The Art of Passive Income

On today’s podcast we talk with The Mindful Landlord, Terrie Schauer, about how to run a rental property while keeping your peace of mind.Terrie is a real estate coach with a PhD in nothing to do with real estate. And today, she talks to us about how to reduce the headaches in rental properties by bringing zen like qualities to the landlord experience.Terrie has been managing rental properties half of her life, it was what helped finance her PhD. But during the process, she discovered that she liked being a landlord and was good at it, so she decided to follow that path after college instead of her chosen field of study.Listen in as we discuss:The dangers of scaling too fastVetting tenantsIncremental progressOvercoming fearProperty management automationAnd finally, don’t sweat the small stuff!Terrie’s number one tip of being mindful is to be able to prioritize between the small and the not small stuff for your own peace of mind.For those thinking about getting into the realm of property management, check out Terrie’s book: Mindful Landlord: How to Run Rental Property For Profit and Peace of Mind.“I feel like you can’t overstate the importance of choosing your tenants carefully because you’re really choosing your quality of life when you let someone into one of your units.”Listen in now as Terrie Schauer teaches us a thing or two about mitigating the headaches behind the three r’s—renters, rodents, rehabs... on this episode of The Art of Passive Income!TIP OF THE WEEKMark: Learn more about Terrie at TerrieSchauer.com.Scott: Read the book, The Miracle Equation: The Two Decisions That Move Your Biggest Goals from Possible, to Probable, to Inevitable by Hal Elrod.Terrie: "A little bit of something is better than a lot of nothing." If you're ever sitting there and thinking I don't have time to run a 5k, or I don't have time to learn this piece of real estate knowledge, I don't have time to read this book, do whatever you can. Those little 5-minute things that you do will add up and they will put you further ahead over a long period of time than if you do nothing.A great book on the topic is: Incremental Improvements: Change Your Life One Small Step at a Time by Mike Brodsky.Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In this week’s Christmas eve edition of The Land Geek Round Table, Team Geek is going to stuff your stockings full with a treasure trove of tech goodies that will assist in the growth of your land business!Listen in as the team goes over:OptimizationDelegationAutomationJoining Mark this week are:Erik PetersonMimi SchmidtTate LitchfieldScott ToddWhat comes first, automation or delegation? This is a mistake often seen in the optimization process. The team goes over the steps they take in their own business optimization to help equip you with the best knowledge possible. (Hint: Humans first!)Then, Geeky Stocking Stuffers—tech tools you can’t live without that will have you optimizing, delegating, and automating like a pro!LGPass—Automates the paperwork. Fills in and prints out offer letters, contracts, and closing documents in seconds. Available to Flight School and coaching students.Airtable—Team organizationGIS SystemsZapier—Connects apps to automate the workflowFollow Up Boss—Automate lead follow upProcess Street—Process management, task automationG-suite—Collaboration toolSlack—Team messagingFleeq—To create training videosLastPass—Password manager that allows you to share login information securely with your VAsInvestorNinjas.com—To learn anything about anything. Courses on finance, marketing, technology & more!GeekPay—Note collectionZoom or Loom—To record training videosTrello—Team project boardAll of us here at Land Geek HQ want to wish you a very Merry Christmas!TIP OF THE WEEKTate: Check out JustWatch. A guide to help you find your favorite shows across all the streaming services.Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Just a year after starting their land investing journey, our guests have completed over 30 deals and have $2,500 a month in passive income coming in, working just 5-10 hours a week on the business... they were able to pay for Flight School with their first two deals.Land Geek students, Evan Bollier and Chloe Bawmann, join us on today’s show to talk about what their journey has been like so far and what their future plans look like.In the summer of 2017, Evan had just finished his MBA and felt he needed a little more direction in his life. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go on to a PhD to start teaching full-time until he picked up the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.That book inspired him to take a deep dive into real estate and down the rabbit hole of podcasts where he came upon one featuring Mark… and it all made sense to him. Now, he just had to convince Chloe.So, Evan took Chloe on a cruise where he got down on one knee and proposed to her...will you be my business and lifetime passive income partner and make beautiful 300% to 1000% returns with me?Chloe said yes, and while a little skeptical at first, she attended the next Bootcamp with Evan in Orlando. It was there, sitting next to someone who was selling properties while Bootcamp was in session, that she knew that if anybody else could do it, so could they.Timeline of SuccessionBought the Toolkit in September 2018Went to Bootcamp in October 2018Signed up for Flight School in November 2018Bought their first property in December 2018Paid off Flight School during the last week after selling two propertiesListen in to find out the details behind:Their first dealTheir favorite dealWhat they would have done differentlyTheir favorite and least favorite parts of the businessTheir preference between cash and termsChloe also talks about how it was Mimi’s podcast, The Little Tortoise With Big Grit, that had inspired her and moved her to tears. Her advice to those who are skeptical or don't know which course of action to choose...I would say not to overthink it. If you can only afford the Toolkit, then at least get the Toolkit. And if you can afford Flight School then you should definitely do Flight School. But, I mean stop complaining I guess, just do it and stop overthinking. Evan is the biggest over thinker I know and if he can do it and stop overthinking then I think anybody can do it.Failure is not an option—Evan & Chloe both have the mindset that the only way they are going to fail is only if they stop and they have no intentions of stopping. They have seen that this model really does work if you are committed to making it work.Their success is summed up to:They have a why—they’re trying to solve a problemThey have direction—they know what they want and what they have to do to get thereMental fortitude—They know the only way to fail is if they stopPerseverance—The aptitude and commitment to keep going even through the roadblocksI felt like I was a little directionless, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Now I know exactly what I want to do and I couldn't be happier doing it. I love this Land Geek community and I love working with Chloe. And, oh yeah, we have fun. -EvanThey jumped in with both feet, took action, and continuously plowed through one roadblock at a time, clearing their path to passive income.And, even though both still work their full-time jobs, Evan & Chloe talk about how life has changed for them, giving them hope and a sense of direction. They can see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and know it's just a matter of time before they reach it.TIP OF THE WEEKMark: Learn more about Evan and Chloe at ParadiseParcels.com. Email them. Ask them about Flight School, ask them a question that I didn’t get to on the podcast and have them give you the inside scoop of what we like to refer to as the DHR method of Scott Todd’s Flight School program.Scott: I think everybody should read or listen to, Talking To Strangers: What We Should Know About The People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell. We all think that our messages are being received or communicated properly. Or worse yet, we're able to understand people but that may not be the case. This book will help improve your communication.Evan: Get an old fashioned piece of paper and pen then write down your goals of the week. I've got a little notebook and Chloe and I spend 30 minutes each week every Sunday and we write down our goals for the week. On one side of the piece of paper we have our business goals and on the other side we have our life goals. It feels incredibly good to cross things off one thing at a time and it feels really satisfying to see just how one small thing can make a big difference. We've even taken it a step further and we do this quarterly as well. So on our fridge we have one month at a time.Chloe: I recommend reading the book, Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life - Before 8AM by Hal Elrod. That book totally changed my life. Evan has always been a morning person and I don't like to get up in the morning but we get up consistently now at 5:30 before we go to work and it gives us time to work out, talk to each other, figure stuff out and then go to work so that when we come home we can work on this business together and we move together instead of having other things that we need to focus on.Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

With Black Friday behind us, the burning question is, what were your open rates?Tune into this week’s Round Table discussion as Team Land Geek reveals the details of their campaigns, including open rates, click throughs, sales, and techniques!Joining Mark this week are:Erik PetersonMimi SchmidtMike ZainoScott BossmanTate LitchfieldScott ToddWith percentages all over the board, Mimi came out the clear winner at a 40% open rate...which raised some eyebrows among the group. Find out the technique she implemented in advance to get such a high percentage...a method Mike dubbed, The Nancy Drew technique and took notes for next years campaign.Sales were great for Tate, he may not have got 40% open rate, but he did sell all of the properties he had listed for just under 65,000 worth of enterprise! Not too bad for a day’s work!“Don’t be upset, don’t be discouraged, you've got to consistently show up. If you ran a Black Friday or Cyber Monday campaign and you didn’t have the results you wanted, learn from them. Look at what you could do differently, make changes. There is no secret formula or recipe to marketing, you've got to try everything multiple times and learn from it every single week.” -TateThe team also talks over:Standing out in a noisy Black Friday marketplace when everyone’s email is inundated with dealsNurturing your listThen, Scott Todd shares his two-step process that will ensure your emails aren’t getting sent straight to the spam folder. It was a process that left everyone with their mouths open and taking notes!“Do this two-part email process, you know it's going to be delivered and then you're going to really spike up your open rates and start approaching Mimi numbers.So if you’re listening to this, please implement that even if you have a small list. It's just a good habit to get into and I think it makes it even more intentional with your list as well because at the end of the day that is your best asset. Spending that little extra time increasing your deliver-ability and increasing your open rates can make a huge difference to the bottom line.” -MarkYou’re not going to want to miss this very informative episode that will not only help your future Black Friday campaigns but all of your email campaigns and buyer’s list management throughout the year!Also, find out why it was discussed that the title of this episode should be called, HATE.TIP OF THE WEEKMimi: For tax purposes, check out these rules behind a Roth Conversion. It’s worth looking into if you have any QRP or if you’re using money from retirement funds to fund your business.Scott: Check out GiveMomentum.com—an app that will automate the giving process, it’s like IFTTT.Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

"We don’t believe that it's a customer's job to know what he or she wants. CEOs must engage with in customer diplomacy to truly understand their customers and address their latent needs."Join us on today’s show as we talk with the Founder of the Avenue Group, Jeremy Greenberg, about customer diplomacy and why it’s important to build a deep relationship with our customers that transcends the transactional relationship.Jeremy, who is also a Co-Founder and CEO of Flyte Fitness, has built multi-million-dollar businesses for two Fortune 500 companies (Capital One and Avon Products). He is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he holds an MBA.Listen in as we go over:Jeremy’s biggest entrepreneurial lesson learnedSurveys—are they sufficient to gain customer insight or are other methods necessary to truly understand customers?Worst decisions Jeremy has seen companies make related to customer diplomacyPlus, Jeremy gives examples of companies that are dialed into customer service and experience, as well as those that are off-track. Find out where Jeremy says their biggest challenge lies!TIP OF THE WEEKMark: Get smarter and learn more at AveGroup.com.Scott: Check out the book, Late bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement by Rich Karlgaard.Jeremy: At the beginning of the week, write down the main things you want to accomplish that week. Things, if you complete, you will consider a successful week. Do that for four weeks, and see how it works for you. It is really helpful.Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

This is nacho typical Round Table episode—First, some serious gratitude, then some serious fun! Having the time and money to live their best lives, Mark asks the guys to dig deep to get to a more personal and intimate level to find out what they are most grateful for, that this business provides them.Joining Mark are: Mike ZainoScott BossmanTate LitchfieldScott ToddHere is a little sneak peek into their answers... Mike—To me it’s time freedom. Everybody knows I still work the fire department, I'm blessed with a great schedule there, but as far as every other day of the week it’s just basically do whatever I want, whenever I want. And not just the time freedom, but to be free of debt. I don’t have that immense pressure of debt on me anymore. I don't feel the burden and that weight. Debt can be crushing and if anybody out there is suffering from any type of debt you know what I’m talking about, it affects you at all levels of your life. Scott Bossman—I'm just not rushed anymore. Like when you’re working 8:00-5:00 and you've got to get kids to school in the morning and you've got to get them home in the afternoon and you've got to have dinner ready. It has improved my family relationships. This summer was my first summer home not working a job in 24 years and I was able to go golfing on a Monday with my son and go fishing on a Thursday with my other son and to be able to do these things with my boys that I was never able to do before.Tate—The money that this business creates, I'm grateful for that. But after all is said and done, it's allowed me to really spend time on things that I want to and that includes my health. I’m able to focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle which is important because your health is wealth. I'm also really grateful for the time with my young family. It allows me to be a present dad. I don't miss the milestones. I get to go to dance practices and these kinds of activities that my daughter finds interesting and I love it. I love being the only dad who goes to scissors classes.Scott Todd—I'm thankful that this is a business that has allowed myself and others to enjoy the life that they want on their own timeframe, being able to do what you want, that's the coolest thing to me about this business. It allows you to give back to the community, to give back to mankind. It's not ‘all about me’,  it's about living and being a better person because you have the time freedom to do it. And you have the economic freedom to help other people. When you can do that, man, life all of a sudden gets a lot more better. What is Mark grateful for? “I’m so grateful for so many things and everything you guys were talking about I’m super, super grateful for. When I was younger, I was Tate and then as I was going through my career I felt like what Scott felt like, being able to get out of my job in 18 months. Then to be able to spend time with my loved ones like, you know, just that morning routine like what Zaino was saying and Bossman being able to have those special moments throughout the week with my family. I’ve experienced all of those things. So today, I think what I’m most grateful for is The Land Geek community and being able to live vicariously through other people’s success. On Facebook yesterday with the Dude Buddy and the Zen Master, out of nowhere Nick Ringling is like, 'Yeah, you know, I’m 8 months out of Flight School"...I think he made $187,000. And Paul Brewers like, "Yeah, I paid for Flight School tuition in my first deal." Josh Deel same thing. I mean this is out of the blue. Like we're not asking them to go on and do this. And I think through me hearing these stories of success... like a Tyler and Jen Kelly, I feel like now I can really die in peace, at least professionally, that I've made enough of an impact to do that. I think having that ability to make an impact in other people’s lives I’m most grateful for.”Mark also shares a story about a recent heartwarming rescue mission that Scott Todd was on. Then the guys get on topic of Thanksgiving and their family traditions which, for obvious reasons, leads to the topic of food…. Cheesecake Factory may or may not have been mentioned. Ok, it was.  Then, have you ever been in a nacho emergency but didn’t know where to go? Scott Todd has you covered in this week’s Tip of the Week! #PleaseBringBackErikPetersonAndMimiSchmidtThe Land Geek Team is super grateful for all of our listeners, without you there wouldn’t be a podcast!  We hope you all had a warm fulfilling Thanksgiving.TIP OF THE WEEKScott Todd: Check out the DataBaseOfNachos.com to find nachos near you!Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Our guest today, Cliff Hayden, is a real estate investor and the founder of ShowMeTheRental.com—an online software tool that automates the most difficult part of property management: finding and screening qualified leads.In the late 90’s, Cliff was tired of being a puppet on a string for the corporation he worked for. Intrigued by real estate, he wanted to pursue it but wanted to make sure it was going to be the right avenue for him.Then with timing on his side, he found a way to give real estate a try it before he left the comfort of a paycheck... he got himself suspended!After making his salary in just the first month and holding the longest suspension in his company’s history, Cliff decided to quit his job to pursue real estate investing as a career.Business was good for Cliff but he grew tired of taking hundreds of calls and emails from unqualified leads just to find that one good renter. He was tired of managing showings and following up with people.He was struggling to find time for his family. He decided he needed a better way. And when he couldn’t find a better way, he built it.Since developing ShowMeTheRental.com, Cliff is able to focus on his business and let the website manage the leads so he can spend more quality time with the people he loves.Listen in as Cliff shares the details of those early days and how he made the transition from trading time for money to finding the right balance of priorities in his life.Also find out:How ShowMeTheRental worksCliff’s first investment propertyHow he leads by example for his kidsCliff went from a corporate puppet to real estate success because he had one thing...a burning desire. And that, paired with a smart exit strategy, was the perfect recipe to create the lifestyle he desired.TIP OF THE WEEKMark: Go to ShowMeTheRental.com, it's a great tool at an amazing value of $49 until your house rents.Scott: This book could help our listeners who struggle with sales. Check out, Questions that Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants by Paul Cherry.Cliff: Check out the app, Blinkist. Key takeaways from books that will take 15 to 20 minutes to read. It's a really good tool to keep your mind sharp.Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Over the next few episodes of The Land Geek Round Table, we are going to take a deep dive into scaling your land business. The objective is to take you from working IN the business to working ON the business, on your schedule!Joining Mark this week are:Tate LitchfieldMike ZainoMimi SchmidtScott ToddListen in as the team talks about what life in the business looked like when they were first starting out and what it looks like now, working on the business… and we can tell you, it looks much different!  We all want to have our money problem solved. But ultimately, you want your time problem solved so that you have complete control of how you spend your time in your life. If Monday or Tuesday is the same day as Saturday or Sunday or Friday, that's an amazing feeling. I remember that first time I got sick after I quit my investment banking job and this amazing sense of relief that there was no one to call, there's no stress, I didn’t have to deal with a manager or anything like that. I could just be sick.  -MarkFind out the details on:How many hours a day they worked then and nowTheir first hiresHow long it took them to get to where they are todayBeside time, find out what it took for our team to get to the point of where they are today—running a successful business that will run with or without them. Bottom line, their success comes down to determination. You are going to have obstacles along the way, both in the business and in your personal life but if you’re able to push through them and keep going, there is no reason why you can’t be successful in this business. I think that people need to understand, also reiterate the fact that it’s the deep work that got us to this point. It's like you always say, ‘it's simple, but it's not easy’. You're going to get kicked in the teeth in this business. It takes a lot of deep work and a lot of mistakes and recoveries and commitment because a lot of people get stopped in this business and I think that it comes down to, it can be sort of an excuse when something strong comes up that blocks you and you don't push through it. You have to not allow that to become an excuse. I don't want to belittle anybody's issues that will come up in the business but we all have these things that happen and we've all pushed through them. We're here now because we pushed through that. So it's important to realize that, if you're out there listening and you're struggling, that we've done that and it's the only reason we're having good results now is because we pushed through it and you can too so that's like the other side of it. -MikeAnd finally, work at YOUR OWN pace. The definition of success is not based on speed or keeping up with others in the business. People are going to do well at their own pace. How I define success is not necessarily how Mimi defines success. There is no success spectrum that says, ‘well, he did it in this amount of time, well, then that makes him successful’. How do you define success? If you define success by building a passive income and getting the heck out of your day job, what does it matter how long it takes? It does not matter and should not matter. Unfortunately, I think that a lot of times people put artificial time horizons on their success and they go, “Well, okay, I'm going to try this for six months.” Well, I can tell you in six months, you won't be successful. End of story if that's your time horizon. I don't know what you're going to be successful in for six months but it's not this. But if you're willing to continue to chisel away slowly and methodically at building the business that you want, well then you can do it. It's just you have to do it. That's the difference. -ScottTIP OF THE WEEKMark: Check out Tentrr.com—it's like Airbnb but with tents. You can share your land, become a camp keeper and earn annual income by hosting guests on your land.Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

We talk with The Land Duo, Tyler & Jen Kelly about their land investing journey in this week’s episode of The Art of Passive Income!Tyler & Jen are Land Geek clients who have taken their business to the next level and today they are going to give us an inside look on how they went from one deal to over eighty in under a year!Timeline of SuccessionEnd of 2017—Heard about the concept and started with another programApril 2018—Acquired their first property and struggled on their ownOctober 2018—Found Mark and bought the Investor’s ToolkitNovember 2018—Sold that first propertyDecember 2018—Found a lot of value in the Toolkit so they signed up for Flight SchoolJanuary 2019—Signed up for coaching with TateOctober 2019—Tyler quit his corporate jobHow did they work through the initial resistance to get to the sell of their first property?They heard the success stories and believed that it works, they just had to figure out how to make it work for them. So, after investing in that first initial program and struggling to make it work on their own, they found Mark and bought the Investor’s Toolkit.“By getting the Toolkit, it got us way more aggressive in our marketing. We just can’t put out a couple of ads and sell a property, we need to be all over the place. Just that one little stage made the difference and got us that first sell.”Join us as Tyler & Jen share all the details of the beginning of the journey into land investing, along with:The inside scoop on Flight SchoolWhy they went into coachingWho was more nervous with the transition from paycheck to passiveTheir experience in the VIP roomAlso, find out the mistakes they have made and what they would have done different.“Going through the struggle made us realize that we don’t want to keep doing that. We don’t have to, there’s a better way. Let’s go find somebody who has been successful and who has done this and learn from them. And we haven’t looked back and this year has been insane."Tyler & Jen share how they went from one deal to eighty in under a year and how those eighty deals have changed the quality of their lives. Tyler, now gets to spend quality time with Jen and their two daughters with his focus on them instead of work.Plus, find out their advice to that person sitting in a cubicle at an unfulfilling job, who has health benefits and a nice salary, but also has a long commute to work and is just working for the weekend and holidays.What does the future look like for Tyler & Jen?The Kelly’s talk about what their passive looks like now and what their end of the year goal is and Jen raises the bar by the end of the conversation!Tyler & Jen’s story is an inspirational one, they had the proof of concept and knew this business model worked. They knew if others could be successful, so could they. So they did not stop, they kept it consistent and continuously moved forward.You have to have that burning desire. If you really want to change and you really believe you can do it, then you can do it -TylerWe’re looking forward to hearing more about their progress and what this upcoming year has in store for them.Listen in to their inspiring story now...TIP OF THE WEEKMark: Learn more about LandDuo.com—check out their land and maybe invest in some.Scott: Sometimes we need peace and quiet to like work. Check out MUSE—a white noise app in the iTunes store and it’s free.Tyler: Check out Workast—a task management tool that integrates with slack, it’s free for up to five users.Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Is there a dollar amount too small to do a deal? Let’s say you bought a property for $300 and turned around and sold it for $600, is that even worth your time? What if the profit is as low as $150… or even $100?But, what if you can do that week after week and these lower priced properties can bring in a steady $200 a week? That’s over $800 a month to redeploy back into your business, pay bills, or make a car payment… would that be a game changer?Listen in as Mark, Tate and the two Scott’s do a deep dive into buying those lower end properties. Find out the lowest amount they’ve made and why sometimes it’s not just about the dollar amount, but about keeping the money moving.Money loves speed—This business is about velocity and the person who can sell the most properties the quickest is going to win.As the guys point out, buying lower cost properties has its perks—it’s very low risk, keeps the money moving, and adds to your buyers pool which could later turn into more sales.It doesn't sound like much to many people, but for me, I’ve built a lifestyle around $150 a month payments and I wouldn't trade it for any other thing out there because this is safe. Whether there’s not as much meat on the bone to begin with or you’ve been sitting on a property for so long that you just want to get rid of it, the guys go at it from all angles and show you why you shouldn’t discount properties as “just a waste of time” ...and tell you when it is.Then Mark brings up the really deep philosophical question—How much is enough… when it comes to your Thanksgiving dinner?TIP OF THE WEEKMark: #BringMimiSchmidtBackForTOW #WeWantErikPetersonsTOW—Go the the Official Motivation & Wealth Creation group leave a comment and tag them!Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?