Successful investors and entrepreneurs are constantly studying, learning, and copying from other successful individuals. As we consider the success of others, it is easy to recognize that there is a large number of successful individuals that are immigrants. Without a doubt, there is something about a large majority of immigrants that drives them to success. In this article we’ll discuss what is that makes some immigrants different and perhaps more likely to succeed than non immigrants. Let’s discover the one thing we can learn and copy from successful immigrants.

In this article:

Some perspective on Immigrants and their background

• Many immigrants come from an entrepreneurial environment
• Immigrants treasure knowledge and education
• Many immigrants are already knowledgeable about investing
• Immigrants love investing in real estate
• Immigrants are willing to take risks
• Many immigrants keep going even after attaining success

One thing we can copy from successful immigrants

Second and third generation immigrants compared to their parents

Stay hungry my friends

Some Perspective on Immigrants and Their Background

In an article titled ‘Knowledge Makes Money‘ I made the case that many immigrants are also entrepreneurs. In that article, I also shared that I am an immigrant. Yes, I am also an entrepreneur.  As such, I have a perspective I’d be delighted to share.

Before we dive into the one thing we can learn and copy from successful immigrants it is helpful to gain a little perspective on some of these successful immigrants.

Many Immigrants Come from an Entrepreneurial Environment

A large majority of immigrants come from developing countries, where entrepreneurship is a way of life.

My brothers and I grew up in a developing country.  If you visit the city where we grew up, you’d see endless small stores and businesses of all kinds. This is something you’ll see in any developing country. Indeed, entrepreneurship is a way of life in developing countries, because people in developing countries must hustle to survive

I come from a family of entrepreneurs that started very poor. My dad didn’t own a pair of shoes until he was old enough to remember and appreciate the joy of owning a pair of shoes.  Nevertheless, my dad and his brothers overcame poverty.

You could say poverty was a driving force to pursue success. In fact, every single one of my seven uncles owned at least one business, and most owned other real estate.  This was also the case with the rest of my family. My dad started a few business, my mom started a business, my grandmother started a business, and many of my cousins started businesses. 

I am convinced that to a large degree, many immigrants have an entrepreneurial spirit because they grew up in a hustling culture and environment. If nothing else, I do believe that this is part of the reason why I am an entrepreneur.

Immigrants Treasure Knowledge and Education

In addition to entrepreneurship, our way of life in a developing country, dictated we treasure knowledge and education. This is probably because in developing countries, education is the fastest way out of poverty.

When we were kids, my dad often provided my brothers and me with an incentive to read a book, or to learn a new skill. For my brothers and me, going to college was a clear expectation from the time we were kids.

My parents made sure we learned about savings and the power of compound interest at an early age. They did so in a practical manner, by paying us an attractive interest rate if we deposited our savings with them.

My dad was a career professional. His career path didn’t require him to pursue higher education. Nevertheless, he took night classes for many years to pursue a degree in finance. Even in his retirement he continues learning and reinventing himself.

After immigrating to the US, my parents continued to make it a priority to put my brothers and me through college. And they were able to pay for our education despite financial difficulties arising from the housing bubble.

Although immigrants value knowledge, this mindset is really just a byproduct of something else. It is the byproduct of one thing we can learn and copy from successful immigrants.

Many Immigrants Are Already Knowledgeable About Investing

Perhaps as a result of their hustling background and their appreciation for knowledge, many immigrants have been exposed to business and investing from an early age.

A few years ago I visited Nicaragua. There, in one little store, I saw a 12 year old girl helping her dad attend customers. Despite her age she was very comfortable taking orders and performing mental calculations. It quickly became clear she wasn’t just good at math. She was also good at business. And I am sure her dad was also teaching her about investing. After all, that’s all part of the business.

My exposure to business was a bit less hands on. I wasn’t a clerk at a store, but even as a kid, I was very a ware that the oldest of my dad’s siblings constructed a small strip mall, and behind it an apartment complex. This alone provided him with immense financial freedom.

It still baffles me how someone with such humble beginnings was able to pull something like this off. This must have also served as an example to my dad and his other siblings.

My dad dedicate time to real estate and other investments, despite being a career professional. One time he ended up with a few pigs because someone that owed him money could only settle his debt with pigs.  Another time he showed up with a motorcycle, because someone else could only settle his debt with a motorcycle.

On at least one occasion, my dad came home with large bundles of money.  In fact, I vividly remember him allowing me to throw a few handfuls of bills up in the air as we celebrated his latest success. 

Certainly, being heavily exposed to a business and investing environment provides a large majority of immigrants with a tremendous advantage. However, I consider this a small advantage compared to the one thing we can learn and copy from successful immigrants.

Immigrants love investing in real estate

Ask an immigrant about his/her investment pursuits. They may not know much about stocks, cryptocurrency, etc. But they sure know about real estate. And to be fair, they are willing to learn about any other business, but real estate is something they seem to understand from the start.

We immigrated to the US, as a family, when I was 19.  We didn’t speak English and didn’t have that much in savings, but this didn’t stop my dad from pursuing investments in real estate.

My dad bought his first investment home in the US for $5,000. This home was located in the worst possible part of the city. In addition, this home was completely inhabitable, as it had extensive fire damage. Not surprisingly, everyone advised my dad against making that investment.

My dad pressed on. Despite the language challenges and non-existing credit, my dad was able to get a construction loan.  Our family, including my grandparents, worked together tearing down walls, cleaning up debris, and overall rebuilding the home.

Eventually, and after much convincing, my father sold that home for $35,000.  Not a lot of profit considering all the work and expenses, but what he gained in experience and what he taught each one of us, was priceless.

This story demonstrates many immigrants are willing to take big risks. That was certainly the case with my family and it is the case with a large number of immigrants. Nevertheless, this is still just a byproduct of the one thing that drives immigrants to success.

Immigrants are Willing to Take Risks – Buying houses a rate of one per year and the real estate bubble

Following his first investment, there were a few years in which my dad was buying a cheap house at a rate of one per year.  He was able to buy investment properties with little cash down, by utilizing seller financing.  Through these years, it felt like my dad was finding success in real estate.  After all, he was increasing his monthly cash flow, while continuing to acquire assets.

Eventually, investing in cheap properties and dealing with bad tenants was becoming too much to handle.  Because of this, my dad began transitioning away from cheap properties in bad areas to cheap properties in more acceptable areas. 

Unfortunately he over-invested in a home and a commercial property just before the real estate market collapsed.  He lost both properties and was left with little to show for about a decade of work. As I mentioned earlier, despite this setback, my parents were still able and willing to pay for college for their three kids.

Looking back, it is easy to see my dad was over leveraged in his investments. This was a very unfortunate situation. But, it may help to highlight that for an immigrant that started with little, losing big still left my dad with much to be proud of and grateful for. In fact, as we’ll see later, gratefulness is a quality of many successful immigrants.

Many Immigrants Keep Going Even After Attaining Success

When I have an opportunity to converse with other immigrants I often ask them about their life and future ambitions. Although in many cases these immigrants have reached some level of success, they continue to be learners, they continue to be thrifty, and they continue to be on the lookout for opportunities.

And not surprisingly, I’ve observed the same with my brothers and I. Despite the fact that we all graduated from college and have experienced some level of success in the corporate world, all three of us own other businesses.  In fact, like many entrepreneurs, we enjoy sitting at my parent’s house for lunch or dinner talking about business ideas. 

I’ve worked for a paycheck for my entire career, but through those years I have also invested in a few things, including stocks, options, precious metals, crypto-currency, websites, real estate, a multi-family business, a timber property, etc. 

I have also researched hundreds of other opportunities in which I didn’t end up investing for one reason or another.  As can be expected, I have also made many investment errors that have been costly, but have taught me valuable lessons. 

Like you, I am still pursuing financial independence.  I have a full time job and still work for a paycheck.  I have a great job and have great compensation. In addition, I enjoy monthly cash flow from investment properties, but I still depend on my employer.  Although I’ve always had a mind for business, I wish I had developed a clear strategy to achieve financial independence years ago. 

As I consider my situation, I can’t help but to notice that many of my ‘financial peers’ have an ability to relax and enjoy their wealth and possessions. That’s something I consider a bit of a luxury, at this stage in my life. And by the way, this is not necessarily a good thing, but it could be that it is a quality common among many immigrants and entrepreneurs. Like you and many other entrepreneurs, there is something about how I am wired or about my background that compels me to keep going.

One Thing We Can Learn and Copy from Successful Immigrants

Without further due, I’ve concluded the one thing we can learn and copy from successful immigrants is their huger for success. Indeed, it is this hunger that causes them to be learners, to take big risks, to live frugally, to outwork others, etc.

Recently, my dad and I were discussing this particular subject. Not surprisingly, he quickly noted that immigrants like us are hungry for success because we’ve left everything behind and have no other choice. In other words, immigrants like us have little to lose and much to gain.

A hunger for success is the key. If there is one thing we can learn and copy from successful immigrants, this is it!

However, implementing this knowledge into our lives may not necessarily be an easy task. After all, you and I may not be as hungry as the immigrant that is willing to risk everything for a chance at success.

In my case, it is easy to see that the fact that I have a good paying job and certain job security has made me too comfortable. It wasn’t until our family grew that I began to value my time more and more.  That’s when it became clearer that by working smarter I should be able to spend more time with my kids.  That’s when I started to become noticeably more uncomfortable with my financial situation and that’s when my desire for financial independence grew. 

A keen investor needs to evaluate his/her situation every so often.  If we are too comfortable we are not improving and something needs to be done to get us out of the comfort zone.  Get uncomfortable! Get hungry! 

Second and third generation immigrants compared to their parents

To further illustrate the correlation between hunger and success, I’d like to compare second and third generation immigrants to their parents.

In an earlier article I mentioned that the second and third generations of successful immigrants aren’t necessarily as successful as first generation immigrants. 

Just like it is human nature to respond to challenge, to fight for survival.  It is also human nature to grow comfortable when we are no longer challenged, when we don’t have to fight for survival. 

First generation immigrants face immense challenges the moment they leave their country. Second and third generation immigrants are much more comfortable than their parents.

I talk to my kids about real estate, businesses and finances all the time.   When we are at a restaurant I ask questions such as how much money do you think this business makes in one year?  How many employees do you see?  What would you do differently if you were the owner of this business? 

I do this because I want them to learn early.  I want them to have the same drive that a new immigrant has when they arrive in the United States and is in awe of the possibilities and full of hope for the future.  Despite my efforts, a hunger to succeed is something I can’t create in them. 

I am very blessed to have good kids.  They are good students, they volunteer their time, but the reality is they are too comfortable, especially when their eyes are glued to their iPhones. 

Stay hungry my friends

A strong desire to succeed is something that has to come from within, a hunger that comes from not having, from trying to survive. 

It sounds counter intuitive, but if you want to continue to improve you have to create discomfort. Discomfort could look like many things, including a tightening of the budget, moving to a smaller home, running a marathon, fasting, starting a new business, etc.  After all, even a small thing could help us see things from a different perspective.  The important thing is to get out of the comfort zone and to awaken the hunger we need to drive success.

Another thing we can do is to emulate the traits of those that are hungrier for success. This takes discipline.  Being disciplined isn’t a fun endeavor, but this too is something we can learn.  Hang in there…. we’ll work through these things together.   

The Emigrant Edge – How to Make it Big in America

In the book “The Emingrant’s Edge”, Brian Buffini shares seven traits that gives many immigrants an edge. 

These traits are listed below.  As you ponder these traits, also consider how the word hungry adds valuable context to each one of these traits.  In fact, if I could summarize the entire book into just a sentence I would say; that the immigrant’s edge is their hunger!

Stay hungry my friends, because staying hungry is the key to achieving success.

Moving Forward

Moving forward, we need to dive deeper into self awareness. We need to examine exactly what is the spark that will cause a well fed person to think and act like a hungry immigrant. As we journey to financial freedom, I’d like to recommend the article linked below.

Know Yourself to Gain More from Life and from Business

Please drop me a note and let me know what other areas of business and finance you’d like to explore. Then, I’ll write more about your suggested topics as we pursue knowledge, financial success, and financial independence together. In addition, you can also follow me on twitter at @Cash_Keen  

“The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.”  

Proverbs 16:26