Friday, March 14, 2008

Taking Risk and Short Success Story

Taking risk is one of the essentials to becoming a successful entrepreneur , but this doesn't mean doing something without the proper research and preparation. One of the best quotes that I've heard to date is that "preparation + opportunity = Success" . My latest business, a bar/nightclub

, has been a tremendous learning experience and has taught me that it's not the hare that wins the race, its the slow and steady snail. In 2006, I sold one of my properties in Arizona, but before doing so, I stripped a lot of the equity out (non taxed) and invested it. My partners and I believed that we had the right team and were looking for a cash cow business. We came across a great deal for a bar/nightclub and with the experience we had up to that point, we jumped right in. The next three months were spent working from 9am to 1am the next day, and filled with thousands of hickups and surprises (more to come about this). All in all, a year and a half later, we are finally getting it, and miraculously we're still in business. Some of the most memorable learning experiences were:

1. Its not about revenue - its about NET INCOME

2. Cutting costs is just as good as net income , because its money put in your pocket.

- Don't buy things you don't need .

- Don't waste time on things that don't bring in business.

- Don't get caught up in the hype and fun , focus on making money.

3. Never get too personal with your employees.

4. Know who your real friends are and who is pretending to be your friend.

5. small business mind is for small business, if you want to do big business, think big!

- Organize every aspect of your business.

- Divide your business into divisions so that everyone can report to someone.


A SHORT SUCCESS STORY:

A good friend of mine, who will remain nameless , is a very successful real estate broker and investor. He didn't have it handed to him, believe me, he worked very hard for it. He started in the real estate business as an agent about 3 year ago, and gave up his $70,000 job to become a real estate agent with ZERO guaranteed pay and a very saturated market. He started making cold calls everyday for 8 hours straight probably calling at least 300 people per day. Because of his dedication and persistance , he kept calling even after 3 months of making no money. After about 6 months, he started making progress and one listing became two , which became twelve. In his first year he sold about 5 homes, second year about 12 homes, and in year three about 17homes. In the bay area, homes average about $700,000 , so take 3% commission off of that and you do the math. After he made his money the second year, he smartly invested it into a broken down apartment building. This is where he decided to risk all the profits he made from selling homes. He felt he had enough experience. done enough research , and was prepared to handle the stress of totally rebuilding this building from the ground up. To make this story short, he recently sold this property after 1 1/2 years and turned his $80,000 investment into over $400,000. The main trait that this person has is that he was ready for success. From day one , I knew , and he knew that it was only time before he broke through and made it. He expected to be successful, so success couldn't deny him. He is still going, and on a mission to turn his $400k into $2million. I will keep a watch for how his story of success develops.

Main Points:

1. EXPECT SUCCESS - Believe without a doubt you will be successful!

2. DON'T be afraid of success, it is for you as long as you did your research and are prepared!

3. Do what you can , with what you've got, and never quit!

2 comments:

Zero to Millions said...

this just shows you what believing in your dream and putting the work in can give you.

Zero to Millions said...

you should update everyday, we look forward to reading your pieces online.