He’s not Going to Make it in this Business (CFFL 0050.2)
He’s not Going to Make it in this Business (CFFL 0050.2)
Jack Butala: He’s not Going to Make it in this Business. Why We Can Afford to Give Land Away Every Month. Every single month we give away a property for free. It’s super simple to qualify. Two simple steps. Leave us your feedback for this podcast on iTunes and number two, get the free ebook at landacademy.com, you don’t even have to read it. Thanks for listening.
Jack Butala: Hey, this is Jack Butala for Land Academy. Welcome to our Cashed Flow from Land show. In this episode, Jill and I discuss why some people shouldn’t really even ever really start down the path of real estate investment as a career or even a part-time gig. On the onset of it, it sounds kind of negative, but I’d like to think we’re probably saving a lot of time and money for not a ton of people, but some people, you think, Jill?
Jill DeWit: I think what’s funny is how we decided to cover this topic is we were talking about some individuals over breakfast one morning and it was just funny some of the roadblocks people were putting up for themselves and how you and I answered it was all right, they’re not going to make it. If this is all it takes for you to whatever, get all sidetracked, you might not want to do this. I’m sure that’s the same for a lot of things.
Jack Butala: I’m allowed to say this topic, because I obviously chose it or it chose me. I don’t how really that works anymore, but I love real estate and I love land. That’s part of it. I don’t think that’s necessary, but I think that it matters. I think there’s a few basic things, before we actually get into the types of people that I think they’re wasting their time and our time. There’s some big picture rules about business that I’ve learned over the years that I think, I’m always constantly writing a book about these big picture things and some of them get done and some of them don’t, but there’s a few rules about partnership and businesses that I think are actually pretty good.
Some of them are really silly, but one of them is never go into business with a partner that you don’t like. You’ll spend a lot of time with that person. If that person’s really just coming at things in a real different way and it’s a mess, then that’s one issue.
Another thing is don’t generally get into a business that, whatever you’re doing for a living, you’re not into it. There’s a pretty good chance I am not going to buy oil change franchises ever in my life. I think that’s just not what I’m into. It’s not my thing.
Jill DeWit: I agree. You have to be behind it. If you are behind it, it’s very easy to be successful. If you’re not really behind it, you don’t really buy into what you’re doing, then that just comes out, I think. I’ve had jobs, this is way back in my teens where I had jobs where at that point in my life, it was a job. Then I realized I was awful if I didn’t buy into it, whatever it was I was trying to do. If I didn’t agree with the whole concept …
Jack Butala: Right. Yeah, you didn’t buy into it.
Jill DeWit: … it didn’t work.
Jack Butala: There’s a bunch of businesses I literally failed at, literally. These are real stories. I failed at a business that …
Jill DeWit: I can’t wait. I’m ready.
Jack Butala: I’m going to tell you why.
Jill DeWit: This is awesome.
Jack Butala: I know why I failed at all of them. I failed at a business where I had a classic car dealership, because I love classic cars, so I got all emotional about every car that came in.
Jill DeWit: Spent way too much.
Jack Butala: Yeah, too much time and money. All emotion. I wanted to keep half the cars or drive them for like 6 months. I was in denial. I’d come up with these schemes like all right, I’m going to drive this car for 6 months and then I’m going to sell it.
Jill DeWit: Yeah, right.
Jack Butala: It’s like I’m going to keep this puppy for 6 months and then get rid of it. Just all in love with it 6 months down the road and no way you’re going to get rid of it.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Jack Butala: You end up with 60 puppies.
Jill DeWit: And it’s part of the family.
Jack Butala: I should have called it 60 puppies auto dealership.
Jill DeWit: That would have been great.
Jack Butala: Anyway, I lost my butt on that business. Another one I’ve talked about on the air before is we will pick up your boat for free …
Jill DeWit: Oh, gosh.
Jack Butala: … dot com or something like that. We would, all these unwanted boats, there’s a lot of unwanted boats on this planet, specifically in Southern California. I said we’d pick them up for free. You don’t have to worry about it. You just title it over. We got inundated and we had no place to put the boats. I just didn’t think it through. I didn’t even consider like go get educated on anything like that, which is really, really silly. I didn’t blow a lot of money on that, but it was a bad idea from the beginning.
Jill DeWit: Yeah. You were just stuck with a lot of inventory with no where to put it. That’s funny.
Jack Butala: You got to clean the boats up. I just didn’t think it through. There’s a lot of expense that goes on. I bought a set of laundromats one time that I should have kept. I loved that business.
Jill DeWit: That’s a good business model. You’re right.
Jack Butala: I think it’s because, I don’t know. Who knows why. It’s really efficient and I like clean stuff. Most people do.
Jill DeWit: I’m thinking about, as you were talking, and I agree with all your stuff. Fortunately, I wasn’t around for most of those.
Jack Butala: You were around for the happiness and not what I call the bloody horror of a startup. Jill wasn’t really there for a lot of it.
Jill DeWit: I was, right. I’m thinking of the people that you talked about. Who is not going to make it and who shouldn’t do this and one of my number 1 things is commitment phobia people. I’m not talking about men. That’s not what I’m talking about. This is not about dating. This is not about marriage.
Jack Butala: I know it’s going to completely become about that …
Jill DeWit: You like that?
Jack Butala: … in about one minute.
Jill DeWit: It’s like get the help there.
Jack Butala: This is absolutely about dating.
Jill DeWit: It is not about dating. Commitment phobia people, you need to commit to whatever it is you’re doing. Don’t start down the path, because there’s going to be some ups and downs.
Jack Butala: Jill, you want to get married?
Jill DeWit: No. That’s not …
Jack Butala: See?
Jill DeWit: … what I’m talking about. No.
Jack Butala: Of the 2 of us.
Jill DeWit: I don’t want to ever get married. Are you going to get married again some day?
Jack Butala: No. Of the 2 of us, though, there’s probably one person that’s got more commitment phobia than the other.
Jill DeWit: And who is that?
Jack Butala: It’s not me.
Jill DeWit: Oh.
Jack Butala: I wouldn’t call it phobia, just maybe apathy. Commitment apathy.
Jill DeWit: Commitment apathy, that’s a big word, dot com.
Jack Butala: I want to see if that’s available, commitment apathy.
Jill DeWit: Commitment apathy dot com. Oh, my goodness.
Jack Butala: I have to write that down. Go ahead.
Jill DeWit: You know what’s funny, I don’t know. Anyway. It made me think of the red flags that we used to talk about, because that’s kind of funny. Not going to make it in this business or maybe in any business if you are afraid of the business and you just can’t commit and dive in and power through. How many times you and I come in and oh, my gosh, the website, something’s wrong. People can’t check out getting our program. Things happen. You can’t throw in the towel.
Jack Butala: Someone changes their mind.
Jill DeWit: There’s a good one, too. Yeah, forget it. I’m out. No. You can’t do that.
Jack Butala: That doesn’t happen too often. I think it’s because of how you handle the sellers. It used to happen a lot.
Jill DeWit: Really?
Jack Butala: Yeah. It’s your personality, because you befriend them. You get them to the point where they don’t want to let you down. If you’re having second thoughts, you just go through with it anyway.
Jill DeWit: You know what’s interesting? You’re right. I never worry about that. I really don’t. The only times I had a seller issue was at the very end, it was like I was talking to the wrong person. Remember that one? There was a board involved and the board had to vote on it and he wasn’t the only one that could make the decision. He was in and that was on me. I didn’t ask the right questions and you learn. You learn to ask those questions. All right. Are you the person that has the power and I do that now to make this decision, especially because I’ve got son-in-law calling for elderly woman and you have to make sure who’s making the decision here, because that’s the one I want to talk to.
Jack Butala: I’m going to tell a quick story. Very early in my career, I had about 4 people, very early not in my career, but in this land selling thing, several years ago, I had 4 people working for me and I went to a tax auction and came back. I said, “This is the best tax auction I ever got, been involved in. I’m going to give you guys some property and just give it to you for free. Look at it like a bonus.” These are employees, not partners. “You can go off and sell it on eBay or do whatever you want and I just considered it as some found money and see if you’re into it. Maybe we can do some deals together.
Jill DeWit: I like the concept.
Jack Butala: A tiny little land academy, let’s say. How many people of those 4 do you think this worked with? Zero.
Jill DeWit: Gosh, zero. Why was that? But yet they were doing the deals every day.
Jack Butala: Yeah, they’re doing it and they know probably as much or more about it than I do, because they’re more on the front lines.
Jill DeWit: That says something. Why was that, do you think?
Jack Butala: That’s what this podcast is all about, that exact topic. I think I know, but it’s still somewhat of a mystery. Why do some people become doctors and some people choose to drive a truck?
Jill DeWit: That’s true.
Jack Butala: Does the career actually pick them? I think there’s a lot to that.
Jill DeWit: I am 100% if it comes easy to you, there’s something to be said for that. I agree. I think that there’s people out there like doctors. I don’t mean to pick on doctors. This is a positive thing, but they probably like to study. They like the environment. They probably love the mental challenge. They’re really good at it. Maybe they’re good with their hands. I’m sure there are a lot of things that I would think come naturally, maybe for a surgeon or something. Me? Not my thing. You know?
Jack Butala: To this day, there’s stuff that I don’t like about running the business. I’m fortunate, now I can outsource a lot of it, but not all of it. There’s still some stuff I don’t want to do.
Jill DeWit: I got to ask this question then. Imagine, if you will, all of a sudden, it was only you, it was a one man show. You’re in the land state business, a side company, land state, which we buy and sell land.
Jack Butala: Land state dot com.
Jill DeWit: Yes.
Jack Butala: By the way, we give away a free property …
Jill DeWit: We do.
Jack Butala: … every single month. All you have to do is go on iTunes, I’m interrupting Jill.
Jill DeWit: That’s okay.
Jack Butala: Go on iTunes, rate our show, rate our podcast right here. There’s a link right, wherever you’re listening to this, there’s a link in the text. Rate our show. You can give us 1 star or 5 stars. It still puts you on the list to win and go get a free eBook at Land Academy dot com. You can throw it away if you like. You don’t kneed to read it. It gets you registered to win a free property.
Jill DeWit: Awesome.
Jack Butala: Got that out of the way fast, Jill, because I can’t wait to hear what you’re going to say here, because it’s good.
Jill DeWit: Okay. Something happened and for whatever reason, you’re a one man show here and you’re doing land state all by yourself. What is the number 1 job that you think would sink the ship because you’re in charge of it?
Jack Butala: Because of me, specifically of my personality?
Jill DeWit: Yes. Yes.
Jack Butala: This is a rhetorical question for you, isn’t it?
Jill DeWit: Yes, it is.
Jack Butala: The first thing I would do is eliminate all the retail customers.
Jill DeWit: Wait. That’s not the question. The question is the business is the business that it is and you’re in charge of it all.
Jack Butala: I inherited, let’s say?
Jill DeWit: Yeah, you inherited it.
Jack Butala: Just the way it stands.
Jill DeWit: Just the way it is and it’s you by yourself. What do you think would be the one job that could, I know you could power through it all, because that’s who you are, that’s what this is about, but what could sink the ship? What do you hate? What’s the thing that you hate?
Jack Butala: I get real frustrated with talking to customers, retail customers. When I say retail I mean end user for land, not like Walmart customers.
Jill DeWit: You mean the people that say hi, I’m looking for a place to put a little cabin in the woods and we have $5,000 to spend. What do you have?
Jack Butala: That makes me want to shoot myself. We’ve never fibbed on this podcast and I never will.
Jill DeWit: Can we talk about it for a little while, please, because my husband’s almost retired and then …
Jack Butala: Oh, Jill.
Jill DeWit: … I just inherited some money. Just kidding.
Jack Butala: Are you trying to hurt me today?
Jill DeWit: Sorry. I just have to do it.
Jack Butala: All right. I’m going to ask you this exact same question. What would be the thing that would knock you around a little bit? Or is there anything? Because again, I think you would power through all of it, too.
Jill DeWit: I would power through all of it and I would figure out a way to get things done/however, maybe I’m not the best person at putting a system in place.
Jack Butala: You mean a system to make all of our lives super easy?
Jill DeWit: My systems doesn’t necessarily work for everyone. I will admit, you’re better at making universal systems than I am. I have my personal systems that work for me. You’re the best at universal systems.
Jack Butala: Yeah. I think if you want to have a shop and I think the vast majority of our members have where it’s one person or one person and their spouse or you’re going to cut 1, maybe 2, maybe 3 people working, you don’t need a lot of systems, however you organize it is fine, but for us, it’s a little bit different. We need relational databases and some other stuff. I like doing that. Honestly, I do.
Jill DeWit: That’s good, because I don’t. I sure have an opinion about the systems, too, when they roll out.
Jack Butala: Everybody loves when they get new computer stuff they have to do. I’m being totally satirical.
Jill DeWit: I know. I love it.
Jack Butala: My rule on that and we’ll get to the next topic here, I have a thing about reporting. I never want to make people report. I don’t know what happened to me early in my life, but I think it’s the biggest waste of time the way computers are today to fill out reports about what happened or even spend any time reporting. It should be so automated that you should get …
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