Interviews and Reviews

Cole Borror Provides Insight Into What it Takes to Be A Successful Leader

Cole Borror is a real estate professional based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As the Managing Director at Perennial Development, Cole works alongside clients to provide a wide range of long-term wealth-building strategies. With a primary focus on off-market commercial real estate, Cole’s extensive professional experience allows him to secure optimal results. Cole enjoys fostering genuine business relationships and connecting with other like-minded professionals.

1. Why did you decide to create your own business?

For me, real estate always stuck out because it was the agnostic approach to entrepreneurship. It allowed me to focus more on developing myself, my character, and my leadership skills. Real estate just happened to be that widget.

I looked at finding experience in ecommerce, online marketing, drop shipping, real estate, trading, and a bunch of other things, and it was always hard for me to become passionate about any particular career path. I liked the scalability in ecommerce, but none of the products really caught my attention. That’s why I returned to real estate – it’s something that I know, and something that offers the scalability and the residual aspect of it all. It’s my approach to wealth building, and in the end I hope to create a legacy wealth infrastructure for my family, and a platform that aids in generating a massive impact on the future.

2. What do you love most about the industry you are in?

What I love most about real estate is that anyone can jump in and get started. The opportunities are seemingly endless, the scalability is there, and the entry point is there. The person pursuing the venture is the one who ultimately determines its success. It prioritizes character building, and you get to allow the results of your work to speak for themselves.

3. What does a typical day consist of for you?

My daily routine always starts the night before, because as Benjamin Franklin said: “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”. I go to bed at around 9pm, and wake up at 5am. From there, I immediately jump up, throw my gym clothes on, and head to the kitchen for a glass of water. I then meditate for anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. I usually get to the gym by 5:45AM, warm up, and work out from 6 to 7. After I work out, I stretch and then head to the sauna for about 20 minutes. Then I head back home, clean up, and cook breakfast. After that, I have another little morning routine which incorporates visualization, breath work, and a little more meditation.

From there, I handle some of the main to-dos that I can knock out quickly in the morning, and once I handle those, I have two deep work sessions of two hours each. During those, I prioritize my top three tasks for the day. Toward the end of the day, starting at around 5, I wind down and hang out with friends and family. Then I do it again the next day.

4. What keeps you motivated on a daily basis?

I believe that motivation is somewhat fleeting, and so, what keeps me going every single day is more about recognizing that I’m in a blessed situation and that I have the opportunity to pursue my dreams and build the life that I want. I still consider myself young, but I feel like I could have done a lot of things different. That’s just part of the process, though. I maintain an unwavering certainty that I’ll achieve my goals, and that it’s just a matter of understanding and being patient with the time it takes to get there.

5. How do you motivate others?

A passion of mine is psychology. I seek to understand peak performance, flow states, and what’s going on in the mind. I read about Navy Seals and how they train and how they operate at the highest level. I motivate others by leading by example. I focus on positive reinforcement and core values, but above all else, it is about leading by example.

6. How has your company grown from its early days to now?

There have been quite a few pivots. Originally, I wanted to be a real estate agent. I soon came to realize that I liked to be on the principle side – buying and selling those assets, and keeping the ones that made the most sense to me. From working as an agent, I quickly transitioned over to the investing side. I focused on buying distressed upmarket single family properties, then renovating them or selling them off to other investors. From there, I got my feet wet in smaller multi-family properties. I’ve been doing that for around two years, and I’ve really learned and grown in the space. We have a bunch of different creative ways to buy properties, whether the house is upside down, whether there’s a mortgage on the property or not. We can buy properties with no money down, out of foreclosure, all cash, and so on. We’ve really learned to maximize every opportunity to help the homeowner out of multiple situations that ultimately they wouldn’t be able to handle.

Today, we’re focusing on commercial, so we’re focused on residences with five units or above, and we’re looking to transition to single-tenant retail and industrial spaces. That’s where I believe we will stay and continue to scale. From there, I’d like to see us get into massive developments.

7. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I do a lot of reading. I gain knowledge about a lot of the people I look up to and respect through reading. And I reverse-engineer everything. It’s my prerogative to find resources and information on people that are where I want to be. I dissect what they’ve done to understand their motivations and the obstacles they’ve faced and overcome. That inspires me by showing me what’s possible.

8. Who has been a role model to you and why?

The first person who comes to my mind is my grandfather, who grew up very poor in Virginia. He is a virtuous and honorable man who worked hard for his entire life, and made it all the way to being President of a university. He grew up with multiple brothers and sisters, and started as a bagger in a grocery store. So, in watching how he carries himself, how he interacts with people, what he has accomplished, and his values, he was able to be my role model without having to directly teach me anything. He showed me the proper way to carry myself as a man.

9. How do you balance your personal and professional life?

This is a very big factor for me. Depending on who you ask, work life balance can be either a thing that exists, or a thing that doesn’t exist. Some of the more intense business coaches will tell you to put 110% into business, but I believe in the Navy Seals training, which says that slow is smooth and smooth is fast. In that sense, I believe in taking a more holistic approach. For me, that means taking it in four pieces – health, wealth, love, and wisdom.

Every day, I prioritize waking up early, getting to the gym, and just experimenting with different exercises to make my body better. I make sure that I eat the right things every day. I incorporate deep work sessions to make sure that I’m progressing toward my professional goals. I make sure that I stay in touch and remain close with loved ones, friends, and even business partners and colleagues. And the wisdom part is the insatiable desire to learn. I’m a lifelong student, and I incorporate reading books, newsletters, and things like that. Every single day, incorporating those 4 aspects into my life has been the best medicine for that work life balance.

10. What makes you a successful leader?

In two words, vision and resourcefulness. I feel like I have an uncanny ability to hold on to a vision and maintain that vision for myself and for others, even when they might not be able to see it. In conjunction with that, I leverage resourcefulness, which is often deemed to be the most valuable resource. In holding that vision, you’re going to come across obstacles. You’re going to have to pivot, bob, and weave. You’re not always going to have the answers, so you’ll have to leverage that resourcefulness. Whether it’s people, or software, or whatever it is, you need to be able to leverage what’s available to get the job done and accomplish what you’re looking to do.

11. What advice do you have for individuals hoping to start in your industry?

First, I would ask them what their goals are, and get a gauge on their outlook on the market and what they’re looking to do. Are they looking for fast cash, or long-term wealth?

However, even without knowing the answers to those questions, I would emphasize that you really don’t need any money to get started in this business. You just need work ethic and resilience. I would say that you should always seek undervalued opportunities in the real estate market, and link up with people in the market who are doing what you want to do. Find the person who’s doing exactly what you want to do. Understand exactly what they’re doing, and then bring them an opportunity for the two of you to work together. In doing so, you’re able to get real experience and feedback, and you’ll be able to perform on any deal you can find, because you know you have a mentor who’s ready to do the deal.

12. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

My insatiable hunger for growth. That may sound cliche, but every day I truly am grateful that I have another day on this Earth, that I have air in my lungs, and that we have shelter, safety, and our health. I’m grateful for the opportunity to explore my potential every single day.

13. Where do you see you and your company in the next 5 years?

In five years, I would like to see a portfolio of $100 million in commercial real estate assets under our management. With those resources, I’d also like to see us fund more philanthropic ventures.

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