Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jim Anthony. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jim thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

Serving others is a bit of a cliche, however we do some interesting things to make it real and tangible. 1. We have developed best practice protocols to address the huge increase in death and distress that is occurring around us in the workplace. Example: www.jimflink.com and a manual that we are still developing. To our knowledge no one has ever done this before to directly face down grief and distress.
2. We have built a website and a network of connections in Durham, NC that is designed to promote and teach real estate investing in and among the Black community in America, starting in Raleigh/Durham, NC. We are actually creating and offering investment opportunities to those that have traditionally been excluded from the realm of real estate investing.
3. We have set the pace for a small business in generosity with our profit sharing and company participation in the giving process. It is called “APG Cares.”
4. We are considered leaders in creating financially sustainable housing solutions and in addressing municipal policymaking and policy changing to advance attainable housing solutions.

Jim, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

www.aacre.com www.apgcre.com
www.linkedin.com/in/jimanthony
www.jimflink.com
I started in Commercial Real Estate (CRE)[Elizabeth ]  brokerage in Los Angeles in 1979, and never looked back. Starting as an industrial leasing and sales broker in the San Fernando Valley, I made my first real estate investment in a house in Van Nuys that I rented to friends by the bedroom. Made some money and then did a land investment deal in Castaic. Made some more money, and then I was hooked. I waited too long to focus on being an investor, but I fixed that in 1990 in Raleigh. Now we operate one of the largest CRE service, investment and development companies in NC. Why are we so successful? We see opportunity when others see problems. We make diamonds out of coal by taking the heat and pressure of messy deals and projects, and then fixing them. The best part is that we do it with the best culture in the business. Generosity, Transparency, and Community Engagement are our top three core values. THAT is what we are most proud of. We are dedicated to transforming communities by transforming lives, and we have the tangible evidence to be convicted of doing so.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Like most people I was taught to work hard to earn what I could acquire. I became VERY good at acquiring, yet I was not so good at giving. What was wrong with me? The American work ethic and values I was taught stopped short of educating me to my real Purpose on Earth. The person that does not understand that they own nothing, and they never will, is playing the game of life with one leg and one hand tied behind their back. I am no Klaus Schwab fan, and I am not talking about their dystopian vision for the planet. I AM talking about WHOLE LIFE Stewardship, where I recognize that the Creator owns everything, and we are entrusted with some of it to make the most of it to the best of our ability while we have the ability. It was 1991 when I was deeply confronted with the fact that I was living mainly for myself, when the real joy in life is found in mainly living for others. It is a law of the universe that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Once I unlearned the relatively new American “greed” paradigm[Elizabeth ] , and started growing up in the ancient and universal “generosity” paradigm, our business exploded.

I also had to unlearn the false teaching that 10% belongs to GOD and 90% to me. No… 100% belongs to GOD, not of my money or yours[Elizabeth ] , but of every material, emotional, relational, spiritual blessing that you or I can name. Once I started living into that WHOLE LIFE Stewardship paradigm, then life and blessings flowed positively like never before. It has never ceased to amaze me how much passion and energy I get, as does our team, from the purposeful living that follows the revelation and adoption of the WHOLE LIFE Stewardship paradigm.

It starts with the recognition that our thinking is likely contaminated with the materialistic worldview that dominates American thinking and behavior today. That is the defective paradigm. Then we must reject and replace that broken paradigm with the eternal paradigm for which we were made. By the way: Replacement requires practice. It is not just a matter of the mind. It takes a full-hearted commitment to consistently and intentionally reject the culturally-safe paradigm of selfishness, and then learn, live, and promulgate the counter-cultural generosity paradigm to the world around us.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Culture first. Design it, and then nurture it. Guard it. Do not hire people that do not subscribe to it or will not respect and appreciate it. Promulgate and promote it. Make your culture your number one attraction for wanting to work in your company. Our culture seeks to connect a person and their passions to their projects and daily work. When we succeed in making that connection, then the people thrive and so does the Company. The inverse is also true. If cultural drift start occurring, find out why. If it is a person, then rehabilitate them. If they cannot or will not change to fit the Company culture, then they must be allowed to move on to where they are appreciated, and they can appreciate a new culture. Do not try to fit square pegs in round holes. They never do without becoming round first.

Keep talking about and being personal and transparent about the fulfillment of the mission and goals of the Company. Show the results to people as you measure achievements. Excitement follows accomplishment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aacre.com and www.apgcre.com and www.tpsn.us (u/c) and www.opch.com (u/c)
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/apgcapital/
• Youtube: AnthonyPropertyGroup, AACREProperties,

Image Credits
Jim Anthony