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Well continuing on from my last message, my wife ended up extending the Airbnb in San Jose to see if she could get an appointment at the Brazilian Embassy for her visa, but of course, the day came and went without a word. I took the family on to a stunning resort on the Pacific side of the country for some very well-deserved R&R and some adventure activities to blow off some steam.

Wednesday we went Zip-Lining and ATVing through the bush in Costa Rica. It was amazing watching the look on my daughter’s face as we took the ATVs through the river and water was shooting up everywhere. She will be 5 in a couple of months and Costa Rica is the 13th country she has been to with us, she handles the travel very well and I am always very proud to see how she interacts with so many different people.

You can’t believe anything the government says, so when we were told that my wife’s visa appointment would be on Wednesday and the day came and went we decided not to let her stay another night by herself in San Jose.

So Wednesday afternoon after the embassy had closed she checked out of the Airbnb and took a nearly 2 hour Uber ride across the country (about $80.00 USD) to where we were doing our activities. Even though my wife and I were only apart for one night it was still a little emotional to see her, you have to understand, she’s a young Asian lady, her Spanish is not the greatest and she had no connectivity the entire ride so I could not get updates of how she was doing and if she would find us. Of course, she was fine, but as her husband, I still worried.

Thursday was a nice day by the pool, I worked on some podcasting stuff, and relaxed a little. At night we had a tour booked for horseback riding on the beach for sunset.

The last time I was on a horse I was probably 6 or 7 years old. I remember we had a school trip to a place called Circle-R-Ranch that was an hour or so outside of the city I grew up in. I had terrible allergies to animals when I was a child and within 10-minutes of being on the horse my face started to swell up and they had to take me back to the office where they could call my father to come to pick me up. I was sitting outside the office on a bench and eventually, my father came storming up the pathway to the main building. He opened the door and started yelling, wheres my kid, wheres my kid, obviously very scared. The woman was pretty concerned trying to explain I was sitting outside and he had just seen me. My father explained that I was not his kid and he wanted his kid. You see, my face was so swollen my old man couldn’t even recognize me…

Well, I didn’t fare much better this trip…

I started sneezing after about 3 minutes and just couldn’t stop, my face started swelling and it became hard to breathe. I gave the reins to our guide, jumped off the horse, and walked back to my hut sneezing the entire way. My mother took care of my daughter who was as happy as a clam on her horse and didn’t even seem to notice I was gone.

A second dose of antihistamines (I had already taken the first dose an hour before the excursion) and a shower to rinse any horsehair off of me and I settled down within an hour. Thankfully no hospital visit, they would have probably recorded it as a covid case and tried to send me to an isolation camp for 2 weeks or something like that.

Anyways, Costa Rica is wide open, tours are running, there are people at the resorts, some people are wearing masks but as soon as you out of sight from a police officer everyone takes them off. If you are thinking about somewhere to go during the Plandemic Costa Rica is a solid choice.

More to come…

Mikkel

The post Adventure In Costa Rica – The Joys Of Travelling During A Plandemic appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

My family and I were really excited to get back on the road and do some proper travelling. For the last 21 years, I always visited 6 new countries a year and returned countless times to all of my favourites. Well, every year except the last year because of Covid. Finally, we had had enough and decided to pack our bags.

We want to go to Brazil later this year to see some friends, as the country is open with very lax lockdowns. The only problem is because my wife is Chinese we need a visa for her to enter Brazil, and the Brazilian embassy has been closed here in Panama since December. We have gone several times to check with them about opening and they can never confirm a proper date. Even when we email them or phone them we don’t get a straight answer on when they will reopen.

So, we decided to head over to Costa Rica for a couple of weeks as their embassy is apparently open (we had a friend who is staying locally in San Jose confirm for us). The plan was to come in on the weekend, allow 2 days to submit the visa application (which is overly complicated and requires a ton of stuff), then head out to a resort on the Pacific coast while we wait for it to be processed.

Getting Into Costa Rica

Leaving Panama was very simple, Tocumen Airport was like a ghost town and hardly any people in the line-ups. We learnt our lesson last time when travelling out of Panama with our daughter to make sure we brought her birth certificate to show immigration that she is indeed our child, even having the same last name was not enough, we had to show the paperwork, this is an important thing to know throughout Latin America actually.

Although the airport was empty our flight was full, it seems if Panamians are going anywhere it’s to Costa Rica. A quick 60-minute flight and we touched down in San Jose.

At immigration, you must show you have travel insurance from a company that specializes in Costa Rican insurance and will cover you in case you become ill with COVID-19 while in Costa Rica, for at least $50,000 USD and a minimum coverage of $2,000 USD for lodging expenses issued as a result of the plandemic. INS and Sagicor are two insurance options; however, I found them very expensive. For our family, we only needed this extra coverage for Covid, as we have full travel insurance with our own provider that covers us for a million dollars but does not cover our hotel stay in Costa Rica if we get sick, something I can easily cover myself. Really does smell like a racket if you ask me.

We decided to buy insurance from Trawick Insurance. It was extremely inexpensive and easy to use.

After you have your insurance sorted out you must make a health declaration online (health pass) and it will automatically generate a QR code that they will want to see at immigration. We saw tons of people leaving the lineup or being refused entry because they didn’t know about this step. The nice thing about entering Costa Rica (at least at the time of this writing) is that there is no need for a negative Covid test on arrival. I have zero interest in being lobotomized with these barbaric PCR tests.

Our First Couple Of Days In Costa Rica

We came in on Sunday and there were still a lot of people on the streets. I was kind of expecting San Jose to look the same as Panama City, but it actually looks the same as I remember from the last time I was there 20 years ago (whereas Panama City is completely new and modernized). We had our Airbnb host organize a driver from the airport to where we were staying as I had no desire to fight taxi drivers coming out of arrivals.

Sunday late afternoon we took a walk down to the Brazilian Embassy so we can judge how long the walk will be and to make sure we know where we are going as I didn’t want any surprises in the morning. From my experience, most embassies work from 8:30 a.m. until noon. So you don’t want to be screwing around and wasting time in the morning.

We arrived first thing Monday morning at the Brazilian Embassy to find that the front door security will not let us in saying we needed an appointment. I pulled out some papers, waved them around and somehow he lets us in with a very confused look on his face. The second security guard informs us that the embassy is not open and there is no one up there, he calls and calls and calls with no luck.

We are more than a little surprised as we had our friends call and confirmed they were indeed open, we sent multiple emails, had printed out the paperwork and have now flown to a new country to see them.

We are given the emergency phone number for the embassy and start a WhatsApp conversation with them. It turns out they had not updated their opening hours on their government website (you know we have only been in this plandemic for 12 months now, not like they have not had the opportunity). And although we sent them many emails, they did not receive them as they changed their email address (also not updated on their website). We start sending the embassy staff selfies of us downstairs at the office trying to get someone to drive down to see us. No luck.

The gentleman explains that there will be no way in the next two days to see them; however, maybe on Wednesday. He advises us to submit the application via email, to make payment at a local bank and wait to hear back from them for our meeting to submit the paper copies of the visa. We are informed the entire processing time once the visa is submitted could take up to 15 business days.

The next day we made the payment for the visa processing ($115 USD), and after waiting in line for almost an hour to finally get in, we find out you cannot make a payment without your passport, so we walk back to the Airbnb (this is now about the 20th time we have walked this route in the last few days), get the passport and head back to the bank. Screenshot the deposit and send it to the embassy.

What’s Next?

Well, Tuesday came and went and no word from the embassy. My wife and I decided she would stay an extra day in San Jose to see if she can get the Wednesday appointment and I would take the rest of the family on to the resort on the Pacific coast that we had booked and wait for her there. So we will see what happens… more to come…

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It simply means to be free to do what you want to and to live your life the way you wish to. Constitutions of most democratic countries protect the civil liberties of its citizens. The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights protect the civil liberties and rights of the U.S. citizens.

Scholars and philosophers in history had different opinions on personal freedom. According to Karl Marx, freedom is only possible in a communist system when individuals are free from exploitation and the social classes are absent. Quentin Skinner endorsed the republican theory of freedom, which is the absence of arbitrary power or domination. For the supporters of Libertarianism, liberty is the core value that’s important for all other values of social life. 

Today, the value of freedom has become more important than ever because what’s the point of having a beautiful house, money to travel, and a loving family if you can’t enjoy your life the way you want to! 

Digital age and personal freedom

When you’re using social media, you’re expressing your thoughts about life, political and cultural issues, and global affairs. When you browse through different websites and search engines, you’re accessing information. You choose to keep some of your information and searches private but without your knowledge, all your online activities might be getting monitored and most of the times, your government can access this information. So, in a way, you’re not entirely free from government intervention. One of the first steps in protecting yourself is with a sturdy VPN like this one.

Government’s control through taxes

You might not support certain projects and causes of your government but because of the laws, you might be forced to fund those projects through your tax money. For example, the Democrats want to convert the American health care to a single-payer system where the government will have complete control over the healthcare system. As a result, taxes will increase and the quality of health care is expected to worsen. Most people oppose the idea and want the decision-making for healthcare to be transferred to families and individuals. But what can you do if the government still goes on with its plan and you’re just left with no option than to pay for it! 

Control-freak governments

The governments have become control-freaks placing stronger measures in the name of national security, which is a serious threat to individuals’ privacy and the right to express themselves. 

For almost a decade, the United States tracked billions of international phone calls. Apple gave the government access to more than 25,000 phones and other devices. The Chinese government is on its way of developing a surveillance system that will monitor every citizen’s political beliefs, associations and consumer habits to assign them a credit score based on their behaviour. This is not because amid the political struggles and rising demand from citizens for free and fair structures as well as more empowered decision-making framework, the regulation will increase and your individual freedom will always be at risk. 

So what can you do to maximize your personal freedom? There are some ways you can navigate your way around the legislation and enjoy the right of being free. Let’s look at them in detail.

Know your rights to attain your personal freedom

As clichéd it sounds, it’s the first step toward realizing your rights in the jurisdiction you’re based in. The Constitution and laws can often be difficult to comprehend for both, citizens and law enforcement agencies, so knowing about the rights you’re entitled to can help you protect them. 

While your basic rights will remain the same in every free country, some laws may change from a country to country. Norway, Sweden, Canada, Netherlands, and Australia are countries that give the most freedom. 

Maximize the privacy of your online browsing and email

According to security experts, unprotected data can put hundreds and millions of households at risk. While it’s impossible to keep all your online activities private, there are ways you can minimize the risk of leaving a digital footprint.

When you’re surfing the internet, your browser saves the URL of every website you visit and the files you download. This stored data is called data cookies that record all your activities. You can protect your data by using the private browsing tools like the Incognito or InPrivate mode because private browsers don’t save the information and make sure no one else gets access to it. 

Sometimes, when you visit a website, you’ll notice that a screen would pop up asking for your permission. Never hit the ‘allow’ option because it’s basically asking you to allow you to send notifications and access your information.   

Keep your digital assets in secure data systems 

If your country has breached the privacy of its citizens, you can secure your data in countries that have secure cloud privacy laws. Switzerland is considered the best place for digital privacy. The Swiss data protection laws are robust and prohibit processing and disclosing sensitive data to unauthorized parties leas to penalties. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority is responsible for protecting an individual’s privacy. Romania has strong e-commerce & -privacy laws that protect online data. 

Navigate your way through taxes

Economic or financial freedom is essential to ensure your personal freedom because you should be the one deciding how to spend your money. If your country has an aggressive tax policy that you find unfair, you can navigate your way to reduce the tax burden legally. For example, you can apply for residence in a no-tax or low-tax country like Panama or Belize or you can incorporate your company in a tax jurisdiction that’s favourable for your income. 

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So how did a country deviate from its principle so much that it adopted an entirely opposite practice? The answer lies in the history of events that led to the U.S.A’s current stance on imperialism.

A flashback to the historical events

Let’s go into the flashback to 1890, when the U.S.A was the most powerful economy in the world. After the deadliest war; the Civil War, till the 1860s, most Americans weren’t interested in territorial expansion and the only war they were fighting was against the Native Americans. The U.S.A had a small army whose primary job was to defend the borders from Native Americans’ attacks and the country’s major efforts were directed towards industrial advances.

George Washington initiated the non-interventionist policy which opposed the U.S.A’s alliances with any foreign nations to avoid being dragged into wars and proposed the country’s neutral stance for countries in conflict. It also emphasized maintaining friendly relations with all the countries for commerce.

On the other hand, imperialism and military invasions were at a peak in Europe and most of Africa and Asia was colonized by the European powers.  This shifted the direction of American politics as the Americans considered it a threat to their economic power because if half the world was colonized, the international market for trade and commerce would collapse.

A shift from the non-interventionist policy

The U.S.A gave up its non-interventionist policy when the U.S.A intervened in Cuba’s war of independence against Spain. The U.S.A had already established a significant business in Cuba and it feared losing its economic stakes if the peace in Latin America came under threat of the European powers. In the aftermath, Spain signed the Treaty of Paris that gave the U.S.A temporary control over Cuba and ceded the control of Puerto Rico, Philippines, and Guam to the U.S.A which emerged with new interests in international politics.

The United States continued to interfere in the Cuban affairs and established a military base to retain its power. By that time, the U.S.A was a major trading partner for Cuba and other Latin American countries as their economies depended on the foreign trade with the U.S.A and other big economies of that time.

The Latin American countries were under heavy debt that they had taken from the U.S.A at high-interest rates to build their infrastructure after the post-colonization era. The U.S.A used force when these countries failed to repay their debt which gave rise to economic imperialism, also called economic colonialism in Latin America – effects of which continue today as the debt is passed down from one generation to another.

Fast forward to World War II

Fast forward to 1939 when World War II began. Germany declared war on Poland, Great Britain, and France declared war on Germany, China, and Japan were already at a war. The U.S.A avoided being directly involved in the war but supported its allies by selling the arms and aircraft. Japan launched a military strike on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and in its response, the U.S.A declared war on Japan. The U.S.A was among the last standing powers after World War II ended in 1945 and became the permanent member in the Security Council at the United Nations.

After World War II, political tensions rose between the U.S.A and the Soviet Union leading to the Cold War.  Despite losing a significant proportion of its GDP in World War II, the U.S. emerged as an important actor in the global economy but the focus had shifted to defence production, atomic energy, and expansion of military budget to preparing for a possible nuclear war against the Soviet Union in the 1950s. The U.S. poured in more money into manufacturing weaponry and built universities to conduct dedicated research on defence.

The American Exceptionalism

A strong economy in post-war era backed by the newfound imperialism and the republican principle resulted in American exceptionalism, a belief that the U.S.A is better than all other countries and is responsible to spread democracy and liberty across the world. The U.S. continued its military operations by joining North Korea in the Korean War, fighting an undeclared war in Vietnam, and invading Panama. The U.S.A’s involvement in a number of wars and initiation of its war gave it a prominent position in the global landscape.

The American economic imperialism; domestic and international

The U.S.A’s economic imperialism has two sides; domestic and international. Let’s look at the international aspect first.

The U.S. has the largest economy and the most powerful military in the world with a military budget of $686 billion. It operates 800 military bases in 70 countries; largest in the world. Just imagine the power it has in the global economy!

Today, the imperialism doesn’t necessarily have to involve force but can be practiced by just having a powerful position in the politician and economic landscape which the U.S.A has achieved successfully. Even without directly intervening, it has the power to control the global trade because of the value of the U.S. dollar and its presence in the world through the military.

The U.S.A’s perceived role in restoring peace has its traces in history, take an example of The Fourteen Points and The Marshall Plan that aimed to foster prosperity in Europe or the United State’s war on terrorism to save the planet from atrocities of terrorism. But the U.S.A’s attempts to become the saviour of the world has done more harm than good to not only different countries but to its own people. Its War on Afghanistan and Iraq left the countries to ruins, destroyed the economies and regional peace forever without achieving its goals. The war on terrorism resulted in $5.6 trillion of debt to the American tax-payers, most of whom didn’t even want the war.

USA Agenda

The U.S.A’s agenda is simple; attack a country or wait for a natural disaster like drought or flood, attempt to save the country by launching development projects, export goods to it at subsidized taxes rates, put them in debt, buy raw materials at low prices – hence destroy the country’s capability to become self-sufficient; a modern definition of economic imperialism!

At a domestic level, the U.S.A has levied aggressive taxes on its citizens’ income to cover the trillion-dollar deficit and destroyed the essence of a free society because people no longer have freedom on how they’re spending their money. It has also resulted in reduced privacy because the government has access to every piece of information to track how people find legal ways of reducing the tax burden.  

The U.S.A’s economic imperialism is not only costing underdeveloped and developing countries their national sovereignty and a chance of sustaining a healthy economy but is also an attack on its citizens’ basic rights to freedom and privacy.

Related Articles & Podcasts

John Perkins who was an economic hitman during the 1970s was a guest on our show a few months back.  You’re going to love this episode.

Another amazing podcast was with Richard Maybury from The Early Warning Report.  Listen in!

Also, if you enjoy reading great articles, here is one I know you’ll love. Is Capitalism Really That Bad?

Interested to learn more about the international economy and politics? Follow our podcast, Expat Money Show. We interview experts on topics like international investing, tax exemption, offshore banking, and offshore incorporation.

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In fact, there exists actual historical evidence for the failure of command and control economies failing to create stable economic and social systems.

The USSR is one clear example, the success of increasing privatization of the Chinese economy in the 90s is another example, in fact, trade liberalization and privatization is what led to the development of export-based economic markets in East Asia that have dominated global economics for years now. When you let people manage their own financial and economic circumstances, good things happen because we know how to best manage our circumstances. Enforcing economic policy stifles growth, tax laws entrepreneurship, efficiency and individual freedom that will prove to be destructive in the long-run.

Here’s a great article by Pete Sisco:  Soon Being An Expat Will Be Common 

Pete has graced our stage with a podcast from EP 058: How you can start on online business and leave the rat race.

Anti-Libertarian Economic Rhetoric

The Origins

It’s been happening for a long time and I suppose it’s time that someone addressed this growing leftist narrative for increasing government intervention in the functioning of private industries. Although there is no restriction to be placed on the speech advocating for a certain set of policies, the growing popularity of leftist rhetoric makes me wonder if people are entirely aware of how economic policy functions and whether they understand the economic need of the time.

They bring up the conversation on income inequality, the failure of social welfare systems and the exercise of profiteering on the part of private sector organizations as if that’s always a bad thing. For one thing, let me just make it clear, Libertarianism is not about looking out just for yourselves irrespective of what harm your actions have on other people.

For another, government intervention in the form of a blanket and half-thought economic policies might have caused socio-economic crises that we’re trying to overcome in the first place may be the private sector left alone can help.

Are Governments Intervening?

The real problem that financial libertarians have, isn’t that governments are intervening, but rather that they are intervening in all the wrong places. It’s a rather long conversation in the exact specific ways that the state system fails to curb inefficiencies and inequities, however, one thing is absolutely clear; the development of these economic pathologies also lies at the feet of the state.

The redistribution of resources was supposed to take place through the functioning of a free market that offered goods, services, employment opportunity and was supposed to create equal opportunity for those with means to keep the market socially beneficial. Intervening in these dynamics through affirmative action or progressive tax policies couldn’t ever have succeeded because these policies kill competition that keeps prices low and economies productive.

This efficiency ultimately works in favour of all economic agents because both the consumption and production sides of the market ought to have hit an equilibrium that allowed for perfect consumption. The free-market was supposed to free everyone from their economic limitations that put into effect a situation of ideal consumption.

Financial Libertarianism isn’t Anarchism

While I stand wholeheartedly in favour of financial libertarianism and the reduction of government control on how people spend their money, that doesn’t mean that I am anti-state. Many people labour under the delusion that not agreeing with the extent to which someone wants laws to apply to them implies that they just do not agree with the applications of laws to them. There is a difference between saying that the state system is implementing inappropriate financial and legal policy, and saying that the state is altogether invalid.

I appreciate the fact that there is a huge potential for the exploitation of the individual in unregulated markets, I also agree that there are inequities in the market however these can’t entirely be placed at the feet of a tiny subset of financially successful people in the economy.

In an ideal situation, governments would develop rules and regulation that would increase the competition between various components of industries to make them more equitable. Political systems ought not to have favored certain producers and the role of private financing to help with political agendas should have been curtailed. At the end of the day, it was a failure of the narrative that didn’t restrict the role of commerce to just the economy alone but let it extend into policy development.

Even though it could make sense to undo these constructed economic disparities through what is now called affirmative action, progressive taxation and heavy state intervention.

What is the State Willing to Do?

Ask yourself this question though. Is the state willing to bear the collateral cost of bringing in with them those who have absolutely no connections to any political steering to gain an undue advantage? It’s a simple-minded resolution to highly complex economic problems that financial libertarians wish to point out, yet are never heard and instead are banded with the label of being anti-state.

A uniform economic policy can only undo economic advantages that are enjoyed uniformly by a group of people who achieved said advantages through uniform means. Otherwise, it’s just downright unjust and contrary to Libertarian principles.

Economic Justice and Its Relation with Libertarian Thought

The freedom of individuals across all aspects of their social lives cannot be taken away from them under any circumstance. Financial libertarianism only extends this principle across the individual agency in terms of economic freedom.

The fact that state systems excessively tax those who have financially succeeded, in an attempt to undo the disparities created by the policy shortcomings by earlier state interventions is an unjust exercise that no libertarian would stand for. Financial Libertarianism is perhaps the only school of thought, at least insofar as economic policy is concerned, that actively works towards developing better societies that enable individuals and improve lives for all.

I know you enjoyed this article.  Here is another one I’m sure you’ll love too:  Libertarianism and Financial Agency

This article on  Investing in Commodities is so great, enjoy the read.

If you’re interested in listening to a fantastic podcast here on the Expat Money Show, you’ll love this one I did earlier this year with Richard Maybury from The Early Warning Report.

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The post Is Financial Libertarianism Really Bad? appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

Many people question the legality or ethics of forming an offshore company. I can tell you with certainty and evidence that it is one of the best things that we have seen since the development of business incorporation itself. In my humble opinion, it will lead to one of two things.

Either the economic legislation in the major western economies will become more capital-friendly, leading to better economic growth, or capital will simply shift to countries that are friendlier to it and create better economies elsewhere.

The Legal Question

Our left-leaning, socialist friends would have you believe that offshore incorporation is illegal or taboo. They paint a picture as if a person who builds an offshore company has committed some sort of crime.

Hogwash.

There is absolutely nothing illegal about forming an offshore business. Just like you can use your savings to start a business in the U.S., you can use your money to invest in and create a company abroad. It’s called the free flow of capital and has been going on for decades.

Many people in the western economies invest in businesses in the Middle East, Asia or Africa because it generates better profits for them. Many investors in Asia and Africa invest money in the U.S. to do the same. Capital will always flow to an area where the investor can maximize their return.

This is an economic principle. It is understood and accepted worldwide and international law allows you to move your legally-obtained money wherever you want. There is nothing illegal about offshore incorporation, ever. Period.

Money laundering is a completely separate issue and our left-wing politicians try to mix the two in order to paint both as illegal. Let me be very clear here, money laundering has very little to do with offshore incorporation. The two may be used together by some people, but the two are not always used together in all cases.

The Moral Question

So let’s come to the moral questions concerning offshore incorporation. Most offshore companies are set up to take advantage of better legislation, economic variables or taxes in the foreign country. That is perfectly in line with rational human behavior, that my money goes where it makes the most profit for me. However, this does not suit our socialist friends.

In the past two to three decades, thousands of businesses shifted capital from the U.S. and Europe into China and India. These businesses wanted to take advantage of better profits that they could reap in the Asian economies. The cost of labor was quite cheap in Asian economies and businesses did make better profits.

Everyone benefited from it. Consumers in the western world were able to buy goods and services at a much cheaper rate. This allowed even the low-income class families to enjoy an adequate standard of living.

The workers in Asian countries were also able to make a good living. The working conditions may not have been the best at first but they did get better with time and economies in Asia and the Mideast boomed. I would even venture as far as to say that the common people around the world benefitted more from the free transfer of capital than the capitalists themselves.

The only group that didn’t do well was the labor market in the west. They legislated and set a very high rate of minimum wage and effectively regulated themselves out of the global labor market.

Offshore Incorporation Will Become More Popular

If we look at the left-wing publications and the rising popularity of politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, we can make a pretty good deduction about where things are headed for the future.

There will be more and more legislation in the country that will attempt to punish businesses and individuals that do well financially. Taxes will rise, the minimum wage will be pushed higher, and strict regulations will make it difficult to conduct business in the United States. Social programs will be funded at the expense of taxpayers that benefit people who are unable or unwilling to contribute to the economy in a positive way.

Businesses are not stupid. People with wealth did not make their money by handing it over to others who demand free stuff.

Businesses and skilled professionals have never demanded that the price of their goods should be set at a high level. Businesses are free to charge what they want for their goods and services. Those businesses that charge exorbitant amounts lose customers and get phased out by competition. Businesses can only become profitable and sustain their growth by lowering prices to attract more customers.

The same is true for labor or taxes.

If you set a high minimum wage for your labor, businesses will move abroad and form an offshore company. If you set high taxes at home, the foreign low-tax office will become a much more lucrative choice. No amount of moralizing will make people behave irrationally.

Top 5 Destinations for Offshore Companies

There are many territories around the world that are becoming popular for business incorporation. They offer excellent tax advantages for businesses and banking companies.

1. Panama – This is a small state that connects North America to South America and also offers the only direct naval route from the Atlantic to the Pacific. A rapidly growing economy and infrastructure. It is an ideal country for forming an offshore company.
2. Belize – It is another tax haven in the Caribbean just east of Mexico. A lot of foreign businesses have opened offices here including banks and asset-holding companies.
3. Monte Carlo – This small port city-state is on the southern tip of France near Nice and faces the Mediterranean. It is considered an excellent tax haven as the infrastructure is well developed and they offer plenty of tax advantages for foreign companies.
4. Singapore – Singapore is a great success story and shows how business-friendly laws alone can turn even the most resource-starved nation into the best economies in the world. It is located next to Malaysia and the formation of a new company is incredibly easy here.
5. Cyprus – A small island nation just south of Turkey. Cyprus has an entrepreneurial friendly environment and considered one of the fastest growing financial centers in the world. It is a member of the EU which gives it special access to the world’s largest economic zone for business opportunities.

Next Step

On my podcast, we talk about flag theory, international business, how to become a perpetual traveler, ways to protect yourself from financial woes and other similar ideas. Along with my podcast, I offer consultancy to clients on the best ways they can do offshore incorporation, set up offshore bank accounts and use precious metal vaults to remove their wealth from the financial system. Reach out to me today to see how I can help you legally eliminate your tax bill and protect your wealth from the State.

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The post Offshore Incorporation appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

If we are to have a discussion on the legality of tax avoidance, it’s really important to understand how it’s differentiated from tax evasion and how this makes it a completely legal activity.

Tax Avoidance Vs Tax Evasion

The real difference between these two actions is actually the legality of either. When it comes to tax evasion, people use false information about their incomes. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, involves no such fraud.

Tax Evasion

Tax evasion is the exercise of willfully refusing to pay taxes. It qualifies as a legal violation per IRS tax regulations. People who’re evading taxes have to hide the true value of their income, whether these are corporate or individual incomes, this under-reporting is considered fraud and therefore liable to be prosecuted by the law.

Tax Avoidance

Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is the use of legal means to reduce the tax obligations on the individual. There is no fraud involved in it since there is space to move around your income in ways such that your overall tax burden is reduced.

The ways in which people can do this involves moving their funds into Individual Retirement Accounts or to incorporate at off-shore locations where you won’t be charged as much tax as you otherwise would. This doesn’t involve any type of fraud or lying; you’re still reporting the full amount of your incomes. It’s just that the way you’ve placed it so that it isn’t taxable or less so.

Tracing the Illegality of Tax Evasion

Legality is a really abstract concept. It goes all the way back to how the first American societies were formed. Often, it seems like the state system’s been constructed in a way that limits the individual’s liberty; which it does and it has an equally confusing justification for it.

As a businessman or an economic agent, the state creates a space for you to live the best possible life that you can. In this process, it places certain safeguards where your wellbeing is guaranteed against those who would take advantage of you and it charges taxes to fund the creation of those safeguards. This includes the law enforcement authorities, the judiciary system and similar institutions.

In return for the protection that the state offers, you’re supposed to honour certain implicit agreements which include upholding your legal responsibilities. This includes honestly answering any and every question that the state asks in the process of making sure that the law is upheld.

Although there is much to be said about why the state has the authority to ask these questions; when you under-report your earnings, it’s a violation of your agreement to uphold the law. This makes tax evasion a legally punishable offense, because now tax evasion can be considered a violation of your responsibilities to the state.

Tax Avoidance As A Legal Alternative

Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is completely legal. In fact, it’s encouraged by government institutions and built into our tax systems. IRAs are a prime example of how you can use tax avoidance and the government is okay with it since you’re left with greater income when you’ve retired. For as long as you’re reporting your full incomes, don’t have any illegal income and pay all other taxes, there’s no reason why you can’t just reduce your tax burdens.

Incidentally, it’s really ironic how the government lets you avoid certain tax payments to reduce its financial burdens; if this isn’t a reason to take your accounts into your own hands then I really don’t know what is.

How Does Offshoring Come Into All of This?

When it comes to the legality of offshoring, then I suppose this question can be reduced to categorizing whether it comes down to tax avoidance or tax evasion. The answer to this is pretty simple; offshoring is straight up tax avoidance.

As a citizen of the United States you are allowed to set up corporations anywhere you like in the world. You can hold whichever off-shore financial entities you like in the form of companies, bank accounts or precious metal vaults. There are no restrictions in these investments.

Once you set up your companies offshore, a majority of your income is registered in its ledgers and is only supposed to be subjected to the laws of wherever you set it up. For as long as you continue paying whichever taxes you have to your home country based, on whichever laws regulate financial activities; you can save up on a fair bit of your taxable incomes.

So if in the US you only have to pay 25% tax on corporate income and Ireland offers 12.5% tax rate on corporate income, it’s only reasonable that you take advantage of that. Since you have the liberty to set up offshore companies and whichever country you choose lets you do that; then there is no fraud or under-reporting involved in the process.

Since there is no under-reporting involved in this, this can’t under any circumstance be called tax evasion but instead falls under the heading of tax avoidance. As such, it’s absolutely legal to set up offshore bank accounts and corporations.

Understanding the Anti Offshore Narrative

See, sometimes it happens political debates take place when states can no longer effectively provide for the people through no fault of one individual but the government’s own. In the process, a lot of laws are rendered void retroactively to help curb whatever economic calamity the government has created.

You could wonder whether it’s your responsibility to help overcome the calamity, but in all honesty, it just makes you lose faith in the intellects of those who’re making laws. As an individual, you have a right to enjoy the fruits of your labour and we’re standing at a point where we have to safeguard our own interests against those who say they are protecting them.

In the face of incompetence, no one individual or a small collection of individuals has to bear the price. The negativity associated with offshoring is really a response to the realization that somewhere down the line the administration took the wrong step, but that’s no reason for why your legal status comes into question. It’s unfair, if not downright unjust and potentially illegal considering the overarching theme of the libertarian and freedom-loving principles of the US society.

Next Step

On my podcast, we talk about flag theory, international business, how to become a perpetual traveller, ways to protect yourself from financial woes and other similar ideas. Along with my podcast, I offer consultancy to clients on the best ways they can incorporate their companies offshore, set up offshore bank accounts and use precious metal vaults to remove their wealth from the financial system. Reach out to me today to see how I can help you legally eliminate your tax bill and protect your wealth from the State.

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Switzerland and the Cayman Islands are known for their financial services throughout the world and for no bad reason, irrespective of what any authoritarian entity has to say about this. An individual’s income is their sole responsibility that they’ve earned through their hard work and ingenuity. They deserve the full fruits of their labour and places like Ireland are actually allowing them to do so.

What is A Tax Haven?

Considering how sensitively the Irish themselves has treated the issue over the past few months, whatever their reasons might be; the devil is in the details. So before we begin labelling a country as a tax haven, it would be prudent to define a tax haven and then assess Ireland in that light.

A Tax Haven is a country that has ‘notoriously’ low corporate and/or personal tax rates. Many corporations and individuals move their accounts and companies abroad so that they are taxed according to the low tax rates in the haven. With these low tax rates, these entities can enjoy a greater share of their profits to do with as they please.

In this process, companies like Apple, Microsoft and Google can divert a greater share of their resources to R&D, Human Resource Development and other areas to improve the commercial environment for both employees and the employers. This improves industrial standards across the board and creates for a thriving business culture that benefits the economy as a whole.

This brings me back to why anyone wouldn’t want to boast low tax rates, knowing full well that it harbours efficiency and increases the amount of investment taking place in the economy. This pursuit of fiscal and monetary control is rather counter-intuitive to good governance from the most commonsensical economic standpoints.

Speaking of which, Ireland is one of those countries that have these low tax rates and faces a lot of flak across international platforms for it. In any case, now that we know what a Tax Haven is; we can then see if Ireland is one also. To do that, we’ll need to take a look at the Irish Tax Systems.

The Irish Corporate Tax Structure

As of last year, mostly because of the whole Brexit debacle, consultancy powerhouses PwC and Deloitte have been taking a fair bit of interest in the Irish tax systems. The good thing is that we have a pretty detailed account of how the tax system works.

Corporate taxation in Ireland is divided into 3 basic types of tax rates which are:

• The Trading Rate set at 12.5%
• The Passive Rate set at 25%
• Capital Gains Rate set at 33%

Resident corporations in Ireland or any foreign corporation is only subjected to the trading rate and on occasion might have to pay a capital gains tax if there are any investments the company holds. However, it’s possible to structure your portfolios in a way that you can avoid the 33% tax rate. The official tax figures set out already make Ireland an incredibly tax friendly nation. The Industrial Development Authority of Ireland already points out the country as one of the lowest taxing countries across the world compare to places like Singapore, UK and Germany.

Tax Exemptions

These were of course, the official figures. A study conducted a few years back, observed effective tax rates across different countries in the world and concluded that even with existing rates Irish multinationals pay 2.2% of their profits as tax.  The math, if done correctly can help you figure out a way to avoid taxes in the country. This is apparent when you look at some of the exemptions Ireland offers to foreign multinationals.

Companies in Ireland are not subjected to the 33% capital tax gains if their holdings are in a company also incorporated in the country. Even better if your holdings are with a company already in the European Union, you don’t have to pay taxes on the capital gains you make from the dividends.

If your company holds more than 5% of shares in a company within Ireland, then you are exempt from any taxes on capital gains. This also applies to holdings in certain companies within the European Union.

Tax Incentives

You can actually get a 25% tax credit if you are engaging in certain activities as a company incorporated in Ireland.  These activities include:

• Expenditure on Revenue Items like wages, repairs or fuel for your operations.
• Research and Development Expenditures.
• Royalties
• Capital Investments for R&D

These tax credits are to be utilized at the company’s discretions and may also be collected lump sum should the company choose to do so. There are no taxes on any start-up companies that were set-up between 2007 and 2018, there are exemptions on capital expenditures especially if these include intangible assets that can be used for trading purposes including; brand names, copyrights, customer lists and much more. You will be taxed at a rate of 6.25% if your earnings come from patented invention developed within the company incorporated in Ireland.

In addition to this, there is no capital duty, no payroll taxes or transfer taxes. All in all, it’s a pretty neat picture for anyone looking to set up a company in Ireland.

Definitely a Tax Haven

With these facts in hand and the ways in which many corporations use these tax ordinances, there’s plenty of reason to say that Ireland is a tax haven. If you play your cards right, then it’s very likely that your tax payments will be lower than you’ve ever experienced.

The Expat Money Show is a podcast where I speak with financial experts in the ways that individuals can achieve financial liberty. On the podcast, we discuss concepts like the flag theory, how to become a perpetual traveller and concepts in financial libertarianism. In addition to the podcast, I also offer my clients advice on how to incorporate offshore, set up bank accounts abroad and other ways they can avoid unnecessary financial burdens. Subscribe to the podcast to learn about financial liberty.

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What’s The Flag Theory?

The flag theory helps a perpetual traveller increase their freedom and prosperity by strategically placing ‘flags’ all over the world. The foundation of the theory is that every country has different advantages, which can be used to optimize a person’s assets and wealth.

Here are the seven flags of the flag theory that can be used to keep your assets safe and secure.

1. A Second Citizenship

Seeking a second citizenship can help you comfortably live your life internationally. Having a second passport gives you easy access to other economic communities and opportunities. It also opens more employment and residency options for you.

2. Tax Residency

Governments tax citizens in any way that they can. And while tax evasion is a crime, tax reduction isn’t! Business owners and other individuals can legally minimize their taxes by seeking residency in a country that doesn’t demand a high income tax from its citizens.

3. Offshore Company

After you’ve acquired a second residency, you can open a legal offshore company to protect your assets. This is the most significant flag you can plant internationally. It’ll help increase your wealth, grow your business and, most importantly, save your money on taxes.

4. Offshore Banking

Whether it’s money or other assets such as gold or even art collections; these should be held in a bank that lies outside the jurisdiction of where you earn and spend your money. Make sure that the judicial system is efficient and will keep your banking assets safe and secure.

5. Actual Residency

This flag was previously known as the ‘playground,’ which refers to the country where you actually reside. To plant this flag, you should make sure that the country you choose has low taxes and is affordable.

The top residency options are Malaysia, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador.

6. Digital Security

With the changing digital landscape, the threats to your intangible assets are increasing. Therefore, it’s important that you store your digital documents and other critical information in a country that has strict data protection and privacy laws.

7. Digital Assets

Acquiring digital currency is an important step for an asset protection strategy, as digital wallets can be transferred across borders and countries without any restrictions. It allows you to build wealth, keep it safe and tax-free.

If you’re looking for a financial consultancy that provides excellent advice on opening offshore accounts, establishing offshore incorporations and managing financial entities, get in touch with Expat Money Show today!

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But we know a way you can protect your wealth, minimize taxes and maximize your personal freedom.

The flag theory combines economics with legality and offers you a chance to keep your hard-earned money safe and secure.

The Flag Theory

The idea behind the flag theory is pretty simple; go where you’re treated the best. For instance, if there’s a country that fulfills all your needs and requirements then you should consider putting a ‘flag’ on it.

Here are some of the most flags of the flag theory to be planted internationally.

Residence in a Country That Doesn’t Demand Income Tax

Territorial tax, nationality-based tax and residence-based tax—these are the three types of taxation methods used by a state to impose taxes on its citizens. By seeking a second residence in a country that doesn’t demand income taxes, you can legally minimize what you owe the state and protect your assets from reduction.

Offshore Company in a Tax Haven

There are many countries in the world that don’t tax foreign incomes; if you’re a citizen of such a state, consider setting up a company that would help you safeguard your assets and increase your wealth.

Some of the most popular tax havens in the world are the Cayman Islands, Belize, Nevis and Hong Kong.

Offshore Gold and Silver Vaults

The best way to diversify your portfolio is to invest in commodities such as gold and silver. The value of these metals stays intact even during instances of a financial crisis. Make sure you keep them in banks or private vaults that lie outside the jurisdiction of where you make your money; also ensure that the banking system in that country is efficient and will keep your assets safe.

Benefits of Applying the Flag Theory

Safer Bank Accounts: You can keep your money secure in some of the safest banks in the world, for example, in Singapore or Hong Kong.

Travel: Along with keeping your wealth protected from the state, you can also get a chance to explore different places in the world.

Better Treatment: You get to experience better treatment as a visitor in other countries than you get back home.

Security: By keeping your assets in a stable economy, you can minimize the risk of losing money because of political unrest or economic turmoil in your home country.

If you’re looking for a financial consultancy that provides excellent advice on opening offshore accounts, establishing offshore incorporations and managing financial entities, get in touch with Expat Money Show today!

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It’s a complex ideology that’s either lauded for its innovations and bringing unparalleled prosperity or is criticized for exploitation of resources and causing gross inequality.

The debate remains unresolved as it’s yet to be decided which narrative should win. But in this blog, we’ll take a look at how capitalism has helped improve lives in modern societies.

To understand that, we first need to understand how capitalism became such an important player in modern society.

When Did It All Begin?

Back in the 12^th to 15^th century, the economic system was based on a feudal society. It was a static way of life that began to change in the 16^th century when foreign trade increased. A new class, called the “merchant capitalists” emerged and transformed the face of the economic and social landscape completely by the 17^th century.

Capitalism introduced new industries and modes of production; it also handed over control of the means of production to the masses.

The transition from feudalism to capitalism and then its prevalence was possible because there was state support for it, which in return brought the state prosperity and wealth.

The benefits of capitalism aren’t limited to governments; it also prioritizes individuals, their rights, and ownership. Here’s how.

Free Enterprise

Capitalism encourages businesses to compete against each other for profits. The goal is to meet the demands of the consumers in a way that maximizes profits and minimizes cost.

Minimal Government Involvement

The single most important component of capitalism is privacy. This is why it limits the participation of governments in the market. It believes in limited taxes and minimal state-dictated policies. On the other hand, it increases the control of an individual over their business, wealth, and rights.

Property Rights

Owning land and running a private business without leasing land from the government was made possible because of capitalism. Unless it’s an illegal operation, the state no longer has the control of an individual’s business.

Technological Advancements

Capitalism paved the way for new industries, which lead to advancements in technology. As a result, the productivity and revenue of businesses increased, increasing the wealth and living conditions of many societies.

How Can We Help?

Expat Money Show is a leading consultancy dedicated to providing financial solutions to clients looking to open offshore bank accounts, setting up offshore incorporations, protecting their assets, minimizing taxes and more.

Get in touch with us today to learn more about our offerings!

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They way they talked reminded me of the fascists and socialists we have here on earth. Everything is for the good of society no matter what the costs are.

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When you bring up the idea of offshore banking, it’s not unusual to get a dozen different opinions about where the best tax haven is or where banks are most eager to get foreign investors. Look beyond all the noise and you’ll find that Belize is consistently chosen by savvy investors for offshore banking. Clearly, Belize has a lot to offer those interested in the financial side of the equation. 

Whether you’re dreaming of your upcoming retirement, you want to purchase property overseas or you’re just ready for greater asset diversification, banking in Belize can be ideal. Here are just a few of the reasons why.

Ease of Banking in Belize

Something that can’t be ignored is the ease of managing an offshore bank account in Belize. Some people are worried about offshore banking because they don’t know what to expect, or they are worried about it being difficult or inconvenient. In reality, that misconception couldn’t be further from the truth. 

To start, the official language of Belize is English. Although you might hear Spanish or even Creole is spoken on the beach, financial professionals all have a complete and fluent command of English. Whether you’re signing a contract or reading the terms of a new account, it will be in English. You won’t need a translator, nor will you have to pay to have English documents translated. In short, there is no need to be concerned about a language barrier at any point. 

Another reason that banking in Belize is so convenient is the time zone. Belize is located in the Central Standard Time Zone (CST). That means it is the same time on Ambergris Caye, Belize, as it is in Chicago. Some people are concerned that offshore banking means getting on the phone in the middle of the night with banking staff, but that’s not the case in Belize. Banks operate during normal office hours, which just so happen to coincide perfectly with most North American hours of business. 

Of course, you may not want to communicate over the phone about your offshore banking needs at all. Fortunately, the convenience of banking in Belize also extends to online banking services. As long as you have access to an internet connection and a smartphone, tablet, or computer, you can transfer money or check your account balances with the click of a button.

Excellent Liquidity Rates Offer Incredible Stability 

Arguably one of the biggest concerns that any individual or corporation has in today’s world is banking stability. Even in places like Europe or the United States, major banks can fold. Economic stability is not guaranteed, so it is important to look for destinations where there is as much stability as possible. 

Belize is a country that has taken the necessary steps to create greater financial security for residents and investors alike. Banks are required to have high liquidity rates. In fact, most banks surpass the national requirements and have more than 24 percent liquidity rates. Compared to some North American banks with just 3 or 4 percent liquidity, this can provide peace of mind. 

While no financial choice is completely free from risk, Belize also provides stability in other ways. They have free and democratic elections, which results in a stable government. Economically, its currency is pegged to the United States Dollar. This adds an extra level of stability when compared to other Central American banking destinations.

Diversification is Key 

People delve into offshore banking for varied reasons. However, one of the most common is to diversify financial holdings. A basic tenet of Economics 101 is that in order to reduce risk, you need to diversify. 

Many people diversify but continue to maintain their holdings within a single country’s jurisdiction. Ultimately, true diversification also includes geographic diversification.

Although Belize offers a chance to invest in a new geographic location, it also offers all the things you expect in a secure financial environment. This allows for diversification without the stress of learning a new banking system or even a new legal system. Belize operates according to common-law systems similar to those you find in Britain, the United States, or Canada. 

Unparalleled Asset Protection and Privacy

In decades past, certain nations held a monopoly on banking privacy and anonymity. As those destinations received more and more publicity, however, banking clients actually received more scrutiny, not less. In Belize, banks still operate in a way that grants account holders and businesses financial privacy as well as asset protection. 

This doesn’t mean that you can open a bank account anonymously or avoid taxation in your home country. What it does mean is that once your assets are placed in a bank account in Belize, those assets are far more secure than they would be elsewhere. If you face lawsuits or the freezing of your assets in the future, your accounts in Belize will remain secure.

Plus, those who operate businesses within Belize can protect the identities of board members or shareholders if desired. 

Diversity of Financial Options and Services 

While you can discover many reasons as to why banking in Belize is so popular, it is only a worthwhile option if the offshore banks in Belize offer the financial services you require. Fortunately, there is no shortage of options.

You might choose to operate foreign currency accounts, accrue interest in a savings account, open a business account, or take advantage of financing options. From real estate loans for beach properties to lines of credit for commercial accounts, there is plenty of variety as well as the opportunity to find specific investment options that suit your preferred risk level. 

Reputable Banking Systems

If you choose to bank offshore in Belize, then it makes sense to bank with an institution that is established, financially solvent and is recognized for its banking excellence. An example is Caye International Bank located on Ambergris Caye island in Belize. Just a few of Caye’s most recent recognitions include:

• World’s Best Private Bank in Belize for 2018 and 2019 (Global Finance Magazine)
• Most Outstanding Offshore Bank in Central America for 2018 (Wealth & Finance International)

When selecting a bank, ensure it is compliant with necessary regulations and is licensed to provide international banking services to both corporations and individuals.

Discover Banking in Belize

Clearly, plenty of investors around the world appreciate what Belize has to offer and choose this location to assist in asset diversification. When looking for the best locations for offshore banking and investing, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any more favourable than Belize.

Guest Post: About The Author

Luigi Wewege is the Senior Vice President of Caye International Bank headquartered in Belize, Central America and is the author of The Digital Banking Revolution: How Financial Technology Companies Are Rapidly Transforming the Traditional Retail Banking Industry Through Disruptive Innovation.

He is the Principal of Palmetto Global Ventures a financial consultancy firm focused on digital banking and FinTech solutions and serves as an Instructor at the FinTech School which provides online training courses on the latest technology and innovation developments within the financial services industry.

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Especially as an expat, you could gain much from the financial mobility and the tax advantages that offshore banks may offer.

Ease of Access

Many US expatriates have to move around the world and they can hardly carry their money with them. The country you currently reside in may not offer the best terms to conduct international transactions and for this reason, an offshore bank account can help.

Many banks in Germany and Singapore offer exclusive roaming benefits to their clients. You can access your funds in these international banks 24 hours a day and because they form a huge international network, get banking services anywhere in the world.

Some international/offshore banks also have lower account opening costs and offer less paperwork to make the account opening process easier. Working with an offshore bank can offer you an unprecedented level of financial mobility. With easier access and smaller costs, it makes an offshore account a very valuable financial investment for expats.

Investment Management

If you’re looking to make investments in foreign countries, offshore bank accounts can facilitate your access to foreign exchange markets. Creating accounts with these banks allows you to make investments throughout the world and will also give you access to expert investments management teams.

Having a bank account in an offshore bank can pave the way for your financial stability and security. With possible global access to banking services, it will be easier to monitor and manage your investments, while staying in touch with your financial teams.

Financial Stability and Higher Interest Rates

Saving your money in offshore bank accounts could also give you access to stable financial environments. Places like Switzerland actually have a reputation for going out of their way to protect their client’s interests.

Saving your money with banks in Switzerland or similar countries could have you resting easy, completely at ease that your savings are not going anywhere. With the stability, you might also be offered higher interest returns that can fortify your savings further.

The Expat Money Show is a premium financial consultancy for expats who wish to form offshore financial entities. Through our services, we enable our clients to set up their offshore accounts, companies and gold/silver vaults to safeguard their financial integrity. Get in touch with us today for more information on our services or to hire us to help set up your offshore accounts.

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In order to qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Tax exclusion, you must meet certain criteria that will make the exclusion valid on you for any income you generate abroad. These are:

You Must Have Foreign Income

This one’s pretty straight forward, for you to qualify for the exclusion; you must have worked in a foreign country and generated income to qualify. If you don’t work abroad or if you have no records of your income being generated after working in a foreign organization, you cannot apply for this exclusion.

Tax Homes

Tax homes are different from family homes. Tax home is your place of work, where you generate your income from. For example, you could work in an international organization that has offices in the United States. If you work in the United States offices you can’t apply for exclusion.  If you do however work for an international organization and your work premises are also abroad, then you can qualify for income exclusion.

You Must Be A US Citizen or Resident Alien

The exclusion only applies to people who are residents of the United States or Resident Aliens in the United States. If you aren’t a citizen of the United States and you still fall under their tax laws, then you must pay the full tax without any exclusion. Non-residential aliens cannot apply for the exclusion laws.

Non-resident aliens are people who have lived in the US for less than 31 days in a given year and less than 183 days in the past three years. Anyone who has met these requirements is considered a residential alien.

Meeting Minimum Time Period Requirements

Resident Aliens of the United States qualify for the exclusion if they have lived in a country with which the United States has a tax treaty with, if and only if they’ve lived in the country for an entire year. If they live in a country with which the United States does not have a tax treaty with, they must have lived for a total of 330 days within the past 12 months to qualify. Citizens of the United States working abroad will qualify for the exclusion if they’ve worked in a foreign country for a full year or if they’ve spent 330 days in the past 12 months. For these people, the income tax treaty requirement is irrelevant.

The Expat Money Show is a financial consultancy that specializes in providing advice to people looking to manage their offshore incomes and financial entities. We offer our clients consultancy and assistance on the process of setting up their offshore bank accounts, Companies and/or gold and silver vaults. Call us today for more information on our services or for advice on how you can qualify for tax payments on any income made from offshore locations.

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Choosing the Right Location

The process of creating your own offshore company is rather simple and straightforward, assuming you choose the right location to set up in. Depending on country laws, the regulations and compliance you have to follow are going to be different. Luckily, however, there are specific regions where you can set yourself up in such as the Cayman Islands, Dubai, Singapore and many others. In each of these locations, the process you need to follow is more or less the same.

Step 1: Assessing Your Requirements

When deciding on an offshore location, you need to identify what financial/organizational advantages you require. Some people incorporate offshore for the tax advantages and others might do it for ease of access. Any place in the world can serve as you offshore headquarter, where you go depends on what advantages each location offers and how relevant the advantages are.

Step 2: Submitting Documents To Relevant Authorities

Once you’ve finalized a location, you need to send the following documents to relevant authorities. These are usually government ministries that handle the establishment of business in the offshore location. The documents that are usually required are:

• Name of Directors and Owners
• Passport Copies
• Physical Address of the company you want to set up
• Processing and Government fees

Depending on where you’re setting up the company, you might need to submit some extra pieces of documentation such as due diligence reports and KYC (Know Your Customer) analyses as required. In addition to these, there might be some forms that you will have to fill out as part of the application.

Step 3: Completion of the Process

Once you’ve sent out all the relevant documents and fees, the receiving authority will send you documents that specify the details of your registered company. It will come with a full payment plan that specifies any annual fees or governmental charges you might have to pay for your company to remain incorporated.

After this entire process has been completed, you will then have become an owner of your very own offshore company. You can register yourself for bank accounts under the company name and you will begin receiving the full benefits of working offshore.

The Expat Money Show is a financial consultancy that advises individuals on the easiest ways to set up their offshore financial entities. We help our clients set up their offshore bank accounts, companies and gold/silver vaults to preserve their financial integrity. Get in touch with us today to hire our services to help you set up your offshore accounts and companies or for advice on how you can benefit from offshore financial services.

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So much for a better use of capital…

Pretty crappy timing eh?

Always Remember, Endeavour to Greatness

Mikkel Thorup

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There are many benefits of setting up an offshore company that you can take advantage of.  These range from reducing tax burdens all the way to getting access to international markets. Some possibilities that an Offshore Company opens up are:

Avoid Excessive Tax Burdens

Corporate taxes are some of the highest tax burdens in the world. The average corporate tax across the world is 29.41%. Some countries have lower corporate tax rates than others. It pays off to have your company headquarters registered at an offshore location like the Cayman Islands because your tax payments can be reduced significantly.

As you begin to save on immense tax payments, you can use this money to reinvest in the business or simply live off it.

Asset Protection

Having your businesses registered in foreign countries has your company’s assets safe in a stable economy. Once you set up your headquarters in an overseas location, any assets that fall under the company’s umbrella are then influenced only by the country’s economic conditions.

So even if your home country doesn’t do so well, the foreign country will remain stable and preserve your financial integrity.

Access to Financial Hubs

Having an offshore company somewhere in Hong Kong or Singapore, for example, will give you access to major financial centers of the world.  These two countries, in particular, are places where the best financial management teams are found and the entire world’s corporations come to conduct business.

Being in close contact with these organizations can give you access to new business and financial opportunities.

Business Expansion Opportunities

Businesses in many countries find it difficult to invest in other countries because laws and regulations don’t allow it. This could happen for political and/or economic reasons, but it also implies losing lucrative business opportunities.

If you move your companies offshore, you can bypass these regulations in your home country because they don’t apply to your organization. If you specifically establish your company in a country that has good trade ties worldwide, you can then easily expand your business across the globe.

Expat Money Show is a financial consultancy that helps individuals set up offshore financial entities. Our services include helping our clients set up offshore bank accounts, offshore companies and offshore gold and silver vaults. Get in touch with us today for more information on our services or to hire our assistance to set up your offshore accounts and companies.

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In my podcast and blog posts, I always hammer home the importance of diversifying your income and investments.

Whether that means starting a new business venture, expanding your real estate portfolio, or putting your cash into stable physical assets, there are a number of effective strategies that will minimize your risk and help build long-term wealth for you and your loved ones.

Unfortunately, just setting up these revenue streams isn’t enough to protect you from the volatility of international markets.

Think About It

If you’re an Expat like me, then you’re probably collecting the bulk of your income in a foreign currency at a local bank.

At the same time, most of you will still be liable for taxes on any investments that you hold back at home not to mention ongoing repayments on any longstanding loans.

If you’re a U.S citizen, then you may even have to pay additional taxes on your foreign income or risk having your assets and accounts seized by the Feds.

So right there, you’re already losing a significant chunk of your worth every year.

Now Let’s Add in Some Variables

• What happens when there’s another global recession and banks start to collapse left and right (again)? Is there any point to your savings if they end up being inaccessible when they’re needed the most?

• In the past, we’ve seen governments in Spain, Cyprus, and Portugal implement a variety of schemes to shore up failing institutions during an economic crisis. From bank deposit taxes to nationalizing retirement savings, countries will use any means possible to get their hands on liquid funds if required. Do you have any contingencies in place, for when that happens?

• If you’re living and working in an emerging economy then your earnings are always vulnerable to currency fluctuations. A sudden drop in consumer confidence can significantly hurt the value of your savings and investments.

• If you don’t have permanent residence in your adopted country then your banking relationships might be more fragile than you imagine. A sudden loss of employment or legal issue may lead to your accounts being frozen.

Do you really want to be left scrambling to move your funds when the inevitable happens?

Don’t wait for the markets or federal agencies to dictate your financial future.

Be proactive, and take steps to protect your assets today.

Are You Ready to Set Up an Offshore Bank Account in Belize?

For me, the only financial institution to work within in Belize is Caye International Bank. Caye began operating as an international bank around 13 years ago, and they’ve managed to build an incredibly diverse international clientele since then.

A big part of this success is definitely down to the organization’s executive management team. Together, they bring over 50 years of combined experience in financial institutions across the U.S, Belize, and the world to the table.

I personally have had the chance to sit down with Caye’s owners as well as their acting vice president and I was incredibly impressed by their knowledge, transparency, and willingness to help. These guys are truly committed to great customer service.

And on that note, I am happy to announce I have accepted Caye International Bank on as an official sponsor of the podcast because I trust them with my own money and personally know the management team and the owners of the bank.

I only ever recommend products and services that I truly trust.

You can find out more about Caye International Bank by clicking here.

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So if you have listened to my Podcast The Expat Money Show for very long you know I am a bit (a lot) against traditional education, and by that, I mean government-run schools…


This week I have been reading Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto.


He was a school teacher for thirty years winning “NY Teacher Of The Year” multiple times and a whole host of other accolades that you can read about on his blog.

During his time in government-run schools, he became massively disenfranchised with the educational system and what they stand for.

After he quite (his resignation letter is hilarious by the way) he went on to write a bunch of #1 best selling books about the education system and became a massive proponent for the homeschool and unschooling movement.

Which is exactly the way I choose to raise my daughter.

My Experiences

When I was growing up I always felt there was something wrong with the system; as far back as I can remember I rebelled against school and authority. It’s taken me years to come to terms with what I experienced as a child…

And this book just put a couple more pieces into place for me that I thought I would share with you.

In Weapons of Mass Instruction John Taylor Gatto talks about one of the objectives of school is self-alienation and the methods that are used to accomplish this.

He talks about segregating kids into different groups like “gifted” or “learning disabled” which is what they labelled me as…

I could not read, spell or write until at least grade 4 or 5; the rote learning method of teaching me was a nightmare… I ended up learning to read through phonetics.

In grade 4 they took me out of my neighbourhood school and shipped me across town to a “special school” where I would get extra help.

Modern Day Eugenics

The only problem was that it was actually not a special school, it was a special class right in the middle of a normal school. John talks about this as a form of eugenics; by shaming, embarrassing and alienating kids they weed out the hope of them being accepted into society and eventually procreating.

Well, I went to this special class for 3 years. Every day I was made fun of, picked on and humiliated so bad that I would come home with tears in my eyes.

My only saving grace of not getting bullied was that when someone would try something with me, I would punch them in the head and they would never try to touch me again. I would not be exaggerating if I said I was in more than a hundred fights during my school days.

So-Called Normal School

When I returned back to “normal” school with my old neighbourhood classmates not much had changed and not much got better for me, it was just a new group of people who knew what had happened to me and a new form of humiliation from my peers.

By grade 7 I started failing out of school, by grade 9 I barely attended and by 15 I had officially dropped out.

My entire life I felt like it was my fault, that there was something wrong with me, or as my teachers would tell me in our meetings at school “Mikkel there is something wrong with your brain, it doesn’t work the same way as others” I can not think of anything more alienating you could tell a small child to make him feel alone.

But while reading John Taylor Gatto’s book I can see that this was all premeditated by the system. Things are set up to happen like this. School is not for learning, it is for moulding a population into something manageable by governments. If they can’t mould you they don’t want you.

That’s why I feel very fortunate that I had the courage to stop attending school as early as I did. There was a lot of pressure from society to stay in that hell-hole but it was not right for me and even at 12 years old I knew this and was on my way out the door.

I consider myself an autodidact, I don’t believe I learned one useful thing in school and I took my education into my own hands from a young age.

Think about this:

• At 13 I was working in farms
• 16 at the supermarket
• 17 I started travelling the world
• Competed in a worlds tournament and won Silver Medal in Martial Arts as a teenager
• I’ve been to 102 countries, lived in 7, and visited 6 continents – all paid for by myself
• Hitchhiked and backpacked with my tent through Latin America for 18 months
• Circumnavigated the planet more than 200 times
• I’m a Master Scuba Diver and a National Lifeguard
• #1 Best Selling Author in multiple categories
• Multiple 6-figure earner with investments all over the world
• The host of a popular podcast – and interviewed some of my heroes like Jim Rogers whos worth 360 million dollars
• I’ve read literally thousands of books on subjects that actually interest me without being forced or coerced to do so
• My message has been heard hundreds of thousands of times around the world

Now that is a real education; no memorizing facts and figures from a blackboard so they can use standardized tests to tell me my worth!

I know who I am and what I can accomplish and I have faith in myself and my abilities.

I have fought tooth and nail for everything I have and everything I have accomplished in my life.

Read Weapons of Mass Instruction and see what realizations you have from your own experiences in government-run schools.

And if you want to know some of the best things I have learned in my 20 years living overseas as an Expat, building a business, investing in nontraditional assets and all the while paying ZERO income tax then pick up my brand new book Expat Secrets on Amazon today.

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In reality, offshore incorporation and setting up offshore bank accounts is one of the best decisions you can make if you want to save on income taxes, legally. If you aim to become an expat, don’t let ridiculous tax misconceptions hold you back.

To help you out, this post will address 5 popular myths about expat taxes for U.S. citizens.

Myth #1—There’s A Complex Tax Structure for Offshore Corporations

If you’ve made the wise decision of setting up an offshore incorporation, there’s an endless, simple array of options that you get to choose from. Whether you choose to set up an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands. Moreover Belize, Ireland, Seychelles, or any other tax haven, you’ll have a lower income tax bracket. Fortunately, these countries don’t have complicated tax structures that could’ve created problems for U.S. taxpayers.

Myth #2—It’s Difficult to Rectify Tax Errors

American citizens may qualify for Foreign Earned Income Exemption and similar tax breaks. However, some expats mistakenly assume that they do not. Since the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) doesn’t regulate overpayments by taxpayers, it’s possible for expats to pay more than the legally required amount of U.S. taxes.

You need to thoroughly understand the American tax structure and how Foreign Earned Income Exclusion works.

Myth #3—You Must Renounce Your U.S. Citizenship

Let’s be clear: You can retain your U.S. citizenship while enjoying a reduced tax burden. U.S. entrepreneurs who live overseas can easily have a much lower U.S. tax bill—even as low as zero. Something as simple as moving your company to an offshore country can help you save your U.S. citizenship and tens of thousands of dollars in taxes.

Myth #4—You Need a Permanent Home Overseas

Some American expats are under the misconception that to be qualified for tax breaks they need to live in one overseas country on a permanent basis. Another misconception is that an easy way for a U.S. citizen to enjoy income tax exemption is by spending the majority of their time outside of the U.S.

In reality, you can qualify for an exemption on earned income by merely being outside of the United States. This means that all you have to do is be physically located in any foreign land for a minimum of 330 days to successfully claim tax exemptions.

Myth #5—You Have to Give Up U.S. Assets

The U.S. tax system is designed to allow expats to hold U.S. assets such as property and bank accounts in their name if their physical presence (determined by the IRS’s Physical Presence Test) is in other developed countries. This also holds true for those who plan on renouncing their U.S. citizenship. There is no requirement to sell your property in order to have foreign earned income tax exemptions as an expat.

Did you know thousands of successful Expats around the globe build their businesses in overseas markets and enjoy reduced or completely eliminated tax bill?

To learn about legally avoiding corporate tax, internationalizing your business to protect from litigation, regaining privacy, foreign tax exclusion, and adding additional streams of income subscribe to Mikkel Thorup’s weekly podcast at The Expat Money Show.

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The post Myths: Expat Taxes For U.S. Citizens Edition appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

Enter Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE). It prevents double taxation by excluding expats from U.S taxation.

Here are 4 legal ways to avoid paying U.S income tax via FEIE.

Move Outside Of the United States

Moving outside the U.S is one of the fastest ways to minimize your income tax. The Physical Presence Test of the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion is a commonly used tax strategy for expats.

As per Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, a U.S citizen is required to stay in a foreign country for 330 days in a calendar year to qualify for annual income tax exemption of $101,300. It’s not, however, necessary to have a residency in any country.  Note that this strategy applies to those who spend the required amount of time in a foreign country (s). This means that international waters don’t count.

Relocate to a U.S Territory

Another smart legal strategy to consider is moving to a U.S territory like Puerto Rico. One way to save on U.S income tax is levering Act 20 or the Expert Service Act. Service businesses can get an income tax exemption that’s as low as 4%.

The tax on earnings and profits can be 0% for businesses that export their services from the U.S territory. Another way is leveraging Act 22 or the Individual Investors Act. High net worth investors can have zero percent tax on capital gains, interest, and dividends if they spend 183 days in Puerto Rico.

Get a Second Residency

There are many benefits to obtaining a second residency. Fortunately, there are as many tax-free countries that you can consider such as Monaco, the Bahamas, Brunei, and low tax countries like Ireland.

The kind of residency that you qualify for depends on your situation. If you want to reduce your U.S income tax, a second residency is a feasible option.

Renounce Your U.S Citizenship

In terms of finance, renouncing your U.S citizenship doesn’t make a lot of sense to some people. Even with the income tax savings, you’ll have to pay an exit tax on all your business’ capital gains.

With that said, in case you have less than $2 million worth of wealth, there is no need to pay the exit tax. Simply ensure that all your income taxes before you renounce your citizenship are paid properly. You can still enjoy government benefits and use U.S banks in particular cases.

Tired of Paying Avoidable U.S Income Taxes?

Are you interested in learning how to legally eradicate your tax obligations? Join Mikkel Thorup on his weekly podcast at The Expat Money Show for conversations with successful business owners and expats on investing, offshore incorporation, entrepreneurship, finance, and best countries to set up an offshore company.

Check out his exclusive free training video on how American expats can save more than $100,000 per year in taxes via Foreign Earned Income Tax Exclusion.

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There are multiple practical reasons to research offshore banking options. Especially as a perpetual traveller. If your home country’s income tax structure has got you pulling your hair out in frustration. why not consider Offshore Bank Account or offshore incorporation?

If you’ve made your choice, the next crucial question is what’s the best country to set up an offshore account or company in?

This post discusses the top countries for you to explore.

Luxembourg

If you’re looking for a country that offers many of the benefits of Swiss banking with lower taxes for expats to boot. Luxembourg is the ideal place. Not only does it have one of the highest per capita incomes in Europe. It’s also got a rich history and culture.  There is the option of convenient banking methods. A lack of European bureaucrats limiting the banking flexibility offered to non-residents.

Andorra

This is a relatively small nation tucked away in the Pyrénées Mountains.

Accounts opened in Andorra have a range of denominated currencies. Though which makes it a popular choice for globetrotters. You can set up anonymous accounts and enjoy a stable political situation. Its banking sector is growing and the country is outside of the EU’s jurisdiction. Foreign investors should examine the low-tax policies present in this tiny but beautiful country.

Malta

The tax system of Malta offers companies one of the lowest taxes on profits in Europe. Offshore corporations can enjoy a tax rate as low as 5%. This rate is drastically lower than that paid by local businesses (35%).  It’s also one of the easiest countries to get residency in and also has a banking sector that’s burgeoning ahead year-on-year.

Switzerland

A sizable portion of the world’s elite have Swiss accounts. In fact, nearly 30% of Fortune 500 countries have set up bank accounts in Switzerland. It remains on the top of the list of tax haven countries because of its lenient tax structure for foreign corporations and individuals.

Belize

Belize has become a fantastic country to set up an offshore bank account, they have very strong asset protection laws and the government works hard to attract capital by protecting you and your rights. To read more about my favourite bank in Belize check out what I had to say HERE.

Want to learn how to legally eliminate your tax obligations? Join Mikkel Thorup every week on The Expat Money Show for conversations with successful expats on tax exemptions, lower tax bill, investing, entrepreneurship, and international living.

Learn about the right conditions for offshore markets for your business and understand how American taxes and foreign earned income exclusion works!

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The post Want To Set Up An Offshore Bank Account ? Consider These Countries! appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

It’s one of Asia’s leading financial hubs—not just for tourism, but for money too. Read on to discover why Singapore is one of the best countries to set up an offshore company and an offshore bank account.

Industry-Specific Tax Exemptions

Industries such as foreign banks, global trading companies, qualifying offshore funds, and more are eligible for industry-specific tax exemptions.

Qualified offshore funders can enjoy tax exemptions for a specified income. This income is defined as profits, dividends, gains, and traditional investments (bonds, deposits, stocks) interest.

Tax Exemptions For Start-Ups

The effective corporate tax rate in Singapore is 17% for businesses earning an income of over $2 million. However, this rate could be decreased via the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).

Start-up companies based in Singapore can leverage the zero tax exemption policy for the first $100,000 of their income for the first 3 consecutive years. Offshore incorporation is necessary to qualify for this tax exemption.

Privacy of Investors

All financial institutions are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). These institutions are required to exercise due diligence in order to prevent criminal activity like money laundering.

The Singaporean law maintains that financial institutions are to keep the records of individuals private. Their personal data is not to be provided to third-parties.

Stable Political System

There are more than 100 banks currently operating in Singapore. If an investor’s home country is experiencing an unsafe and unstable political climate, there’s reason to be concerned about that country’s banking system.

The reason many choose to park their wealth in Singapore is also because of the safety it offers for long-term financial asset storage.

Mikkel Thorup is an experienced coach for entrepreneurs and established business owners wanting to internationalize their business. From helping you decide if offshore incorporation is right for your business to introducing you to legal ways of avoiding unnecessary tax bill, a range of pressing yet controversial topics are discussed in detail.

For in-depth interviews with successful Expat Entrepreneurs on how to reduce your corporate tax bill, Subscribe to his weekly podcast at The Expat Money Show.

Apply for a complimentary consultation on offshore company registration here!

Check out his latest course on American taxes and foreign earned income tax exclusion!

Conclusion

Over at EscapeArtist.com they have written the most comprehensive Ultimate Guide to Going Offshore that has been written to date.  Follow this link and download the PDF for your personal library.  

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The post Why Singapore Is the Ideal Tax Haven appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

I had a pretty intense conversation the other day with someone about taxation… it’s not that they were “FOR” paying tax, it was more like they thought it was a necessity; like it was normal to pay taxes…

…I honestly don’t get this?

How can it be normal to pay an extortionist large portions of your income? And they threaten you with violence if you don’t pay!

Doesn’t sound like freedom to me…

Sounds like slavery actually… you are a slave to pay 20, 30, 40 or 50% of your income to someone without having a choice of where the money goes. Or if you even want to surrender it in the first place.


The number one comment I get from people when I tell them I am against income tax is something silly about the “roads”.


In my interview with Jeff Berwick, I asked him what his response is to such comments from people?


He noted that a fraction of 1% of income tax dollars is actually spent on building and maintaining roads. And anyways, the roads are already built! They are not going to magically disappear if there was no more income tax.


He also commented that if you are going to tax something to pay for the roads why don’t you just tax petrol, that way the people who are actually using the roads are the ones paying for them.


Lots of places I have lived in my life I walked everywhere; I lived 2-minutes from the beach when I lived in Australia. I was only in a car maybe a couple times a year. Actually to this day, I still don’t even drive!


Tax is not going to the things that would help make this world a better place, or at least not in the amounts the government wants you to believe…


It goes to bureaucrats who complicate the systems and clog everything up. And it goes to waging wars on other nations.


Neither of which I support.


This is why I work so hard to help people to legally not pay any extra money to the government.

What to do Yanni?

Well, two things I can help you with right now.


First, If you are an Entrepreneur then we can set up your company in a tax favourable manner overseas. We can even help you set up the bank account. My team and I are taking new clients so you will be all set to start saving right now. Click HERE to register a time to speak with us.


And second, if you are an American citizen or green card holder I have prepared a special video you must watch, it’s going to break down one of the ways you can reduce your taxable income by more than $100,000 this year. Actually, there are more hacks I have in store for you but we will talk about them later… watch the video now.


And yes I promise you these and other strategies we help people with are 100% legal, they are in the tax code themselves, just not easy to find them…


There is nothing brave, patriotic, or righteous about overpaying in tax to your government.


Always Remember, Endeavour to Greatness
Mikkel Thorup

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The post A Libertarians Views About Taxation (and what to do about it) appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

Corporations in this location operate under the Companies Law 1961 and attract a number of international business and offshore investors. The island offers a wide range of banking services, and foreign company owners easily find extensive support from local authorities.

They enjoy a number of perks. Some of the key benefits of offshore company formation in the Cayman Islands include:

Governmental Stability

The Cayman Islands government has been relatively stable with a strong economy and an efficient banking system for offshore corporations. It is no wonder that it’s dubbed the international financial centre of the world.

Quick Incorporation Process

The offshore incorporation process is completed within 1 day as there’s no governmental regulatory requirement necessitating authority approval. As compared to other jurisdictions, you can enjoy low initial corporate registration fees and annual renewal fees.

White Listed

The Cayman Islands follow international tax regulations. This means that unlike other ‘tax-havens,’ the place is free from suspicion by the International Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Financial Action Task Force.

Corporate Privacy

All documents pertaining to business operations in your offshore company (like the register of shareholders) don’t have to be registered with the Cayman Islands government. They can safely be stored wherever you wish.

Also, no annual audit or shareholder meeting is required and your Register of Directors is safe from prying public eyes.

No Tax On Shares Transfer

In case you want to transfer your offshore company shares to a third party—in the currency of your choice—there is no need to pay taxes or duty stamps. The exception is shares transference related to real estate investment.

The island doesn’t even tax capital gain, corporation gain, payroll, or personal income. Expats can enjoy ideal investment conditions as there are no reserve requirements either.

Single Director

Your Cayman Islands corporation can function under a single director and shareholder. They can both be the same entity or person with no additional director, shareholder, or officer needed.

Mergers

It’s allowed to have mergers with other corporations in the Cayman Islands, as well as with those in other countries. Any jurisdiction can be responsible for the merged corporation. Such corporations often want to remain in this location for all the benefits they reap.

To form a corporation in the Cayman Islands, you need a registered agent and office.  Talk with Mikkel Thorup, coach and consultant for entrepreneurs, who want to internationalize their businesses to save money on taxes, add additional streams of income, protect from litigation, and regain privacy and control over their lives.

Conclusion

Over at EscapeArtist.Com, they have written The Ultimate Guide to Going Offshore.  Everything you ever want to know is in this guide. You will want to download it in PDF for your personal library.

Tune in to his weekly podcast, The Expat Money Show to learn more.

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The post Cayman Corporations: Why It’s A Popular Choice For Foreign Investors appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

Swiss banks are some of the world’s safest and manage nearly 30% of all cross-border assets. A major contributing factor is the high level of protection a Swiss offshore corporation enjoys.

This post discusses how to legally protect your assets using a Swiss offshore company.

Protected Bank Information

Did you know that if a Swiss banker reveals a customer’s information without approval, they could face several months in jail?

Swiss banking secrecy is extremely stringent and exists for data protection and financial privacy. The Federal Banking Commission (FBC)—the Swiss banking regulatory agency—ensures ethical activities.

It’s true that your tax information can be accessed by your home country’s tax authorities. However, this bank information is not disclosed to other homeland authorities—making Switzerland a great offshore banking country.

Assets Placed Under A Foreign Legal Entity

When your bank account is placed in the name of your foreign company, you are given an additional layer of protection.

This is because if a legal entity outside your country holds your assets like real estate, car collection, yachts, royalties, etc., it’s difficult for an asset tracking lawyer to deal with a foreign jurisdiction and access your personal assets.

Business owners protect their assets and minimize the risk of liability by keeping their assets under their offshore company and not their own name. In the case of a divorce, their personal assets are preserved.

Legal Entity And Banking Secrecy

If you earn your income from legal means, you should open a Swiss bank account. Companies limited by shares have the name of their shareholders protected from the Swiss commercial register.

A legal entity in combination with stellar banking secrecy offers Swiss offshore company owners with an excellent method to preserve their assets.

Switzerland is undoubtedly one of the best countries to set up an offshore company in. Not only are your assets nearly impossible to locate, but your banking information is also placed under strict confidentiality too. However, selecting the right private jurisdiction is key to enjoying additional streams of income and mitigated tax claims.

Get in touch with Mikkel Thorup to find out about how to reduce corporation tax bill and ideal offshore markets for you and your business.  To apply for a complimentary consultation and see if offshore incorporation is right for you, click here.

Conclusion

Over at EscapeArtist.com they have written the most comprehensive Ultimate Guide to Going Offshore that has been written to date.  You will want to down a PDF for your personal library.

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The post Protect Your Assets Legally With a Swiss Offshore Company appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

If you’re sick of incessant government taxes, consider diversifying your options in the form of offshore incorporation. After all, your hard earned money isn’t the right of any government.

If this mentality was the norm, governments around the world wouldn’t dare introduce tax policies at the expense of their citizens.

What Is Flag Theory?

Flag theory revolves around the concept of international diversification. It highlights a way forward for entrepreneurs wanting to leverage minimized tax collections.

Perpetual tourists are ‘citizens of the world.’ They’re constantly on the move in search of tax havens to safeguard their money. However, you can remain in one place and still reap the benefits of flag theory.

Why You Need To Follow Flag Theory

Harry Schultz invented the dynamic flag theory. Originally, it was based on three main ideas:

Live in a country where your foreign-source income isn’t taxed

Singapore is a country where citizens can avoid paying local taxes while earning money from any country in the world. In short, they avoid territorial taxation.

The reason for having a second passport is so attractive is because they allow you to avoid nationality-based taxation. Those who renounce their nationality and earn money outside their country of origin don’t have to let go of their hard-earned income in the form of nationality-based taxation.

Live in a country that values you

As a perpetual tourist, you generally stay in a single country for no longer than six months. You can travel to the most attractive countries in the world while enjoying foreign income exclusion.

Keep your assets in stable tax havens

If you’re eligible for Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, consider offshore company formation. It’s recommended to choose countries like Seychelles, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, or Nevis. Non-domestic companies operating in these countries aren’t usually subject to income taxes.

Free Yourself From The State

Did you know that there are thousands of successful Expats around the world who are building their businesses abroad and have eliminated their tax bill? Get in touch with Mikkel Thorup to internationalize your business.

Start here.

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Your offshore company can be incorporated under an International Business Company/Corporation (IBC) by the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance. This means that business owners are free to conduct legitimate business in Nevis after undergoing an easy registration process.

This is what you need to know about offshore incorporation in the Caribbean tax haven.

Registration Agents

The first step to offshore incorporation in Nevis is to get a registered agent with a Nevis Island Administration license. The agent should also have a registered office in Nevis. Once you’ve finalized the name of the IBC, your agent will reserve it via Nevis’s online registration module.

According to the 1984 Ordinance, the agent may be a barrister carrying out practice in Nevis and St. Christopher. You can even act as the registered agent for other corporations if you have a paid-in capital worth EC $500,000. This approach was introduced to minimize bureaucratic processes.

Taxation Framework

There is no need to pay taxes from the local area by a registered Nevis Business Corporation (IBC). Owners in this tax haven can enjoy exemptions from capital gain taxes, withholding, state, succession, gift, and stamp duties.

The list of exemptions also includes any tax sourced from income earned outside Nevis or via activities which occurred outside of Nevis.

• Annual Tax Returns

Nevis Business Corporations do not need to file any tax returns. Offshore companies in the country are, however, required to pay the annual corporation registration charge.

Trading Restrictions

There are certain restrictions that one needs to be aware of when forming an offshore company in Nevis. Such a corporation will face restrictions when trading within Nevis.

The exception is when the deal involves an international partner with no ties to Nevis. The transaction is also restricted to services related to insurance, banking, and real estate.

Naming Restrictions

When it comes to naming a Nevis corporation, the name must include Limited Liability Company (LLC). A similar-sounding name to any other existing company in the country can also be restricted to avoid confusion.

Note: If your offshore company name has words like Loans, Municipal, Bank, or Royal, you may require governmental approval prior to incorporation.

Conclusion

If you are interested in learning about how to legally reduce corporation tax bill, talk with Mikkel Thorup. His weekly podcast The Expat Money Show offers conversations with successful expats on entrepreneurship, investing, finance, international living, and setting up an offshore company in Nevis, Seychelles, Ireland and more.

Over at EscapeArtist.com they have written The Ultimate Guide to Going Offshore.  This may be the most extensive article written to date.  You can download in PDF for your personal library.

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I landed in Singapore the night before my meeting with the team at Silver Bullion, checked into my hotel, had a bit of food and started to prepare… I called to make sure the film crew was all set for the following day, I reviewed my questions I had been preparing all week and more than anything I tried to shake the jetlag so I would be well rested for what was to come…

The alarm went off way too early the next morning, I showered and shaved, listened to an interview of Gregor Gregersen the CEO of Silver Bullion on BBC World News – he’s the founder and brains behind the Vault I was getting a private tour of that day.

I ordered an Uber before I left my room, grabbed my stuff and headed for the door Passport in hand…

To stay calm I did a bit of filming in the car talking about how I was feeling and my excitement to be invited for such a rare look behind the scenes of one of the safest private vaults in the world for precious metals.

Arriving at Silver Bullion Vault In Singapore

My Uber driver and I couldn’t even find the place on Google Maps. I am guessing they didn’t want people to know the location, so even with an address, we got a little lost. Luckily I was early and didn’t get too stressed. When we pulled up to the nondescript looking building there were no signs to identify it. I rolled down my window and asked the Singaporean security guard if I was in the right location. She assured me I was, and within two minutes Gregor Gregersen appeared outside to great me. A quick handshake and we were past the first line of defence.

We walked up a ramp and entered the building where straight away I surrendered my Passport through a small drawer that was pulled back into a private room. Through the thick bulletproof glass I could see three armed guards, they smiled at me as I chatted to Gregor about my flight over. I hadn’t noticed but when we entered this small room the door shut behind me and there was no way to get out. The door could only be opened remotely from within the guard room.

Gregor would explain to me later that this is what is called a “Man Trap”, that the second door could not be opened until the first door was locked securely.

After a couple of minutes, the guards had photocopied my passport and the second large door opened for us. We continued our conversation while we waited for my film crew to arrive.

Past the first line of defence

Gregor chatted openly about the insurance procedures for the Vault. How the boutique insurance they had obtained covered the patrons of the vault from every conceivable form of loss you could imagine (and many you would never imagine).

They had even been able to get approved for a clause he called “mysterious disappearance”.

Which basically acts as an overall blanket policy to cover you for things that are unexplainable, so if something happened to your bullion, but they couldn’t figure out what it was you would still be covered.

There was a small locker room close by where I shed my bag and wallet. By this time my film crew had arrived and Gregor was getting mic’d up. A couple voice checks later and we were ready to go.

We got introduced to the rest of the team, close to a dozen staff warmly greeted us.  I had spoken to a couple of them in the months leading up to this trip via email and it was lovely to put faces to names finally.

They told us how all the employees who work for Silver Bullion are actually partial owners of the company and there is extremely low turn over for the staff. They all trust each other and behave more like a family than anything else. Gregor explained that the loyalty is actually another security measure, that he studied other vault companies and in a lot of incidences of theft there was a staff member involved.

Entering The Vault

We passed through a large gated door that looked similar to something you might see in a prison movie. Strong steel bars running floor to ceiling.

We started filming and I interviewed Gregor about the receiving process for all metals that enter the building. Gregor’s background before Bullion was programming so he basically created a uniques system for all parcels of bullion and people that enter the premises.

The interesting thing is that instead of looking at the systems that other vault companies have in place he went out there and decided to build something from scratch based on today’s technology and custom installed the entire thing himself. I suggested a patent on the technology…

In front of me was a massive Vault door that looked straight out of a James Bond movie.  It was about 8 feet high and 8 feet across, round in shape with a big wheel on the front. One of the staff swiped a keycard to the side, I turned the handle and gingerly swung the door opened.

The Actual Vault Door Itself Looked out of a Movie

They explained, to be gentle.  The door weighs thousands of kg and there is a delicate sheet of glass on the inside that holds back giant rods. If they release the door, it shuts permanently. This is to protect against a burglar who tries to drill the lock. If you swing the Vault door too hard you could accidentally break this glass.

On the inside of the door, I noticed 3 small manual clocks, when I inquired what these were I was told it was a time lock. That it was impossible to open the door before 9 am or after 6 pm. So even if someone knew the combination or had the key card they could not open the door during the night.

This massive door was Class One, meaning that if you had the best safecracker in the world, with the best equipment in the world,  it is still guaranteed to take a minimum of 30 minutes to open the door. And considering there is a police station 4 minutes away, it is unlikely they would even get their tools out of their bag before they were overrun…

After the main vault door, there was what is called a “daytime door”. This they open and close when they pass through during normal operations. Another security scan and we are in the main vault.

The Vault Itself

If you have ever seen vaults on TV and it looks like a small room with boxes against the wall then this is 100% different… this looked more like a warehouse. With giant racks and cages of bullion stacked 40 feet into the air. Huge rows of bullion piled on top of one another. There are pallets with thousands of 30 kg bars of silver stacked against the wall.

(Mikkel Thorup With 30 kg Bars Of Pure Silver)

At any one time Silver Bullion stores upwards of $300,000,000 worth of precious metals, it was quite a site!

Each one of these cages Gregor explains weighs roughly a thousand kg. They are packed so closely together that you cannot open one to pull out the contents from within. To access these you need to use a specially designed forklift to retrieve them.

And anything you could carry like coins is up on the top shelf, maybe 30 feet up.

Security Features at The Silver Bullion Vault

Gregor explains the security cameras, motion sensors and lasers that line the wall… of course all state of the art.

I asked him if someone could just come through the wall or vent and skip the vault door entirely? He explained that this building was originally meant for building microchips and the walls are extremely thick, there was only one way in and the entire place is sealed to make sure no dust enters. Anyways he says, we have seismic readers to detect vibration. If someone tries to tunnel through the wall they won’t make it an inch before the alarm sounds.

Around the corner, Gregor brings me to a giant section that has floor to ceiling safety deposit boxes, but these look more like massive steel suitcases, there are digital locks on each one and they all have numbered seals in place. They hold up to 200 kg of precious metals, and if you disclose what is inside it to Silver Bullion it is also covered by insurance.

I should also point out that everything in this vault is considered the private property of their customers. The Vault owner is a custodian, and under no circumstance could it ever be seized even if the Vault itself went into default or a foreign government tried to gain access to the metals stored here. They are not subject to US law and if you were sued and a judge demanded you to forfeit your property,  Silver Bullion would not comply.

A Vault Inside A Vault

After this, we approached a second massive Vault door. This was a Vault inside a Vault. And this door was a Class Two door. Remember when I said that even under perfect conditions the main door would take a minimum of 30 minutes to crack? Well, this door is even more secure and is guaranteed to take a minimum of 60 minutes.

The walls of this Vault have a center filling of incredibly fine powdered metal, that if you tried to drill or cut the wall the powdered metal would fall and instantly seal the hole, it would also jam your equipment and make it impossible to continue.

(Building the Class Two Vault at Silver Bullion in Singapore)

The pieces that make up the walls here were formed in what was described to me as giant Tetris blocks, they fit together perfectly and it would be impossible to even fit a piece of paper in between one of them, so good luck ever trying to slip a camera into the room.

After they let me swing open the Class Two vault door (which was very cool) we walked up the steps and entered a room with hundreds of safety deposit boxes. They unlocked one and pulled it out for me to see.

(Mikkel Thorup Pictured Here Holding Half A Million In Gold)

In it was a 12 kg bar of pure gold or roughly half a million dollars worth of bullion…

I hoisted it up and took a silly amount of pictures holding the thing until my arm got tired and I had to give it back.

Final Thoughts

My experience with Gregor Gregersen from Silver Bullion was unbelievable. I feel incredibly secure about storing my Bullion with them and am very grateful to get a glimpse behind the closed doors of one of the most secure precious metal Vaults in the world

If you want to learn how you can set up a free account with their company and purchase Gold, Silver, Platinum or Electric Vehicle Metals that I talk about in this Special Report then I suggest visiting their website directly by clicking HERE.

Always Remember, Endeavour to Greatness

Mikkel Thorup

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According to the Business Company Act, a company must have the following characteristics to be operational in BVI.

Tax policy

The best part about their tax policy is that there is NO tax.

Shareholders requirement

Companies can operate in BVI, after issuing a minimum of 1 bearer or registered share. An offshore company must pay a licensing fee of $1,100, in order to issue bearer shares. No long procedures are in place to regulate the issuance of shares. The companies must maintain a register of shareholder at their registered office in BVI. Moreover, the bearer shares must be issued, after the approval of a custodian.

Director

BVI makes the setting up of businesses easier by reducing the amount of red tape involved in the entire process. With a minimum of 1 director, your business can become operational in BVI.

The details of corporate directors must be timely filed, within 28 days, in the Companies Registry or else the company will be subjected to heavy fines.

Time taken for the incorporation process

The incorporation process can be completed with 24-hours, but BVI generally takes 1-week to complete the paperwork.

Restrictions

In order to operate in BVI a company’s name must identify the nature of the company. For example, the company’s name must end with Limited, Incorporated, Corporation, Sociedad Anonima, or Societe Anonyme.

On the other hand, following terminology or business structure/activities are restricted in BVI, Bank, Assurance, Building Society, Chartered, Chamber of Commerce, Fund, Co-operative, Mutual Fund, Trust or Royal.

Local requirement

According to the Company Act, a business must maintain a physical presence in BVI and have an operational registered office within the region. Moreover, the company also needs to appoint a BVI resident agent, who will charge the business an annual domiciliary fee.

Although the offshore companies aren’t required to publicly share or publish their financial accounts, they need to maintain financial accuracy in their books. Non-compliance can land them a fine of $10,000.

Trust Services

You can save a substantial amount of taxes using BVI’s trust services to own company shares. A trust will provide your company, asset protection, saving on inheritance tax, avoidance of probate and smooth continuity in the business.

Sold-out on the no-tax policy of British Virgin Island? Before you start setting up your offshore company, take help from Mikkel Thorup. He provides advice to expats and entrepreneurs on how to reduce corporate tax bill while improving income stream. Click here to register for his weekly podcast.

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There are ways you can reduce your corporate tax bill and work hard to qualify for foreign income exclusion. Here are some tax-saving strategies for you to consider.

Qualify for FEIE

You can exclude your income from federal taxes by qualifying for Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.  However, FEIE has a lengthy qualification process,

• The US citizen needs to be a bona fide resident of a foreign country for an uninterrupted tax year
• The US citizen needs to be residing in a country that has signed an income tax treaty with the US
• And the US citizen must remain in outside the USA for a period of 330-days, without interruptions

Take advantage of Foreign Housing Exclusion or Deduction

If you qualify for FEIE, benefit from the lower taxes by claiming foreign housing exclusion or deduction. Exclusion and deductions are treated differently by the IRS.

Use form 2555 to calculate your exclusion and deduction.

Exclusion includes the amount of housing expense offered by your foreign employer; on the other hand, deductions is the amount of housing expense incurred by a self-employed individual earning abroad.

Foreign Tax Credit OR FEIE

You can either claim a foreign tax credit or FEIE. Check to see which policy is most effective for you and your business. Foreign tax credit helps reduce your tax liability, by accounting for the amount of dollars you pay in taxes. It takes a dollar-for-dollar approach, rewarding taxpayer with credit/points.

For example, if you pay off an accrued income tax or taxes on salaries, wages, dividend or interest, you earn credit.

But you need to qualify for FTC first. The income excluded under FEIE can’t be used to claim a tax credit, however, your non-earned income e.g. dividends or interests can be covered under foreign tax credit.

On the other hand, FEIE reduces income to reduce your tax liability. You’re better off using the tax credit as federal tax rate used to calculate FEIE can be very high.

Did you start a business to make a profit for the government? Learn to protect your foreign earned income from taxes and duties with Mikkel Thorup. His weekly ‘The Expat Money Show’ helps many expats survive in the foreign land and make money for themselves and not the government. Register your company offshore now to lower your tax liability.

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However, the magnitude of change, financial consideration, and stress amplifies, when you switch countries or worse, CONTINENTS!

Sometimes, change is inevitable. For example, if you’re living in a country that takes up most of your business revenue, in form of corporate tax, duties, income tax, and withholding tax, finding a new tax-free zone becomes imperative for your business success.

A country with favourable tax policies and lower employee wages can help reduce your corporate bill and even qualify you for foreign income exclusion.

Setting up an offshore company may be highly profitable, but not everyone can pull it off.

Ready to be an expat? Here are some signs.

You promote and support multiculturalism

People who are eager to learn about different cultures are more successful at surviving in a foreign land. If you find yourself interested in the diverse cultures of the world and make a conscious attempt to understand the similarities and differences that each culture celebrates, you might have shot at becoming an expat.

You don’t get attached to objects

“Travel light” is the ultimate code expats live by.

If you’re a drifter who makes a living travelling from one country to another, then tying yourself to personal belonging is an unnecessary ordeal.

If you buy essential things and have the uncanny ability to pack all your possessions in a travelling bag, you may survive the tough travelling schedules of an expat.

Flexibility and adaptability

Do you like meeting new people?  Trying out new cuisine? Switching jobs? Or learning new languages? If yes, you can easily fit into expat’s lifestyle. Adaptability and flexibility is crucial to an expat’s success. If they struggle to fit into a company or even a country, living abroad can become a hassle.

Tourist

If you’re a person who never considered himself a tourist and would rather live in a country to get to know it better, you have a chance of becoming an expat. Expats like to study cultures and people of different countries. They’re adventurous by nature and don’t believe that a small vacation will do justice in learning a new culture or country.

Do you have what it takes to be an expat?

Don’t worry, if you’re just not there yet. Listen to Mikkel Thorup’s weekly podcast and learn important tips and tricks to conquer the world with fewer tax liabilities and multiple income streams.

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Setting up an offshore company in Singapore, Seychelles, Ireland or any other country requires a lot of hard work. If you think that all you have to do is travel abroad and let the opportunity knock on your door, you’re wrong.

A lot of planning, documentation and procedures have to be fulfilled in order to register your company. Make sure you’ve considered all aspects, before going global. Here is a checklist for you to consider, before registering your offshore company.

Can you finance budgeting, resources and business operations?

First and foremost, have monetary resources to back your new business venture abroad. Generate the necessary capital and invest sufficient time in budgeting your company’s operation. Incurring profits in the first few years can be difficult.

Therefore, reduce your cash burn and minimize other expenses to ensure that your business remains a ‘Going Concerns’.

Keep an eye on fundraising opportunities in the global market. For example, Irish companies that are planning to go international, but require capital, can take help from Enterprise Ireland.

Know the tax rate, compliance and reporting policies

Walking from one income-reducing tax structure to another poorly-designed tax structure is the biggest mistake you will ever make. Your choice of business jurisdiction should be based on tax reform, compliance procedures and reporting policies.

Do your research and find the most profit-making environment for your business. Be very particular about the following:

• The corporate tax rate (and how to reduce your corporate tax bill)
• VAT rates
• Is the country under a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA)?
• Will your dividend be subjected to withholding taxes?
• Will your business operation be a subsidiary or a holding company?

Incorporation process

You may need the help of a professional to incorporate your company. Incorporation process requires a lot of documentation. Let a professional corporate advisory firm incorporate your business in a systematic and cost-effective manner.

Crossing the language barriers

Be prepared to learn and adapt to the new culture, language and business practices. Getting clients or communicating with your employees may become difficult if you’re unable to converse in their mother-tongue.

Make a conscious attempt to learn the new language and culture by joining online courses or hiring a translator.

Market survey

Your idea might have been a huge success back home, but the cultural and economic difference of another country can make your product/service redundant in another market. Conduct market research and determine local demand. Fine-tune and customize your marketing and communication strategies to make it relatable to your new audience.

The risk of currency

Your company will be at risk of foreign exchange fluctuations. Open a multi-currency offshore account to minimize the risk created by unpredictable currency movements.

Human Recourses

Having a dynamic idea isn’t enough; your chosen country should also have the required human resources, skills and technology to realize your break-through idea.

Speak to HR agencies and recruitment firms about the talent pool availability. Determine the wage rate, salary expectations of senior executives, the cost of moving your existing staff, and most importantly the income tax.

Are you done paying your profits to the government in form of heavy corporate bills? Mikkel Thorup can guide you in starting up a new business abroad, a business that has multiple income streams and lower corporate bills.

Tune into The Expat Money Show Podcast every Friday for interviews with successful expat entrepreneurs who are building their business while travelling the world.

And if you want to really understand the offshore markets make sure to download this secret unpublished interview not found on iTunes, Stitcher Radio or anywhere else.

Click HERE to get your copy for free.

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Do you wish to pack everything and set sail to an island, and live a simple tax-free life, away from the population?

Well, you don’t need to call quits on humanity and the economy just yet. Seychelles offers you a productive, tax-free zone to conduct business activities. However, setting up an offshore company requires a lot of paperwork and planning.

A tour of Seychelles

It’s a group of 115 islands populated with 90,000 people, located smack in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Seychelles is a mixture of Asian, African and European culture. Its diversified population makes it a mixing pot for businesses all over the world.

The country has developed infrastructure and is recognized for its technologically-advanced telecommunication system. As for the legal system, the country is governed by the English Common Law, the amended 1993 constitution, and the Napoleonic Code.

Seychelles’ Company Law is also based on the English Common Law. In addition to this, the country is also known as an independent financial centre, regulated by IMF, FATF and OECD.

According to the Company Law, your offshore company needs to comply with these rules.

International Business Companies

The Company Law has been modernized and amended over the past years to accommodate and encourage business activities within the country. Current legislation facilitates businesses with its minimum disclosure policies, no strict requirements in reporting of shareholders and directors, and no/less mortgage payment.

Taxation

Your dream has come true; this group of islands has no taxes on International Business Companies.

Shareholders

With one shareholder you can set up an offshore company, the details regarding the shareholder/s must be maintained in a Register of Member within Seychelles. This register is not open to public scrutiny and can only be inspected by members.

Directors

Similar to shareholder requirement, a company can appoint a minimum of 1 director with permission of hiring other corporate directors.

A detailed record of directors must be kept in the Register of Directors that must be maintained with your company’s office in Seychelles. This register can only be inspected by the members.

Financial Reports

IBCs don’t need to publish financial records or accounts, but accurate records need to be maintained for a particular transaction for a minimum of 7 years.

Incorporation Time

The incorporation process can be completed within 24 hours, but the documentation can delay the process for a few days.

Name Restriction

An IBC can’t use the following words in their company’s name if they want to conduct business activities within Seychelles.

• Municipal and Trust
• Insurance
• Imperial
• Government
• Foundation
• Co-operative
• Chartered
• Chamber of Commerce
• Building Society
• Bank
• Assurance
• Or any other word that links your company to the government

Instead of these words, the following terms can be used to describe the nature of your business, Limited, Incorporated, Societe Anonyme, Corporation or another recognized alternative.

Local Requirement

A registered office must be maintained within Seychelles with an appointed registered agent.

Want to enjoy tax-free zone, foreign income exclusion policies, and get as far away from the income-reducing US tax code?

Pack up and move to Seychelles. Mikkel Thorup can guide you in setting up an offshore company with multiple income streams and inexpensive corporate tax bill. Click here to stay updated on his podcast.

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An excellent way to reduce tax and gain access to the foreign market is offshore banking. Your saving or funds are taken out of the US jurisdiction, which lets you avoid a certain type of taxes. However, you need to explore your options. Different countries have different tax policies and tax agreement. Find a country that offers maximum tax-saving opportunity. To make things easier, here is a list of best offshore banking countries.

Cayman Island

This country has a good reputation in the international market for its banking services. It hosts many international clients and provides a wide range of banking and financial services. In addition to this, this island is literally a safe retreat for foreign businesses and individuals because of its lower tax liability.

Cayman Island doesn’t tax capital gain, payroll, corporation gain, or personal income. It provides ideal conditions for expats. There are no reserve requirements and company/individuals can transfer funds in or out of the Island, in any currency, without any fees.

Cayman Island is recognized as one of the best international financial centers in the world because of its offshore regulatory framework.

Singapore

If you have a lot of assets and want to save it from the government, then Singapore is the place for you. The setup process is really simple and you don’t even have to travel to Singapore for the registration process.

Your assets are well-protected and concealed by the Singaporean offshore banking system. They offer a variety of wealth management services to make your assets profitable. It also gives you access to Hong Kong, China and European financial markets.

Switzerland

For privacy and anonymity, Switzerland offshore banking services are the best. Without the account holder’s consent, banks can’t share information about your income or wealth. Breaking this law means 6-months of prison time, plus a fine of 50,000 Swiss Francs. Therefore, head over to Switzerland, if you want superior asset protection.

Nevis

If you’re looking for a country to set up an offshore company in, then don’t forget Nevis. Excellent financial framework, low setup cost and facilitating asset protection services is what lures companies to this country.

Nevis doesn’t require companies to follow long statuary requirements and shareholders have the liberty to exit the company at fair value.

Belize (Bonus Country)

This year I have started working extremely closely with Caye International Bank based out of Belize. They have a capitalization ratio of 24%, which is considerably higher than any onshore account you are going to find in North America. Belize is a safe, democratic country that speaks English as a first language and their banking practices are very conservative compared to many countries you will find in the world.

Related Articles & Podcasts

Here is a fantastic podcast with Joel Nagel, from Nagel & Associates Law about the Best Countries for Citizenship by Investment and Residency by Investment.

Luigi Wewege, from Caye International Bank in Belize wrote this fantastic article about offshore banking.  Enjoy!

Escape Artist, along with Mikkel Thorup, graced us with this article about offshore banking.  I know you’ll love this.

Conclusion

Over at EscapeArtist.com  we have written The Ultimate Guide to Going Offshore.  It’s an amazing article that I know you will want to download the PDF for your personal library.

There are many other opportunities out there for you. Devise a comprehensive plan to protect your income and assets in the best way possible. Mikkel Thorup can help you with finding offshore banking opportunities, just tune into his weekly podcast, The Expat Money Show.

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By opening an offshore bank account, you open yourself to various cost-saving and tax-avoiding opportunities. Keep reading to know what perks you’re missing out on.

Security

Is your money REALLY safe? Safety of banks is always questioned, but there are countries, which go out of their way to provide you with a secure and transparent environment to keep your money.

When embargoes or civil unrest arises in a country, the government blocks all the local banks. Meaning, you won’t be able to access your savings. By opening an offshore account you can save yourself from such scenarios.

Convenience

Expats follow a nomadic lifestyle. They travel from one country to another for work and pleasure. Owning an offshore account offers ease-of-access around the globe. No matter where you’re, you can easily carry out transactions with mobile banking services.

Tax

Another perk of opening an offshore account are the tax exemptions, but foreign income exclusion is totally dependent on the nature of your income and the country of your residence.

Many people transfer their assets to another jurisdiction to avoid domestic taxes. You can do the same by exploring your options in another country.

Better investment options

Taking your money to an international bank expands your investment opportunities. Local banks have limited resources for investment purposes. On the other hand, offshore banking diversifies your risk by investing your money in variety of investment portfolio.

Foreign exchange

If you’ve family abroad or if you frequently deal with foreign clients, you will know the taxes and exchange rates levied on international transfer of money from local banks. You can leave all this behind, by opening a multi-currency foreign account.

Offshore banks provide competitive exchange rates to their clients, which makes international transaction more affordable and convenient.

Borrowing and Credit

In addition to superior foreign exchange services, offshore banks also offer lending and credit services. Their loan repayment is more flexible in nature and is customized to specific client’s needs.  For example, the major markets in the UK enjoy low mortgage rates. Hence, taking a mortgage from a UK-based offshore bank for property investment will be a cost-effective decision.

Superior service

Offshore banks assign an account manager to every client. You can avail their fast and customized services from any corner of the world.

Need help protecting your money from the greedy hands of your taxing government? Listen to The Expat Money Show by Mikkel Thorup. Learn more about setting an Offshore Bank Account in Mikkel’s favourite country.

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Let’s be honest, everyone is looking for money-saving tactics to prevent the government from taking a huge chunk of our hard-earned money. Tax avoidance is difficult when you’re living under the jurisdiction of your domestic government, but if you’ve set up an offshore company or are earning a living in a foreign company, you can benefit from foreign earned income exclusion.

Expats can qualify for FEIE and save up to $104,100 or more, under the 2018 U.S Tax Code. But in order to save this amount you’ve to follow a long process and get your application accepted by the IRS.

Which incomes are eligible for exclusion?

Your income may be taxed twice, first by the foreign authority and second by the US government. To ensure that your income stream isn’t subjected to dual taxation, exempt it (income earned from rendering your services to a foreign-based company) from getting taxed by the US government. Keep in mind, dividend and interest income that you earn abroad aren’t subjected to this exclusion.

Who can benefit from FEIE?

US Citizens, who are employed by a foreign-based company or US citizen working in a partnership or self-employed businesses in a foreign country can qualify for FEIE.

The tests

People who have lived and are residents of a foreign country for more than one full year can apply for foreign income exclusion. However, some leniency in the timeframe is provided during special conditions, like a civil war.

You have to pass the Physical Presence Test and provide proof to the government that you’ve been officially earning and residing in another country for the period of at least 12-months.

A Bona Fide Resident certificate also needs to be provided to ensure the US government that you actually reside in another country.

Foreign housing exclusion or deduction

Living abroad can be expensive. Foreign employers usually include housing expense in your total compensation or you’ve to pay the rent yourself. A tax deduction or exclusion is available for expats. The deduction is calculated by deducting your actual housing expense incurred in the foreign country by the average housing expense prevalent in the foreign country.

You’ll need all the help that you can get to file taxes as an Expat. Join Mikkel Thorup on The Expat Money Show to learn exciting tips and tricks of saving your foreign income from redundant tax policies. Visit his website to catch-up on all his podcasts.

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Wrapping up all your business operations, transferring all your funds abroad, packing your belongings and flying to another country or continent can be a mind-boggling experience. But you’re not alone!

Millions of businessmen, disappointed by their domestic tax reforms, take this bold step of becoming expatriates for life and set up an offshore company or find a foreign job.

Treat your big move, like a new challenge or a lucrative business avenue, you need to explore. Here is a list of common problems you need to prepare for, in case you’re looking for an offshore opportunity.

The struggle of fitting into a new culture

There are high chances of experiencing a culture shock if you’re travelling to a new country or continent. Getting accustomed to the new environment, culture, customs and people might be challenging— don’t get overwhelmed. This is a natural response; give yourself some time to get acquainted with the place and culture. Visit famous landmarks, try new food and meet the locals. Do some research on the culture, business ethics and etiquettes to prepare yourself beforehand. You can even meet other fellow expats to gain useful insight.

The language barrier

Walking into another country that is fluent in the English language is an ideal situation, but if you’re travelling to an Asian or European country, you need to brush up on your language skills. Be mentally prepared for the language barrier. In the first few months, you’ll have trouble asking for direction or ordering food, but eventually, you will learn the new language.

Enroll in a language class and practice with your friends and coworkers on a daily basis. In no-time, this foreign language will seem native to you.

Accommodation problem

You can’t live in a hotel room forever. Finding a new house is a long and technical process and the magnitude of house-hunting intensifies, when you’re in a totally foreign country. Hire a realtor or ask your coworkers to help you out in this matter. It’s recommended to rent a small house until you’ve found your bearing in the new land.

Money management

Whether you’re an expat or not, money management is tricky business! You will spend the first few weeks converting everything to your home currency. Know all the financial arrangements you need to make when starting a new life in a new country. Start by setting up an offshore bank account. Next, start applying for a tax credit and FEIE or Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to secure your earnings from higher taxes.

Lastly, be prepared to feel lonely and a little homesick. You will miss your old friends, family, and your favourite park, but remember, you can revisit them during vacations. Remind yourself of all the reasons, you left the country in the first place.

Need to know the Ins and Outs of the Expat Way of Living? Take expert advice from Mikkel Thorup. His weekly ‘The Expat Money Show’ helps many expats conquer the foreign land. Click here to learn more.

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The Bahamas became an independent member of the British Commonwealth in 1973. It follows the legal system of the UK and is also governed by British common law.

In addition to its highly-developed infrastructure, Bahamas is also the house of 300 banking institutions. It only entertains agreements and treaties regarding drug-trafficking and doesn’t exchange information with other countries for tax leniency.

Setting up an offshore company in the Bahamas will offer multiple benefits, but for that, you need to comply with the International Business Companies Act 2000.

The International Business Company (IBC)

In order to facilitate easy incorporation and business activities, IBC was revised in 2000. Under the new compliance, an offshore company must have the following characteristics.

Taxation

No taxes are applied on IBCs, because the Bahamas is a tax-free jurisdiction. This means companies operating within the Bahamas aren’t directly taxed on income, capital gain, corporation or gifts.

Shareholders

You can incorporate business after issuing a minimum of one share. As bearer shares have been abolished in 2001, you need to issue registered shares only.

All the registered shares need to be filed in the register of a shareholder, which needs to be kept at your registered office within the Bahamas. This register is only accessible to the company and is restricted to public viewing.

Requirement of Directors

Your offshore company can be operational with a minimum of 1 director and other corporate directors can be hired.

All company’s director must be listed in the register of a director, which must be provided to the Registrar of Companies in a timely manner. This register is open to public scrutiny; be careful of inspection.

Financial Reports

An annual business license fees needs to be paid; non-compliance subjects you to a penalty fee of 10 percent of your license fee.

Although, no annual report needs to be published, maintain accurate financial accounts to justify your business operations. Moreover, the location of financial records must be notified to the authorities.

Name restriction

In order to operate in the Bahamas your business name must have one of the following terms:

• Limited
• Corporation
• GmbH
• Incorporated
• Societe Anonyme
• Sociedad Anonima

On the other hand, following business activities or terminology can’t be used, when you’re operating in the Bahamas,

• Assurance
• Bank
• Building Society
• Chamber of Commerce
• Chartered
• Cooperative
• Imperial
• Insurance
• Municipal
• Royal

Local requirements

The only law that a company needs to follow in the Bahamas is to maintain a physical presence within the region. By law, the offshore company needs to have a registered office address and a resident agent.

Sick of the US tax code? Ready to try your luck in the Bahamas?

To learn how Mikkel Thorup can assist you to incorporate your business in The Bahamas all you have to do is CLICK HERE right now.

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Due to unfavourable conditions, many businesses file bankruptcy or wrap up their operations and move to another country.

A good businessman is always on the lookout for a better opportunity, here is a list of reasons to make your company international:

Globalization

In this age of digitalization and technology, borders are blurred. Chances are, you might already be in business with international clients. Multiple opportunities lie offshore. Limiting yourself with invisible boundaries and borders is keeping your business from earning higher profits. So, break free and conquer undiscovered markets with break-through ideas.

Tax exclusion

Entrepreneurs want to reduce their corporate tax bill and setting up an offshore company is an easy way to avail multiple tax exemptions.

Many countries attract business investment by offering tax-free trade zones and policies. By establishing your business in a country that facilitates business activities, you can reduce your tax liability and improve your income stream.

International assets

If your companies own various properties and assets, then establishing an offshore company is an excellent protection vessel for you. Many countries offer lower tax rates on corporate assets and even facilitate Intellectual Property rights with conducive R&D policies. One of the best ways to invest in international assets is to already have some money aside in an offshore bank account.

Less red tape

Since you’re bringing business to a country, they treat you with less paperwork and easy setup process. Laws and regulations regarding offshore company’s capital and shares are relatively flexible. They don’t need to hold annual general meetings and have no restriction on the number of shareholders and directors.

Easy setup

Tax-free zones and Special Economic Zones offer easy setup process, less paperwork, access to local resources and most importantly, lower or no taxes. Entrepreneurs can create a physical presence in another company by benefiting from these special zones.

Access new market

In order to grow your business, new markets need to be approached. Offshore companies provide a great opportunity to explore and learn about a new market. A business-friendly environment created by the local government allows easy penetration into the profitable market.

Life of an expat

If you have a brain of an entrepreneur and want to explore undiscovered locations, then an offshore company is the best solution for you. This way, your work will become your passion and you can excel at life and business by striking a healthy balance between both.  To apply for a complimentary consultation and see if offshore incorporation is right for you, click HERE.

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You can also benefit from the multiple business opportunities that UAE has to offer by setting up an offshore company. But before you make the move, consider the following:

What Are The Benefits?

UAE offers a politically stable business environment for entrepreneurs. It has a developed infrastructure with necessary roads, rail, ports, and airports to make your business accessible. In addition to this, UAE is home to the biggest banking and financial institutions including, HSBC, First Gulf Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

What Is The Tax Policy?

UAE is a business-friendly country. It attracts local and foreign business investment with its favourable corporate tax policies. UAE doesn’t tax the individual or corporate income. However, if you belong to the oil and gas sector, a 50-55 percent of the corporate tax will be levied on your earnings.

Moreover, banks that expand their subsidiaries in UAE have to pay a tax of 20 percent. Their tax policy for UAE-based, young companies is quite lenient, companies are charged with

• A one-time registration fee for an entry in the Register of Entrepreneurs
• A 5 percent tax on annual wages of employees that need to be paid to Emirate municipalities
• And 10 percent of your annual rent and warehouse rent

Offshore Company Or A Free-Zone Company?

There are 7 Emirates in UAE and each has a number of free zones and special trade policies. These free zones are controlled by an independent authority.

These independent authorities have the power to issue trade license, register businesses, and sign trade permits. Three options are available to businessmen; you can either open a Free Zone Company (FZC), Free Zone Establishment (FZE) or an offshore company.

There are pros and cons to all three options. FZE is owned and controlled by a single individual, whereas, an FZC is owned and controlled by two or more owners. Both zones, guarantee foreign ownership, tax exemption on foreign income, and the facility to hire locally.

But the drawback of these free zones is that it restricts business activities. Free-zone businesses can only trade within their specific zone. Some zones only allow industry-specific business operation in free zones. Lastly, a distributor or agent needs to be hired, if you want to trade outside a zone.

On the other hand, offshore companies provide entrepreneur more control over their business operations. You can establish your company in free-zone and avail tax exemptions while owning several international assets and conducting international transactions.

However, after issuance of license/trade permit or after purchasing shares in a local company, offshore companies can also trade inside UAE.

Do you still have questions about offshore companies and free-zones? Tune into Mikkel Thorup’s podcast, The Expat Money Show. He guides expats in setting up offshore companies in a profitable and systematic manner. To apply for a complimentary consultation and see if offshore incorporation is right for you click HERE.

Are you considering moving to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah or anywhere else in the United Arab Emirates? Check out our comprehensive guide called “Escape To The United Arab Emirates – A Comprehensive Guide Book For Expat-Hopefuls And Foreigners Who Are Seeking To Make The Move To Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Or Anywhere Else In The UAE”

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I’m focused on grabbing as much first-hand insight as possible, from the peers and industry-leaders that I’m about to meet.  It might sound a little corny coming from a high school dropout, but learning really is my passion.

In fact, that commitment to expanding my intellectual horizons is what first brought me to the Expat Money Show podcast. After meeting with and being influenced by, so many creative, thoughtful entrepreneurs, I wanted to give other people an unfiltered look into the wildly inspirational conversations that I was finding myself involved in every other day.  In other words, my desire for relevant, authentic, high-quality content led me to become a content creator.

Greg Rollett Makes Video Marketing Work

As an Emmy-award winning producer and best-selling author, Greg Rollett knows a little something about making great content. His successful web series, Ambitious Life is nearing the 100 episode mark and he’s just signed a deal to take the show for Amazons Prime where it’ll be sharing viewership with popular programs like The Grand Tour and Handmaiden’s Tale.

As the head of an independent production company with no agency or studio behind him, Greg is a clear example that you don’t need crazy budgets or unscrupulous sales tactics to make your video marketing strategy work. Consistent, well-made content is more than enough to put you ahead of the competition.

In this podcast episode, Greg delivered a master class in video marketing that included notes on everything from production to posting schedules and Facebook advertising. As someone who’s constantly consuming and publishing content on a variety of online platforms, Greg’s thoughts definitely gave me a clear blueprint for how to grow and improve the Expat Money Show over the next few months. Here are some excellent tips that you can use to inform your own content strategy moving forward.

Why Use Video Marketing?

Alright, let’s get the obvious questions out of the way to begin with. Why rely on video when blog posts require so much less effort and expenditure?

• As it stands, video content represents a staggering 74% of all traffic on the Internet. YouTube the premiere video platform on the web is the second most trafficked site in the world, behind only Google. Across the online space, on news feeds, blogs, company websites and social networks we’re seeing video content pushed like never before. If you’re making decisions based on what consumers want, then video is obviously a winning strategy.

• Are you happy with being just another voice in the crowd? No matter what you’re selling, you need some way to bring your voice and vision to your target audience. For me, there’s no better way to create real connections with people than putting yourself in front of a camera or microphone, and speaking directly to them. Can it be daunting? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.

• If SEO is your focus, then a keyword optimized video on YouTube will help you gain the kind of visibility you need. A single video embedded on your website or social media page can make it 53 times more likely that you’ll end up on the first page of Google.

• Most importantly, video feeds into every aspect of your content marketing. Greg hammers this point home again and again on this episode, the traditional lines between media formats are completely illusory. In reality, you should be extracting knowledge from your video content and using it for blog posts and vice versa (see: this article). When you spend time, effort and money on producing high-quality content you should ensure that you get as much ROI out of it as possible.

Maintain Consistency

Have you ever binge-watched a Netflix series? You’re not alone, at least 73% of US consumers admit to binging on shows and podcasts. It makes sense, with so much content out there once you finally connect with a voice that speaks to your particular interests and desires you want to get as much out of them as possible. As a content creator, you need to service this need.

When you manage to hook a new follower with a great tutorial or interview, the last thing you want is for them to have to scour the Internet in search of more of your videos. Give prospects a wealth of material to latch onto so that you can really capitalize on their initial interest.

Whether you’re putting up a daily Vlog, or one polished video every month; you need to find a posting schedule that guarantees a high-quality product on a regular basis.

Although it took a while for me to settle on an optimal formula for my own content, I’ve now begun to put out new podcast episodes on a weekly basis and the effect on my viewership and traffic statistics has been astronomical. As long as you’re not expecting quick fixes, these video marketing strategies will pay off.

Optimize For Your Platform

Every content delivery platform has its own formula for success.

• If you’re looking to market content on YouTube then you need to keyword-optimize your video titles and descriptions to make them more easily searchable. YouTube also favours more long-form content; the average length of a video on the website is around 4 minutes. Most of these videos also have a far higher production quality than Facebook or Snapchat videos.

• Facebook is all about memes and short value-packed snippets; 14 of the top 25 videos on Facebook come in at under 2 minutes. Facebook videos are also automatically muted, so you should always have subtitles in the bottom-third to draw in casual Newsfeed browsers.

• I’ll be honest, the demographics for Snapchat and Instagram generally skew younger than my regular audience but the power of millennial buyers cannot be ignored. These platforms are all about authenticity. Whether you’re posting pre-recorded videos or a live story you need to make sure you’re delivering current short-form content.

Repurpose

As I said before, one video should provide endless material for your overall content marketing. To start off with, your video library should provide an evergreen roster of recyclable content that can be used to boost interest around new product launches or business events. If you have an in-depth interview with an influential digital marketer in the bag and you’re just about to launch a 3-day course on SEO, then you’d be crazy not to use the interview again.

Check out my favourite software for Repurposing content HERE

It’s not just reposting old videos though. You can extract the transcripts from old interviews, podcast episodes and tutorials and use the text as a jumping off point for a blog post on your website or on another forum. One great video repurposing tip that Greg offered up was pulling attention-grabbing quotes from podcasts or videos and using them to social media marketing memes for your latest video posts.

Roll the Credits

If you’re planning on getting into the content creation game I would definitely urge you to check out my full-length podcast with Greg Rollett. Whether you’re a blogger, an aspiring podcaster, or a Youtuber the video marketing tips that Greg offers will get you excited about your next moves. As for me, I’m definitely going to be implementing some of these strategies ASAP.

If you’re a first-time visitor to the Expat Money Show, make sure to sign up to our newsletter so we can keep you updated on new content, events and special offers that are available for our community of entrepreneurs.

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So who’s making the most out of these massive selling opportunities? If you think it’s just mainstream manufacturers then you’d be wrong, up to 40% of the merchandise on Amazon is sold by third-party merchants that use the website’s inbuilt audience to market everything from toys and gadgets to household appliances.

Jim Cockrum’s Multi-Million Dollar Amazon Empire

In the latest episode of the Expat Money Show Podcast, I spoke to someone who has managed to fashion a multi-million dollar empire out of his ability to sell consistently on Amazon. Jim Cockrum is one of the clearest and most original voices in Internet marketing. Over the years his insights on social media and Amazon marketing campaigns have earned him a position amongst the most trusted digital marketers working today. Jim has released bestselling books on his sales strategies, and regularly teaches seminars to help show other aspiring internet entrepreneurs the tricks to hacking the notoriously competitive Amazon marketplace.

However, my podcast with Jim Cockrum revealed so much more than a savvy marketing mind. Over the course of this business podcast our discussion hit upon religion, education, and parenthood amongst other things. But at the core of the episode was Jim’s repeated insistence that relationships form the basis for any successful eCommerce venture; whether it’s the professional relationships that lie at the heart of your business networks, or in this case, the customer relationships that help to differentiate your products and services from the scores of online competitors.

In the past, Jim has put together a number of highly successful Facebook marketing strategies that have outlasted even the most, well-funded advertising campaigns from much larger brands. Jim himself admits that many of his Facebook marketing ideas were largely improvised with only a few hundred dollars in investment behind them. Nevertheless, in May 2018, Jim managed to score three spots on Amazon’s list of the 10 highest selling toys across the world, based on little more than this keen understanding of customer relationship building on social media.

If you’re operating on a shoestring budget, some of the tips found throughout this podcast episode with Jim Cockrum can help you get started with marketing products on Amazon.  Here are some key takeaways.

Be Authentic

At its core, social media is all about forging connections. While this objective can get lost amongst the deluge of jargon that often surrounds the world of digital marketing, it bears repeating. No matter how much you’re spending on SEO and production values unless you’re able to craft a message that truly resonates with your target audience all your efforts will be for naught.

At the end of the day, any faceless corporation can put together a high-quality video that hits all the hallmarks for viral advertising, but as a smaller business, you have the ability to put a real face to your marketing. That’s the key to any customer relationships, real, personal interactions. Make audiences believe that you’re interested in the same things they are, and you have the potential to create an extremely loyal following.

Prioritize Engagements

As an entrepreneur that’s primarily focused on conversions, the last metric you should be looking at on social media is views. While a highly visibly Facebook marketing strategy, will help you bring more eyeballs to your business, branding has become an increasingly ineffective marketing technique in a consumer-driven landscape that prioritizes direct relationships and personalized interactions. Instead of views, you should focus on comments, likes and shares. These key measurements will show you how successful you are in actually creating action amongst your target market for Amazon.

This idea of fostering engagement ties back to the focus on relationship building. Ultimately, your focus should be on creating a sense of community and connection amongst your social media followers. Make sure to respond to feedback promptly and interact with ongoing discussions whenever you can. Studies from Twitter show that customers are willing to pay up to $20 more to companies that respond to their tweets within 6 minutes. You should also ensure that communication doesn’t just take place one-way, ask questions, address complaints and use the cues you receive to inform your future content.

Do Your Research

Is there any better data gathering tool than social media? Forget marketing surveys and email newsletters, Facebook analytics allow you to segment your market with a range of in-depth information that touches upon everything from basic demographics to purchasing preferences, interests and occupations.

With these insights in hand, you can craft an Amazon marketing campaign that will truly speak to interested buyers across each of your social media platforms. A recent report from SalesTech report showed that more than half of surveyed sales reps in the US and UK chose Facebook as their primary research tool when preparing for meetings with prospects.

Identify Your Biggest Fans

Some relationships are more fruitful than others. If you can forge a bond with your most committed customers, then you could turn a loyal following into a team of motivated brand advocates. In a world where 92% of customers trust peer recommendations over any form of traditional advertising the value of even one organic influencer cannot be overstated. No matter what, you should make sure that your content applies to these hardcore fans first and foremost, they should act as your gauge for what works and what doesn’t.

You Might Need to Advertise

By the end of 2017, marketers were spending a total of $40 billion on their Facebook marketing strategies. While you might balk at the idea of putting your hard-earned budget behind social media, it’s undeniable that Facebook advertising works. While more than 50% of users are willing to skip most online ads, about the same number believe that social media is one of the few places where advertising is actually relevant. By putting a few dollars behind your analytics insights you can make sure that your content reaches the eyes and ears of your target market for Amazon.

More with Jim Cockrum

If you’re ready for a more in-depth look at some of the topics we’ve covered here then definitely check out my full podcast with Jim Cockrum. Meanwhile, make sure to stay tuned because I have some more heavy-hitting guests coming up in the next few weeks, suffice it to say you are sure to be inspired. Sign up for my newsletter below, to stay informed!

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Over the years, I’ve had experiences in a variety of emerging markets where the hunger for personalized products and services has been palpable, yet more often than not this need has been overlooked by businesses that are more focused on selling to mass market audiences.  Of course, wherever there are demand and limited supply, there is an opportunity for enormous profits. But to grab a slice of that pie, you still need to be able to connect with your target niche in a relevant, culturally appropriate manner.  My latest guest on the Expat Money Show has built a highly successful career around helping achieve those objectives in the Hispanic market.

Tapping the Hispanic Market with Nydia Monarrez

Growing up in Monterrey Mexico, Nydia always had an interest in communicating. This affinity led her to a degree in Communications and Public Relations, which she then followed up with a 14-year long stint in corporate sales that culminated in a position as multicultural sales manager for financial services firm ING, in Florida. However, Nydia’s steady rise up the career ladder was interrupted by a corporate restructuring that caused her to lose her job. With her professional life at a crossroads, Nydia decided to quit the 9-to-5 grind so she could dedicate herself to finding her true passion.

After a few initial lessons with acting and voice-over work, Nydia learned that she had a natural talent for expressing herself in a way that really connected with other people. She decided to combine this skill, with her proven marketing ability and bilingual expertise to create a new business that focused on optimizing their Hispanic marketing strategy.  Nydia’s vision was to offer more than just simple translations. She wanted to bring companies into synch with the values and sensibilities of America’s 57-million strong Spanish-speaking population, a market with a combined buying power of more than $1.4 trillion.

Her big gamble paid off, today Nydia has delivered tailored voiceover campaigns for companies like Toyota, Amway, McDonald’s, and Walmart. In this podcast episode, Nydia dropped some amazing insights on effectively advertising to the Hispanic market.  Here are some key takeaways.

Language

In October 2016, Facebook released a study which looked into the preferences and behaviours of a diverse set of Hispanic individuals in the US. The results revealed that 80% of US Hispanics feel that they can be fully assimilated into American culture while speaking primarily Spanish. A further 86% of respondents indicated that speaking Spanish helped them to remain connected to their culture and heritage. Meanwhile, even the majority of English-dominant Hispanics stated that they would prefer if brand messages were communicated in both Spanish and English.

For years, US marketers have believed that second or third-generation Hispanics are indifferent to the language of their advertising. This study flies in the face of that conventional wisdom, showing that Spanish is given a far greater preference especially amongst bilingual or Spanish-dominant residents. Even though only 24% of third-generation Hispanics are bilingual, the vast majority still live in a household with at least one Spanish speaking relative. So while you might not be reaching a potential millennial buyer, you have a high possibility of converting their parent through Spanish-language advertising. This is especially important in the online sphere where US Hispanics spend up to 10.5 hours per week, compared to the overall average of 8.4 hours.

Cultural Relevance

A Google report on how to reach Hispanics online revealed that cultural relevance was at the heart of any effective engagement efforts. These insights are in keeping with other studies that show that the Hispanic community is growing increasingly tired of advertising that fails to offer the kind of authenticity that they expect. It shows that simply translations aren’t enough if you’re advertising to the Hispanic market; you need to be able to accurately portray the diverse interests and heritage of these audiences in your messaging as well.

Family

A study conducted by Iconoculture revealed that 45 percent of Latino millennials live in multi-generational households, compared to just 39 percent of their non-Latino millennial counterparts. In these households, younger members often act as de facto translators and guides for older family members. In other words, these are tight-knit family units with strong economic and social bonds. This is a reflection of the traditional Hispanic culture where the family is rigidly structured with fathers, mothers, grandparents and extended family members each afforded their own respect and status.

Any effective marketing to Latinos and Hispanics needs to incorporate these values and make them a centerpiece of any branding. An extremely successful recent example of this was the Pixar movie, Coco. The film used themes of family and tradition to tell a story that resonated deeply with the Hispanic market, and as a result, it ended up being the biggest box-office hit in Mexico’s history. Interestingly, enough these same themes also saw it become a massive success in other family-oriented cultures such as China despite its seeming niche subject matter.

Faith

At least 83% of the US Hispanic market identifies as Christian, with the large majority identifying as specifically Catholic. For many of these individuals, their religion is an active part of their everyday life in the form of prayers and regular religious services. These characteristics translate to a subculture that’s equal parts conservative and empathetic (focused on caring for the poor and less fortunate). Any business that wants to create a truly effective Hispanic marketing strategy has to take these factors into account.

Food and Celebrations

Hispanic culture is built around shared social experiences that bring together friends and family members in regular celebration. Food is one of the main mediums for creating this sense of togetherness. I experienced this first-hand during my backpacking trips through Colombia and South America where I was regularly invited to share meals with complete strangers from all over the country. The sense of hospitality and inclusivity that exists in these cultures is definitely an appealing avenue to target the Hispanic market.  Indeed, Hispanic consumers spend an average of $10 more on food than their non-Hispanic counterparts.

More Insights into Hispanic Marketing Trends

If you’re looking for more great ideas on Hispanic marketing then please check out my full podcast episode with Nydia. The whole conversation is full of great gems, and I’m 100% certain that you’ll walk away with a great plan for your future direct response marketing.

You can also subscribe to my newsletter below for more great content coming up. I have one particular guest that I’ve been extremely excited to talk to for quite a while, so make sure not to miss that episode when it pops up.

Always Remember, Endeavour to Greatness

Mikkel Thorup

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While these are all great answers, they’re also fundamentally wrong. An economic analysis from Korn Ferry Institute shows that human capital brings more than two times the value of tangible technology and real estate. That’s an estimated $1.25 trillion in annual global revenues that come from good old-fashioned human ingenuity.

It’s something I bring up time and time again on the Expat Money Show, if you want to see big returns then you have to start investing in yourself. Although your 12-hour workdays might seem like a necessary sacrifice on the path to success, in practice nothing could be farther from the truth.

To start with, you could most likely achieve the same amount of productivity on a far more conventional schedule with more effective time management.

But more importantly, if you’re not seeing the type of results you want under your current business model then what makes you think that more of the same will help you achieve your goals?

Wasn’t it Einstein that said, repeating the same process over and over again expecting different results is a sign of insanity?

If you want to see real, sustained success, then you need to start developing your own ideas, skills and talents; invest in your personal and professional growth and you will see the result reflected in every area of your life.

A Journey into Self-Improvement with Stephan Spencer

My podcast with Stephan Spencer is a great primer for many of these concepts. Stephen is someone who has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars on developing every aspect of his life.

Over the past decade he has spent months under the tutelage of spiritual leaders in India, he has studied the secrets of health and fitness with biohacking experts like Dave Asprey, and he’s formed enormously fruitful relationships with motivational titans like Tony Robbins and Neil Strauss.

Note, that this is despite the fact that he is already acknowledged as one the foremost SEO experts in the world, with multiple successful ventures under his belt and a PhD-level education in chemistry to boot.

Both Stephen and I share a common belief that the events, seminars and conferences we have attended over our entrepreneurial careers have been key drivers in our accomplishments throughout the years, as well as the successes that are yet to come.

What Seminars Can Do

Save Your Business

It might sound like hyperbole, but it’s true. The fact is that 30% of businesses won’t even make it past 24 months, so you definitely need to start thinking outside of the box if you’re going to buck that trend. Seminars give you a great opportunity to scope out the competition, and figure out how industry leaders are making their millions.

Most of these events play host to innovators and influencers that are actively changing working processes within their sectors, these individuals are an invaluable resource for the latest developments in your field. The insights you gain from one 2-hour presentation can carry you through a whole year of discovery and improvement.

But even more importantly, seminars are a great way to find out what doesn’t work. In your conversations with other entrepreneurs you will come across numerous stories of failure from people with far more experience than you. Take these stories for what they are, one-on-one lessons from some of the sharpest minds in the field. If you don’t want to be part of the 30% then you need to start taking notes.

 Network!

• Eighty-five percent of job opportunities come from in-network recommendations.
• One dollar of investment in travel, can net you $12.50 in value.
• In-person meetings are closed at a rate of 40% on average.

If you’re looking to grab new clients and forge powerful partnerships in your industry of choice then what better place to do it than at a global event that draws like-minded individuals at the forefront of the business world?

Seminars and conferences are also a great place to garner invitations for even more exclusive gatherings that could take your brand to the next level. Make sure to accept any invitations to catch up and talk later.

Set a firm time for a follow-up and take the initiative if your potential partner seems busy. Just one of these contacts could be the start of a relationship that revolutionizes your supply chain or marketing.

Connect With Clients

Sure, partnerships can put your business in front of new markets in more effective ways but a six-figure client could change the entire direction of your business for years to come. Seminars bring in high-caliber professionals that are ready to make deals if the right opportunity presents itself. Your job is to make sure that you bring those opportunities to the table.

My Favorite Events

Funnel Hacking Live

If you’ve listened to the Expat Money Show podcast before, then you’ll know that I am absolutely obsessed with great sales funnels. For my money, nobody takes customers through the path from attraction to conversion better than the people over at Click Funnels. Funnel Hacking Live is a four-day conference that’s geared around helping attendees build and develop their own industry-optimized funnels.

At any given time you’ll find yourself rubbing shoulders with a veritable laundry list of the most successful funnel hackers in the business including Peng Joon, Russell Brunson and Anthony Di Clementi. Contacts like these make Funnel Hacking Live, more than worth the price of admission.

The Next Web

TNW is an invitation only conference that happens around the world in multiple locations. Cutting edge startups and thought leaders gather here to discover innovations in AR & VR, , Cyber Security, AI and Blockchain Technology. Originally started in Holland TNW has become known as the Mecca of the startup tech world.

The Human Gathering

If you’re looking for a broader focus on personal and professional development then the Human Gathering more than matches up. This invitational LA-based event draws celebrities, investors, entrepreneurs and C-suite executives from almost every background imaginable and puts them together in a conference environment that’s conducive to real conversations and knowledge sharing.

Next Gen Summit

If you’re an up-and-coming entrepreneur with the world at your feet then you need to attend NextGen. This conference is self-admittedly built by young entrepreneurs for young entrepreneurs and the speaker list attests to that.

As you learn the tricks of the trade from genius marketers, tech whiz kids , athletes and millenials investors you’ll also find plenty of time for R & R in the bowling alley and laser tag arena.

Watch This Space

I’m truly convinced about the transformative potential of seminars, conferences and mastermind events.  I believe that these entrepreneurial communities have the power to take any business owner to the next level, professionally and personally.

To demonstrate this commitment, I’ve recently taken the first steps to set up my very own Mastermind Program. This is an extremely exciting opportunity that I can’t wait to share with my Expat Money Show listeners in the weeks to come.

If you can’t wait to find out more about my Mastermind then feel free to contact me at support@MikkelThorup.com, I will be more than happy to fill you in on the details and keep you informed in the run-up to our first big event.

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The post Why Entrepreneur Seminars Might Be Your Most Important Business Investment appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

Don’t get me wrong, I love living the life of an Expat Entrepreneur. The fact that I can pick up stakes and move to an entirely new country without worrying about how it will affect my livelihood is one of the greatest gifts imaginable. At the same time, I’m keenly aware that the burden of running multiple businesses rests squarely on my shoulders. Apart from my closest family, I know that I have few social safety nets in place to protect me if I fail to make good on my definition of success (a benchmark that just seems to get higher with every passing year).

Although my quarterly profits might give me a good idea of how I’m doing professionally, I have no way to gauge these accomplishments in the wider world. Am I setting my sights too high or too low? Is there more that I could be doing in my current circumstances, or am I already doing too much? Am I missing out on glaring opportunities? These are all questions that any ambitious entrepreneur will ask themselves on the way up. Unfortunately, in most cases, these concerns go unanswered, which means that you’re often left to figure out your best path to success completely on your own.

Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s certainly something to be said about learning from your mistakes. I’ve certainly picked up a few lessons from my own missteps over the years (too many to list). But what if I told you that there was an easier way to make good on your entrepreneurial dream?

Mastermind Groups Support Your Success

Learning is the biggest competitive advantage you’ll ever get. The right knowledge from the right person can save you from a hundred potentially business-destroying mistakes. Just in case you’re wondering I’m not talking about a college professor here. Studies show that everything you learn from a traditional degree program becomes obsolete within 2-5 years. The type of knowledge you need can only be learned from the men and women who are on the frontlines of their industries every day, with the battle scars and bank accounts to prove it. This is the promise of mastermind groups.

Mastermind groups bring together elite businesspeople from all walks of life and place them in a forum where they can truly contribute to each others’ personal and professional improvement. At any given mastermind event you will find yourself rubbing shoulders with individuals who are the very forefront of their industry, from retired hedge fund investors and 20-something startup wonder-kids to thought leaders in fields like Cryptocurrency and AI. Not only do you get to network with these people and gain valuable contacts, you can actually lean on their expertise to help you overcome the biggest obstacles hampering your business.

Mastermind groups are led by powerful entrepreneurial minds that have managed to create actionable blueprints for their own professional accomplishments. The insights offered through these communities can enable the sort of rapid growth that would otherwise only be possible through a massive capital injection.

In This Podcast, Stephan Spencer is Addicted to Self-Improvement

You might recognize Stephan Spencer as one of the foremost SEO authorities in the world. Over the years, he has developed and sold multiple websites and businesses based on his near-telepathic understanding of SEO. In other words, if you’re looking to get your business consistently ranked on the first page of Google, then Stephan is the man to do it. Before recording this episode, I was extremely excited to get some insider insights into this extremely complex facet of digital marketing. But I never got the chance.

Before I could get my bearings, Stephan was taking me through a rollercoaster conversation that touched on spirituality, personal development, relationships, fate, and ultimately as many of our conversations do, the secrets to success. According to Stephan, his accomplishments over the past decade have been based on two main factors.

1. His ability to take risks that pay off big. Stephan is the kind of guy who decides to move his family and business to New Zealand on a whim, just because he can.
2. His ongoing passion for self-improvement which has been enabled by some of the most exclusive mastermind programs in the world.

As any Expat Money Show listener will know, I’m an avid believer in seminars, conferences and personal coaching as well. So this particular area of the discussion definitely piqued my interest. Here are some amazing Mastermind Events we covered during the podcast with Stephan Spencer, and some we didn’t.

(You Can Listen To The Full Podcast Episode HERE)

Tony Robbins’ Platinum Partnership

As one of the most sought-after personal coaches in the world, he has a big reputation to live up to every time he gets up on a stage, and without fail he manages to deliver. Tony Robbins’ mastermind groups are designed to break past your inbuilt assumptions and preconceptions, in an environment that’s more akin to a communal rock concert than a business conference.

At an event like Unleash the Power Within or Date with Destiny you’ll be met with several invitations to test your social limits. Amongst other things, you’ll be asked to massage a stranger, walk a fiery pit of coal, share your deepest secrets, and visualize your most coveted goals. These techniques are interspersed with more focused lessons on everything from business and nutrition to leadership. The result is a truly transformational event that can push you into achieving new breakthroughs.

But if you’re looking for more personal support from Tony, and his inner circle of highly successful entrepreneurs then the Platinum Partnership is a necessity. The Platinum Partnership consists of a series of incredible adventures planned across exotic locations throughout the world. These trips bring together a brain trust of high-level entrepreneurs along with Tony himself, and the results speak for themselves (Stephen swears by these trips).

At around $100,000 + travel expenses, the Platinum Partnership definitely doesn’t come cheap, but the networking opportunities and insights you gain from it can easily double or triple your investment in no time at all.

The Society International

Club scene Casanovas might be more familiar with Neil Strauss’s books on the art of picking up girls, but his personal development repertoire has expanded far past that narrow subject area in the past decade. The Society is an exclusive members-only group that consists of personal development enthusiasts from a range of industries and disciplines across the world.

Members get access to a wide range of training materials which cover subjects such as public speaking, voice coaching, SEO, fashion, survival tips, personal finance, crisis management and so much more. Apart from these materials, you’re also invited to a number of one-of-a-kind adventures in locations across the globe. Often these trips feature high-stakes scenarios that wouldn’t be out of place in James Bond movie. The key is to push you out of your comfort zone and introduce you to new ideas and perspectives that can truly enable your personal and professional growth.

The Genius Network

Joe Polish is one of the most popular and influential marketers in the world. Everyone from Arianna Huffington to Richard Branson has made use of his expert knowledge in order to raise funding and expand their brand awareness. Apart from these personal accomplishments, he is also the founder of The Genius Network an exclusive only community of international entrepreneurs that counts Facebook executives, CEOs and bestselling authors like Robert Cialdini amongst its diverse membership.

Membership of the Genius Network comes in at either $25 or $100k for the cost; you get an invitation to three international meetups across the course of the year. Each mastermind event puts you in direct contact with many of these influencers. The program is marked by several speeches from industry leaders in a variety of spaces including real estate, cryptocurrencies and digital marketing. Essentially, you’re getting all access passes to some of the greatest minds in business today. What more could you expect from a literal, Genius Network?

Organized Brilliance

Organized Brilliance was put together by expert real estate investors and trainers Dean Graziosi and Matt Larson. Like other Mastermind groups, Organized Brilliance boasts an extremely illustrious membership made up of other real estate tycoons, hedge fund mavens, and entrepreneurs.

Membership in the Organized Brilliance Mastermind group offers a number of advantages including: an invitation to two 2-day mastermind retreats hosted by Matt and other members of the mastermind group, 24/7 access to an email helpline where business questions are answered directly by either Matt or one of his dedicated staff members, and access to the community’s exclusive Facebook group. Members also receive live training from Matt himself either in person (for those residents to the US), or online.

While prices for this Mastermind group aren’t publicized, you can enquire on the organization’s website using your contact details. All prospective members are subject to a rigorous screening process before admittance.

EMS Titanium With Mikkel Thorup

Unadvertised such far is my own invitation-only Mastermind group called EMS Titanium. It is a group of successful Entrepreneurs from around the globe who meet online to help share insiders secrets, business networks and personal perks while travelling the globe and growing our Entrepreneurial Empires.

If you are interested in learning more you can check us out HERE and if you think you are a good fit can even make an application and someone from my team will walk you through the process, but be warned it is a highly selective group and there are non-negotiable criteria that must be met…

Learn More About EMS Titanium: https://expatmoneyshow.com/ems-titanium-application/

Always Remember, Endeavour to Greatness

Mikkel Thorup

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The post 5 Mastermind Groups That Will Change Your Perspective on Entrepreneurship appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

Here’s the truth. Half of all start-ups don’t make it to the fifth year. That means statistically, your chances of hitting a home run on your first go at bat are slim to say the least. But why is that? What’s holding you back from realizing your dream? My next podcast guest sums up the answer to that question in one word; fundamentals.

Akbar Sheikh is All About Fundamentals

Akbar goes to great lengths to point out how ordinary his life story is, in an industry filled with rags to riches tales. But nothing could be further from the truth. Akbar was homeless, living in a car in his hometown of San Francisco. He had no career, no motivation, and his health had degraded to the point where he almost died on a hospital operating table due to the excesses of his lifestyle.

With no prospects to speak of, he turned to the world of Internet marketing. Normally, selling your last possessions and using the funds to start a business in a utility closet with no hot water, showers or windows would be a bad bet; fortunately not in this case. Today, Akbar Sheikh is an international bestselling author running one of the most successful online businesses in the world. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.

Akbar credits his amazing accomplishments to nothing more than fundamentals, and this back to basics approach was evident throughout this latest podcast episode. At every step, he stripped back the buzzwords and banners surrounding business success, boiling his philosophies down to simple steps that should come easily to any interested listener. Try these magic bullets out for size.

(YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST EPISODE HERE)

Diet and Health are Important.

You don’t need a researcher to tell you that proper nourishment, sleep and regular exercise are essential to performance. But I’m going to back up these assertions with hard science anyway.

• Eating unhealthily is linked to a 66% higher risk of lost productivity.
• Does burning the midnight oil lead to better chances of entrepreneurial success? Nope, just impaired judgment and a reduced ability to process or retain information, not to mention an all-around crabby mood. Worst of all, you might not even be aware of just how far your cognitive abilities have declined.
• Regular exercise improves your time management, social abilities and memory.

We all know that it’s difficult to eke out spare hours for the gym, and the demands of a full-time business don’t always allow for a standard 8-hours of sleep. But if you really want to ensure that you’re in peak performance for your next sales call or professional negotiation. Then you need to lay off the fast food and start living healthier. Akbar credits a big part of his professional turnaround to a more disciplined diet and all-around better lifestyle decisions.

Circle of Influence

Entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” It’s an idea that came up, time and time again in this podcast. Your circle of influence consists of the people that are closest to you, individuals who are affected by your decisions and whose actions affect you in return. Your circle of influence defines your success and happiness in so many interlinking ways.

Here’s another way to look at it, if you hang around with a group of five millionaires chances are pretty high that you’ll end up as the sixth one amongst the group. Similarly, if you spend most of your time with influences that are far more focused on short-term thrills (sex, drugs and alcohol for example) over any kind of long-term ambitions then you’ll find it incredibly hard to dedicate yourself to any sort of real personal or professional fulfilment.

The great thing about the digital age is that the tools for expanding your social network are right at your fingertips.

• Look for entrepreneurial meet-ups in your local area. Focus on touching base with people who are specialists in topics that interest you. Bring your business card and make contacts, you’re on the clock.
• If you have the budget to attend a personal development program or seminar take the opportunity with both hands. While top-tier business courses can run you into the thousands, just one conference could introduce you to people and perspectives that will completely change your entrepreneurial path.
• Listen to business podcasts like ours. Not to seem self-congratulatory but the steps my guests lay out in each episode will enable your professional success if you’re ready to apply them.
• If you’re short of time and money, then books are the best way to stay in contact with ideas that can inspire and motivate you. Expand your knowledge and nurture your creativity with books like Stephen Coveys 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, or Akbar’s very own 7 Ethical Principles for Success.

Become an Authority

There’s a reason why we put out a whole article on thought leadership. Trust is the most important currency available. If you have credibility with your target audience then you have a self-sustaining group of customers that will always be interested in your products and services.

Here’s a perfect example. Back when the 2008 US election campaign was heating up and every other pollster was filling the airwaves with their opinion on who would win. One unassuming statistician used his talents to separate himself from the crowd. Nate used proprietary data modelling techniques to accurately predict the results of the election down to the exact distribution of votes across different States.

He then followed up that initial success, by accurately predicting the results of the 2012 election in exactly the same manner. Just when people were processing that feat of mathematical genius, he dropped a promotional link to his new book The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail – But Some Don’t on Twitter. He had a #2 New York Times Bestseller by the end of the day. That’s what instant authority can get you.

In my podcast with Akbar Sheikh, we talk about how the average entrepreneur can go about building their authority. Here are some critical areas to focus on.

• Put your educational and professional accomplishments up front and center on all marketing material. If you’ve got a PhD let the world know. Subtlety won’t convince cynical Internet users of your relevancy. If you think you have no results to show then think again.

• Your personality is an essential part of your branding. If you’re quirky let it be known, if you put a lot of care into your fitness then make it a selling point. There’s always an angle to differentiation.

• Reviews are the lifeblood of any business. 88% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, while 85% of business decision-makers read up to 10 online reviews before making a business decision. You need testimonials and you need them fast. If you’re struggling for organic feedback, then get out there and canvas for opinions. Offer a couple of products and services for free, if required.

• Quality of services goes without saying. You’re not going to convince anyone of your authority if you’re offering low-quality experiences with no clear USP. Everything from customer service to after-sales support to the actual construction of your product should be of the highest standard.

What are You Waiting For?

There’s a wealth of amazing content waiting for you in our full-length podcast with Akbar Sheikh, and once you’re done with that feel free to check out some of our other great episodes. Better yet, subscribe to my newsletter below and stay up-to-date with all my latest podcasts.

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The post Success is Simple Start Focusing on Fundamentals: In Conversation with Akbar Sheikh appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

From mastering the language to building new social contacts and learning the rules of the local marketplace, living abroad offers you an opportunity to grow and experience new things every day. In the process you might find the very tools that enable you to take the next step in your personal and professional evolution. With that in mind, we’ve put together this list of excellent expatriate destinations to help make your next move overseas as successful as possible.

Portugal

A recent Expat Insider survey identified Portugal as the most highly rated destination for people living abroad, and it’s not hard to see why. Portugal boasts an extremely pleasant Mediterranean climate with average annual temperatures hovering around 12 – 18°C across the country. Portugal also offers a stunning array of natural diversity to satisfy even the most discerning outdoor enthusiast, from idyllic beach towns to snowcapped mountains and lush vineyards there’s a lot to appreciate.

With low crime rates and little political turmoil, Portugal is routinely rated amongst the safest nations in Europe which makes it a great destination for expatriate families. The cost of living in Portugal is about 30% lower than the European average, so anyone looking to enjoy the continent on a limited budget would be well advised to set up base here.  While the country’s economy has been through some tough times in recent years, Portugal finally looks to have escaped the specter of austerity with growth rates in 2018 recorded at their highest level since 2000.

Taiwan

Taiwan is a recent addition to the best expat destinations list but the country is well worth its place. Taiwan is rated extremely highly for its government-subsidized healthcare system and well-maintained transport infrastructure which includes trains, busses and a popular public bike network. A recent Health and Well-Being Index ranked the country, first and sixth respectively in each category.

In spite of these excellent public services, the country is still far more affordable than similar modern, urbanized countries. While land is generally expensive to buy, the actual cost of living is about 40-50% lower than the US. The country is also extremely safe, gun ownership is illegal across Taiwan and crime rates are historically low.

Taiwan also rates highly for its temperate year-round weather.  Although the summers can get a bit muggy and typhoon season is a bit of a concern, for the most part residents can look forward to warm summers, pleasant springs and mild winters.

Singapore

Three quarters of expats polled in a recent HSBC survey indicated that Singapore offers the potential for far better earnings than their home countries. On average, survey respondents admitted to a 42% increase in annual income which comes out to over $118,000 more every year. Of course all this economic opportunity does come at a cost, the nation is regularly ranked amongst the most expensive destinations in the world with costs of living easily dwarfing nearby countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.

Nevertheless, expats feel that the advantages of Singaporean life are more than worth it. Singapore boasts a diverse well-integrated population made up of Chinese, Indian, Malay and Eurasian ethnic groups as well as a strong contingent of Western expats. The country also plays host to a variety of multinational companies in a number of industries. Big name players like Microsoft, American Express, DBS Bank and Shell use Singapore as their main base operations in Asia.

Singapore also ranks highly on key indicators for safety and security (third), transport (first), and overall quality of life (fourth) making it a great choice for solo travelers and families alike.

UAE

Over 90% of the Emirate’s 9.4 million-strong population is made up of expatriates. From Westerners to South Asians and Africans, the UAE is a true melting pot of cultures and ethnicities.

The UAE offers strong economic incentives to any international traveler. Not only is all income earned tax-free, but actual revenues tend to be higher as well. Combine those two factors together and you have a recipe for an extremely comfortable standard of living. According to the aforementioned HSBC survey, UAE residents earn around 70% more than they do in their home countries on average. With low crime figures and limited civil conflict the UAE is also consistently ranked amongst the safest countries in the world.

With so much to recommend, it’s little wonder that people from all over the world call the UAE home.

Thailand

From entrepreneurs to backpackers, teachers and businessmen; Thailand attracts a diverse array of international expatriates. According to a 2015 NSO survey, roughly 10% of the local population is made up of non-local residents including various Asian nationalities as well as a significant number of expatriates from Western countries.

Along with a great climate and a friendly local population the country boasts a very affordable cost of living with rent, utilities, and dining costing anywhere from 30-50% less than the US. As one of the most dynamic economies in Asia, Thailand also offers plenty of financial potential for expatriates to the country. While there are certain employment restrictions that bar you from seeking work as administrative and construction-related roles, you will find plenty of opportunities in sectors such as: petrochemicals, manufacturing, finance (Bangokok is home to regional branches for Barclays, Crédit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC) and engineering.

China

As one the largest countries in the world in terms of population, land mass and economy; China offers a wealth of potential for any expatriate. Indeed, the HSBC Expat Explorer survey ranks the country as the second-best global destination for career progression. In the survey, 70% of expats indicated that working in China has opened up new vocational opportunities for them, while a further 50% said that living in China has helped them develop critical professional skills.
Expats who move into highly coveted technical industries like engineering and IT can expect to earn as much as they would in countries like the US, with additional bonuses for housing, education and living allowances. Allied with a cost of living that’s up to 100% lower than the US in key areas such as rents, consumer pricing and dining, and you can expect an extremely comfortable standard of living with plenty of disposable income to spare.

Of course there are significant cultural and linguistic barriers which could make it difficult to integrate fully into Chinese society, so if you’re a novice traveler you might want to seek out a more familiar destination before making the leap to Shanghai or Beijing.

And to learn heaps about setting up your own business overseas and automating the whole process make sure you sign up for our newsletter. I will be sending you heaps of interesting things to take a look at, you can join now in the box below 🙂

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The post A Home Away From Home: The 6 Best Countries for Aspiring Expats appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

For both banks and airline companies it’s a win-win proposition.  The banks buy up billions of dollars in flight miles and create instant customer loyalty, as high-value users drive up daily credit card spending to support their global travel expenditures. Meanwhile, airlines are able to gain access to stream of consistent revenues, free from volatile inputs like ever-changing fuel prices, labor costs and economic trends. In fact, industry insiders estimate that most airlines make up to 50% of their revenues from selling miles to credit card companies.

So where do consumers end up amidst all of this corporate glad handing? According to a recent J.D Power and Associates survey only 52% of travelers actually understand how to redeem miles on their airline loyalty programs, with most respondents saying that they preferred to redeem rewards points on things other than flights. It’s no wonder, most travel rewards programs come with a ton of fine print, and constantly changing rules that are set up to make it as hard as possible to redeem your miles. After all, why would any business just give up the potential revenue from a $5000 international first class ticket on a flight where someone is actually willing to pay that amount in cash?

Enter Abroaders

At the Expat Money Show we spoke to Erik Paquet, an entrepreneur and co-founder of the travel hacking start-up Abroaders.  As an experienced globe trekker Erik has spent most of his life wandering the world in search of new cultures, concepts and communities. On one such expedition to Bali in the summer of 2013, Erik and his partner A.J decided that they wanted to make international travel just as accessible to other travelers. That’s where the initial idea for Abroaders was born.

Over the ensuing years the business has developed a full-range of travel products focused on teaching individuals how to optimize their frequent flyer miles, to get to the destinations where they want to go. From identifying the right loyalty programs and point earning strategies, to up-to-date strategies on mile redemption, Abroaders covers it all.

Whether you’re a business class traveler that’s constantly jetting back and forth across continents or a domestic commuter that’s constantly looking to eke more value out of your daily travel expenses the  travel insights offered by Erik over the course of our full conversation will prove invaluable. But if you’re new to the world of travel rewards schemes here’s a little primer that will get you caught up before diving into the full podcast.

(YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST EPISODE HERE)

Sign Up For Loyalty Programs and Manage Your Accounts

Regardless of how you plan on travelling it’s always a good idea to sign up to as many loyalty programs as possible.  Registration is usually free, and you get the benefit of up-to-date information regarding special promotions and offers as well. Many of these loyalty programs will also offer the ability to directly transfer rewards points earned through your credit card. A few things to consider here:

• If more than one member of your family has a rewards-earning credit card then you will need to sign up for individual loyalty programs.
• Some airlines offer groups accounts that can accumulate miles across your entire family; this will obviously come in handy if you’re planning a big vacation.

Once you’re set up across a number of major loyalty programs you should join a mileage manager service to keep track of the miles and points earned across different providers.

Know Your Airline’s Partnerships

Even if one particular airline isn’t offering you the possibility to redeem points or frequent flyer miles towards a certain destination, you still aren’t out of options.  Most major airlines function as part of a travel alliance which includes a range of international carriers across the world. These alliances will usually allow you to transfer miles between two different airlines in order to access a new travel location. The three leading alliances are:

• Star Alliance Members
• Oneworld Alliance Members
• Sky Team Alliance Members

Before deciding to convert your points to one particular loyalty program you should pay close attention to the allied travel services. This will help you to focus your miles on the regions you’re most likely to travel to.

Choosing a Credit Card

What Do You Get Back?

Credit card spending can be redeemed for travel expenses in one of three ways.

1. Cash rewards that are redeemed in the form of account credits, bank deposits or checks. Cashbacks are generally availed in fixed amounts above a certain minimum.
2. Reward points, usually earned on dollar spend these points can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards, accommodation discounts, hotel upgrades and travel miles.
3. In some cases you may be able to earn frequent flyer miles directly through credit card spending. The exact conversion of dollars to miles depends on the credit card you use.

Many credit card companies also offer sign-on bonuses which award new customers thousands of reward points or miles as long as a certain level of spending is achieved within the first couple of months.  When weighing up the choice between different credit card providers you should pay attention to their specific redemption schemes, while some companies will offer all three methods of redemption others might limits you to only one.

Things to Note

Qualifying For Credit Cards

In order to qualify for top-tier rewards cards you usually need to have proof of strong creditworthiness. In the US this is determined through your credit score, in other countries similar metrics may be used to assess your value.

Availability

Most airlines will block out mileage redemptions on certain dates usually near holidays and other major travel period where most flights are at full occupancy anyway. Even outside of these specific periods you may not be able to readily guess whether an award seat is available, if you’re unsure it’s always best to get in contact with a relevant travel agent to find out whether award seats are available on your desired flight.

Ready to Take Off

Now that you’re better informed about the basics of credit card reward programs you’re ready to get deeper into the world of travel hacking. Listen to our full conversation with Erik to find out everything you’ve ever needed to know about frequent flyer miles, and stay tuned for more great content to come. Sign up for our newsletter below so you don’t miss out!

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The post Travel the World For Next To Nothing with Frequent Flyer Miles appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

For any individual who has an eye towards professional accomplishment, the choice between the two paths seems clear. But while entrepreneurship certainly seems like a more rewarding alternative to traditional employment, it isn’t without its own pitfalls.

Entrepreneurship Isn’t Sexy

Anyone intent on become a jet-setting millionaire needs to understand that the path to overnight riches is littered with long hours, hard work, and a few guaranteed failures. Along the way you’ll have to contend with many challenges.

• Cash shortages as you struggle to find enough capital to fund your business.

• You may be your own boss but you aren’t free of responsibilities. Everyone from customers to employees and investors will take a personal interest in your decisions. Failing to account for this could leave you without the revenue or talent to make good on your dreams.

• The internet may give you the ability to start a business anywhere, but if you want to expand you may need to relocate to a friendlier market.

• Many of your most prized ideas may fall by the wayside, as you find more practical solutions for making your business work.

• Your earnings will be unpredictable, so planning and budgeting can be difficult.

• Urgent workplace issues can take you away from your personal life at any time of the day. You may find yourself working far harder at your business than you ever did in the corporate world.

In Conversation with Mindy Stern

At the Expat Money Show we recently spoke to a woman who made the leap from corporate management to entrepreneurship and met with many of these obstacles along the way. While getting her first venture Healthy Finances Coaching off the ground, Mindy Stern struggled for years to balance the responsibilities of running a business, with her desire to live a more fulfilling life as an individual and a mother. But it wasn’t until she was faced with the reality of having to close down her business and return to traditional employment that Mindy found the keys to making her business work for her.

Today, Healthy Finances Coaching is thriving, and Mindy Stern has found enough time to dedicate herself to building yet another passion project. Successful Self Employed Super Women is a personal coaching agency that’s focused on empowering women to achieve their own entrepreneurial goals. During our conversation with Mindy, she talked about many of the personal and professional changes she made in order to enable her business success.

Don’t Quit Your Job Without a Plan

While it can be tempting to get caught up in the brilliance of a business idea, and to follow it through by quitting your job on the spot. It’s far better to make use of your stable income and free time to build a solid foundation for your new venture, before making the leap.

Start by narrowing down your focus to one clear project, you have limited time and funds so you need make sure that you’re maximizing your resources. Next, establish a team that can provide you with the technical knowledge, experience and guidance you need to develop your concepts into practical working models. Even at this early stage you should be working on testing the market and connecting with prospective customers where possible.

At this point, it will probably be necessary to expand your own expertise, whether you attend a professional training course or engage a personal coach you need to have the necessary skillset to lead your business. As part of your early planning you should have clear metrics in place to define your success over the first year, once your business is up and running these goals will help keep you motivated and moving forward.

Remember, reinventing the wheel might sound great in theory but unless you have the capital to build an entirely new ecosystem you’re better off using established platforms to sell your products and services.

Work Smarter Not Harder

Many new business owners wear their grueling schedule as a badge of honor, bragging about 12-hour workdays and no vacations. But the truth is that the 40-hour work week has proven time and time again to be the most successful method of doing business.

Organizational research conducted since the late 1800’s have shown that workforce productivity rises across the board when working hours are cut back, and pay is increased. According to these studies, the vast majority of workers only have about eight hours of useful output in them. The only exception to this rule is on rare occasions where employees are able to push themselves to work 60-70 hours on short term basis in order to achieve critical deadlines. While these efforts do result in more productivity over a period of about a week and a half, any extra time committed after this point merely results in declining productivity as the lack of rest, proper nutrition and recreation begins to show.

In order to make the most of your productive hours you should meticulously write out your business activities for the day, down to the smallest details. Once this is done, you should prioritize the most pressing tasks with a firm timeline in place. When it’s time to clock out your main tasks should stand completed without fail.

Productivity Must Translate To Profits

In recent years, business trends have veered towards prizing growth over revenues. Indeed, most modern management teams plan out their strategies with the intention of maintaining negative cash flows over the first couple of years, with profitability only being achieved once the business reaches a certain scale. The only way such a strategy can be successful is if you have the ability to market your product on national or international scale, and you have sufficient funding to pursue this sort of long-term objective. If you fall short in either of these objectives, then you need to focus on profitability above all else.

The truth is that making money is hard even if you’re focused on making it your main priority. So if you’re planning on achieving positive cash flow as a byproduct then think again. The next time you reinvest your hard-earned income on large capital investments, ask yourself what kind of long-term benefits these investments are likely to earn. Similarly, if you’re putting all your efforts into gaining clients in a new market, assess whether the monetary return makes this exertion worthwhile.

Create Systems

The ultimate goal of any entrepreneur should be to become redundant and replaceable in their own business. Even if you enjoy taking a hands-on role in your start-up it’s always good to know that it can continue to function just as effectively without your day to day input. To achieve this objective you should look to create documented efficient operating procedures that effectively translate to positive outcomes in every area of your business.

• Start by identifying the core activities which generate value for your business.
• Document the critical steps which take this activity from inception to completion.
• Define follow-up tasks which ensure successful completion.
• Find ways to automate and streamline this process. Could you complete multiple activities at once? Which tasks can you outsource to third parties, or even software applications?
• Test out your streamlined processes, and work to optimize them even further.

Eventually you should end up with an efficient operating model which can then be handed over to another member of your team with minimum impact on quality.

Find Out More

As an accomplished entrepreneur Mindy Stern offered us some great advice about the value of personal development and mentorship, and what to look for in a coaching service. To listen to more of our engrossing conversation, check out the full podcast here.

Over the next couple of weeks we have some more great podcasts planned for our listeners, so subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out!

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The post How to Build a Business That Can Work For You appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

But the promises of digital media didn’t just stop there. With the advent of content delivery tools like blogging, social media, and podcasts; influencers in ever niche imaginable could now build dedicated fan followings and parlay them into real earning opportunities. All of a sudden Youtube and Instagram celebrities were being handed six-figure sponsorship deals, and bloggers like Tim Ferriss and Nate Silver became bankable brands in their own right. Today, everyone is one the lookout for authentic content creators that can strike a chord with marketing-savvy audiences.

The World of Thought Leadership

For entrepreneurs and businesspeople this idea of gaining an international reputation based on your unique perspectives and expert opinions can be summed up with the term, thought leadership. Thought leaders are seen as innovators, positioned at the forefront of their respective industries. When clients, peers and interested parties need trusted insights on the latest developments within a specific space, they turn to these authoritative figures to explain what’s going on, and what it means for regular people.

As you can imagine, commanding such a position in any sector can translate to some pretty significant advantages. When you’re a visible participant in almost every public conversation related to your field, you command a position of credibility in an environment where consumer trust is incredibly difficult to come by.

Of course this publicity builds a highly effective lead generation engine all of its own. As word of mouth spreads about your expertise, customer after customer is compelled to seek out your products and services in search of more of the same. In a marketplace where multinational corporations are spending millions of dollars on their digital branding and engagement strategies, this sort of self-sustaining marketing system is worth its share in gold.

Our Conversation with Shane Barker

As a lifelong entrepreneur, Shane Barker has worn many hats in his professional career, from bar owner to mortgage loan negotiator and public speaker. But whether running a brick-and-mortar franchise or an E-commerce venture, Shane has always relied on his understanding of marketing strategy to guide his success in any endeavor.

Today, he demonstrates these hard-earned skills day in and day out as the founder of three separate digitally-geared businesses that look to empower CEOs and business influencers with the right tools to become true thought leaders in their chosen space. With glowing profiles in Inc Magazine, Huffington Post and Forbes, Shane is no stranger to thought leadership himself. In fact, he’s set to teach an MBA course at UCLA on the very subject!

As you can imagine, we were more than pumped to get Shane’s insights on this rapidly evolving market. Here are some of the key takeaways from our conversation.

Set a Clear Goal and Understand Where You Want to End Up

Creating content for its own sake will do little to advance your position in the industry. If you want to gain acclaim, you need to align your messaging with a clear purpose. What is the mission for your thought leadership? Do you want to attract new clients? Do you want to draw attention from the press? Are you looking to attract investment for your new business idea?

Setting your intentions at an early stage gives you a clear target to target your energy towards in the most effective manner. This singular focus should be translated into your content. Every article, podcast or video you publish should flow from your central thesis statement. For example, if your goal is to inform uninitiated audiences about the power of blockchain, your content should try to reveal different aspects of this idea in a thought-provoking manner.

But remember, thought leadership isn’t about selling your products and services. Modern buyers are trained to spot self-congratulatory content from a mile away. As a thought leader you’re marketing your job is to become a resource for people in your industry.

Start Guest Blogging

Take a gander over any business website and chances are that you’ll find a corporate blog with a few posts, and next to no views. Regardless of the strength of your content, you aren’t going to attract any readers by constraining yourself to a platform that isn’t set up for longform articles. Think of it this way, if you’re looking for reviews on Nike’s latest line of basketball shoes, are you going to check out their corporate blog, or are you more likely to check out the opinions offered by some well-known sneakerheads on Youtube?

For entrepreneurs, the best way to get your thoughts and opinions into the industry consciousness is through established social ecosystems like Linkedin and Quora. You’d also be extremely well-served to seek out guest blogging opportunities that can help you reach new audiences and develop strong backlinks for your great (but unseen) website content. Here are some helpful hints for optimizing your guest blogging efforts.

• Focus on quality not quantity. Even though you’re unlikely to be paid for your efforts on platforms like Medium, or Entrepreneur these websites will put you in front of a vast market of prospective clients. The last thing you want to do is turn these people off with rushed, low-quality articles that do little to impress.
• Try to focus on established blogs that are closely linked to your niche. Google gives preference to backlinks created through relevant networks.
• Look for signs of strong engagement including:
  • Lots of comments, or social media shares.
  • High SEO ranking.
  • Strong domain authority (basically a statistic which measures the popularity of a website) anything over 30 will help you boost your website relatively quickly.

Master Public Speaking

At its core, thought leadership is all about communication. While the Internet is a highly effective tool for creating mass awareness, it’s still no match for the personal connections formed through face-to-face interaction. If you’re able to stand in front of a group of uninitiated people, and articulate your opinion in a way that truly speaks to their personal and professional reality then you have everything you need to be a thought leader in your space.

If you’re not confident in your ability to present your perspectives in a relatable, engaging manner then don’t worry.  Public speaking is a skill just like any other and you can get better. In fact, we have a whole podcast dedicated to developing this underappreciated competency.

As your reputation grows though digital marketing efforts, you will be afforded plenty of opportunities to speak at industry events, live seminars and even podcasts. When these chances come along, you need to be equipped to utilize them to the fullest. After all, if you can’t market yourself then how can anybody else be expected to?

Find Out What Shane Has to Say

Like any good salesman, we have to leave you wanting a little bit more and in this case Shane really delivers. Listen to our full podcast to learn more expert secrets on creating thought leaders, and stay tuned because there’s more great content to come! Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out on the great guests we have lined up in the weeks to come.

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The post Behind the Scenes Insights into the World of Thought Leadership appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

At The Expat Money Show our goal is to equip entrepreneurs at any scale, with focused insights that can help them turn their business dreams into reality. In our latest episode we talked to Dave Woodward, Chief Revenue and Business Development Officer at ClickFunnels. ClickFunnels is a data-driven software platform focused on transforming the way businesses sell their products and services online.

Through the product-specific tools and templates provided on ClickFunnels’ website, entrepreneurs in any industry can reinvent their online storefront for the sole purpose of revenue generation. None of this is hot air either, the business successes enabled by ClickFunnels’ platform have rocketed the company to becoming the fastest growing software service in the world, in less than four years of operation.

In our last blog post we covered some of the concepts underlying ClickFunnels’ success, namely the use of sales funnels in the design and development of business websites. In this post we want to go even deeper into some of the key tactics ClickFunnels’ uses to turn disinterested online visitors into red-hot conversions. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

It All Starts With a Landing Page

The Home Page is Dying

The majority of your inbound marketing strategies are designed to deliver traffic to your website home page. Unfortunately, a traditional home page is just about the worst place that any potential customer could end up. While your home page might provide a ton of useful information about your business and brand, the volume of content on this page won’t help you achieve your primary goal, driving conversions.

There are two reasons why the whole concept of traditional home pages is dying.

First, any traffic that does land on your home page is most likely from direct sources such as Google. By definition, anybody that inputs your particulars into a search engine is already well aware of your brand, the last thing they need is another thousand word primer on what you do, and why you do it. If anything this information is likely to serve as an obstacle to purchasing your products and services.

Second, any users that end up on your website due to your content marketing or email campaigns are unlikely to even see your home page. These visitors will be using your website to watch a video, or read a blog post, or to learn more about a specific product or service. Once they have the information they need, they’re just as likely to click away and never return.

Why Landing Pages are Replacing Them

Landing pages are sections of your website that are specifically developed to incite visitors into taking actions. After clicking a relevant CTA in a promotional email, or at the end of a value-packed blog post, interested consumers are directed towards a purpose-built page, which promises them more of the same at no added cost, in return for an email sign-up and some basic contact information.

Elements of a Great Landing Page

• You should have at least a couple of landing pages targeted towards different market segments, products, traffic sources, and prospects. The key here is creating the right environment to take customers further along the buyer’s journey at every stage.

• Encourage users to sign-up. Offer free EBooks and other long-form content in return for your visitors’ contact information. With this data in hand you can develop detailed profiles for your leads, and further optimize your marketing to target their specific needs and desires.

• Track data from your landing pages to assess how far each visitor is along their buying journey. A user who’s downloading your content for the first time may require a lot more nurturing than someone who’s watched three or four of your live webinars already. Based on these insights you can send suitable marketing messages through email.

Present a Front-End Offer

Once you’ve hooked a prospect, the next step is to offer them a paid product or service at a discounted cost. The key here is to get your foot in the door and develop a transactional relationship. Once this established your customer should be far more willing to follow up on their initial purchase, provided the following circumstances hold true:

1. Offer top-notch quality. In many ways the first sale provides customers with their first real insight into the value offered by your business, so if you’re looking to save money just because you’ve offered a product at a more affordable rate then think again. A bad first impression may stop your prospect from buying from your business altogether, that’s a lot of hard work lost over a couple of dollars.
2. Deliver more value than your customer expects. Nothing makes a customer happier than getting more than they asked for. If you can provide unexpected value to a visitor you’ll have a fan for life.
3. Offer a great customer experience. From delivery, to ongoing support and after-sales every part of the sales process should be set up to ensure customer satisfaction.
4. Keep prices low. The goal is to grow your customer base, not to make a profit – that comes later.

Time to Up-sell

We’ve all heard the famous refrain, would you like fries with that? This is a classic example of an upsell. Once the customer has already decided on making a purchase, slipping in another product that offers additional value alongside becomes a far easier proposition. This added value should be positioned at a higher price point to increase the overall value of the order to a profitable level. The actual product or service in question can be designed to fill a couple of different requirements.

• You could offer more of the same product. Especially helpful where the item is regularly consumed.
• You could offer complementary products, for example an audiobook to go alongside a paperback.
• You could offer an upgraded version of the same product.
• You could sell an unrelated product at a special discount.

Inevitably, budgetary constraints will prevent some customers from taking you up on this upsell. In these situations your goal should be to push through the additional sale. A down-sell might involve selling a limited version of the product, or providing a payment plan to facilitate a larger purchase.

We’re Not Done Yet

As one of the foremost businesspeople in this space, Dave gave us tons to think about during our conversation a lot of which we weren’t able to cover over these blog posts. If you have any interest in online entrepreneurship we’d definitely recommend listening to the full podcast here, or heading over to ClickFunnels yourself.

Do stay tuned for more great content coming out on The Expat Money Show as well, we’ve got some excellent guests coming up, keep yourself informed by signing up to the newsletter below so you don’t miss out!

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The post 5 Steps to Creating an Optimized Sales Funnel appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

Since the mid-90’s, the large part of most company’s online branding has been focused around the design and development of their websites.  According to conventional wisdom, these domains serve as vital pieces of online real estate, working to notify customers about your range of offerings and the unique value propositions underlying your business. With this in mind, the majority of digital marketing expenditure is dedicated to attracting customers towards your website. From content and social media marketing to email campaigns, all of these strategies are used to increase and optimize the traffic flowing to your virtual storefront.

With all the effort being put into promoting your website, it seems inevitable that lead generation and ultimately conversions would follow, right? Unfortunately not, in fact only 4% of visitors to your website are ready to buy on the first visit, and if you don’t manage to secure their interest within the first 8 seconds, be prepared to see that hard-earned traffic fade away without a second thought.

In analog terms, the marketing function is set up to deliver highly interested leads into the hands of your sales team. If you’re managing to exceed traffic expectations, then your digital advertising is serving this objective. From that point on, it’s your sales team’s job to turn those interested prospects into new customers, which is where your website is supposed to come in, except it doesn’t seem to be doing that at the moment.

Something needs to change.

Enter ClickFunnels

In our latest episode of The Expat Money Show, we talked to Dave Woodward. Dave currently serves as the Chief Revenue and Business Development Officer at ClickFunnels, the fastest growing private software company on the planet. If you’re wondering they managed to reach that lofty position in just under four years, suffice it to say that ClickFunnels’ entire business is built on helping online entrepreneurs create wildly successful eCommerce ventures.

How, you ask? ClickFunnels equips non-technical entrepreneurs with all the tools they need to build highly functional, attractive websites from the ground-up with one major difference. The websites ClickFunnels helps clients build are designed for one primary purpose, selling.

Following the company’s 10-minute process, any individual can set-up and personalize an optimized website template specifically formulated to sell certain products. Whether you’re a public speaker, an author or an online retailer you can make use of these proven services to get your business idea off the ground as quickly as possible, without the intervention of any programmers or graphic designers.

In our conversation with Dave, we touched upon a variety of hot-button topics going around the digital marketing space at the moment. The most relevant of these topics was by far the obsolescence of traditional websites and the popularity of sales funnel-based storefronts which are rising up to replace them.

What Is a Sales Funnel?

Much like your average household tool, a sales funnel is designed to carefully shepherd potential customers along the buyer’s journey towards a conversion. Unlike a traditional funnel, a sales funnel will spill quite a few of those customers along the way. Which is just fine, ultimately a landing page conversion rate of just 12% would place you in the top 10% of online business across any industry. With an optimized sales funnel in place, your website landing page is finally able to fill the position of an online sales team, taking those remaining 96% of unconvinced visitors along towards a purchasing decision.

Why Now Is the Time for Sales Funnels

Websites Don’t Guarantee a Competitive Advantage

A polished, informative website used to be a real differentiator for small business and start-ups, but with the introduction of CMS like WordPress and DIY development tools like Squarespace, the value of maintaining an online presence has severely diminished. Today, any prospective visitor can run a Google search and find literally thousands of websites in any industry that look good enough to cater to their specific needs. With that much competition around, you need to stand out to make a sale.

Unfortunately, updating your existing website isn’t going to cut it. Over the past couple of years we’ve seen website design run into something of a brick wall when it comes to innovation. Nowadays, every storefront worth its salt integrates social media, live chat, video content and responsive design, and apart from these features there’s really no other way to reinvent the look and feel of your website.

By tearing down your website and putting a sales funnel in its place, you create a completely new proposition for the customer. Now, when a visitor clicks on your domain, they’re not evaluating your content and copy for unique value, they’re immediately met with the possibility of making a purchase with just a couple of clicks.

Customers are Easily Distracted

For good reason! From television to laptops and smartphones; consumers are being bombarded with a greater variety and velocity of marketing messages than ever before. It’s not just organizations either, in an online environment where influencer marketing reigns supreme, millions of individuals are leveraging their social media pages to turn themselves into powerful personal brands.

With this sort of stiff competition for clicks, any business looking to retain customer attention needs to be able to prevent customers from clicking away at the first obstacle. The sales funnels at ClickFunnels are scientifically designed to keep customers on your website until they take a clear form of action.

Understand Where to Direct Resources

Although most online advertising systems do include analytics tools to help you measure the traffic generated by your promotional efforts, tracking marketing investment on any of these channels directly to conversions is an incredibly difficult task. For this reason, your company’s digital expenditure might be based on intuition as much as hard data.

By replacing your website with a sales funnel, you can track traffic from any channel directly to conversion. With this new capability you can better understand where to focus your marketing resources in order to generate the most profits.

Stay Tuned!

Our conversation with Dave produced a ton of interesting insights, so we’ve got another value-packed blog post coming out soon. Until then, you can head over to ClickFunnels and see what all the fuss is about for yourself. If you’re looking to stay updated on our podcasts then you can sign up for our newsletter, and get notifications, and members only content delivered right to your inbox (each new subscription also comes with a special gift).

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The post 3 Reasons Why Sales Funnels are The Future of Online Business appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

The truth is that many of the changes these career professionals fear are already here. The much-vaunted hierarchical model which sustained scores of corporate executives for decades is rapidly going the way of the dodo. Throughout the world’s leading Fortune 500 companies, CEOs are looking to flatten organizational structures and introduce dynamic, contingent workforces.   At the same time, flexible service platforms like Uber and WeWork are giving rise to a new gig economy, based around flexible working practices and limited oversight.

In response to these upheavals, a number of people are being forced to adjust their educational and professional objectives, because the traditional systems which guaranteed highly-paid jobs to individuals with the right qualifications and achievements just aren’t sustainable anymore.  However, one class of businessperson that is positively thriving amidst this chaotic landscape is the entrepreneur.

The Allure of Entrepreneurship

As massive multinationals struggle to streamline their offerings, and introduce more innovation into their business processes, entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the fast-paced nature of this digital economy. Equipped with massively powerful communications tools and an unprecedented volume of data, start-ups and small businesses are finding gaps in the global market to deliver the personalized buying experiences that consumers demand.

In fact these firms are now driving the majority of economic growth, while 59% of entrepreneurs surveyed in 2016 indicated that they were looking to increase their workforces, only 28% of large businesses agreed. Entrepreneurs also serve to disrupt stagnating industries, employing radical new technologies and service models to derive value where larger businesses see only risk.

Of course not everyone is willing to take the leap of faith. In North America, 58% of working adults (including a fair share of millenials), see strong possibilities for starting a business in the current market, yet only 13% say that they’re willing to actually invest in these ideas over the next three years. From the fear of failure to a lack of capital, there are a host of potential challenges, which may stop you from pursuing your business idea. For motivated entrepreneurs, these obstacles can be easily navigated with the right strategies.

In Conversation with a Budding Entrepreneur

At The Expat Money Show, we recently spoke to Clara Day Herrera, a new business owner who challenges many of these fears on a daily basis. In 2016 Clara quit her long-time position as a cabin manager at a leading airline to pursue her dream of opening an eco-friendly yoga resort on the beautiful island of Palawan.  This unique retreat is now scheduled for its grand opening in the first quarter of 2018, under the name Salt and Sky Resorts.

In an extremely illuminating discussion, Clara opened up about what she’s learned over her entrepreneurial career so far, and offered key insights for aspiring business owners looking to go down the same route. One of the most interesting parts of our conversation centred on capital, one of the major concerns for any new business.  Here are some great takeaways.

Get Your Funding in Place

To be successful, your business needs to fulfil three primary objectives. First, it must serve an identifiable need in the marketplace. Second, you must have the right people around you to ensure success. Third, you must have access to sufficient capital to get your venture off the ground. Without these three factors in place, even the most enthusiastic entrepreneur is doomed to failure.

Of course capital can be hard to come by for even the most skilled negotiator. In the post-recession economy, traditional financial institutions are more risk-averse than ever before.  So how does an enterprising business owner secure the necessary funding?

Self-Funding

Work out a business plan and identify the minimum capital requirements for your business. Then start saving as much of your regular income as possible to invest in your new business. Because you have a keen appreciation of the money you’re putting into the business, you will be far more scrupulous about any spending decisions moving forward. You’ll also have some added motivation to recoup your sunk costs. Self-funding also gives you the ability to retain full equity in the business as it grows.

Friends and Family

If you’re not in a position to save substantial amounts of money, and external financing isn’t an option then your personal circle might be the best bet. Before asking a friend or family member for funding, be clear about the proposition you’re making. Are you asking for an interest-free loan? Are you offering a silent partnership role? Will you be guaranteeing a certain amount of equity in the business? Set everything out on paper before committing to any agreement, have a lawyer look over the paperwork if necessary.

If your acquaintance has little to offer to the business apart from money, then you should stick to a traditional loan arrangement. Make sure to set the terms of the loan at the outset, a 10-15 year repayment period should be expected. Start making regular repayments on the capital and interest as quickly as possible to ensure a good relationship with your banker. Remember, even if the business fails you will have a responsibility to complete payments.

The Traditional Route

With no business history and no proven revenue it can be extremely difficult to persuade a bank to commit to your idea. But there are a few critical steps you can take to increase your chances of success.

• Create a comprehensive business plan that includes financial projections for revenues, profits, cash flows, and capital expenditure over the first 5 years of your business. Make sure to detail the opportunities and risks to your business in the market. Define qualitative goals for your business and describe your ideal path to exit.
• Make sure that your personal credit is in good standing. Pay off any outstanding loans if you’re able to. An overleveraged entrepreneur is generally a bad bet for investment.
• Make sure you have a bank statement, tax records, resume and other personal documentation in hand.
• Register your start-up before you enter into negotiations.

Venture Capital & Angel Investors

From successful businesspeople, to independently wealthy individuals, local investment clubs and of course dedicated investment firms, a much-needed capital injection can come from a variety of sources but finding a stranger that’s willing to invest in an unproven idea is understandably daunting.  Here are some tips that might help you along the way.

Network

Talk to as many people as possible in and around your industry. Make sure you get opinions from individuals with the right expertise that can poke holes in your foolproof business plans and help you create a more robust proposition in the process.

Once you have a business strategy that holds up to scrutiny, it’s time to use your newfound network to secure introductions. Find out who’s making investments in your area, and align yourself with successful individuals that share the same passion and perspectives as you.  LinkedIn is a particularly powerful tool for creating connections with powerful people within your industry. Use the six-degrees of separation rule to foster relationships with prospective investors.

Have Your Team in Place

As motivated as you may be, you alone do not constitute a business. If you go into an investment meeting with just a business plan and no other team members then you’re still going to look unprepared. Assemble a quality team of trusted, technically competent individuals and bring them along to answer any specific questions.

Know Your Stuff

Venture capitalists and professional investors make a living out of scrutinizing business ideas. So if you think you have a concept that’s guaranteed to win you supporters without any further effort then think again. From financial estimates, to routes to exit, patent consideration and plans for expansion, you should have a comprehensive five-year plan for your business ready to go.

Under-Promise, Over-Deliver

Wildly optimistic claims open you up for instant criticism. Unless you have substantial proof to back up your profit estimates, it’s best to err on the side of caution and keep your confidence to yourself until your plans pan out.

More Keys to Start-Up Success

Listen to our full conversation with Clara to hear about the one source of funding we didn’t bring up in the blog. Clara also recommends some great literature that has helped her change her mindset towards business and create success in real, tangible ways. And if you really want to take things to the next level make sure to sign up for our newsletter below…

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The post Conceive, Believe, Achieve: Making Your Business Dream a Reality appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

However the statistics tell a different story. Although Facebook’s 2 billion active members provide ample advertising opportunities for customer engagement, in the highly lucrative B2B sphere LinkedIn comes out far ahead. With a high concentration of entrepreneurs and business people on the website, LinkedIn is actually the source for 80% of all B2B social media, leads. When it comes to overall lead generation, the platform comes out extremely favourably as well, especially in comparison to more celebrated platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. Linkedin is the second most used social network for marketers behind only Facebook.

What Makes LinkedIn So Effective For Lead Generation?

Credibility

At this point Facebook’s central role in the dissemination of state-sponsored “fake news” is well known. From ex-employees to federal agents, everyone has been pointing out Facebook’s well-established trust deficit.

LinkedIn however suffers from none of these concerns, as a social network for professionals, news updates and articles posted to LinkedIn come with an implicit guarantee of credibility. For industry-specific insights and trends there’s no better place than LinkedIn.

Intent

While Facebook is primarily focused on creating engagement within social circles and pre-existing communities, LinkedIn was developed specifically to serve as a networking tool for job-seekers and industry professionals. When a stranger likes your posts, or approaches you with a business proposal on LinkedIn it’s part for the course.  If you’re able to leverage these tools and prove your worth to prospective clients then you’re in with a far better chance of securing a conversion.

Inbuilt Segmentation

LinkedIn’s communities are inherently segmented into several niche audiences based on industry, expertise and focus. Whether you’re searching for job opportunities in software engineering, or you’re simply looking to stay up to date with the latest advancements in aeronautics; LinkedIn is set up to connect you to the right people.

Changing Behaviour

The age of outbound marketing is well and truly over, while cold calling and sales meetings might serve a limited role in the B2B decision-making process, it’s extremely far down the funnel. For most businesses the majority of persuasion is done online through targeted inbound efforts.  In fact B2B buyers might go 2/3rds of the way through the decision making process before every making contact with a vendor.  Of course, if a C-suite executive is doing his or her due diligence then chances are they’re checking out LinkedIn.

What You Can Learn From Tyron Giuliani

Tyron Giuliani is a Japan-based Australian entrepreneur with multiple successful businesses under his belt. He is also one of the foremost experts in LinkedIn lead generation. Tyron has built up his extensive knowledge of the platform, based on tried-and-tested techniques that he employs for his businesses to this day. Today, Tyron provides comprehensive LinkedIn sales solutions to C-suite executives and successful business owners across the world.

As you can imagine we were more than eager to uncover some of Tyron’s multi-million dollar selling techniques on The Expat Money Show. Here are some of our key takeaways from the conversation.

Get In and Get Out

The secret to LinkedIn prospecting is to work smart, not hard. While you might be tempted to connect with as many people as possible, and send out a thousand introductory messages a day; these efforts won’t turn up more than the occasional lead. Rather than attempting site-wide domination, you’d be far better served spending a lot less time on the right people.

Make it Organic

LinkedIn’s advanced search feature is a godsend for anyone that’s looking to forge connections. Spend some money and opt for a paid account so you can gain access to more targeted filtering options. Once you’re set up, look for C-suite executives from your industry that are either in your social circle, or just adjacent.

If you’re able to find someone who can introduce you to your prospect then you have the perfect way to create an organic connection. If you have no such luck then join a group that the prospect already belongs to. Answer existing queries within the group, and show off your expertise. If there’s no ongoing conversation, then start one of your own. Everyone loves relevant, informative content.  Essentially what you’re doing at this point is organic advertising.

Optimize Your Profile

Feel-good corporate job descriptions are a dime a dozen, don’t waste your LinkedIn headline on a description that doesn’t offer a value proposition. Change your mindset from selling your value to addressing your prospect’s pain. The best way to accomplish that goal is with SEO. For years search engines like Google have made their money off of providing online users with the results they need. Now, you need to put those same principles to use, to put your profile front and center in the client’s eye.

• Don’t leave any blank fields on your profile. Every empty space provides an opportunity to insert descriptive, rank-boosting keywords. Focus on making your descriptions short, concise and value-rich.
• Edit your profile URL to include your full name.
• Provide as many keyword rich, specific descriptions in your headline as possible. Prospects should have no confusion about what you do, or what you’re best at.
• Upload a picture.
• Give recommendations freely, and look to get them back in return. You want to show off your networking ability and extensive contacts within your industry of choice.
• Share original content and position yourself as a thought leader within the sector.

Use InMail

According to LinkedIn’s own metrics, individuals are three times more likely to respond to direct messages on LinkedIn than traditional emails…as long as you use the tool properly that is. Here are some key tips to follow:

• Make it personal, and start by pointing out a commonality; whether it’s a mutual acquaintance, a shared passion or some employment history.
• A compliment never hurts on the first go-around.
• Build trust and emphasize personality. This is not the stage to market yourself.
• Keep it concise. Time is money, and no successful person is going to want to read your autobiography in digital form.
• Refer to certain points from their profile to make it clear that you’re paying attention to who they are.

There’s So Much More to LinkedIn than Meets the Eye

We’re excited for you to find out! Check out our full conversation with Tyron to learn the biggest mistake LinkedIn marketers make, and find out some other great tips to optimize your lead generation strategies, also make sure you are subscribed to our mailing list to get the best information in the world for increasing your income as an Expat. Sign up for free below!

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But it’s not just the technology that’s changing, consumer attitudes are too. Data from Edelman’s annual Trust Barometer shows that trust in traditional media has dropped from 51% to 43% in the past year alone, with a particularly sharp decline perceived in markets such as Australia, Canada and the UK.  This sudden mass skepticism is described as an implosion of trust, by the public relations powerhouse.

The Rise of Influencer Marketing

In search of authenticity and accessibility, digitally inclined audiences are turning away from the elites of traditional media, towards more relatable content creators. Although online publications have been quick to capitalize on the need for alternative content, the biggest beneficiaries by far are social media celebrities known as influencers.

The sheer volume of marketing noise in the online realm is enough to make any Internet user wary of branded content, no matter how inconspicuous it might seem. But while only 10% of users put any faith in advertising, an entire 70% of consumers trust brand recommendations from their friends. Essentially, this is how these audiences see influencers, as eminently credible friends.

Each of these individuals has developed this reputation organically through relevant content and consistent community engagement on a variety of social media platforms.  The result is a uniquely keyed in fan base that’s more than willing to buy products and services off the back of a single blog, or video. For businesses looking to borrow some much needed credibility that kind of exposure is priceless, a marketing survey conducted by Linqia showed that 86% of 170 marketers were already working with influencers to boost their digital presence.

 A Pioneer in Influencer Marketing

At The Expat Money show, we recently talked to Tom Augenthaler a brand awareness and marketing consultant who has been at the forefront of this exciting new trend in digital marketing. Since 2008, Tom has worked with noted influencers like Mike Dillard, Tim Ferriss and Sarah Austin to jumpstart digital engagement and customer outreach efforts for an array of companies, from Fortune 500 brands to growing start-ups.

Here are some of the keen insights that Tom was able to share with us, for businesses just entering the sphere.

Relevance

Before you invest in influencer marketing you need to conduct some comprehensive market research. Take another look at your customer profiles and try to identify the content formats and social media channels they would likely follow. If you’re using Google Analytics or user tracking tools on your website, then use the insights from these technologies to identify traffic sources and browsing habits for your users.

You could also try looking closer to home by searching through hashtags related to your business and industry, to find digitally savvy customers who might already be fans of your brand.

Once you’ve identified a couple of likely online personalities, take a look through their body of work and ensure that the content they’re putting out aligns with your brand voice. Remember, the whole point of partnering with an influencer is to communicate authenticity to prospective customers. So if you get a fast food focused Youtube channel to review your organic snack line then you’re not going to hit the mark.

Engagement

When you’re weighing up where to spend your advertising dollars, you shouldn’t necessarily rely on follower count to inform your final decision. A mass audience isn’t going to do you much help if the majority of these individuals are only vaguely interested in the recommendations offered by your influencer.

Instead look towards more telling metrics such as the engagement ration. You can calculate this measure by dividing the average number of likes per post by the number of followers advertised on the social media page. Generally an engagement ratio above 2% indicates an engaged audience. However, be wary of extreme ratios as these may well be purchased likes. Pay attention to any sudden spikes in follower counts to keep track of possible fakes.

Another key metric to watch out for is consistency. To retain maximum engagement influencers should be pumping out content at a fairly rapid clip depending on the platform. Usually, one or two posts a day will suffice on Facebook or Instagram, while you probably need maintain at least 15+ tweets a day on Twitter to remain relevant. Either way, the content should follow a discernable schedule.

Overall the content posted by your influencer should be varied and engaging. The quality of their posts should correspond to the level of influence they enjoy and they should interact regularly with their followers in the comments of their posts.

Budget and Measure Results

Of course no digital marketing strategy can be considered successful unless it creates identifiable progress towards your objectives. Whether you’re looking to increase conversions, drive traffic to your website or increase your follower count on social media, you need to quantify your objectives into clear targets which can be assessed after a certain amount of time.

Once you’ve developed these metrics you should set aside a reasonable amount of resources to work towards these outcomes. If you’re targeting the lower end of the influencer market then you may even be able to arrange a product discount, or reciprocal promotion in lieu of financial compensation. If you’re keen on linking results to rewards then you might implement a commissions-based structure that rewards influencers based on the clients they directly bring in.

A Constantly Evolving Field

Influencer marketing is still such a new phenomenon than many companies are only just starting to take advantage of the full potential offered by this exciting marketing strategy. To get a better look at the nuts and bolts of influencer marketing do listen in to our full interview with Tom Augenthaler, it’s full of insights you won’t want to miss.

And to get the best of The Expat Money Show make sure you are subscribed below, I will even send you a free gift – “The 3 Key Actions That Quadrupled My Income Less Than A Year” as a one page cheatsheet, it will help you to discover how you can increase your income in easy to follow actions steps starting today.

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The Locus of Control

All too often we feel as if we have little to no control over our actions and our environments. Yet, as human beings we need to believe that the decisions we make can truly affect the direction of our lives; otherwise what’s the point of doing anything?

This aspect of our psychology is demonstrated in a concept known as the locus of control. According to this theory, those people who possess a strong internal locus of control believe that the focus and force of their willpower and attitudes are completely self-directed, whereas those with a weak internal locus believe that their behaviors are solely defined by their circumstances.  Unsurprisingly, individuals who fall into the former group have better academic results, more satisfying professional careers and a more positive outlook on life compared to the latter group.

Taking Back Control with Time Book

At The Expat Money Show we’re all about inspiring personal development with proven strategies. Through our interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders across a variety of industries, we hope to offer our listeners a comprehensive view of what it means to be successful. While each of our guests have provided listeners tools for personal transformation, few of them have managed to codify their values into a system as effective as Mihkel Sepp’s.

Mihkel Sepp is the creator of an all-in-one productivity planner called Time Book. Time Book provides individuals with a personalized route to maximizing productivity. With the professional insights, educational updates, self-assessment tools and workbook modules offered throughout this unique book, even the most disengaged person can set themselves up to retake control of their lives.

While our conversation with Mihkel Sepp touched upon everything from patriotism to social work, our conversation always circled back to the idea of creating productivity. Here are some key takeaways.

Focus on Only One Thing

Multitasking might seem like a great skill to add on a resume, but in truth working on several different projects at once only decreases your overall efficiency. Research shows that switching between multiple incomplete tasks takes a hefty toll on speed and performance outputs.

So streamline your daily tasks, and don’t commit yourself to projects that will take you further away from your primary objectives. Instead, prioritize your goals and mark out the largest part of your day for your most pressing work, dedicating your time in this manner should make the rest of your work much easier in turn.

Delegation

To some extent the phrase “if you want to do something right, then do it yourself” has seeped into every aspect of our working culture. Time and time again you see people in leadership positions attempt to manage every aspect of their businesses on their own. Unbeknownst to them, this refusal to relinquish power actually hurts productivity significantly. By forcing your team to wait on your input or approval for every task, you function as a bottleneck to efficient execution.

Take a step back, and identify people within your organization that you trust to provide key competencies, or vital knowledge. Distribute decision making power, responsibility and workloads to these people and set clear expectations for your desired objectives. Then, let go.

Apply Pressure

Here’s a statistic you might not expect to hear, research from the University of Virginia shows that teenagers who are susceptible to peer pressure actually turn out better than their more detached counterparts.

According to the study, young adults who are mindful of the social influences of their peers tend to be more socially adept and engaged. The pressure these individuals feel to fit in at school, translates to a corresponding need to excel in the eyes of teachers, managers and other influential parties. Meanwhile, teenagers who can easily shrug off these expectations are unlikely to feel the need to excel in other areas of their life.

So if you’re not feeling the pressure to perform in your daily life, then it’s time to surround yourself with people who make you want to be better.

Identify who the top performers are in your industry of choice, and find out where they congregate; whether it’s at industry events or on a specific social media group. Join as many of these groups as possible, and make not of their working habits. If you’re able to actually connect with these people even better, just don’t go into a meeting blind. Make sure to have an agenda set out with key questions that can aid you in your personal development.

Take the Time to Read

From Elon Musk, to Bill Gates and Warren Buffer the most successful people in the world attribute their success to the written word. Although setting aside vital productive hours for a sedentary activity might seem counter-productive it might actually be the most important investment you ever make. After all, if the average CEO working 60-70 hours a week can polish off 5 books a month, then you have no excuse.

A daily reading habit is a vital source for inspiration, ideas and further learning.  Look at any successful person, and you’ll find that they’re never content to rest on their accomplishments. They are always looking forward to the next big thing. How do you find out what the next big thing is if you’ve spent months wrapped up in one project? You do it through reading.

Just Do It

It’s easy to fall into a feel-good feedback loop, where you read a ton of self-development texts and start to feel like you’re already halfway down the path to success. While visualization is definitely a helpful tool for already motivated individuals, for disengaged parties, positive fantasies can actually trick their brains into believing that they’ve already achieved the task at hand.

Unfortunately, there’s no mental trick to getting the job started, you just have to do it. Instead of spending time planning, jump right into a pressing task as soon as it arises and deal with the obstacles as they come up. It’s the same strategy which Jeff Bezos uses to achieve his goals. Bezos starts by identifying the customer needs that his company has to address, then he works backwards to gain the skills and resources necessary to achieve them.

Set big goals, you might surprise yourself.

Listen To Our Full Conversation with Mihkel Sepp

To hear more about Mihkel Sepp’s innovative approach to productivity and self-motivation, tune in to our full interview by clicking here.   

And make sure you are subscribed below to get the best tips for increasing your own income as an Expat.

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At Fortune 500 companies, C-suite executives are instilling this innovation within their workforces, by taking cues from the worlds of music, theatre and art. Boardroom positions that were once filled by finance graduates and software engineers are now being occupied by liberal arts majors and other types of creatives. The flow of ideas has moved the other way as well, buoyed by the marketing potential of social media and the accessibility of direct selling platforms such as Etsy and Bandcamp, artists have begun to monetize their work in new and exciting ways.

The Myth of the Starving Artist

The history of creative arts is littered with examples of visionary talents that went to their grave without a penny to their name. From Van Gogh to Blind Willie Johnson these underappreciated geniuses are often held up as paragons of virtue within their respective fields. While the quality of work produced by many of these artists is notable without question, the narrative surrounding them is certainly worthy of a second look.

This idea that art has to obscure and non-commercial in order to be worthy, is completely without merit.  Long before the 20^th century Bohemian ideal of the solitary genius came around, artists were considered to be no more than master craftsmen in much the same vein as shipwrights or builders.  For celebrated geniuses like Bach, Mozart, Shakespeare and Michelangelo their art was their job, and they were rewarded handsomely for it. Indeed according to recently revealed bank records, Michelangelo was worth an estimated $47 million at the time of his death.

If these legendary figures didn’t have to starve in pursuit of their accomplishments then why should anyone else?  After all great art requires just as much input and engagement from audiences, as any innovative product or service.

In Conversation with Creative Entrepreneurs

At The Expat Money Show,  we recently spoke to rising underground artist Tim Smith and his manager James Richards. Together this duo is working to bring marketing savvy and new creative energy to the rapidly evolving Manhattan art scene. Our wide-ranging conversation with Tim and James touched upon many topics that will hold relevance for any creative looking to translate their artistic vision into real financial success.  Here are some of the key insights offered over the course of the interview.

Outsource Where Possible

Unless you’re a Damien Hirst or a Banksy, marketing probably doesn’t come as naturally to you as picking up a paintbrush might. Unfortunately, the long years spent honing your artistic talents may become irrelevant, if you don’t have the right industry connections or sales skills to do them justice. If you don’t want to spend another decade developing the necessary business competencies to take your art to the masses then the best way to achieve success is with the aid of a talented business manager.

Your manager should ideally cover the following bases:

• They should be able to efficiently coordinate the marketing and promotion of your artwork with minimal input.

• They should have reliable, proven contacts within your chosen industry.

• They should have complete faith in your artistic vision and look to support it any official communications.

• They should have sufficient technical understanding to provide objective feedback about your work.

• They should help you diversify your income streams, by bringing in new clients and channel partners.

Invest in Your Career

As a talented artist, you have one thing that most businesses lack, a completely unique product that can bring guaranteed value to target audiences.   Theoretically, as long as you’re able to maintain the consistency of your work and connect with willing buyers, you should have a steady revenue stream for the foreseeable future.

To ensure both of these objectives, you need to start looking at yourself as a creative entrepreneur rather than an artist. With this in mind, any revenues you generate from your artwork should be considered for reinvestment in the business, while your expenses should be optimized wherever possible.  Critical areas that any artist should focus on include:

• Make sure you keep track of artwork sold, and profits generated so that you can claim taxes with minimum hassle.

• Get a business license and insurance as soon as possible to protect your work against the threat of damage or theft

• Invest in an aesthetically pleasing online portfolio that reflects your growth as an artist. Make sure to enlist the help of a top-tier photographer who can make your artwork come to life in the eyes of the viewer

• Now that you have some disposable income in the bank, take some time to connect with the local community. Talk to fellow artists and well-known enthusiasts in your local community. Visit art galleries, fairs and exhibitions. Make yourself a fixture on the local scene.

• Invest in better materials. Don’t restrict yourself to one medium, branch out and try different instruments. If you lack a formal arts education, then invest in a few classes to round out your skillset in a couple of different disciplines.

Get a Mentor

Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Lauren, Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan; each of these pairs exemplifies a highly beneficial mentor/protégé relationship.

While an instructor can demonstrate technique and provide objective criticism, a mentor will go one step further and guide the direction of your entire creative process for years to come. A good mentor won’t hold your hand through every pitfall in your artistic journey, but they will provide you with the critical tools you need to excel and grow on your own.  Here are some key characteristics you should look for in an artistic mentor:

• A good mentor should expand the horizons of your understanding every time you engage with them. This will either be because they approach the art from a completely novel perspective, or because they have a far greater knowledge of the techniques in which you hope to specialize.

• Ideally, your mentor should already have attained a degree of professional success in your chosen industry. They should be at least 5-10 years ahead of you in terms of their creative development and they should have a good knowledge of working practices and trends within the industry.

• They should be able to offer insightful criticism about the state of the industry at large, and the potential pitfalls that await you on your journey. They must be willing to engage in debate and discussion about these issues, and answer any questions you have on the matter.

• It’s easy for artists to become self-indulgent and myopic in their approach to the creative process. A good mentor should be able to crack the whip and rein you in when need be

Plus, the Million Dollar Secret to Creative Success!

Are you going through a creative rut? Are you struggling to differentiate your art in a crowded marketplace? Before Tim started to make a name in the notoriously competitive Manhattan art world, he was a 2^nd-grade teacher struggling to make good on his dream of creative fulfilment. Listen to our full interview with Tim and James to find out just how he moved past these limitations to get to where he is today. And even better make sure to sign up for our Newsletter below to stay informed of every new Episode of The Expat Money Show.

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After all, when you see a phenomenally disadvantaged individual go on to achieve so much over their lives, you have to ask yourself this: why am I not achieving my full potential?

In Conversation with Marco Robinson

At The Expat Money Show many of our interviews have touched upon this topic from an industry-specific perspective. Over multiple discussions, we’ve managed to uncover the key strategies underlying thriving entrepreneurial ventures in almost every field, from app development to public speaking. However, in our conversation with international real-estate investor, philanthropist, and best-selling author Marco Robinson, we dug into the psychology behind success itself.

Growing up with an absentee father and a full-time working mother, Marco was faced with enormous adversity throughout his early life. Forced to move constantly in search of employment, Marco and his mother often found themselves out on the streets. Due to these constant disruptions, Marco was compelled to drop out of school at 16. With no educational certifications and precious few skills, Marco began working a series of odd jobs to make ends meet.  Eventually, he found himself at a timeshare company selling unwanted products to sceptical customers.

Lacking confidence and experience, Marco was initially considered one of the worst salespeople at his company. That is until one of the top sellers at the company decided to gift Marco a book that would change his life forever. The book was Bring out the Magic in Your Mind by Al Koran, and it focused on teaching readers the sub-conscious mental skills required to create prosperity in their daily lives.

Having read the book from cover to cover, Marco set out to apply the principles he had learned on his next sales call. After four hours of negotiation, he secured a sale worth thousands of pounds, and he hasn’t looked back since. In the ensuing decades, Marco has achieved considerable success in property investment, sales, and corporate speaking. Today his keen business insights are sought out by people all over the world. Here are a few that Marco shared with us.

Love What You Do

Thomas Corley is an author who has spent decades comparing and contrasting the daily activities and habits of both the ultra-wealthy and the poor. Through his research, he’s extracted various key indicators to distinguish between the two groups. Of these statistics, the most telling one related to job enjoyment.

According to Corley, 96% of poor people actively dislike what they do for a living, while 86% of rich people like what they do. A further 7% of wealthy people surveyed by Corley admit to loving their jobs. Corley’s figures show that rich people who love what they do, accumulate an average of $4 million more, than their less engaged counterparts. It seems clear that passion and enthusiasm translate directly into more income, but why?

Well, passionate entrepreneurs and professionals work a lot harder, 336 hours more a year on average to be precise. These individuals are also far more likely to take big risks to support their dreams. Of the wealthy people surveyed by Corley, 65% worked side jobs to bring additional income into their main business.  Inevitably, all that hard work does pay off, the more effort you expend the better, and the more well rounded your skills become, until one day you’re sitting at the top of your industry.

Focus On Innovation

Today, Silicon Valley titans like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos shape the way that people think, communicate, and interact. Today, these corporate leaders have far more impact on our daily lives than any politician or philosopher has. The fact that all these people share a common background in computer science is no coincidence. In the 21^st century, no business can succeed without a strong foundation in digital technology.

Whether you’re leveraging the potential of the Blockchain, investing in cutting-edge IOT tools, or simply inventing the next big mobile application, the possibilities for generating wealth through technology are endless.

Take Care of Yourself

You may not want to hear it, but exercise can definitely transform your life. Not only does exercise improve your memory, concentration, and mental sharpness, but it also gives you the stamina you need to put in long hours. According to Corley, 76% of wealthy people engage in aerobic exercise at least 4 days out of the week, compared to just 23% of poor people.

Highly motivated business people take the maxim, “your body is your temple” very seriously, 70% indicate that they eat less than 300 junk food calories per day.

Read More

“Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest.” –Warren Buffet

It’s not just Buffet either, according to Corley’s research 86% of rich people read voraciously. Note, however, that these business luminaries aren’t picking up just any piece of literature. They’re focusing specifically on self-improvement manuals, educational texts, and personal development guides over novels, tabloids, and magazines.  While a formal education may not be a necessity for success, a hunger for self-improvement is certainly necessary.

Find Out More

Our wide-ranging discussion with Marco touched upon such diverse topics as charity work, cryptocurrency investment, and even go-kart racing. In between those digressions were plenty more targeted principles for business success. Listen to the full episode now at The Expat Money Show.

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When Steve Jobs first introduced global audiences to the iPhone in 2007, few but the most forward-thinking tech insiders envisioned just how revolutionary the technology would prove to be. Although online connectivity and portable computing weren’t exactly novel concepts a decade ago, the sort of on-the-go features provided by these radical new devices provided endless possibilities for customers and businesses alike.

All of a sudden, words like selfie and autocorrect became part of the public lexicon, and texting became our primary mode of remote communication. Packaged alongside many of these innovations were handy software applications that helped users leverage their new devices for a host of new purposes including: gaming, shopping, transport and education.  These apps quickly created a powerful micro-economy of their own as individual developers and businesses, clamoured to put their offerings in front of a rapidly growing audience of tech-savvy smartphone consumers.

Today, there are around 3 billion smartphone users across the world, making an estimated 250 billion app downloads every year. According to data analysis firm Statista, apps are on-course to generate at least $189 billion in revenue by 2020. In light of all these facts and figures, is at any wonder that every other entrepreneur is looking to create the next Angry Birds or Uber?

An Inside Perspective on App Development

Unfortunately the app market today is very different from the environment that greeted developers back in the early days of smartphones. While there’s still big money to be made in mobile applications, much of this revenue is being snapped up by a few niche products and companies, and competition is getting fiercer all the time.

At The Expat Money Show, we recently spoke to Michael Chiang a New York-based entrepreneur who’s managed to rise above the cutthroat competition and find significant success in app development. Michael’s most well-known product is FitBark, a tiny smartphone-enabled health monitoring device, developed specifically for dogs.  Today, FitBark is available in 125 countries across the globe, and enjoys a massive international following.

During our discussion with Michael, we touched upon many of the strategies which enabled him to make FitBark a successful product. Today, Michael is putting these same principles into effect in the creation and launch of his brand new app JoyRide.

Here’s a rundown of some of Michael’s key secrets to app development success.

Assess the Market

According to market research firm CB Insights, 47% of all start-ups are unsuccessful because the market simply isn’t demanding their product.  At the end of the day, the point of any business should be to solve an issue that people face in their everyday life; regardless of whether that problem is finding a good restaurant or, staving off boredom.  If your app doesn’t accomplish this simple goal, then you’re unlikely to find success.

It’s easy to think you’re on to a sure thing, but before you put your hard-earned capital into a high concept implementation do your due diligence and listen to what your friends, family, and prospective customers are saying. Some key questions you need to ask are:

• Would you use this app? (Obviously)
• How much would you pay for this app?
• Have you heard about, or are you using anything similar currently?
• If so would you be willing to switch to this app? If not, then why not?

After you’ve canvassed these opinions, take a gander at the App Store, as well as Google Play; search through the millions of apps on these platforms and try to find similar products. See how they’re rated, and how many downloads they’re getting. Check out their business model:

• Is it subscription based?
• Free to play?
• Are there in-app purchases?
• Is there a premium version available?
• What kind of advertising is there on the app?

Use the insights you gain from this research to drive your own app development plan.

Find the Right People

Anyone can come up with a great idea; it’s translating that concept to an actual workable app that’s the difficult part. Building a strong app development teams requires a shrewd assessment of the skills and competencies you require. Here a few key positions that need to be filled

The CEO

The second you put your name on an app, you officially become the CEO of a small business. But in order to take on a leadership role, you need to have a clear idea about what you actually contribute to the design and development effort.

• Are you a software developer who has previous experience working with mobile platforms?
• Are you digital marketing expert, who knows how to effectively promote your app?
• Are you a financial whiz who knows how to get the most out of limited resources?
• Are you a designer, or artist that knows how to create aesthetically pleasing finished products?
• Are you a hands-off moneyman who’s content to leave the actual operations to the technical staff?

Once you’re able to clearly figure out your place in the business, you can start to recruit the missing skillsets that will round out your team.

The Product Manager

Every app development team requires an all-round motivator who can coordinate and organize individual areas of the app’s development.  Your product manager should have at least a working knowledge of the app’s target audience, the product’s capabilities, the marketing strategy, required coding and financial objectives.

The Designer

Even the greatest concept can be sunk by a cumbersome, unresponsive app. Your designer’s job is to ensure a smooth user experience, from both an aesthetic and functional standpoint. Amongst other duties, they will be tasked with mapping out: the interface, user navigation, workflows, integrating branding and developing a visually consistent overall theme.

The Developer

The engineers that are responsible for writing, testing and implementing all the code required for your app. They will also need to integrate any external data sources, and devices necessary for the functionality of the app. Although every team member is crucial, developers will be performing most of the legwork.

And The MVP Goes To…

We’re all familiar with what MVP means in a sporting context, but in app development this acronym stands for Minimum Viable Product, a concept which may ironically turn out to be the most important step in your development process.

Before you decide to sink the bulk of your capital into a product, you need to determine whether the features you’ve planned out can actually come together to form a cohesive whole. To make this assessment, you need to develop a basic version of the product, which fulfils only its key functions.

Massively successful apps like Uber, AirBnB and Buffer have all used this strategy to test the viability of their products and examine customer reactions to them at a very early stage.  In the case of Uber, their MVP consisted of a simple platform which allowed drivers to connect with iPhone users and make credit card payments. This initial version of the product had none of the advanced GPS, and tracking capabilities on offer now.

Your MVP will let you know whether you need to pivot on certain features of the app, let go of specific ideas, or simply scrap the concept altogether.

Of Course, There’s More

We could write chapters on each particular aspect of app development and marketing, but we’d only be scratching the surface. Instead, you can listen to our conversation with Michael and hear about the final key steps for creating a successful app, you’ll also get some great insights into the factors that caused Michael’s early attempts at app development to fail (hint: timing is everything).

And Make sure you are signed up for our Newsletter below where I share exclusive content not found anywhere else as well special ways to grow your income abroad as an Expat.

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Despite the sheer diversity, and volume of digital noise that we find in the world today, public speaking is still an indispensable skill for any person looking to draw attention, and incite action. A study from cloud-based presentation platform Prezi revealed that 70% of employed Americans believe that presentation skills are a critical factor in determining career success.  However, 20% of these respondents did indicate that they’d do almost anything to escape the responsibility of actually delivering a potentially career-defining presentation.

At the Expat Money Show, we recently spoke to a man who was once ranked amongst this list of countrywide glossophobes . Dustin Matthews is a communications guru who has helped guide marketing strategies for some of the world’s most recognizable private brands; he is also the founder of a radical new training and education company called The Speaking Empire.

In our engrossing interview with Dustin, we got an inside look into the transformational presentation skills which took him up the ladder from being a completely unwilling public speaker, to becoming one of the business world’s most effective closers.  Here are some key points we touched upon in our conversation.

Setting the Stage

The art of presentation is very much the art of conversation. The same principles that allow you to excel in your one-on-one interactions will help you persuade audiences numbering in thousands, as long as you can reliably scale up your skills.

With this in mind, think about how you would go about approaching a complete stranger with an idea, or investment proposal. Would you launch right into a sales pitch without any sort of pre-amble or introduction? If you have any interpersonal nous whatsoever, the answer is probably not. If you’re a savvy operator, you’d likely look to leverage your personal connections to get an introduction, and if that isn’t possible, you’d make that introduction yourself in the most appealing manner possible.

This is a process known as pre-framing. Just as a picture frame defines the boundaries of a painting, telling you what it can and cannot contain, so does a conversational frame.  A strong introduction gives uninitiated listeners a keen insight into what you do and who you are (or who you’re not), this in turn lets them know what they can expect from the conversation that follows.

Applying this idea to a presentation setting is fairly simple. Before you launch into your best sales patter, make sure to get a strong introduction from a respected colleague, or even a famous face if you can swing it.

 Narrative Structure

As human beings, certain storytelling techniques are ingrained within our very psyche whether we realize it or not. Anyone familiar with the works of Joseph Campbell will recognize this idea in the universal concept of the monomyth, or the hero’s journey.  Even if you haven’t read Campbell’s book (you should), you will have seen countless examples of this journey illustrated in popular fiction ranging from Star Wars to, To Kill a Mockingbird.

The basic format of the monomyth is as follows,

1. In the first stage, the hero reluctantly answers a call to adventure, caused by some personally related conflict.
2. At the second stage of the journey, the hero gains the assistance of certain mentors or assistants, with the support of these allies, the protagonist commits to the trials and tribulations of his adventure, and thus passes the point of no return.
3. After clearing some minor hurdles, the hero is met by a major obstacle, which threatens to derail the purpose of his quest, in this situation he is tested to the limits of his abilities. The hero passes this trial by fire, and gains new understanding of his ultimate path to securing his destiny.
4. Having achieved his purpose, the hero returns home, triumphant only to be met with a final hurdle, which threatens to undo all that he has gained over his journey. The hero conquers this final test to confirm his newfound wisdom, he then returns to his former life as a stronger, and more complete human being.

For centuries, this simple structure has created powerful, emotive responses in the hearts and minds of audiences throughout the world. By incorporating these principles into your own presentation, you can create lasting, emotional connections with your listeners.

Offer a Solution

People pay money for products and services for one of two reasons. Either they want to avoid unpleasant emotions, or they want to pursue pleasurable ones.

If you’re going to pitch a solution to your audience, you need to have an in-depth understanding of the pressing challenges your prospects face day in and day out.  You need to articulate these challenges in a relatable manner that touches upon the experiences of the audience. Only after you’ve displayed this sort of understanding, can you offer a patented solution for combating this obstacle.

Simple Value Statements

Even the most adept salesperson can struggle to transition buyers towards a closing proposition.  Often it’s because they see the closing process as the final step in a journey, rather than assess the whole journey itself. Don’t think of the body of your presentation as a prelude to a big, “yes”. Instead, design the presentation as a series of small commitments that your audience can very easily sign off.

These agreements should come in the form of five or six, short, simple value statements. Start with a widely acknowledged industry wisdom that gets your listeners nodding along. While these pearls of knowledge won’t turn any sceptics towards your cause, they will get your audience into an agreeable state of mind, thereby clearing the way for bigger agreements down the road.

Once you’ve completed this step, it’s time to deliver on some unique propositions that clearly outline the value your specific products or services could grant to prospects in the audience. This is the point at which you should offer irrefutable evidence in your favour that’s hard to deny. Whether you use a case study, or a true anecdote to achieve this goal, is immaterial.

The final value statement you deliver should come with a question attached, implicit or explicit. The question is, why wouldn’t you buy this product or service in light of everything you’ve just heard? If you’ve done your job right, there should be few clear arguments against the idea.

But, Wait There’s More!

While these great tips will certainly set you off on the path to career success, why stop with just four? At The Expat Money Show, we’re collecting insider knowledge from some of the foremost investors, thought leaders and all-round influencers in the game. Check out the rest of our podcast with Dustin Mathews to find out greater steps towards presentation mastery, then check out some of our other inspiring interviews. Better yet, sign up for the newsletter, and get weekly updated content delivered right to your inbox.

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The post 4 Steps to a Pitch Perfect Presentation (From a World Class Public Speaker) appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.