Arthur Dallimer Breaking the Mould: Property, Purpose & Generational Perspective

Automatically transcribed, so there may be the odd slip.

Alastair GreenerHello everyone, welcome to the Alastair Greener Generationally Speaking podcast where we look at bridging the generation gap. We're going to be debunking myths, we're going to be talking stereotypes, and we're going to be sharing practical tips on how we can build stronger intergenerational connections. And today I'm talking to probably my youngest guest that I've had on so far, because he also defies many of the characteristics associated with this generation. We'll get to that in a moment. He's a Xenial born on the cusp of millennials and Gen Z. Uh, he bought his first property at just 18 years old. Today at 29, he oversees a 20 million. Pound development portfolio, uh, it's across Wiltshire, Bristol and his journey though isn't just about accumulating properties. It's about transforming entire cities. Wow. There's a, there, there's a mission. Arthur, welcome.

Arthur DallimerYes, I don't know what it is, but I'm not a sole focus is to regenerate Swindon and make it something really enjoyable for good people to live

Alastair Greenerand Anybody who's been to Swindon will say you've got a job on your hands.

Arthur DallimerYes

Alastair GreenerLet's come to that in a moment because we just before we started recording. We were discussing. Are you a millennial? Are you a gen Z? Where reality is, um, you know, you don't mind telling me the year you were born, that the fact that Gen Z, uh, starts at 1997, and you were just a little bit before that. But what it means as a cusper, you will have traits of both generations. I mean, it's not a strict line that, right. you suddenly become that generation because you were born a day later than somebody else. But if you compared yourself to other people that you know of your age, maybe people you went to school with, just people you know, and this and the stereotype that people look at you and think, how do you reckon you measure up?

Arthur DallimerSo, um, I'm kind of going through the mix of employing people my age at the moment. And I think the work ethic that that people my age don't necessarily have. I, I have for a long time strived to want more, and, and with that comes my dedication to working hard and being, like, competitive, whereas I don't feel that is quite, um, what my generation, uh, like, the traits they have.

Alastair GreenerWhere do you think that came from? Because at the end of the day, you were born in, you know, apparently, you're all born in the same generation, you're all the same, so, so why are you so different?

Arthur DallimerI would, I would say it's to do with my upbringing. I have an older father who, who, um, you know, his first children are old enough to be my parents. So I grew up with probably somebody that was. Um, a lot wiser, had a lot more life experience and, and when I was growing up, the sole focus of what my father was, what the conversations in the house was, how the hell is he going to retire? So whereas maybe people my age, their parents are 20, 25 years above them, uh, they're, they're going through kind of career changes and, um, establishing kind of their initial wealth. Whereas my, my father was.

Alastair GreenerAnd those are the conversations you were having around the dinner tables and things like that. So that was clearly affecting the way you felt.

Arthur DallimerYes, because my, my, my father worked for himself for such a long time. And the big thing was, well, my pension won't last me till I'm older. So the conversations in the household were. Well, if I buy a hotel, would we be able to run it? And it's like, uh, no. So, uh, so I was kind of exposed to probably a bit more than what a traditional family had and also, um, my brother is quite heavily autistic. So I kind of within my upbringing had a. Uh, kind of carer's role involved in my childhood, you know, because we were very protective of him and we wanted to make sure he had a very secure life.

Alastair GreenerSo you had this immediate sense of responsibility at probably a younger age than most people would have.

Arthur DallimerYes, yeah.

Alastair GreenerWhen did you start seeing any form of, or when did you notice that maybe your thinking was different to your fellow students at school, or, or whenever it was that you suddenly thought, hang on a second, I'm thinking a bit differently to them?

Arthur DallimerUm, I had, I've always had a big drive to make money, so for me, um, me and my friend Joe, we We started off a chicken business where we would sell eggs, and chick and we'd hatch the chickens to sell to people at school, and that was probably at the age of eight to nine. Um, I managed to twist my parents arm to send me to a business school at eleven during the summer, um, and that was quite fun. That allowed me to kind of present to To large names within the UK business scene and, um, it exposed me to, to what I, I, the drive that I wanted to be a business leader rather than working for someone.

Alastair GreenerWhat kind of reaction did you get from people? Because, you know, you are definitely an outlier at your age doing what you were doing and being so focused on business. Did you get, was, was the feeling more accepting or was it go away and come back when you've grown up?

Arthur DallimerUh, it was the, the latter comment. So I, I have a big, um, uh, one of the drivers I think for me has been when people say no, or you can't do that, or come back later. Uh, there's a big, uh, uh, kind of rocket that goes through my body and tells me to, to just beat them and show them otherwise.

Alastair GreenerSo, and again, do you think that was instilled from you, from you, from your parents, or is it just something that's just in you?

Arthur DallimerI think that's more in me. I, I don't like when people say no or it's not accomplishable. Because, because if you put your mind to it, work hard, then you can achieve what you want to achieve.

Alastair GreenerWhat do you say to people your age, who clearly, from what you've said earlier on, um, many of whom have a very different attitude, uh, to, to business and things like that? You know, how do, how do your conversations go with them?

Arthur DallimerI have to be very mindful of, of how far you push, you know, people, my, my peers and my friends, because I, I really don't. You know, some people will say, Oh, this is a barrier. Whereas I don't see that as a barrier, but that might be because I have worked through that barrier and I can offer some advice, but there's only so much I can offer before, um, before it's just a kind of mental block that they hold.

Alastair GreenerAnd do you think this is, is it something that when you talk to people, do you feel you've got something in common with them? Or do you feel, um, very different to them and therefore, well, just crack on, I'm going to do what I do anyway? You know, what, what's going through your mind when you're having conversations with people your age group who do very different things to you?

Arthur DallimerUm, I, I have such a kind of variety of friends where the people my age group are either in the corporate world and doing very well and they're climbing that ladder, but they're very stuck and It's not there's no kind of freedom and they've got long hours and for me I admire their tenacity and their work ethic and and that is instilled in them. However, they're their Perception of life is very different to mine I don't want to work I want I work hard and I I have what I have because I have worked hard But I also know there's an end to that whereas for them. They've got another 30 40 years in that industry And then you know, I have friends who who Um, you know, work is, uh, um, they, they live month by month and, and that's hard to resonate with, although, you know, sometimes I do live month by month because of the developments that I've got going on, but I'm not going to shy away from that. But, but they're. The conversations, I guess, that I have with those are, I can't relate to their situation.

Alastair GreenerTalking of relating to people, that's something that different generations, you know, have always potentially struggled with, haven't they, you know? Having a much older parent will have I'm sure bridge that a little bit. How do you approach, let's say you're, you're starting a new project and you're surrounded by people of different generations. They're very different to you. They don't know you. They don't know what drives you and things like that. How do you broach those conversations so that you can get up to speed fairly quickly?

Arthur DallimerUm, What with my generation or with no, no, just

Alastair Greeneranybody that you get to work with I'm thinking particularly, you know When it comes to maybe finances or people that you're looking for Investors and things like that, you know, they don't know you but you've got to somehow communicate and get through to them so that they trust and Have faith in in in your project.

Arthur DallimerSo So for me, um, it's all about the deal and the numbers and how, how you can kind of safeguard their money. And also what's the exit. And I think if you're clear on those three things, um, you know, there's not that much that they can question. And from my experience, I've got very delivered projects. I have experienced, I have. A asset base behind me. So I'm not going in, um, with no experience, but that, that does come with time. And I guess at the beginning, um, I had to, I guess at the beginning where I wasn't using so much my experience, it was more my time that I was giving up because I was, you know, self managing and I was putting in the time to deliver those projects. Whereas now it's my experience leads Those kind of conversations and those, um, investment opportunities.

Alastair GreenerTell me about that first conversation you must have had when you first went to the bank and said, right, I've got this idea, you know, or, you know, other investors. So you're quite right. You've now got that level of experience. So you can easily draw upon that. But getting that in the first place is tougher. So tell me about those first conversations.

Arthur DallimerWell, well, the banks, um, because of my age were set, you know, the minimum lending criteria was 25 and I was going to them at 21, 22. So it was, um, a big, uh, there was a big hard block and, and for me, you know, my driver is to prove people wrong. So I found the money elsewhere and that was either done privately or I'd go to a challenger bank who, who would come over, who would maybe. Kind of make an exception for me with with my age.

Alastair GreenerDo you go to schools and colleges and things like that and talk to younger people? Because I can imagine a lot of people would see you as a such a great inspiration to young people. What kind of reaction do you get?

Arthur DallimerUm, I was, I was, I did a talk recently. But I, I, I didn't kind of, um, push myself out as this person who is really challenging and changing the, the roles. I kind of spoke about how I'm looking to kind of slow down and retire and I'm only 30 and I want to. So, I wasn't particularly inspiring in that sense, but, um, uh, yeah, I get invited to, to talk.

Alastair GreenerAnd so what about younger people when they look at you? Because they won't be seeing other people like you very often.

Arthur DallimerUm, I think the generation now are very driven by what you see in the 10 seconds you see on Instagram. So for them, you know, it is having a flash car. It is having a big house. It is having, you know, the latest I, the latest Apple products. Um, so I, at the moment I see the degener that that generation very driven by, by, um. The products that they can, uh, and the, and the brands that they can wear, um, so helping them maybe see the value of their time in, in building a business that can eventually get them that is, is sometimes a bit challenging because I, I've never really been driven by, I say that now, but I have a big house now, but I, I was never really driven by the fast cars and,

Alastair GreenerYou talked earlier on about the work ethic and how that differentiates between you and people of your age and maybe a little bit younger. And there's certainly, if we went down that stereotypical route, you know, employers will say, Things like, well, I just can't connect with them. I can't get them to work. What do you say to those kind of employers and those people who can't get Gen Z to work well, they claim they can't get them to work.

Arthur DallimerUm, I think there are lots of people in the world that are looking for work, and if you can't get them to work, then you find somebody else

Alastair GreenerSo I love the, I love the simplicity of your answer, .

Arthur DallimerI, I. I think, you know, we are now in a world where, um, our competition is, you know, Asia is, um, is countries that have now developed a good education system and are teaching all these people to, to do the work that us Brits can do. So now there's this kind of transitional period where we can go out to those nations, pay a lot less money, there's a lot different work ethic to our generation here in the UK. And I think there is going to be this period of, of us, you know, my generation, particularly where Where they are because they're not they're choosing not to work They are not going to have the work and they're not going to have the jobs So then that leads to a social problem maybe towards when they're 60 70 because they won't have afforded it to buy a house Their families would have spent all their money on their care. So they wouldn't have inherited any money and then there's going to be this huge Uh, black hole of, of people not having anything.

Alastair GreenerI want to go back to when you were at school, because I, I can imagine you and your mate there at eight, nine years old selling eggs and doing all that kind of thing. Were you encouraged or was it very self driven, um, as far as the school was concerned? You know, how do, when you got home and you were talking to your, to your parents about the, you know, your mates at school, but also the teachers at school, where did that all connect or was it a bit disconnected that it felt very alien? Um,

Arthur DallimerI don't remember there being any barriers. I think, uh, I, I wasn't particularly academic at school and I think they tried to make me be more focused on kind of reading and writing and I wasn't particularly interested at that point. Um, but I. I just wanted to be outside and having fun, whereas, and, and selling things, um, I wasn't, um, but then I was really good at maths, and I wasn't driven to get good, good marks, but I think with my parents, and I, I do look back, and I'm not going to raise my children like this, my parents were very laissez faire with how they, um, treated school, so there wasn't a big emphasis on me getting good grades. It was more, you know, when I was a teenager, I was supposed to be revising, but I would sleep in the day because I was just exhausted. And my parents attitude was, well, you know, you are growing up and you've got to sleep. Whereas I'm not going to raise my children like that because I would want them to. Um, try and attain the most they can out of school because it's just such an informative few years that you don't get.

Alastair GreenerSo how much of that is, is you just going against your parents because that's what young people do and how, because at the end of the day, if, if, if your children end up like you, they have that same kind of sort of entrepreneurial flair that you do. It's worked for you. Why wouldn't it work for them? Um,

Arthur Dallimerit will definitely work for them, well I hope, I don't know, but um, I, I just think if my parents were more focused on my, uh, academic skills, I would have maybe, you know, I don't know, I've rebelled, so I don't, I don't know what would ever happened, but

Alastair GreenerI think that's a, that, you know, I love your honesty there about the fact that, you know, that's what happens, you know, people rebel and they do something and it manifests itself in different ways. What about now, you know, in terms of, you know, fun time, holidays, stuff like that, you're clearly very driven, you're very focused towards your work. And we live in a society where Instagrammable holidays, we talked about not being particularly motivated by cars. But, you know, do you think that your life you're, you're having that level of enjoyment that maybe other people are around you who are out there growing with their experiences and traveling and doing all sorts of stuff that I suspect you probably don't have time for?

Arthur DallimerYeah, I'm going through the kind of transitional period at the moment. I think I've learned I've worked for 11 years now. Where, um, I have sacrificed relationships, I have sacrificed travel, I have sacrificed having hobbies, so now I am, um, you know, I meet loads of people at the moment, and they're like, what do you do in your free time? And my free time is I work, so, um, and, and, and now trying to change those habits is also difficult, so I, um, Um, getting hobbies. I am establishing what I want to, um, achieve in my personal life rather than, you know, all, all work, but then I don't feel like I, I don't think. I think, uh, people of my generation are having fun in their 20s. I would say I worked in my 20s.

Alastair GreenerAnd, you know, obviously I talk a lot about generational communication and seeing you as being someone not typical of your generation. How do you communicate with people older than you and younger than you? Are you making a deliberate choice about how you choose to communicate with them?

Arthur DallimerI, I have, um A large, uh, range of friends and I would say the closest friends in my life at the moment are in their fifties and they are considerably older than me. I have a lot more in depth conversations with them. I'm able to kind of resonate with them a lot more. I Have more relatable things I can and and talk about and I struggle with no I I don't struggle. I have fun with my friends my age But you know the worry of them is for them, you know, how they're gonna pay that 50 pound pound meal, um, and, and I'm not at that point in my life.

Alastair GreenerSo, so you're finding it harder to relate to them?

Arthur DallimerYes, yeah.

Alastair GreenerAnd what about the generations coming up? What are you, what are you seeing? Are you seeing any difference to the way they're being brought up, the way that their lives are shaping when you go to schools and things like that?

Arthur DallimerUm, I predominantly have, um, spoken at, at, at classes and schools where kids are massively, uh, Segregators is not the word. They're kind of, they're challenged at school because maybe they don't fit the norm. Which is almost where I was as a child because I rebelled and I wanted to do things that weren't academic and I wanted to make money. So I speak at those, those kids are, are very driven and I, I think that there's a lot and I think there just needs to be more support out there for, for that generation. I I think at the moment what I'm viewing is there's a lot of labels being thrown out and it's very easy to fall on those labels as an excuse to not do anything or, or, you know, I, I am this. I am, uh, I don't want to throw it out there, but I am X, and I'm not going to do that, whereas, you know, you might have X, and everyone can do that.

Alastair GreenerIt's the advantage, in a sense, of being different, that you are less likely to put labels on other people, because you know that you don't have a nice, easy label or a little pigeon hole that people can, you know, put you into. When you go to networking events and things, which I know you do periodically, how do you, because I can imagine everyone's just intrigued by you because they say, well, how do you do that? Whatever. And you get those same questions over and over again. Do you find yourself steering and, and wanting to look at other things and talk about other things?

Arthur DallimerYeah, I'm definitely pivoting in where I want to be kind of in the network, networking world. It's, um, I want to, uh, you know, for me, the questions of, oh, how did you raise 50 grand? Um, is, is not something I want to talk about because that's quite easy in, in the grand scheme of things. Um, you know, I want to know more in depth business decisions and kind of tax implications. I want to really pivot with people that are really challenging and breaking those boundaries.

Alastair GreenerIf you and I had this, repeated this podcast in 10 years time, who would the Arthur Dalimer that I'm going to be speaking to then, what are they going to be saying to me?

Arthur DallimerI think I'm going to be, um, I think In 10 years time, I would have had my break from, from this industry, I would have repositioned myself, and I think I would have then restarted the next phase of whatever I was looking to do.

Alastair GreenerAnd what do you think that might be? Which I

Arthur Dallimerhave,

Alastair Greenerwhich I have plans. Oh, you have plans? You're keeping them close to your chest, are you?

Arthur DallimerYes.

Alastair GreenerYou don't want the whole world to know, um, about that. Do you, do you still enjoy what you're doing? Is it the fact that you're accumulating a portfolio or is it the day to day you actually just love the cut and thrust of the property business?

Arthur DallimerUm, I love the idea of what you're creating. Um, I like the, the prospect and the freedom that that brings and, and the ability to have a life where, um, I'm not relying on, on a nine to five job. What I. Um, I'm super excited by is to be able to actually say, I'm not going to work anymore and I, I'm not never going to not work, but I, I'm probably about 15 months away from going, I'm, I'm stopping this or be able to.

Alastair GreenerYou said right at the beginning that, um, you had the purpose. You wanted to make Swindon a better place, you wanted to make the environment a better place, and so on. And in a sense, that's where you do actually connect with people of your generation. Because we know that Gen Zs particularly, um, and it all started with Millennials before them, have this purpose, this driv this drive that maybe the older generations didn't have. How does that fit into your scheme in terms of the future?

Arthur DallimerI, um, I, I lived in Bristol for a long time and that's just such a vibrant place where you've got lots of kind of, um, uh, you know, arts and you've got lots of things that you can do in the evenings and there's a lot of music and, um, the food cultures. It's good. Whereas you come to say Swindon where I'm now living and it's so, um, uh, you know, there's not much music. There's not much food, uh, venues. And it's very easy. I feel to be able to turn that round, but you need the people and the backing behind you to push that ahead. And I think where, where Swindon as a, as a whole has been poorly led by, um, Uh, the people that are in the town and, and that, that, that being. You know, politicians that being the council and that being, um, uh, kind of the education system behind the people that are pushing, you know, the new generation through, I think, hopefully, you know, if you invest in the kids to be inspired and to want more. Um, then the town can really change, and I think with the new leadership of the council now, I hope there's going to be a progression in the change in how people see the town, and then I hope a lot of London money comes into the place to kind of rejuvenate. Quite

Alastair Greenerambitious plans to, uh, to change that all around the, the last time I'd ask you, because I suddenly realized we're almost done is, and you're probably thinking, thank goodness for that. But if, if, if you were talking to somebody else who not necessarily like you, they're not running a business portfolio or some, but they see themselves as slightly different to somebody else of their generation. What would you use? say are your top tips that you would give them on how to connect with different generations to yourself, or maybe even connect with your own generation when you see this, there's those differences. But as an outlier, what would your tips be to get those connections?

Arthur DallimerUm, I think communication is really key and, and, and to not be afraid of your quirks and your, you know, how you view life and, and to not feel, um, afraid to offend, um, I think is super important because at the end of the day, we're all human and. How you choose to live your life is how you choose to live your life.

Alastair GreenerWow, that's quite bold because there are some people who, you know, spend their lives, you know, on eggshells, making sure that they don't offend. And you're just saying be a little bit more brave.

Arthur DallimerYes. Yeah.

Alastair GreenerArthur, it's been an absolute pleasure chatting to you. If people want to find out a little bit more about your projects, about your missions and things, where can we find you?

Arthur DallimerSo, um, start on Instagram with William Arthur Property and then you'll be taken over to the kind of different developments that I've got going on and, and my, uh, future, um, estate here. I'm looking to open farm shops and things, so, so I'm looking forward to generating that, that kind of brand. Clarkson, Clarkson, watch

Alastair Greenerout, eh?

Arthur DallimerYes

Alastair GreenerAnd interestingly you are of your generation because your first Way of getting a hold of you was instagram not through a website or not through any other things So maybe you have got a few traits of your generation that have snuck in there one way or another arthur It's been a great pleasure so much for chatting to us And I think you've been a real inspiration and it's great just to talk to people who Hopefully going to move us away from looking at each other as stereotypes and realize that actually we are a lot more different than other people might think so We're going to continue with this with future podcasts. We're going to bring in lots of other people who defy the stereotypes and Will helpfully hopefully help you and us communicate more effectively between generations You can find out more at generationally speaking dot co dot uk in the meantime. Thank you Arthur and thank you for joining us for now The Alastair Greener Generationally Speaking podcast was presented by me, Alastair Greener. It was recorded at Granary Studios and produced by James Jones. Please follow us and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. To find out more, visit generationallyspeaking. co. uk