1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,740 Welcome to the Thrivewell Journey. We're a new podcast dedicated to empowering 2 00:00:04,740 --> 00:00:10,080 entrepreneurs to uncover and embrace their purpose here on earth. As multi 3 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:14,960 faceted human beings, we strive to navigate our financial, mental, physical, 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:20,400 and spiritual well-being. And that's what this podcast is all about. We're here to 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,960 inspire, uplift, and equip you with the tools to thrive on your journey to 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,800 greatness. All we ask in return is your support. One, subscribe to our YouTube 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:34,960 channel or to download the podcast from your favorite platform. Your engagement, 8 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:39,480 it helps us grow and attract incredible guests who will enrich your life with 9 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:44,960 valuable insights and wisdom. Now in turn, we promise to keep bringing you 10 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:50,280 content that enlivens, edifies, and elevates your journey, not just as an 11 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,680 entrepreneur, but as a human being. And with that, I want to thank you for being 12 00:00:54,680 --> 00:01:01,400 a part of the Thravo journey. How did the Airbnb really change your life? Airbnb 13 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:10,000 is money. Okay. It's easy money. Period. Like it's not the most, it may not be the 14 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,400 most honorable or valiant thing to say, but yo, straight up, like if you're a 15 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,960 person who works a full-time job or you have a bunch of things you're 16 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:20,000 responsible for and you just need to increase your capital and not have to 17 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,400 work a ton of hours, like Airbnb is, that was it because that's where I was. I 18 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:28,840 was working a full-time job. I had a part-time gig. You're like teaching poetry 19 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:33,280 to youth at like one of the Boys and Girls Clubs. I occasionally worked at a 20 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,840 restaurant like, look, I had student loans, I had all that. At one point I had like 21 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,960 three or four different jobs at the same time. I was like, yeah. I was like, this is 22 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:46,280 not sustainable. How do I get out of this? Airbnb, man, if you, if you calculated, I 23 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:51,320 remember calculating the hourly compared to like my full-time job and the hourly 24 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,480 was like four times resources, you know, if you don't have resources, like you need 25 00:01:55,480 --> 00:02:00,520 them. So the, I mean, the number one thing you want to do, a lot of people come 26 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,120 to me and they want to buy an investment property and they don't own a home of 27 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,800 their own yet and it just doesn't make sense. So, I was wanting to identify the 28 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:14,560 opportunity for what an Airbnb is or how do they first identify that opportunity. 29 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,880 But I think the bigger question that most people are usually curious about is, how 30 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:23,280 do I identify something that will be high performing? Because every Airbnb is not 31 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:28,000 high performing. There's a lot of out there and a lot of listings that are just 32 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:35,280 super mediocre and doing like very okay. You know, high performing. I create high 33 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:51,400 performance. 34 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:58,360 Welcome to another episode of the Thrive World Journey. Today, we have a good 35 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:06,240 friend of mine. We go back a couple years. And I'm so happy to have her on. 36 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:12,600 She's a dynamic individual human being woman and she'll have a lot to share 37 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:18,480 with us, I'm sure. And Tony Powell, welcome to the podcast. How are you? 38 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:24,400 Thank you. I'm amazing. How are you? I'm doing good and I'm glad that you are here. 39 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:32,640 I know you saw the podcast and he was like, yo, what's up, man? I love that. 40 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:40,520 I love that. Me and my producer, we were talking about you before we had actually 41 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:45,200 had that exchange. And so it was like perfect timing and it was great. 42 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:52,760 So, where are you in the world today? Today? Today I am in Lima, Peru. 43 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:59,240 Oh my gosh. This is home for the time being. This is home now for the time being. 44 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:07,600 Who is Tony Powell? Who am I? Well, I'm probably a lot of things. In the world of 45 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:12,720 like what I offer and provide to the world, I am a real estate investor, agent, 46 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:19,160 consultant and coach. And so I work with people. She helped them buy their first 47 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:24,680 home, their first investment property, Airbnb all or a portion of it and really 48 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,760 rapidly changed their life through increasing their income, sometimes double, 49 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:35,040 triple or quadruple depending on the strategy. To free people up. So essentially, 50 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:39,640 who am I? I guess I'm a person who really lives their best life and lives a 51 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,840 very free life and I'm here to create that for everybody else in the world. 52 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:51,120 And they get to do whatever they want. Yeah, I was when I first met you. 53 00:04:51,120 --> 00:05:04,120 I remember it well. I remember it well. Was it 22? 2022? I think perhaps. I was interviewing you. 54 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:09,200 And I had a blackout in my neighborhood so I had to relocate to a restaurant 55 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:18,480 that last minute. That's it. That was it. And my first impression was like, man, 56 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:26,080 this person is like, she's so cool. She's boss. She's living or is it Dominican 57 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:32,560 Republic or Puerto Rico? DR at that time. Yeah, yeah. Which was fun. Gorgeous. Yeah. 58 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:38,440 And so you had a blackout. You had to go to the restaurant and you're interviewing 59 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:44,800 me for a program that we did together. And through that program is how I got to know you well. 60 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:50,720 For sure. Yeah. And I got to know you as a dynamic and powerful human being. 61 00:05:50,720 --> 00:06:00,800 Thank you. I received that. Thank you. Yes. Yes. What was your journey like from, 62 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:06,760 before real estate to get to real estate and Airbnb? What was that journey like? 63 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:16,360 Wow. Interesting, unique and surprising. So I have a bachelor's and a master's degree in 64 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:21,720 sociology and I like, for most of my childhood and early adult, I thought I was going to become 65 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:29,920 a professor until I got to grad school and I realized I hate this. And so as part of my master's 66 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:35,600 thesis, I was like researching nonprofits because I really just had a yearning to be in the community 67 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:42,320 doing something. I got really tired of talking about social problems and not actually going out 68 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:48,680 and making a difference. That's why I hated it so much. So it was perfect. So doing my master's 69 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:54,800 research, I realized I really wanted to work for a community development organization because I was 70 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,880 reading about them and all over the country and just like the cool work they were doing, 71 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:03,720 the impact they were making on neighborhoods, communities, cities, on people's lives. And I 72 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:09,240 really wanted to work at that level. And so when I finished grad school and moved to Atlanta, 73 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:15,400 that's what happened. I got my first job at a nonprofit community development organization. 74 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:21,560 And I really wanted to do like outward organizing and they had a need in the homeownership center. 75 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:29,400 And so I took it because I needed a job. And initially I thought like this is super boring, 76 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:37,400 you know, zero interest in like homeownership. Didn't even really think twice about real estate. 77 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:43,520 But through the process, you know, I got trained, I was just initially a program assistant, but I had 78 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:47,800 a really great relationship with my director and everyone in the department, the people there were 79 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:54,480 amazing. So they trained me on all kinds of stuff. And I learned how to teach workshops to people on 80 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:59,240 how to buy their first home before I even owned a home myself. And I really got to learn the 81 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:05,200 home buying process very in depth. And through the process, bought my own home. Had a great mentor. 82 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:12,480 And within two years, that price of the home I bought doubled. And I was able to sell that for a 83 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:17,320 profit. And that completely was that was the beginning of like that changed my life. Because I 84 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:22,000 don't come from a family that has a boatload of money, you know, like no one had a down payment to 85 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:28,560 give me or anything. It was like, right, we got you here off to college you go. You know, good luck, 86 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:36,840 call us if you need anything. I hear you. But you know, you're on your own. So I'd never seen that much 87 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:42,120 money in a bank account before ever. And it was like a really powerful moment for me to realize like, 88 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:48,560 what do I want to do with this? And what can I do with this? And that's kind of where the real estate 89 00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:56,000 investor in me came alive. And then after, you know, doing that and buying my to buying one property, 90 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:01,080 a second property, third property and growing a small portfolio, I realized like, I mean, I can do 91 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,400 this, like I've done it. And so that was like, 92 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,880 you learn all of that. I'm sorry, go ahead. 93 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:12,640 That was like nine years ago, when that started. So I've been at this for a hot minute, it'll be 10 94 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:13,400 years next year. 95 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:20,600 10 years. So you learned all of that with from the people that taught you before? 96 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:25,600 Not necessarily. I learned how to buy a home from an organization I worked with, right? Because I was 97 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:30,080 teaching people how to do it. I learned how to do it really affordably. And I got sent to like 98 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:34,640 national trainings. And I learned that this kind of opportunities are all over the US, which was 99 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:41,600 cool. I found a mentor while I was shopping for my home, who gave me advice on like, where to buy? 100 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,640 I didn't know that. I don't know that I would have bought where I did without his guidance, and 101 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:55,120 essentially made double my money if I didn't have his guidance, you know? And when I owned my first 102 00:09:55,120 --> 00:10:01,560 home, it was kind of like an accident. I was like, I was in a serious partnership with someone and I 103 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:06,520 planned, you know, we were going to share the bills and all of this. And then we broke up, like 104 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:12,080 shortly after I bought my house. So I was competing like, I had, I know, right? I was like, do I want 105 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:19,080 to get roommates? Or Airbnb was like brand new. You know, I had stayed in an Airbnb once in New 106 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:24,840 Orleans like the year before, but it was like super new. It wasn't in a lot of cities yet. And I was 107 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:31,000 like debating what I want to do. And you know, it's the little things like, I realized I didn't 108 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:40,880 want roommates, Mike, because I didn't want to share my fridge. I love to cook. My fridge is full 109 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:52,680 with stuff already. I don't want to share. So I decided to try Airbnb. And my first guest was my 110 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:59,200 worst guest. Still to this day. But it was fine. Like it was, it was lucky that there were still 111 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:04,160 other guests on the calendar. So I couldn't just cancel like right away, you know? Yeah. Yeah. But 112 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:09,400 then the other guests got better. And like, I ended up making friends. I still have friends to this 113 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:15,680 day who were guests in my first house when I was living on site with them. They still come and visit 114 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:21,440 me when they come to wherever I'm, where I'm, where I am, wherever I live at the time. That's kind 115 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:26,160 of how it started. And I took that one property and turned it into two. And then a couple years later, 116 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:33,760 turned into three. And I was like, Oh, I can do this. I can do this. Yeah. I'm not afraid, like of 117 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:38,920 anything. I'm not afraid to like mess something up or make a mistake. I think everything is fixable, 118 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:46,200 pretty much. And everything is figure outable. So I think that's a good point because I even talked 119 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:54,240 from my experience, I think that that stops people from moving forward. There's a fear of I'm not 120 00:11:54,240 --> 00:12:00,800 doing it right, or I can't get it right, or what if I mess this thing all, all the way up. And it 121 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:06,320 stops people from moving forward, but you had no fear of that. No, I had no fear. I mean, I kind of 122 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:14,000 get that from my dad, from my childhood. You may be fearless, fearless and like a just probably a 123 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:22,080 very irrational belief in myself. Okay. But that served you completely. You're right. And today, 124 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:26,720 I'm just not afraid to make a mistake or mess something up. Everything is fixable. Like 125 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:31,280 everything is fixable. Yeah. And you learn something every time. So I don't look at it like a bad 126 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:40,320 thing. And you had you talked about a mentor. How did you find a mentor? And how did that change 127 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:46,440 it to the trajectory of where you are now? Or did it? Yeah, yeah, it did. It was like super 128 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:52,440 accidental and totally organic, which is probably not helpful. If I'm trying to live anyone's 129 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:57,640 listening, because you can't really like force that to happen, right? But it was perfect. We're 130 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:02,560 still really close friends to this day. So I was shopping for my home and working at the first 131 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:09,800 on profit that I got my first job at teaching homebuyer education. And it was random, like on 132 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:18,000 a Friday afternoon, I get this email from this guy, you know, named Derek. And it was like a 133 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:26,760 promo for come out and see our home buying tour tomorrow. And I was like, what? And asking, you 134 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:30,400 know, I was a, you know, professional in the field. So he sends it to like a bunch of real estate 135 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:37,440 agents, lenders, whatever, asking us to share it with our, you know, clients or our email base. And 136 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:42,560 I was thinking like, wow, this is a great opportunity. And it's tomorrow, like, it's like 137 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:48,120 less than 24 hours from now. You know, so I didn't blast it out. I actually don't remember if I did 138 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:54,520 not, I don't think I did. But I went myself because I was like, well, I'm free, I can go. And so I 139 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:59,640 did. And I met Derek, there wasn't a lot of people there because it was kind of last minute 140 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:06,000 marketing. I met Derek and we just like clicked immediately. Like, you know, when you meet somebody 141 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:12,200 and you just start talking and you could be there an hour, time flies. That's what happened. And 142 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:20,360 from there, I ended up going to work for him. He created and founded a similar nonprofit on the 143 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:25,000 west side of Atlanta, which is where I ended up buying and living. And that's where he lived. And 144 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:30,320 he sort of wanted to kind of duplicate somewhat what the organization I had been at was doing, but 145 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:34,360 on the west side, because it was very underserved and there was lots of opportunities. So I helped, 146 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:39,840 I went worked for him for four years, running this nonprofit and like building up from the ground 147 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:41,160 teaching the same things. 148 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:50,880 Okay. Yeah. And it was completely organic. And it led to where where you bought your first property. 149 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:51,480 Yeah. 150 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:57,080 And so how does one find a mentor then, if it's like, no, organic. 151 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:04,800 No, I don't know from the best person for that advice, like, I've never gone out intentionally 152 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:11,520 seeking a mentor, you know, and I hear, although I hear that that's like, really, it can add a lot 153 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:15,720 of value to people in their life, right? It can save people a lot of time and energy and mistakes. 154 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:24,240 I've just never gone and saw it. But it just sort of magically happened for me. So, I mean, I think 155 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:28,840 there are like organizations and opportunities that people can get like paired up. I don't know 156 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:29,640 what those are. 157 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:37,600 I don't know if I'm going to say that. Yeah. But mentors are important. And I know that I have 158 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:44,760 sought one, but I've never really had a true mentor. And I know that I have had friends that, you 159 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:49,880 know, do exceedingly well, but they're like friends. And I don't want a friend as a mentor. It's 160 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:59,400 fair. It's not, it doesn't feel right. Yeah. That's very fair. So you went from real estate. 161 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:05,240 Now, starting in real estate, what was your big, the biggest challenge that you had when you started 162 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:11,320 in real estate to, to like getting your first property and duplicating that? 163 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:20,840 Biggest challenge. When I bought my second property, so after I sold my first, I had enough 164 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:26,800 capital that I could buy two. So I bought one to live in for the time being at least for myself. 165 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:32,600 And then I bought my first investment property. When I bought my first investment property, it 166 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:38,200 needed some work. It didn't need a lot. Like it wasn't like a gut job or anything. It visually 167 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:45,640 looked okay, but you could tell like it needed a good deep clean, which I largely did myself. 168 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:50,240 It needed like some fresh paint. It needed like, you know, some of the cabinet doors need to be 169 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:56,240 replaced like stuff like that. And my brother, I have to shout out my brother, he, I hired him to 170 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:01,760 help me for a number of days. And he helped me kind of get it into pristine condition. 171 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:10,080 That property, I've heard the phrase since then, there's never nothing more expensive than a cheap 172 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:19,440 house. And it kind of proved to be true. I paid $56,000 for this house, Mike. Like you can't, 173 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:25,840 you can't find that anywhere near Atlanta today. So this was an East point. And so it was a four, 174 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:34,080 and it was a four bedroom, two bath house, small, but still like a good size. And that house gave me 175 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:42,960 problem after problem after problem after problem, like the plumbing was not necessarily done correctly. 176 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:48,560 Some of it was way outdated and old. I had a pipe burst that I had to like tear out a whole wall in 177 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:54,720 a bedroom. We had another pipe just get like clogged and backed up. It had to be completely 178 00:17:54,720 --> 00:18:02,080 replaced in the backyard. The roof needed ended up needing to be replaced. Like, oh my gosh. 179 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:09,360 I mean, I paid $56 for the house and I probably put at least that much in or close to. And that was 180 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:15,760 the hardest for me because this was my first time doing this. And I was green. Like, I had a mentor 181 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:21,280 wasn't he wasn't walking me through all of this stuff. Like, I asked him occasionally for an 182 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:25,360 opinion or advice and he would tell me one thing or another. But he wasn't like there with me, 183 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:31,920 meeting the way I was sort of figuring it out. And so I remember there was like a time where I 184 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:36,160 really had to look at the numbers and I was like, how much did I pay for this? How much am I sunk in? 185 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:43,440 And like, when can I break even? And how much is it making me? Because every time something would 186 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:51,680 break or go wrong. Like, it wasn't making me money for a while. Also. So it ended up I was like, 187 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:57,440 debating like, should I just sell it and cash out and just like chalk up my loss, you know, 188 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:02,400 just own it? Or should I keep pushing and just see and I decided to keep pushing and think 189 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:09,840 God I did because the problems slowed and eventually largely stopped with they became 190 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:14,720 very, very minor, you know. And so I was able to have a great return off of that property. 191 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:22,240 But it took a while. The first like two years. I was like, barely making it there with the monthly 192 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:26,560 it was like profitable. But everything I was making end up having to go back into paying for 193 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:32,000 something for the house. So not really, you know, but eventually that it did pay off for you. And 194 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:36,480 then you got yes, then what happened after that? What was the next step that you took? 195 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:42,560 Yeah, then I was able to the value increase. So the value almost nearly tripled. And so then I 196 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:48,800 was able to pull out some cash for the property and acquire property number three. And that was 197 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:55,920 really where things changed for me. Like having to was great. I was making a little extra money on 198 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:02,960 the side, which was nice. But having three, I could afford to hire someone to help me. So up until 199 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:08,800 then I was doing everything myself on top of working a full time job. And it was just like, 200 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:14,160 I was exhausted, you know, for like two years, I did that. So having number three really made 201 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:21,440 a difference. I was able to start traveling, which I do now. And I took my first trip to Vegas, 202 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:26,000 I took like a two week trip, I went to Vegas to a convention, and then I went and visited my family 203 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:31,200 in Massachusetts for like a week and a half. And it was like, such a breath of fresh air that I 204 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:36,960 could actually step away from Atlanta and the properties for two weeks and just like relax. 205 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:42,800 And someone else was like helping take care of everything. I felt good. It did. It was a huge, 206 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:48,240 big, big, big change. Like it was, it was another life changer. And then I started traveling a lot. 207 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,280 So you didn't give the properties away, you kept the property. So really, when I'm here, 208 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:59,600 is that you put had to put in a lot of sweat equity? I did. I did have to put in a lot of 209 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:07,120 sweat equity. And I do want to be clear. As of today, I have divested from real estate in the US. 210 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,920 But I did. And I ran them for a few years after that. 211 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:18,400 Okay. So you have the real estate and then you switched over to how did the Airbnb come into 212 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:24,560 play? I was doing Airbnb from the beginning from my first house. I Airbnb in my guest rooms. And 213 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:29,680 then I would Airbnb the whole house when I was traveling. Each property was an Airbnb property. 214 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:38,320 How did that serve you? I mean, there's people that get into Airbnb and I've, I know of a specific 215 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:46,400 person and they bought a house, get into Airbnb, start to do the Airbnb. But the houses, you know, 216 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:51,360 they have to fix the house up and all that good stuff. And they're still not doing the Airbnb. 217 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:57,360 Well, why? How come they're not doing Airbnb? Oh, I didn't get that. I was like, okay, well, 218 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:02,000 it's probably just not ready yet. 219 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:08,800 That's how I would think. But how did the Airbnb really change your life? 220 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:19,120 Airbnb is money. Okay. It's easy money. Period. Like it's not the most, it may not be the most 221 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:23,440 honorable or valiant thing to say, but yo, straight up, like if you're a person who works a full-time 222 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:27,440 job or you have a bunch of things you're responsible for and you just need to increase your capital 223 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:33,600 and not have to work a ton of hours, like Airbnb is, that was it. Cause that's where I was. I was 224 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:39,680 working a full-time job. I had a part-time gig. You like teaching poetry to youth at like one of 225 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:44,240 the boys and girls clubs. I occasionally worked at a restaurant like, I had student loans at all 226 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:49,200 that. At one point I had like three or four different jobs at the same time. I was like, yeah. I 227 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:55,040 was like, this is not sustainable. How do I get out of this Airbnb? Man, if you, if you calculated, 228 00:22:55,040 --> 00:23:01,200 I remember calculating the hourly compared to like my full-time job and the hourly was like four times 229 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:08,400 what I made at my full-time job. When I did that math, I was like, oh, this is, this is me not working 230 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:17,040 for a living at some point. Not worth the house at least. Not your full-time. So you're talking about 231 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:26,720 your first trip to Las Vegas, to Massachusetts. This is what you do now. Like from every time I 232 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:31,520 talk to you in a different, different country, different city. We don't talk all that up if I 233 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:41,200 said yesterday. Four months now. See, and is your mom still with you? Yeah, she's here. She has her 234 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:47,360 own place in Lima. Like shout outs to Lima. Lima is very affordable. So I love that. And I love that 235 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:52,800 for her. So she's, she's able to have her own apartment with a beautiful view and everything. 236 00:23:52,800 --> 00:24:01,360 Just not too far from me. What's all that said hi? I will. Yesterday. She did what? We both just 237 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:06,720 got tattoos together yesterday. Oh, nice. That's a cool mother-daughter thing. 238 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:18,080 What did you guys get? I've got, well, I can't show you. I got a couple of initials. I don't know 239 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:24,160 if I'm going to say it. That's okay. You don't have to. It's not my initials. And then my mom, 240 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:30,080 she got the lettering under, she got a tattoo of our dragon. You remember the baby dragon we had? 241 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:35,840 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The name tattooed underneath the dragon because it was missing. 242 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:44,800 Your mom was awesome. Yes. I received that. What's up Thriveau journey listeners and watchers. 243 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:49,840 Look, if you're someone with big dreams of entrepreneurship, but need a flexible way to 244 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:54,560 earn income while building your business, let me tell you about the Orients Group. 245 00:24:54,560 --> 00:25:00,240 Through our partnership with arise virtual solutions, you can become a customer support 246 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:08,080 professional, aka CSP and start earning from home when your own terms arise offers a streamline 247 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:13,440 certification process getting you trained and ready to work with well-known brands all across 248 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:19,440 America. You can sit your own hours to the clients you want to work with and create a work life 249 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:24,960 balance that fits your entrepreneurial goals. The best part you don't have to choose between your 250 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:30,800 side gate and your business dreams. Being a CSP with the Orients Group means you can bring an extra 251 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:37,200 income while have the flexibility to focus on growing your own venture, much like I did. 252 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:42,640 Whether you're looking to supplement your income or need a bridge while building your empire, 253 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:50,560 this is the opportunity for you. You interested? If so, head over to www.theoreansgroup.com 254 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:56,240 to learn more about becoming a CSP with the Orients Group. Look here, support your entrepreneurial 255 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:01,520 journey while supporting the Thriveau journey podcast at the same time. All right, one more time, 256 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:08,560 www.theoreansgroup.com. All right, we're doing the spot. Let's get back to the podcast. 257 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:15,760 So it sounds like to me that you're really living a life that you've created. 258 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:20,240 Completely. What is your what is your purpose in life? 259 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:32,960 You know, that's such a great question. It used to be, and since I was a kid, 260 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:38,320 I would have said the same thing. I would have said to leave this place better than I found it. 261 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:46,960 And I think that's still definitely a part of it. But I also today see a lot more room for 262 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:55,360 enjoyment. You know, like everything doesn't have to be work, you know, and you can leave a place 263 00:26:55,360 --> 00:27:01,040 or a person or a group of people better, and it doesn't have to look like work to do it. So 264 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:05,760 I think that leaving this place better than I found it is still true. But for me, I think at 265 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:12,560 this point today, also done in a way that I get to do something and some things that I really 266 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:18,800 love, that I really enjoy that light me up, like they can, you can have it all, you know. 267 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:26,160 So that, yeah, and to have like as much fun as possible, 268 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:31,760 I love that. Like love on as many people as I can. 269 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:40,960 Well, there are people that would be watching or listening and they'll look at your story, 270 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:48,720 you know, like, how do I do that for myself? What would be your advice for someone? 271 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:49,920 Hire me. 272 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:55,600 I'm just kidding. I'm not kidding. I'm kidding. I'm not kidding. 273 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:04,800 Anything to try on one's own. I'll say that. Like if somebody wants to do ideally exactly what I've 274 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:12,480 done, it's not something I would recommend anybody try without experience in real estate and or a 275 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:19,520 great mentor as I had both when I started. I had resources, you know, if you don't have resources, 276 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:25,360 like you need them. So the, I mean, the number one thing you want to do, a lot of people come to me 277 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:28,640 and they want to buy an investment property and they don't own a home of their own yet and it 278 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:35,280 just doesn't make sense. So buy your first home, period. Like just that is investing in real estate. 279 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:39,360 People don't tend to think about it that way because they're thinking, well, it's not going to make 280 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:44,160 me money. Well, you can buy a house that has a finished basement or garage apartment or an 281 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:48,160 in-law suite and you live in one and rent the other. Like, yeah, you are, you're in there, 282 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:56,640 you know, and it may not look as sexy as they dream right out the gate, but like you got to, 283 00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:02,960 you got to sometimes like demystify, you know, what's possible in real estate from day one 284 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:08,160 for most people, you know, most people don't have multiple six figures cash in a bank account 285 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:14,400 where they can just buy a property. So if you want to get started and you're an everyday person 286 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:20,560 with a regular job, that's the best way to get started. That's what I did and just built from 287 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,800 there. I mean, you heard what I did, but also have great mentors and I am available for hire. 288 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:33,440 Now, and I'm looking at where I'm going to invest, you know, internationally having divested my 289 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:40,160 real estate from Atlanta, but I do this now virtually with all my clients still in the U.S., 290 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:45,120 all over the U.S. I hope them plan the strategy, get it right, plan the finances and the numbers 291 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:52,240 because if your numbers aren't right, it's not going to work. And so I was gifted to know how 292 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:56,800 to do that early and it's not hard, but you got to know what you're doing. You got to know what 293 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:01,920 you're doing. We've, you and I have had a meeting and I wasn't ready at the time, but I'm getting ready. 294 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:13,040 I'm getting ready. So you'll be hired by me for sure. Hello. So the plan is still there. 295 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:22,800 So when was the word success a part of your DNA? 296 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:31,280 When was it a part of my DNA? And then when did you realize that you had success? 297 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:40,880 I would say probably. Okay, there you go. I think of like, I think of who my mom and my dad both are 298 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:49,440 and it was in the architecture already. You know, my mom is very, very hardworking and was, 299 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,960 she doesn't, she's retired now, but was the majority of my life. Now she's kind of chilling, 300 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:59,520 which is great to see. My dad is one of the most hardworking people I've ever seen. Not only that, 301 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:06,000 one of the most resilient and committed people that just refuses to give up, it's not in his 302 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:16,480 vocabulary. So those were my parents. And not only that, I told you my dad, like, I didn't believe in, 303 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:23,200 I didn't have a concept of like failure. Like, it didn't exist to me. I was like, drilled into my head, 304 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:32,320 like, I will win. No matter what. It was like, drilled into my whole being since I was a child. 305 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:39,920 And even if I didn't win this game, I was going to win the season. You know, like, there was no, 306 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:45,440 and every loss, there was a lesson and he was always asked me, like, what did you learn? What 307 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:49,440 did you learn? What did you get? Kind of like, a lot of like landmarks, like always looking, I had like, 308 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:54,080 a, that coach in my life, my whole life. So and then when your second question was like, 309 00:31:54,080 --> 00:32:02,480 when did I really realize it for myself? Yeah. That's a success was part of my DNA, 310 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:14,160 probably somewhere in my landmark journey. Likely, likely around the acquisition of the third property, 311 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:18,320 because having the two, I was still kind of scared and going through stuff and worried, 312 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:23,280 like, what if this doesn't work and had doubts about myself, but probably after the third, 313 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:28,720 and I was able to have the third and have all three running when I was away. I was like, oh, yeah, 314 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:36,320 like, yeah, this was in me all along. Just took some time to get here. Yeah. Well, that kind of 315 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:43,920 speaks to what I'm thinking about throughout parts of this conversation. You did, there was no 316 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:50,320 instant gratification. Like you could sweat equity in and you did what she needed to do 317 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:56,800 in order to get to where you are now. And I think a lot, well, there are people that think that when 318 00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:04,960 you get into any kind of business that it's instantaneous. Oh, Lord. You and I both, well, 319 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:12,560 it's not true. We know it's not true. You spelled the myth of that, like, especially with Airbnb 320 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:18,640 and real estate. Yeah. This is not, it's not for the faint of heart. You know, and I'll be straight 321 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:24,240 too. I've had a couple of clients, you know, complete the process by their property, by their first 322 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:32,400 or their second, you know, put it up on Airbnb, give it a go for six months, a year, and decide 323 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:40,400 this isn't for me, you know. So one, it's not for everyone. Sure. It's not for everybody. And 324 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:48,720 when you're just starting out, you know, the biggest cost of running an Airbnb would be cleaning 325 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:54,640 and management. And a lot of people come to me and they want to buy a property. They don't necessarily 326 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:59,040 have a whole lot of money. And they want to outsource cleaning and management from day one. 327 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:04,400 And I'm always advising them, like, don't do that. Like, is there a way for you to be able to 328 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:09,200 clean it yourself? Even if it's once a week, maybe in your outsource once a week, I have a 329 00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:14,800 client who does that up in Providence, like, that's the biggest expense. These cleaners are not 330 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:22,000 cheap. They're charging over $100 plus for a clean. Like, what? I remember doing it. I wish 331 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:27,520 somebody would pay me that, right? It's like, it doesn't take that long. It's like two hours. Get 332 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:36,400 in, get out. Who wants $120 for that? Get out of here. So, yeah, if you don't have a boatload of 333 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:44,080 capital, you know, to invest and pay for this stuff right out of the gate, then, yeah, you're 334 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:52,080 likely looking at sweat equity and labor. And are you up for that? But the benefit is, and so, 335 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:57,680 like, that's not, it's not exciting. It's not sexy. It's not fun. I'm not going to pretend, you know, 336 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:02,880 like, there were times on like a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday afternoon, I had to go down and clean 337 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:07,680 one or two properties myself. And sure, I would have definitely had rathered be hanging out with 338 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:14,160 my friends on Sunday fun day at the bar out of the lake or something. And I sure wasn't, you know, 339 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:19,520 but like, I saw the bigger picture and I believed in the long-term game and I knew it wasn't going 340 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:26,640 to take forever. You know, it took me three years. I get four. It depends on how you count from the 341 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:33,920 first property purchase until having number three and all running all up and running independently 342 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:42,160 without me for it. It's not a long journey. So you have to be okay with the delay gratification? 343 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:48,000 For sure. And my clients now are able to scale faster because I know all the things that I 344 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:53,040 didn't know then. So it took me longer. And that's also why I divested. So I was like, knowing now, 345 00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:58,560 the organization of the portfolio I have doesn't really make sense. I'm not maximizing my resources, 346 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:03,040 but I can help my clients plan that ahead of time from the beginning. And it could be way shorter 347 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:10,240 for them. So yeah, I shortened the timeline for them. There had to be setbacks also. 348 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:16,800 How did you handle those and what keeps you motivated? 349 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:27,360 Setbacks. I mean, the second property, my first investment property I had, all of that work that 350 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:35,280 came, I was scary. When I was looking at the numbers, and it was like, it's close right now for me to 351 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:41,680 call it. How much cash do I have left to invest in this property before I start creating more debt, 352 00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:50,720 which I don't want to do. But what keeps me motivated? I stick to the math. And I think a lot 353 00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:56,240 of people are afraid of math, which I don't know why. It's not hard. The math that you need to know 354 00:36:56,240 --> 00:37:00,800 to be successful in real estate is not difficult math. We're not talking algebra or trigonometry 355 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:05,200 here. It's like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and some percentages. 356 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:10,800 We can do this on our cell phone, but everyone doesn't necessarily know how to put it all together. 357 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:15,520 I stick to the math. I did my projections. I looked at what have I invested? What's this next 358 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:21,440 thing going to cost me? What is this making me when it's up and running? And when is the break even 359 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:28,560 point? And also just looking at for my cash flow, how many weeks do I have to be able to go without 360 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:33,440 another problem? Just to get back to a place where this bank account for this property is 361 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:39,920 comfortable, where I have a few months of the expenses saved. I do all of that math. I stick 362 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:44,240 to the numbers all the time because the numbers don't lie. If we don't know our numbers, we're 363 00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:49,760 likely relying on our feelings, and there's never a powerful place to be. And our feelings don't 364 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:59,280 matter when it comes to math and just numbers. So that's what I did. And what keeps me motivated? 365 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:06,800 Oh, what keeps me motivated? I don't know. I just don't know. That's a super great question. 366 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:18,960 I think I have a natural lust for life in all areas. So what kept me motivated for that property 367 00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:23,840 was I could see the light. And I was like, I'm going to cross my fingers that we're going to go 368 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:29,840 four weeks without another problem, and we'll be in a better, more comfortable position. And then 369 00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:36,320 from there, these problems will decrease. And they did. But also in my fitness life, 370 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:44,560 I'm in the gym usually four mornings a week at 6.30 in the morning. I do a lot of athletic type 371 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:52,480 things in my free time, meditation. I don't know. I really like not even love, but I'm in love with 372 00:38:52,480 --> 00:39:02,080 the experience of life, like everything, the good and the bad. It's so rich. Yeah, I stay very close 373 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:14,320 to my own experience. Yeah, it's good. I mean, I'm listening to you and it's like a passion. Yeah, 374 00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:18,560 I have very passion. That's what it sounds like. It sounds like you're just passionate about what 375 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:29,200 you did, what you do and who you are. And like serving your clients. That sounds like, you know, 376 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:40,320 it's lucky for them to have you. Yeah. Thank you. We have so much fun. Oh my goodness gracious. I hope 377 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:50,720 that audio wasn't super loud as I was yelling. I love my clients. They know it. Oh my gosh. I love 378 00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:56,880 them capital L O V E. And we have the best time. And I think I sort of tend to attract, 379 00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:03,040 you know, some like minded people, I attract people who really want growth, I try to aren't 380 00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:09,840 afraid to do some work. I attract people who are willing to take risks. So like the type of people 381 00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:17,520 who end up choosing to work with me are also really effin dope, you know, and we have the most fun. 382 00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:23,920 It's largely not work. I love my clients so much. I have so much. Well, let's say if you, if you're 383 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:27,200 doing something that you'd rather, it doesn't feel like, you know, it doesn't feel like work. 384 00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:32,800 Every once in a while, but not when I'm with my clients, not at all. Yeah, there's the ups and 385 00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:43,360 downs, right? And it's your mindset with business like, where did that come from? These are something 386 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:53,920 that you learned. Did you think you always had the mindset for business? I don't, I never saw this 387 00:40:53,920 --> 00:41:01,120 for myself. Not like this. When I was a kid, because I was very like, I've always been very 388 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:09,200 community oriented. When I was a kid, I thought I would like be the executive director or maybe own 389 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:14,400 like my own nonprofit that was around like community engagement, community empowerment, 390 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:25,120 you know, all kinds of education outside of school. And I didn't really think about that from a 391 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:30,080 business standpoint, because like as a kid, and even as a teenager and a young adult, like the 392 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:34,160 goal in my opinion for the nonprofit wouldn't necessarily be to make, to make a lot of money. 393 00:41:34,160 --> 00:41:40,560 The goal would be to empower a lot of people and help people have better lives, higher quality 394 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:45,200 lives, you know. Today, I mean, this is just the direction that my life has taken me. 395 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:53,280 I don't know what my mindset around business is, you know, this is really great. And I'll be really, 396 00:41:53,280 --> 00:42:01,040 I'll be open and vulnerable, transparent about this. Like, I'm not the most disciplined business owner, 397 00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:08,880 not by a long shot. I'm working on it. I'm working on it. The idea of discipline does not excite me 398 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:16,640 and I can see the value in it, you know, but I live currently and I have like, for the last few years, 399 00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:24,080 live a pretty, I feel like it's a very balanced life for me, in terms of how much I work and how 400 00:42:24,080 --> 00:42:32,960 much I'm just like, resting, relaxing and how much I play. And I've always wanted that. So I tell 401 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:38,480 people like, how many hours a week I work, they're like, what, I'm like, like, it works for me, you 402 00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:43,840 know, could I work more and probably double or triple or quadruple my revenue? Sure. Do I want 403 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:54,400 that life? I want to lay on the beach on a Wednesday and have everything work, you know, like, so I'm 404 00:42:54,400 --> 00:43:00,160 not, although I am kind of like scaling a little bit right now, but still some of that, a lot of 405 00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:07,680 that, like my focus is on my overall quality of life. It's not on building some massive business 406 00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:15,120 to be a billionaire. I don't care for that. I care about having the most quality of life while I'm 407 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:21,920 here. And that's exactly what I heard. As we're talking about that and sharing that, I was like, 408 00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:29,360 the quality of life that you live is, is, is perfect for you. Yeah. Yeah, like, I went and got 409 00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:36,240 tattoos with my mom yesterday on a Wednesday. We had a wonderful lunch outdoors. I want to have that. 410 00:43:36,240 --> 00:43:42,160 Wednesday is usually my off day, but like, yeah. And you have that. Yeah, I have it. 411 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:53,920 That's pretty great. Yeah. You know, we're, let's talk a little bit more about, about Airbnb. 412 00:43:56,240 --> 00:44:04,320 How does one identify the opportunity for what an Airbnb is or how do you first identify that 413 00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:13,120 opportunity? Oh, oh, I think a lot of things could be an Airbnb, you know, a house, an apartment, 414 00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:22,160 a condo, a unit in a multi unit, building in a two, a duplex, like one of the units. 415 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:32,480 What's typically needed, or I should say what performs best, you know, is to have a space 416 00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:37,200 where there's a separate guest entrance. So guests can come and go as they please and not have to 417 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:44,000 interact with you. There's a full, obviously there needs to be a full, a full like a sleeping area, 418 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:48,480 even if it's just a studio, there needs to be a full bath. They need the amenities that they need 419 00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:53,120 for daily living. And if there's a small kitchen or a kitchenette, that's great, even the kitchen is 420 00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:58,960 not even required. But that's like the basic minimum. If you have a space that has a separate entrance, 421 00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:05,680 a full bath, and you can create an area to sleep, I mean, that's sufficient for a basic Airbnb. 422 00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:12,240 Anything above that is even better. Any, most things, like a lot of things are Airbnbable, 423 00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:16,800 but I think the bigger question that most people are usually curious about is, 424 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:22,320 how do I identify something that will be high performing? Because every Airbnb is not high 425 00:45:22,320 --> 00:45:28,080 performing. There's a lot of low out there and a lot of listings that are just super mediocre and 426 00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:35,200 doing like very okay. I create high performance. Yeah. 427 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:42,160 Okay. That's a different question and I'm not going to share what it is to look for because 428 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:46,880 somebody would have to hire me. That's very valuable. I was going to say, you're not going to go 429 00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:56,880 too deep because that's your business. Yeah, but we find it and it's partly can be market specific 430 00:45:56,880 --> 00:46:00,640 and there are some things that aren't necessarily market specific that work everywhere. 431 00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:05,600 But yeah, I always look at the market that someone is in do that research and then there's 432 00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:09,840 also things I just know that just work in every market. So I bring that to my clients too. 433 00:46:10,640 --> 00:46:19,680 So the real estate game for 2025 because this actually we're recording this in 2024, 434 00:46:19,680 --> 00:46:27,680 but this was actually in 2025. What does it look like or what do you think it's going to look like 435 00:46:29,600 --> 00:46:34,560 next year? Yeah. What do I think the market's going to look like in the US or what does real estate 436 00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:45,840 look like for me in the US? In the US. Oh, I don't know because there's a shift, right? There's going 437 00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:51,840 to be a shift with the administration and all that kind of good stuff. So just a question. 438 00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:59,440 I really don't know what to expect from the incoming administration. I've heard 439 00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:07,120 and read things that allude to that the incoming president and whomever else, 440 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:15,760 Elon Musk and other billionaires and whatnot are looking to do things economically that 441 00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:23,760 will drastically drop the price if not with values of things across the board in the US to make 442 00:47:23,760 --> 00:47:27,840 commodities cheap so that they can buy them up cheap and then make themselves richer and richer 443 00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:35,440 and richer. I have no idea how true that is or not. I hope that doesn't happen because that usually 444 00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:45,680 causes a lot of strife for everyday folks like Elon Musk and there's opportunity in it if it 445 00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:52,400 does but folks have to be ready and it's like you're not likely to get ready in just two or 446 00:47:52,400 --> 00:47:56,080 three months. You would have had to have been preparing for this for probably a few years if 447 00:47:56,080 --> 00:48:03,520 you're going to want to capitalize on that. So I honestly don't know if you asked me a year ago, 448 00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:08,240 I would have some kind of a clear answer but I really don't know what to expect. 449 00:48:08,240 --> 00:48:15,520 I think that's probably where people's minds might be like in the world of, 450 00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:21,440 you know, I kind of don't know because things are kind of unclear at the moment. 451 00:48:22,080 --> 00:48:29,200 Yeah and I can see people being hesitant to invest although I think that we can expect some rate 452 00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:34,160 drops so that might make it also more easier for people to invest and buy what they want because 453 00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:38,400 things will be more affordable like the same property will be more affordable for them to do that. 454 00:48:41,200 --> 00:48:49,440 Overall I always hold the belief though that it's always a good time to invest in real estate. 455 00:48:50,560 --> 00:48:57,600 It always is and I'm typically, you know, a buy and hold investor. I'm not a flipper, you know, 456 00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:02,480 so when people are trying to like buy something, fix it up and sell it six months or a year later 457 00:49:02,480 --> 00:49:07,840 that can be very dependent on the market. You buy high and then prices drop, you're screwed. 458 00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:12,880 I typically don't do that. I buy and I hold for a multiple years so even if the market goes up 459 00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:18,160 and down I'm not concerned because I'm only concerned that my monthly revenue is covering 460 00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:23,520 the cost and there's profit. Yeah and so as long as those numbers work it really doesn't matter to me 461 00:49:24,320 --> 00:49:30,640 if the value dropped because I wasn't trying to sell anyway. So I really don't know. 462 00:49:30,640 --> 00:49:37,520 I really don't know. Well that's probably where most, you know, minds are at the moment. 463 00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:46,480 I don't know and that sounds like a solid plan that you have, you know, just purchasing a hold 464 00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:53,440 and that does create income. If especially if somebody is not a homeowner yet there are so 465 00:49:53,440 --> 00:49:59,440 many ways to do it so affordably like most of my clients spend less than $5,000 out of pocket. 466 00:49:59,440 --> 00:50:06,320 Like what does it cost to get a rental? Yeah my last client who just closed he cost him $2650. 467 00:50:08,400 --> 00:50:13,920 That's like getting a rental. Right. That's like first month's rent and a security deposit 468 00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:22,400 somewhere. It's very doable, far more doable than a lot of people think in any city or county across 469 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:27,280 the US. So if somebody already doesn't own a home yet I still think that that's a 470 00:50:27,280 --> 00:50:31,520 still a wise investment especially the first time buyer because of the benefits that are out there 471 00:50:31,520 --> 00:50:36,080 and how affordable it really can be. People just don't know what they don't know and I do serve 472 00:50:36,080 --> 00:50:39,920 people who just want to buy a home even if they don't want to do Airbnb. I'll help them find all 473 00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:46,560 that stuff too anywhere. That sounds very promising especially to people who are unclear about the 474 00:50:46,560 --> 00:50:52,880 steps and what to do in order to actually own a home. Yeah. And you're there for that. 475 00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:58,960 Yeah. I think it's an important part of creating financial stability for any person or family. 476 00:50:59,600 --> 00:51:03,760 And then even if you're not thinking like an investor and you don't think you want to grow 477 00:51:03,760 --> 00:51:10,640 a portfolio that's fine and later on you might choose to and it's powerful to have that. I didn't 478 00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:18,160 expect my first property to double in value in two years. That's crazy and that's possible anywhere. 479 00:51:18,160 --> 00:51:23,200 And just imagine how that could change the life for a person or a family even if they didn't want 480 00:51:23,200 --> 00:51:29,280 to put that in real estate. That could be a huge business investment. That could be 481 00:51:30,080 --> 00:51:36,720 a lot of things. Equipment purchase for someone who has a film company. I don't know. It could be 482 00:51:36,720 --> 00:51:45,680 a million things. It could be anything. Yeah. Yeah. So you live kind of in the unknown a little bit. 483 00:51:45,680 --> 00:51:54,240 Right now. A bit. And you know I'm always creating like I always have an idea of what I want. 484 00:51:54,880 --> 00:52:03,600 You know I'm always calling a shot. I'm a shot caller for sure. There's always shots I'm calling. 485 00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:11,920 So are you asking what's the next for me. Well yeah. What's next to you. In the world. Unknown. 486 00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:21,120 Yeah. I haven't really said this very much to many people but you know I love Lima and I'll 487 00:52:21,120 --> 00:52:25,680 be here. This is like a home but I would like to have multiple properties in different cities 488 00:52:25,680 --> 00:52:35,440 around the world. And so what's next for me is enjoying time here for a bit visiting family and 489 00:52:35,440 --> 00:52:42,960 then I intend to buy a home in Cape Town South Africa. I think that was my first international 490 00:52:42,960 --> 00:52:54,160 purchase probably next fall. Africa is a place that I still that's on my to-do list. Yeah. 491 00:52:55,760 --> 00:53:04,240 Yeah. And I assure you will. I will. That will be the next thing for me. 492 00:53:04,240 --> 00:53:14,160 I gotta go. I just gotta go. It's life changing for sure. So that's next. I mean there are other 493 00:53:14,160 --> 00:53:18,800 cities I have my eye on but I feel like that's home. I think that's actually where I'm going to 494 00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:26,720 like root myself down for the most part because I still want multiple and I want to be able to 495 00:53:26,720 --> 00:53:31,680 just be wherever I want to be whenever I want to be there. So that will be the only time. 496 00:53:31,680 --> 00:53:36,720 Say what? I said you want to be fluid in life. Just being able to flow. 497 00:53:37,360 --> 00:53:44,080 You know somewhat yes. Yes. I also like to have my hand in a lot of different things so I can see 498 00:53:44,080 --> 00:53:52,160 myself having like business and perhaps like owning like a foundation that does great work in 499 00:53:52,160 --> 00:53:57,360 South Africa to like feed people and educate people and do creative arts for young people 500 00:53:57,360 --> 00:54:04,240 but do the same thing here in Lima or in Colombia and one other place. Like I also 501 00:54:04,880 --> 00:54:10,000 am really picky about my weather so I like to be wherever I want to be best and so when it's cold 502 00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:17,920 there I don't want to be there. Hello. I need a place that's hot when Cape Town is cold. 503 00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:30,560 Awesome. I'm from Michigan but you're Massachusetts. Yeah I'm from Michigan and I tell you when I went 504 00:54:31,360 --> 00:54:43,200 I moved to no I went to Spain and that's the first time that I experienced being in the winter 505 00:54:43,200 --> 00:54:48,800 where it's kind of cold but there's no snow. You know that was the first time I actually lived in 506 00:54:48,800 --> 00:54:53,360 that and I was like oh my gosh this is kind of this is kind of wonderful you know. Amazing. And 507 00:54:54,000 --> 00:55:02,000 when I came back I came back in this I think it was January of whatever year it was and I was like 508 00:55:02,000 --> 00:55:12,880 this is not it. This is not it and I moved to not it so I moved to Atlanta and it was 509 00:55:12,880 --> 00:55:17,920 great. I think it snowed a little bit here in Atlanta and then I was like you know plus my 510 00:55:17,920 --> 00:55:24,560 ambition I moved to Los Angeles and I was like no this is it and being there for so long I was like 511 00:55:24,560 --> 00:55:31,440 I'm never going back. I don't like to ski I don't like no I don't like all that so I got to stay in 512 00:55:31,440 --> 00:55:42,000 a hot space. I'm here for that. I feel that. Yeah I don't desire to experience snow. I'm not a fan. 513 00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:49,600 I had enough from birth to age 24 whenever I moved to Atlanta. Right. Yeah I'm good. I'm good. 514 00:55:50,960 --> 00:55:59,280 I'm good. I had myself. Man you had your fill. Like yeah I'm good too. Anybody if y'all like the snow 515 00:55:59,280 --> 00:56:02,800 love it you know people that live in that Alaska and all that you know I'm saying yeah I can have that. 516 00:56:02,800 --> 00:56:13,840 You know I don't have to worry about me visiting. No competition here. None none. You you are 517 00:56:14,480 --> 00:56:24,080 truly impacting lives right. You know you're just doing your thing. Yeah. What advice would you give 518 00:56:24,080 --> 00:56:35,040 to somebody who that walked up to you and wanted to just change their life. Oh they wanted to just 519 00:56:35,040 --> 00:56:42,240 change their life. I mean you know the coach in me has questions but like I mean. It's kind of a 520 00:56:42,800 --> 00:56:53,920 broad question. Right. I would ask them what's their long game. Like what do they ultimately 521 00:56:53,920 --> 00:56:59,520 want. Like what's the big goal at the end that could take 10 or 20 years to reach 522 00:57:00,960 --> 00:57:08,560 and then align everything in your life towards that goal. Like I've known that Cape Town was my 523 00:57:08,560 --> 00:57:14,480 home for probably 20 years. I was there 20 years ago. Yeah and I haven't been back yet 524 00:57:17,040 --> 00:57:22,160 and I kind of I didn't do that. I didn't necessarily align it. I kind of knew it and then forgot 525 00:57:22,160 --> 00:57:27,200 and then remembered and then forgot and I like mean all these ways and money was not always 526 00:57:27,200 --> 00:57:33,120 available so I just did what I had to do for a while. You know. But if you have the time and 527 00:57:33,120 --> 00:57:38,240 the resources or you can like if you have a comfortable living space and you can have the 528 00:57:38,240 --> 00:57:45,520 time to plan like whatever you want your life to be just scale it backwards and I don't always do 529 00:57:45,520 --> 00:57:49,680 like the unfolding. It doesn't have to be in writing. It doesn't have to but like know what it is up 530 00:57:49,680 --> 00:57:55,520 here. See the vision. Like see yourself growing from where you are now to what's next and then 531 00:57:55,520 --> 00:58:01,440 what's next and then what's next until you can see the whole thing and just live it. 532 00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:11,040 And live it. Yeah. That's that's powerful. Thank you. See it. Be it. Live it. Live it. 533 00:58:11,040 --> 00:58:20,720 Okay. I heard that. My last question to you is if this is like your last remark, what would be 534 00:58:21,520 --> 00:58:27,440 the a story or a last thing that you want to share with someone who's listening to the podcast 535 00:58:27,440 --> 00:58:40,000 and listening to you? I don't have a story but I will say this like I never expected my 536 00:58:40,000 --> 00:58:43,320 my life to be the way it is right now, you know? 537 00:58:43,320 --> 00:58:46,360 And like, let that be a testament 538 00:58:46,360 --> 00:58:48,040 like anything is possible. 539 00:58:48,040 --> 00:58:51,680 Like you truly can do anything you want to do. 540 00:58:51,680 --> 00:58:53,920 Aside from maybe defying gravity, you know, 541 00:58:53,920 --> 00:58:57,820 unless you're in a rocket thing, but like, you really can. 542 00:58:57,820 --> 00:59:00,400 So don't believe your limitations 543 00:59:00,400 --> 00:59:04,060 and your limiting beliefs when they show up, you know? 544 00:59:04,060 --> 00:59:06,200 And if you need support, like, I mean, 545 00:59:06,200 --> 00:59:08,840 we met inside of a program, like get around people 546 00:59:08,840 --> 00:59:11,120 who are gonna speak to the power in you 547 00:59:11,120 --> 00:59:14,440 and the best in you and remind you how amazing you are. 548 00:59:14,440 --> 00:59:16,760 Cause you really can do anything and get away from people 549 00:59:16,760 --> 00:59:20,140 who are gonna tell you that you have some limitation 550 00:59:20,140 --> 00:59:23,040 cause you don't, you don't have any, 551 00:59:23,040 --> 00:59:25,160 you can do anything in the world you want. 552 00:59:25,160 --> 00:59:26,000 Go do it. 553 00:59:26,000 --> 00:59:26,960 Love that. 554 00:59:26,960 --> 00:59:28,080 Love that. 555 00:59:28,080 --> 00:59:28,920 Yeah. 556 00:59:28,920 --> 00:59:31,200 Get rid of the limiting beliefs 557 00:59:31,200 --> 00:59:34,120 and the limitations that you have on your life. 558 00:59:34,120 --> 00:59:36,080 Tony, I appreciate you. 559 00:59:36,080 --> 00:59:38,080 I appreciate your time. 560 00:59:38,080 --> 00:59:40,000 I know you over there in Lima, Peru, 561 00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:43,440 but you know, you spent some time, not Lima, Ohio, 562 00:59:43,440 --> 00:59:44,520 Lima, Peru. 563 00:59:44,520 --> 00:59:48,160 And I want to say thank you for being 564 00:59:48,160 --> 00:59:50,080 on the Thrive World Journey podcast. 565 00:59:50,080 --> 00:59:51,240 I really appreciate it. 566 00:59:51,240 --> 00:59:52,080 Yeah. 567 00:59:53,080 --> 00:59:53,920 Yeah. 568 00:59:53,920 --> 00:59:54,760 Yeah. 569 00:59:54,760 --> 00:59:55,600 Yeah. 570 00:59:55,600 --> 00:59:56,440 Yeah. 571 00:59:56,440 --> 00:59:57,280 Yeah. 572 00:59:57,280 --> 00:59:58,120 Yeah. 573 00:59:58,120 --> 01:00:08,960 Yeah.