Senior Construction Project Manager @ VareCo

My company is Investor Acquisitions. 

In short, I help real estate executives attract LP investors. 

What I've found is the best operators in real estate often neglect marketing. 

Marketing is important enough to wish you were better but not important enough to take it on on your own. 

Put another way: If operations fall apart? 
You don't have a business to market. 
If marketing falls apart? 
You've survived this long without it. 

However, there's a catch 22 to this approach to marketing. 

The modern real estate sponsor, broker & lender needs marketing. 

They need to be known. 

Social media expedites 2 key aspects of deal making: 
1. Building awareness of you. 
2. Building trust in you. 

My business is taking the hard work of figuring social media out off your hands, & replacing it with all the benefits. 
1. Being trusted and known at scale. 
2. Generating quality leads. 
3. Raising capital/closing deals. 

The fun stuff that comes from being known. 

Whether you're the CEO, an executive team, or a broker, our team at Investor Acquisitions can level up your brand & content on LinkedIn. 

Our business is telling your story.

If this resonates with you, DM "Intro" to schedule an introduction call.

Cole Baker

Marquise Brown has earned $36,500,000 in the NFL. 

He has a master plan to avoid going broke. 

Caribbean luxury condominiums. 

Why condos? 

Brown noticed a trend among his NFL peers: 

1. His peers loved to travel to the beach in the offseason. 
2. Many players that came before him have gone broke. 

The stat in the NFL is astounding. 

An estimated 78% of players lose their wealth in 5 years. 

The main culprit? 

"Surrounding yourself with people who help you go broke."

Brown has a goal to change that narrative. 

"We want to help [athletes] make a change, to build equity and intergenerational wealth."

Brown felt the combination of Caribbean condos & investing would connect with athletes. 

With Fund I started, he is well on his way to accomplish his goal. 

Personally, I like the connection Brown made to the Caribbean. 

I'm excited to see how Brown's investments perform. 

What are your thoughts on real estate & athletes?

P.S. Will the Chiefs take the crown again in 2026?

I help real estate executives attract investors & build their brands | Trusted by 50 Firms | DM “Intro” to schedule a meeting with Investor Acquisitions

A friend of mine was homeless at age 16. 
Then signed to a record deal at age 21. 
Then started all over again at age 27. 

Now? 

• He has a beautiful family. 
• Runs a successful business. 
• And is a great friend & mentor.

Here's 3 lessons he has taught me. 

(That you should steal)

1. Focusing on the future only brings anxiety or pride.
2. Focusing on the past only brings shame or pride.
3. So all you have is the present. (& Jesus)

I personally struggle with anxiety. 

But...
I see what my friend has gone through. 
I see the fruit in his life. 
I see the beauty. 

I see the proof that if you focus on the right things?

There is another side to it all. 

Curious to hear from your perspective.

Rondale Moore passed away today. 
We attended Purdue at the same time. 
The most electric player I've witnessed live. 

My favorite memory ever in college involved Rondale Moore. 

It was October 20, 2018, Purdue University was 3-3 and facing off against the undefeated number 2 team in the country, Ohio State University. 

It was the 4th quarter of the game. 

Terry McLaurin had just scored a touchdown to bring Ohio State within 2 scores with 4:40 to go in the game.  

For context, Purdue isn't that good at football. 
So when we have a lead?
I never really expect Purdue to keep that lead. 

But on 3&7, on the Ohio State 43 yard line, 
Rondale Moore made one of the most spectacular plays I've ever seen in my life. 
Breaking 2 tackles & spinning out of another for a touchdown. 
To all but seal the game for Purdue. 
Absolutely electric. 

I've never experienced the feeling of pure elation quite like I felt that night with Purdue vs. Ohio State. 

& Rondale was a huge part of that night. 

Rondale, you're an inspiration to me. 

Thank you for giving us your all. 

I pray for your family & friends. 
I pray for your soul. 
May God bless you, Rondale Moore.

A client of mine raised $2,400,000 from LinkedIn to acquire a 250 unit apartment building. 

Here's the breakdown of the capital raise: 

A $1,400,000 1031 TIC. 
2 $250,000 checks. 
2 $150,000 checks. 
2 $100,000 checks. 

7 new investors my client had never met before. 
Investing nearly 50% of this $6,000,000 raise. 
𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙𝙄𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩. 
Here are the metrics behind the capital raise: 

1. Our first post together was August 2025. 
• Prior to working together
• He averaged <500 impressions a post. 
• Now? He averages 10,789 per post. 
• We post 3 days a week. 
• M, W, Th. 

2. His deal went live in November 2025. 
• We published 5 posts promoting the capital raise. 
• Our 1st promotional post was on November 30th.
• We posted 1 promotional post every other week. 
• The 5th promotional was posted on Jan. 12th. 

3. Here's what came from the 5 posts. 
• The 5 posts generated 242,545 impressions. 
• The 5 posts generated 33 qualified leads. 
• The 5 posts generated 7 new investors. 

What would 33 new LP investor leads do for your next acquisition? 

I help real estate sponsors generate LP investor leads. 

Curious if Investor Acquisitions is right for you? 

DM "IA" to schedule an introduction call.

I've owned 0% of a $2,000,000 property. 

I worked my butt off for it too. 

I worked my W-2 while helping others build their wealth. 

It's part of most all of our journey's. 

Honest work. 

But after long hours trading time for money got me thinking...

"What if I was on the other side of the table?" 
"What if I was the owner?"

I asked myself those questions over & over. 
Until one day, I took that leap myself. 
The hardest decision I've made.

But you know what? 

It’s also the most fulfilling decision I’ve ever made. 
I’m curious to hear more about your journey. 
What set you on the path of ownership?

I spoke to a wealth advisor managing $70,000,000. 

His father bankrupted a $200,000,000 business. 

Here are 2 lessons on wealth he taught me: 

(That you should steal) 

1) You squander wealth you don't earn. 

• In the context of this business. It was inherited. 
• The father did not understand the business.
• But he felt he could take on the task.
• Just a few years later?
• It was gone.

LESSON:

The hard work it takes to build wealth lead to the lessons that help you keep it.

2) You must use leverage wisely.

• The grandfather had heavily leveraged the business.
• The grandfather's intent was to sell the business.
• But then the grandfather passed.
• & the father didn't have the operational knowledge.
• Your decisions have consequences in business.
• But consequences are amplified with debt.

LESSON:

Debt is a tool. But if misused? The consequences can be catastrophic.

P.S. What lessons have you learned from those before you?

I asked an investor (who's actively managing $160,000,000 of real estate) how he structured the capital stack for his first deal. 

I'm laying the framework to buy my first deal. 
• I've been asking for advice from mentors. 
• & here's the advice I got from this one. 

His first deal was a single tenant industrial asset he held for 10+ years. 

1) At the time, the sponsor worked for a family office. 
• He'd regularly knock on doors prospecting deals. 
• He found an owner willing to sell a property. 
• The property was too small for the FO. 
• So the sponsor put an offer down: 
• & the seller accepted. 

2) The investor structured his capital like this: 
• The sponsor closed the property for $560,000. 
• The sponsor acquired the deal free and clear. 
• 28 investors invested $20,000 each. 
• They split the ownership 80/20. 
• 80% to the limited partners. 
• 20% to the sponsor. 

Here's how the deal went: 

3) He held the property for over 16 years. 
• He distributed $67,200 each year. 
• & sold the deal for $950,000. 

LESSON: 
• As a first time sponsor, 
• The investor created an LP favorable capital stack. 
• 80% of all equity distributed went to the investors. 
• REMINDER: 
• A great track record starts with your first deal. 
• Don't try to retire off your first acquisition. 
• Do this instead: 
• Obsess over having happy LPs. 

SIDE NOTE: 

Even while acquiring the deal debt free, he was able to generate a 14% annualized return on investment for his investors. 

P.S. What are your thoughts on this sponsor's first deal?

"I spoke with an investor who owned $3,000,000 in real estate, but hadn’t sold any of his assets."

I wrote this hook for a post for a client of mine a few weeks back. 
• The post accumulated 76,063 impressions. 
• And, the best part...
• It generated 2 1031-exchange leads for him. 

The post highlighted a story the broker told me. 
A client of the broker had an underperforming investment. 
Not from the standpoint of "Return on Investment."
The investment's ROI was 12%. 
Rather from the standpoint of "Return on Equity."
The investment's ROE was 3%. 

I wrote about how the broker communicated this with his client. 
Subsequently, his client wanted a better ROE. 
So they sold the existing asset 
& bought a larger one. 

Cool story. 

Here's the catch, the week before I posted this post? 
I had written a different post about the same story. 
Except...
The original post only hit 1,284 impressions...
& produced 0 leads for the client. 
A complete bust. 

I felt the story was really good, but I had just failed to tell it right. 

So I rewrote it & posted the new post 7-days later. 

The outcome was much better. 

LESSON: 

Don't be afraid to recycle stories, especially good stories. 
Sometimes...
How you frame a story just didn't resonate the 1st time. 
& that's okay. 
If you're gut is telling you you've got a story worth telling. 
Don't stop until you figure out how to tell it right. 

P.S. Was this helpful? If so, comment below why it was.

I did some door-knocking today. Did 13 doors. 

Here was the script I came up with in the car: 

"Hello my name is Cole Baker, I buy industrial buildings like this one, who can I speak with about submitting an offer to buy the property?"

Most conversations lasted less than a minute. 

Here were the results: 
• 1 firm no. 
• 3 properties didn't answer the door. 
• 3 phone numbers of owners.  
• 1 "come back tomorrow, the owner just left."  
• 5 "here's who to talk with but I don't have contact info." 

I even got a tour of one of the properties from an employee. 

My favorite interaction though was with an owner. 
Larry. 

Larry wasn't looking to sell, but here's what I asked him: 
"Are you looking to buy other buildings?" 

Larry perked up, & emphatically said "yes."

I got his number & will follow up. 

Day 1 in the books. 

About 2.5 hours of walking the streets of Denver. 
About half of that was hyping myself up to do the first knock. 
Then the second. 
But after about 5 I was getting excited about it. 

Means nearly nothing doing it 1 day, but figured I'd share. 
Looking forward to Day 2.

I spoke with an investor who replaced his $450,000/year tech job with a $50,000,000 real estate portfolio. 

Here's how he did it: 

1) He didn't want to rely on a boss

• There was not "accelerating" retirement. 
• He had to put in the time.
• This unsettled him pretty early on. 
• He had the stock options. 
• So he diversified. 

2) He didn't start small. 

• His first deal was a $1,000,000+ 8-unit deal. 
• He took the knowledge from conversations. 
• He took the knowledge from podcasts. 
• He took the knowledge from books. 
• Then...
• He implemented a value-add plan. 
• He remodeled the interior. 
• He updated the exterior. 
• He raised rents. 
• & refinanced. 

He still owns the asset today. 

Builds up the appreciation. 

Collects the cash flow. 

& the best part? 

No longer works a 9-5. 

P.S. What's the first thing you'd do when you achieve financial freedom?

"Most, if not all, white-collar tasks will be automated by AI within the next 12 to 18 months." - the CEO of Microsoft AI. 𝙎𝙤, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩? 

• In short, be an owner. 

Never has it been a more important time to own a business. 

More specifically, 

A business that provides a physical product or service. 

• Multifamily, industrial, retail real estate. 
• Manufacturers & farmers.
• Contractors.
• Hospitality. 

To name a few. 

I don't know about you, but I don't want to rely on a "government" to pay me UBI. 

But if your an owner in the physical world? 

All things staying the same...

You'll be just fine. 

Curious to hear your thoughts on that headline. 
& what you think the future holds.

FaZe Rug is a content creator with 27,700,000 followers. 

He's also quietly built a $15,000,000 real estate empire. 

Here's the breakdown: 

1) FaZe Rug leverages content to create cash flow. 

• FaZe Rug's real name is Brian Awadis.
• Between vlogging, gaming, and entertainment.
• Brian's content library is 3,000 videos strong.  
• (With over 10,000,000,000 views)
• That's about $4,000/day from ad revenue. 
• With brand deals, & other businesses
• (E-Sports, candy & real estate)
• Brian brings in cash flow. 

2) He invests that excess money in real estate. 

• Like most YouTubers, Brian has spent lavishly. 
• Rolls Royce, a $3,500,000 mansion, a dog.
• But, most of his money is in apartments. 
• 60+ apartments all around San Diego. 

3) He leverages other people to manage them.

• His "real estate guy" helps with acquisitions. 
• His property management team manages. 
• He capitalizes on the appreciation. 
• He capitalizes on the cash flow. 
• & the depreciation. 

Brian is investing the right way. 

Re-investing excess cash flow into real estate. 

P.S. What’s more luxury? Owning a dog or a Rolls Royce?

Dave Ramsey was a millionaire by the age of 27.
He owned $4,000,000+ in real estate in 1987. 
The next year? In 1988? He went bankrupt... 
He didn't stay there long though. 
Now? 
His company grosses $300,000,000 a year. 

Here's 2 lessons I've learned studying Dave Ramsey: 

1) Don't let your failures define you. 

• When Dave was bankrupt? He had a wife & kid too. 
• He had $0. No income. & a family to provide for. 
• BUT...
• He didn't let his failure define his story. 
• He got back to work. 

LESSON: 

To be great at anything, you will fail. Many times. 
If you want to build financial freedom?
If you want to build a business? 
Learn to fail. 

2) Sell what you believe in. 

• Dave is controversial for one main reason: 
• He hates debt. 
• A belief formed by the impact of the bankruptcy. 
• It also formed a passion for financial literacy. 
• More specifically, teaching others about it. 
• This passion?
•  It's the foundation of his business. 
• (A $300m per year business)

LESSON: 

Starting a business is really hard. 
But if you want to make it easier?
Believe in what you're selling. 

P.S. Which lesson sticks out most to you? 
P.S.S. What are your thoughts on Dave?

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I asked an operator (who owns $50,000,000 worth of real estate) how to structure a JV deal. 

Here's what he told me: 

You have 5 buckets to fill within a JV partnership. 

Split generally 20% each. 

Here's the 5 buckets: 

1) The Asset Manager
2) The Ernest Money
3) The Deal Finder
4) The Guarantor
5) The Capital

You fill these buckets with 2-3 people typically. 
You can also have more partners if you see fit. 

Below are some examples he gave of JV structures: 

1) You find the deal & manage the asset while your partner covers the other 3 buckets. 

Split the JV 50/50. 

2) You find a niche deal that takes you 2 years to identify & get under contract. You plan to asset manage while a partner will cover the other 3 buckets. 

Split the JV 60/40 with you taking the 60. 

3) Your partner puts up a large earnest money deposit to win the deal. Your partner covers the rest of the capital buckets & you manage the identification and operation of the deal.

Split the JV 40/60 with your partner taking the 60.  

P.S. Any other advice you'd give about JV's?

I spoke to an operator who replaced his finance job income with income from a $3,000,000 real estate portfolio. 

Here's how he replaced his W-2 income: 

1) He was fed up with his current role. 

- He had invested in 8-units prior to his discontent. 
- But the discontent motivated him to step up. 
- & the motivation led to 3+ more deals. 

2) He was willing to take lots of risk. 

- At one point, he had $250,000+ in CC debt. 
- Between labor & material costs for projects. 
- He went ALL in building his portfolio. 

SIDE NOTE: 

This was back in 2019, 2020, 2021 where interest rates were low. He had 3-4 credit cards giving him 0% interest for an entire 12 months! WILD!

3) He leveraged the BRRRR method. 

- At the time, he wasn't utilizing any mentors. 
- Just podcasts, books and good ole action. 
- After each renovation, he'd refinance. 
- & redeploy the capital. 

I wouldn't recommend taking on that kind of credit card debt. 

But one thing was very clear speaking with him: 

He would do anything to make it happen. 

P.S. To what lengths would you go for financial freedom?

I asked a lender (who has originated $23,000,000,000 worth of commercial real estate loans) 3 red flags to avoid in a general partner.

Here's what he said:

𝟭) 𝘼 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧 (𝙂𝙋) 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡.

- In his opinion, a GP must provide capital in the deal.
- It’s this simple: If a GP has no capital in the deal,
- They don’t have your best interest in mind.

𝟮) 𝘼 𝙂𝙋 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.

- You don’t want to hear what they promise.
- You want to hear what they’ve done.
- If they haven’t done very much, &
- They promise great returns?
- Run.

𝟯) 𝘼 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝟱+ 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨

- In his opinion, teams shouldn’t exceed 3 GPs.
- When there are too many partners on a team,
- He questions the team’s ability to manage.

There’s no need to take on unnecessary risk.

Dismiss all GPs with these red flags.

P.S. What would you add to the list?

I spoke to a GP who’s acquired $300,000,000 of CRE.
The last 10 years, 
He’s acquired every deal below 30% LTV. 
Here’s why:

In his career, the GP has acquired over 100 properties. 
During the GFC, 10 of his deals lost money. 

Here’s the exact reasoning he gave why:

- 9/10 of the assets were not his usual niche asset-type.
- 9/10 of the assets were not his usual business plan.  
- 3/10 of the assets were not his typical market. 

In other words:

- He tried to do deals he wasn’t familiar with.
- At the exact wrong time in the market.
- with investor capital. 
- He & his investors paid for that. 

LESSON:

- This goes for both limited partners and GPs. 
- Invest in assets & business plans you know. 
- Jon Gray of Blackstone put it this way: 
- “You don’t outsized returns without taking risk.”
- “But we take risk we understand.”
- Debt will amplify that risk. 

P.S. Did this lesson resonate with you? 
If so, comment below why it do! ⬇️

I asked an accountant (who managed the books for a sponsor with $200,000,000 in AUM) the best way an LP can identify a quality sponsor. 

What he told me actually blew me away: 

1) Ask the GP what % of their income from their investment firm is from acquisition fees. 

• If the GP answers over 50%, do not invest. 
• This GP is too reliant on acquiring real estate for their income.  
• & it's an indication they don't have sound operations. 
• You want the asset management fees, promotes, & other income to far out way compensation from acquisition fees. 

2) Ask the GP what their payroll is. 

• If the GP doesn't know the answer, run. 
• You track what you care about. 
• If they don't know their overhead cost, 
• & don't know the cost of their labor. 
• They don't care about the deal. 

3) Ask the GP what % of asset management fees they collect across their portfolio. 

• When an investment is in distress, the first bit of compensation to be turned off is the asset management fees. 
• If a sponsor owns 20 properties, & is collecting asset management fees from 95% of them? 
• That's a great indication the deals are being run well. 

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on these questions. 

P.S. I help limited partners place equity into real estate. 

If you're a limited partner & this resonated, let's talk.

I asked an investor (who owns $10,000,000 worth of mobile home parks) why they chose the asset class. 

Here's what she had to say: 

• Depreciation.
• A low basis.
• Cash flow.

1) depreciation

• The value of traditional real estate is in the structure. 
• With residential real estate, 
• The depreciation schedule is 27.5 years. 
• Within commercial real estate, 
• The depreciation schedule is 39 years. 
• For mobile home parks, it's a totally different asset. 
• Almost none of the value is in its structures. 
• Rather much of the value is in roads, utility lines, clubhouses, lighting, fencing, electrical, pads. 
• All items that have "shorter" lives in the eyes of the law. 

2) A low basis. 

• Everything is better when you buy at a low basis. 
• You have flexibility through market downturns.
• You have lower breakeven occupancy.
• Debt is cheaper.

3) Cash flow. 

• Especially if you structure the site in the correct manor. 
• Think renting the pad sites. 
• Rather than the mobile homes themselves. 
• Cash flow is what creates freedom. 
• & many investors want that. 

P.S. What's your opinion on invest in MHPs? 
I'm much more curious after the conversation with this operator.

Matt Shumer generated 81,000,000 impressions from a single piece of content. 

He gained 200,000 followers on Twitter in 4 days. 

He was interviewed by top news programs. 

& no doubt…

Generated interest is his startup. 

All from 1 piece of content. 
 
TL;DR

Create content.

Commercial Managing Director at Phyllis Browning Company | National CRE Educator | Army Veteran & Advocate | Property Operations Whisper | Maximizing Returns for Investors through Operations | Love to help New Agents

Commercial real estate isn’t rocket science. It’s harder.

At least that’s what it feels like when people are throwing around acronyms like IRR, NNN, and CAM as if they’re common sense. They’re not. That’s where I come in.

I help investors stop buying bad deals, business owners stop picking locations based on gut feelings, and new agents stop drowning in spreadsheets they don’t understand. My background? Army leadership + a few billion dollars in commercial transactions + a borderline unhealthy love for operations.

I teach, consult, troubleshoot, and occasionally nerd out about parking ratios. If you want to learn CRE without the ego or the fluff — I’m your guy. Reach out and let’s fix the thing that’s costing you money.

Oh and if you blind pitch me or “pitch slap” me, I am going to give you a hard time.  Try building rapport with me first.  

My 2026 Goals
Personal
1.	Take a Vacation
2.	Do one full day hike
3.	Make it to all my daughter’s school events.
4.	Have a great trip with just my wife. 
5.	Promote to Sr. Instructors with CCIM
6.	Certify to teach the Asset Management Track for IREM
7.	Write a Self-Paced Version to my New to CRE Training
8.	3 Outside Speaking opportunities
9.	Earn FRICS

Browning Commercial
1.	Recruit 2 product leaders
2.	Have 7 solid Jr. Associates
3.	Streamline back-office process
4.     Build social media and gain 1,000 followers

Crossed Sabers Commercial Advisory Group
1.	Hire 2 new Jr. Associates
2.	All existing Team Members Make a CREI List
3.	Streamline Back Office process
4.	12 Podcast Guesting Spots

Crossed Sabers Asset Management  
1.	12 New Property Management Assignments
2.	Build Research Arm and publish twice.  
3.	12 Podcast Guesting Spots

Vets in Real Estate
1.	 Write “Vets in Real Estate Transition Stories” Book
a.	Get this book into Transition Centers and to Service Members for Free
2.	Double responses for Social Media Influencers Awards
3.	Set Up Sponsorship for Podcast/Community
4.	Grow Engagement
a.	Follower/Subscriber Account to 1,000 on all accounts
b.	Build Value in Facebook Group
5.	Set Up 4 Mastermind/Round Table Calls
6.	12 Podcast Guesting Spots

Browning Commercial
1.	Recruit 4 product leaders
2.	Have 7 solid Jr. Associates
3.	Streamline back-office process
4.	Build social media and gain 2,000 followers.

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The Battle

Cole Baker

‏‏‎ ‎Will Curtis, CCIM, CPM

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The Battle

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‏‏‎ ‎Will Curtis, CCIM, CPM

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