3: From Vietnam Refugee to Informed Investor: Tulinh Tran's Path to Financial Mastery

Tulinh Tran [0:00 - 1:11]: We were refugees from post Vietnam war Vietnam. And I started out as a social worker with the Salvation army and making $18,000 a year before taxes in New York City. And so I wasn't having it because I wanted that Carrie's rational life, and I wanted that New York City apartment. So I was like, how is this gonna go? So I started buying the Wall Street Journal and the financial crimes, and I taught myself stock market investing. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be in the shoes of some of the most successful entrepreneurs out there today, look no further. Each episode, your host, Joe Simon, tells short walks with some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the game today. These inspiring leaders have successfully crossed the coveted seven figure mark in their businesses. And these candid, insightful conversations will inspire you to look at your business and your life from a new perspective and get it to the next level. So put on your walking shoes and let's skyrocket that success together.

Joe Simon [2:02 - 2:19]: Welcome to the millionaire mile. This is your host, Joe Simon. With me today is a good friend of mine, Tu Lin. We've worked together in different masterminds, and I've known her for quite some time. She's gonna bring so much knowledge to this episode. But before we get started, I want Tuan to introduce herself and tell the audience a little bit more about you.

Tulinh Tran [2:19 - 2:54]: So we were refugees from post Vietnam war Vietnam. And I started out as a social worker with the Salvation army and making $18,000 a year before taxes in New York City. And so I wasn't having it because I wanted that Carrie's rad, straw life, and I wanted that New York City apartment. So I was like, how is this gonna go? So I started buying the Wall Street Journal and the financial crimes, and I taught myself stock market investing.

Joe Simon [2:54 - 3:16]: Absolutely amazing. I know you guys can't see this because of the audio podcast, but the Carrie Bradshaw description, now, I understand it from looks and everything. It's absolutely stunning. So let's talk about the people that you reach out to and the. The customer base that normally learns from you. What does the average person take away from your work that you do with them?

Tulinh Tran [3:17 - 3:54]: Yeah. So what I teach is a framework and investing framework that I created called intuitive investing. And so what I found is that a lot of people who are, let's say, in their thirties, forties, fifties, and have not invested, there is a big reason for it. They're afraid to take a risk. They don't know where to start. They're intimidated. And so what intuitive investing gives you is, I like to say I help you funnel your life experiences and your instincts into investful ideas.

Joe Simon [3:54 - 4:31]: That's amazing. And I'm going to chime in on this, because as business owners, we are good at one thing. We're good at running a business. We're good at creating maybe marketing plans, maybe operational. But once you maybe exit a business, or maybe you make enough capital as a high net worth employee, you're trying to figure out the investing world. So it's a muscle that has to be built up. So how would someone start? Just the basics. What would you recommend to somebody that's just, maybe they don't, they didn't exit a business. Maybe they're not a business owner and they're just maybe a college kid. What would be the advice of just somebody to get involved in the investor world?

Tulinh Tran [4:31 - 5:19]: Oh, my God. This is so, such unsteady questions. It's so juicy. And I love helping kids and teenagers and college students with investing. So the first thing you have to have to do is create an investor profile. And so some of the questions that I want you guys to answer is understand your risk tolerance from zero to ten and then your timeline. Like, when do you want this money by? Are you buying a house in two years? Are you saving up for a wedding? Or are you saving up for retirement in 40 years? How much time you want to dedicate per week or per month? That is great. And so that will form, the answer to these three questions will form sort of like the beginning of the investment strategy you're into.

Joe Simon [5:20 - 5:26]: Got it. And I love that. Right. It's one of those things where you're talking about, this is a muscle that you have to build.

Tulinh Tran [5:26 - 5:26]: Right.

Joe Simon [5:26 - 5:47]: So it's the time that people have to invest in this. We gave an example of GameStop when that happened, and I am a newbie, guys, I do not understand stocks, but we were chatting about stocks earlier, and you're a big proponent of stocks for people. Again, where would they start? If they just want to learn about the stock market, or if they want to just jump in and start dabble, what would you advise somebody, even as myself?

Tulinh Tran [5:47 - 6:43]: So ask yourself three questions. The next question I would ask you is to list all of the areas of expertise or interests that you have. And so I have my students bliss every single job they've ever had, because, for example, I, as a teenager, have worked in four different supermarkets as a cashier. And when I was, let's say, 23 or something, and a social worker, I walked into Whole Foods for the first time and because I had the background of working in supermarkets, I knew right away that wholesale would very different from what was already there. And so that gave me the conviction and the confidence to invest in whole food, the stock. And then a few years later, they were acquired by Amazon.

Joe Simon [6:43 - 7:00]: That is amazing. But you gave me a tidbit of information earlier, which I'm gonna share. You said that you have to, and again, it's from your personal experience, but you have to look at a stock before they come to a certain price point, before the. Before everyone else. What's that?

Tulinh Tran [7:01 - 7:21]: So it's different for every kind of stock, except, of course, stocks are based on companies. So sometimes, like, companies are lucky and they're sort of, like, in the trends. Like, for example, we talked about Delti. It's the energy drink. Energy drinks are very, very popular right now, consumed by all.

Joe Simon [7:22 - 7:22]: Yeah.

Tulinh Tran [7:22 - 7:41]: And so sometimes if a company, like, hits that tailwind, you know, they can grow really quickly. Or sometimes, you know, if you feel like Amazon, that has had sort of, like 25 year trajectory where there were many, there were many opportunities to invest in Amazon.

Joe Simon [7:41 - 8:13]: Yeah. That is. That was such amazing advice, and we had such deep conversation about this. We had another friend with us who's not here at the moment, but learning so much about stocks and how at one point, you could be skyrocketing stuff over $100,000. Right. Other point, you could be skyrocketing. Right. So most people make the mistake of selling buying. Right. We know the old advice is, of course, you know, buy low, sell high. Most people don't get this. Right. The everyday investor.

Tulinh Tran [8:13 - 8:13]: Yeah.

Joe Simon [8:13 - 8:21]: How could somebody, and it's probably a loaded question, but how could somebody do the right thing in that? Or is it always if noon has to pay more attention to it?

Tulinh Tran [8:21 - 9:03]: And as you said, so what I teach is, no, it's not just time you have to dedicate, but it's like you can really shortcut your learning by knowing what to focus on. And so the thing with investors is that you will always ping pong between two emotions and two emotions only one is fear and one is free. And so what I teach my students is you have to check yourself constantly. Where am I on the continuum? Am I closer to the peer side? Am I closer to the greed side? And whenever, you know, you. You get closer to any of these extreme, you're more apt to make that decision.

Joe Simon [9:03 - 9:06]: That's gonna be probably title of this episode.

Tulinh Tran [9:06 - 9:24]: Yeah. Yes. And then that's it. And then, so if you can remain, you know, towards the middle, then you can then start to implement. And not only implement, but actually follow your own rule of buying low and selling high.

Joe Simon [9:25 - 9:48]: So this is amazing advice. People are learning a ton and, you know, these are tidbit episodes. We gotta ask one more question. You know, you have such a varied past of how you got where you are. What did you do personally to learn about the stock market? Was this business school for you? Was this something you just picked up and said, hey, I'm just gonna open a book and I'm gonna learn this myself? What did you do to help you get reward stay?

Tulinh Tran [9:48 - 10:12]: So what's helpful is my desire. Like, my desire for that New York City Manhattan apartment was so great that I wasn't going to let anything stop me. And because I had so little fit of money, I had so little money, I had to really make sure that they were used well. So I had to do so much research.

Joe Simon [10:12 - 10:28]: Got it. I mean, that is. And look, that's desire, right? That's desire. I think we just met someone at an event who basically said he fed on himself. You bet on yourself. Literally, you bet on yourself. And I mean, the challenges you went through from 18,000.

Tulinh Tran [10:28 - 10:30]: Did you say 18,000? Pre tax.

Joe Simon [10:30 - 10:57]: Pre tax. My God, I think you're at the poverty limit when you. That's a definition of positive. But I can, you know what's great about that is that you can show people, like, hey, listen, there is things came through to take control of your life, take control of your finances, kind of direct you into pathway. Tulin, where would people find you? Where would they learn more about you? Because I know you have a social media following and you teach with people. We share that. And of course, we have all the contact in the show notes as well.

Tulinh Tran [10:57 - 11:05]: Yeah. So you can follow me on the socials, notably instagram. My name, Tulin is building.

Joe Simon [11:05 - 11:14]: Oh, Toolin is building. I love it. Awesome. Once again, thank you so much for spending time with me today on this lovely little wolf, and thank you for sharing all you have to proceed.

Tulinh Tran [11:14 - 11:16]: I had so much fun.

Joe Simon [11:16 - 11:17]: Thank you.

Tulinh Tran [11:18 - 11:37]: Thanks for listening. We hope these walks with successful millionaires have inspired you to take the next step in your entrepreneurial journey. No two stories are the same and it's inspiring to learn from those that have walked the path before. To read full show notes for each episode, which includes guest contact information and ways to connect with Joe, visit themillionairemile.com.