ALWAYSAHEAD
MeeT THE AUTHOR
Born in Ukraine, Oleg Bortman moved to the United States in 1979 as his family sought the American Dream.Oleg studied biology at York College and upon graduation began working in pharmaceutical sales. He was a Regional Sales Director for a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company for several years.
However, deep down, Oleg knew his true passion was, and is, real estate. He bought his first investment property in 1999 and quickly became captivated with the entire real estate market. He expanded his portfolio from New Jersey to Nevada and then on to Arizona, quickly seeing his return on investments.
When Oleg moved out West, he realized he didn't just want to be an investor, he wanted to give other people the same opportunities he has had. He loves working not only with buyers but with sellers and investors as well. Oleg has been in real estate for over ten years, and it continues to be his dream career.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
Randy Tipton
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Randy Tipton grew up with a father who was a kosher butcher who worked six days a week — as well as long hours. Randy loved the time they were able to have together. Over the years, she would hear her father discourage his children from following in his footsteps. He wanted them to join the professional world. Randy accomplished this by starting as a file clerk at an insurance company and creating a career that now spans 50 years. She is a proud business owner who has dedicated herself to an industry that she loves. Randy is particularly proud that her daughter followed in her footsteps and will soon take over the role of president of their beautiful company. Randy will continue to work but will step down and allow her daughter's brilliance to shine. This is an amazing time for their business and family!
Jason Kush
Owner of J. P. Kush Construction, LLC, Jason Kush's company was founded on one central beliet: Your home should be as unique and individual as you are. That's why they created the Your Home, Your Way semi-customization model. Homeowners have the ability to take already highly upgraded base models and make selections and customizations that make the home uniquely theirs. Serving Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona, as well as the rest of the Valley of the Sun since 2008, Jason Kush welcomes you to J. P. Kush Construction. Having been raised in the valley as a second-generation developer, he is a licensed residential and commercial general contractor, as well as a licensed real estate broker. Kush has seen this valley change a great deal in 40 years, and he's been involved in many of those changes! He is also an alumni of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State, with a B.S. in Marketing as well as numerous years of Sales Management experience from two Fortune 10 companies. His insights, background, and skills allow him to have a very different and unique perspective from that of his peers. Welcome home to J. P. Kush Construction, LIC.
Caleb Spears
By the age of 24, Caleb Spears had already generated over $2 million in gross commissions selling luxury real estate along Florida's Emerald Coast. From a young age, Caleb's passion about people and how interpersonal relationships relate to business was evident. Caled spent his formative years feverishly studying books, listening to podcasts, and absotbing any piece of wisdom he could find regarding the skill of leadership. At the age of 18, he got his Florida real estate license and, along with his older brother Jonathan, co-founded the Spears Group. Spears Group has been consistently ranked by the Wall Street Journal as the top team in Northwest Florida by sales volume and has been nominated for awards such as the Inman Top Innovators Award in 2022. Today, Caleb is not only a top producer in the market, he is also the Director of Agent Development and Training at Spears Group, where he helps grow the businesses of their team that includes both brand-new agents and seasoned veterans who produce $50 million ot more in annual sales.
Jon Bohm
Jon Bohm is a sought-after Personal and Performance Coach, Business Coach, National Speaker, and Trainer. He is currently CEO and President of Driven Associates and Driven Marketing. After surviving cancer in his 20s, Jon realized that life is too short not'to wake up and enjoy every day. Jon realized how much potential to make a positive impact on the lives of his family and others almost died with him. He challenges his clients and audiences to take full advantage of this one chance at life we have.
Craig Boyd
A passionate, energetic, and enthusias. leader and a committed high achiever, Craig Boyd's core belief is centered around the Growth Mindset. In a nutshell, this is the belief that skills and intelligence can be improved with effort and persistence. People with a Growth Mindset embrace challenges, stay resilient in the face of difficulties, learn from constructive criticism, and seek out inspiration from others' success. As a leader in business, this translates to the meta qualities of self-awareness and learning agility. These concepts have been the foundation of Craig's personal growth and success. Growing up in a small country town in Australia, sports and education dominated his early years. The principles of the Growth Mindset, combined with dedication, hard work, and commitment, took him from a small business owner at the age of 23 to working in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, running some of Asia's best fitness centers. His work in the health and fitness industry enabled him to transition into a global role leading a successful U.S, pharmaceutical organization. Drive and ambition challenged Craig to chase opportunities and new roles. His experience is diverse, having worked in various industries, countries, and companies. He has been happily married for nearly 30 years and has two amazing children.
Stuart M. Crawford
Stuart Crawford is a seasoned mortgage professional who has been in the mortgage banking business for ten years. His career started with Waterfield Financial, a leading private mortgage banking firm, where he was a top producing banker at the firm, working with the #1 top producing branch for the company nationwide. Waterfield Financial was acquited by American Home Mortgage, a multi-billion dollar firm publicly traded on the NYSE. Prior to the unfortunate bankruptcy of the company, Stuart was ranked in the President's Club as a Top 100 producer out of 3,000 bankers nationwide. Stuart then contributed to the success of V.I.P. Mortgage, after the company was founded in August of 2007. V.I.P. continues to be a leading mortgage company that saw astounding growth over the years during which its competitors struggled to survive — and it will continue to be a market leader as they re determined to "Restore the Reputation of the Mortgage Industry." Today, at Bison Ventures, Stuart is committed to providing five-star, unmatched service in the mortgage industry to all of his clients. It's his priority to thoroughly educate his clients on all of their financing options so that the right product fit is achieved.
Jeremy Schubert
Jeremy is an accomplished and versatile Global Business Leader with a 30-year track record of innovation and performance excellence. Jeremy's experience with international health systems coupled with his MPH have enabled him to master both Health Economic and Public Health Strategy... this is further activated by his unique ability to craft and communicate aspirational vision, while simultaneously outlining a cleat, innovative road map for internal and external execution. Jeremy is known as a Business Builder with a proven ability to facilitate the development of a healthy, high-performance culture and construct new approaches and thinking to age-old problems. Jeremy holds a degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University, an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, and an MPH from Liverpool University in England. He is completing a Doctorate of Strategic Leadership at Liberty University.
Jason Boyer
Jason Boyer is an architect, developer, and the founder of Boyer Vertical. Boyer's strength is resilience - possessing an entrepreneurial skill set that is both design and business savvy. At age 35, Boyer was named Design Principal in a national architectural firm, a notable accomplishment in a profession where the average principal age is 52. In 2012 Boyer established Jason Boyer Architects, adding real estate development to his skill set. His first development project was the award-winning artHAUS condominiums in Midtown Phoenix. He has since transformed his practice to focus on design-led real estate development, re-establishing it as Boyer Vertical in 2020. Boyer Vertical integrates architecture, development, and construction under a single real estate platform focused on creating sustainable-minded, architecturally significant projects. Boyer serves as architectural studio instructor at the ASU Design School and guest lecturer to the ASU Master of Real Estate Development program. His work in the "Architect as Developer" realm has spurred a following of architects who seek his counsel. Jason Boyer received the national honor of being named one of the 2022 Class of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects (AlA), a recognition earned by only 4 percent of national AlA member architects, which number more than 94,000.
Lauren Bailey
Lauren Bailey is the CEO and co-founder of Upward Projects, a restaurant development and hospitality company known for one thing — making people feel good. Spanning over 25 restaurants and 5 brands across 5 states, Upward Projects is comprised of the Postino WineCafe, Joyride Taco House, Windsor, Churn Ice Cream, and Federal Pizza brands. Selected to the Nation's Restaurant News "Power 50" list of people who represent the best in restaurant leadership, Bailey and Upward Projects are regarded for developing first-rate culture and adapting and reusing historically relevant buildings that are an integral part of the neighbothoods they serve. The company has also been named to the Inc. 5000 list for multiple years as one of the nation's fastest-growing companies. Texas-born and Indiana-raised, Lauren graduated from ASU with dual degrees in Communication and Fine Art. Drawing upon her degree, Lauren is also intimately involved in the design and décor of each Upward Projects location, from guiding the design direction to conceiving and executing the custom "art walls" that adorn each and every Postino WineCafe. In her spare time, Lauren travels the world, chases her eight-year-old son, hunts for vintage treasures, creates art, cooks dinner for friends, and spends time with the most important people in her life.
Elaina Verhoff
Elaina Verhoff is the founder of Elaina V. Public Relations, a boutique public relations agency located in Phoenix, Arizona. With 25-plus years of communications expertise, she has helped small startups to Fortune 100 companies craft their message, build their brand, and increase their business. Through her years working in public relations, she has established close media relationships that help her gain local and national media coverage, win prestigious awards, and gain recognition for clients.
Ladarren Landrum
LaDarren Landrum is a performance coach based in Phoenix, Atizona. He serves his community by championing healthy lifestyles for anyone and everyone he makes contact with. He is a husband as well as a father to three beautiful little girls. Since concluding his obligated time and being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, he is looking to possibly step into another uniform as a first responder (fire-fighter). Simultaneously, he is taking steps toward opening his own fitness club in the Phoenix metro area. LaDarren also has his own fitness lifestyle clothing brand called FIT-IN Athletics, in which he coins inspirational quotes and phrases and slaps them on apparel to serve as daily reminders to maintain a progressive mindset on whatever journey an individual sets forth on. LaDarren wholeheartedly believes that fitness (mental and physical) is a vehicle that anyone and everyone can and should drive on whatever road they decide to take to get to wherever they're going. “Most people live believable lives and accomplish believable things. When you set out on your journey, promise yourself to see it all the way through and have no problem crashing or burning on the way. Set out to live an unbelievable life and accomplish unbelievable things.”
Rick Larue
If you ask Rick what he does, he will say, "I love life." His two children and their families bring him unmitigated joy and inspiration. He and his wife, Sandy, have been married for 46 years, many of which were spent apart because of work travel. Now they enjoy nearly every hour of every day together. Want to stack the odds in your favor for a healthy marriage? Trust each other, respect each other, and communicate! Rick works with select clients who are seeking personal and professional guidance. With a focus on balance and inner peace, he guides them through a series of agreed-upon objectives, which brings contentment to a point of clarity and essence. This, in turn, modifies behavior that will be directed toward happiness and overall fulfillment. The goal is to create acute self-awareness within people so that they may begin the journey of setting realistic objectives, learning what success feels like, and gaining an insight toward a state of enhanced balance in their lives. Rick is also the owner of Export and Grow, which is a company that connects manufacturers of quality foods with retailers, distributors, and agents on a global scale. Leveraging the equity of industry knowledge, trustworthy contacts, and 40 years of building a reputation as a man of utmost integrity, he is harvesting what he spent years planting.