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Overcoming Fear & Treating Business as a Relationship, Not War with Alan Solon of EcoVest Capital, Inc
Episode Summary
Today Ted speaks with his longtime friend of 20 years Alan Solon. He refers to Alan as a “financial genius” who has owned several companies, including an ad agency and land conservation firm, alongside being a real estate developer.
Episode Notes
Alan kicks off the conversation dissecting the universal emotion, fear. To any who desire success, he asks, “When you feel fear, do you acknowledge it and do the work anyway, or does it give you the excuse to back away?”
He then shares the importance of giving value as opposed to selling. He says that the former focuses on doing something for another person’s benefit, while the latter focuses on doing something for your own benefit.
Having grown up poor, Alan reflects on his massive wins in business. “I’m considered ‘entrepreneurial’,” he says, “but it’s never been by design. It’s more by desperation.” His upbringing, coupled with his unstoppable drive and incredibly perceptive nature, directly contributed to the success he enjoys today both in his personal and professional life.
And in spite of this success, Alan always strives to continuously grow and improve. In his own words, “When you work hard and do good, the world just affords you the ability to work hard and do better.”
Topics Discussed:
- [04:11] Why we fear the unknown
- [12:56] Selling versus giving value
- [16:10] Benefit-Driven Brand Marketing 101
- [21:21] Lessons learned from meeting A-list celebrities
- [26:20] Finding massive success despite growing up poor
- [32:19] Incorporating sustainable practices in the real estate industry
- [38:14] How the country can “survive social media”
- [40:38] Keys to becoming a great mentor
- [44:10] What Alan is most excited (and not excited) about for the next few years
- [48:36] Striving to always grow and improve
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Key Quotes from Episode:
- Fear is natural. We all suffer from it—fear of failure, fear of success. Regardless of what you think the fear is, fear manifests itself in people in many different ways. The difference is, when you feel fear, do you acknowledge it and do the work anyway, or does it give you the excuse to back away?
- In my experience, “selling” is a bad word. In my experience, selling is something you do to someone because you’re out for your best interests. On the other hand, creating value is something you do for someone because you’re out for their best interests.
- If you care about people, at the end of the day, the decisions you make reflect that.
- Social media has destroyed the dining room table.
- When you work hard and do good, the world just affords you the ability to work hard and do better.