Bicycles to Bentleys eBook

knowledge, time or commitment, or someone to guide them through it. I knew I could help with that process. I did not want to carry on my interpreting and translation business because I could not make a million dollars with it. The Japanese direct marketing company shut down. I began looking at new options. At the time there were a few choices; one was to get into business with a friend who was selling share-trading software. There was another potential partner who offered me a half-share in another venture. I looked at both of these people and wasn’t certain that I would be able to learn anything from them. I remembered William O’Dwyer. He was driving a Bentley, a self-made millionaire. I thought this was a man I wanted to associate with. Success breeds success. I began thinking about the power of association. None of my friends were earning a million dollars, and I really wanted to earn a million, so I decided to go to work with William O’Dwyer. Before I went, I asked for my wife’s opinion. She also believed that I should go to work for William. I had to start from scratch and become a salesperson at his company, the Ralan Group. William remembered me as a top salesman from our insurance years. We had a good chat, and I told him: ‘I already know how to make half a million; I am here to earn a million.’ I said: ‘I want to be your business partner’. At the time he had just broken up with his business partner and he said: ‘Joseph, I watched you as an insurance salesman. I stood behind you and watched your technique. I know you’re very good but, with all due respect, I don’t need a business partner.’ I said: ‘I don’t deserve to be one now, but I want to prove to you that I can add value to your business, and from this day I’ll work to make you money, because the more you make, the more I make.’ William said: ‘We’ll see what happens.’ From day one I viewed myself as a manager, even though I was just a salesman. I had an S-Class Mercedes, I’d paid off my second home in Epping and had seven investment properties; I thought I could be successful at this. Plus, I thought I could help his business grow. So I decided three things: number one, I was going to be his top agent; number two, I was going to be the most positive person in his company; and number three, I would add the most value. I knew if I could do these three things I’d be worth a lot more money. 104 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

At the time, the number of people attending Ralan’s seminars had dramatically shrunk and William had stopped doing seminars altogether. Knowing the Chinese market was very under-serviced, and many of them could become clients like me, I suggested to William that we should run some investment seminars in the Chinese market. He agreed. I helped create William’s ‘from rags to riches’ story, and at his seminars I would go up to do a testimonial as his Chinese client who went from nothing to seven investment properties within 12 months, following William’s steps. The seminars were a smashing success. William became a celebrity with the Chinese. I took over the marketing of his seminar and his story in the Chinese media and made him almost a household name. Ralan’s sales kept rising. All the time, I kept my three promises. I began to take over recruiting, training and running the team. I was then officially named Sales Manager, and I had a very good team. I hand picked everyone and I only picked the best. I never asked William for more; I viewed the company as my own. William treated me well. We talked a lot over coffee, lunch and dinner sometimes about building an empire together. He is a very sharp businessman and extremely driven. We stimulated each other’s thinking. We talked about other successful businesspeople. From time to time, William told me that the cash flow of the business was tight and that is the nature of the property business. Whenever the cash flow was tight, I would go to William and say: ‘Please pay the staff and consultants first. If our cash flow is tight, you can pay me next month or later.’ William always appreciated my offer, though most of the time he made an effort to pay me on time. During this period, our business relationship and friendship grew. William got to know me better. Initially he only knew that I was a good salesman and strong individual operator. He was not sure if I had leadership skills. What changed his mind about me, apart from the fact that we were building a bigger and ever stronger team, was one incident. At the time, we had sold quite a number of apartments in Burwood. Settlement was coming. Given that William had underwritten the project, if we could not sell all of the apartments, he would have to settle them himself. It was 2000, a very tough year in property. It was also the year my daughter Florence was born. Interest rates were on the way up, GST was being introduced and every Interpreting for success 105

newspaper was saying that after the Sydney Olympics, the property market was going to drop by 20 per cent. The settlement of those Burwood apartments was three months away, and all of the sold apartments had secured unconditional loans. About 35 of those loans had been organised by a Chinese broker. One day, we were told that the lender was investigating some brokers over suspected fraudulent activities and, as a result, all of those 35 loans had been cancelled. With so much at stake, William, always a gentleman, lost his cool. I don’t blame him. He stood to have to settle all of those apartments himself should they fail to settle. Of the 35 sales, most of them were mine and I stood to lose a lot of commission. Rather than panicking and blaming someone, I said to William: ‘Don’t worry, let me spend the next month or two getting those loans reset. And that’s what I did. I went with another broker to all 35 clients who thought their loans had long been approved. We had to explain to them why they needed to reapply for loans and get them to agree to do it. Fortunately, two months later, all but two of the loans were reset and we resold those two to other buyers. William and I were really happy about the outcome. Settlement was going to happen as scheduled. I had lost two months production for new sales, but I won William’s trust. He saw some leadership qualities in me. He said to me: ‘I am really impressed with you Joseph. How come you can keep your cool all the time?’ He also apologised to me for having lost his cool. He was a real gentleman. I think that was the turning point of my relationship with William. One day, he said to me that if I could lead the team to achieve some consistent results over a period of time, he would consider paying me some serious override. I did not say anything at the time. Before this point, I had never asked William for anything. I knew that if I was worth it, the reward would come. A few days later over lunch, I asked William, ‘You said the other day that if I can get the team to perform consistently for a period of three months, you would pay me a good override. Did you really mean that? What do I need to do?’ He said: ‘If you can get the team to sell 20 properties per month for three consecutive months, I will pay you an override of $5000 and we can backdate it.’ For the following many months, the team and I did twice and three 106 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

times that target every month. My team members were making great commission and my income jumped to $200,000-plus a month. For 10 years I’d been out every night, selling insurance and Amway, attending property seminars, and now I realised that I was earning the million dollars-plus a year, and I didn’t need to go out every evening any more – my team was selling, and I was getting very good override. One evening as I was at home watching TV, I pinched my face to see if I was dreaming. I was not out there selling any more but I was making $200,000 a month. I could not believe it. It was unreal! William’s business grew by 300 per cent at least. We sold a 200-apartment project in Strathfield in six months. Every one of them was sold before the developer began digging the ground. We then sold another 76 units next door within two months. I created an opportunity for myself in the Ralan Group. I hit my target of $1 million a year, and all my consultants were doing well, most of them earning a few hundred thousand dollars a year. ‘After ten years in It was a relief to have found a vehicle Australia, I had that could take me forward. reached the goal I I had spent years working in direct had set myself in my marketing, interpreting and translation, doing acting and voiceover work, and first weeks, while was working six jobs at one stage. It delivering pizzas in was time to consolidate. I wanted to the beaten-up old focus on one thing and instead of Sigma – I had receiving small cheques from many earned $1 million sources, I wanted to receive one big a year.’ cheque from one source. And that one source was property. After 10 years in Australia, I had reached the goal I had set myself in my first weeks, while delivering pizzas in the beaten-up old Sigma – I had earned $1 million a year. From a personal perspective, we were truly riding high on our financial success. We were very happy living in Epping and managed to double the value of our home in five years, but I was ready to buy a million-dollar home. I was working incredibly hard, so my wife was in charge of house hunting, and she saw a house in Chatswood West that she put on the short list. It was a beautiful home in a private street, overlooking the golf course. In Interpreting for success 107

between meetings one day, I raced over to have a look. I literally spent three minutes upstairs, downstairs and then I left. The owner was in there; they’d built the house themselves and they loved it so much they wouldn’t give the agent the keys. They wanted to be present for all the inspections. They saw me go in and out in three minutes, and they said to the agent, ‘Either this guy is another real estate agent checking out the competition, or he’s not interested.’ On that Saturday morning, the auction was to be at 10am, but at 8.30am we were still in bed. I asked Suzanne if she was still interested in that house, and in the end we decided to go. We arrived 15 minutes late for the auction, but luckily the auctioneer hadn’t shown up. I didn’t have a contract, I hadn’t registered to bid, and yet with my wife standing there holding our baby daughter it felt right. We started bidding against another man who really wanted it. The bidding went up to $990,000 and the owner still wouldn’t sell, so I put in a final bid and bought the house at $995,000. That was the most expensive house in Chatswood West sold at auction that year, and it was just $5000 shy of my dream of a million-dollar home. The house was superb, but the problem was there was only a single-car garage. Now, we’ve established already how I love my cars. It was a narrow driveway, and a private street, and I wasn’t certain a big car could make it down safely. We started looking at Bentleys, because they were the ultimate car in my opinion. I was looking at a Bentley Arnage, but it had a 3.116 metre wheelbase and was 5.4 metres long in total, and I wasn’t sure it would make the driveway. The dealer told me there was a Bentley Continental GT coming out in two years, and so I put in an order. It was the most exciting wait for a car I’ve ever experienced. Bentley are the masters of slowly feeding information out, and I would read the motoring press and see tiny tidbits of information about my new car. Buying that car was like buying a property off the plan. The list price of the car was $375,000. We had to pay a $3750 holding deposit first. A year later, when Bentley were ready to commission the car (make the car), we had to pay the balance of the 10 per cent deposit. Then we paid the balance when the car was delivered. Although I was patiently waiting for my car to be delivered, some crash tests came out suggesting that some 4WDs weren’t as safe as once thought, and so I ended up 108 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

changing my Mercedes 4WD into a BMW 745Li. My wife was taking the car in for a service, and she had a look at a BMW 330 Coupé, and ended up buying a BMW 330ci Convertible, our first ever convertible, which we later swapped for a supercharged Range Rover Sport. My BMW 330ci Convertible acquired in 2000 Interpreting for success 109

My 745Li BMW acquired in 2004 110 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

Bentley Continental GT purchased in 2002, delivered in 2004 Interpreting for success 111

5. Going out on my own: the Bentley years When I think about property investment, I think of Wimbledon. Not so much about the town in south- west London, although it is very pretty and probably wouldn’t be a bad place to own a property, but I think of tennis. Many people think they can invest in property on their own. And many do, successfully, but those who give themselves the best chance of success are the ones who are likely to get the greatest returns over time. It is the same with tennis. Roger Federer, the Swiss national who has won Wimbledon seven times and has appeared in a record 10 consecutive men’s singles Grand Slam finals, doesn’t show up on centre court with a backpack, wearing a pair of Dunlop Volleys. He goes prepared, and he goes prepared to win. When he goes on a major tour, he takes an entourage. His parents and Mirka, now his wife are there for moral support. His coach is there to make sure he’s playing the right strategies with different opponents. His fitness trainer makes sure he’s in the best physical condition; often a psychologist will ensure he’s in the best mental state to give him the best psychological edge. His physiotherapist is there to keep the body in top form, and work through any injuries. In short, he surrounds himself with top people to give himself an edge over his competitors. 112 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

It is the same with investment. People need to surround themselves with the right people − the right mortgage broker, the right accountant, the right strategists. And they need to believe that you can achieve the goal you have set. Can you imagine Roger Federer’s entourage, if some of them are negative to him before he goes on to centre court at Wimbledon? The devastating damage of a comment such as: ‘Don’t even bother, you’re not going to win against Rafael Nadal anyway.’ What do you think the chances are for him to win without that committed support around him? His team has to be passionate, and believe in what he’s going to achieve. It is the same with investment − for any investor to have the best chance to ‘… for any investor become wealthy, they have to make to have the best sure they get all the help they can. They chance to become don’t need to do everything themselves. They can leverage, using wealthy, they have other people’s time and other people’s to make sure they skills. You don’t have to know get all the help everything, as Henry Ford said: ‘I’ve got they can.’ all these buttons on my desk, so if I need something, I know who to call.’ It was this approach that I began to adopt, as I got more experienced in the property industry. The realisation dawned that people needed a bit of handholding throughout the process; they needed a cheer squad; and they needed to be given the information in a way that allowed them to make an informed decision about their future. At this time, when most people thought I should sit tight and enjoy my million-dollar income, I started thinking about change. When I had first started working with William O’Dwyer, I had proposed to him that I would like to become a partner in his firm one day. I truly believed I could add value to the company, and I did. From 1999 to 2001, the company grew in leaps and bounds, my income went through the roof and my sales associates all reaped the benefits of a strong sales strategy and a buoyant property market. William made more money than he ever had. William and I also had a strong friendship. We would go out for dinner every Tuesday night and talk about how we were going to build a property empire and conquer the world. I was learning things from him, and I enjoyed our friendship. Going out on my own 113

Deep down, I knew it wasn’t my business. And he made it clear to me that it wasn’t. While the money was great, and I was given the freedom to run the sales and marketing department, the entrepreneur inside me told me that something was missing. I wanted to be part of the decision-making and shape the future of the company, but William made it very clear to me that the Ralan Group was his business. ‘I set another goal: At that time, I set another goal: to to make $1 million make $1 million per month and per month and accumulate $250 million in wealth one accumulate day. Once the goal was set, I became committed to it. Deep down, I could $250 million in not see that happening working for wealth one day.’ William. I thought to myself: ‘At best, I am a small portion of William’s vision. What if his vision is not big enough for me? Where would that leave me?’ I believe in surrounding myself with people who are better than me. I remember saying that to William, but he said: ‘Nobody is better than us, you and I are the best.’ ‘I believe in I have a strong principle that no family or surrounding friends work in my business. My wife and I myself with used to run a business together, and she decided to become a full-time mother. When I people who got involved in property, we agreed that this are better would be my business. If I needed to get my than me.’ wife’s thoughts on certain things, I would. If she wanted to start her own business at some point, I was more than happy to support her, but we wouldn’t work together. I wanted to make my own independent decisions. Back in 1998, I met a young Vietnamese guy called Andy Nguyen. He was one of my downlines in the Japanese direct marketing business. Given I was number one in Australia and New Zealand, Andy had made up his mind to become like me. So he invited me to Melbourne to speak to his team. He picked me up from the airport in a BMW 318is, and I was impressed. He was on $60,000 a year and he had bought a brand new BMW. Most people on $60,000 don’t even think about buying a BMW, let alone buy one. Immediately I 114 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

knew he was a dreamer. Anyone with such good taste in cars on his income clearly believed he was going to make more money in the future! In 1999, Andy mortgaged his house in Melbourne and went back to Vietnam with his friend Albert Huynh to start a direct marketing business. After 12 months, the business failed and they lost about $200,000. By the end of 1999, Andy was back in Australia. He called me and asked me what he should do. He had no money and he was in debt. I asked him to come to Sydney to sell investment properties for me with Ralan. And he did. He could have got a job in Melbourne ‘I knew he was a to pay off his debt. Instead, he drove dreamer. Anyone his BMW all the way to Sydney to sell with such good investment properties to strangers, because he did not know anyone. taste in cars on his He said he came to Sydney because income clearly he wanted to associate with me believed he was and William. going to make more That was the beginning of 2000 and it money in the future!’ was tough for Andy selling investment properties in a strange city. In the following 12 months, Andy sold some properties and learned a lot about the industry. At the beginning of 2001, his wife Kathy became pregnant and Andy had to move back to Melbourne as all his family lived there. He said: ‘Joseph, the only thing that is keeping me from leaving Sydney is you. I want you to be godfather to my son, then you will be part of my family and we can be related for life.’ I’d never been a godfather and it was a great honour. He and Albert started a property business called the Aldy Group with Albert’s credit card, using what he had learned in Sydney and applying it to a niche Vietnamese market. In 2002, when I started thinking about change, Andy invited me to Melbourne for his son’s birthday. They took Suzanne and me to their office, and I remember being impressed with their nine-metre boardroom table, and their office space of 700 square metres. I hadn’t realised they had done so well in such a short period. Albert Huynh and Andy Nguyen said to me: ‘Joseph, in the last few months Going out on my own 115

even we have made a couple of million dollars. Why are you still working for someone else?’ It crystallised my decision. I returned to Sydney, and on the day I received my biggest commission cheque I resigned from the Ralan Group. We were having coffee like usual; William was talking about Ralan’s future, and I was feeling sad because that future would not have me in it. I had to tell him that I was going to resign. It was the hardest decision I had ever had to make in business. I really liked William and owed a lot of my success to him. I had enjoyed all the time we had spent together discussing business and marketing ideas, and we had stimulated each other’s thoughts on business. I learned a lot from him and valued our friendship, but it was time to move on. I flew to Melbourne to meet with Andy and Albert to discuss our partnership. At the time, Andy and Albert owned the business as a 50/50 partnership. We had dinner in the Park Hyatt Hotel − Albert told me it was the only five and a half star hotel in Melbourne. After a great dinner and a bottle of premium red wine, we walked over to the nearby Sofitel Hotel and had coffee on the 35th floor. The negotiation began. After a lot of back and forth, we finally agreed that I would open the Sydney arm of the Aldy Group. Andy and Albert would give me one third of Aldy Melbourne, and I would give them two thirds of Aldy Sydney. We shook hands, hugged each other and became equal partners in the business. And we were going to set some industry records in the following years. I started Aldy Sydney in about August 2003, and I invested $350,000 of my own money. I trusted Andy and Albert so much that I had walked away from a multi-million-dollar job and entered this partnership without even looking at their profit and loss statement or balance sheet! I had no idea how much cash they had in the bank. All I knew was that I had cash in my bank and I was going to make Sydney successful. I thought Aldy was cashed up. They did have millions of dollars to come when settlement was due, but one of the first things I did was loan Aldy Melbourne $130,000 for cash flow. I had joined the Aldy Group with total faith and commitment. It was tough starting a property business in Sydney, in a very mature industry. I told my colleagues, some of whom had followed me from 116 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

Grand Opening of Aldy Sydney with my business partners Andy and Albert (Oct 2002) Going out on my own 117

the Ralan Group, that we were going to be the best in the market. I went to the Forum in St Leonards and I looked around at the people eating lunch there thinking: ‘Some of you will buy property from me one day.’ I opened a Chinese property paper and there were many real estate companies advertising in it. I said to myself: ‘I will beat all of you one day!’ Using the principle of ‘Beginning with the End’, in our first full year, 2003, Aldy Sydney sold close to 600 properties with a turnover of nearly $300 million and Melbourne, which was in its second full year, did nearly $200 million. We had a huge celebration of our partnership. We had sold half a billion dollars worth of investment properties, set a few industry records, and many of our strategists had done really well. We bought a few BMWs for our staff in Melbourne and two Mercedes-Benz for our staff in Sydney. We flew the whole company to Noosa for our Christmas party. Albert texted me: ‘Joseph, if cash flow is a company’s blood pressure, we are now suffering from high blood pressure!’ It was an exciting time to sell property. We created some Australian records during this time. On one afternoon, in a period of 138 minutes – a little over two hours − we sold 400 properties to the value of $165 million. It was a bidding war, and a sophisticated way to sell property. We had expressions of interest from 780 people between the Sydney and Melbourne offices, and we conducted a barrel draw for options. People would nominate the number of apartments they wanted to buy, and as their name was drawn, they received their preference. Internally, it was an interesting experience for us. Albert is not only a master deal-maker, he is also very good at getting both Andy and me motivated. He knew we were both very competitive − Andy always wanted to beat me, his mentor. We had promised the developer we would sell at least 200 units at the launch and promised each other to sell all 400 units. Andy badly wanted Melbourne to beat Sydney and Albert knew the Sydney team was stronger. So Albert told me that Andy was doing everything in his power to beat me. That got me really motivated. To make sure that we were all committed to the success of the launch, the three of us sat down to discuss some strategies. Albert suggested a bet. Albert 118 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

was going to put in $40,000 and Andy and I would put in $30,000 each – whichever office sold more properties would get the $100,000. Also, the directors each put money into a fund to give a cash prize of $100,000 to the top five salespeople; the number one salesperson, who sold the most properties and had no less than 15 unconditional sales, would win $50,000. The stakes were high. Andy was mobilising everyone in Aldy Melbourne to sell, including administrative staff. Their people began to fly around Australia to line up buyers in an attempt to beat the Sydney office, but I decided to rely on my sales staff and a healthy dose of motivation. I wanted them to make the commission. I thought the best strategy was to motivate my five sales leaders. I told them that Melbourne was trying to beat Sydney and I wanted Sydney to win. Knowing that most of them would love to have a Rolex watch, I promised each of them a Rolex if we beat Melbourne. I also mobilised our administrative team to do their bit in pushing the sales across the finish line. The atmosphere on our launch day was unbelievable. We got every unit reserved with a holding deposit, and exchanged contracts with most of them. The cut-off date for our bet was three months, and by that time Sydney had won. Even though on the day of the launch Melbourne was slightly ahead in reservations, some of their reservations were slower in turning into unconditional sales. By the cut-off date, Sydney won by nearly 30 per cent and overall it was a sell-out success − the developer had to release another tower because the demand was so great. Everyone in our company was making great commissions, and our business was turning over hundreds of millions of dollars each year. After Melbourne and Sydney, we opened in Brisbane, Auckland, Beijing, Shanghai and Vietnam. In 2004, I took Andy and Albert to China for a look around. When we landed, we were amazed at the number of new buildings going up. From the window of our hotel room in Beijing, for as far as you could see, there were buildings everywhere. For people working in property, that was magic and intoxicating. On the day we left Shanghai, we looked at each other and said: ‘All these buildings are going up and we are not part of it?!’ We decided to open up in China. That decision was a bit rushed and the business partners we Going out on my own 119

chose in Beijing were not the most suitable. Though we created some waves both in Beijing and Shanghai, the result was minimal. We were not able to create the volume of sales we had hoped, partly also because investors at the time were not ready to jump into the Australian property market. But by the end of 2005, the market was beginning to slow down. Interest rates were creeping up. We were still doing reasonably well, but with my focus on our China offices and our poor preparation for slow times, our sales kept coming down in Australia and New Zealand and I began to see flaws in our business model. There were also gaps now in my partnership with Andy and Albert. As business partners, Andy and Albert were fantastic. We trusted each other very much and we loved each other. We treated each other like brothers and we really enjoyed each other’s company. We never fought over money. In fact, we cared a lot about each other. I am always grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to join their business and for welcoming me with open arms. We are still friends today and will be friends for life. ‘I felt that when we Towards the latter half of 2005, we were faced with a developed differences in our view on where the business should go. To challenging business me, while we had done well, the environment, we processes and systems were not should have focused geared to get us through the tough periods as well as the times of all our efforts, our abundance. I wanted to turn the energy and business around by bringing on resources on our stronger and better people and by core business.’ introducing appropriate systems and processes. I wanted to develop more effective marketing strategies. To do that would take time. Andy and Albert did not see the challenges the same way I did, and they continued to open more businesses. I felt that when we were faced with a challenging business environment, we should have focused all our efforts, our energy and resources on our core business. I wanted to focus on profitability and the financial wellbeing of our staff and strategists. Unfortunately we no longer saw eye to eye. I still loved 120 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

both of them, but I began to feel that I would not be able to achieve my business goal of building a billion-dollar company with Aldy. On the other hand, I thought to myself: ‘What if I am wrong? What if I am slowing Andy and Albert down?’ There was only one answer; I would move on and start on my own. It was an agonising decision to leave the partnership, but it had to be done. I invited them to dinner at the Park Hyatt Hotel where we had struck the deal and formed the partnership three and a half years before. At the dinner, Albert said: ‘What are you going to talk to us about Joseph? You are making me nervous.’ After opening a nice bottle of red wine, I said: ‘I just want to thank you for embracing me into the Aldy Group. We’ve had a wonderful run, we’ve all done very well, our people have done well, but I want out of this partnership. I don’t want to criticise the organisation we’ve built, but I want to run a business of my own.’ Under the influence of the red wine, there were some heated words from Albert. I know he probably did not mean them. Andy was dead silent. But I stood firm and said we’d each won the right to run a business our own way. In the end, it was an amicable split. I left a formidable partnership and bet my future on myself and the people in our Sydney office. ‘And so Ironfish was From 1 July 2006, I took sole born. “Iron” stands for ownership of the Sydney office, in the strong foundations exchange for my part-ownership for our investors’ long- of all the other Aldy entities. term success, and “fish” means good We had to give our new business luck and abundance a name and a new vision. When I in Eastern culture. made the announcement to our It is a nice mix of soft people in Sydney that we were no and hard, yin and longer going to be part of the Aldy yang. Together, they Group, they were all happy and represent a balance many of them had seen it coming. and harmony in the I am grateful to them for their investment process.’ unwavering support. Some of them even said to me: ‘Joseph, I will follow you wherever you go, even if we move into your garage!’ Going out on my own 121

I look back at my time at Aldy with gratitude and pride, but I remain delighted that I was able to start my own business with the valuable staff who had worked with me in the Sydney office, some having followed me since Ralan. And so Ironfish was born. We worked hard to get the right name for our business, because we wanted it to represent the values we stood for. ‘Iron’ stands for the strong foundations for our investors’ long- term success, and ‘fish’ means good luck and abundance in Eastern culture. It is a nice mix of soft and hard, yin and yang. Together, they represent a balance and harmony in the investment process. I first told everyone that I had now run out of excuses because we were on our own. I then offered directorships to Grant Ryan and Susanne Anderson. Grant had been with me since the Ralan years. He grew from a consultant to sales management and general management. He had become a great business leader. I met Susanne in Ralan when she was working as a property manager. She started working with me when I started Aldy Sydney and had grown from an officer manager to a general manager. She had become a great leader as well. They both have a lot of integrity, with second-to-none dedication to the business, attention to detail and rare lateral thinking. I knew they had been integral to our previous success and would be instrumental to our future success. Another thing I like about them both is they will always tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. They are better than me in many areas. And I am proud to have them on board to build Ironfish’s billion-dollar dream together. ‘O ur core values are We started the business with a to be dream-driven, blank piece of paper. Our core to allow people to values are to be dream-driven, to achieve success and allow people to achieve success financial freedom and financial freedom through a lifelong relationship with us. through a lifelong We provide high-performance relationship with us.’ products and quality service; we are culturally diverse and are able to cater to different types of clients; and we are ethical and transparent in our business and personal dealings with people. 122 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

We had wonderful staff and many years of experience to draw on, plus the experience of putting investors into close to $2 billion worth of investment property. My goal was for Ironfish to become a billion-dollar company. I did not think we were ready to emulate Mirvac’s model. I did not want to be another Aldy or Ralan Group. Neither did I want to be another Ray White or McGrath. We wanted to create something truly unique. I knew that we could do things differently, and better. Going out on my own 123

6. The Ironfish story: with an eye on a Maserati I can tell you the perfect property to buy. It is an apartment overlooking the Opera House, with panoramic views of Sydney Harbour. It is a spacious three-bedroom penthouse, with all the latest gadgets. It costs $100,000. And the best time to buy it was 30 years ago. The perfect property simply doesn’t exist. While some people are spending countless hours on Saturdays scouring the paper and traipsing around Sydney trying to find it, other people are investing quickly and getting the capital gain that comes with time. The Ironfish approach is a holistic one to ease the transition for people into property investment. The foundations of our approach are: combating people’s inaction, changing their thinking, helping them invest, helping them increase their income, supporting them so they can hold on to the property for as long as possible. And the end goal is for them to be able to retire early, and worth a couple of million dollars. That’s why I’m really excited about the Ironfish overall offering − we can help the average person become financially free. If you look at the statistics, fewer than 1 per cent of retirees make more than $40,000 a year. Seventy-nine per cent make less than $12,000 a year, often relying on the pension or family and friends. By any stretch of the imagination, that is gut-wrenching poverty. That’s sitting in an apartment, with no money to go out to dinner, no money to travel, 124 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

‘The foundations of and nothing to do with your time our approach are: but watch daytime TV. People combating people’s think, ‘Finally I’ve got all this time now I’ve retired’, but they find out inaction, changing they have no money to spend. their thinking, helping Australians are living longer and them invest, helping longer, and are in the top five them increase their countries for life expectancy. income, supporting According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in them so they can hold 1900 the life span of Australians on to the property for was 55 years for men and 58 as long as possible.’ years for women, and these people began retiring in the 1960s. Baby Boomers can expect to live to 80 and people born in 2006 can expect to live for almost 90 years. It means a vast change in the way we budget for our retirement. The Baby Boomers worked all their lives assuming that a pension would be available for them, and compulsory superannuation is so recent that many of them were unable to accumulate enough to live on. Added to that, the return on superannuation has been less than desirable in the past few years, and I think the only people who have been making money out of super are the fund managers. They charge you a fee regardless of your returns. ‘P roperty is all about The best time to buy property was using other people’s yesterday. Property is a simple money to buy assets, game, and when you know the rules you can master it. It is an using your money to equation of assets, time and cash. buy time, and using Property is all about using other time to make money.’ people’s money to buy assets, using your money to buy time, and using time to make money. Buying time is everything, to allow for capital gains. How many people wish they’d bought five properties 10 years ago in Leichhardt, Campsie or Burwood. They would have done very well. Some people were there and had the opportunity, and they didn’t take action. The Ironfish story 125

Fear is a powerful demotivator, and people are afraid of making mistakes, and afraid of commitment. Property will always do well in the long term. In Australia there is a shortage of supply, and inflation will always send the prices up. Some people think property is too expensive, but back in 1991, $180,000 was the average price of a house and people thought it was too expensive then. In 1960, the average Sydney house price was $8400. Prices are always going to go up, because it costs more and more money to build and higher building costs are squeezing developers’ margins. Our migration policy is bringing hundreds of thousands of people a year to live here, and they are concentrating in the cities; the economy is growing; and on top of that, our near neighbours are becoming richer and looking for investment opportunities abroad. Projections show that about 1.4 million Chinese visitors will be coming to Australia each year in the next few years, and the chances are some of them are going to buy properties here, and it’s going to push prices up. Many books have been written about property investment. Most of them make investing in property more complicated than it is. Every ‘E very Australian, if Australian, if they’re really serious about becoming wealthy, can buy they’re really serious just four properties and if they hold about becoming onto them long enough, it’s going wealthy, can buy just to make them a millionaire. The four properties and if problem is, things can go wrong, they hold onto them which is why they need someone long enough, it’s going to assist them along the way. Too much emphasis is placed on to make them a selecting the right property at the millionaire.’ right price. Very little attention is given to the 10-year journey. Without support, many investors do not have the patience or mental strength to hold on when things go wrong. And they often do. You could work hard for 40 years and have little to show for it, and never know what it’s like to get out of a Rolls Royce. Or you could work just as hard, apply a strategy and build some real wealth. The average person needs between 4 and 10 investment properties to give them two to five million dollars net worth when they’re ready to 126 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

retire. At a conservative 5 per cent return, they could be making $100,000 to $250,000 a year, which would provide a comfortable lifestyle. Research we have conducted over nine years in the property industry shows that if people buy these properties and hold on to ‘… having the tenacity to them for 10 to 15 years, they stick it out through will get these returns. The periods of slow growth, challenge is having enough cash flow to support this investment, cycles of higher interest and having the tenacity to stick it out through periods of slow rates, or during personal growth, cycles of higher interest crises such as health rates, or during personal crises problems or relationship such as health problems or breakdowns.’ relationship breakdowns. Where most people fail is not buying enough time. If they don’t have enough money to keep their cash flow even, they can’t pay the bank, and they have to sell. That’s where the second part of our approach comes in. We are truly interested in creating wealth for our investors, but often that means helping people to break out of a mindset that traps them in low-paying employment, or businesses that are not performing to the optimum capability. I believe that people are often trapped and unable to dream of a higher income, because they believe it is impossible. ‘Prestige and When people look for a job, their satisfaction are not concept is to get a good job that important, because gives them fulfilment, financial at the end of your reward, and a good work/life life, there is no balance. My approach is the greater prestige than opposite. I have always set a financial target, and then used being able to retire whatever vehicle is necessary to comfortably and be match that target. As long as it’s a financially free.’ job that delivers value to the end-user, and it delivers me financial reward, that is the best job I can have. I would work on an oil rig if it could give me $1 million after tax each year. What is the point of doing a job if you’re not getting the financial rewards? If money is not The Ironfish story 127

important to you and you couldn’t care less, it’s understandable. Still, it wouldn’t be clear why you’re reading this book. Prestige and satisfaction are not important, because at the end of your life, there is no greater prestige than being able to retire comfortably and be financially free. If you have more than you need, you can give it to others, like Bill Gates did. Life positioning is very important, and we work with our investors to restructure their lives, and set targets to meet their financial goals. People must have a genuine desire to do better for themselves. Everybody can get by in Australia, but what is the secret to true success? The gurus say it’s about creative thinking, people skills and a go-getting attitude, but I say if you don’t have a genuine desire, you won’t do any of these. The second aspect is hard work. When people are going through the change phase, they need to work harder than usual. We can help people who are salaried employees become businesspeople; small businesspeople can expand their current business. If people are willing to try something different, develop different sorts of income, and even quit their full-time job if that’s not giving them enough, they can really start to increase their income. After people come to my seminar, they realise they need to do something more. ‘E verybody can get The first question people ask is: by in Australia, but ‘Joseph, how can I afford to buy what is the secret to four properties when I’m only earning $60,000 a year?’ I turn the true success?’ question around, so they ask: ‘Joseph, I want to buy four properties. Tell me, what do I need to do?’ It’s a matter of turning the traditional approach on its head. Financial reward is recognition by society of the role you play in life, your positioning and the contribution you make. Some people can get a lot of recognition for playing football really well, as they provide sporting entertainment. Some people through their looks as actors or models, and some people through tricks and scams, but most of us have to rely on our individual effort. A friend of mine, Tony Yao, who used to work with me, was on $100,000 a year at retailer Bing Lee. For eight years, that was the top of his income, and he couldn’t break 128 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

through to the higher level. When he came to work with me, I asked him how much income he needed to produce to justify his quitting Bing Lee and make him happy. He said he needed $225,000. In the first 12 months he worked with me, he earned $335,000. It changed his thinking to a bigger scheme. He thought: ‘Now, I can actually quadruple my income. What if I do even better than this?’ He was not working any harder, but in a different vehicle in a different environment, using his skills in a different way. You’ve got to constantly look at the game you play. Is it big enough to reach your next target? If not, you have to change the game you’re playing. But it’s not an easy journey, and you’ve got to play by the rules of that game and put the effort in to reach the maximum results. ‘O ne of the biggest You can be the best in a certain challenges for people field, but if that industry only allows is change.’ for $100,000 a year, how can you make $1 million a year? How can you make $20 million? You need to change the size of the game, or change the game. If you’re working as an accountant earning $70,000 a year, how do you make $300,000 a year? Do you wait for your turn in one of the top five accounting firms? Or do you change your job or keep your job but develop a second income source? You could go to your boss, ask for $300,000, and the answer would probably be no. Or you change your job, you find something that pays $300,000, but it’s hard to make that leap in income as a salaried employee. So, you could start a business of your own with unlimited potential, or you could do three things at a time: your accounting job and two other things that earn you $115,000 a year each. If I run a newsagency, how do I get from $100,000 to half a million a year? The location and size of the newsagency only give me $100,000. To make half a million I’d either have to own five of these newsagencies, or see if there’s any room to expand, or sell this one and buy a bigger one, taking on a bigger risk. Or I get out of the newsagency game and get into something else. But most people don’t think like that. What I’ve always been doing is focusing on the next vehicle. After I reach that target, if I see I can’t do any more, I go to the next vehicle. When people change, they change laterally, and that’s not going to help. People need to change substantially. The Ironfish story 129

One of the biggest challenges for people is change. In China, there was a Communist doctrine that said: ‘Things are always changing all the time, and because of that you should never give up if you’re not ahead. But you should never get too complacent if you are ahead, because invariably things will change.’ Fortunately I embrace change, but most people don’t. They can come to my seminar, be extremely excited and feel an adrenalin rush and overwhelming optimism about their future, but then they go home and return to their old life and their tired way of thinking. If they don’t challenge their own beliefs, they won’t break through to the next level. I usually do a coaching session with my investors and I spend two evenings with them. The first thing they want to know is: ‘How do I make more money?’ I say: ‘Forget about that, let’s break the mental barrier.’ Once we look at the possibility of expanding their options, based on their personal experience, professional training, what they have done, we work on a strategy for them. Whether you buy a property from us or not, it’s not going to make a difference to what I earn. But I’m only willing to work with people if they are willing to act on information, willing to take guidance, and become action-takers. ‘T he minute you The minute you change your change your thinking, thinking, your life is really going to your life is really start changing. In 1991, when I was going to start delivering pizzas for $7 an hour, I set a goal to make a million dollars a changing.’ year. Had I voiced it aloud, people would have laughed at me. It took me 10 years, but I got there. I could have got there faster had I found myself a coach earlier. I must have wasted five or six years. When the goal is set, then you find a way if you are serious about it. If the mind can perceive and believe, it can achieve. Anyone who says they don’t like money, number one I don’t think they understand money, and number two they’re finding excuses. It really takes the same effort to make a little money as a lot of money. It’s up to you how much you want. If you don’t decide, someone else will decide for you. Australia is a free country. We should decide how much we make ourselves. Don’t forfeit that freedom. Once your cash flow has increased, you can afford to get into the 130 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

property game and know that you can win it. Buying property is a factor of time, and those who can hold on long enough, servicing their loans and riding out the cyclical nature of the property industry, will win and reap the benefits. Another thing I find with many investors is that they do not have a clearly defined goal for their investment. They buy one property because their accountant calls up to remind them they are paying too much tax. Or they buy one because their friend has bought one or everyone seems to be buying. To me, there is only one definite goal for property investment − to become financially free. ‘W e have an approach We have an approach that breaks that breaks through through the myths and mysteries the myths and to show how property investment mysteries to show how can work for 99 per cent of people. There are many good property investment systems out there, but they might can work for 99 per only work for a small part of the cent of people.’ population. Someone in one of the ‘get rich’ books might talk about buying 250 properties. This may sell some books, but it won’t work for most people. Forget these fancy approaches of buying a dump and putting in a new kitchen to get to true wealth, or going to a country town and buying a house in the hope that it will pay more rent. It simply doesn’t work for most people. If you believe that a well-located and good quality property is likely to double in value in 7 to 10 years, buy 4 to 10 of them and hold on to them for 10 years. There is a good chance you’ll be a millionaire. There is no guarantee, but the odds are really good for you. If you do not know how you can accumulate and hold on to those properties, ask someone who knows. Make sure you only ask the people who have done it. I find that many people tend to forget the commonsense approach when they’re investing in property. People spend way too much time looking for bargains or good deals, and they think that’s the way to become wealthy. A bargain or good deal is not only a perception, but also a transaction. We emphasise having the rich man’s mentality. It’s The Ironfish story 131

not a matter of just getting a bargain or short-term gain; it’s about setting everything up correctly. To me, if common sense is applied, investing becomes a simple game. ‘We emphasise The choice of property is important, having the rich man’s but often investors become too mentality. It’s not a emotionally involved in the property matter of just getting they are purchasing. It will be a a bargain or short- home for someone, but it is not your home. You don’t need to visualise term gain; it’s about yourself in the kitchen; you are not required to like the colour of the setting everything up carpet for it to be a good correctly.’ investment. There are several keys to picking the right property. The first question savvy investors should ask themselves takes in my philosophy of starting with the end point in mind. Ask yourself: ‘If I’m paying half a million today to buy a property, will someone else be willing to pay a million in 10 years time. Why? What is it about this property, the location, and the environment; what are the facilities that will attract people to pay $1 million to live here, or pay $1000 a week to rent it? And who are these people? What will they look for in a property in 10 years time? Secondly, can I actually hold on to this property long enough to realise a capital gain, for example for 10 years?’ You have to ask yourself this. If you have to sell very quickly, it’s not your gain; it’s someone else’s gain. Thirdly, how can I hold on to this property long enough without having to put in too much time and money? People’s time is best spent expanding their income and enjoying their lifestyle. People spend way too much time going out and looking at properties. I enjoy going out with my family to look at our next dream house. I take no joy in going out on weekends to look for investment properties. I have the knowledge, but I let others do the leg work. My time is too valuable to spend on looking at investment properties. I would much rather spend the time expanding my income or being with my family. Lanny Xu, a gentleman who had an MBA and worked for a global 500 company, came to my seminar several years ago and bought his first investment property. Prior to coming to my seminar, he had been to 132 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

many seminars and read many books. He did not find the information was practical. He liked what he heard from us and felt our system made sense to him and was practical. He followed our recommendations, and he didn’t have to do research for the sake of doing it. After that, he arrived at a conclusion that he knew everything. He had a home, he had an investment property, he had a great job, an MBA, and he thought he knew what he was doing. He was working really hard, travelling a lot overseas, but he started ‘A sk yourself: ‘If looking at properties every weekend. I’m paying half a Sometimes over a one-month period million today to he would look at 100 properties. He buy a property, will would draw a map, linking all the someone else be suburbs and all the ‘open for willing to pay a inspections’, to maximise his time. From 2000 to 2004, when Sydney million in ten was going through strong growth, he years’ time. Why?’ must have looked at hundreds of properties. Guess how many properties he bought? Zero. Why? Perhaps he couldn’t get the right deal, he was too busy working, he didn’t have time to follow up, he couldn’t make up his mind, and fear and procrastination were playing a part. During the best period in Sydney in the last cycle, he bought no properties. At the end of 2004 he came to us again, and realised that maybe he didn’t know everything. He decided to listen and follow us. Since then, not only has he put together a multi-million-dollar portfolio, he has also increased his income because his thinking has changed. When Sydney slowed down, while we still looked for pockets of suburbs with potential to grow due to infrastructure changes, we took our investors to Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Adelaide. Lanny told me recently that in the past eight years, his portfolio has made him close to $1.4 million in capital gain. In the process, he has become a proud property millionaire. When he came to Australia in 1990, he only had $100. Australia has been kind to him. To look at the first criterion of how we can double the value of our property within 10 years, we need to think about who is going to be buying at that time. The approach is once again to start with the end point in mind. Based on our research, we believe there are three The Ironfish story 133

groups of people who will be cashed-up and ready to buy in the next decade. They are the Baby Boomers − those people who were born from 1945 to 1961 and who are retiring in the next few years. They are middle-class Australians who bought their home in the suburbs to raise their children, but they are now empty-nesters looking to relocate. According to projections, 30 per cent of them will move to the coast, and the other 70 per cent will move closer to lifestyle considerations. They want to live in apartments and townhouses, close to the city, water and amenities and with facilities in their building. They don’t want to have to spend their weekends weeding the garden, and when they travel, they want to be able to just close the door and not have to worry about getting a house-sitter. Our friends Graeme and Dorothy Bell sold their house in the eastern suburbs and bought an apartment near the water. The previous owner of the house I bought in Chatswood West, on the golf course, bought an apartment in Northbridge overlooking the water and near the shopping centre. These buyers have convenience, lifestyle and location as their main priorities. The second group of people will be from Generation Y, those born in the 1980s and early 1990s. Their thinking is totally different from their parents’ generation. They have no desire to buy a quarter-acre block in Camden with a palatial five-bedroom home. They don’t want to be mortgaged up to their eyeballs, because they want discretionary income to spend on the gadgets of modern life and the joys of overseas travel. They don’t want to spend time doing home renovations in the suburbs, because they’re busy on the internet and socialising with friends. The third group are the wealthy migrants. If they come from Asian countries such as China and India, they’re more used to living in a high density city environment. They come with lots of money and they want to live in the centre of things where it is easy for them to get around. Keeping in mind that this is the market you will be pitching to in 10 or 15 years when it comes time to sell, what will make a property attractive to these people? When I first started investing, I was only buying three-level walk-ups, because of the low management fees. 134 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

As time has progressed, it turns out the properties that have done the best are not those properties. The properties where you pay higher management fees are better maintained and have the highest growth values because they are seen as prestigious, and people will pay more to live there. The key to a good investment is purchasing properties that are in a prestigious area, or one that will become more posh as time goes on − close to the city, close to amenities, with facilities in the building. We look at the design of the building, the lobby and the location. You can have buildings on opposite sides of the street that are more or less attractive because of their location. Even in the Sydney CBD, you can have an apartment selling for $600,000 or $6 million, depending on which building it is in, which street it is on and whether it’s a brand-name developer, as those projects tend to appreciate more. Sometimes an underestimated area is worth looking at. Back in 1986 when Microsoft went public, no one thought of investing with this guy, Bill Gates. He was an underestimated quantity. Just as for me $10,000 turned into $11 million by 1999, it goes to show that sometimes backing the right horse can go a long way. There are suburbs that are constantly on the way up in Sydney, and we very closely monitor government infrastructure projects, private development and shifting demographics to get in on the ground floor with these suburbs, before they become gentrified. ‘Investing is not a A common mistake people make is matter of saving looking for a bargain that they can money, it’s a matter brag about to their friends at dinner of making money …’ parties. Investing is not a matter of saving money, it’s a matter of making money, but most people live their lives trying to save money. Saving is a good habit, but when you’re making $50,000 you should be asking how you can make $200,000, rather than how you can save from the $50,000. Even if you save every dollar, and starve yourself to death, that’s still only $50,000. It’s far better to spend the effort working out how to maximise your income to create a financially free life. You are working hard already, so why not try to maximise your income? There is an artificial cap on property in Sydney at the $550,000 mark, The Ironfish story 135

which is where stamp duty kicks in for first-home buyers. For the sake of making a $15,000 saving on stamp duty, many people think they have to come in under this threshold − they have a mental block over the half million dollar figure. The property may be in the wrong location, it may be in a less desirable or less safe suburb, and you sacrifice all the fundamentals of the investment process for the sake of $15,000. So if you buy a property for $550,000 in a better suburb, you don’t have the $15,000 in your pocket at that time, but the property will probably appreciate much faster in that better location. And you can always find a way to make the $15,000 back in income if it’s that important to you. When we select properties at Ironfish, the value and growth potential is what we look at. People may have bought a property because someone offered a small discount, instead of looking at the big picture. They may not be comfortable with the project, they might not be comfortable with the people, but they’re looking for a short-term discount. They might not even realise that the bargain may be only perceived, not real. When a vendor puts an asking price on their property, it is based on a local agent’s personal view and what other properties have sold for in the same street. That price is subjective. When you put in an offer at $20,000 lower, and the vendor accepts it, you think you have got a bargain. But in many cases, that bargain may not be real. Every property in the same street is different. Two different agents can produce totally different results. Have you ever calculated how much time you have spent on achieving that perceived $20,000 saving? How much is your time worth? Knowing many people want to bargain, some developers factor in a $15,000 window on top of the purchase price, to make people feel good. You may be walking away thinking you have won $15,000, but have you really? That’s why people need our platform. Everyone tends to focus on short-term gains; people want bargains in life instead of getting a good investment. The bargain may be sweet in the short term, but a bad investment can be very bitter in the long term. There are two types of investment products − growth products and income products. Most people invest in property to create wealth, and if that’s the purpose the capital gain is the biggest wealth creator. If we’re buying a property hoping that we’re going to become wealthy, 136 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

it’s about buying a growth product. It’s not about going from one suburb to another, one home to another, and being daunted by the vagaries of the property cycle. At Ironfish we want to create the most conducive environment for our investors from the perspective of finance, property and the human point of view. In 15 years’ time, there will be a lot of new millionaires and they will be the people that bought the right properties and held onto them. In this sense, I like Warren Buffett’s approach to share investment. The world’s richest man has a history of barely ever selling anything. Instead of picking a hot stock, he goes for the fundamentals. A company that is run soundly, has good growth potential, keeps costs under control, has good profitability, and the share being good value, he buys in. ‘I’m certainly not a In 2005, I was invited by a Chinese believer in DIY media company to give a seminar in investment because China. It was televised to an audience most people don’t of 600 million people, and I talked about the five Ps: the power of the have the skills, dream, the power of association, the knowledge and power of leverage, the power of action, tenacity, or the the power of long-term thinking. You proper environment, need to associate with people that will support your desire for a better life. and most of them You need to use other people’s money, will fail.’ skills and knowledge as leverage in your endeavours. I’m certainly not a believer in DIY investment because most people don’t have the skills, knowledge and tenacity, or the proper environment, and most of them will fail. You need to have patience. People make $100,000 with their ‘T here is a power in property, they sell. There’s a one-year patience, and it is downturn in the market, they sell. If difficult for people what you have bought is fundamentally correct, with the right location, area, when they see cash population make-up, type of property, quality of construction and position of going out of their the property in the block, all you need pockets.’ to work on is yourself. There is a power in patience, and it is difficult for people when they see cash going out of their pockets. Petrol prices are rising, inflation is up, they might lose The Ironfish story 137

their job for two months, school fees are due. It challenges people’s commitment to their future. Properties never go wrong; people go wrong. No property has made any mistake, it doubles in value every 7 to 10 years because of the supply and demand cycle. People who lose money either bought too many properties and over-committed, they sold too quickly or they bought incorrectly. I don’t know of anyone who bought a property 10 years ago, still owns it and regrets it today. When I first started investing I was told investment in property is a clinical investment, it’s not as if it’s buying a dream home. There’s such a strong feeling in Australia about home ownership. People in Europe rent their entire lives, but here it’s the great Australian dream to own a home. This is why it’s important for us to work with our investors to take the emotion out of property investing. If you’re going to be excited about anything, be excited about the fact you will be wealthy down the road once your efforts have paid off. There has been some negative publicity in recent years about property trusts, and the property industry in general. The failure of several high-risk trusts in Australia wiped out people’s life savings. It ‘If you’re going to has provoked a fear about investment in real estate that is be excited about largely unfounded and simply leads anything, be excited to people delaying an investment about the fact you which after all can only grow with will be wealthy down time. Just like the stock market has the road once your cost many people trillions of dollars over the years, does that mean the efforts have paid off.’ stock market is a bad investment? No, it’s just how you do it. You need to understand the risks involved, your exposure to those risks through different types of investment, and you need to surround yourself with experts to make sure your investment has the best chance of success. It’s the same with property. My philosophy is all businesses, companies and individuals work according to certain formulas. The reason these property companies went under was they were unable to manage the formula well. It had nothing to do with the industry; there are shonky doctors and accountants out there, but 138 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

there are many that are very good. I’ve been in the business for nine years and I believe my approach works. You can absolutely buy four properties and hold them for 10 or 15 years, and you’re almost guaranteed to be a millionaire. Our job is to help people understand how everything works. It’s not an easy journey, like everything in life − out of 1.2 million property investors only a small percentage are millionaires. According to the latest research from Merrill Lynch, there are only 165,000 Australians (families, couples or individuals) with US$1 million or more. Some are home owners, some are business owners, and some are senior executives. Most investors do not end up being wealthy because they cannot handle the time and the challenges. Our friends Leesa and Marcel had been putting off investing in property after seeing some media coverage about shonky property companies. They were in a position to invest but they hadn’t, even when their accountant told them to invest, because they were so concerned about all of this. When I showed them how the investment worked, and the rules of the game, they took the plunge and never looked back. One of the properties I put them onto at Hope Island in Queensland achieved $200,000 capital growth 13 months after they had bought it off the plan. They were very excited, but I told them that they must never judge the merit of a property based on short-term gains or losses. The way to make money from property is time, and they had wasted time prevaricating over whether the industry was safe. We’re here to facilitate. We want to position Ironfish as the long-term, lifetime strategic partner for our clients. Property investment is a big business; to be successful in business you need certain areas of expertise and knowledge. There’s no reason for our clients to be full-time property experts with all the knowledge, because we are specialists in this. We have $2 billion worth of investment experience and many tens of thousands of clients’ human experience. We understand what people go through on the journey. It is my mission to create more millionaires in Australia than any other company. When a new consultant joins us, the first thing I tell them during their training is: ‘This is a wonderful industry, but you’ve got to do two The Ironfish story 139

things so when you run into your investor in the street 10 years from now you don’t have to duck away. One, this is a 10-year plan; this is a long-term investment. Two, you only sell to investors who can afford it. If they are keen but cannot afford it, don’t sell it to them. We want long-term investors; we don’t want quick results and then disappear.’ Some companies have been more aggressive, and they’ve disappeared. But we are here for the long haul. That’s why we have this growth plan. I’m a strong believer in our products and we take on the best products possible − 80 per cent of my personal portfolio is made up of properties that I have recommended to other people. People shouldn’t be put off because other people haven’t done it correctly; things always go wrong, and it doesn’t always work as planned. People need to make sure they associate with the right company, the right individuals. I’d like to share with you some case studies of some investors who have worked with us and achieved success by following our platform. The resources sector is going really well and leading to skills shortages in traditional trades and labour areas, which is leading to a new class of wealthy people in trades who are capitalising on the shortage. There are a lot of people there with a lot of money that might not have come from a background of understanding wealth management. Even though our main target is people in the middle level wanting to get ahead, our typical investors have three qualities: they’re responsible for their future, they’re willing to take action, and they can afford it financially. I met a Lebanese gentleman when he was building a new bathroom in my home. He had been doing bathroom renovations for a number of years, but his income had hit a plateau at $100,000. He had been surrounded by the same group of people and found it hard to break through to the next level and allow himself to dream of a future where he was earning a lot more money. I gave him some practical tips on how he could restructure his business, and that year he went from $100,000 to $250,000, then the next year he made even more. He bought three properties from me over 24 months, and I remember on the third property he was a bit nervous. He said: ‘Joseph, do you think I can do this?’ I replied, ‘I wouldn’t have recommended it if I 140 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

didn’t think you could afford it.’ He said, ‘Thank you for your encouragement!’ How many times in that situation would people have convinced him not to buy? I have offered our services to some very privileged clients who have millions of dollars in the bank. They have accumulated their wealth in their own area of expertise, often running their own businesses, but are looking for the next vehicle for wealth creation. The common factor is that they knew their expertise did not lie in property, and so they were willing to seek help. A gentleman who was in the fashion industry had $1.7 million cash in the bank. He knew all about hemlines, the weave of the fabric and the most flattering cut, but when it came to investing in Australian property, he knew that there was a gap in his knowledge and so he relied on us. He was certainly intelligent enough to have learned about the industry himself, but it simply wasn’t worth his time – it was better to outsource it to the experts. Another investor came to a seminar with US$5 million in the bank, and didn’t think he really needed help. But he bought four properties from us over a six-month period. He had made a lot of money from certain industries, but he was willing to listen to us about property. It was the same with a Malaysian couple who have bought 12 properties from us in the past 18 months. I met a Chinese gentleman who owned more than 70 taxis, a petrol station and a smash repair shop. He liked our system and decided to let us help him invest in property. He said to me: ‘Joseph, I can do what you do, and go out to invest in property myself. But it is not worth my time. I prefer to focus on building my business empire.’ The more successful people are, the more confidence they have in trusting the experts. They know they don’t need to do it themselves; they don’t think it’s worth their time. They want to spend more time generating more income in their own field of expertise, or enjoying the fruits of their labour. That’s what I say to our investors − it’s not the only wealth you’re going to have, but it’s the foundation for most people. You can build further wealth. You know at the worst case, you’re going to retire a millionaire a couple of times over. Another investor of mine is Tony Shang. When I met Tony in 2000, he The Ironfish story 141

was earning $38,000 per year, his wife was on $25,000. They had two boys, a $200,000 home loan and were going to buy an investment property. Tony had graduated from Fudan University in Shanghai, one of the most prestigious universities in China, majoring in Finance. When it came time to choose between the property I recommended to him and another one he had looked at directly from a local developer, Tony asked me: ‘Joseph, if you were my friend, which one do you think I should buy? I like yours and the other. But yours is a three-bedroom for $395,000 and non-negotiable, while the other is a two-bedroom unit in the same suburb for $350,000 and negotiable.’ I said: ‘Tony, if all you want is to buy one property and feel less financial pressure, you should buy the other one. But if you want to buy five properties in the next few years and change your life, you should buy mine. Once you become an investor, I will be obligated to help you. You are probably more clever than I am, but I am earning more in a month than you earn in a year; don’t you think I can teach you a thing or two?’ Tony immediately decided to go with me. Later on, I went to his home and sat down with him and his wife to discuss how he could improve his income. Tony had been wanting to work on his income for a while, but with a $200,000 mortgage and a family to feed, he was locked in. After two nights coaching, I broke his mental barrier about income and with my recommendation, while still keeping his daytime job, Tony trained to be a finance broker working weeknights and weekends. Six months later, Tony was able to quit his daytime job because his income from finance broking was earning him far more money. Today Tony is one of the most successful brokers I know − he has a portfolio of five investment properties, lives in a million-dollar home in Epping, drives a Mercedes E320 and has been earning big dollars for years. I bumped into Tony at Sydney international airport a couple of years ago. Like me, he was going back to China to visit his parents. I asked him how he had done that year; he told me he had had a great year. He also thanked me for helping him break out of his own self and achieve some unbelievable results. But to me, the joy was all mine − I felt the joy of giving and helping people. I am very proud of what Tony has achieved. It shows us how possible it is for us to change our results dramatically if we are willing to follow the right strategy. 142 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

Recently, at the end of a seminar I did with John Edwards, CEO of Residex, a man asked to see me. He said he had come to the seminar to thank me for the 20 minutes I had spent with him while delivering a seminar for the Aldy Group, some years ago. He had been hoping to understand how he could increase his income. He was on $200,000 at that time, running his own business, but he couldn’t seem to get to the next level. He couldn’t let go of the reins of the day-to-day operation. He was working at his capacity, his business was working at its capacity, and so he needed to restructure the way he was doing things. He needed to work smarter, because it was impossible for him to work any harder than he already was. I asked him about his staff, the type and temperament of the people working for him. He said they were okay, but most of them were being paid about $50,000 a year. I told him he had to surround himself with better people. He needed to pay $80,000 or $100,000 to get better-qualified staff, because how would he attract real go- getters unless he made it worth their while? One year later, he still made $200,000, but he didn’t need to put in as much time himself. The next year, he made half a million dollars. Once he surrounded himself with the best people, his income kept going up. In the three years after he attended that original seminar, he bought $4.5 million worth of property, and one year made more than $1 million in capital growth alone. I come across stories like this all the time at seminars. Everything I’ve done so far, I’ve learned from my own experience watching other people running their businesses and when people listen, it really works. One of my early investors was a Chinese man who was a PhD doing research in a hospital. He was earning $44,000; his wife was on $40,000. They were two professionals living in a two-bedroom apartment near the city, and they were paying off their home loan very quickly. Now there’s no question that this couple were more intelligent than I am. They were working at the highest levels of scientific research. Although we were the same age, our life circumstances were very different. I went to see them and they saw my Mercedes; they saw I was earning half a million dollars a year. I asked him what he thought of my approach. He said he liked the concept, but didn’t have the money to invest. I said: ‘What do you mean you don’t have the money to invest? You’re on $84,000 a year. That’s plenty!’ He The Ironfish story 143

said all his money was going to pay off the home loan. He didn’t even have money for his daughter’s piano lessons. He said he wanted to pay the home loan off quickly, because he didn’t want to have debt. I suggested we change some things in the way he’d structured himself. I told him: ‘Pay the minimum payment first on your home loan, about $1200 a month. Still take your family out for dinner, and pay for your daughter’s piano lessons, but let’s take on a couple of investment properties. You only pay the interest on the loan, plus with a tenant there’s a tax deduction. So with the same money but doing something differently you have a different exposure to the property market.’ Over 12 months he took on two investment properties. All of a sudden, by changing the way he did things, he had a property portfolio of $1.1 million with no change in income. The only thing that was different was that he wasn’t under any pressure or mental stress thinking he had to pay off his home loan. I remember helping a married couple, who were the shyest people you’d ever meet, make their way to financial freedom. They were both working in a factory, and had bought a home − a townhouse − in the southern area of Sydney. It had made some money for them, so they knew property grew in value. They were looking to expand in property investment and came to see me. When I talked to them, all their friends were against investment. They had started to do well and had a new car, and their friends were laughing at them. This couple was so fragile as first-time investors that we really had to step them through the process. I talked about how we could help them become courageous investors through property investment. They were not dynamic investors, and would only buy a property every three or four years. They bought a property from me in 1999, and two years later they saw me in the street, and tapped me on the shoulder. We had sold them a two-bedroom apartment in Ashfield for $310,000. They said they were delighted – they paid next to no tax on it, the property was constantly rented, and Meriton was selling new two-bedroom apartments nearby from $475,000. It was such a remarkable turnaround for this couple. They had been very hesitant investors and even after they signed the contract, their best friends were trying to talk them out of it. People are generally negative. You can ask your friends about many things, but unless you have the right friends you might not get the support you need. There’s also a small element of 144 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

jealousy. People who are your friends want you to do well − just not as well as them. But this couple had the last laugh, as they work towards their goal of becoming wealthy. Other investors of mine are Linda and Allan. When I first met them in 2000, they were both nearly 50 years old. They liked what I had said about investment, but they thought they could do it themselves. I asked them: ‘Have you ever thought about living in a million-dollar home? Have you ever thought about driving a Mercedes?’ They said: ‘Not really.’ They were both earning about $50,000 a year, and I can understand why at the time they did not think of the house and car. After looking for properties all over Sydney for two years, they only managed to buy one (they had already owned two); they realised that perhaps they should have followed my suggestions. At the end of 2002, Linda called me to have a meeting. When they came to my office in St Leonards, they said they should have bought the property from me two years earlier, and that they were ready to become investors. After taking on two more properties, Linda said: ‘Remember you said to us two years ago that if we invest with you, you will teach us how to make more money? Can you still do that?’ I got them into my office and spent two hours with them. Again I first helped break their mental income barrier, sharing with them the art of making money based on my experience. They went with my recommendation, and in 2003, their combined income went from $100,000 to about $300,000. They have been making high six-figure incomes ever since and along the way built a beautiful million-dollar home in Frenchs Forest, bought a Mercedes E320 and a Land Rover, and built up a multi-million-dollar investment portfolio. They have become property millionaires. Meet two friends of mine, Sean and Bruce. They came to Australia on a cricket tour in the 1990s, and decided they both wanted to move here. They were at about the same stage in life, although Sean worked at a university and his English and his prospects were a little better than Bruce’s. Sean migrated, stayed within the university system, and was probably earning about $80,000. He got a secure job and was happy with his lot in life, despite the fact that he could probably have earned more money. One day, he was looking at a franchise business that was making a traditional Chinese meal. Based The Ironfish story 145

on the plan and projections, he was interested, and did what most of us would do – he called 10 of his friends to find out what they thought of the idea. Every single one dissuaded him from the idea. I asked him later on: ‘Who among them is working in the hospitality industry successfully? How many of your friends are successful businesspeople?’ The answer on both counts was ‘none’. So why did he listen to his ‘friends’? Bruce also migrated to Australia, but after a few years he couldn’t get permanent residency so he returned to China. I had introduced Bruce to a friend of mine who owned one of the biggest advertising agencies in China, and Bruce started working in the business. In his first year, he made one million yuan (A$180,000), bought three apartments in Beijing and a red Toyota Celica, which was the first one in Beijing. He went on to build his own successful advertising agency ‘Surround yourself with giants such as Microsoft and with successful Johnson & Johnson as his clients; now and supportive he has a successful outdoor furniture company too. He is worth many people, and you millions. It goes to show the power of can change your association. Surround yourself with life.’ successful and supportive people, and you can change your life. After meeting with tens of thousands of people over the years, in property, translation and direct marketing businesses, I’ve developed a firm view on why people are limited. If you take your five best friends, and you divide their total income by five, you will arrive at the income that you earn. You are simply a product of your surroundings. I bought some Swiss watches from an elegant Chinese lady who had tried to get ahead. Her husband was not that enterprising, so she had to try on her own. After a few years, she thought: ‘Maybe I’m not destined to become successful and wealthy.’ She didn’t have the support; her friends had worn her down, and it’s truly a case of being limited by her associations. Knowing most people do not have a sound environment conducive to investment among their friends, family members or colleagues, Ironfish creates a supportive environment for them. I believe anyone can retire a multi-millionaire if they are willing to follow 146 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

‘The Ironfish approach the rules. There is no magical is about spurring solution to wealth creation. people to action, to Get-rich-quick schemes do not change their mind-set, work. Chances are you will not win change their Lotto, and hoping for a windfall approach, and change from inheritance usually ends in tears. I ask people to imagine their lives. This is a becoming multi-millionaires within vehicle for wealth 15 years’ time, after coming here creation that can work with nothing. How will they feel? for almost everybody, They usually feel excited at the and each day a few prospect. What I am teaching is not about cutting corners or new future millionaires getting a deal – it’s solid wealth are created in my creation. The Ironfish approach is investor base.’ about spurring people to action, to change their mindset, change their approach, and change their lives. This is a vehicle for wealth creation that can work for almost everybody, and each day a few new future millionaires are created in my investor base. I am delighted and honoured to be working in this business. The Ironfish story 147

7. The future: a Gulfstream 550 jet My dream is to turn Ironfish into a billion-dollar company. It’s a bold statement, and by putting myself out there, I’m certain there will be sceptics who will laugh at my vision. Seventeen years ago he was a pizza delivery driver! How does he think he can run a billion-dollar company? The astronauts who went to the moon could have fallen out of the sky; they could have been ridiculed for daring to dream of the impossible. But they were embarking on something that would take society and humanity forward. I believe that nothing is impossible. Once the end point is set, the journey takes its course. Sure, it may take longer than expected, and there will certainly be unforeseen challenges, but it can be done. To me, a billion dollars is only a million times a thousand! I am already in the multi-million-dollar game. All I need to do is to work out how to get a thousand millions and keep it. One of the first things I did after starting Ironfish was to find myself a business coach. I know I’m a strong individual, I’m an entrepreneur and I’m a risk-taker. But I had never run a fast-growth company on this scale, and I didn’t want to take any chances with it. I take the livelihood of the people working with me very seriously. I went through different channels to find a coach and I didn’t just find someone who would tell me what to do. I compare business with sports; the first 148 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

thing I said to the coach was: ‘I want to be the top player in the world.’ I needed a coach who believed I could do it. I needed someone who was willing to run with me. I was looking for someone who had just retired from an active CEO job and had a lot of experience in big companies, to help me turn Ironfish into a major public company with sustainable productivity, sound systems and good corporate governance. And then John Schaap came along. He was the director and general manager of Qantas for many years. He had been CEO of Burswood Casino, Thakral, Australian Airlines and he was the Chief Operating Officer of American Express in Australia and New Zealand. I could not have wished for a better mentor. John believes in my vision and is willing to run with me, for which I am really grateful. He’s now a non-executive director of our business. For us to manage the company’s growth, we had to attract the best people. To attract and retain the best people, we had to be able to deliver three things. First, people need to be able to come to work for us and make a very decent living. Second, they need room to grow, both personally and professionally. Third, they have to like the environment and corporate culture. By putting these systems and processes in place, we can manage our growth. I don’t want to be a ‘I don’t want to be celebrity CEO − it’s a team effort, and I want to give Ironfish the best a celebrity CEO …’ opportunity. Currently, we primarily target the multicultural Australian market and migrants because we believe it is an under-serviced market, just like the Chinese market nine years ago. But as the company grows and our platform becomes more widely appreciated, we plan to expand. We will be marketing thousands of properties a year so it’s only natural to manage these properties for our investors as well. We will move into property management to provide a one-stop shop for investors and in fact our Adelaide office is already trialling this. It comes back to that idea of providing expertise for our investors, so they can get on with the business of making money in their areas of expertise. It is also part of our lifelong commitment to our investors throughout their wealth creation process. We want to be able to provide finance for our investors as well. We want to help investors with an understanding of where they want to The future 149

go. It’s like snooker − when you pocket the red ball, you’re really trying to take the cue ball back to the black ball. You know a few steps ahead. A lot of people go to normal brokers who are often not investors themselves and may not understand the needs of investors. Our people understand the loan structure, and the requirements for flexibility. Our goal is to build the most effective property distribution business first, so that one day we will be able to move many thousands of properties a year. As soon as that is in place, we will move into development. At present, we are servicing the building industry by marketing their products, but we – as well as any other company – are subject to the vagaries of the property cycle. Demand, government policy on land release, cost of construction materials and the cost of labour all have an impact on the cost to the buyer, and without an interest in development, we cannot have an input into these factors. We also want to have control over the types of properties being built, because we know what provides the best return on investment over time. House and land packages in far-flung suburbs, and new greenfield sites, may be great for a home and provide some solid growth in the first few years due to inflow of new population to the area, but the long-term growth potential depends on the type of population make-up and whether they will have the buying power to pay a lot more for the same property in 10 years’ time. Apartments in urban centres close to schools, transport, recreational areas and cafe strips have good returns. We can build the sort of buildings that have long-term growth potential. Property is a very cyclical industry, and in order to minimise that cycle, we want to focus on scale. When you deal with a large pool of sales outlets, the result is usually completely predictable. The larger the property pool, the better in my book. All my business ventures so far have been in distribution – selling other people’s products. When I look at the biggest businesses in the world that are making truly great inroads into wealth creation and community input, many of them are in distribution. Look at WalMart, Woolworths and Coles. They hardly make anything, and yet they are phenomenally successful businesses. So we want to build a distribution business first, on a global scale. We want to take the Ironfish approach to China and 150 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

India, and capture the other markets on the map. A lot of people think of Australia as a small market, and while for any individual it’s big enough for any dream to come true, we are living in a global business community. Imagine what we could do as a service provider, moving from Australia and New Zealand to China, India and Vietnam. There are three billion potential investors there. We want to get a deeper understanding of the markets we are in, so we can develop a global approach. This is why we have a 10-year vision for building a billion-dollar company. Australia is very well advanced in terms of financial services, in our standards and regulations, and we are well regarded overseas. I’m very excited about this journey and I believe that we’ve gained the experience from the past nine years in Australia and New Zealand, working with people, understanding how we can maximise the possibility of creating serious wealth for people, and making them more successful. In my business journey, not only have I been able to continue to grow as a person, I’ve been able to enjoy a very high standard of living. When I departed the Aldy Group, the first thought on my mind was that I would do everything in my power to help the people at Ironfish to enjoy the standard of living that I had been enjoying. We need to build scale, because if the business remains small, there’s no opportunity for people to grow. I have seen people in our business grow from junior to a relatively senior level. Not just in terms of job title and income, but also through personal growth in their attitudes and approaches to life. I would like to grow our business by growing our people. I have delivered presentations to tens of thousands of people in the various careers I have had, from direct marketing to door-to-door sales, from insurance to property. The one thing I know about people is that they don’t think strategically about their future. There is a very laissez faire approach to life, a very conservative outlook on wealth creation that is pervasive. I like to take the example of the media mogul, Rupert Murdoch. He didn’t quite start from nothing. He inherited the Adelaide News masthead from his father. But he has built an empire that spans the globe, taking in newspapers, subscription television, magazines, sporting teams, record labels, film studios, websites and digital technology. It was the teaching he The future 151

‘It was the teaching received from his father and mother that helped him build the empire. What was Rupert Murdoch said at the dinner table was vital to his received from his understanding of strategic thinking. Most father and mother of us don’t have access to parents like that helped him that. Parents might be successful, but build the empire.’ they don’t have time to talk to their children about that because they’re so busy building up their businesses, so we have to learn it from our schools. What do teachers teach us? The teachers are salaried employees and might not know how to teach business skills. What about our friends and contemporaries? They’re in the same boat as us. We are aiming to have a couple of million students worldwide learning entrepreneurial skills at the Ironfish School. I see a huge need for life skills education, on top of the traditional education that is provided. We’re talking to young people about leadership, goal setting, responsibility, money and investment, coupled with practical skills such as how to perform in interviews and how to impress people. There is a huge need for this type of education. Children today have very short-term goals − the Year 10 exams, the Year 12 exams, entrance into university, and entry into the workforce. People who graduate and get a job think: ‘I’ve got my job as a lawyer/accountant/ doctor now, I’ll just work hard and bide my time to rise up the company ladder.’ It’s a lack of creative thinking that leads to complacency, and to be quite frank, a mediocre life. We can teach people how to get ahead of others by developing themselves. There are a lot of coaching colleges teaching young people how to do maths better, how to do English better, and train for the Year 12 exams. There is a lot of pressure placed on children to work the system, to know what the markers are looking for to maximise their test scores. While that is an important part of the education system in this country, we need to think, for what end? What are these traditional disciplines so focused upon? It is the standard by which students are judged, and they need to do well to get into university. Once again, for what end? In China, millions of students every year are under so much pressure to go to university, but going to university is not the key to success. It is a stepping-stone to the rest of your life, 152 FROM BICYCLES TO BENTLEYS

‘… going to but it is no guarantee of success. By far university is not the more important element to a the key to success. successful life is the right attitude. My son and daughter both go to private It is a stepping- schools, and often I go to parents’ stone to the rest evenings to hear feedback on how they of your life, but it are travelling. A lot of the fathers at the is no guarantee of school are high-powered executives − success. By far the chief executive officers, chief financial more important officers, directors of public and private companies − and they are very busy. element to a They are travelling around the world for successful life is business, and are often not there to the right attitude.’ teach their children about values, even though they are important. The best time to teach children about the virtues of success, and how to have an analytical and strategic mind is when they are young. For older people, there is a vast industry surrounding self-help, and motivational gurus make a lot of money from people trying to get ahead. In property, it’s the ones who come out with claims such as: ‘You have to inspect at least 250 properties before you buy.’ A statement like that is patently ridiculous. And a lot of success educators do not practise what they preach. They make money from selling books and tickets to educational seminars, but they may only have had a tiny bit of success. I met some people at one of my seminars who had been on a course with one of the top success educators in the world for two years, and I said to them: ‘Let me take ‘“You have to a guess – apart from feeling pumped inspect at least up, little has changed in the two years 250 properties you’ve been on this course. You haven’t made more money, you haven’t got before you buy”. more wealth, you’re not driving a better A statement like car, and you’re not living in a better that is patently home.’ They said: ‘How do you know?’ ridiculous.’ I know because I’ve met a lot of people who are trying to build wealth. Going to one of these courses is meant to be a means to an end. But it becomes the end in itself, because people start paying more and The future 153