Andy Mewborn

Distribute.so

I use to be young & cool. Now I do b2b SaaS. 

Husband. Dad. Ironman. Pilot. Taco lover. 

Founder of Distribute // Co-founder of Taplio (acq. by Lemlist) // Early @ Outreach.io.

Creator

A community of over 4,000+ B2B professionals growing together on Linkedin.

• "Brand30 absolutely did wonders for my business." -Maritha Koortzen

• "Brand30 changed the trajectory of my life...To say it’s opening doors for me is an understatement" - Amanda Stern

• "Brand30 provided the group accountability and expert advice I needed to more than double my LinkedIn engagement in just one month" 

🚀 Start Building An Audience Of Potential Buyers On LinkedIn In 30 Days👇

• https://www.brand30.io/

most sales reps kill deals with their follow-ups (here’s how to fix it)

so i’ve been in sales for a while, and the one thing that still blows my mind? how many reps completely tank their chances with shitty follow-ups. not because they’re spamming people, because they’re sending nothing.

"just checking in"
"wanted to circle back"
"following up on my last email"

like, checking in on what? you never gave them anything to actually respond to. prospects aren’t mind readers. if you don’t say something useful, they’re gonna ignore you.

so what actually works? here’s what i’ve seen:

instead of "just following up," try:

"i recorded a 2-min video showing how [similar company] cut their onboarding time by 40%. thought of you because you mentioned this was a bottleneck last time we talked."

instead of "wanted to circle back," try:

"saw this article about [industry trend] and immediately thought of our convo. the part about [specific insight] lines up with what you said about [their challenge]."

instead of "any updates?" try:
"quick question, are you still focused on [goal they mentioned], or have priorities shifted? context changed, so i don’t want to waste your time."

the pattern here is simple:

• give value first
• show you actually listened
• make it about them, not your quota
• make it easy to respond (ask a specific question)

i built a tool that does this automatically. it pulls call recordings, videos, and docs into one link so you’re not just sending another empty "checking in" email. not because reps are lazy, because prospects are busy, and they don’t have time to guess what you want.

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Hey there!

Here’s the link to get early access to my free course, Effortless Lead Gen Mastery:

https://www.distribute.so/lead-gen-mini-course

We spent the last month working non-stop on this - so I really hope you find it helpful.

-Andy

Bio.link

👋 Thanks for reading :)

Want to build a personal brand, grow your audience, and scale yourself online? Head to my website for free resources 👉🏻 https://bio.link/andymewborn

Enjoy! 

WriteBetter.

🐬 Want to master business writing for the internet? 

👉 https://www.brand30.io/writebetter

🧡 Enjoy!

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🚀 Want to 10x your personal branding content? 

🔥 Join 3,456 Digital Brand Builders who are receiving templates, workflows, and systems to turn their expertise into viral content.

☀️ https://notboringpersonalbranding.com/

🧡 Enjoy!

next cohort starts...

👉 Want to build with 4,000 other b2b creators? 

🌮 I'm opening my LinkedIn b2b creator community tomorrow. 

🔥 Secure your spot: www.brand30.io

🍻 cheers

AndysNewsletter

🙏 Thanks so much for reading 

👋 I also run a site called AndysNewsletter.com: Your daily dose of GTM (go-to-market) playbooks. In 5 minutes or less, with a touch of humor. Read by over 12,000 others from Snowflake, Outreach, Twilio, Gong, Zoom, and more.

🥳 Enjoy!

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🙏 Thanks so much for watching

👋 Need your own kick-a$$ videos that’ll make ‘em holler YEE-HAW? Check out: https://www.cowboycuts.co/

🥳 Later!

Cowboy 🎥

🎥: https://www.cowboycuts.co/ 🤠✂️

Distribute

📌 𝗣𝗦: In the next few weeks, I’m rolling out my free new mini-course, Effortless Lead Gen Mastery.

It’s a 5-step blueprint designed to help you create AND launch money-making lead magnets 10x faster (with the help of AI). 👉 https://distribute.ck.page/232f8952d2

Brand30 (D page)

📌 𝗣𝗦: I created a 5-week social selling program to help you SELL LIKE CRAZY. 

We have a community of over 4,000 people and spent 2 years optimizing the curriculum.

We'll teach you everything you need to know:

• Idea Generation
• Boosting engagement
• Generating inbound leads
• Getting over the fear of posting on LinkedIn
• Building a LinkedIn machine that grows itself 

Join us on Jan 1st: https://dantethedonkey.distribute.so/brand30

Brand30 - #1 Private Community

📌 𝗣𝗦: Steal the EXACT LinkedIn strategy that 5X'd my inbound leads in 9 months: https://www.brand30.io/free-linkedin-training

Min-course leads

📌 𝗣𝗦: Join 1600+ learning how to create a money-making lead magnet in 5 days or less using AI: https://www.distribute.so/lead-gen-mini-course

13 Email Sequences

I created 13 EMAIL SEQUENCES you can use to supercharge sales.

And I spent 5 months to find the best 13 to share.

I'll give you the breakdown of every sequence:

• Nurture sequence 
• Referral sequence
• First touch sequence 
• Job change sequence
• Closed-lost opp sequence
• The social selling sequence
...
...
...
...

Grab the full list here: https://bit.ly/13emailsequences

brand30

limeliteapp

digital-sales-collective

Founder @ Distribute.so

Sellers

What's more valuable: relationship selling or solution selling?

A) Relationships first – People buy from people they trust
B) Solutions first – Buyers want problems solved, not friends
C) Value selling – ROI conversations close deals faster
D) Consultative approach – Be an advisor, not a vendor

P.S. - Still writing follow-ups manually? This 60-second quiz builds you an AI system that does it for you: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Andrew Mewborn

What's more valuable: relationship selling or solution selling?

Sellers 

You're in a slump. First thing you fix?

A) Activity levels
B) Mindset
C) Messaging
D) Target accounts

P.S. - Still writing follow-ups manually? This 60-second quiz builds you an AI system that does it for you: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Sellers

What’s the worst sales advice you’ve received?

A) “Always be closing” – Aggressive pressure turns prospects off
B) “Fake it till you make it” – Authenticity matters more than acting
C) “Price isn’t a problem” – Dismissing budget concerns backfires
D) “Never take no for an answer” – Respect boundaries to build rapport

P.S. - Still writing follow-ups manually? This 60-second quiz builds you an AI system that does it for you: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

What’s the worst sales advice you’ve received?

Sellers

Should you ever badmouth competitors during sales calls?

A) Always - Highlighting their flaws strengthens our value proposition
B) Strategically - Only when directly asked about specific weaknesses
C) Rarely - Focus on our strengths without comparative negativity
D) Never - Unprofessional and damages industry relationships

P.S. - 15,000 sellers stopped writing follow-ups. Take the 2-min quiz to see what they switched to: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Sellers

Should you ask about budget in the first call?

A) Always - It qualifies prospects immediately and saves time
B) Sometimes - Only after establishing clear interest and need
C) Rarely - Money talk too early creates resistance
D) Never - Discussing budget before value cheapens your solution

P.S. - If your follow-ups take longer than 60 seconds, you're doing it wrong. Take the quiz: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Should you ask about budget in the first call?

Sellers

Commission vs. salary: What motivates salespeople best?

A) Pure commission – High risk, high reward drives peak performance
B) Base + commission – Security with upside creates optimal motivation
C) Straight salary – Removes pressure, focuses on customer success
D) Team bonuses – Shared success eliminates internal competition

P.S. - Steal my 1-pager email follow-ups: https://lnkd.in/eQr9JQhq

Commission vs. salary: What motivates salespeople best?

Sellers

Should sales managers still carry a quota?

A) Full quota – Can't coach what you don't practice 
B) Half quota – Need skin in the game 
C) Token quota – Just enough to stay sharp 
D) Zero quota – Let leaders lead, sellers sell

P.S. - Took me 2 min to find out I was wasting 11 hrs/week on follow-ups. Take the quiz, get your number: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Should sales managers still carry a quota?

Sellers

How much does luck contribute to success in sales?

A) Significantly – Being at the right place at the right time often makes all the difference.
B) Moderately – Luck plays a role, but skill and effort are more important.
C) Minimally – Success is mostly the result of hard work, strategy, and persistence.
D) Not at all – It's all about skills, planning, and execution. Luck doesn't come into it.

P.S. - Still writing follow-ups manually? This 60-second quiz builds you an AI system that does it for you: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

How much does luck contribute to success in sales?

Sellers

Is AI replacing salespeople or empowering them?

A) Replacing – Only top 20% of reps will survive automation
B) Empowering – AI handles admin, humans handle relationships
C) Overhyped – Human psychology can't be automated
D) Transforming – The role evolves but never disappears

P.S. - 15,000 sellers stopped writing follow-ups. Take the 2-min quiz to see what they switched to: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Is AI replacing salespeople or empowering them?

Sellers

Remote selling vs. in-person: Which closes more deals?

A) Remote wins – Efficiency and scale beat face-to-face
B) In-person dominates – Trust requires physical presence
C) Hybrid approach – Use both strategically based on deal size
D) Industry dependent – Complex B2B needs in-person relationships

P.S. - If your follow-ups take longer than 60 seconds, you're doing it wrong. Take the quiz: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Remote selling vs. in-person: Which closes more deals?

Sellers

Which comp structure would you rather live on?

A) 70 % base / 30 % commission – stability rules
B) 50 / 50 – balanced risk-reward
C) 30 / 70 – big swings, big wins
D) 0 / 100 – eat what you kill, baby

P.S. - Steal my 1-pager email follow-ups: https://lnkd.in/eQr9JQhq

Sellers

Who's harder to sell to?

A) CFOs – Every penny is their first-born child 
B) CTOs – They'd rather build than buy 
C) CEOs – Good luck getting past their gatekeepers
D) Procurement – Where deals go to die slowly

P.S. - Took me 2 min to find out I was wasting 11 hrs/week on follow-ups. Take the quiz, get your number: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Sellers

Do good looks matter in sales?

A) 100 % – Beauty opens doors before product does
B) A bit – Looks earn attention, skill seals the deal
C) Barely – Confidence > cheekbones
D) Zero – Quota is blind to pretty faces

P.S. - Still writing follow-ups manually? This 60-second quiz builds you an AI system that does it for you: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Sellers 

How far would you go to close a high-value deal?

A) Bend policies – Adjust terms slightly to meet client demands
B) Offer extras – Throw in freebies or extended support
C) Escalate internally – Loop in execs to approve exceptions
D) Never compromise – Stick to standard offerings to maintain integrity

P.S. - Took me 2 min to find out I was wasting 11 hrs/week on follow-ups. Take the quiz, get your number: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

How far would you go to close a high-value deal?

Sellers

Do sales reps really need to use the CRM?

A) Every detail – Data is the new oil 
B) Key stuff only – Quality over quantity 
C) Bare minimum – Just enough to not get fired 
D) CRMs kill deals – I track my pipeline in my head

P.S. - 15,000 sellers stopped writing follow-ups. Take the 2-min quiz to see what they switched to: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Do sales reps really need to use the CRM?

Sellers

Worst thing a manager can say?

A) "Just trust the process"
B) "What's your plan to hit quota?"
C) "Let me join your next call"
D) "Top reps aren't struggling"

P.S. - If your follow-ups take longer than 60 seconds, you're doing it wrong. Take the quiz: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Sellers

Which role do you think is the hardest in sales?

A) SDR 
B) Account Executive 
C) Account Manager 
D) Sales Manager 

P.S. - Steal my 1-pager email follow-ups: https://lnkd.in/eQr9JQhq

Which role do you think is the hardest in sales?

Sellers

What's the biggest lie in B2B sales?

A) "I'll circle back next quarter" (They won't) 
B) "Budget isn't an issue" (It always is) 
C) "We're the decision maker" (Committee of 12 enters chat) 
D) "Your product is perfect" (Here comes the ghosting)

P.S. - Steal my 1-pager email follow-ups: https://lnkd.in/eQr9JQhq

Sellers

Is "fake it till you make it" acceptable in enterprise sales?

A) Essential – Confidence sells more than competence 
B) Sometimes – Strategic bluffing is part of the game 
C) Risky – One Google search can tank your credibility
D) Never – Authenticity beats artifice every time

P.S. - Took me 2 min to find out I was wasting 11 hrs/week on follow-ups. Take the quiz, get your number: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Is "fake it till you make it" acceptable in enterprise sales?

Commercial Real Estate Syndicator at Ferrari Capital | $80MM AUM | 874 Units | Former Aircraft Technician | Capital Raising Coach (My Students Have Raised Over $140MM+)

Ferrari Capital is in the business of community. We do everything we know how, to better our communities and to equip you with the knowledge and resources to partner with us to do the same. 

Check out our website to learn more! 
Ferraricapital.com

Joshua Ferrari, founder of Ferrari Capital and co-founder of Three Beach Capital, was born in Omaha, NE, moved all throughout the Southeast during his childhood due to being in a military family, and currently resides in Apollo Beach, FL. Josh graduated from Tennessee College of Applied Technology with his Airframe & Powerplant License so he could pursue his passion of becoming an Aircraft Technician.

After college, he was in the aviation industry for over 6 years and grew exponentially in rank. With experience on aircraft such as an A300, A319, A320, MD-10, MD-11, B757, B767, and B777, he became the “expert” on such aircraft and was leading the #1 UPS MRO line in the world for almost 3 years.

Shortly after entering into the aviation industry, Josh found his second love… Real Estate. After just 4 short years Josh has accumulated over $80MM AUM, 874 units, has successfully raised almost $30MM from various private investors, and at the age of 25 was able to retire from Corporate America from the passive income he had generated through real estate.

He has been featured on over 40 highly renown podcasts as a guest and continues to teach others how to follow in his footsteps via his customized mastermind that he created in May 2022 and is designed as an all-inclusive, 12 month program to take you from A-Z in building your 7-9 figure commercial syndication business. To date, he's helped over 180 real estate investors purchase over 2,300 units and raise over $130MM in equity.

In April 2020, he started a podcast titled, Creative Capital, to not only learn more about the industry from experts, but to help teach others as well. He currently releases one episode per week, and since its inception he now has over 2,500,000 downloads with tens of thousands of loyal weekly listeners.

And finally, in 2025 he started his own construction and property management companies that have grown to a team of 30. He uses them internally for all of his portfolio and is looking to expand beyond his own portfolio in the near future.

Joshua Ferrari

I spoke to a guy who buys dead golf courses… 

And turns them into subscription-based outdoor recreation campuses.

- Acquires bankrupt or struggling courses for land value only, often $1M–$3M for 100+ acres near growing suburbs.

- Keeps 9 holes and converts the rest into pickleball complexes, par-3 night golf, walking trails, food pavilions, and event lawns.

- Adds LED lighting and memberships instead of tee times: Monthly subscriptions for families, leagues, and corporate groups.

- Hosts corporate outings, youth sports, weddings, and city-sponsored events on off-peak days.

- Generates multiple revenue streams per acre, not just per round, turning a seasonal business into year-round cash flow.

Here are 2 lessons I learned from talking to him:

1. The land was never the problem. The use was.

18-hole golf is fragile.

High maintenance.
Weather dependent.

But the location, acreage, and entitlements were gold.

Most people saw dead space. 

He saw entitled recreational land in the path of growth.

💯 LESSON: When an asset fails, ask whether the demand disappeared or just evolved.

2. Memberships beat transactions every time.

Golf sells rounds.
He sells belonging.

Recurring revenue stabilized cash flow, smoothed seasonality, and made the asset financeable again.

Same land.
Same parking.
Same utilities.

Different monetization model.

💯 LESSON: The fastest way to derisk an asset is by creating predictable revenue.

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Last year the SWAT team blew the door off of one of our units… 

I think this is probably one of the craziest ownership stories I have. 

1. It’s up there with being sued by the Mayor of the city
2. Having a massive flood in 16 units all at once from faulty plumbing in the walls
3. And being robbed of almost $300k by one of our 3rd party property managers

This all happened at one property…  

To make matters worse, the SWAT team threw a flash bang grenade through the window for good measure. 

Then proceeded to ransack the entire apartment. 

We found out after the fact that they were never even chasing our tenant, but instead someone they believed to be in the unit. 

Luckily no one was hurt, but the unit is a disaster and ended up costing us over $10,000 to turn. 

We called the city to see if they would pay for the damages since it was their mistake, but we never received a dime.

Moral of the story: 

You can do everything right and still get punched in the mouth. 

That’s why reserves, insurance, working capital ratios, and systems aren’t optional. 

Anything can happen while you own real estate so expect the unexpected by properly preparing before you buy 💯

One of my students just sold his company for $6,700,000…

After only 2.5 years together, he successfully built and sold his electrical company. 

What’s interesting isn’t the number.
It’s what didn’t change before the exit.

- Same market.
- Same industry.
- Same product.

What changed was how the business was designed.

He needed to design revenue to be consistent and almost guaranteed. 

So he stopped being the smartest person in the room.
Stopped being the bottleneck.
Stopped confusing effort with value.

Buyers don’t pay for hustle.

They pay for certainty.

✅ Certainty that revenue will show up.
✅ Certainty the business works without the founder.
✅ Certainty the systems and employees  survive new ownership.

Most entrepreneurs simply build themselves a job. 

If they are removed from the business…
It collapses. 

It’s called key man risk. 

Eliminate key man risk and value compounds. 

Ignore it, and no amount of hustle will save your multiple 💯

My post yesterday exploded… 🔥

One post = $4,000,000 of equity in under 24 hours. 

I’ve had investors from all walks of life reach out asking the same thing.

“How do I invest in deals like that?” 

They aren’t talking about golf courses. 

They’re talking about unique opportunities with large upside.

1. Assets that don’t rely on a single tenant.
2. Revenue that isn’t variable, but consistent.
3. Businesses that get stronger as behavior changes. 

If you’re still underwriting assets the same way you did a few years ago, you’re probably walking past today’s best deals without even realizing it. 

And if you don’t know how to use social media effectively, you’re leaving millions on the table. 

The investors who win the next cycle will be the ones willing to rethink their business model 💯

I turned 29 this weekend… 

No big party or plans. 
Just a lot of gratitude and clarity. 

At 29, I care way less about impressing people and way more about building things that actually last.

Family over work. 
Faith over hype.
Long-term plays over quick wins.
Real relationships over surface-level noise.

I’m grateful for:

1. The lessons that cost me time and money
2. The people who stuck around when it wasn’t convenient 
3. The work that still stretches me daily
4. And the calling to build something bigger than myself

I’m gonna be the healthiest, best version of myself this year 💯

I spoke to a guy who buys small-town funeral homes…

And turns them into ultra-stable, counter-cyclical cash flow without scaling locations or cutting costs.

- Acquires single-location, family-owned funeral homes in rural or secondary markets.

- Targets owners with no succession plan and declining energy, in a demand guaranteed asset class.

- Keeps the brand, staff, and pricing structure almost exactly the same.

- Introduces prepaid funeral contracts (preneed) as the primary growth lever.

- Invests heavily in trust management, compliance, and back-office systems.

- Treats it like an annuity business, not real estate.

He doesn’t care to optimize margins.

He locks in future revenue.

Here are 2 lessons I learned from talking to him:

1. The best cash flow is the kind you get paid for years before you deliver the service.

Most investors chase:

Appreciation
Rent growth
Exit multiples

He sells certainty.

Money comes in today.
Service is delivered years later.
Capital sits in a trust earning the whole time.

💯 LESSON: Prepaid revenue is leverage without debt.

2. Boring demand beats clever execution.

There is:

No seasonality
No tenant churn
No technological disruption

Demand is fixed.
Pricing is culturally accepted.
Competition is minimal in these markets. 

💯 LESSON: The most profitable strategies are typically boring.

We just paid a whopping $1,500 for our 2025 property taxes at our 104 pad RV park in MS… 

Last year we only paid $4. 

We had about $30,000 allotted knowing it was going to increase but unsure by how much. 

Only $1,500! 

And it’s only $3,500/year for insurance for the entire property. 

Best news I’ve heard all week. 

The operating expenses of RV parks are significantly cheaper than traditional multifamily. 

We own another 207 units of multifamily in this same market and the insurance on that property is $250,000/year. 

Some say RV parks are a dying asset class, but our parks stay around 70%-90% occupied year round. 

And with expenses this low, our break even occupancy is below 20%. 

Making for some really strong cash flow 💯

I spoke to a guy who buys mobile home park communities…

And turns them into retirement-oriented cash-flow machines without building a single new home.

- Acquires older, mom-and-pop owned mobile home parks with below-market rents and deferred management.

- Does not infill aggressively or chase expansions.

- Targets 55+ residents on fixed incomes who value stability over amenities.

- Implements long-term lot leases with modest, predictable annual increases.

- Adds light-touch services: on-site maintenance coordination, community transportation days, and healthcare partnerships.

- Sells peace of mind, not appreciation.

Here are 2 lessons I learned from talking to him:

1. Growth isn’t always about more units.

Most investors try to scale by:

Adding doors
Expanding density
Chasing upside

He scaled by reducing volatility.

Same pads.
Same homes.
Same infrastructure.

Different tenant intent.

💯 LESSON: The most underrated form of growth is predictability.

2. The safest rent increases are the ones tenants can plan for.

Surprise hikes create turnover.
Turnover creates capex.
Capex kills returns.

By prioritizing transparency and stability, he kept:

Occupancy high
Collections steady
Expenses low

💯 LESSON: In yield-driven assets, trust is a financial strategy.

Your 9-5 is the bare minimum...

You're not really working that hard.

Many people think they’re grinding because they:

- Show up every day
- Stay late occasionally
- Take on extra projects

But in reality, a 9–5 is just trading time for money... day in and day out, until you're 70.

I started investing in real estate at 21.

By 25, I built an 8-figure real estate company that doesn't need me.

Today, I get to help others do the same.

The secret?

- I didn’t climb the corporate ladder
- I didn’t ask for raises/overtime
- I didn’t wait for retirement

I quickly made a decision to build something for my family.

And I used every ounce of time, effort, money, resources, and creativity I had to make it a reality.

Your 9–5 isn’t the finish line.

It’s your launchpad.

Real freedom doesn’t come from clocking in.

It comes from building something for yourself 💯

Success can be lonely… 

You ever notice that once you start winning, most people don’t root for you anymore.

They study you.
They wait.
They quietly hope you slip.

Not because you’re doing anything wrong, but because your progress forces them to confront their own stagnation.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth.

Most criticism isn’t feedback.
It’s insecurity wearing a moral costume.

You didn’t change and suddenly become greedy.
You just stopped playing small enough to make everyone else comfortable.

I’ve seen this over and over:
1. Start making real money → “You got lucky”
2. Set boundaries → “You’re arrogant”
3. Raise standards → “You’re out of touch”

Same people.
Same access.
Different outcomes.

At some point you have to decide. 

Do you want approval… or do you want progress?

Approval costs you nothing. 
Progress costs you everything. 

Choose wisely 💯

Another big win for one of my students! 🔥

Early in an investor’s career, speed feels like progress.

Close something. 
Anything.
Just get in the game.

One of my students did exactly that last year with his first deal, a 12-unit.

He learned the mechanics. 
The details most miss.

But then he slowed down.

Not because opportunities disappeared, but because his standards went up.

This year he just placed a 96-unit under contract and he is now working towards completing a $3.6M raise using the same strategies I taught him. 

He narrowed his focus and dialed in his efforts. 

Most investors think scale comes from doing more.

In reality, it comes from saying no to 99% of deals.

But bigger doesn’t always mean better. 

If you can’t own more of the equity doing a bigger deal because you can’t raise for it, you’re better off doing a smaller one you can raise for. 

But when you learn how to raise money the right way, you can do bigger deals AND own more equity 💯

How to fail and still win...

Someone needs this today.

Many of you know my story, but a quick recap is that I started investing in January 2018:

Tried Wholesaling - Failed 
Tried House Hacking - Failed
Tried Small Multifamily - Failed
Tried To Do It On My Own - Failed
Tried To Get Into Larger Multifamily For 2 Years - Failed 
Tried Finding a Business Partner - Failed 

It wasn’t until December 30th, 2020 that I finally closed my first multifamily deal and started to see some success… 

But it was only because of the lessons learned from my failure that I got to where I am today.

Here’s what over 8 years of failure has taught me:

1. Inspiration - Inspire others by flaunting the failures you have overcome. You’re uninspiring if your life has been easy.

2. Insight - You see strategies and practices that don’t work. Share those with others.

3. Development - Failure identifies skill gaps and wrong beliefs that help shape you into the person you need to become in order to be successful. 

4. Ask “what” not “who.” - “What” is about learning. “Who” is about blaming.

5. Dig into failure – Reject generalities. Look for specific practices that caused that failure and then tweak it and try again.

Failure is in everyone, but it’s a natural part of growth and helps shape us into who we are today. 

Don’t let failure weigh you down. 

Overcome the failure and try, try again 💯

We’re currently going through all of our 2025 financials in preparation for tax season…

And every year, the same realization hits.

We spend a lot of money… lol

In all seriousness, the biggest needle movers for us are continuously the boring decisions that compound quietly all year long.

1. Costs we questioned instead of blindly renewing
2. Systems we invested in before we needed them
3. Employees we chose based on alignment
4. Deals we didn’t do because the risk wasn’t worth the distraction

Taxes have a funny way of telling the truth.

They expose where your business is actually making money and where it’s just staying busy.

Revenue is loud.
Profit is honest.

It’s nice to watch revenue increase, but pointless if profit isn’t. 

Most people spend the year chasing growth and one month trying to clean it up.

The best operators reverse that.

They design for tax efficiency, operational leverage, and durability first, then let growth be the byproduct.

If your tax prep feels painful, that’s data.

It’s either pointing to complexity that needs simplifying or success that needs structuring.

Both are good problems 💯

Most investors aren’t losing money on bad deals…

They’re losing money on good deals they weren’t prepared to own.

1. Can you handle 30% occupancy without panicking?
2. Can you make payroll while NOI looks ugly?
3. Can you raise all the capital required?
4. Can you manage chaos without overcorrecting?

If not, the “great deal” will still break you.

Stop buying assets you aren’t ready for. 

The real filter in this market is operational maturity.

That’s how two groups can buy the same asset and have completely different outcomes.

Growth has to be strategic if you want to stop losing money 💯

Most people don’t fail in real estate because of capital…

They fail because they won’t do boring things long enough.

What actually works:

1. Underwriting deals when no one’s watching
2. Calling brokers who don’t call back
3. Following up when you’re “pretty sure it’s dead”
4. Learning capital raising before you need it

None of this is exciting, but all of it compounds.

The people you see who “made it” didn’t find a shortcut.

They just stayed longer than everyone else.

What boring thing are you avoiding right now? 💯

One of my students just opened a second cleaning company location in Texas…

His original business?
Built from scratch in Louisiana.

No franchise.
No partners.
No scrambling to “figure it out.”

This was intentional expansion.

Here’s how it worked:

1. Launched the first company with clear services, pricing, and hiring standards

2. Documented roles and workflows before expanding

3. Chose a new market based on replicability, not excitement

4. Opened Texas location using the same SOPs, KPIs, and management cadence

5. Expanded geography without expanding stress

He used the same playbook. 
In a different state.
Due to the now predictable outcome of $50k+/month.

Here are my two teaching points worth stealing:

1. Expansion only works when the first business is boringly repeatable.

Most people want speed, but this required structure.

Your team is a large component of that. 

💯 LESSON: If you can master the hiring process. Scale is inevitable. 

2. Service businesses travel surprisingly well.

No hype cycle.
No tech risk.
No customer education curve. 

Demand is everywhere.

But expansion isn’t the root cause of new problems. It simply reveals the problems you already had. 

Messy ops
Poor hiring
Inconsistent delivery 

💯 LESSON: Expansion multiplies whatever already exists.

Everyone wants passive income… 

Almost no one wants active thinking.

I spoke with 3 different real estate investors just last week who were: 

1. All smart
2. All experienced
3. All stuck

And it’s the same pattern every time:

- Chasing the same asset class
- Bidding on the same deals
- Underwriting with the same assumptions
- Wondering why returns are compressing

The truth is the opportunity isn’t gone.
Your imagination is.

The highest-return investors I know are simply better reframers.

They don’t ask:
“Where can I buy this cheaper?”

They ask:
“How can this asset be monetized differently?”

That’s how you get:

✅ Golf courses turned into recreation campuses
✅ Old retail turned into subscription businesses
✅ Boring apartments turned into branded platforms
✅ One deal → five revenue streams

Familiar models create familiar outcomes. 

Don’t be familiar 💯

Ever heard of reikin? It’s one of the most fascinating rental traditions in Japan.

A non-refundable “gratitude payment” you give your landlord just to get the keys.  

What it actually is:

Reikin literally means “gratitude money” a cultural custom dating back to Tokyo’s housing chaos after the Great Kanto Earthquake and post-war shortages. 

It started as a gesture of thanks for being allowed to live somewhere and stuck around even after many market changes. 

Here’s the twist:

It’s usually 1–2 months’ rent, never returned even if you leave the unit in perfect shape.

It’s NOT a security deposit. That’s a different refundable fee called shikikin.

In the U.S., I see tenants complain all the time about “unfair fees,” they negotiate every penny, and seem to think every landlord is out to get them.

In Japan?

The culture prices respect, commitment, and seriousness upfront.

Reikin does one brutal thing extremely well.

It filters out unserious tenants before they ever touch the asset.

Drastically reducing eviction and turnover costs. 

But real estate isn’t just numbers, it’s also incentives and behavior.

1. Who pays upfront?
2. Who has skin in the game?
3. Who’s committed long-term?

Every strong business model/industry answers these questions intentionally.

If you want to be a great investor… 

You have to fully understand human behavior 💯

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