Walt Disney gained worldwide fame with the animated film ‘Steamboat Willie,’ but Disney’s first studio went bankrupt. By the mid-1930s, he had produced over 400 animations, most of which suffered heavy losses. In 1938, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs made $8 million in just the first half—more than ten times the earnings of other films. Meanwhile, with this animation, the company paid overdue wages to its employees and recovered the losses it had sustained. An unusual event that changes everything is called a “tail event.” 40% of publicly listed companies in the U.S. stock market lose nearly all their market capitalization 10 years after going public. Business and investing, after all, are based on probabilities. No one knows what the “tail event” will be. Therefore, to succeed, you need to try small, steady, many times with little impact, even if you fail. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
‘ Capital ’ means ‘ Principal .’ What does ‘Principal’ mean in business ? The ultimate goal of any business is to create wealth. Wealth serves as the foundation for creating value, and that value must be generated solely through production. To produce, the cost must be invested first; the source of that cost is referred to as ‘Principal.’ In other words, the result of a transaction through trading is ‘ revenues ,’ and if costs and expenses are subtracted from sales, what remains is ‘ profit .’ If costs and expenses exceed revenues, it results in a losing trade; if they are lower, it results in a profitable trade. Therefore, principal serves as the benchmark for profitability ; in other words, it is referred to as capital. Whether a business is good or bad is determined by its profitability. If the principal is insufficient, borrowing capital becomes necessary, which is termed “ debt .” Just as the number of principals capable of producing tankers differs from those that can create ...