Income Opportunities for Adventurers By William CateIf you want to spend your life seeing
world and not forty years condemned to an office cubicle, how can you do it? In past, solution was to write books, articles and give travel lectures. The demand for adventure literature has been in decline since 1960s. Today, you can't expect to use your communication skills to fund your wanderlust.
If you are an adventurer, secret to a sustainable income is to export a quality item that has little value in country where you are acquiring it. The same item must have great value elsewhere world. Whatever item, it can't have broad enough appeal to interest major import/export firms. And, it must be legal to trade in item.
Examples of Exports that Haven't Work for Adventurers
You can find high quality, handmade textiles in Andes. In 1970s, a few South American explorers saw potential U.S. Market for these woolens. They bought wholesale and exported to friends and small shops in States. The Andean Indians sold their wares in quantity. For weavers to meet export quotas, quality of handmade items quickly declined. Meanwhile, major American retailers saw demand for woolens and sent their buyers to South America. It wasn't long before American Market was flooded with poor quality, handmade woolens from South America. The lesson is to avoid dependence upon volume buying of handmade anything.
Too many adventurers realize fact that a tropical bird fetches a few dollars in Asia, Africa and South America and hundreds or thousands of dollars in States. They buy birds or hire locals to collect baby birds in nearby rainforests. About this time, they learn that it's illegal to ship birds to States or European Union and often it's illegal to export them from whatever country was source of tropical birds. The adventurer loses money. The local environment loses part of its tropical bird breeding population, since few of birds will survive, if returned to jungle. The lesson is find out what is legal, before you do anything else. Avoid hassles, loss of limited resources and wasted time and effort.
A Few Examples of Exports that Have Worked for Me
Few niche exports have consistent consumer demand over time. Often local people see that you are making money and either go into competition with you or make export illegal. Also, you face risk that retail price for item becomes known to your local suppliers. That usually means that cost of item to you will jump, often beyond where you can export it at a profit.
