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Franchise Partners

How two career-focused individuals escaped the daily grind of corporate life

and used their skills to create a financial independence model with property at its core – and PPP as their selected partner

Steve Hogan and Linda Popplewell

Beaconsfield, May 2007 – PPP Franchise Partners

After 25 successful years climbing the corporate ladder and developing traditional, large-company careers, Steve and Linda were becoming increasingly frustrated with their working environment.

While they enjoyed the income and lifestyle that they had achieved, it seemed to be scant reward for the daily grind of interminable meetings, office politics and extensive business travel.

During their careers they had developed a range of business skills, and they increasingly felt that this intellectual capital would be better spent working for themselves rather than for corporate shareholders and banks.

The companies they had worked for might have been classed as retailers or branded manufacturing, but the reality was that most of the money in the business was tied up in property and pension funds. This was true of all the businesses they had worked for.

The day-to-day activity of the business was aimed at paying staff wages, paying for the property portfolio, filling up the pension fund and – if anything was left – paying the shareholders and the taxman.

The question therefore was whether they could use their business skills to develop their own property portfolios and achieve financial independence without having all the complex problems of running a traditional style of business to pay for it.

Having looked at a number of different business models, they settled on Platinum Property Partners as the best match for themselves.

Their three key reasons for this were:

Trust

They were taking a large gamble. In such circumstances it is entirely reasonable to wonder whether the person you are talking to is a complete charlatan – a slick conman. In looking at PPP they were struck by the fact that people who had gone through the process were a) successful, b) happy to share their experiences with newcomers to the business, and c) part of an active support network where people, however experienced they might be, could always learn from someone else. The presence of so many people from diverse walks of life gave them confidence that this was not a one-man-band operation which would just disappear once they had handed over the money.

Cost

Free education is usually painful. Be prepared to pay for quality advice and support: it will pay dividends. When they first looked at the cost of the programme it appeared to be expensive, and they wondered whether it would represent good value. However, they then did some rough calculations on the number of properties they would need to invest in to deliver financial independence and what the risks were to their capital in making such a commitment. Compared to the size of their property portfolio and associated risks, the cost of education and ongoing support was very small and therefore actually represented very good value.

Knowledge

As property investor novices, it was difficult for them to fully appreciate the diversity and depth of knowledge of someone like Steve Bolton. However, they were very impressed by Steve's ability to explain a variety of investment strategies and opportunities in a way they could understand and that made financial sense based on the basis of their own business experience. Having discussed the business model and their expectations and goals with Steve, they agreed to join the franchise.

Once they had joined the scheme there was a three-week period when they had to prepare for the mentoring. The material provided by Steve's team ensured that there was a great deal of pre-mentorship work to do, which meant that evenings and weekends were used in preparation.

This included testing areas in which to invest and looking at both the properties available and the tenant demand. They also used the time to make contact with the range of professional advisors that PPP have put in place to support the process – solicitors, mortgage brokers, surveyors, and other PPP property investors with relevant experience. This work proved invaluable during the mentoring – you get out what you put in.

By the time Steve and one of his colleagues arrived for their first mentoring session, they had a range of locations and properties to view.

By the end of the two days, they were sale agreed on two properties, and they agreed the third property the next day. Surveys were booked the same day and instructions issued to the various professional advisors.

They learned quickly that the pace of progress and learning with PPP is very fast – not just relating to tenanted property, but an array of property investment options. Whilst it is still early days for them, they are very excited with their progress so far and their confidence in the business model continues to grow.

They are eagerly looking forward to getting their first three properties prepared and full of paying customers, and then investing in other areas such as international property.

Neil Mansell
Chelmsford, Sept 2005 – Mentoring client who upgraded to become a Franchise Partner

"Thirteen months after completing on my first ever investment property I was able to leave my job in the city, as the rental income from my HMO properties had reached the same level as my full-time salary. Since then I have gone on to expand my portfolio and now have the freedom to be able to spend time doing what I want, when I want and with whom I want! I now choose to be involved in property full-time, employ my own Property and Lettings Manager, and have a level of income that I would never have achieved in my previous job. When you add equity and capital growth on top, the figures really do stack up nicely!"

Alessandro Ferretti
Stratford-on-Avon, April 2006 – Mentoring client who upgraded to become a Franchise Partner

"You started off by saving me £30,000 on a high-risk, low-return-off-plan investment and it has just got better since then. Within two weeks of the end of your programme, I was sale agreed on two properties that are worth more than £400,000 combined, and within six months I had bought five houses worth more than £1 million. I now have an income from property in excess of £40,000 per annum. This is very high praise from a perfectionist! Thank you."

Kim and Steve
Cardiff, June 2007 – Franchise Partners

"Our journey began over two years ago after more than 20 years spent within a corporate environment, working to climb further and further up the 'ladder of success'. We decided that although we were earning good salaries, had a nice house, bought new cars and were able to take exotic long-haul holidays, this came at a large personal cost. Long working hours, excessive travelling, meeting after meeting, frustration, lack of time for those you care about and the inevitable 'same old, same old'. We began to question the balance of the 'hassle-to-reward ratio' and whether this was how we wanted to live our lives for the next 20 years.

We had gained many business skills within our working careers which were being put to good effect for the 'big corporates', but the energy and effort required was beginning to drain our personal reserves. The time came when we decided to walk away to rethink our lives. We wanted to enjoy time together and with those that we care about, recharge our batteries and then work out a way that we could achieve financial independence without the confines of a large corporation.

So we took the plunge and walked away from our careers. The weight lifted from our shoulders was incredible, no Monday to Friday routine, no alarm, no having to cram everything in-to weekends – and no longer the monthly salary credit to our bank account! But this was all part of the adjustment to being able to rethink what is important in life, to be brave enough to take that one step back in order to take two steps forward.

Having taken time out to support family and friends, plus finishing off the renovation of our house, which we had previously been fitting in during weekends and holidays over a five year period, our batteries were now virtually recharged and we were ready to start looking at how we could achieve financial independence.

We tapped in to our business skills and looked at either buying an existing business which could be run from home or setting one up for ourselves. We researched, we put in offers, we attended courses designed for those setting up their own business, we read a number of books and continued to educate ourselves, as we knew this was key to our success in anything we were to do in the future.

We had always had an interest in property. We knew how much property had provided leverage for us to move up the housing ladder over the years. That said, we were not blinkered, as we had lost equity on one property in the early 1990s, but that loss also meant a more substantial gain on the next property we bought, which would have been out of our reach had the market not taken a downturn. We saw that in the longer term this should be a loss that we would benefit from.

We began our research and started to look abroad. One viewing trip completed we realised the gains that we were hoping to achieve were not in the country we were looking at. We were not going about this the right way, and maybe an international purchase was not the right fit for our current personal circumstances, so we continued our research closer to home.

Countless companies offer the chance of financial freedom based on property both in this country and abroad. We started attending exhibitions to learn what we could about these companies and what they had to offer: would anything fit what we were looking for?

At the Overseas Property Show we listened to a number of seminars, including one by Steve Bolton. Somehow Steve seemed different from all the others: what was it? I felt immediate trust. This was a weird feeling: trust in someone I had not met before? How could this be? My 20 years' business experience told me there was something about Steve that warranted further listening. He was selling a concept, as were all others completing seminars that day, but there seemed to be something different both about Steve and the concept that was being offered. It involved one-to-one mentoring and ongoing support, not a common concept within the property investment field. We needed to find out more.

Within his seminar Steve had recommended reading the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. We bought the book when we got home and both read it. Something just stirred inside: there was something that made sense here.

So we began our research: about PPP the company, the people who worked for it, the package that was being offered, its cost and how this compared to other business models and products on the market. At the time we were also being bombarded daily by competitors' e-mails and audio/video snippets that gave a little information but overall did not really provide anything. Compared to the competition, the cost of the PPP package initially seemed high, but we knew that you need to weigh up the cost of education. So what was being offered to us as part of the package? One-to-one mentoring, (living the process rather than just being told or reading about it), ongoing telephone and e-mail support from business partners, a team of professional advisors, and support from other investors.

As novices in this field, we knew we needed to invest in people who have the experience and a formula that would help us to build a portfolio while avoiding some of the pitfalls (which could potentially be expensive) that we as novice investors would inevitably encounter. The financial cost of what was on offer could be recouped by one good property purchase, which is essentially a small price to pay when you look at the portfolio size we were aiming for, together with the financial risk of trying to do this alone without the background knowledge. When it comes to education we always believe that you get what you pay for.

Having discussed our aims and goals at length with Steve, and listened to his explanations of the various investment options that could be taken to achieve these, everything made sound business sense, so we signed up to the franchise.

Steve gave us – without being asked – the contact details of some clients who had previously been mentored by PPP. He encouraged us to ring them, which we did, and the feedback from people at various stages of the investment process was immensely positive and encouraging. There were a number of people out there who were succeeding in this business concept, and who all wished they had started on this process years ago.

This is when the hard work started on our pre-mentoring research. Being determined to make this business work for us, we know from experience that you get out what you put in. We wanted to get up to speed as quickly as possible and gain the most we could from our mentoring days with Steve the following month, so we hit the road, hit the internet and found out as much as possible about the areas we were planning to invest in: good areas, bad areas, councils' planning strategies, property and rental prices, properties for sale that fitted the criteria, and tenant demand.

When Steve arrived for our mentoring, it was like the first day at school all over again. We knew that we had a lot to learn but we covered a lot of ground in the two days on a number of investment strategies and options. The pace of learning was very fast; we gained so much knowledge during that time – and instant credibility from a number of local estate agents – from the way that Steve projects himself, and from his property and business knowledge and ability to communicate with people. We put offers in on a number of properties and were sale agreed on one after the two days. We have not only learnt skills that we will continue to hone but have also gained a support network that we can tap in to as and when we need it. And above all, as with your first day at school, it was exciting, at times scary, but overall greatly enlightening and rewarding.

We are using the knowledge gained to search out further properties to purchase and are continuing to learn and grow on a daily basis.

Steve's strong belief in giving back is also shared among the rest of the team. The concept of achieving your own financial independence while showing appreciation as well as helping and supporting others in the process ensures a community of positive, like-minded people, all with their own goals but similar aims. The PPP mission, 'To inspire, mentor and support like-minded individuals to BE more, DO more, HAVE more and GIVE more in life', encompasses Steve and Nick's aim for their business.

We are now looking forward to the next stage in the process of getting our property refurbished and let. We are confident that the business model works and will work for us, and we look forward to continuing to work with Steve, Nick, all the Franchise Partners and members of the PPP team for many years to come."

Telephone: 0845 293 2877
Fax: 0870 757 3138