Young Successful Entrepreneur

Photo by wisforworlddomination

Yesterday I was sitting down doing some work at UCLA and a person walks up to me and says, “Hey, you’re Jun Loayza aren’t you!  I’ve heard so much about you…”  To tell you the least, I was extremely flattered to be randomly recognized and congratulated for all of the content that I’ve been trying to put out online.  I feel a sense of pride to know that what I’ve been teaching is actually impacting people in a positive way.

The person’s name is Sharr, and he is a board member of Bruin Consulting at UCLA, the organization I founded as an undergraduate.  He had a slew of extremely good questions for me that I feel many undergraduates have but are too afraid to ask.

Sharr, like most undergraduates, equate happiness to one thing - money.  People preach all the time that “money isn’t everything,” but for most undergraduates, those are just empty words by people who couldn’t make it big and that are now just content with what they have.  Others claim that “some of the unhappiest people that [they] have seen are also the richest.”  Most undergraduates also see this as a disease that the “old” rich and the spoiled have.  People who were born with middle-wage-income parents truly know how to appreciate money and NOT take things for granted.

So what is the result?  You have a Y Generation that feels they will only find happiness by becoming a millionaire.  I know this because I was the same way!  Reaching Millionaire status was the only way I would feel accomplished in life.  Now I know better.  It’s not the million dollars in the bank that I chase; it’s the millionaire lifestyle.

If you knew you would fail every time, would you still be an entrepreneur?

Sharr asked me this question to prove a point.  He believes that the reason I am an entrepreneur is because of the HUGE potential payoff in the end.  If, for example, I knew that I would fail everytime and live with my mom till I’m 40, I would definitely not be an entrepreneur.

My Answer: This really is not a valid question.  I can turn to him and ask him the same question: “If you knew that every time you joined an Investment Bank they went bankrupt and so you would always be out of a job, then you wouldn’t become an Investment Banker,” or “If you knew that every time you took the MCATs you failed with a terrible score, then you would never want to become a Doctor.”  It’s the same thing.  Guaranteeing failure for something proves nothing.

As an entrepreneur, you always try to shoot for the BIG company with the HUGE payoff, but in all honesty, that’s probably never going to happen.  You should take the career path that you love, and NOT the career path with the biggest money potential.  Remember, you DON’T want the satisfaction of having a million dollars in the bank; you want the freedom and stability that money brings.

So, I am an entrepreneur because I love starting and building companies.  I love the freedom and satisfaction of watching my baby (my company) grow up, gain momentum, and hopefully become something valuable to society one day.  My personality is meant for running my own company and being my own boss.

Don’t become an investment banker for the money

Sharr, listen to me.  I have many friends who are investment bankers who hate their lives right now; I have other investment banker friends who love their lives.  What is the difference?  The ones who became an investment banker because they love financial analysis are the ones that love their lives; the ones who became investment bankers for the money hate their lives.

You can easily say that slaving away for 2 years is a small sacrifice.  After two years, you go to Business School, get into private equity or venture capital, and you’re set.

Hahahahaha… this is honestly the funniest form of thinking I have ever heard (though I once was in the same exact mind frame).  Do you really think private equity managers or VC’s work any less than investment bankers?  Do you think their lives are any less stressful?  No, you’re going to be a slave with a lot of money in the bank that you can’t enjoy.  And then you’re going to work till your 65, the ripe old age of retirement.  Woohoo!  Now you can finally enjoy your life!  Old, wrinkly, gray-haired you finally has a chance to relax and enjoy his money!

Is this really what you want?

I’m not saying don’t become an investment banker.  I’m saying that you should completely change your mentality: if money absolutely wasn’t an issue, what would you want to do as a career? If becoming a investment banker would make you happy, even if you didn’t get paid to do it, then become an investment banker.  Figure out what makes you happy.

Once you have that figured out, I will teach you how to monetize it.