Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

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Quote:I live by this saying that entrepreneurship is about living your life for a few years in a way that most people won't want to. This is so that you can live out the rest of your life in a way that most people want to but cannot.

Reverse psychology at works?
This is exactly opposite of if i have found my true calling(entrepreneurship or anything), then everyday work is a joy to me.
But in real life i think she is correct most of the time. i mean how many of us can say our vocation is our calling. And we love it. Or more accurate we love to hate it. isn't it?

NB:-
Myself is one good example of what she thinks. i hate office politics because i dislike making small talks except to people who sell me food. Though i do not dislike my dealing with repairing machines.

i love anything about doing business and i admire people who dare to venture into their own business. Yet i failed to venture into my own business because she is right in what she says.
i think i would have been a businessman if my job is a sale-man from the beginning. She was in marketing isn't it?
WB:-

1) Rule # 1, do not lose money.
2) Rule # 2, refer to # 1.
3) Not until you can manage your emotions, you can manage your money.

Truism of Investments.
A) Buying a security is buying RISK not Return
B) You can control RISK (to a certain level, hopefully only.) But definitely not the outcome of the Return.

NB:-
My signature is meant for psychoing myself. No offence to anyone. i am trying not to lose money unnecessary anymore.
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Yes, a good marketer indeed. Getting information on her business published in the daily newspaper is a marketing strategy to lend credibility to one's business. Just to be clear, I'm not insinuating that her biz has no credibility - I've no idea.
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A man with a passion, that's good! But I was surprised to find out he seems rather showy - $100,000 Patek Philippe, Maserati and a cool condo (The Interlace). But I do admire his tenacity, so I guess he has to enjoy his wealth somehow. Time for me to change my (antiquated) mindset!

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Mar 17, 2013
Me and My Money
One dentist + 2 patients = big bucks

Dentist able to set up thriving practice, thanks to loans from two patients

By Joyce Teo

When a patient asked dentist Wong Keng Mun if he wanted to strike out on his own, he expressed the usual fears about risks and the lack of start-up cash, but the idea was planted.

Dr Wong recalls: "I told her I couldn't because I have no money, my parents are poor, etc.

"Then, she asked me, 'If you had all the money in the world, can you achieve what you want to do?' It made me think about it over a few weekends."

She and another patient believed in his vision and lent him the money for his T32 Dental Centre business, which has an education arm at its Camden Medical Centre base.

"Money is of course important, but spending on the right cause is more crucial. I am willing to invest in education," says Dr Wong, the company's managing director.

It helps that the education business, which trains dentists in fixed prosthodontics, restorative dentistry and so on, also pays well.

"In dentistry, the income that you are earning is limited by the hours and the number of patients you can treat.

"One pair of hands can't treat 50 patients at a time, but with one pair of hands, I can teach 50 people. So, within an hour, I can get better income," says Dr Wong, 40.

But before you start to think that money is everything to him, he says: "When you don't see so much money, you will be okay. When you see a lot of it, you may become greedy and keep chasing after the numbers. Right now, whatever I earn, it's good enough."

More importantly, he gets to use his money to further his vision for his business. "Being happy is doing what you enjoy doing, and hopefully, along the way, get compensated for it. With the money, you bring happiness to people around you."

His wife Widya Soejanto, 40, is a financial analyst. They have two daughters - Zhi Ning, seven, and Zhi Le, two.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

My wife thinks I am 100 per cent a spender, but I do make it a point to save a minimum of 20 per cent of my income, and usually I am able to save more than that. But I will not hesitate to spend on things that are related and beneficial to my family, friends and myself.

I spend mostly on food, books, entertainment with business partners, friends and family, and recreational activities such as golf.

When I started the business, I hardly had any income for about two years. Cashflow is everything for new businesses.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

About $10,000. This will increase if I need to buy plane tickets for work trips. I travel for work about once a month on average.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I have two life insurance policies amounting to $1 million and two term policies worth $1 million.

I have friends who asked me to invest in property or buy stocks. But I am stubborn. I always believe it is better to invest in something that you are passionate about.

I am not saying that money is not important. But with shares or properties, when you sell, you are just happy for that moment. It's not sustainable.

I would rather invest in my business. Once you get into business, it's not about how much you can earn at the end of the month, it's about how much you can achieve at the end of the month. It's the vision.

I am happier to see that happening than to see just my account increasing.

In dentistry, you will find that a brand generally dies after the founder leaves the company. I want to change that. We don't want to be a kopitiam, where dentists run their own operations. I want synergy. I want to bring the standard of dentistry here to an international level. Like at my clinic, we follow a standard set of rules.

Life is short, so you have to develop your passion. It's about what drives you when you wake up every morning. That is something that money can't buy.

Q: Money-wise, what were your growing-up years like?

I have an older sister and a younger sister. My dad was an odd-job contract worker at the shipyard, and is now retired.

My mother used to run a drinks stall, and is now a homemaker.

We would worry about whether we had enough money, but we scraped by.

My mother is a strong believer in investing in her children's education. She is a saver and was very strict with spending.

I was surprised when she decided to sell their fully paid-up four-room HDB flat in 1998 for $270,000 to finance my master's degree at the University of Washington. I spent a total of $200,000.

My sisters and my parents then bought another flat and took a new mortgage. That period, from 1999 to 2002, was the worst period for my parents and sisters.

My mum always told me to not just focus on money, but to do something that I like.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

In 2003, my wife and I bought a property for our own use. And in 2005, I started T32 Dental Centre, a small practice at Paragon Shopping Centre, as I wanted to run my own business. T32 has since moved to Camden Medical Centre.

Q: What properties do you own?

A three-room condo at Harbour View Towers and a four-room condo at The Interlace, which I bought for my own use, two years ago.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

Probably the watch I bought recently, a Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar 5159G that cost more than $100,000.

I am not a watch collector, but certain timepieces do catch my eye once in a while, and I will start putting money aside to buy them. I think it's important to reward myself every year.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

Nil. It has never crossed my mind.

Q: Home is now...

A condo at Harbour View Towers.

Q: I drive...

A Maserati S4.7 GT.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

--------------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What is your worst investment?


I bought a membership for the Laguna National Golf and Country Club about 10 years ago but we hardly go there. My membership will lapse in 11 years as I don't intend to top up $80,000 to extend it.

What I have learnt is: Don't buy something that you don't need. Two years ago, we joined the Sentosa Golf Club and we still use the facility almost every weekend.

Q: What is your best investment?

I don't have any realised ones so it'll have to be the 1,200 sq ft condominium unit at Harbour View Towers that my wife and I bought in 2003 for $500,000.

A few months ago, we had a tempting offer in excess of $1.6 million. But we are keeping the property, most likely for my parents.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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He mentions his mother too. A man who knows who helped him to where he is today and shows gratitude.

He plans to leave Harbour View Towers for his parents. Property bought for $500,000 in 2003 and in 10 years, an offer for $1.6m. About 3x the investment. Best deal.
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A person who has gratitude is usually a person with a heart. And usually a God fearing person. imo.
WB:-

1) Rule # 1, do not lose money.
2) Rule # 2, refer to # 1.
3) Not until you can manage your emotions, you can manage your money.

Truism of Investments.
A) Buying a security is buying RISK not Return
B) You can control RISK (to a certain level, hopefully only.) But definitely not the outcome of the Return.

NB:-
My signature is meant for psychoing myself. No offence to anyone. i am trying not to lose money unnecessary anymore.
Reply
Seriously, is a car an investment? Confused

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Mar 24, 2013
Developer with an eye for bargains

Castlewood CEO does not go about looking for nice property, it's about the bottom line

By Joyce Teo

Property developer Christopher Comer has a keen eye for real estate and what it is worth, which is why he resists the temptation to invest in bricks and mortar in Singapore.

Mr Comer, 44, who came here from Britain 17 years ago, left and then returned in 2000, sees few bargains.

"I don't buy leasehold properties and I always like to live in nice places. When I could buy, all the nice places were ridiculously priced," he says.

"Property development is: You get a bunch of materials, build it professionally and sell it at a 25 per cent profit.

"There is no value right now. Why would I pay $200 for something that is worth $100. I know how much it cost these guys to build.

"The door's open and the horse has bolted. You can't have a society where people can't invest in it, so something's got to be done."

Even Singaporeans are not buying their own story, he adds.

Mr Comer heads the Singapore-based property developer Castlewood Group, which offers buy-to-lease opportunities.

It is now developing the Nikki Beach Hotel & Spa Phuket and Nikki Beach Club Phuket. The hotel is set is open early next year, while the beach club will open this year. It also has plans to plant other Nikki Beach investment properties in Asia.

Here, he plans to open a Nikki Beach Club but not a hotel, at the end of the year. "I am here to make money, not to look good. It doesn't make business sense to have a hotel here," he says.

Nikki beach clubs, which have a wealthy clientele, are also found elsewhere, such as on the Thai isle of Koh Samui and in Miami.

Mr Comer's wife Phoebe, 43, is a housewife. They have a daughter, Kimberly, 12.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

Both. Savings are a must. They provides peace of mind, stability and choice. Anyone who is not saving, is losing it.

I spend mostly on my wife and my daughter, anything they want. They are my two main extravagances. I won't say spoil. Lavish is the word.

I don't need much for myself but I do have a few fetishes such as watches and cars.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

$10,000.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I have a box locked away with the sensible stuff when the baby came along. These are the insurance policies, bonds and fixed deposits.

Stock and shares are not for me. I don't invest in anything that I don't understand and I don't trust people with my money.

If I am going to make a mistake, I am going to make it myself.

Lately, I have found very little outside of my business life that interests me.

My biggest investment in terms of money, time, effort and passion is my business.

In business, opportunities present themselves all the time. Being liquid is a big part of being successful.

Q: Money-wise, what were your growing-up years like?

I was born in Liverpool to a typical working-class couple. Liverpool is a city with a great history, great people and also great poverty.

I have three siblings and was brought up near the docks there, on a council estate called Dingle.

My dad was a port superintendent for The Liverpool-based Mersey Docks and Harbour Board and my mum was a full-time housewife.

I watched my mum and dad struggle and I didn't want the same for myself.

My mum respects money so much that she doesn't spend it. She was frugal.

My dad was very shrewd with money. In 1976, he got promoted and was sent to the Middle East, where he did very well. We joined him out there regularly.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I will be honest with you. I like winning. I always want things to be better for my family, my staff, my clients and my business - and the way to achieve that is to win. It's not even money with me. I've to win, to get the deal.

I bought a roller shutter company in Liverpool when I was 18. I had won a grant from the Prince's Trust in a competition, and got a bit of help from mum and dad, and everyone I knew.

But I wasn't prepared for the back-office stuff.

I wasn't listening to advice from anyone.

I was very naive and very stupid and I lost that business after nine months. It was like the end of the world.

But it didn't put me off being my own boss. I am quite an opinionated person and that can be quite difficult.

After that, I went to Spain to do real estate sales and then to Switzerland, Russia and finally to Asia.

Q: What property do you own?

People form opinions based on material possessions so I will respectfully decline to answer this. Let's just say I do OK. I own properties elsewhere, including Britain. They are mostly hotel rooms.

I am waiting for bargains here.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

I'm not really an extravagant person, however I will own up to watches. I do have a thing for a nice timepiece.

I have 15 watches, with the most expensive being a Nubeo, with two carats' worth of black diamonds on its face.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

Not to retire. I can't see myself not working.

Q: Home is now...

A condo at Sentosa Cove.

My wife Phoebe and daughter Kim love it there and we have been there for four years. I travel a lot and I have complete peace of mind knowing that they are in a safe place that they enjoy.

Q: I drive...

A Chrysler 300C limited edition.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

---------------------

WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What is your worst investment to date?


The Chrysler 300C limited edition. I need a car in Singapore but I feel sick when I look at it. In the United Kingdom, the same car would cost me 25 per cent of what I paid for it.

Q: What is your best investment?

Back in 1989, I bought three terraced houses in Liverpool for £7,000 each. They had no roofs and no floors. I invested another £7,000 in each, putting in the floor and the roof, and rented them out to an organisation which paid me a fixed rental slightly below market but it was regular. Five years later, I sold all three houses for £90,000.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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I sometimes we wish to attract nicer people to sg. This guy obviously is hugely egoistical based on his replies. And he is rather bs type. Meaningless interview.
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Castlewood?? Another alternative investment.
The company that setup booth in malls and recruits some angmos to sell foreign real estate investments.

Basically, an investment company that depends on $$$ from retail investors.
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is hotel room a really good investment vehicle to consider?
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I find it dodgy. And the guy appears to be in the category of 'Failed in London Try HK'.
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