Real Estate, Business Partners & Friends

Facebook. Can you believe that some of my closest business partners became partners and friends on Facebook? I have mostly a love relationship with social media. I know people hate it. People talk poorly about it, and some people simply refuse to be on it, but I happen to enjoy it. I think my time in Okinawa has made me enjoy it even more. It has been a wonderful way for me to make friends, keep up with old friends, and most importantly, it’s a great way to see what my family is doing day-to-day. Most of them are active on social media too.

I regress…

My brother, Tomas who is a real estate investor, met Phillip and Sole’ on Facebook when he was looking for a house to add to his real estate portfolio. They were active wholesalers, and they consistently had good deals to put on the market. In all honestly, it took me a minute to understand the value of working with wholesalers, and once I did, I realized what great partners they could be. Tomas found a house through them, and he began keeping in touch with them. After some time, he connected me with them so that we could ALL work together. Phillip and Sole’ were and still are very active on social media so I felt like I was actually getting to know them. Working with them became seamless, even at 6,000 miles apart. They were very open and honest with communication, and I could see their work ethic being played out in real time on Facebook. As a risk averse investor, my confidence in working with them grew over time, and over the course of the past couple of years, we have found ways to work together that has been FUN and mutually beneficial.

Phillip, Sole’, and I carve out time to spend with one another every time I come into Lubbock. They are busy real estate professionals, so I appreciate each minute I get with them. Last week, we met for lunch, and I got a special sneak peek into their business and their story. I asked if I could share it here, and they graciously said, “yes.”

Their story began well before 2019, but 2019 is when they launched their real estate business. Their story reminded me of my parent’s story. Sole’ became pregnant with their daughter in 2019, and it was the ideal time to transition from working in the traditional workspace to entrepreneurship. My parents began their real estate business when their family began to grow too. The difference between my parents and Phillip and Sole’ is that my parents grew their real estate business as a “side gig” before side gigs were cool, and they continued to work traditional jobs for many years. On the other hand, Phillip and Sole’ were ALL IN! Phillip left his insurance sales job, and Sole’ left her barber shop so that they could focus on building their business.

They began as wholesalers. Then, they worked their way into rehabbing and flipping houses. They added long-term rentals and short-term rentals to their portfolio, and they currently have a well-rounded business. Within three years, they went from having $1,500 to invest in starting a business to having multiple short-term and long-term rentals. They are also projected to flip 20 houses in 2022. I have flipped a couple of houses myself and thinking about 20 house-flips in one year BLOWS MY MIND. Additionally, seeing THAT kind of GROWTH in such a short period of time is simply AMAZING!

As impressive as this is, it hasn’t been all growth and all fun for them. They have learned some important lessons along the way. Along with the tough lessons, they have also built strong relationships. When I asked Sole’ what was most surprising about this journey, her response was, “I am surprised out how easy it has been to build a network.” She is a self-proclaimed introvert, but when you meet her, you sense that she is genuinely kind, funny, and smart. It is no shock that she has been a contributor to building their strong network. Phillip, the true extrovert, enjoys building his network of friends and business partners. He is a natural.

When I asked them what their favorite part of building this business has been, they simultaneously said, “THE FREEDOM.” Based on my conversations with them, the freedom isn’t time freedom. Right now, they don’t have a lot of it. They work well into the night. They seldom take days off. Even when they are on vacation, they are touching their business multiple times a day. The freedom is the freedom to decide how much work to take on and what type of work they want to do. They get to choose who they work with and how they want to work with those people. They get to meet at their home gym every day at 3:00 to focus on their physical health. They manage their resources, and they determine how quickly they will grow their business. Someday, they will have the time freedom that they both dream of creating, but for now, they are working hard and enjoying the freedom of HOW to work.

Phillip wants to own 40-50 long-term rentals and looks forward to the passive income that those properties will make. I predict that it will be five times as many. Sole’ wants to open a shelter for women who need to make a positive life transition. Little does she know that when she does, I will help those women with career searches, resumes, and interview preparation. I predict that she is not far from seeing her dream come to fruition.

As for me, I look forward to seeing how our friendship and our partnership continues to grow and blossom over time. They are dreamers, and I love to work with people who dream big. If you are on Facebook, go check them out at https://www.facebook.com/bdi2019.