The Business Growth Coach® | Forbes Mentor & Neuroscience-Based Scaling Strategist | Speaker | Wiley Author Dynamic Digital Marketing | Dawn of a New Era Podcast | 30K+ Clients & £45m Generated | Scale to £100k+ Months

Dawn McGruer FRSA FCIM APM APC

The Business Growth Coach® | Forbes Mentor | Multi–7-Figure Founder | Best-Selling Author & Speaker

I’m Dawn McGruer — a multi–award-winning entrepreneur, author, and strategist on a mission to help female founders and visionary leaders scale to £100K+ months and beyond through the fusion of neuroscience, psychology, and high-performance business strategy.

At just 21, I launched my first business — and by 33, I was mortgage-free. Since then, I’ve built four multi–7-figure ventures, including my marketing agency and Business Consort – The Digital & Social Media Academy, a CIM-accredited global study centre with over 30,000 graduates, a 99% pass rate, and a reputation for excellence in digital marketing education.

Over the past 25 years, my clients have collectively generated £45M+ in revenue — and I’ve been recognised among the top 1% of business coaches globally for helping women build profitable, purpose-driven empires without burnout or hustle.

As the creator of THE DREAMLIFE™ Method and The Millionaire Scaling Strategy™, I help entrepreneurs:
✨ Rewire their subconscious for success through neuroscience & quantum psychology
✨ Overcome performance plateaus & scale sustainably
✨ Build global brands, license their intellectual property, and step into iconic leadership

I’m proud to be a Forbes Business Mentor, Best Female Speaker (PSA), and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) — and the host of Dawn of a New Era, a Top 3% Global Podcast exploring health, wealth, happiness, and high performance, with over 25K+ downloads per episode.

💼 Who I Work With

I partner with ambitious female founders already generating £20K–£50K+ months who want to scale to consistent £100K+ months — building freedom-driven, sustainable, and legacy-led businesses.

🚀 Client Results

🔥 On average, clients increase sales by 20% in 30 days
🔥 92% double their income within 60 days
🔥 Most triple recurring income within 90 days
🔥 Clients achieve ROI up to 2,900% in 6 months
🔥 87% reach £100K months within 7 months

💎 6-Month Guarantee: Double Your Money Back if You Don’t Profit.
Scale with zero risk — if you don’t make back your investment (and more) in 6 months, we’ll pay you double the difference.

🌍 Let’s Connect

If you’re ready to scale your business to 7-figures and beyond, build a global brand, or license your IP, I’d love to connect.

📩 DM me or visit www.dawnmcgruer.com
 to explore:

🔹1:1 Millionaire Mindset & Scaling Mentorship
🔹THE DREAMLIFE™ Mastermind (12 Members Only)
🔹Iconic Retreats in Barbados, Marrakesh & Mauritius

Dawn McGruer

I’m honestly disgusted by the amount of scammers on LinkedIn right now.

This week alone, eight people messaged me saying:
“XYZ used you as a testimonial because you worked with them — would you recommend them?”

Let me be crystal clear:
These people are scam artists.

They’re operating unethical businesses, and they are using real founders’ names without consent to get credibility they haven’t earned.

It breaks my heart to say this but:
👉 Don’t believe testimonials being thrown around right now.
👉 Don’t believe name-drops unless you verify them.

The rebrand agencies…
The cookie-cutter lead gen “gurus”…
The ghost writers pumping out the same recycled content…

It’s all starting to look the same, read the same, and honestly?

It feels like churn, not connection.

Social media is losing the thing that made it powerful in the first place - authenticity, integrity, and real human relationship.

Since I got hacked and lost months of work, I’ve been rebuilding.

Posting consistently. 
Showing up. 
Creating real conversations.
Growing my network one meaningful connection at a time.

So please — if you ever see my name in someone’s pitch,
don’t believe it unless you hear it from me.

I’ll always tell you the truth.
And I’ll continue to stand for integrity, transparency, and real leadership in a space that desperately needs it.

I’d live to know what you think and where social media is heading…

Anyway this week I was in Dubai relaxing with my partner making plans for 2026 and I’m off to Miami on Wednesday to spend time with 50 more female founders - my last trip of 2025!

Dawn McGruer FRSA FCIM

Dawn McGruer FRSA FCIM APM APC – The Business Growth Coach® Forbes Mentor | 4 x Founder | Best-Selling Author & Speaker | 30,000 clients + Generated 45m | Scaling Clients to 100k months+

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Wealth isn’t an event. And that’s exactly why most people never get it.

So you feel the pull… but you’re not moving.

You’re waiting. Pausing. Holding.

But sit with this for a moment:

Wealth is a process — not an event.

Freedom isn’t a moment — it’s a strategy.

You can tell yourself “it will come,”

You can set a date, buy the balloons, imagine the celebration…but you’ll only end up disappointed.

Because there is no magical day where you suddenly
got healthy,
got wealthy,
got happy.

It doesn’t happen in an instant.

It happens in a daily evolution of magnificence - steady growth, compounding momentum, micro-actions that build empires.

Promise yourself this:

70% of your time goes toward the growth that gets you to your goal.

Not long learnings.
Not busywork.
Not doing “all the things” because they feel productive.

Those things are nice to face… but they don’t move you.

They don’t build wealth.
They don’t build freedom.

Your ecosystem must be built on conscious growth,
not a wish.
Not a hope.
Not a someday.

Because the moment you stop waiting for an event and start living the process - everything changes.

So let’s get that process in flow — now.

Not when you finally feel ready.

Because in 90 days, if you commit to conscious growth instead of waiting for an event…

You’ll be richer.
You’ll be freer.
You’ll be happier.

And you’ll look back and realise this was the moment everything shifted.

Ready to step into your evolution?

Let’s chat today. 

DM me…
Worse case scenario, you’ll learn something about scaling strategy & millionaire mindset, best case you start living your dreams as reality!

My 4 Rules for December

1.	It’s not over until it’s over.

Yes, I slow down from the 22nd and take two full weeks off…but the magic begins on the 1st of December.

This is where the millionaires are made, in the quiet consistency before the world clocks out.

2.	Forecasting & Planning.

December is where I map out my entire year ahead, so my 2026 becomes nothing but clients, content, and cash.

When you have a system that brings leads in daily and monthly converts them with ease, everything shifts.

Your future feels lighter.

The numbers excite you.

The panic dissolves because you know cash will continue to flow.

You start showing up differently, because you’re already living the life of your 2036 self now.

3.	A goal is just a wish. A plan makes it reality.

My signature 90-minute Strategy Sessions deliver pure clarity, fast epiphanies, and immediate money-making momentum.

We’ll plug your profit drains, uncover your fast-cash opportunities, and create your Money Map, the blueprint to scaling to £100K+ months and beyond.

4.	December decides your destiny.

Don’t wait for January to “feel ready.”

Millionaires move now.

DM me the word MAP to book your Strategy Session.

Let’s set up your most profitable year yet.

Picture this: you walk into 2026 already sitting on £500K forecasted revenue, while everyone else is still scrambling through the January chaos trying to catch up.

November is the quiet power move month - the moment where Q1 is won or lost.

Lock in your model now and glide into the new year composed, intentional, and already ahead of the market.

Spend December in peace - not pressure.

Sip your champagne, enjoy the season, and smile while everyone else is in the frenzy of last-minute campaigns.

Let February be the month you expand with elegance, not exhaustion.

I don’t set resolutions - I architect evolutions.

Make the move now. 

Secure the freedom, the time, and the cash flow your future self is already thanking you for.

Future you is calling — time to reclaim your millionaire identity!

Three destinations.
Three transformations.
One year that will redefine who you are as a founder, a leader, and a creator of wealth.

Barbados. Marrakesh. Mauritius.

Barbados • March 16–21
The Visionary Reset - Start your year with clarity, confidence, and a 7-figure scaling strategy.

Marrakesh • Jun 22–26 
The Icon Era - Step boldly into your next level of power, visibility & wealth.

Mauritius • Sept 7–11 
The Legacy Expansion - Close your year with deep renewal and a long-term wealth plan.

Each retreat designed to unlock a different version of you - the visionary, the icon, the legacy-builder.

These retreats aren’t holidays.
They are recalibrations.

Immersions where clarity drops in, your power returns,
and life finally feels aligned with the founder you know you’re becoming.

Intimate groups, deep support, 1:1 coaching woven into every day…and connections that stretches far beyond the trip.

If your body is whispering “this is the year” — trust it.

Your next chapter is only one decision away.

Want the details?…our early bird and Black Friday offer e ds Sunday 30th…

Comment or DM “RETREAT” and I’ll send everything over.

Your elevation begins the moment you say yes.

“Most founders are sitting on a $1.6M asset… and don’t even see it.”

Most founders are sitting on a 7-figure asset…and still trading time for money.

We build licensing programmes for founders who want to turn their IP into a global network of certified partners.

This isn’t theory.

It’s a proven model that can generate $1.6M+ in licensing revenue within 36 months, with 1,600%–2,000% ROI — without ads, franchises, or bloated teams.

✔ High-margin recurring income
✔ Fast capital recovery (often 3–4 months)
✔ Authority positioning as the global standard
✔ Scalable impact without operational burnout

This is how founders stop selling time and start owning scalable assets.

DM LICENSE for details.

Crowdvest LLC

At CrowdVest, our focus is simple: cash-flowing assets right out of the gate.

We specialize in NNN lease opportunities and properties that are 90%+ occupied, so investors can start generating income immediately rather than waiting on “potential.”

Every month, we screen 500+ opportunities nationwide, but only a small percentage make it through our vetted acquisition process. 

To give us an edge, we built SPHERE, our proprietary AI software that allows us to:
Analyze deals at scale, faster and with more precision.
Plug in our custom metrics to evaluate risk and return.
Identify opportunities that meet our strict cash flow and stability criteria.

The result: institutional-quality investments, designed for consistent returns and long-term wealth creation.

Partner

Nextavest

NextaVest was built to give investors access to a diversified portfolio of property types that generate passive income and long-term stability. Our platform sources and manages opportunities across:

Multifamily housing

Warehouses & industrial assets

Medical office buildings

Mobile home parks

Golf courses & lifestyle properties

Hotels & hospitality

By widening the investment lens beyond a single asset class, we help investors build resilient portfolios that balance consistent cash flow with appreciation potential.

Every deal is underwritten with discipline, backed by market fundamentals, and selected for its ability to deliver real, dependable returns.

At its core, NextaVest exists to empower professionals — especially physicians and high earners — to turn active income into sustainable passive wealth through institutional-quality real estate.

Co-Founder

Trust Equity Partners

Trust Equity Partners was established  with a clear mission: to identify, develop, and scale opportunities in self-storage and multifamily housing — two of the most resilient and in-demand sectors of real estate.

Unlike firms chasing broad asset classes, we’ve always believed in the power of specialization. Self-storage and multifamily consistently outperform in both strong and uncertain markets, driven by population growth, lifestyle shifts, and the ongoing demand for affordable, accessible housing and storage solutions.

Our strategy is simple but disciplined:

Ground-up development & value-add projects that unlock true equity growth.

Rigorous market analysis to identify high-demand, supply-constrained locations.

Trusted partnerships with seasoned operators and developers who deliver results.

Aligned capital structures designed to maximize investor returns while managing downside risk.

For years, investors have trusted us to take projects from blueprint to stabilized asset, creating real, tangible equity growth in sectors that stand the test of time.

At Trust Equity Partners, our vision is straightforward: Build with discipline. Grow with purpose. Deliver lasting value.

Investor Relations  / Partner

Empire Commercial

As a Partner at Empire Commercial Group, I was instrumental in driving the firm’s growth and success in the commercial real estate sector nationwide.  I  focused on strategic planning, client relations, and project management, helping guide Empire’s expansion and execution across diverse markets.

$2,000,000,000+ in transactions closed

47 states with a proven national footprint

Deep expertise in deal structuring, acquisitions, and dispositions

My work was centered on building lasting partnerships and delivering results for investors, developers, and clients by identifying opportunities, structuring deals, and ensuring execution from start to finish.

Empire’s legacy is built on discipline, scale, and trust — and I’m proud to have played a leading role in shaping that vision since 2004.

Real Estate Broker / Owner / GP / LP

Premium Luxury Storage | Real Estate Investor & Developer | Pro Skee-Ball Player | LP/GP ➡️ "DATA NOT DRAMA"

I grew up around medicine. My parents built one of the largest cancer and OB/GYN research centers in the country, Meridian, which they later sold after years of groundbreaking work. From them, I learned two things early on: the value of relentless dedication to a mission, and the reality that even the most accomplished physicians often struggle to create financial security once they retire.

That gap became my focus. I realized that doctors despite decades of serving patients often lacked access to reliable passive income strategies that could support them beyond their medical careers.

That’s why I founded NextaVest a platform designed to give physicians and professionals the tools to turn active earnings into sustainable, long-term wealth. Through strategic real estate and alternative asset investments, we help doctors protect their financial futures while they continue focusing on patient care.

Today, I’ve partnered with CrowdVest to expand access even further delivering a broader range of institutional-quality assets to investors who want their money working as hard as they do.

At the intersection of medicine and finance, my mission is simple:
➡️ Honor the legacy of healthcare innovators who dedicate their lives to saving others.
➡️ Empower them with financial freedom when it’s time to step back from practice.

Adam Shapiro

We put out an ad to bring on 20 new Investor Relations reps to join our team.

136 people applied.
30 people said “I’m in.”
5 actually showed up and went to work.

I sat with that for a while.
It reminded me of something I’ve learned in real estate, in business, in life:

Everyone loves the idea of opportunity.
Very few love the consistency required to turn it into something real.

Dreams are loud.
Execution is quiet.

And the people who show up  even when it’s not convenient, even when it’s new, even when it’s uncomfortable  those are the ones who end up changing their lives.

We don’t need the 136.
We don’t even need the 30.
We build with the 5.

Because in every deal, every raise, every team…
the ones who actually show up separate themselves without even trying.

More to come. 
The story is just getting started.

Turning income into legacy | Featured across NextaVest, Capstaq & Crowdvest

The world keeps telling us that politics matter.
That religion divides.
That war is inevitable.
That hate is normal.
That jealousy is human nature.

But none of that was ever meant for love.

Somewhere along the way, people forgot how much pain comes from things that were never supposed to define us in the first place.

Families torn apart because someone voted differently.
Friendships ending because someone prayed differently.
Lives lost because someone lived on the wrong side of a line drawn by people who never had to fight on it.
Hearts hardened because hate felt easier than healing.
Dreams crushed because jealousy whispered louder than gratitude.

We weren’t built for that.

We weren’t built to carry the weight of every argument, every headline, every division, every wound someone else created.

We were built for connection.
For empathy.
For seeing ourselves in people who don’t look like us, speak like us, vote like us, worship like us.

We were built to protect each other, not pick each other apart.
To listen, not label.
To lift, not compare.
To love, not weaponize love.

But somewhere along the way, we traded understanding for outrage.
We traded compassion for competition.
We traded humanity for headlines.

And the cost has been enormous —
not in history books,
but in the quiet places nobody talks about:

The mother who won’t speak to her son.
The friends who unfollowed each other over beliefs they never really explained.
The people who go to bed every night feeling alone in a world filled with billions of others.
The hearts that wanted to give more… but learned to give less just to survive.

None of this was meant for love.
None of it.

Love is supposed to soften you.
Not shatter you.
Love is supposed to widen your world.
Not divide it.
Love is supposed to remind you that underneath all the noise,
every human being is carrying something they don’t know how to say out loud.

Maybe the world doesn’t need more opinions.
Maybe it just needs more people willing to look at someone they disagree with
and see a human being instead of an enemy.

Because hate is taught.
Jealousy is triggered.
War is built.
Division is manufactured.

But love?
Love is who we were before the world told us to become something else.

And maybe…
maybe it’s time to find our way back.

A few years ago, I brought lunch to a group of police officers.

Nothing fancy. 
No audience. 
No photos planned.

Just me, a table, and people who had no idea who I was.

I sat there and listened.

For hours.

I didn't pitch. 
I didn't name-drop. 
I didn't talk about my portfolio.

I just showed up.

And something shifted that day.

Most people think credibility comes from scale. More assets. 
More deals. 
More investors.

Bigger stage. 
Louder voice. 
More followers.

But that's not how trust actually works.

Real credibility comes from consistency.

Showing up the same way in the small rooms as you do in the big ones.

Being present when no one is watching.

Treating the first-time investor like you'd treat the institution.

Those officers didn't care about my net worth. They cared that someone took the time to sit with them. 
To listen. 
To actually be there.

And here's what I learned.

The best deals I've ever done didn't start in boardrooms. 
They didn't start on stage. 
They didn't start with a pitch deck or a polished presentation.

They started across a simple table.

With people who valued integrity over headlines.

People who could feel the difference between someone performing success and someone actually living it.

Strong relationships outperform strong returns.

And the operators who understand that are the ones who stay in the game the longest.

If you want to work with an operator who treats every partnership the same way, whether it's a billion-dollar institution or a first-time investor, send me a message.

Happy to walk you through what I'm evaluating next.

I watched a seller lose his own deal once.

Not because the numbers were wrong. Not because the buyer backed out. Not because the asset had issues.

He lost it for one reason: He could not control his pace.

We were days away from signing. Terms were finalized. Financing was aligned. Everyone was ready to move.

And then the seller started pushing.

More calls. More pressure. More last minute demands. More fear disguised as urgency.

He thought speed would protect him. But all it did was expose him.

The buyer slowed down. The trust evaporated. And the deal that was already won slowly unraveled.

It taught me something I never forgot.

Most deals are not lost because of logic. They are lost because one person panics at the wrong time.

In real estate, pace is a language. It communicates confidence. It communicates stability. It communicates that you are thinking, not reacting.

The seller forgot that.

He tried to force motion. He tried to create pressure. He tried to win the moment instead of winning the deal.

And the buyer walked away.

When they met the next week, the seller said, "I just wanted to make sure you were serious."

The buyer replied, "If you were serious, you would have slowed down."

That was the lesson.

Deals are rarely destroyed by the big mistakes. They are destroyed by small moments where ego tries to take control.

If you learn to manage your pacing, you will manage the room. And if you manage the room, you will close far more deals than you lose.

The best investors I know don't rush. They don't panic. They don't force.

They breathe. They think. They let the deal breathe too.

That's how you win.

There’s a restaurant I think about often.
Not because it’s fancy.
Not because it’s famous.
But because nothing about it makes sense.

To get there, you drive past the places most people stop.
Past the gas station.
Past the last streetlight.
Past the point where your phone loses signal and your nerves start whispering, “This can’t be the right way.”

And then, tucked between an abandoned mill and a river that floods every spring, you see it.

A small building.
No sign.
No parking lot.
No marketing.
No reason — none — that it should still be in business.

Yet it’s packed every single night.

People line up in the cold.
In the rain.
In the kind of heat that makes you question your life choices.
They wait an hour… sometimes two… just to get inside.

One evening, curiosity finally won. I asked the owner:

“How is this place successful?
This location makes no sense.
You’re basically hidden from the entire world.”

He laughed the way only someone who has earned their peace can laugh — not arrogant, not amused, just certain.

Then he told me the kind of truth you don’t forget:
⸻

“We built this place quietly.”
No ads. No billboards. No shouting.
Just food so honest it never needed a spotlight.

“The world notices noise for a moment,” he said,
“but remembers authenticity forever.”
⸻

“We built this place patiently.”
“The first year, some nights we had two customers.
Sometimes one.
Sometimes none at all.”

He didn’t chase trends.
Didn’t cut corners.
Didn’t rush the process.

“People think patience is waiting,” he said.
“It’s not. Patience is serving your best even when nobody is watching.”
⸻

“We built this place relentlessly.”
Same early mornings.
Same knife work.
Same simmering pot.
Same counter wiped down even when no one touched it.

“Consistency,” he said,
“is how you earn trust from people who haven’t met you yet.”
⸻

Eventually a traveler stopped in.
Then a truck driver.
Then a group of friends.

Each one left saying the same thing:

“You have to try this place.”

No marketing campaign can compete with a whisper that honest.

Now people drive hours out of their way to eat there.
Birthdays. Anniversaries. First dates. Reunions.
Even final meals before goodbyes.

All because, in the middle of nowhere, someone chose to build something real —
quietly,
patiently,
relentlessly.

That restaurant shouldn’t exist.
But it does.
And it thrives.

Not because everyone can find it…
but because the right people can’t stop talking about it.

A message came through yesterday.

It wasn't long.

But it stopped me.

Not because of the compliment.

But because it showed me what consistency actually builds.

I don't post to impress people.

I post to create clarity.

Around risk. Around timing. Around discipline.

In a space where those three things get ignored far too often.

So when someone reaches out and says they trust my thinking.

When they say they come back because I explain the why, not just the numbers.

When they say they want to know what I'm seeing in the market right now.

That's when I know something is working.

People are not looking for hype.

They are looking for somebody who thinks clearly when the market gets loud.

Somebody who explains the why behind the deal, not just the numbers on the page.

Somebody who isn't afraid to say what they're avoiding.

Just as much as what they're buying.

Clarity creates trust.

Trust creates conversations.

And conversations create opportunity.

I've built my entire approach around this.

Looking at more deals than most people see in a lifetime.

Analyzing them. Questioning them. Stress-testing them.

And only moving on the ones where the risk-adjusted returns actually make sense.

Not the ones that look good in a pitch deck.

But the ones that hold up when you dig.

If you are evaluating deals right now.

Or you want to understand what I am raising for next.

Send me a message.

I will walk you through what I am seeing.

What I am avoiding.

And where the strongest risk-adjusted returns actually are today.

We grow up thinking the greatest teachers are the ones we read, follow, or listen to.
But the real teacher?
Experience.

Experience doesn’t sugarcoat anything.
It doesn’t care about your plans.
It doesn’t wait until you’re “ready.”

It teaches you through deals that fall apart at the finish line.
Through partnerships that looked perfect on paper.
Through decisions you thought were right… until they weren’t.

Experience is undefeated because it forces you to confront the truth.
Not the version you wanted — the version you needed.

Books can guide you.
Mentors can help you.
Advice can support you.
But experience transforms you.

Every setback sharpens you.
Every failure rewires you.
Every win reminds you why you kept going.

If you’re in the middle of something hard — pay attention.
That’s the lesson.
That’s the teacher.

And when you finally come out the other side,
you won’t just be smarter —
you’ll be someone who earned their wisdom the only way that lasts.

Through experience.

Most investors tour a property the same way.

They look at the roof. They check the parking lot. They ask about HVAC, rents, and cap rates. All important. All obvious.

But there is one moment in every tour that tells you more about long-term value than every metric on paper.

And almost nobody pays attention to it.

It happens when the operator stops talking.

That ten-second pause.

When they look around the building and you can tell whether they actually understand what the property wants to become.

Not what the pro forma says. Not what the seller told them. Not what the model suggests.

That silence reveals whether you are dealing with someone who sees the asset as a living system or just a spreadsheet.

Early in my career, I ignored that moment.

I thought value lived in numbers, comps, and rent rolls.

Then I toured a center with an operator who barely spoke.

He just walked. Watched. Listened.

And after thirty minutes he pointed at one corner of the property and said, "That is the entire deal. Fix that corner and the rest unlocks."

He was right.

That property doubled in under three years.

Since then, I have learned something critical.

Great operators do not rush to impress you.

They do not dominate the tour.

They let the asset speak.

And the ones who can read that silence build value the rest of the industry never sees.

Because they understand something most investors miss.

The numbers tell you what happened.

The silence tells you what will happen.

If you want to know the exact moment I look for on every tour and why it predicts long-term value better than any metric on the sheet, DM me and I will send you the insight.

People always ask me the same question: 
Adam how do I………

“How do you pick the right people to hire?”
“How much time do you invest into them?”
“How do you know who’s worth betting on?”

I’ve hired hundreds of people across multiple companies…
and my metrics always come back to three things — nothing fancy, nothing complicated:

1. Give everyone a chance.
You never really know who someone is until you put them in a real environment.
Resumes lie. Titles lie. Energy doesn’t.
Some of my best people today were the ones nobody would’ve picked on paper.

2. What you pour into someone from day one determines everything.
Most hires fail because leaders disappear.
If you want people to care, show them you care first.
Teach them. Support them. Walk with them in the beginning, not after they “prove themselves.”
Day one is culture. Day one is trajectory.

3. Never give up on someone who’s trying.
Effort is the real KPI.
I can fix skill. I can fix speed. I can fix process.
I can’t fix someone who doesn’t want it.
But when someone keeps showing up — even imperfectly — that’s the person who usually turns into a leader.

People think hiring is about finding the “perfect person.”
It’s not.
It’s about building people, not sorting them.

That’s how teams grow.
That’s how companies scale.
And honestly, that’s how you change someone’s life.

—Adam Shapiro

This morning, I found myself thinking about the first deal I ever closed.

Not because it was big.
Not because it changed my life.
But because of what happened after the closing call ended.

The investor I worked with pulled me aside and said something I did not fully understand at the time:

“You did a good job, Adam. But I didn’t invest because of the deal. I invested because I believed you would still be here when things went wrong.”

I was young.
Ambitious.
Focused on cap rates, tenants, and the spreadsheet in front of me.

Trust was a word I assumed you earned by performance.

It took me years to learn the truth.

In commercial real estate, trust has very little to do with the purchase price or the pro forma.
It has everything to do with how you show up when the market tests you.

I have seen operators disappear the moment pressure hits.
I have seen deals fall apart because no one wanted to deliver the hard news.
I have seen investors lose more money to ego than to bad timing.

And I have also seen the opposite.

Deals survive because someone stayed calm.
Partnerships grow because someone communicated clearly.
Investors return because someone proved they could be steady long after the excitement faded.

Two decades in this business has taught me something simple:

Anyone can win a good market.
Very few people earn trust in a hard one.

That is why the real test of an operator is not how they speak when everything works.
It is how they think when everything breaks.

If you want to understand the decision frameworks I use to stay consistent through volatility, timing, and uncertainty, send me a message.

I am happy to share how I evaluate operators, build trust with investors, and protect capital long before a deal ever closes.

DM “trust” and I will send you a breakdown of the principles that have kept me steady for twenty years.

I was sitting across from a guy who had just lost $200K on a deal.

Not because the market turned.

Not because the numbers were wrong.

Because the person managing it didn't care about his capital the way he did.

He told me something I'll never forget.

"I would've lost less if I just lost it all at once. At least then I'd know."

So I asked him what he'd do differently next time.

He said, "I'm looking for someone who won't chase the headline. Someone who actually thinks about what could go wrong before they tell me what could go right."

That stuck with me.

Because I realized early on that anyone can show you a spreadsheet.

Anyone can post returns, models, screenshots.

But the real business isn't built on what you say in the room.

It's built on what people say about you when you're not there.

So I made a decision.

I would never oversell a deal just to get it done.

I wouldn't chase excitement to look smart in the short term.

I wouldn't put someone else's capital at risk to prove a point.

Instead, I'd focus on one thing.

Protecting downside first.

Always.

And something interesting happened.

People started talking.

Not about my returns.

About my process.

About the way I think about risk.

About the fact that I won't move until I'm certain.

And those conversations became worth more than any headline number ever could.

Because they came from people who had seen the other side of investing.

The uncertainty. The patience. The discipline.

They weren't responding to charisma.

They were responding to clarity.

To process.

To someone who treats their capital like it's sacred.

Here's what I learned.

Reputation compounds faster than money.

And when you do this business the right way, people feel it.

If you want to understand how I evaluate deals, manage risk, and keep emotions out of decisions, send me a message.

I'm always open to walking serious investors through how we operate and what we're raising for next.

I had a strong deal under contract.

Good tenants. Solid fundamentals. The kind of project every operator wants on their track record.

Then I made a mistake.

I accepted capital that wasn't aligned with how I work. Money that moved fast. Money that panicked fast. Money that wanted the return but not the process that protects it.

At first, everything looked fine.

But the moment the timeline shifted, the calls started. The pressure started. The second-guessing started.

Not because the deal was bad. But because the capital behind it didn't have the temperament to hold it.

So I learned something that day.

The wrong capital can destroy the right deal. Not through numbers. But through fear, urgency, and the pressure to prove something quickly.

Since then, I've been intentional about who I work with.

I don't choose capital based on availability. I choose it based on alignment, patience, and the ability to stay calm when the market doesn't cooperate.

Good deals require steady hands. Good partnerships require clear expectations. And long-term wealth requires investors who understand the difference.

Today, I evaluate investors the same way they evaluate me.

Not on returns. But on rhythm, trust, and whether we see the world through the same lens.

Because here's the truth.

The best deals aren't built on speed. They're built on stability.

If you want to understand what aligned capital really looks like, and how I decide who to partner with on each deal, send me a message.

I'll walk you through the exact principles I use to choose the right investors for the right opportunities.

He sold a company losing $100M a year.
They paid him $4.2B.
Then sued him.
He kept the money.

Kevin O’Leary was 19.
Working at an ice cream shop.
His boss told him to scrape gum off the floor.
A girl was watching.
He said no.
Got fired instantly.

His mom told him, “When you work for someone, you do what they say.”
Kevin decided, “That’s the last day I ever work for anybody.”

Everyone laughed at him.
He didn’t listen.

His mother secretly invested a third of every paycheck.
Dividend stocks.
Bonds.
Quiet wealth.
He only found out after she died.

He wanted to be a photographer.
His stepfather said he’d starve.
He got an MBA instead.

Started SoftKey in a basement with $35,000.
His first big investor backed out the day before signing.
Most people would’ve quit.
He didn’t.

By 1993 SoftKey did $110M in revenue.
And lost $57M.
He didn’t care.
He cared about growth.

He acquired The Learning Company for $606M.
Rebranded.
Kept buying competitors.

By 1998 revenue hit $800M.
Losses hit $1.1B.

Then Mattel called.
They needed a win.
Kevin sold them the whole thing for $4.2B.

Weeks later the truth came out.
Huge losses.
Mattel’s stock collapsed.
$3B in value evaporated.

Kevin got fired.
Collected $11.2M on his way out.

Mattel sold the company a year later for $27M.
One of the worst deals of all time.

Kevin got sued.
Mattel settled.
Kevin kept his millions.

Then came Dragons’ Den.
Then Shark Tank.
Today he’s worth $400M.

All because a 19-year-old refused to scrape gum off a floor.

Here’s the real lesson:
You don’t need a perfect company.
You need a company someone wants to buy.

Mattel wanted growth, brand, market share.
Kevin sold them the story they wanted.

Success isn’t about profit.
It’s about positioning.
It’s about timing.
It’s about knowing what buyers value.

Stop waiting for perfect.
Stop thinking you need flawless numbers.
Build something people want.
Sell it.
Think bigger.

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The Battle

Dawn McGruer

Adam Shapiro

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taplio

The Battle

Dawn McGruer

Adam Shapiro

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dawn McGruer's LinkedIn Performance

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