“Neglecting vacation is neglecting success because every success needs an accumulated positive energy…..In matters of healing the body or the mind, vacation is a true genius!” – Mehmet Murat İldan Many of you reading this article are like me and have a constant driving tendency to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. My hard charging brain never seems to shut-down. I’m always coming up with my next business idea or brilliant new direction for my company, at midnight on a Tuesday! I know many of you understand this more than you might be willing to admit. This dedication can lead to great wealth and success in both life and business. However, it can also become a monster of it’s own by dominating our thought patterns and keeping them focused primarily on work-related subjects. The next thing you know, you’re being chastised by your spouse, your children or your friends for ignoring them. Maybe even seeming detached from your duties as a husband, father, or friend. One of the keys to success in business and personal relationships is maintaining balance. Sometimes, the best way to get things back into a balanced state is to take a well-deserved vacation. When I say “vacation,” I mean it in every sense of the term! Taking a well-deserved vacation can work wonders for your relationships and your business. Here are several benefits: -Vacations relieve stress -Mental skills are improved drastically -Physical health is improved -Vacations strengthen family ties and enrich relationships -You’ll be focused on enjoying life and the people/things that should matter most Entrepreneurs are driven. We are successful because our primary focus is completing projects, reaching goals, and coming up with ideas to increase the bottom-line. The problem comes when our work-focus over-runs everything else. One of the most difficult things for me to do is to turn my phone off, log off my computer, and redirect my mind away from work. I believe that is one of the reasons that I made my first million before I turned 30. However, I have found that when I take a vacation and force myself to enjoy life away from work, upon my return, I feel like a new man. I have a refreshed brain full of new ideas and I’m excited about the challenges that await me. I am a better entrepreneur, business leader, and even a better husband after I’ve allowed myself some time off to enjoy the sun, my wife, some good food, and some good entertainment. Vacation shrinks stress and anxiety while boosting the mental and physical health of the entire family. We need a mental break, a distraction from deadlines, and time-away from technology! It takes “Type-A” entrepreneurs a tremendous effort to unplug from the ever-spinning world around us! But one’s mind, body, and spirit will be renewed by re-plugging...
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By following this simple painting method, you can increase the profit of your flips! ...
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What sets us apart from our competition? Most real estate investors would never share their secrets with the public…but we’re different! We want to share our wealth of knowledge to help make you more successful and profitable when it comes to your real estate investment(s). Over the next two weeks, I’ll be sharing with you “Five Ways to Make Your House Stand Out.” This week, we’ll address number one and number two from our list: #1. Be different from your competitors: Over the last twelve months, our company has flipped close to one hundred homes in the Chicago-area. Over 90% of those flips received “above ARV” offers! In today’s market, that’s rare. I’m sure you’re wondering “how” we were able to do that. The primary reason is because we rehabilitate our “flips” much differently than our competitors by providing the buyer what they want rather than giving ourselves what we want. Every buyer has an mental picture and checklist of exactly the type of house that they want. Most of those ideas come from a TV show, something they saw on the internet, or an idea they found in a magazine article. However, one of the biggest downfalls of investors is ignoring what a potential buyer wants and offer them the cliche “beige paint, white trim, beige interior paint, beige tile, brown carpet, beige tile, and brown cabinets.” Ask yourself: how many times have you watched those popular design shows on cable and saw celebrity real estate investors using the same-old “beige-everything” approach? I’d be willing to bet you could, at best, count them all on one-hand. It’s not rocket science! Make your investment stand-out by giving the potential buyer what they want instead of what you want or is the least expensive. It needs to look like a custom designed home rather than a home designed by a contractor or narrow-minded investor! #2. How does the potential buyer perceive you? Most real estate investors are perceived as just that…”investors.” Their houses look like average investor projects and the investor talks like every other investor talks. Consequently, they’re receiving low-ball offers and usually struggle to get an offer that’s even remotely close to full asking price. In our general investment area, we’re known as “Ann Lee Interiors,” which is a custom home design company. Our buyers perceive us as custom home designers rather than flippers/investors wanting to earn a quick buck and move onto the next investment without putting any thought or pride into their flip. Our buyers see our homes as ones that they are eager and excited to purchase rather than a house that they are just “agreeing” to buy. This is how we increase our market perception in our investment areas. So again, ask yourself this: “How does my potential customer perceive me? Do they perceive me as a ‘flipper’ or as a ‘custom...
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Week Three – Bathrooms It’s great when our team comes up with a nice layout idea and when our contractor does a great job implementing it! That’s exactly what happened with the bathroom renovations on this property. We took a very ordinary 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house, and were able to add a master bathroom, changing it to a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home. The glass accent tile Rebecca chose from Home Depot really dressed up the bathrooms in this house. Home Depot has several nice vanity options that included the tops for under $200. In addition to the master bath upgrade, we eliminated an unnecessary hallway area and exterior doorway to add a nice master bedroom closet with Martha Stewart shelving. All-in-all, the master suite turned out nicely! Material List – Hallway Bathroom: Floor Tile – 12″x12″ Nile Gray (1000-004-476) Floor Grout – Bone (123-852) Shower Tile – White Subway 3” x 6” (833-452) Accent – Keystone Interlock Glass (459-091) Shower Grout – Bone (123-851) Shower Faucet – Banbury 1-Handle Tub/Shower (243-261) Bathtub – 5′ Aloha White LH (478-640) Toilet – Dual Flush by Glacier Bay (215-583) Vanity – St. Paul Sea Bright 24” (1000-017-617) Faucet – Glacier Bay Buildiers 4″ 2-Handle (247-368) Mirror – 22″x28″ Brushed Nickel Frame (481-166) Lighting – Martha Stewart Living 3-light Skylands Collection (511-395) Towel Bar Set – Greenwich 3-piece Bath Accessory Kit in Satin Nickel (690-977) Material List – Master Bathroom Floor Tile – 6”x24″ Montagna Saddle (193-629) Floor Grout – Delorian Gray (656-844) Shower Tile – 13”x20” Broadmoor Platinum (1000-012-487) Accent – Arctic Storm (369-501) Shower Grout – Delorian Gray (999-482) Shower Faucet – Banbury 1-Handle Tub/Shower (243-261) Bathtub – 5′ Aloha White RH (481-143) Toilet – Dual Flush by Glacier Bay (215-583) Vanity – St. Paul Madeline 24” (628-505) Faucet – Glacier Bay Buildiers 4″ 2-Handle (247-368) Mirror – 22″x28″ Brushed Nickel Frame (481-166) Lighting – Martha Stewart Living 3-light Skylands Collection (511-395) Towel Bar Set – Greenwich 3-piece Bath Accessory Kit in Satin Nickel (690-977) ...
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