Embark on an extraordinary odyssey of flipping a setback into a comeback with Michael Mannino, a real estate wunderkind who has channeled the grit from his battle with Crohn's disease into a flourishing empire of property investment and coaching. This episode is a trove of wisdom for building resilience , laying out the blueprint for success that Michael himself has walked – from flipping houses with precision from afar to cultivating a robust rental property portfolio. You'll be privy to the very playbook that transformed a teenager grappling with health hurdles into a victorious entrepreneur, all while learning how to plant the seeds of perseverance and nourish them with the waters of positive action.
Our conversation takes a poignant turn as we recount the tale of a family carpentry business reborn through the sweat and savvy of a new generation. Witness how a son’s bold pledge to retire his weary father morphed into a thriving house-flipping operation, a testament to the potency of ambitious goals and the transformative power of mentorship. Michael's journey underscores a truth often obscured in entrepreneurship – the stark contrast between theoretical musings and the tangible grind of business. Hear how the embrace of continuous learning and strategic delegation can revolutionize not only your business model but your entire sense of fulfillment.
This meeting of minds wouldn't be complete without delving into the catalytic role of mastermind groups in nurturing business growth. Michael shares the underpinnings of these symbiotic circles, from the lessons learned at his Key West event to the value of mingling with peers who can mirror your aspirations and challenges. Discover how a systematic approach to hiring ‘A players’ and the cultivation of heartfelt contractor relationships can liberate you from the daily grind, empowering you to focus on scaling your business. And when it comes to marketing, listen closely as Michael imparts the necessity for a business owner’s hands-on approach to ensure their venture’s propulsion toward the zenith of its potential.
Michael Mannino: Real Estate Wealth Builders Website - https://www.rewbuilders.com/ Free Resources - https://www.rewbuilders.com/free-resources
Embark on an extraordinary odyssey of flipping a setback into a comeback with Michael Mannino, a real estate wunderkind who has channeled the grit from his battle with Crohn's disease into a flourishing empire of property investment and coaching. This episode is a trove of wisdom for building resilience , laying out the blueprint for success that Michael himself has walked – from flipping houses with precision from afar to cultivating a robust rental property portfolio. You'll be privy to the very playbook that transformed a teenager grappling with health hurdles into a victorious entrepreneur, all while learning how to plant the seeds of perseverance and nourish them with the waters of positive action.
Our conversation takes a poignant turn as we recount the tale of a family carpentry business reborn through the sweat and savvy of a new generation. Witness how a son’s bold pledge to retire his weary father morphed into a thriving house-flipping operation, a testament to the potency of ambitious goals and the transformative power of mentorship. Michael's journey underscores a truth often obscured in entrepreneurship – the stark contrast between theoretical musings and the tangible grind of business. Hear how the embrace of continuous learning and strategic delegation can revolutionize not only your business model but your entire sense of fulfillment.
This meeting of minds wouldn't be complete without delving into the catalytic role of mastermind groups in nurturing business growth. Michael shares the underpinnings of these symbiotic circles, from the lessons learned at his Key West event to the value of mingling with peers who can mirror your aspirations and challenges. Discover how a systematic approach to hiring ‘A players’ and the cultivation of heartfelt contractor relationships can liberate you from the daily grind, empowering you to focus on scaling your business. And when it comes to marketing, listen closely as Michael imparts the necessity for a business owner’s hands-on approach to ensure their venture’s propulsion toward the zenith of its potential.
Michael Mannino: Real Estate Wealth Builders Website - https://www.rewbuilders.com/ Free Resources - https://www.rewbuilders.com/free-resources
doing things to consistency with also like with no expectations. So you can't just try one thing for a month and like it doesn't work. It's like working out going to the gym. You have to go to the gym every single day, five days a week, for two months before you might see results. Yeah, I mean it'll probably take less time, but two months and in business it might be five years. So you're willing to put in the work and do the same thing over and over and over again for five years to maybe see results. If you do that, you know you'll be successful.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to Small Business Pivots, a podcast designed for small business owners. I'm your host, michael Morrison, a small business coach and founder of BOSS, where we make business ownership simplified for success, so that you can create a business that works without you. To learn more, go to businessownershipsimplifiedcom and be sure to hang out to the end of this episode for my recap and coach's corner, where I challenge you to take action on one thing that will move the needle in your business. Our guest today is Michael Manino. Michael is the founder and CEO of Real Estate Wealth Builders.
Speaker 2:
Real Estate Wealth Builders is an educational company that helps real estate investors quickly scale their real estate business. Michael's real estate business flipped over 80 houses by the age of 30, allowing him to create additional companies that generate an additional $1 million plus per year in annual revenue, and he sold tens of thousands of copies of his book, making him an Amazon bestselling author. Michael has learned how to successfully automate his fix and flip business to run on autopilot so he can focus on additional entrepreneur activities and his family in South Carolina. He knows that time and freedom are important and is eager to share his systems and processes that work for investors and small business owners alike. He wants everyone to win and achieve this freedom. So now he is helping new and experienced entrepreneurs scale their businesses. Let's get to our guest now to learn how his proven processes can help you scale your business successfully.
Speaker 3:
Welcome to another Small Business Pivots podcast. Today we have a special guest from around the world. I'm going to let you introduce yourself because I have found I cannot pronounce anyone's name like you can, so I'll let you go first and your company and what you do.
Speaker 1:
I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on, and my name is Michael Manino, and that's okay. Everyone kind of messes it up, manio or something. So about me I have bought, fixed and flipped over 80 houses before the age of 30 in the state of Michigan. I have now moved to South Carolina a year and a half ago, so now we buy, fix and flip houses and I don't even see them in person, and it's because we have really good system and team in place. That's the only way that allows me to do that, because I can't be at Home Depot when I'm 750 miles away. And then I also own over 65 rentals right now of apartments that pay me every single month and I also help people who want to fix and flip houses and buy apartments. I also help them as well.
Speaker 3:
At a younger age. Did you grow up wanting to be an entrepreneur? What kind of happened in your life that led you down this path? Do you feel?
Speaker 1:
Very good question. So it's not like I always wanted to. Actually I wanted to be a chiropractor, you know, growing up, but I graduated high school with a 2.8 GPA, so I don't think that was in the cards for me. Hey, I got the same patch Okay.
Speaker 1:
We're in the same club and I will say what did help me a lot was like really the mindset, just for like a quick minute, if you don't mind me going into this, I think it's really important is, you know, at 13 years old I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and if you don't know what that is, it's kind of like an ulcer in your stomach where it really hurts to eat and I was taking 16 different medications a day at 13. And I was taking 16 different medications a day at 13. And I was on steroids. I gained 35 pounds and I'm, you know, five foot six. So it did not look good on me when I gained 35 pounds look like Pillsbury Doughboy in the face. But the experience really helped me because it taught me how precious life is and that tomorrow isn't always guaranteed at a very young age. So it was the biggest blessing I've ever received, because I think I grew up a lot faster than most people. You know even people my age, because we think you know tomorrow's always. You know we have till 85. And that's not the case. So ever since then, I took life very serious, take massive action. We talked about this before the call about taking massive action because I don't want to leave this earth with regrets. So how? I kind of got into real estate. So I just I, and from 13 to 16. So I was going through this. And then, ever since 16 years old, I have not been to the doctors, I haven't taken medication. And I believe, with the power of God and positive thinking, I watched the secret movie, the Secret Secret, 18 times with Jack Canfield and there's a lady who cured herself from breast cancer with eating right and believing she was cured, and I was like, if she can do that with breast cancer, I can do it. You know, with Crohn's disease and like you know, being a young kid and I had nothing else to lose because I was in pain so much, I gave my life to God and I did all the right steps and then that taught me like, all right, with the power of you know the Lord behind you, doing the right thing, all the things you're supposed to be doing, I cured an incurable disease in three years and 36 months. I haven't been to the doctors. I'm 31. So it's been 15, 16 years. So I had that experience.
Speaker 1:
And then I grew up from humble beginnings. My father's a carpenter, so I worked at McDonald's from 16 years old and then I bust tables at 17, waited tables at 18. 19 years old, I bought my first house it was a foreclosure back in 2012. I saved up $14,500 from doing all those jobs and just living at home, having a 2004 Malibu with no horn and no AC, a paid for in cash right, and doing all the things you're supposed to be doing. So I bought this house, long story short, and I fixed it up. Three years later I sold it for twice what I paid for it. So then I moved back home with mom and dad at 21 years old at $60,000 in the bank, and then I just started flipping houses from there.
Speaker 3:
I hear a lot of people saying I don't know if I'm smart enough to own a business. What would you say to those people, coming from someone that, like myself, had a lower than average GPA?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, do you know what's funny? I always want to take I don't know my IQ and I hope it's like lower than average just to prove to people you don't need to be smart and to like what I love about real estate and like business. It's nothing complex, Like everything I do is adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing. I don't do radiuses and circumferences or anything of that nature, but I will say it does take a lot of hard work, a lot of perseverance and as long as you're willing to wake up and do the same thing every single day, even without seeing any results for a very long period of time, you will be successful. It's just how long is it going to take to get there?
Speaker 3:
I found clarity and consistency to be kind of two of the traits that are really valuable, more than mindset. Just from my experience is, like you said, do something every day, no matter what it is, just do something. Make 1% better and I know a lot of people read those in those books, personal developments and all that stuff. But it really is true and none of us have the secret sauce to success. It's just that clarity of what you want, what you're doing, and that consistency. So I'm glad you, glad you brought that up. So you bought your first house, you flipped it and the rest is history. Right, yeah, it was all easy from there.
Speaker 1:
It was all it was all, and I can go into that a little bit too and so I moved back home with mom and dad and it was very like and that's the thing too like. So if you're listening to this, everyone's story is a little bit different, but if you notice, I kept humbling myself. I had this car with no horn and no AC. I had $14,000. I wanted the 2010 yellow black striped Camaro from Transformers Bumblebee. I wanted Bumblebee at 19 years old, right? But instead I bought this moldy house that was foreclosed on and I knew that was a better investment in the long term. And then, same with. You know, I had this check and everyone's like you're gonna buy Bumblebee now. You got 60 grand, you can pay for it in cash, right. And I said, no, I'm gonna move back home with mom and dad, I'm gonna start flipping houses from there. I would say hack to becoming successful is make your goals bigger than yourself. Make your goals about someone else.
Speaker 1:
So when I moved back home with my dad, like I said, my father was a carpenter and at the time he was doing like finished carpentry hanging cabinets, hanging doors, laying floor, doing trim and I'll never forget I was trying to do this flipping business. He came home he was 49 years old at the time and he leaves at 7am, comes back home at 4.30 and just pl pops right on the couch like dead tired. Right there I realized that we don't have till 65. You know he's 49 at the time. I was like there's no way he could do this for another 16 years. No way I could ethically allow him to do this for another 16 years.
Speaker 1:
So I made this crazy bet with my father. I said listen, like if you make over $100,000 a year working with me, you only work 20 hours a week. You just check on the guys. You don't do any physical labor, you just manage the rehab projects. We can do this flipping company together. And he's like all right, you crazy kid. You know I'm 21 at the time.
Speaker 1:
I think it was 24 at the time when I, when I made him this bet and I tried to do, I was like I'm in 12 months I'm gonna retire. My dad and I failed, right, but it took me 24 months. And then 2019, we actually he he shut down his construction companies just doing managing the rehabs and and I believe that I worked harder and did what was required because I was thinking of someone else and serving someone else than just serving me to make $100,000 a year. Right, I was waking up every day like how can I help my dad who I believe is like the best father in the world and serve him? And I feel like I took more risk and did like what was required of me to become successful, if that makes sense.
Speaker 3:
Absolutely, and I have two boys that need to hear that. I'm sure everybody says that. Will you talk to my kids? Yeah, exactly. So what were some? So the show is Small Business Pivots, and so we talk about some pivots that business owners made to become successful, because most business owners get stuck or they want this business that runs without them and that's not always being away 24-7. That could be. Some business owners just can't even get away for an afternoon unannounced. So what are? Let's talk about some pivots that you've made that you found to be beneficial in your success.
Speaker 1:
I would say the number one thing I did was find someone like you, find a mentor, and paid them to learn what, to learn their success. Like right here, you're going to like this. Here's all of my events. I've been to Wow, and there's actually more. I started keeping them after, but I've been to. I feel like I got it. I don't even know I mean I have four more from now to April of events and I'm learning constantly. I'm a sponge learning from other people.
Speaker 1:
When I started flipping houses the first year we did, we did two houses in one year and I was like mowing the lawn, I was going to Home Depot, I was doing all the work and I was like and then I hear other people, they're like we flip a hundred houses a year and I'm like there's no way. I thought they were lying to me. I was like there's no way. There's no possible way you can do this. And then I learned to actually turn this into a business and, um, like you're, I'm not the one, you know, like they're not the one going to Home Depot, they don't even look at their houses. And I was like this guy's lying, there's no possible way.
Speaker 1:
And then you know we went from two houses a year to four houses a year. The next year went to nine houses a year, then 18 houses a year and then we usually do about 20 houses a year. And that's all from like learning from other people their mistakes. You know how to hire people and compensate them and raise capital for your deals, because we're just using our own money at the time. So that was like the number one pivot was finding someone who was where I wanted to be and learn from them.
Speaker 3:
So for those that are listening to the audio version. Only he held up. What do you call those? Things, the lanyards of all kinds of events and conferences and it is a lot, a lot. So when you went there just to give someone an idea because that's a great idea, you pay for the events, you go in and there's a plethora of knowledge in that building and most of them are business owners, or in there or decision makers of each booth. What did you go there to learn?
Speaker 1:
It's fun, like at first. You know it's like I don't know what. I don't know marketing. So I have a college degree, a four-year paid degree. I paid $60,000, a marketing degree and it is my next book's going to be is like the biggest. Like I took the bait that don't steal the name, but I took the bait Like seriously, because I didn't learn how to set up an LLC website, pay-per-click online marketing, direct-to-seller mailers, how about analytics tracking? How about setting up a phone system? How about setting up a CRM, a website All those things that we do in our business. I didn't learn a thing of that in college. It's the saddest thing in the world and it's kind of funny, where people are scared to they'll easily pay 60,000 for a marketing degree that doesn't teach you anything about marketing just memorizing terms out of a book and write a paper on it versus paying $60,000 a year to someone who makes millions of dollars a year to be their student. It's like what would you rather?
Speaker 3:
do? I'm clapping for you Like this needs to go worldwide. Even coaches have business coaches, or at least the good ones do. I have several. So you were at the shows and so did you just start picking their brain. So for anybody that wants to try your method there, go to a show. And what? What did you?
Speaker 1:
do. Yeah, so I joined a couple of masterminds, like you said. Like you know, I joined once for single family flipping, then multifamily and then coaching, like you said, like how to coach people like every. I'll never start a new career or new business without hiring someone who's already at the level I want to be in. So a lot of these events it's really cool. I actually just held mine last month in Key West at 30 real estate investors come to my own event. It was insane.
Speaker 1:
What they typically do is they have guest speakers and they'll have people share for like a two, three day weekend. This is what we did. We have people share. So I have people who are what they're called wholesalers, where they find discounted houses and then they sell them to fix, and flippers like me. So they just run basically a marketing company to find discounted houses. And then there's other people who are fixing flippers like myself and like here's how we set up our company. We just like here's the numbers behind it. And then I do this weird marketing thing that makes me an extra couple hundred thousand dollars a year and I'm like, oh, all right, I'll just do this weird marketing thing that makes them money, right, and we're just kind of all sharing our business and then, even if something's like not directly related, you can like, if you talked about your business, I'm going to be pulling things from it, just like. Oh, I'm going to be writing it down, filling out pages of notes, and then I can like take those things, if that makes sense.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, absolutely. What kind of coaches did you get or mastermind groups were you a part of?
Speaker 1:
When I wanted to learn how to flip houses, one called seven figure flipping. It was about building a fix and flip company. And then when I want to learn how to buy apartment buildings cause I knew how to flicks and flip houses and you know, a hundred thousand dollar house versus a million dollar apartment building. You know, it's so funny how some people are scared to pay for education. Because I paid, you know, $20,000 to my mentor for multifamily and I was like I'm literally buying a million dollar property. Like you know, $20,000 variance on a million dollar property is nothing, that's 2%. So if I make just this one property, it'd be worth the pay 20,000, just so I don't make a hundred thousand dollar mistake, right? But then you're going to take that knowledge and you're going to use it for the next property, the next property, the next property. So that's what I don't know, that's I just learn from other people and their mistakes, because there's a lot of, there's a lot of things you don't know. You don't know, like, even the questions to ask. Like there's one thing for the apartments we had this property in a contract.
Speaker 1:
And then he's like did you do a phase one environmental? I was like, did you do a phase one environmental. I was like I have never heard that word before in my life. What is this? He's like? A phase one environmental is a couple thousand dollars, but it's to make sure that there's nothing weird going on at the property. Before the property could have been a gas station, or there's oil tanks in the ground, or that the ground is contaminated from a neighboring property. That could be like a commercial property and something that I had no idea to even ask. It's a couple thousand dollar report and if you have a problem and they do find oil tanks, it's on the owner's responsibility and this could be a couple hundred thousand dollar project, right? And if you didn't even know to ask those questions and to get these reports and then you buy a property that has issues now you just paid more than that Twenty thousand dollars of education, right you?
Speaker 3:
did some mastermind classes or groups. There are so many across the United States and I hear mixed reviews about those. What would you say someone should be looking for if they were to explore? Looking to be part of the mastermind group so they can get benefits like you did? Very good question.
Speaker 1:
So I look for people who are at where I want it to be personally and business-wise. I'm a Christian background. I want those good ethics and morals first and foremost, and then it's hey, what kind of business do they want? And then can I pay them enough money so I can replicate it Versus like finding a mentor maybe I'd like, but he does something different and it's not related to what I want to do. You're hiring maybe the wrong coach, right? So I look for people who are at where I want to be personally and business-wise.
Speaker 3:
And then often people are asking what happens in a mastermind group or class? What is it? A kind of a sitting forum? Do you meet once a month? What was your experience like?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and they're a little bit different, but we do like biweekly calls. It's so funny. Just even hearing other people talk about their business in like a close environment is so powerful there was. So we do like bi-weekly calls like, hey, what projects are you working on, what struggles are you working on? Like, what projects do you have under contract? Which ones are you selling? You know, is there something you have questions on for helping maybe the estimate, the repair estimates or estimate the value of the property when you're done with it? And then just hearing other successful people talk, it's funny.
Speaker 1:
I make over a hundred thousand dollars a year for the last seven years from one thing someone offhandedly said that they do to their properties to maximize the value when they go to sell them. Like you know, like staging, and there's a couple, there's like a whole checklist they did and I'm like, oh my gosh, the first property made $14,000 more just by implementing what they said. And you know we flipped 20 houses a year and it adds up. So and then we would get together maybe once a year as a private group and then we sit down and just really dive into each other's business, like I just did, like I showed, like hey, how much?
Speaker 1:
Here's how much money our business made. Here's all the marketing channels that we've made, that we use, and here's how much money we're making from each marketing channel. Right, and then here's our team setup. Here's how we compensate everyone. Here's the apps we use for project management. Like just really just having that like expansive mindset of like sharing and giving that there's enough going around, instead of just kind of like oh my gosh, like I don't want to tell my secrets, like I have the best friends in the world and we just share secrets with each other and we just all learn and grow and every year we do better and better.
Speaker 3:
I've got a friend that he's he finds the best benefits out of mastermind groups because he says you're basically replicating proven concepts. That's it. With good friends Like you, eventually you're not a competitor Like who would join a mastermind group to compete. No, they're there to help and learn as well. So you share best practices and you can build a business so much faster with someone that's already done it. And I love your verbiage of we don't know what we don't know, cause I say that all the time.
Speaker 2:
You're listening to small business Pivots. This podcast is sponsored by Boss, where business ownership is simplified for success. Boss helps business owners create a business that runs without them, with business consulting, business loans and much, much more. Go to businessownershipsimplifiedcom to learn why small business success starts with Boss. If you're enjoying the podcast and want to stay up to date with all of our episodes, make sure to hit that subscribe button, give us a thumbs up or leave a positive review. Now let's get back to our guest.
Speaker 3:
You do, moving into the having a business that runs without you? Obviously it does, because you're in one state and some of your properties are in another. How did you get into that phase? Because I know a lot of business owners are stuck working in their business yes, doing the hourly jobs because they can't get out. How did, what was that transition like for you? What were those first steps and what do you have now? Good question.
Speaker 1:
So my first house, when I was like 19 years old, I tiled my bathroom. It took me six weeks to tile my bathroom and I hated every second of it. So I'm like, okay, I would fire myself if I was a contractor. And it took you six weeks to tile a bathroom, like I hated every second of it. I'm on YouTube trying to figure out how to lay tile. And so I realized like there, that helped me actually a lot, because then I was like, okay, that I can't do that task. I have to hire that out. There's no even a question if I can do this task.
Speaker 1:
And then, so what makes us the most money is finding the next property to flip. It's really hard to find a discounted property where we can buy it, put some money into it and then sell it for a profit. That's the hardest part, because it's like finding free money. I said to myself this is the only task I need to be doing is finding the next deal, because we have contractors and you got to realize the contractors, they have employees and they all have mortgages and they have kids. So it's my moral obligation to find as many houses as possible so that they never run out of work, so my whole job is going to be toward finding houses, learning marketing to do this. And then I came up with another rule, a $75 an hour rule, which is, if it costs less than $75 an hour, I outsource it. No matter what personal or business, and I only work on above $75 an hour tasks.
Speaker 3:
My wife and I do something similar, except on traveling, because traveling has become so taxing. You know you got to be there two hours before your flight. You might lose your luggage, it might be late and we're like, okay, if we can drive there in eight hours or less, we're driving. Plus, we have our own car. We don't have to pay for Uber. So so using and I and I only share that because you can, that's applicable in a lot of different areas in life is put a value what's your time worth, and then have that established. You know that boundary yeah.
Speaker 1:
And I think that's a really good point Like and back then it was $75. Now it's more, and then you realize how many things you can hire out for $75 an hour. You can hire out a lot of things right, absolutely.
Speaker 3:
you can hire out for $75 an hour. You can hire out a lot of things right, absolutely. Well, and, like you said, your job of any business is to turn cash into more cash.
Speaker 1:
Exactly so. When you're sitting there doing manual labor, you're not making money. You're doing a disservice to you and your business. It's irresponsible. That's why I tell new people I'm like it's irresponsible for you to be doing anything else than finding the next deals to buy.
Speaker 3:
Very cool. So what else would you say? You've learned that you'd like to share with our audience Mistakes, something you would have done different, something you're working on doing different.
Speaker 1:
There's so many. That's such an open-ended question. But I think some of the things that we kind of talked about was doing things in consistency with, also like with no expectations. So like when it comes to marketing, I'm like, hey, you got to try this marketing channel for six months, have a six month budget for it before you can even tell if it works or not, right, you can't just try one thing for a month and like it doesn't work.
Speaker 1:
It's like working out, going to gym. You have to go to gym every single day, five days a week, for two months before you might see results. I mean, it'll probably take less time, but two months, and then business, it might be five years. So you're willing to put in the work and do the same thing over and over and over again for five years to maybe see results. If you do that, you know you'll be successful. So that's something I learned is just, I have very like low expectations, like I do all the work that's required, but I have low expectations of, like, immediate results and success. It'd be like you know, you go to the gym and you jump on the scale and it's like, oh, did I lose weight? It's like, no, that's not how it works. You got to go again, and again, and again and then you'll see results. So I learned that.
Speaker 1:
And then also hiring and bringing on the best people. I only, we work with A players, we work with A player contractors and our office manager, olivia. She's an A player and we pay them more than the market demands, but that's but. They do probably the work of two or three people. By doing that, I mean she'll text me at 10 o'clock at night. Mike, do this. I'm like I'll do that tomorrow.
Speaker 1:
You know like she's on the ball like on the weekends and nights and early mornings. So don't be and I brag about. I pay my contractors really well. We pay everyone we work with really, really well and they love working with us. They love doing business with us. All of our contractors have been with us since we started the company. Only one has left for six months and then they came back. They said that was a horrible experience. I'm never leaving again. You guys are awesome and treat them like family too. All your employees. We send them Christmas gifts or we take them to Topgolf and take them out, send them birthday gifts. One of their wives was sick. We sent them a big bouquet of flowers and chocolates and make sure that they do feel appreciated and valued, because they are and just kind of going a little bit above like the standard, if that makes sense.
Speaker 3:
There's a lot of things to be have a successful business, but there's three primary things, and that's guiding principles, like your mission, your vision, your clarity, your North star, if you will. Number two is systems and processes, and then number three is people, and I want to address this, the people part, because I would assume that you see the people part like I do, and that is it's not just your employees, it's your contractors, like you said, it's your banker, it's your accountant, it's your team, whether it be internal or external. So, speaking on that note, how do you find in today's culture the cohesiveness of keeping them together, building a culture, when you've got people in different states?
Speaker 1:
In our flipping business we meet every twice a week, every Monday and Thursday, and we go through like, hey, what house are we buying, what house are we having, which ones are we selling? In the stages, and we're just um, so we meet together virtually like on zoom, just like this, and we go through like all of our houses. So that helps kind of like building that team mentality, cause we're seeing each other twice a week, we have group chats with each other, um, we're constantly in communication with each other, like our subcontractors. I feel like you know it depends like our window guys sometimes are talking to him, like you know, six times in a month, and sometimes we go for a few months without talking to him. And so the thing too, like, how often do you receive, like birthday gifts in the mail? Like, like, it's very few. My grandma's the only one who sends me stuff. So, even to a contractor, it's their birthday. We we find out, we go to Facebook, stalk them, we find out when their birthday is, and we have a tool that we use and sends out a card and brownies and says, hey, we appreciate you and thank you to all of our like our subcontractors and everyone we work with. No one else is doing this and it's a very you know, doesn't take a lot of time to set up, very little money and it goes a long way.
Speaker 1:
And we had a property, I think two years ago on Christmas Eve one of my apartments. The pipes froze and busted. One of my contractors went out there on Christmas Eve, went out there and fixed it. And that's how good of a relationship we have with each other. Like they know, I'm willing to do anything for them and they're willing to do anything for me.
Speaker 3:
There's a kind of an experiment that I did quite a while back to determine if that's the outcome from the owner the leadership or is it just in their DNA? And I found that it's the leadership. So kudos to you, because most people just don't show up, take it upon themselves, feel empowered to go out on Christmas Eve and do something like that unless they're told. And I want to share that with the listeners, because if you're a business owner that always feels like you have to tell people what to do, you might want to work on your leadership skills, Because if you're a good leader, most people will do that for you without even being asked A hundred percent.
Speaker 1:
And that's just one example. And it's like yeah, the people make the business. You know you can have the systems, the processes, but if you've got people who don't really do it, they don't like it, they don't like you. I mean, you got, you know, and that's a great business.
Speaker 3:
So you kind of have your hands in a few cookie jars it sounds like in your business or actually on your business and you talked about marketing. That is a big, big sore spot with most business owners that come to us. I am a business coach and so they're like do you know of any good marketers that do this? Do you know any good SEO companies? Do you know of any good marketers that do this? Do you know any good SEO companies? Do you know any website? And, of course, I guarantee I'm going to get 5,000 DMs in my. I'm great, I'm great, yeah, yeah, but it's it's a problem. So, with your marketing background and using that as a channel to make money for you, what are some tips that you would offer business owners? What should they be looking for? For those that don't understand the background of marketing like you do, what should they be looking for so they don't get another one of those bad experiences with a marketer?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's a good question.
Speaker 1:
You know you're going to get bad experiences with marketers. You're going to get. You know it's like it is what it is Like. It's funny, you know, in my world like contractors, it's like what do you do, like to make sure it's always like 100% with your contractors. It's like, well, when I hire a new one, like it's not you're going to have possibly a bad experience. So actually I just have this property in North Carolina, 19 unit we're rehabbing and like Mike, like what's your secret for finding good contractors? Finding good contractors. So I was on a new market. I didn't know anyone. So do you know what my secret was? I called 25 contractors because you called two or three and two of them didn't call you back and one doesn't work out and you think I can't find a good contractor. I'm like my numbers are no different, but out of 25, only 15 called me back. Right, and then from there I just kind of narrowed it down. So, even with marketers, so I do a lot of the marketing in my business for, like direct mail, we do a lot of direct mail and I manage all that.
Speaker 1:
There's a book and I'm upset with myself that I'm forgetting what the name of the book is called. But this guy is a very successful entrepreneur. He says the business owner should be with the marketing team 80% of his time. You should be selling constantly. All as a business owner should just be selling, selling how do you bring money into the business? And that's should be 80% of your focus. And I and I really liked that because that's so true. If you just focus on trying to make the best product but no one knows about it, you know, no one knows about it, you're not going to make any money. So, like for our flipping business, like we hired a really good pay-per-click marketing company. They do Google ads for us, right, and their focus, their niche is for real estate investors, specific.
Speaker 1:
And I've hired other ones in the past. I think this was the third one that we've hired and they actually are working out. And I've hired Facebook marketing companies. I've hired two or three and none of them worked out. I've hired cold calling companies. I've hired two of them and none of those worked out right. And that's okay to you know. That's just reality, is what it is. But I think like referrals is like that's how I find really good contractors in the construction world, like a really good electrician knows a really good plumber because they work together a lot. So if you, if you have a good electrician, say, hey, who do you know as a plumber? That's really good. So, like any type of contractor I work with, I always I'm asking them for referrals. I'm like, hey, you're good, You're successful, you show up on time, you do what you say you're going to do. I want to find more guys like you. Who do you know in X, y and Z category?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, that's good and I think a lot of business owners they may not like the answer that you shared, but at least they'll feel more comfortable knowing that it's not just them, Because that's an expensive part of your business is payroll first and then marketing and advertising to get the word out. So you're you're a 31. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
Right yeah, getting older.
Speaker 3:
What you're not in my club on that area.
Speaker 2:
But I'll join you on the GPA part but, not not so what does someone at your age?
Speaker 3:
what does a plan look like for you in the future? I know that that's a tough question for a lot of business owners. They can't even see past this week. But what does that look like for you? Good?
Speaker 1:
question. I love goal setting. So here's like my 2023 goals, right, and from Jack Canfield. Actually, I got this kind of really cool. I highly recommend there's a book called the Success Principles by Jack Canfield. I highly recommend every listener to read that book and I write out it's two pages of what my life looks like, like, where I'm going to live, what the house looks like, what I'm doing, right. So I actually and I pre-planned what my life is going to look like and how you get there might change. I've been doing this since 2016 and I thought at first, you know it was gonna be chiropractor and then financial planning services and all those things. But the goal never changes of being like financially independent, like making my own schedule that's those are the most important things. Like the size of the house and the cars, like those are all cool, but those are like tertiary to my goals, of goals of working on projects that I have passion for, right, like that's the coolest thing is wake up every day and have passion. So what does my life look like?
Speaker 1:
I love where I'm at in life and in business and I'm sure it will change. I think I will just get better at what I'm doing. I love my flipping company where it's at. I love buying. We're buying apartments now and it's just like flipping houses, but just more zeros, and then it also builds that cashflow and then now I'm helping people who want to flip houses and I started that a year ago and I think it's a it's a blast. We just went to Key West with 30 people and so it's kind of hard to say where exactly I'll end up, but I know that I'll be working on projects that inspire me. You know I'll be going on the boat on a Tuesday whenever I want, like having that flexibility and that freedom, and I won't take on any projects, no matter how much money it could pay to sacrifice what's important to me.
Speaker 3:
I love that. I worked with our business owners and we. One of the first steps we do is establish your core values, your top three. So with you it's the freedom and that's one of the behind as well is not the freedom. Of course, I love that in the United States, but it's also the freedom of getting to go to my son's basketball game when he has a tournament at three o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon and not have to ask permission from someone. You know that kind of freedom. So I love that you're sticking to your core value. So if there was a last question here, if there was a room full of small business owners and you may have already did this with your 30 people what is the best inspiring advice that you would give that room?
Speaker 1:
Well, the nice thing is, especially in my business, like real estate. I didn't create something called real estate, you know, and buying apartments and flipping houses like this has been around before me, is going to be around till after me. So the nice thing is and I'm not smart, that's the great, that's the like this is all, should all be expired, like inspiring, like I don't have to go create a new.
Speaker 1:
You know I'm not Elon Musk, I don't have to create like an electric car. Right, that's hard, that's like really hard work. So I'm very blessed in my industry where it's like it's already there, it's existing, it's been around and there is a proven formula. You just have to implement it and just are you willing to put in the work? Then you will be successful. If you're willing to put in the work, you will be successful. And I think, too, with the Internet we're so blessed because you got people like you and other coaches who are teaching, you know, from their success and failures. I mean, imagine trying to start a business before the Internet. I would not be where I am at today. It's because I'm able to listen to podcasts like this and be a sponge and just learn from other people's successes and failures. So I would just say find people who are more successful with you, Surround yourself around them, Know that if you put in the work, you will get the results.
Speaker 3:
So you didn't just get on YouTube one day and make $10 million the next.
Speaker 1:
Unfortunately, no, but and that's also the fun part too, right, I mean, I feel like I'd get bored, like if I like, if life was that easy.
Speaker 3:
So, in knowing that I got this from Russell Brunson he's a marketer- I went to his event and he was talking about I think it's from Is he the ClickFunnel guy? He is, that's him Okay.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I went to his event two years ago and I actually talked about it and I think it's from gosh, the guy who wrote Three Feet from Gold, but I forgot the author. But he said 98% of people are drifters in this world and only 2% are doers. Right, the doers, they act, and the doers, they are the ones you know. They are fearful but they still act, even being fearful. Where the drifters are the ones where life always happens to them. They act out of fear, right, and it's kind of nice to know, like, well, if everyone was programmed like us and make our job even more difficult, it's like, all right, good, 98% of the people, Right, so that's kind of like the good thing for us. It's like, hey, if you're here, you're listening to this and you're starting a business, you're already part of the doers. You don't have like as much competition as you think.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, absolutely. And as one of my recent past guests said, he said if everybody was an entrepreneur on this planet, the planet would be chaos. Can you imagine all of us being an entrepreneur? Nothing would get done.
Speaker 1:
Nothing would get done.
Speaker 3:
We'd be in each other, we'd be killing each other.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, exactly, we'd have just ideas everywhere.
Speaker 3:
Yeah Well, you've been full of golden nuggets here. I appreciate you taking time out to share with us. How can someone follow you, get in touch with you, get part of your program, masterclass anything you want to share.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, yeah, so you can go to our websites. Behind me, rewbuilderscom that's short for real estate wealth builders. If you're interested in flipping houses, I have a front a ton of free videos. It's kind of amazing. I feel like I got more free content than paid stuff and like how to flip houses, apartment buildings. I have a free Facebook group inside of there too, called Real Estate Wealthbuilders. There's, I think, 1100 members in there. I post on there every single day about what we're working on. I'm answering questions, I do free calls. Every single month I do a free training on houses or apartments, and that's the best way to get in contact with me. Find that free Facebook group. You can friend me on Facebook. That's my. I have like 13,000 followers. That's like my my place I'm at every single day Mike Menino, and it's a black and white photo. I got 13,000 followers so you can find me.
Speaker 3:
Fantastic. Well, again, I appreciate you and your time and I wish you continued success. Thanks, Michael, appreciate it, you bet.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to the recap and Coach's Corner section of this podcast. We just dived deep into the inspiring story of Michael Mannino, a testament to the power of resilience and dedication in the face of adversity, from overcoming a debilitating illness to achieving real estate stardom. His journey is nothing short of remarkable, reminding us all that with unwavering determination, anything is possible. Throughout our conversation with Michael, we've uncovered invaluable lessons on scaling a business, building a solid team and fostering a thriving community. His insights serve as a roadmap for aspiring entrepreneurs, offering practical advice on navigating the competitive landscape of real estate or any small business. As we reflect on Michael's experiences, it's clear that one of the key ingredients to his success is the cultivation of a strong support network. Whether it's clear that one of the key ingredients to his success is the cultivation of a strong support network, whether it's through mentorship, networking events or online communities like the Real Estate Wealth Builders Facebook group, surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals, can provide invaluable guidance and encouragement along the way. So for today's Coach's Corner segment, here's an actionable item for you as a business owner Take the time this week to actively seek out mentorship opportunities and engage with supportive communities, whether it's joining industry-specific groups, attending networking events or participating in online forums. Investing in these relationships can open doors to new opportunity, valuable insights and collaborative partnerships. In other words, find and invest in a coach or mentor today. Remember, success is rarely achieved alone. By building a strong support network, you not only gain access to valuable resources and knowledge, but also surround yourself with individuals who can provide encouragement and accountability as you pursue your entrepreneurial goals.
Speaker 2:
Thank you for listening to Small Business Pivots. Please don't forget to subscribe and share this podcast. If your business is stuck or you need help creating your business to run without you, go to our website, businessownershipsimplifiedcom and schedule a free consultation to learn why small business success starts with BOSS. If you have a guest or topic suggestion for our podcast or just want to talk anything small business related, email me at michael at michaeldmorrisoncom. We'll see you next time on Small Business Pivots.