When You Should Not Grow Your Business

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Paul Jarvis—PJrvs.com.

Paul is a designer, author, teacher, software creator, and podcaster. He’s written 4 books—and is currently working on his fifth called, Company of One which is due to be released early 2019. It’s about how companies can be better without being bigger.

Paul has built several software companies, and has taught over 10,000 students through his online courses—Creative Class, Chimp Essentials and Grow Your Audience. He hosts two podcasts: Sunday Dispatches and Invisible Office Hours and has worked with big companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, and Warner Music. His work has appeared in Fast Company, CNBC, Forbes, Newsweek, BuzzFeed, Lifehacker, and more!

Paul believes that bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to business growth. He explains that there is a balance that needs to happen and you shouldn’t try to grow if it doesn’t make sense.

How do we step back and figure out individually what makes us happy and what is enough?

It all comes down to introspection. Paul explains that it’s the most important thing. “Introspection comes from looking at consistency because that’s where the truth lies.”

[bctt tweet=”Consistency is the best tool for truth that we have.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

Listen in now as Paul teaches us why we should grow our businesses better, not bigger. Plus, we explore:

• The truth of suffering
• The lost art of the ability to focus

And is there such a thing as an overnight success?

Paul explains that we don’t see what led up to that success story. It could have taken 15 years of fails before finally getting that one big win and we shouldn’t compare our own success to that one tiny spec we see.

I think that it’s important to look at the difference between how we perceive ourselves versus how the outside world perceives us because typically it’s incredibly different.

Listen in now for all the details!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: Learn more about Paul by going to his website at PJrvs.com.

Scott: Check out StartupGraveyard.io and learn from the failure of others. Also, check out AutomateThatShit.com. It’s a web application that helps automate most tasks.

Paul: Read the book, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport.

​Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by:

• Cynthia Tripathi
• Erik Peterson
• Aaron Williams
• Tate Litchfield
• Scott Todd

This week we delve deep into potential problems that may arise in this business, though rare, they do happen and costs may transpire—specifically, trash cleanup.

Tate starts us off with the infamous squatter incident that was mentioned in a previous Round Table from last year. Thought he had resolved that issue? So did Tate, until last week…

And remember Aaron’s story where the buyers are living on the property in a trailer committing crimes, causing havoc and are habitually late on payments? He’s still dealing with them, only they are getting further behind to the point where they pay just hours before the default deadline. It’s leading him to believe that default is inevitable and wondering what to expect from there. Will he soon be sharing a squatter/trash cleanup story with us?

We debate whether it’s better to put restrictions the contract to get better buyers. In doing so you’re minimizing the headaches but shrinking the buying pool and losing out on potential revenue generated from late fees and defaults.

Or, do you take a gamble and set no restrictions then deal with any problems that may occur? Any unforeseen costs, even in the worst case scenario, pales in comparison to the costly problems of tenants, termites, and toilets! It’s a lot less expensive to clean up trash left on a property, than a house that someone has trashed.

[bctt tweet=”In the land business we’re not dealing with houses and the other kind of real estate problems, so in the grand scheme of things our problems are easy fixes and that’s part of what makes this business great.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

And finally, Cynthia gives us a case of Deal or No Deal!

Listen in for the details and decide if you would take the deal or pass and find out what everyone else would do.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Aaron: Check out JotForm.com to create online forms and publish them. There is a free version and they’ve got integrations with IFTTT and Zapier.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Mark Ferguson—InvestFourMore.com.

Mark is a big deal in the field of real estate and passive income. He’s an investor and an agent with a team of 9 that has flipped 120 homes and he is currently the landlord of 16 rentals! He also has a podcast, a forum, and a blog where he helps others learn how to buy and sell real estate.

Today, Mark shares how he got started in real estate and the things he would have done differently in the beginning, plus:

• • The good and the stressful sides of house flipping

• • House flipping vs. rentals

• • The appeal of house flipping
  • Biggest newbie question and answer about flipping

[bctt tweet=”A lot of people give themselves 90 days to start establishing something in real estate and it’s not enough time to build a track record. It takes patience. It takes grit. It takes a constant supply of energy, action, and motivation. ” username=”TheLandGeek”]

We also delve into finances and how to find partners. Plus, we explore his newest venture, commercial real estate!

I saw this opportunity where you could take buildings that weren’t managed well or were vacant or needed some kind of work — like large multifamily apartment buildings where you could raise the rents, add value and really increase their value based on better management. Seeing the scale you could do with some of these properties was really exciting, it got me completely out of my comfort zone and really challenged me.

Mark shares a lesson that he learned from his father—a now retired agent, and that is to do business the right way. His father was known for his honesty and putting his clients above himself which got him considerable repeat business because so many trusted and respected him. Mark also prides himself on his honesty and reliability. If he says he’s going to do something, he does it!

Mark’s advice for those thinking about jumping into this niche is to learn your market. Find contractors and learn what repairs cost. There is so much that goes into it so really study and educate yourself, as well as making sure you take action at the same time. Also, have patience and perseverance because it’s not going to happen overnight.

Listen in now for all the details and to find out if you have what it takes to be a successful real estate investor!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: Visit InvestFourMore.com to learn more about Mark Ferguson and to find information about how to become a real estate agent. Also, don’t forget to check out his podcast.

Scott: Read the book, Me, Inc.: Build an Army of One, Unleash Your Inner Rock God, Win in Life and Business by Gene Simmons.

Mark Ferguson: If you are going to invest, look at your market because real estate is so location specific. Study rents, values, and opportunities because these will help you figure out what the best investment is there. Have an open mind to what may work.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by:

• Jeannie Morem
• Cynthia Tripathi
• Erik Peterson
• Aaron Williams
• Tate Litchfield

Just returning from a week-long getaway in the South Pacific, recharged and ready to go with a dry new phone, Tate shares how easy it was to step away from the business and unplug—partially due to the fact that he took his phone swimming in the warm waters off of Aitutaki, but unplugged nonetheless because as he explains, there are no land emergencies.

We also welcome coaching student, Jeannie Morem to the group today. Jeannie talks about the podcast she hosts with her husband Kurt who is also going through our coaching program. Their podcast is based on a subject that, umm well, has a blush factor to it.

Jeannie also shares how she found us then purchased the toolkit, but it wasn’t until attending the Bootcamp in Scottsdale that it all came together. Since attending Bootcamp, Jeannie and Kurt have signed up for coaching which leads us into the discussion—why are people afraid to invest in coaching?

Cynthia compares the investment for coaching to returning to school to get a Masters Degree…

“When I compared the cost of coaching to the cost of a Masters Degree, where I wouldn’t be making any money and would graduate with all this debt, versus the small cost in comparison to actually learn how to run a business and create passive income, there was just no comparison.

I made a huge ROI on my coaching investment in the first year of business than I ever made out of my 4 year college degree. People will go spend 100k on a college degree and get into all this debt, but then when it comes to learning a skill where you can literally make a one time sale and create recurring revenue every month, they don’t think it’s possible.”

Cynthia also shares the details of the incredible deal she posted about in the Mastermind Group this week, where the property she was considering appeared to be so undesirable that she considered passing on it but ended up giving a take-it-or-leave-it offer that the seller took and it ended up being her most popular property to date.

Everyone shares their take on it and why there are “a lot of levels of lessons“ to be learned from her deal.

Marks big takeaways:

• Fearlessness of negotiating
• Tenacity of marketing
• Realization of reality—Hey, I have something people want, I’m going to up the price.

Listen in for the details and why a picture can be worth a 2100% ROI!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Aaron:  Check out Nomorobo.com. It’s an extensive blacklist to stop robo-callers and it’s updated every hour.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Travis Marziani—EffectiveEcommerce.com.

Tired of the grind, Travis quit his corporate job to travel the world and start an online dance clothing business, knowing that it would be a profitable niche with repeat business. He started the company with his mom who made the clothing, but it quickly grew to a team of 15 people!

With the success of that business under his belt, Travis went on to create Performance Nut Butter, a healthy on-the-go snack geared towards the CrossFit person.

What makes Travis so successful in the e-commerce market?

He did not take the simple road! His products are high-quality products that he has an interest in, and they aren’t easy to reproduce. And while he admits that he does not have a love for dance clothing, his mom did. With her knowledge of that niche and her sewing skills along with his knowledge of website building and marketing, they made the perfect team!

Travis’s advice for those thinking about starting an e-commerce company:

• Go with something that you’re interested in
• Partner with someone else who has the same passion
• Niche down as hard as you can and target that market

Travis also tells us why he went through Kickstarter with Performance Nut Butter, the ways he promoted it, and the lessons he learned.

[bctt tweet=”Mindset is critical to success, it’s more important than a good business idea.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

We also talk about his podcast, How To Do Your 20s and how it was crucial for the launch of Performance Nut Butter.

Listen in for all the details!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark:  Learn more about Travis at, EffectiveEcommerce.com. Check out his podcast, at How To Do Your 20s.com—Pursuit of the optimal life through Mind and Body Optimization. And, don’t forget to get some Performance Nut Butter.

Scott: Tired of robocalls? Check the app, Hiya and protect yourself from unwanted robo and spam calls

Travis: Take that small baby step. If you have an idea for a website, buy the domain name. Type in 99 cents GoDaddy Domains and get a domain for 99 cents. If you already have the domain name, go put up a website.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by:

• Scott Bossman—Even People With Short Legs Can Take Big Steps.
• Aaron Williams—The people you talk with might be a sale, they just may not be a sale today.
• Erik Peterson—People can detect when you’re over-anxious to get the sale and it could turn them off. Try to have the attitude that if it sells that’s awesome. If it doesn’t, I’m just going to move on to the next guy.
• Scott Todd—You have to dig in, do more of what’s not working and push harder to get to the other side.

Today, we are going deep into SALES. Listen in as the guys share advice to help you move past the newbie stage sale suck so you can feel the confidence to tackle sales like a pro.  

[bctt tweet=”You can’t let what you want dictate how you are going to sell. You have to give the market what they want, and in this business, they want it to be irresistible.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

The guys share details of their own first sales and what they learned that can help you move forward more seamlessly. Plus, they delve deep into:

• Mindset
• Handling the first rejection so it doesn’t hinder progress or ambition
• Tire kickers

The key points for sale struggles and frustrations:

• Look at your activities—Are you posting enough ads
• Don’t be so emotionally connected about getting the sale that it makes it about YOU and not the customer
• Price it for the market
• Let it go

This episode is full of advice, tips, and techniques that will help you tackle sales, head-on! 

Special Geeky props to Scott Bossman for the episode title—Even People With Short Legs Can Take Big Steps. It’s a personal quote that is mentioned in the podcast. Find out what inspired him to come up with it.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Erik: Check out Coda.io—To bring your team together in spreadsheets, docs, and apps.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark talks with America’s Money Answers Man, Jordan Goodman—MoneyAnswers.com.

Jordan is a nationally-recognized expert on personal finance and a regular guest on numerous radio and television call-in shows across the country. He appears frequently on The View, Fox News Network, Fox Business Network, CNN, CNBC and CBS evening news.

For 18 years, Jordan was on the editorial staff of Money magazine, where he served as a Wall Street correspondent. In addition, he is the author/co-author of 13 best-selling books on personal finance.

Join us today as Jordan shares his backstory and delves deep into personal finances, including:

• Educating kids on personal finances
• Indexed Universal Life Insurance—IUL
• Commercial Mortgage Bridge Loans—a way of earning between six and eight percent over one to two years.
• Refinancing Car Loans
• Buying vs. Leasing
• The Future of Jobs

[bctt tweet=”Buy things that appreciate, lease things that depreciate—so you don’t have money tied up in a depreciating asset.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

Plus, what is the state of journalism today compared to 20 years ago? Jordan shares the staggering numbers.

Also, find out which three people he would invite to a dinner party and what would he ask them.

And, you don’t want to miss his answer to, “What conventional wisdom makes you crazy?”

His answer could cut tens of thousands of dollars off your mortgage!

This podcast is jammed packed full of free resources and valuable information that you can’t afford to miss!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: Learn more about Jordan by going to his website at MoneyAnswers.com.

Jordan:  Check out CorporateLendingSolutions.com. It’s a great way to fund your business without the hassle of going to the bank.

Additional resources mentioned:

• JumpStart.org
• TruthInEquity.com
• Master Your Debt: Slash Your Monthly Payments and Become Debt Free by Jordan Goodman
• CommercialMortgageBridgeLoan.com
• MyLoanGEN
• CarQ.com

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by:

• Aaron Williams
• Erik Peterson
• Mike Zaino
• Tate Litchfield
• Scott Todd
• Kyle Knab

We have a special edition of Round Table this week. We are putting all of the focus on a recent coaching student and Toolkit owner, Kyle Knab. Kyle got into land investing after listening to Mark’s earlier podcasts and with the information that he learned from those episodes, he bought his first property.

Listen in as Kyle shares how he sold his first property on terms after purchasing the Toolkit, what he learned from the Toolkit and how the deals have been blowing up since. Plus, he shares some of the most memorable and best deals with us, and answers these questions from the group:

• What has been the most difficult challenge
• First thing automated
• Biggest fear
• How he bought his first deal pre-Toolkit
• What helped in his mindset shift

[bctt tweet=”It’s easy to talk ourselves out of success, but once you start believing you can do it then all of a sudden you start having that success.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

Plus, Kyle gives advice for those just starting out and find out what happened when he bought 2 properties then discovered there were $15,000 liens on each!

And finally, Scott shares new features coming to LGPass!

We always talk about the importance of M&M’s in this business — Mailing and Marketing keep the deals flowing. But Kyle has added a few more important M’s to the mix.

Listen in as Kyle shows us how Mindset, Massive action, and Mentorship can bring Massive results!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Kyle: Check out NationalDayCalendar.com to use towards your marketing.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Kevin Bupp—MobileHomeParkAcademy.com.

Kevin, a successful investor with over 40 million real estate transactions, is also co-founder of the Mobile Home Park Academy which is the premier real estate education company in the country. Founded by a team of nationally recognized mobile home park investors, he’s developed the systems, the tools, the educational platform, and coaching program to accelerate your path to success as a mobile home park investor. He is also co-host of the 21 Biggest Mistakes-Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast.

Why does he teach others the processes that made him so successful?

Simply, Kevin likes meeting people that share the same passion and finds it rewarding when they buy that first mobile home park and they have literally replaced their entire full-time income.

I like helping others and I think that there is power in numbers as well. There is a collective dynamic that occurs when you teach others to do a particular business right and it’s the business that you’re in. There is a synergy that occurs that I can’t really explain.

Join us now, as Kevin takes us into the world of Mobile Home Park Investing. He elaborates on:

• The benefits of owning a mobile home park
• The types of mobile home park classes
• The first step in getting started
• Competition and size of the market
• Getting deal flow
• Preparing ahead for infrastructure issues

[bctt tweet=”As long as you know what the risks are going into the opportunity, the reward is well worth it on the back end.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

Plus, like in the land niche, it’s all about timing when sending the mailers out—you have to remain diligent. Just because someone isn’t willing to sell today, doesn’t mean their circumstances won’t change tomorrow and they will want a way out. Mailing consistently puts you in that Top of the Mind awareness!  

Listen in now for all the details!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: Learn more about Kevin by going to his website at MobileHomeParkAcademy.com.

Scott: Check out Draw.io. It’s a free tool you can use to build your process maps, swim lanes, diagrams, flowcharts, etc.

Kevin: Check out Zoom and Facebook Live.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition,  Mark is joined by:

• Aaron Williams
• Mike Zaino
• Tate Litchfield
• Scott Todd

This week, the guys go deep into what made them successful in the land business—the key ingredients that really moved the needle for them.

Listen in as they delve into the importance of:

• Getting the county right
• Getting educated
• The power of purpose

How do you find the right county?

County research can be an arduous step but a very important one. The guys go over what to look for and when you should move on. 

[bctt tweet=”Land investing is an easy business once you get it right. When you choose the county correctly, you can have success beyond what you have ever imagined.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

Plus, find out what did Scott did for his wife on Valentine’s day that ruined Marks—forever! And what Tate did that nearly got this episode scrapped.

Roses are red, boogers are green, the shenanigans continue, if you know what I mean.

And finally, even though Erik wasn’t on today’s show, he still delivered on today’s tip. His absence didn’t curb the hazing though and you won’t believe who the instigator was! [insert shocked face emoticon here]

TIP OF THE WEEK

Erik: Check out Fin.com—It’s your own personal assistant!

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

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