Why I Started This
Now, at 40 — with a solid job I really love, 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 that 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 16kg.
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.
The Deeper Truth
Because here’s what I’ve realised.
Most people I talk to — especially in their 40s — aren’t looking to become influencers.
They’re not chasing hustle porn or passive income fantasies.
And they’re definitely not trying to burn everything down and start from scratch.
What they really want is quieter.
Deeper.
Real.
Studies back this up too.
People in their 40s consistently crave the same things.
First, they want more meaning and breathing room:
- Work that feels meaningful — something that actually uses what they already know.
- More space — 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 flexibility. More freedom. More options.
Then, they want more authenticity and emotional connection:
- A path to retirement that doesn’t involve burning their life to the ground.
- To feel proud of how they earn a living.
- To stop pretending.
- To feel more themselves — not less.
- Self-confidence and self-acceptance — not chasing status, but finally feeling aligned with who they are.
- Deeper emotional connection — intimacy, friendship, presence over performance.
- A sense of reinvention — picking up passions they had to shelve just to get by.
And underneath it all, they want more stability and peace of mind:
- 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 gym memberships, but real changes in how they eat, sleep, and take care of themselves.
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? Brutal.
- The world? Volatile.
- AI? 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 quietly, right alongside your real life — not instead of it.
How I Got Here (The Full Story)
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 work 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 sideways.
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.
All I had was 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.
Nittin 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 happy clients.
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.
That’s Why I Started a Newsletter
It's called Personal Equity Business Lab.
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.
✅ Want In?
It’s free.
It’s human.
It’s for people who want to own their future — not rent it.
That’s my story (so far).
The rest? I’m still writing it — one experiment at a time.