🪖 Hello all. I wanted to apologize for not sending last week’s issue. I was caught up in travel and miscalculated the time I had to work on this newsletter (each email takes a full day of work). This being said, welcome to all the new subscribers - and welcome back to all you loyal readers. Update on The Veteran’s Wallet - we just surpassed 20,000 subscribers. I am still replying to all the emails telling me about your job industry/background as well. A big thank you to you all.

In this week’s issue: The market update (Bitcoin is UP), latest world news, understanding the niche business side hustle, and the latest government contracting job openings.

Read time: 3 minutes

As mentioned before, I built the premium side of The Veteran’s Wallet and it has launched. I’d love for you to give it a try. I’m offering new sign-ups a 14-day free test run for the month of October. This free trial offer will end on the 1st. The cost is only $49/yr.

What’s included:

The market fell last week, with the S&P 500 down over 2%, as investors continued to worry about the prospect of rising interest rates and a potential recession. Bond yields also rose sharply, with the 10-year Treasury yield reaching its highest level since 2007. Bitcoin rocketed due to positive news from the SEC, short liquidations, ETF optimism, and seasonality.

Israel-Gaza War | Gaza deaths mount as Israel intensifies strikes; Macron meets with Netanyahu and Abbas. Israeli forces escalated Gaza airstrikes. In Tel Aviv, 85-year-old Israeli hostage, Yocheved Lifshitz, shared her captivity experience in Hamas' extensive tunnel network after her release alongside another Israeli woman, Nurit Cooper, 79, following the earlier release of two Americans. About 200 hostages were reportedly taken by Hamas, amid growing international diplomacy to secure releases and mitigate war regional spillover.

Chinese Defense Minister Fired | China dismissed Defence Minister Li Shangfu, absent from public since August, with no explanation or replacement announced. This follows recent removals of top officials like Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Both were also ousted from the State Council, approved by the National People's Congress. Li's disappearance, amid suspected corruption investigations, leaves China without a defence head before hosting international defence officials. Previously sanctioned by the US for arms purchases from Russia, Li, an aerospace engineer, had a steady rise in military and political ranks since 2018.

Venezuelans become the largest nationality for illegal U.S. border crossings | In September, Venezuelans surpassed Mexicans as the largest nationality arrested for illegal U.S. border crossings, with 54,833 arrests, more than double from August. Total arrests from Mexico hit 218,763, nearing the December 2022 record of 222,018. Amid Venezuela's crisis, over 7 million fled, with many settling in the U.S. The Biden administration granted temporary legal status to nearly 500,000 Venezuelans, resuming deportation flights for others arriving illegally post-July 31. The U.S. bolstered border resources as illegal crossings diversified from mostly Mexicans to Central Americans and other nationalities, spotlighting border issues ahead of upcoming elections.

To Niche or Not To Niche?
The big business question

Step into any business idea, and you’ll immediately bump into the Q:

Should you niche or should you not niche?

The fear of niching is:

> You’ll be stuck in 1 area that excludes you from business elsewhere.
> And before that: how do you even decide what to niche in and if it’s the right thing?

The problems you’ll hear of not niching is:

> You can never charge as high as someone specialized
> You’ll never stand out from competition in the market.

But to clarity the difference first:

NO NICHE (aka. The Generalist): you’re known as the guy who knows about wine.

NICHE (aka. The Specialist): You’re known as the guy who knows about French wine, from Paris, that’s white and from the harvest of 76.

And in this week’s newsletter, we’ll give you pros and cons of each—along with the nuances drawn from business experience on the ground.

PROS of NO NICHE

• It’s easier to start service and find playing clients as a generalist

• You’ll have a wider pool of opportunities available to you

• You’ll grow skills faster from taking on more and diverse work

• Once started, you can then figure out which niche fits you best

CONS of NO NICHE

— While it’s easier to get started, it’s harder to stand out without a niche
— While you’ll grow faster, your skills will be growing only as a generalist
— There’s no doubt: you’ll also have far more competition
— Because of that, you’ll always have a ceiling to how much you can charge

PROS of NICHING

• The more niched you go, the more money you can charge for it

• You’ll be in a pool of much less competition, and hence stand out

• Serving 1 kind of market = more focus + simplified processes

• You’ll build specialized skills which people will remember you for

CONS of NICHING

— While it’s easier to get started, it’s harder to stand out without a niche (
— While you’ll grow faster, your skills will be growing only as a generalist
— Since more opportunities are available to you, you’ll also have far more competition
— Because of that, you’ll always have a ceiling to how much you can charge

In sum?

In today’s markets, the riches really are always in the niches. People will associate you with that “one thing”. It’s far easier to be the go-to person for it, and charge more.

But if you’re just starting out: not niching will very truly allow more opportunities to come your way. So consider starting not niched—with your eye on the super niche. 

Note: If the apply URL does not work for a position, reply back and let me know. I’ll send you a valid link if it’s still open. For access to hundreds of more positions (and much more), check out The Veteran’s Wallet Pro.

✉️ If you’re interested in going deeper into various financial topics, we recommend these newsletters:

1. Houck’s Newsletter - For the business startup. Building, growing, and raising capital.
2. The Sweaty Startup - Real estate deals. Business principles.
3. The Money Maniac - Financial insight from a Wall Street analyst.

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Have a good rest of the week.

- Nate

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