Tyron Hyde says the greatest successes and biggest learnings in property investing have come from the guidance of a quality mentor.
Ty is a successful investor, author, podcast host, and the CEO of one of Australia’s oldest and most well-known quantity surveying firms, Washington Brown.
On the Get Invested podcast, Ty and KnowHow’s Bushy Martin revealed their key learnings from their respective mentors, and the qualities to look out for.
A mentor who provides guidance in the early stages
New investors can avoid making costly mistakes by seeking a knowledgeable mentor when first entering the market.
“Finding a mentor who’s done it well and is doing what you intend to do, and then slipstreaming on their success by observing exactly what they do, when and how they do it and why, so that you can then grow your wings under them before you fly your own course, is likely going to make a massive difference to the size and pace of your results,” Bushy said.
“So avoid the common mistake of just reading and listening to everything and everyone, and then just jumping in and endeavouring to reinvent the wheel yourself, because you just don’t know what you don’t know, and you’ll end up making mistakes that you’re not even aware of until well after the event. And I’m a classic case of exactly that. When I first started investing, this gave me a bit of a false sense of confidence as I didn’t trust anyone and I thought I could actually do it all myself, because my theoretical research led me to believe that I knew what to do. But I didn’t really understand exactly how to do it, and in real terms, I actually only knew enough to be dangerous. Consequently, I made a lot of mistakes and learned some very expensive lessons in the early days.
“I started with all the properties and joint names and wondered why they would cost me so much to hold, until I met my mentor who opened my eyes to the very significant benefits of building investment properties instead of buying them, with the substantial benefits of building below market value, tenants in common ownership, stamp duty savings, reduced maintenance, and very significant tax depreciation benefits, helping to manufacture equity as well as turn negatively geared properties into affordable, self-sustaining cash. And this was all because I had the pleasure of meeting who was later to become my mentor, George Lucey, even though I didn’t even realise it at the time. And it’s funny how the right people come into your life at the right time if you’re actively putting yourself out there.”
A mentor who focuses on the ‘one percenters’
For Ty, the greatest transformation can come from mentors who address the minor details.
“The first thing I learnt is that Harry Triguboff (my mentor) is the ultimate 1% guy. There’s a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear, and it talks about a guy by the name of Dave Brailsford who became the British cycling coach, and he changed these little one percenters in the British cycling team. Things like getting doctors in to teach them how to wash their hands properly so that they didn’t get sore, or teach them how to use a neck pillow correctly. Apparently that 1% compounded and had this transformation, because the British cycling team ended up winning six Tour de Frances and they hadn’t won one before. Plus they won like 18 gold medals at the Olympics. So it’s all about the one percenters,” Tyron said.
A mentor who backs you in
It’s important to not only find a mentor who backs you, but gives you the confidence to back yourself.
“This is a one of my favourite quotes from Harry. He asked me, ‘do you want to know the secret to my success?’ And he said, ‘when times are bad, I buy land, because by the time I get development approval, times are good again’. Now that can be two to three years. And so what does that mean? That can be a metaphor for life, for business, but certainly for investing. And what it means is ignore the noise and back yourself. To someone like Harry, it’s not a case of whether he times the market or has time in the market. So what Harry does is he does both with his wealth. He times the market, and then he has time in the market. And if you can do that, my friends, you’ve found the holy grail,” Tyron said.
Listen to the full interview here.
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