Property investment advice can be opaque and difficult to grasp, but there is a rising star in this field. Lloyd Giradi and his business partner, Andi Cooke, are quickly becoming the Go To experts for individuals who want to become Property Developers. Not only do they focus on helping you start in property, helping your mindset is also a priority of theirs.
The duo are co-founders of White Box Property (established in 2014), the country’s largest Property Development training firm.
They have created a portfolio of over £25 Million since 2014 and worked on over 223 units. We asked Lloyd about driving his own success so quickly, and how others can learn from him.
What are the key benefits of partnering with someone to succeed?
My best advice on this is to go into a partnership knowing what each person wants at the end. If you know you are working to help the other person achieve their goals as long as yours then the whole process will be a lot easier.
Do you focus solely on your strategy or keep an eye on competitors?
I focus mainly on my business as we like to do things our way the #whiteboxway. Any time spent worrying about competitors takes your focus away from your business. I see what others are doing but I will always do things are way.
What was the key moment in the early days when you knew White Box would be a success?
For us the key moment was people asking us to start the training. After the success of our first project, having used none of our own money. It was good to see people asking us for help. From then on, we have delivered our training with integrity, honesty and passion.
Were there any early mistakes which you made and learnt from?
There’s plenty of mistakes made, but I’ve never dwelled on any of them, as long as you don’t make them again they’re not mistakes, they’re lessons. People fear failure but for me you’re in control of your failure. If you give up, that’s failure. You choose to give up. Keep going, overcome adversity and success will happen.
How did you get other people onboard with the White Box strategy?
As mentioned people asked us to start the training first. However, since then, we have continued to do what we teach and teach hat we do. For me, there’s no better way of showing people what we do. People may question why were teaching the competition but there are so many deals out there, there’s enough for everyone. Also we have joint ventured with our students in the past.
How far did you plan in advance during you first year?
During the first year I was still working full time so I planned to leave my job within 12 months. After 9 that’s when I handed in my notice. So to begin with I just focused on a year. Now we have a 5 year plan.
What is the area of the property market which is most accessible for first time property investors and developers?
Depends who you ask. We started with an 8 unit new build development so if you asked me, which you are, anyone can start with a development but sometimes it’s better to start slower, maybe a small conversion might be better to start.
How do you manage to keep improving and developing your property knowledge – is there anyone else in the sector which you aspire to be like?
We have always surrounded ourselves with like minded, positive people and as a positive person myself I thrive off positivity. Every year we run a business and personal development retreat in Croatia and Bali every 6 months. It’s here we relax, and plan where the business is going and how we can keep adding value to our customers. It’s what we ask of our students, so why should we be any different.