HOW ADVISORY BOARDS CAN CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!

I posted this article a very long time ago and every time I open the file and see it, I think that I should repost it. I saw the advisory board work like a well-oiled machine and get the owner of the company everything, and I mean EVERYTHING that he wanted and more. If you are a real estate professional, or If you want to be one, and succeed beyond your wildest expectations, read this article like a textbook. It will definitely be worth your while! If you search “Books on Advisory Boards” on Google, you will find a number of books on this topic. I suggest that you read at least one!

Anyone in business or in life has one goal. That goal is to succeed. Different people have different visions of what success is. For some people, it is gaining wealth and accumulating money. For others, it is the desire or needs for a big family and lots of love. For others, it is a comfortable retirement, whether it be on a beautiful island in the Pacific or in their hometown near family and long-term friends. For some it is power, and I love the phrase "benevolent despot" because he or she will use their power without hurting people and have everyone benefit. Someone should send the definition of "benevolent despot" to President Trump. That is my one editorial comment for this article.

But, in order to achieve your goals, and most of them need wealth to accomplish, you need a team of financial and other experts who you can call on and rely on during your productive years. That team has to be made up of a creative and very competent Certified Public Accountant, a business Attorney, and any other Attorneys with various specialties depending on your particular situation, an astute Insurance person for business insurance, life insurance, and health insurance, a Certified Financial Planner, a qualified Real estate Agent, and Loan person for the purpose of investing in Real Estate, single-family homes, and Multifamily properties.

If you are the head of a going concern one idea that I have seen used during my 50 years as a Certified Public Accountant that gave the business owner great results was an Advisory Board. I had 2 clients over the years who used this tool quite effectively. The advisory board was made up of most of the members of the team I described above and it even included presidents of other companies in related fields. I was on both of these advisory groups, and we would review the plans of the president of the company and advise him on how to achieve his goals. First, we had to define his goals. We all lie to ourselves when asked what we want. We give the stock answer without thinking, what do I really want. For this, I use a technique called “active listening”. You set up an open-ended meeting with the client and ask him or her “What do you want out of life and your business?” “What do you want to be doing in 3 years or 5 years or 20 years?”. You might even send these questions to the president of the company before your first meeting.

When your client starts to answer you add nothing to the conversation except parroting what the client said from time to time in just a few short thoughts, you’ll say “yes” a number of times as well you say “uh hu” a number of times. The purpose of this is to keep the client talking because after he or she stops lying to himself and to you they will start listening to what they are saying and start correcting their thought and comments. That’s when you’ll find out what they really want and that’s when you will have the client start the ADVISORY BOARD. Because without a direction an advisory board with go around in circles going nowhere.

My name is Paul Levine, and I am a Commercial Realtor, a Residential Realtor of Luxury Homes, a Real Estate Advisor, an Investment Advisor, and an Income Tax Consultant!!! You can call me at (818) 298 – 4000 after 10 AM Pacific Time Monday through Friday and, yes, even on the weekends. Or you can send an email to me at [email protected] and I will always try and answer you in a timely manner.