Find. Build. Sell.

CHAPTER 5Build your confidence

For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.

Plato

When I raised $1 million in eight hours to buy The Rutherford, and turned it into a roaring success, I learned a few lessons along the way. Lessons like how to raise money quickly, how to do it under pressure and how not to make assumptions. All critical lessons if you don't want to get sued, go bankrupt or lose control of your business before you've even started.

I also learned that I had a passion for turning under-performing pubs into profit-making machines. That sense of breathing life back into a grand old pub that had seen better days really excited me, so in 2015, feeling buoyed by this early success and eager to replicate it, I launched my ‘pub fund'.

Taking on a considerable level of debt to buy The Rutherford (at a purchase price of $4.2 million) was a big step for me, and a significant risk, but I was willing to do it as I've always lived by the motto, ‘You've got one life and you're a long time dead' — so you may as well rip in, crack on and have a red-hot go. I could see the current pub owner had lost a bit of interest in the property and was letting things slide, and I knew I could restore it to its former glory. Importantly, the local community was super supportive, loved a good pint and parma and would be loyal to us if we looked after them.

We got stuck in really quickly, dug into the financials, did the little things right, worked hard to improve ...