When you rid your life of everything that annoys you, you might just be denying yourself money, too — at least that was what David Sly was told in his college years.

Sly, senior lecturer in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, took this message to heart and began his first business while he was a graduate student in industrial engineering at Iowa State.

Now Sly has created six different businesses, ranging from motorcycles to man caves, has sold two of them for millions and owns 18 houses, some of which he rents out.

Sly began his first high-paying job when he was just 20 years old and still enrolled at Iowa State.

“I made three bucks an hour working at TGNY, and I was offered $7.50 as a computer monitor [at Iowa State],” Sly said. “I always had a job; my parents didn’t have money.”

In addition to his 20 hours working as a computer monitor, Sly picked up other PC-related jobs in addition to class.

“To be completely honest with you it was luck,” Sly said.

People called asking if they had anyone who knew anything about PCs, and fortunately Sly did. He agreed to go help callers with their PC problems, which took him from working 20 hours a week to between 30 and 40 hours.

At first charging about $10 an hour, Sly eventually raised the price for his valuable skills and time to $100 an hour. By his senior year of college, he was making approximately $40,000 annually, while the average engineer that year was making anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000.

Upon graduating, Sly went to his first job interview with Texas Instruments, hoping to land a stable job.

“The guy looking at my resume said, ‘What are you doing here?'” Sly said.

He was shocked by the question, believing that he was more than qualified for the position due to all of his previous work experience. His interviewer proceeded to tell him that his idea of a “stable job” wasn’t real and that he would be better off continuing his current work.

Sly returned to school and earned his graduate degree in industrial engineering and then an MBA in business and a doctorate in industrial engineering.

Throughout his years in school, Sly maintained the businesses he had started.

Wednesday, Sly spoke to the ISU Entrepreneur Club about his experiences and the current job market.

“Jobs are more risky today than they’ve ever been. To go out and get a job, you might as well be an entrepreneur,” Sly said. “Jobs we know today are going to be scarce because we’re going global. India and China are where the white-collar jobs are because they’ll work for less and are twice as smart.”

The Entrepreneur Club is meant to provide members with real-world experiences. Sly was invited to speak to the club by Judi Eyles, adviser of the Entrepreneur Club.

“He’s a wonderful example for the students,” Eyles said. “As a student himself, he saw an opportunity and worked for it; it’s inspiring.”

Sly continues his entrepreneurial work, as he recently created his latest endeavor, Mancave Estates, along with his co-worker Jeff Eichorn.