Love Music? You Might Be a Natural Investor

Investing in yourself has a soundtrack - Can music teach you more about wealth than a thousand spreadsheets ever could?

What do 'Little Things' by One Direction, 'Don't Stop Believin’' by Journey, and 'Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor have in common?

According to Higgo van Biljon, they’re more than just anthems - they’re unexpectedly perfect metaphors for real investing principles.

• 'Little Things' by One Direction = the power of small, consistent deposits that grow over time.
• 'Don’t Stop Believin’' by Journey reminds us to trust the process - even when the markets are messy and the returns are invisible.
• And 'Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor? That’s the energy it takes to stay the course… through the dips, doubt, and distractions.

As Higgo recently told me on "Invest In Yourself", he's been fortunate to also have lived on both sides - he’s built his portfolio step by step and he’s built songs from scratch. 

(His latest song - produced by Daniel Baron -  "What a Good Time" is out now!)

His lesson is clear: investing goes beyond number-crunching - it’s about mindset, resilience, and rhythm. That got me thinking about what I’ve learned through my experiences in music and the markets. I’ve spent years shaping stories, recording voice notes, layering harmonies. I’ve also spent years putting away tiny amounts - R20 here, R60 there - hoping they’d add up to something worthy.

Turns out they do. The lessons echo each other: Keep showing up; Don’t chase perfection; Let the rhythm do the work. Know when to collaborate. And always, always start - even if you don’t feel ready.

Because long-term investing has a soundtrack, and we’re all just figuring out the chorus as we go.

Small Steps, Big Crescendos

In music, sometimes the entire magic of a song is hidden in the tiniest details: the snap of a finger, the echo on a chorus, the quiet harmony that no one notices on first listen. Or in the case of Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” it’s just two stomps and a clap - repeated over and over. That rhythm alone became one of the most iconic hooks in music history.

Investing is no different. I’ve made deposits as small as R20 - just enough to buy a fraction of a share. It felt insignificant at the time, but, just like laying down that first vocal track in the studio, it was progress. R20 became R60. R100 became R300. And before long, that lil portfolio of mine started growing - not through big moves, but through rhythm.

EasyEquities allowed me to build that rhythm without pressure, feeling more like I was simply 'finding my groove' in the markets. While I might not have started with R1000+ a month, I started with enough to make it real. Enough to show up and commit every month. And just like music, it wasn’t the big drops that made it powerful. It was the build.

“Don’t Stop Believing”, Even When No One’s Listening

Not every verse gets a standing ovation. Not every song idea becomes a chart-topper. But in both music and investing, the work you do in silence often carries the most weight.

There’s something powerful about the quiet, recurring effort - laying down another guitar line, saving another R100. It doesn’t feel dramatic. It doesn’t go viral. But it builds.

Recurring investments, like recurring riffs, aren’t about impressing anyone. They’re about staying in time with your own goals. They’re about setting something in motion, long before the audience arrives.

The beauty of compounding is that it doesn't need you to be loud - it just needs you to be consistent. R100 invested monthly over 30 years doesn’t just add up, it stacks up, often into hundreds of thousands. If you don’t believe that, run the numbers using the calculator in our latest TFSA course on EasyEquities Academy. You’ll be surprised what belief - and a little math - can do over time.

Knowing When to Take the Reins (and When to Let Go)

Every song is a collaboration - even when it’s just one name on the cover. There’s always a producer, a sound engineer, a bandmate who adds the harmony you didn’t know you needed. And in investing, it’s no different.

There are times when you want full creative control - you pick your own shares, build your own playlist, trust your gut. And then there are seasons when the best move is to bring someone in - to guide you, to structure the song, to master the track.

Platforms like EasyEquities make space for both. You can be hands-on with your investments and build your portfolio DIY-style, or you can explore managed products like collective investment schemes (unit trusts, AMETFs) and bundles if you'd prefer.

The real power is in recognising what you need, when you need it.
Because just like in music, your best work might come from trusting your own voice... or knowing when to let someone else help you shape the sound.

So, What’s on Your Playlist?

Whether you’re layering tracks in a studio or laying down the foundations of a future portfolio, the same truth holds: small steps shape big outcomes and your habits matter more than your hype.

We know most of the magic happens before the applause, but just so you know? We’ll be in the front row, always - cheering the debit order no one saw, the TFSA top-up that felt too small to matter, the monthly habit that became financial freedom.

Follow "Invest In Yourself with EasyEquities"

- Veronique van Rensburg