Investor Cheat Code Podcast with Mike Simmons

In this episode, I am joined by Carla Reeves, who is known for her compassionate, direct, and truth-telling candor. Carla Reeves has coached hundreds of executives, CEOs, and other ambitious leaders over the past ten years. She  is committed to guiding individuals to clarity about the real stumbling blocks that stand in the way of their growth and equip them to experience profound shifts in their confidence and ability to communicate powerfully.

Carla spent 10+ years in Corporate America working in Human Resources and Information Technology. She left Corporate America at age 32 to raise her boys and live the entrepreneurial life she loves. A series of entrepreneurial adventures organically evolved into the coaching she does today. What she knows to be true is that people are far closer than they realize to the very things they deeply desire. Often, the only thing standing in the way is an old, outdated way of viewing themselves and the world around them.

Carla uses the analogy of the lens of a pair of glasses… if we are looking at the world through these and they are marred by faulty or unhealthy thinking, no matter how successful we are, we are not going to experience our life as happy. She talks about the escapism that so many people think will make them happy - escape from a relationship, or a job, or a location. Carla tries to get people to delay those actions in order to help them discover what is really driving them.

Carla is a big proponent of journaling, so I asked her why she thought that is so important. She said there are many benefits but that she would focus on three ways it can be a helpful tool. Journaling can be a mechanism to empty your mind and clear out all of the noise, which Carla calls taking out the mental trash. It also gives us a little distance from our thoughts and awareness of what we are allowing in our headspace. Clara also says she likes to think of journaling as a tool for navigating our lives, to get things down with pen and paper in order to examine the circumstances and prepare our response.

I asked Carla to explain the meaning and importance of mindset shifts. She said we often get focused on what we don’t want, and how fear can play a part in unhealthy and unproductive thinking. She said that it is important for us to be aware of this and then ask ourselves what we do want, and focus on that instead of imaging negative outcomes.

We talked a little bit about the pandemic, the wide range of reactions to it, and how Carla is helping her clients get through this challenge. She said the tone of her coaching calls have really changed from being forward-thinking and goal-focused to rather a survival mode kind of situation. Carla said because we are getting so much information, and much of it conflicting, and differing view and opinions, it is even more important to unpack our thinking, whether through journaling or speaking to someone we trust. She emphasized how important it is to control the things that we allow in our lives and the power that they have over us.

During this interview, Carla really emphasizes the power our thinking has and how much positive influence we can have if we take the time to become aware of it and change it up, if necessary. This episode is incredibly helpful in reminding us of the need for self-care if we are going to grow both personally and professionally and I hope you will join us!

Notable Quotes:

“What holds people back has more to do with what is between their ears rather than the external tools they have at their disposal.”

• Mike Simmons

“On the outside, life looks really good, but there is a disconnect on the inside for them to actually experience that.”

• Carla Reeves

“Thriving begins on the inside.”

• Carla Reeves

“A deep change in the way that you experience life requires a deep change in the way that you think.”

• Carla Reeves

“We have to examine our thinking first to really shift our outer experience.”

• Carla Reeves

“A lot of high-achievers have an old, out-dated story inside themselves that doesn’t fit, but got lodged inside them somehow.”

• Carla Reeves

“I try to help my clients let go of their faulty thinking which causes relentless striving for never-ending achievement.”

• Carla Reeves

“What I discovered was that many people came to me for coaching because they wanted to escape something.”

• Carla Reeves

“They become fueled by inspiration or passion rather than trying to prove something.”

• Carla Reeves

“Just replacing that fuel or engine with something more productive and positive is the key.”

• Mike Simmons

“Journaling is like taking out the mental trash and will help you to be more present and engaged.”

• Carla Reeves

“If you don’t make decisions for yourself, life will make them for you.”

• Mike Simmons

“A lot of times we get focused on what we don’t want.”

• Carla Reeves

“We create a lot more suffering and struggle with our thinking.”

• Carla Reeves

“We all carry a load - the heavy is in our heads. We may not be able to change the load, we can control the weight by the way we choose to think.”

• Carla Reeves

“Mastermind groups become a lifeline in challenging times.”

• Mike Simmons

“This is a time of re-invention for people.”

• Carla Reeves

“The pandemic has given us all a “Little House on the Prairie” life scenario.”

• Mike Simmons

Links:

Flip Hacking Live

Carla’s Website

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

In this episode, I am excited to interview Mark Podolsky, who, armed with only $3,000, gut-wrenching fear, and absolutely no real estate experience, bought his first few parcels of raw land in 2001. Today, Mark is the author of Dirt Rich, the ultimate guide to helping you build a passive income, and owner of Frontier Properties, a very reputable and successful land investing company. He is also the host of two popular podcasts, The Art of Passive Income and The Best Passive Income Model. By focusing on working smart, not hard, he has completed over 5,500 land deals with an average ROI of over 300% on cash flips, and over 1,000% on the deals he sells with financing terms.

Mark begins by giving us a little detail on how he got into land investing. He was working as an investment banker in mergers and acquisitions and had a co-worker achieving incredibly high ROI by investing in raw land. Mark couldn’t believe the numbers, so he tried it himself. After about 18 months, he was able to exceed his corporate job income and was able to quit in order to invest full-time.

I asked Mark to walk us through his investing model. He starts by going to the county treasurer in a particular area and gets the list of everyone who owes back taxes on land. He said that this advertises two things to him: the owner is not emotionally attached to the land and he is financially distressed in some way. Mark then looks at comparable sales, takes the lowest comparable sale, divides by 4, and offers that fraction to the owner of the land. Because this is cash, and better than nothing, 3-5% of the people will accept it. Once bought, Mark wants to make the property cash-flow, just like if he had a rental home, and he has a usually has guaranteed buyers in the neighbors. If they have no interest in the property, he has an extensive list of buyers and sites to sell it.

Mark talked a lot about selling to his buyer’s list, so I asked him how you build a list for land. He commented that he has a huge market for raw land and he explained some of his marketing strategies. He also employs a 90-day return or exchange and 365-day exchange program so it removes the risk for his customers. He then explained how he has automated both the front-end and back-end systems. He says he only has one hour in this business a week when he conducts his team meeting.

I asked Mark to lay out what his team looks like. He has an Acquisitions Manager who decides on a market after extensive research, gets the delinquent tax list from the county, and then who works with a guy on Fiverr, who Mark says is an “excel ninja.” He scrubs the list and uploads it to The Land Geek’s proprietary software LGPASS, which sends out direct mail offers. Then the Intake Manager takes over as the offers come back, to ensure they are actual deals, and to try to negotiate a lower selling price, in addition to the actual closing. The property due diligence is performed by a group in the Philipines associated with an American title company, and then they have ad writers for the major selling outlets like Craiglist and Facebook Marketplace. Mark also employs Virtual Assistants (VAs) to work with the Acquisition Manager handling administrative duties.

This episode is about so much more than land investing! Mark walks us through his entire process, which is such valuable information for any investor! Join us for this powerful episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast!

Notable Quotes:

“Now we are working because we want to, not because we have to.”

• Mark Podolsky

“No renters, no rehabs, no renovations, no rodents.”

• Mark Podolsky

“The game that we play is can we create enough of these land notes so that our passive income exceeds our fixed expenses.”

• Mark Podolsky

“Happy customers guaranteed.”

• Mark Podolsky’s business philosophy

“What used to take me hours and hours, now takes me one second because of automation.”

• Mark Podolsky

“You just have to show up - it is a consistency game.”

• Mark Podolsky

“COVID is definitely changing the way we do business. We might not have the same success rate closing deals over the phone, but it is dwarfed by the volume of deals when you are doing it virtually.”

• Mike Simmons

“We are learning how to do things faster and better.”

• Mike Simmons

“Owning land is kind of like man-jewelry.”

• Mark Podolsky

Links:

Flip Hacking Live

Mark’s Website 

Tax Title Services

GeekPay

LGPASS

DataTree

ListSource

Dirt Rich

The Wholetailing Course

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

In this episode, I am joined by super-successful Karen Briscoe, who is the principal owner of the Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Group (HBC) with Keller Williams. The HBC Group has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the 250 Top Realtor® teams in the United States. Since 1977, HBC Group has sold over 1,500 homes valued at over $1.5 billion. The team consistently sells over 100 residential properties annually ranging from multi-million dollar luxury estates to condominiums and townhomes. Primary market areas include Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland, and Washington, DC.

Karen is the creator of the transformative "5 Minute Success" concept. Her books Real Estate Success in 5 Minutes a Day: Secrets of a Top Agent Revealed and Commit to Get Leads: 66 Day Challenge offer a combination of information and inspiration delivered through memorable stories. Her most recent book, Flip Time / Love Life is a heroine’s journey tale about loving the life you have while you create and co-create the life of your dreams. Karen also hosts the highly-rated and immensely popular show 5 Minute Success - The Podcast.

Karen starts by telling us how she got into real estate and what led her to authoring books and becoming a podcaster. She initially got started in property developments, but then switched to the residential side of real estate after staying home with her children for many years. Her success in re-building her business after the housing market crisis in 2008 led her to share her methods through her books and podcast.

I asked Karen what she thought helped her to be so successful so early and she said it was her primary strategy of lead-generation that she covers in her Commit to Get Leads book. She said she consistently took a plain notebook, numbered a page from one to twenty-five, and when she had filled that up with people she had reached out to that week, she knew her work was done. She is a firm believer that this consistent effort and commitment is what has led to her continued success.

Karen then walks us through the 5 Minute Success principles. She is convinced success is achieved by getting into action immediately and applying lessons learned. Karen talks about how spending five minutes each day, especially attaching the reading of these principles coupled with an existing habit, like having your morning coffee, is very effective and makes the new habit effortless.

I then asked Karen to explain her 66 Day Challenge so we could dive a little deeper into lead generation because it is so vital to a profitable business. She pointed out that there has been a lot of research done on how long it actually takes to form a new habit. Many people say it takes 21 days, but during that period the person is really excited and, when that wears off, the habit can fail to fully form. If they continue, in the second 21 days, the person goes through a period of evaluation, determining whether they really want to continue developing this new habit. The remaining days in the 66 day period are when people actually start to experience the benefits, and so it is important to power through and create the energy for persistence. And then, of course, this is just the challenge to get you jump-started for forming a life-long habit.

Because Karen has had so much success for a long period of time in real estate, I asked her where she thought the market would be headed because of the impact of COVID-19. She said she thought the concept of home has actually changed because of the shelter-in-place directives, and people are going to be more mindful of their living space because of it. Karen described how where they were seeing a trend toward urbanization, it now seems to be shifting toward suburbanization, because people want more space and land. She said many agents from around the country are seeing demand, but many of the sellers are unsure about the ongoing situation and not pulling the trigger.

Karen then talked about her partnership with the Front Row Foundation which helps individuals and families braving critical health challenges live life in the Front Row. The hope of the foundation is to provide a Front Row experience that will allow the recipient to set aside any physical or emotional challenges while they attend the event of their dreams and create memories that last a lifetime.

Karen is an ultra-successful business person, but much more importantly, an incredibly generous and kind one as well, so you will definitely miss out if you don’t listen to this week’s episode!

Notable Quotes:

“The best system is the one you use.”

• Mike Simmons

“Don’t overthink it - it is the consistency and the work that matters.”

• Mike Simmons

“Preparing to do the work is an excuse for not actually doing the work.”

• Mike Simmons

“I call it activity blocking rather than time blocking.”

• Karen Briscoe

“The delivery system of these principles for 5 minutes a day is very powerful.”

• Karen Briscoe

“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time’ is like saying ‘I don’t want to.’”

• Lao Tzu

“If somebody doesn’t want to invest 5 minutes a day into their personal or business development, then they don’t really want to be successful.”

• Karen Briscoe

“Leads are oxygen to your business.”

• Mike Simmons

“If you are living life on the front row, you can have a front-row moment wherever you are.”

• Karen Briscoe

Links:

Flip Hacking Live

Real Estate Success in 5 Minutes a Day: Secrets of a Top Agent Revealed

Commit to Get Leads: 66 Day Challenge

Flip Time / Love Life

5 Minute Success Website

5 Minute Success - The Podcast

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

In this episode, I am thrilled to interview Michael J. Maher, who is CEO of REFERCO, the world's foremost authority in business referrals. In just his third year in real estate, he did 187 transactions and over $40 million, entirely from referrals. For the next 8 years, he received over 500 referrals every single year and netted over $1 million. Michael is an internationally bestselling author and his book (7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals has been the #1 book in Real Estate Sales on Amazon for over 9 straight years. In addition to these impressive accomplishments, he has shared the stage George W. Bush, Tony Robbins, Barbara Corcoran, and John Maxwell.

As we often do on the show, we started by talking about Michael’s background. He began his working career as a high school math teacher and coach of three sports: football, basketball, and baseball. He spoke about how dedicated he was and earned District Teacher of the Year in his first year teaching. Michael had an interest in real estate so he got licensed as an agent at the same time he bought his first home. He talks about how he built his business almost entirely through word of mouth and referrals.

Because Michael became an agent in 1999, I asked him how he weathered the housing market crash years. He said that because they were getting almost all their business through referrals, they ended up having records years during that period. This is when Michael first knew he was going to have to write a book because he had discovered a system of doing business that worked well in good markets, but even better in depressed times. He spoke about how the 7L system is basically tailor-made for a challenging time like we are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We talked about specific marketing and deal-generating strategies based on his 7L principles, going into detail about making your marketing as personal as possible.

I then asked Michael about his book, (7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals. He walked us through the levels and their amount of influence in relationships with people. The second-most powerful level involves events and seminars, and Michael explained some of the programs that they offer. That led us to a conversation on the necessity of some structure to your day in order to increase productivity. He used the example of going to school and having an intense focus on a particular subject for a pre-determined amount of time every day. Michael also walked us through the morning and evening rituals, which he imparts in his book and classes through the use of acronyms.

Michael then told us about how he helps business owners build their businesses on a foundation of love, generosity, and appreciation. He went into great detail about the personal and professional benefits of choosing to live and conduct yourself this way. Michael described love as our super-power, and generosity is that love in action. He also explained that it is vital for us to appreciate everything that happens in our lives, good or bad.

I can’t tell you how powerful and wisdom-packed this episode is! You would be crazy not to join me as I interview super-successful entrepreneur, Michael J. Maher!

Notable Quotes:

“Good market - referrals are really good. Bad market - referrals are everything.”

• Michael J. Maher

“When people are thinking they are going to lose their home, they want to talk to someone they trust.”

• Michael J. Maher

“I’m big into personalized and customized service.”

• Michael J. Maher

“What is the most important currency in today’s world? It’s not money - it’s trust.”

• Michael J. Maher

“Love is your superpower.”

• Michael J. Maher

“What I’m really excited about now is helping people get structure in a world of chaos.”

• Michael J. Maher

“Why do we charge for them? So people show up. If they have skin in the game, they come.”

• Michael J. Maher

“There is a lot of people that would trade their wealth for health and happiness right now.”

• Michael J. Maher

“Energy is the most precious resource known to man.”

• Michael J. Maher

“You can change your life by changing your strategy.”

• Michael J. Maher

“We are going to have a day - why not structure it in the most effective way you can possibly structure it?”

• Mike Simmons

“It mixes the best of ‘go with the flow’ with ‘get in the flow.’”

• Michael J. Maher

“Your purpose in life is to be referrable.”

• Michael J. Maher

“Picking and choosing the opportunity is a lot better than chasing opportunity.”

• Michael J. Maher

Links:

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

(7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals

Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents

Matt Walker: Sleep is your superpower | TED Talk - TED Talks

Michael’s Website

Sweet Dreams Class

30 Mornings Class

Referrals Podcast

Flip Hacking Live

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

In this episode, I am excited to interview Justin Silverio, who is the owner of JS2 Homes and Open Letter Marketing. Justin has been investing in real estate since 2011 with extensive experience in rehabbing, new construction, wholesaling, and multi-family rental properties in and around the Boston area. Justin founded Open Letter Marketing in 2016 with a focus on providing real estate investors with a more effective direct to seller marketing approach than the outdated methods. Justin’s company works with hundreds of investors throughout the country and is recognized as one of the top real estate investor marketing companies.

Justin begins by telling us about his background and how he always had a love of houses because his dad was a contractor. The flipping television shows that came out around 2009 really piqued his interest as he was working as an accountant, but didn’t love it. Partnering with his father in finding and rehabbing houses married two of Justin’s passions together - love of houses and of numbers. For the first five years in real estate investing, Justin and his dad were flipping houses while he continued to work his full-time job, also while doing marketing for new properties. We talked about the challenges inherent with the situation, but also how it is possible to make it work.

I asked Justin how they funded their first deal and he described the process he went through in order to pitch three regional banks to do business with them. He did his homework, knew what information the banks wanted to see, and put together a five-year business plan to get funding before selecting his first property. 

Justin then described what his business looks like today. He went from rehabbing entry-level homes, to mid-level homes, to high-end homes and new construction, to what he is doing today which is primarily multi-family condo conversions. The bulk of his day-to-day business dealings is made up of wholesaling homes while staying involved with the multi-family developments which are more long-term projects. He talked about how competition and profit margin per time spent really drove him to switch his business model.

Justin then told us about his company Open Letter Marketing, which was created to provide real estate investors with direct to seller marketing. I asked Justin to describe what their program does better than his competitors and he spoke to the fact that his product looks at the very fine details. With his product, they promote campaigns with a sequence of letters where each letter builds off of the prior.

I asked Justin to describe the current project he is working on, software called OLM InvestorHub, which is a lead and marketing management system based on his own business process. It will enable investors to purchase or import multiple lists, identify properties that are on more than one list, and identify the quality of a list once it is imported. Once the lead quality has been identified, you can create marketing campaigns specific to each. Justin talks about the software’s dashboard and how it organizes all of the marketing tools an investor is using and sends reminders to perform certain tasks to keep everything organized and visible to the user. They also have a CRM product that communicates with InvestorHub called OLM DealFlow.

Going forward, Justin is concerned with defining a systematic process for his wholesaling business so they can grow and expand. He also talked about looking at the more technical side of direct to seller marketing and how that can influence the direction of Open Letter Marketing.

During this interview, Justin speaks about being on the front lines in order to engineer new things to help people get better responses in changing market conditions. This is an incredibly informative episode for helping investors use the most current tools in order to fuel their business and I hope you will join us!

Notable Quotes:

“The degree is just the gateway to the world you want to get into.”

• Mike Simmons

“I know I have something that works much better and there is nothing on the market that offers this.”

• Justin Silverio

“If a marketing strategy works in my real estate investment business, I’m going to offer it to my customers.”

• Justin Silverio

“It is almost though you are building a conversation with the seller, and you do it in a specific way so that they are getting to know about you more with each letter.”

• Justin Silverio

“I’m just trying to create a solution for my own issue.”

• Justin Silverio

“My goal is to truly make an impact and provide value to as many real estate investors as I possibly can.”

• Justin Silverio

“How can I create a product to make everyone an expert in marketing?”

• Justin Silverio

“You end up doing lazy marketing, out of convenience, rather than strategy.”

• Mike Simmons

“We are trying to build the tools to free up everybody’s time.”

• Justin Silverio

“Marketing for most investors is just disjointed.”

• Justin Silverio

“I always want to be on the very front line.”

• Justin Silverio

“What you are working on is like the oxygen of a real estate company.”

• Mike Simmons

Links:

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

7 Figure Flipping

Flip Hacking Live

Open Letter Marketing

OLM InvestorHub

OLM DealFlow

Justin’s Email

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

In this episode, I am excited to interview Justin Colby who is the Founder and President of The Science of Flipping and Phoenix Wealth Builders. The Science of Flipping is a top-ranked real estate investing podcast and Justin now has a second podcast called The Entrepreneur DNA for those going through the entrepreneurial journey. His real estate investment company, Phoenix Wealth Builders, specializes in purchasing, rehab, wholesaling, and wholetailing properties in the Metro Phoenix Area and they have flipped and wholesaled over 1500 properties to date. Justin has been called a master at finding deals in a market that many say is the most difficult market to be a real estate investor. 

Justin began by telling us that he started as a realtor in 2005 and then bought a brokerage with a friend. He talked about how it was almost impossible not to make a lot of money in real estate in the years before the market crash. Being really young at that time, he spent a ton of money, had a really expensive car and condo, which all went away in 2007. He shares how he lost everything and ended up sleeping on his buddy’s couch.

Things started to turn around for Justin when he and a friend decided to begin investing in real estate. They ended up using transactional funding for their deals, which was popular at that time, where they would get a deal funded and closed basically simultaneously or same day. I asked if, at this time, he was doing any work on these properties and he said no, effectively what he was doing was wholetailing. Justin talked about setting a goal for himself of calling 100 realtors a day in order to find deals and people to work with, and it took a full nine months before they had their first deal.

After Justin talked about his resilience and fortitude in getting some traction in his new business, I asked him to share how he gets his deals. He addressed several different marketing strategies, including pay per click advertising, direct mail, cold-calling and auto-texting, and driving for dollars. Justin also examined the level of seller motivation and relative cost for each, as well.

I then asked Justin to describe how he is brokering deals by working with iBuyer companies such as Opendoor and Offerpad. If a deal isn’t attractive to his company for wholesaling, wholetailing, flipping, or even buy-and-hold, he will inquire with his realtor about the price one of these companies will offer the seller for their home and take a portion of the transaction fees if he can successfully hook them up. This is a really creative way of working with them instead of getting swallowed up by them as a smaller investor.

We discussed how the COVID pandemic was affecting his business and how he has been able to adapt. Justin says he really prides himself on the ability to stay flexible and make adjustments, if necessary. He talks about how he had refocused his energy on his business after a partnership fell through, and when the pandemic hit, it was actually good timing for him.

Justin was incredibly transparent in his business dealings and if you join us I know you will get a ton of actionable wisdom!

Notable Quotes:

“The beginning years were the fun ones - when I was broke, busted, and disgusted.”

• Justin Colby

“Pain is more of a motivator than the carrot.”

• Justin Colby

“Just talk about what you are doing and people will get excited and gravitate toward you.”

• Mike Simmons

“Here is my secret sauce - I’m a people person.”

• Justin Colby

“I just had fortitude - I was willing to endure pain when other people can’t or won’t.”

• Justin Colby

“I know what I want to achieve and I am relentless in trying to achieve it regardless of when I achieve it.”

• Justin Colby

“People overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can accomplish in ten.”

• Tony Robbins 

“You can get exactly what you want if you are willing to: (a) work for it but (b) have patience.”

• Justin Colby

“You need to have more than one market strategy going at all times.”

• Justin Colby

“I have been able to make adjustments and pivot when required, and remained very flexible.”

• Justin Colby

“The only times I ever got hurt was when I chased money.”

• Justin Colby

Links:

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

Propstream

TSOFData.com

Fortitude by Dan Crenshaw

Launch Control Text Messaging

DealMachine App

Opendoor

Offerpad

The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh

The Science of Flipping Academy FB Group

Justin on Instagram

Flip Hacking Live

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

In this episode, I have the privilege of interviewing Erik Cabral. Erik is the founder of the media agency, On Air Brands; the innovative networking and podcasting event PodMAX; the real estate investment company Mindado Investment Group; and is host, co-host, and producer on multiple shows, including the Entrepreneurs Circle podcast. With multiple businesses, partnerships, and podcasts Erik is the quintessential “serial entrepreneur” who spends much of his time helping others grow their businesses, brands, and reputation.

We began by talking about Erik’s time in the corporate world, working in a creative capacity for Big Pharma, and how he began investigating the concept of real estate investing after being laid-off. He shares how friendly and helpful he found investors while attending events and REIAs, which was very different from the highly-competitive, cutthroat industry he had worked in. Erik took his background in creative work to not only build his own brand as he began investing, but also as a bartering tool to help other investors, which is how he started On Air Brands.

Erik then shared the details of his first deal in which he hired a coach who was an established investor in order to help mentor him through the process. His coach took him to all of his rentals, introduced him to all of his tenants, and finally made him run the numbers on the duplex he ended up buying. He ended up using the BRRRR strategy with this property and he says it cash-flows like crazy.

Erik talked about how he is more active building his media agency than actively flipping or wholesaling right now. He expressed how passionate he is about helping people sell their home, but how much of his time he had to devote to really do that well. He also talks about the inherent challenges all investors face when rehabbing houses and that didn’t feel like time well spent to him either.

I then asked Erik to explain On Air Brands, how it came about and who the company serves. He said that initially, they were doing logos, branding, websites, etc. to help out real estate investors, but it grew as people experienced how professional Erik’s podcast production was and people wanted the same for their own shows. He explained that it all grew from investors who have multiple businesses needing to take their message and their platform into one place.

We talked about how diverse Erik’s business interests are and how he is a partner in Renault Winery & Resort, which is the 3rd oldest winery in the US. He talks about what a mess the project was to begin with but how it has turned out to be such an interesting collaboration with people he is pursuing other investments with. Erik talks about how great it is to be working with a “tribe” of people, all focused on lifting one another up and helping each other to be successful.

We also talked about the birth and evolution of his newest project, PodMAX. It is a network of podcasting shows, especially in the investing space, who are collaborating in Erik’s office space which has several make-shift podcasting studios. We discussed at length how important networking is, meeting people, and the exchange of ideas being vital to our growth as human beings and business people. 

This is a super fun and incredibly informative interview and I urge you to join Erik Cabral and me to take in all of this great actionable advice!

Notable Quotes:

“[In the corporate world] you are building someone else’s wealth, you’re aligning behind their goals to direct their ship where they’re trying to go.”

• Erik Cabral

“Mike: Where was most of your real estate knowledge gained?

Erik: It was doing. I had to do it.”

“I had to start speaking the language, and then I had to start offering value.”

• Erik Cabral

“They are chasing just money, but they’re not even paying attention to what their heart or their brain is telling them about where they should be.”

• Mike Simmons

“Don’t they need to know you, then like you, and then trust you in order for you to start doing some things together? Well, podcasting does exactly that for you upfront.”

• Erik Cabral

“Podcasting is part of that - one spoke on the wheel of marketing.”

• Erik Cabral

“Business owners have to be in the business of media. We all have to realize we are social media marketing engines.”

• Erik Cabral 

“When you can surround yourself with people who are levels up, you learn so much from them.”

• Erik Cabral 

Links:

Flip Hacking Live

Rich Dad Poor Dad

Built to Sell

7FF Live Event

On Air Brands

PodMAX

Mindado

Erik on Instagram

Erik on Facebook

Erik on LinkedIn

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with best-selling author, popular podcaster, and motivational speaker, Rock Thomas. Rock is also the host of the #IAmMovement Podcast. From farm boy to real estate and business guru, mentor, and self-made millionaire, Rock has studied one-on-one with the world’s best teachers such as Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, and Gary Keller on his mission to inspire others to create their best life, on their terms.

After decades of learning from the greatest minds on the planet, working with and coaching thousands of people in his workshops and webinars, Rock now spends his time teaching people how to be financially free and truly happy on their terms whether they work for themselves or others.

We began by talking about Rock’s early adulthood and what lead him to his current success. He talked about the incredible range of various jobs that he did, relocating to take care of his ailing father, and then finally, the opportunity to get into real estate by buying a RE/MAX franchise. I also asked him about his childhood and Rock shared the lessons he learned through growing up in a big family on a farm.

We discussed how our upbringing can both diminish and fuel us to be successful. Rock was so open about how the way he was brought up challenged his sense of worth but also drove him to be a better person. He continues to struggle with a sense of belonging but has worked very hard to overcome these adversities, even though he knows they made him strong and resourceful.

We talked about the mastermind groups that Rock has been a part of: GoBundance was created for men who choose to live bigger and more fulfilled lives of impact. It's a framework to strengthen your journey in becoming a better man, husband, father, friend, and entrepreneur. It's the place men come together to live EPIC lives; and M1, a community of positive, energetic people to help people march toward financial freedom.

I then asked Rock to tell us how he organizes his day for success. He loves to start his day with yoga, and then at the beginning of the week, he spends most of his time with podcasts, sales training, basically online, virtual-world tasks. He works Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and then takes the rest of the week off. For Rock, the most important things are to be spending his time doing what he loves with the people he loves. We talked about health and wellness, working out, and eating right, with Rock sharing some of his personal tips. 

I asked Rock about the time after he sold his RE/MAX franchises and went on a personal quest for wellness and what that looked like. He talked about discovering the Ultimate Edge program by Tony Robbins and getting more focused on living his true values. Rock talked about being a passionately curious student with some of the biggest names in the self-help industry.  

We then talked about the books that Rock has written and what motivated him to write them. He talked about experiences from his youth that labeled him and the efforts to change his thinking to transform his life. Rock gives us so much wisdom that he has learned through his many life and business experiences.

I hope you will join me as I talk with uber-successful entrepreneur, Rock Thomas! This was an incredibly open, honest, and motivating interview that will shift your mindset and change your life.

Notable Quotes:

“I started doing things my own way and that is the longest way to learn.” 

• Rock Thomas

“It got me focused, man - I was dialed in, I was paying attention.” 

• Rock Thomas

“Sometimes people underestimate the power of fear. Nothing will make you focus like being afraid.”

• Mike Simmons

“Your net worth will never go up more than your self-worth.”

• Rock Thomas

“Every day I got up and before I served any of my clients, I went and got new ones.”

• Rock Thomas

“It is the life-blood, what is feeding your business.”

• Mike Simmons

“The greatest gift I got was learning how to be incredibly resourceful.”

• Rock Thomas

I ‘Macgyver-ed’ it - you use what is available around you.”

• Rock Thomas

“To me, there is always a path, always a way.”

• Rock Thomas

“I learned that mindset, growing up on a farm, which is incredibly valuable.”

• Rock Thomas

“To make excuses and look for reasons why things won’t work is not my playbook.”

• Rock Thomas

“I created a mastermind, a group of men, just so that I could belong to my own group.”

• Rock Thomas

“I’m the CD, you are the MP3. You take the best from me and your mother and you become a better version.”

• Rock Thomas, to his kids

“The intention and the lessons were sound, even if the delivery was somewhat lacking.”

• Mike Simmons

“Do what is easy and life will be hard; do what is hard and life will be easy.”

• Rock Thomas

“For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.”

• Rock Thomas

“What are other ways that you can meet your levels of fulfillment without damaging your body?”

• Rock Thomas

“What you focus on creates feeling.”

• Rock Thomas

“When you learn something, apply it, integrate it.”

• Rock Thomas’ father

“I wasn’t starting the engine, I was just putting gas in the car.”

• Mike Simmons

“My ability to capture the essence of what I learn and apply it at a level of mastery is what separates me from the average person.”

• Rock Thomas

“You can change any label through repetition.”

• Rock Thomas’ mentor

“You are responsible for your inner narrative.”

• Rock Thomas

“If you are bathing in the cesspool of mediocrity that the media is offering you, you are probably going to feel like sh&t.”

• Rock Thomas

“The obstacles that are going to appear are all designed to grow you personally.”

• Rock Thomas

“Work diligently to get to a place where you have time-freedom so you can do the stuff that really matters.”

• Rock Thomas

Links:

Flip Hacking Live

GoBundance Mastermind

M1 Mastermind

7FF Live Event

Awaken the Giant Within

Ultimate Edge Program

The Power of Your Identity: The Secret to Creating Lasting Change  

Your Epic Life Blueprint: Quit the Rat Race and Create a Happier Life!

Rock Thomas’ Website

Rock Thomas on Facebook

Rock Thomas on Instagram

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

In this episode, I have the pleasure of interviewing fellow podcaster and popular blogger, Sharon Vornholt, who is the owner of Innovative Property Solutions in Louisville, KY. Sharon owned and operated a successful home inspection business for 17 years, while also investing part-time. Sharon was originally a rehabber and a buy-and-hold landlord, but when the market crashed in 2008, she became an “accidental wholesaler” and full-time investor. Sharon is also the creator of the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog, and the popular podcast “Let’s Talk Real Estate Investing”. Sharon hosts several live events each year and is a regular speaker at other events across the country.

We began by talking about Sharon’s start in the real estate investing world. It all began for her when her friend took her to an REIA event… Sharon knew then that real estate was what she was meant to do. In the early days, Sharon learned a lot about different types of deals based on her own business needs, very similar to my own start in investing.

We talked a lot about different types of markets, the down-turn in 2008 compared to the current situations, and how to make money during all these periods. Sharon spoke about working with investors and how each had a different model, but by getting to know their criteria, she continued to be successful as a wholesaler.

I then asked Sharon about her Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog and the circumstances surrounding starting that up. Sharon said she started it in 2010 and her podcast, “Let’s Talk Real Estate Investing,” followed shortly thereafter. Through these two platforms, she discovered that her real passion was teaching people about marketing and branding in order to generate leads for real estate investing. This was also the time she discovered probate investing.

Sharon gave us some valuable information about the process involved with probate investing. If there is property included in a recently deceased person’s estate, the family needs to sell the property before the debts are paid and the assets can be dispersed. Sharon talked about how these families really need help and can be very motivated sellers. She also discussed the circumstances she takes into account and accordingly, adjusts her marketing and outreach.

We talked a little bit about how the current coronavirus pandemic is affecting Sharon’s business, specifically, and real estate investing generally. She said probate is largely immune to market fluctuations, but that there will be a backlog of probate deals available because of the closure of the court system. Sharon also talked about the course that she has put together, called “Probate Investing Simplified,” where she walks people through all of the terminologies and the entire process of probate investing. She also provides tons of bonus material, including detailed marketing letters, so that anyone who completes the course will be a probate investing expert.

I hope you will join me as I talk with this super impressive investor who is practically oozing integrity - Sharon Vornholt!

Notable Quotes:

“Real estate is all about the numbers.” 

• Sharon Vornholt

“You can be a real estate investor in any market cycle.”

• Mike Simmons

“Buy-and-hold landlords never quit buying… it is like an addiction.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“If it cash-flows, they are all-in.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“Your model isn’t everybody else’s model.”

• Mike Simmons

“I realized I need to stop trying to predict what people will do and just put properties out there.”

• Mike Simmons

“The real estate investors that I know that have had success - they are just willing to jump in and do it.”

• Mike Simmons

“You don’t need to know how to negotiate if you don’t know how to get deals.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“Real estate investors go tone-deaf when you say the word ‘branding.’”

• Sharon Vornholt

“Marketing is how you get leads, but branding is why they choose you.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“You just have to stay in the game - direct mailing is a long-term play.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“I’m all about the situation - how to not upset people, but to help them.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“This is just continuing on a trend lately, certainly on this show - good people.”

• Mike Simmons

“I may be leaving money on the table, but I keep my integrity.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“You are coming from a position of helping them with an actual problem, and not how much money you are going to make.”

• Mike Simmons

“You have to be able to look at yourself when you wake up in the morning, and you are not going to be able to do that if you take advantage of someone who doesn’t know any better.”

• Mike Simmons

“People get so focused on the money that they abandon their ethics for the quick transaction.”

• Mike Simmons

“People just want to be heard.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“They’re selling their memories, their childhood - you just have to understand where they are coming from.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“Probate is immune to market conditions.”

• Sharon Vornholt

“You are a legitimately kind person who cares about the way you do business.”

• Mike Simmons

Links:

Flip Hacking Live

Let's Talk Real Estate Investing

Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog

Sharon's Website

Probate Investing Simplified

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

Mike’s Email

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

In this episode, I am honored to interview Kevin Bupp, who is the Founder & CEO of Sunrise Capital Investors, which invests in mobile home parks, parking lots, apartments, offices, and single-family homes all across the US. He has 16 years of experience in educating investors to locate, acquire, and create “higher than average”  returns from the widely misunderstood niche of mobile home park investing. He shares his expertise through the Mobile Home Park Academy and also as the host of The Real Estate Investing for Cash Flow and The Mobile Home Park Investing podcasts, which have become two of the hottest real estate podcasts on iTunes.

Kevin told us about his background and how he first came to real estate investing. He talked about his family’s humble beginnings and the various things he did to make money so he could buy the things he wanted. Kevin described the relationships that first lead him to real estate investing, going to his first boot camp, how he felt coming out of it, and how he made his first deal at the age of 20.

I asked Kevin what he looks for in a good deal and he talked about the importance of sound economic fundamentals in a particular market. He also looks at the area’s policies concerning landlord and tenant laws to make sure they are win-win for both sides. His financial goals include the ability to hold each property and realize a certain level of return on investment initially and throughout the life of the investment.

I wanted to get the details about investing in mobile homes, so I asked Kevin specific questions about this niche of the real estate market. He said they own properties all over the country and normally purchase the entire mobile home complex, but a small percentage of their overall portfolio are individual units, as well.

Kevin discussed his history in real estate investing, starting with single-family and multi-family investments before the housing market crash in 2008. After his business was severely hit at this time, he took a couple of years to re-evaluate the type of property he wanted to invest in going forward. Kevin developed a relationship with a very successful mobile home investor and it really influenced the direction he decided to go next.

Kevin then talked about the specific advantages and challenges of being in the mobile home space. The points he makes about the perception of mobile homes, the issues involved with communities building new communities, and the progression of surrounding developments are super compelling and informative. We discussed some of the details concerning new investors and this type of investment, too.

Kevin described how mobile home parks are remotely managed, either from an office on the property itself or if the community is smaller, from a manager’s home office. These managers perform similar functions to managers of more standard types of properties - collecting rents, handing out late notices, and sometimes representing them in court, if necessary. They then have a district manager who the individual managers report to who regularly visits each property.

Having invested in all different types of real estate, this episode with super successful and exciting investor Kevin Bupp provides a ton of actionable and practical wisdom and I hope you join us! 

Notable Quotes:

“Real estate found me - I didn’t find it. I am very blessed and grateful for that coming into my life because I don’t know what I would be doing otherwise.” 

• Kevin Bupp

“A real paycheck gave me a taste of that freedom, of paving my own way..”

• Kevin Bupp

“I did whatever I could to hustle and make a dollar.”

• Kevin Bupp

“At my first boot camp, I met a lot of people that I didn’t feel were any smarter than me who were doing big things in the real estate space.”

• Kevin Bupp

“The quickest way to get ignored is to ask for something without giving anything in return.”

• Mike Simmons

“Learning by first giving.”

• Mike Simmons

“We need to know we are comfortable with the worst-case scenario.”

• Kevin Bupp

“If you want to scale a business, you have to be open to where the deals are.”

• Kevin Bupp

“I went on a journey examining what went wrong, what don’t I want to do again, and how can I rebuild.”

• Kevin Bupp

“I don’t have that big of a stomach - I would rather buy something that is more tried-and-true.”

• Kevin Bupp

“It’s all about getting educated - you need to learn the intricacies of that investment vehicle.”

• Kevin Bupp

“Go network, get to know others that are in your space.”

• Kevin Bupp

 “The seller objections for a mobile home park purchase are not that dissimilar to any other type of real estate.”

• Mike Simmons

“It’s a really weird transition where you say, ‘We need more people, but we can’t afford more people.’”

• Kevin Bupp

 “I like to be proactive with my hiring.”

• Kevin Bupp

“The companies that get smarter and leaner and stronger will come out of this pandemic better.”

• Mike Simmons

Links:

Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months

Kevin Bupp's Website

Mobile Home Park Academy

Sunrise Capital Investors

Real Estate Investing for Cash Flow with Kevin

Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast with Kevin

7FF Video Vault

Return on Investments

Just Start Real Estate

JSRE on Facebook

Mike on Facebook

Mike on Instagram

Mike on LinkedIn

Mike on Twitter

Mike’s Email