Swedish Wealth Institute: Secrets To Start Up Success

Swedish Wealth Institute:

Secrets To Start Up Success

By Fati Gorezi

Daniel Wood is an entrepreneur and investor that, together with his wife and business partners, runs three businesses – the ‘Swedish Wealth Institute’, ‘Completed Connections’ and ‘Property Effect’. The mission of each Company is to help individuals to achieve financial independence through investing or entrepreneurship. The ‘Swedish Wealth Institute’ in particular, is an events based Company that brings together potential investors and entrepreneurs to learn from experienced business mentors and coaches from all over the world.

Can you tell us more about yourself and how you became successful?

My name is Daniel Wood and I was born and raised in Stockholm in Sweden. My father is American and my mother Swedish. This mix has been very important in shaping me into the person I am today. It has given me both American confidence and the Swedish attitude of caring and recognising the importance of having a good support group around you.

My wife Gisela and I originally started investing in property in the UK. As we became more successful in this venture we started to invite friends and others who were interested in property investing to free events where we shared our experience, lessons learned and tips for success. This led us to setting up the ‘Swedish Wealth Institute’ and now we hold events every month with the aim of helping people to become successful property investors and entrepreneurs.

When did you decide to create the ‘Swedish Wealth Institute’ and can you tell us more about it?

We started the Company in January 2016 and we have been busy ever since. There are some world class Companies that have been founded in Sweden like IKEA and Ericsson and yet there is still a huge knowledge gap when it comes to cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit and having the courage to start new a new Company. There seems to a willingness to learn these skills in Sweden and we are here to encourage people to turn their ideas into a business.

Historically most Swedes would tend to travel to the UK or the US to seek out top class business advice and coaching but few business people would come out to Sweden for that sort of advice. We wanted to change that perspective and make Sweden an attractive place for new businesses to flourish. It takes three things to help entrepreneurs and investors reach their goals – knowledge, guidance and passion and that’s what we are here to provide.

We meet passionate and creative people every day and our goal is give them the guidance and knowledge they require to take the next steps to success and to help them find specific expertise or mentors. Through the Swedish Wealth Institute more and more highly regarded international speakers are now coming to Sweden. So when people come to our events they can be sure of hearing wisdom from the very best. All of our speakers have achieved success and are keen to share their stories and tips and lessons that can be applied in the real world.

What makes the difference between an average Company and one you should consider investing in?

All entrepreneurial success stems from the vision of the organisation founder and the core team. If there is a clear vision of the organisational goal, a passion for creating value and a solid revenue model and marketing plan then you have all the right building blocks for success.

I always like to ask would-be entrepreneurs questions like ‘Why do you want to start a Company?’ and ‘If you become a billion dollar business how is this making the world a better place and what positive changes will it bring?’ If these types of questions are answered with honesty and integrity and you and your team believe passionately about what you do then you have the fundamentals for success.

Do you think there is any particular pattern or formula for starting a successful business?

If you have an idea for a product or service that you truly believe will make a difference to people’s lives then you will need a will and a passion to succeed as well as the strength to face and overcome the inevitable obstacles that will get in your way. Persistence to succeed is often as important as the passion to make the business a success. This where a good mentor can help you stay focused and avoid mistakes based on the lessons they learned themselves. A good mentor can also help you to spot opportunities that you otherwise might have missed.

Many successful business people say that before they became successful they had to face many challenges or setbacks. What have been the main challenges you have had to overcome?

Like all new businesses we had many challenges to overcome and we also made mistakes along the way. We didn’t always see the risks and we also lost money when we made bad decisions. You learn a lot from making mistakes and the key is to structure your business and partnerships in such a way that you stay protected even through the tough times. This is why a good mentor is so important.

How do you promote and encourage the women who work for you?

Two thirds of our Board are women and approximately 70% of our clients are women. It is encouraging to see so many women stepping up and having the courage to start their own businesses. The most important thing today is to look beyond any gender limitations because it no longer matters whether a business leader is a man or a woman. It is what they bring to the table that counts.

What are your three top tips for individuals that want to succeed as investors and entrepreneurs?

To succeed you must have passion about what you want to achieve. You also need to acquire knowledge about your profession and you also need a good revenue model. You also need the determination to push through every challenge. It’s also essential that you know about the intricacies and risks of your chosen marketplace. A good mentor can help you to spot potential deals and how to optimally structure your business for success. Most importantly, if your business doesn’t make money then it won’t survive so you need to know how to convert clients into buyers and how to maximise the value you give to your clients and the value you bring to the business.

What are your own personal goals for the next three years and what are you seeking to achieve?

Our goal is simply to continue to help more and more people across the world. We want to expand into more markets and help more people become successful entrepreneurs and investors. Our dream is to make one million people become successful. Most people who find success are willing to give something back and many of our investors donate around 10% of their income to charities. If one million successful people gave back ten percent of their annual income to charity it would generate one hundred billion dollars a year that could be used for good causes like ending poverty, improving education for all, provision of better healthcare, improving water quality and even reversing global warming.

What type of marketing strategy would you suggest for a new business owner?

A good marketing strategy should start with answering some specific questions such as:-