Inspiration Ebooks: Free ebook sample of "Million Dollar Broker" by Scott W Johnstone

Introduction

This book is dedicated to changing your life by teaching you to become

one of the top one percent of money earners in the country. While living

a purposeful, fulfilling life, you can give you and your family the lifestyle

you all dream of. I know from personal experience that by following these
proven strategies, you can change your life forever.

Packed with these strategies and tactics, this book provides information

previously inaccessible to anyone outside of the top brokerage firms.

The once secretive, closed fraternity of commercial real estate

is now open to anyone. Regardless of your gender, race, family background,

prior job experience, and education – you too can become a top commercial

real estate broker.

Our society is in the middle of the greatest redistribution of

knowledge and wealth in world history. Those of us who are determined to
change stations in life can ride this unprecedented wave of opportunity by learning the insider secrets that, until now, have been hidden behind the

corporate walls of top commercial real estate brokerage firms.

You can fulfill your calling in life, and become the person you are

meant to be. You can obtain financial freedom for you and your

family, eventually allowing more time for the passions in

your life. You’ll have the ability to give back to society, thus

leaving a lasting legacy for both you and your family. In the final

appraisal, your life will have mattered.

If this sounds far-fetched or hard to believe, it is also the unvarnished truth.

I am living proof that anyone in America or elsewhere, who has a basic

education, tremendous desire and tenacity, and lives in or around a

commercial business hub, can earn $1million per year in

gross commissions in the commercial real estate industry. You can

do all this while earning the respect of your family, community leaders,

and most importantly, yourself.

Who or what is a commercial real estate broker and why use one?

Commercial agents and brokers have provided commercial real estate

solutions for facilities such as office, warehouse, retail locations, and

others, since before the industrial revolution. They’ve helped both small

and large companies, ranging from the mom and pop store, to members

of the Fortune Five Hundred.

Brokers are industry specialists who represent proprietors, tenants,

and investors in all their commercial sales and leasing needs.

Their indepth and timely market knowledge, coupled with their

knowledge of various commercial deal structures, enable

them to negotiate the best possible terms for their clients. Often,

this literally translates to saving or making clients millions in a

single transaction. Brokers best represent their clients when

they figuratively become part of their corporate team, to provide

strategic and tactical advantages that accomplish both financial and

operational goals.

A good broker provides a friendly but unrelenting advocacy for their

clients. Not only do they serve as advocates for their clients, they also

serve as buffers between opposing parties who have a vested interest in

maintaining long lasting relationships. Additionally, during the heated

battle during negotiations for deals in the millions or billions of dollars,

the broker leverages the valuable time of the company officers, allowing

them to focus on their core business.

Brokers act as trusted advisors to owners or investors to help grow

their portfolios, as well as mitigate losses, all the while earning a great

living in good times or bad. They also assist retailers in finding the

perfect location so their first ventures into business are successful.

The advantages a broker provides are innumerable just like any great

business leader.

The commercial brokerage industry of the past has been made up

of nearly exclusively white males that had been recommended

into one of the major firms, and had gone through extensive training

programs lasting one to two years, and covering all types of disciplines

within the business. Brokers usually are from a local

major university and from one of the most powerful fraternities.

Alternatively, they are usually brought into the business by a family member who’s a “legacy” in the industry.

The top firms like competitive athletes and risk-takers for their

competitive spirit and entrepreneurial predisposition. One major

firm not only puts you through a series of interviews with brokers,

managers and executives of the company but they also enroll you

into an eight hour psychological battery of tests to determine whether if

you match a psychological role mode based on the profiles of

previously successful brokers.

If you’re finally hired, you become a trainee in the research

department learning the basics macroeconomic drivers of

the business, while simultaneously allowing senior brokers to get to

know you. You are then considered for what is normally called a

“Runnership” program.

A “Runnership” program lasts between one and two years and

it is based on the notion that the best way to learn is though immersion

with a senior broker for a lengthy period of time, and that this immersion

in your mentor's daily routine will teach you the finer points of

the business.

The duties of a new “Runner” are typically copying, packaging, binding,

cold calling and attending meetings & presentations. Runners do not

participate at this stage, as typically trainers have a “listen but don’t speak”

policy, until much later in your training.

During the “Runnership”, or indentured servitude, your aim
is to bond with your trainer and learn as much as possible. This will later

allow you to be successful on your own and make your millions.

During training, the typical pay is $24,000 per year, for the one to two years it takes to earn your stripes and complete your training. This level of income is barely above the poverty line and most people who go through it require

the financial and moral support of family or loved ones, who help bridge the financial gap.

Ideally, the trainer has taught them the finer points of the industry, and has

Imparted the skills and wisdom. They hope the acquired knowledge, as

well as creating relationships that will allow the runner to stay

afloat out on their own. In appreciation for a job well done often the runner

is invited to join the trainer in a partnership.

The average early stage tenured broker for one of the top five firms

in the nation, on average, earn gross commissions of $1.1 million

annually. Those gross commissions are then split with the house

and paid out to the broker, after further splits with partners, if any.

The top leading brokers in the top five firms average $3.6 million

in gross commissions annually and also split their commissions

accordingly.

You may not have been born into the "right family" or

gone to the "right" school or university but you have something that

previous generations of prospective brokers never had.

You have the Internet. All the data ever needed to succeed are at your

fingertips. The step-by-step process of becoming a world-class

broker offered to you through online training and this book. You

have several series of audio and video training courses from

world-class experts. Subscription-based online data service companies

provide all the research and property data provided, only a select few

in major firms previously had access to this in the past. Thanks to these

expanded opportunities for self training, firms are willing to take you

on with less human training, more virtual learning, and shorter or no

"Runnership" campaigns.

The world economy has made a fundamental shift toward paying

the highest incomes to business leaders, who can provide knowledge, process,

and execution in specific fields that include commercial real estate.

Today's knowledge and process based pay is disproportionate to the amount of money paid in the old “time for money model,” in which

the worker is paid on an hourly scale. Time-for-money never allows workers

a chance to get ahead of the financial curve. Today’s contact,

knowledge, and process-driven pay that commercial brokers

receive, allows for the community to be served at the highest level

while providing the Broker a world class lifestyle enjoyed only

by the top 1% of earners in the nation.

I feel it’s my life’s mission to inform those in our society who are

looking for a start or a change. I’m talking about a change that will

provide true peace of mind to all of the hard working individuals

out there looking to change their station in life, give back to

the community, and give their families what they never had growing up.

I’m not talking just about material things, I’m talking about

things like the best education for your children, money for retirement,

a home wherever you choose, and respect from your peers, your community

and your loved ones.

You see, I came from humble beginnings, and encountered some tough

times when I was young I was far from privileged. My tough times started

early, and I didn’t make it easier on myself by being a rebel and a

“bad” kid. I saw what I didn’t want for my life and I was lucky enough

to change it. I was blessed by a few people who gave me a shot at

being a better person. I want to give that blessing to you, but you

know what they say, “luck is the residue of hard work,” so if you’re ready

to give it the effort, and work hard and smart, then I’m willing to show

you how to become The Million-Dollar Broker.

Chapter One

The Secret Handshake of the

Commercial Real Estate Broker

It’s February 2010. We’re in the biggest recession since the great

depression. I look across the room of the banquet hall on “fight night”

and instantly notice the nods and winks from the seasoned vets, and the

boyish zeal of the rookies. They’re smoking cigars and cheering on the

two boxers beating the hell out of each other – all for the entertainment

of the group of 600 industry attendees – who were decked out in black

ties. As I mingle through the smoke filled room to line up for another

cocktail – my belly full of filet mignon and asparagus, topped off with

fine red wine – I’ve no other thought than to fill my glass before last

call. At the same time, a group of the top 20 to 40 guys are all headed to

an after dinner spot where the single guys will meet up with the model

hostesses that were hired to dress up the room by the event leaders that

night. The married guys will show up as well to watch the games begin,

while the ladies all vie for the highest status guys and the guys all play

the game to do the same but status is less of a concern to the boys than

beauty and sex appeal.

Before we can get there, however, the lines of Mercedes and the

occasional Maserati or Bentley have to be brought to their rightful

owner. Those brave or dumb enough to drive after drinking, do so

willingly – as this is a group of high-level risk takers, most of which

were seasoned athletes. In addition, they all believe, to some degree,

that they are invincible, or at least while the vodka is still streaming

through their veins. The destination is a place well known for those in

“the know” on Pacific Coast Highway, with a band of high-level young

brokers who are on a mission to find a mate or at least a mate that night.

A solid stream of S and SL class Mercedes Benz roll up to the after party

spot. Upon arrival, the valet gives everyone the “secret handshake,” as he

knows most of them by name.

This is a well-known spot for young brokers -- many

of whom make their own hours so they can choose to come in when

they feel the need. Their only real bosses are their clients, and most

of them are with their broker. The truth of the matter is that their

clients were probably one of them not long ago and might have even

trained the young bucks back in the day, as this small community of

insiders is incredibly close nit.

“He’s a great guy.” This is something you hear occasionally about

people in the business and definitely something you want to hear

frequently about yourself. Unfortunately, more often than not, you might

hear a terrible story of a mistake someone made, as it can also be an

industry of sharks, vying for position by knocking their competition,

in order to better their position in the eyes of the small group of the

important decision makers.

Now most of the rest of the group that night, the seasoned vets, have

taken the high road and found their way home by cab or learned their lesson

years earlier not to go big and hurt yourself that night, as this is

just another night.

Your clients will respect you tomorrow just as

they had the day before. These old dogs have learned to do the

right thing. That is, by coming home to their wives and kids at a

reasonable hour, telling the story of the night exactly as it happened.

The wife already knows that the perfume she smells is that of the

hostess coming in for a test probe to see what kind of guy he really

is. He is the guy mentioned earlier. “He’s a great guy!” He is reliable

and honest, trustworthy and candid, self-assured but not cocky. He

might drive the nearly mandatory Mercedes, but it’s way beyond its

warranty and he owns it free and clear, just as he owns his house and

boat that rests in the bay, visible from his balcony up on the hill.

This is the last thing he’ll see before he kisses his kids goodnight.

Afterward, he settles in for a good night’s sleep so he can hit the

office early in the morning to ensure he gets a jump on his day

by leaving messages for all the hung-over young bucks he’s doing

deals with that haven’t made it out of bed yet.

The young guys will still make gross commissions on average

this year of over $500,000, a decent year in a bad economy, but the

seasoned vets will quietly clear more than $2,000,000

as the extra effort and focus a loving family brings makes all the

difference. They are calmer, don’t have as much to prove and are less

focused than the younger guys on issues of status. Their focus is on

making their lives the best they can be for their loved ones, their wives,

daughters and sons, and those in their immediate families, that need the help to carry on with pride and honor, intelligence and dignity.

The mission of these community leaders is to make their life worth

living and to do it with purpose and drive. They usually are involved

in the community, reaching out to those less fortunate than

they are, in the process making themselves better people, all the

while keeping their eye on the prize, the prize being the love and

respect of their family.

The story I just told you is true. The "great guy" I refer to is real. I won’t

mention his name, but he is very close to me, and I know him and

his family intimately. I grew up in the business with him and we

have lived our lives in this industry for more than 25 years. His story

isn’t uncommon, as there are thousands of guys just like him in this

little known industry of experts in commercial real estate.

We are paid for our knowledge and our process, making millions

for our clients, and are paid a percentage of every deal we close,

not an hourly wage. This expertise has been passed down the line

to us from generation to generation of experts.

That has been the way since the great earthquake of 1906 when Colbert

Coldwell met Benjamin Arthurs and formed the greatest commercial real estate

firm in history from the ashes of downtown San Francisco. Now the secrets

of the industry are opening up to anyone that can access it and make sense of it and has the courage to take the leap. Before now you had to be born into the right family with the right connections, have attended the right college or been in the

right fraternity. The list of silver-spoon kids in the industry is long.

Enter the age of the Internet, with open platforms of information and

online, subscription based access to all the data one ever needs to be

the best the industry has ever seen. Enter the online training experts

who, for a small price, will give you the step-by-step processes of

how to become one of the best in the industry. By simply combining

the rules of the industry with their own hard work ethic, in a very

short period of time, they’ll make more money than they ever

expected by closing deals in their community. All the while making

lasting relationships with the leaders of industry in the community

and enriching their lives with invaluable life experiences.

These open platforms of information are allowing for a diversity

of people to enter the industry either on their own or with brokerage

companies looking for volume through masses. It’s an exciting time for

women, minorities, and underprivileged in the industry as the old-boy

networks are now less relevant than knowledge, work ethic, honesty,

character, diligence, enthusiasm, skill, insight, strategy and tactic. Less

and less are we judged by last names as is the past.

This is the good news for all those brave enough to take on the

challenge of changing your station in life, building a wealth of

knowledge to use to better increase your income, increase your free

time, choose who your boss is and make your own hours.

The bad news is that the information may be there but the lessons

of the ages seem to be lacking. Some moral and ethical rules are

left out; as a result, some new age brokers might think this is a fast

buck, get rich quick solution to the woes of our nation’s economic

meltdown. The reality is that anything worth doing in life is worth

doing well. Without the mentoring and lessons learned from those

who have come before, the new economy broker may fail before

he gets off the ground when faced with adversity or the ethical

teachings of those who have come before him

It’s easy to make money in this industry when times are good it’s

the measure of how well someone is trained when they are able

to prosper in the down times like the example of my “good guy

“friend I spoke of earlier in this chapter.

The recent lending crisis and subsequent massive job losses within the

mortgage industry have created a mass migration of new age brokers

who have come over to commercial real estate brokerage from mortgage

lending; with them have also come the bad habits of the mortgage

lending industry which up until recently was all about churning

through as many deals as possible with little or no qualification of the

client. Unfortunately, those individuals who bring the mortgage lending

mentality to commercial real estate typically die on the vine with such

a mindset. The commercial brokerage industry and the clients we serve

are typically extremely conservative in their approach to business

and have the long game in mind while managing transactions. What

I mean by long game is the “big picture” to doing business, building

relationships in the industry, and serving their community and families.

If you wouldn’t do the deal yourself then you should never recommend

it to your clients or potential clients. This is the gut check one has to

consider prior to giving any advice or recommendations. Make no

mistake, our clients are looking to us for solid, ethical, intelligent advice,

as we are typically the connection to the information on the street level.

If you’ve been in the business long enough you’re now possibly the

“wisdom” in the room given your historical perspective and this is even

more valuable to clients so the “go slow and make a good decision”

approach is more of what is required to make it in this business.

Too many get rich quick thinkers have come into commercial

brokerage in the past ten years with information learned about

the mechanics of the industry from lack of good training from

these open platforms of information, online trainers, and data

delivery services. Not enough of them have come into the

business with the right mental attitude towards fellow brokers,

clients, and vendors. Additionally not enough psychological and

social method has been brought to the industry by the trainers

and it’s time for a change.

Too many get rich quick guys have made too many ethical mistakes

and have said, “I’ll take the money and deal with the consequences

later,” no matter what damage they do to coworkers, clients, their firms,

and their own reputations. They can do a deal but they wreak havoc in

the process, as they haven’t learned the lessons of the past and haven’t

received training to make good decisions. It’s time for a change.

In the next coming years of the commercial brokerage business, the

ones who will win are those who are the long game thinkers. The

one’s whose moral compass is always pointing “North.” The ones

who will win in the future are those who are more collaborative,

have high integrity and authenticity, are more approachable, and are

visible leaders in the community. The ones who will succeed in the

end are those who have been taught the wisdom of the past while

embracing the technological advances of today and the future.

The ones who will lose in the future are those upstarts who

haven’t learned the moral and ethical lessons of the past, as well as

those older “dinosaurs” who haven’t embraced the potential that

technology and the internet brings. Those who are stuck in the past

or those who are in the present but don’t have the historical lessons

vital so not to repeat the mistakes from generations that have come

before them are in trouble.

How did I come to these conclusions? The reason is that

I have witnessed the way the business used to be and how it has

evolved and I have had to evolve with it. I came from the wrong

family and from the wrong side of the tracks and through hard work and determination, succeeded in this very elite business.

I was trained old school at two of the

biggest firms in the world. I lived through the technological

advances the industry has benefited from. I’ve worked alongside

and been subject to the influx of the get rich quick thinkers and the

havoc they create. I have evolved with my own companies as

only a small business owner can because it’s make–or-break

time, all the time.

I have been on top for the better part of 25 years in this business

and know the most up to date techniques, strategies, tactics, and

formulas for success, as well as the moral and ethical lessons of the

past. I’ve trained, mentored, and partnered with some of the best

in the business and they have all gone on to live the lives of their

dreams. Join me and let me help you do the same.

Chapter Two

My Personal Story and My Passion for

Overcoming the Odds

I’m an eight-year-old, toe head blond kid in late summer of 1969.

I’m sunburned from the beach in Santa Monica in my grandparents

1913, Glendale hills home. Peacefully enjoying my evening, pre-

bed, bath session with Mr. Bubble and my rubber duck, a World

War II flotilla and Aqua Man, I have not a care in the world when

my grandmother uncharacteristically barges in, visibly shaken

and welling up with tears. She asks me if she can talk to me about

something.

Now I’m eight and that’s right about the age when you don’t want

your Grandma or any other woman hovering over you, naked,

bubbles fading and water getting colder by the minute, asking to

talk about anything, but she’s my world as mom and dad are out of

the picture so I say “Ok, Grandma, what?”

“Your mother is about to ruin your life!” I wasn’t aware of it at the

time, but my mom and dad had done some serious damage to my

young life. For example, they were seventeen and senior’s in high

school when they had me. Evidently, condoms weren’t available to

my 17-year-old dad when they did “it” at the local drive-in on their

first date. My parent’s marriage came about because my maternal

grandfather was a devout Catholic, so having an abortion was out of

the question. Between this time and when I was born, my now absent

father entered the Navy and was based out of Oakland; he moved

us to the San Francisco bay area onto the naval barracks. After my

dad ruffed up my mom a couple times, my great grandmother drove

16 hours round trip to the bay area to retrieve my brother, my mother,

and myself from the guy who started this mess.

So we’re back to the bathtub. “She’s going to ruin your life!” I’m

thinking ‘huh? what do you mean?’ So I say, “why are you crying

Grandma?” She said, “Your mom is breaking off her engagement

to Chuck (her boss) and she’s now going to marry this Hispanic gentleman,

an ex- convict out of San Quentin Prison, a heroin dealer and they want to

move you boys to east Los Angeles.

So for those who don’t know east LA, it’s known as the barrio for

most of LA’s Mexican street gangs. Therefore, it doesn’t take a

genius to figure out that East LA isn’t the place for a toe head, blond,

skinny white kid to show his face. After all, the badass locals would

literally eat me alive, beat the shit out of me daily, and eventually

turn me into either a white version of them, or kill me.

So my Grandma in very graphic detail explains all this to me and

I start balling my eyes out not only for the fear factor but because

I really don’t want to move away from her and the life I have. You

have to understand, my grandmother was the sweetest woman you

could ever hope to meet. She was cum lade at Penn State and a

terrific artist, poet, song writer, wonderful cook, and the person who

kept us on the right track. She fed us and told us the best bed time

stories ever – where we were always the hero’s. Most importantly,

she gave us the biggest gift of all – unconditional love. So moving

away from her with my now 26-year-old flakey mom with her new

drug dealing husband from the barrios of east LA

to who knows where, scared the hell out of me and made bath

time a traumatic, crying session filled with fear and anxiety I’ll

never forget.

So flash forward a bit. Rather than move to the barrio, my

grandparents bought a modest house for my mom and stepdad

in a decent neighborhood some 20 miles away in Burbank where

the Disney studios are. The marriage was filled with violence,

strife, and visits to the barrio on “family” gatherings. It also

included fights to defend my younger brother, as well as myself,

plus lessons on how to saw off shotguns, hide in the bushes from

local gangs, and all around survival techniques that no nine-year-

old should ever be required to learn. After enough physical abuse,

visits to the local minimum-security prisons to visit my step dad,

stabbings, and unannounced visits from the local police, my mom

figured out that this was a bad guy and divorced him.

Unfortunately, this meant I had to step in to be the surrogate father

for my now two younger brothers while my mom was out looking

for a new man. This meant we survived off $100 a week, basically

living off MacDonald’s and whatever I could cook at fourteen.

Needless to say, I was pissed all the time as school became second

to survival. By the time I was 15 and a sophomore in high school, I

was expelled to continuation school for a prank where I put dry ice

in my math teachers back pocket. One week into high school and I

was summarily dismissed to where the other abandoned kids and

misfits went to “learn on their own schedule.”

One day an incident where, fed up with it all, I dowsed my mom

with a glass of milk for who knows what and that was it. “You’re

going to live with your father.” ‘Oh, shit’ I thought. Out of the frying

pan and into the fire. Now you have to realize, even though my

mom made questionable decisions about men, I still loved her. Even

though she’d been absent a lot I still needed her in my life. And all

I knew of my dad was from spending week long visits with him

during the summers in dreary Portland, Oregon. He would wake us

up to revelry every morning and pour cold water on us if we weren’t

up by 7:00 sharp (during summer vacation!) Now if you were a

normal kid you remember that the best part of summer vacation was

sleeping in until whenever you felt like. This guy took great pleasure

in the agony we felt, I’m sure channeling his navy days, where his

C.O. or military father did to him. Well, we were around five

and seven years old at the time and it left a distinct memory of the

kind of guy he was and the idea of being shipped off to this man was

almost as scary as moving in with Mr. San Quentin.

So, after a year-and-a-half of being told I was evil and living as an

indentured servant, along with a few physical confrontations and

being knocked around- I called my mom and told her I would be the best kid

ever if she would please take me back. Indeed, five days later, I was

on a plane home, back to sunny southern California.

Shortly after we moved back in with my grandparents because my

mom proved once again to be an unfit mother. We were back in bliss

at Grandma’s: unconditional love, three square meals a day, a ride to

water polo practice

at 6:00 am, and good grades - all because we simply were able to

focus on being kids and good students which gained us the respect

of our classmates and teachers.

This was my senior year in high school and although I pulled it

together – water polo and swim team, good grades, my coaches’ and

math teachers’ Teaching Assistants, great social life, home on time,

and the dream of becoming a doctor, it still wasn’t enough to

overcome the three previous disastrous years of mediocre grades.

Therefore, my chances of entering a university were shot.

So what came next was an odd surprise. A plan either devised by my

grandmother or an altruistic move on my dad’s part came in the form of

a phone call from my at the time estranged father, inviting me to come

live with him in Eugene Oregon to attend Lane Community Junior

College with the plan of eventually transferring to the University of

Oregon. So with no other plan or opportunities, after graduation and

with much trepidation I set off for Oregon again.

The deal wasn’t quite as good as presented as my tuition, room and

board in his home was paid for but books, car, clothes gas, etc. was

my responsibility so I quickly found a job, enrolled as a Biology

major as the Dr. calling was still in me and I was off to college. To

avoid conflict and confrontation I spent as much time on campus

as possible. From early in the morning to dark I was either in class,

studying or involved in sports, mainly volleyball, as swimming

wasn’t much of a sport in Oregon, too rainy I guess.

I put in my two years and just as I was about to transfer to the

University of Oregon, my dad announced to me that he, his wife,

and new son we moving off to Portland. Now, Portland was three

hours away and if I wanted to continue to be supported with room,

board, and tuition, I’d have to change my plan and move with them

and attend a little known collage named Portland State University,

which just happened to be where my dad graduated. It would be a

great thing, according to him. Well that might have been a good deal

for him but to me I had been busting my hump to go to the University

of Oregon, as planned and had for two years been getting to know

the town and the people etc. to this end. Moving to some new city

simply to follow my dad’s life plan was not appealing. However, as

I didn’t have the funds to venture out on my own, I went along.

Once again, long story short, I was in a new, unfamiliar town with

no friends and a campus and staff I never was properly introduced

to by my preoccupied “parents.” Things just did not work out. All

the while, I still had to have a job to pay for my car, clothes, social

life, etc. so I lasted about a week at this new school and all I could

think of was that I was wasting valuable time in my life as this just

wasn’t working out.

So a new plan came to me. I’ll take on more hours at work, save a

few bucks, and move back home. Take my chances and make a life

for myself. So I did just that. I saved $830, contacted my younger

brother living in Costa Mesa, California, a town in Orange County,

California near Newport Beach. I said “Hey bro, I’m headed home

and need to sleep on your couch for thirty days while I get a job and

figure out what I’m gonna do with my life.” He and his high school

buddies weren’t very thrilled about the idea as I was the big, mean

senior when they were sophomores in high school and I pretty much

hazed them all the time, but after pleading my case a couple times

they said thirty days and that’s it.

So I did just that and found a job in retail that paid the bills and

was also doing the one thing I knew I could do which was sales,

having done so in college to make ends meet. Another thing retail

allowed me to do was to make commissions, which if I hustled

more than the average employee, allowed me to make a decent

living and live above the poverty line. So as soon as I got my first

paycheck I thanked my brother and his roommates, bought them

a case of beer and moved to an apartment a block off the beach

and shared a room with a buddy I met who was looking to split

the bills. We both had small single beds and both snored like hell

but it was heaven compared to the couch and I was on my own in

Newport Beach a block from the sand and the waves.

“So what’s next for me,” I thought? I had this burning desire to

become more than a subsistence level retail guy. It’s not that that’s

a bad thing, but for some reason, I had visions of grandeur. Maybe

it was the stories my Grandma told me when I was a kid where I was

always the hero. Or the trip where I ran away from home at fifteen

for a month with a buddy to Wisconsin, where he was from, in late

winter, where I saw the world as it really was: tough and hard and if

you don’t take action to better your station you’ll be just another worker

bee struggling to make ends meet. Now that scared the heck out of me

and with my grandma’s help in overinflating my ego I knew I could do

anything I put my head and my heart into, no matter what the odds.

Now I wasn’t stupid, I knew I had blown the whole Doctor thing and I

knew I had to probably find a career in sales where I could get someone

to give me a shot and teach me the ropes. I also knew that commission

sales were what I was good at and that the higher the sales price the

better, simple math. So I started looking around and meeting as many

people as I could who were successful who might point me in the right

direction. Enter three key people in my life. My girlfriend and two

guys I happen to meet through friends that happen to both work for the

same company which at the time was called “Coldwell Banker”. The

girlfriend introduced me to one and a girl I worked with at Nordstrom

introduced me to the other. To this day, these guys are two of my best

friends and I’d throw myself in front of a bus for them if it meant saving

their lives.

The first guy named Bob sat me down and told me the inner

workings of how to go about getting a job with his firm, which by

the way was almost impossible for a guy like me. I had no diploma,

no fraternity, no relative in the business but he recommended me

to Paul, whom I had just happened to meet at a birthday party

my girlfriend took me to. Now, it just happened Paul and I also

had a conversation about the business at the party prior to Bob’s

and my talk, but he was a bit more reserved in his description as

how to get a job as he was actually hiring a “Runner.” His first

“Runner”, as it happened, and he was reading me as a prospect. In

retrospect, it made all the sense in the world as when I would ask

a question he would always come back with a question himself.

Well, I finally put two and two together and immediately called Paul.

I said something to the effect of, if he would be willing to sit down

and talk, I would make it worth his while, as he was never going to

find anyone with more drive, tenacity, desire or raw talent than me. I

needed someone like him on my team to help me get hired and show

me the ropes. I went on to say that if he were to give me this chance

he would have my undying loyalty for life and could treat me like a

dog and I’d happily and willingly come back for more.

He asked me what I did and at the time I was selling menswear at

Nordstrom. He said “Great, I need a new suit so I’ll come in to see you

this Thursday and see if you can help me find something suitable.” Now

I was the king of hustle at what I did so I couldn’t be happier.

Well, Thursday came and Paul rolls up, right on time and dressed

to the nines. He said, “I’m not sure this store has anything that is

my style.” Paul was more of a fine Italian suit guy and Nordi’s at

the time was a bit more conservative so I went about qualifying his

tastes and finding out what he had in his wardrobe and then went

about filling in the holes as every well healed man has to have at

least the basics.

Two hours later Paul left with six new suits, five new shirts, eight

new ties, two new pairs of shoes, socks etc. etc. All the while, we

really got to know each other and came to find that we came from

somewhat similar backgrounds and I could tell he liked my tenacity

and work ethic and I really liked his brutal candor.

He laid it out for me as clear as a bell. If I wanted a job I had

to go through no less than eight interviews, and an eight-hour

physiological test and then had to be recommended in by at least

two current brokers that would vouch that I was a “good guy.” He

went on to say he already had a candidate ahead of me that he liked

and that I would have to show him I could do a better job and make

him more money than this other candidate, who by the way, went to

the same fraternity as Paul.

So I go about scheduling the interviews and before every one Paul

would prep me for what type of guy the interviewer was like. He

likes this but not that. Wear this but not that. His favorite game is

the NBA but don’t bring up his wife and kids. Be blunt about your

story of hard knocks but not too graphic. Emphasize your desire,

tenacity, ability to learn fast, you’re past sales experience and relate

it somehow to commercial real estate. Always be completely honest,

never puff, be humble but stick up for yourself, and tell him if he

goes with you, it will be one of the best decisions he’s ever made.

I can’t say enough about Paul. The guy virtually gave me the roadmap,

pointed out the roadblocks, mentored me through the process and when

it came time to make a decision between me and the other guy took me

on a little ride in his car. He basically had the green light to hire either

of us and I knew he had already had this talk with the other candidate

and the little ride we took was through our territory to get my opinion of

what I knew of commercial real estate.

First of all the car we were in was his bright red Porsche Cabriolet and

we were driving by an old Orange grove where a backhoe was plucking

trees out of the ground like a kid would pick weeds while doing his

chores. I turned to Paul and said what the heck are they doing to those

poor trees. He said something I’ll never forget. “Kid, you’re gonna

make millions off that land. By the way, you got the job and you start

when we open our new office in two weeks.” He said “you and me,

we’re the first hired, so we get a head start. Don’t let me down.”

I could hardly contain myself. In fact, I think I hugged the guy

and did like 10 fist pumps because someone in my life finally saw

something in me that I always knew myself and gave me a shot. Now

to tell the truth I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I

was working for a great retailer at the time and my $20-35,000 was

pretty much automatic as long as I showed up and hustled but this

was a totally new experience. I had absolutely no business training.

The pay for Runners at the time was $12,400 annually, with a small

$200 gas allowance, which, by the way, living in Newport Beach or

for that matter Nome Alaska was far below the poverty level, so I

had to come up with a solution.

Enter my girlfriend. She and I had been paying for two separate

apartments but really living in one. We had been going out for a year

or so and there was either the choice for me to go find a couple guy

roommates or take the plunge and move in together. Now she had a

roommate and that was cool with her because she liked the idea of a

guy around for protection but was I ready to do this? This meant the

potential of marriage and I was only 23 years old at the time. I loved

her so I said to myself what the hell; let’s give it a shot.

So my first day at work I was scared to death. I had no idea what to

expect and really no idea what I was doing. Thank God I had Paul

reassuring me that if I just listened to him and didn’t say anything

stupid I’d get through training and be on my way to making my

fortune. One thing I was able to convince Paul and my other

interviewers was that because of my sales skills and experience that

I could definitely make it through the training program in just a year

and not the usual two-year program.

So I show up for my first day and hour early and couldn’t even

get in the building. I waited in my car until the office manager

who was the nicest lady, greeted me and helped me fill out all the

appropriate paperwork and get settled into my workstation or at

the time they called them cubes, because that’s what they were.

Six foot by six foot cubes with a little storage space for files a

phone and that’s about it. But let me tell you that cube was my

castle. I was the happiest guy on the planet. Behind me were the

days of retail and ahead the promise of a real career where I’d

have the opportunity to work with the top CEO’s and leaders of

the community and become a fraternity brother in the biggest

Brokerage firm in the nation.

Well the next year was one of the most brutal of my life. I’d be in

the office at 6:00 a.m. and out no later than 7:30 p.m. When we had

special projects or presentations the next day I would literally work

until 2:00 am and then sleep under my desk with a book propping

up my head as a pillow and back at it at the crack of dawn. One

thing I knew was maybe I didn’t have the pedigree but no one was

going to outwork or out hustle me. The thing of it is that the business

isn’t brain surgery. It’s a lot of facts and figures, mixed with client

psychology, basic sales skills, business development, business

processes, marketing, and closing deals. Being friendly and helpful

to the senior guys goes a long way and you want to make a good

reputation for yourself because eventually you’re going to need the

senior brokers to bring you into deals after your Runnership (that is

if you’ve made a good impression) because this business is about

interdependence. This is a fancy word for teaming to spread the

work so you always have a consistent deal flow and not the spikes

and dips the lone brokers’ experience.

So fortunately I work hard enough to make a good reputation

for myself I dig up enough deals to make my mentor, Paul some

incremental income, free his time up to chase girls (he was single at

the time), and have a bit of fun. Then comes a lucky cold call.