The new generation of idol superstar, Wu Chun has a very handsome appearance. He can sing and act and has been out for 3 yrs. Rapidly becoming famous in 3 countries including Japan and Korea. Fans only know that he's from Brunei, comes from a privileged family background and is in every sense of the term " the knight in shining armour". However, not known he is also at the same time a skilled and experienced business man
Not yet 30yrs old, Wu Chun in his home town in Brunei has opened 2 luxurious gyms, also takes on the responsibility of managing a worlds famous watch company, has 2 nutrient shops and also numerous gym equipments representative.
Although Wu Chun is very modest, indicating that his income compared to the Brunei Royal Family is simply a drop in a bucket, but he will not hesitate to speak about earning money. For him in terms of earning money seemingly is not difficult. As early on as 15 yrs old, he planned and held a Brunei worldwide national inter-school university basketball competition, earning his 1st income in his youth of 1000 Brunei dollar (BND) (U.S. dollar equivalent of about $700 )
Wu Chun said "To attract University groups to compete wasn't hard, I learnt the NBA 3 point game, gaining the highest scores, learning methods of the rebound king. Faxing, handing out leaflets to all the big schools, asking them to form a team of 5 to come register. Because I organised so that the game would be more fun than a normal competition, 30 groups came. Each group paid a registration fee of $80 BND, so the total came to $2400 ; The drinks at the venue and the trophy cup I had one by one searched for companies to sponsor us for free. Taking away the $50 fee for the referee, the rent of $500 and miscellaneous expenses, I made a clean profit of $1000".
Who said a 15yr old boy "with no hair on his upper lip, can't work fast" ? Wu Chun said maybe it was because he was very young, hot blooded and sincere so the company and the competing university students particularly trusted him. 2 Years after when he was 17 yrs old, he opened a fashionable pool (snooker) shop that was a sensation in Brunei. Thinking about the 1st time being a boss, Wu Chun very pleased of himself said “ I went to Australia to go to high school, not even reaching 3 months I wanted to run back home to Brunei. I went with friends to play pool to relieve the boredom, seeing how a pool shop with just a few pool tables could earn money, so I thought why don't I just open one".
Wu Chun said that for the 3months he was in Australia, he learnt every style and technique to blend alcohol and drinks. Thinking of Brunei's pool shops they didn't have a bar, " If I put in a nice bar stand and become the bartender myself, the cost of one cup only costs $1 BND, selling it at $5 BND, the profit return would be 80%!".
10 pool tables, interior decoration, 12 staff members salary and the addition of every months rent of 540 BND, Him and his friend together took out $15 000 BND to open the store. Never thought that once the store opened it would immediately become extremely busy, With every cup of his special blend of different styled beverage, within a few months he recuperated the revenue.
" A business earning money there will defiantly be people that will copy, close by like a swarm of wasps have opened a lot of pool shops". Wu Chun said taking advantage of the shop's popularity at it's highest, he persuaded his partner to let go of the shop, both earning $15 000 BND and also the shop's TV, stereo, pool tables etc..."the aftermath of war".
Wu Chun spoke frankly, his father is engaged with real estate business, the enterprise spreads across China, Singapore and Brunei. From his memory in his childhood home's garage, there were 2 branded cars worth $1 million. Since childhood he never had to worry about food and clothes. Every month he would get $150 BND pocket money to spend, during the new year the red pocket would hold a lucky amount of money, every year he would receive $1688 BND (meaning continue to be wealthy). His father would also take the whole family abroad for a big spending spree, everyone each year would get $30 000 NT to spend on famous brand clothes and accessories.
It is reasonable to say that Wu Chun can be at ease and be a "rich man's son", but he said, because he's always want to make money to buy a Subaru sports car that belongs to him, so from childhood the pocket money his parents gave him he wouldn't waste it. His father knew that him opening up a pool shop would never be able to earn the money to buy the car, so while he sent him off to Australia for University he bought him a car. Wu Chun said " I really do regret that I was so fascinated in modifying cars I almost wasted all my savings".
The today's Wu Chun doesn't like famous brands, doesn't play with modified cars, but determined to open up 10 multinational gym chain stores. Wu Chun deeply expressed that a lot of people see him release albums, act in films, do adverts, so busy running round in circles, only sleeping 5-6hrs in a day and when he has a few minutes to spare he will open up his computer and use email while overseas to manage the trivial matters of the 2 gyms in Brunei.
Will he be too fierce over earning money? "Actually I don't care about the money. Money can't buy you health, I knew this when I was 25yrs old when my mother passed away from pancreas cancer". He said, that year was his university graduation and he had planned to return to Brunei, his father suddenly wanted him to 1st fly to Singapore to meet with his mother, in high spirits he arrived at the hotel , however to see his mother's sallow face. Apparently his mum had hidden the fact for 7 yrs. The fact that the cancer relapse had already worsen had completely driven me crazy.
He said, choking back tears "I accompanied my mum running through Russia, America, China, Singapore, Seeing her receive chemotherapy, nutritional therapy, using up all of the possible treatments, but in the end the cancer continued to spread to the liver, lymph, the whole stomach becoming bloated. Even through the doctor used all his efforts to drain the ascites (fluid in the stomach) it would not drain completely..... My heart broke"
After his mother past away, Wu Chun decided he wanted to become for the rest of his life a child that would not let down his mother. He said" My father will one day get old, I want to become the "mountain" for the rest of my father's life!"
He emphasised towards in terms of comparing the opening up of a gym and pool shop it's only on a scale a few times bigger, the importance is that you need to save on all the unnecessary expenses. At the same time buying gym equipment, fitness nutritious foods. Other people directly order from overseas, he will go on the internet and will compare prices; he discovered if you become the representative of the company 1st he can half the expenses and he can sell the imported goods to other gyms again earning money from the access fee.
"For everything, you have to personally put in effort and do yourself, using all your strength. Like me applying to become Brunei's gym equipment company representative, I really did put in a lot of money because there's only one place within the government, running slowly and making long distance telephone calls to foreign countries to explain that even though Brunei's demand isn't that big, I will still defiantly use all my strength to develop it, so when the customer ordered one, I could only order one. The head office believed in me becoming their representative and that for the future there would be space to expand, so they also accepted".
Asking Wu Chun what kind of rich person does he want to be? he replied " When my mother was still here , she'd regularly took me to the nursing home and the children's home to donate money and other necessities. She adopted 2 poor children from Africa, After my work I also adopted 2 ; so after my mother passed away it had changed to 4. I want to have money, to have power to do more charity, and still be able to rely on my own efforts to take my father to travel the whole world, would it not be very happy?" He said he doesn't do risky investments, he doesn't waste money, as time goes by he will become the person in charge of a multinational fitness group.
Source Taiwan Readers Digest, China Yes magazine
Translated : Elvenstar @ http://asianfanatics.net
