YoungsterInc Live with Real Estate Guru Stewart Hsu - Part 3
Digg this
Hello, welcome back to the YoungsterInc Live. We will continue our interview with Stewart Hsu, an ex-Silicon Valley High Tech Pro turned Real Estate Entrepreneur. This is Part 3.
Profile of Stewart Hsu: Born and raised in NY, Stewart attended university in the Mid-West, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998. Three “start-ups” later, Stewart realized he could not depend on an IPO to create his wealth, so he committed to taking full responsibility for his own results. Since then, Stewart has invested in over 15 properties in 6 states over the last 3 and half years. His latest transaction is a 60-unit apartment building in Dallas, TX. Stewart has 3 passions in life 1) investing in real estate, 2) continuous personal development and 3) sharing his experiences and insights with people. Stewart’s working on sharing those ideas on his website www.stewarthsu.com to be launched May 2007, come check it out.
Interview Continues:
Youngster: Tell us what is the biggest mistake you have made as an entrepreneur?
Stewart: Not always taking full responsibility for every endeavor I choose to be a part of. For me this happened with an investment I made with a few friends. I assumed the other people would take care of some of the details and I didn’t want to push too hard because they were friends. The investment didn’t turn out as expected, though I am thankful we are all still friends.
I caution you on doing business with friends. If you do decide to partner with friends, that can work out well, but a) try to limit it to as few people as possible and b) you need to lay down the rules in advance (write it out and agree to it). Rockfeller said “It’s better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship.” To carry this idea one step further, don’t expect other people to do things you expect, always take ownership fully for anything you expect needs to be done. Ownership doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself, but rather ensuring everything gets done by someone with the level of quality that’s reflective of you. How you do anything, is how you do everything.
Youngster: Stewart, that is very very good advice. I always wanted to start a business with friends. Is there any specific personality traits you look for you find business partners?
Stewart:
a) Optimism. Ever notice that all the work and creative stuff gets done by people who believe they’ll find a way to make it happen? They don’t give up until they’ve achieved their goal. Be an optimist. See the future as how you can make it better. It’s the optimists that create the world.
b) Seek to add value. Be a problem solver; look for problems then solve them the best you can. Look for products and services that people may not yet know they want or need. In general, if you can give something of value to other people first, more will come back to you later. Call it good manners, good karma, or the law of reciprocation; I can tell you first hand that it works.
c) Persistence. Benjamin Franklin said “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” By taking action, you’re putting your energy into it, and with persistence, more doors will open to you than you could have possibly imagined from the start.