Some aspire to have everything handed to them on a silver platter, floating through life without knowing what it's like to work hard. Then there are the opposite people who fight tooth-and-nail for every little thing they accomplish. Because of that, it’s these people who learn to appreciate their achievements and everything they have.
Entrepreneur Peter Tri fits the latter description. As he watched his parents work hard throughout his childhood, he understood from a very young age that "if you didn't work for it, it is not worth having." Here's how Tri worked to earn his current net worth of $37M, which he says, "is just getting started."
How Tri's Childhood Shaped His Work Ethic
Unlike some millionaires, Tri wasn't born into a wealthy family. He wasn’t handed an empire to take over when he turned 21. Instead, he says he grew up watching both of his parents work hard every day, instilling a solid work ethic in him from a young age. It’s his childhood that he believes helped him understand "if you didn't work for it, it is not worth having."
Tri dropped out of school at age 16 with the belief that "predefined processes create predefined people." He felt the educational system he was in "exist[ed] to create employees, not bosses,” he says. By that age, Tri says he already knew he wanted to be a boss. He had a drive and a fire inside of him that school couldn't satiate, so he left. He says, "I wanted to dive deep, get [his] hands dirty, [and] find how to conquer life."
There's Always Room for Improvement
After overcoming many challenges, and building an empire from nothing, Peter Tri is now the founder and CEO of the condiment distribution company, 8 Food. He's proud to say that all of the products 8 Food produces are made in-house with no external contractors. The company has also earned one of the world's most recognized food safety programs, FSSC 22000 accreditation.
Today, the business operates out of two facilities in Melbourne, supplying over 6,000 national stores and big global companies, including COSTCO. However, Tri says he's just getting started. He credits much of his achievements to his competitive nature. He believes "having a competitive nature stops complacency or settling on our past achievements.” Tri explains, “Competition isn't always about trying to win. It's also about getting better at what we do and who we become. The best type of competition is one where we compete against ourselves by challenging ourselves to do better than what we've done previously."
The Future of 8 Food
With his competitive nature keeping him motivated, Peter Tri says he has plans to keep expanding his brand in a big way. When it comes to the future of 8 Food, "our focus is innovation, improving productivity, increasing competitiveness and improving brand recognition and value,” he says. “Our goals are to continue building a company that has a high degree of integrity and morals – it has been the ethos of 8 Food from the very beginning."
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