From Selling Viagra To $25MM In Affordable Housing

From Selling Viagra To $25MM In Affordable Housing | Disruptors Podcast

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Tom Lehman: Three week was just crazy because it didn't matter, money was there. Oh, you wanna go listen to some DJ and IBs? Let's just go, come on, who cares? Let's how many people? A ten, nine?

Look, come on, we're gone. Party didn't end, we would go out starting Wednesday and get done sometime on Monday. I got pulled over for DUI, the cop didn't arrest me because we give them all stuff stuff for free. A woman came down who's like my other mom. She comes out of the condo, she sees me, doesn't say a word, that night she says you're just like your father.

And my dad who was a a holocaust survivor but alcoholic as well, right? He had his demons being a survivor. And I just remember the alcohol being a fuel for a problem. I just quit everything. Done.

Never touched it again. None of it.

Steve Trang: Welcome, and thank you for joining us for today's episode of disruptors where millionaires are made. Today, we have Tom Lehman with property solutions team, and Tom flew in from Orlando, Florida to share how he went from selling Viagra to $25,000,000 in affordable housing in 2024. Guys, I'm on a mission to create a 100 millionaires. The information on the show alone is enough to help you become a millionaire in the next five to seven years. If you'll take consistent action, you will become one.

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Tom: Go.

Steve: Alright. So, I am fired up. Amanda keeps telling me how awesome you are and how I need to have you on this show. Amanda Dean, your coach.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Right? And so She's the hard person

Tom: there at Sharper too. Like, if you want hard person, you bring in Amanda.

Steve: She is not one to let you get away with any

Tom: that. I brought her into my operations team, and I walked out. But two weeks later, they were like, she's right. I'm like, don't tell her. Don't tell me.

Mhmm. I know she's right.

Steve: Yeah. Well, we we had a call yesterday. Yeah. It was yesterday. And I was complaining about something.

Like, here's a problem I'm dealing with. She's like, well, I told you that's gonna be

Tom: a problem.

Steve: I was like, you did tell me that

Tom: was a problem. I hate that. You're not my wife. I hear that from her too.

Steve: Yeah. So alright. So starting off. Right? Your story goes back quite a bit.

So, I mean, I think probably the click baity part, selling Viagra. Right? Yeah. Because we're gonna be talking about how you, sold 25,000,000 affordable housing, which is a lot more. What's the word I'm I'm looking for?

Probably fulfilling?

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Right? But

Tom: when you're a broke grad student, that that first job selling Viagra was fulfilling.

Steve: Yeah. So let's talk about that. So broke grad student. Mhmm. So talk talk to me about this journey.

Tom: Well, I graduated from, Emory, had a master's. I went to go work for Pfizer. But when I transferred from Life College in chiropractic, I was behind.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: So then I graduated behind, and then their progress started.

Steve: In school for chiropractor?

Tom: Yeah. Yep. Okay. Down in Atlanta, Life College. And I switched over because the insurance laws were changing.

It was just gonna be a mess, I thought. I was going back to New Jersey to where where I was from. And so then I was we had summer we had to do work study programs, and I was working at the Olympics Mhmm. When they had the Olympic bombings no less. I had just left, and K.

The professor from Emery was there. We we hit it off. He liked my sense of humor. He's from up up north too. And he got me a scholarship.

That's what I needed to go to school because I couldn't afford to pay for it for sure. Yeah. And when I finished, I was behind. I had a job offer from Pfizer, went to it, but I had to wait eight months for the next rollover program.

Steve: Got it.

Tom: So it's either go home. I don't have any money. Mhmm. Or take a job. They put me in ready, pharmaceutical sales.

Mhmm. Rest, I never worked to use my degree ever again.

Steve: Got it. Gonna move the mic just a little bit closer to you.

Tom: Yep. They can fix

Steve: this and edit later on. Perfect. Okay. Okay. So you're in a situation here.

Go home, which is back in Atlanta

Tom: or something? No. Back in New Jersey, but a back job. Right?

Steve: So go back to home with no money No money. Or work until you graduate.

Tom: Oh, no. I'm graduated. Oh, you're But I had to wait for their program to start for me.

Steve: What's their program?

Tom: Well, I was gonna be a, an assistant in a laboratory.

Steve: Oh, I see. So you're gonna use your degree.

Tom: I was gonna use my degree. I thought I was. Right?

Steve: You're gonna use your degree Yeah. But but you couldn't start for eight months.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: So why don't we just sell this other thing over here?

Tom: Yeah. They're like, hey. Well, we'll give you a job, and you'll go over here and and do this. Like, I didn't figure I wouldn't sell anything, and I just like, I'm I guess, I'm a natural salesman.

Steve: Yeah. Okay. So go sell this other thing.

Tom: Yeah. Viagra turned up. Yeah. It was just coming out back then.

Steve: Was this, like, back when it was, like, blood pressure medication?

Tom: No. No. It was for the ED and everything, but it was just you had to go to a doctor. The Internet wasn't around yet. This is the nineties.

Okay. You had it. Remember, you dial up, but there was no online doctors. You had to go see your guy. Mhmm.

Well, I can sell pretty good. Mhmm. I talk okay. I play golf back then. Mhmm.

Not that I'm married the second time. I don't even know where my clubs are. Forget that idea. But it just was history after that. I just crushed it.

Steve: So selling medicine is a little bit different. So walk me through, like, Pfizer, did they have a great sales training program?

Tom: They had a great sales pre but you really need it because you they give you a box of samples. Mhmm. So the world is different today than it was twenty five years ago, thirty years ago. Yeah. Things weren't so regulated.

People weren't so dumb. Mhmm. Let's just say that. Okay?

Steve: Less sophisticated.

Tom: Yes. The no one's eating Tide Pods back then. And, you know, once the doctors had it and the patients had it, they were signed up. It was done. It was done.

Steve: Yeah. It was an easy sell.

Tom: It was you didn't have to go I don't wanna sell anything else. Let me just do stay in my lane and crush this. Right? And, did really well, and then they were doing a merger a few years later with, AHP. But I had a contract because I had a master's degree.

Mhmm. I didn't even know what a buyout was, so they offered me a buyout. I'm about to get married for the first time, and I call my accountant who he is my college roommate's dad. He says, hey. You're an idiot.

You knew me. He says, sign this before you get married. I'll explain it later. And he was right. I signed before I got married, so it wasn't a marital asset as in New Jersey.

But when we divorced, like, three years later, because that's all we were kids, stupid stuff. Mhmm. That's what I, built my next business on Mhmm. Because I took that money and ran with it.

Steve: Okay. So you get the buyout. Yep.

Tom: So I took in stock options. It tripled. We did really well. I leveraged that into health food stores.

Steve: So, I mean, you feel comfortable sharing, like, what the buyout was for amount?

Tom: I mean, when it came triple to one, I I had about 800 k.

Steve: Okay.

Tom: So about a year.

Steve: So that was pretty good to go start off the next thing. So Mhmm. Was it a buyout because you weren't gonna be able to sell?

Tom: Well, no. Because they were using the other people's sales team versus ours.

Steve: Oh, so your opportunity was basically going out the

Tom: window. Gone. Yep. I was gonna leave, take the buyout. I was like, alright.

Cool. Right? Yeah. You're gonna give me what? Money?

Money to quit. This is different. Right? Remember, I grew I grew up dirt poor. I don't know anything about that kind of world.

Yeah. You know? And so then I, what I put myself through college with a lot of was health food. Mhmm. I was into supplements.

I used to do bodybuilding and all that. And now I had money to build stores, and it was that was really cool. We just blew it up. I hired somebody to come in and build juice bars when juice bars weren't the thing. I bought an interest in the first gym I ever trained at in high school.

I'm like, oh, I get to own the gym I used to go to. This is cool. Right? And then we ended up being in New York sports club, workout world, and then, dumb thing, my other roommate from grad school who went back to Miami says, hey. Let's go do this in Miami.

And I'm like, yeah. Cool. What could go wrong?

Steve: Of course.

Tom: A lot can go wrong in Miami. Yeah. And

Steve: it Okay. So you get your buyout. So, like and I know you said you grew up poor, but, like, it seems like you had good thing after good thing after good thing happened. And then you take the buyout, take that money, and you invest, and you're still having good luck

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Along the way.

Tom: Until I go to Miami.

Steve: Until you go to Miami. So, like, there weren't, like, really any challenges. You're buying this, buying that. No challenges. And then Miami.

World.

Tom: Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Steve: What happened in Miami?

Tom: Because think of young, dumb, money, Miami.

Steve: Are we talking about you here?

Tom: Yeah. I'm talking about me. Okay.

Steve: Because I'm

Tom: not I'm not young anymore. Hopefully, I'm not as dumb, but, definitely, back then, I was. And, everything you can do wrong in Miami with money, I did. Mhmm.

Steve: I

Tom: had 11 cars. None of them made in America. I had 12 car garage at one point too.

Steve: Okay.

Tom: So I just I couldn't What

Steve: was the best car?

Tom: The best one.

Steve: Your favorite car?

Tom: My so I had one of I had an SL 55 AMG. Mhmm. But it was a Euro edition. Had no governor. I think it would fly.

Okay. Right? And that was my thing back then. Now I have a Chevy. Okay?

So it's just I learned differently. Right?

Steve: Preferences now.

Tom: And the company owns the car. I don't. Yeah. Because I was stupid Mhmm. With money.

Steve: So you bought all these cars?

Tom: I bought them. Yes.

Steve: And and a and a house with a 12 car garage?

Tom: I had a house on Pine Tree Drive, which is on the Intercoastal Waterway Mhmm. And a condo across the street.

Steve: Okay. So I haven't heard any bad financial decisions yet. Like, what we're we're

Tom: getting Those cars were bad. They were just depreciating assets. Right?

Steve: Aren't they? Yeah. Okay. So young Dumb. With money.

Okay. So then was it just you were just blowing money on personal stuff, or were there also, like, bad financial challenges and

Tom: No. Just the personal stuff. Just doing stupid. You know? Okay.

Things I would never do today. But, you know, I'm gonna be honest because we're gonna be here. Like, I had a great substance abuse issue there that money could never have a problem with. Mhmm. All this money coming in, well, who cares.

Right? Mhmm. And then what you know, literally, a woman came down who's like my other mom, and my dad who was a a Holocaust survivor but an alcoholic as well. I got pulled over for DUI. The cop didn't arrest me because we give them all stuff for free.

He made me sit on a curb for four hours, though, in the heat. Mhmm. She comes out of the condo. She sees me, doesn't say a word. That night, she says, you're just like your father.

Quit everything immediately. No drinking, no drugs ever again ever.

Steve: What what's this in the But she said

Tom: you're just like your father.

Steve: But what's the what's the thing about the father that is

Tom: My father was an alcoholic. It was a horrible childhood. Right? He had his demons being a survivor. Okay?

And I just remember the alcohol being a fuel for problems, and I just quit everything.

Steve: And then cold turkey.

Tom: Done. Never touched it again. None of it. I'll have a drink every once in a while Mhmm. But never the other stuff for sure.

Yeah. And, but I left I had a I became a shut into Miami because I had I couldn't go out ever again because that's what Miami was.

Steve: Trying to be sober there.

Tom: I lasted four months, and then I moved to California. Yeah. But it was 08/00/2009, so the world was ending anyway, wasn't it?

Steve: Yeah. So then you go there. You blow your money, but, like, your business is still up and running.

Tom: Mhmm. And then

Steve: you mentioned, like, time period wise. Right? Like, so, like, you

Tom: We just went yep. We just went from '97 to, like, o nine.

Steve: So I I don't wanna gloss over this thing here, but you mentioned the substance substance

Tom: abuse. Right?

Steve: I imagine it's an integral part of your story.

Tom: I mean, it wasn't that like, that was Miami for me. I could tell you. I don't remember.

Steve: How long were you?

Tom: Oh, probably a good decade I was, a huge hit there.

Steve: Yeah. But, like, you're making all this money at the same time. Mhmm. So you had the business acumen. Mhmm.

Tom: You had

Steve: a lot of financial success, and then you were funding basically everyone else's

Tom: Party. Like, people would come and hang out with me to party.

Steve: So you were like, hey. You wanna go party? You wanna go hang out with

Tom: us? Let's just go let's just go hang out. Right? And that was a lifestyle.

Steve: Got it. So outside, besides this one right here where, like, the cop just left you there in the in the car for hours

Tom: It's hot.

Steve: Were there other, like, situations? There were other, like, eye opening moments, or it was just like, this is like Wolf of Wall Street. What are we talking about?

Tom: Yeah. No. There was. It was you know, so I knew better. I was raised better by my mom for sure.

You know? I'm I'm back walking in my faith for sure today, but I walked away from God at that point. Because I was married. She stayed in New Jersey. I lived in Miami.

That's not what I'm supposed to do. Is

Steve: this a three year marriage?

Tom: Yeah. But we were separated. Mhmm. Like, because it was better than getting divorced because I didn't have to get married to anybody else. Because I'm living with a woman here.

I got whatever. Dumb stuff as kids can do. But, you know, I always look at it as, you know, what a screw up, and then god still took care of me later on.

Steve: Yeah. You

Tom: know? Because I realized and did better, and I learned better. You know?

Steve: What's the craziest thing that happened during those crazy years?

Tom: God. The craziest. Mhmm. Like, every week was just crazy because it didn't matter. Money was there.

Mhmm. And it was like, oh, you wanna go listen to some DJ and IBs? Let's just go. Come on. Who cares?

Steve: Let's how

Tom: many people? A ten, nine? Look, mom. We're gone. Right?

Steve: Yeah. We

Tom: were more worried about like, it wasn't even, like, the amount of drugs we would take on the plane with us. Never had a problem because this was pre 09:11 too. Mhmm. So the dumb stuff we did, like, it was just a matter of norm. Okay?

Yeah. The party didn't end. We would go out starting Wednesday and get done sometime on Monday. That was the norm.

Steve: You had entourage, though. It was your entourage.

Tom: Yeah. Yeah.

Steve: How are you funding all this?

Tom: We were profiting sometimes a 100 k a week in the business.

Steve: What was the business?

Tom: In the health food stores.

Steve: The health food stores is you're making 100 k.

Tom: All of them together, 100 k a week sometimes.

Steve: This is between Jersey and Miami?

Tom: Or New York. New Jersey, Miami.

Steve: Yep. In three markets?

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Wow. So, I mean, you were a massive success.

Tom: And just draining it into my nose and other people's noses and the clubs and the bars, like because when you grow up poor, you don't know how to hold on to this dollar.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: And that's a problem for people because you don't know how to use it, hold on to it. I learned better today for sure.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: You know, financial literacy was not something I thought about. I think, dude, this is never gonna end.

Steve: Well, party never ends. Music never stops.

Tom: It does one day. It does. It does. And you realize it. And, you know, because the lifestyle I'm watching my friends go to rehab.

I'm watching people die. Okay? Because, you know, the amount of drugs was there was there. Mhmm. You know, it's not glamorous.

People think it is. It's not. Mhmm. You know, I I was just in Miami a few months ago. You know what?

I was in Brickell. I'm looking at the bridge over. Nope. Not going over. Mhmm.

We own a condo over there. Oh, wave at the condo. That's it. Staying in a hotel. Right?

Because I I I know my boundaries today. Right? It doesn't call me. It is not a problem, but why put myself over there? You know?

Yeah. I don't like being out after 09:30. 09:30 at night. I'm out. No.

No. No. I'm not. You know?

Steve: So I think this part about money is so important because you didn't have a problem. Zero problems making money.

Tom: Still don't.

Steve: But the problem was what do you do when you get the money? Mhmm. So there are people that are listening right now that are some people, hey. How how do I make money? But other people, like, I'm making a lot of money, but it's going out just as fast as coming in.

So what will you say to your younger self who doesn't have the right mindset about money?

Tom: Put better people around you. Learn about it, first of all. Don't just trust the people. Learn it. Okay?

Because, you know, you could be like those NFL guys who hire the accountant or this. They don't know what they're doing with their money. Learn what to do with your money.

Steve: Mhmm. You

Tom: know, look. I'm in real estate, so my money is all in real estate. Yeah. Okay? We're diversified a little bit, but not much.

It's all intangible items and some precious metals and stuff like that. We do private lending with our IRAs. I learned how to do that. My kids have IRAs now. Mhmm.

They're paid employees of the company. Yeah. They own houses already. My 16 year old who's super smart. He's Indian smart.

Right? You see that's my wife is Indian. Super smart. In in college in eleventh grade. Okay?

He's gonna be a CPA. He's like, hey, pop. Do you need CPAs? I'm like, yeah. Yeah.

We do. Mhmm. What what what are you paying? I'm not gonna pay you that yet. But, I taught him this already Mhmm.

Because he asked good question. We read books together because I want them not to have the mistakes I I made. Sure. You know?

Steve: But there's the educational component. Right? And there's, you know, there's Dave Ramsey. Like, we don't Mhmm. Not popular in our circles, but it's something out there for financial education.

Tom: Right. But do you believe in it? Like, I don't I there's debt, and there's good debt.

Steve: Right. But I'm saying, like, there's information that's available, but there's an also an element of permission of allowing yourself to keep the money. Mhmm. Was there anything as far as mental blockage that was, like, preventing you from keeping the money, or you felt like you had to spend it?

Tom: I just felt like I want that. I want that. I want that. Mhmm. I don't have that in my brain anymore.

Steve: Yeah. So what what shifted besides not having things to blow it on because you got sober, was there anything else you did or realization or exercise that changed your relationship with money?

Tom: When I when I look back over it, I just looked at what a waste. Mhmm. K? I didn't I never sat there and accounted for it because that's how it made me cry. But I said, man, if I ever do this again, this will never happen.

Mhmm. Right? I'll never live that way because it was a waste. It was a waste of resources. It was a waste of gifts and talents, but of people too because of what the wreckage that lifestyle does to people.

Yeah. Okay? Like, this this year, some guy reached out who to me who follows me on Instagram because we made a, a video about, like, dump stuff in Miami. And he was too young to be in that circle. And he still glamorized, and I'm like, dude, no.

You're wrong. Like, you missed all of it because people are dead who overdosed, and, you know, he was too young to come hang out. Mhmm. He used to work in one of my stores. He still glamorized it.

Like, this kid who lives in the suburbs, his parents gave him a Lexus. And he's coming to store. His name, was Darren. And I was like, hey, Darren. How you doing?

He's like, yo. Hard living, yo. I'm like, how the hell is hard living? You're from the suburbs. Parents just bought you a Lexus.

That's 40 in the nineties. What's hard about that? Right? But he still glamorized that life. Yeah.

And there's nothing to glamorize about it.

Steve: So you moved to California.

Tom: Pacific Beach in La Jolla.

Steve: PB. I I went to grad school in La Jolla, so it's been some time to

Tom: see sea lions. Right? That was just like your kid from New York is like, what the heck? Those are real?

Steve: So did you keep the businesses?

Tom: Nope. No. Walked away? Because o 08/2009, things were dying. Right?

Our sales just dropped. People could so Miami was the epicenter for this mortgage.

Steve: I remember all those condos. They overbuilt bad.

Tom: But besides the overbuilt, they were doing such fraud. Okay? And it was like last man holding the chair gets stuck with the note. Right? Mhmm.

They took a neighborhood from $100,000 homes to half 1,000,000. Mhmm. And, you know, the whole tax base was destroyed there because it was just flipping scams. But we had just stores, and my partner down there said, hey. I I wanna keep them.

He has family money. So whatever made a deal, I walk away. And it took about a year and a half, eighteen months off just to refocus. Then I went into consulting. They people recruited me to get into some I wasn't a consultant, but I was a a business development coordinator.

Yeah. That was really cool because every day is a different business you get to learn about.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: That I liked. I don't like going to the same thing every day.

Steve: Sure. And then so the Jersey and New York, you just shut them down?

Tom: Just shut them down. I I went back, like, twice in twenty years now.

Steve: Okay. So then become business development.

Tom: What was it? Coordinator.

Steve: Coordinator. And then this kinda floated it to like, you kinda did this for how long?

Tom: About eight years out of California, and then my mom had cancer. My mom lives in, of all places, Polk County, Florida. So we've she retired. She moves down with a bunch of the elderly ladies down there. That's the

Steve: one we always see in the news?

Tom: Always in the news. Yeah. Crazy sheriff.

Steve: Butterfly. The butterfly bellows, that's different.

Tom: Yeah. That's that's different. But you can look up Polk County sheriff. Right? He's he's a funny guy.

Okay?

Steve: Okay.

Tom: So I'm living in La Jolla, and Polk County used to be the meth capital of Florida. Probably still is. Okay. Yeah. And next thing you know, mom has cancer, and I'm back there.

Yeah. Just left. But the main office was in Florida, but they said, hey. If you just leave California, we're not gonna give you a job. I'm like, I don't care.

My mom's in trouble. I'm gone. Mhmm. But then four months later, they called and said, hey. You want a job?

Like, alright. Cool.

Steve: Okay. Good.

Tom: Alright. Yeah. But I but, you know, I had to make sure she had cancer on her face. Mhmm. And they had to dig out, like, a gouge of her cheek.

Mhmm. And then they took her butt skin and put it on her face. So I always just say to her, you know, you want me to kiss your ass. So here here I am. Okay?

And, but everything she wanted from me in life, she got then. Yeah. I never wanted to get married again. I got married within a year. I never wanted to be a father because of how my father was.

Boom. I got a I adopted my, basically, my my son now for my wife, and now we have another child. Mhmm. My mom got to see all that. She got to see everything she wanted, the best, hopefully, the best version of me as we continue.

Steve: You're saying that you honored your mom's like she has some wishes, and then you honor those wishes? Is that

Tom: what you said? Them by choice. It just happened. Right? A woman I knew introduced me to my wife today.

Right? It was magic because I swore I would never get married.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: And and she's Indian, so I always tell her she's, like, spiked the curry. Right? Because next thing you know, like, ninety days, we're talking about getting married. I'm like, who why am I doing this? Best decision of my life.

You know, and then, you know, children. If I could have a dozen more, I would. Yeah. Because if you ask me what I do, I'm their dad. I'm not an entrepreneur.

I'm Aiden Elle's dad. Mhmm. Because that's my job.

Steve: Got it. So then you went to go take care of your mom, and then how long did you stay in Florida? Are you still in Florida?

Tom: I'm still in Florida. Yeah. You never get me out of there.

Steve: Never get you out of there? No. Why

Tom: not? Taxes.

Steve: Kind of a big deal.

Tom: Kind of a big deal. California and New York, man. Yeah. You know? But I do like Phoenix, man.

The desert heat. Oh, man. We're coming back for Christmas.

Steve: Why?

Tom: The snowball, man. Because I can go up in the mountains, have snow. If I wanna get hot, I just come down.

Steve: It's true. It's true. Okay. So you go to Florida. You're out of a job.

They're like, you're leaving. You're gone. But then they call you back. Please come back.

Tom: Yep. How long

Steve: are you doing that?

Tom: So I did that for about another two years. But now when we're working in the main office, I don't need to be managed at all. I'm a I'm a I'm an achiever. I'm just I'm I'm gonna take care of it. But I'm still managing California business, so I'm not done at 05:00.

Mhmm. But I was getting micromanaged. And I have tattoos. I always knew I could never have anything but a long sleeve shirt. Company picnic, long sleeve shirt.

I got you. Mhmm. So whenever I would leave, if I didn't come to the office before I went on a call or appointment, a guy would call me. He would FaceTime me. When was this?

This is This is 2015.

Steve: 2015?

Tom: 2015, 2016. He would FaceTime me. I'm like, I you know, I'm not and then till finally had enough at one day where he's calling me back to back to back. I'm in the bathroom at the urinal. He keeps calling me on.

So I I accepted it like this, face down. And then yeah. And and then I resigned. Right? I just said I'm done.

You know? But we're friends because I walked out like that. I said, dude, I can't I can't work with you. Mhmm. I'm gonna kill you.

But we're two guys from New York have attitudes. Mhmm. And so my secretary called. His secretary called, but his wife called. And she's like, what happened?

I'm like, I'm gonna kill Lou. She's like, everybody wants to kill Lou. Mhmm. Then I told her what happened. She laughed.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: And we're still friends.

Steve: Okay. You know? So it wasn't the incident. You resigned. You didn't get fired.

Tom: No. He wouldn't have fired me over that. He would have yelled. Right? Because, you know, because I'm I'm hitting all the numbers by far.

Like, I'm crushing it. Like, you know, I'm good at what I do. And but I can't be managed like that. Mhmm. If I was failing, I get it.

Like, you know, if you have a higher achiever in your organization, do you, like, put down on them? Do you always micromanage them? Do results matter?

Steve: Mhmm. What can I do to get you more?

Tom: Yeah. Yeah. And it was just, he just had this insane way of, like, nitpicking. Mhmm. Like, if I take lunch in the office and I'm watching a Yankee baseball game, dude, I'm gonna be here till eight.

I'm on West Coast time. Mhmm. Yankees play a day game. This is my lunch. Yeah.

But other people see you watching TV. Well, that's their problem.

Steve: Right. Are the results the same?

Tom: They're not doing what I do. Right? And so it was just let let me just go my separate way.

Steve: Yeah. You

Tom: know? Entrepreneurial was calling again. Right?

Steve: Got it. So then what was the next step?

Tom: I had a trucking service for two years with a guy in Claremont, Florida that I turned around. And then we had our daughter. And during that time, I went from having the weekend off to weekday because my wife went back to work. Because I was a stay at home dad two days. Right?

Best decision. You know? Because our bond is so good over that. Took her everywhere. I had her on the chest thing, just running around.

And that's my first real dad, like, changing diapers. I'm like, oh, this is messy. Yeah. I'll figure this out. Mhmm.

So we did that for two years. I tell told my wife one day. I said, I'm so much more capable than what I'm doing. So mind you, we take care of my mom. We take care of her parents.

Right? Dad has her dad has cancer. We're we're we're not financially great either. And I say I'm so much more capable. And she says, go do what makes you happy.

This was before I'm in Miami for another decade. I went into real estate. Mhmm. I made $4,000 the first year. Then I went out on my own, and I retired her in year two.

Steve: What do you mean by 4,000?

Tom: 4,000. That's what I got back on three deals. $4.

Steve: And first, you're doing what?

Tom: Flipping. Flipping. Well, what else did everybody wanna be in?

Steve: Alright. So this is what year now?

Tom: Now this is 2019.

Steve: The 2019. Mhmm. And, like, because we're talking about some big numbers here later on.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Some pretty phenomenal jumps here. So $4,000. This is gross profit.

Tom: Flips. That was my share. My share after expenses. Right? Did I had a Toyota Tundra.

I did not cover gas, by the way. Yeah. Okay. I was underwater, but I the guy who brought me into it is, like a father to me. So it was a great year because we hung out Mhmm.

At these projects. We did everything we shouldn't have done if we're gonna be a business. We didn't have a pipeline. We're doing demo. We're but I hung out with my dad for a year.

We still look back at that as it's so nostalgic to us. And you think, well, you didn't make any money. I said, yeah. But we you and I hung out for a year. Mhmm.

And our bond like, he's he's he's my father figure. He's my one of my great friend's dads Mhmm. And got me into it. And we still talk. He put all these things in that I couldn't do.

It's like, oh, you you have to be a realtor to own a brokerage. Nope. I own a brokerage, but I'm not a realtor. You have to be a loan officer to own that brokerage. Yep.

Own one of those too, and I'm not. Right? And he just told me, he said, son, I'll never doubt you again. Yeah. The part that matter was the son part.

Right? Mhmm. I didn't have that. My My father called me fat and stupid when I was young, not son. Mhmm.

I was the second child. That's the poop. Right?

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Okay. Different spin on it now.

Steve: So 4,000 your first year gross profits. How did you keep going? Because that's a long time to only make 4,000. Because normally, like, after three months, there's some doubt. Six months, there's, like, big doubt.

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Tom: I was going to these real estate meetups, and I'm looking at people. They did it. Why can't I? Not cocky, but if he did it, why can't I? Mhmm.

You know, one of the guys I heard talk at the first meetup I went to, he asked me to partner with him three years later because I was really good at what I was doing. I built an acquisition company. We had 14 people calling and texting. Him and I went on to flip, like, you know, forty, fifty homes that year because we had a $5,000,000 line with Kiavi. But it was really cool.

Like, he wrote a book. Now he's asking me, like, you I watched you speak, and now you wanna partner with me. Pretty cool. Yeah. But if they did it, why couldn't I?

And I didn't understand the mindset of it then, but I do now. Right? I don't have the limited thinking.

Steve: What's the mindset you didn't understand?

Tom: Well, that I I I was very limited. I just I thought very narrow and confined, and then now I have a I always think I never have a box. I'm always outside the box. Mhmm. Because when you go into real estate, you have no money.

You have to be very creative. Right. I still think that way in every deal. I can look at it and just be creative and focused on it Where, you know, if we don't have to go a to z legally, we don't have to touch every base seriously, and we're good? Why are we touching every base then?

Yeah. You know, it's just that I have a very creative thought process with Mhmm. But that's what happens. You know, when you come in with no money, you have to figure it out. Right?

Steve: Right.

Tom: And so now even though I have the money now, well, why don't we still think that way? Mhmm. Okay? And I try to keep that in my organization. Like You're not

Steve: swinging the hammer anymore.

Tom: No, man. Oh, I chipped high once. I still have ringing in my ears. I didn't tell me I needed the headphone things.

Steve: So, so then your first year is not very good. Quality time, not very good results wise. Yep. So what happens after that?

Tom: I hired a coach who was doing it well. We aligned value wise, and she was doing it in my market. Mhmm. And it

Steve: was market is

Tom: This was Central Florida or Orlando Orlando. Then. And so her her program was $997. A lot of money. I'm only making money.

I am not making anything.

Steve: That's one fourth.

Tom: Yeah. Yeah.

Steve: Yeah. The previous year.

Tom: And so I hire her, and I had to have it was COVID time now. Mhmm. So, you know, COVID wasn't bad in Florida in the sense of to shut down because real estate, we were considered we could go out every day and do what we're doing. Services. Yeah.

I was I was like, oh, this is great.

Steve: Yeah. Arizona, Florida, like, those

Tom: The free states. Yeah. You know? And so I had to go on the Zoom call. Now she is a used to be a school teacher.

Her company was a GAPA home buyer. So, you know, from the Bible. Mhmm. But she's not easy. And so I had to have these five things for her that night questions that she destroyed me.

I was furious. If it was a guy, I probably would have ended differently, but it was a nice woman, so I couldn't say what I wanted to say. But it was Friday night. We got off the call. My plan was to quit the next morning, let me tell you.

But it was take care of my daughter, baby shark, coco melon. That was the night, Fridays. Woke up the next day and said, best thing that ever happened, I will become a sponge in this business.

Steve: Wait. So what was what was the shift? She said five things you had

Tom: to do. Everything I I expected validation, and she beat me over the brains. She was like, she might as well said, that's some of the stupidest crap I ever heard. Got it. That's the translation of what she said.

Steve: Came in with questions?

Tom: No. I came in with answers to the questions, but they were but they weren't the right ones for sure.

Steve: Okay.

Tom: They were me not being truthful. Right?

Steve: So you she gave you homework.

Tom: No. No. She beat me up over my answers hard.

Steve: I know. But the answers, well, she just asked you during the question, during the coaching

Tom: session. They they were five questions. I can't even remember what they were, and I just wrote them out thinking I'm not gonna be because I wouldn't tell people I was doing bad. Mhmm. And my answers were wrong because I didn't know enough.

Steve: You had to you had to protect your ego.

Tom: Right. Ego is the enemy, isn't it? Right? And she destroyed me. Just said I mean, in a nice school mom way.

But if it was guy to guy, she was like, that's some dumbass shit, she said. And I was like

Steve: Alright.

Tom: Right? But the best thing that ever happened to me Mhmm. Because it changed everything for me. Because I stopped having the ego. I'm really good at asking for help.

Mhmm. Like, I called Brett. I'm like, hey, Brett. Help me with this. I don't have a problem.

I suck. Help me. Because that's how we get better. Yeah. I'm good at saying I suck now.

Right? You know? Like and my wife tells me all the time I stink. I'm I'm no problem. Right?

Mhmm. But that was the start of it, and then I became a sponge in everything I do. But prior to that,

Steve: you had an ego.

Tom: Oh, yeah. Yeah. I wouldn't say I'm doing bad. Oh, I'm doing fine. Hey.

You're doing good. Right? No. I'm not. Yeah.

My wife didn't know how bad that year was until she started really digging into the business two years later. She's like, that's where we were? I said, well, no. Don't worry about that. Now we're over here.

Right? Don't worry about it.

Steve: It's in the past. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, so she you get some, humility

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Beaten in you.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: And then what?

Tom: So I was the only person in her class who executed. Mhmm. But she was teaching marketing. You all need to market well. Yes.

She brought me back four times for free because I was like the example. Look at what Tom's doing.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: That's a layer of my marketing. And within a year, I was out of the hole. Mhmm. I had built a 14 person acquisition team calling and texting because that was the thing.

Steve: In one year?

Tom: In one year. K. Right? I was out of debt. We were doing the wholesale flip rental model, hired an acquisition model.

This is all between '19 and '21. Now I have an acquisition manager. He was a bad choice at the time. I didn't know better. You know, someone I knew.

Right? Oh, this would be great. Oh, you learn. You learn. Yeah.

But those are the learning lessons you learn in business. Right? Mhmm. And, one of my VAs, she's still with me today. She's my operations secretary.

She's an amazing asset to the team. You know, these are people who matter in my life now.

Steve: What does operation secretary mean?

Tom: I mean, she handles all the spreadsheets and accounts for the projects we do. Mhmm. She's the one who talks to my in house CPA every day, not me. They don't need me. Like, Shelley and Miranda talk, they're like, oh, we're good.

Steve: Yeah.

Tom: Okay. Fine. I love that. You don't you don't you don't need me? Perfect.

Right. No?

Steve: Okay. So then you come flying out of the gates then at that point.

Tom: Oh, we were flipping. Right? We were flipping, flipping, and then 22 happens, interest rates. Mhmm. So I have a a a manufactured home that I'm gonna flip, but we have to get rid of squatters.

So the sheriff shows up. The people in the neighborhood were throwing me a party because this was the house everybody brought stolen goods to, the drug house. Mhmm. So we got people over here picnic benches, drinking. It's kinda like in a rural section.

It was interesting. We opened the doors and, remember the Bugs Bunny cartoon where the fleas are jumping? This was the house. But these people took a chainsaw down the middle of a double wide. Yeah.

They didn't want the house, like, to be valued. So, guys, like, you want it. Sheriff, you wanna go in? Nope. Close the door.

Mhmm. That was the house that taught me the business. Because me and, assistant in the office Mhmm. We knocked it down. We replaced it.

You know? Hey. Get me three estimates for everything. Took me eleven more months, made a bunch of mistakes. And in eleven months, we still made $11,000.

Yeah. But I saw a sheet that was so scalable compared to a flip. I'm like, oh, I'm going this way now. Mhmm. Just pivoted.

Steve: So just very eye opening.

Tom: Yeah. Because eaves on flips, they could be 400 items long. Mhmm. My my sheet is 25 items. It doesn't change.

25?

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: That's so clean. Alright. It's so simple. It's never anymore. It could be 23 if there's if there's city water and sewer and not well and septic.

Mhmm. Simple. Yeah. It's pretty. Those 400 line items stink.

Steve: It's, more scalable because it's more

Tom: Phenomenally more scalable. Yeah. Yeah. It's just put in financing, land, and product.

Steve: Okay. So you hit, a grand slam. Well, not grand slam. This is basically a single 11,000, but it opened your eyes. That's where that

Tom: was the stop the start to get here.

Steve: Yeah. Alright. So then what'd you do after that?

Tom: Well, then we were buying from a dealer, and then we became a dealer. Mhmm. Because we needed to control the timelines and the pricing.

Steve: For people that are listening, what's a dealer?

Tom: So yeah. That doesn't sound good. Right? Yeah. I'll sound back in Miami, Steve.

But, so we're a manufacturing modular home dealer. That means we have, a license Mhmm. To buy from the factories. Think of Toyota. We are the Toyota dealer where you buy your car.

Steve: Got it.

Tom: You can't go to the plant in in Japan or or Tennessee. You have to come to me. Mhmm. And but we're more of a builder developer than just a dealer retail. Yeah.

We're building out retail now.

Steve: So, like, you say dealer because I think of, like, I think around here is, like, champion. It's like the

Tom: I buy from them. Yeah.

Steve: Yeah.

Tom: Yep. But they're a manufacturer.

Steve: Right.

Tom: Not the dealer.

Steve: They're a manufacturer.

Tom: Now they have their own retail lots too.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: But I don't compete with them. We do different things.

Steve: Right.

Tom: They sell to Bob, and Bob puts it on his lot. Right. I build it out and give somebody a full home.

Steve: Got it. Okay. So you get your dealer's license.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: So first things first. You figure out this new business model. You scrap all your marketing.

Tom: Yes. No. I stopped spending 20 k a month. So good. No more wholesaling.

Just unwound it all. Right?

Steve: Just unwind it all the wholesale.

Tom: It took a few like, we had so many. So when we started this in '22, we sold our last flip in September 23. We had, like, we had to get to them still. And now we're in a depreciating market too.

Steve: Yeah. Okay. So you set your sights now on a different model.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: What are you marketing to now?

Tom: I wasn't marketing. I was just I could buy land Facebook, MLS.

Steve: So you're just paying whatever they're asking. That what they're asking. Fair value fair market value.

Tom: Yeah. Or

Steve: close to it. You can make offers on it.

Tom: Yeah. I mean, we were still doing a little bit. And and so now we're we actually do more marketing today than we ever did, but we do, you know, we're a division of Sunwest Mortgage. They have call centers that we get to use our AI for for free. Mhmm.

Steve: So we

Tom: instead of calling people to get mortgages Mhmm. We call them to buy their houses. Yeah. Buy old units.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: And but it's free for us as the mortgage broker. This is cool. It's free. Yeah. I'm watching the leads come in today.

You know? Got it. But that's today, not then. But we stopped spending $20.22 k a month in marketing. That's for sure.

Steve: Okay. So you're just scrounging these websites at this point to buy

Tom: And the last face Facebook is a was a phenomenal asset for stuff. Mhmm. And you can still find some really good hits there.

Steve: Yeah. So then you dwindle the size of your team then. I imagine.

Tom: We went from a $50,000 a week payroll with the contracting crews till about six or seven today.

Steve: Okay.

Tom: I sleep better at six or seven.

Steve: You know? Six or seven thousand?

Tom: Yeah.

Steve: Okay. So, you're sourcing the deals, traditional traditionally marketed. Now you're just calling and making offers. They accept them. Mhmm.

Then what?

Tom: Then we just it's a dance. Right? You, we learn there's so much the nuance in land is weird. It's different than a home. You have to worry about things the survey finds at the last minute that could kill your escrow.

So now our along the way, our SOPs for everything has changed. Mhmm. Those are living and breathing documents. Every time we we made a mistake or got hit with something, oh, line item, change this now. Right?

Like, so when we make an offer, it's it's dependent on the survey coming back allowing us to build a house of a certain size Mhmm. Because of environmental easements, unrecorded things that the surveyor finds. But if you put down 3 or 4,000 in escrow, at that point, it's dead. Right? So we have these things put into our contracts now.

Mhmm. It's standard for us. And we give it to ours. We teach this to people. Here, make sure you do it this way.

Do they follow lessons? No. Like, oh, okay. Whatever. Yeah.

It's there for a reason, but these are bumps along the road that were costly.

Steve: Right.

Tom: And so now it's really dialed in. Here's the contract. Here's the offer. You know, I'm I'm not involved so much in a day to day like that. I still see it.

I love it. I love the acquisition part for sure, but I love giving somebody a pair of keys too.

Steve: Yeah. So got standardized offers, standardized purchase contracts, purchase agreements. You're the buyer. Yep. You buy the property.

Tom: Land trust. We buy everything in trust.

Steve: What does that mean?

Tom: That a land trust, it just shields who the real owner is. It's a beneficial interest. Mhmm. We own nothing on paper.

Steve: Okay. So you buy in a land trust? Mhmm. Yep. That's a business or that's a personal land trust?

Tom: It's a business. Okay. Okay. Like, so one of my companies, the the construction management company is what's called the beneficial interest of a trust. Mhmm.

So if you have a trust in Florida, I'm not sure how it works in any other state, but in Florida, you can't sue outside of the trust. So God forbid something happens, they can only sue into the trust. They can't go after your personal stuff. Yeah. So it's it's a protection.

Steve: Yeah. So you you're buying these things in a trust.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: You close on it.

Tom: Yep.

Steve: And then what?

Tom: Then the dance. Like, so we've the week before, we we have all our due diligence in seven days after contract. At that point, the process map says yes or no. Right? Simple.

Is it a good deal or not? Do we renegotiate, or do we walk away? If we continue, then we go to closing. And as soon as we go to closing, we go into permitting.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: And then the listing team, they list the lot with the unit we're gonna put down because it's considered new construction. We don't have to wait till it's ready.

Steve: Oh, so you can just start marketing.

Tom: Mhmm. Oh, isn't that great? Yeah. Get ahead of everything. You know?

Steve: You can market before the flip's done.

Tom: Yep. So we put it on in Florida. We put it on what's called my state first, which covers the whole state, but they don't track days on market. Mhmm. I have an issue with realtors.

They don't read well. And so they'll see, well, you've been on the market a hundred and twenty days. There must be an issue. We see where it says preconstruction to be built. It kinda takes a little time.

Mhmm. But they never see that part. No. So there must be an issue because we're on a hundred and twenty days. Alright.

But normally, we run about our cash convergence a hundred and eighty days. Mhmm.

Steve: Okay. So, it begin the permitting. Mhmm. Get the realtor. Begin marketing it.

You already know which product you're gonna be putting on it.

Tom: It's in due diligence. Like, we have a build you know how you have a buy box? We have a build box. Mhmm. So this is where we can build into.

We're gonna build the maximum size house we can based on the comps in the area for sure. But the bigger you build them, the cheaper they get. Mhmm. And because we're the dealer, we control a lot of our verticals. We can push people away because of pricing.

Okay. If they have to sell at three hundred, but we can be $2.70 and give concessions, yeah, we're good. Right? Yeah. Let's just slide in here and blow everybody out the way.

Mhmm. You know?

Steve: So begin permitting. Maybe super simple, but what are you getting permitted for?

Tom: If there's well and septic, the home. Mhmm. If you're in Orange County, if we have to demo something, we buy a lot of old units, knock them down. Mhmm. Because then you don't pay impact fees, and that's such a savings.

Steve: Elaborate impact fees?

Tom: Well, impact fees. So you have vacant land that's never been impacted. It hasn't done any like, you know, those are the fees the county charges you for, say, fire, schools, all that. Mhmm. So vacant land that hasn't been charged, start building on it, they charge.

Steve: Right.

Tom: So in some parts, my impact fees run anywhere from 11 to 25 k. But if I buy an old crappy unit, they're zero. Mhmm. I like old crappy units then because we just saved a ton of money.

Steve: Got it. So it's actually better. You said to spend the money to tear it down.

Tom: 5,000, probably 6 maybe.

Steve: You know? It's cheaper to tear it down Yep. Than to start a new

Tom: be surprised when you have the old unit. Sometimes they have good wells and septic. If if that's the if that's what's there, you those are great. We just bought one. We paid 30 k for a two acre lot.

The septic was good. The house burned down, but brand new septic and well. Yeah. Like, will you will you give me 38? Today, I'll give you 30.

How many times do you say yes when somebody gives you a price? Yes. I will give you that. Because the septic was 15 k and the well was 12. Yeah.

I won.

Steve: Right.

Tom: You know?

Steve: You know that. But your competitors might not know that. The lost experience people might might not know that.

Tom: If they watch my show, they do. Yeah. If they listen to it, I give them all the information.

Steve: So when did it become real that this is, like, a repeatable model? Because, like, you said, you you have a proof of concept. Right? Like, hey. I made 11 k even though I screwed everything up.

Right. Alright. Let's just change this model. When did it become real?

Tom: It became real, one, when people started asking me to teach him.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: You know, because we're just you know, I'm out there doing my thing. I believe in being the iceberg, not being so flashy and showy. We don't have 11 cars. But the proof is in the pudding. People start reaching out because they're reaching out to my agent.

They're like, hey. Your buyer, this trust guy, like, we need to meet him. We we have land for this guy. Because the agent these wholesalers are smart. They're they're seeing how much these people sell, and there's always this trust thing.

Right? Who is that? And then, institutions started to talk about giving me money because we borrow privately from IRAs. But now it becomes real when you get bigger institutions wanting to finance you. Like, now we have a a thing we're working with Rain City Capital and CapSource, to finance all of our investors.

All they have to do is buy from us and have us have the management because they trust us. Mhmm. It's like, wait a minute. So you're not vetting the buyer. They're like, no.

No. If they use you, we're good. Yeah. Well, that's pretty cool. Because you know you know how business is.

Like, they don't see, like we we know the mess that happens in every business. Mhmm. They just see how pretty it looks on social media. Yeah.

Steve: But it's very validating.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Hey, Tom. We're you're the guy. So what are they funding for you? Like, they're saying, like, these other guys, as long as whatever. They're fun as long as you're doing the work.

Mhmm. They're funding you as a developer?

Tom: Yeah. Because so we so we would because it's a, we'll put out a little bit of money, and they'll reimburse us within a week. Mhmm. Okay? And that's fine.

We have a great channel for it. It's like, okay. So for ordering the unit, they'll put the down payment down. Mhmm. Well, they'll give it to my dealership, which puts it down.

And then when the final unit when the unit's ready, they'll pay that. Mhmm. And then let's say we put the wearable, the septic, the setup. Once it's done, they'll just reimburse me Got it. Within seven days.

So we're building that model out for our investors because, look, it's a different market. Mhmm. These guys are only hitting singles and doubles where a few years ago, there was a lot of home runs. Mhmm. So what do we have to give them?

More chances at bat. Yeah. And this is a great opportunity because the interest rate's only between 1011%. That's not bad. No crazy fees.

Just 11% knock them out. Mhmm. And they came to us for it.

Steve: What are the investors getting?

Tom: They get another project to sell. Okay? Because it's flipping differently.

Steve: Why don't you just do it? I I guess why are there other investors?

Tom: Well, we do it for them.

Steve: I see. There's I

Tom: mean, I don't have a scarcity mindset. Like, I I teach people in my own backyard, and I and I give my project back to investors.

Steve: You are their their developer. So they're saying, hey. I got this piece of land, Tom.

Tom: They'll either bring us the land or ask me to find a form. Got it. You know? Hey. We wanna do deals over here.

Is that okay? Sure. You can do where I'm at too. I don't mind. Like, I have a lot where a guy said he he's gonna buy a lot and he's gonna hire me.

So I didn't develop my lot first. I let him like, we're gonna do his first because I'm not gonna compete against my own client. Right? We'll get to that later. It's fine.

Steve: So I'll say, hey, Tom. I wanna invest. I've got some money. Mhmm. You go find me the land.

You develop it, and then we're gonna split the profits.

Tom: I do that for with some people on on JVs

Steve: for sure. We're we're it seems like you're doing all the work.

Tom: We're getting paid for it. So if we would say let's say we're just selling somebody the unit with the management fee. Mhmm. Okay. That's we have a project manager just for those projects.

Got it. But then, I have other project managers who just do my stuff. Mhmm. Different story. But they're the same depending on they're they're based on the area in the state.

This guy works here. So he could do my stuff or he could do your stuff.

Steve: Got it.

Tom: But people bring us the land or say, hey. We wanna we have money. We want you to bring us some flipping differently houses for us. Mhmm. And one of the guys, his wife's a realtor, so she sells them when we're done.

They don't use my realtor. Okay. Fine. So

Steve: you said flipping differently a couple times. Mhmm. What's flipping differently?

Tom: This. Because this is what we called it, you know, and how it is just flipping differently. Mhmm. You know, we provide a house at the end of the day, but but it's brand new. We don't wanna renovate.

We don't want any old issues. We're giving a home with a warranty and all the bells and whistles. Mhmm. So it's the same as what I was doing before, but we can do it at scale and quicker.

Steve: Yeah. So I remember this is I wanna say this is back around 2020, maybe 2021.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: And I'm a collective genius. And one of the guy talks about, like, this is, like, the best model ever. You just buy land and you put a manufactured home on it, and you they can buy this with FHA financing, and it appraises as a single family home. This is maybe it's only Phoenix.

Tom: Does it I mean, they have their own it's not a single family. It's a manufacturer they appraise to others, but it's he is a 100% right. That's the model.

Steve: And he's like, we're making so much money. And, like, that was the last I've heard of. I've heard anyone else doing this since. Right? And now you're saying, like, this has been, like, your 22.

Tom: This is it. We have sat down with so we are we have institutional financing from Triad.

Steve: You know,

Tom: they're one of the big games in in mobile homes. But this is FHA, VA. We had two conventional loans last year. That's not the norm. Mhmm.

Okay? But it's it's all fully approved for all of that. Yeah. And this is the the affordable housing market. Let's just say that because Florida, the median house, $4.19.

Well, I can build you a real nice home for 300 k in Orlando. Mhmm. $304.19, that's a big difference for people. But I'm also probably gonna give you a bigger lot too. If you go to Polk County, I'm at $2.65 on an acre.

Yeah. Okay. This is affordable. We forgot that market. It's not sexy to people.

Mhmm. But those people still should be served. Right? Okay. And, you know, I was, the people who we're partnering with on the mortgage company, I met with them last week and I explained because they said, hey.

You know your model plays well in all 50 states. Said, yeah. I know. They're already thinking because the guy who owns it, he's worth $8,000,000,000. He's a little smarter than me.

He has 8,000,000,000. I don't have 8,000,000. So is I mean but I don't wanna go to snow states either, I told them. I don't care if they hit the model and run with it. I'll keep Florida and Texas.

I'm good. Just put my name on something. Right? Get it done. Yeah.

Because we need to understand that we're short housing. People can't afford things today. Mhmm. Look. My parents bought their first home in '81.

It was 70% interest. You know what I remember at 10 years old? How hard life was. That's what a 10 year old remembers when he gets to move to the suburbs. Plus, we had no street lights and and sidewalks.

I'm like, where do we walk? Mhmm. There's no lights. How do I find things? But, I remember how hard life was.

Yeah. And that's changing a little bit when interest rates drop, but still people can't afford, like, the American dream. Wall Street bought too much of it, you know, whatever over there. Right? So this is what's affordable for people.

And then you can see how they look. I'll show you pictures. These things don't look like grandma's mobile home. Yeah. They don't.

Steve: So you talked about, like, you're not an ordinary dealer. Like, you finished these

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: All the way out. All the way out. What does that mean?

Tom: That means that we're gonna put everything together on the land. We're gonna give you a turnkey. You're moving in.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Right? We met with some people who, we got them a lot. We did everything, and then I'm like, no. No. You can pick, like, where do you wanna place the house?

We we're placing it for them where they want because it's an acre, and they're gonna move in. We just it was we signed the contract in August I bought the land in August. Went on the contract a week later, and they're moving in by hallow by Halloween.

Steve: So I were the first house, I built as a new build. I went to the design center. Right? Picked the carpet, the paint, all the fun stuff.

Tom: They did the same thing.

Steve: So this is what you're doing here. So they're not just, because, like, you're saying this is not your grandmother's manufacturing home. Mhmm.

Tom: So I've

Steve: done a few a handful of manufactured home, but they're more like grandma's manufacturing. Yeah.

Tom: No. Different.

Steve: So this is, like they're they're still going to a design center and, like, this is what I I want this paint, this carpet.

Tom: So we normally have model units everywhere. Mhmm. But we switch who our main supplier is gonna be. We work with, Palm Harbor, Cavco, really great quality control. They found me on social media.

Mhmm. They wouldn't deal with me a few years ago. Now I'm a little bigger. Yeah. And so we sent That's how that works.

It's right? Because, you know, volume matters. Right? And it's funny how they offer social media. A lady sent me a Facebook message that that was a scam.

Right? I'm like, Messenger.

Steve: Well, it's funny because, like, I've got people reaching out to me like, hey. Can you do this for us? It's like, I remember when it was impossible for me to get you on the phone.

Tom: No. Right? They broke the rule. I shouldn't say it, but they have a rule of having five units on your dealer lot at all times. Well, that's five times 80 of depreciating assets sitting there.

I'm an investor. Dude, we're not doing that. Now they say, can you have them on any of your construction sites in Florida? I'm like, I can do that for sure.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Like, now we're talking the language.

Steve: Right.

Tom: So then I just sent the clients to their factory. Mhmm. Right? And my rep walked them through. Not only did we sell the couple, we sold the sister to.

Mhmm. So we got a double whammy. Right? Yeah. Because these are really amazing homes.

Mhmm. And I promise them, like, you know, I'm hard. I'm I'm really good at holding people accountable. I wasn't in the beginning. Like, you know, the factory said, hey.

We're gonna have your unit out there September 29, and they say, October 8. I said, you do know those are different dates. Right? Like, well, yeah. But no.

No. Did you get my money? They're like, yeah. Then you keep the twenty ninth. See?

Money, twenty ninth. That's what that paid for. The eight doesn't work for

Steve: me. Yeah.

Tom: If you give it to me on the eighth, you know, those 10 orders, he's like, yeah. I'm gonna cancel them. Seriously? 100%. Yeah.

Because I promised them trick or treating in the house. I can't predict my promise. Yeah. They're like, okay. So it's ready on twenty ninth.

Steve: So you get the job done.

Tom: We're we're trick or treating in that house for these people. Yeah.

Steve: So I can see you're passionate

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: About this. And you're saying it all goes back to your upbringing.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: What was your upbringing like?

Tom: We grew up in New York. We were poor. Right? My they worked. They worked hard.

My dad had cancer and was dying when I was he was dying for, like, a decade, though. My mom worked three jobs to support us at times. Okay? And, you know, that's hard. It was just, like, you know, everybody else could do things we couldn't.

Mhmm. I didn't know any better. Like, now I look back. I'm like, oh, I always say, like, oh, that family was perfect. Then you find out how crappy that shit was.

Oh, okay. Well, maybe it's not perfect. But Oh,

Steve: the one that you were looking out to.

Tom: Yeah. Yeah. Like you saw well, you find out later what was going on over there. But, you know, there was a lot of, verbal physical abuse, alcoholism, you know, things that impact somebody hard. And then when I moved to Florida, there was a woman here who's a family friend.

She, she did a drip campaign because I would always do a spectacular and explode. Spectact because that's due to trauma as a child. So then she didn't say, Tom, let me come get in your head. She says, will you help me? Of course, I'll help you.

So then I go, she's she's a shrink, a psychologist, all those things, but she's nonprofit. I'm helping her there, but she's dripping. Right? She's dripping. And then after six months, she shows me this book, the, effects of, childhood trauma on adults and the life cycle of it.

And she's like, what do you think? And I said, you might as well put my picture there.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: She's like, you're ready to go talk? I said, yeah. I don't want to, but yeah. And it just started to change how I thought about things. Yeah.

And I think that, that person is so, like, impactful in my life because it let me think and understand that these things were it wasn't his fault in some ways. His demons were his demon. They're not mine.

Steve: Yeah.

Tom: I could be a dad and not have to be like him. That's why I try to be the best dad I could be. I'm there for everything. Mhmm. My daughter's mad that I'm here with you and not her.

So you're bringing me next time. Like, girl, school, I can't take you out of school.

Steve: Okay. So talked a lot about what you're doing as far as buying from and the basically, a developer. But we also you've also built some other companies along the way.

Tom: Built acquired. Yeah.

Steve: So let's walk through that journey in parallel.

Tom: Okay. Alright.

Steve: So you start doing these homes in '22. When When do you start opening all these other things?

Tom: Well, you you gotta control your verticals. Yeah. And so now we we own a property management company. We had that before because we have a rental portfolio. That's what the acquisition team.

You know, we have a lot of,

Steve: some of buying houses.

Tom: Oh, yeah. We have a lot of subject tos, owner finance. Like, they're like, everything we have now is pretty much in two portfolios built that way.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: We got rid of it. Like, it's really good. It's meant to appreciate. We don't do anything crazy. I just get them appraised every year and be, like, happy.

Mhmm. My wife runs that company, till till the end of the month, and we're not gonna work, then somebody else will run it. We can't work together and stay married. Mhmm. She decided she wants to stay married to me and not work with me.

Mhmm. Perfect. But we so we have that. We own the real estate brokerage. We own the construction manager.

Steve: When did you start the brokerage?

Tom: This is the second one. I fired the first partner. I have another one. Mhmm. And so this one is this year.

Steve: So you start brokerage this year?

Tom: Yeah. But I quit one, canceled it. Don, she was a mercenary. Mhmm. She was only in for money, and she wasn't good at what she did.

Yeah. She was trying to do my job. She couldn't do her job.

Steve: When was this? When did you Last year. When did you start the first one?

Tom: I acquired part interest in it three years ago.

Steve: Three years ago. Yeah. Okay. So they're on the same time. You're you've got this epiphany.

Get realtors listing all your properties around how you started the brokerage.

Tom: Let me just control it. Right? Yeah. Okay. I need to see what they're doing because, you know, like, people aren't realtors are not good at sales.

They're not. I'm just, like, they don't answer

Steve: my I'm not saying I'm not bashing realtors.

Tom: Not I will. But, like, they don't they don't answer their phone. And so I like to see what they're doing. Yeah. You know, I always said, hey.

Listen. We're gonna give you an email. And if you want a day off, we have someone to answer your calls, and we have someone to watch your emails too. We wanna make sure it's being done correctly. Yeah.

And the ones who don't, we just get we just get rid of them. Mhmm. Because, you know, yeah, we we wanna be, I call I have the girls and the boys team in the company. Right? And so we met with this website developer who's building out this crazy website for us with AI.

It goes right through to everything. And they were like, your team is amazing. I wasn't even in those meetings. I love hearing that, but that's the girls. The guys, you know, they're not as good as that because guys aren't collaborative.

Like, these girls, they don't crush my guy team any day. Yeah. But so we have the now this year, we became a division of Sunwest Mortgage.

Steve: So hang on. So you got the real estate brokerage. Mhmm. What was next after that?

Tom: Now we have the loan company.

Steve: So and that's this one?

Tom: Yep. That's just this year.

Steve: Okay. So you, acquired or built a mortgage company?

Tom: Acquired. They gave it to us.

Steve: Gave it to you?

Tom: They wanna partner people to affordable housing. Got it. Okay?

Steve: So they saw you, and they love what you're doing. And, like, hey. We'd like to be a part of what you're doing. Whatever we can collaborate.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Got it.

Tom: They were full of crap at first. For sure. I'm like, yeah. No one gives stuff. Right?

Because this woman reaches out social media again, and she's talking to me and it's like, yeah. Fucking crap. Like, and we're going back and forth for a while. But, Gary Harper, you ever see Gary talk about the word focus. Right?

He has that client who can't say it. The guy says, fuck us. Mhmm. This woman was all over the place. I'm like, girl, you get this across the finish line.

We'll do whatever else you wanna do.

Steve: The mortgage?

Tom: The mortgage. Okay. And she did. I'm like, oh, you're golden to me now. Mhmm.

Right? So now we we're licensed in all 50 states. We work in, Florida and Texas because we're we just started to acquire a dealer's license there. And my and so the woman who found me, she also stayed on to help me run the loan company.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: I'm like, dude, I don't know how to run it. I'll find somebody. I'm sure I could that's what I would do, but why don't you stay and you can run both Florida and Texas for me? Mhmm. Really?

I'm like, yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. Done.

Steve: So now you have a mortgage company. Mhmm. So you got the brokerage for a while. Different one now.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Are either of these two a distraction from what you're doing with the manufactured home?

Tom: No. Because they they flow into that. Right? All the verticals we have contribute to our core business.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Right? They all help us buy and sell manufactured homes because there's a lending credit. Right? I don't make anything on a loan. I give it all back.

We make money when we buy land as the broker. Okay? That helps reduce cost.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Okay? So it all contributes to my core. We're not buying a restaurant. That's not gonna happen. Yeah.

Or coffee shops. I do like coffee. But as long as like, that's that's the rule. Does it contribute to the core business? Mhmm.

If it does, we'll definitely look at it. If it doesn't, we're not gonna do it.

Steve: What about title?

Tom: It's in the works.

Steve: It doesn't work. It's in the works.

Tom: It'll come up one day.

Steve: Anything else?

Tom: Setup company and then HVAC electrical. Those are on the horizon for next year.

Steve: Setup company being?

Tom: The people so you don't use a GC. You use a licensed setup company. And so, it was just, you know, you have to have a time budget for things. Mhmm. And the mortgage company and the brokerage needed my time because they came at the right price free.

So they're like, oh, we're gonna work on this, and we'll work on this later. Yeah. And then they're close to being the the setup company in Florida is close to being done anyway.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: You know, we're gonna acquire one.

Steve: So they're the ones that get the lot ready?

Tom: Yeah. Yeah. They, so the the home comes on two trucks Mhmm. If it's a, double wide, and they set anger the foundation. Mhmm.

Build it all up and handle all that.

Steve: And then HVAC? Mhmm. Why HVAC?

Tom: Because I know they net about 2,500 between the HVAC and the electrical pole and meter on every deal. Okay? And so we look for an ROI of no less than 40 k. I can take the ROI by controlling all those verticals to 70 k. Mhmm.

By controlling all of my verticals.

Steve: So the unit doesn't come with an HVAC unit?

Tom: Mhmm. It comes with the ducts and everything, but we put a, like, a three or a four ton package unit, but then we put a brand new pole, the meter, and the box. Okay. So you need a HVAC electrical.

Steve: So you're just trying to get it all one piece.

Tom: Well, it's a dance. Okay? Mhmm. And if if the people don't have the ability to tell you no because you own it, the dance goes much easier. Mhmm.

Right? Because then they have their reason for not showing up. Maybe maybe Bob's gonna pay him more than I do. I'm gonna go work for Bob and not you today. We're gonna put you off.

If I own that company, they can't they have to answer. Right? They can't they can't do that.

Steve: Right.

Tom: And and so that's just part of the growth of it. Yeah. And when you explain, look, we can increase our ROI just by earn owning all this. Mhmm. They're profitable.

We're paying it anyway. Why don't we just make it, own it? Because then we never have to raise our prices, do we? Yeah. People do if they don't own all their verticals.

Steve: So we got your you bought the land.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: You're the dealer. Yep. Got the realtor. Yep. Did a loan on it.

Yep. Got the setup.

Tom: Eventually.

Steve: Eventually. And then AC eventually. Mhmm. Is there anything else that goes in that piece?

Tom: I don't think so. You know, title, you know, that's part. That will come with a loan company eventually.

Steve: Right. Okay. So you basically have the whole deal.

Tom: But that's what a builder does. Right? Basically, is that they keep the sub subs. Mhmm. But I know what I I pay the net that they make on every deal, and that just contributes so much to the bottom line without raising prices.

Mhmm. And so then if we can do that, then we're building really affordable products for people. Okay? You know? Because look, if we take every dollar we make on a loan, I give it back.

Mhmm. I take on a $2.70, and I'm already factoring in 10 in builder credits. Now I'm at, like, $13.14 k. Mhmm. There's no reason not to buy the home.

I'll give you $14,000. And we're probably already $10,000 under the value we should be. Mhmm. Because if somebody buys a house from us and you you get any kind of concessions, I want the appraisal. I have an appraisal library for every county that we work in.

Mhmm.

Steve: So

Tom: I'm already undervalued. So people walk into $20.30 grand worth of equity day one. There's no reason not to buy. It's just getting them that point. You know, we look.

Interest rate, we got somebody approved last week, five three eight. Wow. Yeah. VA. I was like, holy

Steve: crap. Wow.

Tom: Why aren't you buying more? Right? But that's their mortgage. The median rent in their county is $18.50. Their mortgage is gonna be $18.72 a month.

Yeah. But they own it now. Right? So you get the homeownership. That teaches responsibility.

Mhmm. Okay? They get the tax credits. They own some if they own land in America, that's the dream of it, isn't it? Yeah.

Okay? But we've lost that. People are like, oh, I'm just gonna rent. It's like, you're dumb. Now I'm a landlord.

I I love rent. Don't don't don't get me wrong. Even though they pay I love when they pay late because there there's a fee. Mhmm. But I'd rather build homeownership.

Steve: Yeah. So we're talking about last year, you did 76 for yourself.

Tom: Mhmm. And then

Steve: you also did work for 92 others.

Tom: No. No. 92 total.

Steve: 92 total? Yeah. Okay. So 92 total. And you're gonna do over a 100.

Tom: We're gonna get close to a 100 this year.

Steve: Close to a 100 this year. Yep. What were the biggest obstacles in growing? Because these are big numbers here. These are numbers.

Tom: Man. It's Florida. Wow.

Steve: Okay.

Tom: Man, we so I had to sell personally seven homes between the November after the election and December 31.

Steve: Seven.

Tom: So I fired my brokerage team. Right? I'm I hired one agent in that time. I sold six of the seven. Mhmm.

Okay? But hurricanes, man, it just we lost a quarter of sales. Between firing the broker and how it to unwind that and get my listings back Mhmm. And then the first hurricane and then Milton just there were trees down because, you know, it impacted where we are hard. But none of our homes got really screwed up.

Like, one or two did, but, like, tree fell. You can't hold that. One got hit by lightning. All the electrical wiring was dead. I don't have to replace it.

Okay?

Steve: Seems like that shouldn't be a thing.

Tom: Yeah. But you know what? None of them we had, three within the eye of the storm. Yeah. We were the builder of the year in the Polk County Parade of Homes.

That model, no damage. Hurricane came right of I four, five miles away. But there was just so much debris. It just killed sales. People weren't looking.

They were they were still swimming over in Pasco County around around like, we own a condo on the 2nd Floor. We're 14 feet off the ground. There was nine feet of water on underneath us. Oh. My wife wanted to buy in the 1st Floor, by the way.

I won that argument a little bit.

Steve: So hurricanes, obviously, challenging.

Tom: Interest interest rates. Right? Because people keep thinking we're waiting for 3%. Dude, it's not coming back.

Steve: Maybe in thirty years.

Tom: Not in my lifetime.

Steve: Maybe in the next thirty years. So but in scaling it organizationally wise, like, were there other challenges, obstacles along the way?

Tom: Yeah. Getting the person to help me do it. I'm not good at structure. Mhmm. I don't need it.

Most visionaries don't. Right? We're like, hey. Look at this. This is great.

Everything's here. Mhmm. But think of where does a grape grow best on a trellis? You make it narrow and tall, it grows up. You make it wide, it goes wide.

Who builds your trellis? Sharper. Gary Harper. Right? Yeah.

That's my trellis builder.

Steve: So yeah. So Gary Harper and Sharper, Gary, Susan, Amanda, Brandon

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Austin.

Tom: Awesome. Yep. Yep. He just flew in for a whole day. He's like, dude, you're doing some some you keep adding shit.

Man, I'm coming to my I'm coming to Orlando to hang out. Hey. We're not we're not going to Disney, dude. I'm a SeaWorld guy. We're not going over there.

But he flew in on a Tuesday. We drove the whole day looking at things. Went to the factory. The news people called. They wanted to interview me about impact fees.

Ron, we're gonna talk to them. You like, you're gonna tell them everything. They're not gonna be happy. I'm just gonna lay it out. But, that's the kind of people they are.

Right? Because I was doing a bunch of things, and they're like, we need to come see what you're doing again.

Steve: What would they not be happy about with the impact fees?

Tom: Well, because I I it's it impacts the lower scale more. Right? So if I'm building at 200,000, and let's say my impact is 11. If you're building 700, it's still 11. Why?

Mhmm. You're crushing this affordable house. Yeah. Okay? And they don't dial that.

Steve: So is that proportional?

Tom: Yeah. And it's like, you know, look, Orange County, they always talk about, oh, we're trying to help. Dude, you have $25,000 in impact fees alone. 10% of a 300,000 build is fees fees. How is that good?

Mhmm. But we're doing this. No. You're not. Like, they came out with Vision 50, where you can take agricultural land and make it from manufactured, but you have to build the mechanics of how to do it.

So the vision without the work of doing it, it means it doesn't work. Right? Yeah. So there's just politics talk. It's it's BS.

Steve: Yeah. Okay. So going back to Sherpa, when you start working with, with Gary?

Tom: Two years ago.

Steve: Years ago.

Tom: Years ago.

Steve: How much of an impact has he made in your business or his organization?

Tom: He's made we are where we are because of them.

Steve: End of story. Statement. I mean, you're you got some pretty impressive numbers here.

Tom: We are where we are. We are running because he got me to run. Now you know Jacob. So Jacob was the first person I talked to. He couldn't sell me anything.

He's like, dude, I'm not giving I wouldn't even take the PI test. So then Gary was coming to Florida. They like Disney. We set up a meeting for Saturday morning. He was one of the few people showed up prepared.

He knew what I did, who I was. Mhmm. Because most people say, hey, I'll coach you. Okay. What do I do?

I don't know. What the hell are you gonna coach me on? He knew what my pain points were. He's like, dude, no one's really doing this like this. You probably have problems.

You know how he is. Da da da da da da. I'm like and then, he read me my PI, and he's like, oh, you're like a cat. I'm like, calling me a a p word then. Right?

Joking. He's like, no. No. No. But you wanna get scratched when you want to, but you don't need to be scratched.

I don't need to be social. But my business is a social business. Right? So now you've won. Now you know what's going on in my brain, and you just told me my pain points.

Here's my credit card. Let's be done now.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: And that's not me. No. I'm I'm a hard sell. And we sat there for an hour and a half in the Starbucks just and I was I knew I was in good hands.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Because we aligned value wise the mission, and he he knew my business. And it has it been a rough journey? Absolutely. Entrepreneur is not easy, isn't it? It's like people see the social media thing.

You have easy. It's like yeah. Right? Hanging out with you is great, but the journey getting here is a pain, But I wouldn't do I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Steve: What were some of the things that, looking back, that they they made the biggest difference?

Tom: SOPs, accountability. Mhmm. Okay? We didn't have those. I didn't know what a process map was.

Yeah. I'm like, I don't need that. I know what to do. But he's like, yeah. But your team doesn't.

Oh, yeah. They might that might be you know? But just holding people accountable, fully accountable. Like, we had to let go of a lot of people because when we implement the new stuff, they don't wanna do that. They're like, no.

No. We're doing it this way. No. No. We're we're this way.

Steve: But but, Tom, this is the way we've always done it.

Tom: But yes. But what got you here may not get you there. And that's the truth. Right? And, look, last week, we were at CG in Dallas.

Right? What are the men to say? Go hire the best. Mhmm. Yeah.

Hire better people than you. I think sometimes we're afraid to hire people who are better than us at what they do. Right? Yeah. I don't have a problem with that.

Like, I have a great operations manager. He's built a 100 homes a year for years. He knows building in that. Can he do my job? Nope.

Couldn't raise a dime if he needed to. Yeah. But when it comes to building, he knows what he's doing. Just like my EA, she came from Sharper. Like, Gary was her Sunday school teacher for her kids.

Mhmm. She I call them you know, when you start, you're looking for a Swiss army knife. Right? Mhmm. You need someone to do a bunch of things.

Yes. But as you scale and grow, you need a scalpel to do this.

Steve: A specialist.

Tom: Right? So you hire a scalpel.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: And so that's where we're getting really good at, putting the right people who are scalpels. Guess what if they don't work? You know what happens? We just get rid of them and get another one.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Because that's just how you have to do it.

Steve: Yeah. Yeah. It's tough. I've got to this point in my career because as we've got to the point, like, alright, this is no longer a fit. Yeah.

Alright. We have to upgrade this, this not upgrade, but it didn't fit right.

Tom: Mhmm. So we

Steve: need a different one that fits better.

Tom: Right. A different widget.

Steve: Yeah. Yeah. But and one of the things I said is, like, the saddest thing about where where I'm at today is I've gotten really good at letting people go. I hate that part. Part I hate the most about where I'm at Yeah.

Is it's really easy, like, to do that.

Tom: You know, I I have no reports to me. Even my personal admin doesn't report to me. She reports to my executive. Mhmm. But I'm the last person who interviewed her.

And I said, she gave me her resume, and I'm like, hey. You're working directly for me. Is this true? Because I'm gonna find out real quick because I bop around all day. Mhmm.

And you're gonna try to keep up with me. Yeah. If it's not true, I'm gonna fire you really quick because you're like the third person in six months, let me tell you. And they keep lying, and they just keep getting fired. Yeah.

But she's been with me. She'll only have one crying day so far.

Steve: Yeah. Okay.

Tom: I think she'll stick. So

Steve: like a cat. So are you a venturer? Yeah. Yeah. Alright.

So that makes

Tom: But originally in my profile and the other scales, it was called a dictator. Right? Because you're not you know, in a in a different type of system because it was my way or the highway. Now I'm so much more collaborative Mhmm. Because we have business unit leaders.

Yeah. I'm gonna listen to all their input, and I'm gonna make a decision based on everything that I decide.

Steve: Right.

Tom: But I wouldn't in the past, I would never listen because I'm no longer playing the game. I'm not the yes. I'm not playing the game. I'm not the coach. I'm up in the box.

Mhmm. I see my team winning more than me now. They don't need me. I'm gone. I I have no morning calls.

I talked to people today like I would for a walk, and I said, let me call and see what's going on.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Life goes on. Yeah. Like, you guys don't need me. Like, well, I wouldn't say that. I'm like, I hope so.

Yeah. But but is that what we're supposed to build?

Steve: That's the dream.

Tom: Yeah. It's

Steve: the reason why we get here. Mhmm. Now one of the things you're passionate about, actually, before I get to this, guys, do me a favor. As you're listening to this, as you're watching this, comment below your biggest takeaway from today's show, what you'll commit to, what you liked from today that you might wanna implement, anything you wanna see more of, less of. Please just comment below because it helps me.

Right? I'm trying to be running the best show possible. Helps me give direction, for what I wanna do here. One of the things that's really important to you is, you care more about the people over profits, and you're passionate about doing good work. Mhmm.

Talk to me about that.

Tom: My name is Lance McCann. I have recently switched in sessions with Ian Ross. Bill's conversations with Ian has made me $50,000 in the past two deals that I've had. I was able to renegotiate go back and renegotiate the original purchase price on one deal, and I saved $40,000. And I got another $10,000 off my other deals.

Calling in to give him a chance to

Steve: do what we're getting.

Tom: If you like what

Speaker 2: you just heard and would like similar types of success, text close to 33777, and we'll see if you qualify to join objection proof selling. We're taking good sales reps, and we're making them objection proof.

Tom: So when I made money younger, I loved money. Mhmm. So therefore, you're never gonna keep it. And you can't love money. Money is a tool.

That's all it is. Yeah. It's a good tool or a bad tool depending on how you use it. And when I realized we're financially good, but when I go into anything thinking, let me just take care of these people, and the blessings that come from that always. My best deal last year, I'll tell you, we lost my wife and I exactly $52,000 willingly.

This woman, her husband died during the mortgage process. She has four kids. Husband dies. She sells birds for a living. Birds.

You're not gonna eat these birds. They're not cute parrots. I bought a lot of birds because I had to give her more money to cash to close from people. So the mortgage peep it wasn't my mortgage company then. They call us and say, hey.

This is a problem. I said, well, what do we have to do to get this done? Because they told me the story. And my wife and I were having a rare dinner date. And the lady is like, well, is your wife gonna be okay with that?

I'm like, it's a lot of nerve saying that, but okay. Put you on speaker. Tell her now. She's like, well, that's what we're supposed to do. So, turns out not only she have four kids, three are autistic.

So we gave $52,000. So that was the profit and more. I gotta put money on the table to close that because I had a loan. Right?

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: The TC company I just hired, they worked for free. Everybody worked for free except my broker partner, mercenary. I got rid of her right away. Right?

Steve: That was a telltale.

Tom: That's a telltale. I knew anyway, but, wait a minute. You're not gonna help these people? Everybody, but even the title people work for free because they found out, like, they brought the whole family to the office. They have three autistic kids.

Their husband died. We're giving them American dream, and you want your 2%. Okay. You're done.

Steve: Yeah. That's crazy.

Tom: Mhmm. We still take care of that house today. Right? Now the realtor who I met on that deal, we did 1,300,000.0 in sales since June. Yeah.

Because of that deal. Never thought about that. Right? I have to tell her her her buyers, no. Please get an inspection.

I can fix it. No. But, Tom, it's you. I don't care. It's me.

It's the builder. Like, it's the manufacturer. I can fix it now. And it's great you trust me. Get the inspection.

I fix quick. Right? But that's what comes with doing right.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: And the first thing, we had a week last year where we did two of those deals like that. It wasn't so much on the first one, but gave a house, lost little money. One big, one big, one big, gave a house, lost a little money. Mhmm. First thing I did was call up my team on each one of those and thank them.

Because without those middles, we don't have we're not able to do that. Yeah. And even though we lost, we won. Because that's what we're supposed to do.

Steve: You say about $52,000 worth of birds?

Tom: Well, it wasn't $52,000 worth of birds, but I had to give thousands of dollars to help her cash to close. I had to I had to send zells from other people because it can't come from me. You know? Not a realtor. I don't have a license.

I can't get in trouble.

Steve: Alright. But That's

Tom: why we don't have licenses.

Steve: But she sold a lot of birds.

Tom: We bought a lot of birds.

Steve: Yeah. It's very honorable. And it's crazy that she wouldn't give a 2%. And what did she lose over that two percent?

Tom: Hundred sales a year and more.

Steve: Insane to me.

Tom: Mercenary.

Steve: Some people just but that's not even mercenary. Like, even even even a sociopath will give up a little bit to win in the long run.

Tom: So she's been in real estate twenty plus years. I've been in six. I'm way better positioned than she ever will be. Yeah. Wanna know why?

How I think. Yeah. Okay? Because she's a flash person. Like, she had an owner finance deal that she never finished the, the back end financing for because she bought too many cars.

I'm like, oh, this is me in Miami. Right? Too many cars, too many ex husband, too many jet skis. Now you live with your mom anyway. Right?

Steve: So That's rough.

Tom: Mhmm. Yeah. Well, I mean, the story is how I got a piece of the brokerage, I lent her money, and she Ponzi schemed me. Yeah. But my Dolan docs are good.

But then there was multiple people in other properties. So when I knew the other lenders, so I had to fix it for them to get paid, and it took I I didn't get we lent it from our IRA. It was my wife's money. My wife's like, I don't care what you did. You owe me.

I'm like, really? Okay. Okay. I said, hey. I got a piece of the brokerage.

She's like, I don't care. Where's my put the money in the IRA. I'm like, alright. I got you, girl. I got you.

You know? And that's how I got it. Right? But I fixed her problems, and she still didn't learn. Yeah.

Maybe she's selling birds today. I don't know.

Steve: That's crazy. But we see this all the time. You know, even I haven't done many traditional transactions for for a number of years now. But I remember, like, there are incidents where, like, appraisal came in bad. Right?

Like, you're on one side or the other. Like, alright. Like, the seller really wants to make this happen. The buyer really wants to make this happen. Here's how we can bridge the gap.

Mhmm. And get the rose, like, no. My commission's nonnegotiable. And it's like, you're willing to lose your entire commission

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Entire commission Yep. Because you won't settle out of principle to get this deal done. And, like, it's happened countless times. And every time it happens, it's like you realize you're gonna have to go show them more houses, and they're probably gonna have similar challenges. Or you had to list this house again at a lower appraisal amount.

You want to go through this process again. Yep. Just blows my mind.

Tom: Because it's not about their client. It's about them.

Steve: Right.

Tom: You know, I had a guy. So we were selling a house last year, and they were to get a bonus if it was full price, but it wasn't full price.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: So they didn't get the bonus. The broker calls to tell my realtor, we're not showing up to signing until he gets that bonus. Well, read, dummy. So he gets me now. He's like, hey.

We're not showing up. Doesn't matter. I said, hey. That's great. You know what I'm gonna do?

Contract expires today. I'm calling the dude tomorrow. Mhmm.

Steve: In fact,

Tom: I'm gonna call him today because I'm not a realtor. Mhmm. And I'm going to tell him what you're saying, and I'm gonna say, hey. Tomorrow when I sell you the house, whatever commission I was paying, I'm gonna take off the house for you. Yeah.

And he nobody always say, you can't do that. Sure. I only have a driver's license. I can do whatever the hell I wanna do. Right?

And and that's why I'll never hold a license in anything because I'm the bad guy we need it.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Because I feel that that's the norm on the unfortunately, in the business. Mhmm. Oh, but we don't deserve the commission even though it says what it's for. Okay. You didn't give me full price, so you don't get the extra $22.

Mhmm. We don't care. We want it. You don't negotiate that the day of closing and hold the hostage.

Steve: Yeah. Well, I'm on top of everything else as ethics violation.

Tom: Listen. I had a guy this year telling me, hey. I you're gonna give me x percentage, and I'm gonna give it to the buyer. You know, I hold your license in my hand right now. Mhmm.

You put that in writing. That's illegal. It's unethical. Yeah. They don't care because, you know, they're not they just think, they can do what they wanna do.

They don't know the business. A lady today, she didn't even know that she her sister has a piece of land we're buying. So she said, hey. It's my sister. I'm helping her sell it.

I know all about it. They bought it at a tax deed and didn't tell us. Needs a quiet title. And she's like, well, my title company will close it, but you can't give me clean and marketable titles. So what?

She says. Mhmm. So what? What am I gonna do with it? Am I gonna write ATVs on it?

That's all it's good for. I can't sell it. You know? And she didn't even realize that.

Steve: Really?

Tom: But she's a licensed professional, supposedly.

Steve: Wow.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: Well, another interesting stat here I saw was, fascinating. So 40% of the units in Central Florida you're a part of?

Tom: In Central Florida counties. Yeah.

Steve: 40%.

Tom: Some counties are 50.

Steve: 50%.

Tom: In Polk County, if you that's how some wholesalers find me. They just see sale, sale, sale. Because they're like, hey. New new new unit, how to buy dirt, and they see the dirt with the same trust buyer. Yeah.

Steve: I was really proud. There was one month, I repeat, one month with 1% market share. Right?

Tom: But what's the difference in in what you do? Like, where where are the forty, fifty percent of new units in Central Florida? Yeah. So that's the only only market that's up in Florida too.

Steve: Yeah. We were at so we had a brokerage. Right? So 1%. One out of every 100 transactions down in Phoenix involved my brokerage.

There's a

Tom: lot of brokerages. There's not a lot of what we do. Right? Yeah. And that but see, the cool thing is it's also, like, it's our units and stuff we place for other people.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: And I did a, one of the builders association that had me come speak, and I was showing them. Like, hey. Look. These are the numbers, and this these are our numbers here. Right?

And we do this because in this county, we we know permitting is a week, one week. Like, our our shortest transaction in Polk County, which is right next to Orlando.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: It's the I 4 corridor in between Tampa and Orlando. It straddles that Mhmm. Eighty eight days start to finish. But I love eighty eight days.

Steve: Yeah. It's a very nice cash conversion cycle.

Tom: Mhmm. I didn't even know what that was until Gary Harper.

Steve: Alright. So you're obviously passionate about what you do. Mhmm. Why are you so passionate about what you do?

Tom: I remember when parents bought their first home, how proud they were, and how hard life was. And having never built anything until I got into flipping, and I remember when the first time somebody wrote a letter to buy the house. It was after COVID. Florida prices were crazy. And I'm selling this house, and it wasn't the best offer, but they wrote this letter.

And I had met them at the house. Did they were just there when I was there once, but I had my daughter. They have a daughter two years younger. And they write me the letter saying about how they envisioned their daughter playing in the yard. I'm done.

You're in. You got me. It's on it's on my wall. I wanna be a part of that. Yeah.

Right? I always like, we made our number, and then it was back then, everything was over asking anyway. Then it was the happy number. Mhmm. I I used to call my jet ski money.

I never bought the jet ski, though. And I remember calling that realtor and saying, hey. She's like, no. She knew I had better offers. Mhmm.

She said, they don't have anymore. I said, I didn't ask for anymore. I'm giving them the house. She's like, what? Oh, yeah.

The letter. Love it. Thank you. Right? Yeah.

I want more of that. Okay? Because there's a different satisfaction level. Bank accounts don't satisfy you. Spiritually, Sunday, we're good.

Right? And and more than just Sunday, but when you impact somebody's life like that, how can you not want more? Right? Yeah. And it's not about a dollar.

What's what's more money gonna bring you, Steve? What's do you have toys? I don't have toys. I'm not retire I always say when I retire, I'll have toys.

Steve: Yeah. I don't

Tom: know if I'm gonna retire. But doing that, man, like, even I still walk the homes. To this day, I still walk before we hand them over.

Steve: Really?

Tom: Yeah. It's hard, but I get there. Soon as I fly back tomorrow, I'm on I'm on the road Friday with people. We got homes to walk. Yeah.

You know?

Steve: So you love absolutely love what you do.

Tom: Love what I do. Then it's not work, is it? No. I get to hang out with you, the guys at CG. That's it's pretty cool.

I'm not gonna complain. We get to do some cool things now. We get

Steve: to do some cool things, but I'm talking about, like, the day to day stuff. Like, loving the walk homes. See, that's what I've always said was, like, I love everything about real estate except for the the houses.

Tom: No. I love the houses. I don't like the managing of the people.

Steve: Let's say the other part was the people.

Tom: Yeah. No. No. See, I don't do that part anymore. Yeah.

Like, we just keep me We have buffers between me and that now, thankfully. Yeah.

Steve: But I love how much you love what you do.

Tom: Thank you.

Steve: It's awesome. So now looking at your life now, you're living, sounds like, your perfect life. What is your epic life goal?

Tom: What's next you mean?

Steve: What is, like money is no object. What do you wanna do?

Tom: So having grown up, like, I'm I've mentored young men, and I had I've taken one from 14 to 20. He came to work for us, but I got him going from a c student to an all a and graduating early. We fired him, though. But he's still welcome in my home. He's still my other son.

I wanna do more of that. Because having come from that upbringing, I know the problems. It was so fulfilling to watch this young man, but it was shitty at the work because he was like, he felt our relationship gave him cover. And I'm like, dude, we're gonna fire you. We're gonna fire you.

Fired you. Right? But he still comes over to eat. Mhmm. Place to stay, hangs out.

He's my other child. Right? Comes to church with us. That's no different. But I told him, life is hard for him now Mhmm.

Because he made mistakes. Yeah. We have to let him walk that walk.

Steve: Yes. To learn.

Tom: Yes. To learn. But he also knows that he came and sat me, cried. Right? I gave him space afterwards, you know, but I'll always be there to help.

Mhmm. But you can't come to work anymore. Maybe one day down the line. Who knows? But not now.

Right? Now you have to have a hard journey. But I love that we got him to a better place. Now I see where I failed and that I should have more safeguards in and accountability and all that in the beginning when it came to work for us. I didn't.

I I know better now. Now? Now. Right. That's part of it.

Okay? Yeah.

Steve: That's part of the journey.

Tom: But, I wanna do more of that.

Steve: Yeah. How do you want it to be remembered?

Tom: As a father. I just want, like, my son saw that I had a tag one day from an event, and it said Aiden and I was dad. He's like, why do you have that? What do you mean? He's like, yeah.

But what aren't you just because he's been in events before. He's like, isn't this fit supposed to say what you do? Yeah. I'm I'm your I'm your dad. That's what I do.

It's like, well, I said, tell me when that ends. He's like, it doesn't. There you go. Whatever I'm doing business wise, that's gonna end one day. Me being you and your sister's dad, that's never gonna end.

Steve: Yeah. That's powerful. What's your biggest struggle today?

Tom: People? Isn't that the biggest struggle? Like, I I'm me. I'm passionate. I'm driven, and that, like, drives people crazy.

Mhmm. But just finding that balance

Steve: You can be a character.

Tom: Yeah. I I mean, I have a funny personality. People like but, you know, my my biggest struggle is trying to manage where we're going and not let it eat up my life. Yeah. Okay?

Because I'm a father, but people wanna take this off 50 states. Fantastic. I'm not going there. Like, I'll help you, but, like, I'm gonna be there with my family because I don't wanna be that guy. Right?

My daughter's like, every night, we're, like, FaceTiming. Mhmm. 16 year old son, he's like, hey, dude. Like, you're good. Hey.

How's things going over there? Right? I'm like, okay. Yeah. We're good.

But but we have that relationship. Mhmm. And I don't wanna be on the road two hundred days a year with people. Yeah. That's that's not me.

Steve: How old is she?

Tom: Eight. Eight.

Steve: Yeah. I'll say, a tough time right now. You know? The 14 year old girl.

Tom: Yeah.

Steve: Because we were, like, besties.

Tom: Oh, yeah.

Steve: Up to eight, up to nine. But, man, it gets harder.

Tom: I gotta date one day. Right? So we've already pinky swear that I get to pick the husband. My son will say, don't worry, Pop. We got shovels for that guy in the backyard.

I'm like, I love you, dude. Yeah. You know. Right?

Steve: Well, you have enough land.

Tom: Yeah. We just septic systems. Right?

Steve: What is your superpower?

Tom: My energy and drive. Right? Just, like, I can just go. Mhmm. I Don't get tired.

I I start to now, I think, more than before, but I can just go and go and go and go and just start but that drives people insane too. Right?

Steve: Yeah. I can't imagine trying to micromanage you like your friend.

Tom: It doesn't work. Right? And I've learned that, you know, ADD is a superpower, but I'm very focused with things.

Steve: So With guardrails.

Tom: Yes. Well, when I'm at work, I have my email shut off. I don't look at emails. Someone else handles

Steve: that. Mhmm.

Tom: My phone doesn't beep with it. It's not even notification on it. When I have my in my office days, my screens have no emails up. I can work. Because someone do you ever see that it's like an exercise.

Oh, exercise. Oh, you think you can multitask? Okay. Let's write a sentence one letter at a time. And I'm like, this is dumb.

He's like, yeah. So was you trying to multitask? I was like, if I paid him to call me stupid.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Okay. He's right though. So now it's just being very intentional with things. Like, these are my office days. These are my time.

These are my boundaries. That's the game changer for me. Right? And somebody will say to me, you're not supposed to be doing that. Are you right?

Okay. Fine. Mhmm. Listening better. Yeah.

I think that happens as we age and we're like, we we hire good people, great people. Let them do their damn job.

Steve: Yeah. Those are wise words. Not not

Tom: Yeah. But I just heard this at CG last week. Right? To to save somebody is to rob them of a victory.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: I don't save my children. I let them stumble and fall now. Mhmm. Because one day, I'm not gonna be there to help them up.

Steve: Yeah. I want them

Tom: to learn to make good mistakes. Right? Same with my team. It's like, oh, I can fix this.

Steve: Oh, I can't. I know. It's the hardest thing because it's so easy to fix. It's one phone call, and it's done.

Tom: But then we don't teach them. Right? We want them, hey. Then when I see them come to me later and say, man, that was stupid what I did. I was like, yes.

What what do you mean? And then they tell me. And then right then and there, you know if they get it. Right? Mhmm.

On the fix. And it's like, okay. We're gonna keep this one. Or this one's done because they don't get it. Right?

Yeah. And but you love the ones who just see it. Because we can't make people want success. We can see all the abilities in them.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: But if they don't want it for themselves, right, the first mastermind I ever went to, the guy, he saw all the people around me. He says, I want you to picture something. Okay? There's a boat. I love boats.

All All your friends are in the boat. I'm like, alright. Cool. You're outside the boat. I'm like, alright.

It's not so fun anymore.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: You're like, but the boat's not in the water. And it's on rocky ground, and you're pulling that boat with a rope. Let me tell you what will happen. Only two things. You will cut the rope and get rid of them.

You will jump in the boat and go back to them. What do you think I did? Got the rope and got rid of them because they weren't on my journey. Yeah. They wanted eight to four to come home and play never played video games.

Mhmm. That's what they want out of life. There's so much more to a life we realized. Right? They never wanted to take the blinders off or take the red pill and leave the soft couch.

Yeah. But then when they don't have, like, an easy life either, Someone else determines what time they go to work, when they get done. I don't want that.

Steve: I can't even imagine that. No. What failure did you learn the most from?

Tom: Not being able to ask for help. We're guys. Right? Oh, we wouldn't ask for directions. Right?

Thank God for, like, maps and all that. Hey, Siri. Where am I going today? Right? Now I'm like, oh, I suck at this.

Help me. Mhmm. Right? I know to ask for help right away. Yeah.

And I could never do that because the ego would get in the way because I'm not good at it. Dude, you just started. You're not gonna be good. Right? Mhmm.

Ask for help. There's enough help out there, but we as guys, as men, it's like, oh, we're good. I'm not gonna ask for directions, and I'm gonna get this done.

Steve: Kinda like bigger boys. Alright. I'm gonna figure this out. What book have you gifted more than any other?

Tom: What book what?

Steve: Have you gifted more than

Tom: Oh, the gap in the game, man. I send that and rise. I probably sent I sent rise to three people in the week. I send books to everybody.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Right? So my credit cards for work are hooked up to Amazon because for Amazon people, it's so much free crap all the month. Right? It's like, you're struggling with this? Here.

Let me send you this book. Like, I've sent Gary's book so many times. He's a best seller probably because of me. Right? But the gap in the game, just teaching you that, like, live your life in the game.

I think, for me, when I I remember I was listening to it. I'm walking. I'm listening to it. I sat down. I rewounded the beginning part where we talked about it.

I was like, because we always think of the bad. Look at all we've done. You know, a good a real touch on this quickly is that so I sold three houses my first year. There was a week last year where I sold six. Six.

Only five retails closed. The sixth one didn't close on Friday. I was pissed that that sixth sale didn't close. So I had a daddy daughter night. I wasn't present for that.

I missed it. I was there, but I wasn't there.

Steve: Right? Because I'm pissed this season. Present not emotionally.

Tom: And then I wake up the next morning and, you know, I roll over every day. I pray. I thank God for the twenty four hours he may give me. Right? And then I go downstairs.

I do my stretching and all that. It's a Saturday. And then I pray again because I'm still pissed at this sixth house. Made a ton of money. We did a lot of good.

This six blanking house. I turn around. The book is, like, basically glowing on my shelf. I'm like, you dumbbell. You didn't sell you didn't make like, you made more on the one deal times whatever than you made the first year, and you're complaining.

Steve: Yeah. But I

Tom: had the best day. My wife woke up. She's like, hey. I got you a pool pass at the resort you like, and you're getting a massage. I'm like, you've been really good lately.

I'm like, that's really cool. Mhmm. K? Went Went to hear my friend give a Saturday morning speak at a at a rhea, and I would have been jealous years ago what an amazing speaker he is. And then I went to the pool, got a massage, like, because that book, what a jerk you are.

You sold five Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, third oh, and the sixth one sold on Monday. Yeah. But isn't that the the, the things we put on us? Right? We need to be perfect.

Mhmm. Like, I always tell people, like, if you can walk on water, I'll hold you to that standard. Yeah. Until you do, not happening.

Steve: Well, the problem is as an achiever.

Tom: Mhmm.

Steve: The reason why you can achieve is because you focus on the on the gap.

Tom: Mhmm. But, you know, we also have to give ourselves credit for all we've done.

Steve: Oh, I know this. I understand this. I'm just saying the reason why we achieve is because we're perpetually dissatisfied.

Tom: True.

Steve: And so then we have to learn how to slow down and appreciate.

Tom: But that's you know, first of all, I appreciate the journey much more than I ever did. I always just wanna rush to the end and start whatever's next.

Steve: Mhmm.

Tom: Life is in that dash.

Steve: Right? Mhmm.

Tom: And, you know, it's gonna be I was born here and I died here, but this is life. And, you know, when I get done rolling this boulder up the hill, there's gonna be another hill to climb. I just don't it's mentoring or whatever's next. It's not I don't see myself being the guy to retire. Mhmm.

That's like, it doesn't have to be business. It has to be something substantial to do.

Steve: Yeah. So I want you to think about some last thoughts you wanna leave all the listeners with, all the watchers. Guys, if you guys got value today, please hit that subscribe button. That way, we can get more people catching the message so we can accomplish our goals of creating more millionaires. What are some last thoughts you'd like to leave all the listeners with?

Tom: You know, most people are afraid to take the steps. They'll watch your show, but they don't take action. Mhmm. What's the difference between us and them? We take action.

Do the action. Don't quit before you start. Don't quit halfway through. Just do it. The people at the finish line on the other side, you and I would know it's worth it.

Yeah. People were around. They're not the chest bumpers. It's none of that. They don't have to say all these things.

You're like, they've done it. They've done it. It's worth the ride. And enjoy the ride because it's definitely a bumpy one.

Steve: Yes. Definitely. Be prepared.

Tom: Mhmm. The people

Steve: around you need to support you. Yes. Someone wants to connect with you, what's the best way for them to do that?

Tom: I'll give you all all my channels, you know, Facebook at my name, Thomas Lehman. TikTok, Thomas Lehman real estate. At the property solutions team, that's my YouTube. Instagram, my name, and real estate. Yeah.

Steve: Yeah. Awesome. Thank you so much. Oh,

Tom: man. Thanks for having me. Pleasure. Yeah. Definitely.

Steve: Thank you guys for watching. See you guys next time.

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