NSE #4: The most influential factor in the investment world

In the investment world, one factor rules supreme - GROWTH 

Tell me what is common in the following:

• Emerging Markets
• Price/Earnings to Growth (PEG) ratio
• Start-ups
• Venture Capitals
• Growth Equity Funds
• IPOs
• Junk Bonds
• Growth Stocks
• BRICS
• Next Eleven
• Asian Tigers
• Growth Mutual Fund
• Hedge Funds
• Growth Premium

The main factor in every single one of the terms above is GROWTH.

Growth is the most influential factor in the investment world. And it's backed with lots of research papers and Nobel award winning theories. 

In 1985, Franco Modigliani won a Nobel Prize for proving that (consumption part of) the GDP increases based on citizen's expectation of income growth. 

In practical terms: Whenever there is a rumor that the FG is working on raising the salaries of civil servants, people will spend more (even though the salary increase hasn't been done, nor its implementation, very certain). You can decide to argue and disagree, but I've got a Nobel Prize award winning research on my side. 

Growth is what Twitter is promising investors in exchange for their cash in its forthcoming IPO. Twitter is filing for a $1 billion IPO and has not made a single dollar as profit for the past three years. And the funny thing is it will succeed. Why? GROWTH 

So many companies have done it before: eBay went public with less than $900,000 profit in the preceding year. Demand Media did it without ever making a profit. Splunk did it while making a loss year after year.

Once you've got GROWTH on your side, you will always get investors' cash. And there is no other factor that is that powerful; none even comes close.

I have joined the rest of the investment world; I now give growth the highest consideration in my career moves. Even in my part-time biz, I only take jobs that will build on the skill sets I have; I focus on only Excel jobs. I have gotten offers for non-Excel jobs, and though I could do them satisfactorily, I turned them down. The less non-Excel jobs I take, the more time I have for Excel jobs and the more Excel jobs I can look for. GROWTH. 

I'm specializing and trying to build a brand like most start-ups. Find a need, and focus on meeting that need alone. Be known for your expertise in just that niche. Let your name be synonymous to that need. And in the future, you can slap a huge premium on that brand name.