A self-made USD millionaire born in the 1980s shares one healthy habit for becoming successful, and a simple money-management secret that not everyone manages to follow.
These are no lofty secrets: the millionaire believes that small, simple daily actions can help you manage your finances well and become successful.
Starting from nothing in a foreign land, entrepreneur Khanh Ngô became a USD millionaire by 42. He is currently COO of Harvest Moon LLC, CEO of Hundson Truong Inc, and Founder & CEO of KHANH LLC in the United States, working in real estate and business investment.
He is also the founder and leader of the Young & Successful Vietnam community — a place for practical startup experience, especially valuable for young Vietnamese people chasing the dream of building a business “from empty hands”.
Having gone through many hardships in America to reach where he is today, he knows that building wealth is never easy. So, with enough experience in the startup world, he decided to return to Vietnam as a guide — to walk alongside and help young people who want to pursue this dream.
During an audience Q&A at the “Reunion in Hà Nội” event on 1 October 2022, a young attendee asked which healthy habit “needs nurturing” to become successful. He answered:
“A smart person is not someone with a high IQ, a lot of degrees, or who speaks 5 or 6 languages. A smart person is simply someone who knows how to use all the resources around them to reach the goal they are aiming for. The smart and important habit here is knowing how to build the relationships around you. If you are not strong in finance, you need relationships with people who are — and the same goes for law and technology.”
Khanh shared that whenever he starts investing in a new field — even one that isn’t his own strength — he has friends or partners who are strong in that field to collaborate and grow with.
He put it plainly: “I don’t go into a field because I’m good at it — I go in because I know how to use the resources around me.” He urged young people to form, build and nurture this habit, because when you start a business, relationships like these are truly essential and will help your company grow stronger.
At the same event, Khanh also gave practical advice on managing personal finances. Again, no lofty secrets: he believes that small, simple daily actions help anyone keep their spending under control.
He said: “Something simple but extremely effective is writing down everything you spend each day. It sounds simple, but doing it isn’t. When I started my business, every time I spent money I wrote it down carefully — gas, coffee, even a pack of candy. At the end of the month I added it all up and knew exactly where my money had gone. Gradually I became aware of the need to manage money sensibly, and my small spending habits changed. Thanks to that, I later managed 100% of my startup’s spending.”
He advised young people that if they want a financially healthy business, they must master this simple habit. Everyone should keep a spending notebook, or track it on their phone. Once you do, you will manage your finances far better. He also warned against loose spending, which can seriously drain your cash flow, and gave a concrete example:
“If you go out for coffee twice a week at about 150,000 dong each time, you spend on average 1,200,000 dong a month on coffee. If your salary is only 8 million a month, that leaves you 6,800,000 dong. How can that be enough to live on, and still invest, grow and build wealth?”
This example shows how important managing your spending is, and how it can help your wealth grow quickly. Many young people today spend all their money by mid-month, borrow to “get by” for the rest of it, and repeat this “spiral” unless they make a firm decision to stop.
Try improving your personal finances with the simple everyday steps Khanh Ngô shares — who knows, one day you too may become a USD millionaire and reach financial freedom, just like him.
— Khanh Ngo
