By Georgia Kirke with Steven Green
Do you think that you have to be “someone special” to build a thriving personal brand and achieve millionaire status?
Would it surprise you to know that it’s often taking consistent action and doing things in a certain way that makes all the difference?
Property magnate, author, and Founder of the Property Investment Academy, Steven Green has proven that with the right mindset anyone can create an amazing business and lifestyle.
He has built up a portfolio of more than 80 properties that are worth in excess of £8 million. In this blog we’re going to dive into his journey, and what he did to build an enviable personal brand that continues to inspire his crowd and help them cultivate a success mindset.
The motivation to change
Like many successful entrepreneurs, a challenging childhood fuelled Steven’s determination to make something of his life. He was raised on a run-down council estate by his grandparents; he hated school and left aged 16 with no qualifications, and according to his teacher “a dire future”. He joined the military and served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan before the high-risk lifestyle encouraged him to reconsider what he wanted from life. His decision? To become a millionaire.
Steven: “While I was serving in the military I bought my first investment property and it grew from there. I started to renovate, sell, and make a profit. I quickly found that I was making more than my full military wage for going into Iraq or Afghanistan and enduring some pretty extreme conditions!
My determination and the work I did on my mind got me in such a good place. It taught me that success doesn’t happen by chance; I know exactly what it takes to put someone in that frame of mind and that is one of the greatest gifts of all. I left my military career just after the birth of my daughter.”
Why it’s important to share your results
Steven didn’t tell anyone he was buying, renovating and selling houses until his property portfolio exceeded £3 million; his decision to work behind the scenes initially meant that many people were surprised by what they perceived to be “overnight success”.
Steven: “I was financially very well off and nobody knew anything about it. Nobody was aware of what I’d been doing and when I started being open about it I felt uncomfortable. Now it’s probably the opposite where people think I go on and on about my results. It’s not that I’m trying to impress them, it’s because I’m trying to impress upon them what’s possible.
If someone like me can come out of school with next to no grades and be completely ‘written off’ by their teachers and achieve what I have then anyone can. There was nothing special about me. I’ve just followed a set of principles and I believe when you do that you can achieve anything.”
How to combat criticism
When Steven began to teach the importance of a strong mindset as part of building a successful property portfolio he was criticised by people who found it challenging to see how he could be an expert on the topic, even though he had a military training background and had moved away from feeling powerless to become a property millionaire.
Steven: “I just remind myself to be authentic and stay true to me. I always tell my mentees not to try to be someone else or copy someone else if they’ve done things in a particular way. Other people might take a different view on what we’re doing but what matters is that you’re being authentic and following through on what you’re passionate about.
I believe our purpose lies where our passion and strengths meet. If you follow your passion, your purpose and your authenticity will shine through and you can use them to help bring out the best in others.”
To prove the power of mind over matter Steven also created a documentary, The Homeless Millionaire, where he lived life as a homeless person on the streets of Leeds while demonstrating that with the right mind you can overcome intensely challenging circumstances.
How to increase credibility
How credible is your business? Do others see you as an expert in your field? One of the fastest ways to raise the credibility of the services or products you offer is to create and share content that your crowd can’t wait to get their hands on. When Steven’s book Safe As Houses was published he maximised the opportunity.
Steven: “The book became a lead generator that brought our ideal audience closer to having a free strategy call with us to see how best we can support them. Safe As Houses had a massive impact on our ability to sell training. If you offer a free PDF offering information that’s relevant to the needs of your audience people will sign up for it and in turn that spreads to other people.
I also do my best to get on local radio and TV. I encourage our mentees to look at multiple avenues; if you’ve got a good story and are a published author you can get some great publicity off the back of that as well which helps build momentum.
I learnt from an old coach of mine that only having one stream where you share your content is risky because you could lose everything. I think you should be looking at as many platforms as possible to put yourself out there. You don’t need to start them all together but do consider building as many as possible over time.”
Building on success
Having enjoyed the satisfaction of building his own property empire Steven has found a new level of fulfilment through his Property Investment Academy.
Steven: “I love it when my mentees show me another set of keys for another property or have now left jobs because they are financially free; the most rewarding by far is when they tell me they’ve repaired their marriage or relationships with their children because they feel so much more positive. It’s amazing to know that you’ve had that type of impact on someone’s life. In the army I was responsible for training recruits and when it came to property I just wanted to help people do what I’ve done.”
Steven’s methods of building his business and his brand are personal to him which is the main reason that they work so well! If you would love support to publish a book as part of your business and personal brand strategy to reach more of your ideal clients and create a bigger impact get in touch.
Add a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment