All Forum Posts by: Randy Smith

Like many other real estate investors, my first introduction to the space came through Podcast University. I attribute my success in real estate to those early years where the foundation was built using this great tool. Following you’ll find my top 10 passive investing real estate podcasts below in hopes of helping you find your next favorite show.

General Real Estate Shows

1. Bigger Pockets – This is the #1 real estate investing podcast in the space, and it provides a great overview of many different real estate investing strategies at a high level. Bigger Pockets was the first podcast that I started listening to about eight years ago, and it helped ignite my passion for real estate investing
2. Real Estate Radio Guys - This is a real estate investing talk program for investors and has been broadcasting weekly on conventional radio since 1997. The podcast version of the show is one of the most downloaded investing podcasts on iTunes. I found my first partner in real estate through this show, and it opened my eyes to all that was possible in real estate investing

Commercial Real Estate Shows

1. Lifetime Cashflow Through REI with Rod Khleif – This was one of the first podcasts I listened to about commercial real estate. Rod is a syndicator, a mentor, and an educator in the space, and he interviews excellent guests that have found success primarily in the apartment syndication world
2. Best Ever Real Estate Investing Advice with Joe Fairless – This is the world's longest-running, daily real estate podcast, and the hosts bring amazing guests on the show to walk through their journey in the CRE space. Joe is also the author of the Best Ever Apartment Syndication Book which is provides step by step instructions on how to become an apartment syndicator
3. Old Capitol Podcast with Michael Berger and Paul Peebles – This show has quickly become my favorite show to learn about current trends, economic influences, and expertise in the apartment space. This podcast brings a level of detail and precision to the education process that I’ve not been able to find anywhere else

Passive Investing Shows

1. Passive Investing from the Left Field with Jim Pfeifer – Jim is a retired financial advisor that made the shift to passive investing in real estate. Jim interviews experts in the syndication space and hosts a community of over 1000 passive investors in his community
2. The Gentle Art of Crushing It – This podcast follows a similar path to Bigger Pockets in that it provides various shows across multiple real estate investing strategies and mindset. In addition, my Thursday show focuses solely on helping to educate and inspire the new passive investor. Consider adding this one to your list

There you have it! Let me know your thoughts about these and if there are any others that you suggest that missed the list.

 I could not agree more @Solomon Rosenberg.  I suspect we will see a lot of the smaller players with little experience having to unload their properties with the rising interest rates.  Unfortunate for those players, but it will likely create a huge operator for those that make it through these tough times.

@Justin Moy.  Looking forward to it Justin!

I joined a mindset coaching community (Jason Drees Coaching) last January as I had set goals for 2022 to get a coach, attend an event, and take a course to help with personal development.

After just a few short sessions, I came up with an “impossible” goal for my W-2, and I shared it during our annual kickoff meeting. Everyone at the event looked at me as though I had two heads. Clearly my mindset shift made others feel uncomfortable.

Fast forward a full year, I’ve been laid off my W-2, started a capital raising business, attended countless in person events, joined an amazing mindset mastermind, and just committed to my 2nd 6-month professional coaching contract. The mindset shift has been significant.

Here’s some of the things that I’ve learned along the way over the past year:

· I was introduced to Randy 2.0. He is a version of me that is confident, excited, energetic, strong, a teacher, generous, certain, and has and can again accomplish things beyond my wildest dreams
· I don’t have to play small to make others feel comfortable
· I have a responsibility to go all in, be too much, and be 100% Randy. The world doesn’t benefit from a vanilla version of Randy
· I can copy others to be good, but I can only reach my full potential by being 100% me
· Impossible goals that get me excited help to uncover new ideas and frames that will lead to new and amazing results
· If my energy is low or I’m not feeling passion, I probably need to take a break and slow down
· I do far too many things that I feel are my duty that I end up resenting later
· Ungrounded ego is arrogance and grounded ego is confidence
· It’s important for me to position myself or I will be positioned by others
· Rushing contains a belief of scarcity that I will not be able to get it done
· People want to hear about what you’ve learned, who you’ve met, and what you’re excited about
· If I go up to someone and introduce myself within the first 5 minutes of walking in to a networking event, I will meet more people, help more people, and enjoy the event more
· Done is better than perfect, version one is better than version none, get going and then get good – A standard of perfection will not lead to the results that I desire

With my new and improving mindset, I’ve already helped 38 investors place $2.63MM in capital in amazing cash flowing real estate deals through my new company, I joined an amazing group of cohosts and relaunched a great podcast called The Gentle Art of Crushing It and I’ve formed many relationships that will no doubt help me bring amazing value and content to my audiences for years to come.

Let's connect and partner for even greater things in 2023!

@Tommy Feraco Jr. I started my capital raising business about 7 months ago, and I've raised $2.63MM across 4 deals so far.  I personally fell into this space because I had invested in 18 deals as an LP, and I got laid off from my W-2.  One of the syndications I had heavily invested with asked me to work with him as I had invested in 8 deals with him and referred about $1MM in capital from friends and family.

I saw some early success by leveraging my current network.  Specifically, I was in B2B sales for 25 years, and I've used LinkedIn very heavily for the past 10+ years to connect with colleagues and clients.  When I decided to launch my business, I leveraged some automation tools to message my network on LInkedIn and raised about $1MM over the course of two weeks (ish).  

You'll want to get educated on SEC requirements of capital raising, get a CRM/Email Marketing tool in place (I started with MailChimp/Pipedrive, shifted over to Hubspot, and I've shifted over to Active Campaign now-I'm exhausted just sharing that), consider building a website, and most importantly - get comfortable on the phones.  Lastly, you'll want to get some type of platform to create your credibility. I personally write a weekly blog, and I launched a podcast where I interview passive investors and vendors in the space.

Everybody and their brother thinks they can raise capital until they actual try to raise capital.  I've met dozens of people that raised $0 on their first raise.  It is not as easy as everyone thinks.  When asked what the magic button is to raising capital, I always say, "Get into sales, be a top performing sales person at Fortune 100 and Fortune 200 companies for 25 years, and they start your capital raising business."  There are other ways, but that is the only one that worked for me so far.

Feel free to reach out if you want to connect and discuss more.  I love helping others in the space or any other area where I can bring value.

@Snehann Kapnadak.  I bought some single family, turn key properties out there in 2017/2018, and I did pretty well on them.  I've since moved over to the multi family space as an LP.  I have a friend that is from the KC area that did a 100-unit heavy lift (18% occupied when he bought it), and he was able to turn it around and do very well.  We're in the process of looking for more deals in the area, but my partner has not been able to find anything that will pencil over the past few months with all of the changes that are going on in the market.

My advice would be to be patient, build a strong team, and consistent underwrite deals.  You'll know when you come across a good one.

Hi @Benjamin Kucera.  Welcome to the space.  You're in for a heck of a ride, and if you play your cards right, you could exit your W-2 through real estate investing in as little as three to five years.

BP is a great place to network, but you'll do even better finding people in your the specific niche in person.  Nothing beats meeting someone in person to build relationships.  Now, there are also a ton of really great online platforms as well.  I belong to three different networking groups that meet on Zoom throughout the week.  I've made great connections, learned a lot, and I've had a lot of fun on them.  

Check out my profile and let me know if I can add value in any way.  I'm a full time passive investor (primarily multifamily), and I've recently started helping a couple of sponsors connect with new investors.

@Reden Dionisio.  I am an Active Investor turned passive investor turning back to active investing.  I've invested in 18 different syndications across 8 different operators in multifamily, mobile home, self storage and ATM funds.  I've had a very positive experience with all but one of my operators (2 deals).  I've received monthly or quarterly distributions as promised on all but two deals, and I've been able to leave my W-2 job to pursue real estate investing full time.  I would highly encourage you to take the leap if you have not already.

Ultimately, due diligence will be your most important task before investing.  I always work with operators that have gone full cycle on many deals, are considered a leader in their market, and are investing heavily in their business (think fully integrated with property management and construction).

@Paul Moore.  I've heard about Vyzer.com as well from some of my friends over at Left Field Investors (@Jim Pfeifer).  It looks like an amazing tool, but it costs a little more than I'm interested in spending at this time.  I'll consider pulling the trigger on it when I hit some of my targets later this year:).