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Money Life Balance With Bruce Rockowitz
On this episode of the Lead With Purpose podcast host, Tze Ching Yeung talks to Bruce Rockowitz about money as Bruce is an incredibly successful CEO, businessman and philathopist
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- At 5-years-old, for whatever reason, I was always entrepreneurial. I started off selling flower seeds door-to door where I lived for two years. That was the beginning of my business career and from that age onwards I worked. At the same time, I started playing tennis and became a professional player, the work I did paid for my tennis career and tennis brought me to Hong Kong as a teenager where I was offered a job at the Hong Kong Country Club which served some very wealthy clients. I thought I’d go back to college in America but so many opportunities opened up here with China opening up in the early 80s. I eventually set up Colby which allowed major brands and retailers to bring their supply chain to the Far East, I became head of the group and the rest is history.
- My success didn’t come about because I was driven by money, I have something inside my body that wants to excel. I always had an incredible passion to do well. If somebody gave me $1 million it would have had the opposite effect and destroyed my career, it would have made me lazy and I could rely on the money. I didn’t want anyone to ever give me anything because I wanted to remain hungry and passionate.
- I’m not very materialistic, I don’t spend a lot of money on myself – it might not look that way from the outside. All money does is give me choices. What I’m really into is experiences, I’m willing to pay a lot of money for experiences. I'm not willing to pay a lot of money for things that just sit idle.
- Most entrepreneurs are born entrepreneurs, I was, my parents never pushed me to do anything. A parent that does push, it ends up backfiring. For somebody to be successful you need to find out what they’re passionate about and help them, and it may not be making money, it could be artistic. There’s a path for everybody, it’s just a question of finding it.
BEST MOMENTS
‘I was unusual, I worked in fashion so I acquired a taste level, most businessmen have no taste, designers have taste. I was able to bridge both sides.’
‘Money gives you choices, it gives you freedom but it doesn’t make you happier.’
‘I haven’t needed to work since my late 20s, so my whole life hasn’t been about necessity… The idea of retirement is pretty scary for me because my career and every business I start is what excites me.’
‘An affluent home is a curse. Lots of people get screwed up in affluent homes.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Bruce Rockowitz is the President of Li & Fung (Trading) Ltd, the principal operating subsidiary of the Li & Fung Group. Bruce has also been an Executive Director of Li & Fung since 2001. Bruce was also the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Colby International Limited, a large Hong Kong buying agent prior to the sale of Colby to Li & Fung in 2000. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Wharton's Jay H Baker Retailing Initiative, an industry centre for retail at the University of Pennsylvania.
In addition to his position at Li & Fung, Bruce is the Chairman of the Pure Group, a lifestyle, fitness and yoga group operating in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan and soon to be opening in mainland China. As Chairman of Pure, Bruce provides strategic vision and direction to the senior management of the Group.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-rockowitz-b738086a/
ABOUT THE HOST
Tze Ching started her entrepreneurial journey back in 2007 with the launch of a sustainable clothing and home furnishing ecommerce business. Next, she created a sustainable fashion brand.
In 2019, she launched a social enterprise to help raise awareness about the negative impact of fashion at schools and colleges.
Through the 15-year journey, she learned so much, but easily the most meaningful lesson learned was about the importance of marketing. She now focuses on channelling those insights to help others succeed, through We Disrupt Agency, a business coaching, mentoring and digital marketing company.
Tze Ching’s mission is to create a community of global change makers and to contribute to positive change in both people and planet.
CONTACT DETAILS
Tze Ching’s website: https://wedisruptagency.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wedisruptagency
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wedisruptagency/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/wedisruptagency
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tzechingyeung/
View all episodes
By Tze Ching Yeung
5
44 ratings
On this episode of the Lead With Purpose podcast host, Tze Ching Yeung talks to Bruce Rockowitz about money as Bruce is an incredibly successful CEO, businessman and philathopist
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- At 5-years-old, for whatever reason, I was always entrepreneurial. I started off selling flower seeds door-to door where I lived for two years. That was the beginning of my business career and from that age onwards I worked. At the same time, I started playing tennis and became a professional player, the work I did paid for my tennis career and tennis brought me to Hong Kong as a teenager where I was offered a job at the Hong Kong Country Club which served some very wealthy clients. I thought I’d go back to college in America but so many opportunities opened up here with China opening up in the early 80s. I eventually set up Colby which allowed major brands and retailers to bring their supply chain to the Far East, I became head of the group and the rest is history.
- My success didn’t come about because I was driven by money, I have something inside my body that wants to excel. I always had an incredible passion to do well. If somebody gave me $1 million it would have had the opposite effect and destroyed my career, it would have made me lazy and I could rely on the money. I didn’t want anyone to ever give me anything because I wanted to remain hungry and passionate.
- I’m not very materialistic, I don’t spend a lot of money on myself – it might not look that way from the outside. All money does is give me choices. What I’m really into is experiences, I’m willing to pay a lot of money for experiences. I'm not willing to pay a lot of money for things that just sit idle.
- Most entrepreneurs are born entrepreneurs, I was, my parents never pushed me to do anything. A parent that does push, it ends up backfiring. For somebody to be successful you need to find out what they’re passionate about and help them, and it may not be making money, it could be artistic. There’s a path for everybody, it’s just a question of finding it.
BEST MOMENTS
‘I was unusual, I worked in fashion so I acquired a taste level, most businessmen have no taste, designers have taste. I was able to bridge both sides.’
‘Money gives you choices, it gives you freedom but it doesn’t make you happier.’
‘I haven’t needed to work since my late 20s, so my whole life hasn’t been about necessity… The idea of retirement is pretty scary for me because my career and every business I start is what excites me.’
‘An affluent home is a curse. Lots of people get screwed up in affluent homes.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Bruce Rockowitz is the President of Li & Fung (Trading) Ltd, the principal operating subsidiary of the Li & Fung Group. Bruce has also been an Executive Director of Li & Fung since 2001. Bruce was also the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Colby International Limited, a large Hong Kong buying agent prior to the sale of Colby to Li & Fung in 2000. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Wharton's Jay H Baker Retailing Initiative, an industry centre for retail at the University of Pennsylvania.
In addition to his position at Li & Fung, Bruce is the Chairman of the Pure Group, a lifestyle, fitness and yoga group operating in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan and soon to be opening in mainland China. As Chairman of Pure, Bruce provides strategic vision and direction to the senior management of the Group.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-rockowitz-b738086a/
ABOUT THE HOST
Tze Ching started her entrepreneurial journey back in 2007 with the launch of a sustainable clothing and home furnishing ecommerce business. Next, she created a sustainable fashion brand.
In 2019, she launched a social enterprise to help raise awareness about the negative impact of fashion at schools and colleges.
Through the 15-year journey, she learned so much, but easily the most meaningful lesson learned was about the importance of marketing. She now focuses on channelling those insights to help others succeed, through We Disrupt Agency, a business coaching, mentoring and digital marketing company.
Tze Ching’s mission is to create a community of global change makers and to contribute to positive change in both people and planet.
CONTACT DETAILS
Tze Ching’s website: https://wedisruptagency.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wedisruptagency
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wedisruptagency/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/wedisruptagency
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tzechingyeung/