Those who have followed my Internet career closely know just how obscure the silver market can be. Originally, the Silver-Investor.com was primarily a Web page built by me, bit by bit, to continue my research into money, metals, and mining. The primary focus back then was on the silver market from an educational standpoint. My ability to sell information for profit seemed nearly impossible.
At the time, Central Fund of Canada (CEF) was selling for a discount to Net Asset Value (NAV) and, knowing a good deal when I found one, we stated that we had a special report that would teach our readers how to buy gold and silver below the spot price. The actual discount to the NAV was 9% at the time. There is not a precious metals investor alive today who would not jump at such an opportunity, but in those days it was the very bottom of the market and I knew little to nothing about how to market an information business that was maintained in cyberspace.
I did get some responses; however, they were mostly from people who had very strong words about me and about my integrity. This was understandable because, although it is almost impossible to buy gold or silver at a discount, the truth of the matter was that CEF was selling at a discount during that time. So, I simply confirmed the facts to some of those who had prejudged me. Interestingly, not one of them sent an apology or acknowledged my efforts. So be it! As time went on, one large investor from Europe took me quite seriously and after conducting his own due diligence discovered I was presenting the facts accurately . . . and he loaded up his fund with discount gold and silver by purchasing the stock CEF.
It actually took me almost half a year of Internet presence before I obtained my first paying client. Regardless of what you hear about Internet riches, the truth for me was that many people were appreciative of my efforts but have what I refer to as the Internet mentality. To me the Internet mentality is that you should be able to obtain whatever information you want to obtain from cyberspace for free. There actually is a great deal of merit to this thinking, because watching the Internet grow and witnessing just how many writers now cover the silver market, the days of Ted Butler and I being the dynamic duo are long passed.
I recently returned from the Money Show in Las Vegas, where I gave three presentations. One was on the overall silver market including the importance of hard assets in a well-balanced portfolio. I also presented on the subject of how to pick junior mining companies by looking at the mining cycle and the top five errors most investors make. Finally, I spoke about using an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to purchase physical gold and silver. In fact, I now have developed a Web page devoted to this idea. See www.MyRealIRA.com.
