What's Your Moat

Tonight's a fun one, for me.

It's a short one, because I'm out of town on a business trip - we're in Victoria visiting with trades, consultants, other developers and people I've met on social media.

While here, I had a great conversation with another developer about Our Moat and I can't wait to share what we discussed and how it applies to your life.

But, before we do, here's a message from our sponsor, Sidebar, which you wont' want to miss:

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Our Moat

Real estate development is hard. Really hard.

I equate it to the quote from Mike Tyson's trainer, who said:

As a developer, it's worse than that.

It feels like you're in the ring with both hands tied behind your back and you're fighting multiple opponents who are hitting you repeatedly in the head, stomach and kidney. Those kidney shots hurt !

No, seriously, that's our moat.

Let me explain it a little bit deeper.

To be a successful developer, you have to be okay with hearing NO every single day.

You have to be okay trying to overcome objections and solve complicated problems daily.

The thing is...

Few people are willing to do it.

People don't want that level of headache.

Oh yeah, it gets worse. Seriously, way worse than that.

You need to invest money in a project on Day 1, and you won't get it back for 4+ years - that's risk, baby. Worse, it's LOTS of capital, too !

Also, you risk losing what you put up because the landscape is constantly changing, almost like you're getting punched in the face repeatedly.

I know what you're thinking...

Well, it's okay, you're making a lot of money...

NO...

The margins on real estate are horrible. Seriously, BAD.

Generally, you're underwriting your projects to earn a 15% return - in any other business, you'd learn those are HORRIBLE margins...

So, here's the thing:

• Hard
• High risk
• Lots of capital
• Capital's out for years
• You're not compensated for the above

That's the Moat.

It's why not everyone does this.

People think us developers want this all to be easier.

The truth is, we kind of like it the way it is because it scares the average person away from doing this. It's what allows us to succeed in our businesses by being willing to bear the pain, stomach the risk and put our capital in play.

What's Your Moat

The question is, what's your moat?

You need your own moat to be a high earner or have a successful business.

In past newsletters, I've emphasized this as a Talent Stack that differentiates you from the average person.

I'd love to see a talent stack built to allow you to have Rare Skills, which I describe as the intersection between skills rarely seen together.

As a reminder, you can use my skill stack to see how this works. I started my career as an accountant and went deep in accounting and auditing.

As my career grew, I knew people and leadership would be important, so I began to focus on adding leadership skills to my toolkit at KPMG and in various industry roles.

The next area of focus became emotional intelligence when I realized IQ may get you the job, but EQ is what gets you promoted:

Clint Murphy @IAmClintMurphy Hard skills get you hired. But soft skills get you promoted. This Soft Skill is guaranteed to accelerate your career: 8:33 AM • Jul 16, 2024 41 Retweets 379 Likes Read 49 replies

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Once the soft skills are built out, add as many technical adjacencies as you can—in my world, that looked like tax, legal and finance.

Finally, build out your public speaking and written communication skills.

When you've thoroughly flushed this out, you've got a Moat.

You've built a skill set that will require significant investment and time. However, most people won't be willing to commit that time, effort or money to becoming good in each of these areas.

Remember, in your career or business, you are the differentiator. Someone will pay you what you're worth, and you need to increase your worth by focusing on becoming extraordinary.

Take a professional athlete as an example. Their Moat is they're the best in the world at their sport.

The average professional athlete in certain sports is well paid, but the Superstars make 10x the average, because their skillset, or Moat, is that much larger. Even professional athletes cannot become as good as them.

Why should it be different for you?

Why shouldn't we try to differentiate ourselves the same way Kobe does from an average NBA player?

The next time you're frustrated by your role or your pay, ask yourself, what am I doing to differentiate myself? Ask yourself, What is my Moat?

TGG Podcast

This week on the Growth Guide Podcast, we take a journey through the different Seasons of Life that shape and define our existence.

Your life has seasons.

When you're in them, you often don't see them.

As you age and look back, you start to gain perspective.

• Formation
• Adolescence
• Early Adult
• Wedding Season
• Baby Season
• Funeral Season
• Grandparents
• The final stage: Death

Remember, each season has its own beauty and lessons. Embrace them, learn from them, and cherish the moments.

To hear more about The Seasons of Life, listen to the Growth Guide Podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch on YouTube:

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Last Word 👋

I love hearing from readers and I'm always looking for your feedback.

How I'm doing with the Growth Guide. Is there anything you want to see more of or less? Which aspects of the Newsletter or Podcast do you like the most?

Hit reply, say hello, and let me know what you think of What's Your Moat.

I'd love to chat with you !

All my best,

Clint