[Interview] Nhan Nguyen: How I Started in Property and Went From 0 to Controlling Over $70 million Worth Property in less than 3 Years

Podcast – West Loh on Leverage, Automation and Outsourcing Strategies, 100% Free!

Property Investor with over 70 deals, Speaker, Found of Green Mint Property Group

We were lucky enough to get Nhan to discuss some of his projects and strategies in some detail in this interview. He also reveals some of his personal mental shifts and how he’s continually cultivated his networks and honed his craft of property investing.

In this interview you will discover:

– How Nhan started his journey in property investing with no money

– How Nhan got his first investor to put up the capital for his first property

– How to go from having not enough money to not enough deals to feed your investors

– Some of Nhans regular success routines and triggers

– The Recommended step-by-step strategy for beginning property investors, and what to avoid!

http://www.greenmint.com.au

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Full Transcript

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West Interviews Nhan

Speakers:
West: West Loh
Nhan: Nhan

West: Welcome folks! My name’s West. I want to thank you for joining us on this call. Today, I’ve got a very special guest, a good friend of mine actually. We’ve gone back through many years and I’ve seen him grow exponentially in the last five or six years. And it’s an absolute pleasure to have him on the call today. His name’s Mr. Nhan Nguyen and he’s currently controlling, I believe, around $20 million worth of property, including house and land packages, land subdivisions, units and townhouses. But I’ll let Nhan himself give us a bit of a spiel on his background. So first let me welcome you, Nhan. Welcome to the call.

Nhan: Thanks West.

West: I appreciate you being here. Why don’t you give us a little bit of a background about maybe how you started your journey into property?

Nhan: Yes, sure. Firstly, West, thanks for having me on this call. I enjoy the privilege of sharing he knowledge that I’ve had. Mind you, there’ll be several experiences about positive and negative and a lot of people supporting me along the way. I’m twenty seven, turning twenty eight. And I’ve been with property game for about six years and haven’t been able to get where I am today without help from a lot of people. I started when I was twenty one. And one of the reasons, you know, I nearly dropped out of Uni is I was out looking for deals learning how to do it. One day before an exam and I had a Chemistry test. But it was funny, I think I got a 2.

West: For the listeners out there, it’s a scale of 1 to 7.

Nhan: Yeah. And 3 is passing. And 4 is passing. And 2 is a fail. I was lucky that I got the grade earlier in my degree to pass my Bachelor degree of Science. I did have a Bachelor in Science but I didn’t use it. Once I finished my uni degree, I went straight into the workforce and worked for a couple of property investment companies. And Robert Kiyosaki, whose name you may recognize said, “Don’t work for money; make money for you.” So the first three years of my career, I worked for property investment companies and learned how to do the deals. And after three years of working on the job and learning how to do it, I left there and did my own thing. But in December 2003, I was doing joint ventures, about $2 million in joint ventures with a partner who put up all the money and all the debt. Yeah, so that’s when I decided to leave work. But as a start, my first properties were about $50,000-$55,000 in a suburb called Goodna, which is about 25 k out from Brisbane towards the West. And the second deal I did, I bought a house $45,000. And the third deal was about $57,000.

West: Wow. So you started small and just grew from there.

Nhan: Yeah, that’s right. And after a few years of practicing, I sold those properties. And instead of making $100,000 per property, I was able to make $10,000-$20,000 all up, because I was filled with experiences and mistakes and, yeah, a little bit of money. But I think the learnings were much more valuable than the money.

West: For sure. I’d like to touch on all those little things that you brought up as we go throughout the chat today. But why don’t you tell us what got you interested in property in the first place, Nhan? And what sort of gave you that push in that direction? Because I understand that you also looked at shares and you looked at a few other different investment opportunities. Property caught your eye. Why is that?

Nhan: I think it wasn’t so much that property caught my eye. I was reading the Kiyosaki books—as everybody does when they start out. And I tried everything. I tried network marketing. I tried all these schemes in terms of put money on that lot; lost money on that. I put $5,000 to $10,000 into offshore investments; lost money on that. I tried share trading and I found it a bit boring. I listened to a Dolf De Roos tape. I think he was in one of Robert Kiyosaki’s game’s tapesets in Cashflow 101. If you guys get the chance to play that game, it talks about properties and trading shares. And in terms of property, how you’ve got leverage, you can add value and also you can buy undervalue. I listened to some tapes, John Burley, and he talks about how to buy property with no money down. And it’s good because I didn’t have enough money.

West: Now how did you…you said before that you got your first couple of deals down with none of your own money. That’s amazing—first thing—congratulations. But how did you approach that? I mean most people think that they first need to save and save and save until they get enough before they get their hands wet. How did you find someone?

Nhan: First thing, I did a lot of ‘no-money down’ deals. On the first few, I had actually did put about $4,000-up to a $55,000 house. I had $4,000 in the bank and I used $7,000 of my own money spent available at that time. I borrowed as much as I can, including the $4,000 of my own money.

The second deal, the $45,000 deal, my parents lent me $9,000 for the 20% deposit.

And the third one, that’s when I started to ramp up because I literally have run out of money and my parents have run out of money to lend me. And John Burley talks about doing JVs, joint ventures where the other partner puts up all the cash…

West: Right. So how did you go find people?

Nhan: So literally I put together a business plan. What we buy the property for, what we ‘d onsell the property for, how much we’d rent it out at. And I presented. I just went around and talked to investors. Basically, we did make a list and ring the list and see if they’re interested in buying property and doing deals. And after a while there was a guy his name was Simon. And he said, “Yup. I’ll do it. I’ve got a good income.” I think he ended up putting maybe $3,000-$5,000 cash down, borrowed the rest of the money from ANZ, and off we went. It was more of the confidence and the willingness to try something else,and be willing to be rejected. I think that was a big deal rather than finding investors. Right now there are too many investors but not enough deals. But it never seems to be an issue anymore.

West: For sure. And the amazing thing is all this information that you’re referring to is available freely to everyone, isn’t it? But only very few people knuckle down and actually follow the advice.

Nhan: Yeah, that’s right. Yeah. What you’re saying is in the book shops. It’s on the internet, on CDs. You can go to seminars, they talk about it all the time. But actually, not many people do the work.

West: So what’s the difference with you, Nhan? And I noticed it not only in your property investing, I’ve noticed it in almost everything that you do. I mean we play golf together. We’ve played Cashflow together. We’ve played a whole arrangement of things. We’ve done lots of stuff together. And one thing I noticed is that when you hear something or you learn and you distinction, you immediately put it into place. You don’t really care what happens. Additionally, it’s all about learning for you and getting that feedback immediately so you can get over those initial humps. How did you develop such a—sort of an—action-focused attitude?

Nhan: I it’s just a lot of impatience.

West: So the key to success is impatience.

Nhan: I know what I want and I just chase it. I always believe that I can get it; I might not get it now. And I’ve always looked at desire, thinking about Think Rich book, with desire being one of the keys that you need. I think that’s very much what I’ve got built in with me and it’s just going and believing that I can do it, I can have it. If other people can do it, so can I.

West: Was there a time when you had self-doubts or you just weren’t sure what was going to happen with an event or deal you were doing or you just sort of…there were things that started popping up in your head that you question them? Most people would give into but you’ve managed to overcome. Have you ever been through a stage where you’ve just had serious doubt and serious self-limitations?

Nhan: Yeah, definitely. Definitely staring on your teenage years or especially when you’ve gone through adolescence and growing up and trying to concern and reassure yourself of who you are. At one stage, my identity was that I was going to be a doctor and that was going to please my parents. And then the identity shifted from being a doctor into being a property developer or property entrepreneur. There was a lot going through my mind at the time. And especially now that I run my own business. We’ve got a lot of projects on the go and sometimes when things aren’t going right, doubt does go through your head but you’ve got to stick to your guns.

I think they always talk about never, never give up. And that there is only one option: to never give up. There is an option to fail but there’s no other option to give up because you’ve got to keep playing even if you’re losing.

Awhile back I was doing network marketing and I was part of the Amway corporation. And I was doing that for eighteen months. And I know a lot of people have made lots of money on it—network marketing. As for me, I wasn’t making money at the time and I just go and make those phone calls when I didn’t want to make those phone calls because I had a vision in my mind. I’ve always got a goal. When you’re chasing something, you keep chasing it and that’s what gives you that willpower. You’ve got to develop your own willpower. And after a while become so strong that you can’t help but chase your goal. It becomes a habit.

West: For sure. So for you it’s all about seeing the vision and seeing the end result. And that vision is enough to inspire and motivate you on a day to day basis even when you feel like not doing it.

Nhan: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And sometimes I feel like doing it, other days I don’t. And that’s the thing…you’ve got to overcome how you feel because all of these are emotions. I’ve got investors I’m accountable to. I’ve got banks I’m accountable to. There is no option to not fulfill those obligations. I draw my own lines and those are the paths I have to follow,when I write down a to-do list, all there is is to do my list. Stop procrastinating because that’s what makes it hard.

West: For sure. Let’s take a step back, Nhan. I want to talk about your jump from—you know how you said before you were working in property investment companies, that the step there to actually becoming a full-time investor and taking on the risk and all that stuff that comes with becoming an investor, you put a lot of things on the line to do that. There are some emotional blockages. A lot of people listening on this call may be thinking of doing something like that but they just can’t overcome that self-fear and doubt. So it’s kind of a different limitation that I was talking about before. How have you gone about breaking through your own self-doubt about taking that leap in order to exponentially increase your income and put yourself on the line?

Nhan: I think one of the key of me exponentially growing with the support that you mentioned before which is Landmark, that causes the Landmark forums and they have a lot of programs which deal…they don’t deal with gradual and slow improvement but they talk about instant results over a short period of time. And their technology is so advanced and so brilliant that sometimes you just can’t see it. And that’s what they do—they look at your blind spots. I’ve applied their technology for about two or three years now and I encourage anyone to go LandmarkEducation.com to have a look at their courses.

But my point is that starting with that course, I used that course to, first, to inspire me with confidence. And then secondly, I didn’t leave my job until I had a firm foundation in place. Robert Allan, who has a book called Property with No Money Down (Nothing Down), and he says, “Make sure that you have at least six to twelve months of funds behind you after you leave your job so that you can securely start your business and acquisitions and yadda yadda yadda.” I didn’t look at leaving my job until I secured a handful of properties and also have some cash behind me. And once I had a couple of properties that were in the pipeline with joint ventures, then I quit my job. And in that time frame, opportunities came up, and yeah, I had to learn how to sustain myself and learn how to swim so I didn’t drown.

West: For sure. Because you’re pretty much burning your bridges—your safety bridges—aren’t you? Once you jump into it.

Nhan: That’s right. And the worst case scenario was I’m going to go back and get a job earning $20-$30 an hour. So that would be my worst case scenario. And that’s the thing too. I’ve known people who left their job to do the property thing and done it for six to twelve months but they just don’t have the discipline to go look for deals. I’ve known a mate who worked at a bank or something, didn’t have the discipline to look at deals and six months later they’re back at the bank again working. But there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s being willing to take a leap of faith, trust in yourself and having the discipline to ongoingly on a day to day basis look for deals.

West: For sure. I’ve spent some time with you, Nhan, and discipline is something that definitely I was very impressed with. Do you have a secret formula when it comes to discipline, Nhan? Is there a secret thought or a routine or some sort of anchor or is it just comes as a resulp of all the things you’ve talked about before?

Nhan: [15:43] I think that one of the key patterns I use is, one, I look at the paper or CD in the morning on the way to work. And it doesn’t have to be a complete CD, it could be just fifteen minutes of time to the office. Secondly I have a goal card which is a reminder for me, of how much income I want to make per annum and by when. Previously, I wrote number down. But now, these days, all that I use is a blank piece of cardboard and a rubber band through my sun visor, something that’s weird that’s in my face. It triggers me to say that I’m out of money, right? I had a goal card, I write the number and I lost it. So all it is is just a trigger or a reminder.

So one is tapes.
Two is triggers for my goals—have my goals in front of me.
Three is I go to seminars.
And four, I read books.

Those are the ways that I condition myself. And the other thing is I use my diary to write down the six areas that I need to work on for the day. So it might be this project, that project or this property or that property. And all I need to do is to keep taking actions on a particular project. Then that project will move forward whether I like it or not.

West: Yeah. One of the other things that I’d like to point out is that you got yourself an office. I know for a lot of you work from home; you have a home office. And I’ve heard from other people as well that it is a powerful shift when you actually go to work to work, so to speak, rather than having when you’re at home—and let’s say for people listening you’ve got a home-based office; and I know I’m guilty of this as well ‘coz I do right now—but sometimes you’re not sure when you’re working and when you’re playing. And you’re not sure when you’re actually on task and you’re doing something for personal gain. Has that made a difference in getting you more effective?

Nhan: I don’t think at the beginning I needed it. But I’ve been at the point where I’m waging money from investors $50,000, $100,000 at a time and doing $5 million dollar projects. And it’s wonderful from a credibility point of view of people looking at you, but also for yourself, you know, this is real: it’s not a game anymore in a way that you deal with other people’s money.

I’ve always resisted having an office because it means spending money. But yeah, I’m at the point where I can’t scrimp and save anymore. It’s for real. I don’t mind having a home office at all. If I could I would. I’ve just got staff and my wife doesn’t have any liking to staff prancing around our kitchen or the bedroom; it just doesn’t work.

But the other key thing is that I leave work at home; I’ve got work at work and home at home.

West: Yes. That’s powerful.

Nhan: That’s another thing that I can switch off. I find that’s very important for me. Otherwise as you probably know when we’re working at the home office, you wake up at 7, start checking the emails, go to bed at 11. That’s when you shut your computer down then you come home and leave the office.

West: So it sounds like you’re actually getting some time to relax these days, Nhan.

Nhan: Oh mate! I play golf. I went to the driving range yesterday. I went to the driving range on Saturday. Yeah, mate, it’s good. I’m proud of it. I really enjoy it. I do a bit of yoga, acupuncture as well. I’m just grabbing the bull.

West: Fantastic! You were telling me before you were also getting some squash each week which I’m very impressed to hear.

Nhan: Once or twice a week. It’s just good to keep up my fitness

West: It is. It is. I mean, investing in any discipline can be stressful, especially in property with the deadlines and being accountable. It can get your blood pressure up, can’t it Nhan?

Nhan: Yeah. Absolutely, mate. I always believe that for us its the long run. In the world of business, they’re competitive. And people, you know, and I like to be able to keep my endurance up, my fitness up that much because it’s not a short term game, it’s my life so then it become a part of your lifestyle.

West: Absolutely. Absolutely. Now I wanted to ask you really quickly because I know you spent some time with people—going back to Landmark, you’ve been a coach on some of Landmark’s programs—what are some of the major stumbling blocks that you see in other people have in terms of money or finances, if we could narrow it down to there? And are there any strategies that you are able to share with us that have really worked for them?

Nhan: Yup. I think one of the biggest stumbling blocks in people, probably more so on the later generations—the Y generation, they call it—is they want instant results. People want results now. They want to be able to read a book and go out and make a million bucks. Or they’ll listen to a tape and they want to be able to go out and they want to build their block of units after having one conversation. And I think it’s the false expectations that they can have everything now. They can have everything; it’s just delayed gratification, delayed results and time lag. So I think patience is a big issue that I’ve had to learn and it’s taken me years of banging my head against the brick wall chasing opportunities when there really aren’t opportunities there.

And all I mean by that is my skill level has a certain level. And as it grows the field gets better. But people at a skill level, at zero or negative 5, want to go out and do a $10miliion dollar deal and expect people to believe it.

West: Sure. And the risk is really high if you haven’t got any experience, is it?

Nhan: It is. It is. And also, people that don’t have the right people around them because people around them might not be trustworthy or they might not be competent. So I think—like you said before—was that one of the common errors that people make or that their blockage is impatience.

West: But you’re at a stage now where you can tap yourself on the back and say, “Hey listen, Nhan. You’re aware of it.” You’re aware of it happening when it’s happening.

Nhan: It is. And I use a lot of tools to keep myself aware of that. And one of the tools I use is golf. It’s an indicator. And I always believe that games or books or boardgames are a reflection of who you are.

West: Yeah, I truly do as well.

Nhan: I use golf a lot to measure how I’m doing in life. If I’m impatient, if I’m angry, if I’m resentful, if I’m throwing my golf clubs…maybe that’s how I feel in my life at the moment. But that’s why I like to use it. And also, it shows how other people are as well, like if they cheat or lie or whatever on the golf course, maybe they’ll be doing that for real as well.

West: I read once i a Japanese-related publication that the Japanese, in big business deals, they never ever go into business with someone without having first have a round of golf with them because it is such a high accuracy in terms of how they would act in a deal and in the professional instance. So you’re dead right there. And I actually have noticed it personally as well.

So as I was saying before, when I noticed you play golf for the first time I believe I was there with you. And you just sort of dove in head first even though you had no idea what was going on. No offense to you, Nhan.

Nhan: No, no. But that’s me in life.

West: That’s exactly right. And it just reflects in how you approach your fitness as well when I see you training in mornings and how you’ve approached you property investing as well.

Nhan: And I must say I’m not perfect and I don’t think anybody is. But let’s give it a go. Let’s have fun. Life’s too short to sit around waiting, watching other people make money.

West: It is. So let’s move on to your property now. Are you able to tell us the kind of strategies you’re into these days…for the people who are interested?

Nhan: There are a couple of kind of strategies I’m working on at the moment. Previously, we’re doing renovations, minor renovations, touch-ups, things like that. At the moment, we’re doing unit and townhouse developments where we might buy a block of land which has a zoning to it, we get the materials and a change of use, and that would give us approval to build townhouses or units or land subdivisions.

At the moment,we’re buying a block of land in a suburb called Hawthorne, which is about 4km from the Brisbane CBD. And we’ve got approval now to build 4 townhouses. That block was a little bit under 700,000 to build it, to roughly 800,000-900,000 which is about 1.6 with holding costs. And the market value is at 2.4. It is a two year process where it takes a bit of time, bit of skill and knowing the market and knowing what you can build and what you can’t build.

West: So you’ve got some investors ready to put in or they’ve already put in and you’ve presented them with the plan and it’s on the process right now?

Nhan: Absolutely. Yeah, that’s right. We found the opportunity roughly April 2006—right now we’re October 2007—and back then, we started a contract for roughly six to eight months. And that was one of the keys: we bought it for under 700,000 and the evaluation came in over 800,000. The banks lent us all of the money to buy the block of land.

West: So you really do make money when you buy.

Nhan: Yeah. So you make your money when you buy in that…

West: Was that a case of you negotiating hard or was it a case of the seller not knowing the value of their property?

Nhan: I think a bit of both. I think at that point in time—in 2006, early on—the market was quite flat. And the developer, he was doing a subdivision deal, he cut off his 800 square meter block off 1600 square meters and he wanted to pre-sell. All developers, just like myself, we do want some surety that we will get paid once the project is cut off. So all we did was we sold a block off just to get some cash in down the track. I think he knew the value and that’s what he thought it was. But we could see a bigger opportunity.

West: Yeah. You could see more potential than he could.

Nhan: That’s right. Yeah. We saw potential. And that’s really what it is: it’s about being seeing the potential when somebody can’t.

West: Absolutely. I mean, even this guy, he’s in the market, he’s dealing with developers everyday almost as well and yet you could still see what he couldn’t.

Nhan: That’s right. That’s right.
The other opportunities we’re working on at the moment is land Subdivision or using the instrument called the put and call option.

West: On property? Wow.

Nhan: Yeah, that’s right.

West: I’ve heard about it in the shares but you can do it on property as well?

Nhan: Absolutely. And I’m not going to go into details but other than to say that’s it’s like an unconditional contract where we basically say, yup, we agree to buy property at this price and if we find someone else to buy it at a higher price, we keep the difference. So roughly, we bought 20 blocks of land at roughly $250,000 each. And when we sell those blocks of land, like say, we go $270,000 then the $20,000 in between, that’s the settlement we keep.

So it’s a very sophisticated instrument that I wouldn’t recommend people use because it’s kind of like an unconditional contract.

West: Unless you know what you’re doing.

Nhan: That’s right. That’s right. And I’ve known about it for three or four years in a previous company that I worked at and they’ve used it and they taught me how to use it. But it’s not as straightforward as a put and call in shares. I probably suggest for people who are looking at options is to do what we call straight call options, where they put a deposit down and have a right to buy property at a certain price.

At the moment, we’ve got 20 blocks that we have under the put and call option. And we’re only selling them for considerably more than what we paid for them. So the bonus there is, one, all we do is to pay a 5% deposit. We don’t have to come up with the finance to settle on the property to own it, to control it. We can just onsell it as a paper transaction to someone else and that’s when they own the property, they get the finance, and we keep the difference at the sale point.

West: Very nice.

Nhan: So those are the two main projects we’re working on. I do have blocks of units that I bought previously in Mackay that we’re strata-titling and possibly onselling those, and also Tarm street. Do you remember those blocks selling over at Wavell Heights?

West: Yes, I do.

Nhan: For a while you and I were driving around Wavell Heights looking for property?

West: Yes, yes.

Nhan: Yeah, we sold that at auction.

West: Oh, fantastic. Did you get a good price?

Nhan: Yeah, we did. We got mid 5’s. Yeah. And we were happy with the unconditional contract that you get at an auction. And the guy hadn’t seen it before, he just rocked up and bought it. We need more of those guys!

Yeah. That gives you an indication of the way the burgeoning market is at the moment. Lots of people are paying premium prices.

West: So you were saying before that, it’s a pretty hot market. So how does an investor like your self deal with a period like this? Because, I mean, property goes in cycles. It goes up and down, doesn’t it? What do you do when it’s in the stage as it is now?

Nhan: Well previously, we usually, let’s say, take advantage of it whenever I can. And what I mean by that is previously we built some blocks of land and I had a sign on the block. And people would call incessantly on this phone number. And I’d have a call everyday off this sign. And it was in a cul de sac,tucked away estate. And you have to look and drive around to look at the sign to get the phone number. And I got calls everyday and it was an indicator for me that the land market is hot. Because the land market was hot, and land opportunities that came up, I snapped up as fast as I could and that’s how we came up with this 20-lot subdivisions of land being in demand and people wanting it. That’s why I supplied them with it.

Having said that, at the moment the market is quite tough to find deals. We just got a deal with our egos not being frustrated or impatient. And we are looking inter state at opportunities, and also opportunities that do not involve construction because construction does take time to build and that’s where you’re holding costs rise. So we’re looking at interstate options whether it’s land subdivisions or buying blocks of units, either up north, Townsville, Mackay or Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney. So we just have to spread our wings. Otherwise, we just get tired sitting and waiting for the tide to turn.

West: It’ll be a great turn when it does that, won’t it?

Nhan: Yeah, that would be good. So that’s what we’re doing. We’re cashing up and getting rid of any of the stuff that we don’t really want, any of our ‘dogs’—they call it—and any of that properties that are negatively geared that we can’t hold anymore. So we’re just selling them, cashing up and sitting on our money for awhile.

West: I know Jim Rohn talks about the seasons of life, and the summers and the winters. And you’re basically, obviously, planning for the bountiful summer whilst it’s winter, so we call it. But moving on to the next five to ten years for you, Nhan, are you looking at changing your deals in terms of strategies or looking at structuring your deals any differently or is it just going to be pretty much similar stuff that but with a couple more zeroes on the end of them?

Nhan: One of the things I’ve always wanted was to own a high-rise building, a 10-storey commercial building.

West: Donald Trump style.

Nhan: Yeah, that’s it mate, Donald Trump style. We are looking at expanding into different types of property, commercial property and industrial property…but definitely something that I have an interest in. But at the moment, that market is hot as well. So we’re just cashing up and getting ready for those opportunities. Yeah, we’re definitely moving into land acquisition soon, the subdivisions and the unit townhouses. I think it’s not so much changing our portfolio. It’s more diversifying our portfolio and spreading our wings a bit more…

West: Are they also more involved in more complex strategies as well?

Nhan: What’s that?

West: When you’re moving into getting 10-storey buildings. Or is it the same skills, just big in numbers?

Nhan: Yeah. It seems to be the same skills, bigger numbers.

What I’ve got in mind is basically bigger land subdivisions up to 100 blocks, townhouses and units but not doing the high-rise construction. You know, the high-rise construction tends to be quite risky but we propose the 2 to 3-storey at a max.

West: Wow. Very nice. I understand also, Nhan, that since you’ve taken these leaves a lot of people have been asking you how you’ve done it and how you’ve changed your thinking, how you’ve grown as a person. And I understand you also conduct some seminars on teaching people. How has it affected you to be able to give back to people in terms of—I also know you used to run Cashflow games days and you put on property days where you come along with people and you show them how you buy property. And I noticed that as a trait of all the successful people that I’ve interviewed so far, in being able just to give back and not expecting a lot in return, but just giving back in itself seems a very intrinsic and satisfying event.

My question is how have you been able to give some time of your self selflessly and what do you get out of helping people without expecting anything in return?

Nhan: I think with the time thing, I know that a big issue—even if morning I’m working on a seminar, I’ve got a two-day workshop this coming weekend and people paying 300 bucks to attend…I don’t know, I feel intrinsic in the way that I do stuff a lot of information from a lot of people. And I do absorb that information and it becomes like a funnel. You can’t just keep taking it in because it’s got to come out somewhere.

West: So you need an outlet to basically spray all this information?

Nhan: I think that it is an outlet. And education, given back, is an outlet as well. And I always find that when I share my information, it always comes back ten-fold. People are wanting to learn and I just know that I wanted to learn from people and here’s an opportunity to give back. I think that after a while I’ve been used to chasing the buck and chasing the money and after a while it doesn’t just become about the money anymore, it becomes about who your friends and who hang you around, what kind of deals you get to do. And the people who want to learn, I’m willing to teach them if they’re willing to do the work because the last thing I want to do is for people to go and make the same mistakes I have. I’ve got the money and convenience and I’ve made money on deals, but it doesn’t mean that they have to go through that same thing. I suppose it’s a generosity thing. I enjoy spending time with people and watching them grow.

West: Absolutely. I mean because time is very valuable especially for guys doing big deals. And to give of their time is very much a generous gesture. And I’m assuming when you do help someone, the last thing you want to see is you invest all this time on someone and they don’t do anything with it. They just keep doing what they’re doing.

Nhan: Yeah, that’s true. And I think it’s important that I’m happy to spend time with people who adhere to that—doing something. Invest in soil that wants to grow rather than people who just want to criticize and analyze what you have to say. I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in people who want to give it a go, who want to spend some time and take a risk and put their lives in their own hands probably, rather than just criticize and look at the negative of things.

West: How do you define success, Nhan?

Nhan: Definitely a great question. I would say: is a person who has the willpower to chase their dream, chase their dreams on an ongoing regular basis. Some people don’t have the opportunities to pursue their goals on a daily basis because they might be in a job and they can’t pursue their career as a painter or…

West: Absolutely. Or maybe they’re in a country that just doesn’t have the infrastructure or even the opportunities.

Nhan: Or they might have a disease or they might be in a hospital or whatever. I think it’s having the willingness or the willpower to regularly chase their dreams and be able to share your dreams with people in your life rather than just chase that Porsche and then drive it around and think you’re better than everybody else. I want a Porsche but it’s just how you reflect your attitude towards people and towards life. Some people I know driving Porsches think they’re better than everybody else and I don’t think that’s success at all.

West: Absolutely. Couldn’t agree more.

Nhan: I think success is getting up when you get hit for a six as well, chasing your dreams in any circumstance whether things are going your way or not, or whether the market’s up or down, or you’ve had a biff with ASIC or the ATO or investors. And there are lots of circumstances out there…

West: Because as you grow, that’s kind of bound to happen, isn’t it? It’s inevitable that these guys are going to be coming knocking on your door one day.

Nhan: Yeah, that’s it. But then the people are going to take you to court, they’re going to sue you. It’s inevitable when you’re out there exposed, people want to have a shot at you. They want part of your money, they want to see what kind of person you are.

West: For sure. Now if someone—we’ve got some listeners on the call today, Nhan, who’ve been inspired by your call and they want to thank you and they want to learn more about you and they want to learn more about what you’re doing, the strategies that you’re using—is there anyway that they can contact you or find out more about you?

Nhan: At www.greenmint.com.au.

West: But you’re not selling chocolates Nhan, are you?

Nhan: No, of course not mate. Maybe I should. People ask me about where the word ‘Greenmint’ comes from. Everything has a double meaning behind: Green as in the greenback; and the ‘mint’ is also the mint leaf which is fresh and the mint as in the mint place where the money is made. So that’s where Greenmint comes from. And yeah, we’re on the net.

I’m not really looking for investors at the moment. But there are always opportunities for people who want to have conversations about doing deals and maybe JVs or putting opportunities on the table, they can definitely look into…

West: Cool. So they can contact you through that site?

Nhan: Yup, through that website. It’s got phone numbers and emails and everything like that.

West: Fantastic. And is there like information on your seminars or anything or is that like a product thing?

Nhan: Well, on that website, if you want to contact us then we can inform you of what’s coming up in the future. I haven’t really put up regular programs or seminars. It’s more about investing for this year and probably have maybe one or two next year depending on how it goes.

West: Well Nhan, I want to thank you for your time. It’s been a true honor to catch up and touch base with you again. I’m always impressed every time I speak to you with what you have to offer and what you have to share. So in behalf of everyone listening on the call today and myself, Andrew Grant, thank you so much for your time, Nhan.

Nhan: Thank you West!