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This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advice.
Many people are looking for the secret to success. Whether they are business owners themselves or investors looking to put their money into successful ventures, the goal is typically the same: try to figure out what is going to last. And while people often think it is the “smartest” companies that are the most successful, or perhaps even the ones that have the most funding, the true metric of success is how long — and, importantly, how well — they are able to survive.
One of the biggest frustrations that investors have today is the instability of the current market. Recent events and geopolitical tensions have shown us that traditional markets like the stock market can be incredibly volatile. Even fiat currency is beginning to show its cracks in the face of political tensions that unsettle the economies of the issuing countries.
Because of this, people are looking to diversify their portfolios with alternative assets. Yet, especially for those who are new to the world of alternative investments, navigating these opportunities can be difficult. It can often sound like a lot of hype with no real, verifiable results to back it up.
But when it comes to diversification and building a financial legacy, there is one key thing all investors must look for: stability. Trends come and go, but the things that work are consistent over time.
How Cedar Creek Capital makes survival a core feature
However, some of the most opportune classes of alternative assets are those that don’t get the hype or mainstream attention. This shift is exactly the focus of Cedar Creek Capital, which, under the guidance of CEO AJ Osborne, has helped numerous investors build their financial legacy through self-storage. While self-storage may seem like an unusual investment on paper, Osborne points out that it has several characteristics that make it advantageous for those looking to diversify their portfolios.
“The greatest advantage of our company has been the greatest advantage of many companies that have become great, successful, and some of the biggest in the world: survival,” Osborne asserts. “At the end of the day, there’s more outside of your control than within it. Markets go up and down. You can’t predict them. You don’t know when or why they may change because you don’t know what will happen in the world.”
As a result, Osborne stresses resilience as the most important quality a company or investment can have. If the goal is to build a financial legacy, investors will want to work with companies that understand the core facets of long-term success: consistent demand, low overhead, and simple operations — all of which are fundamental characteristics of self-storage.
Although any investment or business carries with it an inherent risk, people are understandably always looking for the “safest” bets. And a mindset like Osborne’s, both in investing and in running a business, helps push toward that goal.
“Our company was built prior to 2008. We took on very little debt and learned as we went, but there wasn’t much information. We were an extraordinarily fragmented industry with not huge amounts of opportunities or exits,” Osborne explains. “So, we had to figure it all out through mistakes moving forward. We knew we had to have room for error. Failing and room for error were embedded into the business plan because there was no alternative. There wasn’t even information out there to really operate, buy, underwrite, or anything else.”
“It’s important to do things the right way, not to rush it and put yourself in a position where when things go bad — because they always will — you don’t lose control or lose everything,” Osborne adds. “This isn’t easy, nor is it quick. But after over 20 years of doing this, we’ve learned that we aren’t in control of markets. We never know what will happen, and we can’t predict the future.”
Survival is about going back to basics
Indeed, Osborne’s advice to both business leaders and investors is not to blindly fear uncertainty, but to learn how to use it to your advantage. It’s one of the reasons why Cedar Creek Capital has been so successful for Osborne and the company’s investors, having lasted nearly two decades in the business and weathering a number of financial crises and political events during that time.
Osborne leaves a few final words of wisdom: “Stick to the fundamentals, protect your downside, and put yourself in a position to allow short-term markets to go up or down, but also put yourself in a position to take advantage on the acquisition side when markets are down and to take advantage when markets are up,” Osborne concludes. “Once again, not predicting markets, but instead being in a position to take advantage of them. That is our greatest advantage and opportunity.”
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