Entrepreneur of the Week Yossi Golan - Day 1 - Introduction

# Entrepreneur of the Week Yossi Golan # Post 1 Post Introduction

Hello friends,

It is an honor for me to be an entrepreneur this week and try to enrich your knowledge with at least one small tip from my experience.

My name is Yossi Golan, 50 years old. Lives in Hod Hasharon. Married and father of three.

In my education, a mechanical engineer graduated from the Technion, with a master's degree in business administration.

For most of my senior years, until my retirement, I served as an officer and commander in the IDF, first in the Armed Forces and later in the Air Force in a variety of engineering, research and development positions.

I commanded engineering units with dozens of mechanical, aeronautical, electronics and software engineers.

Naturally, most of the developments that have been carried out "indoors" are confidential. Just saying, there is immense satisfaction in being a tier in strengthening the capabilities and power of the Air Force, through the development of the technological component.

In my last position before retiring in 2018 I was the technical investigator of the Air Force for the Investigation of Air Accidents. Unfortunately, during this period we experienced an accident corps with the loss of CIA personnel and aircraft. This role had a crucial impact on my perception of the world of risk management.

At the beginning of 2018, after more than 25 amazing years of service, I took off my military uniform and moved on to my longtime hobby - real estate entrepreneurship.

The love for real estate has pulsated in me for many years. And it turns out that for two decades I have been performing flips in the country without knowing that they are called that.

I will give an example.

Somewhere in the 2000s, when property prices were still denominated in dollars, I asked a local realtor in Hod Hasharon to offer me the property in the worst condition it had and provided it was in a good neighborhood.

The realtor led me to a 3-room apartment on the second floor of a building in an excellent neighborhood.

The feeling, sights and smells are hard to describe. The tenants - 4 women and two dogs.

On the floor vomit of dogs. Looks like an apartment after burglars paid a violent visit, a beautiful sunny day, but inside everything is dark, the smell of mildew, immovable wooden shutters and electricity bills and water stuck to the tiles near the shutters due to rainwater penetrating the house. Ahhh ... and weird butterflies flying around the house.

The best description is through the comparison to the movie "The Silence of the Lambs".

We left the house.

We closed the door behind us and the realtor asks in fear: "Well ???? Terrible, right? Now you can go to real apartments?"

"Wonderful" I replied. "Wonderful !!! Please come in and offer her $ 80,000. Maximum and final price."

I will start by saying that the value of an apartment in a reasonable condition in this location was estimated at about $ 130,000.

I would also add that the apartment did have 3 rooms, but each room had an adjoining balcony that was the size of a room in itself. And also 3 air directions and an open view from the living room.

The broker enters alone to offer the quote. An argument ensued and he returned to the front door with the lady.

At the end of a pleasant conversation I asked her "How many people came to see the property? Through the billboard, through realtors or in any way?"

"About ten people," she replied.

"And with a hand on my heart" I asked "how many came back and gave you any offer even a dollar?"

"No one," she replied.

Then a real discourse developed, in which it flattened its economic hardships and needs.

At the end of the day I apologized and agreed to pay her a high amount I had planned to allow her to close debts and move on. I have not been able to detach the feeling of compassion from the business and I am happy about that.

And yet the property was purchased for about $ 90,000.

I renovated the property almost completely by myself - from planning and redistributing the area, through demolition of walls, electrical preparations, plumbing and telephone, type B flooring, cheap new shutters and windows, IKEA style kitchen, central air conditioner, etc.

The date of execution of the project will be scheduled for silence (a term representing a planned vacation in the Air Force).

For the period of silence, I added all the vacations I accumulated and thus created a time sequence for a super-intensive activity of a month, when everything that could be prepared in advance - prepared and compatible (plans, kitchen order, air conditioners, etc.).

The cost of the renovation was about twenty thousand dollars.

Total purchase and renovation about $ 110,000.