Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2013 | Page 12

MASTER INVESTOR
understand what the bigger picture is about.
Master the art of negotiation, networking,
valuation and education. Coaching is a must!
Paying for a mentor is a different game than
getting free advice.
Ettiene has ambitious plans for the future. He
is currently creating a model to access property
listings faster. He says that if all goes well,
he should have contact details of 75% of all

homeowners in South Africa within the next
three years, which will change the game. His
30-year plan is to lead our country with one
term as president and create the future with a
more capitalistic than political approach. He
believes it is time South Africans take action
and control of their own lives: to stop talking
and start doing.

RESOURCES

Engel & Volkers

ETTIENE’S 7 LESSONS FOR
BUSINESS AND LIFE
1 Keep it simple He started his first

business at the age of six, selling
beer to the 350 workers on their farm
over weekends, for which they would
otherwise have to walk 15 km to town.

2 Create a passive income At the

age of 10, Ettiene realised buying and
selling would require sacrificing sport
and time with friends. So he set up a
foozball table that charged 50c per
game at the farm store and created a
passive income stream.

3 There is no such thing as a quick

buck At the age of 11, Ettiene invested
in a “project” offering returns of 45%
per month. He lost his entire life
savings in one month. Today, when
offered an opportunity with a return
higher than 15%, he walks away.
Since then, he has never regretted his
decisions.

4 Lead conversations with

questions At 17, his mother had a

stroke and lost her speech. He learnt
from her that the only way you can
communicate effectively is if you
ask questions. This taught him to
guide negotiations, meetings or
conversations to the desired outcome
by asking the right questions to which
the other party can only respond.

5 Take action At the age of 21, he

bought his first property after visiting
a friend. As he left, he announced: “I
am going to buy my first property”. As
he drove away, he saw an estate agent
driving by, so he followed the agent,
stoppe d behind him at the house and
made an immediate offer. The rest is
history.

6 Live with purpose and meaning

Losing his father suddenly when he
was 24, jolted Ettiene and made him
realise two things: live life to the fullest
every day, and always be ready for
when your path changes.

7 Context One cannot create context
from one experience. Multiple
experiences will allow you to form
different perceptions of the same
event. Evaluate every perception
and then create the bigger picture
(context).

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November 2013 SA Real Estate Investor

www.reimag.co.za