The Brandon Green Report: October 2020

Greetings,

Over the last several months as we’ve watched the world change, I decided to take this moment in time to renew my investment in my personal brand and my commitment to helping entrepreneurs grow. I’ve built a team to help me, and we are now executing content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, building a clearer, more consistent voice every week.

On the business front, we started creating a suite of learning products for entrepreneurs, beginning with a 3-part workshop on maximizing profit and building wealth by using the profit and loss statement and balance sheet effectively. We look forward to launching the workshop this November. We also rolled out a 90-day consulting product, which works hand in hand with business owners to organize and analyze their financials, and a monthly financial review product, which helps entrepreneurs stay on track with their financial goals.

I’m also excited to say, two brands in my portfolio made some big moves: Staging Design DC launched a luxury division, and my long-time friend, Pam O’Bryant, and I partnered to create Real Estate On Purpose, a productivity program for real estate agents.

Now, back to my personal brand. The next step in the process is the launch of this newsletter. It’s been in the works for a while, and I’m excited to share it with you. As a bonus, here are some of the newsletter titles that were left on the cutting room floor:

The Green Report — Too environmental

The Grass Is Greener Newsletter — We like puns…but not camp.

The Next Chapter — A nod to something else I’m working on (you’ll hear more about this later!)

Eventually, after a few Zoom calls and email threads, we settled on The Brandon Green Report. It’s simple, unambiguous, and just feels right.

Now that you’re filled in on the backstory, let me tell you our plan for the publication. Every month, we will aggregate indicators that all entrepreneurs need to keep their eyes on, feature some of the brightest minds in business today, and share resources with founders and business leaders to help them grow. I look forward to the journey ahead.

Let’s build a community,

Brandon

Five years into my real estate business, everything was running smoothly. . . . Then came tax time, when I found myself facing $30,000 in taxes, interest, and penalties. What it boiled down to was a series of bad habits and a misconception of profits.Since then, I’ve been able to fix my bad habits and learn both what goes into business beyond the products or services and how to drive profits.

Too often, new entrepreneurs struggle with separating personal and business expenses, financial planning, and the basics of business. But they shouldn’t have to—many other entrepreneurs, like myself, can share the danger signs with them so new entrepreneurs avoid our earlier mistakes.

Check out my full article to learn more about the financial danger signs to be aware of and what actions you can take when you see them.

In the past month, I had conversations with two tech CEOs, several real estate professionals, a gym owner, and two restaurateurs that left me clear-eyed about two things:

First, there are significant economic and social consequences of the pandemic that have not yet made it through the system. At the time of writing this, we have had 29 consecutive weeks of unemployment claims higher than any of the prior 2,779 weeks on record back to 1967. The economy is scarred, and I wouldn’t be surprised if, by the time this is all said and done, only 30% of our local restaurants, gyms, and other personal service providers survive to see an uptake in their sector.

Second, this economy is creating opportunities for entrepreneurs who are well-positioned to operate in the digital world. In Q1 and Q2 of 2020, there were 883,174 new business formation applications registered. While the Census Bureau hasn’t published the official data for Q3 yet, we’re likely to see over 1.3 million applications in total for the first three quarters.

For those of us in a position to find advantage during this time by creating businesses and making money, we must invest in those who cannot, because we must reverse the trending of the bottom section of the K-shaped recovery or else, make no mistake, we will all pay dearly.

On a different note, I love fall. I love it because of the weather, of course, but also because it’s the season that supports reflection and introspection, and boy is that important this year. In line with those efforts, I’ve built three things into my routine this fall that you too might find benefit from:

1. More sleep. This is as difficult as it is important, though as the days shorten and nature turns inward, we too can benefit from doing the same. Rest = clarity. 30-60 more minutes does the trick for me.

2. Goal setting for 2021. I have a shortlist of must-do’s for the rest of the year and a growing list of “would like to-do’s” for 2021. I’ll refine that list later, but in September and October, I’m creating it with the mindset anything is possible in 2021.

3. Financial planning. I have a document tracking my net worth that I keep a close eye on, and fall is a great time to reassess progress and make sure that all financial data is secure, organized, and analyzed and that a budget is underway for 2021.