Podcast Transcription

Dave: You’re crazy you’re gonna lose it any second. I know you so well. I know and then she’s like.

Melina: Aloha. Please keep heads and arms inside the boat at all times.

Melina: Welcome to “Flippin’ Off,” a purpose-driven podcast about flipping houses and making a difference.

Melina: I am Melina Boswell here with my husband Dave, founders of New Wealth Advisors Club.

Dave: Well, hi. How’s everyone? We are doing something totally different. So you guys listen to the first podcast and we kinda told you about our story and the origins of New Wealth Advisors Club and so forth. And today we’re actually gonna take the time. And we’re here with Myke Van Ness and Myke Van Ness of… Gosh, I don’t even know what company I would say because I know you have multiples of them now. So it’s kind of a…

Myke: There’s a few.

Dave: Yeah.

Melina: He’s a mogul.

Dave: Yes it’s kinda crazy thinking about. Melina and I were just talking, you know, about how far you’ve come and what’s really happened and, you know, a lot of people haven’t had the time maybe to sit down and you’re a busy guy. I mean, busy doing all sorts of different things. I’m not gonna get into those just yet but maybe just a little bit of time to kinda share maybe some of your history and how you came to find the club and got involved with Melina and specifically and now, you know, you and I are involved in projects and just maybe take some of that time and…

Melina: When you say involved, what do you mean by that?

Dave: Involved in projects together, like Myke I mean he’s actually doing a ton of work. I mean, I don’t know how many you’re doing at one given time right now but it’s a big difference from meeting you. Gosh, is it six, seven years ago now?

Myke: That’ll be six. Well technically six years ago because I took a hiatus for a little bit.

Melina: That’s true.

Myke: But I’d probably say from when I was serious, 2010 end of 2010 so we’re going on five and a half years.

Melina: Yeah.

Dave: And when you say serious you mean, what does that mean?

Myke: I was all in. There wasn’t a question of me not doing this at least on a part time basis.

Dave: Okay.

Myke: You know while I was, you know, working my day job and night job, you know, this is something I did about 10 to 15 hours a week consistently. But I think when I first came across you guys I kinda, you know, hem in hard for a little bit. Wasn’t really sure, you know, if this was the right place so I kinda had to, you know, go out there and make sure, I guess, you know, see what else, other things that were at offer and, I mean, I knew that this was what I wanted to do but I just kinda had to figure some stuff out for myself.

Dave: Well, I mean, in all fairness you were how old then?

Myke: Twenty-two, twenty-three.

Dave: Okay. So not a whole lot of.

Melina: Twenty-two, yeah, because your birthday is in December.

Myke: Yeah

Melina: And I think you came on your birthday it was like the weekend before or after your birthday.

Myke: Yeah, it was November.

Melina: Oh, it was?

Myke: I think originally.

Melina: Oh, okay.

Dave: Going into 23.

Myke: Yeah.

Melina: Yeah.

Dave: So given that there’s not a whole lot of 22-year-old, 23-year-olds who aren’t kind of exploring and seeing what’s happening, what’s going on so. So tell us a little bit about that like when you first met us and you kinda were feeling your way in. And, man, we’re not going to fast forward just yet. But boy what a whirlwind it’s been.

Myke: Sure gosh where to start. Well, you know, honestly I was a waiter, you know, I was in college, which I hated, by the way. But I was doing it to obviously, you know, please my parents and my family and, you know, go that route. Got good grades in high school so like I didn’t work all that hard to not go to college so, you know, got into a good school, I went to the UC Santa Barbara for a little bit, but I majored in business.

And I’m like, “Well, I’m gonna do business at some point. I really want to work for myself so I don’t really know what that looks like.” It wasn’t like I was going to school to be a doctor or a lawyer or anything like that where I needed, you know, years of, you know, obviously knowledge and information. But what I ended up doing is actually I needed a change of pace because I was kinda stuck. You know, I had dropped out of school for a little bit, I was just working, you know, kinda some dead end serving jobs and I’m like, “Hey, I got this opportunity to go to Catalina Island and work there.” I’m like, “Maybe I should do that just to kinda like get away from the norm.” And I thought, “Well, cool.” You know it’s kinda like, you know, not in the U.S. anymore, but I still am.

Melina: Right, exactly.

Myke: You know it’s not quite Mexico, but it’s almost there. So I did that, I ended up just honestly cold turkey quitting my jobs, I had a month of income, I had some friends on the island and I moved into a hotel and I’m like, “I’m getting a job on this island.” So that’s what I did. And literally my last week of money I ended up getting like probably one of the best jobs on the island. You know, I had to work at it, but stayed there. But my purpose wasn’t to party there and, you know, do all that. I mean although that was appealing, you know, and there’s people I met.

Dave: Yeah you’re in your 20s.

Myke: Yeah, yeah, you know, there’s really cool people there. You know, it’s tourist always things going on. But I actually had sat down and wrote a journal of, “Okay, now is my chance to figure out what I wanna do with my life.” You know, where I wanna go, what I wanna have, you know, do I want to go back to school, do I wanna find a business, do I want to do something, you know, with the Internet. I wasn’t sure. You know, I read a couple of books about, you know, kind of where the next, you know, billionaires were being made and stuff and just kinda what the trends were being. So I wrote down in my journal that I wanted to get into real estate.

And I remember I wrote it down and then I put on a shelf. And then probably like six or seven months later, I stumbled across you guys’ office, you know, in Riverside and I was like, “Whoa.” Like I looked back at my journal I’m like, well, what I wrote down was I wanted to find a group of people that were doing real estate that had experience, that had success, they, you know, they weren’t some transient hotel and they actually, you know, had a track record. And that’s exactly what I found. And when I thought about it I’m like, “Well, I guess it is true.” Like if you write something down things come into fruition.”

And that’s my first, you know, glimpse at the office. I didn’t come right away. I was kinda like skeptical, I guess, like everybody else, like is this real, is it not, I don’t know. You know, I had been part of like other multi-level marketing companies in the past and I kinda, nothing against those, I think they’re great, but I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to do that again yet. And I wasn’t sure was this it or was it not. But, you know, I ended up finding out that, you know, this was something completely different, you know. And there is a spirit there at the office when I came on like, “Gosh, you know, this is where I should strongly consider myself, you know, kinda going next.” And I really, you know, I ended up going to UC or actually, let me rewind real quick, for like a semester and I hated it. Right?

Like the biggest, you know, I went from the smallest campus to the biggest campus because I did a transfer. And I remember I missed one of my mid-terms because for whatever reason and I ended having to drop my classes and I’m like, “I’m never coming back to Riverside, I’m never doing this. I hate this place. There’s too much traffic.” And then lo and behold.

Dave: Ninety-one parking lot.

Myke: You know, I mean, I’m here every day, you know, and there’s where the main office is at. So, you know, it’s kinda interesting how things end up. But yeah, you know, I came to the office, I checked things out. And, you know, I had to kinda mow it around even for a little bit. You know, stayed in contact with Frank, Frank’s actually the first person I met then and obviously you guys. And it probably took me about another six to eight months before I was like, “Okay, cool, I’m leaving Catalina.” You know, I’m doing this, I’m all in. And this is what I wanna do. Those people at that office are successful. They’re doing something right. I know there’s is real estate there. I need to be around them.” I believe in business that you need to be around the people that are successful as much as you possibly can because it allows you to rise up to the next level in life. I mean you’re the sum of your five closest friends so definitely my island friends had to change. You know, which was unfortunate because, I mean, everybody wants that dream. I live on an island and I do nothing all day and then I work at night at a bar.

Melina: Right.

Myke: So it was, you know, it was kinda, you know, a little bit difficult. But the crazy part is right before I left, you know, I’m like confident. And then my boss calls me and he’s like, “Hey, wanted to let you know,” he’s actually the vice president of the company, he’s like, “We’re making some changes. We love you, we want you to stay year round, in fact, we’ll give you a salary position, we’ll give you housing, we’ll give you benefits, we’ll give you any serving time in the night that you want, you know, pretty much like 70, 80 grand a year guaranteed.”

Melina: Wow.

Myke: And so I’m like, “Okay. Wow.” So here is this over here.

Dave: Wow.

Myke: And then here is real estate which I have no idea what’s gonna happen over here. But that’s why I came to Catalina was to figure out life, I can’t stay here. So I had to, you know, thankfully turn them down and they definitely called me a few more times and said, “Hey, whenever you’re ready to come back, whenever you’re ready to come back, you know, the door is open, so.”

Dave: Wow, what a crossroads for you.

Myke: It was. It was so. But for me…

Melina: I have a question.

Myke: Yeah.

Melina: I have a question real quick. I don’t think I’ve ever asked you this but when you were taking business classes, did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur? Or…

Myke: Yes.

Melina: You did.

Myke: Didn’t know it was in real estate though.

Melina: Right. But you had the idea to be an entrepreneur, not necessarily in corporate America.

Myke: Correct. Well, I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure, do I want to work for somebody or do I not. Do I want that stress level, I wasn’t really sure. I just knew that you know, I think that I would excel in that realm of whatever that was going to be, you know. Real estate was always in the back of my mind because I did have a business mentor early on that told me it’s kinda crazy he’s like, “In the summer of ’08 get into real estate.”

Melina: Really?

Myke: And I’m like… This was years before here and he’s like, “After the summer of ’08 you’re gonna want to get in. He’s like I don’t care how you figure or how you do it, just get it. Just meet the right people and get it and that’s my advice to you.”

Melina: Wow.

Myke: And that was a conversation we had at his dinner table many years ago and I was like 17, 18 years old.

Melina: Wow.

Myke: So it was pretty cool.

Dave: I got a question leaning to that, because so especially anyone that’s listening, you know, I’m thinking about, you know, my 20s if you will and struggles and everything else of, you know, anyone who’s kind of in the same mindset like, “I wanna be an entrepreneur, I don’t know what I wanna do, I don’t wanna go to college, you know, I’m kinda wasting my time here.” But you said something, I mean, you turned down a job that was essentially at one point was a dream for you. Right? I can go to the island and get away, I can have this great position, was the cross, I mean, at what point did you make that decision and maybe share with us why because you get involved in New Wealth Advisors Club at some point, right, during this conversation. So you’re still working at the island, you found us and really at the time we didn’t know you all that well. You were someone who, you know, came in here. I remember your truck. I’ll never forget that bad boy, I mean.

Myke: Well, who doesn’t?

Melina: And there it is.

Dave: I have pictures. And that truck, I don’t know, it definitely, I don’t know how it got down the freeway but it did. Good thing the 91 doesn’t drive, doesn’t go that fast because it barely made it down there. But I mean you’re driving out, you find us and then something had to happen to me. What happened like where would that click or that transition where you said, “Okay, I’m leaving the island, I’m going to do this.” And then you still got further tempted multiple times like come back and housing and job and insurance and you still said, “No, I wanna be here.” Like something happened. What was that?

Myke: Yeah. Well, I mean, I hadn’t met you guys during the off season.

Dave: The off season at the island?

Myke: Yeah. So, you know, I had a little bit of time to think about it and, you know, I was fairly confident because I was watching everybody. I’m like, “Well, these people are actually walking to walk and talking to talk.” You know, unlike other people I’ve met in other avenues. So I’m like, “So this works.” You know, I know there’s freedom in real estate, I know there’s money in real estate, I know the most millionaires in the world, you know, I forget the percentage, but they hold their wealth in real estate.

So I knew, “Okay, I could go work at the island. And then what? Or I could own the real estate.” And I was watching the difference. There’s kinda two classes on the island. There is the super wealthy. And then there was kinda everybody else which was, you know, unfortunate but everybody was good people. And what I realized is the people that were extremely wealthy and I’m talking all the way up to, you know, the Wrigley family which owns most of that island, billionaires. And where was all their money? It was in the land, it was on the property, it was in everything we did and touched. And, you know, I just watched the lifestyle they had, what they did, the wines they chose, the steaks they ate, the yachts they showed up in, you know, it was obviously, you know, material things but they were appealing to me at the time because I’m like, “Wow, you know, I know that’s a possibility.”

Whereas if I just work for them then I’m never going to be them. I’m always going to be somewhere else. And it wasn’t just, you know, Catalina that tempted me actually I actually got a job offer on Dole for Dole Pineapple in Hawaii. I had another job offer, one of the guys on the island, his brother owned a couple of hotel chains down in Cabo. So, you know, there were some options for me to kinda travel the world and do that whole game. But I had kinda seen some people that, you know, live on the island and kinda do that and then travel the rest of the year, they kinda shift over. And I was like, you know, I don’t think I want that in 10 years because I’m seeing where they’re at and it looks really appealing but at the end of the day, you know, I think there’s more out there for me.

So I just had to make that choice and I was just dead serious. I knew this is what I’m gonna do, there’s nothing that was gonna get in my way to stop me from being successful in real estate. I knew that this is where I belong, I’m gonna figure this out. It might take me six months, it might take me a year, it might take me two years, I’m gonna do it. And then we’re gonna go from there. Was I scared to death? Absolutely. But, you know, I believe in, you know, like what we teach, you know, you have fear but you still do it anyways. You know, and that’s what helps you, you know, break through, you know, different levels in your life and that’s where growth happens.

Dave: So because you brought it up, totally off topic maybe from what we had previously discussed, but when you talk about that fear and you’d gone to other things, you’d been to other places, you mentioned network marketing, that kind of different stuff. And obviously, those were all hotel rooms and so forth. And so like breaking through those fears because I know a lot of people who’re listening that is, specifically Melina and I talk about it in the first podcast, but just the fear, I mean, the overwhelming fear of the unknown, really. So much of the unknown. Maybe you can share for those listening like how you were able to overcome some of those fears, like what gave you the confidence to be able to live in fear because you’re still scared. I mean, to this day, I mean, we just signed a contract for multiple properties, you know, six properties we just bought together the other day or were in contract with and there’s still fear when I sign my name.

Myke: Of course.

Dave: You know? Like that fear doesn’t go away, like how do you manage that or what did it for you maybe back then that helped you to overcome that?

Myke: It was something I learned early on and I guess, you know, I had been fortunate enough to kinda meet some of the right people early on that maybe a lot of other young people don’t get a chance to meet. You know, people that are just successful in life, you know, and they have money, they have success, they have, you know, a lot of things that are really appealing to people.

And, you know, one thing I learned is that, you know, you need mentors and coaches in your life that can really help you in every aspect of where you’re at. And they’re not necessarily always gonna be available for you to pick up the phone and call. They might be in a book, they might be in an audio tape, they might be in a podcast, they might be in, you know, a book on tape. So I just got really, you know, tuned in to kinda finding where my struggles were at, going to some mentors of mine and asking, “Hey, is there a book you could recommend?”

You know and, that’s when like, you know, John Maxwell became a mentor of mine. Anytime I needed to talk to John I pick up the book and read it or listen to his audio. You know, or Dale Carnegie I could go on and on with, you know, different things, you know, ‘The Magic of Thinking Big, you know, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People.’ You know, there’s book after book that kinda covers different things and I’ve really learned from that and the theme of the books are all the same if you really kinda peel back the layers of the onion. And it really talks about just kinda really going after it.

Dave: Right.

Myke: And understanding, hey, fear is what’s gonna stop you from, you know, where you wanna go in life. You know, fear and listening to other people. And then being able to, you know, surround yourself with the right group of people and monitoring what goes in your ears. Obviously.

Dave: Yeah.

Melina: Yeah, the most expensive piece of real estate.

Dave: Right.

Myke: Yep.

Dave: So at some point, you and Melina, we’ll say, hit it off or you must have started taking Myke more seriously or something took place during that because there came a point where I don’t wanna say Myke was…let’s just say you were anonymous really, right?

Myke: Yep.

Dave: You’re in the club and there’s a guy named Myke and there’s 50 other Mikes, right? And suddenly now.

Myke: We have Myke with a “Y”.

Dave: Now we have Myke with a “Y”. And Myke with a “Y” as we started saying it at one point, you know, Myke with a “Y” he’s here and he’s got, you know, this deal going on or he’s wholesaling this property, there’s this happening, this is happening. So something happened and specifically Melina your relationship with Myke. And when you maybe took that more seriously and something, can either one of you define like where that might have started happening? Can you even think back that far?

Melina: Yeah, I can. I mean, I know what it looks like from my perspective. So I remember that exact thing, you know, Myke kind of being there and just showing up and he would slip in. And there were certain things about you that were very telling to me. Like he would, I can remember you would always open my door. I can remember that you saw a trash that was full and I watched you grab the trash bag, I watched you if the coffee table, you know, where we keep all the coffee and goodies he would always be there to clean it up. He always made the napkins nice.

Just he would walk by and do those little things which to me stood out as somebody who was young but very serious. So I looked at you like I just saw all of those little actions to me were indicative of who you were inside. So I just saw something bigger. I saw you paying attention to detail, which was very important to me, which is really why I kind of decided to grab on to you by your ear.

Dave: Yeah. Two ears some days.

Melina: Yes. Two ears some days.

Dave: Got it. And how about you Myke? Maybe you can elaborate on that.

Myke: Yeah. You know, again, it was really just showing up. Showing up serving being around the office, you know, being around the people, you know, whenever there was an opportunity to show up I was there.

Melina: Yes.

Myke: Because I’m like, “Well, this is the business I’m doing so I need to be around it as much as possible.” You know, I should be treating it like a job. You know, because that’s all I really knew, I didn’t really know business yet, so I needed to discipline myself. So, you know, whether I was going to the office or door-knocking or cold calling or whatever I was doing it was like non-negotiable times in my day and it just kinda started becoming, you know, entrained parts of me.

It’s like when I was serving at a restaurant, you know, eventually, I get to the point where I stop thinking about it. You know, I didn’t have to worry about, you know, what am I gonna say when I go to the table. You know, how do I approach it, it was just kind of automatic, you know. So that’s how this business gets. I think that’s true for anybody, you know, I mean, everybody’s successful in whatever job they’re doing because they know how to do it, they’ve learned the ins and outs, they’ve learned how to make things easier or more effective, you know going to doing it.

And for me, I think maybe one of the biggest challenges is when I started is I was like, “Okay, well I’m this real estate investor right now, but I haven’t closed a deal yet.” You know, so, when do I become like a real estate investor. Is it when I talk to the first homeowner? Is it when I get my first no? Is it when I close my first deal? My seventh deal my…? I don’t even know. You know, like when is that magic moment? And I had to come to realization and, you know, Melina’s spoke about this that, you know, the moment that you’ve decided to become a real estate investor and you take that first step that’s when you become a real estate investor.

Like me being a waiter. When did I become a waiter? Was it the moment that I, you know, got the check and my first tip? No, it was the second I put on the apron and the name badge and I started working, that’s when I became a waiter. Same thing in this business and I see so many people kinda go through their head it’s like, well, is that real, like do I really feel that that’s who I am? And that’s just your self-talk, you know, negative self-talk that you have to get rid of and throw out the door because those are the kind of things that are gonna hold you back in this business. And, you know, when I first started I remember Melina had talked about Be-Do-Have. It was something that she, you know, was very passionate about and that spoke volumes to me on, you know, how I should look at real estate and business in general.

Dave: Be-Do-Have.

Melina: Yeah.

Dave: Boy. We’ve had that conversation.

Melina: Yeah.

Dave: I don’t know how many times.

Melina: Yeah. So the idea behind Be-Do-Have is you need to be the person that you intend to be. So in other words, if you want to be a real estate investor then you start doing the things that a real estate or you behaved the way a real estate investor behaves. That’s how you be. So Myke doing things. So from our perspective, real estate investors we talk about it a lot, right? We always wanna leave a homeowner in a better situation than when we first met them.

We believe in servant leadership. So real leaders serve. They serve others. So that was what drew me to Myke in the very beginning, is that he had a heart of service and I just said he opened up the door, he saw a full trash can, he emptied it out. All of those things are being that person. And then you start doing the things automatically that a real estate investor does, you start doing those. And then once you become that person and you do those things then you have all of the things that the real estate investor wants to have.

And it’s opposite, you don’t really, it doesn’t really mean that much unless you understand that I believe most of us were raised completely opposite. We were raised to Do-Have-Be. So we were all taught, you have to work really hard, you have to do these certain things. Right? And then you’ll have everything you want then you can be that person.

Dave: Got it.

Melina: That’s backwards. So I believe that you have to Be and then Do and then you’ll Have. And when you live your life that way it actually takes off all the pressure. No pressure for you to be tied to the outcome. One of the things I tell club members all the time is, don’t be tied to the outcome of a transaction when you’re talking to a homeowner. Just be focused on what that homeowner’s problem is. If we’re problem solvers then focus on the problem and how you can help that person. Right? That’s how you Be.

That’s what being is, is just being a problem solver, that’s what we do. Then you start doing the things, right? To help solve that problem and then the have just shows up. The have is actually the easiest part but we get really focused on the Do, the Have and then we don’t even focus on the Be. And I think that’s the most important part.

Dave: Wow. So you’ve really taken that to heart.

Myke: Yeah, no, I can absolutely relate. I mean that’s how, you know, and I believe, you know, how people are raised sometimes is it’s not, it’s the Do-Have-Be. Because maybe, you know, because their family or their appraising they just didn’t know. Whereas I think the people that are of the wealthy society, you know, the 3%, the 2%, the 1% people whatever you want to call it, you know, it’s Be-Do-Have, you know. And that’s what they teach and preach.

And that’s what I loved about you guys, is I could see those quality traits that I had seen in other very successful people and I’m like, “Okay, gosh I need to be here. I need to be around this, I need to make things happen.” But of course, it wasn’t overnight. I mean, I definitely, I had deals somewhat quickly and, you know, a number of them fell apart. They fell apart or the homeowner got taken care of some other way. Meaning I didn’t monetize them and I had to stick with it. But I think, you know, being able to have that, you know, the wherewithal to stick through the process is a huge component to being successful in this business is your stickability because shortly after that it was a landslide.

Melina: That’s right.

Myke: You know, it’s like I lost three or four, but then all of a sudden I close five.

Melina: Exactly.

Myke: You know, and I’ve seen that happen with like students I’m coaching now. So it’s really cool and I always tell them, I’m like, “You’re so close, you’re so close, it’s like that three feet from gold.”

Melina: Right.

Myke: You know, and it’s pretty awesome.

Melina: Yeah and sad because most people quit before they get there. And that is the hardest part, I think of this business. But it is true. That’s why the being is so important because if you, that’s why being that is. And, you know, I was thinking, some could argue that millennials have it this way. They have Have-Be-Do. I think our generation was raised, we were like Do-Have-Be and millennials are more like Have-Be-Do. Right.

Dave: Right.

Melina: So save your emails, millennials, if it’s not you then don’t worry about it.

Dave: Wow, so, obviously, it’s been several years now. Can you give us give us an update like what are you working on today like what’s happened in Myke’s life?

Myke: Gosh, you know, some days it’s like I’m visiting all of Southern California. You know, where am I going today? L.A., Orange County, San Diego? You know, I probably drive and work more than I ever have in my life but I enjoy it. You know, I’m not tied to a desk, I’m working to somebody else, I can pick and choose my battles, you know, if I need to stop off at L.A. Fitness and get a workout in or go hiking somewhere or, you know, go see a friend and hang out somewhere, I can.

Melina: Go to the salt room?

Myke: Yeah, go to the salt room, I can totally take care, you know, and be able to do those things. And know, you know, I’m in control and, you know, I’m working on gosh a handful of projects from, you know, stuff that’s right around $100,000 all the way up to I’ve actually a few multi-million dollar deals in South Orange County right now that I’m working on that are…

Melina: What?

Myke: Yeah, they’re a little scary but, you know, I’m really excited because it’s kinda the progression of this business. You know, I was taught when I started by you guys, you know, you crawl, then you walk and then you run. And of course, my goal at some point is to be able to be in the commercial realm and I think a lot of the stuff I’m doing these days is getting me into preparing me, you know, for the next steps of business and growth. Because there’s systems and different things that have to be in place in order for you to take the next level and steps in this business. And, you know, it’s important that you, you know, you have the right team of people surrounding you as you go down that journey.

Melina: Sure.

Dave: You know, kinda like we talked about a couple weeks ago in the first podcast, the idea like we want to put everything under one spot. Like, you know, I know for us it’s pretty surreal because, you know, looking back and, you know, the fear of how we’re gonna establish this club, we’re going to build all this out, you know, will this work, can this work. And I mean you are a huge product of exactly that, like let’s cookie cutter this, let’s teach people like Myke. Myke can now grow his own team. I mean, I know you’ve helped… any idea how many students or club members you’ve helped you know, go out and close the deals?

Myke: Well, I was counting at one point then, you know, it just kinda became a blur because that was probably less important to keeping score, you know.

Melina: Nice.

Myke: It’s been many, many, many, I have many partners, you know, definitely well over 30, you know, almost every deal I do. I think there’s only maybe five or less that I’ve ever done about myself. I usually always have some sort of business partner, student I’m coaching, somebody that’s involved in the transaction with me because I see the power in leveraging.

Melina: Sure.

Myke: You know, I’ve done a couple of deals on my own and I saw what that took, you know, and that was funny I learned a lot but at the same time too I’m like, “Well, I could have been doing two others you know, while I’m doing this over here.” So I’ve now kind of committed to the point of, you know, making sure that I, you know, work with my strengths and weaknesses and really focus on my strengths because I know what I’m good at and I know what I’m not good at. And, you know, really just going on after it that way.

Dave: Yeah.

Melina: Before we close I just, I’m gonna ask you to share one thing that maybe lots of people don’t know about you.

Dave: Put him on the spot.

Melina: I am.

Dave: Unrehearsed question.

Melina: Unrehearsed question.

Myke: Okay. So everybody always asked me about my name, Myke with a “Y”.

Melina: There you go.

Myke: Why the “Y”? So, I actually changed it. I wasn’t born that way. My real name is Michael M-I-C-H-A-E-L, Mike. But I had a business mentor that, you know, long ago that told me he’s like, “Hey, you know, when you meet people you need to like create a story where you want to differentiate yourself so they remember who you are. Like your Mike, well how many Mikes have I met?” So he’s like if you can figure out a way to create a link in their mind between your name and who you are in their life then they’ll never forget you. And people always know who you are. And it’s powerful because it opened up doors later.

So I’m like, well if I change my name to a “Y” like I saw it somewhere, I’m like, “That’s kinda cool, it looks cool, it’s new, no one else has that.” And now people, you know, I hear it they’re like, “You know that guy that Myke, does he have a Y in his name?” People remember it. So it’s like cool, it sticks, it’s like a little nickname and it, you know, it differentiates me, you know. And really in the business space but real estate for sure, you know, because there’s no other Myke. It’s like you guys said, like when I started, you know, with New Wealth gosh there’s like 10 Mikes or still is like tons of Mikes. You know, so it’s like, “Which Mike are we talking about?”

Melina: Myke with the “Y”.

Myke: Yeah, absolutely. A little background on that. A lot of people have asked me about it, I guess I’ll share that little tidbit here.

Melina: There you go.

Dave: That’s pretty funny. You know, the purpose behind all of these things why are we creating these podcasts, why are we doing all this, and in the club very specifically I guess for Melina and I is, you know, because we say it all the time, that the club actually adds another component to our life that adds challenges and it really does. I mean, we could shut down the club and go tomorrow and sit at home and flip houses, buy houses, do our own thing. And your story and just the many stories like it in and amongst the club is why we do what we do.

I mean, if I was to drive home today and God forbid, we got in a car accident and died today, like I know that, you know, we’ve made a difference. And that for me is very, very fulfilling. And so I just appreciate your candor, I appreciate you sharing with us, you know, today about what that’s done in your life and I look forward to, I mean, I know last year sometime you crossed seven figures in earnings that’s, I mean, it’s just mind boggling. Mind boggling.

I can remember the day you walked in, introduced himself and said… I actually asked you, “What do you do?” You’re like, “I’m in the hospitality industry.” I said, “What on earth does the hospitality industry mean.” And you’re like, “I’m a waiter.” And he said, “I’m a broke waiter.” But I’m gonna go figure this thing out, I’m gonna get some money together and I’m gonna put some money into savings and I’m gonna get myself into this game and I really wanna do it.” And I was like, “Hey, you’re 20-something years old, where’s that drive coming from?”

You were definitive in your language, you were very clear and that’s unique. And I think anyone who’s listening to this, whatever you choose to do, whether it’s in real estate or anything in being an entrepreneur, whatever you choose, there’s gonna come a point where you’ve gotta be definitive like, “This is what I’m doing. You know, I’m going to be that person, I’m gonna do what they do. So I can ultimately have what it is that I’m seeking after or whatever it is that God’s called me to and I can live out my purpose and really make a difference.”

And I just commend you for that because from that point forward it’s like you mentioned you went on hiatus. I don’t really think it was a hiatus. I think it was the time that was necessary for you to look at and go, “I don’t really wanna be sleeping all day so I can, you know, live the island life and then hang out at a bar and then wake up one day and I’m 40-something years old not knowing what I want to do with myself.” And so I appreciate these last many years with you and I look forward to the next many years and some more fun vacations in the south Pacific.

Melina: See? Now we just vacation on islands.

Dave: Yeah.

Myke: Yeah, where are we going next?

Melina: Yeah, I don’t know.

Myke: We need to plan.

Dave: I think we’ve defined it already, we said we’re going to St. Lucia.

Melina: Again?

Dave: Yeah, we’re having a reunion.

Melina: Yeah, we’re gonna do a redo.

Dave: A redo.

Myke: Yeah. Okay.

Dave: A reunion.

Myke: I like that place a lot.

Melina: All right.

Dave: We’re in. Yeah, yeah.

Melina: Everybody’s in.

Dave: We’ll love that place we’re doing that.

Melina: Yes. I think we agreed.

Dave: The only reason I’m saying that is because I’ve already been doing some research so if you have something else in mind, honey, let’s go back to the show.

Melina: No, I’m thinking about it.

Myke: Well, we still gotta go to Italy.

Melina: We do.

Dave: All right.

Myke: That’s happening.

Melina: That really needs to be the next big trip.

Myke: We’ll do both.

Melina: Yeah.

Dave: Well they’re both on the list so.

Melina: We’ll do them soon.

Dave: It’s all good.

Melina: The last thing I wanted to say, I just wanted to echo it, what Dave was saying about just, you know, the journey it’s been great. And for me, the thing that I appreciate the most about you is your commitment to other club members. You know, I’ve just watched you pour into a lot of other people and I’ve watched you now start to create success stories yourself. Students you’ve been coaching and that for me is the most amazing thing. So I just wanna say thank you for that.

Myke: Yeah, you guys are very welcome. Well, I gotta go back to you two. I mean, I’m only here because of what you guys created. It’s just like Dave said you guys could have been at home close a real estate deal after deal.

Melina: Yeah, but you’d be with us now.

Myke: That’s true. But yeah I mean it’s, you know, it’s been a fantastic journey. I’m always learning from you guys. You know, you’ve become business partners, friends, mentors, family, really, you know, I love you both and definitely looking forward to many more successful years in real estate and with the club and really making things happen and, you know, thanks for letting me be on the podcast today.

Dave: Hey, I wanna tell you, anyone listening to this, go look up Myke with a “Y” Van Ness look up online, I don’t know where he got and all.

Melina: Myke Van Ness.

Dave: But there’s a whole bunch of, you’ve done some really great videos on a lot of your flips and I know, like some of the drone footage on some of that stuff on those properties over the ocean that are just, they’re sick, they’re amazing. And so if you get a chance go check those out. And meanwhile, you guys have a great rest of the day. God bless you. And we’ll catch up the next time.

Melina: Flippin’ out with Flippin’ Off.