Building a business that endures rarely starts with a grand plan. For Ron Bakir, Founder and CEO of Homecorp, the foundations of long-term success were laid long before the company developed its now multibillion-dollar property portfolio. In fact, they go right back to his childhood and the lessons he learned from his parents.

“Life’s a circle. What goes around comes around, and karma will catch you,” he recalls them saying.

With this approach, Bakir took a modest approach to property, completing his first duplex in 2004. That moment became a turning point.

“I stood in front of it and I said, ‘Wow, I love it. I love creating things,’” he says.

Creating communities

Rather than seeing the project as a singular achievement, Bakir saw it as the beginning of something far bigger. The duplex sparked a vision to create communities rather than just structures and to build with a sense of long-term purpose.

Through this journey, he has drawn on instinct and intuition for his leadership approach, meaning he is open to feedback yet ultimately trusts his internal compass.

“At the end of the day, the buck stops with you. You’ve got to make that call,” he says. “I’ve learned go with the gut every time. I only see my outcomes and my obstacles will give way.”

Bakir says the greatest reward comes at the end of each project when he sees people interacting within the spaces his team has created.

“You’ve created this sense of belonging,” he enthuses. “That’s the best thing at the end of a project.”

Bakir views each development as a contribution to people’s lives, not just the property market, and he’s equally passionate about the people within his company. He believes culture is the ultimate differentiator between companies that stagnate and those that thrive.

“It’s the absolute and utter mindset of the people that are running the day-to-day company,” he says.

That mindset is built around continuous improvement, modeled on the Kaizen philosophy.

“It’s one thing to say it, the other thing is actually doing it,” Bakir points out.

Focusing on purpose rather than distraction has carried him and his team through cycles of uncertainty, market shifts and the natural ups and downs of business, and despite the uncertainty in the industry, Bakir sees unlimited opportunity for Homecorp’s growth, both locally and internationally. Through every stage of scaling, he remains anchored in the principles that shaped his earliest decisions.

“Once you establish the purpose and once you establish the vision, you cannot waver,” he reflects.

Listen to the latest episode of our CEO: Behind the Scenes podcast with Ron Bakir on Amazon, Apple or Spotify.