After learning some key lessons from the best worst experience of my life, the fire in my belly was still burning and I was working hard to reinvent myself without reinventing the wheel.
Within six months I was once again earning a decent six-figure income from a new import and training business that I had set up. Most importantly, I had also started to invest in property to secure the financial future of my family after learning that owning bricks and mortar could save me from another bursting bubble.
I spent two years researching, attending training courses and surrounding myself with some of the best mentors in the world. But this time, I knew what the holy grail of business was - sustainable and profitable business growth, with an appreciating underlying asset base. I’ll come back to this in a later post.
It was time to make my move.
July 2004 – A tried, tested and proven business model
I’d come up with a new strategy – letting out houses to young working professionals and key workers. High quality but low cost accommodation was the concept. In July 2004 I completed on my first House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in Bournemouth. It was an achievement that would change my life.
I had my dad, estate agents and letting agents telling me that this wasn’t going to work. There were a lot of negative voices and it was a challenge. But I was determined. I was there every day burning the midnight oil, paint brush in hand, dealing with the electricians and the builders, showing the tenants in and out. My first son Charlie was with me some of the time, and as I was taking my first steps into property investment, Charlie was literally taking his first steps in the garden of my first HMO. Two big milestones I won’t forget!
From then on, I knew I had found something big. Within three years I had bought and owned 20 more properties – a portfolio worth £6 million. Life was once again great. I had achieved what I’d set out to - financial security for my family, a great income and pension and more time to spend doing what I wanted.
But something didn’t quite sit right with me. Believe it or not, I couldn’t imagine taking a back seat and relaxing, not even for five minutes, let alone the foreseeable future. I’d also learnt that as well as having a system, working with the right people and sharing experiences with each other was a major part of having a successful business.
Taking inspiration from my own personal mission which is to ‘Be More, Do More, Have More and Give More’, I franchised the highly profitable system so that other people could reap the benefits of their own successful businesses.
2014 – More than 200 satisfied Partners are in business with PPP
Platinum Property Partners is now celebrating its 7th birthday. Our 200 plus Partners are operating their own successful buy-to-let businesses across the UK and together they own a property portfolio of 552 HMO properties, worth an estimated £175 million and housing 1,727 tenants.
This amazing community of like-minded, ethical, honest, professional and dedicated individuals all work together and help each other Be More, Do More, Have More and Give more. This family includes ouramazing team of staff, inspiring group of Partners and our wider supply chain and professional advisors.
But it has not been an easy ride, nor have we got it all right all the time, but together, we have developed personally and professionally and will continue to help each other be successful for decades to come.
For me, this is the best part of running a successful business – I get a kick out of seeing other people learn and do well also.
Our PPP vision for 2025 is to:
• Help make 500 Partners financially secure
• Own £1billion of property across the network
• Accommodate 24,000 tenants in our high quality HMOs
• Create 2,000 new jobs through the conversion and refurbishment of our HMOs
• Have paid £150 million or more in tax
• Donate or create £10 million to charities and not-for-profits
