The Oracles Published 2:54 p.m. ET May 5, 2020

Being an entrepreneur is challenging. Being an entrepreneur in the age of COVID-19 is even more challenging.(Photo: The Oracles)

The world is in a crisis unlike anything most of us have ever seen, and its easy to become overwhelmed with anxiety and uncertainty. We asked these leaders and Advisors in The Oracles for their best advice to weather the storm.

Heres what they said.

As a parent of two teenagers, my best advice is we need to stay calm for our kids and lead by example. Dont go out and interact with too many people.While its important to stay connected with friends and family, Im doing that via phone, text, and email.

Stay safe and well! Gretchen Carlson, founder of the Gift of Courage Fund, named one of Time magazines 100 Most Influential People in the World, New York Times bestselling author of Be Fierce, and inspiration for the movie Bombshell.

Gretchen Carlson, founder of the Gift of Courage Fund(Photo: The Oracles)

When things seem out of control, control what you can: your time, energy, attitude, and resources. Create discipline in your schedule and be intentional about when you wake up and go to sleep.

I go to bed at 9 p.m. and get up before the sun rises, so I get eight hours of sleep. When I wake up, I write down my goals and go to the gym. I dont watch TV for more than an hour, avoid the news as much as possible, and read for self-enhancement an hour each day. Grant Cardone, founder of Cardone Capital, a $2 billion real estate empire; follow Grant on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Grant Cardone, founder of Cardone Capital.(Photo: The Oracles)

As a Navy SEAL leader, I learned to thrive in a crisis with the PBTA Tool. First, Pause and listen. Eliminate distractions and take a moment to check in with your intuition. Next, Breathe deeply to calm down and take stock of what is really going on.

These first steps will clear your mind and help you focus and tap into the powerful intelligence of your gut and heart. Then you can begin to Think better, merging that gut and heart intelligence with rational thinking for optimal results keeping in mind that your first thought is likely a conditioned reaction. The final step is to Act boldly. Dont wait for the perfect plan. Choose the most viable target and move toward it. Trust yourself, your team, and our collective entrepreneurial spirit to solve these problems. Weve done it before, and well do it again. Mark Divine, retired U.S. Navy SEAL commander, NYT & WSJ bestselling author, and founder of Unbeatable Mind and SEALFIT; follow Unbeatable Mind on Facebook and YouTube

Mark Divine, retired U.S. Navy SEAL commander.(Photo: The Oracles)

When Isaac Newton had to stay home during the Great Plague of London in 1665, he made discoveries in calculus and began understanding gravity. While the world is forever changed, our ability to be creative, stay nimble, and uncover new ideas and opportunities will leave us stronger than ever. As horrible as this is, I believe good comes from every bad situation if we look for it. For example, while our industry has come to a standstill, retailers are creatively growing e-commerce sites and forging new collaborative relationships, which creates opportunities for the future. Ashley Alderson, founder and CEO of The Boutique Hub and Boutique.Style; cancer survivor, motivational speaker, and host of Boutique Chat; connect with Ashley on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Ashley Alderson, founder and CEO of The Boutique Hub(Photo: The Oracles)

Reflect on whats important to you and reconnect with friends and family. Now is an opportunity for creativity, innovation, and new ways of thinking; so dont limit your imagination. Expand your mind with online learning resources like The Great Courses and CuriosityStream. Look around your house; pick up that guitar or paintbrush you never had time for.

If youre struggling with negativity or fear, stop focusing on yourself. Reflect on how fortunate we are and find empathy for others. Use your skills and knowledge to be a force for good. Dont get mad at the news; focus on solving problems. Then fear will fall away, and youll see more clearly. Remember: the sun is still shining, and we rise by lifting others. Tom Albert, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence expert, and founder and CEO of MeasuredRisk, a leading enterprise risk management company; connect with Tom on LinkedIn

Tom Albert, founder and CEO of MeasuredRisk(Photo: The Oracles)

Recessions separate the wheat from the chaff in business. Its much harder to sell when money is scarce. Unfortunately, many businesses will be forced to close their doors due to social distancing. But some digital businesses that could have survived will also close for a different reason: their product was weak. When their customers become choosy, they will no longer choose them.

While its crucial to cut unnecessary expenses to bring in cash flow, dont cut your product development. Now more than ever, you must make it your No. 1 goal to be the best in your market. Sarah Chrisp, founder of Wholesale Ted, one of the largest (over 350,000 subscribers) online educational resources teaching entrepreneurs how to create, grow, and scale successful online stores; started her first online store at 16 years old; follow Sarah on YouTube

Sarah Chrisp, founder of Wholesale Ted(Photo: The Oracles)

Instead of panicking, control the things you can control. I had to travel, but Im careful and hope for the best. Prioritize your spending and conserve where you can. Lean on your mentors and talk to people who are smarter than you. If you have a problem, leverage your network. For example, my friends in the restaurant business didnt offer delivery; so we built them an app and launched a marketing campaign. Theres innovation happening everywhere. Craig Handley, co-founder of ListenTrust and author of Hired to Quit, Inspired to Stay; connect with Craig on LinkedIn

Craig Handley, co-founder of ListenTrust(Photo: The Oracles)

In the face of such uncertainty and anxiety, a leaders first job is to provide clarity from the front lines with steadiness and frequency even if its just sharing that you have no updates. No one has all the answers, but by tapping into your teams collective knowledge, you can determine the best move forward and create a sense of control.

This situation is changing how we live and work, which is challenging for everyone. Be compassionate and honest with your team. Let them pause to feel emotions and handle what they need to. Everything takes more effort during a crisis, so be mindful of your teams energy. Theyll need it when we return to the new business as usual. Michael OBrien, executive business coach, author of Shift: Creating Better Tomorrows, and founder of Peloton Coaching and Consulting and The Pace Line Leadership Academy; connect with Michael on Facebook and LinkedIn

Michael OBrien, executive business coach.(Photo: The Oracles)

9. Celebrate your wins.

As a leader, Im transparent about what Im thinking and how well continue moving forward. First, we level with our team about the situation and expectations, acknowledging that it will take time to get used to this. Were still adhering to basic policies and protocols and expect everyone to check in regularly, manage their time wisely, and deliver the same stellar work.

Were also making the best of this. Were celebrating our employees accomplishments and offering virtual team-building activities and spaces exclusively to talk about whats happening. Our #viralwins channel invites everyone to brainstorm ways to turn this situation into new opportunities. Luke Freiler, CEO and co-founder of Centercode, a Customer Validation solutions provider that helps hundreds of enterprises and high-growth tech companies bring dynamic and delightful products to market; connect with Luke on LinkedIn

Luke Freiler, CEO and co-founder of Centercode.(Photo: The Oracles)

Want to share your insights in a future article? Join The Oracles, a mastermind group of the worlds leading entrepreneurs who share their success strategies to help others grow their businesses and build better lives. Apply here.

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How to weather the Coronavirus storm: 9 business leaders share their best advice - USA TODAY

How is it that some real estate investors are able to grow their portfolio with one successful investment after another while others are still struggling to turn a profit on their first single-family rental? We wanted to find that out directly from the investors who have been growing their portfolios at an incredible rate.

Luckily, these three investors were willing to share their strategies with us so you can start building your fortune in real estate.

Sarah Larbi, host of the "Where Should I Invest Now?" Podcast and co-founder of the REITE Club, doesn't suggest trying to predict the market and waiting for the right time to invest. She says there are good opportunities in any stage of the market cycle.

"Markets will have ups and downs, and no one has a crystal ball, so it's not wise to wait until that happens. On the downturn and on the upswing there are opportunities. What you want to do instead is to look at market fundamentals and hold for the long term something that cash flows.

"Some of the fundamentals I consider are: immigration to the area, population increase, transportation improvements, postsecondary education nearby, vacancy rates, job growth, a variety of industries, etc. If I buy on those, I will do well in the long term."

Grant Cardone, internationally known entrepreneur and founder of Cardone Capital, looks for properties with the most units. Even for new investors, he recommends buying more units under one roof instead of multiple single-family homes.

"Here are the metrics I look for in every great real estate investment. Notice that price isn't one of them:

Justin Fraser, partner at 88 Real Estate Capital and host of the "True Multifamily Podcast," recommends being open to partnering with other investors on deals. He says that when you have partners, you're able to take advantage of opportunities that you wouldn't be able to on your own.

"Including partners on a real estate deal creates win-win scenarios for everybody. With partners, you are each able to focus on the pieces of the deal that match your skill set or goals. For example, some investors have money but no time to do the legwork that goes into finding and running a deal. Others have the time but not the experience. Matching complementary skills and needs makes the project stronger.

"Many people are resistant to taking on partners in order to keep equity for themselves. However, I'd much rather have a smaller piece, percentage wise, of a property that's many times larger than any project I could do on my own."

Real estate provides opportunities like no other investment, but most people never see the massive success they hoped for. One of the main reasons for this is that they follow the advice of other investors who settled short of their original goals. Study how other investors have built their fortunes, and there's no reason you can't be the next real estate mogul.

It's hard not to get swept up in the panic when the stock market is going crazy, but it is a lot easier if you're invested in real estate. Not only can you benefit from the incredible returns real estate offers, but you can also do so with half the volatility.

That's why we launched Mogul, a breakthrough service designed to help you take advantage of this critical asset class. Mogul members have been receiving investing alerts with projected rates of return of 16.1%, 19.4%, even 23.9% as well as cash yields of up to 12%! When you invest in stable, multiyear real estate developments, the value of these investments aren't subject to the wild swings of the market.

Join the waitlist for Mogul here and receive a complimentary 40-page guide on a NEW way to build wealth. Join the waitlist now.

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3 Top Real Estate Investors Share Their Best Investing Secrets - Motley Fool

caption Tony Hawk. source Dan Mathieu

The worlds most successful people read an outsized number of books. You dont have time to read a ton of books right now. So we asked these elite CEOs and Advisors in The Oracles to share the one book that profoundly changed their life and why. Here are the life-changing books you should be reading (or rereading) next.

Had I read High Fidelity when I was younger, I might have realized that I could pursue my dreams and become successful later in life and at a different pace. You dont have to do what you love with such abandon when you have other responsibilities. Now Im working on a Broadway production of another Hornby book, Slam, about a kid who aspires to be a pro skater but has to realize his path to responsibility when he gets his girlfriend pregnant.

Tony Hawk, founder and CEO of Birdhouse Skateboards and president of the Tony Hawk Foundation, and the most influential and commercially successful skateboarder of all time, with a $100+ million net worth

The Richest Man in Babylon was a game changer for me and changed the way I look at money. It teaches five simple rules: 1) Store money for future use, 2) Control your expenses, 3) Make money multiply, 4) Guard your treasures against loss, and 5) Improve your ability to earn. After reading it, I stopped saving money simply to save it and started storing money that I could later invest to work for me. The investment vehicle that met these criteria was income-producing real estate. This book teaches you to establish reliable income streams and that you should never confuse financial needs with wants. It should be required reading in every school.

Grant Cardone, founder of Cardone Capital, a $2 billion real estate empire. Follow Grant on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

This book explains how to create apps and online experiences that are easy, intuitive, and enjoyable. Software should be simple and obvious to use. This simplicity is central to the vision of Canva and all good software companies. I reread this book often and recommend it to everyone.

Melanie Perkins, cofounder and CEO of Canva, valued at over $3 billion, and one of the youngest female CEOs leading a billion-dollar company

This book is such a must-read for leaders that I bought a copy for every manager in our company. The premise is simple: Good is the enemy of great. Most companies never achieve greatness because theyre satisfied with good enough. Greatness requires humble leaders who are driven by whats best for the company and dont let obstacles stop them.

Collins explains the importance of the book with this concept: When your passions, what you can be best in the world at, and what drives your economic engine come together, your work and life move toward greatness. Its impossible to have a great life unless its meaningful, and its difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.

Dottie Herman, CEO of Douglas Elliman, a real estate brokerage empire with more than $27 billion in annual sales. Connect with Dottie on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

As an avid reader, I continuously consume stories and knowledge. I read this book while pregnant with my second child because I was curious about how my daughters relationship would work with her soon-to-be baby brother. It changed my approach to professional and personal relationships.

This book opened my mind to how people interact and why they are who they are. It spawned my interest in learning more about how to communicate effectively and meaningfully. It gave me an incredible gift: the tools to get past the awkward beginning of any relationship easily, be a considerate listener, and engage in fruitful relationships.

Jessica Mead, founder and CEO of BrandLync, cofounder of Mead Holdings Group, The Epek Companies, and Grayson Pierce Capital. Follow Jessica on Instagram.

This book is about aligning your work and life toward your calling and staying the course. When the warrior Arjuna loses his courage to lead a big battle against his evil cousins, Krishna shows him that he must do it because its his calling and duty. Anything less leads to regret and negatively impacts your life.

As I relate in my own book, Staring Down the Wolf, I went through a similar experience in my twenties. If I had read this then, I wouldve been more confident about ditching my corporate suit to become a Navy SEAL officer. I would have avoided a lot of confusion and emotional suffering around the decision, knowing that following my purpose was not a nice to do, but an absolute imperative.

Mark Divine, retired US Navy SEAL commander, NYT & WSJ bestselling author, and founder of Unbeatable Mind and SEALFIT. Follow Unbeatable Mind on Facebook and YouTube.

In college, I was profoundly affected by the concepts Professor Bargh taught in my Modern Unconscious class, which he later distilled into this book. In short, while your conscious thoughts matter, you are also heavily influenced by unconscious or automatic behavior.

I was struck by the huge potential of designing technology products and human organizations based on an understanding of how the human brain actually works, to help people lead happier, more fulfilled lives. After college, I turned down traditional job offers and decided to build a startup instead to put those ideas into action. Now, a decade later, were still motivated by the same long-term goal of increasing human agency. We use these concepts not to make you sad so you buy more or trap you in your Instagram feed, but to enable people to accomplish their goals and lead happier, more fulfilled lives.

Judd Rosenblatt, founder and CEO of AE Studio, an Agile web development and data science consulting firm with a mission to increase human agency with technology. Vote for the charity they donate to next month.

Holmes teaches timeless time management principles and the Dream 100, or the art of identifying and tirelessly pursuing key partners and customers. Ill never forget flipping through the pages for the first time on the island of Koh Phangan, Thailand, and recognizing that everything in my life had to change. I was doing too much, trying to be too many things to too many people. This book taught me to focus on networking. Ive read it multiple times since and always uncover new insights. I shudder to think how much money, time, and frustration I could have saved myself if I had come across this book sooner.

Jonathan Goodman, founder of the Personal Trainer Development Center and the first-ever certification for online fitness training, the Online Trainer Academy. Connect with Jonathan on Facebook and Instagram.

This book downloads nugget after nugget of life-changing wisdom. In particular, Stanley outlines five Cs that leaders need to be successful and leave a legacy. The first is competence. Leaders must channel their energy where they are most likely to excel. Second is courage, which is required to set things in motion and move ahead. Third is clarity. Leaders must learn to be clear, even when they arent certain. Fourth is coaching, because without a coach youll never be as good as you could be. Finally, character. You can lead without it, but you wont be a leader worth following.

Shaun Rawls, founder and CEO of Rawls Consulting who built The Rawls Group of Keller Williams to over $4 billion in annual sales, and author of the upcoming book F-It-Less. Connect with Shaun on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Growing up, I looked at money negatively and thought it was only possible to have money by saving it. This book changed my entire perspective on what money can accomplish for good and how to earn it. It was eye-opening to see the difference between two paths: playing it safe, going to school, and getting a job or using your skills to build a business that creates new opportunities.

Ashley Alderson, founder and CEO of The Boutique Hub and Boutique.Style, cancer survivor, motivational speaker, and host of Boutique Chat. Connect with Ashley on Instagram and LinkedIn.

This novel is about the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco for $25 billion in the 1980s. It showed me that with funding from financial institutions and investors, you can buy established, profitable companies without using any of your own money. This book inspired me to purchase multimillion-dollar businesses and help dozens of others do the same, which is what I do today. It teaches invaluable principles through storytelling, for example, that its all about building rapport with the seller. At the end of the day, business is about relationships.

Moran Pober, founder and CEO of Acquisitions.com, which buys and sells seven-figure businesses and helps others do the same, and former partner at WeKix and ABD Assets. Connect with Moran on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Want to share your insights in a future article? Join The Oracles, a mastermind group of the worlds leading entrepreneurs who share their success strategies to help others grow their businesses and build better lives. Apply here, and follow The Oracles on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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Tony Hawk and 10 other entrepreneurs share the books that changed their lives - Business Insider

Many entrepreneurs make a point of following the emerging trends within their industries. If youre looking for something beyond traditional trade publications, there are a number of rich sources of information and discussions available, including industry-specific podcasts.

To help you learn about some of these resources, we asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members the following question:

How I Built This with Guy Raz is one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs. Each episode shares the story of a different entrepreneur and how they built their company. By listening to their stories, you can gain a lot of insight that can be helpful or inspiring in regards to your own business. Past guests on the show include the founders of companies like Shopify, Headspace, Yelp, and tons more. Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster

One podcast Ive been enjoying lately is Business Wars. It tells the stories of the biggest global brands from the perspective of the competition. I especially love that this show talks about both grand successes and massive failures. Its a great source of knowledge and inspiration for entrepreneurstotally recommended. Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS

I listen to a weekly podcast called Copyblogger FM. The show is hosted by Tim Stoddart and Darrell Vesterfelt, and focuses on turning average freelancers into extraordinary writers. I find that this podcast helps me find inspiration for our content strategy. I have used some of these strategies when working on our quarterly content marketing plan. Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights

Business Dailycompiles a roundup of all the latest and greatest business news around the globe. It keeps me informed about the worlds current events, as I like to know whats going on at all times in the industry and how I can apply new principles to my own company. Jared Atchison, WPForms

Joe Rogans podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, is not industry-specific, but he brings on a ton of people from across multiple industries that are at the top of their game. The insights can be incredible. Many times your best ideas come from outside of the industry, so dont be afraid to listen to and learn from people seemingly not connected with your industry, but who are also entrepreneurs. Andy Karuza, FenSens

Harvard Business Reviews HBR IdeaCastis great for business owners and entrepreneurs seeking advice and anecdotes on the subject. If youre looking for true insight into running or managing a business, this podcast is a great place to start as youll see various perspectives. Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

Marketing Schoolis a podcast hosted by Eric Siu and Neil Patel. Both of these marketers are extremely talented and between them have enough knowledge to turn anyone into a successful marketerproviding you follow their advice. They have 10-minute chat sessions every day, and I feel like these small sessions help get me thinking and motivated for the day. John Turner, SeedProd LLC

Other Articles FromAllBusiness.com:

The Smart Passive Income Blog is a great podcast for entrepreneurs whose businesses are largely online. Its a helpful resource for developing niches, building habits, and building a passive income. One of its most helpful features is that it helps you to connect with other people. You can also participate in webinars and workshops, making it an interactive and hands-on resource base. Blair Williams, MemberPress

The focus of The Side Hustle Showis making money on the side, which is something many entrepreneurs need to do at first. It has great content for approaching side hustles in different industries. If you arent ready to set up a full-fledged business, then check out the other recommendations to do with freelancing and investing. Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

I am a big fan of a number of the podcasts already mentioned on this list, but another one that I have been enjoying as of late is Rise and Grind. Its hosted by Daymond John, who interviews successful people in the business world. The discussions focus on the keys to their own success, as well as how theyve learned to be more efficient with their time. Its a good listen. Colbey Pfund, HUGS Wellness

Grant Cardone and the 10X Movement have really taken off in the self-discovery and entrepreneurship learning space. What he offers podcasts, seminars, retreats, books, and social media is beyond the competition. Cardone is so far ahead of his competition in terms of free content because the premise of 10X is to do 10 times the work and hold yourself accountable for being 10 times better. Matthew Capala, Alphametic

The Tropical MBA has been around for almost a decade and is a podcast for location-independent entrepreneurs. Whether youre location-dependent or not, there is a lot to learn from the hosts and guest; running a remote business can be difficult and often requires unconventional strategies and efficiency that traditional businesses can benefit massively from. Karl Kangur, Above House

John Danes created The No Excuses Show with the main objective of eliminating excuses and negativity in entrepreneurs. John interviews entrepreneurs and important business people who give advice and tips about their careers, which is very useful, by the way. Kevin Leyes, Team Leyes

RELATED:9 Must-Watch TED Talks That Will Make You a Better Entrepreneur

Read the rest here:

Check Out These Podcasts to Keep Up With the Latest Business and Industry Trends - AllBusiness.com

Real estate agents, youve been practicing for this moment for years.

Hear me out. Whether you realize it yet or not, your community needs you. They need your unique leadership right now, more than ever. And many agents have been polishing their video and communication skills through marketing efforts for a long time. They have skills and influence that can now be used to unite the neighborhood.

Agents everywhere have an opportunity a responsibility, even to be the adult in the room; to be a beacon of hope, positivity, honesty and optimism for those in their communities who see them as local experts or local leaders. Furthermore, video is the perfect medium to reach a large number of people quickly and inexpensively.

During tough times, people look to their leaders for reassurance and guidance. At a national level, a state level, all the way down to their local neighborhoods. Leadership is necessary during the best of times, and absolutely crucial during tough times.

Many agents have become leaders in their communities, whether they realized it was happening or not. Additionally, weve learned a thing or two about how to reach our community. We just thought we were marketing: growing our brand and attempting to grow our influence and credibility. But really, weve been practicing.

Weve been practicing for a time just like this. A time where people need clarity and leadership. People need a voice of reason. They especially need it smack-dab in the middle of their newsfeed.

This is why I believe Realtors right now have the opportunity, through video, podcasting, social stories etc. to make a major difference in peoples lives. For those who already follow you and find you credible, you have the chance to calm nerves and provide reassurance for a scared, nervous community.

While you are publishing videos aimed at calming nerves, you can also really grow your market share and name recognition locally as many of your competitors play defense and scale back their marketing dollars.

During times of fear and panic, many professionals and business owners scale back their marketing efforts. Even more, they scale back what they spend on marketing. Playing defense does sound reasonable. I completely understand it. Its the natural response when uncertainty rules the day.

However, the majority of agents pushing pause creates an amazing opportunity for anyone willing to step up and spend more on marketing during this time of decreased competition.

Your competitors are literally sitting on the sidelines until things normalize or until they feel comfortable spending money on marketing again. Should you sit next to them and wait it out? Possibly. Thats 100% for you to decide, and it is a very personal thing to consider.

But if youre in a position where you have a few extra dollars that you can allocate to a Facebook ad campaign, or finally hiring an editor to put together some marketing videos for you do it! This is a huge opportunity.

One of the biggest takeaways I got from Grant Cardones 10X book was that in 2008 and 2009 when most entrepreneurs stopped spending money on advertising he doubled his ad spend! He saw that everyone else was clearing a path for him to be seen by more people, for much less money. So he took it.

Fast forward to now, and everyone knows who Grant Cardone is. Hes become a celebrity and a huge influencer in the entrepreneur space. But would he be had he not taken advantage of the Great Recession? According to him, no!

Were in a very unique time where we can make a huge difference for our neighbors, possibly helping to save lives, while also setting the table for massive business growth and brand recognition six months, a year, two years down the road. The hard part is that its intangible. Whether or not it worked is not something we will know until time has passed. We wont know if we did enough until were looking backward.

A year from today, when the economy is likely recovering, we have a coronavirus vaccine and were making our way back as a society, ask yourself this question when reflecting on these unprecedented times that were in:

Did I do enough?

Did you do everything you could to reach your neighbors and be a positive resource to them? But also, did you put as much as you wanted to into marketing and advertising while everything went on sale, and your competitors took a breather?

Time will tell.

Agents, its time we all step up and guide our neighbors through these incredibly trying times. Well all be better off for it, in more ways than one.

Connect with Dustin on LinkedIn.

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Agents, it's time to be the leaders you claim to be - HousingWire

Who Is Grant Cardone?

At the age of 60 in the year 2019, Grant Cardone is famous as an internationally renowned sales trainer and as the bestselling author of The 10X Rule and If Youre Not First, Youre Last. His primary venture, Cardone Training Technologies, providesFortune 500companies,small businesses, andentrepreneurswith an interactive sales training platform.

Additionally, he has gained popularity for single-handedly building a massivereal estateempire that has a present-day portfolio valuation of around $900 million. Hisinvestment vehicle,Cardone Capital, has been involved in more than $800 million in real estate transactions covering around 4,700 units of multi-familypropertiesthroughout many American states. Here is an overview of how Cardone built his multimillion-dollar real estate empire without raising externalcapitalfrom anyone beyond his close family members.

Cardones interest in real estate as an investment option is owing to several key reasons and features the property market offers. They include better stability in property valuations compared to the high volatility observed in the equity market, regular cash flows in the form of monthly rent from tenants, benefits of amortization as rent from tenants pay down the debt and help create long-term wealth, tax benefits available in the form of depreciation, potential for long term appreciation in property value, and availability of leveragewhich allows one to purchase property worth four times the money they actually have.

Based onthe tagline Making big deals available to everyday investors, Cardone's real estate venture raises money from the public by launching public equity funds in which common investors can purchase units/shares. The collected money is used to purchase existing income-generating properties, and the earnings are shared with the investors as regular monthly distributions. Created through real value and tangible assets, Cardone claims to simplify the real estate investment for the average Joe investor.

For instance, the Cardone Equity Fund IV will use the collected capital to invest in purchasing multi-family properties in the states of Florida, Texas and Alabama. The fund manager may also occasionally invest in single-family and commercial properties, and in other real estate-backed investments in other markets within the Continental U.S.

Cardone manages all the properties and takes care of all operational overheads linked to the real estate dealings as well as property maintenance. It allows the common investors the complete freedom from handling such operational issues. They benefit from a steady flow of monthly income, an appreciation in the property value over the long term, and can focus on their regular jobs and businesses. Essentially, Cardone claims to let investors create a passive income stream that guarantees regular cash flows, the scope of value appreciation, and the opportunity to create long-term wealth as a side business/investment.

Unlike the majority of property emperors, who successfully built their sizableportfoliosas a full-time career, Cardones real estate holdings were slowly expanded as a side business. Cardones real estate venture was not intended to be his primary businessor his mainincome source. Instead, it was created in order for him to have a stable holding place to preserve and grow theearningsfrom his sales consulting company.

During a February 2015 interview with theBiggerPockets Podcast, Cardone said, Every time I get money, I go broke again because I shove it into this real estate thing. He went on to elaborate that I take these three companies that will probably be destroyed in my lifetime, that Ive madea ton of moneyoff of, and I take all that money and I park it over here so I am always broke running these three, or I am having to hustle every day to get new money and then I shove it in over here.

Though at the core he considers himself anentrepreneurand not a real estate investor, Cardone believed that real estate provided a wealth-preservation vehicle that his other business ventures could not offer.

Since the age of 15, Cardone had been actively involved in the real estate market and was studying the intricacies of the deals. During his childhood, he and his father regularly visited different pieces of property as a family outing activity, and over time his interest in buying buildings developed. To this day, shopping for real estate is still something he enjoys doing with his wife and children.

In 1981, Cardone graduated from college with an accounting degree. Despite wanting to immediately acquireproperties, he delayed it for a few years. This allowed him to grow the money that he would later use to makeinvestments.Additionally, it allowed him sufficient time to imbibe as much as he could on the subject of real estate.

In an October 2014 episode of hisreal estate show, Cardone revealed that a lot of his education "understanding different terms such asnet operating income (NOI), what apro formais, and what a good market looks like" came not from academic study but from actually "looking at different deals, and meeting agents." In fact, Cardone has never read anything on real estate investing: He replaced the knowledge that can be found in books with the knowledge that can be attained by actually looking at listings in different markets.

At 29, Cardone finally put his years of real estate studying into practice. He bought a single-family property in Houston that initially did well. However, after a few months, the tenants left, and Cardonescash flowdried up. He hated the fact that he had to lessen the focus on his main business in order to find new tenants. Afraid that this situation would recur, Cardone quickly sold the property for abreak-evenprice and swore that he would never purchase single-familyresidential real estateas an investment ever again.

Cardones second acquisition did not take place until five years later, in 1987.During that time, he continued to accumulatecashas well as increase his property investing knowledge. His first multi-family property deal was a 38-unit complex in San Diego. Cardone acquired the property for $1.9 million, making adown paymentof $350,000. Just over a month later, he acquired another complex.

Cardone continued to purchase more complexes at first, one at a time, though the pace later picked up. In 2012, Cardone Capital made what was dubbed as Florida's largest private party acquisition of multifamily real estate. It consisted of a portfolio of 1,016 apartments spread over five apartment communities for a total of $58 million.

His present-day real estate holdings are based in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, and continue to expand across many other regions with new funds being launched regularly.

Though Grant Cardone is famous as a professional sales trainer, he has successfully built a real estateempire from scratch which is now valued in excess of $740 million and comprises of a diversified portfolio of multi-family properties spanning multiple U.S. states. More people are renting now than at any point in the past 50 years and the number of homeowners has remained relatively unchanged. The market is big, and by offering easy investment options to common investors Cardone is capitalizing on the big potential that is available by purchasing multi-family properties. However, investors should note that such investments come with their own set of sector-specific real estate market risks, and property appreciation needs longer holding periods.

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The Multi-Million Real Estate Empire of Grant Cardone

Grant Cardone's 10X Growth Conference has become an annual event

LAS VEGAS (PRWEB) February 26, 2020

Grant Cardone and an array of A-list celebrity speakers just finished presenting to over 12,000 attendees at the Mandalay Bay for the 4th annual 10X Growth Conference. The massive three-day event for business owners and entrepreneurs brought in NBA legend Magic Johnson, comedian Kevin Hart, record executive Scooter Braun, actor John Travolta, UFCs Dana White, boxer Floyd Mayweather, music performers Snoop Dogg, Usher, and Rick Ross, plus an array of sales and marketing experts who shared strategies and tactics on how to build and scale a business.

The conference was held from February 21-23, 2020 with a private mastermind that followed for top entrepreneurs to bounce business ideas off of sales expert Grant Cardone, who created the 10X movement and the popular annual 10X Growth Conference. The entire event is beginning to blur the lines between entertainment and business.

One of my main objectives with this conference was to erase the line between business and entertainment. Whether you consider yourself an artist and youre into music, painting, drawing, writing, theatre, dance, photography, design, modeling, or whether you consider yourself in the world of business with a title in sales, marketing, IT, management, accounting and finance, human resourcesthe 10X Growth Conference will show you how to improve what you do, but also how to merge art into your business and business into your art. Grant Cardone

The 10X Growth Conference was created not just to be the top business conference in the worldbut an entertaining time with multiple parties and performances. This years event included a private party in Grant Cardones private jet air hangar at McCarran airport for the Premier and Diamond level ticket holders plus multiple VIP networking events that were held throughout the entire weekend on the Strip.

Previously in 2019, the 10X Growth Conference was held in Miami at Marlins Park, where 34,000 entrepreneurs gathered in a baseball stadium to hear speakers such as Steve Harvey, John Maxwell, and Daymond John.

Tickets for 10X Growth Conference 2021 are already on sale at an early-bird discount at https://10xgrowthcon.com/gc5/

About Grant Cardone

CEO of Cardone Capital, international speaker, entrepreneur andauthor ofThe 10X Rule& creator of 21 best-selling business programs, Grant Cardone owns & operates seven privately held companies and a $1.5B portfolio of multifamily properties. Named the #1 marketer to watch by Forbes Magazine, Cardone is also the founder of The 10X Movement & The 10X Growth Conference, the worlds largest business & entrepreneur conference.

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Grant Cardone and the 10X Growth Conference Just Blurred the Lines Between Entertainment and Business - PR Web

I told this storyin my book. Roughly six months before I broke the income barrier I needed to pave the path to quitting my full-time job, I was dead broke. A weekend of buying my kid a few fish and going to Chik Fil aput my account in the negative.

Even though my side hustles were bringing in money, I had bills up the you know what. Dont care if its politically incorrect. For me, as a man, it felt horrible to feel like I couldnt take care of my family.

Throughout the process of building my career from having to live with my pregnant partners parents to having$10,000 months on auto-pilot, I always knew one thing for certain:

I wasnt going to spend the rest of my life being broke.

Id die first. Literally, I knew in my heart I would die before giving up.

I didnt want to live out the statistics you often see:

I dont look down on people for not having money. In many ways, their lot in life isnt their fault at all.

Society is set up for you to fail. Without question, the gameisrigged. Sometimes I think people dont think I agree with them on that. I do.

You have toescapethis fate, make no mistake about it.

Lets take a look at some of the signs you have a fighting chance to do so.

Complaining about your current position in life is worthless. Have a spine and do something about it instead. Robert Kiyosaki

Nobodylikesbeing broke.

But in order to do the work it takes to become financially flexible, you have tohatebeing broke.

The only people who hate being broke but dont find their way out are the truly destitute. Middle-class people? They just dont want it bad enough. They dont hate the stress of living paycheck to paycheck enough to do anything about it.

I cant tell you how many times Ive projected out a future where I didnt have money and it scared me on a visceral level. Honestly, I was more afraid of being broke than I was inspired to make money.

Why? Because being broke isstressful.

Id have fights with my partner about money, stress about situations like the story I started the post with, and I just observed people who were struggling to get by and I couldnt fathom living the rest of my life like that.

You almost have to have a sense that being broke is beneath you, even though, of course, theres nothing wrong with being broke.

I remember working as a manager at a video store for $10/hr. Id go get tacos and Taco Johns. The sign on the door said hiring$11/hr. I put in all this work to make less than someone making god damned tacos. Nope. Not me. Not forever.

I used to listen to the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, on repeat when I had to put on the signs for the featured movies out in the parking lot. Plotting. Patient. One day, I wouldnt be broke.

Now? Im not rich, but Im no longer broke. And it was worth all the work.

Let everyone else be content. You? Get pissed.Use that frustration to your advantageso you dont quit.

Earn with your mind, not your time. Naval Ravikant

Even if you have a job right now (which is the smart thing to do while you build your side hustle), you know that its impossible to have real financial flexibility and wealth with a job alone.

Youre putting your energy into something you can scale, something with leverage, something that can provide income for you without your direct work:

Having a sole source of income will leave you in a perpetual loop of middle class living at best.

See, its not just the risk,yes risk, of having a sole source of income thats the problem, but also thecounterproductive culturemost wage earners ascribe to:

Its a nasty trap.

If you want wealth, flexibility, whatever you call it, you need your money or effort to go to workfor youat some point.

But how do you put in the work required to build these asset vehicles?

Simple.

The thing about wealth pursuits? Theyre slow. Super slow.

Not only that, but you make little to no money in the beginning.

I talk about this all the time on myYouTube channel. I should just rename it exponential growth.

All the great things in life compound:

Warren Buffet didnt become a billionaireuntil he was in his60s. Those last 30 years or so of compounding took him to insane wealth.

Getting compounding to work is psychologically difficult:

I dont have the exact number, but five years is my educated guess.

If you tinkered around with some form of business, freelancing, or investing for five years without quitting, something good will happen.

Youre Humble Enough to be a Student of Life

Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Day by day, and at the end of the day if you live long enough-like most people, you will get out of life what you deserve. Charlie Munger

Ironically, broke people seem to be the most certain of everything. I recently watched an interview with Munger. What stood out most? Every time he wasnt certain or near certain of an answer, he immediately defaulted to saying I dont know.

Wealthy people are often much more intellectually humble than middle-class people. They have coaches, mentors, advisers, teams. They constantly soak in new information and never think they have everything figured out.

Watch this interview withDiddy and Ray Dalio.

Diddy, who has a net worth in the hundreds of millions, asks Dalio, his mentor, advice with a sincere level of humility. Diddy doesnt have to listen to anybody and he could blow money until the day he dies, yet he treats knowledge with a level of respect most content with what they have types cant fathom.

The only thing between most people and more money is knowledge.

Theres no grand conspiracy keeping you broke. Its definitely not the fault of billionaires. If you dont have money, its because you dont understand money. If you dont understand money, then learn how to understand it. Simple.

Just this week Ive started to devour information about:

Im going to eventually move all of this knowledge into my circle of competence.

I dont know much about any of the above, but Ill learn. Just like I learned to make money on the internet with no prior experience and become a professional writer with no writing degree.

How? I read hundreds of books, watched thousands of hours of video, and practiced every day for five years.

Back to the point of time commitment. Spending a decade learning this stuff isnt a problem for me. Why? Because I like to learn and I know that learningcompounds.

If youre willing to learn books, podcasts, courses, YouTube videos you can figure all of this out.

Free education is abundant, all over the Internet. Its thedesire to learnthatsscarce. Naval Ravikant

I dont understand how people who own smartphones with access to YouTube say they have no access to resources. B.S. YouTube is a goldmine most people use it wrong.

At some point, you just have to admit youre being lazy andstop.

In the information age, there are no excuses.

Wake up! No one is going to save you. No one is going to take care of your family or your retirement. And no one is going to make things work out for you. The only way to do so is to utilize every moment of every day at 10X levels. Grant Cardone

If youre good at math, you just know you need a lot of money. Yes, need.

You need millions of dollars to retire on time and successfully. Add in your kids and their financial future, the ability to have amazing experiences like travel, and the time to enjoy your life without needing to work all the time, and youll understand that making money is the only logical option.

Just look around and the way people live. The stress. You need more money than you have right now. More importantly, you need more flexibility and income-earning assets than you have right now.

If youre young like me (30), dont waste any more of your time. I can only imagine what it would feel like to be middle-aged or old with no money saved.

With a modest salary of $50,000 over a full work-life of say, 50 years (2272),you will have made $2,500,000. To make all of that money and end up with little to none of it seems soul-crushingly sad and insane, but it happens. Thinking about it makes me sick.

See, its these people who claim to not care about money who care about it the most. They fuck up the math. They keep up with the Joneses their whole lives and level up their lifestyle as their income increases, piling up debt along the way.

Be smart.

Look at the math it takes to be successful and create a plan. Earn more money and keep your living expenses low. Thats the recipe. Im greedy, but I drive a $2,500 car and live in a $1,300 two-bedroom while people who make less than me drive BMWs and have giant homes.

Ive done the math. Im fine to appear broke for this decade to be wealthy by the next one.

As Marshawn Lynch, who famously spent none of his NFL contract money and lived only off endorsements, said:

Take care of yo chicken.

Let the content people stay blind to financial literacy. Wait them out. Theyll see soon enough.

Stay humble, grind, reinvest in yourself.

Itll all work out.

Ayodeji is the author ofReal Help: An Honest Guide to Self-Improvement. Want a free copy of my first book?Get it here.

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5 signs you're going to make (a lot) more money in the future - Ladders

By: Lifestyle Desk | New Delhi | Updated: December 13, 2019 9:00:41 am

Regardless of how much you want to earn $10,000, $1 million or $1 billion you start by setting a specific goal and crunching the numbers, thats how millionnaire Grant Cardone, American motivational speaker, sales trainer, author and real estate investor who started his career at 25 as a used cars salesman in Louisiana in the US, sees it.

There is a need to change the target and change it daily. It shouldnt be anything less than 10 million dollars. Think big when you change the target. The second point is to save 40 per cent of your income. If you can do this, I guarantee you, you will be rich. You need to get your income not to what it pays your bills but to where you can save, he reveals in an interesting Goalcast video.

ALSO READ | Not just any change but positive, effective change is needed: Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi

Cardone, who was named as Forbes 25 Marketing Influencers to Watch in 2017, adds that from a survival standpoint, one needs to be money-motivated. Just stack cash and wait till you can put it in something where it wont be lost. It just goes away for a while. Inflation, over time, five years, seven years, 10 years, it all withstands. Live broke and invest savings, he said.

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Wish to be a millionaire? Grant Cardone tells you how he did it - The Indian Express

Image of female creative graphic designer working on color selection and drawing on graphics tablet ... [+] at workplace.

As the business world continues to evolve year after year, so does the way companies need to market themselves to be most effective in todays competitive marketplace. This is common knowledge for areas of marketing like social media and digital publishing, where the landscape seems to experience momentous shifts every few months as new platforms are launched and algorithms change.

An aspect of marketing that changes less frequently though, and as a result is often overlooked when it comes to finding new strategies, is branding. But it is critical to stay current on how to evolve your companys brand image to reflect the present needs and expectations of consumers.

As your company develops its 2020 marketing strategy, here are four key shifts in branding to be mindful of.

Branding Impacts Customers, Employees And Potential Hires

With a wider variety of companies now available to candidates than ever before from scrappy startups to established industry giants there are a lot of hoops to jump through to attract top-tier talent. On top of that, with higher transparency than ever before, thanks to platforms like Glassdoor, social media channels and various other websites, your company culture is on full display to potential new hires.

As a result, companies need to begin thinking of branding as a way to not only attract customers, but also as a way to entice qualified job seekers to join their teams. If your company appears unprofessional, whether by having poor design or having few followers on Instagram or limited reviews on Yelp you run the risk of missing out on premier candidates. Additionally, if your company appears not to prioritize employee well-being, candidates may doubt the integrity of your organization.

The numbers back up the importance of company culture quite clearly. In fact, a study by Deloitte found that 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct company culture is important to the success of a business. Another study found that companies with strong work cultures saw a significant increase in revenue growth when compared to companies without performance-enhancing cultures. As you approach branding, keep in mind how much of an impact it has on different aspects of a business and your bottom line.

Affordability Isnt Always The Answer

The race to the bottom when it comes to pricing might not be something your company needs to participate in at all especially if you target millennial buyers. Whether its in the form of a superior customer experience or higher quality materials, younger customers are willing to pay more. In fact, according to PwC, 42% of consumers said they would pay more for a friendly, welcoming customer experience and 52% would pay more for a quick, efficient customer experience. On top of that, Nielsen found that nearly 3 out of 4 millennials are willing to spend more for sustainable products.

The meteoric surge in popularity of premium brands like Equinox and Whole Foods both attest to this increased attention to quality.

"The main goal is to create a consistent customer experience across all touchpoints to exceed your standards and your customers expectations. By keeping an eye on the entire customer journey, youre making sure that the promise of a positive experience is kept and that youre offering a superior service.Creating an experience really impresses purchasers and ensures that they will keep doing business with you in the future. A superior experience becomes a valued and unique asset for any type of business,says Shahin Safai, CEO of Royal Personal Training, a fitness startup focusing on personalized coaching and an elite workout experience.

The fitness company has seen success despite being in a highly crowded space peppered with low cost alternatives like Planet Fitness and LA Fitness by offering patrons a premiere customer experience, partnering with luxury hotels and top-tier Instagram influencers like Sommer Ray.

With so many options available on the market today, consumers arent afraid to shell out extra cash if it means theyll get something extra in return or are helping a good cause.

CEOs Building Personal Brands

Consumers today are pummeled with advertisements at nearly every touchpoint humanly possible: while scrolling through Instagram, on the subway during their morning commutes, while listening to their favorite podcasts, while driving along the freeway, when watching TV, and more the list goes on and on. During each of these interactions, consumers are told over and over again how important or life-changing every one of these brands are. As a result of this excessive exposure, consumers are becoming desensitized to the idea of trusting anything a faceless logo on a billboard is telling them.

This overexposure to traditional advertising might be a direct link to the rise in popularity of an alternative form of marketing for companies: the personal branding of CEOs as thought leaders in their respective spaces given how its much easier to trust a human being than a logo. This approach has become much easier with the proliferation of social media and other digital platforms, where ideas can spread like wildfire. With public figures like Gary Vaynerchuk and Grant Cardone helping forge the path as influencer CEOs, one click over to LinkedIn or Instagram will highlight how popular this approach has become for entrepreneurs as a method for generating brand awareness.

By publishing shareable, valuable content, whether thats in the form of blog posts, Instagram Stories, YouTube videos, LinkedIn posts or something else entirely, you just might create unmatched reach and awareness for your business while also positioning yourself as a though leader in your industry.

The Importance Of Giving Back

Omnicom found that 70% of millennials are willing to spend more for brands that support charitable causes relative to those that dont. If the success of companies like TOMS, Warby Parker, Bombas and more have taught us anything, its that modern-day customers care and support mission-driven brands. Oftentimes, it isnt enough for a business to solely provide top-grade products or services you also may need to care about causes larger than your offerings and put your money where your mouth is to support those initiatives.

Take American Eagle for example the company is donating 100% of profits from a collection they designed with a team of teen advisers. Each piece of the collection is designed with an embedded QR code which allows anyone with a smartphone to scan the code and donate to the nonprofit Delivering Good, helping the homeless and underprivileged young people. Not only are they supporting a good cause with the initial sale, but continue to do so with future donations made through the QR code technology.

The good news is that giving back can take a variety of forms, such as donating a portion of your products to charity, allocating a percentage of your profits to related nonprofits, giving out helpful content for free, or allowing your employees to volunteer a certain number of hours.

Like any other aspect or process within your business, your companys brand image should evolve over time to reflect changing market trends, consumer expectations and collective ideals. In the coming year, applying these strategies just might give you the competitive edge youve been looking for in the marketplace.

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4 Branding Strategies Your Company Should Apply In 2020 - Forbes