Conversation with Rancher and Owner of Sue Swint Realty, Josh Swint

Welcome back to My Hometown.

The extraordinary charm of Bowie is  unfolded by our  guest, Josh Swint, who shares of his high school life, his car dealership days with his father, and his  journey into the real estate business.

 Josh and Aaron delve into a profound conversation about the intriguing art of discerning patterns in people and life's events, a skill fundamental for success in any business. We further unravel the importance of perseverance, and how its power often surpasses talent when it comes to achieving success. Immerse yourself in Josh's inspiring journey, from the invaluable lessons he learned from his father about the virtue of hard work to his rise in the real estate industry, which was ironically catalyzed by job rejection.

As we journey further into the depths of Bowie's evolving business landscape, we discuss the compelling necessity for businesses to embrace change, especially harnessing the vibrancy of the younger generation and the influence of social media. We delve into the intricate dynamics of the real estate and ranching industries' evolution over time, particularly in Bowie, and how technology and changing lifestyles have redefined these industries. With heartfelt reflections and insightful discussions on the city's challenges, successes, and growth, this episode promises to provide an authentic glimpse into the evolving face of Bowie, Texas. 

So, tune in and let's explore Bowie together through the eyes of its very own.

Connect w/Chapman Event Center 
https://www.facebook.com/chapmanbuildingeventcenter

Connect w/Josh Swint 
https://www.facebook.com/swintcharolais
https://www.facebook.com/sueswintrealty
www.sueswintrealty.com

Music by: Kim Cantwell

Bowie Mural: Located at Creative Cakes

Connect w/Aaron: www.aarondegler.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

What happened in my hometown. It seems so different when I look around. It's funny how things have changed since I was young. What I wouldn't give to go way back and take a long look into my past. I remember this town the way that it used to be. Welcome to my hometown, our little town on the map and home to the world's largest Jim Bowie. Knot. To show you around our beautiful town is our tour guide, aaron Degler. Aaron has a love for road trips, taking the opportunity to stop along the way in small towns across the US, just like our very own, bowie, texas. Spend a little time with Aaron each week as he takes you around Bowie, sharing the value of the small businesses, the organizations, the history and, of course, the people that make up my hometown. After this podcast is over, make sure you give it a like, a share, and please subscribe and review this podcast. I would now like to introduce to you your tour guide for today in my hometown, aaron Degler.

Aaron: 1:19

Welcome back to my hometown Things take a little time to join me today. I want to first thank the Chapman Building for allowing us to host this week's episode of my hometown. Brad and Dan Sherman have updated this old building into a new modern event center that still keeps that old feel to it. The Chapman Building is available for all your special events and special occasions. Of course, it's located in downtown Bowie, so thank you to Brad and Dan Sherman for allowing us to be in the Chapman Building for today's episode. Please welcome our guest today. He is a family man who has raised his family in Bowie. He is a rancher. He is a lifetime resident of Bowie. He's a realtor and owner of Seuss Went Realty. He is a man after my own heart who loves a good nap anytime anywhere. Please welcome my guest today, Josh Swint.

Josh: 2:08

Thank you, Josh, for joining me today.

Aaron: 2:10

Thank you, aaron, for having me Welcome, so we're going to kind of dive into it. Of course you've been in Bowie all your life, so you know all the ups and downs and goods and bads. But I won't talk about many bads, we'll talk about all the goods. So we'll kind of go back to right out of high school. We went to high school in Bowie, graduated Jack Rabbit.

Josh: 2:31

Yes, sir. Then I went off to Midwestern. I never really moved off and got the college experience. I just worked with my dad, drove back and forth.

Aaron: 2:41

Now working with your dad, and you worked with your dad in high school. Yes, because your dad at the time had a car dealership.

Josh: 2:49

Yes, yes, and I worked at the office, the car dealership, out on the ranch. I tried to work at the ranch all I could. That's my passion.

Aaron: 3:00

But sometimes dad called you in to work at the. So what did you do at the car dealership you sell?

Josh: 3:04

cars. I sold cars.

Aaron: 3:06

Even in high school.

Josh: 3:09

Well, when I got out, of school. And then we financed cars and then we wholesaleed a lot of cars and I would go to the dealerships and bid trades. While I was in college I'd go to the dealerships and which tallened and bid their trades that they were coming in.

Aaron: 3:24

Because that dealership was where your office is now right. Yes, yes, that's what my dad said.

Speaker 1: 3:32

We sold it in 1994, and we bought it back in 2007.

Josh: 3:38

For a real estate company, the second time.

Aaron: 3:41

But you sold the building. The building, not the dealership.

Josh: 3:45

Well, he sold the dealership in 1994. That's when I graduated. I just got married. Dad was pretty impulsive and he decided he asked me if I wanted to buy the dealership from him when I was just 22,. And I really didn't like the car business all that good and I said well, I don't think so. And so when I come back from college the next day he asked about the graduate and he said I sold the dealership today. I said oh okay, I didn't have a lot of time to think about it.

Josh: 4:18

I mean, I kind of told him no, but it wasn't a definite, but it all worked out.

Aaron: 4:23

So what did you go to college? What was your major?

Josh: 4:25

in college I majored in general business, and some might kind of laugh at this, but I basically have a minor in philosophy.

Aaron: 4:35

But you like philosophy.

Josh: 4:36

Oh yeah. Yeah, it was basically logical argument up there. It was pretty long in the westerns what it really was, but it was called philosophy. So I kind of got razzed a little bit about that.

Aaron: 4:48

What you got to have then in the car business, now in the real estate business, because we've talked many times about people and patterns and when you can recognize those patterns in people and events, you have an advantage.

Josh: 5:04

Oh yeah, definitely so. Dad and mom, both being salesmen, they would tell me you know, these type people are out now or this is going on now, and it would always be the same type of people doing the same things at basically the same time. When I used to work out with you early in the mornings, I would tell you, you know, I didn't see many cars coming to town, so I bet it's a slow day and it would be at the office too. I wouldn't even pass cars early, like at four in the morning, but it would be a slow day at the office, it seemed like, but a lot of times it does Same thing.

Aaron: 5:38

if you go to a certain store on certain days, you see the same type of people.

Josh: 5:42

Yeah, robin would always go to the mall or wherever, and I would tell her what kind of people did you see today? And we'd say, you know there's single moms, or it was. You know dads with their daughters, or you know it would be all. But it would be a higher percentage, you know, and you got to recognize those patterns in a lot of business things, not just the sales business, you know.

Aaron: 6:04

Because when you recognize those, you do have a hand up, yeah, an upper hand on that.

Josh: 6:08

Get ahead of that wave.

Aaron: 6:10

Mm-hmm. And so Robin, you and Robin have been married since.

Josh: 6:15

July, the second of 1994.

Aaron: 6:20

Have you been rehearsing that? Yes, yes, no.

Josh: 6:22

I'm pretty good about remembering it. I think she's worse about remembering it than I am.

Aaron: 6:27

And so, and she went to college.

Josh: 6:29

Yeah, she was. She graduated from TWU with an education degree. She talked public schools for about five years and then she had a preschool for 15 years and and and she quote retired about four or five years ago when our daughter was a senior and we we redo houses a lot, so she kind of took over that.

Aaron: 6:51

I was kind of tired going getting parts and picking out colors and you know girls, so kind of like that, so it kind of fell in so and and you and you you know you talk about she started a preschool. Smarty pants is a big. It is probably a lot of Part of a lot of kids lives. No, it was all mine.

Josh: 7:10

Yes, yes, and in fact her bragging thing is, I think, of the last 18 or so valedictorians, I think 15 of them went to her preschool, including your son.

Aaron: 7:22

So that's a pretty good, pretty good number. Yeah and it all starts young, so she can. It's that education they got it. Smarty paints.

Josh: 7:32

Yes, her mother, were partners and you know they enjoyed that and you know it was time to move on Oldfield. It slowed down and that I really have. You wouldn't think that would be related to this preschool business, but when all fell, slow down it, it slowed down the preschool business.

Aaron: 7:49

I mean it really an arc me all filled me. It affects a lot of different businesses Because a lot of family are affected by yes, by that. Oh yeah, you know you talked about your dad and working with your dad and him being impulsive and I know from our conversations you've learned a lot of things from dad over the years, whether it's from car dealership, whether it's ranching, whether it's just life in general. What are, what are some of those lessons that you learn from dad? And I think, from our parents? We learn those things that they directly teach us and say, son, that do this, this and this, and sometimes it's those lessons they teach us just from us watching.

Josh: 8:27

Yes, well, he was. He grew up in the end of the depression and and he was really too small for the worst of the depression, but he was so he's really poor. Mm-hmm and the main thing I learned from him is is work. I mean, he worked all the time. We didn't know. Really, sundays was much different than any other day. It was a work day.

Josh: 8:47

Mm-hmm, and and you know we, if the cowboys were playing, we did take off and then to watch them and that's about the closest thing to a day off. We did work at the car dealers all week and then on the farm at the weekends, you know, and you know, all summer I try to work out there. But that's where I learned from him is the hard work it get and it also Overcomes a lot of things if you down in the mouth and not you know thinking things are bad.

Josh: 9:14

If you go to work, that'll solve a lot of problems. It'll work you through that problem nearly all problems. Don't see many people working going around, that's true.

Aaron: 9:26

Yeah, good, I mean you can. I mean there's a lot of things you can be talented at, but if you're not working at it, yeah, it's not happened. Somebody that is a hard worker can can out beat somebody's talented in, I think yeah, for sure more times than not, for sure. So you get out of college, go to college and get a business degree and minor in philosophy. Then, then what's the what's the direction after that?

Josh: 9:51

Well, we were gonna just dad and sold that dealership, you know. And so we, we were gonna just ranch. We had about 800 cows and that, would you know, make us a decent living.

Josh: 10:00

It wasn't a big living but it would you know, we enjoyed it mm-hmm and the cattle market dropped and and I just got married and you know it's kind of hard to make a living with the cattle on bottom. So mom was in the real estate business already and she said why don't you get your real estate license? Well, I didn't think that was for me, but I did. I got my real estate license and I went to work on January, the 2nd of 1995, and I sold a house that day the same day you went to work.

Josh: 10:31

Yeah, and his mom had had the house listed five years. It was a genetic dumb home out here off of upper Vash Tyrode or old Vash.

Aaron: 10:39

Tyrode and Mom said wow, that's pretty good start. So how do you? I mean what was the same, I mean what? Was the secret that you?

Josh: 10:46

I think it was just beginner's luck, but you know I'll call it skill and the rest of the kind of history on that. I just started selling stuff and you know a little bit of commission. Then to me we look like a you know a Pretty big. You know couple hundred bucks was a lot. Yeah, that's, I needed it, Uh-huh and when the need makes you work a little harder too.

Aaron: 11:08

Uh-huh. So then, after that first house sales on it right away. Well, how long before your next sale?

Josh: 11:13

Not very long. Mom had some, some land listed, a lot of land. Back then things had been real slow after the oil bust of the 80s and she had land listed for you know 10, some of 10 years, 5 and 10 years and I Listed some tracks out here North of Bowie for a thousand dollars night there and she said, well, that was good practice for paperwork, but uh, it won't bring that here. You know I mean she showed me this list of all these properties have been well, they were.

Josh: 11:45

The guy would owner finance it, which it was hard to get land finance back then, Well, I sold the like a 25 acre tracks, like the first you know that was listening and I sold all three of them within a week and that was all within about the first month and and uh, and land started going up and and we started buying and selling. That was always a trader. Mom was not as much a trader, she just sold stuff and you know, and I kind of brought the trading part to it and I would see bargains and we'd buy them, and Together, mom would bring the money and I would bring the deal and yeah, let's put them out.

Aaron: 12:23

So then. So then your dad had sold the car dealership. So what was your dad doing? Was he just ranching the he?

Josh: 12:29

just kind of helped me tend to the cattle, you know, and and that was he stayed with that one fee. You know he was in his 60s then. It had had some hard trouble so he was ready to slow down. Mm-hmm. And uh, you know he just messed with the cows and that was really it for them, Mm-hmm.

Aaron: 12:46

So then. So then, having within the first month, having all that luck, not luck, well, maybe just things happening right, mm-hmm, probably like those things we talked about. It's those patterns. Yes, you know, I think we go through patterns of good times and bad times, and sometimes it's those good times, we catch all the right things. So did that motivate you to like man, I can make a career? Out of this like man.

Josh: 13:09

This is gonna well, I don't, I don't know that. I really still thought it was a career. It was kind of funny how I even what motivated me really to get real estate. I've got a back up just a little bit. I interviewed for a job that I thought I was ultra qualified for. Here in Buoy I've been financing people and stuff and I got turned down for that job and they hired another guy and it was really a big blessing, you know, because I had a lot more freedom and you know, I don't know that I'm making more money, but I had a lot more freedom. Mm-hmm.

Josh: 13:40

That's been good, you know, and but yeah, I mean it kind of finally blossomed into it.

Aaron: 13:46

Do you think if you'd got hired at that job that you applied for, do you think things might have? Might take you longer to get?

Josh: 13:52

Yeah, I don't think I'd ever been quite where I'm at.

Aaron: 13:55

Yeah, I mean I.

Josh: 13:57

Mean, I think I've got a her hope but I've got a career going that Hopefully my kids come back to. My daughter's just moved back and she's got a real estate license. My son wants to get his, my sister's in it, my mother's in it. Mm-hmm. I've got a nephew that's a developer. I've got a niece that's a commercial broker, you know, and when my other nephew was in the real estate for a while. So you know, mm-hmm. We've got a lot of family in the real estate business and pretty good and some cousins.

Aaron: 14:28

So how long into it, when you thought, okay, you know, I think I can make this, I think this is probably a career.

Josh: 14:34

It's not just to get me through to, I get to the next well, I'm a little hard headed so I didn't really like working for other people. So I I figured out right quick that that kind of let me do I can work on my own pace and and be my own boss, and if I screwed up, you know, my customers either wouldn't come back to me, so I tried to please them.

Josh: 14:53

Mm-hmm and and people think when you work for yourself in the real estate business, you're not really got a boss. But actually I've got a lot more bosses than the average person, but we only have to work for them 30 or 45 days.

Aaron: 15:06

But I mean people who had have the same boss there in advance because they know they're how they work. Yes, but you're dealing with somebody new every 3045 days and you're having to adjust of how this person operates, because everybody operates on a different and that's another big lesson I learned from mom and dad about flexible, being flexible.

Josh: 15:23

Growing up, I can't, because we never knew what we were gonna be doing that day. We might be moving cattle, we might be picking cars up and footwear. It's all over. And and I always told my kids growing up, the most important thing in life is flexibility if you can do whatever you need to do to get it done. That'll, that'll. You know it will all. With that hard work, it's pretty hard to be.

Aaron: 15:46

Mm-hmm, there's no with your grumpy dad, mom, there's no set way. Hey, we're gonna do this and this is planned out for the week.

Josh: 15:53

And we're not. We're the most unplanned people. It drives my wife crazy and it and it drives a lot of planned people Crazy. You know, I come down there and work out at your gym and it probably drives you crazy because I do the same things every time and most people want to do Very. That's about the only thing I do. It's actually the same thing every time I do it.

Aaron: 16:15

So that is a kind of nice to start your day. Yeah, I don't have to think about it.

Josh: 16:19

I just like I'm gonna go do my routine. And the rest of it, it may go south real quick from.

Aaron: 16:25

There.

Aaron: 16:26

You never know because we've talked about, you know, in the morning, like because so many things can be variables for you during the day. So for you, you know, if I'm gonna have a routine, it's got to be first thing in the morning. Yes, I got get up early, I got to do it. Do you see that Routine as, because you don't have a routine and you hear all these things as people say, oh well, you got to have a routine, you got to have a routine? Do you think that maybe our, that is your routine in the morning helps you Be successful and everything else you do that day?

Josh: 16:55

Yes, yes, I think it. It always makes me feel better for one thing, and it just starts the day off with a positive. You know what you've seen? The podcast about the guy made the bed Thing and it started off with a positive. And it's just hard to be a positive start. The average started off right, so it's hard to bring the, the average, down you know, kind of make any positive direction and anything you're doing even if it's a tiny bit.

Aaron: 17:21

And you sack those up throughout the day and it really it adds up. So over the years, you know Definitely real estate from 95 till you know well, we 30 years, 30 years, how's that? How's it changed in our community, in, you know, in buoy and maybe surrounding Montague County?

Josh: 17:40

Well, you know, I've been doing it nearly 30 years now and it is crazy, I'm gonna say it's changed more in the last five years than it's changed in the entire time I've been in it. Before that and in the fact that the, the media type you know the tick tocks, the Facebooks, the everything, and I'm kind of over I mean, I'm not old, but it's harder for me to change because I was so busy doing it the way I was doing it. It made it hard to want to adapt these new ways and these younger people or newer people to it. They're, you know, they've got a, they've got time to learn that and sometimes, with all other deals we've got going, it's hard for me to slow down enough to learn as much as I should.

Aaron: 18:28

And that's what my daughter coming on I'm hoping she's gonna kind of modernize me and and and tick tock and and you know, snapchat and all that stuff that I'm really and you know and I, because sometimes as we get older and we think sometimes younger, and I find myself this way too, that well, they don't know this or that or you know, but I do find that when it comes to some of the social media and things like that, the younger you find them that can help you. They can really add a lot of value, oh yeah, to your business, and I think in the past we've been like well, you know, they're 21, 22, 23. What do they know? But I think they can bring a lot of, a lot of value a lot of new energy and new ideas that you know everything changes just like that flexibility things, why you gotta be flexible?

Josh: 19:19

because there's always change and and consequently you need that. Young ideas that that they don't even know what the old way is, so a new way to them's the way. They don't even realize that you know there was some other way of doing it before and it's a little easier for them to learn that and and that's good for them and and and, consequently, hopefully good for us and rub off on us and get the soul terms caught up to speed because we're not too old to learn, I mean we hope we're learning every day.

Aaron: 19:49

Yeah, so do you feel so? How do you come back, like, if you're not up on social media and all that for selling real estate and different things, how do you, how do you compete with that, you know, when you may not be up to date with all that, all the social media right?

Josh: 20:06

Well, I just I hope that you know, like I say, she can help modernize us there and then we're just kind of watching. You know Our state level tar takes Association realtors, has some classes and some things. It'll kind of help modernize you and and you know you watch your peers, you know and you can always learn from them. We help, even if you know they're a newcomer. Sometimes they've got some them new ideas.

Aaron: 20:33

You know that they They've seen somebody else or maybe they've just a new idea created and with the growing of social media, do you find that people still like to connect, like I know We've talked before. You like to go into all steps and get a drink or a snack, because it's not necessarily the snack or the drink that you want to go in and get it's. You want to see who's in there.

Josh: 20:57

Yes, I love people and in my daughter's the same way, and it's kind of funny I'll find myself just Talking randomly to different people and it kind of irritates my wife. But you know, I'm just that way. I like to see, I like to know about their families and their people, what they I don't know. I'm kind of nosy and I seem to have a natural talent for people telling me everything about yourself without me really even having. I had, and I always had a fun time with my daughter.

Josh: 21:27

One time she brought this boyfriend in and I told her I was having a private investigator Investigating. Well, I talked to him about five minutes and just ask him a few questions. He just told me everything there was to know, almost. And so later on I said I had this private investigator Tell me and long story short, she said you really had you get him to find all that you know on this kid. I said he actually told me have a bit of it. And and people tell you what they want or what they need or you know which really pays off of the sales business.

Aaron: 22:00

And that, and that really is. I mean, that is a skill that I don't think people pay attention enough to, that that you know, especially as business owners, that people will tell you what they want, what they need, what they're looking for. If we listen, they might. They might not come out and say I'm looking for a home, that is blah, blah, blah. But when they start telling you about their family and how it's about to grow in the space they need you know, I mean, you can match a place with them because you start to know, oh, that's, they're telling me what they need without telling me what the physical structure needs to look right, right for sure, you know, and a lot of people think they want one thing, but they, when they find it, is totally Probably just like Kim when she found you.

Aaron: 22:42

Yeah, and one way she's expected. Yeah, that's right. But then she stuck with this.

Josh: 22:47

She's happy and still are now. That's right. That's pretty good.

Aaron: 22:52

Yeah, so it really is about and I bring that back to about you connect with people because, yes, there's a way to connect with social media, but I just think that that misses out sometimes on that human connection.

Josh: 23:05

Yes, that's what the the funny thing and use back to your original question of how things have changed. When, oh seven, when we bought that business back, or his building, we moved down there and we'd been on 59 and they had put a turning lane out there so we didn't have any parking lot. When we moved up here on Y Street, it is nearly instantly tripled our business because of the location and people were coming in. Now we literally, I don't think, have maybe one person a week ever walk in our real estate office and back then we'd have practically 80% of our business was walking.

Aaron: 23:43

That's not because business is slower.

Josh: 23:45

No, no, it's been busy.

Aaron: 23:46

It's because of they can go online.

Josh: 23:48

Yeah of realtorcom will, as they'll, oh, you know all the media spots that sell real estate lands of Texas, you know, and land watch and an 07 no 809.

Aaron: 24:00

They really are when you you know they have to come in to see what you have, because it's not always listed unless you look in the paper or right, right for sure.

Josh: 24:07

They would come in with the shopper, the booey news, yeah. So where's this place? I Can't say that we've had that in five years. Hmm, you know, they just do not look in the papers anymore.

Aaron: 24:19

Uh-huh, they're just looking online and yeah, and a lot of times they've looked at all the pictures, they've looked at square footage and all that. So they're coming at you probably a little more educated, yeah so you find it in that aspect. It's a little I mean a little easier not easier, but a little different that they are come knowing a little more than they used to right?

Josh: 24:37

well, they come in a lot of times where we used to have to tell them what they you know here. This is about. This is wrong now they come in. Hey. I've seen this online. I want to go look at this. Mm-hmm.

Josh: 24:48

It's not us telling them most of the time it's them telling us what they want to see, that they've seen mm-hmm. So we've got to attract them in in a different nature. You know we've got to attract them in because of us, they know us, or they've got some connection Online somewhere you know or and like with like real for about comms. Hello, you know We've got pages where our pictures are.

Josh: 25:12

You know where we try to pop up Pay for positions mm-hmm to pop up for the top of a page so that we kind of beat people out there.

Aaron: 25:21

Mm-hmm you know, so the first thing that you they see when they pull it up, yes, mm-hmm, it water Um I. What are some successes you've had, and not just, maybe it's not just in real estate, because you do ranching too and you have and I wrote this name down, but I'm not gonna get the name right certain type of Bulls right.

Josh: 25:41

Yeah, sure like charlotte.

Aaron: 25:42

Okay, I put charlotte but and and so that. That's. You know, that's really a business of yours, it's really a passion, I mean.

Josh: 25:55

Yes, we talked before, if you could just live off the ranch, you'd be yes, yes, I would love to do that and and it, you know, really not much of a reality anymore because land's gotten so high and but. But you know we do have a fair amount to where we I'm like a pretty decent living and I've had good fortune there too, in the fact I've got a couple of families that had connections through For, you know, most of my life really and had leases that are that they're not selling their land. It's been really fortunate for me and you know I take pretty good care of their places too. I'm pretty known as a pretty good steward of the land, so I you know they don't have a need to want to go somewhere else. Yeah.

Josh: 26:37

But I love selling bulls, you know, and meeting people. Again, I get to see their ranches and deliver the bulls to their places. And I've got a little niche in the fact that I don't sell really registered bulls. I've got registered stock but I sell kind of commercially to the bigger ranches out west a lot Sell five and ten at a time, which is a lot in a bull market, you know. And to people and they, you know it, sells me out pretty quick, you know. And and they're putting them on black cows. So they don't care that they're registered, they just want good bulls you know, at a decent price.

Josh: 27:11

Maybe not a full registered price, but it's pretty close. You know, and that's. That's a little man. It was kind of a mentor down at Decatur. I kind of emulated that a little bit and that's how he did it. Mm-hmm.

Josh: 27:24

And I was pretty good friends with him. So how long have you been selling bulls and well, I've been in the real the charlotte business for about 20 years, I guess, and we've always had cattle pretty much in life. But but the charlotte's dad had had them in the 60s and 70s and he sold them and then we kind of got back into them. In 94, when the cattle market went down, I started buying a few charlotte bulls from a little old man I was telling you about.

Josh: 27:49

Decatur and and and he kind of taught me in to get a few cows and next thing, I know I got a Few more and anyway it's been fun and charlotte bulls are.

Aaron: 28:00

They're white right.

Josh: 28:01

Yes, yeah, sir.

Aaron: 28:04

A city boy like me. Yeah, I know, it's because Robin post pictures. That's already. My wife likes to take pictures.

Josh: 28:10

Yeah, that's she's. It's kind of funny. Yeah, you can always get better at stuff. Because when she used to take pictures of us working cattle, it's always same picture at the head gate giving them a shot. I said, honey, could you not take a little better picture?

Josh: 28:24

I mean, it's the same picture every time and now she don't ever take that picture and she gets some really good pictures. I've wanted to enter in some contest, you know, of the bulls and and you know and people out in the cattle and different things and some of the sites. You say I'd three inch and it's really. You know, we love it, that's our passion. We, we get out on a ranger and ride around. Well, maybe not this time right now, but uh, but most of the time that's our only real hobby. Mm-hmm.

Aaron: 28:52

Just seeing stuff and taking pictures and Kim always comments about the pictures she takes like man. Those are really good because Kim likes she's you know, she likes the animals and land and landscaping, all that and she's like man. Those are really good. So it's neat. So what successes have you had over the years? Maybe one or two in the real estate business or Cattle business that have really, you know, said yeah, just reassurance of I'm doing that right, or you know, just the maybe successful thing you've learned, and one of those businesses are both or right.

Josh: 29:30

Well, I would say two things is it kind of goes with both businesses and nearly all businesses Is is to take care of what you're giving. You know, whether it's the ranch land, the cattle, the people, you know, it all goes hand in hand. If you take care of it, it it comes back to you, not tenfold. I mean, that's, that's what I would say, and I Feel like I take pretty good care of customers, you know, and try to make them happy and sometimes it's hard, sometimes you don't make them happy, but if you've tried your best, that's, you know you know all

Aaron: 30:07

you can do and, as we've talked before and I've mentioned with other businesses, is we're not, you know, as business owners, we're not for everybody. There's some people, just like you know. If somebody wants not a charlotte bull, you're not the person for no, and and that's okay, you know, that's okay that if we're not, we don't necessarily have to be for everybody.

Aaron: 30:32

But but for those, that people that we are given and the things and we're given, if we take good care of that, I think that you're right, it does come back to us and those that Maybe we just weren't a right fit and then we just weren't a right fit and we move on. So what about some challenges? I know you know, being in buoy all these years, there's challenges, and challenges aren't necessarily bad things. It's just things sometimes that Are challenges, just like any family. Um, I have a, you know, two brothers and a sister, and we have challenges. We had challenges growing up as kids. We've had challenges growing up as adults, um, but we're still family. So what are? What are maybe a couple challenges that either your business had or just that you've seen that our community has had over the over all those years?

Josh: 31:20

Well, I'll say a positive thing about buoy that I love. We've been insulated against a lot of the recessions and in the down times in my career Uh, because of the oil field and various things, like in when the bubble burst and like i8.

Josh: 31:39

You know, what we had the oil boom starting here and everybody was talking about how bad it was real, statewide in the whole united states, and we were just kicking another gear right here. You know, our oilfield men were working, making great money, and a eog coming here and was drilling wells and and you know that money was getting spread around.

Josh: 31:58

And so that was a definitely a good thing. But the the challenges have been, you know, in the cattle business, the drowsse I mean. Like in 11 it was, we sold, you know, half a cattle and it's pretty, you know you don't just go replace them overnight and and it don't recover overnight. You know, and it. It's not fun, you know, but you just live through it and go to Roll on to the next deal.

Aaron: 32:24

And so, but sometimes that sounds kind of easy to roll on to the next deal, but that kind of that can be challenging. Yes, I mean, do you think so when you say that you know, and really having a couple businesses, um, do you see that too as helpful, as you know? Because when the cattle market's down, maybe real estate's up. When real estate's down, maybe cattle's up. When both of them are up, that's great, but probably in all those years has it, is it pretty rare that both are down at the same time.

Josh: 32:53

Yes, we're pretty much right. Right now the real estate's down a little bit, yeah you know. But the the cattle business is about as high as it's been, and you know, since 15 and and it's you know, pretty, pretty good. You know it kind of keeps me busy Mentally, because sometimes you get so busy in the real estate business can't quite get to it all. So when you get slow it'll kind of, you know, kind of wear on you a little bit.

Josh: 33:16

And when you got the for me, when I get the cattle and get out there and mother nature and you know and where, where you're happy and quiet and you know it kind of and you're making a little money too, you know it kind of helps to kind of solve your mental dilemmas.

Aaron: 33:35

Mental dilemmas. That's true, because sometimes, when we have people, I hate to say yakkin at us, but when they're they're talking at us, it's hard to get through some of that mental stuff. Yes, and you know, I think that can be a form of therapy. When you're out there, it's quiet, definitely, and nobody's neat. I mean cows need some feeding water and otherwise. That's about it. Yes, yes, what it's old. Our community, you know, we hear all the time, as in this is 2023, that a lot of people are moving into our community.

Josh: 34:04

Um, is there still places in the land to be bought up and oh yeah, yeah, we're strategically placed, where you know we're decaders, pretty much turning into a metro place almost it's, almost it's building up in between it and footwork pretty quick and we're, you know, we're kind of the outline area like Decatur had been 20 years earlier and and they're coming here fast, you know, and they're dividing these places into 10 and 15 and 20 acre tracks.

Josh: 34:34

They bring a lot of money and there's a lot of people building houses. You know Decatur itself, population, wise, hasn't grown in the city limits because their city limits is limited. But, their. Their business area around is really grown. It's just like they can't keep up with the schools and everything. And all the development outside of the city limits and that's kind of we're not there yet. But we're moving that direction and that's good and that's bad. I mean the real estate business. I guess it's good.

Josh: 35:02

But, you know it is. It does pose challenges to the city, you know, keeping up and and everything really and everybody the whole time we're here. It's hard to adjust to new traffic and new people and different ideas because the city people don't think like we do. And that's not that they're wrong, it's just, you know, we're all slower paced and and like everybody, and Sometimes they're a little faster paced and don't like to wait on us slow talking country people.

Aaron: 35:31

Yeah, I mean it does. So do you see, with what you see in real estate and sound houses, land, all that, do you see Us getting closer to like Decatur in that land growing like that in the next 20 years?

Josh: 35:45

Yes, definitely. When I first got in real estate, you know 25, 30 years ago, it was People always bought little tracks and they were going to build a house on it and.

Speaker 1: 35:54

I always.

Josh: 35:55

Joked and said well, if I just had a dollar for every place I sell that they were going to build a house on that they don't build a house on, I'd be rich. Well, now they're actually doing that. You know. They're now with the internet, a lot of people not working at an office and we got great internet service here.

Josh: 36:12

You know, with a lot of it's got fiber you know so it's fast and and and people are moving out here to for a different lifestyle and and they want that and they can get that here and that's what I think's great about buoy. You know you get the slower pace and you know, and maybe we don't have all the fancy restaurants, but everybody's got a good vehicle. They drive 30 minutes or an hour to Metroplex area if they've got to have them fancy places and and they can be in our slow town it's has fun and we've got a lot of little stores downtown and you know, and a lot of things to do here you know you just got to adjust from the city mentality to the Small towns.

Aaron: 36:52

So we talk about then those that move in, adjust city to small mentality. How do we as community members of buoy Adjust to those moving in?

Josh: 37:04

Well, we have to be broad-minded because you know, uh, for instance, I, you know where we live, out the country, we're not used to any close neighbors and we've had a little place that sold down the road from us. They divided into smaller tracks, you know, and the people our dogs are used to roaming, you know, probably a mile radius around the house and we didn't think nothing of it. And this lady built a house and you know, our dogs got in your yard and she shot one, shot two of them, kill one of them, you know, and that's, uh was. We were just not used to people. Most of them would have just called us and say your dogs are over here and they're bothering our chickens, or you know, and wanted us to pay them for their chicken if it hurt it or something. But uh, they don't think the same, you know. So we have to adjust and just say well, you know, I guess you know I was probably justified. Maybe it could have been a little different, but that that's just got to adjust that they think different.

Aaron: 38:01

I think they do have to adjust and I think sometimes we think, well, they need to adjust to us. But I think if they adjust a little bit, we adjust a little bit and and be welcoming of those that come and. And I think they do find that as they move in From other places, they see the way our community culture is and I think they started to Assimilate with that. And but too, we have to, we can't be so quick, I think, to say Well, we don't like them moving in. Yes, because those are really good things for our community, for our small businesses, for organizations, because they also bring new ideas, like you said.

Josh: 38:45

Yes, you know, and they're like the Chapman building here, for instance, these people have fixed this property up, and and there's other properties that's been fixed up around town Because people bring in new money, new ideas and they want to see Buoy beautified and some of our old buildings were getting dilapidated and, and when they, they do that. You know it's a positive and it gives Buoy's a better image, and, uh, and you know it's a positive.

Speaker 1: 39:09

You just got a you know they've just got a.

Josh: 39:11

We've got to support those small businesses so we can keep that flow up to Upgrade our town To something that we're proud of because I mean it's just like our homes.

Aaron: 39:23

Yes, you know, we're constantly Doing things to our homes to make them look better. Yes, same thing is true with our Community. We have to be doing things and people want to come in and bring their money and bring some new ideas. Then I think we should be open to that if it's for the betterment of our Community, because it's just going to get in more people too, and you know. So what? What might you say to those that say Well, we don't want our town to grow?

Josh: 39:52

Well, I can just tell you that it's going to grow and you can like it and or you cannot like it. But the positive side is to me is is you know, you get new people, you get new ideas and, uh, you know it's, it's a great place to live and we're strategically placed between two Larger towns. You know, or we can get to anywhere, get anything we don't have In an hour. Mm-hmm.

Josh: 40:19

And uh, and I just think that it's a great place. Mm-hmm you know, yeah, it's um. I mean, that's why and talk about Baxter.

Aaron: 40:31

She's moving back or she is back, right so, and she had moved away. And I always think that's one of the best things when because, like I've mentioned on many shows, we encourage our kids to move away, not because it's a bad place to live, but because we wanted to be able to appreciate what they had, because growing up here you might be a little more fortunate, you might have already appreciated what we have here. But I think sometimes with social media, kids think, well, it's better in their neighborhood, which is somewhere else, and they don't appreciate what we have here until they go live somewhere else.

Josh: 41:06

Yes, they have to move off and learn that sometimes the greener grass on the other side of the fence is caused by septic issues and then, they want to come back home sometimes and say that it is a great place and like in Baxter's new ideas, her moving back she had down there at Waco she was an extrovert and likes people and they had a fajita Tuesday or fajita Monday where a lot of younger adults at the graduated college were getting together and it'd be like 20, 30, 40 people and they'd have it at various houses every week and they would.

Josh: 41:44

It'd make a simple food. It didn't necessarily have a real meal and they really got a lot of networking there. And she moved back to Boo-Hinsh and I'm not gonna have any friends and I said well, there's more people here than you think, that you're age and so and she's gonna have her first. I don't know what she's calling. It's not a fajita Monday cause it's on Saturday, but she's having that tomorrow night and I think she's got about 30 people. She's figured out that's her age. It's got various jobs no uncertain job, some's married, some's single and she's having them out just to socialize and kind of get them grouped together.

Josh: 42:22

So she's bringing in a new idea from an outside line deal and she's an original person there.

Aaron: 42:28

So you know, and that's really neat because I do hear a lot of 20 somethings say, well, there's nothing to do, there's nobody here, you know so, and I applaud her for that, because she's taken action and say let me get all these people together. And I think sometimes, when we want change, we have to take that action. Yes.

Aaron: 42:49

And say, well, let me be part of the change, instead of and I think sometimes we fall into that mindset of, well, what was me? Nothing's gonna change, cause we've probably both heard that about our community over the years Well it's. How many times have you heard well, it's booey. Yes. And I'd always encourage people to say it's booey.

Josh: 43:08

Yeah, it's booey.

Aaron: 43:09

Yeah, like be excited about it instead of. Well, you know, and I think I would encourage people as new people move in with new ideas that we don't necessarily tell them. Well, it's booey, that's not gonna let them try, Because we never know what might take off from her Saturday night.

Josh: 43:28

Yeah, you're right and, like you know, you're always on a lot of different media about leadership and the right leader. I've seen a lot of businesses and I couldn't figure out how that worked, but the right leader were leading. It made money or you know, whatever it is and necessarily making money leading the town to build new. This, you know, EDC or whatever.

Josh: 43:51

You know, leadership, you know, is strategic and we've, I think, got pretty good leadership here. We've got a great mayor and some other great assets and booey, you know, that's kind of moving us forward. I like that.

Aaron: 44:07

Yeah, and I do see our town growing over the years and there'll be growing pains, just like anything things we don't like, things that work, but it'll just be. Take time, yes, but we'll probably have plenty of land and plenty of houses to keep selling.

Josh: 44:22

I think so. The houses actually the houses are a little limited. We need some builders to come in here and build new homes. It's been kind of difficult with our price point of what most booey people think is an affordable house to develop the lots, because it costs a lot of money to develop lots. Until my nephew was a developer, I really didn't really know what it took to develop a lot. And then you've got to get all the utilities. You got to do the city politics, you got to get the surveys, the drainage, you know all of that.

Josh: 44:55

There's a lot of engineering goes into that and there's not a lot of buildable lots in town and consequently that's kind of limiting our quick growth. If we had some in place lots. You know, because if you got a $40,000 or $50,000 lot, which is really probably what it would take, it costs to develop a lot. That already sets the bar pretty high for a booey house. You know when you build a house. You know usually our houses under 300,000 sell the best.

Josh: 45:27

And if you start getting about 300,000. Now it's a little more difficult sell. When I first started, if it was over 100,000, you couldn't hardly sell it, and so it's obviously went way up.

Aaron: 45:39

So has that changed in the last couple of years? Cause I know house prices have increased the last couple of years and then that's so that's changed in just the last couple of years.

Josh: 45:48

Since COVID it's doubled in three years. I mean, it's a house that was a $150,000 house, easily a 300,000 now.

Aaron: 45:56

And that's just because of the demand.

Josh: 45:57

Yes, the demand I mean this people were. They were that cheap interest drove up the pricing you know, and consequently you know when it gets up high. And now labor cost is so difficult and so high that they can't build them for what they could, you know. And so when the construction costs go up, generally housing values go up, and that's always been and will kind of always be.

Aaron: 46:23

And I think sometimes we want to kind of blame as prices increase in our community. Well, it's all those people moving in. They're driving up the prices.

Josh: 46:31

Yeah, and I don't know that that's always the case. I mean the demand's there. I mean it's a lot of the local houses that are selling to local people. And that is so many younger people that are staying here because they like Louis too. So, it's not. I'm gonna say, you know, when we sell a house in the city limits proper of Louis, I wanna say it's about 70% chance it's a local person or a young person that's moved back. You know it's not, you know, I wouldn't say they're outsiders.

Speaker 1: 46:58

When they're from here.

Josh: 46:59

Right, you know. So I'm gonna say only 20, 30%. You know and that's not a scientific, but it's Josh's scientific.

Aaron: 47:08

And it's really. It really breaks down the supply and demand. Yes, Cost goes up because there's less supply, less houses. More demand.

Josh: 47:15

Yeah, there's less houses, like said, being built. Less houses, you know the older houses that get fixed up. They're just a fine out of number of them.

Aaron: 47:25

And so they go up, so that's just fine. How it is.

Josh: 47:29

Yes.

Aaron: 47:30

So what, as we wrap up, what makes you call Bowie my hometown?

Josh: 47:36

Well, I think it's the fact that I've always loved it. I can remember when we were going to high school and people like I can't wait to get out of Bowie and I'm like what's so bad about Bowie? I thought I was, you know, live like a king here. I mean, I've had everything I wanted. My parents had businesses and I knew everybody. I could walk in anywhere and I like knowing people and you know, I don't know as many people now because there's more new people, but that's what I like too, also meeting new people and but you still got the small town of people that you know, a lot of base of the people, and then you got enough new people to keep you entertained, to meet new people and keep it growing and glowing and hopefully, you know, moving on, Uh-huh.

Aaron: 48:26

Yeah, and that's a good point. It's a good mix of new people and people you know, yeah, and if you're an extrovert, you like that, yeah, and that's a. You know, I'm by nature an introvert, so you talked way more than I would, because I'd never gone to all sorts of just to strike up a conversation.

Aaron: 48:45

Well, I know it sounds crazy, but but it works, yeah, and I think it. And I think that being able to network and talk to people like that definitely helps business and it helps you know, just like this podcast. It helps people get to know, get to know you. But that's how we get to know people, because when we social media or text, we don't quite get the same energy or connection as we do sitting across from each other, standing across from each other.

Josh: 49:15

Yeah, you know more about them. You can read their face and it's it reads different in person than it does through the lens. Mm-hmm.

Aaron: 49:23

So I'd always encourage people in our small community to get out and talk to people. Get out and talk to those business owners to get to know them, just to see what we have to offer. Yes, because I think a lot of times we don't do that. We just say, well, this is just buoy.

Josh: 49:40

Yes.

Aaron: 49:41

And I think we need to change that attitude to excitement of this is this is buoy.

Josh: 49:48

Yes, definitely, and I think I forgot to tell that I think God bless this thing. I mean, I think we're all blessed. Mm-hmm.

Aaron: 49:59

And I agree, I think we're very blessed and we have to, because, you're right, buoy is a strange place that we just seem to have a bubble around.

Josh: 50:08

Yep, we're unique.

Aaron: 50:10

We're unique and it's not a bad. It's almost, like I said, it's a blessing bubble. Yes, I think so, that you know, and we hope that as people come in, they feel that, yes, as they come into our town by house, by land, whatever, it is Go to the gym. Go to the gym. Come visit one of us.

Josh: 50:28

Yes.

Aaron: 50:29

Well, how's your?

Josh: 50:31

built you.

Aaron: 50:32

That's right Physically and structurally yeah.

Aaron: 50:36

Yeah Well, thank you, josh, for joining me today. I appreciate you taking the time to share a little about cattle business, about real estate, and I think people are interested in knowing about the real estate and how that impacts our community, cause it really does make a big difference what sells, who moves in, moves out, and so I just appreciate you taking the time and sharing some of the lessons that your dad taught you. I know he taught you a whole lot more than what we touched on today, cause we've talked about a lot of them, and thank goodness for dads that teach us lessons, you know, tell us directly, but also show us things we do and don't want to do.

Josh: 51:13

Yeah, for sure. Well, thanks for having me here and thanks for you know all the good things.

Aaron: 51:20

So how can people before I forget, how can people connect with Sue Swain-Rildey Yep?

Josh: 51:26

Well, you can get on SueSwainRildeycom and see our listings and our website and it's got a contact numbers. If you're on Facebook and you want to see Charlées, my wife put went Charlées pictures on there pretty regular. Maybe not as much in the summer in this heat, but you can get us one of them two ways.

Aaron: 51:44

So we'll put both of those in the show notes and if you happen to follow your brother on Facebook they can catch you, maybe catching an aperture Catch me napping. Yeah, that was the greatest.

Josh: 51:56

Yes, Just like me, we can nap anywhere. Yeah, that's right, that's a talent, you get us to stay where we're at.

Aaron: 52:02

Yeah, I tell Kim. I say that's a blessing that we have been, that's a gift that many people are jealous of. So, thank you, Josh. We'll put those in the show notes and they can connect with you that way. So I appreciate you taking a little time to be on with us today. Thank you to each of you for stopping by. I'm on the 40 C around my hometown.

Speaker 1: 52:21

Thank you for listening to today's podcast. If you would like to connect with Aaron, you can do so by going to arandeglarcom or find him on social media as Aaron Deglar on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Once again, we greatly appreciate you tuning in. If you have enjoyed this show, please feel free to rate, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcast. We greatly appreciate that effort and we will see you around in my hometown. Day Are.