Scot Ulmer – Owner of Scot Ulmer Real Estate

I always try to take 1 day a month to not be in office, to turn my phone off and focus ON the business, from the outside looking in.

Scot Ulmer is a dedicated and experienced young professional, who has been able to see both the ups and downs of the business world. He currently lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he works as a real estate professional, who recently opened his own company, Little Pink Houses Of America.

A raging workaholic, Scot Ulmer started working at the age of fourteen, and from there he’s grown to see all different aspects of business, with real estate in particular. Over the course of his 21-year career in real estate, he’s developed expert-level communication, management and negotiation skills, which in turn have set the way for his path to success.

Scot Ulmer grew up outside of Tampa, to a family with little money. This taught him how to appreciate the little things in life that most people take for granted. He studied at Ohio State University, where he graduated with a degree in Business, Finance & Communications. At the age of 26, he won the “20 Under 40” Award for a business he founded, called the “Aspiring Minds of Toledo”.

An advocate for nonprofit, Scot Ulmer enjoys working with various charities, so that he can give back to his community and work closely with his church on various projects to raise money for those in need. He helps his church collect bread from grocery stores to donate to the hungry, and is a member of the charitable organization Little Pink Houses of Hope. Scot Ulmer currently lives with his wife and three children, who he loves unconditionally.

Where did the idea for Scot Ulmer Real Estate come from?

It’s something that I’ve worked with and certainly been aware of for a long time. There is a need in today’s real estate world with the challenges of banks. There are a lot of qualified folks who are not able to reach their real estate goals and we are here to bridge that gap. We are an investment firm that works with buyers who can afford to buy a home but not necessarily qualify for the loan they need.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I always start off my day with quiet time, I am a very spiritual person, always read my bible in the morning and make sure that I’m thankful, and that I am surrendering every day. Then, I spend time devising lists, before checking my email. I make a list for the day, and then work off of it. I’ve always believed in having a functioning list to maximize efficiency.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I’m a big believer in master mind, and what that means to me is that every time there’s an idea, we will meet in a group and brainstorm, poke holes in it, look around and take a look from every angle. I think it’s important to have private time every week, where you can work on your business not just in the business. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae, so I always try to take 1 day a month to not be in office, to turn my phone off and focus ON the business, from the outside looking in.

What’s one trend that really excites you?

Providing service to a group of people who qualify for and deserve it but haven’t been able to acquire it themselves.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

That’s a great question. I think that being productive means creating and sticking to a working list each day. It is important to me to make sure that I have time away from my office to look inside the business from a more outside perspective. I’m a visionary and like to vision where I see us in 10 – 15 years, and to plan out how to most effectively use the roadmap devised.

What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?

My worst job — I used to clean out houses that were covered in cockroaches and maggots, one time a fire had burned a house down and there were dead cats inside! What i learned from it is that I never wanted to do it again and that was the best lesson of all. Learning that I wanted to work with my mind and not my hands.

If you were to start again, what would you do differently?

Great question, I would tell you and I don’t mean to sound cliche, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and it would be easy to say I want to go back but hardships have made me who I am today so with the risk of sounding cliche I wouldn’t want to change anything because I wouldn’t be where I am today if I did.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I’m a big believer in having habits. Routines are so important to maximize efficiency. I find that when I stick to my routine, getting up at 5am most days, giving myself personal time in the mornings where I take 20-30 min to pray and meditate and surrender my day, start my list and try to work off it. I can’t stress enough how tremendously important it is to have a routine that works for you.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.

Great question, our strategy is finding what we do best and sticking to it. Deviating from what you do well can cause you to lose focus and so I would say that what worked so well for us was finding our niche and sticking to it.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

My father’s company failed and it was devastating. That failure was that we lost everything and how we overcame it was by having to dig deep and almost reinvent myself. However, that failure created such a drive and such a mission inside of me that I never wanted to go through that again.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

To continuously educate yourself and to look and learn from someone who’s already paved the way for you.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I recently took my 10 and 3 year old children out to a nice fancy dinner and it was fun, to say the least.

What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?

We have a crm – sales force, and it streamlines and systematizes our line — very simple but the truth.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

I recommend Good to Great. I read it over 10 years ago and it changed how I do business. I quote it at least 5 times a week. It’s an MBA in a book, and I recommend to anyone looking to get involved in business.

What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?

I would say Stephen Covey, Joel Osteen because I’m a spiritual guy and I like his message and his optimism, as well as the author of Good to Great and how he views philosophy. Some of his paradoxes have been principles we govern our business by.

Connect:

Scot Ulmer on Twitter: @scot_ulmer
Scot Ulmer on LinkedIn: