Jared Pomranky ~ Detroit Foreclosures

“The real leader has no need to lead– he is content to point the way.” ~Henry Miller

I like this quote because it speaks to the fact that leaders need to be doing much more pointing than the actual doing. Just like a business, if you’re spending all of your time working IN your business by DOING things, you can not be working ON your business and growing it. I found the following list in the article Seven Secrets of Inspiring Leaders by Carmine Gallo from Business Week Online. This is a list of how to be a better leader and is skewed towards an employee but it’s great advice for owners and for anyone looking to increase their effectiveness in communications and leadership:

1. Demonstrate enthusiasm - How do you expect employees and others to get excited about your business if you’re not demonstrating it to them constantly? Without a strong passion for what you’re doing, you will not get people that are committed to working with you and helping you succeed.
2. Articulate a compelling course of action - Many people falter at this point. We hear about people that have a goal of making $10,000 a month in passive income. This is a great goal but not very inspiring. How do you think that compares to a vision for your company that says you will turn around whole neighborhoods in Detroit through your rehabilitation of homes or the vision of Bill Gates when starting Microsoft of putting a computer on every desk in every home? Doesn’t this sound like something people can get behind?
3. Sell the benefit - You have to remember that it’s not about you or what you want. As my mentor states, W.I.I.F.T. What’s In It For Them? You need to be focused on what your employees or others are getting out of their interaction with you and constantly be focused on not only identifying what’s in it for them but telling them.
4. Tell more stories - This is an easy way to connect with an audience (big or small) and make yourself memorable. People may not remember the financial data that you’re spouting off but if you can tell a good heart felt story that connects your business, you will make yourself memorable.
5. Invite participation - Too many people in a leadership position don’t do this. When we get to a certain position, we may feel like we know what the best course of action is but there are many times that the people out there actually completing the task know better ways of doing it. Asking someone what they think should be done not only gets great ideas and creativity out in the open, it gives that person a vested interest in making sure it is successful. This is good advice for any relationship.
6. Reinforce an optimistic outlook - I believe this to be the most important aspect of a good leader. How can you expect others to be excited about what they’re doing and where they’re going if the person in charge doesn’t believe it will be successful. Optimism and actually believing that good things will happen makes good things happen more often.
7. Encourage potential - “Inspiring leaders praise people and invest in them emotionally.” By praising someone’s work and encouraging them to expand and increase their potential, you will be creating more effective and happier employees.

By being a better leader you can overcome and prosper from challenges in the current economy with all markets. This is the time to change and the time to innovate.

Be a Renegade,
Jared Pomranky

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“I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others… I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent.” ~Thomas Edison

As my mentor always says, W.I.I.F.T., What’s In It For Them. Is this a question you ask yourself every day, with every meeting, and every person you meet? Do you find yourself coming up with great ideas that people don’t want to use? Kind of like the inventor that comes up with a great idea but fails to see if anyone actually wants it? If you ask yourself in each negotiation, every meeting, and basically any personal interaction the WIIFT, you will find yourself with easy negotiations, easy interactions with others, and you will find yourself much more successful.

It’s imperative that you find out what the other person wants and to make sure that what you’re offering includes that to be successful in negotiations and making great connections. If you’re just always thinking about what a great deal this is going to be for you, you will have limited success.

With all of the opportunity that we have in Metro-Detroit Michigan right now, remember the WIIFT to maximize your success!

Be a renegade,
Jared Pomranky

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There are a lot of questions and uncertainty right now with a lot of people in Detroit because of a possible GM bankruptcy. What I find, however, is that most people have heard the doom and gloom scenarios and haven’t heard the real news. A GM bankruptcy is a real possibility and either way it’s going to mean quite a few job cuts in the area. It’s going to mean a smaller GM and less production from the company. It’s also going to mean lower labor costs, health care costs, and other legacy costs for GM. The government has made it clear that they don’t want GM to fail and are committed to reorganization of the company. What this means is a lean competitive company that is poised for growth in it’s core competencies.

GM will not be the same company that it is today but it will be around. We are not going to see the millions of job losses with a total collapse of the auto industry as the government has too much invested and does not want to see a further increase in unemployment. A reorganization will leave job losses and some temporary pain to the area but it’s like any cost cutting measures or job cuts in challenging times. The cuts and reorganization hurt when they’re made but they make the company stronger and will make the are stronger in the long term. That’s great for Detroit and even better for Detroit real estate.

Uncertainty means low prices for real estate and reorganization means a better economy in the long term and a better real estate market. Everything really comes down to uncertainty with GM. Will they file for chapter 11 bankruptcy or won’t they? How many jobs will they cut? What will happen to the UAW? What will happen to the bond holders? The sooner that we can get these questions answered, one way or another, the market will get better and the overall view of GM and our area will get better. Uncertainty is what kills the market perception.

Here is a post by Robert Salomon before the CEO of GM stepped down and their rhetoric about no bankruptcy at any cost changed. Even when GM was saying that bankruptcy was absolutely not an option, Mr. Salomon was talking about how it wouldn’t be bad for the company to go into chapter 11. Two of the best quotes from his blog are:

It’s no surprise that GM management is strongly advocating an out-of-court solution. After all, an out-of-court solution maximizes their chances of continued employment with GM.

Is it no wonder their thoughts on bankruptcy were so unbending until former CEO Rick Wagoner was ousted?

So, YES, GM could survive bankruptcy, and we needn’t be frightened by the prospects, …no matter how much GM tries to convince us that it would spell the apocalypse.

In the article U.S. Squeezes Auto Creditors on the WSJ they talk about the Government’s thoughts on a pre-packaged bankruptcy and on the UAW union and bond holders strong hesitation for a bankruptcy. This makes sense. In a bankruptcy, the UAW and bondholders will no longer have any bargaining power. They will just be told what they need to do or what they need to accept and it very well may mean an end to the UAW. Probably not what the UAW thinks as a “good idea”.

President Barack Obama’s auto task force, meantime, has made it “crystal clear” that its members think a managed, or “prepackaged,” bankruptcy is GM’s best option, but it is letting GM pursue the out-of-court option for now, said people familiar with the matter.

They also talk about bankruptcy plans to split GM into a “new” GM and an “old” GM. The new GM would have all of the good assets and brands and the old GM would have all of the bad brand names and all of the legacy costs like health care. I think this would split it into a company that can and will succeed (new GM) and a company that is allowed to fail (old GM).

On Politico Live I found an article Geithner appears open to GM bankruptcy that I believe sums up everything very well. The government is not going to let GM fail and is committed to making it succeed with or without bankruptcy.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on CBS’s “Face the Nation” seems open to the prospect of managed bankruptcy for GM, saying “There’s a range of options that could work.” Pushed, he stresses that even if the company does file, it will not disappear: “We want them to be part of our future.”

Successfully Yours,
Jared Pomranky
Detroit Market Expert

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Just Getting Started

It wasn’t that long ago that I was baker at grocery store chain out west called Safeway. I was making $11.76 an hour and I worked every weekend and holiday. Also, bakers have to be at work early. Early is an understatement. Many days I had to be at work at 3am to make sure everything was ready for the morning rush. The pay was low, the hours were crazy and long, and I had very little control over my future.

I worked at Safeway for over 3 years and almost everyday was the same as before. Make donuts, fry donuts, decorate donuts, make bread, bake bread, and then clean up and go home. I had worked myself into a nice “safe” place where to show up to work required little thought and planning. Every day was essentially the same as the last.

The good thing about a job like that is it does give you quite a bit of time to think. I did a lot of thinking during those 3 years and a lot of talking. Of course I wanted a better life, more money, and more time to spend with friends and family which led me to what I believe most people want, security. I wanted to know that my future was bright and at some point in time I would be able to retire and never worry about where the money was going to come from.

I just couldn’t see how to get there. No clear path lay before me where I could achieve and realize all of my goals and dreams. Luckily for me my best friend Jason who had recently come back from a tour in Iraq (apparently when he wasn’t being shot at he was reading) and said I had to read a book that changed how he thought about everything. That book was “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki.

That was 3 ½ years ago and I still remember the excitement and energy I felt as I finished reading the book. I began to see the world in a new light with new opportunities and different choices. This world had always existed; I just didn’t know how to see it. Excitedly I began to share my new thoughts and visions with my friends, family, and coworkers and unfortunately the reactions I got were seldom positive and encouraging.

I spoke about financial freedom through buying real estate, making investments, and buying businesses and how I could have a new life where opportunity exists everywhere regardless of how much money I had or how much education I lacked. It was disheartening to me that few people that I was then associating myself with couldn’t see what I saw and refused to read some of the same books I was reading.

When I began to take action and steps towards achieving my new life I began to realize several truths that were shocking and sometimes painful. What most people think and do is wrong, all success and opportunity begins in your mind, doing something is better than doing nothing even if it doesn’t work out, and most importantly you may have to hear 1,000 “no’s” but all you really need is 1 yes.

My life today is unrecognizable from my life 3 ½ years ago because I followed the truths above. It didn’t happen overnight and most people told me I was crazy and stupid but every day I did something that I thought would take me to where I wanted to be. I made many mistakes (and still do!) and I have heard thousands of “no’s” and they have all led me to my new life.

For those of you, who are sitting by the side of the pool watching others have fun, jump in! If you have resources to realize some of your dreams and goals, take action! If you have no resources, create resources by saving and making partnerships with those who do! If you lack the required knowledge, start learning even if you have to go to the public library to do so! And most importantly, if your current circle of friends and family don’t see and or support your dreams and goals, find others who do!

Just get started!

Jeremy Burgess
The Detroit Market Expert

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