Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A Thanksgiving Reminder...

There’s no escaping the fact that this has been a difficult & tumultuous year for the economy, especially in the housing sector, an industry with which I make my living. For the last 7 years I have been involved with real estate in various capacities, including as a realtor, broker, investor, and trainer. I am extremely passionate about what I do and, with the exception of teaching & preaching, there is nothing that gives me a greater sense of fulfillment. My business gives me the opportunity to help people. Whether it’s assisting a homeowner with the sale of their home, saving someone’s property from foreclosure, or helping a buyer purchase a slice of the American Dream, I know that what I do truly makes a difference in people’s lives. For that, I am extremely thankful.

My challenge to you this Thanksgiving holiday is to examine your own business or entrepreneurial endeavor, and to work on structuring it in such a way that it is a blessing and inspiration to a much larger sphere of influence. Below you will find a letter that I wrote to some of my real estate investing students back in 2006. A few days ago, I stumbled upon it while deleting some old e-mails and I was extremely uplifted and encouraged by my own words. It may not apply directly to your industry, but I believe the principles of the story will hold true. It’s a little longer than most of my blog posts, but try and carve out a couple extra minutes and read it through to the end. My prayer is that it will bless you in reading it as much as it did for me in writing it. If you get a chance, post some feedback at the bottom about what you’re thankful for this year, in business and in life. And, of course, have a Happy Thanksgiving!


“This past week I was reminded again why I became a real estate investor. Of course I was always excited about the possibilities of earning vast amounts of income and building a substantial net worth. I used to stay up at night dreaming of residual or passive income and the financial freedom that could come from it. But when I really started working on a full-time basis with motivated sellers, I discovered that the rewards reached so much deeper than I could ever imagine.

I still remember my first deal like it was yesterday. My hairdresser (yes, the one from Fantastic Sam's) told me that her boyfriend was about to lose his house to foreclosure. After meeting with him, I found out that his primary goal was simply to get rid of the house. It represented an anchor to him that was preventing him from setting sail, metaphorically speaking, to the responsibility-free world of truck driving. Within 30 minutes of hello, he had deeded me the house, I had agreed to take over his payments, and we had created a true 'win-win' situation. But the winning didn't end there.

After I fixed up the house, I listed it on the market for $43,000. Within 3 days I received a call from a nice gentleman named Richard who was interested in buying the house. Richard was recently divorced and had sole custody of an adorable 5 year old boy. He had decent credit, but he didn't have much in the way of a job history, nor did he have any money for closing costs. After some hard work and diligence by my good friend Chris Carter, we were able to get him financed. I paid for all of his closing costs, and just before Christmas, Richard and his son had a place to call home.

I knew that the move had depleted the meager amount of savings that Richard had built up, and so for a closing gift I bought Richard's son an X-Box and a few games to go with it. I can still remember how his innocent face just lit up when he ripped open the package. As the MasterCard commercials puts it...PRICELESS. So, let's now factor in the look of excitement on that young boy's face and the ability to give Richard's small family a home of their own right before the holidays. Make that a win-win-WIN deal.

Until recently, I had mistakenly thought that there were only 3 winners, but oh how small is my vision! This past weekend I held an open house at one my rehab properties and I thought it would be a good idea to send a postcard to the surrounding neighborhood. My ingenious, entrepreneurial thought was that perhaps they have friends or relatives that may want to live where they live OR they're renters and would like to own a home of their own without moving their kids to a new school district. Well lo and behold, the neighbors did show up, but it wasn't to buy. They simply wanted to say... 'Thanks.' One after another neighbors came by to let me know how appreciative they were that I had fixed up the house. One of my mentoring students even went by the day after the open house, and they were approached by a neighbor who requested that they tell me thank you as well. So, let me correct myself once again. We investors are in the business of creating Win-Win-Win-WIN deals.

You see, I had taken the neighborhood eyesore and made it pretty again. Suddenly everyone's property values went up, along with their own pride in the neighborhood in which they reside. Slowly but surely we as investors are making our streets & neighborhoods, and eventually our states & our nation a better place to live, proving once again that we can change the world.

So, on the eve of this Thanksgiving, as we gather around the table in thanks for our family and friends, let us also thank God for our unlimited potential as human beings and the capacity within us to achieve greatness in our lives. Let us all work on the one thing that we have power to change...ourselves. As we 'rehab' our mental mindset and view of the world, adopting the golden rule as our mantra, we can make great strides in changing our circle of influence. As we encourage others to do the same, we can eventually raise not just our property values, but our personal values as well. It is then that we can truly change the world, one person (and one house) at a time.

God Bless You All and Have a Happy Thanksgiving”

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Hello, My Name Is _______________.



“One of the most important things that you can do during the next few days of this seminar is to network with as many like-minded people as possible, because those contacts will be invaluable to you and your future success.”

That’s a quote I have repeated countless times at my 2 or 3-day financial freedom seminars, but I have a deep, dark confession to make. One of my least favorite things to do in this entire universe is business networking. Rubbing shoulders, handing out business cards, talking to people that I have nothing in common with in the hopes that they may one day do business with me…I can’t imagine a more painful way to spend my time. I know of countless people that simply thrive in that environment, however I’m just not one of them.

That being said, I must also admit that some of my most profitable business relationships have come from networking events exactly like the ones I so fervently despise. Like it or not, social networking is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to grow your business. Before a customer is a customer, they must first become a prospect, and before a prospect is a prospect, they must first be a contact. It is “Funnel Theory of Marketing 101”, and the most effective way to fill your funnel with as many contacts as possible is investing your time in what has become known as “Social Capital”.

Social capital, as defined by Wikipedia, is the value of network trusting relationships between individuals in an economy. The importance of building relationships with others in your marketplace simply can not be overstated, and it is essential to success in any area of life, business, or ministry.

One of my friends is an extremely successful business man, and his family is worth many millions of dollars. His father started his business career as a grocery store manager, and quickly ascended the ladder of achievement. He eventually started his own company, and now owns numerous businesses that operate in multiple countries throughout the world. I once implored my friend to share with me the secret to his father’s success. I expected some really in depth answer about cash flow analysis, managing inventories, mergers and acquisitions, or something even more over my head. Surprisingly, my friend summed up his dad’s uncanny success in one simple word, “relationships”. His father focused a great deal of his energy towards building strong interpersonal relationships with those around him, whether his employees, customers, or even his competitors. This investment into social capital has reaped great financial rewards for both him and his family.

In a world that is ruled by the clock, it’s easy to get caught up in all of the demands of the day. Family, work, school, kids, dinner, soccer practice, devotionals, exercise, and the list goes on and on. In the midst of this fast paced lifestyle, one of the first things to suffer is our personal relationships. After all, who has time for a deep, meaningful conversation any more? We are so busy racing from one appointment to the next that a simple “How are you?” has been replaced with a silent wave, for fear that someone might actually answer the question and make us late for the next event. However, if we want to be truly successful as entrepreneurs, it is imperative that we invest a portion of our time into this extremely neglected area of life. This commitment to growing our “social capital” through networking, meeting new people, and even attending community events will create contacts, prospects, and if all goes well, customers for life.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

From Fab to Flab in No Time Flat

“Best (& Worst) Beach Bodies of the Year”. That was the headline that grabbed my attention a couple weeks back as I stood in line at the grocery store. It was not for the most obvious reason that a 30-year old man might be tempted to take a peak, as I do a pretty good job of following the psalmist’s advice of placing no vile thing before my eyes (Psalm 101:3). In contrast, this was much less of a temptation and much more like the experience of approaching road kill on the side of the interstate. You know you’ll regret looking at it, but as the mangled creature moves closer, you just can’t seem to keep your eyes off of it.

Undoubtedly part of “the worst” category, the beach body being burned into my retina was none other than the Governator himself, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The object of my disgust was standing there proudly in his Speedo, the magnificence of his former self but a mere memory. The former Mr. Olympia, 7-time world champion, and star of countless action movies, now looked as if he had never stepped foot in a gym in his entire life. A man who once boasted an incredibly low amount of body fat now looked as if he had traded bicep curls for cheese curls, and leg squats for tater tots. To put it bluntly, he was a lot less buffed up and a lot more A.Y.C.E. “buffet-ed” up.

I must admit that I was extremely saddened by the image on the magazine cover. I try to hit the gym about 2-3 times a week, or at the very least throw up a few push ups and sit-ups each morning as I get ready for the day. I had always hoped that one day I would get my body sculpted the way I liked it and then I could just lay back a little, take it easy, and coast into my latter years with a body that at the very least didn’t repulse my wife. However, in one fleeting moment at the grocery store check out line, my dream was effectively terminated. Arnold has indeed proven that regardless of your level of achievement, even if you’ve reached the pinnacle of success in your sport or industry, you can’t let up for even a moment…or you will lose it all. The fall to the bottom is certainly a lot faster than the climb to the top and in business, as in exercise, the moment at which you stop giving it your all is the moment that you will certainly fail.

One of the biggest differences that I see between the “have’s” and the “have-not’s” is in their view of success. Poor or unsuccessful people are always waiting for some once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a strike of lightning, the invention of the century. They think that prosperity and wealth are achieved by winning some kind of “success lottery” and they’re always sitting around waiting to hit the lucky numbers. However, those that achieve greatness in life are those who understand that success is a process, not an event, and they commit themselves to that process until it produces their desired result.

Write this on your mirror so it’s one of the first things you see every morning, “Success is a Journey, Not an Event.” Once that sinks into your mind & spirit, you will be that much closer to achieving the life of your dreams.

Committed to the Process,

Matt Robinson
Chief Instructor
Portico Wealth Training