What I learned from the sale of BET

When new real estate investors first get started in real estate, they often do so because they are excited about the idea of making some fast cash. After all, real estate strategies like flipping and wholesaling can yield more massive (and faster) returns than just about any other legal business transaction in the world. That is, after all, why more millionaires and billionaires get their start in real estate and why so many people love real estate investing because there is a low financial barrier to entry.

However, even if you need to do a quick flip or two in order to get started, I encourage you to take a lesson (or two) from America’s first African American billionaire, Robert L. Johnson. Johnson is the founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television), and he was wildly successful as the founder and CEO of this network. However, just over 20 years after he founded BET, he sold the station for a reported $3 billion, earning more than $1 billion from that single transaction. With that sale and its proceeds, Johnson accomplished several important things:

1.     He founded RLJ Companies, a holding company dedicated to holding, among other things, a lot of real estate.

2.     He became the first African American billionaire in the United States.

3.     He participated in a number of partnerships and joint ventures designed to help build his own portfolio while also creating a very public demand for greater investment in content from African-American “creatives” long before this entered the mainstream corporate dialogue.

By investing in something that he could hold onto long-term (BET), Johnson created a scenario in which he generated a great deal of wealth (and influence) for himself long before he sold the asset. That is the first lesson. Things that appreciate create long-term gains for you. Furthermore, when Johnson did sell BET, he was able to walk away with $1 billion. That is huge. It is a massive demonstration of just how much you stand to gain when you acquire an asset that gains value while it works for you. That is the second lesson. Appreciating assets increase in value while they work for you. “Fast cash” is great when you are doing a fix-and-flip or wholesale deal, but you give up the long-term gains from appreciation when you focus solely on these types of deals.

Of course, in Johnson’s case, he did not start in real estate. Instead, he opted to sell a multi-billion-dollar company in order to get started in buy-and-hold with a bang. The lesson still holds, however; you can tell that even the most successful people in business realize the value of appreciating real estate assets.

Johnson once said, “If there is something I can do and I feel it should be done, I just want to do it. I don’t want to leave it undone.” I’m so incredibly honored that you are getting this real estate investing work done for yourself and your family and your passions – and I’m so proud to be a part of it!

And remember, if I can help in any way, you are part of the HouseBlitz community! That means you get my email and I am here for you! Give my team or me a shout any time at [email], and let’s keep your success moving!

Warmest regards,

Benjamin “Buy the Block Ben” Hollins.