A rather ambitious chap. He wants to buy 10 properties to generate passive income of $40,000? Not bad, a 27-year old driving an Audi A6!
My personal opinion is that it's not a good idea to buy property in 2010, as prices are already sky-high.
Somehow, I feel his love for gems and watches may cost him a lot of money, even while he is getting a 25%-30% return on his business investment since 2003....
Mar 20, 2011
me & my money
Fitness buff maintains healthy bottom line
Young owner of sports supplements business already has a wealth of experience
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent
The entrepreneurial bug bit Mr Barnabas Huang when he was only 14 years old. He borrowed $30,000 from his mother to breed ornamental fish at home.
The venture flopped, losing more than $20,000, but it did not stop his mother from lending him money for his next venture when he was studying at Nanyang Polytechnic in 2003. His mother, who is a sales merchandiser of wine and spirits, lent him $3,800 to buy a sports supplements business, NutriSports, from his then fitness trainer.
A fitness enthusiast and bodybuilder, Mr Huang renamed the business NutriFirst and began learning how to run it. It was tough at first. His former trainer had sold him his inventory of supplements without a customer database, and he had to contend with zero sales in the first six months of his venture.
He invested another $20,000 in the firm - again borrowing from his mother, as well as his sister - to buy more stocks of supplements and create a website.
In 2006, the firm hit $300,000 in sales and $100,000 in assets. The following year, he bought supplements firm ATWSG for $25,000 and merged it with NutriFirst.
Last year, NutriFirst generated $1.6 million in sales and its assets amounted to $500,000. Carrying 30 products under its proprietary brand, the firm now has about 10 staff and 20,000 online customers.
Last year too, he set up fitness portal
www.FitnessSutra.com under Royal Wave Media, with an initial investment of $60,000, to market exercise videos.
His investment portfolio also includes two properties that he bought last year - a condo unit in Simsville in Geylang East Avenue, and a commercial unit in Burns Road.
Mr Huang, still a youthful 27, is single and lives with his parents.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I spend about 20 per cent of my income and invest 75 per cent, with the balance of 5 per cent saved. I do not believe in just saving, as investment brings in more returns than just putting money aside.
I don't shop unnecessarily. Rather than branded stuff, I prefer to buy diamonds and watches, both of which can potentially appreciate in value. I can also wear them at the same time. I've just started on this by buying a diamond pendant and a Rolex GMT.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I have three credit cards and I charge an average of $2,500, mainly personal expenses, to them. I pay the bills in full every month. I withdraw about $3,000 each month from the ATM.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
My investment portfolio comprises mainly my businesses, properties, insurance and savings. My businesses include online supplements provider NutriFirst and exercise and fitness portal FitnessSutra.com.
I have a life cover of $250,000 and a critical illness plan of $100,000. I also have a hospitalisation policy. Every month, I contribute $2,000 to the Central Provident Fund Board for my retirement savings.
I've never invested in stocks as I believe they pose a higher risk and I would need time to do research on them. Neither am I invested in unit trusts which generally achieve less than 10 per cent a year. I want higher returns but at lower risk.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I am the youngest in a family of five. My father, now retired, was a clerk-of-work at developer Wing Tai. My mother is still working as a sales merchandiser of wine and spirits. My parents taught us to be thrifty from a young age. We lived in a four-room flat in Serangoon Avenue 4 till I was 14, before moving to a five-room flat in Sengkang.
I recall my parents fighting over money issues when I was younger, and it led to stress within the family. I told myself then that I would not fight over money when I'm married. That's why I'm working hard now to accumulate wealth.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
I ventured into ornamental fish breeding when I was about 14, selling fish from my parents' flat. I invested about $30,000 of my mother's savings in fishes like luohan, discus and betta. I was a runner-up in a discus competition in 2002. Though I lost more than $20,000 two years later, I was determined to be the best in whatever I did.
I'm also inspired by my uncle Philip Ng, who used to run electrical works business Jiade. I worked at his firm during my secondary school holidays.
Q: What property do you own?
Last year I bought two properties. In June, I bought a 980 sq ft 99-year leasehold condo at Simsville in Geylang East Avenue for $720,000. It is worth more than $850,000 now.
In December, I bought a 775 sq ft commercial unit at Trivex, Burn Road, for $418,000. It is located near Tai Seng MRT station. I'm looking at a rental yield of 6 to 8 per cent a year. With the savings, I plan to buy another property.
I prefer properties that are near the MRT so that I can do away with using the car.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
A 4.8-carat diamond cross pendant which cost me about $10,000. I bought it from Lee Hwa Jewellery in 2009. I have a strong liking for gems.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
An amount ranging from $4,000 to $5,000 a month in today's value should be sufficient for a comfortable life when I retire.
I plan to buy at least 10 apartments and rent them out for a passive income of $40,000 or more.
I also want to train new blood to manage or create business ventures as well as invest in other small profitable businesses.
Q: Home is now...
My condo at Simsville.
Q: I drive...
A black Audi A6 2.4 auto.
lorna@sph.com.sg
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WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What has been your worst investment to date?
I set up Royal Wave Media, which hosts online portal FitnessSutra.com, last year with an initial investment of $60,000. It is still in the red and I'm trying to grow the customer database.
Q: And your best investment?
It will be my investment in NutriFirst, an online store selling health supplements which I set up in 2003. I've invested about $100,000 to date and it has achieved 25 to 30 per cent return on investment per annum. My target is for the firm to achieve assets of $5 million over sales of $20 million to $30 million within five years.
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