The Black Economy: How old are both of you and how did you guys become real estate entrepreneurs?

Collins Brothers: 23 yrs old. Real estate has always been our passion. We knew that we were going to run our own company and it only made sense to do something we were so passionate about. We were always taught that if you do something you love then it wouldn’t seem like work.

The Black Economy: Tell us more about your part-time business you two started while attending Texas Tech University.

Collins Brothers: The company we started was an entertainment company called Collins Entertainment and Promotions. We created revenue by hosting large venues for local clubs, fraternities, and private parties. The motivation for starting the company was simply because we did not want to get a 9-5 job in college but sometimes that’s when the best ideas come out. We later sold the company before graduation.

The Black Economy: Did you know you would be entrepreneurs before attending college, during college, or after graduating from college?

Collins Brothers: We always knew that we wanted to be entrepreneurs but before college we had no idea what type of company we wanted to start. We really like the idea of being in control of our own destiny and not letting others determine what you’re worth.

The Black Economy: Are your parents entrepreneurs? If so, how did that help both of you starting out?

Collins Brothers: Our mother is an entrepreneur. She owns and operates a charter school in the Dallas area and has helped start a number of non-profit organizations as well. Watching her build her business from scratch allowed us to see that it was not, necessarily, easy but that the reward was worth it in the end. Before witnessing her start her company we can remember thinking that, if you work for yourself you must have a ton of money. That could not be further from the truth; sometimes a business takes a little nurturing before it shows fruit.

The Black Economy: What kind of real estate investing do you two specialize in?

Collins Brothers: There is not a specific type of real estate that we invest in. We typically place more importance on making sure that we have a good project that will yield a good return for ourselves as well as our investors.

The Black Economy: Which type of real estate would you recommend to beginning investors?

Collins Brothers: There is not a specific type of real estate we would recommend for a beginning investor because there are so many ways to make money in the real estate industry. Your focus should be in an area that either you or a team of mentors and/or advisors has extensive knowledge of. Also, like anything else, focus on what you are passionate about. That will ensure that you stick it out when hard times come because THEY WILL COME.

The Black Economy: Do you think now is the time for the average person to start investing in real estate? Why? Or Why not?

Collins Brothers: Real estate is never a bad investment. We believe that if you are strategic in your efforts, there is a way to make money regardless of how the real estate market or the economy is doing. You can be successful, even now, as long as you have a good team of advisors, mentors and partners around you.

The Black Economy: Some of our readers want to know about flipping real estate, is it really as easy as some make it sound?

Collins Brothers: Without going into specifics on the current state of the market and the economy as a whole, we believe it’s even more simplistic than that. We definitely do not see a problem with “flipping” real estate. In fact, when we first started our company we even flipped a few properties. However, you better protect yourself if you go into a project structuring something long-term (3-5 yrs) and if the opportunity presents itself for you to realize revenue now rather than later, it’s icing on the cake. The only problem is when you try to build a company based around flipping. At that point, you are getting into the business of speculation and there is no way to accurately predict the state of the economy or the purchasing power of home buyers, i.e. decreasing home values, the sub-prime meltdown, the current credit crunch, etc.

The Black Economy: Many people spend thousands of dollars on real estate classes, workshops and seminars, is it really worth it and necessary for aspiring investors to do this?

Collins Brothers: In our opinion, it is never a bad thing to acquire knowledge, but what has really helped us is having experienced individuals in our industry that we can talk to. We would however, recommend that you do some research on the workshops/seminars that you attend because some may not be worth the money you spend on them. Also, don’t expect to know everything that there is to know about real estate from an 8-hour workshop. People have devoted multiple years to learning this industry and anyone who claims they can teach in a few hours is wasting your time and money. In our experience, the way to stay away from making knee-jerk decisions is to remember that there is no such thing as getting rich quick.

The Black Economy: What would you tell a beginning real estate investor who has very little money or "capital" to invest?

Collins Brothers: A good plan of action will always supersede the lack of capital. One of our mentors used to tell us that money will always find a good project. No matter how much you posses personally or as a company, most likely the scale of the project you’re envisioning will be outside of the scope of the capital you currently have, so focus less on capital and more on the plan.

The Black Economy: Obviously, both of you are already successful. What kind of overall or general advice would you give beginning real estate entrepreneurs and investors?

Collins Brothers: The advice we would give to beginning entrepreneurs, whatever they do, is to never put limitations on your self. There is no such thing as a project that is too large for your company. The only thing you need to do is to make sure that you have a good plan or partnership in order to achieve whatever it is you’ve set out to do. It is our opinion, the younger you are, the more of an advantage you actually have. Most of the time life hasn’t worn on you so much so that it forces you to become cynical and not attempt what may seem to be impossible to the untrained eye. To quote Pearl S. Buck, “The young do not know enough to be prudent and therefore they attempt the impossible -- and achieve it generation after generation.”

De’On and De’Juan Collins are graduates of the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University. They earned a BBA in finance with an emphasis in real estate development in three years. The twin brothers are the founding partners of Collins Capital Investments, a Dallas-based real estate firm. 


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