Introduction: My Business Journey

Selling the Future

In 1999, I was sitting in a Media Studies class and my tutor asked me to do some research on a topic - I forget exactly what - in the library. I started complaining about it to one of my classmates and he suggested I use the Internet. I'd vaguely heard of this thing called "the Internet", but I hadn't paid much attention to what it was before this point.

My next stop was the library - not to take out books, but to enquire about using the Internet. I assumed it would be a short cut to doing this laborious research. The topic was something I had absolutely no interest in. In my mind, from what my classmate had told me, I imagined a computer programme that would spew out my research for me, which I could then present to my tutor; it seemed like the best cheating machine ever invented!

The reality, however, was far from that simple.

A librarian showed me how to get online, and pointed out how I could type my key search words into a search engine - probably Yahoo! or MSN. The results looked like an absolute mess to my eyes. This was going to take more time than copying it out of books. I was dyslexic, which made it even harder to scroll through the various results and look for the best information. The unfamiliarity of it all made it excruciatingly frustrating; I couldn't make head nor tail of what I was looking at. I soon gave up and resorted to the books. So much for a short cut; in reality it had cost me precious time!

I hated that first experience of the Internet; I couldn't imagine why anyone would go online to find information!

Cut to almost 20 years later and, like most people, I'm Googling stuff and scrolling through search results countless times a day; effortlessly switching between screen sizes depending on whether I am using my phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. The process of browsing the Internet is so second nature to me that I can have a conversation and watch TV at the same time as surfing the net. So can most people I know.

The difference in how we all operate in our lives, between now and less than 20 years ago, is phenomenal. I hardly dare imagine where we will be 20 years from now.

Shortly after my experience of trying to use the Internet to find information for my Media Studies class, I found myself working for a company called Touch Communications. I was 18 years old. I had to "cold call" people and then try to sell them domain names for £350. I would call up some phone company in Manchester and say, "Hello, I'm calling to offer you the domain name ManchesterPhones dot com for a great price today." When they asked why they should buy it when they didn't do any business on the Internet, my pre-prepared script told me to assure them that in a few years everyone would have their businesses online, and that the best domain names would get the most customers, and that people would be shopping online more than in shops.

The irony was that I didn't actually believe a word of it myself. But I still sold a lot of domain names because, as I quickly discovered, I was a natural salesman. I am one of those people who can "sell ice to Eskimos" as the saying goes. I didn't need to believe that those customers needed those domains. I simply had to make them believe it.

"If you don't buy it, your competitor will," was one of the most effective lines I used.

Back in those days, people had a fair point when they argued that no one would ever go online when they could simply walk into a shop or pick up the phone. The Internet was slow and unreliable. We weren't even using broadband at that point; we only had dial-up connection. These days, fibre-optic cables ensure that information is at our fingertips in the blink of an eye. When our connection slows down we all get extremely frustrated.

"In ten years, everyone's going to be online, everyone's going to be using the Internet to do their business, socialise and shop," I would say, without believing a word of it. Knowing what I know now, I obviously wish I'd bought up all those domain names myself. I'd have made a killing!

In ten years from now, everyone's going to be online, everyone's going to be using the Internet to do their business, socialise and shop.

(My sales script. circa 1999)

From a Northern Town

I was born and raised in Colne, a small town in Yorkshire, England, where my Hong-Kong-born parents owned and ran - with the help of extended family members - the local Chinese takeaway. Growing up in the north of England in the 1980s, when I was literally the only Chinese kid in the school, was tough at times. I got teased and bullied for my ethnicity in a way that is completely unacceptable these days but was sort of tolerated by general British society back then. My family also received a fair amount of abuse from racist people within the local community, but my parents never let it stop them working hard at their business, and they instilled a strong work ethic in me.

During my childhood, watching my family work long hours to keep the business going, I was resentful that I hardly saw my parents, but as I got older I began to appreciate the sacrifices they'd made for me. They were very proud of the Chinese takeaway business that they built and they expected my older brother and me to take over the family business when we left school, as was common in our culture. but I had other plans.

As soon as I was old enough (and even before that) I worked hard at whatever I could find in order to make pocket money at first and then money to support myself through college. At one point I remember I was working in three different jobs at the same time. As well as selling those domain names in the telesales job that I mentioned above, I was also working in a shoe shop at weekends and doing regular evening shifts in my parents' Chinese takeaway. I went through some lonely years in my late teens, when I had no time to socialise and build friendships, but I was determined to follow my own path rather than simply fall into the family business.

One of my strongest motivations was my desire not to work the kind of hours I'd seen my parents working. My attitude was, "What kind of life is it if you never get to see your children, or venture out and explore the world?" I wanted time to have new experiences, and money to give me the freedom to travel. I wanted to make sure my future children had more options than I had had while growing up. I also wanted to help my parents out financially, so that they could take more time off; it hurt me to see them working long hours for days on end. I wanted to thank them for all the sacrifices they'd made for me. I was sure that, if I could earn decent money, I could make life much easier for them.

I got the A level grades to get me into the University of Hull to study Animation. I loved every minute of my degree, graduated with a first and got a great job as soon as I graduated. The studio that hired me was in Guildford and I was enthusiastic about moving down south and getting myself closer to London, which was where I hoped I would finally end up.

A year or so later, I got my dream job, at Framestore in central London. Although I was initially excited by the prospect of the considerable pay rise I'd be getting, I soon realised that, once I factored in the rise in my living expenses (I was still living in Guildford but commuting into central London and socialising more), I wasn't really any better off. Finally it dawned on me that I was working all the hours I could fit into a day just to be able to afford to live a fairly modest life. Furthermore, all my efforts went into building someone else's business. I remember thinking to myself, if I'm giving up all my time just to make enough money to live on, how am I any different from my parents? That feeling really inspired my next move.

Into the Property Business

One of my friends at Framestore had started looking at property investing as a way of making an additional income. He gave me the book that had inspired him. Even though I find reading hard because I'm dyslexic, I found couldn't put this book down. I read it with great interest and became fascinated with the idea that I could make a passive income through investing in property. What got me so excited was the concept of "buying back my time", i.e. creating a source of income that gave me enough to live on so I could pursue other interests and business ideas.

I immediately began going to as many property seminars and networking events as I could find. I was determined to get a foothold on the property ladder and start building a portfolio. To keep me on my toes, I actually resigned from my job just before I bought my first property. This gave me a small window in which I could still use my salary to qualify for a mortgage.

I know it sounds rather risky, but I quit my job because I wanted to put the pressure on myself, I wanted to ensure that I couldn't chicken out. In fact, I went "all in", selling my car, borrowing some money from a family member, and generally doing anything and everything I could to put together the money to pay for my new venture.

I found a great mortgage broker and asked him to mentor me. He was expensive but worth every penny as he showed me a way to buy a BMV (Below...