The Art of Passive Income

We talk with Chris Rawley, the CEO of HarvestReturns.com—a new way for farmers, ranchers, and landowners to raise capital without putting their farms at risk by over-leveraging with debt.Chris, who is currently a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, has invested in real estate and income-producing agriculture for nearly two decades. He conceived the idea to combine online investing, equity crowdfunding with passive investments in production agriculture a few years ago while visiting a farm investment in Central America.With the vision of making agriculture investing an easier process, Chris founded Harvest Returns with his COO Austin Maness and brought that vision to reality.Harvest Returns is an online platform launched in 2017 to raise capital for small to medium-size operators in private investments in production farming.Listen in as we dig deep into this interesting niche of production farming. Chris gives an an in-depth look into:Indoor agriculture—growing food closer to the consumerTax advantagesOpportunity Zone FundFinding investorsDue diligence on the investor sideRisk mitigation measuresPlus, find out what the next big opportunity in agriculture is and so much more on today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income!TIP OF THE WEEKMark: Learn more about Chris Rawley at HarvestReturns.com.Scott: Check out the website HighTail.com for sending large files.Chris: If you're starting a small business, I recommend reading the book, The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Wholesaling land can be a very lucrative, if done correctly.In this week’s best of Round Table series, we take a look back at episodes that deal with everything wholesaling, including:Wholesale ethics—The appropriate protocol when it comes to wholesaling.Cheating or good business—The guys analyze both the psychological barriers and business side of wholesaling.The proper way to wholesale—the team goes over those processes, plus talk about the advantages of wholesaling, advice for those just starting out, and their own personal rules for wholesaling.Find out the roles of each the wholesaler and the wholetailer:Who pays the back taxesWho does the paperworkWho does the due diligenceWhat the wholesaler should provideIf there’s room for negotiationAnd, more!Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Certified Financial Planner, Kathy Longo joins us today to talk about money and relationships and how having those big conversations about money management with your spouse will lead you to good financial decisions.Kathy is also a chartered advisor in philanthropy and a certified divorce financial analyst. With over 25 years of wealth management experience she is the founder and president of Flourish Wealth Management.Before launching Flourish in 2014, Kathy worked as a wealth manager, financial planner and firm manager in companies of varying sizes in both Chicago and Minneapolis.Listen in as Kathy removes the taboo behind money and shows us why finances need to become a normal conversation in your household.We dive deep into:The emotions attached to moneyThe definition of certified divorce financial analystTalking freely about money and using every day experiences to educate your childrenKathy also advises Scott, who is a spender, on how to start a productive conversation with his wife, who is the saver, so that they can build wealth together.Listen in now to learn more on how to manage wealth and Flourish Financially, on today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income!TIP OF THE WEEKMark: Learn more about becoming wealthy by getting your emotions in check about money at FlourishWealthManagement.com. And, be sure to check out Kathy's book, Flourish Financially: Values, Transitions, & Big Conversation.Scott: Check out Privacy.com to create private secure credit cards that are linked to your checking account.Kathy: Visit KathyLongo.com and take the Financial Readiness Test. It's an assessment that will score where you’re at in terms of your financial readiness for success.Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

What is the one VA position you can not live without in this business? This model is set-up to run on systems and automation that allow you to free up your time… time to work on the most important parts of the business that make you money and time to spend doing the things you love.The goal is to not create another full-time job for yourself, as Mark & Scott like to advocate. They are passionate about helping you get your land businesses set-up so that they are 90% automated. So you can imagine Mark’s surprise after learning that an advanced coaching client was still doing a task that should have been outsourced… and it has him riled up!That brings us back to the question, “What is the one VA position you can not live without in this business and why?”Joining Mark to answer that question this week are:Erik PetersonScott BossmanMimi SchmidtTate LitchfieldScott ToddListen in as we go around the table to hear how the team answered. A couple tasks that were mentioned are:List creationAd postingBut the overall consensus is the intake manager. Find out why this position is such a crucial piece of this business, along with:The roles of all the above mentioned positionsFinding the right VA for the intake positionTrainingPay costsTime savedPlus, all the usual banter, antics, and more in this week's episode of The Land Geek Round Table!TIP OF THE WEEKErik: Come to Bootcamp, it's where you learn all about this business, no matter how long you’ve been in it, you always learn something new. Also, the networking that happens there is amazing.Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Mark Dolfini—The Landlord Coach and author of The Time-Wealthy Investor joins us on The Art of Passive Income to talk about how he created true wealth through time-wealth.Mark is a veteran of the US Marines who owns several million dollars in real estate properties and has actively managed over $40 million in real estate since starting in the business about 20 years ago.His philosophy is, True wealth is not the simple accumulation of personal wealth. The pinnacle of wealth is time-wealth, and the ability to control your calendar.After four years in the Marine Corp, Mark decided to follow an entrepreneurial path. He was accepted into Purdue University where he got a degree in accounting and a minor in finance.His real interest was in real estate though so he started buying rentals after that first year and by the end of his fourth year, Mark had acquired a dozen rental units which amounted to about half a million dollars and he says that’s where his real education began.On today’s show, Mark talks about one of the biggest mistake he made as an investor and that was trying to do it all himself! He did not treat real estate investing as a business.Mark talks about the life-changing breaking point that came in 2008. With 92 rental units, $65,000 a month in revenue coming in and working 17 hours a day to keep afloat… he found himself in the hospital and nearly lost his life.Listen in as we also delve into:Mark’s transition going from being self employed to business ownerDetermining what your time is worthHis role in his business todayPlus, Mark breaks down his VIP paradigm concept—Vision, Infrastructure, Process, and how it helps investors get their businesses on track!TIP OF THE WEEKMark: Mark has a generous offer for The Art of Passive Income listeners which you can find at LandlordCoach.com/LandGeek.Scott: Check out Nizo.co to create cool cinematic effects in your videos.Mark D: Put a value on your time. Find out what your true worth is per hour. Come up with a number and really start to get very intentional about the things that you are doing that are of the highest and best use of your time.Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

We see and hear a lot of misconceptions about the land business, especially when it comes to giving advice to those who are just starting out, but what is some of the worst advice we have seen?Listen in as Mimi Schmidt takes over the helm and leads the team this week into a discussion that will shed some light on some of the worst advice they have seen given.Joining Mimi are:Erik PetersonMike ZainoScott BossmanSo what is some of the worst advice we have seen?You need a website to get startedParcels have to be a minimum of 10 acresPlus, advice that you give to yourself—You’ve seen the success of others, but you just want to try it on your own first for your own proof of concept.Find out why the team says this is all bad advice and what you need to be considering instead.Scott also brings up a couple other things that really makes him cringe.Setting up land buying websitesIn order to find a good area, mail to one area in large volumes over an extended period of timeTrack your response rate. If you’re getting a 5% response rate and you’re able to buy one percent, one for every 100, your pricing is good and adjust otherwise.You can learn if an area is good after a month of mailings at 20 a day. Then you’re not investing thousands of dollars to learn about that one county. -MimiDon’t Be Afraid to Come to Bootcamp - There is No Wrong TimeAnother misconception that Scott often hears surrounds Bootcamp and the investor level you need to be at before attending. Bootcamp is for everybody at any level of the business. From complete newbie to seasoned pro, you will always walk away with something new for your business.Bootcamp gives you what you need, when you need it.Bottom line—There is a lot of great advice out there also, but we want to make sure you're starting your land investing journey out on the right foot by taking advice from someone who has been doing the business for a long time.This model is easy if you follow the recipe. Don’t try to complicate it by following bad advice, it may set you up for a lot of frustration and frustration can lead to burnout.TIP OF THE WEEKMimi: Check out the Netflix documentary—Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates.QUOTE OF THE WEEKMike: It’s not enough to be busy, the question is, what are we busy about? by Henry David Thoreau.Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

With all the advancements in business technology, does your business have what it takes to survive in today’s high tech world?Business transformation expert, Steven L. Blue joins us today to talk about what businesses need to do in order to survive in this new economy.Steven is in the business of transforming failing and fading companies in the global powerhouses with 40 years of leadership experience.He is a proponent of changing the thinking, culture and product lines of established companies to help them survive and thrive in the new economy.Steven is also an author, speaker, and is a regular contributor to Fortune and Entrepreneur.Listen is as we delve deep into what it takes for companies to go through a business metamorphosis and not only survive, but thrive.The first step to going down the road of transformation is accepting the fact that you have to do so.Steven answers in great detail:What do companies need in order to make a successful transformation into the new economy?Can we compete in this new economy and if so, where do we make this metamorphosis?How do you transform something like a steel mill that's done the same thing forever into something with current proprietary technology?How as a leader of your business do you get everyone on board to adapt to new technologies?What is the number one reason most companies fail when they try to make this transition?Plus, Steven shares the anecdote that helped him personally get his own team on board for this radical metamorphosis of change and why he had to replace most of his leadership team!All of this and more on today's episode of The Art of Passive Income!TIP OF THE WEEKMark: Learn more about Steven at StevenLBlue.com, and pick up his book, Metamorphosis: From Rust-Belt to High-Tech in a 21st Century World.Scott: Check out the free auto text expander, PhraseExpress.com.Steven: Read the books:Disrupt or Die: What the World Needs to Learn from Silicon Valley to Survive the Digital Era by Jedidiah YuehThe 21 Rules For The 21st Century by Yuval Noah HarariIsn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Typically, there are two prices when it comes to pricing parcels—the discounted cash price and a higher terms price. But, how negotiable is the terms price?Joining Mark in this week’s discussion are:Mimi SchmidtErik PetersonTate LitchfieldErik shares a recent situation where a buyer came to him and wanted to pay the cash price on terms. This person is also an investor who has worked with others in the industry before who have given him the discounted rates. Erik wouldn’t make the same returns but by selling to him now, it could open the door to future business. Should he do the deal? After all, a sale is still a sale. Or, should he tell Joe Investor to move along?There are a lot of different variables that come into play. Listen in as Team Land Geek go over those variables that leaves them considering, and reconsidering what they would do.Also, Tate talks about the challenge he presented to the Mastermind call last week which he is now extending to anyone who wants to participate. Find out all the details along with Erik’s final decision in this week’s Round Table!TIP OF THE WEEKMimi: Check out the website LandGrid.com. You can click on a county and find out interesting information about the county itself. And, you can actually make lists and important/export data from it.Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Get ready to get your real estate game on as we go into GSD Mode with Joshua Smith on today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income! Joshua is in the top 1% of realtors worldwide and was voted the 30th top realtor in America by The Wall Street Journal. He has sold over 5000 homes, more than 1+ homes daily! He is also the host of the number one most dominant real estate agent podcast, the GSD Mode Podcast and he has coached and mentored thousands of realtors all over the world!  Real estate isn’t Joshua’s passion though… it’s his obsession. Today, Joshua is going to tell us how his true passion for fitness unintentionally led him to real estate which he soon fell in love with and his obsession grew from there. With a total of five companies, four real estate related, Josh has 82 agents working for him.  How did he go from being the real estate agent who has to get out there and buy, list, and sell properties for a paycheck to building an agency of 82 agents? Listen in to find out how Josh crossed the threshold from solo-economic dependency into creating passive income.  Also, get the details on:  How he runs his operations His hiring philosophy  Creating a team playbook  Plus, so much more!  Joshua proves that with hard work, a vision, and the mindset of thinking long-term you can accomplish anything if you are in it for the right reasons.  It was such a slow, methodical growth of getting the systems and processes and identifying the right people in place where you could eventually exit. You've got to have that vision of what that looks like and build it right from the ground up. Listen in now to hear how Joshua went from dropping out of college to becoming a real estate rock star! TIP OF THE WEEK Mark: Go to GSDMode.com and listen how Josh gets it done. It’s a great podcast. Scott: Check out Bluetick.io to automate responses for follow-up email. Joshua: Learn to be patient. Learn to play the long game. If you want to create true wealth and true passive income, you've got to be patient and you've got to be willing to invest in that long game. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

When you’re a land newbie, getting a list can be daunting—where do you go? How do you find one? Do you pay or not pay? It’s the first barrier in this business that you have to learn how to manipulate, but once you do it becomes second nature.After reading a post in the Motivation & Wealth Creation Group this week that was asking for options and tools available for getting a list, Team Land Geek decided to Round Table the topic in this week’s discussion.Joining Mark are:Scott BossmanErik PetersonMimi SchmidtMike ZainoTate LitchfieldScott ToddListen in as the team delves deep into the options available for you to obtain the lists and offers pro tips on how to make this process as painless as possible. Plus, they review the paid subscription websites, more specifically Agent Pro 247, and let you know if they are worth using.The data is out there. The important thing is to get 20 names and make that your target day-to-day to get up and running. -Scott BossmanA few options mentioned are:GIS systems where you can download dataThrough the county—website or callOutsourcingPaid subscription websites:Agent Pro 247Data TreeList SourceYou have to stop focusing on the expense of it and realize it is an initial investment you are making. -Scott ToddToday’s episode is full of value and if you’re someone who is serious about land investing but is getting frustrated with finding a list, you won’t want to miss it!If you’re going to be an entrepreneur, you’re the conductor. You’re the one setting the strategy, this is how we get the list. How much money are you making from getting a list? ZERO. You make nothing getting the list. So if you hire someone to get you the list, great. If you’re going to pay for a list, great. If you’re going to be the technician and build your own list, great. What’s not great is throwing up your hands and saying "oh well, I can’t get a list." -MarkThe After TalkIn short:Apple versus RolexSurface versus MacWho is the better host$500 lunchesScott ends the show with a mic drop...These guys!TIP OF THE WEEKMimi:Here’s a hack around the location glitch in Facebook Marketplace—if your ad isn’t getting views, delete it. Then, when posting new ads, do not put a zip code in the location. Put a big enough city that when you type it out, there’s a thumbnail picture of the city. If there’s no thumbnail picture, then don’t use that location, find a larger city.QUOTE OF THE WEEKMike: An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. When it comes to investing, nothing will pay off more than educating yourself. Do the necessary research, study, and analysis before making any investment decisions. - Benjamin FranklinIsn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?