My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

John Swolfs is CEO at Inside ETFs. Previously, he worked at BlackRock’s, one of the world’s largest asset managers, iShares team as a business development associate. In his previous role, Swolfs worked closely with both the Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and Independent Advisor community to help promote the use of ETFs and index investing. Before joining iShares, he worked as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch. Swolfs is a graduate of SUNY Albany, where he majored in U.S. history. And a little bit of trivia, John worked for two years for the New York Mets.   “Before you invest, get professional help. It's out there, it's accessible, take advantage of it.” John Swolfs   Worst investment ever John’s worst investment happened when, despite being an expert in investing, he started believing that he could time the market. The financial advisor who wouldn’t listen to his advice John is always talking to his clients about thinking long-term and investing for the future. He has always advised them to do what's right for their portfolio and not to worry about what's happening in the market. He, however, took all of that knowledge and information and said that it was not for him. He ditched his thinking and decided to get tactical. He believed that he was smarter than anyone, i.e., that he was smarter than the market. To his clients, he would have told them that they can't do that, that that's foolish. That they need to build a position that allows them to be diversified and ride the markets out. But when it came to himself making the investment move, he thought he didn’t need to follow his own advice. Buying gold in a murky market John invested in gold in 2012, a time when there were a lot of concerns about inflation as the world was still not out of the global financial crisis. Against his better judgment, he bought $15,000 worth of gold, believing that the market would eventually pick up. The price of this investment has been going down since the day he bought it. It still pains him to have foolishly lost all that money. Lessons learned Stick with your allocations If you are building a strategic plan for your asset allocation, stick with it. Avoid personal bias Don’t let personal bias or emotional attachment get you stuck with an investment for too long. Diversify your portfolio Opportunity cost is real when it comes to investing. Build an allocation that allows you to be diversified and ride the markets out. Don't ever think that you're smarter than the market You’ll never be smarter than the market, so always do your homework, and don’t forget your risk management lessons. Andrew’s takeaways Fear is dangerous when it comes to investing Fear can be very dangerous and can hold you back from making solid investment decisions. When you start building a scary scenario of what could be happening in the markets, you start getting confirmation bias. You only find research and people talking about the bad scenario. You’ll keep building upon this fear, and you can easily get caught up in it and end up being driven by emotion or flawed thinking. Equity should be your core asset Build up your investment account over 20, 30, or 40 years and diversify across asset classes, such as commodities, fixed income, etc. This way you’ll be able to manage your cash flow as well as the movement of your overall portfolio. Actionable advice Get help from a financial advisor. Go to a professional who will keep you on track and guide you on the best way to invest your money. No. 1 goal for next the 12 months John’s main goal for the next 12 months is to get all his asset allocations consolidated. He wants to hire a wealth management advisor or a Robo advisor, who will get him back on the right path. Currently, his assets are scattered all over the place. Parting words   “You can't control the market. So control what you can, and that's typically cost, taxes, and risk. And if you do that, you'll be ahead of the game. Control what you can and let the markets do their thing.” John Swolfs   Andrew’s books      How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market      My Worst Investment Ever      9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them      Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs      Valuation Master Class      Women Building Wealth      The Build Your Wealth Membership Group      Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence      Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points  Connect with John Swolfs LinkedIn Twitter  Website Connect with Andrew Stotz      astotz.com      LinkedIn      Facebook      Instagram      Twitter      YouTube      My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Sal Daher is an angel investor who invests in technologies that set Boston apart. He is a member of Walnut Ventures and MIT Angels. Sal is a syndicate lead and podcast host at Angel Invest Boston Podcast.   “The market does not pay you for taking an idiosyncratic or company-specific risk. The market pays you for data.” Sal Daher   Worst investment ever Not so much love for the pop Sal as an angel investor is always looking for startups to invest in. it’s no surprise that his worst investment ever was missing out on a good deal. Sal got to learn about a company called Love Pop that makes greeting cards that open up and a magnificent sailing ship or airplane pops out. In his mind, this was one hell of a business idea that was never going to take off. I don’t need my mentor on this one He was smart enough though, to tell his mentor, who has invested in hundreds of startups, about the company. His mentor advised him to meet the founding team. His stubbornness would not allow him to listen to his mentor. He complained that he knew nothing about consumer business and his stronghold was in B2Bs such as biotech companies. He went against his mentor’s advice and didn't take the meeting. A foolish move that he still regrets to date. But why was this a foolish move yet his reasoning was valid? While his excuse for not investing in the startup was valid, it was a wrong move because his number one strategy as a successful angel investor is to invest in teams. He doesn’t invest in ideas or markets, he invests in teams. So at the very least, he should have met the startup’s founding team. It turns out that the two founders are extremely smart entrepreneurs who if put in any situation, they'll figure it out. They went on to figure out their stores, they got VC funding and became a huge success. A success that Sal missed out on. Lessons learned When investing in early-stage companies you have no data for your research. It’s just an idea that the founding team has. To get the best return on your investment you need to invest in the right founding team. Are they excited about their idea? Do they work well together? Find out as much as you can about the team. To you, it may sound like a stupid idea. But, when a bunch of really clever people come to you and say they think they can make tons of money with that idea, don’t dismiss them just yet, give them a hearing. It's a constant temptation to think that you know more than the startup founders but, remember that these guys are out exploring the unknown. So allow experimentation. Don't do it alone. Find angel investor groups near you, join an angel investment network, work with somebody who knows what they're doing. Just don’t work alone. Andrew’s takeaways To win big you must be an open-minded angel investor Good ideas and good money-making opportunities come from many different angles. If you want to become an angel investor you must allow yourself to be open to all types of business ideas. You may just stumble upon a unicorn startup. Invest in teams not ideas It is the teams that are going to turn an idea into a multibillion-dollar investment or a huge loss. So invest in great teams that can overcome various business challenges and build successful startups. Actionable advice Start early, start small, start slow and pay attention because you will learn after a handful of investments. Returns can't be rushed. This idea of FOMO (fear of missing out), forget about that. If somebody is giving you FOMO in a startup, give it a miss. No. 1 goal for next the 12 months Sal’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to increase the number of people in his angel investors list to five times more than he currently has. Parting words   “You must have a great deal of discipline if you want to invest in startups. Okay. I say start small, start slow, and don't do it alone.” Sal Daher   Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Sal Daher LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Website Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Dustin Mathews is the co-founder and Chief Education Officer of wealthfit.com; an online learning startup focused on teaching all the stuff you never learned in school about money investing and entrepreneurship. He's also the host of the Get Wealth Fit podcast where he's had the chance to get inside the heads of top investors and famous people like Rich Dad Robert Kiyosaki, racing legend Danica Patrick, Kevin Harrington from Shark Tank, Marquis Jets founder, Jesse, Olympic medalists Shannon Miller, and Seal Team six leader Rob O'Neill.   “Whatever your goal is, whether it’s investing, do one small action a day to build momentum, and you'll surprise yourself at what you can achieve.” Dustin Mathews   Worst investment ever It helps to follow your own investing in real estate advice Dustin’s worst investment ever was his first home, a condo in Florida. In Florida, back in 2007/2008, you literally could buy a piece of property, and it would go up by $100,000 or $50,000, depending on where it was. The condo he bought was on the water and seemed to be a smart move. The reason why he didn't think that it would be a bad investment was that he had a mentor who was running a company, ironically called Foreclosures Daily. The mentor was teaching him how to buy and sell real estate, and together they were teaching others how to buy and sell foreclosure properties. He felt confident that he knew enough to invest in real estate. So he bought a condo on the water without doing any background research or any of the things that he advised his students to do before investing in real estate. What could go wrong anyway? Buying on an interest-only mortgage Now the big mistake was not buying the condo but buying it on an interest-only mortgage. He never planned to stay in the condo. He was going to do what everyone was saying to do. Buy it, live in it for two years, and then move out and buy a new property and trade up. So he figured that because he was only looking to invest in real estate, he would do an adjustable-rate mortgage interest only. Unfortunately, the market turned in 2008 and property values dropped. His mortgage payment became more than what the condo was worth. Eventually, the bubble burst, and now he was facing foreclosure. While he had always taught people not to walk away from foreclosed homes, he walked away from his condo, gave up on it, and gave it back to the bank. Lessons learned Do your due diligence It's so easy to get excited about whatever investment that is currently hot and that everyone is talking about. Don’t get caught up in the hype. Take time to do your due diligence to confirm that, indeed, the investment is good for you too. You may realize that despite the hype, this isn’t the right time or investment for you. Educate yourself Even though Dustin was working in a real estate company, teaching real estate investing, he was so caught up in the job, the KPIs and the metrics that he wasn't absorbing that education for himself. So even if you’re an experienced investor, make the time to educate yourself about every piece of investment you set your eyes on. If possible, consult other people that don't have a vested interest in your stake. Andrew’s takeaways Don’t get overhyped You may get caught up in the hype. Slow down, stay cool and take time to observe and understand things. This will help you make informed decisions. Experts are the worst Many people have probably lost more than they have made in the stock market over a long period, because of overconfidence. Being seasoned investors, being in the market, and on top of it, they assume their investments will be safe, so they go in blindly. It’s okay to feel shameful of your loss People, even experts, will always make mistakes when investing. It’s okay to feel embarrassed about your investment decisions that go wrong. Face it, and move on. Actionable advice The next hot company is always going to be there, the next hot stock is always going to be there, it's just human nature, and so there's always going to be a hot new option. So take the time to slow down, do your due diligence, and find out if that is the right deal for the long haul. No. 1 goal for next the 12 months Dustin’s goal is to be better with his time and have fewer and stronger relationships because, over time, he has learned that it's important to take the time and invest in the right relationships. Parting words   “You're going to make some bad investments, just own it and move on.” Dustin Mathews   Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Dustin Mathews LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram Website Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

John Pugliano is the author of The Robots are Coming: A Human's Survival Guide to Profiting in the Age of Automation. He is the host of Wealthsteading Podcast as well as the founder and money manager at Investable Wealth LLC. John’s circuitous career path includes military services, both enlisted and officer, corporate career in industrial sales, and finally, a late-blooming entrepreneur. John has an MS in Systems Management from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor's of Science and Environmental Science and Engineering from Penn State. In a nutshell, John is the quintessential Millionaire Next Door.   “First, learn how to earn, then you have to save, and then and only then you invest.” John Pugliano   Worst investment ever John found himself in the middle of the internet bubble in the 90s. Being a smart investor, he’d seen the internet bubble coming, and so he got out of technology stocks. This saved his wealth and so he was sitting on his high horse as he watched others lose their investments. The arrogant and overconfident investor Having escaped the internet bubble unscathed, John became arrogant and overconfident. With so much confidence, he invested a very large percentage of his portfolio in a brick and mortar, retail type of service company. He invested in Boston Market, a concept restaurant that served good healthy, home-cooked kind of meals. But the big concept of it was you didn't have to eat there. You could take it at home. Take out was a new thing, and this made the company all the rage. His entrepreneurial instinct told him that the technology stocks would go down, but the brick and mortar type of restaurants would always be there. And besides, the company had great reviews. Everybody loved it. So feeling all smug and overconfident, he put a large portion of his portfolio that he'd already made a profit on from getting out of the internet bubble into Boston Market. Falling off the high horse The Boston Market stock listed at about $20 and was selling at around $45 when John decided to invest in the company. Within a short 18 months, the stock went to zero, and the company went bankrupt. So John didn't lose 10% or 20% or even 50%, he lost a whopping 100% of a large portion of his overall investing portfolio. John was overconfident in his investment plan so much so that he didn’t even consider diversified investments. He put all the money he had in one stock. Lessons learned Diversify your portfolio John learned the hard way that you don’t have to believe in the rich man’s hype. You don’t have to take big risks to win. The way to win is through portfolio diversification. So instead of investing in one stock, diversify your portfolio by investing in many different stocks. This cushions you from making your worst investment should one of your stocks go bankrupt. John’s style now is to have very large diversification. He prefers to have a minimum of 30 stocks at a time, which gives him roughly a 3% position in any one stock. Now even if another disaster happened and one stock went to zero, he’ll only have lost 3% of his overall portfolio. He now believes that if you can't have a diversified portfolio, you're not an investor, and you shouldn't be doing it. Ignore the hype Ignoring the hype is especially an important lesson for people who are interested in how to start investing in stocks. Forget the people on Wall Street; they’re simply interested in getting your money, so don’t take them at face value. Being cynical when getting into the stock market will save you from losing your wealth. Ask the hard questions before you get sold. Don’t be a conformist Don’t fall for fear of missing out, aka FOMO. Just because everybody else is investing in a particular stock, you don’t have to do it. Whenever you conform you risk getting mediocre performance. Protect yourself with a put If you want to buy into one stock, you can protect your wealth with a protective put option. A put option allows you to know upfront what your losses stand to be. So you know how much you’re willing to risk. Andrew’s takeaways Be careful not to be overconfident Confidence or overconfidence is the problem, while diversification is the solution. Overconfidence will bring you losses, but learning how to diversify your stock portfolio will increase your wealth. Do your research The number one investment mistake that people make is that they fail to do their research. We fail to properly assess and manage risk leading to poor investments. Actionable advice Mitigate your risk and refrain from investing more than you're willing to lose. That's the beauty of a protective put. It forces you to decide what you're willing to lose upfront. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months John’s number one goal is to get out of the unpredictable stock market before it falls apart. He doesn’t want to be the last guy standing. He wants to get out before the music stops. Parting words   “The best way to build your wealth is to do what works for you and not what others are doing. Do what you know.” John Pugliano   Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with John Pugliano LinkedIn Twitter Website YouTube Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Thomas J. Stanley (1996) The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy John Pugliano (2017) The Robots are Coming: A Human's Survival Guide to Profiting in the Age of Automation  

Geoff Gannon is a portfolio manager, podcaster, and investment writer. He manages accounts at Focus Compounding Capital Management, and he co-hosts the Focus Compounding Podcast with Andrew Kuhn. He started writing and podcasting about value investing in 2005, at the ripe young age of 19. Since then, Geoff has written hundreds of articles for Seeking Alpha and Guru Focus. He wrote the Gannon On Investing newsletter in 2006 and two GuruFocus newsletters from 2010-2012. In 2013, he co-founded Singular Diligence (a monthly investment newsletter) with Quan Hoang and authored all issues from 2013-2016. In 2017, he co-founded the Focused Compounding member website (with Andrew Kuhn). In 2018, he co-founded Focused Compounding Capital Management, where he manages client accounts. Lastly, in September of 2019, Geoff Gannon and Andrew Kuhn announced their partnership with Willow Oak Asset Management, a subsidiary of Enterprise Diversified Inc (SYTE US), to launch a hedge fund with a target launch date of January 1, 2020.   “If you have a monopoly or something like that, it’s okay to have a lot of operating leverage and a lot of debt.” Geoff Gannon   Worst investment ever Geoff got into investing as a teenager when he dropped out of college after one semester. He figured college wasn’t his thing. Instead, he wanted to do something related to investing as well as writing. So by the time he made his worst investment, he’d packed some good years of experience in investment and risk management. Even the most experienced investors make blunders Geoff’s worst investment ever was a personal investment. He’d been interested in the Weight Watchers stock for a long time but didn’t buy it as the price was always too high for his liking. He’s a value investor and likes to pay a low price for things. The lucky star shines on the seasoned investor As luck would have it, a couple of factors affected the price of the stock. The controlling shareholder decided that they should take on a lot of debt and buy back a lot of stock, which caused the stock price to shoot up. However, the price got so high that nobody wanted to buy it, which then caused the price to drop more than it should. Suddenly he was looking at the cheapest stock amongst its competitors, some that he never thought were as good as Weight Watchers. Now he got pretty interested in the stock. He goes against his better judgment Weight Watchers was a controversial stock at that point. But he liked the price, and it had all the things about a business that he liked as well. However, Weight Watchers had more debt than companies that he’d normally buy. The $33 per share stock price got him to ignore the debt and its possible consequences. Over the next year or so, the stock declined to the lowest price it has ever hit—$4. The price did increase after an announcement by Weight Watchers that Oprah was partnering with them. He ended up selling his shares at $17, making a 50% loss. Lessons learned Don’t invest in a high debt stock Geoff’s biggest lesson was that when buying stocks with high debt, you ought to consider the type of product or service the company is trading in. When a predictable company, for instance, an airport or any monopoly, take on an excessive amount of debt, the stock remains safe. However, a company like Weight Watchers is less predictable because they offer products that people will not hold onto for long. The average Weight Watchers member only stays with the diet for about nine months, meaning customers decline if they don’t get to sign up new ones. If the company had not taken on an excessive amount of debt, if they'd kept it pretty reasonable and low, that would probably have changed the trajectory of the performance of that stock. Think about fads too Before Geoff bought into the Weight Watchers stock, there was a buzz around the Atkins diet. It became this huge phenomenon beyond anything that any diet had been before for about a year. It did a huge amount of damage to the Weight Watchers business that year. Geoff Knew from research that the Weight Watchers stock declined a lot with the Atkins diet. He made the mistake of thinking that that was a one-time thing, but other fads such as apps and other diets came up and continued to affect the price of the stock. Andrew’s takeaways When looking for stocks to buy pay attention to the company’s debt Most people never take time to research whether the company they want to buy into has any debt. Now that’s a risk management mistake because debt can creep up. Even though it doesn't cause a problem most of the time, but when it does, you can lose the shareholder value in the business that you are investing in. Investing in the stock market for the first time? Start slowly When investing in the stock market for the first time, it pays to start slowly. When you find an investment idea that you think is viable, go in slowly and give yourself time to monitor its performance. This saves you from experiencing buyer's remorse. Actionable advice Geoff’s advice is if you're going to buy the stock of a company with debt, take your time thinking about the debt itself and whether it's a good investment or not. Ask yourself if you invest in this debt will the company be safe or at risk of bankruptcy? And if it's not, then maybe you don't want to invest in the stock. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Geoff’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to have a successful launch of his hedge fund because the first year is very important in terms of starting things off. So that'd be a great goal to have a good first 12 months. Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points  Connect with Geoff Gannon Website Facebook YouTube Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Barbara Friedberg has an MBA and a Master's in Science. She is a veteran Portfolio Manager, FinTech consultant, expert investor, and former university finance instructor. She is editor-author of Personal Finance: An Encyclopedia of Modern Money Management, Invest in Beat the Pros and How to Get Rich. She is CEO of Robo-Advisor Pros, a Robo advisor review and information website. Additionally, she is the publisher of the well-regarded investment website Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance. Her work is found on U.S. News & World Report, Business Daily, Investopedia, Go Banking Rates, Investor Place, MSNBC and MSN Money, Entrepreneur, and many other places.   “Buying, although it's got a certain psychological benefit of owning your own home, financially, it may not be the best way to build wealth.” Barbara Friedberg   Worst investment ever Barbara and her husband are not newbies to the real estate market, having bought their first home in their 20s and 30s. It was while living in California and after having their daughter that they decided to move to another cheaper region. The couple realized that their lifestyle would be crazy trying to work and raise a family in California, so they decided to move to the Midwest. Even the most experienced make the worst investment decisions After selling their home for a tidy sum, they went house shopping in Indianapolis. To their delight, homes in Indianapolis were much cheaper than in California. Excited, they forgot the most important rule of buying a home: do your research. Struck by the relatively low real estate prices, they went all in and bought a beautiful four-bedroom home in a brand new community. The investment wasn’t so good after all After two years, Barbara’s husband had to change jobs, which meant they had to move. Selling the home was not as smooth as they expected. No one wanted to buy the house. What they would have realized had they done their research is that locals preferred houses with a basement, and theirs didn’t have one. The other problem they didn’t anticipate was Barbara’s decoration. See, she loves modern style decorations, so she’d decorated every room to her taste. Not to say, her taste is poor, but the decorating style in Indiana leans more towards traditional than modern. So her house was not the plum that she thought, given the area of the country they were living. When they listed their house on the market, it did not get a lot of traction. Ultimately, they did end up selling the house two years after they’d bought it for a loss of $25,000. Lessons learned Know your neighborhood before buying your first home Before you buy a home, do your research and understand the neighborhood well. Find out what are the must-haves for local home buyers. If everyone wants a house with a basement, buy a house with a basement. This will help sell the house faster when the time to sell comes. If you're going to sell in a certain region, you want to make sure the house fits in with the norms of the region. Buy a home only if you’re sure you’ll live in it for at least five years Buying a home is an expensive venture, and so is moving. Don’t buy a home unless you are pretty certain that you're going to stay in that property or hang on to that property for five to seven years. Real estate investments appreciate slowly Unlike the stock market, which is quite volatile, the real estate market is much more stable and moves slowly. So unless you are planning on staying in a house for five to seven years, don't buy, rent instead. Buying a house and expect to sell it for profit in the next one or two years is very difficult. Andrew’s takeaways Just because it's cheap doesn't mean you have to buy it Just because a house is cheaper than you expected it to be, does not mean that you should buy it. Consider all other factors of buying a home on top of the price. You may realize that it’s not a worthy investment in the long run. Do your research before you buy that home When investing in a home outside of your area, be careful. Take time, think about it, do your research, and make sure that it’s the best thing to do. Forget the American Dream to buy If you're going to stay someplace for less than five years, rent. You don’t have to follow the so-called American dream to buy. Sometimes it’s more beneficial to rent. Actionable advice Don't buy a home just because you are impressed by its grandness. Consider what's important to you in life. Consider if the house truly fits your needs putting in mind the future as well as your current situation. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Barbara has been working very hard on Robo-Advisor Pros and intends to continue to make the website the premier site to learn about Robo advisors. These are automated digital low-fee investment advisors. She believes that they can be a helpful tool for individuals to manage their money at a very low cost. Her goal for the 12 months is to continue to build that asset up to help people learn to build wealth, smartly and affordably. Parting words   “Buying is not for everyone. Whether you buy a rental property or own your own home, it will be a ton of work. Don’t be afraid to consider renting if you can’t handle the work.” Barbara Friedberg   Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Barbara Friedberg LinkedIn Twitter Website Facebook Pinterest Books on Amazon Robo-Advisor Pros Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Buck Joffrey is a physician turned entrepreneur and professional investor. He is also the host of The Wealth Formula® Podcast and author of an international best-selling book, 7 Secrets of Eternal Wealth, which focuses on financial education for high paid professionals.   “At the end of the day, I just came into a realization that I really made a big mistake. I can sit here, chase it, spend money to save it, or I can give it up, cut my losses, sell it to somebody, learn to take the loss and move on. And so I did the latter.” Buck Joffrey   My Worst Investment Ever Story Surgeon turned real asset investor Buck finished surgical training in 2008. Having his own practice and doing a few other things, he started to have a little money to invest. He got interested in real estate primarily because of his family’s influence but mostly because of Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the best-selling book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. “It’s just math, and I’m good with math” Buck got addicted to the idea of cash flows and multifamily real estate, and he went on and read two of Ken McElroy’s books, The ABC of Real Estate Investing and The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing. Armed with advice from all the books he read, he concluded that it's all just math, and he knew he’s good at it. With no help from anyone, he started looking for properties. The deal that spiraled out of control For his first venture into the real estate world, Buck thought that it was a good idea to go to an online site to look for properties. He eventually found a deal, did the math, and saw a great opportunity–or so he thought it was. He went down to the place where the property was, ticked all the boxes, and bought the building. Just as quickly as he had made the deal, he started realizing that nothing on his spreadsheet seemed to be working. All of a sudden, everybody stopped paying their rent, and a bunch of people was creating more problems than he could handle. Buying something that you think you know and realizing that it was not after It turned out that Buck’s first deal was a fraud. The previous owner, to be able to convince people to buy his properties, would let people live there for free for a while. This was just to put on a show that the building was performing well and that buyers could expect to receive rent from the fake tenants. And so, the whole thing was a mess. Buck, with no one to turn to and with little to no experience in property management, had to sell the building after a year later for a loss. It’s one thing to know what you think you are buying and another thing when you realize that it’s not what you thought. It was a tough way to learn but a good lesson nevertheless. Lessons learned Real estate is more than just numbers The heart of real estate is operations. It’s a combination of finding an asset and good property management to squeeze out those high returns and get the most out of it. Build a great team and find the right people If you plan to venture into real estate on your own, don’t. Buck has learned it the hard way. It is very important to create a team with the skills and experiences in real estate. Don’t underestimate the potential gains from being a “passive” investor Over time, Buck learned that there are two sides of real estate. Some people are doing it full time, which brings a decent amount of cash. Others, on the other hand, are investing as passive investors who are only limited partners with operators. With zero work, they get to earn a lot more than those who are full time in real estate. Andrew’s takeaways Do your research properly The number one common mistake is the failure to do research properly. Research is beyond numbers. When doing your research, investigate, check, and test those numbers if they’re real. Your team is your asset Getting the right people on the bus will shape the strategy of how you invest, where you invest and how you will manage. So, it’s a great reminder to build a great team around you which you can trust. Realizing when to cut your losses Don’t wait for a miracle to happen. When it’s losing, learn to give it up. Cut your losses and put your money into something more hopeful. There is so much emotional baggage with cutting losses. It is important to realize when to stop before draining your money, spirit, and time. Get out, move on and do not make the same mistakes again. Actionable advice If you’ve got a full-time job and you are focused on it, the last thing you want is to give yourself another job. So, if what you are looking at is a potential investment as a limited partner, find yourself a group of people that knows what they are doing, and you will, in most cases, get a much better outcome with zero additional work for you. No. 1 goal for next the 12 months Right now, Buck has about $300 million worth of assets under management for his investor group. His goal is to continue to get people as good returns as he can and maximize investor returns. Parting words   “Remember, learn from your mistakes. But they don’t really need to be your mistakes because they can be someone else’s. Borrow the takeaways and learn from them.” Buck Joffrey   Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points  Connect with Buck Joffrey LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Website Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further readings mentioned Robert Kiyosaki (1997) Rich Dad, Poor Dad Ken McElroy (2012) The ABC of Real Estate Investing Ken McElroy (2008) The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing  

Deacon Hayes is the founder of WellKeptWallet.com, which reaches over 1,000,000 people per month. He has been a contributor for the US News & World Report, Investopedia, Clark Howard and more. He is also the author of the book, You Can Retire Early! Everything You Need to Achieve Financial Independence When You Want It.   “Opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” Deacon Hayes   My Worst Investment Ever Life before the devastating investment Hayes lived and worked in Phoenix, Arizona before his big fall and his subsequent rise from the ashes. Like most Americans, he had his fair share of debt but had so far managed to find a balance with his income. However, he loved his job and his life and lived by his philosophy of following his passions. Until he came across the opportunity that changed his whole life. Real estate fad covers country in early 2000s The early 2000s were times of great financial stability. It was a time of prosperity and growth in the world of finance with all markets from the stock market to currency exchange achieving record highs. The real estate market, in particular, was doing really well, with that being described as the age of the real estate boom. With emotions running high, Hayes decided to take a risk on the market. Investing for him meant the possibility of having a debt-free life, and it was too good an opportunity to pass. So having done his homework he decided to buy not one but two condos. Investor gives in to ARM loans’ allure The first mistake that Hayes made was taking a huge risk on multiple investments without being fully informed about the real estate market. He had a payment option ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) plan. In a nutshell, this would allow him to make a small minimum investment with variable interests which seemed like a good idea. In retrospect, giving in to this allure is the worst mistake he made given how much he ended up losing. Financial crisis begins in 2007, put all his net worth at risk Between 2007 and 2008, half of the U.S. suffered the worst market crash in real estate history. For a number of reasons, property values plummeted while interest rates shot through the roof. Hayes, alongside many other Americans, felt this major blow. And as a result of his poor risk management, he was at risk of losing not just his two condos but a majority of his net worth. When it rains, it pours So here was Hayes, in his early 20s, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and had lost up to 95% of his net worth. Sounds pretty bad huh? Well, it got worse for him. See the land that his two troubled condos were built on was on a lease that ran out soon after the market crash. This meant that his Homeowners Associated (HOA) fee payments would go up. And boy did they go up; by more than 300% to be exact. Struggling to stay afloat while drowning in debt For the next several years (a decade to be exact), it was an uphill battle to keep financially afloat. Despite having double income through his wife and some investments in the stock market, he did not have enough money to rescue let alone sustain his properties. He was also in constant conflict between dumping the seemingly rotten investments and finding ways to save them. He tried everything from cutting costs to paying off the loans to finding multiple tenants for the property. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. He lost one condo a few years after the crash through foreclosure after failing to find someone to buy it. The other one went soon after, and despite finding a buyer and escaping bankruptcy, he ended up selling it at a loss of $40,000. Ten years later, Hayes is finally free. It was a rough several years, and he lost a lot; there is no doubt. But he also learned a lot from his experiences on risk management and how to avoid loss. Lessons learned Here are some of his lessons so you too can avoid making bad investments and losing more than you are ready to. Do your research Investing is more than just having a gut feeling that a market will go up. You need to research. Learn as much as possible about the risks, rewards, and everything that could go devastatingly wrong. And only after understanding the good, bad and the ugly should you take out that check book. Minimize your risks Risks are inevitable when it comes to investments. However, unnecessary risks are purely out of choice. It is important to minimize your risks as much as possible when investing, especially in real estate. The best way to do this is by making a decent-sized deposit with rates that favor you. That way, you will manage to pay off the mortgage sooner and with less interest. If this means getting one investment at a time, then do it. Some risks are just not worth taking. Don’t go all-in on a new investment Whether it is a new company in the stock market or some new investment fad, it is never a good idea to give it all you have. It doesn’t matter how good the deal seems. Instead, invest a little at a time as you get to understand the market through different financial seasons. Don’t bite off more than you can chew Avoiding loss is all about taking risks that you can manage. Hayes made a huge mistake buying two condos at the same time when his income could not cover both. This left him vulnerable to the major loss he suffered as it became harder to save both condos with limited resources. Don’t make decisions out of excitement or emotion Never mix money with emotions. It really doesn’t matter how excited you are at the prospects of big wins. Take the feelings out of it, think critically about it, and make a sound decision based on fact. You don’t have to invest in all fads; opportunities never stop coming As Richard Branson so famously said, “opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming”. So don’t panic and enter a market because you are afraid of missing out on the investment (a phenomenon known as Fear of Missing Out [FOMO]). Take as much time as you need to be ready for that major move. And if the chance passes you by don’t regret anything, a greater opportunity is sure to follow. Andrew’s takeaways From this story one lesson stands out the most; you do not have to take every opportunity that comes your way. It doesn’t matter how promising or even how cheap it is. Here, you have to fight your instinct to follow the hype and go with your emotions. It will take a lot out of you but it will also save you a lot of disappointment and loss down the line. Actionable advice Beware of the fear of missing out (FOMO). There is nothing worse than getting into an investment simply because it is a trend and you want in on it. Instead, take as much time as you need to understand the market and your options. If after your research and time to think it still seems like a good idea then go for it. No. 1 goal for next the 12 months For Hayes. The future seems bright with his successful online. He hopes to have reached 2 million readers on his website as a way to enlighten more people on how to handle debt for a healthy financial life. Parting words   That brings us to the end of Deacon Hayes’ incredible story. I hope you learnt enough from his loss to secure yourself big wins in future. In a nutshell, not all opportunities are worth going after. Deacon Hayes   Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Deacon Hayes LinkedIn Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Deacon Hayes  (2017) You Can Retire Early!: Everything You Need to Achieve Financial Independence When You Want It  

Aaron Walker has founded more than a dozen companies over the past 41 years. He attributed much of his success to having surrounded himself with his Mastermind counterparts. Aaron spent a decade meeting weekly with Dave Ramsey, Dan Miller, Ken Abraham, and five other amazing entrepreneurs. Aaron is the founder of Iron Sharpens Iron Mastermind Group that now hosts 15 groups with national and international members. Aaron is the author of View From The Top: Living A Life Of Significance, a must-read book to fully understand how to live a life of success and significance. He is also a founder of the Mastermind Playbook which is an incredible resource for starting, running and scaling masterminds. Aaron lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Robin, his lovely wife of 40 years. He has two incredible daughters and five beautiful grandchildren. When time allows, Aaron enjoys hunting, fishing, golf, and is an avid reader.   “We have all these plans, yet we're not promised tomorrow. I encourage you to live today like there is no tomorrow in a good way. Surround yourself with honorable, trustworthy people.” Aaron Walker   My Worst Investment Ever Story It started as a success story At a young age, Aaron Walker wanted better for himself. He came from a family of six and grew up in about 600 square foot house with barely little to survive. While still in night school, he was working during the days and never stopped. When he turned 18 years old, he impressed one of the largest insurance agencies in the country at that time to invest with him. After signing a $150,000 loan, Aaron opened up his first retail outlet. It became a success, and in 36 months, he was able to pay off a 10-year loan. He kept doing what he had been doing, and soon young Aaron Walker had already opened four stores in Nashville. He got a call from a Fortune 500 company, and they made an offer he couldn’t refuse. At the age of 27, Aaron Walker had made enough money to retire. A tragedy turned his life upside down After 18 months of doing nothing, Aaron had come to a reality that he needed to get back in there, lose some weight and find a new job. So he went back to the company he started with when he was 13 years old. Now, at the age of 40, the company had grown four times bigger than it was 20 years ago. Aaron never stopped working from then on. He thought his life couldn’t get any better. He had his beautiful family, a steady job, vacation home and a big house on the hill. Until a tragedy turned his life upside down. While he was headed to his office, he ran over a pedestrian, and eventually, the head trauma killed the man. Even though it was not his fault, Aaron suffered anxieties because of stress and pressure after the accident. He took a break for five years. The painful realization For more than 20 years, Aaron wanted nothing more than a better life. But sometimes, life slips through a backdoor, and had it not been for that ugly turn in his life; he would not have realized what had been missing–a legacy. Would he want to be just another rags to riches story? No, Aaron wanted more than that. He wanted to have an impact on other people’s lives. So, he changed his focus and started thinking and looking outward rather than inward. He wanted to help people accomplish their goals and dreams. Ultimately, he wanted to transform lives. Lessons learned Build relationships intentionally In today’s society, people hide behind the screens and completely obliterating the importance of human connection. These intentional relationships we create every day gets us out of our own head and lets us focus outward instead of inward. Success comes after gratitude When you are grateful, you build good relationships with the people around you. As a result, natural reciprocity comes back to you. Learn to prioritize A lot of people try to live a balanced life, which is a myth. What needs to be done is to be very out of balance in the right places. Focus on the things that are meaningful, with purpose and that are lasting. Andrew’s takeaways When tragedy strikes, you can never avoid it Tragedy will strike you one way or another. Through these darkest times, the relationships you have with your family and friends will carry you out. Create a legacy that lasts We get so caught up with life and all its craziness that we sometimes forget what our legacy is. How will you leave an impact on other people? How will your existence inspire others to transform their lives? Start with a mantra of helping one person to step towards achieving their goals and repeat it every day. People are intrinsically motivated That management of companies these days have shifted away from judgment to metrics has lead to less focus on relationships. But people are intrinsically motivated, and many times, when we try to put on something extrinsic like a KPI to guide them, it's like you ruin the whole joy of work. Actionable advice It’s really important who you spend your time with. We should be very selective about the people that we spend time with because our time is very important. No. 1 goal for next the 12 months Aaron Walker’s goal is to get as many as possible to visit Mastermind Playbook so that he can continue spreading the message of how to live a successful and significant life. Parting words   “Most people in life today just want bigger, better, shiny, or faster things. Let me help you to really think through with clarity, how you can live a very productive life, how you can keep the focus, and how to have great levels of success and significance simultaneously.” Aaron Walker   Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points  Connect with Aaron Walker LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Podcast Website Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further readings mentioned Aaron Walker (2017) View From the Top: Living a Life of Significance  

Dustin Heiner is the founder of MasterPassiveIncome.com and the host of the Master Passive Income Podcast. Dustin is a real estate rental property investor, who was able to make enough passive income from his business to quit his job when he was 37 years old. With his podcast, books, courses, and coaching, he now helps other people quit their job by investing in real estate rental properties to live the dream life. Now, Dustin is living his dream life alongside his wife and four kids while traveling and exploring the world.    “If somebody asked me before, ‘Hey, Dustin, what do you do?’, I used to say that I work for the IT for this department in the government. Now if somebody asks me, ‘Hey, Dustin, what do you do?’ I don’t say I’m an author or a real estate person, I would say, I am an investor.”  Dustin Heiner   Worst investment ever Being laid off from a job was not that bad at all Before becoming a master of passive income, Dustin Heiner worked as a government employee for years. As he was going about his daily grind, he received a phone call from his boss who summoned him to her office. At that very moment, Dustin thought of all the worst-case scenarios. While he was walking to his boss’s office, he could not shake the bad feeling that he would lose his job that day since rumors had it that the department had been cutting people off.  He was given a two-week notice Then came the blow when his boss confirmed that he had been laid off. Losing a job while trying to provide for your family is a scary thing. But Dustin had to do something. First things first, he had to get a new job quickly. Good thing is, he’s got good connections from his previous jobs and luckily, he got hired a week after losing his job. One word sums up everything he was talking about – network. Planning for some backup Dustin learned his lesson and started to think forward. Being just an employee would not work for him and he needed a way out from his job. His back-up plan—investments. So, he started investing in stocks but turned out, he was losing far more money from it. He then stumbled on real estate which taught him great lessons. Location-based businesses are not for everybody Not all beginnings are great, and Dustin could attest to that when he invested in a retail establishment in 2007. It was a combination of a convenience store and a pizzeria, a market that is heavily dependent on the people around the area which is very promising. And the results for the first 2 years were great.  However, the economy crashed and the working population in that area was greatly affected. Consequently, Dustin’s retail business also suffered. So, what began as a good investment, turned out to be his wake-up call.   Lessons learned Invest your time and money efficiently Spend your life doing the things that are going to benefit you more than just a job. When you know what those things are, study and master it. The results will surprise you. Get an investment that works for you Dustin cannot stress this enough that you need to create a business that does not need you. Let the business do the work for you. Therefore it is very important to learn and master passive income.  Know and control your expenses Easy to say but hard to learn. There is no hard and fast rule on how you successfully control your expenses. It is important however to find the best way possible to at least minimize the costs.  For Dustin, he loves real estate and has formed a formula on how to handle his expenses effectively. However, controlling your expenses is as important—if not more—as knowing your expenses. Being able to spot them head-on would save you a lot of time and money. Do not forget your exit strategies Diving into a business venture is one thing and planning the best exit strategy is another. Dustin did not know about strategies when he started but somehow, he stumbled into it. He never starts anything without his exit strategies. It may not be necessarily exercised, but at least, it will prepare him.   Andrew’s takeaways Master passive income When someone asks you, “what do you do?”, Dustin teaches us how to answer it. You don’t say, you’re an author or a real estate person, you say you are an investor. And what it conveys is that you are an investor of your money and time. Another key investment strategy is allocating resources. This way, it makes you think differently and start to do things differently as well. Don't put your time and effort on things that will only pay you one time. See what passive income is, and master it. Move towards financial independence Only invest in things that are going to help you move towards your financial independence. We constantly think that financial independence is an important goal for us. The journey to financial independence is to focus all your effort and time on things that will bring you a step closer to that goal.  Get yourself out of the employee mindset The key to changing that mindset is to just simply think differently. You are not an employee because you are an investor. Never think otherwise. So, when asked, “what do you do?”, answer it with confidence that you are an investor and that being an employee is your side thing. If you embody it, things will be better.  Location-based businesses are out, online businesses are in Some people say that location-based businesses may work if you are a sole proprietor. But the reality here is, regardless of what kind of business organization you are in, it is hard to grow a location-based business. You will lose time growing it with no concrete results. The smartest move is to study the feasibility of online businesses.   Actionable advice Don’t put your time into activities that only pay you once. Dustin explains that passive income—and why he has his Master Passive Income courses—is where he works one time and gets paid over and repeatedly.   No. 1 goal for the next 12 months To create a brand called Successfully Unemployed”. He’s ready to impart knowledge through a podcast where other people just like himself who are successful from being unemployed can share their stories and inspire others.   Parting words   “Learn. Learn everything. And apply everything that you have learned wisely.”  Dustin Heiner   Andrew’s books      How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market     My Worst Investment Ever     9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them     Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs      Valuation Master Class     Women Building Wealth     The Build Your Wealth Membership Group     Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence     Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Dustin Heiner  LinkedIn  Twitter   Facebook YouTube  Website  Connect with Andrew Stotz     astotz.com    LinkedIn    Facebook    Instagram    Twitter    YouTube    My Worst Investment Ever Podcast