tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64789917262637348912013-11-07T22:16:33.569-05:00Nick Jekogian's thoughts and adventures in real estate, customer service, business and making things happen!Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.comBlogger260125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-43479050767288035552013-11-04T11:15:00.000-05:002013-11-04T11:15:10.156-05:002013-11-04T11:15:10.156-05:00

We all know and talk about those phenomenal successes  - Facebook’s Zuckerman, Apple’s Jobs, the Yankees’ Jeter, Brangelina ...  We also hear too much about those unfortunate failures -  broadcast.com ($4B loss), Macklowe’s equity office deal, Kozmo.com, Lance Armstrong, Lehman Bros. I could go on and on. “You can’t define what’s middle class, what is wealthy, what is poor.”  - Michael

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-81199338118542996922013-10-15T17:26:00.003-04:002013-10-15T17:26:56.705-04:002013-10-15T17:26:56.705-04:00

I enjoyed dinner and drinks last week with a long time friend, Ginger Jenks.  Ginger has been coaching executives for almost 20 years now and knows a thing or two about making things happen.   Ginger explains her model pretty simply.  If you want to make great things happen, you personally need to know what a great thing is. In other words: What makes you happy?  What is your true purpose?  

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-39167799582607050502013-10-08T11:10:00.001-04:002013-10-08T11:13:44.032-04:002013-10-08T11:13:44.032-04:00

Last week I had the distinguished opportunity to dine with one of the most optimistic people I have ever met, Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.  As Ishmael told his harrowing story, he maintained an infectious grin and positive attitude. My friends and I, who avidly listened to his stories, walked away feeling that anything is possible, we should always look at

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-85875767598312276182013-09-23T10:00:00.000-04:002013-09-27T10:25:09.235-04:002013-09-27T10:25:09.235-04:00

Over the past 5 years my company's focus has been on helping banks clean up their balance sheets. Our interest is not on the 200 or so major money center banks, many of which I can see from my office window. We focus on the 6,800 other banks in the US, the local community banks that seem to have been forgotten over the past few years, the ones that were not helped by TARP, Warren Buffet or

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-85707331046297525322013-09-18T13:48:00.001-04:002013-09-18T13:48:31.990-04:002013-09-18T13:48:31.990-04:00

"The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow." - William Pollard I met an awesome business consultant last week, Whitney Johnson.  She spoke about creating "disruptive movements" into our business models.   So often in business we get too comfortable in our successes. When we are at the top of the profitability curve, we think we will

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-64871671016465720942013-08-07T21:03:00.002-04:002013-08-07T21:03:17.176-04:002013-08-07T21:03:17.176-04:00

I love this video about motivation by Dan Pink. What gets people excited?  Money, pleasure, results, goals, food, sex, relaxation ... ?  From my experience, it is all of the above. Every individual is turned on by different focus and achievement. “If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion.”  - Mia Hamm I was travelling last week and had some time to hang

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-89946326638037861852013-07-30T22:06:00.001-04:002013-07-30T22:06:23.295-04:002013-07-30T22:06:23.295-04:00

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”  - Benjamin Franklin The other night I gathered a bunch of Type A business entrepreneurs together at a bar after a full day of balancing meetings, emails, smart phones, iPads and laptops.  They entered the space with lots of anticipation to learn from author Tony Schwartz how they can better manage their ENERGY, NOT TIME, to get more productivity

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-88196955781013067632013-07-12T16:17:00.002-04:002013-07-12T16:17:39.171-04:002013-07-12T16:17:39.171-04:00

“Avoid the precepts of those thinkers whose reasoning is not confirmed by experience.”   Leonardo Da Vinci, Thoughts on Art and Life I asked a young acquisitions associate to go look at a property I was thinking about buying so that he could assess it and tell me what he thinks it’s worth.  He came back an hour later with an answer.  I knew that he hadn’t seen the property in person because

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-50651819864340800322013-07-02T12:37:00.002-04:002013-07-02T12:38:22.383-04:002013-07-02T12:38:22.383-04:00

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-88526907559854331232013-07-02T08:14:00.002-04:002013-07-02T08:14:36.250-04:002013-07-02T08:14:36.250-04:00

Normally when I visit Times Square I point at all of the freaks - like the Naked Cowboy or the guy dressed in the Batman suit. But this past Saturday morning at 5 am, 43 other crazy people and I are about to set out on a run around New York City that will cover over 100 miles, more than 24 hours of continuous running, and every major park in the city.  The race starts off with a great National

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-25277580542985465592013-06-25T15:58:00.001-04:002013-06-25T15:58:43.462-04:002013-06-25T15:58:43.462-04:00

I often write about Signature Group’s acquisition process because I love buying buildings, but this week I’d like to share the other side of the deal: the sale (possibly because we just accomplished quite an impressive one).  Due to some external tax opportunities we discovered after owning a small portfolio of apartment units in Queens for a little more than 5 years, we decided to sell.   "

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-73777193684164555452013-06-17T15:42:00.001-04:002013-06-18T11:47:44.762-04:002013-06-18T11:47:44.762-04:00

CNNMoney reports that the average cost of a wedding as of January 2013 is $28,400 nationwide, and almost $77,000 in Manhattan. So when my brother-in-law told me that his budget for his Saturday evening, June, Manhattan wedding was $4,000, I had a private chuckle and waited to see what would happen. When his first catering idea of a gourmet taco truck fell through (I still would have loved to see

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-37879940778135651442013-06-03T21:59:00.001-04:002013-06-03T22:00:38.801-04:002013-06-03T22:00:38.801-04:00

There is mystical talk of the Wow! features the iPhone 6 will have when it appears, but no launch date has yet been speculated.  Even so, my 10 year old daughter has begun her marketing campaign to acquire one of the first specimens and replace her “ancient” iPhone 4.  As an early adopter myself, it takes a lot of restraint to not spoil my kids when it comes to technology.  It’s interesting to

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-43137519598035084472013-05-23T16:53:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:53:14.200-04:002013-05-29T16:53:14.200-04:00

At 12am on Saturday morning, when most of NY was asleep, a YPO buddy, a retired Army medic I recently befriended, and I were riding mountain bikes through the woods in the pitch dark precisely sliced by narrow lights shining from our headlamps.  We were at the start of an 18-hour adventure race that would take us running in the woods, mountain biking up very steep hills, and kayaking down a very

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-67075688321249894172013-05-14T16:52:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:52:41.097-04:002013-05-29T16:52:41.097-04:00

On behalf of the IM ABLE Foundation, on June 29, 2013 I will run a 100-mile loop around New York City with The Great New York 100 Mile Running Exhibition to raise money for people who are not able do this on their own two feet. In 2007, the IM ABLE Foundation was created to build on the active lifestyles that founder, Chris Kaag, a disabled United States Marine, promotes for individuals with

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-11864233264487198222013-04-30T16:50:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:50:20.762-04:002013-05-29T16:50:20.762-04:00

“What would it be like if you were known for the worst thing that you ever did in your life?” This is the question that Catherine Rohr asked herself and others when she founded Defy Ventures, a nonprofit organization that seeks to break the cycle of incarceration in the US by equipping men with criminal histories with the power to leverage their innate entrepreneurial skills to create

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-87847242142503867142013-04-16T16:49:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:49:18.414-04:002013-05-29T16:49:18.414-04:00

As our country’s leaders work to figure out who carried out the horrific act of terrorism at the Boston Marathon yesterday, as well as why and how, I feel helpless, angry, scared, and desperate to figure out what we can do to move on in the face of such senseless violence and death.  On September 11, 2001, my wife was pregnant and at a doctor’s appointment when the Twin Towers fell.  As she

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-65654223447208751102013-04-08T16:48:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:48:49.621-04:002013-05-29T16:48:49.621-04:00

By Endurance We Conquer

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-4489916405547582862013-04-08T16:47:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:47:53.306-04:002013-05-29T16:47:53.306-04:00

Interesting Article

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-50333717427853418882013-03-27T16:46:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:46:31.922-04:002013-05-29T16:46:31.922-04:00

I read a great article over the weekend about kids with allergies.   The number of kids out there with food allergies has skyrocketed since I was growing up 30 years ago.  It seems like allergies are being perpetuated because of our unnatural need for cleanliness.  I feel that some day Purell is going to be sued for causing an epidemic.  The thesis discussed in the article (which is working!)

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-15618157010864827192013-03-21T16:45:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:45:45.486-04:002013-05-29T16:45:45.486-04:00

“I think life is simpler than we tend to think. We look for answers and more answers. But there are no answers. Things happen in life, good things and bad. People say, ‘Why did it happen to me?’ Well, why not? Some people win the lottery, and others die in a car crash. It happens, and there is nothing we can do about it.”  - Nando Parrado A few years ago I had the most interesting dinner of

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-69047483999949002162013-03-21T16:44:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:44:56.468-04:002013-05-29T16:44:56.468-04:00

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-54386566654435931452013-03-15T16:42:00.000-04:002013-05-29T16:43:08.091-04:002013-05-29T16:43:08.091-04:00

In my spare time I run long distances … very long distances.  I am an endurance athlete who has completed 100-mile runs and even a double Iron Man that took almost two days of non-stop physical and mental effort.  I recently found this article by Jeff Gundersen that pretty much summarizes why I do these crazy events.  In training and enduring these incredible challenges, I have built a personal

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-52059096989574808032013-03-07T16:41:00.000-05:002013-05-29T16:41:35.520-04:002013-05-29T16:41:35.520-04:00

I found this article, “Your Business Model Doesn’t Work Anymore” by Geoff Colvin, interesting for the real estate industry and our entrepreneurial business in particular. In the mid-90s, I started a business model that had recent college graduates with little to no real estate training buying $100s of Millions worth of real estate.  The model was simple.  My first acquisitions associate started

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6478991726263734891.post-6386826402615366902013-02-27T16:40:00.000-05:002013-05-29T16:40:43.242-04:002013-05-29T16:40:43.242-04:00

“I believe in trusting men, not only once but twice - in giving a failure another chance.” - James Cash Penney, Founder of J.C. Penney In early 2009, Signature Community had a lot of residents who were suddenly unemployed through no fault of their own. We were in the throes of a terrible economy, and a good percentage of the population was unemployed or underemployed. Our resident base tends to

Nickolas Jekogianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11650428819335819828noreply@blogger.com0