Things I Could've Done Better For Myself in Business

Basically, this is the hindsight section, so that others may learn from my mistakes. Had I known things would turn out the way they did the first time I went into business for myself, I could have done different things, as all of us could. But in this instance, I want my readers to know that I am as much self-critical as I blame others.

I would have thought long-term not just about my business position, but my own life. I would have completed my college degree for two reasons:

One, for a back-up position, if I ever decided I did not like the way things were going with the real estate business, then I could have packed up at any time, and been able to head back to the job market, instead of finding myself having to live or die on the success of the business, especially with a “partner” (of sorts) that was not interested in the best decisions. Or maybe stated differently, a “partner” who’s idea of success was different and in direct opposition to mine.

If I could do it again, it would have been absolutely worthwhile to leave the business, take a job for a while to build up savings and dump my partner, instead of time, energy and money wasted fighting. I had the knowledge I needed; with knowledge, you can always rinse and repeat.

Two, as far as I am concerned, I knew plenty in order to stay engaged in business. However, being young and brash (I still have some “brashness” in me, I wanted to rebel against the idea that “perception management” was a necessary arm of business. Not that I ever gave a bad presentation, but at times, the “wheels” of business would come to a halt, and I have to believe it was based on the perception of what my abilities should be for my age at the time. I read an article in Forbes where the author stated he had the same problem, and what he needed was “gray haired equity”, meaning sometimes he had to bring along an older man, and have that man act as if he was the principle in the deal before people would close deals with him. With the degree in hand, I believe I could have deflected some of the disbelief, or at least, forced the person with doubts about my ability to say so instead of wasting a lot of time dragging their feet, so at least I could look for an alternative not hung up on outward appearance.

Time is money, and one of the worst scenarios is to have a key portion of the process stop, and the person you need to clear it won’t proceed forward, and won’t give you a reasonable answer. For example, I remember trying to close a purchase loan that I had the credit and reserve cash on hand for. The underwriter called me personally from another state after hours to ask me “So, I see you’ve sold X amount of properties in the past two years. So how do you derive a monthly income from this?” My answer: Take the bottom line number on the tax return and divide by 12.

One question that was commonly thrown at me in the middle of a deal was, “So do you have a (real estate) license?” Obviously, I knew it was a deflective question, you don’t need a license to sell your own property so as long as you’re paying your taxes on time. That’s a question for the IRS, not the loan officer. As I would learn later on in life, “some college” is equivalent to “high school education”. What they would really want to know is that I seemed too young for my knowledge base, but you can’t fault a person that is constantly studying their craft. Either or, I didn’t have an ego problem of asking others with more knowledge around me for advice. It’s not your job to change anyone’s pre-conceived notions about you; but having the degree in hand would’ve taken away their argument.

On the converse, I would often hear questions like “Were you in the military?” or “Were you born in this country?”, backhanded compliments to suggest that there was no way I could be American and at a young age, be disciplined enough to save money and know my craft in and out. Even though I would also hear this said about me (in another language), the person asking me the question wanted to invite me to study; his friend said “You know he’s going to party”. They didn’t hold any power over me, so I gave it no mind, however, I did later let the one that approached me directly know I understood what his friend said about me. He was humbled.

At the same time, sometimes I found foreigners easier to do business with, being that they expect their young people to operate at a certain level of competency and maturity.

Three, I was always trying to take the “high road” of morality and wisdom, when at the same time, business only requires ethics. Not that I suggest ever doing anything underhanded, but it’s OK to be fair, fair meaning treat others the exact same way they treat you. Often, I would get advice from a good friend to be patient, but yet it was “patience” on my part that contributed to my downfall, at times when I should have been more self-confident and arrogant in my own abilities and walked away from some deals because there was too much personal conflict. I’m not there to prove a point, I’m there for the sole reason of making money, which is perfectly ethical.

All I achieved by “patience” was allowing those who did not have my best interest in mind, for whatever reason, to achieve their goal, which was to be disruptive, even at their own expense. Sometimes we have to realize that once someone has presented themselves as an obstacle to your progress, you have to immediately conclude that they are going to continue to be an obstacle until you remove them or remove yourself. Honestly, it becomes a judgment call you can only make for yourself: some things are delayed by real causes, without sinister intention, some things you encounter will be sinister intention.

In the past, what I tried to do always look to myself and see what I could do better. Using a sports example, I once had a baseball scout tell me that “unless you go 4 for 4, all homers, there was always something you could do better, so go home and do self—analysis every day.” What I would suggest now is once something is placed in somebody’s lap, true, you should still do work on your own skills, but also make it a priority that they make your business a priority. Do not trust people in general to do the right thing by your time.

IG: WB Hall @h5consulting
Facebook: WB Hall
Twitter: wb hall @H5Consulting
Gmail: [email protected]