Archive View (March 2007)

Real estate agents aren’t only for families who are looking for homes. They can also be important allies for real estate investing. An agent who knows your investing priorities will be out there working for you every day, culling through new property listings on your behalf. If you turn out to be a good customer, he or she will also tell you about properties before other investors hear about them. Although you have to work with an agent for months before you can know how well the relationship is working, you can ask these questions as soon as you meet to gauge whether more...

A success strategy you need today from The Wealth Builder’s Blueprint You meet with a venture capitalist to obtain funding for your new company, and you get shot down. Or a loan officer shreds your mortgage application before your eyes. Those are the times when you are very likely to just give up on your dream. It can be nearly impossible to try again. But the second attempt is the most critical. It represents the time when you begin to learn significant information about what you are doing - information you need to succeed. Part of the problem is that we are more...

If you read this blog often, you know that Trump University supports student entrepreneurs. I’d like to offer you an opportunity to support them too, by clicking here now to cast your vote for one of the finalists in this year’s BR!CK Awards competition. All the contestants are young leaders whose ideas have the potential to improve the world. The winner you select will receive financial backing, legal assistance and other benefits. The winner will be announced in the BR!CK AWARDS ceremony that will be telecast live on The CW on April 10 from 9:00 - 10:00 PM ET. I don’t want to more...

In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey observed that a lot of our success is built on the small habits that we cultivate daily. That principle applies to real estate investing too. If you observe successful real estate investors and developers, you will see that they have cultivated some highly effective habits too: Habit #1: Being curious. Successful real estate investors hunger to learn something new every day. One day, they will learn all about a new kind of mortgage. The next day, it will be a new kind of insulation. Their learning never stops. Habit #2: more...

To win in sales, you need to be passionate about what you’re selling. You’ve got to believe that your organization is the best, that your product is the best and - most importantly - that you are the best.  Passion is the fulcrum point of selling.  It’s pivotal.  It’s absolutely fundamental to selling success.  That reality was made very apparent on last night’s Apprentice in the images we saw of Heidi and Nicole not fighting for the sales that Arrow was apparently “stealing” from them. Their complete failure to rise to that challenge showed us that if you’re not passionate about what you more...

Your electricity might flow better through another socket An old friend was working on Wall Street and not doing well. He looked worse - unhealthier and unhappier - each time I saw him, and it saddened me. I liked this guy, so I finally decided to tell him that he was beginning to look like a total loser. I hated speaking so harshly, but I really cared about him and wanted to help. When I asked him why he stayed on Wall Street, even though it obviously was not working for him, he explained that his family had always worked there and he more...

Affordable - Spacious - Stunning Mint condition 3BR, 2B, 1840 sq.ft. $6,000 d.p. $830/mo., romantic 3000 sq.ft. Master BR suite with fplc, open living area, flower garden views, light and bright kitchen, unlimited storage. $210,000 - compare at $275,000! 210 Pecan. Open Sat. & Sun. 12-5. Rare find, please call 000-555-1234. Would you be interested in that property? I know I would. If I were planning to go to some open houses on Sunday, it would be the first one on my list. I would get there at noon to make sure I saw it before anybody else did. Why does that ad more...

“Should” is a dangerous word. If you use it in sentences like these, it could be doing you a lot of harm: “The house I’m renovating should sell for $450,000.” “My new product should make me $50 million a year after I bring it to market.” When you start to use “should” that way, you’ve probably fallen victim to false optimism. It’s highly seductive. You want so much for that house to sell for $450,000 that you start to believe it really will. Or you want your new company to generate $50 million in annual sales, so you start to count on that happening. It’s more...

Talented individuals are the driving force behind a good company. They’re the difference between high performance and mediocrity.  As a manager, you need to surround yourself with the best people. But you have to do something else too . . . You have to let them shine I liked the fact that James was confident enough in himself to do just that with his team this week. It was clear that Tim and Nicole knew just how to handle production and post-production. So James let them run with it - and he then wasn’t afraid to pay them kudos where it was due.  Managers, especially new more...

What is really about to happen with mortgage foreclosures in the months ahead? I have been reading some pretty sobering news in many places over the last week. An article on Reuters last week, “Top Investor Sees U.S. Property Crash,” reports on Jim Rogers, a top commodities investor. Rogers is predicting that property prices in some areas of the U.S. will fall between 40 and 50 percent when the foreclosure bubble bursts. He’s selling his mansion and moving to Asia. It’s very strong stuff. To read the article, click here. Another article in the Wall Street Journal, “Green Thumb: Bulletproofing Your Mortgage,&rdquo more...

This week on The Apprentice, Kinetic project manager Kristine escaped unscathed in the boardroom by the skin of her teeth. The teams had to film short Internet soap operas - called “webisodes” for a new foaming cleanser. Originally, Kristine wanted Muna to produce or direct or take some other backstage role. But Muna insisted she was much more comfortable in front of the camera. So Kristine caved and let Muna be one of the actresses. Then, as the filming started, Kristine disappeared for the first few takes to tend to some other less important task! Here’s the rub. Muna was absolutely impossible to more...

Although it’s become one of my signatures, firing people is not something I enjoy doing. In reality, I’d rather hire really great employees in the first place so that firing them is something I never plan on doing. But in reality, managers are often placed in tough situations when they have to let underperforming employees go. Since most people don’t have the benefit of a boardroom and cameras following their staff around, it’s not always easy to know what to say or how to do it. So let me offer some tips. First, never fire someone when you’re angry or when other workers more...

 In 2005, J. B. Olson was only dreaming about real estate. Today, he owns 11 residential properties in and around Minneapolis. In this conversation with Trump University’s President Michael Sexton, J. B. tells us about where his real estate dreams are now - and where they are going. Michael Sexton: What were you doing before you started investing in real estate? J. B. Olson: I taught elementary physical education for eight years! And that was a few years longer than I should have, because way back in 2000, I read Robert Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad, Poor Dad and I got it. I understood more...

If you’d like to connect directly with Apprentice winners Randal Pinkett, Kendra Todd and Sean Yazbeck, your wishes have just come true, thanks to Trump University’s new Apprentice Winners Speakers Series. Space is limited for these free phone-in teleseminars, so click here now to register. On March 22, Sean will tell you how to sell successfully.  On March 29, Kendra will explain how she built riches in real estate - and how you can too.  On April 19, Randal will share powerful advice about becoming a successful entrepreneur.  Again, these events are free. I wanted to get the news out today via this special post more...

Make no mistake about it. All the best indicators are telling us that the coming months will see a dramatic increase in property foreclosures in the United States. Just two days ago on March 13, an Associated Press article reported that late mortgage payments and foreclosures had reached a 3 ½ year high. The alarming news even made the front page of the New York Times on March 11, when “Crisis Looms in Mortgages,” an article by Gretchen Morgenson, described some startling realities. Not only are more property owners losing their homes to foreclosures, now some mortgage-lending institutions themselves are beginning to more...

If you're a small business owner, the word “marketing” can be scary. How can you compete with the big companies in your line of business? How can you catch up with competitors who have a head start in the race for customers? The good news is, you don’t have to compete with them. You can set your own course and outdistance them. In fact, there is a secret of marketing success that will actually give you an advantage if you are a small, new business. And that secret is focus. If you focus on your customer and focus your marketing efforts, you more...

I learned a lot about leadership from Surya last night. But they were lessons about negative leadership. Let’s be truthful. Every time Surya led his team this season, he did a pretty bad job. He had no connection to the members of his team. He filled whole whiteboards with strange notes while everybody on his team made faces behind his back. He rambled when he talked. He actually disappeared on a few occasions, forcing the people who reported to him to improvise. But last night we all learned that Surya saw himself as an fine leader who was responsible for his team’s more...

Recently, a new study found that today’s college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than ever before. The psychologists who conducted the research blamed the trend, in part, to the fact that the current generation of American parents are constantly telling their children how wonderful they are the whole time they’re growing up. “We need to stop endlessly repeating ‘You’re special’ and having children repeat that back,” said lead author Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. It’s not that we don’t want our children to think that they’re special. It’s just that we give them such an inflated sense of more...

  Five years ago I interviewed the man who founded a rather famous brand of outdoor clothing. Actually, he is pretty famous too, because his company grew out of his own activities as an explorer. During our interview, he talked at great length about his company and his products. All his employees, he said, were hikers, snowboarders, sailors and explorers of other kinds. They wilderness tested every product before it went on the market. That was why every detail on his company’s garments worked so well. The special zippers could be opened and closed with your gloves on in a blizzard, for more...

If you’re an ambitious student or if you know one, the time to start a business is now! I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the three winners of the first Most Promising Campus CEO Contest. They are Catherine Cook (first place), Corey Kossack (second) and Seth Flowerman (third). Catherine, a high school senior, is founder of myYearbook.com. With 1.7 million members only two years after going live, myYearbook.com is one of the fastest-growing sites on the Internet. You can read more about Catherine and all the finalists by clicking here. Why did I put so much effort behind the contest? more...

A post on this blog a few weeks ago described the marketing traction that small businesses can develop by sending out press releases to local media. Today, I would like to add to that strategy. The first step is to have your company contribute to the quality of life in your community. You could buy a new piece of medical equipment for a local hospital, offer jobs to local retirees, or sponsor a new playground. Once you have done your good deeds, send out press releases about your activities to local media - newspapers, radio stations, regional cable networks. They will be more...

Customer service lessons from the JetBlue disaster JetBlue is still recovering from its February fiasco at JFK Airport in New York. You remember - snow and extreme cold brought air travel to a standstill, but JetBlue decided to keep flying anyway. Its planes rolled out onto the tarmac and got stuck there, stranding passengers within view of the terminal. It was 11 hours until the airline figured out a way to get them back indoors. Then things got even worse the next day, when flight cancellations inconvenienced 100,000 more JetBlue customers.  Afterwards, JetBlue took steps to rebuild its customer relationships. The CEO, David Neeleman, more...

When you think of becoming an entrepreneur, you probably think about all the hard work it will take. Hopefully you also envision all the benefits, such as wealth, freedom, and a sense of personal accomplishment and significance that comes along with owning your own business. But have you also thought about how efficient an entrepreneurship really is? If not, think about these benefits. Time leveraging. All the time you invest in your business is directed at building your own wealth and resources. No more sitting in meetings working on projects that have nothing to do with your own goals. No more killing yourself more...

I was astonished when Derek referred to himself as “white trash” in the boardroom last night - but I certainly wasn’t astonished when Mr. Trump fired him on the spot. Why would Mr. Trump want to give billion-dollar responsibilities to someone with a weak self-image? What prompted Derek to commit professional suicide that way? But when you consider last night’s episode, I think you will agree that it was really a parade of self-destructive behavior: Before the task was even assigned, both teams already had secret agendas to destroy their leaders.   When Angela missed the deadline to submit the more...

I’ve often said that business is a relay race. All team members must be fast, focused, and able to coordinate with each other. Each member has to know how to run with and pass the baton. No runner can lag behind or the entire team will suffer. Someone who once analyzed my negotiating technique concluded that I had an advantage because I got to the point faster than everyone else. He said that while my adversaries were formulating their sentences, I had finished writing the book. I cut straight to the point because, before I speak, I map out the deal in more...

 Michael Sexton interviews Thomas L. Harrison, author of Instinct: Tapping Your Entrepreneurial DNA to Achieve Your Business Goals Thomas L. Harrison might be America’s most unusual CEO. He began his career as a research scientist and cell biologist. As the pull of entrepreneurship became stronger and stronger for him, he finally hung up his lab coat and plunged into the world of business. Today, he is Chairman and CEO of Omnicom Group’s Diversified Agency Services, the world’s largest holding group of marketing services companies. Harrison’s deep insight into parallel disciplines - genetics, psychology, and management, to name just a few - more...

Insights from Bud Bilanich, The Common Sense Guy As a small business owner whose brand is me, I recognize the importance of personal branding. I am a keynote speaker, executive coach, organization effectiveness consultant, and author. I am my business; therefore, my brand needs to speak for me. When I decided to brand myself, I began by asking everybody I know a simple question. “When you think of me, what is the first thing that comes to mind?” An overwhelming number of people said, “Your common sense approach to business and life.” My first reaction was, “Uh oh, common sense doesn’t make for much more...

After you’ve launched your business, the day will come when it is time to start knocking on doors and selling. When that day comes, your first inclination will probably be to dash out to buy every book you can find about selling. If you can absorb all the powerful advice they contain from their powerful-looking authors, you will be moving your product quickly, right? Well maybe yes. But probably not.  You see, attempting to identify the traits of the perfect salesperson is a waste of time. All you need is to understand your own strengths and perfect them. I’ve been the top more...