The 7 Tips @investorgirlbritt Used to Go from Amateur to Pro Investor

Brandon:
This is the BiggerPockets Podcast show number 470.

Brittany:
But it’s true, it’s just these problems come up and then you solve them. I used to think when I first got started in real estate, “I wish someone would just hold my hand and tell me exactly what to do.” But there’s not going to be that person and you have to be that person for yourself and just be able to know that you’re not going to have all the answers and you’re going to have to solve the problems along the way. Don’t get caught up in all the details of solving them before they even happen.

Speaker 3:
You’re listening to BiggerPockets Radio, simplifying real estate for investors, large and small. If you’re here looking to learn about real estate investing without all the hype, you’re in the right place. Stay tuned, and be sure to join the millions of others who have benefited from biggerpockets.com, your home for real estate investing online.

Brandon:
What’s going on everyone, it’s Brandon Turner host of the BiggerPockets Podcast here with my cohost, Mr. David top 10 Greene. What’s up man? I heard you broke the top 10 of all Keller Williams agents of all of them, of hundreds of thousands of them. Is that true?

David:
180,000.

Brandon:
Wow.

David:
And yes, I just found that out.

Brandon:
That’s insane.

David:
It’s been a wild last 12 months.

Brandon:
Yeah. That’s insane. Well, good job. David in three tips, what it takes to be a successful real estate agent? Go.

David:
You have to understand real estate very well. You have to understand people and sales really well.

Brandon:
Is that two or is that three? I don’t know.

David:
People/sales.

Brandon:
People and sales. Okay. All right, three and half tips. Okay. And?

David:
The third one is what everybody misses, is you can’t make this industry work around you. You are working for the client. You have to set up your life to work around them.

Brandon:
Awesome man. Well, here’s the thing, there are a lot of amateur real estate agents out there. And then there are a very few who are professional, they’re pros, kind of the Steven Pressfield use of the word pro. And speaking of that kind of mentality or that thought process, today’s show is actually very much about turning from amateur to pro. And our guest today is Brittany Arneson. Am I saying Arneson right?

Brittany:
You did. Good job.

Brandon:
Okay, good. Brittany Arneson who is in the sea shed with me, right now. David’s out in California, but Brittany’s here in Maui and we’re doing this show. And so you’re just silently sitting awkwardly during the introduction here. Hi, by the way.

Brittany:
Hi, how’s it going?

Brandon:
Good. So we’re going to talk a little bit about going from amateur to pro today. Before we get there, time to get today’s quick-

David:
Quick-

Brittany:
Quick tip.

Brandon:
…tip.

David:
…tip.

Brandon:
Good job. Today’s quick tip is actually brought to you by David because there is… The reason I want David to talk about it for a second is because it’s so hard to find real estate deals right now. If you’re an investor, it’s really hard to find real estate deals. So you have to be using a good real estate agent. David, why is that?

David:
Because it is ridiculously hard to get a deal. Just frankly put they haven’t been building houses, inflation has been continuing to occur. People care more about having a house than they ever did before because COVID showed us that you can’t guarantee that things are always going to be open. So you are now not competing with the seller. A lot of people have that in their mind is it’s the buyer versus seller. No, no, no. It’s the buyer versus the other 12 people that want that house as well.
And you might grossly overpay, make a terrible decision based on bad information that you got from your agent or a lack of information that you never got, or you might get a steal paying over a lease price and ended up with a property that praises for much more than you paid. Stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, which means you need counsel more than you’ve ever needed it. And the agent you have guiding and representing you is more important than ever before.

Brandon:
There you go. So where do people go to find a good real estate agent David Greene? What’s our quick tip?

David:
You want to go to BiggerPockets to get paired with a real estate agent that understands investing. So it’s very simple. If you just hover over the little bar that says network, and then click on real estate agents, you can find an agent in your area and then not only find the agent but look and see what their track record is. If you search my company, David Greene Team, you can see that we’ve worked with probably around 200 clients or so at this point and see the properties that they bought, who they are, the reviews that they left. You could direct message them and say, “Hey, what was it like? What was good? What was bad?” You can get to know that agent before you just jump into bed and say, “Hey, we’re committed. Let’s do this thing.” So I highly recommend using BiggerPockets to find the person that’s a right fit for your personality and your goals.

Brandon:
There you go. Just so you guys are aware, listening, it might sound like an advertisement and we are kind of jokingly making it sound like one but reality we’re just talking about some that’s totally free. So this is not a paid service that you have to go and pay money to get connected with an agent. We just literally want you to connect with a good agent because we know there’s so many bad ones out there. Now is it guaranteed they’re going to be good if they’re on BiggerPockets? Of course not, but you have a much higher likelihood of finding one if they’re on a real estate investing website and they’re committed to helping people and answering questions and all that. So check it out. Again, go to BiggerPockets, go to network. And that is today’s longest, quick tip of all time.
Now, hey, one quick tip for everybody watching this on YouTube. Do me a favor, if you like this video, if you think this is a good video, leave a comment below asking Brittany any questions. As we go through this today, just ask her questions. She’ll pop it in there and answer them. But also be sure to hit that little plus sign that helps us reach more people and subscribe to our channel if you’re not already subscribed to the BiggerPockets real estate podcast channel, which I think is just youtube.com/biggerpockets.
With that said, I think it’s time to get into today’s show. So without further ado, and you already met her, because she’s already here in the shed with me, Brittany, welcome to the BiggerPockets podcast again, how you doing?

Brittany:
Again, thanks for having me back.

Brandon:
Yes.

Brittany:
[crosstalk 00:05:25] being in Maui this time.

Brandon:
Yeah, this time it’s live.

Brittany:
David you should be here with us [inaudible 00:05:28].

Brandon:
So true story, this was supposed to happen a month ago. And David flew in to Maui just to do this recording in-person between the three of us. And then I got COVID and so I think that’s what shut that one down. I know we’ve rescheduled this like five times rescheduled.

David:
Ryan Serhant rescheduled on us. So we had some really good shows that were lined up. And so I ended up…

Brandon:
It was supposed to be in person and then you were just here for nothing. We had to hang out and not do a podcast, that was weird.

Brittany:
Boring.

Brandon:
Like actual friends. Weird. Gross.

David:
Yeah. That’s actually a very good point. It was the most awkward vacation I’ve ever had.

Brittany:
At least you didn’t have COVID, right?

Brandon:
Exactly. Yeah. So now we’re here in person at least two of us and you were on the show, what? Episode 320?

Brittany:
Yeah, episode 320.

Brandon:
All right, episode 320, which is one of our bigger shows. People seemed to really like that one.

Brittany:
Awesome.

Brandon:
But for those who did not listen to that show, can you give a quick one minute summary of who are you, how’d you get into real estate, what did you do beforehand and your initial first few years in the real estate?

Brittany:
Yeah. So you could call me investor girl Britt, you just skip the last name, right?

Brandon:
Yeah, that’s why I was like Arneson, am I saying your name? Because I never see your last name. I don’t even call you Brittany.

Brittany:
Everyone just calls me investor girl Brittany.

Brandon:
Yeah, I just call you investor girl Britt. That’s about it. Anyway.

Brittany:
Yeah. So I got started 10 years ago, bought my first house at 18 years old for $25,000.

Brandon:
In Canada.

Brittany:
In Canada, that’s right.

Brandon:
You can’t buy property in Canada. You can’t invest in real estate in Canada. That’s what they say.

Brittany:
I know. They say it all the time.

Brandon:
I know. I hear that all the time.

Brittany:
[inaudible 00:06:50].

Brandon:
And somehow you have them, it’s like magic.

Brittany:
Somehow.

Brandon:
Anyway, keep going.

Brittany:
But we’ll go through that. We’ll get to that because I want to bring that up.

Brandon:
Okay, good.

Brittany:
But I burned my way up to 10 doors. I’m getting to the point of where I was at when I was on episode 320, but mostly single family duplexes and that’s the direction I was going. But what I’ve been known for is doing a lot of DIY renovations. So posting a lot of that on social media and listening back to episode 320, I hadn’t done it. I haven’t even listened to it before because I was too scared of my own voice.

Brandon:
I know, I can’t listen to myself either. I can’t do it.

Brittany:
I’m like, “I can’t do it.”

Brandon:
David, do you listen to your own voice? Are you okay listening to your old podcasts and stuff you do?

David:
Yes, I do. And it’s not fun. It’s horrible. But I think if you want to be good at what you do, you have to do that.

Brittany:
Basically.

David:
You just have to go through the difficult. You never realize how many times you say like, until you listen to your own podcast.

Brittany:
[inaudible 00:07:44].

David:
The likes just roll man. Like when Brittany hangs out with us it’s always the A’s, right? Brittany we were in the car with Matt and it was A, A, A, just rolling at you.

Brittany:
I know. Nonstop.

David:
It was AAA insurance the whole time, right?

Brittany:
That’s so true.

David:
Nobody likes listening to their own voice, but you got to do it if you want to get better.

Brittany:
That’s true.

Brandon:
Yeah. I just accept being terrible and I’m okay with that because I can’t hear it. I can’t hear my voice.

Brittany:
Well, and it was important for me to actually look back at that episode too and see where I was at and reevaluate and see what my goals are and what I really got into investing in the first place.

Brandon:
So at that point when you were on the show, what did you have then? What was your life like? What were you doing? Where were you living? What was that whole thing just for those who didn’t listen.

Brittany:
II was living in a renovation, doing everything, DIY. 10 single family, doors, duplexes and whatever. I was looking to hire a bookkeeper and property manager.

Brandon:
I remember that.

Brittany:
And I was also looking for financial partners. So now when I compare it to where I am sitting in Maui, I’m living in Maui. I have 27 doors running passively in Canada.

Brandon:
That’s awesome.

Brittany:
I have a database full of investors wanting to partner with me and I’m working on $27 million worth of commercial deals right now.

Brandon:
That’s crazy. In today’s show, we talked to ahead of time. I’m like, I’ve seen this transformation happened over the last few years with you because you went from… The way we phrase it in the intro, it’s like DIY, do everything myself. Kind of, I don’t say amateur in a bad way, because it’s more just a different way. It’s a very hands-on way of doing it to today, you post on Instagram every day. Like, you’re at the beach and you’re running and you’re like, “Hey, I just did this call with this millionaire real estate investor to buy him a deal or help them find the deals.” It’s just like, you’ve transformed from amateur to a pro in front of our very eyes. So that’s what we want to dive into today. So I guess we’ll just jump right in again and what did you see? What led to that change? I know you’ve got a list, right?

Brittany:
Yeah. One of my main things has definitely been social media because if you think about it, it’s something we talk about all the time is, our network is our net worth. So you’re building this network of people. It just opens so many doors. For me, I’ve found off-market deals, off social media. I’ve found investing partners off social media. I’ve found employees, all of my employees have come from social media so far and mentors, partners, I met you guys.

Brandon:
Yeah. Brittany and I had a race. Did we have a race before that you were on the show? Do people know about that on the podcast?

Brittany:
No, I think we started talking about it. Yeah. So we were racing to a 100,000.

Brandon:
Yeah. We were racing to 100,000 and then we hit-

Brittany:
I guess I won.

Brandon:
Okay. Shut up. And then we double down, double or nothing. Did we race to 150 or 200? I think it was 200, right?

Brittany:
200.

Brandon:
And you-

Brittany:
And I came to Maui to 200. That’s when I came to Maui [inaudible 00:10:24] 200.

Brandon:
Yeah. I pulled the head at one point. Anyway, it’s a long, terrible story. Nobody cares about it.

Brittany:
Everyone cares. Please follow me.

Brandon:
The fact that I lost it twice now. But it’s interesting because I was actually at a breakfast this morning with an investor who has over a million followers on Instagram. And we were just talking about how majority of our money that we’ve raised, a majority of our team members, they all came from our Instagram.

Brittany:
Absolutely.

Brandon:
Which is mind boggling if that’s like a thing today. Why do you think that is?

Brittany:
Well, it’s because you build that trust with people and you are posting all the time. People can see what you’re doing every day. Like, you’re showing them the truth, you’re showing them the ups and downs and everything that’s going on. So you’re building that credibility with them. And I think that is so important. And then when you’re first starting out, it’s hard to see. When I was first starting out, it took me a year to get to 1,000 followers. And it’s really frustrating because I don’t really know what to post, I don’t know what to do, but I think even starting: start now, I would say and you kind of figure it out and it’s hard to see until you start to look back. I didn’t really realize it until now. Looking back at where I was on episode 320, and now I could really see what social media has done for me.

David:
I hated social media when I first got my license. I didn’t even have social media till five or six years ago when I first became a realtor and I had to have my arm twisted to get it. I was uncomfortable with just sharing anything personal about my life at all. But what I’ve realized is, like Brandon and I were having a talk the other day that I watch YouTube probably 20 times more often than I watch TV. I’m all day long, listening to interviews, listening to people teach and talk on YouTube. It’s with my phone, it goes everywhere. I don’t sit down and watch TV hardly at all. And I think the future is going in that direction more. And the same goes for social media. That’s where people’s eyeballs are, that’s where people are communicating. Regardless of how you personally feel about social media and how it’s used, or how someone uses it, you can’t deny that it’s becoming more and more powerful. And if you want to be successful in business in the future, you have to get comfortable with the fact that it’s going to happen through social media.
A lot of content that I make is geared towards helping my businesses. Like I said, when you want to become a top producing agent or anything, you’ve got to set your life up around that goal. So we talk about real estate a lot, I talk about mindset a lot, I talk about the things people care about. I’m curious Britt, if you would share some specifics of what type of stuff you’re posting that generates leads for your business.

Brittany:
Yeah. I think the more you are posting, the more you’re showing people behind the scenes. Like you just have your phone and it’s this proximity, right? So even though people aren’t in-person, or not face-to-face, if you’re in that four foot space, people are building those bonds and connections with you. So that’s in person, but that also is happening in our brain. It’s deeply seated. So we don’t even realize it. But when you’re doing an Instagram story and a behind the scenes, you’re talking to your camera, looking at the camera, you’re building that trust and that relationship and bond with the people. And that’s always great for business and you’re being authentic, you’re being yourself.

Brandon:
I think, you know how we’ve all heard that old marketing thing that says, “You have to connect with a brand seven times or eight times or whatever, before you ever buy from them.” Like Coca-Cola, you had to hear it eight times before you bought something. I think that social media, what it accomplishes is, it’s that they get presented with the brand, you as a person over and over and over. And so then they build that trust and it’s automatic. And so that’s why I think a lot of brands are, I mean, almost every brand in the world is on social media right now because it just builds that trust.
And you guys ever follow somebody on social media because it’s a product that you’re kind of interested in, but you’re not ready to buy it? So you follow them and then a year later you buy it because nothing changed other than you just built that relationships to the point you’re like, “Oh yeah, I like that company.” So I think people are the exact same way. So what are some of the mistakes people make? And I’m going to fire this at you too David. What do you guys think? What mistakes do you see real estate investors making when it comes to social media?

Brittany:
Well, I think the biggest mistake is just not doing it. So I think just not getting on there at all. And a lot of feedback that I get from people is, they’re nervous to post because they don’t know what they’re talking about yet. That’s a valid fear, right?

Brandon:
Sure.

Brittany:
You’re scared to put yourself out there. But people connect to that. So they say, “I have the same fear. Wow. That’s amazing. Now I feel more comfortable to post.” I talk about that all the time. I’m still not comfortable on camera talking to my Instagram stories. So people are pretty surprised by that because I’ve been doing it for years, but I still don’t feel completely comfortable. So I think just starting, like everything, but it’s true. You just have to, that’s turning from amateur to pro as well. You just put it on your goal list. Okay, I’m going to talk to stories every day or every week. And then you just get more comfortable and used to it.

Brandon:
What if you’re not a real estate investor? You’re listening to this podcast right now and you’re like, “I can’t post a DIY time-lapse video of me remodeling something. I’ve never done anything.” What’s a good strategy for those people to start using social media?

Brittany:
Well, I think just going through your story and your process with it. Say, “This is what I learned on BiggerPockets this week. This is what I’ve learned doing this-

Brandon:
That’s good.

Brittany:
…I’m writing this goal. This is my new goal to try get my first investment property.” And then you start building your network and your tribe with those people who are trying to do the same thing as well.

Brandon:
Yeah, that’s really good. To piggyback on that too, is if you’re not investing yet and you want to be, by following a bunch of accounts of people you want to be more like, and then interacting with them on a regular basis, like leave a comment or ask a question or on their story, respond to it and reply to them or send them a DM. Just the more you build that relationship. I’m not telling everyone to go spam all of us [inaudible 00:15:58] like, “Invest with me or be my mentor.” But just people, especially in your market who are doing it, build a connection with them. Someone who does this really, really, really well is a woman out here in Maui named Zasha. I think there are things like invest with Zasha. She [inaudible 00:16:12].
She’s a newer investor. I mean, she’s been here for a couple of years now. And she just has a really good social media presence. And so she’s like, “Hey, I got a flip and this is what I’m doing today. And this is what I’m doing from marketing, and this is what I’m doing…” And so because of that, I’ve seen her connect with everybody I know I feel like.

Brittany:
Yeah. All of us know her.

Brandon:
All of us know her. Yeah, exactly. When I said her name, all of you guys all knew her.

Brittany:
Exactly, right?

Brandon:
Because she’s just good at social media.

Brittany:
Well, and adding value, right? When I was getting started and I was talking about you guys before I met you, before I was on the show the first time, I was just promoting your books, I was saying, “Here, this is what I learned from long distance real estate investing, or this is what I learned from the podcast.” And then eventually enough of that and then tagging you guys and stuff and then ended up on the podcast.

Brandon:
Yeah, exactly. David what do you think? What are mistakes that people make in social media do you see?

David:
Two things. And invest with Zasha is a perfect segue into the point I want to make. Thank you Brandon for just throwing that [inaudible 00:17:01] there for me. I think number one is lack of specificity, okay? Everyone says, “I want to bring value to you.” But what people care about is how you’re going to bring value to me. Zasha’s page is very clear. “I’m a realtor in Maui. I know this thing, if you want this thing, then you come to me.” That’s so much better than just, RE education, the RE education or whatever. That I watch videos and I don’t really know what I’m actually getting for and you have nothing to buy. And if you did, I don’t know if I want to buy it or not. I think it’s much better to make it clear, this is what I help you with, this is what I do.
The other component I think is where I really need to improve is, every social media has their own language, okay? Some is like speaking Spanish, some is like speaking French. TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, they’re all different. I’m not good at making content for the specific social media thing I’m posting it on, right? Brandon is constantly making fun of me for posting bad pictures on Instagram. He’s like, “Nobody watches Instagram because they want to see something ugly. You need to post a better looking stuff.”

Brandon:
I have never said that to you, ever. Never.

David:
Right, okay. I’m not saying you say I’m ugly, you know that my posts are not aesthetically pleasing. It’s not a skill I have, but I’ll just throw it up there anyways, right? I just recently changed my little intro in Instagram. Two days ago, I finally caved and I did the cheesy little emoji and then line of what I do. You know what I’m talking about?

Brittany:
You hated that so much David.

Brandon:
[crosstalk 00:18:34].

David:
See there it is, right? Everybody was telling me, “You need to change it to make…” And I hated it. I don’t want emojis on there. However, that’s the language of Instagram. That’s what I’m getting at is you have to submit-

Brandon:
It looks good.

David:
Brandon is looking at it right now.

Brandon:
I’m looking at it right now. I am. I’m looking at your thing. You look good.

David:
See? The little yellow man in the business suit and then realtor. I hope-

Brandon:
I love though that your professional photo is you next to David Osborne with David Osborn cropped out.

Brittany:
That’s funny.

Brandon:
I hope he knows this.

David:
Yeah, that’s a major power move right there.

Brandon:
I was going to say that is a very subtle like, David Osborne, what’s he got? He wrote some books and he’s the New York Times best seller, whatever.

David:
Yeah. Doesn’t that we’re divorced. We have a great relationship, but I’m just letting David know that I’m the real David in this space.

Brandon:
I’m totally sending him a text after this call to make sure he listens to this.

David:
I already talked to him about it actually. And I told you too Brandon. I was like, it’s just a good picture of me. Frankly, it’s the reason that I use that one.

Brandon:
That’s funny.

David:
But the thing is, if you’re making content for TikTok, you got to make it how TikTok people want to see it. If you’re posting something on Facebook, it has to be what the Facebook audience is looking to see. And I think that’s a mistake people make is, they just make the content they want and they just throw it up there and they hope it sticks. But there’s actually a rhythm and a pattern you can get into to being successful there.

Brandon:
Yeah, really good. By the way, there’s a really good book by a guy named Russell Brunson. Traffic Secrets is what it’s called. Have you read that one?

Brittany:
I heard about it.

Brandon:
Yeah, really good. It’s basically the idea of how to connect with influencers that maybe it’s people you want to raise money from, and you want to build a relationship with, you want to buy from them. And the whole idea is getting a list of 100 people in your life on social media and you follow them, you interact with them, you connect with them and you build an online presence with them over time. And that helps you long-term. So it’s a cool book. If anyone’s looking for a good one on social media strategy, Traffic Secrets is pretty awesome.
Okay. You mentioned giving value and providing that. So that’s the first thing we’re talking about from going from amateur to pro that helped you anyway is by getting out there. What else you got for us?

Brittany:
I mean, I kind of want to throw a question back on you because-

Brandon:
Not allowed.

Brittany:
Okay. I got invited to this thing called the Maui Mastermind and this was a big deal and I got an invitation from you, this personal video, and I just couldn’t believe it. I had this mega imposter syndrome and all the people that I looked up to and put on this big pedestal, you as well. And just, I couldn’t believe that I got invited to this. So my question for you is, how did I get invited? [inaudible 00:20:47].

Brandon:
Yeah. To the mastermind we did here. I mean, kind of what we talked about earlier where we connect with the brand more than X amount of times. It’s because I followed you on Instagram. So everyday I saw your stories and your posts. And so then when Tarl and I sat down to go, “Okay, we got to invite people to this mastermind.” I was like, “Well, who do I like online that I have fun hanging out with.” And so I invited a bunch of people, not David. And then you-

Brittany:
David didn’t show up for that one.

Brandon:
David was invited and he just turned me down twice in a row now.

Brittany:
Yeah. Too cool for us.

Brandon:
Yeah, he’s too cool for school. Yeah. It was just because I was able to see your personality online. That’s how all the people got invited. I mean, everyone from like Ryan Pineda, to AJ Osborne, to this whole group that came out. Ashley Wilson. They came out because I saw them and I follow them on Instagram. I think every single person that came to that mastermind was a friend of mine on Instagram. And so it’s just the ongoing reputation. I see the stories, I watch what they’re doing with their life, I see how they interact with their team members and thought, they’re somebody I want to hang out with. So, good question.

Brittany:
Exactly. And it is such a great group that was there and everyone really did mesh together so well. And for me, that was my next point because that was such a pivotal time for me being invited to that mastermind, becoming friends with all the people that I put on these pedestals and getting to know them. And that allowed me to think bigger, sooner. So I think that’s one of my major points because just being involved in this group and seeing the way these people think, and it’s not so far away, you can really start to see similarities. I saw similarities in myself to people that I would just have these limiting beliefs. I didn’t go to university, I can’t do what they’re doing. I don’t have the connections, I don’t have… Blah, blah, blah. The list goes on but-

Brandon:
But you were a power ranger.

Brittany:
Oh yeah. [inaudible 00:22:30].

Brandon:
Wait, no, sorry. Power line person, right? What was your job title?

Brittany:
Power engineer.

Brandon:
Power engineer. I think we should rename all power line engineers to power rangers, especially in Canada. It just feels like a Canadian thing. It’s like, “I’m a power ranger.”

Brittany:
Absolutely.

Brandon:
The ranger of the power. Anyway, so your point being is, you got around other people who were doing big things and that helped you transform from amateur to professional. Am I putting words in your mouth? Is that where you were going?

Brittany:
Absolutely. No, that’s true. And it was just, you look up to these people and I think a lot of people listening can relate, right? They see what we’re doing now and they just think, I can never do that. That’s where I was two years ago. So I don’t know being around those like-minded people, do whatever you do to get in some groups and then scale your way up, take those people out. You said that, find someone you admire and you’re trying to become, and then take them up for a super nice $500 steak dinner. Something like that.

Brandon:
Do your little steak dinner. How does somebody though get in a group without just being invited? They happen to be like… For those who don’t know, so I did an event. We did a mastermind event, I’ve done it twice now out here. We’re going to do more of them hopefully. And I’m a partner with Tarl Yarber on that one and we had a good time. But if you’re not part of the 20 people out of the quarter million who listen to the show, how do you get into a group of people? Do you have to just hope you get invited?

Brittany:
Well, that’s what I was so surprised [inaudible 00:23:47]. Like, “How did I get myself…”

Brandon:
Yeah, you get on social media, you get on the podcast and then you have fun.

Brittany:
And you do build that credibility, but you have to prove yourself. You’re not just going to get invited just because, you have to really put in the work. So it was however many years of me working every day, doing my DIY renovations, really trying, and people can see that effort. They can see themselves in an investor starting out and really trying and putting in that work at the start. So…

Brandon:
100%

David:
I would add Brittany what I think you did different than most people that just shoot their shot was, you were just so consistent. You probably tagged me or asked me for something six or seven times before I ever even replied to you. I bet you probably remember. And it got to a point where it’s like, “She’s just so nice and consistent.” That like, “Yes, what do you have going on?” And then you offered value and you didn’t ask for anything. And you just did that so many times that I just honestly felt obligated to give you whatever you wanted, because you’d been so nice. And you sort of jedeye mind tricked me into whatever you want. And I really think that’s the best model.
Brandon, I know it’s the same thing for you. If somebody just does enough nice things for you, you’ll say yes out of pure guilt. As opposed to the person that just calls you out of the blue and is like, “Oh my gosh, you finally answered.” And they want to give you their life story in a phone call, right? Like, “Hey, can I do this thing?” And that’s it, you never hear from them again. Would you agree Brandon? And actually, Brittany, I’d be curious if you’d share whatever is you did so that the listeners can emulate it.

Brandon:
Yeah, what’d you do?

Brittany:
I just try to provide value without actually expecting anything in return too. I think that’s what’s really important.

Brandon:
I definitely think that you do that and I think a lot of people make the mistake of, “I will provide value if I give value back.” They want to make it transactional, right? With any relationship. Forget social media for a minute, just any relationship. Like, “Hey, will you mentor me and I’ll give you 50% of my first deal?” Or, “I’ll go find a deal for you if you sit down and talk with me over lunch today.” Instead of just, “Hey, I brought you a deal.” “Thanks.” And then that’s it. If you can provide value to people, if you’re just getting started, there’s a lot of ways to do that. I mean, everything from finding… I mean, the most important way is find people deals.
But there’s other ways. There’s, “Hey, I want to improve your system. Hey, I want to help you underwrite deals. I want to help you do cold calling.” I will learn the text message direct, what do they call it? Direct response text messaging?

Brittany:
Yeah.

Brandon:
I’ll learn it, I’ll get really good at it and I’ll run the whole thing for you, no charge. I’m not asking anything, I’m just trying to provide value.

Brittany:
And that’s what I’m looking for. So anyone out there [inaudible 00:26:24].

Brandon:
Yeah, exactly. I think we’re all looking for people that can do this. And it’s hard to find people who actually do stuff. So, yeah. Get into a tribe of people by putting in the work, by providing the value. Anything else on that note?

Brittany:
Yeah. I think you could also start your own group and your own tribe of people. You can be the one inviting them.

Brandon:
Yes.

Brittany:
I think that’s a great way to go about it. It doesn’t have to be, you’re invited, you’re the one inviting them.

Brandon:
It’s such a good point because people are like, they want to be included in a thing like that. Like, “Oh, I didn’t get invited to a mastermind. Why didn’t I get asked to do this thing? Why didn’t…” Go make your own way. I don’t know, go out there. There’s a book called Choose Yourself by James Altucher. I hope I’m saying his last name right. But it’s really good. It’s all about that. It’s like, stop waiting to be chosen. “Oh, the TV show didn’t take me.” Go make a YouTube channel. Like, “Oh, I didn’t get part of that job.” Okay, great. Go be an entrepreneur. In today’s economy, we can choose ourselves. And same thing with the friends we surround ourselves with, “Yeah, I’m starting a real estate meetup. We’re going to meet at the brewing… What do they call them? A brewery? It’s like saying rural, it’s like brewery. I can’t say it.

David:
You got me thinking about a lot of people that do this well. Shelby Osborne started her Pints & Properties meetup. Beau Eckstein, our buddy from [inaudible 00:27:36] started a pretty big meetup. David Pere just started what? Military to Millionaire. Who knows if he owned a house when he started it, but he owns them now because he got a lot of people that are coming. I think you’re right. The people that are considering starting it but maybe don’t want to, think they don’t have enough experience. But nobody knows or cares. It’s a group. I get to go there. I can be a part of it. Yup, sign me up.

Brittany:
Yeah. Get people to speak and see what happens.

Brandon:
Yeah and just show up and if two people show up the first time, one person shows up the first time, nobody shows up the first time, do it again the next month. Learn from it.

Brittany:
Exactly.

Brandon:
Do it a week later, do other meetups, connect with people, do what you do. I love that you said, yeah, you don’t have to wait to be invited, you can invite. And it’s just a good reminder. I love it. All right. What else you got for us?

Brittany:
Well, I think still on that point of thinking bigger sooner, that is something that I really wanted. I was saying it in my episode 320 that I wanted to scale into apartments and commercial real estate. But that was such a step that was so far away, that it was hard to even imagine how to get there. But I think if that is a spot that people want to get to eventually, start getting in that mindset as soon as you can. Because I read Brian Murray’s book, Crushing It in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate. That’s where the idea first came in maybe four years ago, a long time ago, but it was always something that I wanted.
And then certain dots start connecting. So for me, it was Maui Mastermind, starting to scale and think bigger. And then once I did my first commercial deal, I realized it’s way easier, way less scary, actually way more passive than I ever could have imagined.

Brandon:
When I went from residential to the larger commercial deals, it shocked me at how much easier they were.

Brittany:
Yeah, it’s way easier.

Brandon:
Yeah. Let’s talk about one of those transitions you made. You bought a larger property up there in Canada between when you were on the show last time and now, right?

Brittany:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Brandon:
You bought a larger. What was that?

Brittany:
It was a 14-unit apartment building.

Brandon:
Actually, maybe now’s a good time for the deal deep dive. I think we need your voice on the deal deep dive a jingle here Brittany. Are you ready?

Brittany:
Ready.

Brandon:
[inaudible 00:29:43] one, two, three. We’re going to say deal deep dive.

Brittany:
Is it supposed to be low?

Brandon:
What? Oh yeah.

Brittany:
Okay.

Brandon:
How low can you go? One, two, three, deal.

Brittany:
Deal deep dive.

Brandon:
There we go.

David:
That’s your low voice?

Brittany:
I really tried. Deal deep dive.

Brandon:
It’s sad that, this might come across as a sexist statement. I’m going to go ahead and put it out there anyway. It’s sad that women can’t do the low voice-

Brittany:
It is sad.

Brandon:
…but men can do the high voice. We just have-

Brittany:
Can you do the high voice on deal deep dive?

Brandon:
Deal deep dive. Right? We have the ability to do both voices. I can impersonate a woman on the phone and a woman can’t impersonate me.

Brittany:
Not at all.

Brandon:
Actually, a woman could impersonate me because I sound like a 13-year-old girl. But moving on.

David:
I don’t know. Rosie, when she mimics your voice is absolutely adorable. I think you should post something of that.

Brandon:
I’m daddy. Yeah. Thanks. All right. Deal deep dive. So this is the part of the show where we dive deep into one deal that we’ve done. Now, normally we do this at the end of the show, but it just fit right here. So I thought we’d jumped in with it. So deal deep dive. We’re going to ask you a bunch of questions about the property. So first one, what type of property is it? I already said that and where’s it located?

Brittany:
It’s a 14-unit apartment building in Saskatchewan, in Canada.

Brandon:
Saskatchewan, Canada. All right.

David:
For those of us that are not in Canada, what does that mean?

Brittany:
I think [inaudible 00:31:01].

David:
Where is that?

Brandon:
Yeah, is that a neighborhood area?

Brittany:
Right. It’s kind of in the middle.

Brandon:
In the middle.

Brittany:
It’s the part most investors in Canada forget about it because they’re stuck on Vancouver, Toronto thinking they can invest in real estate.

David:
Okay. That’s what I needed. Between Vancouver and Toronto.

Brittany:
Yeah.

Brandon:
It’s like the Kansas. I was going to say it’s like the Kansas and Oklahoma of Canada. All right.

David:
The fly over area. Okay. How did you find this deal?

Brittany:
I had a list of sellers that I came across just online or a calling, I would call for rent signs just if I saw an apartment I thought-

Brandon:
Nice.

Brittany:
…that one looks like it could be a seller, owner anyway. So I had this list and I was doing some other stuff. I was not really super focused on apartments for a while, but I just kept collecting this list. And when COVID happened, I thought, okay, this might be a good time to reconnect with these sellers. So at the time this property was listed for 600,000, which the numbers just didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t going to work for me at that time. So I reconnected with the seller offered at an 8% cap rate, which put the property at 451,000 and the seller agreed.

Brandon:
Wow. Okay. Hold on. We’re burning through this deal deep dive. So how’d you find it? We got that. How much was it? We got that one. And negotiation, I mean, there really didn’t sound like a whole lot of negotiation there.

Brittany:
There wasn’t a lot of negotiation. No. It’s just one of those ones I want out of it. And I explained the process. This is how I got to this number and these are the other examples in the area that I was looking at. And it just ended up making sense. But a thing that I really, really think investors should know is, you have to start thinking creatively with these commercial deals. Because there are so many different ways to think about it. And we’ve talked about this before Brandon, where it’s just, you do what you got to do to make it work. And there’s always a way.

Brandon:
Yeah. It’s not, can it be done, but how can it be done?

Brittany:
Exactly.

Brandon:
Yeah. That shift is so important. Okay, so you got the negotiation done. David you’re up next.

David:
I think that’s what draws people to commercial real estate investing actually is the fun and the creativity that there are a lot of different levers you can pull on to make it work.

Brandon:
Yeah, agreed.

David:
As opposed to the spreadsheet mindset that just says, “I’m just going to plug in numbers and if it doesn’t work, I move on to the next one.” And they just keep blasting through. I would highly encourage more people. If you like a deal, you like the area, you like the property, you believe in it and it doesn’t work, to look and see, could it work? Don’t force it, okay? But sometimes there’s a solution as simple as rent the rooms out or take the living room and turn it into two bedrooms and do it that way or convert the basement. And all of a sudden that deal makes a whole lot of sense when it didn’t make sense as a straight up 1% rule rental property.

Brandon:
There’s a group called the JDC Mindset Academy. It’s my coach Jason Drees, it’s his group. So I did this call two weeks ago where I went on there and people just literally, all they did is give me an address, an address of a property and my job was just to analyze the deal. I didn’t know anything about it, but I spent two hours straight analyzing people’s deals and what was fun about it and what I realized is how much real estate is more about mindset than it is math. Because most of the deals, when I first looked at them, they did not work out, but what a good investor does and that I didn’t do in the beginning, initially when I got into real estate, was just like, “Nope, not a good deal.”
I started thinking, “Well, what would make this a good deal?” And I’m like, “Well, let’s look it up.” And then I’d look at it on a map. And I’m like, “Oh, look, there’s a college near here.” And I asked the person who was on the call. I’m like, “Hey, this college, is that a big college?” “Oh yeah. It’s huge. Tons.” I’m like, “We’re a quarter mile from the college. Could we turn this into student rentals?” “Oh yeah. Maybe.” I’m like, “Well, what’s the rent?” So we go through the numbers that way. And all of a sudden what was not a good deal, became a good deal. But it became one because of the mindset, not the math.

David:
Yes.

Brandon:
I mean, they have to go together. The mindset and the math have to go together. And-

Brittany:
And that’s exactly what I did on this property too.

Brandon:
Okay. [inaudible 00:34:56].

Brittany:
Because it was that situation. There was a lot of people like transient workers so they’d be working railroad and they didn’t want to buy a house, they have money. They didn’t want to buy a place. There’s no Airbnbs really. So in this city, that’s what I did. It was, okay, the numbers are terrible this way, but what can we do? Renovate and furnish it and do it monthly rental. And that it almost doubled the rents by doing that.

Brandon:
That’s awesome.

Brittany:
And that’s exactly it’s, how can I make this work?

Brandon:
Yeah, that’s really good. All right. So let’s ask the question then. How did you fund it before we get to the outcome?

Brittany:
This is amazing. I funded at 1.45%.

Brandon:
1.45% interest.

Brittany:
Interest. Yeah.

David:
Okay. Hold on a minute, because I heard someone else from Canada say something very similar on the Real Estate Rockstars podcast. And he said over a five-year term. So is this an adjustable rate mortgage Brittany?

Brittany:
1.45%-

Brandon:
That’s crazy.

Brittany:
…at a 35-year amortization.

Brandon:
So Canada goes 35 years [inaudible 00:35:57]. US, we only go 30. Why is it so low? How do they do that?

Brittany:
This one is insured by the government of Canada. And so this is commercial financing.

Brandon:
Interesting.

Brittany:
And that’s another huge pro to commercial real estate because there are those different financing options and getting this loan was way easier than getting a loan for one of my $100,000 properties. So it is awesome once you start to get into the commercial side of things.

Brandon:
Especially in Canada, I’m moving there. I got a 2.9 on my last $5 million loan from my mobile home park. I thought that was good.

David:
Well, maybe we should highlight why the rates are different. I think that’d be important. Because we don’t want people getting a two nine to be like, “What the heck, how come I didn’t get a 1.45?” Right? Even in America, our 30 year fixed rate loans are subsidized by the government. That’s what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing is they’re insuring loans and they’re putting money out by buying loans that have already been made back so that lenders are incentivized to give you a stupid low interest rate because then they can sell the loan the minute that has been originated. And the government is going to basically partner with these companies to take it on their own books. That’s why rates are this low.
None of us would lend our money for 30 years at 2.9%. That would just be a bad business decision. And I’m sure Canada has a similar program in place. They recognize home prices are really high, it’s hard to buy real estate, so let’s get involved here to keep rates low so people can actually afford it.

Brandon:
Yeah, that makes sense. And my 2.9 or whatever, it’s a commercial loan, but insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac-

David:
There you go. Yes.

Brandon:
…I think I had one. Same thing. That’s how we’re getting it. It was super low. If you’re going without that, you’re probably going to be in the four or five, six. But there’s some countries right now that are at negative interest rates. They’re predicting that Canada might go negative soon and the US might go negative, who knows. This is uncharted territory right here in the world. But anyway, make hay while the sun shines, right?

Brittany:
Exactly.

Brandon:
That’s amazing. What kind of down payment do you have to do for that?

Brittany:
Down payment, we actually got seller financed.

Brandon:
Really?

Brittany:
Yeah.

Brandon:
Wow.

Brittany:
So 125,000.

Brandon:
So they carried that.

Brittany:
Carried that.

Brandon:
What did you have to put into the thing then?

Brittany:
Just renovation costs.

Brandon:
That’s awesome.

Brittany:
So not a lot.

Brandon:
That’s awesome.

Brittany:
And now looking, it’s probably doubled cap rate from purchase to now just doing those renovations, being able to rent it out furnished, that was huge because there’s a lot of people looking for that kind of property in this city.

Brandon:
That’s cool.

Brittany:
So there’s just always a creative way to do it.

Brandon:
Going back to the questions here, we covered, how do you fund it? What’d you do with it? So you rented it out. You said it was like month to month furnished rentals is what you made it, right?

Brittany:
Yeah.

Brandon:
That’s so cool. Yeah. That’s smart. Do you have traveling nurses there or just the construction workers, that kind of thing?

Brittany:
Well, there’s a lot of just industry, so industrial. There’s CN rail and the railroad is going through all the time. So there’s a lot of people there and that’s why the houses are cheap in there. And you can get really good deals because not a lot of people want to buy to stay, but they will rent a nice place.

Brandon:
I was actually talking with another investor this morning about that exact concept of… Because he was a new investor, just getting started. This is from the breakfast conversation I had and this guy was saying how, “Well, should I get into this or that?” And he said, what was he looking at? He said, “I’m thinking about group homes for families that have a developmentally disabled young person.” And I was like, “I love that.” Because I don’t know anything about it. I don’t know anybody who does that. But that’s such a cool unique niche that if you were good at that niche, you could probably just dominate it. Because it’s very, very unique, right? And your thing is, yeah, I recognize I can just do what everyone else does. Just put it for rent. Or I could find this unique niche of these workers need a place to stay. Again, it’s mindset over math, but it includes both of them really.

Brittany:
And you can do that with every asset class. That’s just what I’ve been seeing in even the triple net commercial deals too. There’s just always a way to think creatively.

Brandon:
There’s a way to spin it. I have also found that commercial seems to be more okay with things like a seller financing-

Brittany:
Absolutely.

Brandon:
…second mortgage and-

Brittany:
Exactly.

Brandon:
Yeah. The commercial mortgages, they’re used to creativity where you try to get a 30-year Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac loan in the US, a residential one. And you’re like, “Yeah, I’m going to get this from this and this teller finance.” Then he gets it weird and complicated and bogged down and nobody seems to know how to deal with that stuff. And six months later, you’re still trying to get the mortgage. Again, another reason I like the commercial stuff.

Brittany:
Exactly.

Brandon:
All right. What about outcome-wise? What do you get today? What’s the income like or cashflow like? Who manages it? What’s it like?

Brittany:
Completely managed, cashflow is 53,000 a year.

Brandon:
A year. Wow.

Brittany:
I mean, that’s enough to replace a lot of people’s income.

Brandon:
Yeah, while you’re living in Maui.

David:
And you got that with no money down other than the rehab cost?

Brittany:
Exactly. Yeah. So that’s just that thinking creatively, which is what was so great about Brian Murray’s book, becoming friends with him and just different ways of looking at things. Because at the end of the day, we’re trying to solve problems. We’re all problem solvers here. So the bigger problems you can solve, you get paid.

Brandon:
Yeah, 100%. It’s so funny when real estate, and people want to get into it. Like, “I really want to do this but oh, this is so hard.” Or, “This is really tough. I can’t find any deals.” I’m like, “This is your job to be a problem solver.”

Brittany:
And it is hard.

Brandon:
It is hard.

Brittany:
It is hard.

Brandon:
That’s why we make a lot of money.

David:
Just yesterday, I don’t remember who I was talking to, but someone was complaining about the typical, what if the toilet breaks thing? Okay?

Brandon:
Yeah.

David:
And I was saying, listen for $53,000 a year, let’s say that’s your income at your job that you go work, okay? Are you solving problems all day long at your regular job? Yes, you are. That is why you exist. You’re literally there to solve a problem that a business owner doesn’t want to solve and you get paid $53,000 for that. Why would you think that you should get an income stream with zero problems the same way? Of course there’s going to be problems. They’re way less than what you’re doing at work, they’re probably way more fun than what you’re doing at work. They have a bigger upside, you get ownership in this company and still the thought of a toilet clogging or a tenant being mad is enough to stop people from getting into it. But they don’t use that same logic when it comes to their W2.

Brandon:
I was reading the comment on a video the other day and the person just said something like, basically, “My aunt had a property and the tenant didn’t pay rent for a couple months and then ended up having to be evicted. No thanks. No chance I would ever do that.” And I was like, “Okay, so you’re going to work for 60 years at a job that you probably don’t like because your aunt had a bad experience because she didn’t know how to manage tenants right, because she never wrote a single book on how to manage tenants? You’re going to base your entire next 50 years of your life off that?” Okay. Good luck. Great. More for us.
All right. The last question of the deal deep dive, David? I’ve been hogging all the questions today.

David:
That’s okay. You ask them really well. And I just get to provide commentary.

Brandon:
Well, thank you.

David:
When you do it that way. What lessons did you learn from this deal Brittany?

Brittany:
For me the biggest lesson was definitely the bigger deals are actually more passive and more scalable because I was so stuck in this DIY trying to do these single families and duplexes, which was great and it’s taught me a lot of lessons as well. But once I closed that deal, it was the total mindset shift and game changer because it was way easier than I ever expected. And now I feel like I can scale my business to a whole nother level after doing that one.

Brandon:
That’s awesome. All right. Well, let’s move this thing along. I know we got seven things to talk about today, right? I think we’re two in, is that right? Or we’re three in? I don’t know.

Brittany:
We’re four in.

Brandon:
Oh, we’re four in. Wow, you’re moving this along.

Brittany:
Now, we’re on five.

Brandon:
Let’s do a quick recap where we’re at so far. So from the beginning it was, the first one-

Brittany:
Social media.

Brandon:
Social media.

Brittany:
Provide value, invest in yourself, think bigger sooner.

Brandon:
All right. That’s four. You are just cruising through this. All right, number five.

Brittany:
Number five is, jump in before you’re ready. So that was how I felt with so many things now looking back to it. So quitting my power ranger and whatever job I had. I like power ranger [inaudible 00:43:40]. The pink one, she’s the coolest.

Brandon:
Yeah. She was the coolest. I had a crush on her when I was three. It was great. Anyway.

Brittany:
So yeah, I think jumping in before you’re ready. When I had that job, a lot of people probably feel the same way. It’s extremely intimidating and there’s all those fears, but I would just ask myself, “What’s the worst case scenario? So jumping in before ready has happened to me and worst case scenario for me quitting that job is, okay, I’m 24, whatever it was. I’m going to go have to get a new job. I’m going to try this real estate thing out and see what happens.

Brandon:
It reminds me of the asymmetric bets thing. We talked about that a lot on the show lately. I don’t remember. Who was the first person to bring that up to us on the podcast? [inaudible 00:44:22].

David:
It was the… Wow. Why are we blanking right now? He’s in Europe and he has a podcast. The billionaire one, they study billionaires.

Brandon:
Yeah. We Study Billionaires, yeah. Stig, right?

David:
Stig. Yes. Thank you.

Brandon:
All right. Yeah, so Stig. Talking about, some bets you make, they have a very small downside and a very large upside. And so if I quit my job and jump into this new entrepreneurial thing or this real estate investing thing, whatever that is, and it doesn’t work out, okay, I might have to go back and get a job, I might lose six months, I might lose 10 grand. Or I might make millions of millions of dollars down the road and become super successful and retire early and spend time with my family and travel the world and be awesome. It’s not a 50/50. It’s an asymmetric bet.
And so when we start looking at real estate and start looking at life that way. Tim Ferriss makes that point really well in the 4-Hour Workweek. Remember we talked about that? He has, I think called it the worst case scenario analysis or something. And he’s like, “Okay, you go and quit your job and travel the world. What’s going to happen worst case? Okay, you go broke.” And he’s like, “Your girlfriend breaks up with you and your dog dies. At the end of the day, you get a new dog, you get a new girlfriend and you go back to your home and you live on rice and beans for a few weeks and then you’re back to normal or you have the best year of your life.” And so it’s the same thing.

Brittany:
It’s the same. And it was the same one I got on BiggerPockets for the first time too because I was so scared. I didn’t want to go on, I was so intimidated about my speaking and all this stuff. And then it just opened that many doors and that many more opportunities come from that. So I think just getting comfortable in that fear and that feeling and knowing that you’re not going to have all the answers, that’s really important. And now that that’s something that I’ve taken away from being at the mastermind and being around you guys it’s, you guys don’t have it all figured out. You’re just figuring it out as you go on.

Brandon:
Don’t tell our secret Brittany. Come on.

Brittany:
Sorry, that’s the secret everybody.

Brandon:
[inaudible 00:46:09] think we’ve got this all figured out.

Brittany:
But it’s true. It’s just these problems come up and then you solve them. And I used to think when I first got started in real estate, I wish someone would just hold my hand and tell me exactly what to do. But there’s not going to be that person, you have to be that person for yourself and just be able to know that you’re not going to have all the answers and you’re going to have to solve the problems along the way. Don’t get caught up in all the details of solving them before they even happen.

David:
That’s a great point. I like that. That should be put on your Instagram. Don’t get caught up-

Brandon:
I was literally thinking, I’m going to take that clip, we’re going to put some inspirational music behind it and put that out on Instagram all over the place.

David:
And he’s going to quote himself as everybody. We know how that goes down.

Brandon:
Shut your mouth David. Good. I never did that.

David:
Well, I do want to highlight what Brittany was saying there. I just made a video the other day. It’s being edited to come out about how to overcome analysis paralysis. I think the root problem with analysis paralysis is fear of uncertainty. There’s a comfort that comes from every single thing that could happen, I know what I would do or I’ve negated that being able to happen. And if your brain is looking for that to be the solution. And if you don’t ever get there, then you don’t ever act, but nothing else in life works that way. And that’s why I give people permission to say, “It’s not reckless to let go of that need for certainty.”
If you think about an athlete that plays a sport, you don’t know what play that… If you’re a defensive football player in the NFL, you don’t know what play the office is going to call. They literally have people pay full-time salaries to, to disguise what they’re going to do. Does that mean you shouldn’t play football because you can’t completely predict what they’re going to do? No. What makes you a good football player is your ability to adapt?
Well, odds are with this lineup it’s third and one, they’re probably going to run the ball. So let’s put a situation together to stop the run, but let’s have a backup plan in case they throw the ball and then let’s look at what happens, see what we did wrong and be better on the next one. That is totally normal for so many situations that happen in life. Like who’s ready to be a mom when they have a kid or a dad? Right?

Brandon:
I was ready to be a mom, I was ready. It didn’t happen. I ended up a dad.

David:
[crosstalk 00:48:12] voice of yours. It sounds reckless to say, just move forward without knowing. But if you look at it within the context of everything else in life, we’re already doing all of these things. And so it’s sad when I see the people that need life to work out on a spreadsheet before they’ll actually take action. It’s okay to let go of that.

Brittany:
That really does tie into my next point, which is mindset, which is exactly what David was just describing and having that confidence I think that’s so important. Even if you don’t have it figured out, think of that future version of yourself who does have it all figured out. I never thought I’d be speaking on stage, I never thought I’d be speaking at all. And I’m like, okay, speaking at all. I’m wrapped up in my DIY renovations, just doing my own thing. And now I’m doing the podcast and all this stuff. And just thinking about that in whatever way.
So I’m getting in these big commercial real estate deals, and I’m really, really excited about that and that’s my path, that’s where I’m moving forward to. And having the confidence that, I might not have every single answer right now, but I guarantee, I know the person who will have the answer.

Brandon:
Yeah, that’s really good.

Brittany:
I’m really comfortable in that.

Brandon:
How has your mindset changed over the last few years? Where do you see the biggest transformation in the way you think?

Brittany:
Well, it is crazy thinking back. And I really started thinking after listening to episode 320, because I mean, everything is completely changed around. But yeah, even doing the Mindset Academy with Jason, that really helped me just become aware of it because I didn’t even really know. I never thought about mindset at all. People had asked me on Instagram, “How do you do this? How did you get started? How do you do renovations?” And I would just be committed to the end result, committed to the success of whatever that. So say I was trying to do a tile shower. I’ve never done that before, I don’t know what to do, but the first step would be okay, Google it, look it up online. Find professionals to ask questions to, and then just take it step by step.

Brandon:
I think that is a huge mindset that a lot of people don’t have which is the, I’m going to get it done no matter what and I’m going to finish it. I think one of the most important mindsets a person can have in life. And so many people lack this is just a mindset of finishing, right? So many people can start stuff, no matter what it is. I’m going to write a book, I’m going to start a podcast, I’m going to invest in real estate and they just stop. They give up. Or I’m going to go on a diet, right? That’s a common one. Very few people have the mindset that says, “No matter what, I will finish whatever it is that I start.”
And so I think if you can develop that in one area of your life, whether it’s tiling a shower or whatever, I think that tends to translate to other areas, which is why David and I talk a lot about identity. Do you have an identity, where you do what you say you’re going to do? Do you finish every project you start, no matter what is. You started making the bed, you’re going to finish making the bed because that’s who you are, is somebody who finishes. And so it’s definitely something I’ve seen in your life as well.

Brittany:
Yeah. That identity thing is so huge too. Because whatever you tell yourself is what’s going to be the truth and whatever you believe in yourself. And so I could tell myself every day, you’re this way, that way, but who do you want to be?

Brandon:
Like, I’m not good at talking, I’m not going to go into podcasts, I’m not outgoing, I’m shy, whatever [inaudible 00:51:23].

Brittany:
It doesn’t matter what it is. But could be whoever you want to be. So a huge mindset shift for me talking to Steve Rosenberg, who’s a mutual friend and a coach as well. And so he’s coaching me and saying, “You don’t have to be tied to your identity as this DIY investor doing renovations everyday.” Because I really got stuck in that. And then when I took a step back thinking about what I actually want out of real estate, it’s not to be tied to this job as a DIY real estate investor, which I do love, that’s a passion, but it could be a side passion as well. But you could change. You could be whoever you want. So that really helped me shift perspectives and get out of that because I want to have the freedom lifestyle. I want to be living in Maui, I want to be investing in commercial from the beach. Like that sounds cool. And that’s-

Brandon:
That does sound cool. Everyone’s listening right now in their car they’re going like, “That does sound cool.”

Brittany:
Yeah. That does sounds cool.

Brandon:
Why am I driving in the rain to a job I don’t like right now?

Brittany:
I know. So that’s been huge for me. Even just taking a step back to evaluate that.

Brandon:
Yeah, really good.

David:
Well, especially that point that whatever you believe is going to be true. I mean, that’s one of the most insightful things anyone has ever said, Brittany. You’re just dropping bombs this entire podcast. I was thinking the other day about how very little deception is based on a pure lie, okay? Like when you turn on the news, you can see the same story told from two completely different perspectives. Neither of them are making things up. They’re just only highlighting the side of the story that they are most interested in when it comes to like what’s going on with politics. And then I started thinking how that’s really how everything goes. When you sit and you talk to two people that are having relationship problems, they both tell you what the other person does terrible and how they’re such a victim. And they’re right. They’re not usually making things up, but when you hear what they did that caused it, all of a sudden you tend to perceive it differently.
And I think this is true with everything. Is Brandon Turner a bad communicator? He’d say yes. He says like too frequently, he doesn’t like his voice, he sounds like a girl. He’s not good, right? But at the same time-

Brandon:
Keep going. Just keep going.

David:
…is Brandon a great communicator? Everybody says Brandon’s energy has me addicted to the podcast. He says things in a way that makes me believe I can do it. He’s one of the top real estate investing educators or really just top talent when it comes to communicating in the world. Brandon can say things in a way that gets through to people. So they’re both true. He’s a bad communicator and he’s a good communicator. How we look at that will determine how we feel and then what action we take. I mean, I thought that was an incredibly deep statement and how many people are listening to this saying, “I can’t be a real estate investor because I’m bad at math.” And that’s stopping them from moving forward. And that’s really the best thing to be bad at because we have spreadsheets that do all that for you.

Brandon:
I have said this before, and I’ll say it again now because I just think it’s such a good reminder is, my biggest self-conscious thing in my life. The thing that my entire life I’ve been most ashamed about myself has been the way that I talk, my voice. And for whatever reason the world knows me for my voice. And so it’s just one of those things I’m just a big believer that sometimes whether God, the universe, however you want to look at that, can take your biggest weakness or your source of low self-esteem and can make that your biggest strength. And I think that’s just a fascinating reminder. Just remember, whatever it is that you think you’re terrible at, it doesn’t matter. I guess that’s the bottom line, it doesn’t matter. Either you can find somebody else to do it, you can improve upon it. Or maybe it’s just a lie that you tell yourself because of some trauma as a kid, I don’t know.

Brittany:
And it can be that combination. It’s, who can help you with this? Who do you know? Who could you find? Because that’s helped me so much the last six months as I’m scaling this business and what am I not good at? Who can I find to help me? But also just believing in myself that I can do it. Because I think you said this before too, believing you’re not a leader and that’s [crosstalk 00:55:22]-

Brandon:
I don’t want to be a manager, I don’t want to lead people, I don’t like this stuff. Yeah.

Brittany:
And for me, I could believe that that’s not true. I’m an amazing leader. And I am going to tell them exactly. And then going through with the clarity of how, and steps. What’s the next step? How do I figure out how to be a better leader and then learning about that and then hiring someone maybe to help you hire people. There’s a million different ways you can do it.

Brandon:
I think you bring up a good point about just the self-awareness. Like, when I talk about my voice or when people say, “I’m not going to math, I’m not good at public speaking.” Those might be legitimate things. I may have actually been terrible at talking at one point. And so like you said, have the self-awareness to realize, this is what I’m not good at. I think it was Ryan Serhant was talking to us David about that, right? About talking to a friend or somebody who can be brutally honest and be like, “What’s your problem? What am I not good at?” How do you describe me? I think is what he said, right? How would you describe me if you couldn’t use my name? And then like you said, you don’t have to be stuck in that. Just go find out who does that. Who not how, right? We talk about that all the time. Who not how.

Brittany:
Yeah. All the time. Do not how.

Brandon:
So how can you improve that one thing?

Brittany:
Well, and that’s my point number seven, which is invest back in your business. So it could be investing, we’ve talked about it before, but invest in yourself, but then also investing in your business, which could be hiring those people to help you. So you’re making your income, you’re not spending it on cars and whatever. I’m in Maui, I was living in a shed. [inaudible 00:56:44]. I’m like, how can I be and that’s-

Brandon:
You were living in like a shed. My finance managers. It was a nice shed.

Brittany:
It’s a nice shed.

Brandon:
It’s like a remodeled unit shed but it’s still a shed.

Brittany:
But it’s like, how can I? I want to be in Maui for this amount of time, how can I? What can I do? And then I wanted [inaudible 00:57:01]-

Brandon:
Well, now you have a pool and a view for a little anyway so you got a nice [inaudible 00:57:04].

Brittany:
I have some good friends here. Shout out to all the Maui people [inaudible 00:57:08]. But it’s one of those things. It’s like, okay, I could rent a place for $5,000 a month or I could spend that on investing back into my business and trying to figure out how I can move that forward. And so just making those decisions. I was doing van hacking. That’s another one. It’s like, you’re living in a van outside of the rental property as in renovating inside and just saving that money so I could put it back into the business and be able to grow it. So just always thinking about that.

Brandon:
Yeah. That’s really good. Really good. It reminds me of David sleeping in his car when he was a cop, just to-

Brittany:
Yeah, all the time.

Brandon:
…go sleep in his car out there.

Brittany:
Do what you got to do.

David:
Or Brandon sleeping in a Prius, which no one still knows how physics supported that. I just pictured you rolling down the window and sticking your legs right out of it. The smallest car and the biggest guy, how that worked out.

Brandon:
It actually works out pretty well. When you lay down the seat in a Prius, you can put a mattress. We put a foam mattress back there. A a full-size queen, one of those Costco memory foam mattresses and where my head would touch the back of the front seat, my feet would touch the tail of the car.

Brittany:
[inaudible 00:58:10].

Brandon:
And so we did some car camping in a Prius, so it’s a thing.

Brittany:
Oh, it’s so much fun.

Brandon:
All right. So let’s recap the seven real quick from the top. So what do you got?

Brittany:
Yeah. Social media, provide value, invest in yourself, think bigger sooner, jump in before you’re ready, invest back in your business and mindset.

Brandon:
Was that eight or seven? I lost track.

Brittany:
I can’t count. We don’t do math around here.

Brandon:
We don’t do math. We hire people to do math.

Brittany:
We hire people to do math.

Brandon:
Yes. Who not how. Yeah. That’s really good. All right. So where are you headed now in the future? Where do you see the next few years? And by the way, when you say amateur to pro, it’s funny, five years from now you’re going to look back and be like, “No, I was an amateur now.”

Brittany:
Exactly. That’s so funny.

Brandon:
Every year I’m like, “Yeah, last year I was an amateur, today I’m a pro.” And I think that’s just how life is, right? And that’s okay.

Brittany:
I’m a sucker for that.

Brandon:
Where’s the next iteration? Where’s the next pro Brittany going to be?

Brittany:
Well, something I realized at our last mastermind was, I’m definitely a collaborator person. So I love to be involved with a team. And I have amazing friends in the commercial real estate industry. People we all are friends with. AJ Osborne, Ashley Wilson, J. Scott, Matt Onofrio. And I’ve been working with them to help investors get on these commercial real estate deals. So I love the collaboration of that. And I love having a role in these people’s… Because they’re amazing at what they do. So I don’t have to have all the answers, everything all figured out. I can be the person to help out with raising capital.

Brandon:
Yeah. What’s cool is I’ve noticed that you’ve used your brand and the fact that people know, like, and trust you, and then you put that into everything. Raising capital or helping your friends, being an investor relations person with these other people. And it’s enabled for them to do a lot better now because they’re working with you. And again, you just knew that’s your Dr. Oz cut, right? That’s your surgeon cut, that they know only you can do that for those who don’t know the analogy, Dr. Oz had one cut he could do. So he’d walk in and do the cut and walk out of the surgery room. And it was a five minute task. It’s like, that’s that one thing that only you should be doing is being your brand and everything else gets outsourced or David’s catch fish, clean fish analogy. But yeah, super cool. So you want to continue being in the investor relations side of partnering with other people and you got to go raise some money for Open Door Capital too, right? Come on.

Brittany:
Of course. Let’s do it.

Brandon:
Okay, good. All right.

Brittany:
But I did recap those seven points as well in a free course on my website.

Brandon:
Ooh, fancy.

Brittany:
Yeah. So I’m building out a lot of stuff. I’m doing a commercial real estate course and a DIY. So I have the people that are interested in commercial stuff and the DIY stuff as well. So that’s all stuff I’m building out.

Brandon:
And the website is…

Brittany:
Website is power range, no [inaudible 01:00:47].

Brandon:
Yes.

Brittany:
Brittany, B-R-I-T-T-A-N-Y. My last name Arneson, A-R-N-A-S-O-N.com.

Brandon:
Let’s move on to the last segment of our show, it’s called our…

Speaker 5:
Famous four.

Brandon:
All right. The famous four. This is the part of the show where we ask the same four questions every guest, every week. I know we’ve thrown them at you before, since you’ve been on the show back on episode 320. Maybe they’ve changed. So let’s find out. Question number one, favorite or current favorite, I’d say all time favorite, current favorite real estate related book.

Brittany:
Crushing It in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate I should say the whole title, by Brian Murray.

Brandon:
Perfect.

Brittany:
He’s one of my great friends.

Brandon:
And Brian Murray is the co-author of the new multifamily millionaire book that comes out this summer sometime.

Brittany:
So excited for that.

Brandon:
Yeah. That’s going to replace that book because, hmm.

Brittany:
Absolutely.

Brandon:
I mean, Brian’s awesome. But Brian’s second book that we wrote together, it is even more awesome. All right.

David:
Britt, your favorite business book.

Brittany:
So recent favorite, definitely, Who Not How. We’ve mentioned it already, but that was a game changer for me.

Brandon:
Ben Hardy, Dan Sullivan.

Brittany:
And now I’m just, get it away from me, hire all the whos. It’s been awesome.

Brandon:
Hire all the whos.

David:
Hire all the whos.

Brandon:
You should get a shirt that says hire the whos and that should be sold on your website.

Brittany:
I love it.

Brandon:
brittanyarneson.com website, not investor go britt website because somebody stole that.

Brittany:
I know, too bad.

Brandon:
Jerks. All right. Hire the whos.

David:
What are some of your hobbies?

Brittany:
Hobbies nowadays, trying to beat Brandon Turner on Instagram. Follow me at investor girl britt.

Brandon:
Which by the way, let’s be honest here-

Brittany:
[inaudible 01:02:21].

Brandon:
For a long time, you were ahead. And then at some point in the past couple of weeks a miracle happened and I pulled ahead of that. So…

Brittany:
Good job.

Brandon:
Thank you.

Brittany:
We’re going to pull ahead right after this.

Brandon:
Yeah, you might get ahead of me after this. Why did I bring you back on the podcast? This is going to ruin my chance to be winning.

Brittany:
Bad strategy.

Brandon:
This is a terrible strategy. All right. We’re now racing to, I don’t know. We’re at 500,000 we’ve got a race to because it’s got to be more than a 100 now.

Brittany:
[inaudible 01:02:46]. And have steaks. I don’t know. There has t be something.

Brandon:
Okay. I think we should race on TikTok. I’d win there. I’m doing pretty good. I got like 3000. It’s terrible.

Brittany:
Oh-oh, I’m behind.

David:
Why would you do that? You’re going to raise her on TikTok Brandon?

Brittany:
[inaudible 01:03:00].

David:
This is like Ben Askren saying, “Yeah, maybe I should go get in a boxing match. That’s a great idea.”

Brandon:
I don’t get the analogy. I’m going to assume that it means that I’m still going to TikTok it would just put her to shame. I think that’s what you were getting at, right? I’m so good at dancing.

David:
Ben Askren is an MMA fighter that was an amazing wrestler and didn’t punch very well. And he took a fight with a YouTuber in a boxing match where he had zero skill and it was a terrible idea.

Brandon:
Oh, was that Logan Paul, or whatever?

David:
So we’ve now made that a thing in my team where we say, “Don’t get Ben Askrened.” When you step into territory that you’re not good at and you’re at a massive disadvantage just with pure ego. Britt on TikTok would absolutely destroy you.

Brittany:
Destroy.

David:
Take her out on Facebook. You have a chance there.

Brittany:
Twitter.

Brandon:
I’ll go on LinkedIn. Yeah

David:
Yeah. MySpace. Oh, we did. All right.

Brandon:
All right. Last question.

David:
Have you asked your last question?

Brandon:
I have not. What do you think separates successful real estate investors from those who give up fail or never get started?

Brittany:
Well, I think it all comes back to mindset. I mean, that’s my number one thing now is just figuring out where you’re at. So taking the steps in order to get in the right mindset to either get started or to scale up.

David:
You know that comes up a lot. Mindset seems really important. Someone should start a podcast for real estate investors that focuses on mindset.

Brandon:
Maybe like a Sunday episode of a real estate show that should be on mindset. That’d be great.

David:
That’d great. How to take all the information that you learned on earlier in the week and actually apply it.

Brandon:
We can interview people like Ed Mylett and Darren Hardy, I mean Ben Hardy. Darren Hardy actually I’d love to interview. Ben Hardy and Dan Sullivan.

David:
He has a good mindset.

Brandon:
Yeah, we have to do that. That’d be a great idea. Anyway. All right, Brittany, actually, David, do you ask her where you can find out more about her? It’s not-

David:
I haven’t yet.

Brandon:
All right. Why don’t you ask her where you can find out more about Brittany.

David:
Brittany, can you answer the question that Brandon just asked?

Brittany:
So I went through this, I guess.

Brandon:
All right. Where can people find-

Brittany:
Brittanyarnerson.com website.

Brandon:
Okay, and your Instagram is investor girl Brittany. Very good. Don’t go there. That’s terrible. All right. Your Instagram is investor girl Britt. If you follow Brittany, just make sure you follow me as well so I stay equally ahead. You’re not allowed to follow just her.

Brittany:
[inaudible 01:05:10].

Brandon:
I think last time everyone unsubscribed from me too. I think I lost people last time you were on this podcast.

David:
I think she probably asked them too.

Brandon:
Probably, yeah.

Brittany:
They did, at one point. I feel bad about that.

Brandon:
She’s got an automated thing. Anytime anybody follows her, it sends an automatic message to them in the DM system it says, “Please unfollow Brandon.”

Brittany:
Yeah. That’s exactly right.

Brandon:
Shady. That’s what? Shady.

Brittany:
Do what you got to do.

Brandon:
Yeah. All right. Well that’s that. Let’s get out of here. David Greene. You want to close up shop?

David:
Yes, sir. This is David Greene for Brittany creative thinker Arneson and Brandon blue ranger Turner, signing off.

Speaker 3:
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