Work 90 Hours a Week to Avoid a 40 Hour Job (CFFL 547)
Work 90 Hours a Week to Avoid a 40 Hour Job (CFFL 547)
Transcript:
Jack: Jack Butala with Jill DeWit.
Jill: Hi everyone.
Jack: Welcome to our show today. Jill and I talk today … in this episode Jill and I talk about working ninety hours a week in the beginning to avoid working a forty hour job. I think you might know where this is going, before we get into it let’s take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It’s free.
Jill: Okay, Pete asks, “I have some areas where the average lots are selling for $9,000 to $14,000 and up. There are many lots available. I would love to know what offer price people would start with?”
I don’t know … offer $2,000 and sell for $7,000. Is offering $3,000 reasonable? Which is 33% of the lowest retail?
Jack: Yeah, I think that if there’s a lot of available properties … which is non-quantifiable variable in pricing. I would definitely scrape the bottom of the lower portion of the pricing scenario, so yeah that’s the key here. The other thing I would look at is days on market. So if you’ve got properties … lot of property available and there’s really long days on market, like more than 200 days or 300 days, which is a year, frankly, I’d move on. I wouldn’t even send an offer campaign of that area.
What you want is real low days on market, not a ton of availability, but some availability so you can price it right. Then you wanna go in around 40, 50, 60 percent. That’s just personally what I would do, I don’t know Pete if you’re new or not … it’s hard to tell from here, but if there’s a ton of availability and a really long days on market, go in at the bottom. And really don’t expect to get a lot because you wanna find a market that’s kinda really cool, like, Man I would like to … if you find yourself doing this as an investor, “Boy, I think maybe I should … if I get one of these properties for this cheap I should keep it.” If you find yourself doing that, you’re gonna do great.
Jill: When there’s a lot of availability, too, it’s hard to differentiate your property from other properties so you might be sitting with it for a little while, so if you come in low you can afford to let it just sit there. I would roll it into my inventory, wouldn’t have a problem with that. Just be ready for it.
Jack: There’s gotta be something good about your property, that differentiates it from everything else that’s on the market. Jill and I have literally gone to Home Depot and bought one of those cool sheds that are out in the parking lot and had it delivered to a property. Took a bunch of pictures and just yeah, there’s a shed on the property, and now it’s different from every other piece of property out there and it sells really fast.
Jill: Now we can buy a yurt like Luke.
Jack: A yurt?
Jill: That came up the other day. One of our members found yurt zoned property. What the heck? That’s a new one. I had to know that that was out there. So we were joking about that. Put a yurt on it, Pete.
Jack: One night in a yurt and it’ll be over.
Jill: Oh my goodness. I just can’t even say the word yurt.
Jack: That’s so funny. Everybody’s saying what the hell’s a yurt.
Jill: I wanna do that tonight, we’re out … we’re gonna go what do you guys do? We invest in yurts.
Jack: A yurt is a Mongolian Teepee.
Jill: I’m a yurt distributor. That’s my new job.
Jack: I’m a yurt dealer.
Jill: I’m a yurt dealer. What color would you like? You want a two bedroom or a one bedroom?
Jack: That’s be cool, you put a bunch of yurts together.
Jill: I wanna do that. I’d like to do that sometimes. Cause you know you go out and you just don’t want to talk about what you really do, cause you’re like, ohhhhhh [inaudible 00:03:40]
Jack: I’m a yurt dealer.
Jill: I’m a yurt dealer.
Jack: Oh, my God, Jill that’s awesome.
Jill: I’m going to totally say that. That’s my new line.
Jack: Next cocktail party we go to …
Jill: Tonight. We have one tonight.
Jack: I know we do. I represent the …
Jill: I’m gonna be … I’m Texas’ largest yurt dealer. Do you dare me to say that?
Jack: Yes.
Jill: I’m gonna totally say that.
Jack: Oh my gosh. I’ll pay you.
Jill: I’m gonna write this down and our friends are gonna go she told you what?
Jack: How to Lose Friends Quickly by Jill DeWit
Jill: I have a whole show about it, too. It’s really big, yeah. I’m on my third book. I’m serious. I’m gonna do that just … I gotta see the look on their face, dude …
Jack: We’re the largest yurt dealer in North America.
Jill: Yes we are. Who knew? It’s a thing.
Jack: I love it.
Jill: That’s so good on our new show … Yurt 101.
Jack: You have a question or you wanna be on the show. Reach out to either one of us on landinvestors.com. Today’s topic … Is it Crazy to Work 90 Hours a Week, to Avoid Working a 40 Hour Job. Where to find out. This is [inaudible 00:04:42] to the show. Jill, you know where this is going, right?
Jill: Yeah, Jack. I think I know. I wrote down what it means to me.
Jack: Yes, what does it mean to you, sweetheart?
Jill: On no. Here we go. Thanks a lot. Yes, Jill tell us what you think that means … A yurt is … just kidding. Alright. So here’s … well, based on the title we know what that means. How many of us are working 40 hours a week … excuse me … 90 hours a week to avoid a 40 hour job? Okay, so that’s being my own boss. That’s what I do and we do, cause I don’t wanna be a forty hour, 9 to 5 kind of person and you know what, I love it. We do it.
Jack: We do, do it.
Jill: And it doesn’t feel like work.
Jack: That’s right, Jill. Thank you. We can stop the show right now.
Jill: Okay, so that’s my point number 1. We do it and it doesn’t feel like work. If it’s the right thing, if it’s something you’re really passionate about and you enjoy … even though when you sit and add it up, you’re going, oh, I didn’t take a day off. I mean that’s really what happens. You and I both … technically, don’t really take a day off. We work 7 days a week. I’m always available doing something towards this, but I’m passionate about it and I love it and it doesn’t feel like work to me. It’s interesting cause when I talk to other people … like when I talk to people about my yurt investing … they can see … if I bring up the words land, rural vacant land, and I bring up data … you can see their eyes gloss over …
Jack: We own a real estate data company … oh, it was nice knowing you …
Jill: And mailing and you can just see it. People go …
Jack: Oh, you’re data people? Have a nice life.
Jill: Oh and we’re out. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t get it. It’s not their thing. They don’t get excited about it and that’s fine. And that’s why I don’t get excited about their thing, whatever it is. So I get it, so that’s my point number 1.
My point number 2 is about working though as much … I’ve had that 40 hour, most of us have. You have at one point, Jack in your life …
Jack: Oh yeah.
Jill: Had that 9 to 5 job where you lived for a 3 day weekends and you lived for vacations and you lived for Friday afternoon and man, I don’t miss it. Do you?
Jack: Oh my gosh, no. No. No. No. The whole point to this is you do not … if you have a terrible forty hour job, like most people who do have forty hour jobs … I’m not saying quit your job, I’m just saying prepare yourself, that when you get in business for yourself or hopefully start a side business while you still have a job, it’s gonna consume all your time. Especially if you don’t know what you’re doing and you shouldn’t know what you’re doing if you’re brand new. Expect to fail … the whole thing, so yeah, the weekends coming up here and I’m gonna spend the vast majority of the weekend filming the new How to Buy Houses program and I don’t look at it as work. I love doing it.
Jill: It’s that great? [inaudible 00:08:00] is like Monday through Friday, we have our regular investment stuff that we gotta do and we have employees and stuff. So on the weekends, okay, now I can sit down and think about my book, and do those other things and so I’m still working, but it’s different stuff and I enjoy it all, really. So, you I have one third point, if that’s okay …
Jack: Yeah, of course.
Jill: So my third point is for anyone who’s in this or thinking about doing this or whatever, you know what … it may be nutty now, but it will pay off.
Jack: Ninety hours a week, do we Jill and I have to do this at all? Mope. Jill and I are done. We’re done financially for the rest of our lives and I bet we work … each of us … ninety hours a week.
Jill: I bet you’re right and you know what, I think our work life balance is just fine.
Jack: So do I, Jill. That’s nice for you to say, I mean it. I think because when we’re done we kinda communicate with each other when we’re done and then we go have some fun.
Jill: There’s days that we’re gonna kill it in the morning, like okay, now I’m burned out. Hey, you wanna go have lunch and [crosstalk 00:09:02]
Jack: Or go have a movie … go see a movie.
Jill: Sure. You wanna go on some bikes, sure.
Jack: Exactly, Jill.
Jill: And it might be Tuesday afternoon, because we know we’re gonna work Saturday and Sunday and Monday and whatever and … it’s all good.
Jack: Plus, we get to have a tone of quality time together while we record the show.
Jill: Oh, that’s true. That’s how I see it. This is my quality time with you, Jack.
Jack: This is what happens before we record the show. Jill do you have just one more show in you?
Jill: Oh, I’m so tired. I got stuff I gotta do. Just kidding. No…
Jack: This podcast is the greatest way for me to avoid what I’m supposed to be doing there ever was.
Jill: I know. Now I realize that was the whole point of this … we’re gonna start a podcast cause I just wanna talk and not work right now, just kidding. No …
Jack: If you don’t like what you do for a living and you’re just doing it because you gotta have sone bills, get rid of your bills. If somebody in your life is saying, “Ninety hours a week, you’re crazy.” You work forty hours at the job over there, what’s wrong with that? And you’re like what, this person doesn’t get it. Get rid of that person.
Jill: And you know what … I just thought of something to add. Ninety hours a week does not mean take your forty hour job and make it a ninety hour job, because you don’t get an award, by the way.
Jack: Yeah, you know I did that. I worked ninety hours a week in public accounting.
Jill: This is funny, remember you and I had this discussion … did we decide it was east coast, west coast?
Jack: Yeah.
Jill: Cause, Jack goes well, hang on a minute everybody on the east coast … you try to do 80 hours, you’re like you show up on Friday going all right, I just put in 65 hours this week and you’re bragging about it.
Jack: Yeah, you get a trophy for suffering.
Jill: Yeah, not here.
Jack: You suffered the most, here’s your trophy.
Jill: No, west coat attitude is, is I’m done. I’m going now. Bye. See ya.
Jack: West coast thing is you get a trophy for hey, I pulled it off in 40 hours and now I’m gonna go surf.
Jill: Or 14.
Jack: Or 14, that’s right. And we’re still killing it. That’s right, Jill and I like that better.
Jill: Exactly. That’s always the way I’ve told our children and told employees that, hey, just because it takes that guy 8 hours and it takes you 4, that’s good. You don’t have to stretch it into 8 hours. Do your 4 and go. Escape.
Jack: Escape. Literally escape.
Jill: Do your 4. Now, that does not mean well, I’m done now I understand the concept in school, bye teacher I’m leaving. I know that this is middle school, but I’m done. No, it does not mean that.
Jack: Yeah, you never wanna be disrespectful, but … and Jill’s always … we haven’t talked about it in a while. Jill has this theory that, if you’re banging your head against the wall and it’s really hard for you … whatever you’re trying to accomplish and it’s just really hard …. stop it. Go do something else. [crosstalk 00:11:42] Do something that makes sense to you, like if it’s incredibly difficult for you to write a book … don’t do that then. This writer’s block thing cracks me up.
I have written a ton of stuff and there’s always 3 books that I’m in the middle of. I’ve never once in my life had writer’s block. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, it’s like I can’t get the words out of my head fast enough.
Jill: Right. What’s one thing, Jack, that you have tried to do, like career wise. Think of a job that you’ve tried and tried and tried and gave your heart and soul and man, it just did not come to you. Even not as a 9 to 5 job, like as an entrepreneur … what’s something that you tried and really thought you could do, and you said forget it, I’m out?
Jack: A commercial real estate broker. It was right out of college, that’s what I chose to do. Full commission and I did it and I made $40,000 the first year and half a million dollars the second year. It was full commission and I ate Ramen noodles, and the whole thing and I chucked it all and went and worked as an acquisition person. Cause I hated it and here’s what I hated about it … not the real estate, loved the real estate, loved the data, I love all the stuff when you’re sitting in an office, about everything to do with investing in real estate, what I can’t stand is the people. I can’t stand dealing with a client, who owns 25 buildings, who’s doing well financially and has the power to make a decision quickly and easily and they don’t. So I have to adjust to that.
So I walked away from having … it’s not the first time … I’ve done it several times in my life where I’ve walked out of half a million dollar a year gig. Cause I can’t deal with the people. I can’t politic and all the crap that goes along with it and deal with the power struggle and the whole boss thing and it’s just not my thing.
Jill: That’s good.
Jack: So I didn’t necessarily not succeed at it, I chucked it and I could do that, because I didn’t have children at the time and I was living in a $400 apartment. As it should be.
Jill: Right. That’s good.
Jack: You have choices when you don’t have anyone to support, and you don’t have any bills. You have a lot of choices and I made those choices and I made the right ones. Not every single time …
Jill: Sometimes you don’t know and that’s one thing I tell young people is … sometimes you don’t know until you get into it, if you’re really gonna like it or not. I’m sure going in to it you probably thought this was good or you wouldn’t have even tested the water. Sometimes you gotta get in and go, oh this is not what I thought.
Jack: It’s just like every relationship I’ve ever had with a girl, except you. This is not what I thought this was going to be.
Jill: This is not what I thought, man …
Jack: All the stuff said a month ago was not true at all …
Jill: I thought the last guy was bad, woo … oh my goodness, that’s hilarious.
Jack: All the stuff you told me from last month that’s not true at all.
Jill: You said we were going on a vacation, you didn’t tell me we were just going up to the …
Jack: I think that, sweetheart you may have misrepresented your level of psychosis.
Jill: Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Wow. That’s so funny. You think this is a nice dinner, oh boy it’s not how I thought this was gonna go. That’s so funny. Oh, I love it. Oh, that’s so good.
Jack: Join us in another episode where we discuss the kids are back in school, finally.
Jill: Yay! Woo-hoo!
Jack: What are you going to do with all this time that you have on your hands.
Jill: And we answer Luke’s question about accounting software, oh that’s exciting.
Jack: You are not alone in your real estate ambition. You know, some of these topics, Jill they seem silly but it’s very important.
Jill: I don’t think they’re silly. Do you think that I think they’re silly?
Jack: No, I know you don’t, but the 6 listeners we have do.
Jill: Oh yeah, 4 of them do. They emailed me.
Jack: Yeah, I failed to mention Mark Cuban, cause of you go on just research him at all … listen to some of the speeches he’s given, he’s just a huge advocate of just living in a house with just 10 guys and a mattress that isn’t even yours and doing what you want and just make sure you don’t have any bills … do what you want. If you’re with the program and worth your salt in any way you run the world right now. You don’t know it, but you do.
Jill: Right, well the key is to … this does not mean go abandon your wife and kids and come live in your friend’s garage.
Jack: No, that’s not what I mean at all.
Jill: Hey, you guys got this, I’ll be over here.
Jack: The way to not abandon your wife and kids is to not have any.
Jill: Right. You gotta do it the right way, but I just had to throw that in there because I think it’s funny.
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