It was a warm day in May 2007 when I landed at London Stansted.
Around £500 in my pocket.
A handful of printed CVs.
And one simple goal: get a university degree.
I didn’t come here to wreak havoc or chase benefits — I came here to do the work.
I had no job lined up.
No backup plan.
No idea what I was really in for.
Just a rented room in a city I didn’t know — and a head full of stress about rent, tuition fees, and whether I’d even survive the first month.
Spoiler: I had no clue.
So I did what any law-abiding student without rich parents would do:
- Baked cakes in a café
- Waited tables in a pub
- Packed flour in a local factory
Whatever paid the rent and kept the lights on.
After every shift, I’d drag myself home, open the books, and try to keep my eyes open long enough to get through the reading list.
Weekends?
Far too many beers with fellow students — united by stress, overdrafts, and a shared hate of 9am lectures.
No one was looking over my shoulder.
I was thousands of miles from home.
I was on my own:
- No safety net
- No shortcuts
- Just me, figuring it out
It wasn’t easy.
But it was mine.
The First Door Opens
Final year. Work placement time.
Everyone around me seemed fine working for free.
But I wasn’t buying it.
I couldn’t afford to.
And honestly? No one should.
So I went hunting for a job that offered a remuneration — and could double as my placement.
Eventually, I landed a role as a Polish translator and content editor at the head office of a well-known British betting company called Ladbrokes:
- It was relevant
- It was interesting
- It paid actual money
And somehow — through timing, luck, and a kind manager named Stavroula — it got signed off as my official placement… even though she barely knew me.
That job opened a door.
I started learning digital stuff — content, user behaviour, how people click, scroll, and buy.
For the first time, I wasn’t just working to survive.
I was actually interested.
After a year, I graduated with an upper second, kept the job, and started to find my rhythm.
Then — like it sometimes happens in life — everything went tits-up.
The Polish government brought in new taxes on foreign betting companies.
Ladbrokes pulled out of the Polish market.
Which meant: no job for me.
Soon after, I joined a partner in a new venture.
They turned out to be disingenuous.
The whole thing was a disaster:
- No salary
- Lost money
- Zero backup
I was still new to the UK.
No savings. No cushion. Just a CV — and bills to pay.
So I did the obvious:
- Rolled up my sleeves
- Sharpened my cover letter
- Uploaded everything to every job board with a “Quick Apply” button
- Fired off 100+ applications a day
The formula was simple:
More shots = better odds.
Precious Metals World
One of those shots landed in the inbox of a guy named Nittin.
He gave me a chance and invited me to an interview.
Next thing I knew, I was walking into a small, well-run office in Hammersmith.
Did I know anything about precious metals?
Not really.
But I had:
- Relentless curiosity
- A steep learning curve
- That weird Polish charm you can’t quite explain—but somehow, it works
I got the job.
Title?
US Operations Executive.
(A fancy way of saying: a Polish graduate helping Americans invest in gold from a small office in West London.)
But the markets didn’t care who I was.
All that mattered was the price, the spread — and the customer’s trust.
I got thrown in the deep end.
The US desk was new and already busy.
I learned everything from scratch:
- Sales
- Client psychology
- Market behaviour
- Payments
- Trust
- Everything
Year after year, I took on more:
- Got better
- Leveled up
- Built trust
- Started getting great client reviews
- My confidence soared
Eventually, I worked my way up to Senior Precious Metals Trader and…
…here I am:
- Almost 14 years in the industry
- Around 5 years as a trader
- And I still love it
I’m Proud of What I Do at BullionVault
It’s meaningful.
It’s global.
It’s real.
BullionVault is a unique and incredibly efficient business.
You get access to wholesale-grade gold, silver, platinum, and palladium — at wholesale prices.
I honestly doubt there’s a better way to buy physical, allocated gold — and sell it just as easily, any time:
- The platform runs 24/7
- The security is solid
- The service is top notch
I’ve learned a lot there — and I’m still learning.
From Swiss-clock operations to immaculate customer service to the precision behind the scenes.
It’s a brilliant business and a brilliant model.
The Voice I Couldn’t Ignore
Now, at 40 — with a solid job, London as home, and a little boy calling me “Dad”…
…there’s a voice I can’t ignore anymore.
Not anxiety.
Not a crisis.
Just a quiet, persistent truth:
- There’s more I’m meant to build
- More I want to leave behind
- And time isn’t slowing down for any of us
So I ran the numbers on my life:
- Health
- Wealth
- Purpose
- All of it
And I realised:
I wasn’t unhappy.
I wasn’t lost.
But I was playing small.
So I made some changes:
- Gave up smoking
- Hired a nutritionist
- Cleaned up my diet
- Started training again
Between December 2024 and March 2025, I dropped over 10kg.
The goal?
To be in the best shape of my life by 40 — on 9 September 2025.
Not for vanity.
Not for Instagram.
But because I want to take full control of my life — before life starts calling the shots for me.
What People Like Us Really Want
Most people I talk to — especially in their 40s — don’t want to become influencers.
They’re not chasing hustle porn or passive income fantasies.
And they’re definitely not looking to blow everything up and start from scratch.
What they are looking for is something quieter. Deeper. Real.
They want:
- Work that feels meaningful — something that actually uses what they already know
- A bit more breathing room — to take a day off or look after ageing parents without guilt
- Backup — whether that’s extra income, peace of mind, or a safety net they control
- More time with the people they love
- More options, more flexibility, more freedom
- A path to retirement that doesn’t involve burning their current life to the ground
They want to feel proud of how they earn a living.
They want to stop pretending.
They want to be more themselves, not less.
And none of that is just in their heads.
Studies back this up.
People in their 40s consistently crave:
- Self-confidence and self-acceptance — not chasing status, but feeling aligned with who they really are
- Deeper emotional connection — intimacy, friendship, presence over performance
- A sense of reinvention — picking up passions they once had to shelve just to get by
- Stability in chaos — especially with kids, ageing parents, and careers in flux
- Less obsession with money, more focus on peace of mind
- Health and self-care — not just gym memberships, but real changes in how we eat, sleep, and prioritise ourselves
In short?
They’re not trying to “get rich.”
They’re trying to feel alive.
And safe.
And like their time actually matters.
And in this economy?
That kind of life needs a second engine.
Not just for growth — but for security.
Because let’s face it:
- Living costs in London are brutal
- The world’s volatile
- AI is already reshaping the job market
That’s why I believe in the Personal Equity Business.
Not as a side hustle.
But as a second foundation.
Something to grow alongside your real life — not instead of it.
That’s Why I Started a Newsletter
Meaning. Money. Mastery: After 40
Every Monday, I send one honest, no-fluff insight from the real journey of building my Personal Equity Business from scratch — while working full-time, raising a son, and figuring it out in public.
Some of it will flop.
Some of it might stick.
But all of it’s real.
You’ll get practical lessons, emotional fuel, and the real behind-the-scenes of building something small but powerful — one experiment at a time.
If you’re 40+, tired of waiting for the system to save you, and ready to build something that’s yours —
I’d love for you to join me.
It’s 100% FREE. It’s human. It’s for people who want to own their future — not rent it.
That’s the story so far.
The rest? I’m still writing it — one experiment at a time.