JJ Thompson has a very varied CV. He came ninth on The X Factor in 2013 as part of a boy band, spent years as a radio presenter before launching a podcast production company during Covid, which ultimately failed.Then, in June 2024, he walked away from a job offer at one of the UAE's biggest radio networks to start from scratch in real estate with no salary. More than two years later, he's earning an average of Dh130,000 a month at Dubai-based property brokerage Strada. How did money feature in your childhood?I think I have some financial trauma. My dad was a business owner and we seemed to have a little bit and then very little. I've always had a bit of an issue with finances. I don't know if it's through ADHD or childhood, but I'm good at spending money.I'm learning to get a hold of money and get rid of it as quickly as possible – forcing myself to buy property, which is weird to say, because either I’ll spend the money or I'll invest in property to make sure it doesn't get spent. What was your first job? What did you earn?A waiter when I was 16 years old, £4.50 an hour. I moved to London from Coventry when I was 19 and had random bar jobs for those three years. I worked for my dad doing roofing but he fired me after a couple of months.When I moved to London, I worked in Harrods, spraying perfume on the ground floor. That's where I met my now-wife. Then I worked in a call cent...
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