Investor Cheat Code Podcast with Mike Simmons

       From Bigger Pockets to a Better Life with Brandon Turner Join us as we dive into the incredible journey of real estate investor and podcaster Brandon Turner. Discover how he went from buying a deal a year to building a portfolio of over 13,000 units, and learn the strategies and mindset shifts that fueled his remarkable success. Table of Contents Brandon's Entrepreneurial Awakening Surrounding Yourself with the Right People Blowing Past a 1,000-Unit Goal Why Mobile Home Parks? Avoiding Problematic States and Markets Transitioning from Biggerpockets to The Better Life Podcast The Importance of In-Person Podcasting The Devastating Lahaina Fire and its Impact Redefining Success: Prioritizing Family and Happiness Ttance of Adaptable Goals Lessons Learned from Leaving Biggerpockets Educating Children on Alternative Paths in Life Brandon's Entrepreneurial Awakening It all started with a realization at Joe Ferrellus' best ever conference in Denver. Surrounded by successful real estate investors, I came face to face with my untapped potential. I was only buying a deal a year, barely scratching the surface of what I could achieve. It hit me that I could build a big business, have a team, and aim for something much bigger. Surrounding Yourself with the Right People Surrounding yourself with successful and motivated individuals can have a profound impact on your own success. When I started associating with people who were achieving greater real estate volume, I began to see new possibilities and opportunities for growth. Through engaging with the BiggerPockets podcast and interacting with accomplished investors like Grant Cardone and Chris Clothier, I gained valuable insights into scaling businesses and leveraging resources effectively. Learning from Successful Individuals Observing individuals who were handling significantly larger real estate portfolios than mine helped me realize that scalability doesn't necessarily equate to working more hours. Engaging with people accomplishing substantial deals highlighted the importance of strategic delegation and building efficient teams. Witnessing others achieve exponential growth while working fewer hours shifted my perspective on the relationship between effort and success. The Power of Association By surrounding myself with ambitious and accomplished individuals, I was able to challenge my own limitations and expand my vision of what was achievable. This environment of success and ambition propelled me to surpass my initial goals and achieve remarkable growth in a relatively short period. Blowing Past a 1,000-Unit Goal After making the decision to go all in on mobile home park investing, I set a goal to acquire 1,000 units within a year. This ambitious target pushed me to take massive action and think outside the box to achieve rapid growth. Strategic Acquisition Tactics Implementing creative financing strategies enabled me to acquire properties with minimal capital and maximize returns. Utilizing innovative negotiation techniques allowed me to secure deals that surpassed my initial expectations. Forming strategic partnerships and leveraging my network played a pivotal role in rapidly scaling my portfolio. Building a High-Performing Team Assembling a dedicated and skilled team was crucial in managing a large number of properties effectively and ensuring seamless operations. By delegating responsibilities and empowering my team, we were able to surpass the 1,000-unit milestone with remarkable efficiency. Why Mobile Home Parks? Investing in mobile home parks offers unique advantages and opportunities that make it an appealing venture for real estate investors. The following factors highlight the reasons behind the strategic choice of mobile home park investments: Scalability and Efficiency Mobile home park investments provide the potential for rapid scalability and efficient management, allowing investors to oversee a large number of units with relative ease. Operating larger properties can often be more streamlined and manageable, leveraging economies of scale to maximize returns and minimize operational complexities. With the ability to oversee numerous units within a single property, mobile home park investments offer a compelling avenue for achieving substantial growth and profitability. Strategic Property Selection Choosing mobile home parks in areas with favorable population demographics and strong tenant demand can significantly enhance occupancy rates and overall investment performance. Avoiding properties with potential challenges such as septic tanks and unfavorable landlord regulations in certain states can mitigate operational hurdles and optimize investment outcomes. Focusing on larger mobile home park properties in well-populated areas can offer a more favorable investment landscape, facilitating improved tenant acquisition and retention. Avoiding Problematic States and Markets When it comes to real estate investments, avoiding problematic states and markets is crucial for maintaining a streamlined and efficient portfolio. By steering clear of regions with challenging regulations and governmental barriers, investors can mitigate operational hurdles and optimize their investment outcomes. Strategic Market Selection Choosing markets with favorable landlord regulations and supportive governmental policies can facilitate smoother property management and tenant relations. Avoiding states with stringent eviction processes and prolonged legal procedures can help investors steer clear of potential challenges associated with tenant disputes and occupancy issues. Focusing on markets with a proactive approach to low-income housing support and tenant rights can create a more conducive environment for sustainable and profitable real estate investments. Transitioning from Biggerpockets to The Better Life Podcast After my nine-year stint with the BiggerPockets podcast, I made the decision to transition to The Better Life podcast. This shift was driven by my entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to have autonomy over my schedule and endeavors. While BiggerPockets was an invaluable experience, I craved the freedom to chart my own course and explore new opportunities. Embracing Entrepreneurial Independence As an entrepreneur at heart, I value the ability to own my time, schedule, and business ventures. The decision to leave BiggerPockets stemmed from my desire to have full ownership and control over my podcasting journey, aligning with my personal and professional aspirations. The Birth of The Better Life Podcast The inception of The Better Life podcast was inspired by a song created by my friends, Derek and Mark. Their music, coupled with my ambition to expand beyond real estate, fueled the creation of a platform that delves into a diverse range of topics and interviews. This transition allowed me to broaden my scope and connect with a wider audience while still maintaining a strong focus on real estate. The Importance of In-Person Podcasting When it comes to podcasting, the dynamics of in-person recording can significantly enhance the overall experience for both hosts and guests. The physical presence creates a heightened sense of importance and accountability, leading to more profound and authentic conversations.   The Devastating Lahaina Fire and its Impact The Lahaina fire had a devastating impact on the town, resulting in the loss of numerous businesses and homes. The aftermath of the fire left a significant void in the community, with many individuals and families grappling with the repercussions of the destructive blaze. The Heartbreaking Toll The fire claimed the lives of approximately 100 people, a tragedy that has deeply affected the entire community. While the outcome was better than initially feared, the loss of lives and the destruction of the town's downtown area remains a poignant reminder of the catastrophic event. Navigating the Aftermath Despite the devastation, the resilience and unity of the community have been evident as individuals come together to support one another and rebuild what was lost. Efforts to address the aftermath of the fire have been ongoing, with individuals and organizations collaborating to provide aid and assistance to those affected by the disaster. The impact of the Lahaina fire serves as a stark reminder of the importance of preparedness and community support in the face of natural disasters. Redefining Success: Prioritizing Family and Happiness As I continue to navigate through the complexities of business and life, my perspective on success has undergone a significant transformation. While ambitious goals and professional achievements have always been integral to my journey, the paramount importance of family and personal happiness has become increasingly evident. Embracing Familial Priorities Amidst the pursuit of entrepreneurial endeavors and professional growth, the invaluable role of family has emerged as a cornerstone of my priorities. The joy and fulfillment derived from spending quality time with my wife and children have become non-negotiable aspects of my life, shaping my decisions and actions in profound ways. Reevaluating Work-Life Dynamics Recognizing the perpetual balancing act between work and personal life, I have adopted a deliberate approach to redefining success. Embracing the notion that happiness and contentment are the ultimate measures of achievement, I have embarked on a journey to recalibrate my professional commitments in alignment with my personal values. Setting boundaries and constraints on my time has empowered me to prioritize family engagements and meaningful experiences, fostering a harmonious equilibrium between work and personal life. By reassessing the significance of my professional engagements and endeavoring to derive genuine fulfillment from each pursuit, I have cultivated a renewed sense of purpose and satisfaction. Embracing a mindset that values holistic well-being and e

Today's Guest: Paul Wakim Paul is the co-founder of TwnSqr, a real estate technology startup devoted to breaking down the barriers of the real estate industry by providing homeowners and real estate professionals full control over the connections they make for their next real estate transaction. Paul started TwnSqr as a project to create an algorithm to predict who was going to sell their house next so he could buy more deals. Today, TwnSqr has reimagined how the real estate process works for buyers, sellers, agents, and investors, and it’s the most secure and fastest way to connect with the best person for your next real estate transaction on your own terms.   Highlights From The Show: We begin the episode with Paul sharing the evolution of TwnSqr since its inception right before COVID and how it currently works. Paul details how it has changed from being a real estate tool to a service that is one aspect of a real estate investor’s process.    Paul detailed a new program that they just launched called TwnSqr Enterprise that caters to investors that have a significant amount of properties to sell to form a direct integration with their Boost service, or their dispositions marketing service. Paul also gives a ton of credit to his partner Mitch that does most of the coding, and who he says is brilliant. Some customizations occur for each individual client, so Paul details this process.   I asked Paul to describe their avatar, or ideal client, and also to describe how the pricing works for their service. It is a monthly subscription service, but Paul goes into detail on how it actually works. He also goes into the integration of AI into their services.   This was a super detailed interview where I asked a lot of nitty-gritty kinds of questions so you want don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Paul Wakim and get valuable information on how to unlock the potential of your dispositions process with TwnSqr! Notable Quotes:   “All TwnSqr is as of August 7th is a way for you to interface your existing systems and processes, your CRM, with our Boost service. There is no more seller-facing aspect to the platform.” Paul Wakim   “We have simplified things quite a bit to just being a plug-in for your CRM with the sole purpose of getting you interest in the properties that you have for sale.” Paul Wakim   “Any investor that has at least two properties to sell per month is our target market.” Paul Wakim   “You are using the existing client’s buyers list in addition to going out and getting more people to opt into TwnSqr to maximize who is seeing the properties - more eyeballs.” Mike Simmons   “Tell me why I would want to utilize your done-for-you service when I already have a fully operational, successful, talented dispositions team and/or person and/or process. Like why would I hand over the reins to something that is working really well?” Mike Simmons   “We found out not only was that sales pitch incorrect but also the execution was incorrect.” Paul Wakim   “It is worth combining your existing systems and processes with our boosting system because it is a supplement - it is like a turbocharger for an engine.” Paul Wakim   “Once the integration is built, we are off to the races together.” Paul Wakim   “Simplicity is where the actual value is.” Paul Wakim   “Simple is scalable.” Mike Simmons   “TwnSqr today is as bad as it is ever going to get. It is only going to get better.” Paul Wakim Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Mike’s Email TwnSqr Paul Email  Paul on LinkedIn Paul on Instagram Paul on Twitter  Paul on Youtube   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today's Guest: Erin Helle In this episode, I interview fellow real estate investor and return guest, Erin Helle. Erin begins by giving us her background and what brought her to real estate investing. She began her career in the military, first attending West Point Academy and then serving on active duty. Because her husband was also in the service, they knew that both of them being on active duty would be short-lived as they planned to start a family. She resigned her commission after about eight years of active duty and she began to explore real estate as a way to earn an income and be present for her family.   Highlights From The Show: We go back over Erin’s story because it is so inspirational! Her business has just exploded since we last talked on the podcast in 2020. We discuss all of the different types of investing she is involved in and the various markets, as well. She related that she has invested in short-term rentals, but doesn’t like it as an investment model because it isn’t passive at all.    We then talk about the event that Erin is hosting called Financial Freedom Summit. It is being held at the Wynn Las Vegas on September 2nd & 3rd, 2023. It is an exclusive event to inspire personal, professional, and financial development. Military veteran leaders in the real estate investing industry will guide the participants to build their blueprint for total financial freedom. But Erin wanted me to understand that it was the community of veterans that gave her the courage to get started in real estate investing, which is why she decided to give back to veterans through her summit. Erin went over the different topics, speakers, and breakout sessions that will happen throughout the weekend. Erin also detailed how some of the sponsors backing the event are providing scholarships to the event for service members that may not otherwise be able to afford to attend.   Make sure you don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Erin Helle and learn about everything she has been up to since the last time she was on the show! Notable Quotes:   “This is a great industry and there is a lot of opportunity, but it isn’t necessarily for everyone.” Mike Simmons   “I hate the short-term rental game. I hate everything about it.” Erin Helle   “We use any cash we can come up with to build our portfolio.” Erin Helle   “I am a very left-brain, logical decision-maker.” Erin Helle   “I don’t really have the personality to talk to STR guests.” Mike Simmons   “It was the network of other West Point grads, and other veterans, in the space that helped me get my start and help me take that first step and then scale.” Erin Helle   “There is a lot of value in networking events.” Mike Simmons   “I have been amazed at the generosity of the people speaking and putting on this event.” Erin Helle   “The value of being in a room with these investors is like an education on steroids.” Mike Simmons     Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Previous Episode with Erin Financial Freedom Summit Erin’s Website Erin on Facebook Erin on Instagram Erin on YouTube More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today's Guest: Chris Logan I am excited to have my friend and fellow investor, Chris, on the show today! He is a super smart investor that is passionate about teaching people how to invest outside of their home market.   Highlights From The Show: We start the interview as we always do by getting some of Chris’ background and how he got started in real estate investing. He was introduced to real estate (like so many others) by reading Rich Dad Poor Dad and then signed up for an investing course with his wife, Heather. They began their business by wholesaling properties and Chris said during that time they tried fix and flipping, but that strategy did not appeal to them. They built their wholesaling business into a 7 figure business and wanted to focus on the one thing that they were really good at.   We then discuss wholesaling in markets other than where one lives, which is what Chris primarily does. He said when he is picking a new market, he looks at the population and median home prices. I asked him what specifically he is looking at regarding the population and he said they look for a population between 250,000 and 500,000 people because you know that many houses will be bought and sold and also that it is an area that people want to be in. Chris also recommends using the power of local Facebook groups to build your buyers list and network.   Make sure you don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Chris Logan to learn the ins and outs of virtual wholesaling!   Notable Quotes: “You are just going to drop value, I know it.” Mike Simmons   “Rich Dad Poor Dad is like the gateway drug for real estate investing.” Mike Simmons   “Flipping is more of a construction business and wholesaling is a sales and marketing business.” Chris Logan   “I am not the biggest fan of flipping, either. I get burned out with the contractor situation.” Mike Simmons   “It is not like you take a wholesaling course and then money starts falling from the sky.” Chris Logan   “We don’t start investing in a market because we want to be there - we follow the money.” Chris Logan   “I like starting in an area where I have a runway to scale.” Chris Logan   “I think you should build your buyers list before you market for sellers, especially if you are a brand new investor.” Chris Logan   “Massive and perfect action is what you want to focus on.” Chris Logan   “Our mentality is ‘keep it small, keep it all.’” Chris Logan   “Let’s do deals together!” Chris Logan   “Massive action is the cure for most things.” Mike Simmons   Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Rich Dad Poor Dad The ONE Thing Mailchimp Aweber PropStream Chris on Facebook Virtual Wholesaling Made Simple Mike on Facebook   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today's Guests: James Svetec & Riley Oickle One of the world's foremost Airbnb experts and the co-author of Airbnb for Dummies, James has helped over 1,000 students all over the globe leverage the power of short-term rentals as a vehicle for cash flow and wealth. James is the industry's go-to expert when it comes to mastering performance and streamlining operations. He consults with more than 600 property management companies around the world. Riley is a Canadian real estate investor and mentor who specializes in multi-family residential investing through BRRRR and joint venture strategies. Throughout the journey of buying his first income property in the Southwestern Ontario area, he realized that there is a real need in the market to help people go through this process more easily. Today, he owns a real estate portfolio worth over $8 million and has helped new investors buy their first properties without wasting time and money on trial and error. Highlights From The Show: This is a continuation of the show we posted a couple of weeks ago, discussing the ins and outs of short-term rental investing. We talk about financing, management, software, the science behind listings, and so much more! Make sure you don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with James Svetec and Riley Oickle and learn more about how to build a wildly successful short-term rental company! Notable Quotes: “Typically, management costs 20% of your revenue.” Riley Oickle   “We find that if you have a short-term rental property 1-2 hours outside of a major urban area, it is a great opportunity for people to staycation.” Riley Oickle   “I would love to have the company motto: I don’t do anything personally, but my company handles everything in-house.” Mike Simmons   “Almost all issues will come from one-night stays.” James Svetec   “The check-in process is really important because it is your guest’s first impression of your property, so you want it to be very easy.” James Svetec   “I am the baby boomer of the group.” Riley Oickle   “We recommend that people price their STRs manually at the beginning.” James Svetec     Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Minut Noise Monitoring NoiseAware Nest August Lock Hostaway Hostfully PriceLabs AirDNA AllTheRooms Mashvisor Motel Makeovers BNB Inner Circle James on Instagram Riley on Instagram   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today's Guests: James Svetec & Riley Oickle One of the world's foremost Airbnb experts and the co-author of Airbnb for Dummies, James has helped over 1,000 students all over the globe leverage the power of short-term rentals as a vehicle for cash flow and wealth. James is the industry's go-to expert when it comes to mastering performance and streamlining operations. He consults with more than 600 property management companies around the world. Riley is a Canadian real estate investor and mentor who specializes in multi-family residential investing through BRRRR and joint venture strategies. Throughout the journey of buying his first income property in the Southwestern Ontario area, he realized that there is a real need in the market to help people go through this process more easily. Today, he owns a real estate portfolio worth over $8 million and has helped new investors buy their first properties without wasting time and money on trial and error. Highlights From The Show: We start, as we always do, with my guests providing us with a bit of their background and how they got into real estate investing. Riley originally went the multi-family investing route and James was managing short-term rentals for other owners. They met through a mutual contractor, realized they had complementary skills, and decided to begin investing in short-term rentals together. Additionally, they do short-term rental coaching.   I observed that the short-term rental industry existed before COVID but that it had exploded because of peoples’ need for a safer environment than a hotel when traveling. I asked the guys several questions pertaining to this so that we could dig into the state of the short-term rental industry in 2023. James pointed out another factor to this was that more people were staycation-ing because they didn’t want to get on airplanes to travel. Many of the STRs in rural areas within easy driving distance of large cities experienced a boom as well. He said overall the industry is still trending up from pre-COVID numbers, but it has slowed down somewhat as the pandemic fears have decreased.   We talk about market and property evaluation, market area regulations, resources for aggregating data, common mistakes, various portfolio-building ideas, and so much more! Make sure you don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with James Svetec and Riley Oickle and learn how to build a wildly successful short-term rental company! Notable Quotes: “So they were like dog years basically.” Mike Simmons   “Complete immersion in investing is different than dabbling on and off as a hobby for 10 years.” Mike Simmons   “I was totally immersed in the short-term rental and Airbnb space, but I had never bought and owned my own property.” James Svetec   “We each had those complementary skill sets.” James Svetec   “There is the bird’s eye view which is market analysis and then the more micro level which is property analysis. If someone has investing experience, they would be familiar with both.” Riley Oickle   “We not only look at what the regulations are in a particular area but where we suspect they might go in the future.” James Svetec   “Those properties are very expensive because the area is very prestigious.” James Svetec   “I wouldn’t say that an area having no regulations is a red flag, but it is a yellow flag, for sure.” James Svetec   “It is boring, but you need to read the actual regulation, not an article in the local paper outlining what they think the regulations are.” James Svetec   “The AirDNA data is really solid if you know how to use it.” James Svetec   “I call it paper napkin math.” Riley Oickle   “Beginning investors often evaluate properties based on emotion and that just doesn’t work. You need to be very analytical.” Riley Oickle   “There is no way around it - if you want to do something right the first time and save money and time, you get a coach, you find a mentor, a mastermind.” Mike Simmons   “I am just geeking out on all of the stuff you talked about.” Mike Simmons   Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: AirDNA AllTheRooms Mashvisor Motel Makeovers BNB Inner Circle James on Instagram Riley on Instagram   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today's Guest: Tyler Jensen I am excited to have my friend Tyler on the show today! We are also fellow 7 Figure Flippers and he is just the kind of guest I love to have on - someone who is an expert in his field and willing to let me pick his brain!   Highlights From The Show: We start the interview like we often do with Tyler sharing his real estate background. He began flipping houses in 2008 as a way to help pay for his college education. He was taking classes and working full-time, so real estate was a side hustle at that point. For years, while working another job, he continued to flip houses because he knew it was an excellent vehicle for building long-term wealth. Tyler talks about how he honestly thought his career was going to be in corporate America but realized he could be successful with flipping when he was able to pay his tuition with the proceeds from his third deal. Joining the 7 Figure Flipping Mastermind was a turning point for Tyler and his business because he was surrounded by very successful investors that encouraged him and helped him scale.   Tyler explains his struggles with the lifestyle of being a corporate executive and how he was really trading time for money. He wanted to find a way to have both financial freedom and freedom of time so that he could be a good and present husband and father. After talking to his wife (and he tells us how this conversation went), he decided to pursue his dream of being a full-time investor. He went to Flip Hacking Live, joined the mastermind and his business exploded, doubling the deals performed several years in a row. We also dig into the process he created called the 7 Day Flip, in addition to Tyler’s thoughts on the current housing market.   Make sure you don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Tyler Jensen and learn how you can succeed in finding both time and financial freedom through real estate investing! Notable Quotes:   “I knew that real estate was a great way to make income, so I started early.” Tyler Jensen   “On our first flip, we did everything wrong, so it was a great education in real estate.” Tyler Jensen   “When I started flipping houses, it was a side hustle with the goal of helping to pay for college.” Tyler Jensen   “The year 2008 was actually a great time to get into real estate.” Mike Simmons   “In my corporate job, I was trading time for money and I realized it was really hurting me because I could never unplug.” Tyler Jensen   “We have amazing women behind us that have our backs.” Tyler Jensen   “The biggest thing in any flip is that you have to control the time, the budget, and the quality of work you are putting out.” Tyler Jensen   “That system and process is critical to getting things done fast.” Mike Simmons   Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Tyler’s Website 7 Day Flip 7 Figure Flipping   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today's Guest: Erin Maney I am excited to have my friend Erin on the show today! She is a fellow 7 Figure Flipper and shares her recent real estate investing journey with us with the hopes that it will encourage other investors who may be struggling.   Highlights From The Show:  Erin begins by sharing a bit of her background with us. She began investing about four years ago while still working full-time. She has a wholesaling company in the Milwaukee area and decided to put in her notice last June to focus on investing. With the manner in which the market changed last year though, she began to have some struggles. She said they had never had to give a lot of attention to their buyer’s list or their disposition process before, but then their buyers started dropping out. Erin was trying to build a company and hire employees, but thought if she couldn’t make it work for herself, how could she possibly empower others?   Because we are both part of the 7 Figure Flipping Mastermind, when Erin expressed that she was having some difficulties, we were able to get connected and talk it out. She said she was thinking of their company as a marketing and sales company and was reminded through our conversation that her greatest asset was their buyers. Erin said that she had not marketed to grow their buyer’s list at all and so she set a goal of adding 40 people to their list every week. Very quickly she saw that her efforts were making a difference and it confirmed how important it was for her to focus on their buyer’s list.   I asked Erin what her plan is for 2023 and she talked about how much she loves wholesaling, but because of the strength of her team, she is looking at exit strategies. She would like to take herself out of the day-to-day operations so that she can focus on building long-term wealth.   What a transparent and honest interview with Erin Maney who is battling through some investing struggles and thriving! Don’t miss the latest episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast!     Notable Quotes:   “I was able to give her some advice to turn that ship around.” Mike Simmons   “You can survive in any market.” Mike Simmons   “I am a big fan of Mike Simmons.” Erin Maney   “While initially, I felt like the wind was at my back, with the market change I felt like I was running into the wind, and I hadn’t experienced that before.” Erin Maney   “I had so much fear as to what was to come.” Erin Maney   “You really reminded me of the fundamentals of underwriting that I really needed to get back to.” Erin Maney   “A wholesaling company’s value is completely linked to the strength of their buyer’s list.” Mike Simmons   “You probably saved me from going back to federal government employment!” Erin Maney   “Our most savvy, long-term buyers are not going to be our best buyers as far as profit.” Erin Maney   “Execution is the key.” Mike Simmons     Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today's Guest: Ted Bradshaw Ted Bradshaw served as an executive with Xerox and IBM, then left the Fortune 500 world to explore the thrills of entrepreneurship. What he found was a long string of success that looked great on the surface. But underneath it all, he felt anxious, exhausted, and stressed, chasing money wherever it led and wondering why he never felt fulfilled. Along his journey, Ted gained valuable insight into how a person can achieve fulfillment in all aspects of life and he shares those insights with his best-selling book, Stop Chasing Squirrels.   Highlights From The Show:  We begin the interview with Ted giving us a bit of his background, which is diverse and super interesting. From a dabble in real estate investing to video games, to online classrooms, and diagnosing cancer through nuclear medicine, it seems as though Ted has truly done it all. Today, Ted lives his passion in helping others find theirs. A leading proponent of the Entrepreneurial Operating System®, Ted is a speaker, author, an Expert EOS Implementer™, and the Community Leader for EOS Worldwide. Ted then breaks down the framework of the system for our listeners.   I then asked Ted to talk about his latest project, his book, Stop Chasing Squirrels. He relates that he wrote the book as therapy because he got caught up in setting goals and never really felt successful, even though all of the external markers reflected exactly that. He confesses that this issue was affecting him in very serious ways, including marital discord and panic attacks. He saw it with other entrepreneurs, as well. As soon as they were able to get their businesses under control by implementing EOS, they were left with the reality that they were not personally happy. It was almost as though having business chaos was a distraction from having to work on themselves.    Ted had mentioned that he had at one point followed a real estate squirrel, so I asked him to share that with us. Ted talked about how his father was in real estate and taught him that it was all about building value over time. He started investing in single-family homes, like many of us, and that led to multi-family units and then new construction. He saw that even when particular units were experiencing issues, real estate was still a successful endeavor for him. He decided to go all in on a larger project and unfortunately ended up working with a high-end construction company that went out of business and he spent the better part of two years cleaning up the resulting mess. Ted said that he learned so much from this experience, even with as difficult as it was.   Don’t miss the latest episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Ted Bradshaw who openly and honestly shares his entrepreneurial journey with us! Go check out his upcoming webinar and course at TedBradshaw.com!     Notable Quotes:   “I have started six companies - four of them are success stories and two of them were learning opportunities.” Ted Bradshaw   “It was a ‘go big or go home’ kind of idea and we ended up going home on that one.” Ted Bradshaw   “You don’t just wake up one day and accidentally find yourself in that field.” Mike Simmons   “I am a big believer in serendipity - things happen for a reason.” Ted Bradshaw   “Please tell me you didn’t find yourself in the Middle East on some black market run.” Mike Simmons   “In three hours we were working through things that previously it has taken us three years to get to.” Ted Bradshaw   “I don’t pretend that everyone here hears all of my episodes and does everything I say, but I have been preaching the book Traction and the EOS system for years.” Mike Simmons   “If your listeners look into EOS, they will find that it is a simple system, but it is also timeless.” Ted Bradshaw   “EOS is systemized - it is the ‘how to.’” Ted Bradshaw   “The picture can’t see the frame.” Ted Bradshaw   “It does help companies move forward when people know they are going to be held accountable.” Mike Simmons   “So how dialed in is your BS meter?” Mike Simmons   “It is amazing how many people tie their identities to their business and stay in it longer than they should because of it.” Mike Simmons   “It starts, fundamentally, with purpose.” Ted Bradshaw   “We need some guardrails to keep us on track.” Ted Bradshaw   “Go past Terry Bradshaw - that is not me!” Ted Bradshaw   Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Ted’s Website Ted Bradshaw LinkedIn Ted Bradshaw Twitter Ted Bradshaw Instagram Traction EOS Worldwide What the Heck is EOS? Stop Chasing Squirrels This Naked Mind   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today's Guest: Candy Valentino I am excited to welcome Candy to the show today because she has such an impressive and diverse resume! Candy started her first business at 19 years old with no degree, no corporate background, no money, and no internet. She successfully started, scaled, and successfully sold businesses in service, retail, e-commerce, and product manufacturing in addition to creating a vast real estate portfolio as a flipper and investor.  At 26, Candy founded a non-profit charity. Through her business success, she bought and donated a building to the organization. Since then they have saved thousands of lives and Candy has been actively involved, personally raising millions for the charity.  During her two and half decades as an entrepreneur, she has been named to Top Business Leaders 40 Under 40, Top 50 Women In Business, 10 People Making a Difference, Top 10 Business Consultants by Yahoo Finance, and was the youngest female to receive the Governor’s Award in Entrepreneurship in Pennsylvania. Candy was recently selected by Success Magazine as one of just 6 ‘Women of Influence’ and additionally listed to ‘Leaders Who Get Results’ with names like Will Smith, Gary Vee, and Brene Brown.   Highlights From The Show:  Candy starts the show by sharing some of her background. What makes her accomplishments even more impressive is that she basically came from nothing. Both of her parents had blue-collar jobs and gave birth to her in their teens. She thought initially she would be the first person in her family to earn a college degree, but was amazed that her professors were teaching her about running a business when they didn’t have one of their own! This launched her into her entrepreneurial journey.   Candy has a lot of diverse projects, but I wanted to see what her real estate journey has been like and if she was still investing. She said absolutely she is still investing and part of what she loves about it is its flexibility. Candy talked about how much she loves the design process and managing contractors, so she has continued to hold some of her properties after rehabbing them, but she really loves the flipping process. She shares that it has been important for her to remain somewhat conservative with her investing because the only person she has to rely on for money is herself. Now she is able to flip in the millions and her last project was a $4.5M total gut property. We also talk a bit about how she was positioned in 2008 to avoid the housing market crash.   Because Candy is involved in so many different businesses, I asked her what life hacks she uses for productivity and staying focused. She talks about how much she really loves being an entrepreneur and continually being pulled in different directions. She emphasizes how important staying disciplined and focused on your goals is and not following the next shiny object. Candy states that most people are not willing to put their heads down, focus, and play the long game, and so therefore, their businesses really suffer or never get off the ground. She says she has a productivity grid that she focuses on every day to perform the top three, absolutely necessary tasks for each project or business that she has to get done in order to move it forward. She also keeps her phone face-down and on silent all of the time until she is ready to handle the incoming texts and emails.   We then spend some time discussing Candy’s book, Wealth Habits: Six Ordinary Steps to Achieve Extraordinary Financial Freedom. She calls it a no-BS guidebook because she wanted to be honest and clear with people about how to build financial freedom that isn’t couched in flowery language. She stresses if anyone just does these things and does them consistently, they can find success as she has.    What a refreshingly honest interview with Candy Valentino who was a ton of fun for me to interview! Don’t miss the latest episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with this very special and incredibly successful guest!     Notable Quotes: “I just couldn’t reconcile in my 18-year-old brain how my college professor was teaching me about business when he didn’t have one himself.” Candy Valentino   “We can tell you the best strategies for building wealth, but if you hate your life, you are not going to be able to sustain it for very long.” Candy Valentino   “I don’t necessarily know how to repair cars, but I do tend to know more about cars than most of the guys in my circle.” Candy Valentino   “The minute self-employed people stop working, they stop making money. That isn’t a business, that is a job.” Candy Valentino   “I didn’t want to continually trade time for money.” Candy Valentino   “When people know, like, and trust you, they want recommendations of what to buy.” Candy Valentino   “I am not educated, I don’t have an MBA or some fancy letters. This is really just self-education by reading books in my office.” Candy Valentino   “We learn from mentors or by making mistakes, and the latter is a lot more expensive and timely.” Candy Valentino   “You didn’t have any pre-built doubt. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can have is ignorance.” Mike Simmons   “When the expectation is low, you don’t have to do much to impress people.” Candy Valentino   “I know people who basically committed business suicide in 2008 because they were so over-leveraged.” Candy Valentino   “When we look at the data from any type of market, winter always comes.” Candy Valentino   “I just stick with what I know.” Candy Valentino   “If you haven’t been doing this for 20 or 25 years, you absolutely should be playing in this below-median house range.” Candy Valentino   “I love entrepreneurship, I love investing, I love being pulled in a million directions.” Candy Valentino   “Before my feet hit the floor, I find five things I am grateful for.” Candy Valentino   “That would be my book - ‘The So-NOT Miracle Morning’!” Mike Simmons   “To do anything new, you just have to have a little more courage than fear.” Candy Valentino   “If you want to just make a bunch of money, you will miss the entire point of building wealth. Building wealth is so that you can have freedom.” Candy Valentino     Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Wealth Habits: Six Ordinary Steps to Achieve Extraordinary Financial Freedom Candy on Instagram Candy on Facebook Candy on TikTok Candy’s Website (for bonuses!)   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today’s Guest: Ryan Murdock Ryan spent ten years in the electronics manufacturing industry before transitioning to real estate investing and property management in 2007. Today, he is VP of Acquisitions at Open Door Capital, a real estate investment company from Bigger Pocket’s Brandon Turner. Ryan has extensive management experience in many facets of real estate including retail, office, multi-family, HOA, nationwide consulting, and mobile home parks. He has been a licensed real estate broker since 2008 and owns and operates a portfolio of residential rental properties.   Highlights From The Show: Before Ryan got into real estate investing, he worked as a production facility technician in the electronics manufacturing industry, traveling all over the world. His priorities really changed when he got married and found himself having to decide if he wanted to continue to live overseas. He bought his first rental property when he was thirty years old and has been building his “empire” ever since!   Ryan’s first investment was in a duplex in Bangor, Maine and he lived on one side while renting out the other, “house hack” style. He financed this investment very traditionally and talks about how this was his first experience with having difficult tenants to deal with. He bought a few more duplexes and was looking aggressively at foreclosures to find other deals, while at the same time, he started his own property management company. He ran this company himself for about five years and then eventually paired up with a bigger management company that had a network of employees that he did not. At about this same time, he also got his real estate license so he could pursue his own deals.   Eventually, Ryan got to a point with his own portfolio where he was able to leave this company and go back to managing only his rental properties, aided by much better systems, technology, and automation. As he started to broker other deals and do some consulting, it made sense for him to give the project management portion to his past employers so he could spend his time in more profitable endeavors.   Ryan utilizes the BRRRR strategy with his properties, so we spent some time discussing how that worked for him. He talked about how he was completely reinvigorated by finding the BiggerPockets podcast and learning about different strategies that he had not yet explored. It made him take a hard look at his portfolio and get money out to use as working capital to invest in more properties. He encourages our listeners to take a hard look at their own properties in order to maximize their cash flow.   I then asked Ryan what made him pick up his life and move to Maui and join forces with Brandon Turner. Ryan and Brandon had partnered to buy a mobile home park and developed a relationship through that process. When Brandon moved to Maui, he asked Ryan to come out and give him a hand, and a week-long stay turned into a month. Brandon eventually hired Ryan as his personal assistant.   Because Ryan initially hooked up with Brandon by feeding him a mobile park investment lead, we spent some time exploring this investing strategy. Ryan talked about how to evaluate these types of investments and the techniques they used to add value to these communities. Once Ryan moved to Hawaii, they got really invested in Open Door Capital, Brandon’s company which exclusively buys mobile home parks. At the time of recording, they owned about 10 different communities with approximately 1500 lots. Ryan went into quite a bit of detail about what they look for in an investment of this kind and also the type of investor that they look for to partner up with them. He also pitched the “Bring Brandon A Deal” promotion they are running now if someone finds them an off-market mobile park deal.   Ryan has an incredibly diverse background in investing and in life, so you do not want to miss this entertaining and informative episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast!     Notable Quotes: “The real driving factor for getting into real estate was that I just couldn’t see myself in another corporate job for the next thirty years.”   Ryan Murdock     “I went on Amazon and bought every real estate and property management book they had because I had no idea what I was doing.”   Ryan Murdock     “Maybe if I had read some different or better books I wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.”   Ryan Murdock     “If I am going to be married to my own rental properties, I might as well start managing some for other people and generate a little income.”   Ryan Murdock     “If you feel like you are getting close to hiring help, you are probably already past the point when you should.”   Mike Simmons     “I think a lot of people are like me - I had 10 cents in my bank account and every day is a struggle to hustle.”   Ryan Murdock     “There are different tiers to financial freedom… it doesn’t happen overnight.”   Ryan Murdock     “Finding and listening to the BiggerPockets podcast really lit a fire under me again.”   Ryan Murdock     “I encourage other investors to keep an eye on their properties’ financials.”   Ryan Murdock     “I just want to buy and hold everything.”   Ryan Murdock     “Because of Brandon’s platform and reach, he is able to attract some extremely talented people.”   Ryan Murdock     “I’m always amazed at the ways you can make money in real estate.”   Mike Simmons   Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Real Estate Investing for Dummies Property Management for Dummies BiggerPockets Podcast Open Door Capital   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Highlights From The Show: Welcome to this version of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast! I am excited to bring you another solo episode where I discuss the ins and outs of wholesaling. I can’t believe how many conversations I have had recently where people are interested in getting started with this investing strategy but don’t really understand how it works. I have been wholesaling at a high volume for seven years now and what to share that knowledge with my listeners! I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the podcast!   Notable Quotes: “There seems to be a lot of gaps in peoples’ knowledge concerning wholesaling.”   “You have three primary people in a wholesale deal: the seller of the home, a wholesaler, and a buyer.”   “Part of building a business is building a reliable marketing strategy.”   “Someone has to receive those inquiries and we call them lead intake.”   “An acquisitions manager’s job is to ultimately negotiate an agreed-upon price between our company and the seller.”   “A dispositions manager’s job is to take the purchase agreement from the acquisitions manager and market it out to buyers.”   “The transaction coordinator works with the title company, supplies all of the pertinent documents, and gets a closing date set.”   “A bookkeeper is a very important member of your team regardless of the type of investing strategy you are employing. Everyone needs a bookkeeper.”   “Wholesaling is not hard, it is not complicated. Like anything else, it takes doing it once for you to feel comfortable in understanding the process.”   “We don’t make excuses, we make money and have success. We move forward. That is the mindset I want you to have.” Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail! Be one of the 100! Email me at mike@juststartrealestate.com or reach out via Facebook messenger @MikeSSimmons1

Today's Guest: Terry Burger I am excited to have my friend, Terry, on the show today! He is a super smart investor that has pivoted strategies several times in his career and I believe he has a ton to offer my audience in the show today!   Highlights From The Show: To kick our conversation off, Terry shares that he is a classically trained musician and believes that demonstrates that he knows how to work hard, be disciplined, and get the work done. He taught orchestra and band to middle and high school children and decided to leave that vocation when he felt like it was similar to the movie, “Groundhog Day” - just very repetitive. He moved into being a real estate agent, selling over 1000 houses in a fifteen-year span, and then transitioned into full-time investing in 2015.   We really take the gloves off, so to speak, in this interview. We talk about different investing strategies, the pros and cons of scaling, how to achieve work-life balance, comping properties, and so many other pertinent topics. Terry talks about how he transitioned from flipping houses to holding onto the winners and turning them into short-term rentals. He explains that his motivation to do this was to build a true cash-flowing business and says that it is more of a challenge than flipping a dozen or so houses a year. We discuss extensively the large property that Terry has acquired where he says “life change” can happen in the form of church retreats, family reunions, micro-weddings, and the like.   Make sure you don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Terry Burger and take a look behind the scenes of a casual conversation I have with a close friend who happens to be killing it in real estate! Notable Quotes:   “Everything Terry has done has worked.” Mike Simmons   “I know what it takes to be disciplined and get stuff done.” Terry Burger   “That has been the pattern of my life. When it starts feeling like “Groundhog Day”, I try something new.” Terry Burger   “Terry, you have seen me when I am hungry, tired, and irritable, and you are still my friend.” Mike Simmons   “I have always been a work-life balance kind of guy.” Terry Burger   “I feel like I have never made more money than when I was doing 12-18 flips per year.” Terry Burger   “I have to know the part of the symphony that is mine to control.” Terry Burger   “It is like a mini hospitality business that you have started.” Mike Simmons   “I have learned a lot of hard lessons in the STR world and the best lesson I have learned is that uniqueness matters.” Terry Burger   “The bleeding is more like a hemorrhage rather than a slow drip, so it feels like a bigger risk.” Mike Simmons   “They represent my middle-class upbringing and I like them.” Terry Burger   “Instead of a Starbucks experience, I have a Dunkin’ Donuts experience.” Terry Burger   “I hate it when people say, ‘I am waiting for the market to change.’ It just sounds like an excuse to not take action.” Mike Simmons   “When I see someone do something, it gives me the confidence that I can do it myself.” Terry Burger   “I try to surround myself with people who inspire me to go do crazy stuff.” Terry Burger     Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Previous Episode with Terry Bison View Lodge Airbnb Homes for Sale Terry on Facebook More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Highlights From The Show: Welcome to this version of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast! I am excited to bring you another solo episode where I deliver my thoughts on building a real estate investment company with a partner. I am sharing a presentation that I gave concerning the important issues pertaining to whether or not a partnership is the right choice for you. Notable Quotes: “I have found over the years that there is a framework and guidelines you can follow to know whether or not a partnership makes sense for you.”   “I know people that have lost millions in bad partnerships.”   “I only ever want to talk about things that I am completely passionate about.”   “I think what people do, without a whole lot of thought or research, is they jump into partnerships.”   “Being an entrepreneur can be lonely.”   “Having a partner can be very comforting because it is someone in the trenches with you and understands the struggle, but trust me - that is not a good enough reason to partner.”   “You don’t need a partner to have a sounding board.”   “One benefit to having a partner is that you can take time off.”   “There is always a price to having a partner.”   “You have to have a similar risk tolerance.”   “I was sleeping like a baby because risk doesn’t bother me.”   “We all know that we can recover from mistakes.” Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail! Be one of the 100! Email me at mike@juststartrealestate.com.

Today’s Guest: Justin Colby Justin 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 in.   Highlights From The Show: 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 and 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 on the Just Start Real Estate Podcast, 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   Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: 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   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Highlights From The Show: Welcome to this version of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast! I am excited to bring you my first solo episode where I deliver my thoughts and strategies for real estate investing in this changing market. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water! You can still do what you love to do with a few tweaks in your business! Notable Quotes: “It is absolutely crazy trying to do five episodes of a podcast every week.”   “There are definitely subjects I want to talk about that I may not get to if I am just doing interviews or Q&As.”   “I know the majority of questions I am going to get are, ‘How can our business survive in this market?’”   “You don’t have to change everything that you are doing.”   “That is not a logical, rational reaction to a fairly small-to-medium-sized problem.”   “I wholesaled when the market was down, I wholesaled when the market skyrocketed, and I am a wholesaler now.”   “You don’t throw out the engine when you are having an engine problem - you tweak the engine.”   “You wouldn’t do it with your car… why are you doing it with your business?”   “You have to change the language that you use.”   “I might be a little more helpful on the back end and more sympathetic to my buyers’ concerns.”   “When the house prices were soaring, you had to focus on what your sellers’ motivation was in order to make your offer make sense.”   “When it comes to real estate investing, you usually have a challenge with one end of the investing cycle.”   “Zillow can be your friend. It isn’t always accurate, but homeowners don’t have anything else to look at.” Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today's Guest: Zeona McIntyre Zeona is a licensed realtor and a mid-term rental investor located in the Boulder area. She has a great group of experienced investor-friendly agents who can help people find the perfect home. Zeona also has a nationwide referral list of vetted teams that allows them to connect clients with investor-friendly agents in any state.    Highlights From The Show: We begin the episode with Zeona sharing her background story and how she ended up in real estate. Zeona shares that she is a real estate consultant and agent. She started her journey with Airbnb in 2012 and is in the early ramp-up stage in the mid-term space. Zeona has been investing in real estate for 10 years, and she loves helping people get into furnished rentals because whether they are mid or short-term, they are a great boost for cash flow for people. Zeon’s goal is to help get as many people as possible to be financially independent.    We then discuss medium-term rentals and why you should invest in this model. Zeona shares that based on her book, mid-term rental is anything over 30 days, but the typical stay is 90 days because most traveling nurses have assignments for 13 weeks. From her mid-term rentals, she often sees people staying for a month to several months and sometimes even a year. On the other hand, Zeona explains that what differentiates long-term rentals from mid-term rentals is that long-term rentals are unfurnished and rented by the year, while mid-term rentals are by the month. According to her, the number one benefit of mid-term rentals is regulations. Mid-term rentals are seen as long-term rentals because regulations are enforced in the 30 days or fewer markets. So it’s a comfortable space when your numbers for short-term rentals are not working out.   Next, we talk about the downside of mid-term rentals. Zeona shares that when she started with Airbnb, it was new, and she has watched short-term properties get all the cool automation that it has today. Automation didn’t exist when she started, and now, with the medium-term rentals, it also doesn’t exist, but you can borrow some from the short-term rentals. It will not be a perfect fit, but it will help. Zeona also shares that you can modify a long-term lease to a mid-term lease.    We then discuss how to get into medium-term rentals by hosting traveling nurses. Zeona shares that you can start by looking into your area using a map for hospitals. Hospitals are rated by trauma levels. Level 1 and 2 hospitals take the most extreme cases, while smaller hospitals don’t do much and don’t get as many travel nurses. Zeona recommends investing in areas with levels 1 and 2 hospitals and places closer to them, within a range of 30 minutes distance. You also need to look at the number of beds in the units, and 200+ would be a solid option. According to Zeona, all these are online, and all you need to do is to search for the name and check the trauma level and bed capacity. From there, you can connect with HR and inform them of your offering. You can also do it through Furnish Finder. It will give you a list of people searching in your area, and you can connect with them. This is easy and effective, and you can do it now or even before you purchase a property to assess the demand in an area.    Lastly, we talk about how to manage your calendar. According to Zeona, you’ve to be careful how you open up vacancies because you don’t want someone to book something you will not be able to fulfill. Managing your calendar is all about knowing your high and low seasons to plan your openings, rates, and occupancy. Zeona explains that it’s good to plan ahead and use your mid-term rental in a hybrid way, especially in slow seasons.  For her, she used the mid-term rentals as short-term rentals in places where she can legalize them as such.     Make sure you don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Zeona McIntyre and get valuable information on how to win big with mid-term rentals! Notable Quotes:   “Furnished rentals, whether mid or short-term, are a boost for cash flow.” Zeona McIntyre   “Mid-term rentals are seen as long-term rentals with regulations, and it’s a comfortable space when your numbers for short-term rentals are not working out.” Zeona McIntyre    “Plan ahead and use your mid-term rental in a hybrid way, especially in slow seasons.“ Zeona McIntyre    “Managing your calendar is all about knowing what your high and low seasons are and planning your openings, rates, and occupancy in advance.” Zeona McIntyre      Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: 30 Days Stay Stayamo Zeona’s Website Zeona on LinkedIn  Zeona on Instagram Zeona on YouTube   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail! 7 Figure Investor Video Course - Scale your business to 7 figures. I'll show you how!

Highlights From The Show: Welcome to this version of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast! I am excited to bring you my first solo episode where I deliver my real estate goals for this new year. I am trying to do some things differently this year, so in this episode, I tell you a little about what I did in 2022 and how I am changing that up to achieve new goals in 2023! Notable Quotes: “I am going to go out of my comfort zone a bit.”   “I decided to put what I am working on out there so you could all hear it.”   “I think that being accountable is a huge part of achieving goals.”   “I am not talking about some high-level sales amount… I am talking about money that was actually deposited into my account.”   “We weren’t doing owner-financed deals before 2022.”   “It is a way that we are hedging against some of the market fluctuations.”   “At the end of 2022, we hired a Chief Operating Officer. This is a game-changer for us.”   “Hiring an operations manager can be high-reward, but it is also high-risk.”   “The minute you stop looking, the right person comes along.”   “I think we can see increased profit margin by just tightening the processes and by buttoning things up a lot.”   “Raising money is always something I am interested in learning more about.”   “I want to get on really significant stages in 2023.”   “The workload is about the same regardless if you make $1,000 or $10,000 per month with a rental property.”   “Reach out to poor old me and give me some feedback.”   “Hopefully it was a little fly-on-the-wall moment for you and you found it helpful.” Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail!

Today’s Guest: Justin Silverio Justin 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 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.   Highlights From The Show: 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 in the situation and 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 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 it 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 like you are building a conversation with the seller, and you do it in a specific way so that they are getting to know more about you 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   Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   Resources and Links From Today's Show: Open Letter Marketing OLM InvestorHub OLM DealFlow   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail! 7 Figure Investor Video Course - Scale your business to 7 figures. I'll show you how!

Highlights From The Show: Welcome to this version of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast! I am excited to bring you another replay of my Live Question and Answer sessions. For those people that are unable to join us live, this will provide an opportunity to hear the awesome questions I am fielding about business, taking risks, real estate, and so much more!   This presentation is the live Q&A that I did the week of January 4th and each Thursday we will offer you another chance to take advantage of listening to the answers to our guests’ fabulous and compelling questions! Don’t miss this new episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast! Notable Quotes: “No, we don’t provide comps when asked. We are not a comps service.”   “They don’t want my comps or repair estimates, because if they are really interested in buying the house, they will run their own.”   “I refuse to do other peoples’ work for them.”   “You have to set the table for a possible price reduction ahead of time.”   “Give me 10 days, and I will come back and give you a very honest answer.”   “It is very hard to go back for a price-reduction conversation if a price reduction was never discussed as a possibility.”   “To me, negotiations are negotiations.”   “I would probably try to be smarter about it.”   “After my first flip, every other one I funded with private money.”   “If I had no private money available, I would find a hard money lender.”   “People have gotten comfortable with working outside of the office since Covid, but at the end of the day, it is your company and if you want them in the office, they need to come to the office.”   “I don’t want to go all Elon Musk on people.” Thank You for Listening! Connect with Mike on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook   Help Out the Show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes.   More Resources From Mike: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months WINNING DIRECT MAIL - How to CRUSH IT with direct mail! 7 Figure Investor Video Course - Scale your business to 7 figures. I'll show you how!