Business Lessons I learnt from the Master of Real Estate

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is probably one of the most influential books ever written on entrepreneurship. One thing I liked about this book is the author's ability to clearly show readers how to evolve from being an ordinary thinker to being a master thinker. I have read this book more than ten times since I came across it. Every time I read it my mind is refreshed and energized.

If you study all wealthy people you know of, there are some stark similarities in their behavior which makes them a unique group of people. In my pursuit to become a successful entrepreneur, I study and follow a couple of wealthy entrepreneurs who are my role models. As a passionate real estate developer, I have been following the successful rise of Donald Trump founder of the Trump Organization. Donald’s story is a remarkable one. Here is a gentleman whose fortunes plummeted to zero when the real estate market experienced a downturn. He was publicly declared bankrupt in the 90s.

Despite this set back Donald did not sit back and mourn over his predicaments. He worked hard to resurrect from the depths of oblivion. By late 90s, Donald’s financial fortunes improved greatly due to his business acumen, focus and diligence.

The Trump Organization operates a property portfolio worth billions of dollars worldwide. Donald Trump's empire is synonymous with exquisite and signature properties across the US, Europe and Asia. Donald is a shrewd businessman and excellent negotiator, who has managed to seal very attractive deals. I have read many books authored by this gentleman. I am looking forward to reading his latest book ‘The America we deserve’.

Key business lessons I have learnt from Donald are:

Always define your business’s core values

Donald has mastered the art of defining the core values of his brand and leveraging his brand equity to appeal to a wide customer base. This has made his brand connect with his target customers.

Model a brand around your lifestyle

Donald has been so successful in large part because he has managed to build a lifestyle brand around the luxurious and successful life that he lives and most people aspire to. He works hard to cultivate the image, and he uses it to expand into new business lines and find new areas to venture into. From his real estate developments to his casinos and books, his new ventures are selected to dovetail with his core image.

Have a distinct line of business

The Trump name is synonymous with exquisite real estate developments. Donald Trump has done an excellent job promoting the idea that he owns properties around the world.

Form strategic partnerships

Most of the buildings bearing the Trump brand overseas are not wholly owned by Donald Trump. After going experiencing bankruptcy and the ups and downs of the real estate market, Donald learned to spread his risk by forming strategic alliances with other investors. He puts his name and his image to work while keeping his costs and exposure low. For example properties like Trump World, in Seoul, have licensed his name but aren't owned by him. He gets a fee for lending out his name, makes sure there's quality control and gets great marketing out of having another big Trump-branded property in the marketplace.

Persistence

The real estate market is a volatile market, which is very unpredictable. Donald showed great persistence in his pursuit to excellence. Having lost everything, he managed a dramatic comeback. Donald has credited his success to patience and persistence over long periods of time to wait out market fluctuations. Persistence is very important a virtue for success in every endeavor.

Negotiation

Donald Trump is regarded as one of the best negotiators alive. He is known for his shrewd negotiating skills which have seen him landing juicy deals in the corporate world. Donald advises businessmen to always do it face-to-face. In this era of telephones, teleconference, and video conference, Donald suggests that if it's an important negotiation, you should do it face-to-face, so that you can read the other person's body language.

Middle men

Donald is not a fan of middle men who do not add value and who extract outsized returns. In one of his books, Donald tells the story of how he "goes around" a broker on a billion dollar deal where he was losing a negotiation and flew to Dubai to deal directly with the principal and struck a great deal.

In most cases business lose a lot of money to these middlemen, who in most cases do not add value to the business. I agree with Donald in by-passing the middleman and going it alone.

So here you go, I hope you learnt one or two things from the ‘Don’s business style. If you have not read any of Donald trump’s books click here: Amazon books

To your Success!!