At first, my practice focused on credit problems, since that was what I was teaching and writing about. However, I knew that I couldn’t be a credit specialist and still pay my own mortgage. Credit was not only too small a market, but it also had inherent problems. With all due respect and compassion, let’s face it: people with credit problems are not ideal clients or customers.
Much of my business dealt with real estate transactions and investing. It seemed natural then that I add real estate problems to my practice. It was a serendipitous decision. It was the early 1980s and the real estate market in the metropolitan New York area was starting to boom, literally. Baby boomers, those seventy-six million kids for whom America built suburbs, swimming pools, and state universities, were coming of age.
I started soliciting real estate business at the same moment the leading edge of baby boomers was shopping for their first homes. Prices began soaring, since demand was far outstripping supply. Boomers who had been raised to expect that they would do as well as, or better than, their parents, were having a hard time affording the homes of their dreams. Knowing the lending business from the inside, and holding some unconventional views on home affordability and financing, my approach meshed well with the needs of these young people. And as the father of four baby boomers I also had a rapport with them and a respect for them that many other financial and legal advisors lacked. I was able to help my new clients solve their real estate and credit problems, and in the process, empower them.
In retrospect, it was this sense of empowerment I was giving them, the knowledge that they could turn no into yes, not the specific real estate advice, that was most valuable. That is what kept bringing these baby boomers back to my office for help with other matters. Some wanted advice on starting a business. Others asked for guidance on establishing a financial plan. A few wanted tips on asking for raises or hiring contractors to renovate their new homes. Today my practice involves all these matters and a few more. In the past few years I’ve been helping negotiate employment contracts and severance packages, setting up .personal estates, mediating divorces, restructuring businesses, and reviewing business plans.
Sure, the clients who come to my office are unique in all the ways that New Yorkers are different from other Americans. They may spend more time selecting coffee beans than cars, more time dining out than grocery shopping, and more time at the gym than at home. However, in all the important ways they’re just like all other successful baby boomers, like you. They own more and better stuff than their parents did at their age, even though they’re earning less in real terms. They work in decision-making, policy-setting positions in large companies, or are running their own small companies. They read the Wall Street Journal and watch CNN. They have accountants and baby-sitters; mortgages and 401(k)s. They carry cell phones, laptops, and Teletubbies.
Rather than being based on one type of problem faced by all sorts of people, my practice has been based on all sorts of problems faced by one type of person: the middle- to upper-middle-class baby boomer. The matters I deal with, the problems I help solve, are all those that are impacting the lives of this particular, demographic group.
Looking at my practice objectively, I think I’ve been able to successfully address so many different problems for a couple of reasons.
First, I had a very eclectic career prior to going into private practice. My background as an attorney, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and banker probably exposed me to many more different businesses and situations than most people face in their work lives. Having such a diverse background made it easy for me to see the similarities among different industries and businesses.
And second, my cancer scare enabled me to put problems in a different perspective. When you’re given a death sentence, other problems don’t look so bad. Death is a real problem; everything else is just an obstacle. I thank God every day that my death sentence was commuted. Most people who survive a death scare develop a new perspective on what really matters. Some retain it. Others lose it as the brush with mortality recedes into the background and they go on with their lives. I’ve been able to maintain my perspective on problems, not because I’m such a deep thinker, but because I spend all my working hours dealing with them.
I’ve been able to help my clients with all their varied difficulties because, thanks to my background and experiences, I’ve learned to focus on the sameness rather than on the uniqueness of their problems. I’ve learned to find the no in every situation, and use it to guide me to the yes. That knowledge has helped me come up with an approach that can solve all your business and financial problems.
