By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

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Anyone who has ever become successful in reaching their dreams has always had a series or roadblocks to overcome.

Whether you are a Real Estate investor who has dreams of building an empire, a Entrepreneur with the next great idea or an Artist with the next great vision, we all have a series of challenges to face before we can become successful.

One common challenge that everyone has to face when chasing our dreams is that somewhere along the way, we require capital.

This is true for absolutely everyone. Whether you are the Real Estate investor requiring capital for buildings, the Entrepreneur requiring capital for a venture or the Artist requiring capital for an Art-form. The requirement is universal and every business/successful person requires funding at some point in his or her path to success.

Unfortunately for many people, raising capital is a "black box of voodoo" that many do not understand. Some of us are held back by limiting beliefs that "we do not deserve" to have capital or that we need to be born with it to be successful.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Raising capital is a science and an art form. It obeys the law of certainty much like everything else in this world.

If certain things are done in certain ways, certain results are certain to occur.

With that being said, here are 5 Secrets to Raising Capital shared with me by the very-successful capital-raiser JT Foxx:

1. Dress to impress: We only have one chance at making a first impression. The timeframe for establishing a good impression is a very short window between 3 and 30 seconds. As social animals, we are constantly looking for reasons NOT to do business with other people and we will scrutinize every minor detail to disqualify a newcomer. Some key details for dress are: the quality of suit, polished shoes, quality of business cards. Anyone who is idealistic enough to think that these things don't count is delusional. Even legends like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson and Hugh Hefner had to wear suits early in their careers. Dressing to impress is an easy way to ensure success.
2. Pay attention to your branding: Effective branding is extremely important for anyone who wants to raise capital. However, branding is so much more than just a name, a colour and a logo. Branding is a feeling and an emotion surrounded by you and your company. What feeling does an audience get from you? Some easy ways to find out if you have effective branding or not are; Do you show up effectively in Google? Do you have pictures of yourself with successful people? Branding is what separates the top from the bottom in any business and it ensures a potential investor that you are not a fly by night operation.
3. Know your numbers and be conservative: If in doubt, always be conservative. The worst mistake so many people make is that we try make our deal look better than it really is. A savvy investor will always poke holes in your strategy and call you on a plan that is too optimistic. If you appear to be misrepresenting something then you will scare away your investor and their money. Provide a "best case", "realistic case", "worst case" and "nightmare case" scenario. If your investor is ok with the "nightmare case", then you know that you have a deal.
4. Back end is more important than the front end: Congratulations! You raised the Capital! Now what...? In a perfect world, raising the Capital is easy. What is much more important, however, is how you manage the "back end" of the deal. How good are you at "taking care" of the investor's money? Savvy investors are very hesitant to part with their money and you need to show them some accurate monthly reports with precise information. One of the worst things you can say to an investor is "I run the business and I do my own books." Investors want to see audited financials by a certified account. If you can provide this information you show that you are a professional, understand what they need to feel secure and have built a competent team.
5. Make it about more than the numbers: Relationships are always the most important thing in business. When you pitch a deal or yourself based on the numbers, you are selling yourself short. If you are placing all of your value on the numbers alone, you are in big trouble. Don't be known as "the 12% guy", because later when the "13% guy" comes along, you will be finished. Instead, focus your presentation on your relationships, philosophy and results. Sell the vision of the big picture to your investors and have strong, realistic numbers. If you can provide all of the above, then investors will be calling you looking for a good place to put their money.

Raising capital is a skill that very few people have mastered. It's a skill that revolves around sales, marketing, branding, relationships and understanding the numbers. If you can focus on the 5 fundamentals above, then raising the capital required to build your dream will always be easily found.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

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By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of having dinner with Shawn Shewchuk, Author of "Change Your Mind, Change Your Results" and the #1 results coach in the country (when measured by results and speed of results.)

I was introduced to Shawn because he is currently coaching one of my real estate mentors on his personal growth and business.

Shawn mostly works with high achievers, entrepreneurs and executives to take their "game" to the next level.

Coaching can be a very nebulous thing to many people, it can be viewed as extremely expensive (Often $5000 to $25,000+) and (to the average person) can be viewed as a "rip-off" or a "liability". What I find to be fascinating about coaching is that the world's most successful people have multiple coaches and the more successful a person is, generally, the more coaches they have. 

What I have learned in my short time from working with a paid coach and mentor is that an unsuccessful person will view a coach as a liability, while a successful person will view a coach as an asset.

Of course, not all coaches are created equal; there are good coaches and awful coaches. You must discriminate with extreme prejudice. The best way to choose a coach is to find successful people and gather referrals, ask who is coaching them in their success.

Many coaches focus on one topic such as; business, investment, health, life, and success. What I found intriguing about Shawn was that he has built his coaching practice, business and life around a holistic approach to success. He believes that success must be achieved in all areas of life - not just one. 

Shawn believes that "Success is not available without balance".

As an entrepreneur, shawn has built businesses, sold businesses and has made very good money in his life, but understands that personal, relationship, health and career all have to work together because "money is important, but (it's) not everything."

As a young, driven, aggressive, male entrepreneur, I asked Shawn about balance. I often find myself too focused on business, goals and success. I will sacrifice anything for success (whatever that means) and I challenged Shawn's idea of balance or holistic coaching by asking him about the Dragon's on CBC's hit venture capital show Dragon's Den.

I have studied many of the successful Canadian entrepreneurs on Dragon's Den and have noticed that three of them have stated on television that "balance does not exist" in their lives. The Dragons are all very driven and successful business people who have sacrificed immensely for their success. When I asked Shawn about his opinion on balance when compared to the Dragon's on balance he replied "There is no such thing as balance; balance is what you make it".

A profound answer indeed. I have always thought of balance as being an subjective pursuit. Never did I imagine that balance could be different for everyone. This really challenged my thinking.

While we were exploring balance, Shawn pointed out that one of the Dragon's had lost his family in pursuit of financial success. Family, no matter how difficult they can be are a priceless once-in-a-lifetime experience. Family members are irreplaceable and trading primary and secondary relationships for a few extra dollars is unacceptable in hindsight.

The #1 concept I am learning from my current coach and from talking to Shawn has been that Coaches get you results and collapse time frames.

What may take a person 5 years to achieve alone, may take 6 months with the help of a qualified coach. I have seen results similar to this in my own business just from a single coaching call and a few emails, my growth has gone from linear to exponential and geometric. I used to do one deal a month and now I'm getting bombarded with opportunities and have achieved 3 deals in a week.

Most people are procrastinators, but what is the opposite of procrastination?

Sometimes it can make sense to define a word by it's opposite.

Shawn defines Strategic accountability as the opposite of procrastination. Where the average person will sit on the couch and eat potato chips, Shawn builds strategies with his clients and holds them accountable to their goals and plans.

Procrastination is an absolute killer for most people because it kills ideas, kills actions and ultimately kills dreams. "Most people don't think, they float through life" All ships that float without a navigator end up smashing up on the rocks eventually.

Shawn has worked with over 6000 people in his career and only 3 have not been successful in their pursuits after working with him. What was their key to failure? People who fail with coaches think that they are going to get a magic bullet to solve their problems over night. I used to experience this years ago when I used to teach guitar lessons to young people. Too many of these young people wanted to be sprinkled with a magic pixie dust instead of taking the REAL steps towards success.

After speaking with Shawn for 30 minutes about coaching and the benefits of hiring one, I asked Shawn the $1,000,000 question:

"How many coaches do you have?"

This is the million dollar questions because whenever someone is in a business or industry, I always want to know how much of their own product they consume. It shows integrity and congruence.

Shawn's reply was very good: "I have three." Although Shawn is located in Calgary, his coaches are scattered across North America on the east coast USA, Toronto and Western USA. I was impressed to learn that Shawn's first coach was Bob Proctor; the man behind the hit movie/book The Secret.

I personally have two coaches at the moment and the strategic planning and goal setting alone has made my business explode in the last 30 days. If you want to speed up your rate of success, begin to search for a coach, and don't hesitate to spend some money. Nothing is free in this life and you get what you pay for. Free advice, although attractive at the beginning, is ALWAYS the most expensive of all in the long term.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

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By: Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

Picture Left: Jim Treliving, Owner of Boston Pizza and Dragon on Dragon's Den with Stefan Aarnio

I had the great pleasure and honour of being in the "right place at the right time" in September this year when I was casually driving by a Boston Pizza on Taylor Avenue in Winnipeg and the sign outside advertised that Jim Treliving, current owner of the 1 Billion dollar pizza company: Boston Pizza and more notably, Venture Capitalist on the hit TV show Dragon's Den was doing a book signing.

I saw the sign in my peripheral vision and immediately went in to the Restaurant to see him. I am absolutely fascinated by Venture Capitalist shows like Dragon's Den and Shark Tank because I love evaluating business models and watching people pitch for money - it's a very visceral experience.

My two favourite Dragons on Dragon's Den are Jim Treliving and Kevin O'Leary. My reasoning for these two choices is:

1. Jim is the most practical, down to earth, and hard working Dragon. He has a real  street smarts from being a cop and has a "work till you drop" grinder mentality. He is often the Dragon on the show that the other Dragons look to for advice and if Jim is "in on the deal" then everyone wants to jump in. If Jim is "out", the deal often dies. He is a true leader and often leads the group of Dragons, quietly from behind the scenes.
2. Kevin O'Leary is the most honest and real of the Dragons. He delivers a hard dose of reality and although many people think he's mean and harsh - he delivers the cold hard truth every time and can actually save entrepreneurs from BAD BAD BAD ideas. There is no shortage of bad ideas on the show, and Kevin punishes them mercilessly. After he tears their bad ideas apart, these entrepreneurs should pick themselves up off the floor and thank him for the beating.

When I arrived inside the Boston Pizza Restaurant, there was a line of people waiting to get their books signed. I had come in off the street and was ready to buy a book but the restaurant would not sell me a book. I immediately dashed out the door and had to run through the rain (in my suit) to purchase a book at the local McNally Robinson. I could not miss an opportunity to meet Jim and get him to sign his book.

Meeting Jim was was a humbling experience. He is 6'4, so am I, so we see eye to eye and I noticed how well he handled all of his fans who were there to get their books signed. He is very gracious and takes a great interest in children who want to get into entrepreneurship. jim has a great respect for all people big and small and it was a pleasure to exchange a short conversation with him.

When I got home, I immediately devoured his book "Decisions" in one day and the book is fantastic. It takes you through Jim's entire life from being born to building Boston Pizza into an international pizza empire with 1 Billion dollars a year in annual revenue. I also learned at the event, that Jim is (likely) the wealthiest of the Dragons because his Real Estate holdings set him head and shoulders above the others in accumulated wealth.

It has been close to a month since I finished JIm's book and the #1 take-away for me is Jim's decision making style. Often, entrepreneurs and real estate investors have the tough, tough job of calling ALL the shots for the team. Decisions need to be made throughout the day. Sometimes entrepreneurs have to make 100's or 1000's of decisions  in a single day depending on the activity level of an entrepreneur. Strategic Decisions are exhausting, complicated, dangerous, risky and most people are AWFUL at making Decisions *period*.

Jim's book is rightfully called "Decisions" and over and over again, Jim breaks down his decision making style, which I have implemented in my own business.

Jim's style of decision making is as follows. We have 3 decision making parts in our bodies:

1. Our head
2. Our heart
3. Our gut

People often make poor decisions because they assign the types of decisions to the wrong body part... 

For example: Many people make financial decisions with their heart and will lend money to relatives in trouble. These same people are surprised when their relatives do not ever pay them back. Lesson: Financial Decisions should NEVER be made with the heart.

Likewise, When Jim was young, he had the opportunity to make fast, easy money in the oil trade which began to boom in Manitoba. Oil was the fastest, quickest, money that a young man at age 17 could make with no training or education. Jim knew he could make more money than his father right out of school and was seduced by the allure of fast cash. However, he also saw many young men get ruined by the "easy come, easy go" lifestyles of fast, unearned cash. However, Jim knew in his heart that he would be unhappy in the oil industry and would eventually dread getting out of bed in the morning. Instead, JIm wanted to full fill his childhood dream and join the RCMP. He knew, from a young age, that needed to become an RCMP officer and wear the badge of honour. Lesson: Make "work/career" decisions based on your heart and NOT your head. Never base work decisions on salaries, bonuses or money. Money comes from passion and energy, it does not come from labor.


When Jim was in the RCMP, he was trained to see through deception and use his gut to evaluate people on the street daily. Jim became very street smart while stationed in a rough mining town in BC and dealt with the rowdy population on a daily basis. He learned to only use his gut and NEVER his heart when judging people. Lesson: Judgement calls about people need to be based on your gut, never the heart, never the brain. The gut can sense what the heart and mind cannot and the gut is rarely wrong when judging character.


One of the most important decisions Jim ever made in his life, was a seemingly unsuspecting moment one night when he was in his mid-twenties and his fellow co worker asked him if he wanted to eat "Pizza or Chinese?". Jim knew nothing of Pizza, didn't know how to say it, didn't know what it was and had no interest in it at all. He walked past the original Boston Pizza every day without ever thinking about taking a look inside the building. Pizza was a foreign concept and JIm spent no time investigating it. 

However, Jim kept his mind open, and made the decision to try something new (Pizza was new at the time), he took a chance and walked into the restaurant that started the Boston Pizza legacy. He instantly fell in love with the owners, the atmosphere, the menu and most of all - the experience of sharing and eating this strange new food called pizza with your hands. Lesson: You NEVER know where your next greatest opportunities and passions will come from. Keep your mind open and make the decision to take risks and try new things. If Jim had only said "I will only eat Chinese food after work like I always do", he would have never been introduced to his flagship, signature business that shaped him into the great man he is today.

To recap: Jim's simple, yet extremely effective decision making style focuses and simplifies your decision making energy:

1. Decisions about money need to be made with your head. Not your heart or your gut. Your head is logical, cold and analytical and the numbers don't lie. Numbers and money are a cold calculated game, do not get emotional or you will get burned.
2. Decisions about your work, your passion and your path in life need to be made with your heart. Your heart holds your passion and your passion will push you through any obstacles that get in your way. Do not make work decisions with your head or you will find yourself eventually unable to get out of bed in the morning because you need to be in LOVE with what you do on a daily basis.
3. Decisions about people need to be made with your gut. Your gut is a 6th sense and can tell you if someone is genuine or not. Do not make decisions about people with your head or you will judge them incorrectly. Similarly, your heart can lead you astray if you judge people with your heart.

Jim has found in his 70 years of experience on this earth and 40+ years in business that this system does not fail.

I myself have implemented JIm's decision making style into my own business and have ignited my passion, tightened up my business model and can read people better than ever before.

It's simple and sound advice from an extremely successful multi-industry tycoon. If you get a chance, pick up JIm Treliving's book "Decisions", you will not be disappointed with his 70 years of knowledge, understanding and real life experience.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share this article if you found it helpful to you.