Why I Became An Investor
Chris Sain Jr. Top 40 under 40 Business Leader
The Why
My dad was and is to this day, the best businessman I have ever known. I am certain that over the course of his lifetime he earned well over a million dollars. I am not at all saying he or we, as a family were millionaires, in fact we were your average, maybe above average middle class family, but his business acumen took him very far in life as a businessman.
Me on the other hand had no business acumen. As a kid, my dad told me to play and to have fun and to worry about work when I became an adult. My father instructed my brother and I to do this because growing up he didn't have much of a childhood and wanted different for us. So, as a kid, you listen to your dad. To be fortunate enough to actually have a dad in the home, you listen even more when your dad tells you something. So...
Play is what I did.
I played so much I became one of the best athletes to come out of Grand Rapids, Mich....
While playing football at Michigan State University (MSU) my dad, sensed that I was struggling on and off the field. Which I was at the time. We call it a father's-intuition. As a poor college athlete, I had no food and I had no money. One day, he came to visit me, brought groceries for my apartment and gave me $20 to hold me over for the remainder of the week. That moment changed my mindset...
$20
That $20 bucks represented so much to me at the time. I vowed later that day, after my dad left my apartment that I would never be broke again. I held on to that $20 for my entire college career, bachelor and master's degrees and all. I held on to that $20 for 10 years. I never spent it. I wasn't rich but I wasn't broke. And... if nothing else, I always had a 20-piece ($20).
Motivation
Pissed off that I did not accomplish my goal of playing professional football in the National Football League (NFL), I developed a proverbial chip on my shoulder. Determined to make up for the loss of value I would have earned with a NFL salary, I went to work, started my own business and I started focusing on investments.
With my dad being my only example of a businessman and no formal education in business or finance of my own, I began to educate myself. As the son of an entrepreneur, I definitely possess an entrepreneurial spirit. Its in my DNA. The pedigree is in me. After years of research, after reading countless books I have settled on two principles:
- Invest in the companies whose products I know and love and actually use.
- Invest in whatever Warren Buffett invests in.
From Google, Apple, Nike, Starbucks and the likes to a diversified ETF portfolio, my Roth IRA, etc. investing for the long haul has allowed me to methodically grow my wealth and net worth. I am also thankful for Investment Tech Companies like Loyal3 and how they allow everyday people to own shares of their favorite companies as well as Acorns - which takes all of your spare change from all of your everyday purchases and invests it in a diversified ETF portfolio.
You don't have to be rich to invest. You don't have to have a lot of money to invest but what you must do is use the money you do have in a more responsible way. My goal now is to teach minorities, especially people of color how to build wealth. How to build Black Wealth through investments. I am also determined to show black people how to invest in the stock market.
When we know better, we do better!!!
Chris Sain Jr. is Founder & CEO of Chris Inc., a best-selling author and a renowned motivational speaker. Check out his latest book Finding Real Love in the Love & Hip Hop Era.
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