We’re In This Together

I have been all geared up for a post noting some of the questions and issues for small businesses that have arisen in the first few months of the Trump administration. I did my best to find both good and bad news – for example, the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill increases and makes permanent the pass-through entity deduction available for LLC and S-corp owners’ business-related income. To the relief of many, the Corporate Transparency Act finally appears dead, at least for U.S. companies. And the Small Business Administration reports an increase in the number of SBA loan approvals, although this apparent demand for capital could be read as good news (small businesses are investing in growth and expansion), or not-so-good news (that small companies are being forced to borrow just to stay in business).

Of course, small and start-up businesses are also facing a number of new challenges – tariffs, and even the threat of tariffs, are in many cases increasing business expenses, reducing profit margins, and disrupting supply chains. The uncertainty surrounding the administration’s tariff policy make hiring, expansion, inventory management, and other operating decisions tricky. Interest rates remain high and despite the above-noted increase in SBA loan approvals, SBA loan eligibility and requirements have become stricter, and the agency is eliminating a number of programs that facilitate participation in federal contracts by women-owned and minority-owned businesses.

The Love for the Chiefs, the Love for the City!

Once again, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl bound! The Chiefs won the AFC Championship by beating the Buffalo Bills on January 26th. They will be facing the Philadelphia Eagles during Superbowl LIX. This is a historic matchup as Super Bowl LIX marks the second time in three years the Chiefs and the Eagles face each other. It is safe to say that Kansas City (and its surrounding areas) are proud of the Chiefs!

This past holiday season, the Chiefs and Kansas City reached a whole new level – being the stars of a Hallmark Christmas movie. There were multiple cameos, many locations throughout Kansas City, and the spirit of Chiefsmas all wrapped into an hour-and-a-half movie. Kansas City has been booming with pride. The city is welcoming visitors at record levels as Visit KC (the region’s primary destination sales and marketing organization) deploys its “From the Heart” campaign to engage and drive more than 28 million visitors.

The Power of Finding your Community on Twitter

What if I told you that a place existed where you could interact with hundreds of entrepreneurs, lawyers, accountants, bankers, investors and more, all from your seat on the couch? In that same place, these people share ideas, tips, and stories from their years of experience. And the best part—you can gain access to this vast base of knowledge at your fingertips, and all for free. That place is Twitter, and no matter what business or industry you’re in, you’ll likely find that there is a Twitter community catering to it.

A Call for More Open Innovation

The relationship among crisis, innovation, and change has always been intertwined.

Throughout history, crises have been pivotal in the development of society. Pandemic outbreaks have helped spur advances in medicine and public health, wars have driven technological innovations, and the 2008 financial crises spawned a “sharing economy,” making room for little-known companies, Uber and Airbnb.

I have no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic will shift the sands of our society. It is already happening. If you don’t believe me, take a look at some innovations already stemming out of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted by my fellow entreVIEW authors here, here, and here. 

As it has proven to be time after time throughout history, crisis is a catalyst for innovation — innovation that leads to change and the development of society. Crises drive companies to invest in another catalyst for innovation: collaboration. For example, at the end of March, Ford, 3M, and General Electric announced that they would work together with the United Auto Workers to build ventilators in Michigan using F-150 seat fans, portable battery packs, and 3D-printed parts. 

Gina Kolata, Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It (Simon & Schuster, 2005)

As we sit in our homes in isolation in an attempt to “flatten the curve,” it’s helpful to remember that this is not the human race’s first rodeo.

A little over a century ago, in the midst of the world’s first experience of total war, a virulent virus raged through every corner of the globe, killing an estimated 100 million people. Most families were touched by the pandemic. My grandfather was spared from service in World War I because the second draft in which he would have been called up was canceled as a result of the pandemic. A strong and healthy young man, he later nearly died from the virus; his aunt suddenly came down with the influenza and was gone within a few days, leaving behind a bereaved husband and several young children.

Such experiences were commonplace, as Gina Kolata, a science journalist for the New York Times, recounts in this book. But this is more than just the story of the 1918 pandemic. Until relatively recently, scientists had no clue about the genetic makeup of the 1918 virus or what made it so dangerous. The search for the answers to these questions about the Spanish Flu, eerily similar to the frenetic search for knowledge about COVID-19 currently underway, makes up the heart of Kolata’s story.

COVID-19 Crisis: a Catalyst for Entrepreneurship

If any of you have read your emails lately, you are probably aware that “We're All In This Together” during these “difficult” and “uncertain times.”

All joking aside, the global coronavirus pandemic and corresponding policy restrictions have caused the rethinking of countless business practices. For many, video meetings have become a primary form of communication and home workspaces have become workers’ exclusive offices; we are experiencing major shifts in how businesses operate.

Some businesses – especially restaurants, retailers and manufacturers of consumer goods – have experienced a sharp drop in demand or even a complete derailment. At the same time, many people are experiencing shortages, whether it is of products like personal protective equipment (PPE) or hand sanitizer or services like fitness classes. Businesses are responding to America’s challenges by engaging in new entrepreneurial activities. 

As a fellow entreVIEW author has recently pointed out, there are real opportunities presented by this crisis for entrepreneurial-minded businesses. Here are a few businesses in my backyard (Minnesota) that have been reinventing themselves in order to survive the global coronavirus pandemic, including some businesses that are showing citizenship and resourcefulness in developing creative responses to emerging challenges with scarce resources (in combination, citizenship and resourcefulness are drivers of socially aware entrepreneurship, which is something I love promoting and talking about): 

SELF-REPORTING OF UNREGISTERED INITIAL COIN OFFERINGS: PERHAPS A FRAMEWORK FOR AVOIDING HEFTY CIVIL PENALTIES

Keeping with the theme of my prior post covering recent oversight and enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the cryptocurrency industry/exchanges, Gladius Network (an issuer of unregistered cryptocurrency tokens) recently reached a settlement with the SEC which avoided civil penalties entirely.

Gladius, a Washington D.C. firm dedicated to using the Ethereum Blockchain as a means of mitigating Distributed Denial of Serve attacks, raised over $12 million USD in an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017 – the peak of the cryptocurrency investor craze. 

As SEC enforcement activity increased over the last several years, and the SEC maintained that most ICOs qualified as the sale of unregistered securities, Gladius decided to proceed with caution and self-reported its unregistered ICO to the SEC during the summer of 2018.  Gladius cooperated with the SEC’s investigation and agreed to take certain remedial actions, including registering its tokens as a security and repaying investors that requested their investments back.

Most significantly, however, is the SEC’s determination not to levy any civil penalties against Gladius. The SEC explained that “the SEC did not impose a penalty because the company [Gladius] self-reported the conduct, agreed to compensate investors and will register the tokens as a class of securities.” Robert Cohen, Chief of the SEC’s Cyber Unit, further commented that the case “shows the benefit of self-report and taking proactive steps to remediate unregistered offerings.”

The Gladius settlement follows similar enforcement actions initiated by the SEC in November 2018 against companies that conducted unregistered ICOs. In those instances, the companies did not self-report and were penalized by the SEC, sometimes to the tune of $250,000.

If nothing else, the Gladius case sends a clear and deliberate message that self-reporting to the SEC can result in meaningful cooperation credit – in particular the avoidance of hefty civil penalties. 

If you or your company are interested in learning more about the SEC’s guidance regarding cryptocurrency or ICOs and the recent regulatory activity, or have questions about how to make sure you are in compliance with securities law, the GPM team is here to help.

Don’t Network. Have Fun.

Since law school, I have known that I do not generally enjoy traditional networking events that involve a large group of people meeting in a ballroom, event space, or bar and chatting over drinks and appetizers. Even putting aside the fact that I am an introvert (despite what others may believe!), I have always felt more engaged and that my time is better spent when either (a) meeting with a small group of people or (b) participating in activity-based networking. In the recent Harvard Business Review article, “Go Ahead, Skip that Networking Event,” David Burkus addresses the latter and explains why many people, introverts and extroverts alike, leave traditional networking events feeling that they have wasted their time. 

As Burkus explains, “…schmoozing at a mixer is far less likely to lead you to a powerful network than jumping into projects, teams, or activities that draw a diverse set of people together. The problem with networking events is that there’s no bigger purpose other than just having conversations with people, and without that bigger purpose—without that high-stakes activity—there’s little incentive to move beyond conversations that make us comfortable.” For many people, this means that a large amount of time spent at a networking event involves talking with people that they already know. 

Lee Billings, Five Billion Years of Solitude: The Search for Life Among the Stars (Penguin Books, 2013)

It’s no secret that our time on Earth is limited—individually, of course, but also as a species. In fact, all life on Earth will come to an end in a billion years (give or take), maybe earlier if those warning us of the dangers of global warming are correct.

This is a scary thought, but not one to keep most of us awake at night. At least it’s not unless you’re Lee Billings or one of the astronomers and physicists he interviewed for Five Billion Years of Solitude. Sure, they’re interested in whether there is life elsewhere in the universe. However, equally as interesting as catching up with ET is the possibility of finding a new home for us before our current place is enveloped by the sun as it enters its red giant phase.

Given the fair amount of advanced warning we have, it’s not surprising that this project has been put on the backburner. Potential steps forward made possible by developing technology are constantly being delayed primarily as a result of budgetary concerns. There is, however, some talk about alternative funding avenues, a number of which feature tapping into entrepreneurial sources.

In the last decade or so, the human genome was mapped—more quickly than anyone anticipated it could be—as a result of a competitive race between public and private researchers who pushed each other along. Something similar could happen in the search for a habitable (but currently uninhabited?) nearby exoplanet, which might be rich with resources for entrepreneurial earthlings as well as our future home for when the time comes. ET, we’re on our way!

Welcome to gener8tor

Twin Cities Startup Week, which was held for the third time early last month, has evolved into a one-week showcase of the creators, innovators, hackers, investors and others who are driving the Twin Cities startup scene. There were events from early in the morning to late at night, and all hours in between.  There were intimate gatherings of people focusing on specific topics (healthcare, AI, IoT, etc.), and other larger general purpose events, including the Minnesota Cup’s final awards event, a Beta.MN showcase event, Techstars Demo Day and MinneDemo. As in years past, there was plenty of enthusiasm and energy on display by the Twin Cities startup community.

One new event on the Twin Cities Startup Week calendar was gener8tor’s premiere night launch event. Held on October 10th at the Minneapolis Event Center, it was the coming out party for the 5 cohort companies that participated in gener8tor’s accelerator program beginning this past summer. For those of you who don’t know, gener8tor is an accelerator program that was started in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin in 2012. The program graduates one cohort group from each of their Wisconsin locations annually (Madison in the spring and Milwaukee in the fall).  gener8tor launched its Minneapolis program this past year and has been a welcome addition to the Twin Cities startup community.

Jack Mayer, Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project (Long Trail Press, 2011)

I have been known to find—or perhaps more accurately, create—an entrepreneurial angle on some pretty esoteric topics, so much so that my co-editor has from time to time challenged me to do so with some topic out of left field.

It just so happens that the day on which this blog post comes due is Holocaust Remembrance Day (also known as Yom HaShoah). A reasonably enlightened person might wonder how an entrepreneurial lesson might be drawn from the marking of the anniversary of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

For starters, consider the definition of “entrepreneur.”  Those of us who practice corporate law have a very specific idea of what an entrepreneur is—we know one when we see one.  But our use of that word is, in fact, a very narrow interpretation.  According to Dictionary.com, an entrepreneur is “a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.”

The Magnolia Story

On HGTV’s Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines “take the worst house in the best neighborhood” and “turn it into their clients’ dream home.”  A husband-and-wife team, Chip manages the demolition and construction, and Joanna designs and styles the interior.  At the end of each episode, Chip and Joanna ask, “Are you ready to see your fixer upper?” as their clients eagerly await the first look at their newly-transformed home.  Now in their fourth season, Chip and Joanna have millions of viewers captivated by their playful rapport and signature modern, rustic style. 
    
In addition to raising four kids on a working farm and starring in a top-rated TV show, they run quite a few businesses in Waco, Texas. Their empire includes a real estate company, Magnolia Realty; a construction company, Magnolia Homes; a furniture line, Magnolia Home; another furniture line, Magnolia Home Furniture; a collaboration with Loloi rugs; a quarterly lifestyle magazine, Magnolia Journal; a bed and breakfast, The Magnolia House; a real estate subdivision, Magnolia Villas; their quarterly lifestyle magazine; and the Magnolia Market, a shopping and dining destination in downtown Waco. 

A Nod to Behind-the-Scenes Workers

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to score incredible seats to Disney’s live stage musical, The Lion King. It was a fantastic production and I highly recommend seeing it if you get the chance! I marveled at the vocals, the set, the mechanical stage tricks, the lighting, and especially the animals.  Life-sized elephants and giraffes, flying birds, laughing hyenas, running antelope, and even a rhinoceros (!) on stage, in the aisles, in the balconies – it was mind-blowing!  

After the performance, I posted some pictures on Facebook, and learned through a comment that a friend had actually been working behind the scenes, handling male costume changes all night! I think the biggest compliment I can give this friend is that I actually forgot he was there.  Everything looked so flawless that it was easy to get caught up in the magic and forget that there were real people walking around on the giraffes’ four stilt legs, making the hyenas’ necks crane around as they laughed, and thrusting Scar’s lion head forward whenever he got angry.

The Women and Money Project

If you (a) enjoy art, (b) enjoy sharing your opinion, (c) are, identify as, are related to, or care about a woman or a group of women, or (d) have ever dealt with money, you should mark your calendar for an exhibition called the Women and Money Project. Through art and related programming, the exhibition will create a forum for audiences to investigate and engage their understanding of the relationship between “women, art, money, exchange, and social hierarchies.”  The exhibition, which will take place later this year, is being organized by The Minnesota Chapter of Women’s Caucus for Art, the University of Minnesota, and The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

The 500 Hats of Entrepreneurship

I’ll be honest. After working with entrepreneurs for the last 25 years, I didn’t need any scientific study to tell me that there is a difference (or really many differences) between entrepreneurs and employees. Nonetheless, these recent studies did reveal some interesting insights about some of the key personality traits of successful entrepreneurs.

The new study expanded on the conclusions of existing research (completed at Stanford University), which concluded that an individual with a broader portfolio of experiences (a “jack-of-all-trades”) has a stronger disposition toward entrepreneurship than one who is a specialist. The new study showed that those with a diverse network of relationships (both personal and professional), coupled with diverse experiences, were actually the ones likely to become entrepreneurs.

Apparently, it isn’t enough to have either a lot of different experiences or many different relationships. Essentially, the conclusion is that having both a diversity of experiences and a diversity of contacts (so called “double-diversity”) is likely to lead someone to entrepreneurship. 

Given my interaction with hundreds of entrepreneurs, I’m not surprised by this conclusion. My clients often wear so many hats that they rival Bartholomew Cubbins. It also seems that those who are able to effectively juggle all of the different roles (cheerleader, coach, connector, founder, 
fundraiser, manager, marketer, etc.) are more likely to be successful.

The studies also concluded that successful entrepreneurs are:

• Conscientious—something that I’ve consistently seen in my practice

• “Outrageously” self-confident—this isn’t surprising. Given the risks of entrepreneurship and the failure rate for small businesses, it would be hard to start a new enterprise if you didn’t think you were the one who had the traits needed to succeed.  Interestingly, other data shows that:

                  o Entrepreneurs think they can prevent things from going wrong with 

                        their businesses
                  o Over a third of entrepreneurs believe they have guaranteed success 
                  o They even think they will live longer than everyone else!  (I hope this is also 
                        true about the entrepreneurial lawyers who represent them…)

The one surprise to me was learning that research shows successful entrepreneurs are “disagreeable.” Honestly, I’ve seen more success among the entrepreneurs who are collaborative, affable, and have high EQ than those I’d label as disagreeable. Given all the other challenges to success, I think it helps to have others pulling for you, rather than secretly (or openly) hoping for your failure.

Why “Here Lies Love” is Worth the Risk

I spent Thanksgiving in New York City, as I have for the last 25 years. While it is nice to see my in-laws (my wife is a native of Long Island, or is it “Lawn Geiland?”), for my kids to get a chance to spend some time with Grami and other family members, to get a peek at the Macy’s parade, and to see the tree at Rockefeller Center (not to mention taking in the best donuts at Doughnut Plant), it is also a chance to feed my musical theatre addiction.

This year, among the eight shows we saw in four days, I decided to take my daughters (ages 8 and 11) to see "Here Lies Love" at the Public Theater. This is a show I saw about 18 months ago and I liked it so much and it was so different that I just couldn’t resist the temptation to take them. Of course, it helps that they aren’t your average kids when it comes to musicals—the younger one has seen over 70 musicals and the older one more than 80!

Watching “Here Lies Love” and thinking about just how unique it is got me thinking about David Byrne, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and one of the musical’s co-authors (the other being English DJ Fatboy Slim). “Here Lies Love” is so groundbreaking and risk-taking (more on that in a moment) that it felt like something created by a serial entrepreneur. 

Not surprisingly, I learned in my quick research that Byrne is something of a serial entrepreneur. Not only was he a founder of the Talking Heads, but, in addition to founding his own independent record label (Todo Mundo), he also founded the world music record label Luaka Bop and started his own internet radio station, Radio David Byrne. I guess having had the opportunity to work with so many serial entrepreneurs in my career served me well in being able to spot one in Byrne.  

What’s risky about “Here Lies Love” is that it doesn’t follow most musical theatre conventions. A few specifics:

• It’s mostly club music (there’s no orchestra, just a DJ) and virtually through-sung.

• It is rooted in the history of Imelda Marcos (no, there aren’t a lot of shoes) and Filipino politics during the rise (and fall) of the Marcos regime.

• The entire show is staged in a Filipino night club, with the audience all being participants on the dance floor of the club.  That’s right, there are no chairs!

• There is no fixed stage at all, just a series of platforms that move (with the audience and the performers) throughout the performance.

Of course, what really makes it such a terrific show (one that I had to see a second time before it closes in January) is a score, written by an entrepreneur, that makes you want to dance. If I’ve piqued your curiosity, take a look/listen here. 

Taking these risks appears to be paying off. The show extended its original run in 2013 for several months (until the theatre wasn’t available anymore because of prior commitments). It’s been playing at the Public since April, and its entire current run at the Royal National Theatre in London is sold out. Most importantly, my girls rated it as their favorite of the eight shows we saw!

What: Charles A. Beard, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (reprint, Free Press, 1986)

Why: A classic but controversial study emphasizing the role played by enlightened economic self-interest in the framing of the Constitution.

I write this in a nearly empty office on the day before Independence Day. Most of my colleagues (and clients) have already escaped their labors for at least a four-day weekend, ostensibly in celebration of our long-ago separation from the mother country and establishment as a new country founded on Enlightenment notions of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” (For another take on this historical event, see here.)

For most of us, the annual 4th of July celebration brings to mind the courageous, high-minded and selfless principles that guided our founding fathers in declaring American independence and thereafter shaping the mechanical structure of a working republican democracy.

I’m not here to say that this isn’t an accurate perception, but almost a century ago Charles A. Beard, a historian at Columbia University, presented a far more nuanced picture of the birth of our country in what was then a groundbreaking study (and which is now at best a golden oldie), An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.

Don’t misunderstand me—this is not light beach reading. But for those with an entrepreneurial viewpoint, it is an eye-opening (albeit controversial) study in economic power and enlightened self-interest. I won’t spoil the details for you (it will take, shall we say, a fair amount of scholarly dedication and a couple of Red Bulls to plow through this book), but consider some of Beard’s conclusions:

• The drive behind developing the Constitution was essentially economic: “Large and important groups of economic interests were adversely affected by the system of government under the Articles of Confederation, namely, those of public securities, shipping and manufacturing, money at interest; in short, capital as opposed to land.”

• The Constitution was “an economic document drawn with superb skill by men whose property interests were immediately at stake; and as such it appealed directly and unerringly to identical interests in the country at large.”

• At bottom, the Constitution is based “upon the concept that the fundamental private rights of property are anterior to government and morally beyond the reach of popular majorities.”

Some pretty heady stuff, most definitely.  

Whether or not you buy into Beard’s analysis completely, and there is much scholarship that does not (including Forrest McDonald’s equally groundbreaking We the People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution), no one will quibble with you if you come to see the Constitution as a masterpiece of enlightened self-interest—including economic self-interest—on the part of those who created the framework by which we are still governed a couple of hundred years and change later.

Tips for Budding Real Estate Entrepreneurs, Part Two

Marcus LeBeof continues his list of six steps to entrepreneurial happiness in the residential real estate market. (Missed Part One?: Check it out here.)

Step #4: Do the House Flipping Math

When doing your initial house flipping analysis, you can do a little “napkin math” to estimate if the house is a winner. The first thing you need to do is determine the potential selling price of the house when it’s all fixed up – this is what’s known as After Repair Value (or ARV). Then simply subtract the purchase price, repairs and all your monthly carrying costs. What you have left over is your profit.

If all this initial math points to profitability, then you may have an excellent flip opportunity on your hands and you should consider purchasing the house.

Step #5: Manage the Rehab Tightly

Once you do purchase the house, don’t just rely on your contractor to handle and supervise all the repairs. Make sure you manage this process tightly if you are on your own, but better yet hire a professional contractor to oversee all the rehabilitation, especially if the rehab is extensive. Make sure you personally supervise the repairs to ensure that they are being carried out properly and on budget.

In the end, your profit largely depends on what you pay for the house initially, but making sure that the repair costs stay within your budget is equally if not more important. Likewise, overextending yourself by doing more than your budget allows on the rehab or taking your eye off the ball and allowing your contractor to run free are two of the quickest ways to ensure that your make profits will go up in smoke.

Step #6: Work Fast, Make a Profit

Time is of the essence when flipping houses for profit. It’s a race against the clock because the longer the rehab takes, or the longer the house sits on the market once it’s done, the less profit you make. Soft costs such as financing payments, insurance payments, town taxes, utilities and other carrying costs, all of which have to be paid at regular intervals, add up to diminish your profits the longer you own the house.

It’s simple—the shorter the time you hold onto your investors’ money, the better your profits will be, so make your improvements fast. Do the job well, but do it fast. Make sure your contractors do the job on budget and on time and hire good real estate agents who help you price the final product so it sells quickly. In all of our house flips, we estimate six months from purchase to sale, but factor in a few additional months of expenses to make sure we profit on each and every flip we do.

I constantly remind my mentees to be intentional in everything that they do. If you want a certain type of job, you need to network with the people who hold the position you aspire to so that you may learn their path and avoid pitfalls. If you want to attend a certain institution, you need to identify the members of the admissions committee and find ways to appeal to their interests so as to stand out from the crowd. With investing, be it in real estate or otherwise, it is always wise to take on a mentor (or two) so that you may benefit from the collective wisdom of those who have gone before you. And you need to assemble the right team of advisors to ensure that you can navigate the inevitable problems efficiently and successfully.

Tips for Budding Real Estate Entrepreneurs, Part One

As a young married couple, my wife and I are often encouraged to look beyond our W-2 income for ways to generate wealth. Real estate is often identified as the low-hanging fruit of investments. You buy a house, fix it up a bit and then put it back on the market for more than your purchase price plus the cost of your fixes. This topic came to mind as we headed down to Houston, Texas last Memorial Day weekend, which also happens to be where I purchased my first home—one that I still own to this day. 

While it may sound simple in theory, investing in real estate can be rather complex and has risks. Consider carefully the steps to success to increase the turns of wealth generation (not degeneration). I hope that I can help shorten your learning curve and make your entrepreneurial real estate endeavors more profitable in a short period of time (Hat tip Michael Lacava’s Beginner's Guide to Flipping Houses For Profit). The first three steps in my guide are below: 

Step #1: Assess Your Cash Situation

Before you get started, take stock of your own financial resources. You need to know how much money you have to invest on your own, or whether you’ll need to find investors (or win the lottery) first. Finding investors is an art unto itself (and the subject of many posts on this blog), but knowing how much cash you have to invest before you begin is the logical first step. Having your own money to invest is a bonus. If you don’t, there are plenty ways to flip houses with money from banks, private money lenders, and other means.

Another great way to get started if you don’t have the money to do it all on your own is to find a partner or partners who have money to invest with you. Splitting your first house flip profits with other partners is a great way to start, while building some momentum and getting your first house flip under your belt. Sure, you’ll have to split profits, but it’s far better to get 50% of something than 100% of nothing.

Step #2: Start Building Your House Flipping Team

After you finalize your cash situation you should start building your house flipping team. This team will help you to find, fix and sell the property—the right set of collective wisdom will surely help you reach your house flip goals that much faster. No matter your level of experience, you simply will not be able to do everything on your own. Enlisting your own mastermind group will not only help you be more productive, but will help you work through the inevitable problems and challenges that you’ll face.

Your team at the very least should be composed of skilled real estate brokers, contractors, architects, insurance specialists, accountants and money lenders. All these professionals can help you shorten your learning curve and get you making money flipping houses faster than you would have been able to do on your own.

Step #3: Find A Good House to Flip

Finding a suitable property to flip is certainly a challenge. This is especially true if you have decided to look in a specific geographic area—one that you’ve fully researched and which interests you. Ideally, you should be able to buy the house for a low price, eyeball it as suitable for a quick and relatively cheap rehab (so you can sell it at a higher price), and (obviously) make a profit. Knowing all these aspects in order to make the profit, you’ll need to rely heavily on your house flip team (see Step #2 above).

A skilled real estate agent can assist you in finding houses to flip. You can either focus on properties that may not need expensive repairs or you can look for properties that need more extensive repairs, but the kind of repairs that are likely to substantially increase the equity. Both real estate agents and real estate wholesalers can help you in finding both kinds of properties.

Feel like you’re just about ready? You’ll have to at least wait for the highly anticipated thrilling conclusion to this post next month. Keep reading to learn steps 4-6…

CoCo Named Part of the Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub Network

Local coworking space CoCo recently received some really good news.  CoCo was named one of seven locations in the Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub Network.  This is great news for the Twin Cities and the tech entrepreneurs located here. As part of the tech hub network, CoCo and its members will receive funding from Google, discounts on Google products, and the ability to work with Google mentors. CoCo will also be able to participate in quarterly conference calls with the other tech hub networks to share their experiences and insights.

For those of you who don’t know, CoCo (which stands for coworking and collaborative space) has been operating two coworking spaces in Minneapolis and St. Paul, with a new location opening soon in Uptown. The CoCo location in downtown Minneapolis is on the old trading floor of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (very cool ambience).  CoCo has “members” who purchase time to work out of one of CoCo’s locations. Some companies or people have permanent space at a CoCo location, while others have memberships that permit them to use a location on a less permanent basis.   

In its announcement, Google said that it wanted to support a changing trend it has noticed in entrepreneurship over the last several years. That trend involves entrepreneurs working alongside other entrepreneurs in accelerators and coworking spaces, rather than holing up in a garage alone or with a few other people. 

Gray Plant Mooty’s entrepreneurial services group recognized this trend and became a CoCo supporter last year. In fact, several of the authors of this blog regularly spend time at and work from CoCo. As one of those regular attendees, I can attest that it has an unmistakable and palpable creative energy. With so many eager entrepreneurs in one space, you can always find an interesting conversation with someone you’ve never met before.  Ideally, you’ll make a connection with someone that will allow you to advance your business or concept. And if not, at least the coffee is pretty good.  

Having CoCo named as a Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub Network is a big boost for our tech community and is validation of the great work that the CoCo team has done in creating a vibrant and inspiring environment for local entrepreneurs.