How to Make Money During a Gold Rush

You know who got rich during the gold rush? The guys shelling shovels.

That was my theory toward the end of 2009. I was relatively new to economics, but from what I understood, it seemed like a gold and silver bull market were just beginning. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much money. I did, however, have an understanding of publishing websites and making money that way. I was selling intellectual shovels. I was a web publisher.

That’s why I launched a websites and a newsletter on precious metals, and eventually sold it to a Brazilian investor, and then re-launched two more precious metals websites — Live Gold Prices and Live Silver Prices. We’re in a gold rush, and the easiest way to make money in a gold rush is to sell shovels. It’s the next best thing to owning the mines.

Now, of course, it’s been a few years, and I have money directly in gold and silver. Something like 25% of my long-term portfolio, as well as some silver speculations that are doing quite well. But their returns are insignificant compared to my shovel-selling business. This is an important lesson for future projects, I think.