Source: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/02/21/gold-rush-teen-star-baffled-by-show-popularity/
Peter Schnabel Of “Gold Rush” T.V. Show
While I’m not entirely sure if this show is one of the most watched tv programs out there (at least according to Nielsen Ratings), it is the Discovery Channel’s 2nd highest rated show, which intrigued me because it’s a show about the plain profession of gold mining.
Parker Schnabel said it best:
“I don’t think that people even involved in the show understand the scope of it… Gold mining is a business where you can work as hard as you can through the whole season and still lose money, or if you pick the right little chunk of ground in one day you can pay for everything. It’s the treasure hunt, and I think that’s what intrigues people.”
Gold mining is tough. It’s expensive, costly, and time consuming. It can take a few to several years before a mine is up and running, and even then its profitability is not guaranteed. This is the “treasure hunt” that Peter is referring to. You can work pretty hard for nothing for months and then one day you hit pay-dirt. This reminds me of the investing world, or the business and sales world. All you need is that one big client and you’re pretty much set. Until then, you’re kind of stuck.
This is what makes investing in gold and silver difficult. You can’t expect to go into precious metals and get profits right off the bat. If you are thinking like that, I’d recommending looking at short-term trading of gold and silver options, but this is in itself high risk. I’m at break even point but that’s because I’m holding short and long positions on silver, so when silver goes down, I make money off the downturn but it gets offset by the fact that I am actually holding silver at the exact same time. The fun and profit (or loss) comes from deciding when to close a profitable position or cutting a loss.
So to stay safe, I buy and hold precious metals until at least inflation and the dollar collapse hits us, then take things from there.
