Interview Chris Jones: Global Speaker, Cyber Security Expert, And Angel Investor
How do you go from being a global cybersecurity expert to running a successful property business as well being an angel investor/business mentor? Well, Chris Jones has done exactly that, in this episode, Peter interviews Chris, on his journey in business, how to make sure that you are diversifying your income streams, and what it takes to make property a business, not a hobby. In this fantastic interview, Chris talks through how he has learnt to grow a property business and how anyone can be a property investor. Learn from his experience on how to make sure you're not putting all your eggs in one basket, and diversifying your income streams.
Key Takeaways
I always wanted to be a spaceman. Having not been able to do that, I started as a 3D designer and fell into computers. I have a brain that stores useless information and 90% of computers is useless information. I have run my own Cyber Security firm for the last since 2003.
World War III is happening in cyberspace. If you are ok with computers I highly recommend getting into the cybersecurity business as their will always be work in the future. But in my business, I came to realise that I was working in the business, not on the business. I didn’t realise the mistakes I made until I went to the Multiple Streams of Income course with Progressive Property. It was successful but I was working 12 hours a day, every day a week.
2008 hit and I thought we had diversified as a business, as we had different customers but they were similar business customers in the same sector. All of a sudden they all stopped spending money, and I had to lay off half my staff. It took me a while to realise that I hadn’t diversified enough. My first foray into property then was 2013.
It was risk mitigation. In 2008 in the financial crisis, I realised that we had put all the eggs in one basket in the shape of my business so I set about learning all I could about property from the best. I realised that I needed to buy an asset. I always wanted to build a new business out of property.
What are the differences between the people that treat property as a hobby or as a business? Two things, systems and teams. When it’s a hobby you don’t need systems. You can be lucky and be successful without systems but I focus on business ability, not on luck. You need systems. Then the second is the team, if you get a team then you can spread the load, one brain is good two brains is better. People think you should train to be better at the things that you at bad at. Whereas you should focus on the things that you are good at and then employ people who are better at you to do that job.
I’ve always been bloody-minded. I don’t allow things to be a problem, they are either a whip to charge me forwards or an opportunity to develop a sense of self-reliance. Persistence is something that is both learned and born with behaviour. Those people who are persistently persistent are people who have worked through adversity.
What happened next when you completed the course? I completed the course in November and then bought a property in January. We were working with a homeless charity to help young men get a house. We started with my wife and two very good friends. We gutted the house and made it a really nice house. This was meant to not have loads of profit, but be a long term asset. We were going to buy a big Victorian house, but one of my friends pulled money from the property and the deal fell through. That set us back at least a year in our growth.
I completed VIP and it was the best decision I made. Within the IT world, I am very good at what I do, and I wanted to be very good at property. The best way is to learn from the best. VIP is one of those things where the more you put in the more you get out. I turned up every month, completed all my mentor's actions and networked the hell out of the room. This kickstarted my passion for angel investing, which means that I am a professional business mentor, and angel investor now. I’m a qualified business mentor through the Institute of entrepreneurs. I would do that from 5.30am until 7.30 in the morning. Mentoring and investing are both things that have come from progressive VIP courses.
How did Hive start? Like bees, we wanted to have a Hive like mind, where we all working together for the common good. It started as a club with people for mutual support where we would work on our own things but support each other. Made sure we did the planning. The banks would not give us a bank account, and we formed a limited company to buy property, do bigger possibilities. We did ok, and with any venture, we had to change the way we did things so we were all aligned. Over the two years we have pared down, and we are left with a core group.
What is your vision for the property business? We are continuing to do buy-to-let as it’s a really good money earner, which I hadn’t realised they are so profitable before getting into property. We are doing some HMO’s, and looking at some commercial property as well.
I’m always looking for investors. If we are talking about property investing, then we are looking at 70,000 onwards, either as a loan or a joint venture. The wider angel investing, I’m working with a wide range of business, from media to print. We are looking from £250,000, up to £2.5 million, in different ways. They either need to be sophisticated investors or individuals high net worth.
Why start a property business in Hartlepool, and Middlesbrough? The attraction is the low cost of access, and the rental we get is very good. The property which would cost us £60,000 we are able to rent out for £500 a month. There can be little property growth, however. Part of the Tees Valley has had a lot of investment recently which has seen higher property prices. There is a lot of things happening in the northern parts of the country which can sometimes be ignored if you only look t the media.
Where are you going to be in five years? The intention is to leave a legacy of properties that we own and manage. I find it difficult to find a vision in five months, I work in dynamic markets so I focus on 6-12 months. But the long term vision is to have a substantial property portfolio and to have each sector of the property portfolio which allows me to do things better.
Best Moments
‘It took me a while to realise that I hadn’t diversified enough.’
‘Reality is never the same as your perception.’
‘We can all see the same thing and see very different things.’
‘You have to treat property as a business.’
‘You need systems, to make a business of property.’
‘Getting the systems, and the team in means it’s not a hobby or a business.’
‘Mind-set is really important.’
‘People who have been through adversity either collapse or rile against it.’
‘The more you are determined to carry on the more you will carry on.’
‘If you carry on doing the right things, then you will be successful.’
‘Having to restart after a deal fell through taught me a lot.’
‘I turned up every month, completed all my mentor's actions and networked the hell out of the room.’
‘What I have to offer is how business work and globally, and my wide networks.’
‘Part of the difficulty is being focused.’
‘It took me a long time to learn to say no.’
‘You can’t help poor if you are poor yourself.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Chris Jones is a successful Company Director, Serial entrepreneur, Angel Investor and Board level advisor for many startup companies. Co-author of the latest International standard for Business resiliency and disaster recovery.
CONTACT METHOD
Email: Chris.jones@nbv-ltd.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopher.jones.7549185
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-jones-b01442/
ABOUT THE HOST
Peter Jones is a Chartered Surveyor, an author and a serial buy-to-let property investor. He has been involved in property for over 35 years and now owns 78 letting units. He is still actively involved in buying and renovating the property, and regularly flips properties for profit. Peter has written a number of successful property books. The first, An Insider's Guide to Successful Property Investing, was first published in 2000 and was one, if not the very first, the book of its kind which was written for what we'd now call buy-to-let investors. On the back of its success, he was invited to be a guest writer for Property Secrets and wrote Spanish Property Secrets, French Property Secrets, and Portugal Property Secrets. He has since written a number of other successful titles dealing with UK investing including 63 Common Defects in Investment Property and How to Spot Them, the highly acclaimed The Successful Property Investors Strategy Workshop and The Property Renovator's Workshop ,in which Peter describes step-by-step how he built his own property portfolio, starting with virtually none of his own money.
CONTACT METHOD - Peter Jones
http://www.thepropertyteacher.co.uk/
