Why Aren’t You Rich Yet (1028)
Why Aren’t You Rich Yet (1028)
Transcript:
Steven Butala: Steven and Jill here.
Jill DeWit: Hi.
Steven Butala: Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I’m Steven Jack Butala.
Jill DeWit: And I’m Jill DeWit, broadcasting from sunny Southern California.
Steven Butala: Today Jill and I talk about the topic why aren’t you rich yet.
Jill DeWit: Did I come up with this, or you come up with this?
Steven Butala: I did. I went back and forth on it. I’m like you know, but we need to talk about it.
Jill DeWit: But, and I’m going to not soften it, but I have a spin on it that I think you’ll like.
Steven Butala: Okay, good.
Jill DeWit: Okay good.
Steven Butala: 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 DeWit: Edgar asks, “A seller contacted me about a house that is a tear down that he inherited. Comps are all over the place, but the home isn’t really worth much. The land is zoned for multifamily and I need help analyzing this. I’m almost inclined to offer $120,000 just for the land, but then again, I don’t want to scare off the seller. Anyone interested, I’d be more than happy to provide the property address, et cetera. This will also be a great partnership offer, so anyone with this kind of capital would be great, and either tips and hints will be greatly appreciated.” I like these.
Steven Butala: Edgar, I’m not picking on you, but I chose this for a reason and it’s not pretty.
Jill DeWit: Uh oh.
Steven Butala: This is exactly why people fail at doing a real estate deal and they get out of this business forever, and it’s tragic. Every week people come to Jill and I and they say, “hey, I got this deal,” and it’s all over the map. I’ve been approached by people that have land in Costa Rica and stuff. This deal wasn’t generated from a mailer, meaning you didn’t go through it. This is data week, by the way. This is the last part of data week, last episode.
Steven Butala: When you put a mailer together, and if you do it according to how we teach it and how we mentor it, there’s a tremendous amount of brain power, and knowledge, and tools, and access to tools, and assessor data, and all kinds of stuff to ensure that you’re not going to fail. That there’s pricing methodologies and comparison values and all kinds of algorithmic, incredible intelligence that goes into pricing a mailer so that when somebody opens their mail on their kitchen table in the morning and they’re having a cup of coffee, and it says, “Hey, I’d like to buy property in Nevada or wherever for $32,314.18.” That’s not an accident.
Steven Butala: When I hear a question like this, “Hey, my buddy called and I got this property, he inherited it, he doesn’t understand, and I’m thinking about $120,000. What do you think?” That you’re setting yourself up to ridiculously fail.
Jill DeWit: Exactly right.
Steven Butala: And it’s insulting. It’s insulting to everybody who is a professional real estate investor. They’re just kind of tick, have a beer and throw a dart at the board and $120, $130, $140, $95,000, I don’t know.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Steven Butala: Edgar, I’m not picking on you specifically, I’m just saying there’s way more into it that goes into this than just picking a property and trying to see what happens.
Jill DeWit: Exactly.
Steven Butala: In fact, I would go so far as to say this, and I’m not saying it to you, I’m saying it’s everybody. I mean, is this how you run your life? Let’s just see what happens.
Jill DeWit: You have me scared now.
Steven Butala: This is loosey goosey attitude about it. I mean do you pick a woman that way.
Jill DeWit: [crosstalk 00:03:46]
Steven Butala: Maybe I’ll just take her out and see what happens. Or do you have like a type, because the last 30 that you went out with that didn’t work. You can’t do … Every answer to every question that you have, including this one here, should I do this deal is what you’re really asking, is in your pocket.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Steven Butala: The datasets are right smack in your pocket or in your purse.
Jill DeWit: Be strategic and have a purpose. Don’t waiver. We’ve even done that. Now we can handle multiple property types, but when I was first starting you taught me the right way too. It just kind of stuck with what I know. Stick with what you know and build on it and grow, and build on it and grow. If I had got distracted like this or everything’s something shiny coming at me, hey there’s something over here and something over there, I wouldn’t get anything done and I’d be doing them all wrong. So thank you.
Steven Butala: When these deals come up, if you’re a member please listen to this for sure, like stop what you’re doing and listen because these are going to, the more successful you get the more times this is going to happen to you. If you’re a member and your brother in law calls and says, “Hey, I know you’ve been doing great, you got a new car and the whole thing.” That always happens. It happens to us still. “My grandmother’s got this house and it’s in Las Vegas and there’s this, she’s having trouble selling it.” This is what you need to say. “Man, you’re awesome and I love having beer with you on holidays, but that’s just not how this works. We run data sets. This is pretty intense. We run datasets. We do this, we do this, we do this, and so there’s actually not a price that you’re grandmother’s house, we’re just not going to approach the deal that way-
Jill DeWit: It’s not going to work for us at all.
Steven Butala: 19 deals on my desk that I’m doing right now.
Jill DeWit: Right.
Steven Butala: That’s not how to source deals when someone calls just like that.
Jill DeWit: Thank you.
Steven Butala: Today’s topic, why aren’t you rich yet. Oh, wait a minute. That actually was just like, that’s what the … It taps into what we we’re just talking about.
Jill DeWit: I agree.
Steven Butala: This is the meat of the show. Take it away, Jill. I talked enough.
Jill DeWit: Thank you.
Steven Butala: I ranted enough.
Jill DeWit: You did a little bit. I was like, uh oh. Trying to save you Edgar. I love it. You know what’s funny, I have one right now with deal funding and it’s from the kid downstairs in our office buildings. it’s like “Hey, so-and-so just presented this to me. I thought this would be curved for you guys,” so he put it in deal funding. He’s about to get a big fat no thank you. That’s now how, and I don’t mean to pick on anybody, but that’s not how we do them. I’m not going to … That’s not how you found it. We don’t do one offs like this. [crosstalk 00:06:16]
Steven Butala: I don’t ever do a deal unless it’s mail generated.
Jill DeWit: Exactly. I’m sorry, but yeah, it just doesn’t … We need to come at it the right way. Like the topic, you wrote why aren’t you rich yet. I rewrote the topic myself in my head and on my notes, which is why aren’t you blank yet. fill in the blank.
Steven Butala: I like it.
Jill DeWit: Because whatever it is. Why aren’t you sending mail yet? Why aren’t you married yet? Why aren’t you graduated yet?
Steven Butala: Married?
Jill DeWit: No, I’m not kidding. Dream it up. Whatever you want. It doesn’t, it’s who are we to decide what it is. Why aren’t you doing it yet? That’s really what this is all about, I think. I came up with, there’s usually two reasons. These are my quick notes.
Steven Butala: I love this.
Jill DeWit: Okay. Two reasons why you aren’t blank yet. Number one is you have a fear of failing. Number two is you have a fear of succeeding.
Steven Butala: Fear of succeeding?
Jill DeWit: Yes. Oh yes, people … Come on, it goes both ways. There’s fears of failing, which I think we’re more more used. What if I … I can’t … I’m going to go through the … Say I want to be a helicopter pilot, I’m just grabbing that out of the air. I really want to do this, but you have a fear of what if I can’t pass the test? What if I’m not that good? What if I run out of money? It’s all expensive. All these things that could come up that you manufacture are keeping you from doing it. Then there are people, I believe, I know this is true, that they’re afraid of doing it because they’re afraid of doing it right and being successful. Because, well shoot, then it’s going to be more work.
Steven Butala: [crosstalk 00:07:56]
Jill DeWit: Yeah, but then I’m going to have to-
Steven Butala: Is that lazy?
Jill DeWit: Whatever you want to call it, it’s more responsibility. I know I have friends right now that go, “Wow, I could never do that.” Well A, yeah, you can, you’re just afraid of it. I know I have other friends too that are fearful of starting their own company because they’re fearful of the responsibility of employees, and payroll, and taxes, and all the things that come around having your own business and having your own company, and being successful. It’s a little scary for them. It’s not that they can’t do it, they’re just afraid of it. You’ve got to figure out are you afraid of failing or are you afraid of succeeding. It’s usually one or the other. Then, how do I get past all that.
Jill DeWit: I’ve got two things that you should do. Once you figure out what it is and which one’s in your way, I’ve got two things to help you solve this. One is you need to sit yourself down and you really need to have a heart to heart chat with yourself. I am not kidding. You need to really maybe take a weekend, maybe take a week, I don’t know what it is for you. Go off somewhere and really sit down, chat with yourself and figure it out. What are you doing holding yourself back, and what are you going to do to commit to it now? You have to really say you know what … I’ve talked to people about this. I’ve had some really, really stellar consulting calls.
Jill DeWit: This is the one of the things that people talk to me about. It’s interesting because I can think of a gentleman in particular that was with us for a while, stopped Land Academy for a while, came back and he had his heart to heart chat with himself, and then just to hit it home to him he scheduled a consulting call with me just to go through it all again. He’s like, “you know, Jill, that’s why I’m here. I had a heart to heart with myself and I knew that the reason I wasn’t successful before it was because of me. I let my life get in the way and I’m not doing that anymore. I’ve already had the conversation with myself. I would like to have a …” He was calling me to have a hit it home conversation with me too, and go over some other things that we could, so we make sure it doesn’t happen again and those things.
Jill DeWit: That’s number one. Then the second thing that is really helpful. After you have that conversation with yourself and you’re home and you’re committed and you’ve got this and you’re not stopping now, the next best thing you can do is surround yourself with the same people. Get yourself … Say you want to get on a workout routine. You know, this is a common thing that we talk about. It’s easy for everybody to identify with, like I want to get in shape. Well first you’ve got to sit yourself down and say, “all right, knock it off. Put down the candy bar.” You know kind of thing.
Steven Butala: Put the [crosstalk 00:10:43]
Jill DeWit: Whatever it is, what am I doing, knock it off. I need to make that mental shift and commit. Number two is all right, now I’m going to be in the gym every day. One of the things about going to the gym every day is you’re around all the right people. When you’re around all those people and you get into it, you get inspired, you get motivated and you won’t stop. What is funny?
Steven Butala: I’m on a diet right now called Put The Cheeseburger Down. That’s the name of it.
Jill DeWit: Yes. Is that your own diet? You made that up?
Steven Butala: Yes. That’s the title. That’s the title and all the content.
Jill DeWit: I love it.
Steven Butala: Go ahead. You’re on a roll.
Jill DeWit: That’s a good, that would be a good book title, put the cheeseburger down. Fatty. Did I just say that? I’m sorry. That’s awful. Yes. That’s really good. That’s really, really good.
Jill DeWit: All right, so let me run this by you. Not to throw you under the bus-
Steven Butala: Throw me.
Jill DeWit: But I have to say this is totally true. Here’s what happens in our house. Steven will, you’ve already had the conversation, put the cheeseburger down. That was your own mental thing right? Then for me is now, and I know you’ve done that, you take it a step further and you try to surround yourself with the right people. So what do you do, you sit the whole family down, which is true, saying, “hey everyone, I would really like to say can we change the way we eat our dinners, or what we buy at the grocery store for the next however many time period.” Then you’ve even taken a step further and said, “if that doesn’t work for you, I will eat separately over here. I just want you all to know that’s what’s going on with me.” That’s a perfect example.
Steven Butala: I love it. I mean there are some businesses that I know are very profitable that I won’t touch. It has to do with how balance sheet insensitive they are, like manufacturing. I have no interest in signing a lease personally guaranteeing a heavy industrial complex, that’s 50, 70, 80, 100,000 feet metal stamping or whatever, heavy industrial for car parts or government contracting. I also, on the flip side of that, have friends, multiple friends because I grew up in Detroit who are multi billionaires because they own companies like that and that was within their risk threshold. That’s really what we’re talking about.
Steven Butala: Jill said she has friends and they don’t want to have employees. They don’t want to go through it.
Jill DeWit: They’re afraid.
Steven Butala: Well what that is is it’s out of their, you can call it afraid, but men don’t like that word-
Jill DeWit: Excuse me. I’m sorry.
Jill DeWit: I’m sorry, what’s-
Steven Butala: It’s just beyond your risk threshold.
Jill DeWit: Got It. Excuse me. Hold please. I’ll make a note of that. No, this is good. I’m going to use this every … Is this beyond your risk threshold?
Steven Butala: I’m very comfortable making data driven decisions in front of a desk and building a team, a close team, around me that I trust and they trust me. We have a lot of fun while we’re doing it and count the money. Beyond that, these balance sheet intensive type businesses like manufacturing or, I don’t know, owning a fleet of boats, that’s not, that’s never been my kind of thing. Or like, you know what’s very profitable Jill, I have a friend who inherited a company that’s, they rent construction, heavy construction equipment.
Jill DeWit: Cranes and things like that.
Steven Butala: Yeah, cranes. We have two friends that actually do that. Very successfully. Crazy successful. All that balance sheet maintenance and all that, that’s beyond my risk threshold.
Jill DeWit: Yeah [crosstalk 00:14:22].
Steven Butala: That’s not to say I wouldn’t get-
Jill DeWit: On the hook for a $5 million crane that I rented out for $100,000 a day.
Steven Butala: The other set of friends we have are on the hook for billions of dollars worth of equipment, literally. That’s not something I’m interested in and that’s probably why really I’ll never be a billionaire. I’m not willing to take that much risk. I am willing to to buy and sell tons of real estate at any given time. For some reason, it just makes sense to me.
Jill DeWit: I agree.
Steven Butala: But if you want to be rich and you’re like, what the heck, I don’t get it. All you’ve got to do is just take it step by step.
Jill DeWit: Yup.
Steven Butala: Surround, like Jill said. It’s what you Jill said.
Jill DeWit: Thank you.
Steven Butala: I don’t think it’s fear. I think it’s really just having a plan and executing and getting yourself out of your comfort zone.
Jill DeWit: Okay.
Steven Butala: Once you get way out of your comfort zone, that becomes your comfort zone.
Jill DeWit: That’s true.
Steven Butala: Then when you get older you can reel yourself back in. Like I don’t want to go look at real estate anymore, ever. I used to all the time. Because I don’t like it. Send somebody else out there.
Jill DeWit: Exactly. That’s true. That’s true. That was good.
Steven Butala: I think Jill and I in the end basically said the exact same thing in a much different way.
Jill DeWit: Because that, was that okay with your risk threshold?
Steven Butala: Yeah. I think we said the same thing just with different ways.
Jill DeWit: I know, I’m teasing. You’re right.
Steven Butala: It was good.
Jill DeWit: I love it.
Steven Butala: Hey, we know your time’s valuable. Thanks for spending some of it with us today. Join us next time for the episode called Tax Deed Investing Explained.
Jill DeWit: And we answer your questions posted on our online community found at landinvestors.com. It is free.
Steven Butala: You are not alone in your real estate ambition.
Jill DeWit: Hopefully you’re watching this here on YouTube. If you are, you’re catching all this comical stuff going on behind us. If you have not found our YouTube channel, you should because there’s not only this nuttiness behind us, but where there’s all kinds of other great, informative, detailed videos and more training and instruction is coming.
Steven Butala: Exactly.
Jill DeWit: Thank you. And wherever you’re watching or wherever you’re listening, please subscribe and rate us there.
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