 After a brief stay in El Salvador, where he was working on the coffee farms of his older brother Joachim, he moved in the summer of 1904 finally to Vancouver (British Columbia) - with only four dollars in cash.First, he worked as a farm laborer, night watchman, fishermen, hunters and sellers of poultry through life, could then buy a boat and after a successful season working on the Fraser River he saved 1500 U.S. dollars.With this money, he continued to make progress forming a real estate and finance company in 1907, which was named Alvensleben Finance and General Investment Company.