Looking for investment advice?
If you want to make a small fortune on the stock market, please don’t come to me. My investments are in human beings – partners and people whom I trust.
Don’t get me wrong; Warren Buffet is one of my heroes.
His famous quote on investing is: “Rule No. 1 is never lose money. Rule No. 2 is never forget Rule No. 1.”
Wise words indeed! I don’t think investing in the stock market is for everyone. We can’t all be Warren Buffet! His advice to folks like me who don’t know the market is to hire a skilled professional to pick stocks (make sure they are someone you trust), choose a diversified portfolio and then forget about it. I have done just that and had some good results.
While I might not be skilled at investing in the stock market, I have spent my career investing in people and trusting their expertise. I believe that human capital gives the best returns, and we can’t all be experts at everything.
Looking for investment advice?
It’s very important to pick the right partner in business. I always say choose your partners the same way you would choose your spouse. The most important thing is to ensure that you have the same values. Integrity, a strong moral code, and honesty are not negotiable.
A relationship of trust
I was advised to invest in a real estate deal a few years back. The timing wasn’t great – there were a lot of bumps and bruises along the way due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Building costs and supply chain issues posed numerous challenges, the effects we still feel today. I haven’t looked at the financials, but I remain optimistic about this investment because I chose the right partners. I trust that things will work out in the end. I believe in letting things grow and mature without my interference. It all comes down to trust and optimism.
Warren Buffett also advised that the value of a good, solid business will rise if you give it enough time but make sure you have invested in a quality enterprise. As he said, “Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre.”
Don’t Scare Easily
Sometimes you need to take risks. I invested in the lubricant business, even though I can’t even change my own oil! Everyone told me not to invest because of the threat of electric vehicles that would put us out of business. This didn’t scare my partners, so it doesn’t scare me.
Since entering the lubricant business, we have grown from 68 to 200 stores.
Believe in People
While I have invested in numerous businesses and opportunities, I currently have two startups with two different partners, which I am very excited about.
One is a personal book project. The other is an app that I believe will revolutionize the health industry. Both projects take enormous time and energy, but I do not doubt the success of each of these projects, as I have chosen to partner with the highest-caliber people.
You can’t control Everything
This is a hard one to let go of. The ego likes us to think that we are in control! However, life often has other plans.
We don’t get to control the timing of deals, but we must be ready to make decisions at critical moments in the journey. Sometimes you are called to make decisions to safeguard your family, shareholders, and employees.
You might have to go against your ego to do the right thing. And doing the right thing is always the right thing!
Trust Your Instinct
My expert opinion is that I’m no expert! Sure I know the healthcare industry back-to-front, but investing in the stock market is not one of my strengths.
However, I have a track record of being a pretty good judge of character. I believe you should follow your instinct, trust people, and remain optimistic that everything will work out. If one of my partners tells me there’s a great opportunity to be had, you can count me in.
As Buffett suggests, “Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble.”
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