Y
ou want to make a
difference? Start
by BEING the
difference. And if
you’re serious about being the
difference, start with trust.
Famed leadership consultant
Stephen R. Covey said it best:
“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the
most essential ingredient in
effective communication. It’s
the foundational principle that
holds all relationships.”
John Aaron and Gene Simmons,
cofounders of Floridabased
Prestige Executive Funding,
have each independently put
mutual trust and the strength of
honoring their word primary in
their real estate and lending
relationships long before they
partnered together to better
serve their sophisticated clients.
In fact, trust is so fundamental
to everything they do in
business that it’s second nature
to them, and to their team.
Trust is an integral part of
every transaction in which they
participate, regardless of client
sophistication, background or
anything else…. that is,
regardless of anything else
except the equal trustworthiness
of their clients and their
arrangements.
Noteworthy
This year, at age 29, John
Aaron was featured in Forbes
magazine’s “30 under 30”
highlight. He achieved
consistent success in the fix and
flip marketplace with, according
to Forbes, more than $100
million in residential properties
purchased and flipped at the
time of the article.
Gene Simmons, cofounder
and copresident of Prestige
Executive Funding, says Aaron
has about 80 properties in his
portfolio at any given time.
Parlaying his residential fix and
flip success into the commercial
arena, Aaron is also purchasing
large commercial apartment
buildings, developing modern
52
waterfront properties,
condominiums, hotels and retail
properties.
But Aaron would rather DO it
than talk about it. He’d rather
lead by example than tell you
what to do.
For Aaron, his early character
traits and principles of good
business remain the same as they
did when he first started: Focus,
Integrity, Quality, Consistency, a
lot of Hard Work, and Giving
Back.
Just for the record, Giving
Back is a core motivator for
Aaron. Years ago he launched a
nonprofit foundation and, as
Simmons describes his young,
motivated and sharp partner,
“Aaron is always doing stuff for
the community. He’s at soup
kitchens a lot and helping
homeless and those in need. He
likes going into an area,
purchasing retail and bringing
much needed jobs and
opportunities into areas where
people are struggling. He does at
least five major serviceoriented
events a year. That’s a big part of
who he is.”