THERE are a lot of young businessmen now. Some started their careers as students and ended up working full-time at the businesses they set up, rather than pursuing a certain profession based on the courses they took.

20-year-old Morvin Fernandez is one such businessman. He graduated last 2009 from Nursing, though he became engaged in a networking business on his last year of college.

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“My life as a student was like any other. I went to school, study and woke up early for duty,” Morvin explained. The unexpected events of the future triggered him to enter the business world. “I realized that what if my parents will die, what do I have?”

The eldest among his siblings, Morvin admitted that he wasn’t that good in convincing other people to buy a certain product. He discovered that we all have convincing powers and that we just need to organize it. 

“Because of the networking business, I further developed this convincing power and learned how to use it properly,” Morvin further related.

Entering the business world wasn’t that smooth for him. His close friends, and even his parents, were against the whole idea. “Back then, I was asked to choose between studies over business. I understood their reaction because I know they cared about me.”

However, he felt that he was really destined to be part of the business world. He had early experiences in business that served as the foundation of his future career. At first, he engaged in buying and selling used bottles in his neighborhood. He also tended their sari-sari store, and even tried collecting coconut shells to be used for charcoal, when he was still in elementary school.

At the age of 20, he invested his profits into his networking business, and everything has gone uphill for him. He now owns a car and a lot, where he plans to build a house. He is also planning to open an internet café soon.

According to Morvin, there is no strict qualification to cross the threshold of business.

“You should have dreams. The rest, you can learn them in the process.” He explained that dreams are just one of those few things in life that are free. “It is free, so why not dream for big things,” he said.

He added that people his age or even younger should start early.

And it is better if they will enter into business. “They should be open-minded now. The allowance won’t always be there. It is better if they will start now. They will be prepared when emergencies come,” he advised, adding “Rejection and failures will always be there but considering them as problems will lead you nowhere. Just consider them as challenges because He (God) won’t give you something you can’t handle.” (Roxanne M. Catalan)