Advice from a millionaire client/friend

I have this one client who can be considered has made it at a very young age. His office is just a stone throw away from mine but I rarely met him or sit with him until recently when he opened a small cafe (called kopitiam in Malaysia) in which I frequented quite often as the food there is quite good. Nearly 3 times last week I met him accidently there as I was having my meal. Each time he found me there, he will join me and we would talk for a while. Rarely it was about work as I usually let my staff deal all the relevant issues with his staff, although I always kept abreast of the latest development as I wouldn't want to not be able to update him on his cases.

Anyway, I like to sit with him as he is very young and his age is of my eldest brother. He is also a self-made millionaire who is always supportive of my legal firm since we were introduced by a late friend who died recently due to cancer. That itself made us close as we hold vigil a few times together by this friend bedside when he was in his early stage of cancer. The cancer took nearly three years to eat him up before he passed on early this year. I actually was out of the loop that he died as he passed away too fast. I have just recently known from my client that he had passed on.

 

His cafe

Back to this client. One of the advice which he imparted to me was how one have to go beyond one's profession in order for the profession to be meaningful. He said, a housing developer, in which he is one, among other thing, sould be able to know whether he should kept any of the house he is selling or sell all that he has developed at the time the houses are being completed. In Malaysia, it is under the law, a housing developer can collect 10% first then build the houses and bill the purchaser according to how much of the property has been completed. He said, a housing developer should always keep the valuable units for himslef and sell it at a latter stage. 

I only half agree with his assessment as he has just recently been delving into housing development. I actually bought one of the 1st phase of housing development and it has actually double in prices by the time comes for me to get the key. This shows that buying early and selling late can generate you profit. This is where his wisdom shows. However, if he sell all and keep developing, to me, one can always buy some other property at a different location, as when you sell everything which made money in your business, sooner or later you will have enough money for anything. On the other hand, holding on to some can help show that you are confident enough in your own products. Unlike some other developer I know...

The house that we bought