Number two in our series of top Investors, Tyron Hyde explains why the worst advice he got was to invest in shares! Interesting article that shows you are much better off investing in whatever it is that you are passionate about and that you know well.
Tyron Hyde, director, Washington Brown Quantity Surveyor
Best advice: You never make real money working for someone else
Worst advice: Invest in shares
When I was 17, working at McDonalds and doing my HSC, my soon to be brother-in-law, a developer, said two things that changed my life: “You can only ever make real money working for yourself” and “McDonalds really is a property development company – they just sell hamburgers on the side”.
As I was flipping those burgers I was thinking “there’s got to be more to life”…and as I tried to work out what he meant by McDonalds being a property developer I enrolled in a Bachelor of Construction Economics. The course led me to becoming a Quantity Surveyor.
Before this I never really had an interest in property so his advice certainly steered my career path, because it was during my degree back in 1993 that I applied for a cadet role at Washington Brown. Now I own the company.
A few years into my work at Washington brown, aged 25, I wrote a thesis on Property Depreciation, and thought….this could be a good business opportunity.
This is where Part 2 of the advice kicked in. You never make realmoney working for someone else. So I left Washington Brown – and my mentor who then owned the company – and started my own quantity surveying firm called “Property Depreciation Pty Ltd”. I did that for about a year and half, and once my old boss at Washington Brown saw that it was successful, he invited me back as a Partner. I haven’t looked back since.
Worst advice
The worst advice I ever received was from a financial planner who led me down the path of investing in shares. I have never lost money in property, but I certainly have with shares.
In hindsight, I should’ve stuck to what I know – property. But the allure of buying shares in a company that you don’t own – then sitting back and letting that money grow – was appealing.
Fast forward to the GFC and hey presto it wasn’t so alluring after all! I have always found that letting someone else make money for you ends in tears. To me, investing in the stock market is the easy option, unless you know what you’re doing.
And whilst letting someone else make you money, can work, I would rather back myself. Whether that’s investing in my business or trusting my property skills to know if an opportunity is likely to pay off.
So my own advice – Invest and nurture what you know best – YOU.
To view the original article online at Your Investment Property Mag, click here