All posts tagged: featured

Den nächste sommer kommt bestimmt

Published by Anna Kazakova

Many years ago, when I was 18 and lived in Russia, I got a card from my German friend. There was a sunflower on it and a phrase “Den nächste sommer kommt bestimmt…” When it was really cold and dull outside, I always looked at this picture and new that “A new summer will certainly come”. Spring is here on Roslagsgatan 48 at our office. Street is filled with sun the whole day and soul is singing all days long , “Spring is here!” It was almost 3 months vacation for Life as an Investment, now we are coming back to life, as Russian Sibirian bear after cold winter.  We have been travelling in Asia, swimming  in Spain in the swimming camp and enjoying snow in cold and windy Russia… Now we are back! How have you been? Best, Anna

Happy New Year!

Published by Anna Kazakova

Dear all,  It is only a few hours left of 2015.  Soon a new year will come with 365 new days, 365 new opportunities. I hope you will not miss them! I wish you all harmony, happiness and love. Thank you for being with us. See you soon in 2016! Happy New Year! Always yours,  Anna N. Kazakova. 

What is success? And how does it feel?

Published by Anna Kazakova

 In the end of December JS from Successful Styles  visited  Anna and Oxana founders of Life as an Investment and talked to them about success and their way to where they are now. Anna and Oxana are also founders of Kamishi AB, Hoam.ly and Stockholm International Swimming Club….. Originally published at Successful Styles. Every time I meet Anna it is like a new page opens up. It is unimaginable how much she knows, understands and is curious about. I don’t even remember the first time I met this girl, but what I do remember pretty good about her is her fiery mental strength. She is always hungry for learning more and does it in the best way she can. It seems to me it never matters whether it’s hard or not, she’ll do it anyways. When I mentioned that I want to write about her success, she instantly suggested inviting her closest friend and a business partner Oxana Sachenkova. The way she was talking about their friendship could not be ignored. Her story clearly wouldn’t be complete. There was no doubt these …

Is a 24-hour day enough?

Published by Anna Kazakova

After the our with Oxana Hoam.ly project went into STING TEST DRIVE , I began asking myself “ Is a 24-hour day enough? ” At first I was positive that it will be. Preparing the seminars, reading, collecting information and writing about the process…AND having time for my private life—yeah right! Six weeks later, on the final week of presentations, I finally found time to grab a keyboard and write about STING TEST DRIVE program that we underwent. And the first issue I wanted to discuss is time management.  WHY? Why do we have only 24 hours? I have no idea! But I do know that even if we had 48 hours in one day it still wouldn’t be enough! Here are some tips on how to organize the day and save your precious time, that I figured out during STING TEST DRIVE program: Sleep I don’t know about you but if I don’t get 7.5 to eight hours of sleep every day, I’m a total zombie! My productivity decreases and my chances of getting sick increase. And If I get sick, say goodbye …

10 Best Budget-Friendly Christmas Presents for Swimmers

Published by Anna Kazakova

Swimming is like religion for those who spend more time in water than out of water. If you’re lucky to be a swimmer, and have friends who are swimmers, here are 10 solid tips for the perfect Christmas gift. 1. Medal Holder Competitive swimmers usually don’t know how to display their medals, so they usually end up siting in a box, placed on a shelf somewhere in a closet. This is a great way to display medals….and encourage more training to win more medals!    2. Swimming Towel These towels are not easy to find! They are special microfiber towels that absorb more than regular bath towels….and are extremely compact. A must have for every swimmer! 3. Remarkable Swimming Gear TYR created the special collection The Finals Funnies. This collection is true to its name—pure fun! A combination of great quality and bright colors….especially useful during those dull fall days in the pool. I bought myself that one. There are models for guys too. 4. Book Swimmers do read, but we prefer to read about …

Tech & Law Startups – Stockholm Style

Published by Anna Kazakova

 Today our guest author is Ksenia Christiansen, legal counsel of Kamishi AB, with her review of tech startups from Stockholm, Sweden, which are on the way to revolutionize the LAW industry.  Welcome!    If you’re looking for trends, turn your attention to the Unicorn Valley of Stockholm—a place where the entire city pulse can be felt. This year is a pinnacle year for law and tech businesses—both riding the wave of success by combining their efforts and creating a contract law/business sphere. With convenience at the fore front, contract and judicial processes can now be executed by a simple computer click. The three startups that stand out (which may be helpful to you as an entrepreneur) are summed up in this article. Here are the hottest Tech & Law Startups – Stockholm style: Precisely – www.precisely.se The site is built to create standard agreements that are needed for startups. An obvious, perfect choice if you are starting a company and need basic guideline agreements. The contracts were good and informative. The best part of this …

Hello November

Published by Anna Kazakova

Hello November! The leaves are almost done falling from their perspective trees, and the nights are now longer. November has arrived! And the city of Stockholm is preparing for winter and gearing up for its holiday retail season! But for myself and Oxana Sachenkova, Thursday November the 5th is a day we anticipate with excitement. We will be entering the STING Test Drive Program with our project. Our startup project  is called Hoamly: a online platform that will change the way people buy real estate in Sweden! We are honored to be accepted to this program… and look forward to sharing it with all of you. Get an inside look of how the program proceeded, and our personal experience in a follow up article coming soon. AND be ready to get weekly reports and updates in our entrepreneurship category. Hope you all enjoy being with us! Yours always, Anna Kazakova and the Life as an Investment Team.

Why do people give up?

Published by Anna Kazakova

Have you ever thought about why people give up? What makes us stop believing in ourselves? In our ideas and companies? Below are 7 possible reasons/suggestions that cause people to throw in the towel and give up. If you’re an entrepreneur—read on! 1. Unrealistic Expectations Our lives are unfortunately programmed to get fast results with just about everything we do. You post a picture on Instagram—you get likes. You post a status on Facebook—you get comments. Life has become a circus of procrastination and fast results. However, we all know that in the real world results usually come after years of trying. It’s true and nobody wants to hear it. 2. Fear of Failure We all fear the idea of failing. The more success stories we hear, the more we fear success. When I ask people what they would do if they had only two years left to live, the fear of failing is no longer an issue. Do not be afraid of failure. Ebba von Sydow, Swedish journalist and tv host says, “Every time I make a mistake, I understand that I am …

Real Estate Investment Strategy #3: Book–Sell

Published by Anna Kazakova

One of my favorite real estate investment strategies that works well in Sweden is Book-Sell (read here about Buy-Repair- Sell and Buy-Rent- Sell ). Book-Sell  involves new construction projects where you book, for example, an apartment at a planned building site and sell it before the  house and apartment are even finished. There are a lot of construction companies out there with a long-standing history of building and doing business. The Purchasing Process First you need to locate a building project. Search the net and you’ll find what you’re looking for. Next, after finding a suitable project and location, contact a broker about selling you one or more of the apartments. Once a real estate firm has accepted you as a client, you will need pay anywhere from 20k – 50k (SEK) as a booking fee, then 8-10 months later you will be required to pay and extra 80k – 100k (SEK) to secure the ownership of the real estate (binding agreement). Booking details vary with different construction companies, but for the most part, they are all very similar. (Pros) …

Investment Real Estate Strategy #2: Buy–Repair–Sell

Published by Anna Kazakova

Last time we spoke about profiting from a real estate investment using an exit strategy. Today we add more (exit) strategies. The Buy-Rent–Sell strategy we discussed earlier is an endeavor that usually lasts only 1-2 years. In other words, cash-in while the getting is good. In the last 20 years, Swedish real estate has increased in value with the exception of 2008 when prices were slightly down, but then suddenly increased the following years. The funds acquired from the sale of property (the exit) is a huge plus when added to the cash flow created from rent. Today, a 50 square meter apartment in Solna would cost you roughly 2M SEK, which can then be sold for 3M SEK in 1.5 years. That’s 1M SEK in cash flow on a 300,000 SEK investment. Couple that with cash flow from rent, and your ROI would triple! STRATEGY 2: Buy–Repair–Sell This strategy still works in the UK and other countries, but seldom is it profitable in Sweden—however, it was profitable several years ago. In comparison to other real …