I Owe My Entire Success to One thing! - Moshe Morris - Pushet Pshat • Ep 27 (English Episode)

bit painful because it was after losing quite a bit of money that I was pouring the money down the drain. >> How do you refresh your brain? How do you keep calm? >> Don't understand why there isn't a real hub here in Stanford Hill. >> No one wants to fund it. >> To this day, I can close my eyes and I can see them on fire. I don't think I've ever said this before, but now we're just the three of us. No one else listening. Um it's an honor for me to introduce and hunt Morris um partner founder of invest um I think um involved in many charities including work avenue >> seed >> seed etc etc we'll get to all of them soon probably English So but rais introduce yourself and we'll take it from there. >> Thank you. Thank you both. I was born in London. I went to parters house which is a claim to fame because later on when I went to university and I mixed with more modern people. I always say to them that I went to parters's house and I learned the yiddish. I didn't know what it meant. I was a young kid at the time. So that was the beginning. think I went on to further education in London um schools grammarian and then went to yeshiva's cult tora where I learned primarily under and became very close to him >> why why did your father send you to where you learn yish >> he was my father's he was influenced by the sasba so my two older sisters went to manura primary school but my father was influenced to send me I was the older of the two I've got a younger brother to P's house. So I I I I I love the the the Yiddish. I love my Rebers. Robert Vice was one of my Rebas who's outstanding. I could honestly say that I learned so much with him in the last year in Pard's house that I still remember to today. We used to learn literally the whole Sedra every week and everything was on the board and he had a tremendous tremendous um hashbi for the later years. I stayed in touch with him when he was later and he was unwell and going to hospital. But we always stayed in touch. So that relationship right going back to primary school remained with me and I think that was the the moreish you know I I there is no way to change a aid rebum literature rebas. So that gives you I think it's the vite. forch. Fore as the came from the guilt. >> Wow. And um so you moved on to going to Manura school. >> Went to Manura school where I I I started my high education. There were issues there. We went I went to Hasminian and then I went to um Colto Shiva for 3 years. I got married after two and a half years. So the last half a year was in co I became very close to later on in my life I ended up publishing force for him from from moy to shabas friend of mine young guy kalinaid published them for me to find and um soon after was nifa we bought all the kisad and a lot of notes from the shim he gave so that was and that took me back to my days show. >> What do you mean? What do you mean you have been close to him? Have you been with him? Have you spoken to him? >> I was fortunate to have a car in my later years in Colorra and when I was married, I used to live next to where he lived. So I started to give him a lift after Israel >> in Israel. In Israel. So I started to give him a lift and be had a started to have a relationship with him, ask him questions. Um going back to when I was in Cotto. And then you came back to London. >> Came back to London. Went to university to study real estate, >> urban estate management. And then big world. I wanted to get into one of the big firms. It very difficult for a forum guy to get into the very big firms. This is what was called Jones Lang Wooden in those days. Now it's called Jones Lang Lassal or JLL. I was the only for person there. I went in, I worked hard, worked my way up from a um literally just an assistant helping to building up a large portfolio. At the heyday there, I was there for 10 years. We built up a portfolio of one half billion pounds worth of real estate on behalf of clients before we left. Um I left with one of the guys who was working with me at the time, Morris Golker, who's now a Shuv. So we we built up a very large business in Jones Lang. We were known into the Jewish business. Um, and Bashem was a huge keshm. It was very much very successful. We generated a lot of money for the firm. When we left it was all done and we left and we set up our own business in 2002 and that was invest my own real estate. >> So until 2002 for 10 years. So you worked for 10 years over there. So from 1992 >> two to 2002. >> And when did you get married? >> I got married before. I was already married. I got married in ' 89. So I got married young, 89 and I was 20. My wife is 18. She was originally from Manchester. She moved to London. So I was already married by by the time I went to university. I was married in Yeshiva when I was in in Cole. So then I came back three years studying while I was married and then I went to Jones Lang. So I was married. I was working hard. Um a lot of people in the firm big firm you know my office was over a thousand people. They used to say it become it's it's easy for him. He just makes money. He's doing deals. They didn't realize that I used to work long hours. I did work often on Sunday because obviously Friday I left early and sometimes in the mornings I was there early but we were definitely known you know as the successful Jewish boys. We built up a very big business while we're there and at some stage and it was mainly Jewish clients and at one stage we got to the stage where we realized we want to set up on our own. And will you say as back in the days when you got married went to the business you had the vision where you want to get you are one of the kind of successful people around when you went to university you said okay this is what I want to do or it kind of happened through >> I think it happens I don't think you can over plan I think you need to take it stage by stage I always had a plan to realize that I was looking at what was best for me so whenever I was in the firm I was trying to sort of position myself that one day I would set up. But I think you got to st take it stage by stage. When I was at Jones Lang, I just wanted to be successful there billing doing a lot of business being successful making money for clients because I knew that if I made money for clients one day they would want to partner with me as we set up on our own. And that's that's the way it started. When we first left Jones Lang in 2002, we did um have a number of our core clients who were clients at Investor. We had them as partners. >> So that's really how we started um the business um 100% Jewish clients, mainly international investors, some from Israel, some from America. And at the end of the day, if you're Matsak and Deshmay, you're successful, then your investors will want to invest with you when you leave in order to make money. So >> I think just to explain to the average listener, um what is it exactly that investment does? Um it is rich people investing money with you guys. >> The investment doesn't have any clients. So go back to um Jones Lang. >> Oh, this is Jones. >> At Jones Lang and this is the the formula we did. We had wealthy um investors who are not in real estate. If they're in real estate and and you take some of the real estate people here in London, we all know there's a limit to what you can do for them. You can put them a deal. You can do this. Here we were working either for overseas who had no operation in the UK or for wealthy people in England and made money in another field and wanted to own real estate. We set the strategy which means what to buy? What type of sector? What what are we looking to buy? Is it there was all commercial? No residential. So is it office? Is it industrial? Where where can we please God make money? Where where what is the strategy? Where are we going to what are we going to do? We got to buy it for this or we going to sell it for that? What is the strategy? And then you find the investments. Then we used to find the finance as well. So we used to say to the client, you know, it's 100 million pound deal. There was some very big deals out of the one and a half billion big deal 100 million. We're going to borrow 80 85 90 million. you're going to need to put in the the the difference and we will find the finance. We'll deal with the lawyers. We'll deal with the accountants. We'll asset manage it. We'll organize the day-to-day management. We'll take care of everything and we'll either refinance it or we will sell it with a plan. So, everything had a plan and that was 10 years. >> So, I learned the business if you like at Jones >> but and and then with investing you just did it for yourself. You >> with partners with our own money in partnership with some other some with people who were previous clients >> and still just in the commercial >> in the commercial >> only the commercial. We went from traditional commercial into student accommodation which was a big um sector for us. These are big big projects huge projects. One of them we had was um 500 room a tower next to the shard. London Bridge was was 500 room permission that went up to nearly like a thousand. These were big schemes. We did a lot of students but our main focus is has been sort of offices. >> That's been the main focus. It's all about in my view it's about adding value. So it it's we don't buy anything if there's nothing we can do. We're looking to buy something where we can change it, position it, and make money. >> Maximize the potential of it basically. >> No, no. It's it's it's every child. I want to be a millionaire. Yeah. I'm a millionaire. What can you say that gave you that? Well, first of all, we all know 99%. I honestly believe in that and I had a story yesterday, two days ago at H3. I was at H3 conference and from the beginning of the day until the end of the day, I said this to a good friend of mine, Saul Moskovich. I explained the whole story at the end of one of the the talks. I saw see I literally I saw the Yad Hashem and that for me is a big thing. It's a huge thing. It's a privilege and it's a big huge to see the Yadashem when something left field comes out you're not expecting it. And to me this is the most exciting part of my day is when I see when you see the normal way what I say it's more difficult to see theem you're doing an average deal a marginal deal. Should I do it? and they do it difficult to see the other shem. But when something comes that you're not expecting, somebody wasn't meant to call you, something wasn't meant to happen or you suddenly realize you're doing a deal and you know his boss, you used to work with him so you can call him and close a deal. When you see the yadashem, it's a huge eyewener. It just changes. And I had this two days ago during the morning till the afternoon at the H3 conference. I saw it in my own eyes. So to me that is gives me a huge boost but at the end of the day it it is studless I can tell you the story it's a great story >> it's a tenant wanted to take a certain amount of space >> we'd agreed a in principle a deal not in sisters's hands we'd agreed a deal it wasn't it was an average size space and while we were doing that along comes another tenant out the blue who wants to take three times the amount of space to include that so we had to say, "I'm sorry, we can't do the deal." And we lost the small deal, but we got the big one. Anyone would do that. You would do the big deal, the big letting. So, that's what we did. Um, and they were still interested. Out the blue, one of our existing tenants in the building says, "We want to upgrade to bigger space." Not expected. Two minutes during the day of H3, we agree the deal for him to move double up, double the size of the space. Agree the deal. And the same day I'm agreeing that the original people should come and take the smallest space all in one day. None of it if you asked me a day before none of it was was in my mind even a minute. It wasn't there. It wasn't going to happen. So I say to and I said this to to a number of people when you see the Yad Hashem and you see it clearly first of all it's a privilege. It's not easy to see it and you have to acknowledge that it's come for the other but it's awakener that basically is telling you that really everything is but it's difficult to see it when you're doing the average marginal deal but when you have something like that it just brings home that everything is but this is put you back into the right frame of mind >> that's what I always say you want to become a real and open up a business >> that that >> as an employee where you get your regular paycheck it's very difficult to see the the other. But it's yes, I'm not saying that everyone can and that's why I say that it's when you do see it, I I've seen it a number of times. I I I don't think I've seen it that many times in my lifetime, but when you see it, you realize everything comes from Hashem. Go back to the beginning. >> Now, I remember I want to ask you about the lessons that you have learned in business on on what has contributed to the success because I remember at the boost event in Natil. Yes. Yes, you had a very very um affectionate speech there which >> so I'd say the number one is track record the the UK property market and even so even smaller in Stanford but generally the UK property it's small so being honest being straight being open being um word of mouth and realizing that you're only as good as your your the deal that you're doing now is critical. It's very very hard to build a reputation and and it can you can lose it very quickly. So building a reputation being honest with everyone telling them the truth. I'm going to try I can do it or I can't promise or I'm so that is number one for me is reputation being em being um open. Sometimes you can't you can't always do it. Sometimes I turn around to somebody and say I'm sorry I can't do this deal. Um so being very open and very honest to me is critical because then you're on the path that people will believe in you, people will trust you. Trust is not is very very important and particularly if one person in in a wider world I think has an even bigger from a kiddish hashem to do the best they can. So I'd say that to me was my number one. The other part of it I is is hard work. People think it comes easy. It just happens. It is hard work. It is putting in the hours. It is doing the research. You get in a deal. You've got to do the due diligence. You can't just say, "I'm taking a flyer. I think we should just go for it." You do the due diligence and then you still have you still have to you you know that you can plan everything. It doesn't happen. But it doesn't mean you shouldn't do your studas. And that's the key for me is you still have to do it, but you have to recognize that ultimately you can plan everything that doesn't happen. And the other way as I've said >> during during your journey in the last um 20 25 years have you ever had a story where you felt like okay things are collapsing something is going wrong challenge is going on well it was a smooth easy drive just hours and work >> if anyone ever tells you that everything is smooth and everything's never had any problems I can promise you that they're not telling the truth. So no very much we of course we've had tough times you know after Leman's bank went down there was tough times there and bashm we did well we had tremendous that we sold all of our shopping centers and quite a number of our assets before the downturn which again was was not me it was um help from up above so um no we we've definitely had tough times everyone particularly in the current market high interest rates I wouldn't say that It's been for anyone in real estate been an easy ride. Um but perseverance, hard work and um being I would just say that being as as much as possible creating friends, you know, with even sometimes you have a difficult situation where someone in business hasn't been that fair to you, you you need long-term friends, not enemies. So it's trying to just to step back whenever you are somehow worked up about something. Don't call them straight away. Don't do anything. If you want to write an email to them, write it, sleep on it, look at it again in the morning, and then send it. I think also the other thing is important to have. I'm lucky to have a a a business partner where we've never had one disagreement. We've never had a problem. Um it's helpful. Otherwise, I think it can be quite lonely on your own. So having a partner I like and I recommend it. Um not always easy if you have if you don't get on and then having also sometimes a mentor is important. Somebody that you can just talk to, somebody you can take advice from. I do a lot of that with my father should be well to be able to just do a a health check, a sound check just to see whether am I going on the wrong path? Does this make sense? Doesn't make sense. So that's one has to recognize in life you don't know everything and I don't know everything and people come to me and say you don't know I said no I'm going to think I'm going to ask in the same way sometimes you know even used to ask shilas people said to him you don't know of course he knows but he used to ask so I think having a mentor having somebody to take advice from and everyone in their working life will find somebody they older someone more experienced they can trust confide in is important. >> I think we're going to go back to Dian because I think he had a very close relationship with him. >> But just to finish off on this part that I already asked you about the challenges um I know that just in the last few years especially with commercial space with office spaces since co there has been a very uh big decline in demand for them. Has this been uh has this affected business? >> I'm sitting here having Bashan one of the best weeks in my one of the best weeks for a long time having signed quite a few leases. It comes down to there is a general decline and there's work from home. >> But I think if you have the best product in a town, you'll always be matzah. And I think that's the key. >> Make sure that you position your real estate, your asset, whatever you're doing with a service quality. Then I believe there's always demand because what happens in the real estate business is people will need offices. Even if they work from home, they're going to work from home on a on a Monday and a Friday, they're still going to need an office on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So, they need an office generally. And as the general demand might shrink, you can make money either way because either they're bigger occupiers and they're shrinking coming down to the space that you've got or they're growing. So, I think in any market you can make money. It's definitely in my opinion come down to the quality of the service. Quality of the product, quality of the service is more important than it used to be. In the old days, you had an office, you could let it. Today, the ones that are a good service and good location and quality product, what they offer, that's critical, I think. >> So, so you're obviously running a a very stressed business. Yeah. Constantly going, constantly doing, constantly having to look out of things. How do you refresh your brain? How do you keep calm, keep going? Is it something you do? >> The work life balance in my view is critical and I think everyone needs to stop and look at that. Um I can be exceptionally busy and I'm going to the gym three times a week and it just clears my head gym at home. But I managed just to it clears my head. It doesn't matter how busy I am. I try and do it. Um and sometimes people say to me, "Where are you going? Why can't we speak?" I said, "I've got another meeting." If I said I was going to the gym, they wouldn't they would interrupt me. They wouldn't it it wouldn't be an excuse. >> So, I think making time for yourself and again evenings I have non-stop people coming to see me. Bashem >> Hashem I have people coming to see me. I had somebody come to see me last night at 8:30 and um he needed help, advice. And at 9:30 I said to him, I I'm happy to continue this conversation but another time I have to go. What's you need to make time for yourself because otherwise you'll burn out. I've seen enough people burn out and it's important to have sometimes just some time. The other if I can add before coming back to Dian but it ties in the other quality of life I have is I start every morning 6:30 I'm in shaw learning at least for sort of half an hour 40 minutes and that gives me a really good solid basis. I'm not here to preach. I'm not a rabbi and I'm wearing a blue shirt in Stanford Hill. But from a um from a quality of mind, you start the day and you have no interruptions at 6:30 and you can start and you can learn. I have a number of kabusas. I do the dire every day. I do other a number of other have one init every weekish on a Sunday. I need to prepare. So I have quite a few and that's my quality time. So I think if you were to say that I I go to dafom every day but my quality time is when I can just take my mind out of work because otherwise it just gets too much. >> And your your relationship with Dian was also kabus or something. remember every Friday morning >> from 9 till 11 >> which was a challenge at times because his unbelievable mind unbelievable yas unbelievable everything the aavas tora was just phenomenal and I had to be awake I had to be sharp and you can have a coffee but it does not going to help you for two hours I have enough experience of that so an early night Thursday night I used to go to bed between 10 and 10:30 30 because then you've got a chance of of managing 2 hours because it was just the most amazing. We learned for I think 11 or 12 years every Friday morning from nine went through most of Gimmel the old gimmel which was the all the business um allocus and his knowledge just unbelievable huge huge loss huge gap but I was very close to him personally close to the family still remains very close the rebbitson can call our home two or three times a day we're very close as a family and I say it's a huge privilege and it's a huge honor to be able to um to be able to be in this position. My my proudest moment in my life was when a rabbi United Synagogue rabbi comes up to me and says, "Moshi, every time I see you, you're with Don Troy. Are you a shamus?" And I said, "Thank you. That is the proudest moment of my life." Somebody thought that I was the full-time Shamas of Dianoy was a the biggest compliment I could have ever had. Amazing. So I think I want to move on Mo a bit to work avenue. >> Yes. >> And number one sure if you know that how grateful I am to work a view because when I came up with the idea of jrit I went around a lot of people to speak about it. I remember >> and everyone told me nah nah I called the moshi I told them gonna come meet you in your house who are you call speak first to my co called co and spoke to and says let it he calls me come to my house then you show me I have a picture from from z >> we had a we had a chat and went through with this is the risks this is this is a good risk to take Ari you go for it we're going to support you go and do it it's going to be successful. So, if I wouldn't have his backbone and his sponsorship, I'm telling you, I wouldn't have pulled it off because everyone told me no. And I kept on going, but I thought like >> at least one person >> at least one person. He was the only person who told me. >> Wow. >> Go for it. >> You've got a better memory than I am. >> Listen, you meet more people than I meet. But >> no, I think what says he had a different recollection of that. >> I do remember it now. But has been very successful. >> Let's let's speak about work. I think it's a very important thing what you're doing. Why did you open it? When did you open it? What made you do it? You're enough busy, more things to do on your hand. So, what's what what what encouraged you to do it? >> I opened it for the the sole reason that we had a lot of people asking us for help. And I realized I came to the realization nearly 20 years ago, 2006. And they came to me, not only me, they came to other people, people well known in the community for help. I want to start a business. will you lend me money? And yes, we we helped them. And I realized quite soon, bit painful, because it was after losing quite a bit of money, that I was pouring the money down the drain. If you're not going to be able to have the time and the structure to help them to build their businesses, you're just pouring it down the drain because they can have an amazing idea, but they don't they don't have they can lose out on cash flow or they don't have a proper business plan or they don't know how to hire people. um they don't know how to go and talk to the bank or how to build a website. Whatever it is, if you're not going to help them properly, you are pouring it down the drain. Not just me, other friends as well. So, somebody approached me at the time and said, "Would you be interested in backing employment where we train people and we help people for banosa the employment side?" This was before shruggers ultimately. It was Debbie Sheldon was the was came to me originally. She now has gone on aliyah >> and um she came to see me at the beginning and in fact originally I employed her personally before we had the moist set up and >> she said to me Moi I want to train people and I want to help them to get jobs I said that's fine but I want to do the business side I want to do both in those days it had a name called trainee trade we changed it boem to work avenue which is a much better name and we um I wanted to be able to help somebody when they walk through the door. Whatever it is, you either need a job or you want to start a business or you have a business, you need more help. But that way, that's how we started day one that we had the business side, which was really my my focus, which is really the bit that I was was excited about that people in the community could go to work avenue and get business advice and then we give them loans and then we help them and eventually we got government loans, other loans. It went on from just a fewish alones, but it meant that we could help them properly. I say to people, do a business plan even if you're not going to look at it again. It just helps you to see which direction you're going, where you're trying to go. It's a very useful tool for everybody. Um, and with the help with originally just Debbie Sheldon, I funded it the first few years on my own just to get it going. It was originally in um not where it is now, another place in Finchley. And we started helping people and word got out um employment and business. And then many years later, we we bought the building, myself and my partner and another charitable trust, the Morris Wall charitable trust, put up most of the money and we refurbished it. And then I think from then when we had that, it really started to take off. um Shruga Zaltzman did an amazing job leading work avenue and now we've got Debbie Lret who was the head teacher in Hasminian and she's very strong um her husband is well known in in Stanford Hill side by side Gerald Labret Bash and we have a fantastic team 18 people during COVID we realized that we needed to help people a lot from Stanford a lot from Preswitch a lot from Gates who had set up their own businesses and the government couldn't help them because they were new. So we went out to the foundations um non-religious foundations and we raised a lot of money. I think it was about half a million pounds and we gave that out as not as loans. People didn't need loans in co beginning of co it was grants. It was basically people in business who couldn't get that help from the government and I raised the money very quickly. It was it was not difficult to raise the money but it wasn't it was a plaster on a dam. It wasn't the solution to employment. We knew it wasn't it was just to fix a short-term problem and around the end of COVID as we were coming out it was it was with Debbie Sheldon Shrugger had already left we were looking at how can we really do something that will build a much stronger bridge and what was staring us in the face was that you're looking at the employment side as one part you come in you want a job the employment side you're looking at the business side to help somebody set up a business. Another part what we didn't realize and then suddenly a light bulb we realized was that we can actually pull the two together to create something that is bashm being hugely successful and that is a social enterprise where we can use charitable money. We originally called it wage work avenue generating employment where we train people. We'll pay for the training. We I think we pay 80% of the training courses. We train people for employment in the areas where our businesses need them. So you've got guaranteed jobs. We have created a structure where you've got a guaranteed job. You haven't got a job at the moment. So you have a sticker, yellow sticker on your desk, phone work avenue. You haven't got the confidence to do it because you're worried if I call them, if I study, will I get a job at the end. I go for my first job interview and they say, "What experience have you got?" blank face, no experience. >> Yeah. >> So with this structure, we will give you the employment at the beginning. The businesses that we're helping, a few hundred businesses we're helping, we'll employ you half a day here, a day here, and then over time, they'll want you more time, they'll want you full-time. People move on to full-time jobs. So this for us was a huge no problem again getting the funding. We had a lot of um instit foundations wants to fund the project. Um because it's nonprofit, it makes it okay to do a social enterprise. And I think this is a big opportunity to to do more of these in the community. And this really changed and pivoted after co soon after that Debbie Lret joined. But that changed the whole perception the whole >> it gave us a lot more that we could achieve and that is really one of our key focuses today is is the um ability to give guarantee jobs. >> Now Ari um you mentioned about the co the grant I think was a bit involved in the encouragement at the time to involve Stanford Hill in it. >> Um but I think work avenue is set up in a way that it was mainly focused on the northwest community. >> Correct. And that's changing now. Work Avenue is now employing and we have a short list of people. >> Um spoke to somebody on the way over here. Um we are about to employ a fedi person to look after Stanford Hall primarily. >> Amazing. I want a question. >> Um we will fund him and will also help us in um Manchester. We opened an office recently in Manchester which is 85 90%. We officially were open to everyone but the Lisa it's it's mainly there and Gates's in touch with us as well now to work with us. So but I think coming back to Stanford Hill and we had a talk here in Stanford Hill. Um we have helped and we do help a lot more people than anyone knows because no one ever knows. >> I meet people on the streets and I and I know that I've helped them. I can't even say because their wives are there or no one knows who we help and there's a lot of people in Stanford Hill and um in in Manchester in in Gates we've been helping for years non-stop but I think the time has come when we believe it would be of benefit for Stanford Hill to have an actual person who they can relate to a a >> point of contact >> point of contact yes um we need somebody they'll have the whole backup we've got a team of 18 people in Finch business, employment, big team. >> Um, but they will be the front. They will be fully trained by us in order to um, serve the Kedi community with Stafford Hill being the primary one. And we're here to help. We we don't say no to anyone. That's very important from a work avenue perspective. Everyone who comes to us, we will try and help them. >> Is it is it a plan as well to open up the same like the hub you have in Cold Green? I believe >> we would like to. Yes, we would like to. We need to find the right space. I' let me just come on to the hub if I can. You know, if you sit at home, besides the temptation, you're sitting in your kitchen table, someone starting their business, besides the temptation of the fridge, you haven't got anyone to talk to, you don't see anyone. It's not conducive to ideas, to discussion. You come to work avenue and I don't I'll be honest, I don't understand why there isn't a real hub here in Stanford Hill, a business hub, >> because no one no one wants to fund it. we money we'll find the money if you have the right idea I'm never worried about the money but I think the the idea is you go to the collaboration so how do we encourage collaboration let me just explain the collaboration when two people work together it doesn't always happen by itself we've got two styles of collaboration one is I'm sitting next to somebody and I'm starting a business and he's just done what I'm the stage where I'm at 6 12 >> months ago. How do you do this? How do you open a bank account? How do you do a website? How do you employ somebody? All the questions that you ask, one can help the other and it happens and we encourage it and we have sessions. So that's one collaboration that's worth enormous amount. You can't get that sitting in your kitchen table at home. You can get it, you know, I think we house about 180 people which is full in Finchley. >> Are they official offices? Official >> offices never been there. So in infantry there's there's um hot desking, there's fixed desks for single people, then on the first floor there's actual small offices, two, three, four, five people. >> Um a lot of meeting rooms. Um so I think this is a fantastic opportunity to create collaboration. And the other collaboration on a no-names basis because um quite a few one of the cases is a Stanford Hill person um is where you can collaborate and put two people together in a business where they have synergy and one and one equals three. So they're in one area and the other one is maybe they're in life insurance, the other person is a mortgage broking or something like that and you can encourage and you need to work with them together and they can have a slightly different background but when you put the two together they can make one and one equals three because they can they one of their clients wants the other and vice versa and I think if you're looking at helping people the truth is these things don't cost the collaboration doesn't cost so why shouldn't we as a community be doing it? Wow. >> Yeah. Now you this this work avenue has become your passion project, >> right? >> Um but it's not it's not your only passion project. >> It's not my only passion project. It's the one that I founded. It's the one that I you know I I I I'm involved in daily. Um and and just you know it's for me the highest you look in the rum it's the highest form of stalker. There was a nonf person became excited about work avenue. What got him excited? He came to a dinner and our guest speaker said earn a living with dignity. I didn't tell him to say that but you have dignity. If you come to work avenue and I just carry on work avenue. I didn't realize and I'll be open how important dignity is when you start and how work avenue gives you dignity because you could be sitting there lost your job yesterday and we say come in and sit here and we'll find you a job well you could be a successful business so I walk into work avenue I don't know who is um a successful business and who's just lost their job so you come in and you've got dignity you don't feel and that for me is one of the most important if you have confidence and you have dignity you can be very much it's it's it's it's gives you it goes a long way. So for me you know that that is one of my key drivers to work avenue. The other thing is just to add is the business mentors is something we've been doing for a long time and we continue to do we try and match up every business with a a business mentor to help you in order to do it and and that again takes a lot of time. Debbie and her team >> excellent at that takes a lot of time and we have the right business mentor. somebody wants to go into certain business will find the right business mentor to help them. >> I remember I remember when I was at Well Avenue I think once um there was a congratul congratulations party for my career. >> Correct. Correct. >> So I think >> we hosted that um as as a as um at the time I was quite involved then in the conservative party. I was a trustee of the Jewish leadership council and I spent quite a lot of time on politics less now because my learning toy has taken over as I said to one of the JLC trustees. >> No, I thought because because Labour's in government. >> No, it was before Labor. It was still during conservative >> but I just the my learning over COVID my learning increased particularly with the DAFF and and I couldn't do everything. So the Jewish leadership council I I I was a trustee for six years. Um, and it was actually one of the people who it was one of the people who who are less for him on the board who turned around to me and wanted some advice about something not so for him. And I turned around to him and I said, "You know, you're asking a part's house boy who learned Kish in Yiddish for advice on something more more modern." So, I was very proud. I think I think you always um had some some time that you gave to a relationship with um with politicians and with also with Israeli politicians I think. No. >> Yes. I was a little bit more with the UK side with the Jewish leadership council. I did go to number 10 quite a number of times. I was also helping the Kinuk UK. Um I once went to Theresa May to speak. I was in the main um cabinet room. Picture of me and her. people thought it was just the two of us on her um status. So, it was uh interesting. But I I I have an interest in politics. I wouldn't say that it's as easy today in the current government, >> but again, if I can help, I was sitting in as a trustee of the JLC and I was involved in work avenue and involved a little bit in Kinuk that I if I could help, I I did and and the Conservative party were definitely there to help. I want to jump a bit on bit more on on your relationship with with bells. >> Yeah. >> Um you have the famous hallmia. How did you get close to bells? What's your relationship? >> I I think it it goes back it goes back with my business partner Morris Golka. His name is Moa Mkra. My name is Mov. So the Belov said Mo will be the hall. Um I think it goes back to the style and the um outlook of the bellorov and if you look at what he's achieved outstanding success from nothing from a young child his success to what he's built to the way that they're all so friendly and the way that they're so welcoming. I'm not saying anyone else isn't. I know quite a few of the others um including Khalen and and you know I know most of the um demoisters and the rebas. I just found that the bells was more um in tune with my thinking. There is a little bit of history. My grandmother in Vienna lived on um above the bells of steel there. >> Okay. >> So um in fact a short story about my >> grandmother who should be gazunt. I'm not going to say how old she is but she's well over 100. Canora five generations with the oldest already um in the fifth generation 17 18 >> and um if I tell you a quick miser about her which she told me recently was that uh father was which huge and he was a uh wrote for a mul and it was crystal and she was 13 years old and her father said to her don't go look in the window you will never forget for the the rest of your life what you've seen 13year-old all of us what would we do when we're 13 >> we go to the window >> went to the window she went to the window and lenu she saw cif tora the bella was on the floor below >> and she saw the cif tora burning on the floor outside >> and she said to me very recently many many years later can I know how she's without giving her age she's well over my father was right I can close my eyes now and I can see the cifto burning and my father never knew that I'd live this long >> to this day I can close my eyes and I can see them on fire >> I got the answer already so I don't need to >> so that to me created a a if you like a deep relationship >> but then very much respect Alan Klein and and and yidel and swall all all the team there just really the way they approached the way they've done things the quality to me was very outside the box very down to earth. Um >> I I think we need to explain to the listener hall in Stanford Hall that is busy every night probably the number one most busy hall and I think there were some uh conditions that you wanted >> it to serve specifically when you when you donated the money. >> Yes. I mean we still have aspirations to be able to create lower costers and that's something we will look at. Um I think it's been quite hard with inflation with the cost of hustnas I think the cost has come up but if we can you know if there is a way to construct keeping the cost of hustnas as low as possible that was the main idea when um but I'll tell you a quick story if you want a quick story how really came about and I don't think I've ever said this before but now we're just the three of us no one else listening I'll tell you a little story what happened um we bought a property Um, and I never mention numbers. So, we we bought a property for X and we had a lot of it's probably the one of the properties we had the most with on one property and we worked up a planning permission and uh we had an offer coming in at four five time x >> what we had paid. Um and the offer comes in on a fax machine in those days as our client was coming to see us to our office. This offer comes in four or five times what we paid and we said to Alan, we're going to give you a percentage for the hall and it it wasn't enough to pay for the whole hall, but we're going to give you x% and that's going to get you going. We would have accepted that offer. That offer was anyone most people four or five times would have accepted that offer. There's no such thing as we know as by chance. Sataya we had a meeting booked in half an hour later I remember saying to unclean we got to go with a senior partner Yideshai at CBRE a big firm just to catch up he was involved in Jewish care and we were involved in Jewish care on the board and we said well come catch up we told him we just had this offer and we were sort of very excited about it what do you think he says don't accept it >> go and see my team in my office this offer was for student accommodation. Go and see a team in my office and the team in my office are going to tell you that it's probably worth more residential. Get a planning commission to convert the building. It was a 50story tower building we had got permission for and get permission. It will take a bit of time and the value is going to go much higher. And we went to see them and they told us if you get permission the value will be another 60 70% higher if you get it. Okay. So we listened to them. We got plan commission two years later for residential and during that period was Brexit. Residential values went down but the student value went to exactly the same number they said that residential will be. We sold it for that number and that was the number the percentage of that number that funded the >> wow. That was a story I've never told before. >> And and maybe that's why there's such a big that you've got um so many families who um enjoy that whole and are managed to make on a deeper level. >> Oh, for sure. >> Now before finishing on the charity side, there's one more charity that I want to speak about because I think you're also very passionate about that one which is Khana. >> Right. So the truth is I wasn't involved in day one. I went with my son when he was still in school to Scotland for two days. I instak the car and I did this fantastic drive along the west coast up above and bad down to Balmoral and I came home after two days and I told my wife I don't know why I think this would be a fantastic idea for a charity. She was not involved in Khan at the time and she said do it for Hana. I said okay in fact the first rally Hannah wasn't involved. Nobody from Hana came. No complaints. Nobody from Hana came and my I did it with my secretary. I made a bunch of calls happened. Booked the caterer, >> booked everything, organized the cars in Scotland to car rally in Scotland. Um and we did it and we did it year after year. I think we're up to 20 rallies. We the last one I think we made net um typically we can make net four, five, 600,000 nets. >> Oh wow. So it's it it makes a lot of money for KA and um since then my wife became a trustee of Kana in the last um 12 18 months and it's it's amazing because it it appeals to people from all over the world. Most of the particip the wealthier participants are not from the UK. They come in from Panama, Mexico, Miami, New York, Israel. >> I joined one. Yeah. >> UK. Yeah. And I think the success of it, if I look back at the last year or two years, the largest 10 donations did not live >> in the UK >> in the UK. And some of them have never heard of Hana before. Give you example. This year, somebody came along this year and everyone who was on the rally will work out who it is. He um never heard of Hana. He's from America. He had really very much enjoyed himself $50,000. we've had before larger sums just because it's a relaxed atmosphere. It's Bashem a very successful fundraising idea and it's it's just grown and it's hugely successful starting to plan next year's rally now. Um it is a lot of work now because everything is more sophisticated and you have to >> and you do it overseas. So >> overseas so the last two years was in the south of France. next year hopefully will be in the south of Spain and um the catering and everything is quite a lot of work but it's hugely successful and it's been Kana's main source of income for many many years >> to to explain to the viewers Kana is an organization that deals with um fertility >> fertility it was the oldest it's been around for 30 plus years and it helps people with fertility people who need fertility needs >> I want to touch on the no from giving to um I'm Sure everyone comes up promotion this is most important this figure most important this is important how do you handle the duka and how important is it to give to >> giving stock is is is the it's the core it's really number one most important part of I believe that you are um there you can see a direct correlation between giving and and being matzah um it's a communal responsibility as well we live in a community We don't live in isolation. So giving stalker for me is is part and parcel of my blood. It's it's my my fresh air. It's breathing. I raise a lot of money and I give money. So um but it's a you have to realize and appreciate that giving money stock is a privilege. There are people who have got money and find it harder to part with it. Giving it is is is a privilege and it's an honor to give it. But it's it's core to um I think anyone who's part of a community and takes on responsibility. It's part and parcel of that. >> But but how how do you handle it? Because every day people come up to you ma I need this mish I need that m can you help me? >> How do you choose? >> It's a good question. It's a very good question because I have seen friends of mine who have suffered who have been burnt out as a result. And I think you have to for your own sake and the sake of your family particularly your wife you have to set certain boundaries you you otherwise it takes over your life particularly when I go to go and you don't want every day non-stop coming >> for invite non-stop coming it you need to set certain parameters and I would tell everyone that it's very important to set parameters and the other thing which is important and I and I hope everyone's listening to this Do not give beyond your means. There is pressure. We all know there's pressure. These campaigns and somehow add to the pressure. No one, no rov, no one should be asking you to give beyond your means. And you give what you can and you enjoy giving, which to me is very important. You enjoy enjoy giving is all part of it. And give with an open heart. And sometimes you're giving be more public because you have no choice. It's it's a hall. It's a building. It's a a campaign. But there are many cases where no one will ever know and I can honestly say no one in my family will know some of the people because that is that is critical for me. The confidentiality is is very important. Not only who I give but who I speak to, who I help. So that's very important. But I think coming back to the work life balance that I said spoke about earlier, you got to keep you got to part make stock of being part of that balance and that is not letting it eat you up. Not letting it take over your life because it can if if if you are have an open door all the time and you have the phone calls and everything, it will take over your life. You won't have a quality of life and at the end of the day what will suffer is your stalkers eventually. So there's no point. you give what you can and um to me priorities education has always been very important I know now in gold screen with a vision I believe it's a fundamental to support the moisters of for education and I hope in Stafford is the same because the future >> without kin you haven't got the next generation so I would encourage the vision whether you do it in Stanford as well it's very important and then obviously work haven't you have your everyone has their own charities but then try and help everyone as much as possible um not only giving but sometimes I do get involved in saying I'll help you I'll help you to raise so >> but I think you also help people not only with donating yourself sometimes with your time and bringing other people to the table >> yes so so you know when someone needs help and sometimes people come and see me for help I will try and assess the situation and quite often we'll bring others in in order to if it's right to help. I'm not shy. >> Yeah. >> Not shy to ask. It's never been a problem. I've been fundraising, but it's sometimes it's could be a loan. It could be a one-off donation. So, yeah, >> I have no word. Um, thank you for taking the time and coming in. >> Um, I think we should maybe, um, give a shout out to Shil Glick, who helped bring this. Um, >> thank you, Shil. >> Very good. I I usually ask our guests to give >> I would say like a final 30 second measures. One thing you can tell for generations for the people the listeners what would you say >> the biggest lesson and I think the number one is to prioritize your family prioritize your wife and your children in life. Spend quality time with them. Realize that you don't get younger, you get older and you can't turn the clock back. So good holidays, good times, be able to listen, to be able to have time to sit with them. However busy you are, you have time. A busy person's got time for everything. So I would want to finish off by saying make sure you give your wife, your children, your grandchildren mitz hashem enough time that they do not feel under pressure that you've got work that you've got charity that they can feel that they have quality time with you and to me that is if you like at the core of any person within our community. >> Wow. Thanks again for coming again >> on that message. We'll let you get back to your I need to finish. I don't do anything.