30 Apr 2022

We once found a $10,000 charge for a plumbing expense that was not for our property (even our manager missed it). Had we not audited our financials on a monthly basis, we would have been responsible for that expense.
-From the book Best in Class
by Kyle Mitchell and Gary Lipsky
A successful commercial real estate syndication firm will build a team to handle the three main segments of the business:
- Acquisitions. Finding and buying investment properties. Working with brokers and sellers to negotiate workable terms.
- Capital Raising. Bringing in equity partners who will participate in the purchase of the property.
- Asset Management. Creating a business plan for the property. Holding everyone accountable to ensure that the plan is well-executed.
The book Best In Class focuses on asset management.
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28 Apr 2022

Take a look at the northern Phoenix sky on an early morning. You might see hot air balloons taking off. Clusters of balloons with baskets full of eager people suspended underneath.
I recently took a ride in one of those balloons. Kudos to Hot Air Expeditions for offering an exciting early-morning experience along with some helpful business lessons.
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18 Mar 2022
BizDayGlobal is the video podcast that celebrates business. The core belief of BizDayGlobal: When people do business with each other for mutual advantage, they are less likely to fight each other.
What is Business?
From the BizDayGlobal 44-second intro:
- Business is cooperation.
- Business inspires all of us to work together, and to win together.
- Business lets us manufacture in Singapore and ship to Barbados through locks engineered in Panama, financed in Switzerland.
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21 Feb 2022
The back cover of Gino Wickman’s book Traction poses a powerful question:

The entrepreneur’s vision gives birth to a business. Traction makes the vision real. Earlier in this series, we covered five components that are necessary to get the business moving in the right direction: Vision, People, Data, Issues, and Process. This article summarizes the sixth component, Traction.
Traction enables the entrepreneur to gain a grip on the business. Traction is so important that Wickman’s entire book was named for this single component of EOS.
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15 Feb 2022
Consistency is one of the most effective tools we can use to keep customers coming back for more. When first-time customers become repeat customers, revenue explodes (in a positive way). Customers trust brands like Starbucks, Apple, and Google because expectations and delivery are consistently aligned.

How does a company achieve consistency? Through processes.
The Process Component
This article is part of a series on Traction and the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). EOS is a set of tools that enables a business leader to grow a company while maintaining sanity. Today’s EOS component: Process.
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