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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. Tips for real estate developers Make sure to tune in to part 2 to catch the rest of the conversation. Here are three things I took out of my discussion with Troy: 1. Your mindset helps decide your life I know people keep banging on about having the right mindset, and it is almost a cliche, but it is actually true. We live in the world of our own making, and the funny thing is, is that you can create the life and world that you want. Not just by thinking about it, but working on it. The key is deciding what you want, and then putting in place a plan to get there, and importantly getting help along the way from people who have done it, or know how to guide you. When you decide that nothing will stand in your way, then you just get on with it. Your brain has the amazing capacity to believe or be programmed, and coupled with your heart/desire, you can achieve incredible things. So if you are sitting there thinking about all the reasons why you can’t do something, try flipping it around and asking about all the ways that you can. 2. Early success can be a curse I have been down this path before. Sometimes having early success can lead you to be complacent about what you need to do to continue being successful. Troy talked about how he did well out of his first renovation, and he thought it was because of everything he did, whereas he found a buyer willing to pay a great price for his homestead, which was a little unique, but when he did something more conventional, he came up against the weight of the market. I found that with my second project. I thought that since council supported, in fact pushed, for a more dense project, they would do the same on my next project, but they didn’t and it was a costly lesson. 3. Identify your perfect site This is a good tip from Troy. Once you identify your perfect site, it narrows your search parameters and focuses your effort. You are less likely to go down rabbit holes chasing potential development sites of all shapes, sizes and locations. It also allows you to be clear with agents about what you are looking for, so they can help find it. Troy gave a few things you can consider to identify your perfect site - the location, the project type, and the likely cost.