Today we are joined by Alia Ott, an investor out of the West Coast, in a real estate niche we at the Business Shorts Podcast have always been curious about - self storage.  Alia is really passionate about teaching others how to invest and work towards financial freedom, and her company, Investors In Action, has been able to guide a lot of people investing in this niche.  It's time to learn more about this unique niche in the real investing world.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• What makes self storage units so attractive

Find more about Alia and her business at her website.

In this episode, we talk to Darren Priest, an entrepreneur that started his auto detailing business by detailing a friends car for $40 in his early 20s, while looking for an additional stream of income.  Today, he has created a mini auto detailing empire located in Orange County and has even solidified himself as the "auto detail guy" on social media.  Search "auto fetish detail" on YouTube and any of the other big social media platforms and you'll undoubtedly run into him.  Darren is big into the entrepreneurship mindset and believes that focus and hard work can turn just about any niche profitable if you play your cards right.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• Why it takes practically nothing to get started

Find more about Darren at his website or on his YouTube or Facebook channels.

We knew we found a great entrepreneur from the moment we met James.  He has built a successful Christmas lights installation business from practically nothing, yet still manages to live in Whistler, Canada - a beautiful/expensive area north of Vancouver (so there's no excuse!).  James says he learned everything he needed to learn from this most expensive business school around: the school of experience.  When James is not preparing for the winter Christmas light season, he actually owns and operates an ax throwing business! We hope to have him on the podcast again in the near future!

In this episode, you will learn about:

• What exactly you need to get started

Reach out to James at www.lightright.ca or on Twitter @jameswdanderson.

Gabe Grant is a part time real estate appraiser on the side of his full time job working at a concrete company.  Gabe began his real estate appraising as a full time appraiser with his dad, and moved to part time once he had a solid understanding of the valuation process and developed his list of industry contacts.  Since moving to part time 4 years ago, he averages 2 appraisals a week and enjoys a comfortable side income of about $20,000 or more each year.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• What exactly does a real estate appraiser do

Our guest today is Soren Coughlin-Glaser, from Portland Oregon, who decided to enter the photo booth rental business after pivoting from the wedding photography business.  He runs a successful photo booth rental operation with 4 photobooths, and has even started a second business that teaches people how to start their own photo booth business themselves.

Episode Highlights

• How much it takes to get started (it is less than you think!)

Our guest today is Soren Coughlin-Glaser, from Portland Oregon, who decided to enter the photo booth rental business after pivoting from the wedding photography business.  He runs a successful photo booth rental operation with 4 photobooths, and has even started a second business that teaches people how to start their own photo booth business themselves.

Episode Highlights

• How much it takes to get started (it is less than you think!)

Gabe Grant is a part time real estate appraiser on the side of his full time job working at a concrete company.  Gabe began his real estate appraising as a full time appraiser with his dad, and moved to part time once he had a solid understanding of the valuation process and developed his list of industry contacts.  Since moving to part time 4 years ago, he averages 2 appraisals a week and enjoys a comfortable side income of about $20,000 or more each year.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• What exactly does a real estate appraiser do

Today’s guest is Rob Madrid, president of washguru.com and owner of one of Denver’s premier car washes.  Although he initially started in the restaurant business, he has found success in the car wash industry and has some great insights on what it takes to enter the car wash business.  Rob has consulted hundreds of clients on car wash startups and improving existing washes.  He outlines his vision for the future of car washes and how to benefit in today’s market. For hungry individuals looking to enter the market, Rob details on common methods to enter the market even when entry costs top the multi-million dollar investment. Rob’s experience and advice is invaluable, especially given the staggering resale prices today.   

Episode Highlights

• Future outlook of the car wash business

Learn more about Rob at washguru.com and check out his car wash at gleamcarwash.com.

Sherry is one of our most special guests as she is the very first guest of the Business Shorts Podcast! Sherry has worked in the vending machine industry for years and knows all the ins and outs.  In this episode, Sherry shares with us what to target and avoid in terms of types of machines, types of vending products to sell, ideal locations and more.  She also walks us through how to get into the vending machine industry with just a few thousand dollars as well as what to expect as a part time vending machine owner/operator. In addition, she provides priceless advice on what traps to avoid as a rookie.   After this episode, you should be able to get a feel for what it really takes to be successful in the vending machine industry and determine if it is a business you’d like to pursue.

Episode Highlights

• Entering vending with minimal investment

Learn more about Sherry at advancedvendingconsultants.com

Welcome to the Business Shorts Podcast!  This short episode serves as an introduction to the podcast and what we aim to accomplish.  It shares a little bit about Henry and Sebastian and the types of guests we plan to get on the show.  We don’t suggest spending too much time on this episode, instead, go get into the interviews! Episode 1 is a great place to start.  If you have any questions, suggestions, or would like to be a guest on the show, please contact us.