September 2006

Retire Rich: My Toastmasters Icebreaker

Delivered Wednesday, September 6th 2006 to the Black Walnut Toastamsters Club

Thank you Madame Toastmaster.

Zig Ziglar once said that “you can get everything you want in life if you will just help enough other people to get what they want”

Mr Ziglar’s quote is one of many I read daily, and I try to live my life by it. I am a firm believer that if you make it a point to help the people in your life, your life will be filled with abundance.

As you know, this morning you are all going to learn a little bit about me. Since today’s theme is labour, I’m going to share some of my business and life philosophy with you, as well as give you a glimpse of what it is that I do.

Ever since I started my first business in high school designing client management software for Investment Advisers, I knew I was going to go into business for myself when I was done school, rather than take a job working for someone else.

After three years at the University of Toronto, where I studied Political Science and American History, I decided to sit down and figure out what I wanted to do over the next ten years. A family friend had started a real estate business a few years ago after a long career as an architect, and suggested that it would be a profession that suited me. I researched it, looked at the entry requirements, spoke to some people in the business, and agreed.

The business is very entrepreneurial by nature, and it gives me the opportunity to work closely with people every day and help them find homes and properties that were right for them.  Most of the time, I’m helping people with the biggest investment and decision they’ve ever made in their lives.

Jim Rohn says that Formal education will make you a living, but self education will make you a fortune. Although I attended what many would call the best school in Canada, I have learnt more in the past 8 months from seminars I’ve attended, books I’ve read, audio programs I’ve listened to, and people I’ve met. I now know that continuous learning is the key to excellence in business, and it’s something I’m committed to. Since I’m speaking to a group that meets at 7:30 on Wednesday mornings to learn, I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir.

In January, I realized what I wanted to do. I was going to help people achieve financial freedom through smart real estate investments. I sat down, figured out what I needed to do, who I must meet, and what I had to learn in order to make this a reality, and I started working towards my goal.  So far this year, I’ve listed in excess of six and a half million dollars of property, and right now I’m working with more than a couple of investors who are looking to build or add to their portfolios. I’m helping people retire rich.

In the book Risk-Free Retirement: The Complete Canadian Planning Guide, the authors predict that at age 65, 1% of people will be wealthy, 4% of people will have an adequate income to retire on, 36% will be dead, and 59% will be dead broke.

At the end of this month, I’m putting on my first Wealth Building educational extravaganza, featuring a synergy of professional specialists who can help the individual investor buy property easily. I’m going to educate homeowners, and show them how they can start an investment portfolio and accumulate equity.
This is an early phase of my plan, which ultimately is to educate thousands on how they can build wealth and achieve financial freedom. Eventually, I want to start a speaking company, and educate full time.  I know what I learn in this room in the coming years will be a large component of my future speaking success.

One of the great assets I offer my clients is access to a network of professionals that can help them make an educated investment decision. As part of my initial consultation with a client, I’ll determine if they might need to meet with a lender, a property manager, or a lawyer who can help them structure a corporation to purchase the property.  This ‘team based’ approach offers convenience to my clients, since they don’t need to take a chance dealing with a random person on their own. I introduce them to highly qualified professionals at every step of the process.

I am blessed to love the work I do. When I help someone start towards securing their financial future, and understand how they can Retire Rich, I am fulfilled. I know I’m making a difference in someone’s life, and that makes it very easy to get up in the morning. I’m building my business on the model that our revenue and assets will increase as we can increase our clients wealth. This is a win-win arrangement.

I’d like to close by sharing My Enduring Purpose with you, which is what many would call a mission statement. I wrote this, and I read it every morning; it is the essence of my business and life philosophy.

It is to build relationships with and contribute significant value to my clients while attracting success with my integrity and actions. To help people I have relationships with achieve wealth, be it financial, emotional or spiritual, while living a balanced life of my own. To give back to the world before it gives to me.

Fantastic Follow Up

Scott Ginsberg, the nametag wearing genius behind HELLO, my name is BLOG has an excellent post up with some unforgettable follow up ideas:

Next was a bag of Shockers candy (2 for a dollar). Another one that’s just too easy. Possible notes include:

1)”I’d love to help your people achieve shocking results!”

2)”It would be a shocker if we didn’t work together!”

3)”I’m shocked you haven’t returned my calls!”

Check out the whole post.

Investors agree: Use a Realtor when buying an investment property

Eryn, over at Do-It-Yourself Landlord, is a Real Estate Investor who understand the value in having a team of professionals advising you in a transaction (vs going at it alone without brokers).

So what can you expect from your agent? Again, remember: time is money. Ideally, your agent will do all the legwork to track down available properties that fit your needs or adhere to the requirements of your real-estate portfolio.  This service especially comes in handy if you live in a different city, state, or country than the area where you are investing.
Later, when you’re ready to sell one of your properties, your real-estate agent will take care of all the details and concerns of the selling process.

On top of all the perks of a real-estate agent’s inside knowledge and information, you should also expect a strict fiduciary responsibility from your agent to ensure that your best interests are being represented in each transaction.

If you’re brand new to investing, you might be surprised to learn that the commission of a buyer’s agent is typically paid by the seller of a property, unless explicitly stated otherwise. In this case, having a real-estate agent on your team makes all the sense in the world.

If you’re looking to buy an investment property in Ontario, I can help! I have a team of professionals that take care of every aspect of the investment.  Ask me how!

Poker, Scotch and Homeless People

Recently, I’ve started playing cards regularly in Toronto on Friday nights with some fraternity men from my alma mater.  We get together around 9 or 10, drink some scotch (had some Macallan 18yr last night – unreal), smoke a few Habanos, and play some good old fashioned texas hold ‘em.  Last night I actually won some money, and had a great time.

After I cashed out of the game around 1, we went for late night grub on Bloor Street.  There was a homeless women  begging for change, and I gave her a toonie. Not surprisingly, no one I was with had anything good to say about that.

They said I was perpetuating her poverty by giving her money, that I shouldn’t talk to her or look at her, that she should get a job etc.  I just smiled, and said ‘the fact that you all think it was wrong makes me feel even better.’  In life, if you do what most people do, you’ll have what most people have.   If you do what the extraordinary people do, you’ll have what the extraordinary people have.

Anyways, here are some extraordinary links from around the ’sphere today:

Seth Godin talks about breakfast, complacency in service and the slippery slope. He’s also hiring at his web 2.0 company Squidoo.

Scott Ginsberg waxes poetic on 51 essential thoughts on networking.

Phil has some great quotes via one of his readers.

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Market ends summer gaining ground

The KW Housing Index for September 1, 2006 is 0.46, down from the 4 month high of 0.54. While the Index has fallen since the start of the summer, we’ve seen the markets start to move quicker as we enter the busy fall season.

The Canadian Real Estate Association is reporting that national home sales have reached a more ‘normal’ level. Nationally, there was a 3.1% decline in the number of MLS sales.

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