Learn this week’s Best Ever guest’s best ever books, personal growth experiences and lessons learned, real estate deals, ways to give back and biggest mistakes
Best Ever Book – Lessons from the Richest Man Who Ever Lived By Steven K. Scott
Best Ever Personal Growth Experience and What Larry Learned From It – Larry’s best ever personal growth experience came during an interaction with his mentor and renowned motivational speaker Jim Rohn. Larry was complaining about the price of gas, to which Jim Rohn replied, “Larry, the problem is not the price of the gas. The problem is that you can’t afford it.” He has never forgotten that lesson!
Best Ever Deal Larry has Done – Larry’s best ever deal was a wholesale that made him $75,000 in profit. Someone sent him a property, not thinking that they had a deal. However, Larry knew it was a gem. As a result, he got the property under contract for $700,000, with a tiny $500 deposit, and sold it for $775,000, making a quick and easy $75,000 profit.
Best Ever Way Larry Likes to Give Back – Larry, his wife, and his organization love to B.R.A.G. – be rich and generous. They help a lot of different organizations and individuals in the community by not just providing financial contributions, but they volunteer their time as well.
100 years from now, no one is going to care if you flipped 50, 10, 300, or a million houses a year (okay, maybe a million). However, you might have been able to help someone and touch their life, which changed them, their family, and maybe the world, for generations to come.
Biggest Mistake Larry Has Made So Far In Real Estate – Larry’s biggest mistake is entrusting other people without verifying. Therefore, he is now a firm adherent to Ronald Reagan’s “trust but verify” mantra. Larry has had contractors tell him stuff was done and tried to get a draw. He has had acquisitions people tell him, “This house is a great deal. If I had the money, I would buy it myself.” But, you have to remember that, in the words of Larry, “the best fertilizer in a garden are the footsteps of the owner. You have to keep your finger on the pulse of what is going on.”
Best Ever Book – The Big Rich by Bryan Burrough
Best Ever Personal Growth Experience and What Phillip Learned From It – Phillip’s best ever personal growth experience came from working under his mentor at his previous company, Faster House. He has never worked at a place that was so well run. He attributed working there as what put him into the position to start his own company, Rematch. Without working for his mentor, he wouldn’t have learned some key lessons, like how to work in a team and how to hire around you. And the biggest thing he learned was that you can be positive and happy while still being successful in business. Many people think that you have to be mean and blunt to be successful, but his mentor taught him that that is simply not the case.
Best Ever Deal Phillip has Done – Phillip recently closed on a deal that made him $300,000 in profit. He purchased the deal from a builder who, in 1968, built a house on 3 lots, with the property being located on the middle lot. Phillip renovated the property and sold it, which allowed him to make back the money he had in the deal. Then, he sold the additional two vacant lots for $170,000 and $130,000, making a profit of $300,000.
Biggest Mistake Phillip Has Made So Far In Real Estate – Phillip has an insatiable drive, so whenever he sees cranes in the sky or new projects going on around town, he feels like he isn’t doing enough. Early on, he didn’t understand that when you say you want to have X amount of rentals, it starts with buying that first rental. It doesn’t happen all at once. Investing is all about taking action, and not just talking about it. No one is going to give you the right time to start building for your future. The biggest mistake Phillip made was delaying in picking up a house per month and slowly building his portfolio.
Best Ever Book – The Go-Giver by Bob Burg
Best Ever Personal Growth Experience and What Krista Learned From It – Krista’s best personal growth experience occurred when she went through a 9-month self-development program called Momentum. It was powerful, in that it focused on the value of giving back, whether it is giving back in a business sense, in your own neighborhood, or in your child’s school community.
Krista learned the value of giving back and the importance of taking that responsibility seriously, which is by far the most important thing that she has ever taken away from any personal development experience.
Best Ever Deal Krista has Done – Krista’s best ever deal was her first syndication deal – a 40-unit C-class property located in Atlanta, GA. Since it was her first syndication, she decided to joint venture with a student she met in a real estate program she was enrolled in. Her partner, who new the market very well, was responsible for the lion’s share of the capital raising.
They purchased the property for $1.6 million. The plan was to hold for 5 to 7 years, put in $100,000 in rehabs over that 5 to 7 year period, provide the investors with a 7% to 8% return per year, and upon closing, the investors would receive a piece of the equity gained – 12% to 13%. However, 2 years into the plan, the market was hot, so they decided to test the market and listed it for sale. The received an offer from another local investor and sold the property for $2.6 million. They only ended up putting in $50,000 in rehabs – cosmetic upgrades, including new paint and carpet in the hallways, landscaping, and the installation of a new security system. Also, based on the sale, which was 2 years and 4 months into the deal, the returns for the investors was 45% annualized! Not bad for the first syndicated deal!
Biggest Mistake Krista Has Made So Far In Real Estate – Krista has a personality quirk – digging very deep into the details – that are both a blessing and a curse. It allows her to always “cross the T’s and dot the I’s” in her business. However, she sometimes gets lost in the trees and can’t see the forest, or in other words, analysis by paralysis.
Therefore, she has to remind herself to step back and constantly be aware of the analysis paralysis syndrome, because she knows, from experience, that it can halt her business and stop her in her tracks.
Best Ever Book – Unique Ability by Dan O’Sullivan
Best Ever Personal Growth Experience and What Slava Learned From It – Slava’s biggest personal growth experience came from leaving his venture-backed start-up. He started a company, brought in investors, and truly believed that he was going to take over the world. However, he burnt out and had to call 19 investors and tell them that he couldn’t grow the company anymore.
While the company is still doing well and is in the hands of his co-founder, the lesson Slava learned was that giving people bad news wasn’t nearly as bad as he expected. He put so much stress on himself, in terms of having to give the investors bad news, but he realized that if you were transparent, people would understand. The investors all knew what being “burnt out” meant, and were, much to Slava’s surprise, actually supportive of his decision.
Best Ever Deal Slava has Done – Slava’s best deal, in terms of financial gains, was a basement condo he purchased in Cambridge for $35,000. After $100,000 worth of rehabs, he sold the property for $300,00.
Best Ever Way Slava Likes to Give Back – Slava likes to give back by volunteering in the communities he invests in. Each week, he teaches entrepreneurship to at-risk youth at a local Boston High School.
Biggest Mistake Slava Has Made So Far In Real Estate – Slava’s biggest mistake was his last sales acquisitions hire. The mistake was not taking enough time to vet him. Slava had the new employee do a test project that was only ½ a day. After that, he hired him.
Moving forward, when Slava is hiring someone, he does test projects that are two weeks. That way, any warning signs that he didn’t catch in the 1/2 test project, he can catch in the 2 week “paid interview.
In the comment section below, what is your best ever book, personal growth experience, deal, way to give back, or biggest mistake?
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to make or consider any investment or course of action.