Every second Friday, my neighbor beneath in the old and somewhat run-down apartment complex I lived in during my early-twenties would return from the oilfields. Middle-aged, he was a bachelor and raging alcoholic. He’d get in at about 6PM, and like clockwork, by about 8:30 …
Learn to Love Researching
I worked with a very successful entrepreneur who had a knack for giving memorable presentations. It was his talent. He would put together some of the most compelling and visually appealing presentations I’d ever seen. The research that went into his presentations was impressive – …
Who’s Watching Your Blind Spot?
About a year or so before the financial crisis, which brought households and governments to the brink of economic disaster, mineral exploration companies, along with their stock prices, were white hot. For those unfamiliar, these are companies that go out and raise a few million …
Brilliant Inventors Need a Crazy F*%#er to Turn Their Ideas Into Startups
I caught up with an old friend, and fellow entrepreneur, this past week. It had been a few years since we spoke at length, and the last time we chatted, he briefly mentioned how he was starting his own renovations company. Before talking, a mutual …
How The King of Oil Trading Became a Fugitive
The greatest oil trader of all time, Marc Rich, lived a unique and insanely controversial life… and in Daniel Ammann’s book ‘The King of Oil,’ based on interviews with Marc Rich, his family, law enforcement and his colleagues, I got a glimpse into the entrepreneur …
Close Solo
Closing a deal or sale of ‘size,’ by that, I mean a relatively large transaction (be it selling a company, real estate, even a high-end car), often comes down to the strength of the buyer’s and seller’s relationship. And the more people there are involved …
You Doing Your Morning GEBY?
Noah Kagan is an online marketing genius – the best there is in my opinion. His entrepreneurial journey began during his self-proclaimed ‘horrible job’ at Intel. It was at this grind of a job, where Noah admitted to doing virtually nothing all day, when he …
What I Learned from Former Special Forces at SHOT Show
As many of you know, some of the world’s best consumer products are descendants of military and law enforcement developed technologies. A few which come to mind are GPS, microwaves, duct tape, the internet, canned food, diving watches, and for all you fashion buffs, aviator …
How to Renovate a Beat-Up Rental Property
2017 has been a year of renovations for our rental properties. We’ve acquired two new units and renovated five. And we’ve had tenant turnover like never before. In all but one of our suites, our tenants have changed. But that kind of turnover creates the …
How to Renovate Your Rental Property for Max ROI
As a landlord managing several investment properties, I’ve always advocated for, when needed, renovating your rental property with high-end finishings. What I mean by that is where there are laminate countertops, replace with granite. Linoleum in a bathroom, replace with tile, and where there are …