Podcast Transcription
Melina: Welcome to “Flippin’ Off,” a purpose-driven podcast about flipping houses and making a difference.
Melina: Oh, my Goodness. Hey. Oh. Hey, everybody? Welcome to the “Flippin’ Off” Podcast. I am Melina Boswell. Today in the studio, I have with me Mr. Oscar Solaris.
Oscar: Hello.
Melina: Mr. Tim Wilkinson.
Tim: Hello.
Melina: Oh. Mr. Frank Luna.
Frank: Good morning, everybody.
Melina: And it’s afternoon. And Mr. John Slater.
Frank: Good afternoon, everybody.
John: Hi. Good morning. Good afternoon.
Melina: All right, good. And then, also in the house, we have Kevin Castillo.
Kevin: Hello.
Melina: And we have Spoon.
Spoon: Hey.
Melina: We have Christian Rios on the couch.
Christian: Hello.
Melina: All right. And we have Josh.
Josh: Hey.
Melina: All right. So, today, we thought it would be a good idea to have a conversation about the club, the infrastructure, and specifically, the RPP. You know, we’re coming up on…well, we are 10 years in the club, and the structure has changed so much over the last 10 years yet it hasn’t changed at all. It’s a funny thing. And I’ve been feeling rather nostalgic, I think, over the last few months. I believe that there is power or…yeah, there’s power in time. And, you know, I had a guest actually at this last RPP say this to me. He said…I think this was on day three, he goes, “I am so impressed at what you’ve been able to pull off in only 10 years.” And I was like, “What? Only 10 years?” And he said, “Yeah, like it’s unbelievable what you’ve been able to do in 10 years.” And I said to myself, “Huh, it feels like it’s been 50, but all right.”
Now, you know, 10 years seems like a long time to be able to pull off what we’ve pulled off, but it was really refreshing for me to hear, from his perspective, how great we are in 10 years. And got me thinking about how as much as things change, they still remain the same, and the reason why we have the three-day training, why our club membership kicks off with three days of training, and why we believe that’s necessary. And I’ll just, you know, share that. When we first started, the club was always a result of us trying to break into real estate investing ourselves, trying to understand how we could be successful in it, and attending so many different…I’m doing, you know, finger quotes trainings, boot camp, coaching, the whole thing, and paid so much money, and really was left feeling frustrated because there was things missing, there were so many holes, you know? Education is vital, but it is just a piece of the entire pie, I believe, right? Would you agree with that?
Oscar: Yeah. I think back to my first real estate training, and I think I was listening to it and going through it, and I was thinking I was just not getting it, and I didn’t even know what was missing, I couldn’t even… Because if I did, I’d be able to do it. But just listening to you and I’m trying to follow these instructions, and it just seemed like I was dumb, I’m not getting it. So, I kinda just put it aside for many, many years until Dave started talking to me about what he was doing. And I got excited about it again, because here’s somebody that I know doing it, but how do I start doing it while I’m working a full-time job? So…
Melina: Yeah, interesting. And, Tim, you went to a lot of trainings, too, right?
Tim: I did a lot of self-educating. I did a lot of reading. I had never been to a court seminar. You know, I bought all the books, late-night infomercials, things like that. I don’t know how I steered clear of actually ending up, you know, in a room with people, but I did a lot of self-educating and the same thing. All I found was that I was way too scared to move forward and all alone.
Melina: Yeah. Yeah.
Tim: And, like, too afraid to even go build that team that all those books told me to build.
Melina: Yeah. It’s so funny. I took a class on building your team. But, you know, all they did was give you titles of people, right?
Tim: Right. I remember specifically reading a book and thinking to myself, “Man, that last chapter told me I need to go find an attorney, and this one is a whole story about this guy’s first attorney really taking advantage of him.” And I’m like, “How am I supposed to move forward in that,” you know?
Melina: Right. How do you pick the right attorney?
Tim: Right.
Melina: Yeah, interesting. So, I think what we learned over the years is starting off the relationship with people in the club and starting off people’s membership and relationship with us with a three-day training is really unique. Because what we do during the three-day training isn’t just education, it’s very practical, right? So, I think what you were saying, Frank, what I heard you saying is, it was just a bunch of theory, you know, like theory, like definitions, terminology, ideas, and none of it is really applicable or practical even. And so, the way our training is set up now is it’s truly the beginning, it’s the jump start of your business, right?
Frank: Yeah. If I think about our training from the first day to the last day, it’s all action steps.
Melina: Yep.
Frank: And we give examples. And there’s things that, on Monday, you’ll be able to do. We even have people come to the training, during the training, taking action, submitting leads, bringing stuff to us so that we can help them with. And I think, from our perspective since we had been to other trainings, you’ve spent a lot of money. I did spend some money, but my first training, I just got stuck, and I was like, “This, I can’t do any of this stuff.” So, when they come into ours and they can actually take action and they’re in it versus the theory, it’s almost no theory. I mean, it’s like, “This is what it is,” then we explain it, which is more, to me, it’s just application of it.
Melina: Right.
Frank: Because I know every time we have a training, there’s, I would say, without fail, more than half the people that we’re training have been trying to do this for years like myself.
Melina: Absolutely.
Frank: Like I remember, it was 1994 when I started trying to learn about real estate.
Melina: Wow, you’re old. I was still in high school. Okay, no, not really.
Frank: I’m dating myself, yeah. So, when people come out here and they’re just looking at what we’ve put together based off of our own bad experiences of what everything was missing from every training that we’ve all collectively done, and, you know, there’s some things that we took away and we understood them because we actually got into some deals. And then, now we can actually teach it in a way where it’s palatable, where they can see what’s going on, first is just, you know, naming it and giving it definition.
Melina: Right. Exactly. It’s funny. I always tell people, “Remember what our business model is.” Our business model isn’t to just train you and then get rid of you. Our business model is to train you, but more importantly, to move you into action so that you can get a deal, right? Because we know that activity will always produce results, and if we don’t get you into action, there’s never gonna be any results. And I believe that is the thing that sets us apart from, you know, other, I guess, people who do what we do, is that they aren’t tied to…their business model doesn’t necessarily lend for students being put into action and getting deals. Right?
John: Right. Exactly. And I think the training covers the whole spectrum of people as they come in, you know. Whether you’re…you know, like me, five years ago, it was, “I have no idea what I’m doing. I have no idea really what I’m coming to. I just know I wanna do this.” And the training suited me because it taught me how to go find the lead. Versus something that maybe has done real estate before, they’ve got a little bit of experience and it may be a refresher for them. But learning our systems, learning the way that we’re doing it, and, most importantly, for some of those people, plugging in with the right network.
Melina: Yeah, community.
John: Community. And, you know, therefore, everybody can get something from the training, it doesn’t matter whether they flipped houses or not flipped houses, you know. And, for me, personally, it all just came back to the, “Go find a lead. Go find a lead. Forget about everything else. I’m sure there’s some fundamentals, there’s some, you know, vocabulary, there’s, you know, different aspects of real estate, but you need to go find the lead.”
Melina: And what is the lead?
John: A motivated seller.
Melina: It’s really that simple. Right. That’s what I tell everybody, our business is very simple, anyone can do it, it’s just not easy. If it were easy, everybody would do it, right? Yeah. I was just thinking that’s a great point that you made, John. I don’t know, we just had somebody at our training who has 35 years’ experience, he’s a builder, a developer, a broker, a general contractor, you know. He had so much experience, and I was a little, like, wondering, you know, what is he gonna learn, you know, with us. There’s nothing new under the sun, so is there really gonna be anything that he’s going to be able to take away from our three-day training?
He just came back from the RPP, and he sent an email, and he just kinda laid out, you know, his previous experience and how much he loved the weekend, how much he enjoyed it, how he loves the culture of the club, he loves what our business model is and can’t wait to get started. He’s like, “Oh, I’d love to be able to train with you,” like, maybe he would be the trainer. And he could, he has the experience to do it, but still, he was able to, you know, really connect and get something very valuable from us.
Kevin: Yeah. It’s interesting, because they really are from all walks of life. So, you have the contractors, you have waiters, waitresses, most importantly, we have realtors, right, that come in that are used to doing things the traditional way, and they learn through those three days that, “Wow, there’s such a different approach to things.” So, I spoke with one of them today as a follow-up, and she has a lead that actually she’s been working on since last August. And now the switch has been flipped, right? So, it’s like, “Oh, wait, I can do something with this. I just need to call the right people, get them involved so they can talk through it,” which is us, “And work it out and put it together, where it’s a win-win for everybody.” So, the homeowner will win in this.
Melina: Right. So, you’re saying that as a realtor she’s doing a traditional transaction and has been stuck.
Kevin: Right.
Melina: Wow, that is cool.
Kevin: And she’s done a really good job of working with the bank and getting things done. She’s got payoffs already set up that make total sense, everything’s good on that side, so the numbers make sense. She was just stuck on, “Well, how do I really approach this now because I’m here as an agent?”
Melina: Right. Right. That’s awesome, very exciting.
Kevin: And it’s just fruits from a three-day training.
Melina: Yeah. Yeah. It is cool. The idea that we’ve had so many people do what we tell them to do, you know. I was thinking about that, how we do have them from all walks of life. And there is some certain things that are common inside of the people that find the club, and then, maybe, what are attracted to the club. So, I think it’d be kind of fun right now. I’m just gonna put you guys on the spot, because you know I like to do that. What are the characteristics, would you say, of people that are like…? We’re looking for that “find the club attractive.” What are some of the things you think that they already inherently have or things that they are working toward in terms of their personal character?
Kevin: My favorite thing when I’m talking with somebody that’s contacted us is when they really identify with our model of putting the homeowner first, putting our club member first, putting, you know, people above $1. When they love that, because that’s how they are in their life, but they just can’t find a place where they can actually live that out. Because they’re like me. I remember being at my job, you know? Manny shared a little bit about that, but, you know, sharing your real purpose in an environment where you’re punching a clock is not easy.
Melina: No, it’s true.
Kevin: No. Because I just even remember starting to look into real estate and people that I was working with, just totally putting it down like, “Oh, you can’t do that, there’s no way.” And I knew there’s a way, because there’s people doing it. So, in an environment where we’re serving people, we’re making money doing real estate, and they’d love that, those are the kind of people that I like talking to on the phone.
Melina: Right.
Kevin: When they’re excited about our mission, not just the money, that’s what I love hearing.
Melina: What was it that Enrique said this last weekend after? It was so cute. The guy who came to training, RPP, and on Sunday night, he said this, he said, “I still can’t believe the unbelievableness.”
Frank: Yeah.
Melina: Because he said…
Christian: Hi. This is Christian Rios. As many of you know, I have been a member of New Wealth Advisors Club for over 7 years and got started when I was 17 years old with absolutely no real estate experience. One of the biggest lessons I have learned from being in the industry is the need for authentic relationships. If you’re looking for an actual team locally in Southern California with all the resources needed to close deals, register for one of our free workshops by visiting www.joinnwac.com. Thanks for listening to the “Flippin’ Off” Podcast.
Melina: Because he said, he was… Right? What was he saying? He was just talking about…
Frank: He even elaborated on his email, right, about I woke up Sunday morning and it was like, “Wow, this is a dream. And then I woke up Monday morning still feeling like, ‘Does this really happen, or has it just been a dream for me?'” And then he got text messages from us, and he’s like, “Okay, it really happened.” So, that’s good, right? I was like, “It’s real.”
Melina: Even believable.
Frank: But he was definitely in that space of, “This is what I’ve been looking for for years. It just didn’t know that it existed till now.”
Melina: Yeah. How many times do we hear that? So many times.
John: All the time. And I’m just thinking, from what Frank said and what Oscar was saying, the culture within our club, the service from the volunteers that help run the training, nobody can fully expect to see that and to receive that. And, you know, we’ve seen so many people come in on Friday morning with one face and then leave Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening with another face because they’ve just been completely broken down by how authentic people are, how people around them are willing to help them to just start their journey, which, you know, we’ve all been there, we all received it, and now we just got to give back.
And people struggle to, you know… When I first talk to people on the phone and I’m looking, you know, potentially invite somebody to the club, you can’t articulate that properly, you’ve gotta come and experience it, you’ve gotta come and actually be in there, see the knowledge, see the training, but also see what else goes on around there. You know, you can’t, what did you say, you can’t bottle it, you know. If you could and if you could bottle that and sell it, it’d be, you know…
Melina: We’d be chabillionaires.
John: Exactly.
Melina: Yeah. And don’t you think it’s more than seeing it, it’s experiencing it?
John: Yeah.
Melina: It’s an experience that you can’t really articulate, and that’s why it’s the unbelievableness, you know.
Kevin: Yeah. And I believe it starts the first time. The conversation is the first thing on the phone, but the first time they actually step foot into the office and then walk into the training room, it’s when things start to shift for them. And then Friday mornings, we tell them, right, there’s gonna be a shift. And they look at you like, “Yeah, right, whatever. What are you talking about? Nobody can change me,” right? And then, Sunday, like John said, it’s like, wow, they’re totally different.
Melina: Yeah, it’s the best.
Kevin: And then it just continues, it just begins the momentum for them in their change.
Melina: Yeah. I used to always promise people that they would have a transformation by Sunday. You know, that’s the truth, people really do have breakthroughs and transformation. There is a transformation that takes place between Friday morning and Sunday evening. They are completely different. And it is because of what they’ve experienced, and you can’t articulate it, so…
John: Oh, yeah. I think it’s fair to say that, when Frank said about the negative mindset of a lot of people around you, “Hey, I wanna do real estate.” “No, you can’t do that. It’s not gonna work,” you suddenly find yourself in an arena of fully positive people, that are happy with the lives that they…the work they do, the way they get to go and help and serve homeowners. I make money at the same time, and to be surrounded constantly by, you know, the positive vibes, you know, is really I think what takes people for surprise.
Melina: Yeah. Yeah. Because it really is who we are. It’s not really a show. You know, the RPP is, you know, somewhat of a show, right, in that it’s something we have to put on, it is a training that we put on, it’s an event. So, with event comes, you know, all kinds of details and things that need to take place. But when it’s all said and done, if you peel back all the layers, that is who we are at our very core. And people know that, they know it and they sense it, because even those who have the strongest BS meter, you know, they’re usually the ones that walk in on Friday morning with their BS meter like on high alert status, which is kind of my favorite thing. I love that, because I understand and I get why people have a BS meter, it’s because they’ve had horrible experiences, it’s completely legitimate to feel that and to think that. And so, when they get to realize that and experience the truth of who we are, that’s really where the transformation takes place. It’s awesome.
Tim: You know, going back to your question of what are the characteristics of the person that we’re looking for or that belongs where we are, is I think they have to be trainable, coachable, they have to be willing to set their past aside and really take it in, right? So, the skepticism can leave and they can be open to actually absorbing the information and absorbing who we are and how we show up for them.
Melina: Right.
Oscar: Once that happens, then it all takes off.
Melina: For sure.
Oscar: But they definitely have to be coachable, and not because you say you’re coachable, right? A big difference, but you have to truly…
Josh: No, lemme teach you why I am coachable, Oscar.
Oscar: Yeah. I’m coachable as long as you tell me what I wanna hear, right? No, not that, but rather the person that actually is open to learning a different way of approaching things and behaving, so…
Melina: Yeah. Yeah.
Tim: You just made me think of like, earlier, you mentioned, you know, the gentlemen that came, you know, with 35-plus years of experience, and he absolutely could show up in that room as uncoachable.
Melina: Totally.
Tim: There came a point when you mentioned that you kinda found yourself asking like, “What’s he gonna take from this?” And I asked him.
Melina: Oh, you did?
Tim: I flat out asked him, I’m like, “So, why are you here?” And he’s like, “Well, because it’s been 35 years and you guys are reminding me of things that I haven’t thought about in 15 years. And you’re opening up possibilities for me that aren’t that they’re not there from yesterday because I had forgotten about them.”
Melina: Wow.
Tim: And then, what he really got was the possibility for himself, which I’m glad he sent that email, but he’s like, “I can see myself really… How do I become a senior coach here? How do I do that?” And I just told him flat out, “Well, there’s no shortcut in the process. You gotta come, you gotta… There’s no shortcut in the building the relationships that happen here, but that path is absolutely here for you.” And he came humble and coachable with 35-plus years of real experience, not just a person who was a good sales rep, you know what I mean? Like, he wasn’t a good salesman from a real estate perspective, he was a broker, he built teams, he had 29 some odd realtors underneath him at one point, and he still showed up in the room open to receiving whatever it is we might have brought.
Oscar: And just to piggyback real quick off of that, Tim, in this conversation, I think that’s who we’re looking for, people that have experience or that are just coachable. And something that came to my mind as Melina shared throughout this weekend that she still has a mentor, and we’re all coachable, we’re all still looking to grow, and I think that’s the beauty of life, it’s not a destination, but, you know, it’s a journey. So, I wanted to share.
Melina: That’s right, that’s totally true, it is. And I think that we, most of the time, are thinking we need to get to a destination, and when we’re reminded that it really is all about the journey, it’s empowering, it’s very, very cool, very exciting.
Kevin: Right. I was gonna share, because you touched specifically on that question of who are we looking for. And as a group, we are looking for all those people, but I’ll share… For me, the favorite person to talk to you is the person who may not have any experience in real estate. And, in fact, for me, the person who literally just knows there’s something more for themselves. They don’t have to even be looking for real estate exactly, but they just have that burning that I know I’m capable of more than what is there for me. A person who just knows that they have something in themselves, and for that person to come and just see what’s available for themselves. They may come through and decide real estate isn’t necessarily the direction they wanna go to, but they leave sometimes with at least a sense of empowerment and inspire to go do something that’s all theirs.
Melina: Absolutely. That’s very good. Very good. What about you, John, could you name like, you know, when you’re looking to work with somebody, inviting them possibly to become a club member that we’re obviously not looking for every single person? We’re pretty, you know, we’re specific, you know, because we are so relationally driven.
John: Yeah.
Melina: So, what are some of the characteristics that you’re looking for?
John: You know, people often throw around the words, you know, being an entrepreneur. And I had no idea what being an entrepreneur actually meant, you know? Everybody says, “I wanna be an entrepreneur.” Well, what does it actually mean? And the way I break it down for me when I’m listening to people, you know, talk to me about why they wanna come to our club and what it is they’re looking for is I’m just looking for people, you know, that recognize where they are in their life and they wanna change. They recognize that maybe they’ve done some things, maybe they haven’t done some things, but, you know, they know they can’t do it on their own and they need that help and guidance to effect a positive change in their life, you know. If somebody is not driven, when I speak to them, if they’re not driven… And by driven, I don’t mean driven by the dollar sign, you know, I just mean driven in a way of, “I know there’s something better for me.” Because I think people often sit down and reflect and say, “There must be something bigger for me, bigger in my life that I should be doing.” And whether people listen to that voice or not, it’s always there.
Melina: Absolutely. I think it is.
John: I’m looking for that person that hears that voice and they’re ready to…
Melina: And responds.
John: …and responds and said, “Okay, what do I do? Okay. First things first, I need help, I need somebody to help me get there.”
Melina: Yeah. I was just reading, and I know I’ve shared this with you guys recently a lot, but it’s something that’s been just resonating deeply in me, and that is the number one fear…the regret, not fear, the regret that people have when they are facing their own mortality is that they didn’t self-actualize. We think it would be, “Oh, I wish I spent more time with my family, I wish I did this,” but it’s not. It’s actually people’s biggest regret in life when they are facing death, is that they did not self-actualize. And that is the thing we’re talking about, it is that voice, that inner knowing that there is something more but people don’t take action on that.
And so, that’s the regret. They feel like they dropped the ball, they didn’t do it. So, I love the idea that people get to do that and experience self-actualization through the club. And that is remarkable in my opinion. So, I am humbled and honored and privileged to be able to facilitate the RPP and all of the trainings that we get to do at the club with you guys and with all of the club members, the serving team, and everybody that participates and makes that three-day event happen. Because no matter how many times we do it, I’m still always incredibly blessed and moved and inspired by the end of the RPP by people that we get to experience.
Oscar: Definitely. Definitely.
Melina: Yeah. So, anyway, I guess I’m gonna close out now. If you’re listening to this and you’ve been to the RPP and you’d love to share, we’d love to hear any comments that you have, feedback would be great. If you are listening to this and you’re considering coming to the RPP, we look forward to seeing you, meeting you, and getting to know you. So, until then, we are NWAC.
I’m Melina Boswell, your host of the “Flippin’ Off” Podcast. I really hope you enjoyed it. If you did, we’d love for you to subscribe, give us a five-star rating, and tell your friends all about us. You can find more episodes of the “Flippin’ Off” Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever else you like to listen to awesome podcasts like this. If you like what you’ve heard, we’d really appreciate it if you’d follow us on Facebook and Instagram and tell us the stories that you’d like to hear.
Tim Jackson is our senior producer. Luke Jackson is our editor. Josh Mauldin is our producer. Sound design by Frequency Factory. Our executive producer is Mind and Mill. This was all created by Dave Boswell for New Wealth Advisors Club.