Lessons from another young entrepreneur

I recently met with a colleague who's about to leave the company. I was surprised at how enterprising this person was. Aside from his day job, he operates quite a number of other businesses ranging from retail to tech. Wow! Talk about diversifying one's investments.

I asked him what he was working a day job for. He said he gets into regular work for the experience. He loves working with multinational firms. He loves the diversity of culture, the pressure, the excitement of the job.

This is one professional guy.

What he earns from his businesses, he re-infuses into his endeavors. He basically makes money grow. He only spends on his everyday necessities and luxuries with his day job salary.

A lesson I learned way back was this:

If you want stability, then get a job. If you want profit, then get into business.

It's a cliche, I know. But my friend reinforced this idea, both explicitly and in an implicit manner.

A 9-to-5 job will give you stability, sure. The perks may be good, and the experience may be excellent. But it will not give you financial freedom to finally spend that quality time with your loved ones, and to finally get to spend on the things you want (or save, or invest even further).

Be creative. Be innovative. Be passionate.

And most of all, be persistent and determined.