APPRENTICE STAR’S CASH
but I’m still going to become a billionaire
What did your parents teach you about money?
MY MUM worked multiple part-time jobs as a dinner lady, childcarer and cleaner to pay the bills and be there for us kids. She was always conservative with her money and never spent what she did not need to. It was all about saving. I suppose that was because of our financial circumstances. My dad did not work, and we did not have a lot of money. They split up when I was in my early teens.
I feel very differently about t money from my mum – I am all l about spending. I never want to o worry about money, or what I purchase. I want to have so muchh that I am able to buy whatever I want.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
NO, I HAVE always found a way to be able to make money from nothing. My upbringing made me resourceful. If someone tells me I cannot have something I want, I will just find a way to get it.
Have you ever been paid silly money per hour for a job?
YES. Within the last year I was paid £4,000 to do a talk that lasted only 30 minutes. It was fantastic.
How much were you paid to do The Apprentice?
A SMALL amount of money. I think it was a couple of grand for the whole period, so nothing special. You do not get paid anything extra for going on the BBC2 talkshow, The Apprentice You’re Fired. It is just part of your contract.
If you get fired in the first week, £2,000 is not too bad. But if you are fired after seven or eight weeks, and you have given up your job or put your business on hold to go on the show, it is not much compensation for the time you put in. But that is the risk you take.
What has been the best year in terms of the money you have made?
2014. IT WAS my second year in business and I made about £100,000. I have not topped that since. I did come close last year but only half of the profits from my current business, ImpraGas, went to me. The rest went to Alan Sugar because he owned 50 per cent.
We do not work together any more. I bought him out of the business earlier this year. We are on good terms and he is still on hand if I need any advice. He taught me to understand margins and make sure that I was always making a profit – and not to get distracted from that.
What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought yourself, just for fun?
I ONCE spent £1,200 on a pot of caviar in a nice Italian restaurant in Mayfair because I wanted to try it. I had had a few drinks and I did it on impulse. It did taste nice but I am not sure I would buy it again. The most expensive thing I have ever bought is a £20,000 grey Nissan 370Z. I purchased it straight traight after I won the Apprentice. I also own a £6,500 silver and gold Rolex Datejust – it is also an investestment.
What is the biggest money mistake you have ever made?
INVESTING £10,000 in a call centre that I launched d six months before going on The Apprentice. It would have ave worked out but I had to shut ut it down when I got offered the e place on the show. I could not manage it while I was away and did not want to worry about it.
And your best money decision?
BY AN absolute country mile, taking out a £15,000 loan when I was 22 to start out in business. I did it immediately after reading Alan Sugar’s book, What You See Is What You Get, about how he got into business.
Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market?
I DO NOT, although I have recently invested some money into Bitcoin. That is a volatile investment but if you are in it for the long game, I think it will definitely work out. I am not too bothered about saving into a pension and I do not think I ever will. People tell me that it is the right thing to do. But the way I see it: if I need a pension by the time I am old, then I have failed in my career.
I think I will create enough wealth in the next 20 years to be able to sustain my lifestyle when I retire.
As for the stock market, you need money you can afford to lose and my focus has always been on investing in my own businesses. But it is something that I am certainly planning to explore in the future.
Do you own any property?
I RECENTLY bought my own three-bedroom house in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. It is detached, with its own garage and driveway. It needs a complete revamp. I wanted to buy a place I could add value to.
Do you pay off your credit cards in full?
IT DEPENDS on how flush I am feeling. At the moment, I owe a substantial amount of money – over £10,000 – across three credit cards because I think buying on finance is a great way to keep yourself liquid in business. That way, you can use your capital to buy things more quickly than if you saved up, and spread your repayments.
Getting into debt is part of how you grow a business and I am not afraid to do that.
How much cash do you typically carry?
£500. I do not think you need to carry more than that these days.
What is your one little luxury that you like to treat yourself to?
A WEEKEND away at least once a month, at a really nice hotel, where I do not worry about what I am spending. It usually costs me £1,000 to £2,000 each time I go away.
If you were Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the first thing you would do?
ABOLISH corporation tax for small businesses for the first five years, while they are still starting out. That will give those entrepreneurs the best possible chance of achieving a business which is sustainable. I would cap the benefit so as soon as the business started earning more than £100,000 they would have to start paying. It is hard out there for small businesses and this would give them some real and important financial relief.
Do you think it’s important to give to charity?
YES, very important. I have been donating to children’s charity the NSPCC since I was 18 and recently have participated in a lot of charity events to support young people. I think if you have wealth, the universe likes to see you give back and it sends out good karma vibes into the world.
What is your number one financial priority?
TO GET my mum, who is 56, to retire early. I want to have enough wealth to enable her to stop working and just chill out and enjoy the rest of her life.
She busted her guts to make sure my sister and I had enough when we were young.
So my top priority is to make sure that she always has plenty of money in the future and never feels overworked again.
Right now, all I am managing to do is pay for her to go on a couple of holidays a year, but I think by the end of 2019 I will achieve my goal.
My second financial priority is to become a millionaire by the time I am 30 and a billionaire by the time I am 50.
I started to want to be a millionaire when I was ten. But now I know I can easily achieve that, my goal is to become a billionaire. Joseph Valente was talking to Donna Ferguson.