Secret Sauce for Success

Vern Harris is an expert in assisted living homes. 

He got his early start in the sign business and decided to branch out to real estate. 

He found his calling and niche in assisted living homes as a creative deal maker. 

Vern shares a lot of wisdom with us in this episode.  I know I will need to go back and listen to it a few times. 

I was surprised by the smaller group home advantages over the big box stores.  

Vern's Secret(s) Sauce to Success is: 

Perseverance. 

Education

His eternal optimism

Networking

Focus

Vern's Favorite books are: 

7 secrets of highly successful people. 

Think and grow rich. 

You can find Vern in a bunch of places on-line

Abetterwayrealty.com

email - [email protected]

Cell - 303-888-0788

Facebook - Search for Vern Harris

Jim is a native of Denver and graduated from DU with a Business Degree with a specialization in Real Estate and Construction. Jim has over 35 years of experience helping clients to invest in real estate. Over the years, Jim has formed 18 Partnerships and bought commercial properties in Colorado, Florida, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Alabama. Over 300 Investors have purchased an interest in these properties valued at $20,000,000. Currently Jim is the managing Member of four LLC's that own self-storage properties in Alabama and Florida. Jim is the Managing Broker of A Better Way Realty and has ten agents in the metro area, from Longmont to Castle Rock. Jim has done 1031 Exchanges on small properties and traded a mobile home park for a self-storage property.

Jim's Favorite book is Commercial Real Estate Analysis and Investment. It's an Oldie but a goodie. 

Jim's secret sauce is Plan the work, work the plan, check the plan.  

You can email Jim at [email protected]

or contact him or his team at their website

www.Abetterwayrealty.com

This weeks special guest Susan Williams.  Susan is a wife, mother of 3 kids, works as an engineer and her and her husband 

have traded up on an AirB&B property.  

She is an Olympic Bronze Medal Winner in Triathlon in 2004. 

She is also an athletic coach.  

Secrets to Her Success

Have an accountability partner

Ask for help

Exercise to manage stress - Start by getting out of the door

Just get started

Hard work - Give it your best

Don’t be afraid to fail

Doing the very best you have with what you have every day

Give it your best

Recommended Books

Swimming to Antartica

Take a walk down memory lane with Rick and Doug as we recap the first 10 Secret Sauce for Success Episodes. 

There was a lot of ground covered by the first ten guests.  Whew!

We are surrounded by a crowd of successful people.  

Secret to these guests success: 

Have a plan, do your plan and evaluate your progress with an accountability partner.

Prioritize your tasks.

Live below your means & save money so you have cash on hand to be ready for an opportunity.

Reward yourself.

Have a good team including a CPA

At least,  take the minimum 401K company match.

Get started and then tweak the vision to where you want it to be.

Get multiple bids =  best price/quality on your project.

Use digital marketing for lead generation, networking, communication and negotiation.

Be Life Long Learner, books and life, and apply it.

Having a genuine desire to help people succeed.

Operate out of an abundance mindset.

Buy the first rental property.

Dont give up! Be Persistent.  Be Tenacious.  Be Patient. Stay the course. 

Invest in yourself through Education.    Learn a rare and valuable skill.

Trust that God has good things in store for you.

Be optimistic

Give yourself permission to fail

Trust your gut.

Don’t be threatened by the success of others.

Be the first to say your sorry

Don’t hold grudges

Never gamble more than you can lose.

Keep your pride in check.  Be humble.

Favorite Books: 

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Millionaire real estate investor and HOLD by Gary Keller

How to win friends friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie

The 5 love languages - Applies to communication

The 10x rule by Grant Cardone

Crushing it with Gary Vaynerchuk.

The richest man in bablyon - easy read about investing.

The millionaire next door by Thomas J Stanley & William D Danko

The magic of thinking big - David Schwartz

George Kilder - Wealth and Poverty. Warning: Not an easy read

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.

Simon Sinek - Start with Why, Find your Why, Know your Why, among others.

The 12 Week Year. Patrick Lencioni - Lots of books to choose from.

The Energy Bus & Building wealth 1 house at a time by John Shaub.

Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life by Donald Trump.

Thanks for listening.. What is your plan to keep improving?

Rick & Doug

A great interview with Heather Sewczak.  She has it all going on.

Together with her family, they have completed two fix and holds, one mold remediation fix and flip, and upgraded each of 3 primary homes with 2 moves in between to take advantage of the no capital gains.

Heather is an entrepreneur, wife, and mother of two successful teenagers, one who runs a screen printing business, and the other pursuing real estate. She has a 4 year degree in Computer Information Systems and worked for many years as a business consultant, flying around the world. She now shares the gift of confidence and entrepreneurship with other busy moms who want to add passive income without sacrificing time at home.

Her secrets to success are:

1. Trust that God always has a better plan than we do.

2. Keep your options open.

3. Never gamble more than you can lose.

4. Negotiation skills and patience will pad your profit margin

5. A strong mindset is critical because you'll hear a lot of nos, but this business isn't personal.

Her favorite real estate books are:

'Rich Dad Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki

'Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and in Life' by Donald Trump

Her favorite podcasts are:

Brilliant Horizons Leadership Mastermind

The Rachel Hollis Podcast

The Ed Mylett Show

CONTACT INFORMATION:

(72O) 936-295I

facebook.com/sewczak

facebook.com/groups/ProjectSpreadHappiness

Chris is Elissa's Brother.  Elissa was our guest on Episode #2.  Success runs deep in this family.  

Chris tells about his dentistry business and then his adventures in real estate investing.  Great show. 

I like his Honda Accord analogy about buying a simple but working investment. 

Chris's favorite podcasts are: Bigger Pockets, Rational Reminder by Ben Philip, and Backpacker Radio

Chris's favorite books are: The Energy Bus and Building wealth 1 house at a time by John Shaub. 

Chris's secrets to his success are: Learn enough to jump in and implement what you learned, and Optimism.  

What a great show!  

Nicole Rueth is a branch manager of Fairway Lending. She is also a speaker, podcast host and an investor with 24 doors. Her investment style is long term buy and hold, Class C units mostly in Aurora Co. She can be found at:   https://www.theruethteam.com Sign up for her monthly Webinar. 

Some of her favorite business books are: Simon Sinek - Start with Why, Find your Why, Know your Why, among others.  The 12 Week Year. Patrick Lencioni - Lots of books to choose from. 

Nicole's Secrets: Trust your gut. She is not threatened by the success of others. Be the first to say your sorry Don’t hold grudges Learn from your experiences

Doug continues the interview with Rick Staael.  This episode we talk about the real estate side of Rick and how the successes in one part of his life spilled over into the real estate side. 

I bought my first real estate purchase as a primary residence. It is a townhome we still own. 

After raising a family, we bought a foreclosed home in a neighboring town.  We spent 3 years fixing it up, only to then move again. 

The townhome rental did so well, that we kept this 2nd house as well. 

We had some inheritance money at the time so we purchased our 3rd home as a primary residence in south Denver. 

We took the left over money and bought a small house in 2012 in south Denver on an on-line auction using the "Buy it Now" button. 

The rehab was mostly cosmetic, but I got used to hiring some contractors.  

That property increased in value so much, that I did a cash out refi in 2016 and purchased a condo in Denver. 

Real estate was doing so well, that I decided to get my real estate license. I am hanging my license with HomeSmart. 

I have helped a couple of my tenants find their new home. 

Our primary house also increased in value so much that I took out an HELOC loan on our property. 

I used that money to purchase a fixer upper from an estate sale.  It needed foundation work and a total rehab. 

I also did a fix and flip to generate a couple deals to graduate out of the HomeSmart Mentee program. 

The following year, I purchased a small duplex in Colorado Springs.  That took a total rehab as well.  I learned a lot in dealing with contractors. 

Currently, I have a rehab in the works on a small house with a garage that has been converted into a studio. 

Secrets to my Success: 

Education through books, podcasts and life. 

Don't be afraid to take a calculated risk.  Do the upfront work, but then jump.  

Having a wife that supports my adventures. 

Doing what it takes to make it work. 

Favorite Book: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.  

The Host, Rick Staael, is interviewed by his Co-host Doug Kierstein.  Rick tells his story of overcoming roadblocks in his life to become an engineer. Part 2 will continue the interview into the Real Estate endeavors.  

He has two associate degrees in electronics, an undergrad in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Systems Engineering. 

On my way to get to a decent tech job, I worked at grocery stores, pizza place, painting and fixing consumer electronics. 

I worked 5 years at Rockwell Collins before going back to NDSU for my EE. 

After school, I worked 10 years at Ball Aerospace. 

For the last 15 years I have been working at a big engineering conglomerate that has been a great adventure. 

Secrets to his Success

God has had his hand on me and directing my path.  

Staying focused on your goal and prioritize them. 

Education

Learning from life experiences. 

Having permission to fail, well, to give it my best shot and possibly fail, and then address the issue. 

My favorite books are "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and "The richest man in Babylon" and my favorite podcasts are "Bigger Pockets" and "The Double Comma Club". 

A book not referenced but has changed my mind about sending kids, especially boys, to school as early as possible is "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell.  He gave example after example about how the oldest kids in the class have a greater chance of success than the youngest. It took years of my adult life to overcome that sense of being always behind, so my son is one of the oldest in his class.  

This episode we interview my Co-Host Doug Kierstein. Doug is a Colorado native. 

He has always had an interest in working hard and making money. 

At 13 years old, he wanted to invest some money.  His dad took him to the bank and Doug didn't understand a word the guy said.  But he got the itch and bought his first book on finance at 15.  

He has three undergraduate degrees and some classes towards his Masters degree.  

He holds degrees in finance degree, economics, and information systems. 

On his own, he started a mortgage broker business and kept that going on the side. 

He started in the finance world with Charles Schwab trading stocks and bonds for 1 1/2 years. 

He liked being immersed in the stock market world but missed meeting face to face with people. 

Next at Bank One, he picked up his insurance license and kept his security license and worked there for 1 year. 

Then, with a friend, he started an advisory and mortgage business.  

He got married and started raising a family, so he took a more stable job at TIAPress, working at the outbound sales department. He again missed the face to face with people. After 6 years he moved on, getting closer to people. 

He did a fix and flip in 2013.  He learned a lot through helping and doing part of the work. Doug broke even on the project, but lessons learned were: 

1. The realtor overstated the After Repair Value. 

2. The house was out of place in that neighborhood and it took more rehab to bring it back into normalcy.  

3. He was using a hard money loan and the rehab took 6 months.  

After TIA Press, he works as a personal financial representative and building real estate business. 

Doug is a man of faith and that keeps him grounded and on track. His funny quote is: I don't always eat very well, but I sleep very well. 

Secrets Sauce to his Success;

He believe being tenacious is a key to success. 

He believes in education (as you can tell by his 3 undergrad degrees! :-) )

Favorite Books: 

The magic of thinking big - David Schwartz

How to win friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie. 

George Kilder - Wealth and Poverty.  Warning: Not an easy read

Contact Information:  

Cell Phone: 303-638-7245