Chris Christofi on Relentless Learning, Giving Back & Staying Hungry

Jason · 00:00Welcome to episode 236 of The Numbers Game. I'm Jason. I'm here with Nick, and today we've got a bit of a different show for you. It's a guest episode day, and we're diving into the inspiring journey of Chris Kristoff. He's the founder and the CEO of Revon. He's gone through some interesting challenges in his life, and he's built an amazing property, empire and business.

Jason · 00:19He's a philanthropist. He's gonna share his insights on resilience, business growth, and the importance of giving back. Chris Christophe, welcome to the show.

Chris · 00:27It was a pleasure being here, guys. Thanks for having me. 2, 3, 6. That's very impressive, boys. Well done.

Jason · 00:33Uh, thank you mate. We are well, Nick and I have the pleasure of knowing you.

Jason · 00:37I think I, well I met you through Cub Club. Um, Nick, what about you? What's your background with Chris? Same thing,

Nick · 00:42Cub. Yep. The, uh, the place that brings, uh, inspiring people together. Look at us. Three. Yeah. Yeah. Unbelievable.

Chris · 00:49It was about four, I don't know how many, four or five years ago I would say. I think from memory.

Chris · 00:52Oh

Nick · 00:53mate. Maybe even

Chris · 00:54longer. Uh, two 19. Yeah, probably was longer.

Nick · 00:57Well, mate, firstly, I just wanna say congratulations. Not many people will

Nick · 01:00know this, but you've just ticked over 20 years in business. Um, so you've got me covered by a few years and you know, I think, um. I'm just interested in initially, uh, to hear about Revon, what you guys do.

Nick · 01:14Obviously what you're doing is, is something good because you've been doing it for 20 years. So just maybe a bit of, um, background on Revon and how you got to where you are.

Chris · 01:23Well, it definitely looks like I've got you covered by many years. If you look at us, mate, definitely look a lot older than you, that's for sure.

Chris · 01:30So yeah, it was a very, very big milestone this year. So the 21st of March, we celebrate our 20 years in business, so it was very, very big. I remember starting the business. Back from my parents' home living room in 2005 with a debt of 348,000. So it was always the plan to be a fully integrated financial services company.

Chris · 01:50So what started. As a property company, then turned into a finance company. We started that company round about 12, 13 years ago. We followed

Chris · 02:00that up with accounting, financial planning, and property management. So it was always that vision to become fully integrated. Now we're very, very proud, obviously, to have helped over 10,000 clients, sold over three and a half thousand properties, featuring over a hundred publications, win over 50 awards.

Chris · 02:17And the the thing that I'm most proud of, which we're gonna talk to a little bit, LA later. Our philanthropy work. So we've done some amazing things. The 20 years has gone very, very fast. I look back and pinch myself. I can't believe how quick it's gone. There was a lot of challenges, but it's been an amazing journey.

Jason · 02:33Yeah, unreal. Look, I'm, I'm also gonna throw in some different questions to what, what we'd usually do. I want to dig a little bit deeper about you, Chris. I mean. That 20 years in business and what you've gone through the mindset to, you know, think about all the different services you need to add on to make sure that you had that 360 degrees of a client's journey covered.

Jason · 02:52But what about your background? What got you to a point where you went, I'm gonna start a business and this is how I'm gonna do it. What, what was the aha moment or what, what

Jason · 03:00drives you in that way to do that?

Chris · 03:02When I got recruited in this industry when I was 19, and I remember calling up, her name was Robin, and I asked to come in for an interview and she goes, how old are you?

Chris · 03:11I got, I'm 19. She goes, no, you're too young. Don't hang up the phone. Don't hang up the phone. Let me come and meet him face to face and he can say no to me. Don't hang up the phone, Robin, please. She goes, you know what? Alright, come in. Anyway, he interviews me with another fella because he goes, I don't wanna waste my time, I think is what Trent was thinking at the time.

Chris · 03:27So he pictures me, he goes, Chris, what do you think? Now I've done a lot of sales roles and I've been selling for since I was 10. So I'm very confident selling anything. Zero about real estate. So after his picture goes, what do you think, Chris? I said, listen, if you give me a chance, I'll be your best guy within three months.

Chris · 03:44And I said to him at the start of that, I don't know the difference in commercial or residential property. Live at home with my parents. And then I said, gimme a chance. He said, you're on. That's all it took. So I, I bought my first property when I was shortly thereafter, so 19 to 20, fell in love with

Chris · 04:00industry.

Chris · 04:00And to this day, I'm a student of sales. I'm a student of business, and I just keep learning and evolving. So although I was always very, very competent and I was always one of the best in sales, in every roles that I've done, I probably study sales more than anyone that I know as well. So it's, I keep sharpening my ability to connect with people, to become better at communicating, to create a service and a product, whatever that may be.

Nick · 04:24I've got a serious question for you, but before we do that, uh, what was the first thing you sold at age 10?

Chris · 04:31Scratch tickets. So my uncle used to sell scratch tickets in Cyprus and he used to gimme 32 tickets on consignment. I had to pay him back for 30 and two was my profit. So on the weekends when I was away from school, he would gimme tickets and he had five or six sales reps.

Chris · 04:45I would outsell all of them. And my trick was I would speak to everybody and then I'd buy, they'd go, I'll have one ticket, Chris. And I said, buy the last three. It's my last row. They're the lucky ones. They'll buy the last three when that bond might take my next row they go, Chris, you said it's the last row.

Chris · 04:59Instead

Chris · 05:00of that one, I've got more in my pocket. So then they'd get to know me. So I'd keep going up to everyone and keep asking. They'll look at me and they'll turn their head, no, Chris is coming again, and they'd always buy tickets. So then when I have three months off school, I started working pretty much full-time to make more money.

Chris · 05:15Then when I became 13, I started playing pool for money. So I'd always have incomes 'cause I was always fascinated. Is that the serious question?

Nick · 05:22No, no, no, no, no. Um, that one took precedence over the serious question, so I thought it was more fun. Obviously, you're in the property game and you've been in the property game for, for a long time.

Nick · 05:32Lots happening, and particularly in our state, but not just our state. Nationally, obviously we've got a labor government. Just a bit of a view on your current, uh, on, on, on your idea of the current state of the market, and, you know, we can, we can talk about Victoria, Australia holistically, how you think it's going, where you think it's going, impacts that are, that are happening with Gov government.

Nick · 05:54What are you, what are you telling your clients?

Chris · 05:57I get asked a lot, what do you think the property market's doing? When's the

Chris · 06:00right time to buy? I, I give a bystander, but I think it's a very accurate one. The right time to buy is always yesterday on the provider. You can afford to keep the property for right amount of time.

Chris · 06:08You'll make money. So if you've got the right safety nets in place, you're buying in the right areas that offer good cash flow, good capital growth, and good tax savings. You are always gonna position yourself to make money. You know, buffet says buy and hold. That's a good strategy. Real estate's the same.

Chris · 06:23So if you're a property investor, not a speculator, it's always gonna serve you all in a property market. Now, the properties that my company sells. I say is a bold statement, recession proof, and you'll always make money. People go, but how can you say that? Because between the five to 700,000 mark, it's got a very high percentage in rent.

Chris · 06:39We are dealing new builds, got a high tax. Uh, tax saving, sorry, and people always have to buy this product, so it's got a very, very low vacancy rate. A lot of people renting it, banks, as you guys know better than anyone, will give 90, 95% against some with LMI components. So it's a very safe investment on the

Chris · 07:00provider.

Chris · 07:00You put the right safety nets in place, you'll always make money now. There's always emerging markets. You look at the medium house prices, but there's always sub pockets in certain areas, whether that be regional Victoria Interstate, so there's always markets outperforming other markets. So at Revon we do a lot of due diligence based on research where the market's heading, where it's nine o'clock on the property clock, which for those who don't know, it's an emerging market.

Chris · 07:25What's gonna show that the property market's gonna increase. Now obviously elections make a big difference in that, but I think the biggest difference election makes is in buyer sentiment. People are more confident. Same with interest rates. Now when you look at interest rates, they slightly go up. It's when you see a second, third interest rate rise where people have that bias, confidence, or conversely, is when.

Chris · 07:48The media does. A lot of fearmongering rates are going up, people can't afford to live in and people tighten up. So when I was younger and I had eight properties before I started Revon, and I lost them all because I over

Chris · 08:00leveraged, that's when I created the Revon formula. So when my clients invest, I make sure that they can afford the property.

Chris · 08:07For the right amount of times as the property's going up and they can afford to pay the repayments, they're building equity faster. They can get back into the property market and really build upon that. So a lot of our clients have bought multiple properties because we make sure the first property, which I say is the most important, they're not over leveraged.

Chris · 08:24They know where they're buying in an emerging market, and that could be across Australia. A lot of companies focus on one area. We look at Australia wide because an emerging market, sometimes Victoria's gonna outperform other states. If you look at the last 10 years we've gone from Victoria. To Adelaide, to Southeast Queensland to Perth.

Chris · 08:43Now we're coming back to Victoria again. So we do a lot of due diligence based on that.

Jason · 08:47The whole time. From the start of your story of when you were a child, um, and you, sorry, when you were young and you were selling, all I've heard is that there's hunger for, for education and learning. I. And then right through into the journey now with Revon, how it's all

Jason · 09:00about learning, researching, you know, going through that, how important in the journey with the customers or the, the clients that you deal with, how big is the education piece rather than just kind of getting 'em a property at the end of the journey?

Jason · 09:10Does the education piece form a big part?

Chris · 09:12I'm really not that interested in just giving someone a property and, and not seeing them. Again, I'm into building relationship with our clients. I don't want customers all on clients. I think education's the most important because when you get educated on a process that that competence once you get, when you repeat a process, I.

Chris · 09:29Develops confidence and you can buy two, three, and four properties. Now because I was a victim of over-leveraging when I was younger and back in the day, low dock and no dock loans were a lot more prevalent than they are now. So although I was earning great income, how could I evade properties? My income was 300 K.

Chris · 09:44It was a great income, but surely due to the availability of loans, I could get more money back then now that that timeframe in my life, it wasn't a robust strategy because. The company I was working for the

Chris · 10:00receivership if certain things didn't go my way. So the property market had to keep growing my income, had to stay in touch.

Chris · 10:07People had to rent my properties for 50, 52 weeks of the year. It wasn't a robust strategy. Yes, I would make money in a rising tide market. Mm-hmm. So if the properties are growing, but when that didn't happen, when the company went to receivership, I lost it all. So when I found the revon, I wanted to make sure that I take the learnings that I learned.

Chris · 10:25As a 24-year-old investor into what I'm gonna teach my clients, which is also what I wrote about in my, in my book, your Path to Wealth, brick by Brick,

Nick · 10:34Chris, I, I can't help but, um, notice or take in, there's, there's, there's a passion. There's a passion when you talk about business and property and there's an energy there and it's, um, oh look, it's bloody impressive for a lack of a better word, given you're 20 years in.

Nick · 10:49So what is it that drives. Drives you to achieve the motivation? Like how do you like 20 years is a bloody long time, and I can relate. And for

Nick · 11:00me, I know this isn't about me, but I explain it as in my business keeps changing, so I get re-motivated. The passion's still there. I can't help but hear it. So what is it that motivates you and.

Nick · 11:10Drives you to continue to achieve.

Chris · 11:11I get asked this a lot, but I don't know. Like I wake up, I've got four kids. I live in a great home. I've ate beautiful food. My kids go to great schools. I've got an amazing team. I just want to get better so I know if I can get better, I can serve my team better, I can serve my community better.

Chris · 11:27And I was like this from day one. I remember when we did an exercise and I was closing at 94%. Had the highest rates by anyone in the company and they said, rate your performance from one to 10. I think I put two or three. Someone closing at 70 gave themselves an eight and a half, a nine, and my manager, Trent, the owner of the company that I worked for later said, why'd you say two?

Chris · 11:47And I said, because there's so much more that I need to learn. I. I so much better that I want to get. So what excites me is I know that, um, the better I get, the more I need to learn, the better I can become, I can serve more, and I

Chris · 12:00feel like it's day one. I'm still like a kid in a candy store when it comes to knowledge, when it comes to business, and when it comes to my mentors, they, a lot of them say, I've never met someone who's that relentless when it comes to learning or that wants to know more.

Chris · 12:12One of my mentors goes, I've never met anyone that questions business more than you. And I go. Funny with a question. I go, is that a good thing? 'cause it's a great thing, but you just wanna know everything. You keep asking questions. So when it comes to business, I wanna learn more. But furthermore to that, I think it's our obligation as CEOs and as leaders to keep upskilling.

Chris · 12:32Mm-hmm. It's our obligation to pass that on to our staff, to our team. And if you are not evolving, you're dying. You owe that to your clients. Like when you talk about certain areas, people go, I would never invest in that area. Well, maybe you'll never invest in that area now, but later on things might change.

Chris · 12:48I was against Perth when it was all about mining, but when it became different pillars of why it was a good investment, I went to Perth. We made a lot of money, and it became a more secure investment. So

Chris · 13:00I don't know where the passion comes from. I've always been this way. I've got a lot to be grateful for.

Chris · 13:04I'm very, very lucky. And. The better I get or the more I evolve, the more I wanna learn. And I keep thinking, I say, I say this all the time. If you haven't spoken to me for 20 years, I'm the exact same kid. Annoying, funny. That always smiles. I've evolved every six months. I'm a new person and one of the biggest goals to rev on you, I want you to walk in here and not recognize the company.

Chris · 13:29It's evolved that much through its people, through its service offerings, and it's just, I don't know what it is, it's just the way I am. It's the way I'm wired.

Jason · 13:36So it wasn't necessarily the theme of this episode, but learning is the, the current theme that I can hear over and over again. And maybe it is that, but I was gonna ask from, is there a particular behavioral mindset that you've adopted that just fuels the accomplishments that you've achieved over the years?

Jason · 13:50I

Chris · 13:51hang around great people. Mm. So in every job that I've done in sales, I used to ask two questions. Who's the best? Can I spend a week with them?

Chris · 14:00So in every role that I've done, I can tell you who the best performer was, and I spent time with them because I knew that I could emulate their results and get better.

Chris · 14:07When I was fighting, my friends were world champions. When I was playing snooker, my friends were the best ever in this country. So whatever. I did poker, I had great poker players around me, so I adopted their mindset. And I incorporated it in myself. So I always surrounded myself with good people and there was a lot of commonalities with the way they think, the way they work, the way they operate as people.

Chris · 14:29Mm.

Nick · 14:29Yeah. Wow. It sounds real basic, doesn't it? But I just don't think people think that way or would think to do it. So 20 years in business, you've also got a, a podcast, uh, relentless life on your terms? I do. Yeah. Which, uh, how, how many episodes are you in?

Chris · 14:46As much as you guys, about 110, 120, both of you're featured on, which was amazing, we're filmed in.

Chris · 14:54We're filmed in the Gold Coast, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne,

Chris · 15:00and we also go to people's offices. So I kind of say it's a show that goes on the road, do it in my office. There's some virtual episodes as well. We do a bit of everything. Yeah.

Nick · 15:0920 years in business, 110 episodes. You've obviously had some. I'm a, um, I listen to your podcast.

Nick · 15:15You've had some amazing business people on there. No more than Jace, but. What is, what, what's the biggest, and without sounding cliche here, but is there something that, a learning you've taken away from being in business for 20 years or listening to other professionals on the podcast? Um, specific to business growth, like

Chris · 15:35Yeah, definitely.

Chris · 15:36Look, it's, and we've had elite athletes as well. Five time world heavyweight champion, Sam Greco, three time, five time, uh, Sam Solomon. We've had world champions. We've had people who have won. Uh, medals as well in 40 Olympians. It's their mindset. It's how they operate. It's their curious nature to be better.

Chris · 15:58And it's, it's not a

Chris · 16:00victim, it's a, it's a champion mentality. Whatever's, whatever's happening external, I can't control. There's certain things I can control. So, um, when, and even when it comes to business or my setbacks, all I do when, when I've had the biggest setbacks in my life, I get back and I go, you know what, what's outta my control?

Chris · 16:16What do I need to do now? Who do I need around me? So when I've had some of the most personally challenging times in my life, that was a methodology I adopted. I was an absolute mess. I put back and I thought, you know what, who do I need around me? Who's the team that's gonna get me through this and how am I gonna get become better at the end of it?

Chris · 16:36And through every setback, the comebacks always greater. You're gonna become a better version of yourself

Jason · 16:41in scaling a business the size that you have. And for 20 years that my question was leading into, you know, what, what has been. Apart from learning, right? You, you, you're constantly talking about learning, learning, learning, but there's one thing to learn and there's another thing to execute.

Jason · 16:55What is the key to execution to continue to grow and scale a business?

Jason · 17:00Because, you know, as an accountant, you know, running an accounting firm, we, we see a lot of businesses that try and do it, and then they fail and they gone and they shut down. And

Chris · 17:08don't overthink it. Yeah.

Jason · 17:09Okay.

Chris · 17:09The smallest action is more powerful than the greatest thought.

Chris · 17:13So when people think and think, and think, just get started, the hardest part's getting started, you'll build momentum. So for me, if anything, if I'm accused of doing anything, I take too many shots. Mm-hmm. So as I'm getting older now, I. I want to still attack with the same tenacity, but I want to be more strategic with the shots that I take so they can have a much bigger impact.

Chris · 17:35So if anything I've learned in 20 years in business, I never wanna lose that ability to take heaps of shots, but I want to spend a little bit more time at the front of them before I say go. Because I think if I, if I take a couple less shots. They'll, they'll be a lot more impactful. So what I did in the, in the 20 years, Nick, which I think is important, is I sat down and I said, what did I do really well in the 20 years?

Chris · 18:00What's taken up my time? How effective were they? How much impact have they had? What can I do less of? And what can I do more of? What can I double down on? Mm. So I actually sat down and I reflected on my 20 years. On, on the good things that we did, which is fantastic and I'm very proud of. But more important are the things I could have done better on the things I could have been more strategic, and having an advisor in my business, having an advisor personally, I've got a couple of them really helps me as a sounding board.

Chris · 18:28Mm-hmm. To, uh. Make sure that I'm making the right decisions for myself, my team, and my clients.

Nick · 18:33That really resonates with me too, man. I think being in business so long, um, the thing you learn not just business, but life is how much of a precious commodity time is. So you talk about taking a lot of shots and I, I, I think about the same thing.

Nick · 18:48I'm far more strategic now about what we do because I understand the opportunity cost of doing something wrong. Um, and going down the wrong path or just doing something that wasn't gonna get you an ROI,

Nick · 19:00um, you know, that something else might have. So I can definitely relate to that. And that comes with time in the game, making mistakes, doing the wrong things.

Nick · 19:08Um, you definitely do become far more strategic, I think, as you get older because you realize you can't, you've got less time to stuff it up basically. That's, but also too,

Chris · 19:16Nick, what I, what I've realized too. When you make a mis a mistake that you could have avoided, it also takes time. It also costs money to unwind that mistake to get it back to neutral.

Chris · 19:26So every mistake that you make is not just time, it's a financial setback. It's an energetic setback. Mm. So you can redeploy that energy or that capital elsewhere. So as I look at things that I've taken a lot of great shots, but a lot of them were avoidable mistakes that I made due to being. Too keen, too eager.

Chris · 19:49Let's give it a go. And I remember my team used to always be nervous when I would go travel. 'cause I'd come back with a hundred ideas. Oh no, he is gonna kill us when he comes back. And most of my companies I've watched when I was

Chris · 20:00overseas, I think the finance company I was in the mold of, I go, we're gonna do this.

Chris · 20:04So we come back and bang. A lot of them were good shots. Yes. But a lot of the other ones were, I look at 'em now and I put my ideas down and I go, I'll write them more. So I make sure that they're outta my head. Helps my OCD and it gets out of the loop in my head, which is the two three that are gonna impact the business the most.

Chris · 20:21Do my advisors and mentors agree? Let's go full steam ahead before it's 10. Hey guys, we're doing these 10 things, let's go. Mm-hmm. And we're not doing it as effective. But whether you are 20 years in business, one year in business, or 50 years in business, you're a student. You're only getting better. You're only learning, you're only evolving.

Chris · 20:40So it comes down to that question. I'm still. I'm at the peak of my powers now. I'm more strategic. I'm kind of, you know, I'm not gonna say midway in my life, 45. 'cause I never planned to retire or stop working. I couldn't think of anything worse. But I can be more strategic. I can have more impact.

Jason · 20:57So with the 20 year review, what was something you

Jason · 21:00identified that you wanna do more of?

Chris · 21:03Double down on sales. Funny enough, double down on the things I enjoy. Mm. And also. Not that I enjoy, but also have an impact on the business. So some things that don't have an impact on a business, but they're, because I love them, fine, but how much time are they taking? As an example, I was the biggest sponsor in Australian history for 10 years.

Chris · 21:23From two 10 to two 20. Snu car spent over a million dollars. Great. But the time that was taken in addition to the million that I invested in the sport. In hindsight, I went too hard or it was too much. I wasn't really moving the needle as much as I'd like. Yes, it was a pageant, a passion project, but a million dollars is a lot of money.

Chris · 21:42Mm-hmm. Looking back, I should have put 200 there and I would've grown 800,000 donated to charity, gave to the homeless. I should have pivoted quicker. The reason I didn't pivot quick, Jason, a lot of the times I don't pivot quick is because I'm doing so many things. That I'm not reviewing quicker. So it's good

Chris · 22:00things to do, but you gotta review them as well and say, cut, chip down, chip up.

Chris · 22:05I wasn't doing that before and I, and due to, fortunately, unfortunately, I got divorced. Fortunately, that made me look at certain things I didn't have to look at, and that's been probably the biggest blessing in disguise because I've had to really lift up the hood. To not just my business, but my personal life and make a lot of improvements.

Chris · 22:25And I look back on that moment and it was the, probably the second most horrific time of my life, first being my son, almost died when he became deaf. Second was my divorce and how the circumstances of it, it's been the most challenging and confronting time of my life. But it's the best version of Chris' showing up now too.

Chris · 22:44So I'm also very grateful that I had that opportunity.

Jason · 22:47You've just touched on and look, sorry to hear that some of the things you've gone through, but from what you've talked about, how that's brought you out on the other side. I mean, as you said, the blessing in disguise, but any of those things could have broken some people and they wouldn't be able to come back in

Jason · 23:00and, and get back up and keep going.

Jason · 23:01Not only have you got up and kept going and, and talk about yourself as the best version of yourself coming out the other side, you just dropped that instead of a million dollars on snooker, you could have done 200 grand and put 800,000 into charity. That I wanna focus on a little bit now to go, there's not that many people that, that think about that and want to give back to charity, and especially something like the Homeless, and I remember, might have been a few years ago, I looked up at a billboard and saw your face, uh, you know, on the billboard for the CEO Sleep Out.

Jason · 23:29Um, you've also got an initiative called Lead with Kindness. So I'd love you to focus a little bit now to talk about, you know, what, what is this all about? Why do you do it? What, yeah.

Chris · 23:39It drives me. So it drives me when Nick said passion. So I'm so passionate about work. I'm like a kid in the candy store. I love my kids more than anything, which everyone would say.

Chris · 23:49And then I've got philanthropists. I've got three pillars that really motivated and guide me. So I've been, uh, involved in Vinny since 2018. Since 2019, I've been appointed an ambassador,

Chris · 24:00and I think it was 2 21 was the face of the campaign across. 90 billboards. Yeah. And my friend was coming over from Sydney.

Chris · 24:06I grew up with him in Cyprus, and he flew over from Melbourne. He lands in Melbourne, upwards a massive billboard on my face. He goes, man, the first thing I saw your face, I was gonna grab the first flight back to Sydney, man. Now he goes to me and I go to him. That's not very nice, but that was in 2021. I was the face of the campaign.

Chris · 24:26My other best make goes, I'm seeing you ever. I can't take it anymore. So what I did with him, 'cause he worked with me, is I grabbed a massive poster, you know, to pull up posters of my face and I put it on his desk when he came into my office. So the first thing you saw was the pull up man. So we liked to have fun with it.

Chris · 24:43So look, I think it's important to give back and it's actually, it helps my company. Stay humble. It helps me stay humble. It actually makes me realize how lucky I am because when I lost everything, when I was 24, I had

Chris · 25:00an amazing family and support network to go home to, to rebuild. A lot of people don't have that opportunity and a lot of people that meet with homelessness, it's one bad set of circumstances into another, into another, and they don't have that opportunity to get out.

Chris · 25:14So we are looking at Melbourne or Victoria's the. Most livable city in the world, Melbourne, seven years in a row, but homelessness is so high. Mm-hmm. We've got 256,000 people that sleep rough every night. Over 123,000 people are homeless. The fastest growing cohort, a single female is over 55. That's insane.

Chris · 25:36One in four are kids under 12 now. I've got three kids under 12. So to think that that's people's realities crazy. Victoria is the fastest growing state. Our homelessness rates increasing even further. And the numbers that I gave you are old statistics. They're growing even further. So Vinny, which is what I'm an ambassador for, has been going for 171 years.

Chris · 25:58The soup fans have been

Chris · 26:00going for 50. This is a very, very big year for the Vinny CO sleep out. They've been going for 20 years. The Victorian leg been going for 15 years and it's very symbolic to me 'cause the 20 years aligned with my 20 years. I'm thinking how, how synergistic is that? So it was a big year this year for Revon because we built a home for charity, which we donated, which went to this year's campaign.

Chris · 26:24We've raised more than a million dollars, so we're the highest ever active fundraisers to do this. We've already raised 240 k this year we're gonna raise 360, I'm assuming, and as you mentioned, Friday, the 30th of May. We've got the biggest charity event at the Melbourne Glass Up with 360 people, black Tie event, the who's who of Melbourne Amazing Entertainment.

Chris · 26:46We even got a song called The Little Means a lot, which was Customed by Matthew Charles, Andrew Loman. I. Who was went very, very deep in the voice. They're performing it live on the night, and there's only about 30 tickets left. And I've told everybody

Chris · 27:00about it. I've told you, you guys about 10, 20 times about it.

Chris · 27:02I've messaged you how many times. Yeah. So it's gonna be a packed house,

Jason · 27:06right? Unreal. If I wasn't away, I'd be there. And, and all I've heard through this is this sense of proudness, uh, in that achievement and. More so as well how that could impact your team. Like the fact that you and your whole company get to get behind something that's so important and can only imagine how good your team members must feel going home at night or back to their family to go.

Jason · 27:26We donated a house and, and we've raised money to help all these people. That, that's extremely powerful mate. Congratulations and well done.

Chris · 27:33Thank you. It's definitely the feather in our cap with everything we've done, but indirectly what that's done. It shows the community what we're about. Mm. People trust someone.

Chris · 27:43And that's been doing something. Now, you know, when you do something for one or two years, I don't know if Jason's really like this, do I donate? But when you hit that three, four year mark, people go, hang on a second. This is important to them. Seven year mark, eight year mark, a million dollars. It

Chris · 28:00changes the dynamic.

Chris · 28:00So like in business, it takes a few years for people to notice you're really coming from the right place and. Man. For a company like Revon, we're talking about the highest ever fundraiser. We've got companies that have got 5,000 employees, crown Perth Gadale Philanthropy Group to raise a million bucks, and here Revon is flying the flag of the most raised.

Chris · 28:23And I say to them, it's a perfect example of. You can push hard and create great things, and a million bucks is, is, is phenomenal. It's the most incredible achievement that we've ever done. Our team is so happy. So when I announced that we've reached this milestone all 20 years, sold the house million bucks last gala, it's all, it's all aligning perfectly, but it's taken a many, many years to get here.

Nick · 28:50Unbelievable mate, and I'll definitely be there on the 30th. Um, front row, I hope Andrew Oman's. Great. So I love Andrew man. He's phenomenal. He's very good. Unbelievable. So.

Nick · 29:00It's just got me thinking about balance and, you know, raising that kind of money takes a lot of effort. Obviously running a business, you mentioned you've got four kids, 312, um, you know, one with a, with a disability.

Nick · 29:15And I just, how, how do you, we're all trying to get the balance right. Um, and you, you might not, you might not have balance and that's, and that's, and that's okay, but. This, this, this question is, is more, not so much how do you fit it all in, but how do you give enough time to to, to these things particularly, you know, I'm a reasonably new father with, with one child who can't even crawl yet.

Nick · 29:44So, you know, there's no school drop offs or anything like that. So how do you, how do you give everything the attention it needs, I guess is the question.

Chris · 29:52I used to do, I used to do it all because, um. I give it the best attention I've got and, uh, to be laser focused now because

Chris · 30:00I've got a DHD and I've always, my mind's going, the thing that was the hardest for me to learn is how to be present.

Chris · 30:06So when I'm doing one thing and I'm doing my thing, I'm present. So when I was, I used to start work at 2:33 AM I'd be in this office and I'd leave at 7:00 PM five, six days a week. But I would go home at seven. I would have dinner with my kids and two of those days I would go home. 'cause I lived in South Yarra.

Chris · 30:25My office is in Melbourne. I'd go with two coffees with my ex-wife and me. I'd take my kids to school, then I'd come back to the office. I'd do it on the weekend. I'd get phone calls. Chris, are you coming home tonight? And I'd just get caught up in the day. Now I, I was definitely a workaholic. I still am. I don't know if that contributed to my divorce.

Chris · 30:43Probably a good chance, but I'll never change to who I am as a person. I don't think there's such thing when you talk about balance. I've never understood that word. I'm doing everything that I want to do and I'm living an amazing, fulfilled life. It is very work heavy, but I think it's not,

Chris · 31:00it's work life choices.

Chris · 31:02That's what I determined as everything's a priority. There's no balance for me. There's never balance for me. That's exactly how I want it. I'm happy when I'm a present father. Now, being a single father, I take my, I live most of my oldest son lives with me. Well, my only son, he's 22. My 12-year-old is with me every second week.

Chris · 31:24Another two live with me five nights a fortnight. I'm home every night. I've got help, my sister and my team. Of course, I take my kids to school every morning. I don't work a hundred hours a week now. I work a lot less. I try them to be a lot more effective. So the answer to your question is when I do one thing, I try to stay focused on it and, um, give it my, all my kids, I would like to think would say my father is very present and he is active at case and points.

Chris · 31:51Just to make you laugh, Nick, that's tomorrow. They're all the parties and the activities I have, that's today in order of

Chris · 32:00what I've gotta do. So you're talking about five birthday parties across the weekend. I had five, two weekends ago. Uh, Saturday morning starts with netball for Penelope, goes into gymnastics for Penelope and Miller follows Giselle at a party.

Chris · 32:15Then we've gotta go to five parties across the weekend and every Sunday I attend church for three to four hours. I don't miss religiously, so I had. I don't miss any of these events every weekend, and it's 10 parties in the last two weekends. And I said to my ex-wife, I go, how many parties did you have last week?

Chris · 32:33She said, zero. I go, next week. She goes, one. And I go, are you calling the parents and organizing? What the hell is going on? And she goes, that's what happened to me last year. I go, mate, this is insane. 10 parties. But I'm networking. I'm meeting the single moms, the single dads, the parents, one's doing a drop off, one's doing a pickup.

Chris · 32:51I've got it in order and you just get it done mate. Put a smile on your face. Yeah. Go.

Nick · 32:55Uh, yeah, and what you said, then just get it done. And,

Nick · 33:00um, I had this conversation with our sales guys the other day because I think when you, when you wanna succeed at, or you wanna perform or you wanna be, you know, running a business, whatever it is you have, you can't, you can't fold into what society thinks you should fold into.

Nick · 33:15So hypothetically, a nine to five or eight to six days. Mm. So. I love what you said there about being focused, 'cause it's something I'm really trying to work on having, having a child now is when I am at home being focused, you know, not checking the phone, for example. But the one thing that I've realized, and we're talking about this the other day with the sales guy in the office who's got two kids, is you just need to deal with what's in front of you.

Nick · 33:40So. Whatever is happening in your life at that time or whatever your, um, schedule is allowing or um, or demanding, you have to fit in with that. So

Chris · 33:51yeah,

Nick · 33:52if that means you take eight to nine off because you're taking your kids to school and then you've got a window at eight to 9:00

Nick · 34:00PM to do some more work, then that's probably what you have to do.

Nick · 34:03If you wanna be a really good salesperson. But if you wanna work eight to six and take your kids to school, then this is. Being the best sales person's probably not gonna happen for you. And that's the, that's what I'm realizing at the moment. I'm kind of constantly looking at my schedule going, all right, where can I have impact points?

Nick · 34:19So what I used to do doesn't work anymore.

Chris · 34:21Impact points. I love that. Mm-hmm. And you know what, Nick, you said it, there's no wrong or right for me. I'm unapologetically me. I love what I do. I'm not gonna change. I'm gonna work hard. And if, if nine to five's your thing and you want to spend. All this at home or play games or watch videos, that's your thing.

Chris · 34:42That's the right strategy for you. There's no wrong or right. I don't force what I do on anyone else, but I never let anyone's opinions forced on me. I'm unapologetically me. I'm authentic, and I don't mind. And I'll share a funny story with you. I remember one day I went home from a crazy day. It was such a challenging

Chris · 35:00day.

Chris · 35:00Wanted to pull my hair out. I was going nuts. And when I got home. I don't switch off. I want to help my partner. I don't care if she was working or not, because it's a team effort. Mm-hmm. This particular day, once every week or once every month, I say, this is my night. Just let me tap out for a bit. It's one of those days and I come home, I put my legs up for 10 minutes and then I help.

Chris · 35:19So I got home, put the recliner up. It's been a crazy day. One of the kids is pulling my ex-wife's foot while she's cooking. The other one's pulling the other foot. She was an amazing cook. Um, and she looks at me and I'm pissing myself laughing because what are you laughing at? I go, this is what we signed up for.

Chris · 35:40No one told you to be a CEO. No one told you to be a parent. Put a smile on your face and deal with it. So when I'm having a tough day and I'm in the office, this is what I chose to do. Mm-hmm. Man up. Do it When you are at home and things are tough, smile. Get it done. Mm-hmm. No one's told you to do it. You don't wanna be in sales.

Chris · 35:57Don't be in sales. Mm-hmm. You don't run a nine to five. Don't

Chris · 36:00work it. Yeah. Whatever you pick, pick it. And that's kind of how I, yeah. I run my business. That's kind of how I live my life.

Jason · 36:05I think you said work life choices, which has just stuck with me the whole way through that. Like when you say work life balance, it indicates like a good and a bad or yin and y and yin and y, yin and a yang.

Jason · 36:15But work-life choices is you are choosing what to do. Like you, you are making a conscious choice to do that. And if you're gonna do it, you might as well do it with a smile on your face, as you said, and, and get through it. Get through to the other side. We all

Chris · 36:25do though. We all choose what we do. We, we might say excuses that we don't, but we all do.

Chris · 36:30Mm-hmm. And I know I choose to be here. If you gave me a billion dollars with one caveat, you could never work again. I'd say, no way, no thank you. For me, that's a death sentence. Mm-hmm. Now I've got other people very close and in my family that make great income. Great income, you know, hundreds of thousands, half a million bucks.

Chris · 36:47I just want to be at home all day or spend more time with their family. I love that. And they think I'm nuts. Most people would think that, but that's who I am. They can't understand me at all. They go, you are

Chris · 37:00insane. But it's what makes me happy. I'm always smiling. That's I'm doing what I want to do.

Chris · 37:05People don't understand that though.

Jason · 37:08Well, there's probably a reason you called your podcast, uh, relentless life on your terms. I mean, the, the theme the whole way through has been you are who you are, you are authentic, right down to the very core, and, and you'll make decisions that, that are driving you and filling you with passion and purpose.

Jason · 37:21So that has, uh, definitely shone through. I had, uh, one that I wanted to touch on and maybe this will kind of, you know, lead into a couple of questions that I had actually, but. I actually listening to you makes me wanna invest in a property like, and, and that that is when you know someone has got passion and got away talking about what they do.

Jason · 37:39But you, the, the whole thing talking, talking through was around trust. And, you know, your, your business has nearly 500, five star reviews and that doesn't happen by accident. So. I'd love to know just, well, for one, how the hell you do that? Like, what is it that just drives that exceptional, um, service from you and your team?

Jason · 37:59And then if people

Jason · 38:00wanna work with you, how do they get in contact with you and, and what's the process?

Chris · 38:03Three pillars. Uh, number one, we're very, very selective of the properties that we. Go and purchase for our clients. So there's a very strict criteria that you must follow. It's like a funnel for it to be a rev on approved property.

Chris · 38:16Very, very important. The second pillar is we, we battle test that with independent research on areas reports. But the third one, which is the most important, would I personally buy where I sell? Would my team and my family buy? We did a campaign investor, we invest. So it's very, very strong. We buy exactly where we sell through the builders that we sell at, the prices that we sell.

Chris · 38:43So when I do all these things, I remember when I was writing my book 2017, I did an experiment because I love experiments and I bought, personally bought 17 properties using the exact methodology that I wrote about the Revon formula. Now, through that methodology, I had a

Chris · 39:00hundred percent winners to find a winner.

Chris · 39:02High growth area, made good money over 2.1 million in capital growth, over 430,000 in cashflow. 191 positive cashflow. Using my methodology. Yeah, but Chris, it might be in the same locations. That's why I bought in three locations. And no one can say that we might not have your income. Well, you can buy five properties.

Chris · 39:20So I use the exact methodology. In multiple locations through using our formula. So when I speak on stage or when I do seminars, I say, here's the slide of what I bought and where I bought. Take a photo if you want. There's the purchasing entities. This is how I've done it. This is what we're teaching people.

Chris · 39:36So I can give you eight and a half million reasons why this works. People tell you why not to, this is why it does work. This is what action looks like in any point of the market. We can make money because we're looking at high growth areas in emerging markets.

Nick · 39:51Then second to that, how do people get on board

Chris · 39:54[revon.com](http://revon.com) au?

Chris · 39:56Chris Christoff, I'm very, very active on LinkedIn.

Chris · 40:00I'm very, very active on. Instagram company [revon.com](http://revon.com). Chris Kristoff, if you Google my name, everything comes up there free. No obligation consultation is the answer to your question, Nick. We do a strategy session with our clients. We back the information that we'll give our clients.

Chris · 40:18We wanna assess if we wanna work with you and you wanna work with us. 'cause we're in a long term relationship. So the reason we offer a strategy session at no cost is because we want to help people get into the property market. Be able to create, build, and protect wealth for now and generations to come.

Chris · 40:32That's our vision, that's our mission. That's why we do it for free. It costs nothing to have a conversations to get in touch with us guys.

Jason · 40:38Absolutely love it, mate. Chris Christoff, thank you for being on the show. It's been an absolute pleasure. For those listeners, if you can't get to the charity event, check out Vinnie CEO, sleep out, make a donation.

Jason · 40:49Ping CREs and Miss Chris a message on Instagram or LinkedIn. Let him know you've listened to the show and you absolutely loved it. And if you want to, you know, when you're not sick of listening to all the podcasts that we put out from the numbers game, get over to

Jason · 41:00Relentless Life on your terms. Nick's episode is a very good one, if I must say so myself and give it a listen.

Jason · 41:04There's plenty of good ones on there. Um, until next time. Stay

Nick · 41:08relentless. It's not about balance, it's about choices. Game over

Jason · 41:14this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. The conversations are of a general nature and do not qualify as financial or tax advice. We recommend before you make any financial decisions, you consult a licensed professional.

Jason · 41:27Individuals on the podcast may hold positions in the companies discussed. ---