From -$40,000 to $1,000,000

You've read about how I've made my birthday resolution, which eventually changed my life.
But some of you are probably wondering,..  After having a clear vision, What's next ?

There was another significant event that drove me to become an entrepreneur. During my third year in the University, I was doing my Industrial Attachment with an American-based semiconductor company. It was my first official nine-to-five job in the working world. Initially I was very excited about it. But after working there for a few weeks, I realised that I could never achieve my goal of achieving success and financial freedom if I were to work in a nine-to-five job.

The Missing 3Cs

One obvious alternative that came to my mind was to do some kind of business. But soon I realised that most of the things that I wanted to do needed some amount of capital in order for it to work. In fact, I think there are three Cs that you need to do well in business. They are: Capital, Contacts and Capabilities. Those were the three vital elements that I was lacking at that time. Since I was on a student loan, obviously I didn’t have much capital on hand (My study loan was $40,000 !)  I also didn’t have any contacts since I was new to Singapore. The only people I knew at that time were my peers in school. On top of that, my  English at that time wasn’t very good. And I studied Electrical and Elecronic Engineering, I definitely don't have any skills and capabilities in doing business.

But the drive to succeed early compelled me to try out a lot of different things. While I didn’t have a clear plan at that time, I was determined to find a solution. I thought maybe I could try to gather the three Cs one at a time. One of the things I tried was trading stocks and shares to raise my capital so that I could start a business. But instead, I ended up losing most of my savings. It was a very painful experience. However, I kept moving forward and experimenting with new things. It was like a process of elimination.

It wasn’t until later that I realised I could capitalise on sales. I saw that many successful people had a background in sales and thought I could start out from there. Going into sales would not require much capital. As long as I could sit in front of someone, I could do my job. In fact, sales would help me get capital and grow my contacts and network. At the same time, I could build my capabilities and skills along the way. I also realised that my biggest assets were my time, energy and my willingness to put in the hard work.
 

I’m Free To Live My Life

Immediately after graduating from school, I was $40,000 in debt and cut off from any income from the student loan. I had to start earning some income fast; for my living expenses as well as to repay the student loan debt. I had decided to become an entrepreneur and do a business in sales rather than to take the traditional safe path of an employee. But I faced a lot of resistance for my decision, from my parents, teachers and friends.

My friends thought I was crazy when I told them about my thoughts of becoming an entrepreneur immediately after graduation. Some of those who were not close to me even thought that I was forced to become an entrepreneur because I couldn’t secure a proper job. While those closer to me knew that I chose this path because of my goals, they were also sceptical and tried to discourage me. My teachers, tutors and lecturers also thought that it was a bad idea to go into business based on sales upon graduation. Of course going into sales would give me less stability in terms of my monthly income. There was also no guarantee that I would be successful. All of them advised me to pursue a more stable career in the engineering field instead. These opinions didn’t really bother me or deter me in my determination to do sales. After all, it is my life, and I am free to live it the way I want.

However, I still decided to get my parents’ consent for my choice of career. As I had expected, they were extremely uncomfortable with the idea of me wanting to do my own business in sales right after graduation and with a $40,000 debt to repay. They wanted me to get a stable job with a fixed income instead. After much persuasion, I eventually came to a compromise with them. I promised them that I would only try out this business for three months. If at the end of three months there were no signs of growth or success whatsoever, then I would stop and give up. I assured them that when that happens I would get a normal nine-to-five job with a stable pay just like what they wanted. They finally agreed and with that, I started my first business in sales.
 

A Million-Dollar Stepping Stone

The initial resistance that I faced spurred me to want to prove myself even more. Of course it was not always smooth sailing. I faced a lot of rejections and disappointments. Being human, I had moments when I felt down and disheartened. But through it all, I never seriously considered giving up. What made me go on was my desire to provide a better life for my parents and the goals that I wanted to achieve. I’m also very fortunate to have had the support and encouragement of my husband, Alva, who has been my business partner since the beginning of my journey.

By the third month after I started the business I was already making more than the salaries my peers were earning as a fresh graduate. So I saw the potential of the business and I focused all of my efforts in it. As I said, my biggest assets were my energy, time and willingness to work hard. So that was what I did. I was working 14 hours a day, seven days a week. If you calculate mathematically, I was doing three years of work in just one year.

As a result, I broke many records and won many awards in the industry. In my first year, I was the TOP ROOKIE CONSULTANT in the company and not only that, I am also win the title of STARCLUB PRESIDENT for having the highest no of sales, beating other 3,000 experienced and senior consultants at that time. It was something that I feel ready proud of since no one in the company has ever done it before. 

Because of that, I was then featured in The Strait Times. That was actually my very first Media Appearance.

And for the very first time I really felt like a Queen. When I went for overseas trip, they flew me in First Class Singapore Airlines, and when I reached the airport, while the other consultants were fetch by a Tourist Bus, the one already waiting for me is a limo, complete with its personal driver, ready to take me anywhere I want to go during that whole 5-day trip. So cool !

It was the moment that I would never forget because from there I was again convinced that we can be anything we want to be.

That same year, I earned over $200,000. I paid my student loan in one lump sum of $40,000, in cash. That felt really great!
And in just four years, I earned my first million dollars.

The reason why I'm sharing with you all this is not to impress you, but to really impress upon you that everything is possible.
Hardwork always pays off, it's just a matter of time.

I'll continue my life story in my next post
 

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1. Merry Riana's Income Generator Account
2. My very first business
3. What can you do with $10 ?
4. Business Development Account