The Commercial Investing Show

Jason Hartman talks with Julie Benezet, Founder and Managing Principal of Business Growth Consultants and former Director of Global Real Estate at Amazon.com. Julie gives Jason a peek into Amazon's business philosophy and build out plans. She also explains why it can be profitable to understand the motives behind Amazon's movements. Julie is author of the new book The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There is None.

Key Takeaways:

[1:41] Julie details her business planning efforts at Amazon.com.

[6:35] Amazon’s ‘Get Big Fast’ mantra required employees who knew the rules of distribution.

[9:20] How Amazon chose locations for their fulfillment centers.

[12:57] Unpacking Julie’s book to understand the 4 steps required to do business in the 21st century.

[19:39] Julie reviews the 4 steps.

[20:36] Germany was the location of Julie’s defining moment as a leader.

[27:15] Pay attention to your customers!

Website:

Foundation for Economic Education

Business Growth Consulting

The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There is None

Direct download: CI_70_Julie_Benezet.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:00am EDT

Dr. Robert Johnson is the President and CEO of American College. He's written Invest with the Fed: Maximizing Your Portfolio Performance by Following Federal Reserve Policy, Strategic Value Investing and the study What to Expect When You’re Electing. Jason Hartman talks with Dr Johnson about thinking long term while investing in the stock market, how the stock market performs when one party holds the Congress and Presidency, and how interest rate fluctuations impact different asset classes.

Key Takeaways:

[3:08] Huge reforms are on the way with the Republican party controlling two branches of the government

[6:34] Invest with the Fed looked at how interest rates impacted asset/equity class performance

[9:22] Stock market growth is higher under Democratic presidents and/or when there's political harmony

[12:00] Long-term perspectives highlight that the economy and the stock market move together.

[14:40] The best strategy for your portfolio

[16:19] How equity REITs perform when interest rates rise

[18:14] Will the cost of small business financing go up under a Trump administration?

[21:00] Is now the time to be a contrarian?

Website:

www.theamericancollege.edu

Direct download: CI_69_Robert_Johnson.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:00am EDT

Jason Hartman talks with Ed Conard, economist, and founding partner of Bain Capital, alongside Mitt Romney. Jason and Ed talk about his New York Times Bestselling book Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About the Economy is Wrong, along with his soon to be released book, The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class. The two discuss CEO pay, the technology sector, and why regulations tend to hurt companies trying to get started.

Key Takeaways:

[1:28] Ed discusses his time at Bain Capital with Mitt Romney, when they experienced enormous growth.

[3:30] Bain Capital gave clients the opportunity to invest in capital investment and management supervision related opportunities.

[5:07] Bain Capital also provided a higher risk strategy, so they could capitalize on investment opportunities of undervalued assets.

[7:21] The Upside of Inequality tackles the productivity of the American worker

[12:18] The US economy is picking up, and Fortune 400 companies continue to turn over, suggesting companies aren't just negotiating for a bigger piece of the pie

[14:47] People may find it hard to believe, but CEO pay may not be as ludicrous as it appears

[19:36] Compared to other sectors of the economy, tech companies pay less taxes and have much looser regulation

[21:22] Tech sector profitability has been amazing

[22:23] The economy is squeezing the profitability out of most other sectors.

[24:45] The way to grow in today's economic landscape is to have trained talent and the willingness to take a risk

Website:

http://www.edwardconard.com
https://twitter.com/edwardconard

Direct download: CI_68_Ed_Conard.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:54pm EDT

Jason Hartman interviews Andrew Wright, CEO and Managing Partner at the commercial real estate firm Franklin Street. Andrew has guided Franklin Street to several awards, including Best Places to Work by the Tampa Bay Times and the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

With a personal involvement in more than $1 billion in real estate and finance transactions, Andrew is also well versed in distressed real estate, having resolved more than $800 million in debt since 2009.

Jason and Andrew discuss the current status of the US real estate market, particularly the multi-family and mixed use sectors.

Key Takeaways:

[1:35] How Trump could impact real estate markets

[4:59] The impact the internet has had on retail centers

[8:31] The changing demand for the warehouse and delivery industries because of the internet

[12:54] Andrew's take on where we currently are on the supply/demand curve

[17:03] Andrew goes market by market and gives the current cap rates he's seeing

[19:08] What types of investments Andrew is excited about today

Website:

www.franklinst.com

Direct download: CI_67_Andrew_Wright.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:46pm EDT

Jason Hartman talks with Dr Buck Joffrey, a surgeon, entrepreneur, blogger, and real estate investor. Buck has a podcast and a company called Wealth Formula that's designed to help professionals such as doctors and dentists invest their money wisely. He and Jason discuss investing in commercial assets, why professionals might make bad investing decisions, and alternative investments you probably haven't thought of yet.

Key Takeaways:

[1:55] Why Buck thinks doctors might be bad investors

[6:57] Buck's investing beliefs

[9:50] Buck loves real estate, but single family houses aren't his thing

[14:35] Buck's role in putting together his commercial deals

[17:30] Why the deals aren't as good as they used to be

[20:10] The massive hotel deal Buck is involved in Belize, and why he's investing in things like oil and gas drilling

[24:20] Investing in life settlements

Website:

www.wealthformula.com
Wealth Formula Podcast

Direct download: CI_66_Buck_Joffrey.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:20am EDT

1