Forged In Fire

Episode 25: Navigating Real Estate: From Chicago Triplex to 200 Units

Nate Pharmer-Eden & Cole Farrell Season 1 Episode 25

Linda from Married to Real Estate shares her journey from property management to owning 193 units and developing commercial properties. Her story reveals how networking, mindset shifts, and embracing uncertainty transformed her from managing properties for others to building a substantial real estate portfolio.

• Started in property management for nearly 10 years before deciding to become an owner
• First investment was a Chicago triplex where they implemented house hacking and BRRRR strategies
• Moved to Houston after researching population growth, job growth, and crime rates in various cities
• Shifted from single-family to commercial real estate to accelerate path to financial freedom
• Participated as a passive investor first to understand the syndication process from the investor perspective
• Currently owns 193 units plus a retail center under development
• Planning to diversify into boutique hotels and assisted living facilities
• Runs a virtual real estate meetup every Thursday at 11am CST
• Recently became John Maxwell certified as a speaker and coach
• Uses LinkedIn as a powerful networking tool by posting consistently and authentically

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Speaker 1:

Forget what you've heard. Forged in Fire is where real entrepreneurs come to share the untold truths of success the late nights, the crushing setbacks, the moments that change everything. No fluff, just fire, ready to step into the heat and unlock what it really takes to build a business. This is where legends are made.

Speaker 2:

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another exciting episode of Forza and Fire. I am your co-host, nate Farmradin. Let me introduce my counterpart, cole. How we doing brother. Come on stage, man.

Speaker 3:

Nate, what's going on? How's your Tuesday going?

Speaker 2:

Brother, Tuesday is a Tuesday. One of my property managers just texted me, told me that we've got some stuff going on, like a case where my name was brought up. I'm like what. This just never ends, man. But it's fine, Everything's on fire.

Speaker 3:

How about you, brother? I love it. Just a day in the life had an eviction this morning One of the not fun parts of the job, but it never ceases to amaze me what you find in there. And our tenants decided to rip up the floors, do their own plumbing and then also install washer dryer hookups, and I just can't make this shit up. So it is what it is, but I'm trying to see how bad it is. But I digress. I'm excited for this episode. I'm sure we have many, many more stories to go through. So, as always, guys, we have one favor to ask you If you could, please leave us a review so that we can grow. This helps us educate others. It helps more people find us and continue to do these episodes. So please just do that. Leave a review wherever you're watching this, but besides that. So please just do that. Leave a review wherever you're watching this, but besides that, sit back, relax, enjoy.

Speaker 2:

Dude, it's going to be amazing. Today we are joined by Mary to Real Estate. Linda is here. She's going to speak for both. Unfortunately, connor was not able to make it, but that's all right, because Linda is going to bring the heat. She's going to bring the fire. Currently, to date, she's up to almost like 200 units and is talking about some development they've got going on. Look, let me just be quiet. Let me go ahead and bring her on stage and let's see what we got going on here. Linda, how are we doing today?

Speaker 4:

I'm doing fantastic. I love this introduction. It's a little bit of like pressure for Connor not being able to be on and then also like shooting for the stars. So yes, let's do it, I'm ready.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, guys for having me on. This is going to be phenomenal, so please tell us a little bit about yourself. What got you here?

Speaker 4:

What brought you here? Yes, absolutely so. I do real estate right. Married to a real estate is the name of our company. I founded that with my husband, connor, so that's where the name came from. We were literally newlyweds when we started this whole adventure, and how we started investing in real estate actually is because we both have a background in property management. So I was a property manager for close to 10 years. My mother-in-law has been a property manager forever. My sister-in-law has been a property manager forever. Connor has worked in property management. It's just a whole family affair and eventually we kind of started looking at each other Like if we can manage it for others, we can also own it. And this is where we are now.

Speaker 3:

That is awesome. So give me some more details. What, how did you build like? What's the strategy? What do you focus on? What's your bread and butter? How does that look?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, so we definitely started. I don't want to say small because it felt huge to me, but we definitely started on the residential side, like a lot of people do. Right, we didn't jump right into the commercial size of properties, but but we always manage multi, like big multifamilies, like I always manage condos and HOAs and like all those types of properties. Our first one that we actually owned was a triplex, so we did a bunch of strategies on it. We house hacked it. It ended up being somewhat of a burr like buy, rehab, refinance, rent, repeat, all of that kind of stuff. We also kind of did like almost like a live and flip because we were doing things in our unit for the longest time and then, yeah, eventually we sold it and we moved on to bigger, better things and that's how that's where the commercial size started to develop was after that property, for sure.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it. This is going to be a two-part question, so talk to me a little bit more about what it was like getting that first triplex. So when I got started, I house hacked my first duplex and I did it sort of the non-conventional way Again, hopefully this is not a recorded line it definitely is because it's a podcast, but whatever. So I bought the duplex, then moved my sister in as my roommate and I never lived there, not a single day in my life. I never spent the night there. So I never knew what it was like to be like next to like tenants. So talk to me a little bit about that. And then the next piece to that is talk to me about some of the like, the trials and tribulations, some of the struggles behind all of it. So please fill me in.

Speaker 4:

Oh yes, oh, I have, I have those, don't worry so well. Long story short, what it felt like? It felt pretty weird. Like I'm not going to lie, we actually have a renter right now in our home where we live. We have a garage apartment. I'm not going to bore you guys with the details, but I'm kind of like holding it warm for when my mom will come live in the US. I'm actually from Europe, originally myself, so in the meantime, until she arrives, we have a renter in there.

Speaker 4:

So it's a very similar situation that we had when we were in the triplex, which is you run into your renters all the time. There's no escaping them. They cannot escape you. You're always very close to each other, so it's a very interesting situation. So sometimes it's great. Right In the triplex we had fantastic tenants upstairs.

Speaker 4:

The tab works like when we have a package, they would get it inside the house or vice versa, really kind of like always helping each other out. And then sometimes it's not so great. Unfortunately, we had people downstairs who, I like to say, catfished us. I didn't know you could do that in real estate until it happened to me, but it was definitely a situation where somebody filled out the application and somebody else moved in, and so we had no information about the person who actually moved in, other than the fact that you know we live with them again couldn't escape them, they couldn't escape us.

Speaker 4:

So we saw how they lived. They were not the best neighbors, they were not the best tenants. They were not the best tenants. Unfortunately it was during covid, so there was nothing we could do at literally calling the attorney hey, they're not paying, they're doing this, they're doing that and the attorney was like, yep, well, hang in there. And uh. So yeah, we were definitely exposed to like the good, the bad and the ugly on that property. Between that and the rehabs that we did, we had vacancies for a while too, which was both, you know, not so great financially, but perfect at a time where no one knew where the world was headed. So for us it was like, do we really want to invite strangers in our home, right, even though it's a separated unit? So we went through it all with that one. It definitely equipped us the right way.

Speaker 3:

That's so funny. I think a lot of people go through those crazy stories and again, there's just so many different stories. I think it's so funny. They probably thought they like pulled one over on you and were like, oh, we fill out the application, we made it. They moved in. They're like oh no, like that's, the owners live here. Like I can't imagine just that stomach drop, but what a shame. So you did the triplex, you figured it out and at some point you said, okay, let's go bigger. So talk to me about that. Like what did that look like? Why go bigger? What was the choice or the thought behind that and how did you do it?

Speaker 4:

Yeah. So it definitely like I make it sound like it was instantaneous, but it was a year and a half or so for us to go through that process. So what happened was that Triplex was in Chicago. That's where we were at the time and we were kind of at that phase in our relationship where so I forgot to mention, by the way, that Connor and I had just started dating at that time Like, I mean, we had been together a while but we were not even engaged, we were not married, nothing.

Speaker 4:

So discovering landlording was also like the discovery part of the relationship. It was kind of like we're either going to make it or break it. But eventually we realized that we were making it and that, you know, we kind of wanted to take the next level personally and we realized we didn't want to do that in Chicago. So we kind of I'm an Excel nerd, so we kind of did this whole spreadsheet thing going on where back before it was trendy, we looked at population growth and job growth and crime rates in all kinds of different cities of the US and for a number of reasons, but mostly real estate and the fact that we have family down here we moved to Houston. So our goal was really we're going to take.

Speaker 4:

So we ended up selling that triplex, right?

Speaker 4:

So our goal was we're going to take those proceeds and we're going to reinvent them where we'll be able to stretch it further, because the market is not as expensive down here.

Speaker 4:

What we did not expect is that there's not as many triplexes here, or even quads right it's. You can find somewhat a lot of duplex, especially in like oops, sorry, especially in suburbs areas, but it's not as common as in Chicago, especially the type that we lived in, where it looked like a house from the outside but inside it was multiple apartments. So we kind of ran into that situation where we started buying single family homes and we were looking at each other like it's going to take us forever, it's going to take us decades to scale this thing and that's really not the goal, Like for me. I already knew at that point that that was my long term goal was to live off of our real estate investments, and so it couldn't come fast enough. So eventually we discovered a multifamily mastermind, like a lot of people do, and they kind of taught us everything from there and we were like, yeah, that's what we want to do, we definitely want to reach that financial freedom in the next five to 10 years, not in the next 25 to 30 years.

Speaker 4:

And there are people who, you know, are able to do that in this in the five to 10 year mark, with single families and residential assets, but I guess they just have better systems the more organized that I am. So we decided to scale with the commercial side and here we are. We really went full on into it in terms of, like building a business and education, and all that in December 2023. And now March 2025, we have exactly 193 units plus a retail center that's getting built. So we're excited.

Speaker 2:

Holy shit, congratulations. It's always amazing to be able to hear everybody else's journey and I hear a lot of like, similarities and commonalities between like my story, I know Cole's story like the back of my hand as well, and then everybody else we're sort of bringing in as well and I just want to say hats off to you. You brought up an amazing point about the whole. Hey, we were just dating at the time. We're like we're either going to make it or we're going to break it, and literally that's like the mantra behind real estate in this time.

Speaker 2:

It's one of those situations, especially for entrepreneurs, where it's just like shit, no one's coming to save me, I have to make it. I've got to figure this stuff out, because who else is going to do it. So hats off to you on that. So talk to me a little bit about the very first deal and the mastermind, and please go as in-depth as you would like to to where it was when you started to formulate the idea of what syndication was. You got some of the education and then at what point did you decide okay, I'm ready to go ahead, jump off into the deep end and acquire my first asset.

Speaker 4:

Yes. So I mean that's a very good question because I think that something that's very important for anybody listening who hasn't gone through making that first jump into commercial. Just remember that there's no race right, you're only racing with yourself. And I say that because that was something that I struggled with when we first got started. Like a lot of mastermind out there they tell you you're going to do great your first year, or maybe by your second year, but when you're six months in and you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, you start asking yourself, like is it me? Am I not doing the work? But then a lot of people still have a W-2, right. And then you also have family, and then you also want to take care of yourself, and it's hard to juggle it all.

Speaker 4:

So that's definitely the first thing that I would say is, like it's really a mindset right when it's called mastermind, like that's a very good name, because to me, that was the number one thing that I struggled with for months, by the way, to be fully transparent was how to not put so much pressure on myself, um, and kind of, like you know, feel like a failure before you even started and and and really like let things follow their own course.

Speaker 4:

Um, and then once we, we got into it. So it was a lot of education at first and it was a lot of mindset work. But one thing for me that I've always, uh, loved, even from when I was like a, like a teenager and I'm sorry, my dog just walked in so the door blew open, but uh, but one thing that I've always loved to do was really always networking, and that first deal that's how it came to us. That second deal, that's how it came to us it was all through relationships, because I realized at the end that you have to lean on what you're good at, and for me, what I'm good at is talking to people love it, love it.

Speaker 3:

So I want to hear about this. I I guess it'd be later deal, I don't know exactly which one it is that you kind of decide to scale up. But how did you do that, meaning like, did you syndicate it? Did you buy it yourself? Did you it Like? What did that look like? And the reason I ask is a lot of people listening are probably in a similar situation to your early spot, where they have a couple of units and they're like man, I'd like to grow, but how do I do that? So how did you accomplish it?

Speaker 4:

Yes, so definitely so. So so far we've always done syndications. We're looking at doing JVs in the future Spoiler alert because we want to get into assisted living facilities, so for that type of asset, that's what we're leaning towards, but we haven't even really started working on that just yet. So you know, things are very fluid, but everything we've done so far, and the current project that we're on, which will be our fourth, those are all syndications. Now what I would say is we definitely started again.

Speaker 4:

Going back to the mindset for me was really like oh my gosh, we have to GP right away. Right, and so, if anybody's not familiar, that means like we have to be active. We have to be the operators who either manage the asset or find the asset or find the investors, whatever it is. And it took us a couple of months to realize, well, why, why do we have to be so active right away? How can we talk to investors if we don't even know what it feels like to be an investor in syndications? Like, like, I had a lot like.

Speaker 4:

The funny story is that when we were doing residential, I was working with a mentor of mine and she had already had me do some research into syndication. But I thought, oh, this is not for me Like, this is for like millionaire people. And so once we realized like no, it doesn't have to be, it was kind of this moment of well, how are you going to tell people you don't have to be a millionaire? But this is like a limiting belief that you have yourself right. And so that was the first thing we did. That first step that we took was being a passive investor first, being an LP, a limited partner, first on somebody else's deal, and kind of learning, okay, what does it feel like to be in our investor's shoes before we actually find investors to be active?

Speaker 2:

I love that a thousand percent. I mean, I'm an LP on a deal as well. Shout out to Cole. But with that being said and I hate to pivot this far, but talk to me a little bit about so there was the Chicago living in Illinois trying to learn about demographs, learn about markets, move to Houston. Now, when it came to the syndication side and then you're here, you're learning about the masterminds Did you invest in your backyard? Or when you decided to do the LP first, was that outside and a whole nother. So you learned about Houston and then decided to go. Talk to me about that.

Speaker 4:

Yes, that's a great question because for us, with our property management background, we always thought when we're active we want to be in our backyard. We know enough about property management that we want to be boots on the ground, we want to learn how to be good asset managers. So we want to do that in Houston. Maybe San Antonio, like Dallas at the furthest right, like that little Texas triangle. That's really our buy box If we're like working on the active side and really like bringing that expertise that we already have. But when it came to LBing we were like it all goes back to relationships. So our first property that we were passive on it's actually in Tulsa Oklahoma that we were passive on, it's actually in Tulsa Oklahoma. I've never been there. I know a lot about the market now but I've never been there on myself. I mean, if I can give you a quick anecdote, growing up in another country, all I knew about Tulsa Oklahoma was that little time in France when Chandler has to go live there and he's like why do I?

Speaker 4:

have to go live there. Like that was my view of it. I was like, no, why would we invest there? But then, you know, by the time we actually did invest, I was in the US for 12 years and we did our research on the market and was like, oh okay, yeah, no, this is definitely a great opportunity. And that's how we got started.

Speaker 3:

I love that there's this common theme with your story that you guys like decide to do something and then it just gets done and it's something that I see with all the people that make it farther is they have a decision and they do it. You're like let's buy a triplex or let's start investing boom you do it. Hey, let's go check out LP deals boom you do it. Hey, let's move to Houston and then go grow boom you do it. I love that. I think that's such an important factor to growth. But, on the other token to that, I want to hear more and Nate mentioned earlier, as you grew and you can hit with any stage of this but as you started growing, what were some of the things that you ran into that were just like major roadblocks that you're like I wish somebody would have told me this, or yeah, I mean a very easy one is the whole asset management thing.

Speaker 4:

I thought, oh, I'm a property manager, everybody's going to want me to manage their million dollar property. Like, of course, we'll just walk into a networking event and there will be operators everywhere saying, oh my gosh, linda, we've been waiting for you. That was definitely the first roadblock was like being hit with that realization that, hey, this is not how it works. Like, yes, it's OK to be new, it's OK to find people who want to teach you, but they're not going to give you the keys to the castle. And again it goes back to the personal mental race of thinking like it's OK, like you're not're not here to. Like, yes, you're here to prove yourself, but everybody is bringing something to the table. Like, like, don't feel like you. You know, these people are like on a pedestal because they've done it and you have to like let go of everything.

Speaker 4:

Like I've met, um, people who are new in the space and who say, like I'm willing to work for free, I'm not. Like, no, sir. And it's all those things where you're like no, you have to realize, okay, maybe I won't do everything right on my first deal, maybe I have to learn certain things. Maybe I'm more interested in like A, but I only have access to B right now. But just know your worth and keep on the path that you want to take. And so, yeah, that first roadblock was definitely a moment where my husband and I, like we, looked at each other. We're like, well, I guess this is not how we're going to enter it. So what do we do next?

Speaker 2:

Oh, I love that. Well, I'm not. Okay, that's great. That's great. That was great Mic drop. So talk to me now about the journey from the actual scale. So you did the LP, got your first deal done and then now it's time to continue to grow. So what are the next couple steps going to look like? Where are we at right now in terms of we just closed on and we're doing a little bit of development? And then you mentioned more mic drop and a hint drop that you might be getting into like a little bit of the assisted living as well. So what's that journey going to look like? How's the trajectory going? Are you still in the syndication space and then going to the JV or bring us into your world on that one?

Speaker 4:

Yeah. So it's interesting because I don't think that we have thought out so much what it will look like. We just more so have an idea of what we're interested in, and and I will say, by the way, this is a great I mean, we've always loved real estate, right, Otherwise we wouldn't have done all this. It's a lot of work.

Speaker 2:

I love it.

Speaker 4:

But, but I think that it's it's it's more so for us, like, okay, stick to what we want to do, like we're not going to try and force ourselves to do something that's completely outside of what we're interested in. Like, for example, rv parks right now are booming. Like I'm interested a little bit, but I know that this is not something that I want to buy right now. It doesn't mean I won't buy it in, like you know, a couple of years, but that's just not something that has my interest. I have no other way to explain it. Right, one thing that the two things that we want to diversify into are hotels, boutique hotels, not trying to become Hilton, but just just something that's like, you know, maybe 12 to 15 rooms or like 20 at most, that that we could, that we can acquire, ideally in a place that is very vacation-like, so that it's cool to go to work.

Speaker 4:

And then, like I said, assisted living facility. And that one goes back to what I was saying about my mom coming here. That one is really close to my heart because my mom has been a nurse for a couple of decades now and she worked a lot in geriatric care. So when I was a kid kid. When I was like 17, 18, my first jobs were always in nursing homes, and so that's one thing that I want to get into eventually is senior living like particularly in the space of assisted living is just offer better living conditions for seniors. Like I just seen how certain people are treated in those places and I didn't like that.

Speaker 4:

And then also, now that I'm here and in this business, I also realize like this is a huge opportunity. I think people need to talk more about the fact that, like you know, I love Cody Sanchez, for example, and she's always talking about buy businesses from baby boomers whose kids don't want to take over. Ok, that's fantastic. Like that's actually something that I want to do in the next three to five years, like not right now, but down the road. But then where are the baby boomers going to go? They're going to sell the business, and then what? And so for me, I really see the correlation between something that's like very close to my heart, but also like a huge market opportunity that I think needs to be talked about more. So, yeah, those are.

Speaker 4:

Those are the two things that we want to get into besides apartment.

Speaker 2:

And those are the reasons why I love it. I love it, cole. You mind if I jump in for one more second. So okay, I love that a thousand percent. But one thing that we haven't yet touched on, that I was wondering if you were going to bring up, so now I'm just going to go ahead and do it.

Speaker 4:

Oh, let's do it, okay, I'm curious.

Speaker 2:

I'm going to take it back just a little bit. So it was the Chicago to Houston mastermind. But now how the heck did you start your own meetup? I've attended these for the last couple of weeks. You have a virtual meetup every Thursday at 11 CST and I walked into this room and I had no idea what I was getting into and I'm greeted by like 35 to like 40 different people that I had never seen a day in my life. I'm like what? And Linda's leading this thing and she's only been in this game for like a year and a half, two years. How did that happen? Where did that growth come from? Fill me in.

Speaker 4:

Yes, absolutely. I mean, it always goes back to networking. I think this is the biggest game changer for us is that we're always trying to really like have those genuine, genuine relationships where it's like, okay, how can we help out? And so that one came exactly from that. Like, literally, I had a friend who, from our mastermind, who had that meetup, like he had created it.

Speaker 4:

Uh, but he had created it when he was newer, I guess, because now that he was scaling, he no longer had the time, and he literally sent an email to the regular attendees which I was a part of, and said, hey, I'm, I'm done, like the next one will be the last. And me thinking like I don't want this to go, cause this is my way of networking, I responded and I said, hey, if you're too busy right now, I don't mind taking it over for like two or three months and you can have it back. Like I'm not even trying to steal it, I just want to continue having the opportunity to network and you know, whenever you're ready, you can have it again. And he said, no, he was like I don't want it again, but take it over.

Speaker 4:

He was like you know what the time slot is there, people are already used to it. You have the name, have at it, it's yours. And I remember that it was at night, because I was actually in class. I was doing a public speaking class at the time and so because I was in the class and it was like kind of like around 8, 9 pm, I was like I'm not going to worry about it tonight, let me sleep on it. And then the next morning my co-host had had the same idea that I had. So that gentleman came to me and he was like hey, he wants to do it. Why don't you guys do it together? And for me that was the deal sealer, because all of a sudden I didn't have to be scared of doing it by myself. All of a sudden it was like OK, I don't have to be there every Thursday, like we could, like we're there a lot, trust me, I've done this call from France, I've done this call from the airport.

Speaker 4:

Like literally last week I rolled into my house from a conference at 10 30 am and the call at 11. I was right there. But but there there's less pressure when, when you know, like okay, there's somebody like like you guys right where, it's like okay, I have somebody that I can rely on. And so that's where it came from. Once I knew that I had kind of like someone in my corner doing it with me and and I had slept on it and I was like, how are you going to pass on this opportunity? I took it over.

Speaker 3:

So cool, so cool, and I vibe with that so much because meetups are something that I always did from the start and it's something just like really skyrockets your success, I feel like. And anybody out there that has a meetup that's listening to this, I'm sure is nodding their head, going yep, yep, it works, and anybody that doesn't is probably like me. I should get into this and the answer is yes, you should. One way or another, you should figure it out with the host phenomenon, all that stuff. It's awesome and I love what you said. You never miss one and or one of you is always there and you kind of show up, no matter what it takes, and that is just such a huge piece of this stuff. Um, I have a question this may be a stupid question I have to ask. With assisted living, right, we have the baby boomers coming up, but what happens when the baby boomers eventually die? Like? Does that then shrink down? And if we put a ton of supply into assisted living, where do you go from that?

Speaker 4:

something I've always wondered yeah, that's a great question, um, so, not to be morbid, but people will die eventually, and so one thing that a fellow friend of mine sent me recently is why not also buy land to own as cemeteries? And so that was kind of like the very first, very first time that I was ever exposed to that that was literally like a week or two ago and I was like, oh, I'm not sure that I'm interested, but this is definitely something. Now to get back to your question is like, what happens to the facilities that we've actually built, right? I mean, for me, I don't think they're going to go anywhere. If it was up to me, they would right.

Speaker 4:

Like, I grew up in a family where it's like you take care of your elders for as long as you can, and you better can for a long time. But unfortunately, I think that there will always come a time when families cannot handle it, don't have the means, don't have the time, and so, yes, there might be a little bit of a scale back, but we're not out here trying to become the next. I don't know what's a famous nursing home brand here, but we're not trying to be that, we're just trying to like help out however we can. I'm a big proponent. I always say if we can all help one person, then the world will be a better place. It doesn't have to be the person who helped you, just just pass it on. So, yes, maybe we will only help like I don't know, hundreds of of elders and then eventually the the well will tap dry. But but I think it's better to help those hundreds and do that than to not try at all. So we'll see what happens cool response.

Speaker 3:

I like that. I like the idea. I mean. Hey, back to your cemetery idea, though. If flippers and wholesalers can hammer, probate and, just like you know, reach out to your recently dead uncle and buy the house, I think cemeteries is on the block when I received it I was like not sure I'm there yet, but it's, it's an idea. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Speaker 2:

Nate, it's, it's, it's, it's too. I don't even. I don't even know if we're going to go there today, but it just brings up so many memories from our very first property that we bought years ago. It feels like, uh, we bought a 12 unit, Cole and I. We got two other partners on the deal and it was literally right next door to a cemetery, with quiet neighbors. So it's a horrible joke, but it's there, it happens. So that brought it up to me. But either way, I think I don't know. I'm wondering you think she's ready?

Speaker 3:

I think she's ready. I think we go for it.

Speaker 2:

We go for it, okay, I think we go for it.

Speaker 3:

We go for it, okay.

Speaker 2:

I have a surprise for you.

Speaker 3:

Here's the deal we're going to ask you six questions that we ask every guest, and we're going to do our best to not interject, not say anything, and we're going to see what happens. So you ready.

Speaker 4:

I'm so ready and don't worry, I can interject myself.

Speaker 3:

Perfect. Either way. We're getting started, so here we go.

Speaker 4:

What separates top performing entrepreneurs and or investors from the rest of the crowd? People who don't care about failure.

Speaker 3:

So, good Was that it.

Speaker 2:

We've already failed, and I do this every single time I fail, but I'm going to try not to interject down the line Anybody that's listening. Pause this, start this whole thing all the way over. She's been dropping this entire time. All right. Next question what is a daily habit that's contributed to your success?

Speaker 4:

Ooh, journaling, a hundred percent journaling, like writing down what I'm grateful for. What are the goals for the day? How did the gig, the day, go? Yeah, that's been awesome, especially for the mindset part that I was talking about earlier.

Speaker 3:

Ah, here we go. Dear and dear to my heart For anyone that's listening, we're flashing our cool journals over here. I love that. What is a piece of advice that you'd give to yourself if you're starting again?

Speaker 4:

Oh, that's a tough one, because I think I would say start earlier. But I also think that I'm a big believer that everything happens for a reason and that I was supposed to get to where I am now the way that I did and get to where we're going next this way. So, yeah, that one is always a battle in my heart where I'm like, oh, I wish I had started 10 years ago, but then it would be a different path. So I'm happy with the path we took.

Speaker 3:

So wait, let me follow that up then. Okay, if you wouldn't change it, that's fine. But if you could whisper something to yourself when you were younger, before you knew everything that you do now, what is something that you would tell yourself then?

Speaker 4:

Invest in Bitcoin. Well played, no. I would probably say something like like like, don't be scared to shine like you. You know that part of coach carter where they say, like, what terrifies us the most is success. Um, that that's definitely something that that like yeah, that would come to mind is like, hey, go for it. Like, because I've never been really scared of like looking stupid, clearly, or failures, but there has been time in my life where I was like, ooh, but what if that changes? Like a life or what I do or who I am, and it's like don't care about that, just go for it.

Speaker 2:

Love it. So what is your favorite business and or real estate book?

Speaker 4:

Ooh. So what's my favorite one? That I think that's the word that's like makes it interesting Because I read a lot. By the way, I'm big on audio books. I have so many like like paper books. Um, there's a lot of books that have, I'm sorry.

Speaker 3:

So I'm not surprised based on where you're at. I'm sorry, I'm not surprised based on where you're at.

Speaker 4:

It makes sense. But there's definitely several books that have like changed kind of like my view on things. Like the Millionaire Next Door did that Like I kind of thought it was going to be a book about habits, but to really see, like all the stats and data about random millionaires, I was like, oh, that, like you know, they're not that different, that different right. So that was definitely one that opened my eyes to that. Um, that one is probably more like business. I love to pitch anything by oran clough. Uh, big plug for that one. I think that was a great one, definitely in addition to creating super fans. But britney hodak, I think those kind of go hand in hand. They're more about like, like, pitch anything is more about sales. But creating super fans is like okay, but how do you do sales? By just being a good person who takes good care of your clients, like that's the bottom line, right? Um, so I really like these two together. Uh, I mean, I could go on and on and on.

Speaker 4:

I love the 10x rule. I love the um I forgot the, the name of the lady who wrote it but uh, that five second rule, where it's like anything you don't want to do, you just count to five and you do it. That was a book I read a thousand years ago, but that was great. The very first self-development book that I read was the Secret of Positive Thinking, I think the name is. It's like a kind of a long title and it's Aaron Kennard. Yes, yeah.

Speaker 4:

And the same thing. I thought that was going to be something completely different, but it was really like his story and how he handles struggles and how he faced like difficulties that came out of nowhere at him because it was health issues. It's like, what can you do to avoid it? Nothing. And so that was the first book that I read. That was about self-development, where I was like, okay, it's game on so many good ones there. What is your favorite part of owning your business? Oh, working harder than when I work for someone else.

Speaker 4:

You mean it's not easier. No, you would think, right, no, but it's definitely the freedom, though. I love the fact that, like yes, it feels like more hours, but it also feels like freer hours, because I get to like focus on what I like, I get to focus on what's growing our business, like it's something that you own. There's just something different about yes, it takes more time, but it's time that you want to spend.

Speaker 3:

Real quick. There's something I realized recently because I always struggled with that idea is a lot of people would come back and be like, well, if you're going to do an entrepreneur thing, then you're just going to work more and end up in the same place, like, why even go that route? And I used to fight I more and end up in the same place, like why even go that route? And I used to fight. I'm like you know, you know, maybe kind of a good point. But I started to realize you're just betting on yourself, right? Yes, you put in more work upfront, but with the intention that it's going to hockey stick at the end. So if you work, you know traditional route and there's nothing wrong with that, that's awesome, it's kind of more linear. And if you go entrepreneur, you're putting in more work up front and then a little hockey stick versus traditional. It's kind of just, you know, steady. So either way works. But just something to think about.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, no for sure. And, and there's one quote I mean it's not about entrepreneurship, it's more about like, like management. But there was one thing that an old boss of mine told me once. So I was training someone who was replacing me because I was moving up in the company and and I realized pretty early on that the person replacing me didn't want to follow that path. And I was kind of like surprised by that. Right like that was kind of the first time in real life that I saw somebody not wanting to grow and and at the time my boss told me you know, not everybody can be a general. Sometimes we need soldiers and that's when.

Speaker 4:

I realized everybody's reasoning is different, everybody's lives is different and you really can't judge, like, why somebody does what they do until you walk in their shoes. So, yeah, no, I definitely think. I definitely agree with you that entrepreneurship is a different kind of hustle. For me, I could not work 40 years in a cubicle, but for someone else it might be like the best thing ever. So it all goes back to what do you want to do? As long as you do what you want to do, for me that's freedom.

Speaker 2:

Mic drop. I love that. I've realized a couple of things as well. Cole, number one, I think we have given ourselves an F minus minus on the super six, like hot seat, because instead of doing like normal, which is like a conversation. So this definitely did not work out. We'll have to try again at a later date next time.

Speaker 4:

It's like playing the lottery next time yes, no problem, I'll come back in 10 years.

Speaker 2:

We'll do this hopefully sooner than that, but I appreciate the thought that we're going to still be running in 10 years. I love that. That is awesome. My final question for you what is something new that you've implemented into your business that's helped drive your success?

Speaker 4:

Ooh, how new does it have to be? We don't know.

Speaker 2:

Whatever you say, whatever you want to know, we're going to verify.

Speaker 4:

How are we going to verify? That's a good point. Definitely LinkedIn. Linkedin has been a game changer for me. The reason why I say how I knew is because at this point, I've been doing it for several months, but it has really helped broaden my horizon, my network, my mindset too. I really thought LinkedIn was like, oh, this is just where you go upload your resume for everybody to see it. Um, but now it has morphed into something number one, completely different for my business, but even something that like again, spoiler alert, it might be something that I go down that rabbit hole of like turning that into a business too. And, um, like I I mentioned I came back from traveling last week is because I recently got John Maxwell certified, so now I'm like certified speaker but also certified coach, and so I have loved discovering LinkedIn and that's kind of like something that's been building in my brain where I'm like, oh, could I help? You know, other people discover it too, so that's the newest thing.

Speaker 2:

Timeout so amazing. I don't know if you want to spill the tea, give us, give us all the tea. Spill the beans, whatever the saying is. But can you give us a little bit of tidbit and maybe some advice on how you utilize LinkedIn, like, is there a formula every single day or every single week that you're following and what sort of took you from? All I got to do is upload a resume to where you're using it now to potentially become a business or a brand. So fill us in.

Speaker 4:

Yes, I mean it's. It's funny timing because I was literally recording something last night. I'm going to be part of this virtual summit and it's all pre-recorded videos, right. So, like, my section is on LinkedIn and and so so I was just like brainstorming and writing down and recording what, like how to use it best, right? So to me, it's like you have to realize that linkedin is really like this giant networking event.

Speaker 4:

Yes, it's professional, uh, but it doesn't. That doesn't mean that it has to be boring. It doesn't mean that you have to be like suit and tie all the time. Like, for me, I have a lot of fun being myself, and myself is pretty goofy, by the way, I I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not the most buttoned up. Like you know, I don't wear a suit every day. Like like I, you know I dressed up, but uh.

Speaker 4:

But yeah, I think that that's the biggest thing with LinkedIn is to remember, like, the best part is to be just authentic, to just be yourself. Like. This is why my tagline that you see here, that's my tagline from LinkedIn. What I want to teach people is like how to like be your best self. Don't try to copy anybody. And then, if you do that in the investment industry, guess what? You'll probably also build wealth. And that's pretty nice, especially when you do it like relying on your values and what you like to do and you don't have to compromise who you are.

Speaker 4:

And I think that's a big misconception that people have with LinkedIn. It's like, oh, I have to be something else or I have to be like this very big expert. Yes, I do like to post every day to answer your question, like I post Monday through Friday. So sometimes my post will be educational, but then sometimes it will just be like sharing life stories, right, like that whole tennis catfish me. That was a post I did a while back because I was like people need to know. So yeah, there's an educational aspect, but it's just about sharing stories. To me, that's the most important thing is that share stories, share who you are and be consistent with it, and that's how you tapped into the power of LinkedIn, in my opinion.

Speaker 3:

So good, so good. This has been awesome. It's so cool to hear your story going from newlyweds, when you started, or maybe even a little before newlyweds, like you mentioned hearing about your PM background, going into that first triplex and house hacking it, hitting the issues that you, of course, will run into, then decide to go crazy, go to houston, do some single families, jump into coaching, start syndicating and growing um, and then just going through all this mindset shifts and just building this portfolio and to see where you are now. So I have two final questions for you. One do you have any final advice? And two, where can people find you?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, my final advice is just do it. I mean, go all Nike on it, whatever it is, and whether you're like excited, scared, definitely, definitely like if you're nervous or scared, definitely reframe that as excitement. But whatever you're feeling, if that's something that you're interested in, something that you want to do like in your gut feeling, just just go for it. That's my best advice.

Speaker 3:

I just want to highlight something you said that was so fast and people will not pick it up. You said, if you're nervous or scared, just reframe it as excitement that is so powerful.

Speaker 4:

Thank you, thank you. And then where can people find me? So I'm very big on LinkedIn, thank you. And then where can people find me? So I'm very big on LinkedIn. Like I said, our website is marriedtorealestatecom, so like, literally married, the number two realestatecom. That's also my email, by the way. So, linda at marriedtorealestatecom, feel free to like, email me anytime. And, yeah, come to the meetup every Thursday at 11 central. I'm happy to share the link and you'll see me there. You know, dancing and cracking jokes, and that's what I do.

Speaker 2:

I get a test, and it has been a bombcom going to these meetups. I love them. Linda, thank you so much for coming through. This has been amazing. I knew that it was going to be one of those mic drop kind of situations. I just did not know how good you have set the standard and the bar so high up I can't even reach. So it is phenomenal. Please let Cotter know that we do want him to come to the stage and he's also got to bring the heat.

Speaker 4:

Just like you did for Forza 5. That's right. I like that. I like that it's a competition now, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Hey, it's game time, so, with that being said, if you are driving, thank you so much for tuning in to Forged in Fire. Again, we're looking forward to seeing you all on the next episode. Everybody take care, see you soon.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Forged in Fire. If you enjoyed today's raw, unfiltered stories, don't forget to like, subscribe and leave us a review. Your feedback helps us bring more real-world insights to entrepreneurs like you. Be sure to join us next time for even more lessons, struggles and breakthroughs on the road to success. Keep forging ahead.