Iconic Living with Chris Dehring

ICONIC LIVING is a web-based series powered by PROVEN REIT that focuses on all things real estate and more. In the first episode, Natalia Oh sits down with the multifaceted entrepreneur Chris Dehring, CEO of Ready TV. Dehring recounts some highlights of his journey to entrepreneurial success and the valuable, often overlooked lessons he learned along the way.

Taking risks and investing in Real Estate

There is no business without taking risks. On the topic of investing in real estate, Chris Dehring believes it to be one of the most important investments which provide a solid base so you can take risks in other areas while you build your portfolio.

“Real estate creates this financial base that’s always there and growing. It’s a solid foundation that you can always fall back on when you’ve taken risks in other parts of your portfolio.”

Passion

For Dehring, passion is his driving force. He is dedicated to embarking on new ventures that spark his passion. He began by taking risks with investment at Dehring, Bunting, and Golding (DB&J). He later pursued his first love in sports at SportsMax then returned to entrepreneurship in his current role as CEO of Ready TV.

“I need energy and my energy comes from my emotions, so if I’m not passionate about something it’s very hard for me to do it.”

Failure

Any venture that Chris Dehring joins becomes a success, and so he has been revered as having the Midas touch. Interestingly, it’s what he chose to focus on which grabs your attention, the failures that no one sees. He shares that there is never a guarantee of success in ventures, but how you deal with failure is important. He learned this early in life from his experience in sports.

“Sports teaches you that losing is a part of the game. You have to learn to pick yourself up because there is always another game.”

Teamwork

Through sportsmanship, he also explains how teamwork is important for a successful portfolio.

“With me, I think of myself as a centre-forward. I score the goal, we win the game and we get the praise but I could not have won without a goalkeeper that’s keeping the goal, offenders who are stopping the opposition, midfielders that were delivering the ball to me to score and so on.”

He spoke on how you can learn teamwork intuitively from doing sports and in his case, he’s made a living from teaming up with the right people. The attitude you have is also important as you have to learn that there will be credits and demerits all the same.

Personal Branding

Your personal brand carries a lot of weight. It is key to never believe that you are separate from your job or your career, moreso in a small society such as Jamaica- it is consequential to always be conscious of your brand.

“When I entered into DB&G I started wearing suits. I just think that if someone was going to give over their life’s savings then they are not going to give it to someone wearing a T-Shirt.

A young person in a T-shirt is just not going to engender a sense of security or confidence and then I also realised that my personal brand followed me everywhere.”

Family Life

Crucial to Dehring’s balance is his family.

“This is always hard and I can’t tell you I do it well. I changed as I aged. My Friday evenings and nights used to be going for drinks with my friends and late nights. Now I can’t wait to get home for ‘Movie & Pizza Night’ with my 7 yr old daughter and her friends. So the balance has come naturally as what I like to do with leisure time changed. But I could always inject more leisure time.”

 

What role does family play in your decision making when it comes to business? Business deals?

“Family life is affected the most by business. I never make a major decision without discussing with my wife and children. They are the fundamental reason I work hard ... to provide for them ... so they need to be involved in the decision. He shared.

In a small society it is also important for your family’s happiness and comfort to treat everybody fairly and honestly. Every business deal exposes your family and you want to have that comfort that they are likely to be treated better based on how you have conducted yourself in business as a member of a small community.

 

Dehring’s 3 Key Tips for Entrepreneurs:

1. Find a mentor

2. Have a thorough business plan, which is updated regularly

3. Learn before you earn- understand current market trends and evaluate the costs as well as the risks before making any investment

 

We hope this provides great insight into the importance of broadening your portfolio in your business ventures and helps to guide you on your way to living an iconic lifestyle! Stay tuned for the next episode which will be aired February 27. Reach your Iconic dreams through Real Estate investment. Real Estate gives Real Returns.