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Monday, June 8, 2020

Master Real Estate Investor Explains How To Turn Real Estate Equity Into Cash Flow

real estate investor Joseph Asamoah

COVID-19 has hammered or imperiled everything from the likes of Wall Street companies to Main Street entrepreneurs in America, wreaking havoc on the nation’s economy. But master real estate investor Joseph Asamoah has defied the pandemic by sticking to a business model that has worked for over 25 years.

His approach includes buying, renovating, and managing single-family houses. Plus he provides homes for low-income families who could not typically live in those places.

Born in Ghana and raised in England, Asamoah came to America over three decades ago with $100 in his pocket and decided to invest in real estate. Converting a hobby into a business, Asamoah has built a real estate investment and management business with a portfolio of 32 single-family homes in the Washington, D.C. area, one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets.

But the journey to success for Asamoah did not come without obstacles. When he bought his first investment property in 1987 in Washington for $47,000, several people warned him he was paying too much. And there were pitfalls. Despite assurances from the seller, Asamoah discovered the tenants had not paid rent for several months. Further, the tenants had accumulated a $5,000 water bill.

“Unraveling this situation was very stressful and something I was completely unprepared for,” he says. “As a real estate investor novice, I was way over my head.”

Asamoah learned from his mistakes and found a niche in the real estate space. Having worked in corporate America, including a stint at IBM, his goal was never to build a multimillion-dollar corporation. Instead his goal was to achieve financial independence by owning appreciating assets that generate passive income.  He achieved that in 2003 when income from his rental portfolio equaled his salary at IBM. Since then, his goal has been to implement repeatable and scalable systems, selectively acquire rental properties based on clear criteria, and seek business opportunities as they arise.

His business model includes a very stable income stream that is guaranteed via a contract with what he calls the safest source in the world: the U.S. government. “As long as the tenant (customer) is in the home, then the income stream will continue—guaranteed,” he says. “It really doesn’t matter if the economy is good or bad, the income stream is predictable and reliable. To me, this is what makes my approach time-tested.”

His properties range from $180,000 to $1.5 million in value. On the rental side, monthly rent ranges from $1,400 thru $6,000. Asamoah says most of his real estate acquisitions are held as long-term portfolio properties. Take that first home he bought and still owns today. He says the house is now valued at $750,000 and monthly rent for the property is over $4,700. Asamoah says real estate rental income has consistently increased in value due to rent increases and new property acquisitions. With acquisitions, his company has been able to steadily grow annual revenues at an average 5% to 10% for several years.

He added since most of his tenants are low-income housing choice voucher holders (aka Section 8), most rents are paid by the local housing authority. Asamoah says tenants’ portions typically range from zero to $700 per month. Most of his properties are in “gentrified neighborhoods or in the path of gentrification.”

Asamoah’s firm makes money in many ways, including cash flows from rental properties, revenue from education and coaching services, and net profits when long-term portfolio properties are sold. Known as Dr. Joe (he has a Ph.D. in Information Systems), Asamoah plans to keep growing his company. He recently acquired two more properties in Washington that are now being beautified and transformed with the addition of bedrooms and bathrooms.

As an entrepreneur and investment strategist, Asamoah teaches others how to thrive. And with all the uncertainty the coronavirus crisis has caused, Asahmoah offered five tips to help renters, landlords, real estate investors, or small business owners in the black community survive under current conditions.

He suggests they assess their monthly expenses—take steps to cut unnecessary expenses as fast as you can. Seek options to boost your income, including renting part of your home, exploring alternate income streams. Take steps to build up an emergency fund. Determine how much capital you must have to buy your next property. If you do not have the funds, locate a financial and/or credit partner.

real estate investor Joseph Asamoah
Joseph Asamoah at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a home he recently renovated in Washington, D.C., which was presented to Keeyonna Musgrove (in the checkered shirt) and her family. (Image: courtesy of Joseph Asamoah)

 

BLACK ENTERPRISE caught up with Asamoah via email to get his expertise on real estate.

You have a business model that has survived four recessions. We understand your business model is something called BRRRR? What does it mean? 

Since 1987, I have been through four real estate cycles: early 1990s, mid/late 1990s, 2001-2002, and 2008-2011. It appears we are approaching a 2020 COVID-19 induced recession.

The BRRRR business model comprises the following elements:

Buy – Acquire properties in desirable neighborhoods that are in the path of gentrification

Renovate – Transform “ugly” houses into beautiful homes

Rent – Rent the properties to “Tier 1” low-income families with vouchers that are yearning for an opportunity to live in HGTV-grade quality homes in safe, desirable areas

Refinance – Replace short-term acquisition and renovation funds with permanent financing based on the appreciated value of the home and the monthly cash flow

Repeat – Repeat the process for the next property

The BRRRR strategy allows me to acquire and renovate properties in gentrifying areas with bank financing, force appreciation via targeted improvements, and then replace short-term financing with permanent financing based on the higher appraised values. Through BRRRR, I’m able to replace most of my initial funds via refinancing so money is recycled for new acquisitions.

How have you been able to achieve such housing diversity with low-income black families living in the same areas as high-income white families?

My screening process is extremely thorough and involves several steps including visiting prospective tenant’s homes. Screening is based on the premise that it’s easy to get someone into your home and very difficult to get them out once they are there.

I don’t invest in low-income areas. All my houses are in desirable areas. At the core, my voucher tenants are no different than you and I. They don’t want to live in bad areas, or in “crappy” houses or rent from slumlords. They are yearning for a nice house in a nice neighborhood and to rent from a quality landlord. I call these tenants “Tier 1” voucher holders.

If you treat your Tier 1 voucher holders well, I’ve found that they take care of the house, pay their rents, are pleasant to deal with, and they stay a very long time. My longest tenant has been renting from me for over 23 years. I regularly have 10-15 year tenants. Since good tenants stay a long time, they allow me to grow my portfolio with minimal stress and hassle. My tenants are the reason why I’ve been able to achieve financial independence and build real wealth. Without them, none of this could have been possible.

If I am a real estate investor, what strategy or approach can I apply to survive in today’s market amid COVID-19?

In a downturn, your ability to survive as a real estate investor will be closely linked to your ability to access financing (bank financing, lenders, and private investors). In a downturn, financing becomes harder, however, if you are “bankable” then there will be some excellent buying opportunities. With this in mind, some of my suggestions to help increase your chances of accessing real estate financing include:

  • Get your financial house in order.
  • Check and build your credit score – get credit repair if necessary.
  • Build cash reserves, gather and organize your financial documents – now!

How can a real estate investor turn real estate equity into cash flow? And why would that be a good strategy to apply now if I want to finance a real estate project or development?

Many homeowners and long-term investors are equity rich and cash poor. Although equity looks good on a financial statement, it is sometimes appropriate to tap into this “dead equity” and reinvest the funds to take advantage of buying opportunities and transform dead equity to cash flow streams. For example, an investor can leverage the home’s equity. Obtain a business line of credit or home equity line of credit or simply refinance an existing mortgage. Conduct due diligence and locate properties that may be purchased at discounted prices that once rented would generate positive monthly cash flows. Purchase a rental property or investment-grade assets at discounted prices. Make the property rent-ready by completing minor or mid-level upgrades. As mentioned previously, in a downturn, access to financing is extremely important. By tapping into “dead equity,” a ready stream of low-interest funds can be accessed quickly to finance real estate and development projects.

You have coached 150 experienced and novice investors in your rare investment strategy. What programs have you developed that could help others achieve financial independence?

The Joint Venture (JV) Program is my premier program and the primary forum where I engage with beginner and intermediate-level real estate investors. In my humble opinion, the best way to learn real estate investing is to do a deal, period—not going to seminars, boot camps, reading books, or listening to MP3 files. There is no better learning experience than doing a deal. None. Short of this option, the next best thing is to “look over the shoulders” of a successful real estate investor as they execute a transaction from start to finish. We meet at least twice per month virtually from day one thru tenant move-in and refinance (typically 6-8 months).

I host free weekly “Wealth Wednesday” Facebook and Instagram Livestreams (@drjoeasamoah). I also host “Get Real with Dr. Joe” Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube livestreams every other Friday on the “Bigger Pockets” platform. Bigger Pockets is the world’s largest online platform serving the real estate community (@biggerpockets). I am a frequent contributor to Bigger Pockets. I’ve published a number of articles.

Why is real estate still a good business for blacks to pursue to build financial wealth for themselves and their families? 

Real estate, especially in many U.S. markets, has proven to be a time-tested vehicle for creating wealth and generational legacies. Compared with other racial groups, black Americans experience a distinct wealth gap that appears to be growing. Correctly executed, real estate investing offers many advantages, especially when compared with other asset classes. Real estate can build financial wealth and create legacies. Additionally, real estate offers several other benefits that include cash flow, tax benefits, equity build-up, appreciation, and the ability to leverage.

What advice would you offer to black real estate investors before starting up or expanding into the business? 

Despite what late-night infomercial gurus tell you, successful real estate investing requires hard work, patience, and a business system. To realize financial independence through real estate, it is important you treat your real estate activities as a business more so than a hobby. Work on yourself first and set goals. Allocate time for education and training. Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Discuss with spouse and family and get their buy-in and support (if possible). Decide on your method of focus based on your financial situation, risk tolerance, time availability, etc. Identify and work with a local mentor. Locate a mentor that is knowledgeable in your area of focus, able and willing to provide guidance, and has a proven track record of success and real-world experience. Proceed immediately to your first deal and do what it takes to get that first deal under your belt. Don’t wait for the perfect time. There is never a perfect time to start. You just have to start.



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How K-pop fans are weaponizing the internet for Black Lives Matter

A K-pop fan holds a photo of a member of BTS at Rockefeller Plaza on February 21, 2020. | Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

And 4 other ways people are using social media to support nationwide protests.

It’s been a good week in the media for K-pop fans. After spending days urging social media support for the Black Lives Matter movement, fans around the world went viral and gained mainstream media attention for their use of K-pop fancams to jam police apps.

The K-pop fandom is just one of the groups online making ingenious use of social platforms to aid in the ongoing wave of protests against police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. Across the internet, supporters of Black Lives Matter are weaponizing tweets, posts, and hashtags to spread information, protect protesters, and derail racist rhetoric.

Here are a few examples of internet and social media tools playing unexpected roles in the protests.

K-pop fancams

For those who are new to K-pop fandom, a fancam is a video closeup filmed by an audience member during a live performance by a K-pop idol group. (However, fan-made edits of preexisting K-pop footage increasingly also fall under the umbrella term “fancam,” and while many fans take pains to distinguish between fancams and edits, the average outsider probably won’t recognize a difference.) Fancams usually focus on a single specific member of the group as they sing and dance, and they’re wildly popular on Twitter as a way to advertise favorite groups and celebrate a favorite idol’s talent and excellence.

Fancams have also been the bane of many Twitter users, however, who often find their own viral threads hijacked by users posting fancams to capitalize upon the thread’s popularity. A fancam, then, is sort of a shorthand reference for everything other social media users find annoying about highly visible fandoms: their obsessive, single-minded focus on the thing they like when you’re trying to discuss something else.

Which is all to say that it was a big deal when K-pop fans came up with the brilliant idea to do their usual fancam-spam thing — only this time, they aimed it at cops:

The Dallas Police Department’s iWatch Dallas app is a localized version of the app CloseWatch, created by a company called Zeteky to allow users to submit tips in real time to law enforcement. “It’s our firm belief that if every phone had Closewatch3, the world could be a safer place,” the company’s website states.

After the Dallas police force tweeted a request for the public to submit tips to them through the app during the protests, a viral tweet called for K-pop stans to submit fancams instead in response. The fancam spam would theoretically prevent police from seeing real local videos that might put protesters in danger.

As the idea spread, fans flooded the app, going viral and effectively temporarily disabling the app in the process.

The work of the K-pop fandom was so popular among other Twitter users that people have begun summoning them to apply their trade to other missions.

And the K-pop fans were quick to respond.

K-pop fandom has had its share of internal battles throughout the wave of protests as fans debate how best to show support for issues affecting black citizens, while simultaneously grappling with generalized racism within the fandom and the K-pop industry. But this is also by no means the first time K-pop fandom has rallied behind a political or humanitarian cause, and K-pop fans continued to drum up support for the Black Lives Matter movement in more concrete ways: after news leaked on Saturday that BTS and its studio Big Hit had donated $1 million to the movement’s official charity fund, fans themselves launched a hashtag movement to collectively match the donation.

The fans also continued to operate systematically when it came to streamlined responses supporting protesters. In addition to shutting down police apps, they led an entirely different trend: Hashtag derailment.

Hashtag derailment

We’ve all clicked on a hashtag and found it to be full of off-topic posts, burying the hashtag’s true meaning. Usually, this cacophony is created by one of two actions: individuals grandstanding in order to chase a viral hashtag for clout, or responding in confusion or outrage to whatever they think the tag is about, generating more confusion and diluting the tag’s original topic.

It’s rarer that a hashtag is derailed on purpose. But white supremacists’ attempts to generate trending tags for the idea that “white lives matter” led K-pop fans to turn that tag against its advocates. Many fans spent days making sure the entire white lives matter hashtag was consumed with fancams, tweets about music, and tweets about people tweeting about music under the tag.

Paradoxically, the virality K-pop fans have gained for this stunt has kept “white lives matter” trending as a topic for days. At one point, Twitter presented it to me as a “K-pop” topic, and even listed the phrase “#WhiteLifeMatter” as a more mainstream “music” topic.

Several Twitter users have pointed out that posting with the racist hashtag keeps ensuring that the racist hashtag will continue to trend, which may be undermining the point that K-pop fans originally wanted to make. On Instagram, although the “whitelivesmatter” tag is completely swamped with K-pop and anime references, white supremacist messages and troll memes also continue to appear. The resulting discord, however, makes the tag more or less useless — and on Twitter, most people, it seems, are delighted by the entire concept:

The K-pop stans aren’t the only ones getting in on the white supremacist hashtag takeover game. Tons of people on Twitter unaffiliated with fandoms have gotten creative with their definitions of “white lives.”

One of the cleverest ways people are using social media to spread information about the protests and related activity is something like the idea of derailing hashtags to advocate for anti-racism. It’s what I like to think of as rickrolling for justice.

Rickrolling for justice

You probably already know what a rickroll is, but just to make sure: The concept of rickrolling involves luring someone in with juicy clickbait and then surprising them with a disguised URL linking to, specifically, the music video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley.

What’s the point? To get your hopes up and then disappoint you, all for the lulz. As much as any meme that technically started in 2007 can be, rickrolling is one of the founding edifices of internet culture: It has always been with us and will always be with us. The concept of rickrolling has become more broadly used to describe surprising someone with something totally unexpected.

That basic concept is applicable to many, many things — including luring people into Twitter threads that promise to spill juicy celebrity gossip, only to rickroll them with information about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Did you think you were about to get a tea-spilling drama about music royalty feuds? Nah — but here are links to resources to help the family of George Floyd.

Capitalizing on some recent Glee-related drama involving former cast members calling out star Lea Michele for alleged racially tinged on-set microaggressions, one Twitter user lured people in with promises of more.

But rather than jaw-dropping stories of on-set misbehavior, the user offered links inviting people to donate to the Black Lives Matter fund instead.

Weaponizing Disney’s heavy-handed copyright policing

Disney has long made life hell for remixers, artists, and other people trying to make stuff on the internet using Disney characters and images through heavy-handed use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s provision for allowing corporations to pursue alleged infringement by removing from the web any video or image that appears to infringe its copyright. Doing so leaves the alleged infringer to make a case for why their work does or doesn’t infringe. (This copyright ban is colloquially known on the internet as getting a DMCA takedown, or just “getting DMCA’d.”) But savvy internet users have started manipulating Disney’s overbearing use of DMCA takedown requests.

Last fall, for example, a movement spread among artists who found their original work stolen and sold by bots. The bots would upload the artists’ work to internet merchant sites, then profit off selling the image on T-shirts and other items at the expense of the original artist, who usually lacked the funds to begin a laborious and expensive copyright takedown process.

The solution, as popularized among such artists for a time: bait the bots with copyrighted Disney art. The hope was that the bots would upload the copyrighted Disney art to the merchant sites — which would then be destroyed by the giant looming hand of Disney’s legal might and its stern approach to infringement.

It’s unclear how well this idea actually worked in practice. But it embodies a growing belief that Disney’s copyright takedowns can be used strategically to the advantage of people who are usually on the weak end of a DMCA complaint.

This brings us to the protests. Over the weekend of May 30, the notorious “gun girl” Kaitlin Bennett, a young conservative activist who gained a right-wing following for her videos supporting gun rights and other issues, showed up to protests. She was presumably looking to speak to protesters on-camera for her website and YouTube channels. But protesters who saw her weren’t having it. How to keep Bennett’s videos of the protests from airing? Summon the power of Disney’s copyright-flagging system.

Protesters encouraged one another to play, specifically, music from Disney films and musicals, so that any video footage Bennett uploaded would trigger Disney’s copyright flag.

This approach is a fascinating convergence of direct on-the-ground activism (by following someone around and playing music) and elements that are digital-only (getting someone’s YouTube video DMCA’d).

It also reveals the way internet users are subverting the power of a huge corporation so that its effects are wielded not against poor individual artists and creators working in online spaces, but against bad actors in a real-life struggle for justice.

YouTubers monetizing their videos for good

YouTubers often monetize their videos for a cause — meaning they’ll take the ad revenue generated by videos and donate it to a charity or cause of their choice.

What is notable in this moment of protest is the degree to which many YouTube influencers are monetizing content specifically related to the protests. YouTuber Stephanie Soo, who runs a popular channel where she eats while discussing true crime, posted a heartfelt apology for not doing more to speak out in support. As part of her atonement, she shared a series of true crime stories that have been heavily impacted by systemic racism, then donated all of the ad revenue collected from these videos to support Black Lives Matter and the Minnesota Freedom Fund.

By donating proceeds from their channels, YouTubers like Soo are turning their content into tools through which people without many financial resources can still do their part to generate funds in support.

Many YouTubers are also making content tailored specifically for the moment to raise awareness while entertaining — like this video created specifically to raise money for the BLM movement while highlighting black musicians.

The neat thing about the trend of monetized awareness-raising is that it’s a holistic exercise of everything YouTube’s platform is designed to do — entertain and educate viewers while benefiting creators — in service of Black Lives Matter and the protests.

All of these methods of virtual and real-world support reveal the individual quirks and cultures of many different platforms, apps, and internet communities. They also remind us that we need the tools we use on the internet to be controlled by more than one or two megalithic corporations. The more varied, messy, and decentralized the internet is, the more versatile it is.

And as the protests are showing us, the humans of the internet are always ready to use it in ever more versatile and interesting ways.

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Exclusive: A Coalition of Women of Color Pens Letter Accusing NYC Mayor's Administration of Racism

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How to Be a Courageous Leader in the Post-Pandemic Era

courageous leadership

While some contest, or outright refute, whether or not former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said “success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts,” the power of that statement looms large irrespective of origin. Amid the wildly unforeseen fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, this quote is rather prophetic. It speaks to prosperity not being taken for granted and the notion that failure in and of itself isn’t a death knell. Relative to business, specifically, it also evokes many questions about the very nature of “courage”—a concept oft characterized by the demonstration of “strength in the face of pain or grief.”

Of course, it’s presumed that successful leaders can and should inherently be courageous, but in what exact regard is courage a mission-critical managerial quality? To what extent should a leader exude courageousness versus humility? What actions, or results thereof, exemplify how courageous–or not–a leader is? Can a wholly well-intentioned show of courageousness backfire and end up doing more harm than good?

We’re currently living in an unprecedented, decidedly challenging point in time when courage seems to be the order of the day. In an attempt to garner some crystal clarity on how this is actually defined and perceived when in practice, I took these and other questions to an assortment of experts and leaders in the business community. The result of that outreach is as eye-opening as it is inspiring, with salient inputs including this top-line wisdom.

Stick to your guns.

By its very nature, the notion of courage connotes danger and evokes a sense of fear. Were there not peril, valor need not be required. To this point, Douglas A. Hicks, dean of Oxford College of Emory University, underscores that courage not only enables someone “to take risks that others fear in order to achieve something important,” but also that doing so requires a backbone. “Courage is not about sticking one’s finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing, what others are saying. It requires both self-confidence and resolve. CEOs show courage when they commit to keep employees on the payroll in (the) face of recession and do whatever it takes to create long-term profitability,” he says.

Stacy Caprio of Her.CEO concurs, offering that “a courageous leader has the ability to look at the data and make decisions, even when these decisions go against the grain of public opinion, the media, and general public panic. Not many leaders have this ability, but a true leader is able to make decisions independent of mass fear and panic.”

For those businesses that aren’t exactly linear with some kind of denotable beginning and end, instead operating as a continuous, ever-evolving process (like health care, education, and financial management), Nicola Wealth Chairman and CEO John Nicola urges that “courage comes from the consistency of your message, your ability to support it and the loyalty of your people delivering it in all environments.”  Not only germane to one’s actions, Nicola points out that moxie also manifests in a passive sense by “choosing to do nothing in the face of unrelenting pressure to act.” This, as a courage of conviction, is based on principles of an individual leader, a leadership team or the company at-large.

Amid the ever-unfolding coronavirus-driven challenges, and during prior catastrophic events like the “dotcom crash” and the Great Financial Recession of 2008, Nicola has leaned on corporate ideology for sustenance. “During each of these periods we were under pressure to sell as markets dropped, to not rebalance and try and catch a falling knife, to go into cash and ride out the storm,” he said. Nicola instead mustered his courage and chose to “do what we believed the right thing to be was”—a decision he says ultimately resulted in significant performance benefits for his firm’s clients.

How important are these kinds of instincts? Southwestern Family of Companies CEO Dustin Hillis knows all too well, lamenting a time at the company when he had doubts about the sustainability of the business model. “Instead of having courage and actually boldly testing new models, and at the risk of my own income and reputation, I went against what my instincts were telling me. As a result, we went $1 million in debt and almost had to shut the business down. Making the pivot to change the model to what we ended up ultimately doing with coaching and consulting was twice as hard as it would have been two years earlier when I first had the thought. But I did not have the courage to actually take action on what the numbers, the feedback, and my instincts were telling me.”

With this, it’s understandable that Hillis currently defines courage as “being afraid and taking action anyway.” He also advocates owning and being daring amid that distress. “True leaders are the ones who acknowledge they are afraid and up against a significant challenge, and yet they persevere and double down on activity during the hardest of times,” he says.

Jennifer McCollum, CEO of leadership development firm Linkage Inc., further substantiates that courageous leaders stick steadfast to their personal standards. McCollum cites her firm’s research findings, which she says are drawn from 100,000 leadership assessments with data from more than 1 million leaders, revealing specific behaviors that make a leader courageous. One is “acts in alignment with personal values in challenging, conflicting, or ambiguous situations.”  With courage as a character trait not to be discounted as a key determinant of a leader’s overarching achievements, McCollum clarifies that, through her firm’s study of over 30 years on what the most effective leaders do, “we know courage is a critical leadership practice that differentiates the most effective leaders from the rest.”

Embrace vulnerability.

According to Aaron Velky, CEO of Ortus Academy, courageous leadership includes the decision to be truthful and vulnerable. “Whether or not the truth is easy to share and whether or not you know what speaking the truth will create as an outcome, courage is the ability to offer up where you are and what is real so that someone can process it individually.” Bravely delivering hard messages is not enough, however, as Velky goes on to clarify that, “When we share truth we have to be prepared to listen, but listening is vulnerable, and that’s important, too. Courage is owning what we are experiencing. Vulnerability is sharing it—the good, bad, and emotionally jarring.”

Being able to admit and share regarding future uncertainties also speaks to vulnerability as a facet of courageous leadership. In fact, Velky says that the decision to acknowledge not only what is truthful and known, but also the unknown, is another distinct decision a brave leader makes. To demonstrate courage, Velky asserts that one needs to be fiercely committed to recognizing what and how much you don’t have figured out. “Stating the unknowns mitigates the toxicity that is felt when you hide fears and the reasons to have them. Fears are OK, the unknown is OK—once you acknowledge it.”

One business leader who’s walking that highly exposed walk of vulnerability is Mylen Yamamoto Tansingco, CEO of Cropsticks Inc.—a social- and environmentally-minded B Corporation operating in the food service and hospitality industry. “I do not have all the answers and I’m not going to pretend I do either,” she’s refreshingly quick to admit. Case in point, Tansingco publicly shared what Cropsticks is going through amid COVID-19. In her YouTube video, titled “Can my small business survive?,” she shared her company’s small business story in an endearing, unguarded, and highly personal form. “I’m hoping to keep our community motivated and feel seen during this time,” though she understands this is not without some level of risk. “I hope it doesn’t become a ‘courage fail’ after this is all over,” she says. Yet she took the leap of faith into that unknown anyway.

Fortune 500 speaker, writer, and coach Heather Coros contends that courage is contagious. She emphasizes that curiosity and innovation is only accessible in the brain when a sense of safety is present. “If you’re expecting your team to lean in, then they need something that feels safe to lean against. By being that safe space, you give the gift of strength and vulnerability to the entire team. And as we know, vulnerability is essential to highly preferred skills like transparency, clear communication, and team cohesion.” Perhaps most importantly in this post-pandemic era is Coros’ estimation that “courageous leadership creates a sense of stability amidst the chaos.”

Be undaunted, despite.

Uniquely drawing on her experiences as a stand-up comedian before entering the corporate world, Jennifer Jay Palumbo, CEO of Wonder Woman Writer L.L.C., feels that being a courageous leader is accomplished by having unwavering poise. “You have to believe in yourself and your idea no matter how the person in the room reacts or not,” and “trust that you’re talented and smart enough to figure it out and still accomplish the task at hand.”

Mike Zaino, president and CEO of TZG Financial, likens this kind of requisite resolve among organizational leaders to that of an underdog continuing to fight with relentless persistence despite prior outcomes. It’s “getting knocked down seven times, and standing up eight,” he says. Yet, such doggedness should not be above reproach, as Zaino further points out that it certainly takes courage to not just hear—but accept—constructive criticism. “You’re either learning or you’re dying,” he says.

The idea that courageous leadership requires a willingness and ability to fail and “get back up again,” no matter how many times it need be performed, is shared by Mercy Project Inc. CEO Chris Field. What particularly captures my imagination is Field’s belief that for courageousness to be a leadership asset it must be a concerted choice—a daily decision—rather than happenstance. “Courage is a muscle, one we must exercise and grow by being courageous … one decision at a time,” he says. “Courage takes many forms, but none of them happen by accident.”

While conveying courageousness certainly takes chutzpah, Women Presidents’ Organization CEO Camille Burns cautions that it’s important to exude confidence without arrogance. “I think people often confuse risk-taking with being courageous,” she says. “Taking a risk is a bold move. But it is even more courageous to fail, to accept that something you tried did not have the outcome you wanted or expected.”

Tim Chen, co-founder and CEO of NerdWallet, points out the prospect for growth moments during times of crisis—namely the one we’re currently immersed in. He appreciates the extent to which COVID-19 has ushered in a defining time for business leaders. “Even though we’re navigating unprecedented uncertainties, I see this as a huge opportunity for the type of courageous decision-making and smart risk-taking that leads to immense personal and professional growth,” he says. “In fact, I can track most of my greatest periods of personal growth to a prior crisis.”

Crises aside, Chen’s colleague Kelly Gillease, NerdWallet CMO, sees an opportunity for courageous risk-taking with frequency. “Great leaders exhibit courage in small ways every day by encouraging risks and bigger thinking or being vulnerable and empathetic when a situation calls for it,” she says. As for the afore-mentioned chutzpah, “having a willingness to call out the elephant in the room” is also courageous behavior that Gillease indicates she strives to model.

When endeavoring to connote courage, attitude is also the name of the game. It’s important to temper said chutzpah so that it doesn’t come across as overly audacious. A haughty demeanor is never one that’s particularly welcomed in business, but this kind of disposition can veritably doom an executive’s image—especially when attempting to navigate a gaffe. “When someone does not acknowledge what they do not know, or the mistake they have made, it is a courage fail,” Burns warns. “Sustained naivety is when you deny the fail, or when you try to blame it on someone else or block out the writing on the walls. If there is no learning derived from failure, there is no achievement. Then, it is a double failure.”

All told, it’s apparent that courageous business practices are guided not just by guts and grit, but also by focused and unwavering guidance that keeps a leader on course. Just ask Field, who muses, “Courage is knowing our North Star and regularly checking to make sure we’re still headed there.”

Forbes Business Council Official Member Merilee Kern, MBA is an internationally-regarded brand analyst, strategist, and futurist who reports on noteworthy industry change makers, movers, shakers, and innovators across all B2B and B2C categories. This includes field experts and thought leaders, brands, products, services, destinations, and events. Merilee is founder, executive editor and producer of “The Luxe List” as well as host of the nationally-syndicated Savvy Living TV show. As a prolific business and consumer trends, lifestyle and leisure industry voice of authority and tastemaker, she keeps her finger on the pulse of the marketplace in search of new and innovative must-haves and exemplary experiences at all price points, from the affordable to the extreme—also delving into the minds behind the brands. Her work reaches millions worldwide via broadcast TV (her own shows and copious others on which she appears) as well as a myriad of print and online publications. Connect with her at www.TheLuxeList.com and www.SavvyLiving.tv / Instagram www.Instagram.com/LuxeListReports / Twitter www.Twitter.com/LuxeListReports / Facebook www.Facebook.com/LuxeListReports / LinkedIN www.LinkedIn.com/in/MerileeKern.

This article originally appeared in Fast Company.



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