It certainly helps when you start a business with a S$100,000 interest-free loan!
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Oct 28, 2012
me and my money
Diamonds are her business
Young jewellery retailer looks to property to help build up her retirement nest egg
By Magdalen Ng
Starting your own business is hard enough at the best of times but being young makes it even tougher, according to entrepreneur Vihari Sheth.
Ms Sheth, 26, started Vihari Jewels six years ago, when she was barely 21.
"There is this issue of trust, and it is not easy gaining the trust of people and getting them to part with hundreds of thousands of dollars when you are at that age," she says.
It took about three years before the business started to gain traction and it is now making a big impact.
The firm joined a group of home-grown designers asked to showcase their wares at the Singapore Jewel Fest, which ended last Sunday.
Vihari Jewels unveiled the 110-carat Yellow Drangon diamond, which is valued at between US$11 million (S$13.5 million) and US$15 million.
Ms Sheth, who comes from a family of diamond traders, studied at the Gemological Institute of America in California.
Starting her own jewellery retail business had been her dream ever since she followed her father around to trade shows and exhibitions overseas.
"When you are young, you tend to make mistakes, but what is important is that I don't make the same mistakes that I made five years ago," she says.
And her philosophy on investing is similar: "When you are younger, you should try everything there is out there in small amounts and see what works best for you. Experience always makes a person smarter."
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I am actually a saver.
Each month, I try to save 50 per cent of my income and am very disciplined about it.
Most of this money I put back into my business.
Once in a while, when I see something I like, I will buy it. But on a day-to-day basis, I'm not much of a spender.
Especially since I am a vegetarian, that effectively cuts my food spending by half, right?
Q: How much do you charge to your credit card every month?
I don't charge a lot to my credit card, anywhere from $500 to $1,000, and I use only one card, the American Express Black card.
I withdraw $2,000 to $3,000 cash every month.
Q: What financial planning have you done?
I am invested in some foreign currencies, such as a few good Australian dollar fixed deposits.
I have also bought some good-rated bonds and also trade in gold, iron and silver.
As I travel very often to Europe and India for my work, I have an annual travel insurance policy, life policy and medical expenses policy.
I am covered for about $250,000.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
My father is a self-made businessman and has always been very generous with his spending.
We have grown slowly and steadily. We lived in a rented apartment in Selegie Road when my father first arrived in Singapore.
He has always told us not to compromise on spending for yourself and your health.
He also taught us to make sure we are making money when we spend it.
My mother has a good eye for property, so she manages the property-buying for our family.
She was the one who told me to buy my first property. When she told me to buy it, I did. I wasn't even in Singapore at that time.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
When I was younger, I would sit in on meetings that my father had with his private bankers.
I would hear them talk about returns and triple-A-rated bonds and that is where I started to learn about investments.
I got interested in investing once my brother started college in Boston and was studying finance.
He would tell me about how money grows money and that I should start investing it rather than let it sit in banks.
The first investment I made was a diamond, which was in my expertise. It is a product that I understand well.
I believe a diamond's rarity and uniqueness gives it a great investment value.
Q: What property do you own?
My first property is a 1,200 sq ft apartment at Spring Grove, on Grange Road.
I bought it for $1.8 million and it is currently rented out for $4,200 a month.
I also recently bought a property which is under development for a commercial space.
I am looking to buy another property, but probably something which I can also live in. The current apartment that I own is too small for me.
I am just waiting for prices to come down a bit, which I think they will. But of course, at some point, I will have to take the plunge.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
It would be a limited-edition Hublot watch I bought for about $200,000 quite recently.
I have about 10 collectible watches, some of which were given to me by my father.
I don't think I will regret buying this watch because it is a limited-edition piece, and I believe it will command a higher price in the years to come.
I don't even think you can get it in Singapore yet.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I am only 26 and haven't thought much about retiring, but from the little that I have considered, I plan on buying a few more properties.
Then I will collect rent from all of them to live on when I retire. I think I should probably need $5,000 to $6,000 a month.
Q: Home is now...
My parents' place, which is a condominium apartment in Meyer Road.
Q: I drive an...
SLK AMG 200 Mercedes hard-top
songyuan@sph.com.sg
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What has been your worst investment?
It would be some equities that I bought a few years back.
It was the worst decision of my life. I didn't know anything about what was going on, and the stocks crashed. The share prices fell from about $6 to 60cents.
I lost about $30,000. Now, I never invest in equities or anything that I don't fully understand.
Q: And your best?
It would be my business. I started out with $100,000, a loan from my father. Interest-free, of course.
But it is something that I know and love, so whatever money I make, I put more of it into the business and it has grown well for me.
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