3 most influential people in my virtual entrepreneurial journey
Like many others, I started out as a 9-to-5 employee. Well, not necessarily 9-to-5, as I actually work 7-to-4 in a quite popular university. No, I don’t teach as a Lecturer; instead, my job title was a Web Programmer, simply because I graduate with an IT degree.
I remember those “good ol’ days”… coming into the office with low morale, because I end up doing something I don’t like, yet I managed to complete a 3 month project in 1 month time. So what to do with the other 2 months? That’s right – just glare at my PC and trying hard to look busy. I ended up asked to help a group of interns with their projects. That’s better, I suppose… meeting a lot of college students who seem to have more talents and passion than me.
So, to cut long story short, I on the job for less than a year, then I quit to pursue different paths – one of them being online entrepreneurship – or virtual entrepreneurship, if you like…
What I am doing right now
My location independent business journey started off with blogging. Then, slowly but surely, things were starting to pick up. Mobopreneur.com is one of the many blogs I have built in the past 4 years.
I also invest – not on stocks as I personally don’t like stock trading; I invest in precious metals, real estate and private investing opportunities.
I am working at home, and regularly travel to other local cities, vacation spots and abroad – as my family and I wish. I could live location independent, but I chose to settle as my kids are studying at a local school right now. I still don’t believe in home schooling, nor have the confidence with the responsibilities a parent should have in home schooling.
To sum it all up, I am where I am right now because of my mentors.
3 most influential mentors I have
You know what, during my self-learning process (yes, I am a self-made entrepreneur) I was lucky enough to follow the right advice from the right group of people. Of course, I quickly dismiss some bad advice from so-called experts.
So, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight 3 of many influential people who have taught me on how to do things differently; how to start an online business enabling me to enjoy a great work-life balance – and freedom.
Without further adieu, here are 3 mentors I am most thankful for, as they have helped me with their ideas and resources:
1. Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Kiyosaki is a teacher and investor who wrote the legendary Rich Dad Poor Dad. I’ve read most of his books, and to say the least, Robert has changed my mindset, showing me the way to go: Investing and/or establishing a business that is not requiring your physical presence to run.
Perhaps the biggest piece of advice that has changed my outlook about money is on how to read my personal financial statement correctly to see where I was and where I should go, and to grow passive income that can sustain my lifestyle.
Robert also taught me to ‘befriend’ risks and failures, and showed me how to manage risks – in term of business, the risk of business failures.
Thanks to Robert, I can manage my personal finance better – and pursue the right business and investment opportunities.
2. Yaro Starak
Yaro Starak is a pro-blogger and Internet Marketing expert who lives a digital nomad life. Not particularly known for his digital nomadic lifestyle, he is the one I closely follow initially because he makes 5-digit income per month (yes, that’s in US Dollar) from his blog, blogging course and Internet Marketing projects.
I am interested in making money online, and Yaro has showed me the way to go – web property investing, buying and selling websites, running a blog as a business, Internet Marketing, and many other things I clearly don’t understand initially. I do what he did, and to a lesser extent, has succeeded in building blogs as a business.
Thanks to Yaro, I can now running my online business, in location independent manner.
3. Tim Ferriss
Probably the most popular location independent living mentor, his book, the 4-hour Workweek has changed my mindset about living and running my business better, wherever and whenever I want.
At least Tim has helped me boosting my productivity with his tips, such as managing contacts, effective emailing and firing bad clients.
Of course, the most mind-boggling concept he presented is the fact that we can live wherever we want, doing whatever we want, while having a business or a job that can support our lifestyle. He has taught me ways to outsource my work and life in such a way that we have more free time to pursue our dreams via mini-retirements.
Thanks to Tim, I learn how to outsource my business and my life whenever I want to.
There are many other mentors I have – but the three above are the ones who have changed my life fundamentally.
So, how about you? Who is your mentor, and why is he/she important in your life?
About the Author
Ivan Widjaya A mobile entrepreneur who loves to work anytime, anywhere he wants. He runs several popular business blogs, make money online and live a geoarbitrage lifestyle. He typically works at home and travel with his family when he wants to, often without his business.
