Achieve profitable from Day 1 — Running a for-profit business is challenging. This is especially so when we are just embarking on our startup journey. Every kickass entrepreneur knows the famous profit formula. My 8-year nephew intuitively understands that contributing $0.10 to his pink piggy means capping his expenditure at $0.90 of his $1 allowance. Understanding…

Clients are concerned with their problems. If you want them to buy your stuff, you need to solve their problems FIRST. — Many clients and prospects are obsessed with their own problems. We are no different. We want to talk to people to sell our products and services. All is fair in life. That is not the case for the customer-facing roles (such as marketing and sales). I have key-performance metrics that…

Time is not our limitation. Energy is. Energy allows us to be at our best in our day job, and in our side-hustles. — Contrary to popular belief, I think energy is more important than time. You can have all the time in the world to do great things, but if you have nothing left in the tank, nothing gets accomplished. This is especially true for side-hustlers, creative folks, and basically, everyone working at…

Money lessons = Life lessons — My Mum and Aunt were born into a pig farmer’s family. Life was tough in the 1950s and 1960s. They had to labor at the farm after school. The virtue of hard work is hammered deeply into their hearts. But Aunt wanted something different. A life of financial abundance. And…

We deserve better, don’t you think? — No one wants to have an unproductive day. Everyone wants to score along the way, be happy, make merry, head home to share their brilliant day, and fall into a deep sleep. It feels good! Nothing replaces deep life satisfaction. Quite literally, nothing. I learned a lot from people who…

Earn happy money. That matters. — I commute a lot. And I meet fascinating characters while commuting, especially taxi drivers. Some are chatty, others look annoyed, and few are dangerously sleepy. The chatty ones are happy to have someone to talk to. So do I. They teach me many lessons about life, money, happiness, and above…

It happens. We just don’t know it. — What we say influences how we think. How we think is reflected in the words we use. In short, our actions and minds are one. We can tell one person’s attitude towards work and life via the choice of their words. This is the best way to peek into their…

Saving pennies today can lead to dollar hemorrhaging tomorrow. Don’t. — My mum loves a good discount. I do, too. I get the jolt of euphoria cruising through my veins each time I secure a good bargain. Buying a packet of Cadbury chocolates for $0.50 cheaper? I am a genius! 3 for the price of 2? That is a steal! Freebies…