Raffaele Riva, Founder of AUREA Multi Family Office, Talks Productivity, Habits, and Trends

Raffaele Riva is the founder of AUREA Multi Family Office, and he specializes in a number of financial specialties, including wealth planning and trust real estate. As the creator of a number of regulated companies, including Milano Fiduciaria and Aurea Consulenti Associati SA, he’s known for his professional acumen as much as his financial prowess. Learn more about his journey and the strategies he’s learned along the way.

No Typical Days 

Riva was a managing partner for a number of advisory companies before starting his own venture. Mergers, international transactions, corporate financing: he was dealt with new hands every day of his professional life. Because he had to be as flexible as he was accurate, he’s adamant that there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ day for him. However, that doesn’t mean that there’s no structure to it. 

He usually starts between 7:30 – 8 am, and he schedules his most important work first. Tackling the urgent matters in the morning means that he can focus on the rest of his items — also known as the to-do items that constantly get pushed from one day to the next. He plans his meetings with as much notice in advance, so he’s able to keep his productivity at a consistent level. When he wraps up around 9 pm that night, he does so knowing that he’s in good shape for the next morning. 

Use Your Life Experiences 

Raffaele Riva graduated with a post-doctorate, but when asked how he brings his ideas to life, he credits his life experiences as the driving force. He lets these experiences and lessons guide him through the process until he winds up with a result that he can be proud of. Of all the trends out there, he’s thrilled to see that people aren’t compartmentalizing as much when it comes to success. For instance, just because a person is thriving in their career, doesn’t mean that they need to let their personal life fall by the wayside (and vice versa). 

He advises entrepreneurs to both think positive and stay current on what’s happening in the world. “Read, watch, and listen to any topic of interest.” Being optimistic may not be easy, but it’s also one of the best ways to keep moving forward in the face of failures. If a startup owner was going to listen to every depressing statistic or naysayer, nothing new would ever be created. 

Riva also advises people to find a balance between your needs and the needs of others. This is fairly standard advice, but also an equation that’s incredibly difficult to really pull off. If you only focus on yourself, you’ll forget to support those around you. However, if you don’t put your needs first, you could wind up giving all of yourself away. This is constant push-and-pull, but Riva thinks it’s well worth the struggle. 

What Defines Wealth 

It’s easy to think that wealth is all about what you have and what you can afford. However, for Riva, real wealth isn’t about how much money you have in the bank, it’s about what you’re willing to risk. “A person is rich when he is not scared of becoming poor and not because he has plenty of money.” Riva doesn’t have a fear of failing, and it’s this confidence that helps other people believe in him too. 

When he thinks about his clients and his businesses, he’s always interested in what he can do for them. This doesn’t negate his advice to put your own priorities first, it’s more about finding the win-win for all involved — regardless of what the problem happens to be. 

As Raffaele Riva put it, “When you wake up each morning asking for more ways to better serve and satisfy your clients, you will dramatically boost your business. Always think in terms of serving and even if your client was the one who was wrong, take the initiative to fix things and correct them immediately: it will provide value in their life.” It’s these kinds of philosophies that have helped him move forward in his professional life, regardless of the odds. 

See the full interview here: https://ideamensch.com/raffaele-riva/