It was a rainy Monday morning in Onitsha. The workshop was buzzing with noise, saws cutting through wood, hammers pounding nails, the smell of dust hanging in the air. I had been working non-stop for two weeks, putting in overtime hours, thinking it would give me a financial edge.
That day, I collected my paycheck. I looked at the amount and felt… tired. Not because it was small, but because I realized something: no matter how hard I worked, my income had a ceiling.
Michael, on the other hand, was sitting in the corner of the workshop during break, writing in that same old notebook. I joined him and asked,
"Mike, how is it that you work the same hours as I do, but you always seem to be ahead financially?"
He smiled, closed his notebook, and said:
"James, the problem isn't how hard you work, it's where your money goes. You put your money in the bank. I put mine to work."
Why You Shouldn't Just Save Money in Banks
Michael explained something that day that shook my thinking:
"When you save money in the bank, the bank invests it, but not for you. They use your money to give loans, buy assets, and grow their business. Then they give you a tiny interest in return. Inflation alone will eat more than what they pay you. In other words, you're helping the bank grow rich while your money loses value."
He quoted Robert G. Allen, the author of Multiple Streams of Income:
"How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case."
Michael wasn't saying you shouldn't have a bank account. He was saying that money sitting idle in a savings account is like a car parked in the garage, it's not going anywhere until you start the engine.
The Right Way to Use Bank Accounts
Michael believed every serious businessman should have three bank accounts:
1. Operating Account –
For daily transactions and running costs. This keeps your business cash flow organized.
2. Investment Account –
Strictly for money that will be reinvested into assets or growth opportunities. No withdrawals for personal spending.
3. Emergency Account –
For unexpected business expenses or downturns, so you never panic or take desperate loans.
"Three accounts," he said, "keep you disciplined. One for today, one for tomorrow, one for when things go wrong. Mixing them up is how people fail."
The Power of Continual Investment
Michael's philosophy was simple:
"Never let money sit idle. If it's not working, it's dying."
He would take profits from his furniture accessory sales and buy more stock before the month ended. Sometimes he bought in bulk from suppliers at a discount and resold at a healthy margin.
I, on the other hand, saved my money, feeling secure seeing the balance grow… but over time, the cost of living outpaced my interest earnings. Michael's investments, even small ones, were multiplying.
An Example of Struggle Before Success
Michael often told me the story of Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA. Kamprad grew up in a poor farming family in Sweden. He started selling matches at age 5, then pens, wallets, and other small goods. He wasn't rich; he simply kept reinvesting his profits.
By his teens, he had built a small trading company. Eventually, he started selling furniture, not because he was the best carpenter, but because he saw the business opportunity. Today, IKEA is one of the largest furniture companies in the world.
Kamprad once said:
"The most dangerous poison is the feeling of achievement. The antidote is to every evening think what can be done better tomorrow."
Michael loved that quote. It reminded him never to get too comfortable, no matter how good business was.
The Turning Point for Me
That rainy Monday, I finally understood what Michael had been trying to tell me for years:
Working hard is important, but it's not enough.
Saving is good, but investing is better.
A businessman's security isn't in his paycheck — it's in his assets.
I decided then that I would stop letting my money sit idle. I didn't know exactly how yet, but I knew one thing: I was done working only for money. It was time to make money work for me.
In Chapter 6 – Planting the First Seeds,
I'll share the first small investments I made, how I nearly lost it all, and the moment I realized that every investment teaches you something, even the bad ones.