Costa Bajjali is the President and co-founder of IDM Partners and IDM Realty Group, LLC currently located in Missouri City, Texas. Mr. Bajjali has over 25 years of Business experience in areas such as Real Estate Development, Business Process Improvement, Outsourcing and Business Consulting. Prior to forming IDM Partners, Mr. Bajjali was the President and co-founder of Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, where he was responsible for over $350 million of development projects throughout Texas and the United States. Developments varied in type and size and included Single Family lot development, Retail development, Office Buildings, Town Centers / Mixed-use developments, Student Housing and Assisted Living.
Costa Bajjali is a licensed Real Estate Broker and a Development Consultant. His specialties include Contract Negotiation, Due Diligence, Entitlement, working with Cities and Municipalities and Financial Modeling and Reporting. Mr. Bajjali has resided in the Houston area for the past 30 years and received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Houston.
In the last few years, what lifestyle, habit, or behavior change has had the biggest positive impact on your life?
Working from home. While working from home, I was able to be more involved in my teenage son’s and daughter’s life, school and extracurricular activities. I believe those years of development are key to their success in life. Kids at that age need direction, boundaries, and guidance more than at any other time in their life. I was able to take my kids to school, until they were able to drive on their own and I was able to support them by attending most of their sports activities. I helped with their education and study habits and most importantly, I was there to support them in making the right friend choices and avoid those that are bad influences in their lives. I taught them how to respect others, take responsibility for their actions and how to be good sport, when they lose. I arranged for both of them to have jobs at a very young age in order to learn good work ethics and to better understand the value of money and money management. I taught them how to drive a car and how to maintain it. My son and I maintain and repair our cars and I’m working on teaching my daughter the basics of car maintenance.
I strongly believe that with both my wife and I working, working from home afforded me the opportunity, that I wouldn’t have otherwise, to be more involved in shaping the life and future of our kids.
When you feel unfocused, what do you do?
Go back to the basics. What is the task at hand and what is the best way to get it done? If you tend to lose focus regularly, then maybe you are doing something that you shouldn’t be doing. Never work in a job that you don’t like! It is always easier to stay focused on things you love doing. If you lose focus frequently or if you can’t wait until the end of the day to go home, then you’re definitely in the wrong job. You should enjoy your job to the point that you can’t believe that it’s time to go home!
What advice would you give a smart and ambitious recent college graduate? What advice should they ignore?
There are no short cuts in life. If you want certain results, you have to put in the effort to achieve them. Starting at the bottom and working your way up the corporate ladder is the best way to learn any business hands on. Work hard to prove yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help! Learn the best process from those that have experience, but don’t be afraid to present a better solution or a new idea!
4. What is one lifestyle trend that excites you?
Several years ago, my son got involved in various shotgun clay shooting sports, mainly, Sporting Clays and FITASC. FITASC is a French acronym for Fédération Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives de Chasse. I spent two years taking him to various events and tournaments and noticed that there are groups of several generations from the same family shooting together. What a great way to “spend quality time with your parents and your children”, I thought to myself! I decided since I had already made the time and financial commitment for my son, I might as well learn how to shoot. Now, my son, my daughter and I get to spend quality time shooting together several times a month. I’m very excited about the network of people from all over the world that we’ve meet from being involved in this sport. My son made Team USA and represented the US at the World FITASC Championship in 2020 and will most likely be on the team for Sporting Clays in 2021. My daughter is moving up the ranks and will be able to accomplish as much as my son has accomplished in this sport in the next few years.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life and why?
I would have to say my mother. Even though she was a stay at home mom and never went to college, she taught me everything I know about family values, hard work, being kind to others and taking responsibility for my own actions. She raised 7 children and helped care for 16 grandchildren and taught them all the same values she taught me.
What’s one of the biggest life lessons you’ve learned?
Stay away from narcissists, they are terrible business partners! No matter what you do for them or the overall partnership, you are not good enough and they take credit for every success and blame you for every failure. Go with your gut instinct and experience when making decisions.
What do you think it is that makes you/someone successful?
Hard work and being a good leader. Do not be afraid or intimidated by people that are better than you; instead, surround yourself with people that are better than you. Find the best position for the people you have on your team and make sure they are happy with the job they do. Do not keep someone that is not happy, with his or her job, in the same position.
How do you stay motivated?
I stay motivated by staying busy and doing what I like. Doing what I like and staying busy gets results, results and accomplishments lead to recognition and motivation…and the cycle repeats itself!
What legacy do you hope to leave behind?
I want my legacy to be my kids with the values and character traits that I worked hard to teach them. I want them to be happy and successful with everything they do, but to stay humble and kind to everyone they know no matter how successful they are. Since one is in college and the other is in high school, this is still work in progress, but we are on track to achieving our goals.