Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I'm Joe Siegel, founder and CEO of Aspire Legal Solutions, and Myland Trustee, the largest and fastest growing land trust company in Florida. Our passion is helping people aspire to a better life. One of the many ways we do.
[00:00:13] Speaker B: That is by helping them remain anonymous.
[00:00:15] Speaker A: When it comes to their real estate holdings as they build their wealth.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: But it also extends to everyone else.
[00:00:20] Speaker A: We touch each day. We're fortunate to work with some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country who share our mission of aspiring to a better life. And we hope others will benefit from hearing their journeys, tips, strategies and tactics to get there.
[00:00:35] Speaker C: I think what a lot of people aren't, let's say, maybe mentally prepared for is all the no's.
You're going to get a lot of no's. It's going to be all no's. You have to get so many no's to get to that yes. And if you don't have a strong mindset or if you're not aware that it just doesn't come so easy. We're literally looking for the needles in the haystack.
[00:00:57] Speaker A: Alex Gazada is a real estate entrepreneur and social media star. His background in timeshare sales taught him how to take no for an answer, but never give up. He's now one of the most successful players in the personal storage real estate game, and he shares how he's learned that focusing on who rather than how, has helped him relinquish control, focus on the big picture, and scale his business as he shoots for 100 million in assets.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Hey, everybody, we're here with the infamous Alex Kazada today. Alex is sort of known now as the king of storage units. I think from what, if you've seen his videos on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and.
[00:01:40] Speaker D: Everywhere else, you can see a video.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: Reel of anybody, Alex is there. I commend him and admire him for his social media capabilities. He's really stepped up his game over the past few years, both there and also in real estate and business. And that's why I wanted to talk.
[00:01:58] Speaker D: To him today about in the master.
[00:02:01] Speaker B: Series, because I remember Alex when he.
[00:02:04] Speaker D: Started buying old, ugly houses, fixing them.
[00:02:08] Speaker B: Up and flipping them, and then got into wholesaling.
[00:02:10] Speaker D: And now he's moved up, as the.
[00:02:13] Speaker B: Jeffersons say, he's moved up to the east side.
[00:02:15] Speaker D: He's doing good now.
[00:02:16] Speaker B: So he's really done well. And I think that our viewers and.
[00:02:21] Speaker D: Listeners can really learn a lot from.
[00:02:24] Speaker B: Alex and other folks like him who have really changed the game in entrepreneurship, in real estate, and just really brought a different level to the scale of their game that a lot of people don't have. And so that's why I want to talk to Alex today. Alex, welcome. I'm glad you're here today.
Why don't you tell us a little bit about how you got where you are, sort of your story and where you are today and what you do and share with us that journey, how.
[00:02:58] Speaker D: You got where you are today, for sure.
[00:03:00] Speaker E: So born and raised in Orlando, went.
[00:03:03] Speaker C: To UCF for a finance degree, got out of there, started working for like a timeshare travel club, doing face to face sales.
Really liked that.
[00:03:13] Speaker E: Became the top seller in the last two years.
[00:03:16] Speaker C: I was there pretty quickly, and then just one day heard a radio ad about how to buy a house with no money down.
And I bought that educational little boot.
[00:03:26] Speaker E: Camp thing, which was just like a.
[00:03:28] Speaker C: Little one day thing to sell you.
[00:03:30] Speaker E: The three day boot camp.
[00:03:31] Speaker C: So I bought that boot camp and then bought literally everything that they were selling in that boot camp. It was just like a pitch fest.
[00:03:37] Speaker E: And I just bought everything and just.
[00:03:40] Speaker C: Started educating myself and taking action. And I started getting some deals right away.
[00:03:45] Speaker E: But the job I had was out of town like five days a week.
[00:03:51] Speaker C: So I really didn't have the time. So even though I was a top seller and I was making good money, I knew that's not what I wanted to do. And so I quit and just went full force into real estate. Did some deals myself, some wholesale opportunities. It was a different market back then, a lot of foreclosures. Reos was buying some deals, but I was missing something in my business. So I went to a local Ria connected with Anthony Cusky and I worked.
[00:04:18] Speaker E: With him and I was trying to.
[00:04:20] Speaker C: Get like a mentor, but he was looking to grow his business. And I worked for him for a couple of years and kind of ran his wholesale side of the business while he did more rehabs and new builds.
[00:04:30] Speaker E: And then I brought my brother in as like an admin. And then after he was there for.
[00:04:36] Speaker C: Only a couple of months, I knew it was my time to do my own thing. And so I took my brother and we started our own operation with mostly wholesaling at first. And we were doing probably for ourselves, like five deals a month, three to five deals a month in that market.
[00:04:53] Speaker E: And was just doing that for about two or three years consistently.
[00:04:59] Speaker C: And unfortunately, at that point, I didn't.
[00:05:02] Speaker E: Take the right steps of continue to.
[00:05:04] Speaker C: Educate myself, get myself in better rooms and better rooms at that point, until.
[00:05:07] Speaker E: Eventually I did and realized there's people.
[00:05:10] Speaker C: Who are much younger than me doing 2030 deals a month, and I was.
[00:05:14] Speaker E: Doing three five, and mind shifted for me and just poured a lot more.
[00:05:19] Speaker C: Money into marketing and coaching with me, for me.
[00:05:23] Speaker E: And started right away.
[00:05:26] Speaker C: The next month, I did one hundred k, my first one hundred k month.
[00:05:29] Speaker E: Ever, and then just started actually treating it like a business, putting more money.
[00:05:34] Speaker C: Into my business, hiring folks, team members.
[00:05:38] Speaker E: And really making my income a business.
[00:05:43] Speaker C: And so after I did that with my brother for several years, building up the team where the wholesale operation worked without me, and along the way, we.
[00:05:51] Speaker E: Were buying properties to buy and hold, rehabbing properties.
[00:05:55] Speaker C: But really, when I got the team automated, my brother runs the day to day of my wholesale operation, I went full force into self storage in 2020. And as of last week, we bought our 11th self storage facility and looking to continue to do more and grow that business the same way we grew our wholesale operation, which still does 2030 deals a month, and looking to grow.
[00:06:19] Speaker E: All the businesses here.
[00:06:21] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:06:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I remember those days. I remember one of the things, and I still tell people to say, I don't use your name, but how much you were spending a month on marketing in the wholesale side, and it blew.
[00:06:34] Speaker D: My mind that you had, number one.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: That you had that kind of money to do that, but number two, that.
[00:06:41] Speaker D: You had the guts.
[00:06:45] Speaker B: 2020, you just said, that's a key year there that a lot of people may not remember, but we had a little thing called the pandemic that shut the whole world down pretty much that entire year.
[00:06:55] Speaker D: And that's when you took the jump into self storage.
What was that decision like to do that?
[00:07:03] Speaker C: Yeah, actually, right before COVID is like, we got education on it again. So we got educated on it in February 2020, got coaching, and then started doing our marketing, but we didn't buy our first one until the middle of.
[00:07:17] Speaker E: COVID so I was already in it. So I'm not going to turn back.
[00:07:22] Speaker C: Around just because this is happening, obviously, Florida, we were a little bit more waxed where that helped out, but it.
[00:07:27] Speaker E: Was a struggle because a lot of.
[00:07:30] Speaker C: Things they teach you to do is increase the rents right away after you do the add value. We didn't increase rents for, like, a.
[00:07:35] Speaker D: Year.
[00:07:38] Speaker E: Because of COVID and people having.
[00:07:40] Speaker C: Issues and problems, and we didn't want.
[00:07:41] Speaker E: To be just buying a brand new facility.
[00:07:44] Speaker C: Things are going on in the world and we're trying to raise rents, so we did all our ad value.
[00:07:48] Speaker E: Luckily, there was other things that allowed.
[00:07:50] Speaker C: Us to increase the income.
[00:07:51] Speaker E: Those first six months of ownership.
[00:07:55] Speaker C: But really we did a lot of the ad value.
[00:07:57] Speaker E: We held back on the increases till.
[00:08:00] Speaker C: Later, but luckily all our businesses did actually really well for us in real estate, we never really stopped buying. It was a little bit of a scare when the wholesale buyers kind of froze up for a couple of months, but they relatively came back pretty quick and it was actually one of our best years.
[00:08:18] Speaker D: Wow, that's saying a lot.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: I think to stand up in the face of that adversity and still grow, not only grow, but propel in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, I think that's one of the things that I saw happen during the pandemic is some people completely just collapsed and others, they used that as their opportunity to really grow. I think it put us in this.
[00:08:40] Speaker D: Fight or flight mindset during that time.
[00:08:43] Speaker B: It's like, hey, I'm either going to fight or I'm just going to lay down and stay in bed all day.
[00:08:48] Speaker D: And not do anything else.
[00:08:51] Speaker B: I know you come from a timeshare.
[00:08:53] Speaker D: Sales background, and I used to work.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: With a lot of timeshare developers back in the day, so I know. I mean, that is one of the toughest sales you can do. You literally have someone coming in saying.
[00:09:05] Speaker D: I don't want it.
[00:09:06] Speaker B: I don't need it.
[00:09:08] Speaker D: It's expensive and I can't afford it.
[00:09:10] Speaker B: And you turn them around, sell.
[00:09:12] Speaker D: What was probably the biggest lesson you.
[00:09:14] Speaker B: Learned from your timeshare sales days that you still use today in business?
[00:09:21] Speaker C: My favorite thing is like the takeaway. That's like my favorite sales technique when.
[00:09:26] Speaker E: They'Re like, hey, if it's not for you, no problem, but we're going to.
[00:09:30] Speaker C: Show you something and if you can utilize it and it works for you, then great. If not, no big deal. And almost like pulling it away, hey, this is probably not for you.
[00:09:39] Speaker E: And I feel like that gives, it's very strong sales technique, but it definitely.
[00:09:48] Speaker C: Taught me a lot to be in a face to face environment like that where they're coming in for a free.
[00:09:52] Speaker E: Gift, they're like, no matter what's going to happen, they're making a pact in the car saying, wife.
[00:10:00] Speaker C: After 90 minutes, we're out of there. Don't say anything. You don't like to travel, we're not.
[00:10:05] Speaker E: Doing anything, but they're going there for.
[00:10:06] Speaker C: A free gift of travel.
It's a fun environment. I learned a lot from the top two guys there who I worked underneath, and one of them is my business.
[00:10:16] Speaker E: Partner now, and it is a great environment to learn. I think sales is the best thing.
[00:10:23] Speaker C: That I think the number one job.
[00:10:24] Speaker E: That anybody should go into because your.
[00:10:27] Speaker C: Whole life is selling in some way and fashion. So I think it was a great environment for me to learn. I didn't really like the industry ish of it, but it definitely helped me a lot. It definitely gave me a lot of.
[00:10:39] Speaker E: Skills with face to face.
[00:10:42] Speaker C: And then when we started buying houses, we would go to face to face appointments to sellers homes to buy their properties. So it helped out a lot. Now everything's virtual over the phone. It's definitely a different style, but it.
[00:10:53] Speaker E: Definitely helped me for sure.
[00:10:56] Speaker B: Well, I think that's what a lot of people miss, too. Whenever they get into this business, they think, well, I'm going in to buy a home. So these people need to be trying to sell their home. To me, it's really, no, you're selling yourself as, hey, I'm going to be.
[00:11:08] Speaker D: A buyer who takes this burden off.
[00:11:12] Speaker B: Of you or whatever the reason you're there. You're there selling yourself as, hey, I'm.
[00:11:18] Speaker D: The better or best buyer who's walked.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: Through your door today?
[00:11:21] Speaker C: Who's going to make it happen, who's going to be in communication with you, who's going to make sure this goes all the way to the finish line, that you can trust me and I'm going to get it done. So 100%. A lot of people can't portray that because they don't know the right words to say.
[00:11:34] Speaker E: A lot of new people get caught up with the language or trying to answer every question correctly that they have.
[00:11:42] Speaker C: Even though they don't know the answer. So they're talking beyond their means.
[00:11:45] Speaker E: So really it's just trying to solve.
[00:11:48] Speaker C: Their problem and just listen to them, really, because a lot of properties we.
[00:11:53] Speaker E: Buy, we're dealing with people who have.
[00:11:54] Speaker C: Problems or issues themselves in their lives and situations, or they got problem properties.
[00:11:59] Speaker E: So they always got something that you.
[00:12:02] Speaker C: Can help them with and you just got to find what that is and solve that problem.
[00:12:06] Speaker E: And usually it allows you to get the benefit of buying their house.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: And I think I hear that a lot from great salespeople.
A lot of people. It's sort of like people think lawyers, oh, well, they're always great speakers because they're always arguing in court.
[00:12:22] Speaker D: And actually most of what lawyers do is write.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: So most lawyers are really good writers. Same thing with good salespeople. Everybody thinks, well, a good salesperson talks.
[00:12:30] Speaker D: You into whatever you're doing, but the.
[00:12:34] Speaker B: Best salespeople I've ever talked to, the most successful salespeople, the most consistent salespeople I've ever talked to are those who.
[00:12:40] Speaker D: Listen well and can empathize, but they hear the pain points and they figure.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: Out, okay, this is what I can tell them, how I can solve their problem and they're genuine about it, because.
[00:12:53] Speaker D: I really can solve your problem with what I'm doing here.
[00:12:57] Speaker B: And that's what really, I think makes a great salesperson.
[00:13:00] Speaker D: Yeah, I love it.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: Okay, what is something that most people.
[00:13:06] Speaker D: Think is really important in becoming a.
[00:13:11] Speaker B: Great entrepreneur that you found? You could probably just skip it entirely.
[00:13:15] Speaker D: You didn't really have to do all that.
[00:13:22] Speaker C: Let's see.
[00:13:23] Speaker E: I think a lot of people get caught up with all the nuances of the whole thing.
[00:13:29] Speaker C: So when I bought all those courses.
[00:13:32] Speaker E: I didn't take action right away on it. I literally went through every course, learned everything before I took action.
[00:13:39] Speaker C: But in reality, it's all about speed of implementation. You learn one thing, go start doing.
[00:13:45] Speaker E: That, and then you can learn the rest along the way.
[00:13:48] Speaker C: It's like analysis paralysis. You're trying to get everything done. You don't really need to know that.
[00:13:53] Speaker E: If you learn how to just go market to sellers and talk to sellers, just go do that and then figure.
[00:13:59] Speaker C: Out the rest because you can lean on other people.
There's so many networking groups and coaching groups and masterminds and things like that you can be a part of or get access to or somebody in there and Facebook group or whatever it may.
[00:14:10] Speaker E: Be to help you along the way.
[00:14:12] Speaker C: But if you actually get started at least and get some momentum that way.
[00:14:16] Speaker E: Then that will propel you to success.
[00:14:19] Speaker C: And build your momentum to do more and more. And realize once you get that first deal, when you get that first check.
[00:14:26] Speaker E: And you're like, oh, this is real.
[00:14:28] Speaker C: This actually can happen, then it just.
[00:14:30] Speaker E: Makes it more real for you.
[00:14:32] Speaker C: And so I think if you can.
[00:14:34] Speaker E: Get the fastest you can get to.
[00:14:35] Speaker C: Your first deal, the better.
[00:14:37] Speaker E: And you don't have to make all the money.
[00:14:40] Speaker C: We do a lot of deals helping.
[00:14:41] Speaker E: Other people, JV deals, and you don't.
[00:14:44] Speaker C: Have to make all the money.
[00:14:45] Speaker E: But if you realize that first check with help, that's better than trying to.
[00:14:51] Speaker C: Do it all by yourself at first and it's going to take you much longer.
[00:14:54] Speaker E: So I think not focusing on everything.
[00:14:58] Speaker C: But focus singularly on one thing, either finding buyers and connecting a buyer to.
[00:15:02] Speaker E: A seller, or finding a seller and.
[00:15:05] Speaker C: Just contracting a deal, finding a good opportunity and then bring it to somebody.
[00:15:08] Speaker E: Else and let them help you along the way.
[00:15:11] Speaker B: What was the first thing you did when you got into self storage?
How did that feel when you did your first deal? And how long did it take you.
[00:15:20] Speaker D: From learning about it to implementing your first deal? Yeah.
[00:15:24] Speaker C: So we went to a three day.
[00:15:26] Speaker E: Boot camp thing also pretty much, I bought this actual course in 2017.
[00:15:33] Speaker C: I just never did anything with it. I just was in another boot camp.
[00:15:35] Speaker E: I'm like, that sounds like a good business.
[00:15:38] Speaker C: And I missed the whole presentation. I bought it, I read the book, but I didn't do anything with it. Revisited it in 2020, went to the course.
[00:15:45] Speaker E: And so in that three days, it.
[00:15:49] Speaker C: Made a lot of sense because I already had a real estate background, so.
[00:15:51] Speaker E: It seemed pretty easy for us with the wholesale business.
[00:15:57] Speaker C: It was very similar. So you're doing the same kind of marketing. You're just asking different questions to the seller. There's different things you need to know about the property, and there's different ways to analyze and underwrite it to see.
[00:16:07] Speaker E: Where you can add value.
[00:16:08] Speaker C: So, like a rehab, I got to fix all this, and it's worth this.
[00:16:11] Speaker E: Much money on this property.
[00:16:13] Speaker C: I got to do these certain things and tweak these certain things on this.
[00:16:16] Speaker E: Property to make it worth more money.
[00:16:18] Speaker C: And so it's very similar and very.
[00:16:20] Speaker E: Easy to comprehend and switch asset classes.
[00:16:24] Speaker C: So our first marketing campaign, we got a deal right away. But after we got that deal, I wanted to know about the operations of the business.
[00:16:33] Speaker E: So I was entrenched in the operations and slept on the floor of the.
[00:16:37] Speaker C: Office, like a couple of nights because I wanted to see what happened at night and what's going on. Do people come by? How does the property look at night? What's happening? And so I try to go all in on that aspect of it to really learn that part.
[00:16:49] Speaker E: And then I got it now.
[00:16:52] Speaker C: And now I'm good moving forward, and I know what to expect and I.
[00:16:55] Speaker E: Know every little thing about the self storage business.
[00:16:58] Speaker C: And I'll continue to learn and be in groups to educate myself, and I.
[00:17:02] Speaker E: Think that's a big part of it.
[00:17:04] Speaker B: Yeah, you said something there. You slept on the floor overnight a couple of nights to see what happens overnight.
And I know now, congratulations, by the way. You've just had another daughter.
[00:17:18] Speaker D: Congratulations on that.
[00:17:20] Speaker B: But this brings me to, I hear a lot of people talk about balance in life, and entrepreneurs are like, well, I have to have balance evenly between my family and my health and my.
[00:17:31] Speaker D: Business and my this and that. Number one, do you even think that.
[00:17:36] Speaker B: There is such a thing as true balance?
Or if not, what do you think about that whole.
[00:17:45] Speaker C: I think it's truly tough to have it. I think there's going to be times.
[00:17:49] Speaker E: Where you have to work a lot.
[00:17:50] Speaker C: And get things done and push through.
[00:17:52] Speaker E: And stay late and not be there every single dinner or taking your kids to school.
[00:18:00] Speaker C: And then there's going to be times.
[00:18:01] Speaker E: Where you can be all in on.
[00:18:04] Speaker C: Your kids and not have to have that time when you're super busy and all at work. I guess maybe in a way that's.
[00:18:11] Speaker E: A balance, but.
[00:18:14] Speaker C: I'm in a mastermind, and at the end of the year.
[00:18:17] Speaker E: In December, I went to that and.
[00:18:20] Speaker C: They'Re like, hey, we got in small groups and let's get vulnerable with each.
[00:18:25] Speaker E: Other and see what you didn't do last year.
[00:18:28] Speaker C: If you didn't spend enough time with your kids or if you didn't do.
[00:18:32] Speaker E: This, let people know.
[00:18:34] Speaker C: And I was like, I don't think.
[00:18:34] Speaker E: I spent enough time with my business last year.
[00:18:37] Speaker C: I spent a lot of time with my family, like last year because I had a lot of things automated and things were going really good and I.
[00:18:43] Speaker E: Had good team members who could take care of business. I spent a lot of time with.
[00:18:48] Speaker C: My family and did vacations and things like that. And even with my new daughter around.
[00:18:52] Speaker E: This year, I need to spend a.
[00:18:55] Speaker C: Lot more time in my business. We want to buy $50 million of.
[00:18:58] Speaker E: Assets this year, so I'm going to.
[00:19:00] Speaker C: Have to spend a lot more time.
[00:19:01] Speaker E: This year grinding and working with late nights, and my wife's aware of that.
[00:19:07] Speaker C: And luckily we have family and support to help us.
[00:19:10] Speaker E: But I think there's going to be.
[00:19:12] Speaker C: Times where you need to go all in.
[00:19:14] Speaker E: And then after that, I can kind.
[00:19:16] Speaker C: Of relax and be more friendly. But I always make time to go on vacations and travel and make sure we spend quality time together.
[00:19:23] Speaker E: And I think that's important.
[00:19:26] Speaker B: I know I found the same thing in my business and career.
[00:19:32] Speaker D: The balance isn't equal every day, every.
[00:19:36] Speaker B: Week, every month, because there's no way.
[00:19:38] Speaker D: You can do that.
[00:19:40] Speaker B: And what I found is you solve.
[00:19:42] Speaker D: Problems in your business and now you.
[00:19:44] Speaker B: Can spend a little more time with your family and your health, and then.
[00:19:47] Speaker D: You sort of maybe solve problems over.
[00:19:50] Speaker B: There and then you go, well, this has freed up more time. Now I'm bored.
[00:19:53] Speaker D: Let me go.
[00:19:53] Speaker B: Maybe start another business or another avenue and you move into something else. So I agree that you're spinning plates. So you are balancing all the time, but you're balancing each thing at a time. If you try to do them all at once. You're not going to do anything.
[00:20:09] Speaker D: Well, it's been my experience, for sure. Yeah.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: Now I know how to say you're a fitness gorilla, you're into martial arts, just everything you're always talking about, you're.
[00:20:21] Speaker D: Coming along with what is something important in your daily routine that you wish you had started doing sooner in your life, in your career?
[00:20:33] Speaker C: That would be, for me, affirmations and reviewing goals. So when I went to all those boot camps and events and coaching groups in the beginning, a lot of times.
[00:20:43] Speaker E: They always started off with like, let's.
[00:20:45] Speaker C: Go over your goals and affirmations and like five year planning. And in my younger days, when I was first starting, I'd be like, oh, that's like foofu. And I'd either step out of the room or just be on my phone or whatever.
[00:20:57] Speaker E: But then I think it's when I had my first daughter, I really took it to heart and started writing those.
[00:21:04] Speaker C: Things down and reviewing my goals every morning and saying affirmations every morning that.
[00:21:09] Speaker E: It really triggered something because it actually works.
[00:21:14] Speaker C: And doing that every single morning has been a game changer.
[00:21:18] Speaker E: Everything I've wrote.
[00:21:21] Speaker C: In a notebook for my goals over the past years has come to fruition. And the more you feed your mind.
[00:21:30] Speaker E: With what you want to obtain, what you know you will obtain, it comes.
[00:21:36] Speaker C: And so that's the one thing for.
[00:21:38] Speaker E: Sure I wish I knew much earlier in life.
[00:21:43] Speaker C: We buy books for our daughter that insinuate the power of positive speak to yourself and I am statements. And so I think that's the number.
[00:21:55] Speaker E: One thing for sure I wish I knew earlier in life.
[00:22:00] Speaker B: So it sounds like working out your.
[00:22:02] Speaker D: Mind is as important as working out your body.
[00:22:05] Speaker C: Oh, 100% for sure.
[00:22:06] Speaker E: I also get the workout in every morning, for sure.
[00:22:11] Speaker B: Now I hear you talk about lots of masterminds and boot camps and things. What channels have led to building your highest quality relationships that you have in business.
[00:22:26] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:22:28] Speaker C: Those events for sure. So when I first got started, the.
[00:22:33] Speaker E: Local Rias, before I really, obviously I.
[00:22:38] Speaker C: Got started in a coaching group, that's how I learned and operated. And then going to the local Rias.
[00:22:43] Speaker E: That are practically free, they're like 100.
[00:22:45] Speaker C: $200 a year, and they get you in the room with other people who are local doing business.
[00:22:50] Speaker E: But then there's definitely like, at one.
[00:22:53] Speaker C: Point in time I was with just those guys and you're like the average of the five people you hang out.
[00:22:58] Speaker E: With the most and your mind is.
[00:23:00] Speaker C: Fed with other people. And so that point in time when.
[00:23:04] Speaker E: I just got started on my own.
[00:23:07] Speaker C: Everybody who I was at the local.
[00:23:09] Speaker E: Rias with were in the same market.
[00:23:11] Speaker C: And we all realized, man, it's so tough to get a deal. It's so tough to get a deal.
[00:23:14] Speaker E: And everybody's saying the same thing.
[00:23:17] Speaker C: It's tough to get a deal.
[00:23:19] Speaker E: So I went to this other mastermind, and these kids were getting 2030 deals a month, and I was like, oh, it's not tough to get the deal. I'm like, the power of positive thinking.
[00:23:30] Speaker C: Like saying those affirmations and goals to yourself. Well, everybody in my mind, in my group is saying it's tough to get a deal. So in my mind, that's what it happens. And so when I go to other rooms with higher level people, people are doing a lot more and exposing you to different things. Then you can see what's possible.
[00:23:46] Speaker E: From those masterminds.
[00:23:47] Speaker C: And I'm in several different groups and masterminds for commercial real estate and business.
[00:23:51] Speaker E: Coaching and all this stuff.
[00:23:54] Speaker C: I've made some great friends where our families are friends, we go on vacation together, and then just even the local.
[00:24:01] Speaker E: Rias, I made great friends.
[00:24:03] Speaker C: Business relationships, people we do deals with.
[00:24:07] Speaker E: One of the best things about friends.
[00:24:09] Speaker C: Is when you can make money with.
[00:24:10] Speaker E: Your friends, that's awesome.
[00:24:11] Speaker C: So when you can make a lot of money with your friends, that's a good friend to have. And I'm always looking to grow my network with those mastermind groups. And I think that's, like, the best.
[00:24:21] Speaker E: Place that I've been to experience other.
[00:24:26] Speaker C: People who are like minded and who.
[00:24:28] Speaker E: Want to talk business like you and.
[00:24:32] Speaker C: Are just on the same wavelength. So I always will be a part of masterminds, and I think from now.
[00:24:37] Speaker E: Until the rest of my life, yeah.
[00:24:39] Speaker B: I've always heard the old saying that if you look around and you're the.
[00:24:41] Speaker D: Smartest person in your group of friends, you need a new group of friends.
Do you find that as you move.
[00:24:51] Speaker B: Up through the levels that you're exposed.
[00:24:54] Speaker D: To different levels of people?
[00:24:57] Speaker E: For sure, yeah. And that's why I like different groups.
[00:25:00] Speaker C: So different mastermind groups, and I continue.
[00:25:02] Speaker E: To go to higher and higher level ones.
[00:25:06] Speaker C: And the good thing about some of.
[00:25:07] Speaker E: These groups is there have been times where I'm like, oh, I'm crushing in this group.
[00:25:12] Speaker C: I'm one of the top dogs.
[00:25:13] Speaker E: And then they just bring in, they.
[00:25:16] Speaker C: Host an event, and they bring in 20 new people, and these guys are like, own a half a billion dollars in commercial real estate or this or.
[00:25:22] Speaker E: That, and I'm like, wow, and it's awesome because it makes me see, like, oh, that's possible.
[00:25:32] Speaker D: They did it.
[00:25:33] Speaker E: It's 100% possible for me to do this, too.
[00:25:36] Speaker C: And so it just opens your eyes to what is available and what opportunities are out there. If you really dial in, you focus and everybody's willing to share their journey, how they got there, what really helps them. And so when you're around other people like that who all want each other to win, it's very powerful.
[00:25:56] Speaker E: And I think it's pivotal for anybody.
[00:26:00] Speaker C: To be in a coaching group, a mastermind, and it definitely will help you skip some steps, avoid some losses and.
[00:26:08] Speaker E: Get you where you want to go faster.
[00:26:11] Speaker B: Well, what gets you out of bed every day?
[00:26:14] Speaker D: What's your passion, your mission that gets.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: You up every day?
[00:26:19] Speaker D: Because it's hard to keep an excitement.
[00:26:22] Speaker B: A level as we move forward.
[00:26:24] Speaker D: What gets you out of bed?
[00:26:26] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm very competitive, so I like.
[00:26:28] Speaker E: To be the top person in the room. And so being around those other people.
[00:26:33] Speaker C: It definitely pushes you to do more. But obviously, my family, my kids, my wife, all drivers for me, my whys of what I want to do.
[00:26:43] Speaker E: I also love investing in other people and what they're good at. I have a multitude of many businesses.
[00:26:53] Speaker C: But I'm not like the driver in them. So I have Airbnbs and I'm partnered.
[00:26:57] Speaker E: With guys who are like, that's their thing.
[00:26:59] Speaker C: And so we partnered together.
[00:27:00] Speaker E: We're growing Airbnb businesses, but that's their thing.
[00:27:03] Speaker C: And I see that in them and I saw like, oh, this guy knows his stuff, so I'm willing to partner.
[00:27:08] Speaker E: With him and grow with him.
[00:27:09] Speaker C: And so I'm doing that in different businesses, different avenues.
[00:27:13] Speaker E: And I like seeing other people win, too.
[00:27:18] Speaker C: So just helping other people grow. We have our own little coaching group also. So just helping other people grow and.
[00:27:25] Speaker E: Then just really pushing everybody else to.
[00:27:28] Speaker C: Try to be their best and providing for my family.
[00:27:32] Speaker D: Wonderful.
[00:27:33] Speaker B: What is your goal? I mean, does your goal change? Or is it like, hey, once I reach this, I'm done. I stop and retire?
[00:27:39] Speaker C: Yeah, I don't think I'll ever stop and retire, but definitely the goal changes every often yearly. My end goal really would be to continue to. This year, we're looking to buy $50 million in real estate, mostly commercial, that will be. And through that process, we currently have a $50 million portfolio. We've raised capital to do that with private investors. And so as we continue to raise capital for private investors and grow potentially down the line, have a real estate.
[00:28:09] Speaker E: Fund and probably multiple real estate funds.
[00:28:12] Speaker C: My end goal would actually just be a lender and identify those other operators who are really good and have this fund that really lends to other investors.
[00:28:22] Speaker E: We underwrite the opportunities and deals and.
[00:28:26] Speaker C: Invest in other people's opportunities.
[00:28:28] Speaker E: And investors are ones who make the money. The lenders are the people who really win.
[00:28:35] Speaker C: And so when you can get to a point where you're just lending capital.
[00:28:38] Speaker E: That is who wins.
[00:28:40] Speaker C: And so you look downtown, at any major city, all the names on the.
[00:28:45] Speaker E: Buildings are all banks, because they're the.
[00:28:47] Speaker C: Ones who make the money. When you can essentially be the bank.
[00:28:49] Speaker E: And lend out capital, that is where you can really make great income, and.
[00:28:56] Speaker C: It'S the most passive it can be. And so that would be my end goal in the future, is to really.
[00:29:03] Speaker E: Lend capital to other investors.
[00:29:06] Speaker B: Okay, well, sounds like you're on the path to it.
What's something that you did differently than your peers one, three, five, or even ten years ago that you got pushback on, maybe from friends, family, others who.
[00:29:20] Speaker D: Said, this is silly, but it worked for you in the long run.
[00:29:26] Speaker C: I still have some people who are in the business but don't do the things I do, which is like, go to masterminds and events.
[00:29:33] Speaker E: I spend $100,000 a year on different.
[00:29:37] Speaker C: Groups and masterminds, and I'm in several of them, and some of them overlap and I can't go to all of them.
[00:29:45] Speaker E: But people are like, oh, why you're.
[00:29:46] Speaker C: Always at these events? It's because it does open your mind, it opens your network, and to see what's possible and what can be done.
[00:29:53] Speaker E: And those have been game changers for.
[00:29:55] Speaker C: Me, and I've been doing that consistently for many years.
I've gotten away from it and my.
[00:30:02] Speaker E: Early part of my life and my career, but I know now that is the pivotal change. Being in those rooms consistently is really.
[00:30:15] Speaker C: What is the driver for us to really see what knobs we have to.
[00:30:19] Speaker E: Turn or what things that a lot of times it's like things you forget. I was like, oh, I meant to do that last quarter and I didn't even implement it because there's so many things to do.
[00:30:30] Speaker C: So sometimes it's just a reminder.
[00:30:32] Speaker E: But being around those people who push.
[00:30:35] Speaker C: You to keep you accountable, that is.
[00:30:38] Speaker E: A big thing that a lot of people don't do because it is an investment. Like, I'm spending one hundred k on education and to just have somebody coach.
[00:30:48] Speaker C: Me or be in the right rooms, and it's a lot, but I definitely budget for it. And I know it's something that I will have to do for the rest of my life. And a lot of people I don't.
[00:30:57] Speaker E: Think are willing to do it or they don't believe.
[00:31:01] Speaker C: I don't know. I've recommended people to join mastermind groups.
[00:31:04] Speaker E: I'm in and they just don't show.
[00:31:06] Speaker C: Up or don't take the little free invite.
[00:31:08] Speaker E: But it is a game changer and.
[00:31:10] Speaker C: If you can get in those rooms.
[00:31:11] Speaker E: I think it will explode your business.
[00:31:14] Speaker D: That's funny.
[00:31:15] Speaker B: I've had that same pushback many times, that it's like you spend so much on coaching programs, you're a lawyer. Why are you spending so much? Just get in there and work. If you just get in there and work, you'll be fine.
[00:31:27] Speaker D: I'm like, no, it's not enough anymore.
[00:31:31] Speaker B: You got to surround yourself with other people. You got to have coaches. You got to have people to play that bigger game or you are sitting.
[00:31:39] Speaker D: There just sort of in your own little world.
[00:31:42] Speaker B: And it goes back to a growth mindset for me, too.
[00:31:44] Speaker D: If you've reading books and going to.
[00:31:46] Speaker B: Masterminds and getting to know other people and getting coaching, you've got to have.
[00:31:52] Speaker D: That growth mindset that you want to.
[00:31:55] Speaker B: Learn more and that you don't know everything. I think that's another thing a lot of people think. I've been doing this 25, 30 years.
[00:32:03] Speaker D: I know it.
[00:32:04] Speaker B: There's nothing else you can teach me.
[00:32:07] Speaker D: And I agree with you, too. It's a lot of times it's just reminding you what you do know.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: Yeah, you just forgot about know you forgot. Oh, yeah. That's a, that's a good little thing.
[00:32:17] Speaker E: A little tweak.
[00:32:18] Speaker C: Like, know Kobe Bryant had coaches. LeBron, Michael Jordan, Tiger woods. All those people have coaches and they're like the elite. They're the best in the business and.
[00:32:28] Speaker E: They have coaches and they get training consistently. So it just makes sense and would.
[00:32:33] Speaker C: Make sense for anybody in their field.
[00:32:35] Speaker E: To get educated no matter what it is.
[00:32:38] Speaker D: That was very stute right there.
[00:32:40] Speaker B: Even the best have coaches.
[00:32:43] Speaker D: What can beginners in the real estate.
[00:32:47] Speaker B: Entrepreneur, what can they expect to struggle with when they start out? And then along the way, what's going.
[00:32:52] Speaker D: To get in their way, you think?
[00:32:54] Speaker E: I think what a lot of people aren't, I'd say maybe mentally prepared for is all the no's.
You're going to get a lot of no's.
[00:33:04] Speaker C: It's going to be all no's. You have to get so many no's to get to that yes. And if you don't have a strong mindset or if you're not aware that.
[00:33:12] Speaker E: It just doesn't come so easy. We're literally looking for the needles in the haystack.
[00:33:17] Speaker C: You're looking for that one problem person.
[00:33:19] Speaker E: Who needs a cash sale and needs.
[00:33:21] Speaker C: To move quickly, and it's not everybody. And so you're going to get a.
[00:33:25] Speaker E: Ton of no's, but it's kind of like baseball. Like, you hit a 303 out of ten, you get on the base, you're an all star, and that's all you really need. So you got to be mentally prepared.
[00:33:40] Speaker C: For the nose because you send out a direct mail campaign and people are.
[00:33:43] Speaker E: Cursing you on the phone because you sent them a piece of mail. And it's like if that stuff gets to you, you have to get a thicker skin to let it not get to you.
[00:33:56] Speaker C: And be aware that people are going.
[00:33:57] Speaker E: To think you're a scammer or this.
[00:33:59] Speaker C: Or that or to stop calling you.
[00:34:02] Speaker E: But a lot of people are actually the people who need the help, but.
[00:34:05] Speaker C: They'Re angry and they got things going on in their lives and eventually they.
[00:34:10] Speaker E: Will come around and sell you their.
[00:34:14] Speaker C: Home or open up to you. And so it's a grind for sure, but you have to be mentally prepared.
[00:34:21] Speaker E: For how many no's you're going to get to get.
[00:34:26] Speaker C: And for me, in the timeshare thing.
[00:34:28] Speaker E: I used to literally tell people when they would say, hey, we don't even travel.
[00:34:32] Speaker C: It's not going to be for us. I'd say, it's no problem.
[00:34:36] Speaker E: You telling me no gets me the.
[00:34:37] Speaker C: Next person who's going to say yes.
[00:34:38] Speaker D: So.
[00:34:38] Speaker C: And I really tell it in the face. I'm like, it's not a big deal. Just enjoy the presentation. You get your free gift at the end.
[00:34:43] Speaker E: If you like it, you like it.
[00:34:43] Speaker C: If not, no big deal.
[00:34:46] Speaker E: And that's the takeaway. But essentially every person you get to.
[00:34:50] Speaker C: That says a no, you should track your no's and make it like a game. How many no's do I need to get to a yes. But I don't think a lot of people are mentally prepared. I think people give up too easy. They don't take enough action.
So I think the mindset, you should really work on your mindset in the beginning.
[00:35:06] Speaker E: I feel like it's very pivotal.
[00:35:08] Speaker B: Well, going back to your timeshare sales, that's the thing. I think you get used to a lot of no's. And, you know, hey, this is not the last no. I'll ever get, and I've got to get back up and keep going. It teaches you resilience, teaches you how to get out of that zone of disappointment and go, it'll get better. We'll get through it.
[00:35:26] Speaker D: And I can't.
[00:35:29] Speaker B: Big, big lesson learned there, I think. Roger Kiyosaki, when he wrote rich dad.
[00:35:34] Speaker D: Poor dad, he had gotten a job.
[00:35:37] Speaker B: As a door to door salesman for.
[00:35:39] Speaker D: Xerox, was his first job, and he.
[00:35:41] Speaker B: Said that taught him the same get. You get a lot of no's, but you learn to get back up and keep on going.
[00:35:46] Speaker C: Yep, exactly.
[00:35:47] Speaker D: Good training.
[00:35:50] Speaker B: What's something that you believed five years.
[00:35:52] Speaker D: Ago that you had to completely unlearn to take the next step?
[00:35:57] Speaker E: I'd probably say to not be so.
[00:36:02] Speaker C: Overly controlling on every aspect of the business, like knowing everything that's going on in every aspect of the business, being.
[00:36:08] Speaker E: Able to hire people who can take care of it, and knowing that because.
[00:36:12] Speaker C: We train them the right way, because.
[00:36:13] Speaker E: We put these sops in place, that the job is getting done and not oversee everything.
[00:36:19] Speaker C: And so I think that hindered some growth in the beginning of not hiring the right people and putting them in.
[00:36:25] Speaker E: The right seats and knowing that could get done.
[00:36:30] Speaker C: And so one book that really has been pivotal now is like the who.
[00:36:34] Speaker E: Not how of putting the right people.
[00:36:37] Speaker C: And finding the right people who can get this stuff done. And it doesn't have to be all on me to do everything. And so I think that is one thing for sure. I had unlearned that I didn't have.
[00:36:48] Speaker E: To do everything myself. It doesn't have to be all me.
[00:36:52] Speaker C: And the faster you can build a.
[00:36:54] Speaker E: Team and you can grow. And so that's really what we're really.
[00:37:00] Speaker C: Pushing forward now is like hiring better team members, attracting a players so that we continue to grow our self storage.
[00:37:08] Speaker E: Business and all our businesses.
[00:37:12] Speaker B: I think that's one of the things you learn, too, as a business owner entrepreneur, as you move along the who, not how. Absolutely.
[00:37:20] Speaker D: I've read that book and it changed.
[00:37:23] Speaker B: A lot of the way I look at things, too. But you learn that, hey, a big.
[00:37:27] Speaker D: Part of my job at the top as the visionary is to attract really good talent.
[00:37:33] Speaker B: It's not so much to be in the daily grind anymore. It's how can I build this business.
[00:37:38] Speaker D: In a way that people are going.
[00:37:41] Speaker B: To want to come here and be winners, too, and have a great place to work and a great place to.
[00:37:47] Speaker D: Be, but also feel that they're getting.
[00:37:50] Speaker B: Coaching and mentoring and leadership, too. That's going to bring them up through the ranks to turn them into mentors and leaders in the future.
[00:37:58] Speaker D: And that's a big thing.
[00:38:00] Speaker B: I think every entrepreneur, as you move.
[00:38:03] Speaker D: Through the journey, you eventually pick it up and start doing it. Sure.
[00:38:09] Speaker B: What's something you didn't pay enough attention to early on and had to learn the hard way?
[00:38:16] Speaker C: I would say probably KPIs like, key performance indicators in your business.
[00:38:23] Speaker E: We for a while just spend money. We're making money not tracking anything.
We're getting deals, we're closing deals.
[00:38:35] Speaker C: We should be doing good.
[00:38:37] Speaker E: We're doing good. Yeah.
[00:38:37] Speaker C: Spend more money on marketing and we're not really knowing our conversion rates, the cost per deal, how many leads for a deal for each marketing channel.
[00:38:48] Speaker D: Really.
[00:38:48] Speaker C: Looking at my occupancy rates for our rental portfolios or delinquency rates, things like that.
[00:38:53] Speaker E: So really, like dialing in your KPIs.
[00:38:56] Speaker C: And knowing what to track and that tells you what levers the pool of.
[00:39:00] Speaker E: Like, hey, okay, well, PPC marketing is really working well.
[00:39:03] Speaker C: Let's pour money on that marketing channel instead of just spreading it out evenly.
[00:39:08] Speaker E: And so really that was like from.
[00:39:11] Speaker C: The first mastermind I did join several.
[00:39:14] Speaker E: Years ago was they were like, oh, you have to report your KPIs every quarter. And I'm like, what KPIs should I be reporting?
[00:39:24] Speaker C: Should I be tracking and not even really knowing that?
[00:39:27] Speaker E: And we were doing millions of dollars in business. And it's crazy when you actually get.
[00:39:33] Speaker C: In those rooms that there are people.
[00:39:34] Speaker E: Like that who are $10 million businesses.
[00:39:36] Speaker C: And don't track KPIs. And so you can only run and gun so long.
[00:39:40] Speaker E: And so that is one thing for sure, that knowing your numbers and your.
[00:39:45] Speaker C: KPIs is pivotal for your business. And it really will help you grow and know what to focus on and where you're lacking, where you're strong.
[00:39:53] Speaker E: And that is one thing for sure, that now we have weekly meetings with our teams here.
[00:40:00] Speaker C: In an hour, we'll be having that meeting with our team about going over.
[00:40:02] Speaker E: The KPIs for each department on the team lead, reporting on their KPIs for each department. So it is definitely important but definitely didn't have that going on in the beginning when I started.
[00:40:16] Speaker B: Did you find that adding the KPIs and tracking those that helped you actually let go of the range, let go.
[00:40:22] Speaker D: Of that control a lot easier?
[00:40:25] Speaker C: For sure. It definitely allows us to having team leads now who they're reporting that because they're the ones that are responsible for those.
[00:40:33] Speaker E: And even just recently, last year I was pulling KPIs for each team lead.
[00:40:40] Speaker C: Now the team leads are in the.
[00:40:41] Speaker E: Meetings, and it's a C suite level.
[00:40:46] Speaker C: Kind of like meeting instead of just the owners. And so that allows us to let.
[00:40:52] Speaker E: Go and let them be in charge. And they know what the KPIs they.
[00:40:58] Speaker C: Have to report on. They're responsible for them. And so that is definitely more the.
[00:41:03] Speaker E: Way we want to have them step up and be leaders and grow the companies.
[00:41:10] Speaker B: Wonderful. Yeah, it sounds like you really added a whole structure. You've gotten your KPIs in place, you got your standard operating procedures in place, everything's documented, simplified, followed by all. I mean, you really have done a lot of work from when I first started working with you years ago, when you were fresh into this.
Coming up on the end here. Our firm's mission is to help people aspire to a better life, whether it's.
[00:41:39] Speaker D: Our crew members or our employees, or.
[00:41:42] Speaker B: Even our vendors, friends, family, who is.
[00:41:47] Speaker D: Someone who's helped you aspire to a better life, and how did they do it?
[00:41:53] Speaker E: I'll give two people, I think Claudia is the one. First guy I connected with on an education side of the business, and then.
[00:42:06] Speaker C: Now I'm in his mastermind.
[00:42:08] Speaker E: I'm in four or five masterminds. I do like his the best. It is more family oriented, and I've had great relationships and friends out of that event group.
[00:42:18] Speaker C: And so he has pushed me to be more, to maximize my business, see the potential in what we're doing, and.
[00:42:23] Speaker E: Really help us grow and telling us.
[00:42:28] Speaker C: In our business, like, hey, you guys are killers, but you're not doing these things right and keeping us accountable.
And then from that group, one of my good friends, will silva.
[00:42:39] Speaker E: I see the way he is with.
[00:42:41] Speaker C: His business, his wife, his kids, and he's an all around great guy there.
[00:42:48] Speaker E: And it has helped me aspire to.
[00:42:51] Speaker C: Do more and be more and be a better man, a person, husband, father.
[00:42:58] Speaker E: So those two guys, for sure, are pivotal in helping me continue to grow and push forward.
[00:43:06] Speaker D: Wonderful.
[00:43:07] Speaker B: Well, I want to thank you again for coming on today and sharing all this with us. I know it's hard to take time out to do these things, so it really means a lot, not just for me, but for everybody who can hear your journey today. And I just want to thank you again so much for coming on. And if there's anything we can ever do for you, just let me know. I'm always happy to work with you.
[00:43:35] Speaker D: You're great guy, great business.
[00:43:39] Speaker B: Love working with you guys. And if there's anything ever you need.
[00:43:42] Speaker D: You just let me know.
[00:43:44] Speaker C: I appreciate that. I appreciate your time. Appreciate you having me on.
[00:43:46] Speaker E: And give me a platform. Appreciate it.
[00:43:48] Speaker D: Thanks so much.
[00:43:51] Speaker A: Thanks for listening to this edition of trust this if you got something out of it, please press like and subscribe and give us a five star review to help us reach others who can benefit from this series. Until next time, keep aspiring to a better life. Bye.
