Autobiography I have heard it said that life beings at 40, and considering that I am near 40 and embarking on a new stage in my life, I can see how people have come to that conclusion, since 40 seems to be the age where people have that combination of wisdom, experience, and energy that makes embarking on new adventures exciting, rather than intimidating. For me, however, my current life began more than 20 years ago, not with my first taste of success, which came shortly thereafter, but with my first crushing failure; I did not succeed in my first attempt at higher education. I graduated from high school in 1990 and enrolled at Illinois State University. However, I was too immature for college at that time and did not give my studies the attention that they deserved. I did not make the grades that I needed to make, and I left the University after a single year.

To some people, failing to achieve as they expected might have tempted them to resign themselves to underachieving, but I did not respond in that manner. I left the University, not because I was afraid that I would not be able to achieve success there; I knew that if I devoted the time to my studies that I should have done from the beginning, I could do very well. Instead, I left the University because I was very angry with myself. I grew up in a home with a focused work ethic, and failing to excel was oftentimes equated with failure. I was furious with myself that I had failed to excel at a goal that I set for myself, and I was determined to, not only achieve, but excel, at my next chosen venture.

In 1991, along with my brother, I founded Northwestern Communications, Inc. In Schaumburg, Illinois. The company worked similar to a vending route and consisted of payphones in a specific service area. As difficult as it is to imagine in an era when pay phones are all-but obsolete, the business filled a void at that time and provided me with my first real taste of business success. My brother and I started the company with 30 phones, and, by the time we sold the business in 2003, we had grown it to 2500 phones in a 4 state area. Founding and growing a start-up company gave me my first real experience with success, although it provided challenges for me as well. I learned, from trial and error, how to engage in corporate business plan development and execution, strategic planning, obtain financing, analyze the market, schedule operations, handle marketing, handle sales, determine acquisitions, and manage the interior workings of an office environment.

I think that, for me personally, it would be impossible to overstate the role that Northwestern Communications, Inc. played in my development as a business person. Through that experience, I learned so many aspects of business that are best-learned through experience. Furthermore, by having hands-on involvement in the day-to-day operations of the business, I was able to experience all aspects of a business. Perhaps most beneficial was the fact that I honed my skills as a negotiator while learning how to negotiate for Northwestern Communications, Inc.; I was responsible for negotiations with major established telecommunications service providers, such as AT&T, SBC, and Illinois Bell, and was able to negotiate in such a way as to maximize profit. In addition, as the company grew, I had to learn how to transition from a hands-on owner to a successful manager, learning the delicate balance between failing to utilize employee talent to its fullest and giving employees responsibility without the adequate training and decision-making authority to meet those responsibilities. Eventually, I managed a team of over 35 service technicians and two office managers.

However, as one might expect, despite our tremendous success, my brother and I were constantly watching the evolution of the market and we began to realize that the proliferation of cellular phones meant that the payphone model would not continue to provide increasing returns, as it had since the inception of the company. We made the decision to sell the company while we could maximize profit. At the time of its sale, the company was valued at $7.5 million, which, to me, established my success as a business owner.

Having seen the writing on the wall in the telecommunications industry, I decided to pursue another career. Rather than try to recreate success in the telecommunications industry, I decided that I would change...

Given that I had financial resources from my last venture, I could have gone into real estate investing, but I felt like, in order to be a success in property acquisition, I needed to have a better understanding of the real estate market. Therefore, I decided to become a real estate broker. I began my career as a real estate broker at Starck Realtors, Inc., where I worked with both buyers and sellers on the sale and purchase of single family homes, investment properties, and commercial real estate. I found that my experience as a salesperson was invaluable to my experience as a real estate broker, and in 2002 I was named the Rookie of the year, and I was a multi-million dollar producer for two consecutive years. I feel like this experience provided me with the background I needed to transition to the next phase in my real estate career.
My practical real estate experience provided a foundation for me in real estate investing, and I did that while, at the same time acting as the general manager for NCI Holdings, LLC, a property management company. In my position at that company, I was involved in all aspects of commercial property management. I was responsible for researching and identifying properties that were available for acquisition. My position as a broker put me in an ideal position to locate distressed, foreclosed, and bank-owned properties, and also gave me a good understanding of competitive pricing for these types of acquisitions. However, my position went far beyond acquisition; once the properties were obtained, I handled renovations for the properties, and then the rental and sale of the properties. I was responsible for a portfolio of 20 properties with a combined value of approximately $15 million.

In 2003, I moved to ERA Northwestern Realty, because I saw the opportunity for upward mobility at that real estate company, which did not exist at my prior brokerage firm. I began working at the firm as a managing broker. In addition to sales, I was responsible for managing a team of real estate professionals. This involved not only locating talent, but also training and hiring that talent. I continued to engage in real estate transactions, but I also began transitioning my focus to short and distressed asset sales. While I was primarily working with asset managers with these distressed sales, it is important to keep in mind that I also focused on working with homeowners in distress. Foreclosure is rarely, if ever, the best option for a homeowner facing difficulties, and I worked with homeowners to explore all of their options, including foreclosure. In my role as a manager, it was my responsibility to help the other real estate professionals develop and meet their goals, handle monthly meetings, and handle training and feedback meetings for the staff as well. Eventually, I transitioned from a managing broker to a broker-owner.

Not all of my business ventures have been as successful as my real-estate and telecommunications ventures. For example, in 2010, I decided to add insurance professional to my resume, and began working with American Income Life Company as an insurance producer. In many ways, the position was a familiar one. I was in charge of a sales team with responsibility for enrolling union members in supplemental insurance benefits packages. I was also responsible for handling training as well as daily reports for the company. While I was successful in this position, I found that it did not hold my interest. It was not an issue of not believing in the product; I would never have taken the position if I did not believe that supplemental insurance could provide significant benefits for people. However, I did not feel a passion for the business and left after about a year. I thought about omitting this part from my autobiography, but I realized that doing so would be dishonest. After all, the failure to excel in a particular business is part of my experience, and has helped shape me into the person that I am today.

The person that I am today is a successful real estate professional who is the managing owner/broker at ERA Northwestern Realty. However, as my story suggests, I am not one to rest on past accomplishments. I am a high-energy person who has always thrived in challenging environments. Real estate no longer provides the types of challenges that I think I need in order to continue to grow. Real estate will always be a…