New York Power Broker, Kemdi Anosike On The Biggest Investing Mistake Men Make
WITH KEMDI ANOSIKE
Learning how to handle the real estate and investment market at the same time is completely achievable. Just ask Kemdi Anosike.
Photography, Frederic Georges | Simi Vijay
Words, Caleb Church In Conversation with Kemdi Anosike
VIEW GALLERY
Many are aware of the age old advice that you reap what you sew. In this case, long term investments. However, many also find themselves feeling overwhelmed when taking a dive into their own financial plans. We sat down with successful cross-industry investor, Kemdi Anosike surrounding the topic of getting started, the mindset transition from employee to investor, securing financial stability, and all the challenges along the way.
Some people are book smart, and other people are street smart. That’s why I think people are born entrepreneurs or They’re not. It’s a sort of itch and you always feel that.
The dynamic Warburg Realty agent is originally from Nigeria, and moved to the United States when he was 17. Upon moving, he went on to study finance at Marist College, before diving into a career in real estate.
THE LOOK
Polo Shirt, Suit Supply; White Jeans, Tom Ford; Loafers, Gucci
BO: What inspired you to get into real estate?
KA: I was just very inspired by the city, the way people lived, and architecture. I wanted to provide the best of that. I think that helping with a person’s home is one of the most important services you can offer, and I enjoyed working with my clients.
BO: Did you have the curiosity of why the real estate market in New York is so expensive and how it all worked? With roughly 500,000 people moving to New York every year, do you find education to be a big part of your process?
KA: I had the same problem when I was trying to find my apartment in the city. I was frustrated with the whole process. My goal as a broker is to make sure that all of my client’s have a very easy and seamless experience. I try to make sure they are having fun, having a good time, and making a good, and informed decision.
I really need to understand every neighborhood and what the client’s goals in life are. What do you really want out of an apartment? Do you want to commute to work, walk to work, or be in a neighborhood that is full of restaurants. Understanding a person’s lifestyle and the way that they live helps in guiding them to where they need to be.
BO: How was it breaking into such a competitive industry and taking the first steps towards becoming an agent?
KA: I always credit my success in the industry to formal training. I started with a great company that was very big on training their agents on doing their business right. I was able to access my network and that was also very helpful. I think one of the keys to being successful at anything in life, is by becoming an expert at one field, and then slowly developing and evolving those skills into something else. I was able to become an expert rental agent. I know what it means to understand a neighborhood and what it has to offer. Then I was able to take that and sell because renters become buyers. It’s about being there for important moments in people's lives. I’ve been to a lot of my clients weddings.
THE LOOK
Turtleneck, Versace; Jeans, Rochas
we live in a safe society, and people are not very inclined to take risks.
Photo: Simi Vijay, Behind The Scenes
BO: How are you maintaining the daily practice of keeping your skills sharp?
KA: Always reading, learning, and being on top of what’s going on in the world, and the industry. As an agent, or anyone in the service industry, it’s about being connected to people. I have clients who reach out to me asking for things as much as a divorce attorney. You want to be the go to person for most of that. I think staying relative and top of mind is very important as well. People in New York have different phases. I had a client who was in a studio when I first met her and now she’s in a seven million dollar apartment and I’ve been with her every step of the way.
BO: As an investor, do you feel that your main focus daily are your investments or duties as a broker?
KA: I do a mix of both. It’s a really great thing to do. Whether it’s in real estate, stock options, bonds, up or coming companies that you believe in.
BO: Being in real estate and investing, I find there’s a huge mind shift that happens going from being employed to self employment. How was the shift for you?
KA: I think that’s what I love about it; making my own schedule. Although it can be a double edged sword. Right? However, I think that double edged sword inspires you to work harder. I think being an entrepreneur is not something you get up and do one day. It’s something that you’re born with. You have to be able to take a lot of pressure. You have to be able to understand that you may not have that safety net. That’s the exciting thing about it. Today I might be broke, but tomorrow I could have $200,000 dollars in my bank account.
BO: Do you think that your viewpoint on risk has had an impact on your success in investing?
KA: Yes. I’m an entrepreneur at heart, and so I always had a lot of stuff going on. Whether that was amazon or always talking to and investing in friends. I think that definitely affects the way that I see investments. I’m a big risk taker.
BO: Your mention of amazon surprises me. Was that what got you investing outside of real estate? I would assume that you place multiple streams of income of high importance for financial stability as well?
KA: I think what got me started was when a friend of mine was trying to buy a building one time, and I wanted to see what it would be like to chip in. So we bought the building and were able to sell it at a profit, and that was very exciting. So, at the time I also had a friend who does Amazon Private Labeling. He was making a good amount of money for doing “nothing”. So I thought I’ll just make this cutting board in China and have it shipped to Amazon who does the fulfillment for you. They take a small fee out of the sale. I said “okay, cool!”
It was an investment that I put some money into, had cutting boards shipped to Amazon, most times I have sales going and I don’t have to do much for it. It’s about having multiple streams of income, and I love that part. I also invest in stocks, too. At any given time, I try not to have liquid cash. I try to get rid of it by investing in things. It’s a very risky way of living but I would rather roll the dice and something would happen.
I had some nights where I cried because I didn’t do the right thing, or I lost money.
THE LOOK
Suit, Canali; Shirt, Roberto Cavalli; Sunglasses, Oliver Peoples
BO: Dealing with failure is a huge part of being an investor. What were some of the roadblocks you experienced as a first time investor? How do you bounce back?
KA: Initially, I had some failures, and I think those are the roadblocks, actually. I had some nights where I cried because I didn’t do the right thing, or I lost money. I had invested in a restaurant at one point, and it went out of business, but you learn from that and move on.
I think it’s very important to acknowledge when these failures happen and allow yourself to feel sad. Also at your side, you need to try to learn from those experiences. What could I have done better? Sometimes you do your best, and your best still is not good enough, and you just have to realize it’s all part of the business. Some people make mistakes thinking that everything is going to go smoothly, and then they don’t know how to bounce back from that. You have to understand that things happen, but also give 110% to everything you do. 110% is due diligence – you follow up. This way, I think it’s easier to bounce back, because you know you did everything you could.
BO: If you had to give three actionable steps to help someone improve their finances with investing, what would they be?
KA: Save. You can’t invest if you have nothing in your savings account. Also, educating yourself on what’s going on in the market to understand what the next big thing is. I think it’s very important for people to be educated. Not like going to school, but being on trend. It’s always good to understand where your news source is coming from so you can start preparing. Investing doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not just something you need to be financially prepared for, but also emotionally prepared for, too.
You need to have the resources to invest. Either have the resources to invest or have access to those resources. It’s also important to understand the things you are investing in, and knowing what your risk is. The third I would say is following up is key. You can’t just give your money to someone. You have to follow up and see how it’s doing.
Speaking on having resources or having access to resources, I find that there’s more forms of capital than just hard cash. It’s about identifying different sources of capital and converting them into the cash you need.
You see a lot of collaborations between brands in businesses. Let’s collaborate so I can pass a message and spread it to your network, and you can pass a message and spread it to my network. I think what’s happening is that influence is now, and it’s about getting brand awareness, and that’s your capital now in it’s own way.
BO: What about challenges with outstanding balances like credit cards and student loans?
K: Of course this can affect the way you’re investing. If you continue to bring your debts down while also starting to invest simultaneously, that’s the best thing. Again, an investment doesn’t have to be a $10,000 investment. It could be 100 dollars, or it could be 10 dollars. If you have a little money to spend, you could buy a stock, or two stocks. To best prepare, I would advise to:
Understand your finances: How much you make and what your overhead is.
Educating yourself as to what’s going on in the market: What are the trends? What’s making money? How have the last 10 years been?
Understand what your financial goal is: What year do you want to retire? Is there something you want to do with your life that you need to prepare for? All of that helps you understand where and how you want to diversify your money.
BO: Why do you feel investing is imperative to your finances?
KA: I think it’s very important because it’s a good fallback. Just putting money into a checking account does not do much for you. By investing you’re much more likely to see a return for the future. A lot of people who invest tend to retire early. If they invest, then 20 years from now they want to retire, they can do that because their investments are taking care of them. The key thing of course for financial longevity is having a backup plan. Investing gives you that opportunity and that privilege.
BO: When it comes to paper assets, do you feel that wallstreet overcomplicates the process?
KA: Yeah! I think it does, but that is their job. I do believe that there are different sources, especially social media, that break down investments. Wall street is not taking care of people who are making 100K or 80K dollars a year. Their audiences are big corporations and big companies. Take attention away from that and find a way to dumb it down. With social media, it’s so easy to be educated with what’s happening. I think everybody should be following Bloomberg financial. CNBC is also good.
BO: I recently had a great conversation on the concept of using language to intentionally exclude targeted groups from the topic of choice. In this case, complicating investments to make them feel intimidating on purpose. Do you feel that wall street might be doing this as a way of providing job security?
KA: I wouldn’t say that they’re doing it intentionally. I think that when the ideology of wall street was created, there was no such thing as VC funds, angel investors, or young people who are starting to buy stocks. Those ideas weren’t there. So I think that wall street hasn’t changed the way that they deliver their news, or look at what’s going on in the world.
BO: Any thoughts on why most men find investing daunting?
KA: I think it’s because we live in a safe society, and people are not very inclined to take risks. Risk is a very scary thing. It’s fear. You can overcome that fear and understand that stuff happens. You have the guy who went to harvard and is happy to play it safe and make 500,000 a year, and then you have the guy who also went to Harvard and is offered the same thing but may say “That’s nice, but I want to start a business.” I think people are just afraid.
BO: Do you think education is a good counter for that fear?
KA: I think that depends on how you define education. Some people are book smart, and other people are street smart. That’s why I think people are born entrepreneurs or they’re not. It’s a sort of itch and you always feel that. I cannot work for someone when I can work for myself.
BO: Because you find yourself so risk friendly, do you think that it made being an entrepreneur easier?
KA: Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of difficult times. As a matter of fact, there was a time when I thought “this is so hard” and went back to working for someone, and I was fired within a week. I just couldn’t do it. I don’t have that mentality. They gave me a senior role, and I couldn’t sink into the mindset of getting to the office and staying there all day. I longed to be around people and in the city. There’s too much to do in the city for me to just stay inside and be happy with that. Especially in an industry like real estate, some people are very lucky to be born into a network of contacts. However for me, I had to stick it out for two years and I’m glad I did.
BO: Do you think that your cultural background had an effect on you?
KA: Coming from a third world country, you get to see the way that people live. Then you come here to a country like the United States that is full of opportunity and you go for as many as you can. I think it makes me more grateful and ultimately work harder.
BO: What does a day in the life of Kemdi Anosike look like?
KA: I wake up early (5:30/6am) and I love to work out in the morning. I think it’s very important. Working out is a great way to keep your brain active. It also helps fight away depression, it just makes you happy. Me personally, It’s the one thing in my day that I know that I can control.
After working out, I come back home and make a smoothie. I like to then start my day at my desk. It’s very important for me to get a start to the day in the office. After that, it’s usually client lunch meetings and time full with clients. Depending on how many listings I have at the time, I can have a few showings, too.
I try to check in with my family at every moment in the day, since we’re all in different places. So, it’s nice to connect and see what they’re up to. Then I either come home, or depending on the day have an event or dinner. When I’m home, though, I like to be in bed by 9pm.
BO: What are your goals as an entrepreneur now?
KA: My goal is to continue to learn. I think we tend to get stuck in our ways. I want to see what’s happening out there and continue to better myself. I want to keep providing the best service to my clients. I was recently recognized by Forbes, and would love to continue to be recognized for my work. I would also like to give back more. It’s something that is very important to me given where I come from.
