45 – From toy shop owner to property developer (part 1)

Running your own toy store is not exactly how you would imagine most real estate developers would start their property career. How can you go from selling toys to doing projects? Well Troy Harris did just that. He went from retail operator to property renovator and finally developer.

Troy has gone on to do a stack of development projects, set up a property developing training program and learnt a lot along the way.

I first spoke with Troy in 2012 about doing his property developing mentoring program, and after signing up and starting the program I secured my first development site and eventually completed my first project, which as you know ended up being a 20 townhouse project that was way bigger than I ever intended, but I successfully got there in the end and it was a terrific experience. And I couldn’t have done it without Troy’s help. 

When I started the podcast, Troy was on my early list of people I wanted to have on the show, so I’m excited to be finally bringing him to you. We ended up having quite a long chat, as we meandered down memory lane, and cover how Troy started off doing a couple of renovations, before starting his development career in Ballarat in regional Victoria. Since then Troy has completed a stack of projects, and set up a program to help wannabe developers.

People often think it is easier to develop in a hot market but it is challenging to acquire profitable sites. - Troy Harris

I have broken the conversation into two parts, so in part one, we cover how Troy went from owning a retail shop to developing, the biggest obstacles he had to overcome, and what he has learnt along the way. Keep an ear out for Troy talking about what holds people back from taking on developing.

Property Development Training

If you are interested in learning the fundamentals of property development, in your own time and at your own pace, then be sure to head over to www.propertydevelopertraining.com and take a look. I take you step by step through the development process so you know exactly what is needed to find a site, run a feasibility and complete a small scale property development, be that a duplex or 3 or 4 unit site. The training includes a bonus program called Taking It To The Next Level for people who may want to go into developing full-time, along with another bonus course called Raising Capital which covers how to raise money for your projects.

So head over to propertydevelopertraining.com and take a look... I would love to see you on the inside...

Property Developer Quiz

Keen to find out how ready you might be to become a developer? Then take the Property Developer Quiz (https://www.propertydevelopertraining.com/quiz) and get a sense of where you are at…

Become a Million Dollar Property Developer

Grab my book Become a Million Dollar Property Developer about my journey into property development. This book is ideal for anyone who intends to get into small-scale property development and wants an insider’s guide to successfully obtaining wealth, fulfilment, and glory.

In this book, Justin will share how he succeeded in delivering a 20-townhouse project on his first property development pr...