or financial independence I should say, by investing in real estate. People often start their stories remembering the times, when they busted their asses at work, trying to squeeze as much cash as possible from their full-time jobs. Then savvy folks would pour all their savings into the rental properties for the monthly cash flow. By cashflow I mean the income you have left, after the mortgage, taxes, and other operating expenses. You hear a lot of stories like that and it seems that real investment is a way to go. You will need to build a portfolio of rental properties, which generates your passive income. Now you see the path. Pull up the pants, wipe your runny nose, grab the diet Coke – we are going to get FINANCIALLY FREE.

How much time do you think it will take you to set everything up? What did successful stories tell you about the timelines? Let’s see what it takes to build the stream of income that will generate you $5,000 /month.

“People who make $90,000 a year, actually earn more than 87% of the U.S. population.”,
(Keshner, Feb 4, 2019)

Let’s say you are an educated, hard-working middle-class citizen, who annually makes approximately $100K. Day in, day out from 8 to 5 you grind your way to success working the full-time job. Your life is simple, you don’t overspend and have pretty good financial behaviors that allow you to set some money aside. You saved quite a bit and you are ready to step on the real estate investing path. You are about to buy your first property and already feel like a complete success. Life is great and easy, you figured things out. Everything goes as planned. Few months of house hunting and you finally bought your dream house. A bit of renovation, marketing and you have the tenants moved in. The house brings you about $500 a month of hustle-free cash flow. You feel on top of the world, you nailed it. Indeed, that’s great cash flow. To become financially free you only have left $4,500 /month. No problems, just repeat what you’ve done 9 more times and you can retire. The only problem is that you are out of cash after your first purchase. It’s hard to buy a property without a downpayment. Let’s do some napkin math to see how much time it will take to buy 9 more houses and get your freedom license.

If you are fortunate to live in Canada, please pay 27% taxes on your annual income. Taxes are a whole nother topic, which deserves separate attention. However, stay on the track, we are not getting into taxes here. Deduct the basic expenses from your annual income. They are different for every person (I don’t include the stacks of toilet paper you purchased during COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s keep it as your little secret). Deducting :

Food (one person)
Entertainment (movies, 1-2 nights out, nothing crazy, really conservative)
Pet (a small dog shares miserable existence next to you)
Commute ($7-10 /day)
Car insurance payments
Rent (So cheap because you try to save money and live in a shithole. It also includes utilities)
Travel (Once a year you fly out to a warm country. You work hard, you deserve it (sarcasm))

You don’t buy new clothes, toys, electronics, gadgets. A new iPhone is just a dream you can’t afford. No Christmas or birthday presents to yourself. Cancel Netflix and Spotify subscriptions. No kombucha or Starbuck coffees. No cab rides. You don’t pay for that cute chick at the bar, sorry honey. No new books or journal subscriptions. You don’t get sick. No dental treatment, no out of pocket medical expenses. You live a monk’s life, literally. From 8 to 5, day in – day out. You have a goal and you are committed to achieving it no matter what it takes. You’ve decided that you want to be free and this is the way to get that freedom. The napkin math showed you clearly – 10 houses – $5,000 /month.

A year later you saved $40,000. You look a little tired, but that doesn’t matter. Well done boy! Now let’s put this money to work and buy a second house. You’ve found a beautiful property listed for little over $300K and your ass got lit on fire. You expect to add another $500 to your monthly cash flow. $1,000 a month, doing little to nothing. No kidding, sounds great, let’s pull the trigger on it. A typical down payment is 20%, which equals $60,000 on a $300K house. What a bummer, you can’t buy it, because you have only $40K saved. You will need to work another six months to make up the difference. You realize that it takes approximately a year and a half to put aside enough money to buy a $300,000 property. Don’t forget that you will need to live the monk’s life and say no to anything that you can’t eat. How long do you think it will take to save up enough cash for ten of those $300k properties? Do you think you will still want that freedom by the time you reach it? By the way, how long do you expect to occupy this planet? Silence…

Ha-ha! Exactly! Don’t freak out yet… Such variables, like appreciation rate and investment income will make things look slightly better. Let’s add them to the equation.

According to Remax: “Healthy price increases are expected next year, with the RE/MAX 2020 Housing Market Outlook Report estimating a 3.7 per-cent increase in the average residential sale price.” According to the Royal LePage Market Survey Forecast: “The aggregate price of a home in Canada is forecast to rise 3.2 percent year-over-year to $669,800 in 2020”. This is a conservative number and it greatly varies, depending on the area of your purchase. We will use it for our financial projections. The number of 3.7% means that the house you purchased for $300,000, next year should increase in price for about $11,100. Will put appreciation to the side for now and run the numbers only including the rental income.

I assume you are being a good boy and don’t touch the monthly $500 you get from your rental property. You are not selling the house, therefore we don’t account for appreciation and use only the money you saved from the monthly cash flow. Annually the rental generates you $4,380 ($6,000 minus 26.8% tax deductions). This extra cash will save you about 3 months of hard work at your full-time job. You will need to hassle for 16.2 months (70.4 weeks) to save $60,000 of a down payment on your second house. (It’s almost 2 months faster having the cash flow of $500 /month from the first property).

One year and a little over 4 months, since you’ve become the landlord, you pull the trigger on the second property. Now, you are the happy owner of two properties which generate you (hopefully) $730 / month ($1,000 /month minus taxes) on top of your annual savings of $40,000. You continue living on the edge of starvation for another year and six weeks to save enough money to purchase your third house. Same deal, $300,000 purchase price, $60k downpayment. Rental income from the two houses you already own allows you to set aside $60,000 a little bit faster. To be exact, 2.7 months faster since the purchase of your first house. Great job, you’ve got the third house. All three properties bring you $13,140 in cash flow annually which correlates to $1,095 /month. It’s been a while since you stepped on this RE journey. Let’s do a quick check-in. How do you feel living the way you did? Because you were able to save $40k every year, I assume life has been very steady for you. No emergencies, no unexpected expenses. You didn’t get sick, nor met a loved one. No kids were born and your parents stayed healthy and well. All your tenants paid on time. No convictions. The vacancy rate is down to zero. No maintenance expenses, whatsoever. What a stress-free life! By the way, how long did it take you to come to this point, where you build such a passive income stream of “whopping” $1,095 /months?

2nd Home = 16.2 months
3rd Home = 14.8 months

Time Spent = 31 months = 2 years 7 months

For the past 2 years and 7 months, you lived like a monk. Skinny, tired, but determined to make it work. $5k /months is your dream and nothing can stop you. Great! I like the persistence with which you dig yourself into the grave. Now, please sit down for a second and answer the following questions:

With three behind your belt, how many more houses will it take to get you to your goal?
How long will it take to obtain those properties if you continue down this path?

Let’s run some numbers:

It will take 9 houses to generate almost $40,000 /year of income after paying taxes.
Yellow line all the way down indicates the point at which your rental properties generate you $5,110 a month. This will happen 12 years later when you rent out 14 houses.

Just think about it, it will take you somewhere about 12 years of living like a monk, busting your ass day in – day out at the full-time job to finally get to the point where you can quit. How realistic is it to maintain such a lifestyle? Is it worth it? Are you ready to pursue this for 12 years? What are your thoughts?

Numbers above don’t include a lot of important things, such as:

Renovation/Maintenance Expenses. Houses break, the roof will leak, AC will break, the basement will get flooded. None of those unexpected experiences were included;
Evictions. Tenants don’t always pay rent and you will have to deal with courts, late payments, and evictions. Rooms stay unoccupied – rent doesn’t get paid;
Life Situations. People want new clothes, people want ice cream from time to time. People get married, get sick, and die. People make babies. People divorce. People lose jobs, people find better jobs. None of those were included in calculations. Not a single calculator in the world can predict and account for the life situations that WILL happen to you;
Property management fees. It will be hard to manage 14 houses without some sort of property management assistance. Especially if you are working at your full-time job. Especially if you want to make this income as passive as possible. As a baseline, expect to pay a typical residential property management firm between 8 – 12% of the monthly rental value of the property, plus expenses. Some companies may charge, say, $100 per month flat rate. 10% on your monthly rental income of $5,110 is $511. That’s an extra house for a second… Now you will need 15properties to keep you afloat;
House appreciation. Typically, over the years, your house will be worth more than you paid for it. This extra value can be refinanced and put towards the purchase of the next home. It can be a huge help and dramatically speed up the process at which you get to your goal. It is really hard to predict how much the property will cost over time and the further you shoot, the more off you will be;

Over the course of 12 years, you have saved and re-invested $840,000 worth of down payments (14 houses x $60,000) to buy 14 homes. Let’s see how well your investments paid off.

Capitalization Rate

Cap rate is the crucial piece of information that investors use to make their decision. You need to know for two main reasons:

Analyze the performance, or expected performance, of your rental properties. For example, if there are three houses in your price range for sale, calculating the expected cap rates for all three can help you determine which is the best investment.

Determine your property’s fair market value (FMV). This is important if you’re selling a property. If you know how your property’s net operating income and the industry average cap rate, you can determine your property’s fair market value. Market value = net operating income / cap rate.

Cap Rate is the ratio of the property’s net income to its purchase price (or current market value). While the purchase price remains the same, the market value of the house raises year over year and gives more accurate calculations. $500 /month of cash flow results in a cap rate of 7.3%. What’s a good cap rate, you might ask? On the right are the averages according to CBRE’s North America cap rate survey for the first half of 2019. 7.3% is a good investment. Also since we included mortgage repayment into these calculations it can be considered a cash-on-cash return. Mortgage repayment is the variable that differentiates the two.

Inflation, The Rule of 72, and Home Appreciation

In light of recent, or I should say current events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic we begin seeing the combination of inflation and low mortgage rates. What does it mean to real estate investors like us? High compounded rates of home appreciation. As a tenant or a typical consumer – you lose, because increasing rates of inflation are not very helpful for your consumer purchasing power of basic goods and services like food, utilities, gas or transportation prices. However, if you own the property, you should smile, because the best traditional hedge against inflation is, was, and probably always will be – the Real Estate. This is true because home values tend to increase at least as much as the reported annual rates of inflation. Let’s play around with numbers and calculate how soon your investments will double in value. We will use The Rule of 72. The use of it is very simple: you divide the number 72 by an estimate of annual appreciation gains. A home that appreciates at 10% per year (72 divided by 10 = 7.2 years) may double in value every 7.2 years. Another home that appreciates 7% each year can double in price every 10.2 years during a relatively strong economic time period. Or, as in our case, home appreciating in value at 3.5% per year is quite likely to double in value every 20.6 years. However the rule of 72 is not 100% precise, it gives a quick glance at the real estate market condition.

As the house owner, you should also be familiar with Compound Interest. It refers to the idea that when you earn interest on an investment, that earned interest is rolled back into the investment and starts to build on itself. Let’s look at an example on the left. We know that the average annual appreciation rate on your house in Ontario, Canada is 3.5%. Therefore we assume that your $300k house appreciates in value by 3.5% at the end of the first year of ownership. You just made $10,500 out of nowhere it’s put into your home’s value. The next year you’re earning 3.5% on the new property value of $310,500. At the end of the following year, you’ll actually earn $10,868, which is $368 more from the previous. Your earning has gone up, even though you haven’t done anything more than just leave the money in place. If you have enough patience and allow the power of compound interest to do its magic, the house you bought for $300k will double in value in about 21 years.

Inflation is the counterforce and works in the opposite direction. You probably remember as a kid, buying a can of Coke for $0.50? The increase in prices over time is inflation, and it basically means that a dollar today simply does not buy as much as it once did. According to Statista.com, in 2018, the average inflation rate in Canada was approximately 2.24 percent. So let’s use that as the example here. Things don’t look so bright anymore. After keeping your property for 25 years, it will increase in price only by $105,165. Inflation just ate $279,834 of your money…

To make things worse I’ll remind you that you haven’t paid your taxes yet. According to the Government of Canada: “When you sell your home, you may realize a capital gain. If the property was solely your principal residence for every year you owned it, you do not have to pay tax on the gain. If at any time during the period you owned the property, it was not your principal residence, or solely your principal residence, you might not be able to benefit from the principal residence exemption on all or part of the capital gain that you have to report.” This means that if you are considering selling your principal residence, you can be reassured that you likely won’t have to pay any tax on your home provided that you meet certain conditions. However, if you are considering selling one of your investment properties, the tax implication can be a bit more complicated. There are two streams of income you would need to pay tax on:

Capital gain. Say you purchase a property for $300,000, and you sell it for $405,165 in 25 years. Capital gain = $405,165 – $300,000 = $105,165. In Canada, 50% of capital gain is taxable, hence 50% of $100,000 is taxable = $52,582. If you own the property in your own personal name, this $52,582 is added on top of your other income and is subject to the marginal tax rate for the respective tax brackets you are in. For example, let’s use the tax rate we used in previous calculations – 26.8%. Hence tax liability is roughly $52,582 x 26.8% = $14,092
Recapture. You are allowed to claim the wear and tear on the property to defer your rental income. The wear and tear are called capital cost allowance. Assume that 90% of the value belongs to the building and 10% of the value belongs to the land, the capital cost of the building is therefore 90% x $300,000 = $270,000.

Where am I getting with all this?

Conclusions

It will take time. A loooong time to build the income that will support your lifestyle and allow you to retire. And if you start late enough, you might retire around the retirement age. The example used in this study is just one of the ways things might unfold. It is steady but very freaking slow to build your way out of the 8-5 system. Now I am going to ask you:

Does it worth spending 12 or even 10 years of your life living only on rice and beans?
Do you think, 12 years later, when you get that $5,000 check it will all seem worth the time and effort you put in?
Will you be able to hold on to your full-time job for at least another decade? Or find another boss, who will pay you at least the same salary.

I am pretty sure that those questions got you thinking. Here is a thing, if you want to break free from the hamster’s wheel, you have to get creative! There are ways to speed up your way to the goal of yours. Some, but not all of them are:

Reinvest Positive Cash Flow;
Re-finance;
Keep the full-time job. If you quit your day job early you will lose your steady and secure income stream and lenders may refuse to lend to you because they believe you cannot support the repayments that the loan requires;
Tax Advantages of Real Estate Investing. Real estate is one of the most tax-advantaged investments compared to other investments.
- 1031 exchanges
- Tax-free or tax-deferred retirement accounts
Appreciation;
Equity Build-up;
Team up with others.
- Syndications
- Partnerships

Simply saving every dime won’t get you far… Saving is definitely better than spending, however, it will not make you rich. Don’t spend your cash on stupid stuff, but realize that it’s better to make more, rather than save more. Doesn’t matter how savvy you are, you can not save your way to wealth. In 99% of cases, your full-time job’s salary will be enough only to meet your basic needs. See below the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

You will live a pretty comfortable life:

Always fed, never hungry;
Live in a comfy warm little cave;
Healthy, with access to quality medical treatment;
Happy in your relationships with friends and family…

Indeed, that’s a great life to live. However, there are a lot of people I know who live such lives, but they don’t seem to be very happy. There are people who are different breeds. Those folks stagnate in the certainty and safety that the modern world brings. They strive for a challenge, they are hungry for achievement. Those people strive in crisis and hardships. When it comes to your life – you are the ultimate decision-maker.

You decide, either navigate* for miles on woods roads or play it safe take a short trail.*

E-Book: FINANCIAL FREEDOM. What it takes to get there?Download

References

Keshner, A. (2019, February 4). Most Americans who earn $90,000 a year say they don’t consider themselves rich. Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-americans-who-earn-90000-a-year-say-they-dont-consider-themselves-rich-2019-01-24
Canadian real estate market to appreciate 3.2% in 2020 reflecting similar price growth in both condo and detached segments. (2019, December 12). Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/canadian-real-estate-market-appreciate-110000867.html
Frankel, M. (2020, April 17). What is a Good Cap Rate for an Investment Property? Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://www.fool.com/millionacres/real-estate-basics/articles/what-good-cap-rate-investment-property/
Plecher, H. (2019, October 22). Canada – Inflation rate 1984-2024. Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/271247/inflation-rate-in-canada/

Oleksandr Tereshchuk April 29, 2020

Entrepreneurship, Real Estate 1930, 1931, 1932, analysis, canadian real estate market, corona virus, coronavirus, great depression, housing, housing market, interest rates, investing, reading, real estate, real estate canada

USA Great Depression Rental Housing Market Analysis

RENTS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The hearing of June 17, 1932, which appears below, was held prior to the approval by the Senate of Senate Resolution 248, directing an inquiry into the rental situation in the District of Columbia. The record of the following hearing is included herein, however, because of its close relationship to subsequent proceedings under the resolution.

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 1932 UNITED STATEs SENATE, CoMMITTEE on THE DISTRICT of Columbia, Washington, D. C.

Mr. BRINKMAN. In a case where a building is mortgaged for $200,000 and the interest is 6 percent, if that interest rate were lowered to 5 percent and some of the excessive commissions charged for renewals every three years on these loans were eliminated, you would have a saving in interest charges and commissions of $2,500 on that loan. The usual rental of a building of that type is about $33,000. You could give the tenants of that building a 7 percent reduction in their rent, without diminishing the return to the owners at all, simply by lowering the interest rate 1 percent.

Mr. BowTE. Do you mean a building that you would loan $200,000 on would only produce $30,000 a year?
Mr. WHITEFORD. That is the worst loan I ever heard tell of.
Mr. BRINKMAN. $33,000. Mr. Bowie. Nine times.
Mr. WHITEFORD. You talk about vicious loans. I am surprised at how little you know after all your study about this.
Mr. BRINKMAN. Thank you for the insult.

The Rust firm took in the ‘Clifton Terrace Apartments at $750,000. The income from that property is sufficient to produce a net return of about 13 percent on the investment.

Apartment-House Game

Senator Copeland. Are you familiar with the apartment-house game at all?
Mr. GoRDON. Fairly well. I know they are all broke.
Senator Copeland. Well, is your business comparable to theirs? Are they better or worse off than you are?
Mr. GoRDON. Well, I would say—I can not swear to this—more than half of the apartment houses in Washington have been foreclosed through the inability of the people to carry them. Either the Second or first trusts have been foreclosed and the people lost them. I think that is the best proof that they do not pay.
Senator CAPPER. Well, were not the most of them financed for a great deal more than they had in them?
Mr. GoRDON. Some of them, although a few firms here, which you probably know about, did some very wildcat financing, but we don’t account that. That was the exception. Most of our lenders here lend on an apartment house about 60 percent to 65 percent of the actual cash cost of the building and ground. That isn’t bad. Then, this man will have a second trust above that, maybe of 20 percent, and then when a smash comes, he gets squashed.
Senator CAPPER. The second trust is where the high financing took place?
Mr. GoRDON. Not necessarily.
Senator Copeland. Your idea and contention is that even though there has been a foreclosure and new owners have taken possession, that with the amount of the investment they have to make, it goes up to the original cost?
Mr. GoRDON. Well, maybe not that. He takes it over at $150,000. Maybe he will have to spend $15,000 to fix it up, but he may lose that much in vacancies before it is filled up again. Sometimes you have to take these houses and fumigate them with poison to get the bedbugs out.
Senator KING. What do you allow for deterioration in buildings here per year?
Mr. GoRDoN. Well, 2 percent or 3 percent.
Senator KING. In 10 years a building costing $200,000 would deteriorate 20 percent?
Mr. GoRDON. It may go further than that; and if the neighbourhood goes back, you get hit awful hard. It is a very risky business.
Senator Copeland. Well, the present investment in an apartment house, according to your figures, is at least 25 percent less than the investment made by the original builder?
Mr. GoRDON. I would say so, yes; but he hasn’t got a new building and is not getting the same rents, either. Keep your mind fixed on this: One-half of the apartment-house owners have lost their buildings because they would not pay. That is a fact. Look at the Star every evening and you will see big foreclosures all the time.
Senator CAPPER. Do not the loan companies—the loan companies. are companies—the loan companies who are doing the financing—make the clean-up? They get the money.

House Values

Senator KING. Has there been a reduction in the value of the real estate in Washington during the past few years?
Mr. GoRDoN. You can build houses now, the actual cost bein about 30 per cent less than you could four or five years ago. Ground has held its own. I am surprised it has, really. In many places vacant ground has gone up a little bit.
Senator CAPPER. Are conditions in Washington in that respect better than probably any other city in the country?
Mr. GoRDON, I consider Washington the safest city in the world.
Senator CAPPER. Is it not due largely to the fact that there is a steady payroll here out of the Government Treasury?
Mr. GoRDoN. Yes, sir.
Senator Copeland. And no industrial life.

Construction and building new houses had become 30% cheaper.
During the financial crisis, it is safer to live in non-industrial cities.

Land Value

Senator Copeland. And, as a matter of fact, the present value of the property is probably not half that?
Mr. GoRdon. No; I would not say that. I would say the building is 30 percent off and the ground has held its own. I think that is it. The ground has held its own.
Senator Copeland. Then, your judgment is that the average apartment house, thoroughly modern, is worth about 30 percent less?
Mr. GoRDON. The building; yes. The ground at the same value. The ground has held up very nicely.

Buildings had lost about 30% in value!!!
However, what is really interesting is that the land price remained the same… Investments in lad are much safer.

Senator Copeland. What about land values?

Mr. Do YLE. They are off in the majority of cases. There are instances where surrounding improvements naturally are holding or maintaining values, and in some places, they are going up, depending on the use of the particular property.
Senator Copeland. Has there been anything abnormal in that?
Mr. Do YLE. Just a general lack of demand caused by general conditions.
Mr. BRINKMAN. If a building is worth given amount to-day, and if it would cost to reproduce that building 25 percent less than it cost to put it up originally, ought not rents to come down proportionately assuming the building was on a fair rental basis before? You would have a building worth less and you could not sell it on the market for the same price as when it was constructed. Should there not be a reduction of rentals?
Mr. Doyle. There is no arbitrary situation where the landlord can dictate what he will get out of his property. He has to take what his tenant will pay. That is regulated by supply and demand.
Mr. BRINKMAN. How much of a reduction should occur?
Mr. Do YLE. It is not dependent on what costs have gone down, because we have in mind normal conditions and not abnormal conditions.
Mr. BRINKMAN. You had a good many vacancies at 3901 Connecti cut Avenue, had you not?
Mr. Do YLE. Yes. Mr. BRINKMAN. You reduced rents substantially, did you not?
Mr. Doyle. They have been reduced.
Mr. BRINKMAN. Did you rent a great many of the apartments?
Mr. Do YLE. When we first took it over we did not reduce them as much. Vacancies occurred to some extent afterward. Rents were reduced in the last two months quite materially, and old tenants were given a month’s rent.
Mr. BRINKMAN. And you were able to rent some of those empty apartments?
Mr. Doy LE. It has been, through very careful and good management, rented up, and I think it is practically 100 percent rented. They are very reasonable rents, but it pays no return on its cost.

Construction Costs

Mr. BRINKMAN. How much have apartment building construction costs come down approximately in the last few years?
Mr. Doyle. Approximately 25 percent.
Mr. BRINKMAN. Twenty-five or 30 percent, would you say?
Mr. Do YLE. I said 25. Of course, I am testifying.

The cost of construction reduced by 25%.
It got much cheaper to build, hence it made sense to buy deteriorated houses just for the value of its land. Demolish -> Build a new house.
However, if you wanted to build an apartment house and had to have a first-trust loan of $300,000 or $400,000, I do not think it would be humanly possible to get it. Build for cash?

Mr. WHITEFORD. I would not put a dollar in any building enterprise, and I do not think any other sagacious businessman would.
Senator Copeland. I know you can now build property very much less than you could two or three years ago. I built a building three years ago and another this past summer. My cost on the second building was about one-third less than on the first one. There is not any question about that.

Rents

Mr. WHITEFORD. … we hear these complaints of distress that can not pay any rent. I know of people who are living in houses, in apartments, where they are not paying rent. They can not pay it. There are homeowners who can not keep homes. A man came in my office yesterday and asked me to loan him $200 to pay the little installment of interest due to his home, and it is a nice, great big home worth $20,000 odd. That man is suffering. He is in danger of losing his home for a few hundred dollars, but you can not do it by wishing you could. These property owners are in a jam. They are in difficulties and have their properties on valuations and purchase prices that go back for several years. Many of them are losing them now. Their security is jeopardized, for a lot of these properties are not worth the trust.

A drop of 2.5 percent in rents in Washington between June 1929 and June 1932.

The CHAIRMAN. In looking over Mr. Brinkman’s report I see that the reductions are very small.
Mr. BRINKMAN. That is correct.
Senator KING. You mean it is to the personal advantage of an owner to take charge of the rental of his own property?
Mr. BRINKMAN. If I were the owner of the property I would not put it in the hands of a real estate agent, because I would have to pay them 5 percent commission, have to let him manage the property, buy supplies for it; pay in some cases 8 to 10 percent discount on purchases for the property, let them fix the scale of rates, and if a tenant is already a tenant of another member of the Real state Board, they will not accept him as a tenant. I will say it is a disadvantage in many respects for an owner of a property to turn it over to real-estate agents.

In order to reduce operational costs, owners will start managing properties on their own. Not the best time to be in the property management business.

Increase in rents by colored people

Mr. J. C. OLDEN. I represent the Better Citizens Bureau. I have made some further investigations with reference to the reduction of rent during the last week or so. I was to bring that further testimony to Mr. Brinkman, but they said they had closed reports on that matter. I can give the facts to this committee; as far as I have been able to find out in the apartment houses and houses that are rented by colored people there has been an increase in rents in the last three years and in some cases no reduction at all, possibly $2.50 or $3 reduction in an apartment.
Senator Copeland. Does this cover a good many houses?
Mr. OLDEN. Practically all the apartment houses rented by the colored in Washington.
Senator KING. Are any of those apartment houses owned by colored people, to which you refer?
Mr. OLDEN. No; they are owned by white people. Some have white agents and some have colored agents.
Might not be the case in the modern world. I suspect there was much more racism back in the 30th.
Mr. BRINKMAN. Properties are not worth the assessments?
Mr. WHITEFord. Not to-day, they are not.
Senator Copeland. I do not know any reason in the world why the landlords of Washington expect they are going to make money when nobody else in the world is doing it.
Mr. WHITEFoRD. Most of them are not.
Property owners and landlords, in particular, are losing money.
If you had $500,000 you would not buy a piece of property and pay for it in cash. All large rental properties have trusts or mortgages on them made by an insurance company or trust company. There is no way in heavens world that they can escape paying 5 or 6 percent interest on their trusts and that interest rate was incurred several years ago. When you figure these properties have got to go on and pay that interest if they do not they will lose them.

Cash is King. Save cash, leverage.

Mr. WHITEFORd. The landlord gets to it every six months when he pays his interest. Sixty percent of the assessed value represents a fair mortgage, which is a fair way to approximate it.
Senator Copeland… What percentage?
Mr. WHITEFORD. Sixty percent of the assessed value. If that be true, then our figures show the property owner is getting less than 3 percent on his equity.
Mr. WHITEFORD. Yes; and as Mr. Lusk says, it is less than savings bank interest; it is less than Liberty bond returns.
Senator Copeland. Do you not think he would be lucky if he got enough to pay carrying charges?
Mr. WHITEFORd. That is true. When you reduce the rent, you will have people that can not do it which will result in a series of foreclosures in the community.

Only sixty percent of the houses’ value is backed up by mortgage.

It seems to me that the owner and the agents overlook the great opportunity to increase the number of their tenants, and increase their income by reducing the rent.

Senator Copeland. I will tell you about my experience. I just came from Michigan where I went to see my father. My sister and I own some modest little homes and I asked her how she was getting along with the tenants. She said she cut the rent in two, in each instance, because by doing that she kept the tenant. They could not pay more than that, and if they had moved out because of the rental they had been paying, certainly she could not have rented the property to anybody else, because nobody else would pay it, but by making those reductions houses are occupied. As the chairman said, it seems to me in view of this great crisis, as it is going to be worse after this Congress adjourns, we have got to do something to take care of these people, and the landlords have just got to face the situation. If they do not cooperate they are go ing to lose anyhow, because these people can not the rent. They will have to reduce them or they will move out.

Mr. WHITEFord. We are reducing them. We have shown a lot of reductions, and experience shows it every day. Many of them are losing their property under foreclosure, anyhow, whether they reduce them or not.
Senator KEAN. In the city of Elizabeth, where I come from, there is a row of apartment houses that used to rent for from $55 to $60 a month. They had been getting it right along, but now they are down to $27.
Mr. WHITEFORD. If they have any trusts on the property they can not carry them.

Increase the number of their tenants, and increase their income by reducing the rent. How many tenants can you put under one roof? Now there are a lot of regulations that will restrict that.

Reference

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the District of Columbia. Subcommittee on Rental Investigation. (1932). Rents in D.C.: hearings before the United States Senate Committee on the District of Columbia, Subcommittee on Rental Investigation, Seventy-Second Congress, second session, on June 17, July 28, Sept. 9, Nov. 10, 30, Dec. 1, 2, 17, 20, 21, 23, 27, 29, 1932. Washington: U.S. G.P.O..

Oleksandr Tereshchuk April 26, 2020

Entrepreneurship, Investing Canada Economy, canadian real estate market, corona virus, coronavirus, covid19, crysis, debt, depression, finance, interest rates, macroeconomics, money, poor, rai dalio, ray dalio, rich, taxes, USA Economy, wealth

Money, Credit, and Debt – COVID-19 Inspired

Below is my excerpt accompanied with main takeaways from the study published by Ray Dalio – an American billionaire hedge fund manager and economist, on April 23, 2020. (LinkedIn post)

We shouldn’t rely on governments to protect us financially.

We should expect most governments to abuse their privileged positions as the creators and users of money and credit.

All countries can print money to give to people to spend or to lend it out. However, not all money that governments print is of equal value.

You cannot create more wealth simply by printing more money and creating credit. To create more wealth, one has to be more productive. The relationship between the creation of money and credit and the creation of wealth (actual goods and services) is often confused yet it is the biggest driver of economic cycles.

Money and credit are stimulative when it’s given out and depressing when it has to be paid back. When the economy is growing too quickly and the government wants to slow it down, they make less money and credit available, causing both to become more expensive. When there is too little growth and central bankers want to stimulate the economy, they make money and credit cheap and plentiful, which encourages people to borrow and invest and/or spend.

The short-term cycles of ups and downs typically last about eight years. These short-term debt cycles add up to long-term debt cycles that typically last about 50 to 75 years. The last big long-term debt cycle, which is the one that we are now in, was designed in 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and was put in place in 1945 when World War II ended. However, these long-term debt cycles take about a lifetime to transpire, unlike the short-term debt cycles that we all experience a number of times in our lifetimes so most people understand better. When it comes to the long-term debt cycle most people, including most economists, don’t recognize or acknowledge its existence because, to see a number of them in order to understand the mechanics of how they work, one has to look at them operating in a number of countries over many hundreds of years in order to get a good sample size.

When it is widely perceived that the money and the debt assets that promise to receive money are not good storeholds of wealth, the long-term debt cycle is at its end, and a restructuring of the monetary system has to occur.

When countries were at war and there was no trust in the intentions or abilities to pay, they could still pay in gold. So gold (and to a lesser extent silver) could be used as both a safe medium of exchange and a safe storehold of wealth.

A person puts money in a Bank in exchange for interest (profit) -> Bank lends that person’s money to somebody else in exchange for a higher interest (profit) -> Those who borrow the money from the Bank like it because it gives them buying power that they didn’t have. Everyone is happy.

Trouble approaches when either there isn’t enough income to survive one’s debts or the amount of the claims (i.e., debt assets) that people are holding in the expectation that they can sell them to get money to buy goods and services increases faster than the number of goods and services by an amount that makes the conversion from that debt asset (e.g., that bond) implausible.

Think of debt as negative earnings and a negative asset that eats up earnings (because earnings have to go to pay it) and eat up other assets (because other assets have to be sold to get the money to pay the debt). When incomes and the values of one’s assets fall, there is a need to cut expenditures and sell off assets to raise the needed cash (to pay the debt).

When that’s not enough, the following happens:

Debt restructurings where debts and debt burdens are reduced, which is problematic for both the debtor and the creditor because one person’s debts are another’s assets
Central bank printing money and the central government handing out money and credit to fill in the holes in incomes and balance sheets (which is what is happening now). It occurs when holders of debt don’t believe that they are going to get adequate returns from it.

When people go to Banks and take the money they invested (for interest) out of it to buy goods and services, the bank has two choices:

Allow that flow of money out of the debt asset (raise interest rates and cause the debt and economic problems to worsen).
Print money.

An important difference between money and debt. Money is what settles claims—i.e., one pays one’s bills and one is done. Debt is a promise to deliver money.

This Already Happened Before… Several Times

In 1971, on the evening of August 15, when President Nixon spoke to the nation and told the world that the dollar would no longer be tied to gold. This led to stock prices rising. On Sunday evening March 5 President Franklin Roosevelt gave essentially the same speech doing essentially the same thing which yielded essentially the same result over the following months (a devaluation, a big stock market rally, and big gains in the gold price). That happened many times before in many countries, including essentially the same proclamations by the heads of state.

The coronavirus triggered economic and market downturns around the world, which created holes in incomes and balance sheets, especially for indebted entities that had incomes that suffered from the downturn.

When credit cycles reach their limit, the following events take place:

Interest Rates fall down. When there isn’t much room to stimulate by lowering interest rates (or printing money and buying financial assets) the greater the likelihood that there will be a monetary inflation accompanied by economic weakness. Stimulating money and credit growth by lowering interest rates is the first-choice monetary policy of central banks.
The government prints more money and creates additional debt. It is both the logical and the classic response for central governments and their central banks to create a lot of debt and print money that will be spent on goods, services, and investment assets to keep the economy moving. That is what was done during the 2008 debt crisis when interest rates could no longer be lowered because they had already hit 0%. As explained that was also done in response to the 1929-32 debt crisis when interest rates had been driven to 0%. This creating of the debt and money is now happening in amounts that are greater than at any time since World War II. The European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, and—to a lesser extent—the People’s Bank of China made similar moves.
People will shift their wealth into other things. Current money printing increases the chances that money will be printed too aggressively and not used productively so people will stop using it as a storehold of wealth and. They also often move their wealth to other storeholds of wealth like gold, certain types of stocks, and/or somewhere else (like another country that is not having these problems).
People will seek to sell their debt assets and/or borrow money to get into debt that they can pay back with cheap money.

Such periods of reflation either stimulate another money and credit expansion that finances another economic expansion (which is good for stocks) or devalue money so that it produces monetary inflation (which is good for inflation-hedge assets such as gold).

Economic stress caused by large wealth and values gaps, will lead to higher taxes and fighting between the rich and the poor. The rich move to hard assets and other currencies and other countries. Those countries that are suffering from this flight from their debt, their currency, and their country will want to stop it. Expect governments to try to make it harder to invest in assets like gold (e.g., via outlawing gold transactions and ownership), foreign currencies (via eliminating the ability to transact in them), and foreign countries (via establishing foreign exchange controls to prevent the money from leaving the country).

When there is a large wealth gap, big debt problems, and an economic contraction, there is often fighting within countries and between countries over wealth and power. Also this will lead to domestic and international political changes.

The governments will go back to some form of hard currency (e.g., gold or a hard reserve currency) to rebuild people’s faith in the value of money as a storehold of wealth.
People will start selling their assets. To deal with that monetary inflation crisis and break the inflation, the supply of money will get tightened, which will drive interest rates to the highest level “since Jesus Christ”. Debtors will have to pay much more in debt service at the same time as their incomes and assets fall in value. This will squeeze the debtors and require them to sell assets.

We shouldn’t rely on governments to protect us financially.

We should expect most governments to abuse their privileged positions as the creators and users of money and credit.

References

Debt buyer (United States). (2017). Retrieved 26 April 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_buyer_(United_States)
Chapter 2: Money, Credit, and Debt. (2020). Retrieved 26 April 2020, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/money-credit-debt-ray-dalio/?trackingId=SFvpSLUTwhBNNU8641VbRA%3D%3D
Understanding Devaluation, the Causes, and the Downsides. (2020). Retrieved 26 April 2020, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/devaluation.asp

new-risk-assessment-report-from-european-commission-highlights-potential-5g-security-risks_1500

Oleksandr Tereshchuk April 15, 2020

Business, Entrepreneurship 5G, 5g implementation, 5g in agriculture, 5g in automotive, 5g in energy, 5g in entertainment, 5g in financial services, 5g in fintech, 5G in healthcare, 5g in manufacturing, 5g in retail, 5G in SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, 5g stocks, autonomus vehicles

5G Research – Sensing the Opportunities

There has been a lot of hype around the subject of 5G Technology. I’ve been getting bombarded with information for it. What actually is this “5G” all about? Put simply, 5G is a next-generation wireless network that will give you much faster internet connections. But, because of the way it works, it’s about to change the way lots of other things connect to the internet, too, like cars and TVs, and even things like connected lights on city streets. More about this below.

While smartphones and other mobile devices are the obvious use cases for 5G, there are many other applications for the technology. The internet of things (IoT), for example, will benefit tremendously from the speed and bandwidth provided by 5G, especially as the industry grows: Gartner estimates that over 20B IoT units will be installed by 2020, while IoT-related spending will reach nearly $3T. Autonomous vehicles, robotic surgery, and critical infrastructure monitoring are just a few of the potential applications of 5G-enabled IoT.

Industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and auto are already adopting technologies and becoming more connected. Once 5G becomes widespread, the effect on these industries could be transformative for 3 main reasons:

5G devices are lower latency, enabling faster transmission of larger data streams
5G devices are more reliable, enabling better transmission of data in extreme conditions
5G is more flexible than Wi-Fi and can support a wider range of devices, sensors, and wearables

HEALTHCARE

Telemedicine is projected to grow to an $86B market by 2025.

Wearable devices are already being used to track everything from sleep to blood glucose levels to physical activity, among other things. 5G’s faster speeds and greater network reliability will allow for the development of more complex devices, including those implanted directly into a human body rather than worn externally.

MANUFACTURING

One major potential improvement with 5G will be augmented reality for manufacturing. Ericsson began testing augmented reality troubleshooting in its Tallinn, Estonia factory in January 2018. With an AR app, technicians can observe a part that needs maintenance and pull up the relevant schematics and instructions within their field of vision, drastically shortening the time it takes to complete the repair.

*A technician repairs a circuit board using an augmented reality overlay at Ericsson’s Tallinn factory. (Source: Ericsson)*

Other industrial use cases for 5G (according to AT&T) include:

Continuously monitoring equipment performance
Robotic visual recognition that autonomously performs quality assurance on products
Enabling predictive analytics to tell when a part is going to fail

AUTOMOTIVE

5G Automotive Association (5GAA), began work on “cellular-vehicle-to-everything” or C-V2X technology in 2016. Rather than cars determining individually how to act, in the C-V2X system, driverless vehicles communicate with one another and with parts of the physical environment like traffic lights and construction signs in order to coordinate movements safely and efficiently.

RETAIL

From in-store analytics to visual recognition-driven shelf monitoring, all depend on or benefit from the ability to transmit large amounts of data and access high-throughput connections, which is why 5G technology stands to have such a large impact on the way retailers operate.

Current “smart shelves” incorporating RFID technology, for example, can tell a business owner the ratio of item pick-ups to sales and display dynamic prices. With 5G technology, shelves equipped with sensors could determine low stock on a product, ping a distribution center to restock its inventory, and dynamically monitor the progress of that shipment.Today, companies like Sephora use virtual try-on technology to help in-store customers see what a particular makeup would look like on them before they buy, but the product is constricted by data streaming limits. 5G technology eliminates such limits.
5G also has the potential to create entirely new types of shopping experiences that would be unthinkable with today’s technology.

ENTERTAINMENT

Download speeds will decrease dramatically over 5G, making movie, game, and TV downloads possible in seconds rather than minutes. This could propel a shift away from streaming and towards mobile downloads.

5G could have an even more transformative effect on augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). VR and AR applications have a higher field of view, resolution, and frame rate than conventional media, and as such require a significantly higher level of bandwidth and lower level of latency in order to transmit a consistent experience to the viewer.Faster connectivity through 5G will also be revolutionary for the e-sports and gaming industry, where quick response times can often determine a player’s success. Mobile 5G gaming revenue is expected to be worth $100B by 2028, according to the Intel/Ovum report.

ENERGY

5G could help enable more cost-effective energy transmission. Faster connection speeds could result in energy grids being more efficiently managed, which, in turn, could lead to less downtime.

Streetlights connected with 5G technology and equipped with sensors could switch off if there aren’t any people or vehicles on the road, thus saving energy. This approach could lead to savings of up to $1B annually in the US, according to a report from Accenture.Verizon believes that the energy industry will be a key demonstration of 5G’s potential, with the company stating that the sector will be one of the “most significant test cases” for 5G technology.

AGRICULTURE

5G will offer farmers the opportunity to get faster, more accurate information in the field. Companies such as SlantRange are already providing drone-services for farmers to gain insight into their crops. Autonomous tractors, for example, may eventually use 5G to pair with drones to guide their work, like identifying which parts of a field needs fertilizer.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Mobile payments could happen much faster and more reliably as multiple processes could be executed in parallel. 5G could also allow mobile apps to keep less data on devices — instead quickly recalling it from the cloud — resulting in lighter and more responsive apps.

AT&T, for example, is reportedly developing mobile branches for banks in the US, which will be connected using 5G technology. These mobile branches are envisioned as serving scenarios like music festivals, pop-up shops, and remote areas with low banking needs.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

In a warehouse, for example, 5G-connected devices coupled with sensors would allow quicker communication, collection of a larger amount of data, and faster responses to breakdowns. One application of 5G tech in supply chains is tracking and tracing packaging or parts in real time. This ability to better track individual packages could also streamline insurance claims for damaged shipments. With 5G-enabled sensors attached to packages, it would be easier to monitor their status — including variables like temperature, moisture, and location — information that would help stakeholders identify where things went wrong and claim insurance accordingly.Autonomous delivery, which is already being tested by companies like DHL, is another area that could receive a boost from 5G connectivity.

WHAT’S NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT 5G?

Fibre-optics

Data travels through wires the majority of the time, with wireless antennas typically completing the last few miles of delivery. In this way, fibre functions as the nervous system to the mobile network. Fibre-optic infrastructure is prevalent today and used by current 4G systems, but more will be required to support widespread 5G.

Small Cell deployment

Much of today’s wireless data is delivered through macrocells, known more commonly as cell towers. They provide the foundation for wireless connectivity and can serve thousands of mobile users within a radius of up to 40 miles. Macrocells are difficult to deploy and maintain. The costs of regulatory approval, construction, power, and maintenance make traditional macrocell towers a necessary burden for wireless connectivity. Small cells (or microcells) are growing contributors to wireless connectivity, supporting the wireless systems of the present and future. They are much easier to install and maintain. They’re also cheaper, more energy efficient, and require less red tape than macrocells.

*Some of the newest small-cell technology is hidden in plain sight. In Los Angeles, small cells have been deployed as part of smart streetlights to strengthen 4G networks.*

High-frequency Spectrum Availability

5G speeds also require radio waves with extremely high frequencies. Increasing demand for wireless coverage, speed, and consumption requires the use of new bands within the radio wave spectrum. Higher frequencies allow for faster data transmission, they’re unable to pass through certain structures. For example, satellite TV, which typically uses frequencies between 13-18 GHz, requires a direct line-of-sight to prevent disruptions. Heavy rainfall or an overgrown tree could impact viewing quality. For most 5G networks, the super high (3-30 GHz) and extremely high (30-300 GHz) bands will be used to deliver the Gbps speeds promised by wireless carriers. Frequencies between 24 GHz and 86 GHz will be particularly popular.

Fixed Wireless

High frequencies of 5G require a direct line-of-sight, “fixed wireless” will allow for cellular coverage within buildings and homes, without the use of cables or lines. Fixed wireless antennas are placed on top of homes and buildings to communicate with nearby small cells or macrocell towers. These fixed wireless antennas must maintain line-of-sight with the nearby cells, they are able to extend cellular coverage into homes and buildings. These antennas may be connected by fibre to internal picocells or femtocells, which are used to relay wireless coverage to a small number of mobile users indoors. The wireless signal can also be converted to conventional Wi-Fi with the use of specially designed modems and wifi routers.

Verizon, rolled out fixed 5G wireless services in a handful of cities in 2018. These services will provide an alternative to internet access delivered via fibre while maintaining comparable speeds. The company is partnering with Samsung for its fixed wireless 5G routers, which will convert wireless 5G signals and enable Wi-Fi compatibility.

BLOCKERS

Cost. Providers will need to install a lot of new, and expensive infrastructure.
Range. 5G often relies on high frequency waves to gain its speed advantages over 4G, but this also entails shorter wavelengths — reducing the distance that 5G can carry a useful signal. With 5G signals tending to travel relatively short distances, network providers will need to deploy more antennas and base stations to ensure broad coverage.
Security and Privacy. Security researchers found shortcomings in 2018 in a 5G security protocol known as Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) that in some cases could be used to steal sensitive information.

5G STOCKS

A list of publicly traded 5G stocks (Tuesday, Apr 14th, 2020)

References
What Is 5G? Understanding The Next-Gen Wireless System: CB Insights. (2020, March 19). Retrieved April 14, 2020, from https://www.cbinsights.com/research/5g-next-gen-wireless-system/?utm_source=CB+Insights+Newsletter&utm_campaign=68aeb32b7d-newsletter_general_Mon_20200413&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9dc0513989-68aeb32b7d-94168005

Oleksandr Tereshchuk March 16, 2020

Entrepreneurship, Investing bonds, canadian real estate market, corona virus, coronavirus, covid19, economy, interest rates, investing, mortgage, opportunities, real estate, real estate canada, stocks, virus

COVID-19: Oil & Stocks

Cheeeeep GAS

You have already noticed that the gas prices went down. Significantly! The first drop started on February 21st (Friday). Nothing critical, a slight fall down which had stopped on February 28th (Friday), exactly in a week. We are witnessing the Oil War – an epic battle between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Why did the fall stop?
Why did it rise back up? Briefly, but it id
Did someone regulate it?
Was there events that caused the stall?
Is there an economic mechanism for oil price regulation?

Who controls the oil prices?
OPEC or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed to negotiate matters concerning oil prices and production.

How does OPEC do it?
OPEC controls oil prices through its pricing-over-volume strategy. … Thus, when there is a glut of oil in the world, OPEC cuts back on its production quotas. When there is less oil, it increases oil prices to maintain stable levels of production.

Why do oil prices fall?
Factories have been idled and thousands of flights canceled around the world as the coronavirus outbreak. People work from home – they drive less. Shrinking demand for jet fuel, gasoline and diesel. And now – the travel ban between the United States and Europe. It’s a nightmare scenario for the oil market.

What cheap oil means?

You will benefit from lower oil prices and the resulting decline in gas prices at the pump, especially in the United States where retail markets react more directly to supply and demand.
If you work on oil somewhere in the plant in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico or North Dakota, you will most likely lose your job.

Warren Buffett talks oil price plunge

Stock are Down

Let’s see what is happening in market by industry:

Every industry has been negatively affected. Some more, some less. I circled the most affected industries. Let’s look closer:

Consumer Discretionary Sector -> Tesla is doing AMAZING

⬆️ Stocks that are on rise:

Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD) – Biotechnology & Drugs Industry
Lilly Eli and Co (LLY) – Major Pharmaceutical Preparations Industry
Agilent Technologies Inc – Laboratory Analytical Instruments Industry
Tesla Inc (TSLA)

⬆️ Technology Sector displays growth:

Computer Networks Industry. Companies invest into building internal infrastructures to support remote work demands;
Computer Hardware Industry. People are being sent to work from home and buy computer peripheries and computer hardware.
Computer processing and cloud services Industry
Advanced Micro Devices Inc – video gaming?
Nvidia Corp – video gaming?
Semiconductors Industry
Software & Programming Industry
Consumer Electronics Industry

Grocery Stores Industry shows great Performance. Costco stocks went up. People buy food in bulk! Folks also buy drugs, which is totally understandable and clearly observed from the stocks perspective Pharmacy Services & Retail Drugstore Industry Performance.

People play more video games: Gamestop Corp (GME)

People are being asked to isolate themselves. This is against human nature, therefore people will find other “safe” ways to socialize. Because people won’t socialize as much, they won’t buy a lot of jewelry and accessories. Apparel industry will also see a dip.

Shares of Signet Jewelers Are Down

Tiffany & Co. (TIF)

So what does the market tell us?

People are scared
When people are scared, they buy food and drugs. In bulk!
Computer companies are on the rise. Particularly Networking and hardware industries
People spend more time at home and play more video games
When people don’t socialize as much, they worry less about the way they look
People won’t go to the grocery stores as much. Online grocery shopping and delivery will grow
People invest in Gold – one of the safest currencies.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk March 16, 2020

Entrepreneurship, Investing, Real Estate canadian real estate market, covid19, economy, interest rates, investing, mortgage, opportunities, real estate, real estate canada, virus

COVID-19: The time of great Opportunities p.1

Up to this day I have not given too much of my attention to all the hype around COVID-19 virus. Up until now, however not because of the virus itself, but economical and social changes it caused directly or indirectly. The changes I witness are monumental. Right this moment we live in a really-really interesting moment. Nothing like this had happened before and we are at the front row of sets in theater of life.

Before I dive into the current state of economy and all the exciting things that’s happening, I need to refresh the memory on some of the basics. To make educated decisions and fair assumptions you have to understand how the economy works. This is the first time I actually went back to the knowledge I obtained at MBA school in my ECON class.

Low Interest Rates

As of March 13, interest rates are historically low. The last time we’ve seen such numbers was in 1991. What does it mean to you, economy and society?

Low interest rates are good for the economy: they stimulate people to buy more. Spending drives the economy. One person’s spending is another person’s income. The more people buy, the more is being produced. The more real estate a person owns, the more willing a bank is to grant the mortgage to that person. (coladerall)

Because interest rates are low, people will start to borrow more money. Borrowing will set us into the short-term debt cycle. This cycle works in phases, and typically lasts 5-8 years.

The phases are:

Interest Rates are low.
Spending increases. People buy more stuff. Economy expands
Income Increases. One person’s spending is another person’s income.
Prices go up. Especially its noticeable in the real estate market. Because production of goods could not keep up with the growing demand, prices on existing houses go up. Now more people have money and are wanting to spend them, however it takes time to build the house.
Inflation goes up. This is where the problems begin.
Interest rates go up.
People borrow less. Fewer people are now able to borrow.
Spending decreases. People spend less.
Income Decreases. Economic activity decreases
Deflation
Recession
Lower Interest Rates
Repeat.

Accessible Credit – Expansion
Hardly Accessible Credit – Recession

With the new knowledge in mind we can assume and expect house prices to rise. Everything happens in cycles and the short-term debt cycle is just a building block of the long-term debt cycle. Each time The Bank lowers interest rates to stimulate the economy and get back on track, we leave more and more debt behind. Debt burden slowly grows until it’s not. Economic collapse is inevitable in countries with credit. People are not good at spotting long-term patterns and it makes it hard for them to spot, even harder to predict when the next crash comes. It all eventually leads to depression…

Key Takeaways:

House prices will rise
People will buy more
Interest rates will remain low for some time (no need to rush)

The questions are:

Why does the government stimulate the economy by lowering IR?
What will be the lowest interest rate in this cycle and when will it occur?
How long will housing prices be rising for, until we reach the ceiling?

YouTube Video: How The Economy Works by Ray Dalio

Oleksandr Tereshchuk December 7, 2019

Business, Entrepreneurship cloud kitchen, delivery kitchen, food, food delivery, foodora, online kitchen, restaurant, skip the dishes, ubereats

DeliveryKitchen.net: Changing Canadian Restaurant Business Landscape.

Cloud Kitchens, Dark Kitchens, Online Kitchens, Virtual Kitchens, Ghost Kitchens, Cloud Kitchens, Delivery Kitchens…

The restaurant business is rapidly evolving. People are looking for ways to eat well with minimal effort. With this new concept, a whole world of opportunities lie ahead. Below, I have outlined some statistics as an appetizer.

Based on marketing research published by Statista.com, online food delivery industry in Canada has doubled in revenue over the past 2 years: from $1,539M to $2,959M. Platform-to-consumer deliveries, which take up the smaller part of the revenue share has tripled from $434,7M to $1,136.9M in only two years.

The number of online food ordering & delivery users has shown significant growth from 8.6M in 2017 to 10.78M and expected to reach the mark of 15.19M by 2023.

“Millennials” with low to medium income are the major users of online food delivery services.

Also, according to a Statista survey, 70% of consumers order food delivery from quick-service restaurants and 44% of consumers order food delivery at least once a month.

Top 5 countries that adopted online food delivery services are:

China (Revenue: US$40,239M)
USA (Revenue: US$22,073M)
India (Revenue: US$7,730M)
United Kingdom (Revenue: US$4,869M)
Japan (Revenue: US$2,518M)

Despite similar mentality and close location to United States, Canada makes only US$2,004M in revenue, more than 10 times less than its neighbor.

The fastest growing markets are:

Hong Kong
Singapore
Netherlands
United Kingdom
USA

No need to dig deeper. You’ve got the idea and you are hungry for more.

Waiter! Bring the main dish!

Where did it all start?

No seats, no reservations, no waiters to sweet talk over a glass of cabernet sauvignon. Dark kitchens — are kitchens with the sole purpose to fulfill online delivery orders.

Maple was a food delivery startup that launched in 2015 in New York. The restaurant prepared and delivered meals, had its own online delivery apps, delivery staff, and kitchens. Top chefs would prepare the main menu and have satellite kitchens provide the complementary dishes. This cut the costs of opening an actual restaurant, which allowed them to provide premium dishes at an affordable price. Well… they Failed. Maple did not thrive for several reasons, which you can read more about on Startup Cemetery.

Next was Travis Kalanick – former CEO Uber & UberEats. He began exploring the concept of delivery only kitchens and launched the company called CloudKitchens.com. Based on FORTUNE his startup already valued at $5 billion.

“… billionaire quietly raised $400 million from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund in January in a deal that could value CloudKitchens, his delivery-only restaurant company, at $5 billion…”
Business Insider Magazine, Nov 7 2019

“Since 2017, Uber has helped start 4,000 virtual restaurants exclusive to its Uber Eats app. The other — the one Kalanick is focusing on — is “ghost kitchens,” a name for those that have no retail presence and serve as a meal preparation hub for delivery orders.”
FORTUNE Magazine, November 8 2019

According to South China Morning Post, CloudKitchens planning to enter the China market – the biggest food delivery market.

This is the big one, literally. Rebel Foods today is the largest internet restaurant company in the world, by a wide margin. Their revenues and number of restaurants both grew 4X over the past 2 years.

REBEL Foods launched in 2016 and quietly raised $125 million in fresh capital from the Indonesian delivery service Go-Jek, Coatue Management and Goldman Sachs — now operates 235 kitchens across 20 Indian cities. The company processes two million orders a month. They offer cloud kitchens to every kind of cuisine imaginable under one roof. Their main competitors on the market are UberEats and the food delivery company Zomato, which itself has plans to open more than 100 cloud kitchens by the end of this year (2019). Zomato is not about the food preparation — but rather renting facilities, kitchen equipment and software to restaurants.

“Rebel Foods have zero location risk as each kitchen serves multiple brands (think a fully equipped, state of the art, 5-star hotel kitchen). This is fundamentally the power of building what we popularly call a “cloud-kitchens” serving some of the most daring food brands on the internet.
Medium, March 7 2019

Rebel Foods found specific patterns of food delivery business on Indian market. The discoveries they made shined the light on several opportunities:

Rebel Foods found specific patterns of food delivery business through the Indian market. The discoveries they made shined a light on several opportunities:

Late-night ordering
Takeaways
Multi-national cuisines
Pizza was amongst the top searched food item
Indian cuisines outnumbered any other cuisine by a huge margin in terms of being ordered
Biryani as a dish came out on top for consecutive multiple years amongst the most ordered

What’s the current situation?

Nowadays, dark kitchens are present almost in every market in the world. Several Dark kitchens launched their own delivery services:

Deliveroo (London, United Kingdom)
Takeaway.com (Netherlands)
Glowo (Spain)
Wolt (Finland) etc.

Deliveroo is quite unique and deserves a special attention.

Deliveroo’s Editions kitchens launched in April 2017. These delivery-only kitchens, sometimes known as ghost restaurants, allow restaurants to access customers in locations without needing High Street premises, thereby reducing set-up costs compared to a full-service restaurant. Deliveroo uses its data to identify areas where customer demand for certain cuisines is high and predicts which restaurants are likely to succeed there.
Wikipedia

In addition, Deliveroo provides the delivery service as well as marketing and order taking, allowing it to provide food from restaurants that do not normally offer a delivery service.

Sensing the Opportunities

Online food ordering and delivery services catalyse the change restaurant businesses are going through. The days of waiters, reservations, and long wait times will soon be in the past. A new generation of young people set a trend for efficiency. Efficiency can be achieved by following the path of least resistance. Amount of “work” it takes to eat out at a restaurant, is often unjustified. Not to mention the Canadian winters. No one wants to go outside when it’s negative 25 celsius. If you are simply looking to satisfy the hunger and don’t care about the restaurant experience it is absolutely unnecessary to spend the time commuting and waiting in lines. We are not going to Subway, Freshii or other healthy food restaurants for the “experience”. We are simply getting food to eat. High-end restaurants still have their place, as they serve an entirely different purpose. They provide an experience for special occasions and nights out- not every day living.

Dark Kitchens deliver benefits to all the parties involved.

Restaurant Owners

Lower costs
The operator doesn’t have to worry about rent, shop-fitting or design, or other property-related costs with dark kitchens. Highly sought-after locations with high footfall and top-class staff are expensive to find and keep. If you don’t have to accommodate diners, employ waiters, or invest in decorative furnishings, then you obviously face considerably fewer costs.

Online Restaurants Incubator
Delivery Kitchen saves foodpreneurs from high rent. A low rent translates to both lower Capex and Opex cost. Our cloud kitchens are very lean in operational sense. With less staff and kitchen equipment, we enable new foodpreneurs for a low-risk venture. It is possible to start a cloud kitchen staff with as little as 2 to 3 people. As the operation is limited to a kitchen, the total Capex cost is much lower than a restaurant in a common sense. Our platform is essentially a launchpad for anyone with a slim budget, allowing them to start earning money and quickly breaking even.

Real estate owners on major streets not only charge high rent but also charge up to 9 months of deposit. A cloud kitchen gives a first-time food entrepreneur a fighting chance to be successful. A low rent also allows the restaurant brand owner to serve customers at lower prices and creating value.

Test the Menu
Restaurants can safely test the new menu offering while minimizing potential loss which otherwise would be higher if done to the detriment of restaurant operations. Utilizing Delivery Kitchen, restaurants can launch a new menu in parallel to its main production process. This way the “main kitchen” remains working at 100% of its capacity without dedicating human resources and kitchen space to fulfill the new meal orders. This could be a great way to promote the restaurant by offering seasonal specials or special menus on the occasion of the holiday whether its Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter specials.

Test the Market
Canada is as multicultural as it can get. In particular Toronto’s population is made up of 51 per cent of residents born outside of Canada, but is also home to 230 different nationalities, which makes it far more diverse than Dubai. Indian cuisine might work well in Markham, Brampton, Mississauga, Etobicoke, and Scarborough – where majority of Indian-Canadians reside. However it might be difficult selling “biryani” in North York, among an asian and eastern european population. Delivery Kitchens have developed the network of kitchens across markets with different demographic landscapes. We offer an opportunity to expand via delivery to areas without incurring the costs of a fully-functioning restaurant. This allows eateries to “test the waters” in different markets with minimal financial risks. Fail Fast!

Offer Better Prices
Delivery Kitchens allow restaurant owners to invest the majority of their financial resources into creating delicious dishes, testing new menu items, and expanding their digital footprint. They can lower the price on their menus as they don’t need to generate additional revenue to cover investment in other areas of the business.

Go Commercial

Offering free meals and caffeine is actually a highly effective — and cost-effective — means of motivating and controlling young employees.
Strategy+business.com, May 2016

More and more companies are offering free lunch. Restaurants and catering services within close proximity greatly benefit from such a trend. However, high rents and startup costs in a prime corporate sector make it tough for smaller restaurants to enter the market.

Most restaurants that are working with food delivery services focus to deliver one meal to one person/family at different places and times. Corporate lunch startups have figured out that group dining can deliver profitable margins. As a result, 35% of these VC-funded concepts were founded only in the past 5 years. Delivery Kitchens allow smaller restaurants and cuisines to expand the corporate market.

Delivery Kitchens offer space for your cloud kitchen in prime locations where you get access to the corporate customers. You can develop and test corporate catering offerings and create lunch/dinner options to serve businesses within the surrounding radius. This is a great opportunity to safely test the market, develop new menus, and increase your customer reach.

Focus on Food Quality
Minimizing daily operational disruptions that are associated with operating a full-size restaurant frees a lot of time, energy and resources. Now restaurant owners can focus more on the things they love – cooking great food.

Become more Efficient
Delivery Kitchens allow restaurants to become more efficient by lowering per- customer costs in the technology, marketing, infrastructure, and customer support realms.

Faster Packaging
Packaging food is another important aspect of food delivery and it takes up about 25% of your time. Delivery Kitchens work on creating effective solutions to help optimize packaging.

Extend the Opening Hours
A lot of people order food after hours. According to McKinsey’s, the highest-volume days for the online platforms were Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, when 74 percent of orders were placed. Lower operational costs and less staff required to operate the kitchen allow restaurant owners to extend operational hours. Being opened while the rest are closed simply means more orders and gives an enormous competitive advantage over the restaurants that can’t afford late evening operations.

Faster Order Processing and Meal Preparation
Delivery Kitchens offer the service of receiving and processing incoming orders by our professional centralized order receiving center. This allows restaurant owners to unload the kitchen staff from dealing with orders and increase efficiency of meal preparation. We take the job of receiving and processing the orders through online delivery platforms. We make sure that no orders were missed, all the missing information was confirmed with the customer and instructions were passed onto your cloud kitchen for immediate execution. Once received, your kitchen staff immediately begins meal preparation.

Restaurant Customers

Better Food
No more shiny banners, storefronts, or other marketing tricks to attract customers into the eatery. When ordering online – food quality is the only thing that matters. Restaurants place all their focus on creating the best foods they can.

Cheaper Food
Restaurants are able to minimize operational costs, which translates into more affordable menu prices. With lesser expenses, smart restaurant owners will strive to make their prices more competitive, which will attract more customers.

Richer Selection of Food Options
With a lower entry barrier, more foodprenuers will be able to enter the market and expand the variety of meals being offered. People ordering foods will have a greater selection.

Faster Food
Delivery Kitchens offer restaurants a more efficient way of order processing, which lowers your wait times. Shorter wait – tastier food – happier you.

Online Food Delivery Platforms

Large players like UberEats, DoorDash, Foodora are working closely with established brands to help them identify the items / cuisine that are in high demand in their area. And then these existing restaurants are creating virtual kitchens within their existing kitchen, with a curated list of items that are working well on the overall UberEats platform. While this is great for established restaurants, it makes it harder for “smaller fish” to break into the market.

Delivery Kitchens serve as a “Big Brother”, helping smaller restaurants to enter the online food delivery market. This brings more customers to online food delivery platforms and increase their revenue respectively.

Fast food drive-thrus, cuisines, and local restaurant chains need to re-think the way they operate. We don’t need to follow the food, food now comes to you, on demand.

Delivery Kitchen invites food chains as well as independent restaurants and food truck owners to lease space in one of our facilities for a monthly fee. DeliveryKitchen offers a lot of benefits mentioned above and can increase your sales while reducing the overhead.

[email protected]

References:

Online Food Delivery – Canada: Statista Market Forecast. (2019, June 1). Retrieved November 29, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/outlook/374/108/online-food-delivery/canada.
Howell, J. P., & Wanasika, I. (2018). Travis Kalanick. Snapshots of Great Leadership, 276–282. doi: 10.4324/9781315110066-39
Marinova, P. (2019, November 8). Ex-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Is Betting on the Rise of ‘Ghost Kitchens’. Retrieved November 30, 2019, from https://fortune.com/2019/11/08/uber-travis-kalanick-cloud-kitchens/.
Бурых, Е. (2019, September 19). С черного входа: что такое “темная кухня” и как она меняет ресторанный бизнес: ForbesLife. Retrieved November 30, 2019, from https://www.forbes.ru/forbeslife/383769-s-chernogo-vhoda-chto-takoe-temnaya-kuhnya-i-kak-ona-menyaet-restorannyy-biznes.
Roy, S. (2019, March 18). Building a multi-million dollar internet food brand. Retrieved November 30, 2019, from https://medium.com/swlh/building-a-multi-million-dollar-internet-food-brand-d6669db33d76.
Deliveroo. (2019, November 19). Retrieved December 1, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliveroo.
Gross, D. (2016, May 11). What Companies Gain from Providing Free Lunch to Employees. Retrieved December 1, 2019, from https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/What-Companies-Gain-from-Providing-Free-Lunch-to-Employees?gko=398a4.
Hirschberg, C., Rajko, A., Schumacher, T., & Wrulich, M. (n.d.). The changing market for food delivery. Retrieved December 1, 2019, from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-changing-market-for-food-delivery.
Place of birth for the immigrant population by period of immigration, 2006 counts and percentage distribution, for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations – 20% sample data. (2009, March 27). Retrieved from https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-557/T404-eng.cfm?Lang=E&T=404&GH=8&GF=535&G5=0&SC=1&RPP=100&SR=1&S=10&O=D&D1=1.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 11, 2019

Real Estate affordable housing, barrie, canadian real estate market, first time home byer, housing, market research, oshawa, real estate, real estate canada, sarnia

Best Real-Estate Markets to Invest in Rentals | Ontario, Canada

I began my real estate investment journey from picking the market to invest in. My main goal is cash flow. Through my research and speaking with multiple real estate agents I narrowed down my scope of search to 5 markets:

Barrie
Oshawa
Peterborough
Windsor
Sarnia

Below I share my research and key findings:

Real-estate market analysis, Ontario Canada Download

Oleksandr Tereshchuk October 11, 2019

Entrepreneurship, Real Estate affordable housing, canada, canadian real estate market, housing, real estate, real estate canada

First-Time Home Buyer Incentive | Canada

Let’s talk real-estate.
Have you heard of the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive?

As a first-time home buyer I got really interested in First-Time Home Buyer Incentive provided by the government of Canada. It was released just over a month ago (September 2nd). Government of Canada plan to spend $1.25 billion over three years for the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI). They designed it to lower new homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments without boosting their down payment costs. Okay… Continue.

What exactly are you being offered?

5% for a first-time buyer’s purchase of a re-sale home 
5% or 10% for a first-time buyer’s purchase of a new construction
It is not interest bearing and does not require ongoing repayments.

It all sounds too good to be true. How much and when do I need to pay back?

You can repay the Incentive at any time in full without a pre-payment penalty. You have to repay the Incentive after 25 years or if the property is sold, whichever happens first. The repayment of the Incentive is based on the property’s fair market value. 

You receive a 5% incentive of the home’s purchase price of $200,000, or $10,000.
If your home value increases to $300,000 your payback would be 5% of the current value or $15,000. 
You receive a 10% incentive of the home’s purchase price of $200,000, or $20,000 and your home value decreases to $150,000, your repayment value will be 10% of the current value or $15,000.

A-HA! Now I see where is the catch. Easy money for the government. Here are the few examples to demonstrate how this is beneficial for the government:

Government does not like to lose money and there are some smart people working to make sure it doesn’t happen. Consider that fact and examples above I make the following assumptions:

Government anticipates the growth of real estate market over the next several years. It is safe to buy.
Government tries to stimulate the new affordable housing development. It is profitable to build. This is a great time to be in construction business.
Property prices on the outskirts of GTA real-estate markets are expected to grow. Here is why:
Total borrowing is limited to 4 times the qualifying income ($120,000 annually x 4 = $480,000). The combined mortgage and Incentive amount cannot exceed four times the total qualifying income.  The amount for the mortgage loan insurance premium is excluded from this calculation. 
It is almost impossible to find a decent property in Toronto GTA for $480K. You got to expand the scope of search and look further. People will start buying houses in the areas like Barrie, Hamilton, Niagara, Oshawa, Windsor, Brampton etc… Because of increased demand I expect significant raise in house prices in those areas.

For a personalized example, I used the First-Time Home Buyer calculator to see, if qualified, how much money can I save using this incentive. Let’s say you make CAD$100,000 annually and want to buy a house for CAD$440,000 with $40,000 down payment. FTHBI will save you about $120 on monthly payments and $1440 /year respectively.

Oleksandr Tereshchuk September 19, 2019

Business, Entrepreneurship business, business plan, entreprenuer, experience, marketing, Motivation, recovery, recovery-room.ca

Entrepreneurial Adventure | Recovery Room

I have always wanted to become an entrepreneur. I was fascinated of how someone’s single thought, a vision can become a business that changes people’s lives. I have always enjoyed reading successes stories and biographies of strong leaders, successful business mans and just the people who made significant impact into the world we live in. Their views on life inspired me and often gave me the will to keep moving forward, overcoming obstacles.

I look at the business as at the sport. So many similarities. Entrepreneurship gives me the opportunity to challenge my mind in a ways that sport doesn’t. I get to master such skills as persistence and resilience. I work on developing the vision, creating the plan and executing it.

I believe that entrepreneurship will help me develop my human potential through developing my leadership potential. It will give me a freedom to express myself through the work I will be doing. I want to create something that will not just bring the food on my table but also serve other people and society I live in.

Human potential is unlimited and it is our mandate to discover it.

Over the course of past several months I’ve ran a small business called Recovery Room.

MVP or how I called it – a “Smoke Test” allowed me to obtain business knowledge and experience as well as to make a decision on whether to pursue the idea or not.
Through MVP (minimum viable product) I tested some of my core assumptions and obtained some valuable data that could be beneficial to others and should not be lost on my hard drive.

Considering the all the factors outlined in the document below and a personal loss of interest to the subject of advanced recovery, I have decided not to pursue this business project and terminate Recovery Room at its early stage. I might change my decision and perspective in future, but for now it shall remain as is. I still believe this is a good innovative idea and anticipate to see similar businesses open across US and Canada in future. I am also convinced that athletes can benefit from implementing and utilizing advanced recovery tools into their athletic routine. Because of that I am sharing the work I’ve done over the past several months with the public and allow anyone use it whether to start their own business or improve existing one. Below I attached my business plan outlining the vision for the business, a step-by-step process of developing this initiative and detailed marketing research.

RECOVERY ROOM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Download

Entrepreneurship

References:

Coaching for Performance

Coaching for Development

The Kickstart Question

3P: Projects-People-Patterns

The Focus Question

First Three Questions Combination

The Strategic Question is:

Projects

People

Patterns

MVP before the MVP

How to design fake door experiment

WHAT I DID WAS:

Why should you do it?

The goal

Validation criteria

1

2

3

References:

THE HUNTER

THE BETTER YOU ARE AT CONTROLLING YOURSELF — THE MORE OF A HUMAN YOU ARE

WHAT MAKES A BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEING IS AN ABILITY TO RESIST TEMPTATIONSTHIS IS WHAT DIFFERENTIATE US FROM ANIMALS

ENDURE. RESIST

The workplace impacts the business results!

Top challenges of working from home

INTERIOR design

EQUIPMENT/FURNITURE

BELLS AND WHISTLES

Location

Losing attention is a simple energy-saving mechanism

Focus

Regeneration and inspiration

References

Sound

Temperature

Smell

AIR

Materials and surfaces

Colours

Plants

Disengaged space

Light

Window/view

References

COLOR the walls blue or green

Ceiling Height

Window with a view

References

Open workspaces

Achieving Flow

Signs of Achieving Flow

Recharging

REFERENCES

In the previous article, I described the problems and struggles knowledge workers have while working remotely. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you start there:

There is a need for dedicated distraction-free workspace in suburban areas. A place, whiting 15 minutes of driving from home, where knowledge workers can engage in deep focused work.

Location

More than a Space

Bells and whistles

Top challenges of working from home

References

There is a need for dedicated distraction-free workspace in suburban areas. A place, whiting 15 minutes of driving from home, where they can engage in deep focused work.

Don’t lose the focus

Inspire others, before the energy dies down.

Create → communicate → inspire → recruit

Shape the idea.Communicate.inspire. bring the energy in. Keep the momentum going.

What are the downsides of coworking spaces?

What do I suggest?

Questions

Phenomenon of “Multiple Discovery”

The more capable the person is – the bigger ideas chose to collaborate with that individual

The idea will not wait forever. If not you, someone else will bring it into the world.

Try not to f*ck it up the next time

Your ideas are not yours

ACCESS IS BETTER THAN OWNERSHIP

The time of the crysis is the time of opportunities.

What is Productivity?

What is Comfort?

WHAT MAKES A BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEING IS AN ABILITY TO RESIST TEMPTATIONS
THIS IS WHAT DIFFERENTIATE US FROM ANIMALS

Shape the idea.
Communicate.
inspire.
bring the energy in.
Keep the momentum going.

The more capable the person is –
the bigger ideas chose to collaborate with that individual

The idea will not wait forever.
If not you, someone else will bring it into the world.

Discipline at everything:
life and work