I recently read an article on Inc.com that advocated looking beneath the surface to find the most valuable people.
The gist of the article is that the best employees aren’t always the ones who make the best impression – at least right off the bat. Look deeper, and you may find a different reality. Daska, Lolly, Look Beneath the Surface to Find Your Most Valuable People, inc.com.
In the article, Daska explains that we often pigeonhole workers into certain categories without looking underneath the surface to see what makes a person click. The danger is that pigeonholing people minimize their complexity and undermines your ability to get the most from them. Vital skills will go untapped, issues unresolved, promotions made unjustly, and assignments made inefficiently.
So how do you get past the surface?
The key is to get to know who you’re dealing with. Talk to them. Learn their aspirations, their weaknesses, and their strengths.
In the world of private investing, investors also tend to pigeonhole. As you make your way through social media, Google searches, online forums, and investing platforms; investors are discovering that more and more syndications and funds are running ads. They are making videos to pitch their latest projects, with some even promoting more significant returns in hopes of piquing your interest.
Investors find that many of these syndications and funds are touting the same metrics to appeal to potential investors. Annual return, average annual return, and internal rate of return (IRR) are some common numbers bounced around.
By focusing solely on the numbers such as annual return, average annual return, and IRR, many investors pigeonhole investments and risk investing in the wrong asset or missing out on a promising one. Just like finding the hidden valuable employee by looking below the surface, there are also things you can do to look below the surface of private investment to allocate to the most productive one.
The most important tool for investing beyond the numbers is looking below an investment opportunity’s surface.
Invest With The Right People…
One of the keys to looking below the surface is to take advantage of fund transparency and ask the right questions of the key principals. Do the principal’s expertise, background, and track record align with the asset segment in question and with your own investment goals and objectives?
A background in which the principals have exercised the ability to negotiate, analyze and execute transactions in the particular asset in question is vital to the success of an investment.
Then, once the background of the principals has been established, inquire about their track record. How long have they been investing in commercial real estate and the particular asset segment in question? Have them describe their successes and challenges.
The principals at FTW have exactly the background investors should demand in their co-partners. They have extensive commercial real estate investment experience with a diverse background across multiple disciplines, including business, real estate brokerage and sales, development, construction, and property management.
Leverage OPE (Other People’s Experience)…
Many ads from funds raising capital are from ones just starting or pitching just their 2nd or 3rd acquisition. Our track record and depth of experience speak for themselves – with a track record of success and investor satisfaction. With our background and experience we have had things go right, things go wrong, and have the skills and experience to navigate in a world of uncertainty and course correct when off track. It’s this experience, the good and the bad, that allows us to better see challenges and manage them as they arise.
One of the greatest team assets on a football team is the depth chart. A deep team ensures the maximum potential for success, and here at FTW, we have a deep team with a valuable depth of knowledge.
Invest In The Right Markets…
Don’t fall for the big coastal and gateway cities. Dig deeper for the markets that will give you the best returns. Invest in the right market over the numbers. There are sexy markets, and then there are solid markets. Cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vegas, Phoenix, NYC, and Miami are dynamic and get all the press. Still, it’s the cities in the Midwest that offer the best opportunities for outsized returns – markets with growing demand, stable growth, and all the right population and employment metrics.
Invest In Infrastructure…
Ensure your potential partner has the infrastructure, operations, systems, and personnel to carry out their business objectives. Here at FTW, we have built up our operations, systems, and personnel through years of experience and across multiple deals to establish an efficient transaction machine.
When weighing different investment options, don’t be focused on the numbers staring back at you on the page. Look deeper to find the investment partners that will best fit your investment objectives and most likely accomplish those objectives.
