Patrick Carroll of Carroll Org: “Investing During The Pandemic; What Should I Do With My Money Considering All of the Volatility and Uncertainty Today”

I would have to say the entire COVID-19 experience has been the most interesting, and challenging, experience of my career. From a business and investing standpoint, I believe it will be the worst downturn our country has ever seen. It will test CEO’s and managers like they have never been tested. Coming through this, I think we will have the potential of resetting entire industries. Some industries will experience boom times, and some will no longer exist.

On top of the turmoil in the markets and economy, I tested positive for COVID-19. I have never really had to deal with any illnesses or anything this serious. Some of the lessons I learned, as a leader, you have to remain calm and positive, even when you may be afraid. Your employees, investors, kids need that reassurance.

As a part of my series about “Investing During The Pandemic”, I had the pleasure of interviewing, Patrick Carroll, CEO, and Founder of Carroll Org.

Patrick Carroll is an American Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and CEO and Founder of Carroll Org., a prominent real estate investment company.

From a young age, Patrick Carroll had the vision to build a real estate company from the ground up. What started as a multi-family and retail assets company, quickly turned into managing over $5 billion dollars worth of assets, owning over 30,000 residential and commercial properties across the east coast. Patrick built his company into a multi-billion-dollar real estate empire, without the need for a college degree, and emerged as one of America’s youngest real estate developers.

Today, Carroll Org is one of Patrick’s greatest successes. During the COVID-19 crisis, his company has remained net positive, and he has been looking for opportunities to invest in. He remains humble by prioritizing being a positive role model for his three sons and being incredibly philanthropic. Donating to over 50 charities worldwide, Patrick has a commitment to health, wellness, and early childhood development. As a board member of the Boys and Girls Club in Tampa, he wants to show high school students that there are multiple avenues to success and with the right combination of grit, ambition, and self-worth you can achieve anything you set your mind to. As a motivational speaker and health activist, he inspires the next generation of young entrepreneurs to prioritize a lifestyle of health and wellness while also pursuing their dreams. In short, Patrick Carroll is our generation’s next great influencer and an inspiration to all who meet him.

Thank you for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the finance industry?

Honestly, I got into the finance business because I was reading the Forbes List of Billionaires and saw a massive concentration of Private Equity, Hedge Fund, and Real Estate professionals. That and deep down I think I wanted to be like Thomas Crown or Richard Gear from Pretty Woman! I was enamored with this world and I knew I wanted to be part of it.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

I would have to say the entire COVID-19 experience has been the most interesting, and challenging, experience of my career. From a business and investing standpoint, I believe it will be the worst downturn our country has ever seen. It will test CEO’s and managers like they have never been tested. Coming through this, I think we will have the potential of resetting entire industries. Some industries will experience boom times, and some will no longer exist.

On top of the turmoil in the markets and economy, I tested positive for COVID-19. I have never really had to deal with any illnesses or anything this serious. Some of the lessons I learned, as a leader, you have to remain calm and positive, even when you may be afraid. Your employees, investors, kids, etc. need that reassurance.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Some of the most impactful projects I am currently working on are towards COVID-19 relief. As a recent survivor of COVID-19, I have seen first hand the damage this disease can cause. This has profoundly impacted my way of life and has impacted everyone around me in ways I could have never imagined. I knew I had to do something to thank our frontline healthcare workers, so I donated to over 10 food banks this week, as well as sent meals to three local hospitals in Atlanta for several days. I’ve donated over $100,000.00 to feed families in my hometown Atlanta in addition to funding lunches and dinners for hospital workers. Over the weekend, I partnered with The Heart Fund and donated Easter dinners to families across Ukraine. I also wanted to help our community by providing $50,000.00 to residents in need due to COVID-19. I’m a big believer in giving back and right now the world needs help. I’ve started a social media campaign #billionaireschallenge encouraging other business leaders to act and provide relief towards this global crisis. These are just some of the projects I am investing my time in right now as I want to help as many people as possible get through this crisis.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Tom Shannon in Tampa, Florida has helped me the most that I can point to (advice wise). He’s an older, wiser entrepreneur from Tampa that was kind enough to take me under his wing.

There are so many examples of Tom teaching me not only how to become successful, but once I hit a certain level, he coached me on how to stay successful. One of the best things he made me do was set aside a cash reserve before I started flying private. His point was you cannot be spending crazy money on things like private planes if you do not have emergency funds set aside to get yourself and your businesses through rough times. Looking back, that was so important, especially as I sit here today.

Let’s shift a bit to what is happening today in the broader world. Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the coronavirus pandemic have understandably heightened a sense of uncertainty and loneliness. From your experience, what are a few ideas that we can use to effectively offer support to our families and loved ones who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

My best advice is to remain positive. Whenever anything that I feel is negative or a threat to my happiness, I power through it. I try to focus on the bigger picture, knowing that the anxiety will always pass. Something that has helped me cope with anxiety is meditation and remaining focused on my health and wellness. I have become an advocate for other entrepreneurs by sharing my diet and exercise routines with my social media audiences which have kept me sane and have built a sense of community for me during this uncertain time. By staying positive, living a healthy, balanced lifestyle, and building a digital community, families can offer support to one another during this difficult time.

As you know the stock market and the economy, in general, have become extremely volatile and uncertain. Many people “dollar cost average” and put aside a monthly sum into a long term savings plan for retirement, college, or a home purchase. If a loved one or a client came to you and said, “I have been saving and investing $500 every month in an S&P 500 index fund.

Over the next few months until the dust settles, should I be doing something else with my money?”, what would you say to them?

I would say first set aside 6 months of living expenses. In times like this, you need an emergency fund. After that, invest in the SP500 religiously through thick and thin. Live off the dividends and ignore the fluctuations.

Eventually, the economy will recover and rebound. Certain sectors, like travel and hospitality, might be hurting for a while. But other sectors, like technology and healthcare, might do very well. If someone wanted to prepare today to take advantage of the future recovery, what would you suggest they do?

First, you need to pick the sectors that are easily identifiable as the ones that will grow through this. Tech is surely one of those. So from there, you need to devour everything you can on that. Do your research, find the companies that are releasing a new product, getting funding. Anything that will improve efficiencies. Start broadly and then focus on something you can take action on.

Are there sectors that provide exciting and lucrative investment opportunities today, specifically because of the volatility and uncertainty?

During the last financial crises, I was able to purchase management companies and properties that were distressed assets. This investment grew and contributed to a large part of my success post-2009. I am doing the same thing now. Single-family home prices will remain depressed because people will not be able to pay their mortgages. This will drive pricing down. However, multi-family residential apartment developments will do well.

Additionally, I’m focused on anything that can be part of this new world we live in. A lot of things like movie theaters and shopping centers are not areas I would touch. Things that are unadaptable to this new internet heavy, space light world we are living in is not an area to invest in right now. Apps that optimize efficiencies, wellness products that change the way we live, that’s the way of the future.

Are there alternative investments that you think more people should look more deeply at?

I think everything wellness-focused is interesting and necessary. So many people lack the knowledge they need to live life fully. Simple things like the way we eat, to our workouts, are vital to being happy. I believe investment strategies focused on products that help with wellness, health, proper diet, and exercise and make it remotely accessible, will certainly be the way of the future.

If a person in their thirties came to you today and said that they have $10,000 that they want to put away today for a long term investment what would you advise them to do with it?

Buy the S&P 500 or Apartment REITs.

You are a “finance insider”. If you had to advise your adult child about 5 non-intuitive essentials for smart investing what would you say?

1. Do the work. You must do your own homework. Period. And you must know the numbers and your numbers. Period.

2. Self Educate. Talk to as many smart people as you can. Read. Grow. Evolve.

3. Listen more than you talk.

4. Trust but verify.

5. Never put yourself in a position to go to zero. Diversify and be very careful with leverage.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Early to bed, early to rise. Work like hell and advertise.” — Ted Turner

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

A movement related to loving oneself. Seriously, love, and health. If we love more, including ourselves, we would all be much better off. That is why I think it’s super important to prioritize a lifestyle of health and wellness. Especially during this time. Think about how many individuals are stuck at home, where maybe they lost their jobs, and are feeling really down right now. We need to connect with those individuals, we need to build a community around them where we can rise up together. I want my story to inspire people during this time. Inspire change and inspire people to act. If you have a passion project, go for it, if you want to be an entrepreneur, this is your time! Take this time to focus inward on what makes you really happy and once you find it, pursue it and do not stop until you get what’s yours.