If you’re a regular listener, you know we’ve had Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, Steve Forbes, Herman Cain, Ken McElroy, Peter Schiff and a whole gaggle of famous investors and businesspeople on the show.
What can we say? We’re awesome (and humble).
But if you’re an everyday guy or gal out there getting started in real estate investing – or maybe even have a few properties in your portfolio – maybe you don’t quite relate to these big time people. After all, Trump and Forbes were both born into money. Sure, they did a great job growing it, but it helps to start from a base of several million dollars (not to take ANYTHING away from their amazing accomplishments).
Then there’s guys like Ken McElroy and Peter Schiff, who are self-made multi-multimillionaires, which is perhaps awesome…er. At least we can relate to starting out with nothing, but still…when you’re talking to guys at that level about what they’re up to today, your eyes roll a little bit.
So, to make it a whole lot more real in today’s market, we round up three real life, every day, doing-the-thing-right-now investors, and get put there nervous selves in behind The Real Estate Guys™ magical microphones and ask them to talk candidly about what they’re doing right now to build their real estate empires.
Lending their voices to the collective wisdom of the radio airwaves:
- Your bigger than life host, Robert Helms
- Your older than earth co-host, the Godfather of real estate, Bob Helms
- Real life investor #1, from Los Angeles, “Action” Andrew Lanoie
- Real life investor #2, from Silicon Valley, John “Just Do It” Kubel
- Real life investor #3 (and professional property manager), from Arlington, Texas, Jay “Make It Happen” Hartley
You’ve probably heard the saying, “If it was easy, then everybody would do it.” In the real world, most people only dream and hope. A few actually make plans. Then, there’s the very elite group of people who actually go out an take massive action.
Guess who has the best chance of success? Of course, the folks that go for it.
But it isn’t always pretty and there are no guarantees. That’s why being achievement is so special.
As we learn from contestant number 1, it’s possible to go from education to effective action pretty fast! In less than two years, Andrew has acquired several single family properties in three diverse markets.
So what’s Andrew’s secret to success?
First, he started with education. And he understands that education isn’t just in the classroom, but also in the real world application. This is important because many people think they need to know everything before they move forward. The reality is that what you need to know is enough to get in the game without getting killed.
Second, he developed a model and stayed focused. We like to say “Get rich in a niche”. The point is to find something that works and keeping working and perfecting it.
Third, he leverages partnerships to expand his model beyond his own resources with a focus on win-win deals.
Okay, so the secrets aren’t so “secret”. They’re really common sense. The big difference? Andrew is actually DOING IT. And of course, along the way he’s learned a lot. Best of all, he’s happy to share it and we’re sure you’re going to enjoy his pearls of wisdom.
And now, on to contestant #2, John Kubel.
John’s a Silicon Valley guy so you know he’s smart. But as we’ve discussed, there are lots of smart people who don’t do anything. What’s great about John is he’s really doing the thing.
Like Andrew, John started with education first. And like Andrew, he realizes that while education might start in the classroom, it’s perfected in the real world.
Today, in just a few years, he already owns properties in four states and two countries!
And, like Andrew (are you detecting a theme?), John is getting it done by leveraging the power of a team. This is especially true when you’re holding down a day job.
However, after getting to know both John and Andrew, there are some differences.
Andrew is a very outgoing, social guy. John is a typical Silicon Valley data-driven guy. Neither is better or worse than the other, they’re simply different.
So John talks a little about how important getting moving is to converting education into results. So it is possible to be analytical and action oriented!
And now to contestant #3, Jay Hartley…
If you’re a long-time regular listener to The Real Estate Guys™ radio show, then you probably recognize Jay. He’s been on the show a couple of times in his capacity as a property manager in the Dallas / Fort Worth market.
But today, we’re focusing on Jay as an investor. Remember, Ken McElroy started out as a humble property manager. Then, employing the same essential strategies as our three guests today, went on to build a very successful portfolio of properties and businesses. So we viewed talking with Jay as a chance to go back in time to talk to a modern day Ken McElroy before he was a big time real estate guy.
Jay was born into a real estate family. But it was when we was a renter and he realized he was paying more than enough every month to be the owner, so he took the leap. And so his roller coaster ride as a real estate investor began.
Like many investors, Jay has made his share of mistakes. And he wisely recognizes that these are where some of the best lessons are.
Of course, as a professional property manager, he’s also able to learn vicariously through the mistakes of others. And he’s able to use this collective knowledge not just for his own benefit, but also for the benefit of his clients.
So listen in to these three real life investors and glean important lessons you can put into action to advance your own real estate investing dreams!
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