Triumphing Over Under-Earning to Real Estate Owner
Mar 12, 2024
David McIlwaine
Have you ever found yourself questioning your financial worth?
Meet Lindsay Sharma, a woman who confronted this very challenge and emerged victorious on her path to financial independence.
Our latest episode peels back the layers of Lindsay's struggle with under-earning, inviting you into her world of hard-won lessons and ultimate triumph.
She courageously shares her story of job hopping and low wages, a narrative that paints a broader picture of wage disparity and the underappreciated impact of motherhood on women's careers.
It's a candid look into how Lindsay pivoted from feeling undervalued to embracing her qualifications and demanding her worth.
Venturing into the world of real estate, Lindsay didn't just dip her toes in; she dove into the deep end with a strategic business model. This episode pulls back the curtain on her journey from wholesaling to constructing a formidable buy-and-hold portfolio, transitioning from the simplicity of single-family homes to the complexity of multifamily units. The magic of mentorship takes center stage as Lindsay reflects on its transformative power for both mentors and mentees alike. If you've ever been curious about seller finance notes, alternative lending, or simply finding your footing in the vast sea of real estate, this conversation offers a treasure trove of insights.
Finally, we unpack the invaluable role of business coaching, with Lindsay illuminating how strategic advice and accountability have propelled her business forward. By challenging the 'hustle culture' narrative, this discussion advocates for a balanced approach to work and personal life. It's a testament to the idea that success isn't measured in hours worked but in the quality and impact of those hours. Lindsay's journey is not just about financial acumen; it's a beacon for anyone seeking to affirm their self-worth and carve out a space for themselves in the world. Join us for an exploration into the lessons, growth, and empowerment that define Lindsay Sharma's inspiring ascent.
Have you ever found yourself questioning your financial worth?
Meet Lindsay Sharma, a woman who confronted this very challenge and emerged victorious on her path to financial independence.
Our latest episode peels back the layers of Lindsay's struggle with under-earning, inviting you into her world of hard-won lessons and ultimate triumph.
She courageously shares her story of job hopping and low wages, a narrative that paints a broader picture of wage disparity and the underappreciated impact of motherhood on women's careers.
It's a candid look into how Lindsay pivoted from feeling undervalued to embracing her qualifications and demanding her worth.
Venturing into the world of real estate, Lindsay didn't just dip her toes in; she dove into the deep end with a strategic business model. This episode pulls back the curtain on her journey from wholesaling to constructing a formidable buy-and-hold portfolio, transitioning from the simplicity of single-family homes to the complexity of multifamily units. The magic of mentorship takes center stage as Lindsay reflects on its transformative power for both mentors and mentees alike. If you've ever been curious about seller finance notes, alternative lending, or simply finding your footing in the vast sea of real estate, this conversation offers a treasure trove of insights.
Finally, we unpack the invaluable role of business coaching, with Lindsay illuminating how strategic advice and accountability have propelled her business forward. By challenging the 'hustle culture' narrative, this discussion advocates for a balanced approach to work and personal life. It's a testament to the idea that success isn't measured in hours worked but in the quality and impact of those hours. Lindsay's journey is not just about financial acumen; it's a beacon for anyone seeking to affirm their self-worth and carve out a space for themselves in the world. Join us for an exploration into the lessons, growth, and empowerment that define Lindsay Sharma's inspiring ascent.
Hey everybody, david McIlwaine, with another episode of Break Your Golden Handcuffs. Today I'm excited to have with me Lindsay Sharma of Lindsay Sharma Property Buyers. She's a real estate investor, wife and mom of three little ones. Her days start with a hot cup of coffee and end with true crime shows, maybe a murder or two here and there, right, and in between she's creating real estate deals that pave the path for financial success. Lindsay, welcome to the show.
Lindsay:
Thanks, david, I'm excited to be here.
David McIlwaine:
Yeah, so I always ask everybody kind of a question. You know, this podcast is called Break Your Golden Handcuffs and the reason I named it that was that I want people to learn about. There's a world out there, aside from the stuck in the mud corporate job. So tell me, have you ever had your own Golden Handcuffs?
Lindsay:
Yeah, so my answer to that is probably a little opposite of maybe some of the guests you've had on this podcast. I, throughout my career, have been a chronic what I would call under earner meaning getting paid less than I should and I think this is very common amongst women. I don't see it as much amongst men but because of this under earning path that I had for about 10 years, it pushed me into starting my own business, working on my financial education and getting started in real estate investing.
David McIlwaine:
Fascinating. So the intent is just a golden handcuffs is under, earning yes, so tell me, go ahead.
Lindsay:
Yeah, I was going to say, you know, I notice in the real estate investing space, in the investment you know, whether it's real estate stocks or the financial space, I see that is very male dominated. So this is just not something you really hear about too much. But if you go into the spaces where there's a lot of women, this is a term that's very common. I think more and more women are starting to identify this as a pattern for themselves and for their career.
David McIlwaine:
Yeah, no doubt about it. And we know there's a wage gap disparity that's wide and known, and we know that there is a just to say it women that have babies get punished.
Lindsay:
Yeah, so you know no doubt about that. But at the same time.
David McIlwaine:
You know there's a yin and a yang to all of this right, so tell me, how did you know that you were actually in an under earning environment?
Lindsay:
Yeah. So basically I'll tell you this I went to, I was lucky enough to go to college. I have a four year bachelor's degree. I graduated in graphic design and I graduated in 2007, a year before the financial crash. And so, post graduating college, I had a very difficult time getting a job let any job, let alone something in my field. So I spent my 20s doing a lot of job hopping.
Lindsay:
I started freelancing on the side as a way to use my degree and also earn some extra money, and my first full time job, you know, in the mid 2000s I worked for Penske Truck Leasing and I was making $35,000 a year as a new graduate from college and I was basically running this whole operation. I had maybe a hundred trucks that I was responsible for you know, $80,000 trucks. I had about a hundred of those. I was managing a team of 12 drivers, and so I am one of the people responsible for this branch's entire operation. But I'm only making $35,000 a year. It was just insane, and you know I. So I kind of job hopped.
Lindsay:
I went back into the graphic design field and when I left the job market, you know, 10 or 15 years later, I was only making $50,000. And I thought wait, I have 10 years of experience, I have all these skills, all these different industries I've worked for and I'm such a self learner and I'm continually working on my skills. Why am I not making more money? Because it's really hard, you know, to survive on an income like that, especially when you have little kids. So that's. And just from talking to people, reading books, talking to other women, you start to find out like this is not. You know, you have more value to add than what you're getting paid for.
David McIlwaine:
Fascinating. So you started to ask yourself the question why am I not earning more money? And I know we'll get to it over the course of this conversation in this podcast. But what was the answer you came up with?
Lindsay:
It's because I, as a woman, I was never. I was taught to take care of people. I was socialized to take care of people. I wasn't socialized to be the breadwinner. I wasn't socialized to be aggressive, to ask for what I want. That's the biggest one Asking for what you want and knowing your worth. I wasn't socialized to negotiate a pay raise, to negotiate a starting amount when I'm hired for a job, and so all of those things, I think, really started when I reflected and said, yes, those things are true for me. I started to see this as why I am where I'm at.
David McIlwaine:
So we don't learn these things in a vacuum, right, Correct? So I'm curious. Tell me a little bit about the journey to answer that question of why am I underpaid. What was that journey like for you? Because I'm sure that if you're talking about a wage gap disparity, those that don't understand what it is don't get the journey. So, tell me about the journey.
Lindsay:
Yes. So I thought, well, perhaps it's the industry I went into. And I thought, maybe it's because I have had some different jobs, different positions in different industries, and so maybe I just don't have the experience. But, like I said, I've spent a lot of time reading books, working on myself, doing courses, always trying to up level my skills, and I thought I have a lot more to offer this world than what I'm being compensated for. So I started learning more and more about how to build wealth, how to acquire assets you know, real estate investing. I was listening to podcasts, reading books, and I wanted to know what are these high earners? What are they doing? What skills do they have? What fields are they in?
David McIlwaine:
And what did you come away with?
Lindsay:
I came away with. Yeah, that getting into real estate investing is a way for me to up level my career.
David McIlwaine:
I remember one time I said this bus stop and we had a unique bus stop and my kids were little. There were like 47 kids that got on the elementary school bus stop and one stop, and so we basically filled up an entire elementary bus or pretty close to it. And I was at the time a corporate executive for the ad in the advertising world and I looked around and I started counting the dad's job types. I was the only person not in finance or real estate or tech at the bus stop and we were at the time living in one of the most exclusive zip codes in the US and I was noticing oh, I'm the outlier. What do these employment structures have that advertising doesn't have?
David McIlwaine:
And so it sounds like we kind of went through a similar journey in some ways and, lo and behold, that was like 2008. So what is this? 15, 18 years later, 16 years later, here I am in real estate and I've been in real estate for over a decade. So, as you learned all of this, what part of real estate did you gravitate toward?
Lindsay:
Yes, it's kind of interesting. I told you, I have a graphic design background and I freelanced. So I did have my own graphic design business for about three years and I really struggled with that business because I essentially owned a job. I was the designer, I was doing the work, I was charging people by the hour, I was doing the other things to make the business run. But I didn't have the training, I didn't have the education, I didn't have the support or the coaching to really treat it like a business and I just didn't know what I didn't know. So I struggled a lot, I burnt myself out and at that same time I had a digital shop where I would sell resume templates.
Lindsay:
I would create a template once and then just sell it over and over. People could fill in their own information and that got a lot of traction. And so it kind of turned me on to the idea of passive income and I started reading more about passive income and then kind of learning about rental properties. So I knew that I wanted to get into real estate investing. I wanted to build a portfolio and have income generating assets that can provide me with that monthly cash flow.
David McIlwaine:
Okay, cool. So this passive income by templatizing resumes got you into passive income in real estate. So what do you do in real estate now, following that vein?
Lindsay:
Yes. So now I have a business where our primary strategy is wholesaling just to generate a lot of cash and at the same time I'm building my buy and hold portfolio. My portfolio right now consists probably about 30% of rentals and the rest are owner finance notes that I've created. They're all single family. I mean I have one small multifamily, but pretty much single family. But as I'm learning about real estate investing, as I'm getting more experience, you know there's sort of there can be a little bit of a hierarchy I see investors go through and I know a lot of people jump for single family and a multifamily to sort of scale up their success a little bit faster. So I'm sort of working toward learning more about that jump.
David McIlwaine:
That precipice of going from single to multi.
Lindsay:
It's a big jump.
David McIlwaine:
It's a big scale right and, having done it myself and I'm actually focusing more now on single to multi, given the current rate environments, because I think that it's a little bit of a safer play and you don't have to take any of you know, I don't need to take on people's capital at risk when I'm doing this, so I'm kind of doing a little bit of both.
David McIlwaine:
Okay, so you mentioned seller finance notes, which goes into alternative lending, so talk to me a little bit about what that means for those of us out there who don't know what that is.
Lindsay:
Yeah, so I will acquire property and then I sell it to the occupant and I essentially act as the bank for them. So they are not a renter, they are a borrower. They own their home. I do not do any maintenance on it, they're responsible for any repairs on the property and they just pay me a monthly payment. They I also collect a down payment from them. I do my due diligence. We have an application process and then I essentially just hold the note until it's paid off, or I could sell the note off If I wanted to do that. There's different options you can do as an extra exit strategy.
David McIlwaine:
A couple of questions on that. So that means you're buying the house in full because you can't buy a mortgage on that property and then put another mortgage on it because that breaks the covenants of the mortgage, right?
Lindsay:
Well, I have a. I don't have like a conventional mortgage loan, I have a commercial loan like a line I guess you call it a line of credit from the bank, okay, okay. And so that's how I acquire the property, and so I do have financing on them. Most of my property, some of them, I have purchased with cash, but most of them I have been financing on.
David McIlwaine:
So fascinating. So just to kind of clarify this everybody she goes out, she gets a line of credit from a commercial lender and that allows her to then buy a what would be defined as a commercial asset, and that commercial asset in this case for her is a series of single family homes. And then you're going to the tenant and giving them the chance to make it basically a purchase and sale agreement. They're paying you a down payment, which I assume you're holding, and you're paying your financing note with a down payment.
Lindsay:
And then is that correct?
David McIlwaine:
Yes, and then you're turning over, you're filing a deed with a state that says they have deed to this house. Basically it's a seller carry.
Lindsay:
Yes, we, I use a contract for deed, so they actually they don't get the deed until the property is paid in full. Kind of like you know anybody who gets a traditional mortgage you don't really get the deed until you've paid off the property.
David McIlwaine:
What depends, state by state right. So in some states I've done this. In Michigan, for example, where I had a vacation home, we decided to sell and seller finance basis. So I created a contract whereby the person bought the house from me did the same thing you did and I had to, in the state of Michigan, file their name in the deed and then I had to repossess it when they didn't pay it and it was a tremendously big nightmare. So how do you? How do? If you're not filing the deed, then you have the deed already. So they truly are in a almost rent to own structure. Yes, and so you're making money on the arbitrage.
Lindsay:
Correct.
David McIlwaine:
Yeah, yeah, fascinating. How did you learn, how did you create this vision in your head? Because so many folks that are new to the world don't think about alternative mechanisms, and this is one of those very creative alternative mechanisms. They say that a deal is created when two people have a meeting of the minds, and there's no requirement that it be A and B. It could be D and Z, right. So how did you come to think to do this?
Lindsay:
Yeah. So before I transitioned out of my design work into becoming an investor and having my own company, I actually got a job working for a local real estate investor as his executive assistant and I thought, if I go work for this investor, I can see what he's doing every single day and it'll help me take action on my goal of acquiring investment properties. So that's exactly what I did. I worked for him for three years and this was a strategy he used and he helped me buy my first investment property, in which I use that same strategy and created a note.
David McIlwaine:
Man. That's awesome because that's so much of what we talk about in real estate investing. It is laid out an example you don't know something, you go find a mentor. You go find a mentor, you create a relationship and you're getting paid to be educated Brilliant.
Lindsay:
Yep.
David McIlwaine:
And then the mentor helps you get your start.
Lindsay:
Yeah, yeah, I'm so grateful to him. He was so generous with information and time and, you know, helping me, so it's great.
David McIlwaine:
And are you guys still connected today?
Lindsay:
Yes, we are.
David McIlwaine:
And just out of curiosity, what did the mentor get out of this relationship? Because we talk a lot about what the mentee gets out, but we don't talk much about what the mentor gets out. So what the mentor get out of this relationship?
Lindsay:
Well, I was essentially his employee and I worked really hard for him. I always went above and beyond to try and take things off his plate and make his business more streamlined for him. So I think I created a lot of value for him in that way and you know it's hard for me to say maybe what he got out of the relationship, but I know a lot of investors that I speak to. They find a lot of purpose in sharing knowledge, coaching people and helping people. It's kind of a way of giving back because a lot of times they had someone, they had a mentor, they had someone helping them and without that help they probably wouldn't be where they are today.
David McIlwaine:
That's such a true part of it. I know it's one of the things that I most enjoy when I'm mentoring people and teaching people and coaching people is, you know, it's almost like balancing the karma, and if you're going to go with an Eastern philosophy here, you know I'm going to put good in the world and the world will come back to me with good, and if, as long as I do it without a desire for compensation, it comes back to me tenfold, and I think that's what is so valuable in helping people learn more. So you've got these cash flowing properties, and then is there anything else that you're doing right now?
Lindsay:
I mean, that's the main thing I'm working on right now. One mistake I kind of made in my business early on is trying to scale too quickly and build my portfolio too quickly, and I learned that you really need to stabilize your cash flow before you start adding more properties and there's sort of a there's probably, you know, like a desirable percentage of what you're looking for or there's some rule of thumb that I'm just so unaware of, but I kind of learned that lesson the hard way. So right now, our main focus is just wholesaling, just generating a lot of cash. I want to reinvest that cash into my business, grow my team and then have some you know a little bit of capital I can use to acquire more properties, in conjunction with maybe partnering up with some private lenders, as well as still continuing my relationship with my bank that I already used.
David McIlwaine:
Awesome. So you talked about wholesaling and I know that offline you told me that you have a wholesaling course. Tell me a little bit about the wholesaling, wholesaling course and how this works in your world.
Lindsay:
Yeah, so I created a course for women who are busy. It's a 30 day wholesaling course. It teaches them how to get started in real estate investing through wholesaling. Very simplified, it's the what you need to take action type of information. So it's something I created because I wish I had a course like that for myself, and I talked to a lot of women moms that just have a really hard time fitting into the corporate world because they need flexible schedules to work around. You know, kids and if they're taking care of parents, things of that nature and so a lot of women are looking for more flexibility, more money. So, yeah, I really want to work with women like that and help them out and help them get into real estate.
David McIlwaine:
That's a noble cause, right, and obviously it goes back to the under earning concept as well.
Lindsay:
Absolutely.
David McIlwaine:
So for the listeners who don't know what wholesaling is, can you give us a quick 10 second, 15, 30 second definition of it?
Lindsay:
Yeah, so wholesaling is a great way to get started in real estate investing. It's kind of an entry level strategy. Perhaps it doesn't require any of your own money. What you do is you find motivated sellers. Usually it's a distressed properties, properties that need repairs. You get the property under contract and you actually sell your rights to purchase that property to an actual end buyer. So you're not the one buying the property, you're finding the property and you're charging a fee to sell that to the end buyer. I know that sounds a little complicated. It's really not that complicated, but most, a lot of people don't know that that's something that you can actually do in real estate.
David McIlwaine:
So it's once again a measure of arbitrage, You're creating a contract and then you're getting paid for having created the contract.
Lindsay:
Yes.
David McIlwaine:
Awesome. Well, this has been fascinating. So you talked about true crime shows in your bio and that you like true crime shows. Just curious, what's your favorite true crime show?
Lindsay:
Wow, so I don't. I can't pick just one. You know I'm always seeing new ones pop up on Netflix and Hulu, but my really true favorite true crime entertainment is a podcast called my Favorite Murder, and it's just absolutely fascinating.
David McIlwaine:
So there's the plug for my Favorite Murder. I will tell you guys, I've never listened to it and murder is not really one of my passions. My wife loves the stuff. I don't get it. You guys are weird in my opinion, just saying Well, it's not.
Lindsay:
it's not about the murder, it's more about the psychology and sociology behind what causes these type of tragedies, and then it's also like a deep understanding of the flaws in our justice system, and those are what make these stories super interesting, for me personally, anyways.
David McIlwaine:
Yeah, now there are many flaws in many systems, in our organizations for sure. So so tell me, lindsey, as you look back on this journey, what's a piece of advice that you wish you had had 10 years ago, something you know now that you wish you had known 10 years ago?
Lindsay:
Yeah, I wish 10 years ago I knew to invest in myself by buying courses. I have a personal business coach that I work with and you know he's helped me tremendously. So I just wish I did that a lot sooner. But again, you know, 10 years ago the type of information, coaching, things like that just wasn't widely available in the same sense it is today, I think.
David McIlwaine:
Fascinating. So you've got a personal business coach, and a lot of folks don't know this, but I actually am an executive coach as well, and so I'm just kind of curious, if you don't mind talking about this for a second, what benefit have you realized from your business coach?
Lindsay:
Yeah it's, there's so many, so he kind of serves as that sounding board. Sometimes when you're in business, you come across some really specific questions and it's really hard to find the answers to sometimes, and I can always take all my questions to him. He's he's in the same type of business I am, he does wholesaling and he also is building his portfolio, but he's been doing this a lot longer than I have. He's a lot more successful. So he has been down the road I'm trying to go and he's able to lead me and guide me with mistakes to avoid and what to do when you're at this point. And then he also gives me a lot of strategy and tactical resources that I've implemented in my business and have made a huge difference. And then I think that the last part of that is accountability. I tell him what I'm trying to achieve and he follows up and asks and keeps me accountable to do it.
David McIlwaine:
And have you seen that that yields results in your business?
Lindsay:
Absolutely. When you're kind of a silo. You know entrepreneurship can be lonely if you don't have a network, If you're not reaching out to people for support, because if you're the leader, you know you don't have someone to talk to about these things. So, and you don't have a boss, You're your own boss. No one's telling you to get these things done. So I think it can really help in that way.
David McIlwaine:
Yeah, one of the things that my coaching clients and I talk about is the sounding board concept. I'm the kind of coach that never will tell you what to do because I don't know what's right for you. I will, you know. And a good, great coach gets out of their clients, their coachees, the best they can get, and it depends on what your needs are right, so that accountability can be really powerful. And some folks have that need, some folks don't.
David McIlwaine:
I remember when you said you know it can be very lonely to be an entrepreneur if you don't have a network, and if you have a network, it can also be really lonely. A solopreneur and entrepreneur is really a challenging role. I remember I just finished another podcast with a guy who literally has founded this new app. That's really cool and it's going to publish out in the podcast before you. So if you're listening, it's one episode back and he's talking about the challenges of small business. And do you realize? There are over 22 million small business owners who basically employ just themselves in the US 22 million, so how many people are in the workforce in the US? We've got a population of 330 million, so roughly a third of the population works at any given time. So that means that basically one fifth of the US is self employed. Isn't that staggering?
Lindsay:
I'm going away by that I think there's a trend where that's going to continue to go up because, you know, our economy is changing, the high-paying knowledge jobs are going to start going away because of AI, and so I think there's just a lot more need for people to have control over their job, their financial future. I think a lot more people are going toward the route of entrepreneurship.
David McIlwaine:
Yeah, I see that as well, and so you know, if we talk about the piece of something you wish you had known 10 years ago, what's a piece of advice that you followed, that you wish you had ignored, or a piece of advice that you knew was bad, that you want people, other people, to stay away from.
Lindsay:
Yeah, I think there was sort of this hustle culture mindset that was really popular on the internet not too long ago and maybe it still is, but it's kind of this idea of grinding until you make it, and I completely disagree with that philosophy. First of all, I'm a mom, I'm a wife. You know I have a life outside of my business. I don't have the luxury of just working solely on my business and nothing else goes on in life, and you know. So I probably spend 30 to 40 hours a week on my business and I'm running all parts. And you know, I feel like you can achieve success with whatever schedule you want, as long as you're being strategic about the tasks that need to be done, the ones that make the most impact. I don't think you need to work yourself to death or sacrifice other parts of your life, like your health, your marriage, whatever at the you know idea of being successful or, you know, creating a large business or things of that nature. So I completely disagree with the hustle culture.
David McIlwaine:
Love it. It's almost the work smarter, not harder, for philosophy and you can get an awful lot done. You know, I talk with people that I work with, and the quantity of hours worked is not this measure of success. The measure of success is what you create it to be, and what you're talking about is that the measure of success might be balance. It really does depend Absolutely. So is there a thought or an axiom or some sort of quote that moves you day in and day out that you'd love to share with our listeners?
Lindsay:
I think one thing I constantly need to remind myself of is that I am worthy because, again going back to the way a lot of women are socialized, is we're taught to care more about other people than ourselves, and we, you know, we're silenced, we're minimized, we're devalued throughout our lives, and so I think we are all worthy to go after our dreams, to achieve success, to get the things we want out of life, and I think anyone, not just women, a lot of people have childhood trauma or things that maybe create self-doubt, and so I think it's important to remind myself every single day that I'm above that self-doubt.
David McIlwaine:
I love that. I'm above self-doubt. No dispute with that. So tell us if people want to learn more about Lindsay, they want to learn about your whole selling course. They want to buy the whole selling course what's the best way to contact you?
Lindsay:
Yeah, so you can contact me at LindsaySharmaPropertiescom and I have a link to the course on that website.
David McIlwaine:
Wonderful and we'll have that in the show notes for everybody. So, lindsay, thank you so much for coming in and telling us a little bit about your journey. It's been a pleasure, and you've been listening to another episode of Brecker-Golden Handcuffs.
