Millionaire School

Real Estate M Millionaire How the Top Performers in The Industry Turnover Millions in Real Estate

“Think Big and Live Large.” Donald Trump

Fiona Jones & Andrew Morello Winner of The Apprentice Australia Table of Contents

Chapter 1 1 Stephen Tolle & Shane Noney Real Estate Investing Australia Chapter 2 21 Michael Sheargold Real Estate Results Chapter 3 43 Karli Dunham JustBusinessBrokers.com Chapter 4 61 Mat Steinwede Master Your Mindset Chapter 5 79 Garry Green Innovative Property Solutions Chapter 6 97 Glen Coutinho A Life Changing Business Chapter 7 117 Lisa Tremolada Dominate The Internet Chapter 8 143 Michael Kelly The Real Estate Doctor Chapter 9 167 Anthony Toop Toop&Toop - Business Passion Chapter 10 185 Adam Joske Think Outside The Square Chapter 11 201 Michelle Rodgers It’s a Numbers Game Chapter 12 219 Jayden Roncon Persistence Pays Chapter 13 235 John Morello Under Promise, Over Deliver Chapter 14 255 Karl Secondis One Real Estate Chapter 15 273 Wayne Elly Location, Location, Location Chapter 16 293 Andrew Morello Living The Dream ‘All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.’

Buddha 

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‘I don’t sit around counting how much money I can make; it’s about the opportunity and the experience and for the freedom that money can give you and in turn that you can give others…’ Andrew Morello 294

Andrew Morello, winner of the first season of The Australian Apprentice as ‘Morello’, credits his strong work ethic for his success. Morello’s lifelong exposure to the property industry and business, natural enthusiasm and outstanding sales skills mean he is adept at providing people with the service and outcome they are seeking. He grew up with an interest in real estate and business, a passion he pursued through completing his real estate license and moving into the profession, with outstanding results. A natural leader from his days at St Bernard’s College in Essendon onwards, Morello tries to find new ways to step outside his comfort zone whenever he’s not at work. He enjoys helping people to reach their full potential, and believes in the power of relationships and the opportunities they can create. ‘Relationships are always an important part of life. And I mean all relationships – friendship, love, relationship by choice, relationship by birth,’ he says. ‘Learn what makes them tick, why they sometimes go wrong, what one can do about it, and why they are so precious.’ Morello is now Head of Business Development at Yellow Brick Road (YBR) Wealth Management and is working closely with Executive Chairman Mark Bouris to grow further YBR’s expanding branch network, now with more than 100 branches nationally.

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What beliefs around money did you grow up with? My father was, and still is, in the service station game. We grew up around the family business – BP Morello Motors in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne – helping Dad stock shelves, clean cars and toilets, and pump petrol from the age of 8 to around 13 for $5 per day. An average day for Dad was a 6am start working through to about 10-11pm, seven days a week. He did that for about 20 years and then cut it back to six days a week. For Dad, work was and still is a lifestyle and he loves it – he has no motivation to retire whatsoever – and this instilled a great work ethic and a drive to work hard. It wasn’t until I left Moonee Ponds in 2010 that I started to understand how the rest of the world works and this was a real culture shock for me. After winning The Apprentice I moved to Sydney to work with Mark Bouris at YBR Wealth Management and a few months into the new job they asked me when I wanted to take holidays. I didn’t know what they meant and, when they told me I got four weeks’ paid leave a year, I couldn’t believe it. I was from a world in which you didn’t make money if you were on holidays, so we didn’t really go on holidays because we had to run the business. If we went away it was never too far, maybe just a day trip to the beach; in the early days on Sunday’s Mum would make a special lunch and we’d have family lunch together at the service station. The business effectively became the heart of the family and part of the community. I was at Marco Polo airport in Venice, Italy, a few years ago and this stranger came running across the airport yelling my name and said, ‘I’ve been going to your Dad’s service station for 30 bloody years!’. It’s pretty amazing to be a part of a family business that has become an institution in the area; it will be a very sad day when that business no longer exists.

What was your first business experience? I got my first job outside of the family business when I was 13 and nine months. I worked at the local sports store Hanna’s Allsports at 15 Puckle Street in Moonee Ponds selling sporting gear. My first day was during the Christmas holidays and I worked 12 hours straight while everyone else was taking tea breaks, a lunch and dinner break. When we got to the end of the day the boss looked at the time sheets and asked why I hadn’t taken any breaks. I wasn’t used to taking breaks – when we worked with Dad, if there was a customer on the driveway Andrew Morello 296

we didn’t take breaks and on some days it was constant. Keep in mind when I worked for my father I got paid $5 per day; I didn’t want to take a break at this new job as I didn’t want to miss out on the extra $28; my boss and I reached a compromise that I would take a 30-minute break, miss out on $7 and still make a $21 profit. My next venture was the Angel Dance Party business. Aged 14 and six months, using a government grant awarded to me through a wonderful lady named Carol Espinoza at the Moonee Valley Council, I took the local Blue Light Disco out of the Town Hall and moved it to a real venue, which was a local nightclub called One Bar located at 1 Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds. For the next five years I ran this business and promoted it using fliers with my current phone number on the back as the parent hotline. Parents would often ring my number asking me about security at the disco. I didn’t tell them I was only 14 and I think they thought I was older. I would say, ‘Thank you for your inquiry and thank you for considering sending your son or daughter to our event. We have security and the police are always on hand so if there are ever any issues we always have them sorted quickly.’ One of my number one advocates was my Dad – he would advertise the events at his service station and sell tickets for me. I think a lot of the parents knew Dad and thought that because he had been in business for a long time, and his son was trying something out too, ‘so we’ll support him’. We would have 700-1000 kids a month at the disco and have other events at the Metro with 3000 kids. My unique selling proposition since day one is that I truly believed in what I did. It didn’t matter what business venture we – me, my brother and sister – were involved in, our parents John and Pauline Morello would support us 100 per cent. They have always been extremely supportive in whatever it was we wanted to do; it’s because of them that the three of us are successful today.

Andrew Morello - Channel 9 The Apprentice ‘The boy from Moonee Ponds, takes on the world.’

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Did you always want to work in real estate? School for me was a social activity – I didn’t get great marks and I knew I wasn’t going to university. I just wanted to get through Year 12 and go into business. The truth is that I really wanted to be an auctioneer and I used to follow my brother John – who is a real estate agent – around to watch him run auctions, and then ride my bike between auctions to watch other auctioneers – I wanted to be like them. My brother said that if I wanted to be an auctioneer I needed to get into real estate because, in the Melbourne market, most real estate agents did their own auctions rather than using an independent auctioneer. So I signed up to do my real estate license and went full-steam ahead studying subjects at night school and summer school to get through it in 15 months instead of two years. Once I finished the course I was fortunate to get a job as the personal assistant (PA) to Adrian Butera of Compton Green in Williamstown – it was a great opportunity to cut my teeth. I remember the day before I started having to go to the barber to get my hair cut – I’d grown it down to my shoulders and I didn’t think the ‘rogue’ look was suitable for my new career in real estate. I was supposed to work as Adrian’s PA for two years, but within about five months I had listed a property in Newport. I remember Adrian dropping me off with a stack of business cards and saying he’d see me back at the office in the afternoon. I was left to door-knock and introduce myself to the residents. I knocked on hundreds of doors and I was over it. I finally came to a house where the owner was sitting in the front yard playing with her baby and, when I told her I was now servicing the area for Compton Green, she turned to me and said, ‘Interestingly we’re thinking of selling.’ I was that excited that I ran all the way back to the office to tell Adrian, but when he asked me to phone the lady to confirm an appointment for 7.30pm that night I realised in my excitement, I didn’t get the lady’s phone number. I jumped in the car and drove back to her house to confirm the appointment, but what I didn’t confirm was whether her husband would also be home that night. I had made a big mistake in real estate; you should always make sure that both decision-makers are home when you do the appraisal. In the end it worked out fine and they gave me the listing for 2.5 per cent plus GST – it was a dream. I sold the property at auction to Western Bulldogs player Adam Cooney. Andrew Morello 298

I don’t think the guys in the office could quite believe I got the listing or that I got it at 2.5 per cent and they asked me how I got it. When I told them I got the listing through door-knocking they were in shock as it had been so long since they had needed to door-knock. Door- knocking is a very disciplined activity and to be able to do it in any business is tough. My theory is that if you’re prepared to do it you will make plenty of money in business because it teaches you to be resilient, disciplined and to accept rejection. I ended up knocking on about 10,000 doors in my real estate career since I was 18 years old and I think only about 10 people out of 10,000 said to go away, others would invite me in for coffee and tell me their life story. It wasn’t long before I got another listing and another sale and I started to realise that being a PA wasn’t for me. I was only making about $25,000 and about $100 for a listing and $100 for a sale, so I decided to go out on my own.

How did you transition to working for yourself? I had been around property since I was born and, having helped my brother out in his real estate business, I knew the lingo; now with a little bit of experience under my belt I was confident to give it a go on my own. By this stage I was also doing well with auctioneering, having won a novice competition for the local area, been runner-up at a state level and later, at a senior’s level, I came in the top 20 in the Australasians. I became a partner in my brother’s business, Thomson Real Estate Flemington, and had a massive year with 47 transactions. As I was starting out in a new area, I decided to go back to door-knocking three or four nights a week; and every Saturday after all the other agents had knocked off, once their open homes and auctions were finished for the day, I would start door knocking until 6 or 7pm. The other sales guys would laugh and say I should be out having a beer, and I would reply, ‘Mate I’m not going to get a listing or sell a property having a beer’. Some of the homeowners would also invite me in for a beer – it was a lot of fun back then. My sales pitch at 20 years old was along the lines of, ‘I know you might have had your sales agent for 30 years, but when my phone rings on a Friday night and all the other agents are at the hotel getting drunk I will be available for a meeting that night’. Interestingly Friday

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night was my best night, I would do deals at seven, nine or 10 o’clock on a Friday night. The other decision I made when I first went into business was to employ a personal assistant. My brother suggested I do this as it forces you to work harder because you are immediately responsible for someone else’s income.

How did the opportunity to be on the television show The Apprentice come about? A friend and client had suggested I try out for the show and had emailed me the application form. The night before the applications were due I was working late making calls and I noticed it in my inbox on my emails; I started to fill it out not thinking it would come to anything. A few weeks later I got a call from their office asking me to come in for a group audition the following Tuesday at the Rendezvous Hotel in Flinders Street, Melbourne CBD. The night before the audition I did an appraisal on a $2million home in Essendon and the owners rang me to say they wanted to list with me, asking if I could come back the next day to sign the paperwork. In the real estate world you don’t put off the customer; if I am sitting at home in my track suit and get a call from a client at 9pm I will grab my suit and zoom down there to get that business. So in this instance I told the client I would be there the next day and put in a call to the team at The Apprentice to explain I couldn’t make it to the audition – this was going to be a sliding-doors moment in my life; she offered me a later timeslot so I was able to meet with my new client as well as make the audition. A few interviews later I was offered a position on the show, but they asked if they could call me ‘Morello’ instead of Andrew as another Andrew had also been cast at that stage. I was excited to make the show, but I didn’t know how to tell my brother that I needed time away from the business. I didn’t think I’d make it very far in the competition and that I’d be back at work in a few weeks, so my brother agreed to look after my clients and listings in the meantime. As the show went to air I was back working at Thomson and, because of the exposure from the show, I became very busy; by the end of the show we had close to 40 listings. We were also running charity events every week as the show aired and, by the end of the series, we had raised $70,000 for muscular dystrophy. Andrew Morello 300

When Mark Bouris called to say I had won and that I needed to move to Sydney to start work with him at YBR I couldn’t believe it. Four weeks later (January 2010) I was living in Sydney.

What is your job at Yellow Brick Road? As winner of The Apprentice I was offered $250,000 to head up business development for Mark Bouris at YBR for 12 months. My job was to sell licenses and in 18 months we had brought on 109 branches nationally. After 12 months I thought I would return to Moonee Ponds and get back into real estate, but towards the end of my contract Mark asked me to stay on in the role and to buy into the company as a shareholder. I accepted the offer and, to keep my hand in the real estate game I fly back to Melbourne a few times a month to auction homes for some of my clients and started auctioneering in Sydney, including for The Block on Channel 9. One of the things I love about my role at YBR is being able to draw on my experience of having grown up around a family business. The licensees like the fact that I understand what it’s like in small business. I have found a disconnect in the corporate world between the employees who usually haven’t been in business and the employers who are small business owners. I genuinely believe in the YBR business and, when a buyer looks me in the eye and asks if I truly believe this is the right opportunity for them, I can put my hand on my heart and tell them that I really believe it will work for them. It is a big decision for people to set up a retail YBR Store; it will probably one of the biggest decisions they will make in their life and they will invest a lot of time, energy and money into their business, so I couldn’t sell it to them if I didn’t believe in the business or in myself. I think if you believe in yourself and feel that your point of difference (POD) is truly unique, people will see that and want to be part of it. It’s the same with anything, whether it’s a real estate listing, winning The Apprentice, getting a job; people can see that you believe in yourself and that you have a POD and want to be part of it.

What drives you? Well for me it’s family. I am very grateful to my parents for the sacrifices they made so that we could have a great upbringing and I want to be able to do the same for my family. Growing up I played

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a lot of soccer and was on the school debating and speaking team and, because of the business, Dad couldn’t always come to watch. I remember saying to myself that when I get older I am going to have lots of money and flexibility so that I can be there for my kids. So my number one ‘why you?’ and motivational tool I share with people is: ‘To make lots of money To pay other people really well To do the things that I don’t want to do So I can do more things That I love doing with the people that I love…’

What mindset do people need to achieve success? I believe that a success mindset comes from a decision you make about how you are going to live your life and approach things. I don’t think you get it from attending a two-day motivational seminar, or from reading a book. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t read books and go to seminars as they definitely have their place, but I just don’t think a success mindset is something that can be bought. Success is also about treating people well; people will remember how you treat them. I hand out 1000 business cards a month to everyone that I meet and I tell them to call me if ever they need financial advice and I will personally take care of them. When I first moved to Sydney I didn’t know anyone so I went out in my local area and introduced myself to the local schools, the local retailers and tradies and told them to get in touch if they ever needed anything. Just recently I was contacted by one of the people I had introduced myself to asking if I could be an ambassador for a foundation in Sydney. So while the opportunities might not be constant they will come around if you put yourself out there and treat people well. I get a lot of business this way.

What do you think stops people from achieving the success they want? I think it relates to the old cliché about the most important conversation being the one you have with yourself. That is first and foremost. If you think you can’t do something or that you can’t be Andrew Morello 302

wealthy because you didn’t come from a wealthy family, or that you’re not smart enough, what makes you think you are going to be successful? You need to believe in yourself and tell yourself that you can do it, whatever it is you want to achieve. I also think people give up too easily, and this is why I talk about the importance of ‘quick wins’. Often we’re working towards a big goal, but it could take two years or five years to get there, and this is when people tend to give up. So along the way you need to focus on the wins. For example, my goal or ‘big win’ with YBR is to sign up 150 licensees by the end of the year. So every time I sign up one licensee I celebrate that as a quick win. When I have been invited to speak to 100 people at a breakfast event, that is a quick win – what a great way to start the day – and if I get a listing I celebrate that as a quick win. Once you start building quick wins that add up towards big wins in your life you will be a much happier person.

‘If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.’ Henry Ford.

Who has been one of the biggest mentors in your life? Well, first and foremost, my Mum and Dad. They came to Australia from a war-torn country with nothing and they saw everything as an opportunity. Everything we had growing up and everything my parents now have they created from nothing. When I lived in Melbourne I would always go and see my Dad if I’d had a bad day, even if it was 9-10pm; I knew I could drop into the service station and he’d still be at work. Now that I am in Sydney I speak to my Dad every day and, if I am travelling overseas and in a different time zone, I know I can still call my Dad.

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Do you have a mentor today? Yes, I have a couple of mentors. Mark Bouris is an amazing guy and I continue to learn from him every day. He had to make a sacrifice and take a risk to bring me on board at YBR, and I am very grateful for that. Another friend of mine, Phillip Di Bella, is a great mentor as well. Phillip is the creator of Di Bella Coffee and at 28 years of age was worth more than $70 million. He had a similar upbringing to me and isn’t afraid of hard work, so I enjoy catching up with Phillip about business and life. Dorry Kordahi is the creator of DKM Blue and is now worth about $21 million. Both of these guys have a few years on me and we all value the same things in life, so they are easy to look up to and learn from.

What is the most important piece of advice anyone has ever given you? Mark Bouris told me that there is no magic dust; you just have to take action. You can have all of the mentors, read every book or go to all of the motivational seminars in the world, but the trick is having a go at it; unless you have a go how will you ever learn and know if it will work. The best advice you can get about business is from successful business owners who have been through hard times and come out the other end; they have learned to take risks, make money, save money to better their businesses and learn from their mistakes along the way.

‘I never worry about action, but only inaction.’ Winston Churchill. Andrew Morello 304

What is the most difficult or toughest experience that you have been through? During the GFC my brother John and I had to close one of our offices and that was particularly difficult. Being Europeans we are very proud people – we wear our heart on our sleeve – so when things don’t work out we often take it personally; it was a humbling experience and we realised we weren’t invincible. We learnt a lot from the experience and got back to basics focusing on being more efficient and effective with opportunities and money.

You lead a very busy lifestyle, so how do you like to relax and unwind? I always said that I would never leave Moonee Ponds, but if I did I wanted to live near the water – I love the water and think it is very therapeutic. So when I moved to Sydney I settled in Bondi and, if I have a busy day ahead of me, I’ll start the day with a swim at the beach and it just reminds me how lucky I am. People come from all over the world to visit Bondi and when people come to stay with me they often tell me that I live in the most beautiful place in the world. I think there are things to appreciate about whatever city you live in or whatever is happening in your life. People often remark that they hate the weather in Melbourne, so I ask what they like about Melbourne. If it’s the food and the culture, that’s what they need to focus on and not the weather. My sister is living in the UK and, even though she hates the cold, she focuses on the things she loves, like how beautiful it looks when it’s snowing on Christmas Day. It’s the same in your workplace. If you work with 10 people who are great, but one person that you don’t like, try to find the positives in that person. For example, the sales manager brings in a lot of sales for the business, but he doesn’t reply to your emails for a week; focus on the sales rather than the slow email reply. I studied Deepak Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and practicing non-judgment of others is one of the many lessons I learnt. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success are: 1. The Law of Pure Potentialities: Practice non-judgment.

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2. The Law of Giving and Receiving: Do something nice or compliment someone who’s not expecting it and also reward yourself and be able to accept opportunities; if you do good things for people good things will happen for you. 3. The Law of Least Effort: Be open to other people’s points of view and practice acceptance. 4. The Law of Intention and Desire: Know what you want by being clear of your intentions and then trust the outcome; a lot of people don’t realize that their intentions have a cause and effect; so when you are creating your intentions they should be pure, look at what your intentions will achieve, and also how that will affect others. 5. The Law of Detachment: Learn to embrace uncertainty instead of forcing an outcome. 6. The Law of Karma: Choose actions that are best for everyone and that keep the flow of happiness going. 7. The Law of Dharma: How can I serve myself and others? If you are doing something you love, you become a better person and have a better energy for the whole world.

‘Anything that is of value in life only multiplies when it is given.’ Deepak Chopra.

Do you have a favourite quote? ‘Living the dream!’ I have this tattooed on my leg in ancient Thai, which I got while travelling in the North of Thailand. By having this tattooed on my leg and seeing it every day when I get out of the shower, it forces me to live my dream and a positive life. If I did not live my dream, this tattoo would be a constant lie to myself, so its permanent nature helps me stay on track. Andrew Morello 306

If someone really wants to make change in their work or personal life, what is your advice? The most important focus has to be on the conversation you have with yourself. If you really want to change and/or be successful, whether that is financial success or working for the community, you need to come to grips with what you have been through up until this point. Some of the most successful people are actually only at about 60 per cent of their potential because a lot of them hold on to negativity or issues from the past. We as humans can forgive, but sometimes we don’t forget, and often it’s the other way around and we forget without forgiving. Whether you are right or wrong, it doesn’t make a difference in my opinion because you can both carry as much baggage. What I always tell people is, if they have unresolved issues whether personal or business related, to be successful they have to sort these out. It doesn’t matter how successful you get, if you have unresolved issues or negative thoughts you have to deal with them. Once you have come to a resolution you can then move on and become more successful. My other piece of advice is to know the ‘why?’. When I speak at seminars I talk about Morello’s 30-second answer at 3am. It’s very dramatic: if I came into your bedroom at 3am and I shook you with a gun to your head and asked, ‘Why you?’ how would you answer it? After giving people a little time to consider their answer I explain that it’s actually not about the answer, it’s about how you perceive the question. It could mean, ‘Why do you deserve to be the CEO of a company?’, ‘Why do you deserve to be the mother of three beautiful children?’, ‘Why do I deserve my job at Yellow Brick Road?’. The second part to this is how you answer the question: Is it authentic, is it true, is it something more than just money, is it more than just success, something more than just happiness, but rather a deeper thing? If I told you that your answer wasn’t good enough and that I am going to shoot you, how would you really answer? It’s all about appreciating what you’ve got, loving who you are and believing that you deserve to have it. It is not something that you have to share with everybody, but if you don’t know the ‘why you?’ you can’t go out and achieve great things.

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I often get emails from people who have heard me speak telling me that they finally worked out their ‘why you?’ and that it had changed their life.

What do you think stops people from pursuing their dreams? One of the biggest things that holds Australians back is the tall-poppy concept. A guy in America drives by in a Lamborghini and the first thing they say in America is, ‘Geez that guy has done well’. A guy here in Australia drives by in a Lamborghini or a Ferrari and the first thing people say here is, ‘He must be a drug dealer’. I am not like that and I am interested in what he did to get there.

What is the most common question you get asked? People often ask me, ‘Why do you do it all?’ People generally think it’s all about the money, but when they see me speak at seminars they quickly realise it’s not. I don’t sit around counting how much money I can make; it’s about the opportunity and the experience, the freedom that money can give you and in turn that you can give others.

‘Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won’t buy the wag of his tail.’ Henry Wheeler Shaw.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? I have goals and aspirations, but at the same time I want to remain open to other opportunities that come my way. If in 10 years I am still with YBR, still doing some real estate in Melbourne and some motivational speaking while at the same time growing and developing my mindset, I wouldn’t be disappointed. Andrew Morello 308

I am passionate about helping young people and definitely want to do work in this area. I believe people are moulded into success between the ages of 10 and 20, so it is very important for teenagers to be around people with healthy mindsets. I get more satisfaction out of speaking to a room full of teenagers for free than I do being paid $5000 to speak to hundreds of people at a corporate event. I have spoken several times to the students at my old primary school Saint Monica’s in Moonee Ponds – this is the stuff I love. I want to teach kids that they can’t change their family or their environment, but they can choose their thoughts and make choices that will take them down the path they want their life to go down. Doing the right thing and helping people is the way I live my life. I don’t constantly look at my bank account to see how much money I have. I know that if I look after people and do the right thing the money will come.