7/25/10: Entrepreneurs in the New Economy – Getting Paid to Solve Problems
Do you remember the old “new” economy? That was the one where technology companies could go public without profit. In some cases, they didn’t even need revenue. Ahhhh, those were the days.
The new “new” economy (the Great Recession one) hasn’t been nearly as fun – unless you’re an old school entrepreneur. That’s the kind who looks at problems as opportunities. Guys (and gals) like that are having a lot of fun right now because there are opportunities galore coming out of the Great Recession.
The Real Estate Guys™ headed off to Freedom Fest in Las Vegas a few weeks back. We heard that money manager / economist / author / Senate candidate Peter Schiff would be there (among many other people with very strong opinions about the U.S. economy) and we wanted to do some interviews. We’re happy to report we got lots of great stuff, including Mr. Schiff and the CEO of Forbes Magazine, Steve Forbes. Watch for those interviews in future broadcasts.
So we fly into Las Vegas in our private jet (the one operated by Southwest Airlines), and get to the convention venue and start setting up our booth. Before the event had even started, a man stops by and sees our banner for Belize (we were promoting our upcoming field trip to Belize) and asks a few questions. The short of it is that we find out he’s working on a very exciting project in the Caribbean – one that solves a problem we’ve been trying to figure out too. Russ gets so excited that he hugs the guy. Very weird.
After the appropriate apologies and some follow up male bonding, our new friend agrees to do a radio interview. And that’s what this broadcast is all about.
Manning the microphones for this edition of The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show:
- Your host, the Larry King of real estate radio, Robert Helms
- Co-host, our “I love you, man” booth babe, Russell Gray
- Special Guest, Investment Banker, Entrepreneur and assault victim, Jeff Villwock
Any time we get around smart people, we jump on the opportunity to talk with them. In this case, Russ literally jumped on Jeff. When Jeff recovered, we got him on the mic, so you can listen to what he’s doing, where he’s doing it and why. There’s lots of lessons to be gleaned!
Freedom Fest is an event that attracts people with strong political opinions. In many of the interviews we did there, those opinions come out. Great! We think the world works better when people respectfully debate important issues. Sharing ideas is among the most sacred of our freedoms, especially if you’re radio guys.
We also realize that the U.S. (the bulk of our audience) is pretty polarized right now. Now, we love our entire audience and our show isn’t political. However, policies affect economics and economics affects real estate. There shouldn’t be a serious student of real estate who can look at the last several years and deny that. So politics are going to get into the discourse from time to time, which is a very good thing.
We think these Freedom Fest interviews are great. If you disagree with the political views of our guests, don’t let that get in the way of hearing what’s being said. Here’s why: a big part of real estate investing is understanding demographics and human nature. How people think and believe affects where they (and their money) will be moving. Even if you disagree with them, if they believe it, it will affect their actions. So YOU need to understand them (even if you disagree) if you want to anticipate their behavior.
Did we mention that Jeff’s project is in St. Kitts? It just so happens that St. Kitts is one of the stops on our upcoming 9th Annual Summit at Sea! So we ask Jeff if we can visit his project as part of our already planned real estate shore excursion in St. Kitts. Not only does Jeff agree to allow us to visit, he says he’ll meet us there and show us around. Awesome!
Once again, we’re reminded of the importance of getting out of our cubicles and into the world where real people are. No doubt that virtual networking is powerful, but just as phones did not replace face to face meetings, neither will social media replace conventions as a great place to make important connections. This is one of the reasons we attend trade shows and promote our field trips and the Summit at Sea™. It’s a great way to get to know great people in the real world. We hope to see YOU at one very soon!
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5/2/10: The State of the Fractional Interest Real Estate Market with Dr. Dick Ragatz
Unless you’ve been living off planet, you know that the real estate world has changed dramatically in the last few years. Why? Because financing as we came to know and love it has all but disappeared. But does that mean people have stopped wanting to buy real estate? Of course not!
The idea of fractional (not “fractured”, though many underwater property owners may feel that way) ownership isn’t new. It’s a proven structure which is often used to allow people the opportunity to enjoy the use and ownership of resort properties. But it’s also a great technique for building a diverse portfolio of investment property. And of course, you can combine resort property and your investment goals in what we call Lifestyle Investing. That’s one of our FAVORITE ways to invest!
We think market conditions are ripe for more people to consider fractional structures. So we decided it would be a good idea to talk to one of the biggest brains on the subject, Dr. Dick Ragatz. Anytime you call someone “doctor”, you know they’re pretty smart.
Dr. Ragatz has a Master’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell. He taught Housing Market Analysis at Cornell and also at the University of Oregon. He’s been an active participant and leader in many industry trade groups including the American Society of Planning Officials, the American Institute of Planner, the American Institute of Certified Planners, and our personal favorite, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA). He won awards for outstanding contributions from ARDA in 1989, 1995 and 2006.
We could go on and on, but you get the point. He’s a really smart and accomplished guy, the kind you would want to sit down and talk real estate with. So, since you couldn’t do that yourself, we did it for you!
Check out this very informative interview with this highly intelligent industry leader. Get the inside scoop on what’s happening in one of the most interesting segments of the ever-changing real estate industry, courtesy of The Real Estate Guys Radio Show! You’re welcome. 
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4/25/10: LIVE! from the 8th Annual Investor Summit at Sea
Most of the time when we do a show, our producer keeps us locked up in the cold, lonely studio with our headphones on. And even though we have each other, we have to use our imaginations to see our listeners. But this week, we get to do the show in front of a LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE! Better yet, we’re aboard a cruise ship sailing through the Caribbean! Best of all, we’re hanging out with some the brightest, most committed real estate investors on the planet. Toss in our SPECIAL GUESTS and the whole experience is over the top awesome!
On board and behind (and in front) of the microphones on the beautiful Carnival Triumph for this week’s show:
• Your Captain and a mighty sailing man, host Robert “Skipper” Helms
• Your brave and sure first mate, co-host Russell “Gilligan” Gray
• The Godfather of Real Estate, Bob Helms
• Rich Dad’s Asset Protection Advisor, Garrett Sutton
• Rich Dad’s Real Estate Advisor, Ken McElroy
• Rich Dad’s Creative Finance Advisor, Wayne Palmer
• International Real Estate Developer, Beth Clifford
• International Entity Planner, Attorney Mauricio Rauld
• Special guest from Puglia’s restaurant in Little Italy, New York; featured entertainer in Adam Sandler’s Big Daddy, the one and only Jorge Buccio
• Fine passengers that sailed that day, a cast of thousands (okay, maybe a few dozen), our live Summit at Sea audience!
As we’re stuffing the faculty and studio audience into the Big Easy Piano Bar for this live taping, we quickly that discover fitting everyone in (physically into the room, but also getting their comments into a one hour broadcast) is anything but easy! However, the Skipper quickly takes control and before we know it, we’re off and running.
After some brief opening remarks, the Skipper asks each of the Summit Faculty to share their insights and reflections on the remarkable week we’ve all had together. For the Rich Dad Advisors, this was their first (but hopefully not last!) Summit with The Real Estate Guys™. They’ve all heard Robert Kiyosaki call us wild and crazy, but now they had a chance to observe it first hand. Of course, none of that stuff makes it into the show because Summit Rule #1 is “what happens at sea stays at sea”. Sorry! Join us next year and then you can be a Summit Insider too!
For today’s show, each Faculty Member shares some of the highlights from their Summit presentations.
Ken McElroy taught on how he approaches real estate in today’s economy. This is a guys who has over 10,000 doors under his control and is actively acquiring more…in spite of the “bad” real estate market.
Garrett Sutton spoke on state-of-the-art asset protection structures for real estate investors. He also did a class on how to properly structure deals using investors and partners. Many well meaning people end up in trouble when they raise money to buy real estate – simply because they don’t know what they don’t know. Considering that syndicating is arguably the fastest path to big deals and big bucks, a small investment in knowing how to do it right is time and money well spent!
Wayne Palmer comments about his extensive series of classes on the creative use of private notes. Wayne uses notes for putting together real estate deals which might not otherwise happen. He also uses them to create equity and cash flow from next to nothing! It seems like magic, but during the Summit he revealed some of his trade secrets. Also, he shared the guidelines he follows to mitigate risk and optimize return. His classes were among the most demanding, but also the most popular. Powerful and practical principles for profiting from paper (say that fast 10 times).
Beth Clifford wowed the group with her amazing presentation on the how and why of going offshore with some of your investments and business ventures. Hers was one of the most popular topics at the Summit, even with the faculty! Wayne Palmer said Beth’s presentation stretched his brain and was his favorite of the Summit. Now THAT’S saying something!
Mauricio Rauld expanded on the concept of international investment and business structures – and how to avoid the dangerous schemes which land so many novices in trouble. There are many valid, legal and ethical structures which can be used to better protect assets, protect privacy and mitigate taxes.
There’s a lot more that happened on the Summit which just can’t fit into the radio show – even in a summary – including the Apartment Investors Panel, the Ask the Attorneys Panel and the Investor Roundtables. Plus the fun in the sun real estate shore excursion in Belize, the more fun in the sun beach party in Cozumel and all the private shipboard parties. Alumni will never look at a napkin the same way again!
Going into the Summit, we weren’t sure what the Rich Dad Advisors would think by the end of the week. After all, they get to hang out with Robert Kiyosaki and talk in front of crowds of thousands! But when it was all said and done, they had a great time. Don’t take our word for it. Listen to the show and you can hear it for yourself!
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To get in on the EARLY BIRD deals for the 2011 Investor Summit at Sea, use the Feedback page to send us your request. You’ll be given an opportunity to sign up at the lowest public price. And after listening to this show, why wouldn’t you want to be with us on the 9th Annual Summit at Sea?
