By Amine Rahal, CEO of IronMonk, a digital marketing agency specializing in SEO & CMO at Regal Assets, an IRA company.
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As with any business idea, to get yourself started you will have to invest time and effort in various aspects of the idea-to-execution process. This is especially true in the gold and precious metals business. Here are some features that will help you increase your chances of success in your gold business.
• Preparing a practical plan with a solid foundation.
• Unwavering dedication and motivation to drive you forward.
• Technical skills: You may have them, or you may need to acquire them.
I’m an entrepreneur myself in the gold industry, where I’m CMO of Regal Assets. Personally, I find the gold industry fascinating, but I am also aware that this industry may not be as obvious as others for many. So, let’s have a look at three business ideas in the gold industry.
Online Gold Dealer
The gold dealer business involves sourcing gold and gold coin bullion to sell with a small markup to investors. The demand for gold continues to increase and the development of countries like China and India is leading the way.
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Next, you will need to establish delivery arrangements with a first-class transportation company, as you will want your gold buyers to receive their purchases quickly and securely. Most online gold buyers want their gold stored by the gold dealer. So, you will need to set up or partner with a gold storage facility as well.
You also need to facilitate buy-backs for your customers. Investors that want to reduce the amount they have invested in gold need to know they can sell their gold bullion easily. Bear in mind, buying gold back from your clients shouldn’t advantage you, as you should pay them the spot price. But it does give your clients security and enhances their experience.
The online gold dealer presents various challenges. The first one is reputation. This aspect is fundamental in acquiring clients. Yet, it can only be obtained as clients buy from you and your reputation grows.
Gold Safe Keeping
As gold is a heavy physical asset, safe storage is a much larger factor than that of, say, stocks, that can be stored electronically as well as in paper form. More and more people are turning to self-storage, at home or through a company.
One of the biggest factors that may tip the scales toward self-storage is insurance. When you store gold in a bank safe deposit box, the contents are not automatically insured. You would need to take out insurance specifically to cover the item in the safe deposit box. Whereas storage companies will automatically buy insurance to cover your gold.
Various companies already operate this business, so it would be a matter of identifying how to improve the business model. That said, you will need to consider aspects that make a quality customer experience.
Things like home pickup of the gold bullion that you then transport safely to the storage facility or setting up many locations nationwide so that gold owners have easier access to their investment.
Scrap Gold Recovery
This is a field that in recent years has sprung into a full-blown industry. Scrap gold buyers have opened shops on every street corner. The price of gold has reached a level where many people are willing to sell unused jewelry for scrap. These dealers, of course, pay less than the spot price of gold, but it still makes a good deal for both parties.
Some companies and individuals are also in the business of recovering scrap gold from old computer components, cell phones or other electronic devices. You can find gold recovery equipment and chemicals online. These two tools are needed to refine gold from any electronic device.
There seems to be a lot of space here to start up a business that is dedicated to smelting and refining scrap gold jewelry, as well as recovering scrap gold from all the different electronic devices that carry gold. It’s about making a business that becomes a household name in the industry.
Electronic devices have an ever-decreasing average lifetime. Add to that the continuously rising price of gold. These two factors make scrap gold recovery an interesting field for the lasting power of this activity.
Given gold’s relative price stability over the past few years compared to the equities market, real estate or cryptocurrency, the yellow metal has caught the eye of risk-averse investors. Entrepreneurs who want to take advantage of a relatively stable financial market may want to make a play in the world of gold investing. These three different options could be a good start to gaining exposure in the gold industry as an entrepreneur.
