What’s your backstory?
I grew up achieving and achieving – did well in sports, academics, and extra curricular—and had the best, most hardworking parents anyone could ask for. I always held myself to a different kind of standards, and because of this, I had always been ahead of my age.
My parents wanted me to take up business, so I did. But I was entering college at 15 and really wanted to be a writer. As I grew older I realized that the real way to freedom is through a thriving businesses, and multiple channels of income.
I started “rebelling” after 19, after college, when I could not keep a job because everything irked me: the office politics, the dress code, the fact that I had to come on time.
So I started freelance writing, and built a few businesses along the way. Until the found the first two I stayed with – a flowers/ gift shop and an Events and PR Company. These are my two oldest businesses, and I just kept expanding and diversifying since. Today, I have five businesses – both in the brick-and-mortar and online arena, and what do you know—I get to fulfill my dream: write as much as I want to.
Which people in life inspire you the most? Why?
My parents will always be my biggest inspiration and motivation. Growing up, they also did not have a lot but it always amazed me to know the kind of love that I got with them. They sacrificed, worked hard, and taught us a lot of things about money, integrity, and freedom. I guess I’ve been very lucky on that angle.
Aside from my parents, the people who inspire me the most are people who come from developing countries, who refused to let society, media, and (worst) their loved ones believe that they could not make it.
What do you think makes your work stand out?
My immense resistance to mediocrity is the biggest thing that makes my work stand out. Aside from that, creativity, and above average communication skills.
