How She Started and Filled Her First Sober Living Home in 90 Days

I myself experienced domestic violence and I quickly recognized the lesson in that for me that there were things that I needed to look inward, to heal first, to be a resource to others. But the first thing that stood out to me the most as I sat there, really an ego about being in a support group for domestic violence, was that I had a nice home to go back to and that was a safe home. And a lot of women around the table were thinking about whose couch they could sleep on or how much longer they had at xyz family or friend member's house.

For anyone who is just on the fence about joining Sober Living Riches, what would you tell them?

The longer you sit there and overanalyze and over process and overthink the videos and the steps we have to take, that's the longer someone who is looking for your space, looking for your home has to wait until they can get into your home.

Can you introduce yourself, your business and where you're from?

Sure. My name is Juanyetta, also known as Dr. J. And I am the executive director and founder for CC Livinghouse. And at CC Livinghouse we support women for all types of transitions. Whether they are exiting a domestic violence relationship, they are on the other end of their substance use recovery program, they are exiting the justice system or a part of the working homeless population and we give them a safe place for their power. New beginning. I am from North Carolina.

So North Carolina. And how long have you been running your home?

My home is officially seven months old, so we are still in our infancy stage heading towards toddlerville. I tell people that I network with in the community. It almost feels like it's been five years.

Tell me more.

Meaning. I have been exposed to a lot of different dynamics. I count them all as wins because they're a lesson and it's just adds to improvement to the home or processes. And you know how they say if you ask for something, whether it's patience or grace, then the universe gives you that. They're like, oh, you said you won't that well, let me give you some experiences to practice.

Love it. Which is very true. And I had some hard lessons in my first six months. I remember well, so. So what brought you to us? What got you interested in running housing like this? And how did you find Sober Living Riches?

Okay, sure, I'll try to shorten this up. I am a nurse by trade. I've been a nurse for 23 years and I was first introduced to the concept as a nursing director for neonatal icu and at this point I'm focused on beds. How do we free up a bed so that I can get another premature or sick baby in that bed? And social work would have found mom a place. And then 90 days later, when the baby's ready to go home, they're having to move mom again to find a place that would accept women and children. Another saying is, you know, be careful what you say. Because I would joke and say I need to open up one of these homes because I need a bed empty so I can move the next patient in. Then fast forward a few years later. Then I myself experienced domestic violence. And I quickly recognized the lesson in that for me, that there were things that I needed to look inward, to heal first, to be a resource to others. But the first thing that stood out to me the most as I sat there really in ego about being in a support group for domestic violence was that I had a nice home to go back to. And that was a safe home. And a lot of women around the table were thinking about whose couch they could sleep on or how much longer they had at X, Y, Z, family or friend member's house. So then the wheel started turning. My first thing that I did after I got to a good space myself was I started creating evidence based healing journey material for survivors. And then that spiraled into how can I provide a space for survivors? Well, fast forward some more. One day I'm in the house just trying to get myself. I laugh because all of the things that felt like random moments, now I see the puzzle, the larger puzzle piece. So I had this random idea, Andrew, that I'm sitting here doing nothing. I can go do Uber. Like that's easy. Like I drive errands anyway, I might as well get paid to do these errands. And I had two separate incidents where I picked up people that just got word that they were accepted into a sober living house. And they were so super excited by the time I got to the second person. And by this time I'm in real estate investing. Fast forward some more. I'm like, this keeps coming up. And so when I did a search, you were the first name that came up. And I watched a few videos and I just, I could tell by the information that you were sharing. It seemed simple enough to follow. And I said, you know, he can relay it that in a simplified way. Then it's, it's gotta be just a do it type thing.

Yeah, I love that. So it, it is funny how we connect the dots through life sometimes. And I truly believe that housing like this Isn't just a snap decision somebody makes. It's always part of a deeper purpose. Because otherwise, because most people have a stigma around domestic violence, shelters around battery women, shelters around sober living homes in general. So to look past that and desire to serve a community that's ostracized is number one. It's extremely noble. And I don't say that just because I made that decision, but I've seen so many others, countless others, nurses, doctors like yourself, so many people in different walks of life who have made that decision. It's always because of purpose, not because of, oh, there's some money in it because you got to deal with some stuff when you're dealing with a population. Um, so, so you found us and that kind of gave you the, the blueprint or the confidence to move forward. What did, like, what value did, did we provide for you?

The value that I sensed immediately was I really appreciated your hands on approach. So to look into a program, because I've looked into a number of programs, I'll leave them nameless, but I've looked into a number of programs. Not a silver living related, but just real estate investing related. And you sign up and you meet with the team of a team of a team of a team of a team of a person. And so my first meeting was directly with you and I was just like, oh my gosh, I'm actually on a zoom with this man. I don't even know what to say next. I was really impressed with that and that really had shown for me, or at least my interpretation of it was your, that this was your passion and you are really committed to seeing us be successful. And then even within my first few minutes in the community and scrolling through the message board and seeing different questions people ask because again, I've been a part of different programs and the message board is really dry. And so to see an active message board to people engaged in supporting one another, that also was assigned to me very early on that you, the material in the classroom, even before I watched my first video, was clear and doable enough that other people could share and empower and educate others without you having to be the main person to comment.

Yeah, it's been pretty cool to see. And you're one of those people, like inside of our community we have a leaderboard. You're at the top of that leaderboard because you contribute, you give back, you ask questions, but you answer a ton of questions. So I love the way you show up inside of the community. You're not the only one. But You've really gone above and beyond. So thank you so much for that.

Thank you. Thank you.

And so you learned. Yeah, you saw that there was a number one, a community of people. We do have coaching calls. I'm no longer the one taking the calls. Our calendars too full. Literally, it's like a thousand calls a month now. And so I can't do it personally, but we have a great team to do that now. But yeah, for a year, the first year at least, I was on every single one of those calls, talking directly with our students, answering questions, and then welcoming you into the community. So it was an absolute pleasure getting to chat with you and hearing your heart. And literally, I would stop the call if somebody was like, I'm just in this for money. I don't care about people. And we have people now who are, who are serious about making a difference. And so since working with us, right, you started off no home because you didn't come in with a. With a location.

Nope, I had zero location. Just a goal. Passion and a goal.

And so, gosh, what does life look like today? On the other side of that life.

Looks like today you could. It would be amazing if you allow me to borrow some of those team members you have. That's what life looks like today. And. And that's just on one home. So I can imagine why for sure team is needed. We have multiple homes and services that you're offering. So my life is focused on calendar management because I have networking that I'm doing, community outreach that's happening. I have a new house manager that I am like, looking to all the different resources that are out there for free right now that I can pour into her and help manage her up as a new leader. So I have my weekly meetings with her on top of the weekly house meetings and on top of goal setting meetings with the ladies that are in the house. Um, so there is it. It's a full day, makes for a full week. And at the end of each day, I'm just fulfilled. I may be mentally full and tired, but I. The return on investment at the end of my day is, bar none. Like when you get that note from someone that says, even if it's the random text like, thank you for stopping and having the conversation with me, that meant a lot. Thank you for the encouraging words. Thank you for providing a safe space. Space like that, that's priceless.

Yep. Yeah, those are the real riches that we talk about. It's not. It's not monetary. Although being sustainable is a part of it but man, the impact you get to make in people's lives and the way they fill you up just with the gratitude that they give, that is the best thing ever. So. But you're in a different position than, than some other students because you were kind of in this line of work to an extent, right? You had an organization already that dealt with positive mindset and like you talked about building out curriculum or some, some tools and resources for people. And then you are now actively serving that community that you created that for and using, I'm guessing your education background as well. You do have a doctorate, so you're, you're actively in it, right? Not everyone is, is as active and aligns their profession with, with what they're doing inside of their home as well. And so what is that like to be able to align all of these things together to be able to serve like your target population?

It is. I am one lucky, blessed woman. I tell you, I look forward to every single day. Even when I look at my calendar and I see all of the, all of the appointments in my calendar are reminders of things that I have to do. I'm just so grateful that I get to be able to do it and the community connections I have. So for example, there's a church that they are inspired by what we do. So they allow us to use their space for free, their conference space for free, which allows us once a month to host a community activity just to continue to get the word out there. So for example, this upcoming Saturday we have an upcoming activity where I'm going to focus on Blooming in Self love for a spring theme. I'm going to do a 30 minute self love presentation. And then one of the ladies in the house, she just became an independent Mary Kay consultant. And so her and her team are going to come in and do miniature facials and makeovers for all the ladies and young girls that attend.

So this is such a cool opportunity.

It is so cool. So, you know, here we are in the community. Yes, we offer this resource. Yes, I ask for donations and yes, we also ASU Livinghouse are able to give back. So I'm, I'm just grateful. And like I mentioned, there's so many different aspects of my life that tie into it that allow me to. I'm not just a young person in the house because a lot of. I say young because they keep calling me young because I believe some of the ladies are older than I am. But I'm not just this woman who has grown up in a suburban community and has been fed from this golden spoon or anything like that. I, I've had some real life experiences that allow me to really get real with them. So on a funny note, I'll share. One of the ladies was excited because she was able to work towards obtaining a car and she was able to quit working as a cook for this restaurant. I'll leave the restaurant nameless. And she ended up being able to drive for rideshare, I won't say the specific company. And she then ended up being able to get her kids returned to her. And it started out on a, a staggered schedule. And she would come and I would stop by the house to check in and she would be gone. And then she would walk in the house with the kids and she would tell me about her ride share scenarios for the day. And so one day I said, I don't think you're supposed to have kids in the car. And she goes into how she's an independent contractor and oh, I can, you know, pretty much I'll work for myself and so on and so forth. And I said, I'm very familiar with that independent contractor contract. You are not supposed to have kids in the car. And she looks at me with this incredulous expression and she goes, how do you know that? And I said, because I used to drive for that same company. She goes, you Dr. Jura used to do that? I said, yes, I did. I've done a number of things, so I know. So it's little things like that that I say. You know, things that seemed random and one off. I remember having family asked me like, why are you doing it? That I was like, I don't know, I'm just doing it. And then now I could actually speak to it. It all comes full circle.

Yeah, we call that lived experience. And it's definitely the best teacher and the best connector because it's crazy. People don't understand. Just because you own an investment property, or in your case, which we can go back to, talk about a little bit rental arbitrage, just because you're the one running this thing, people think, oh my gosh, you have it all together. And they don't realize, like, it hasn't always been this way.

Exactly.

Which should also give them hope because that means they can also move their lives forward. And in many cases, you know, at some point, do what you do now, which is a cool full circle moment. Um, well, let's talk about how you ended up getting that property. You came in without one. You knew this is what you wanted to do. And we kind of talked about how we do our market research first to figure out where to put the home and then you can decide to buy or rent or whatever. But we always start with that market research. What did that process look like for you? Did we help along the journey of finding a place and negotiating the lease? Like, what was all of that?

The material that you provided, the information you provided on rental arbitrage was a phenomenal foundation for me because it allowed me to be able to go on different websites like Zillow and comb through and see what type of property based on what you shared would work and then based on what people would post in the community. And so I'm doing a lot of the steps in the program at the same time. I'm watching the videos. By this time I get the data back for my area for that master spread list that you have, spreadsheet that you have. And so I'm making calls and the whole time as I'm looking, I'm saying to these agencies, I'm reaching out to, hey, I have a hort bedroom two bath home. It's downtown in the major metropolitan area. And I would hang up on each call, like, I can't believe those people took my call. They have no idea. And some that were a little leery, like who this random new person on the scene and very protective of the community, which I understand, I would name drop of saying, well, Andrew, my business partner, has many homes on the west coast and we're spreading out this way. So I, I use that as leverage for them to understand that, okay, I'm not this super brand new person, but I do have a community that I can lean into. So I did Zillow. I ran into a lot of property managers that were just like, I don't know about that or I don't think the actual property owner would be interested in it. And I didn't take no for an answer. I just kept looking. I started on my own, canvassing neighborhoods that I thought would be a good fit. And then I happened to pass by a for rent sign by a private owner and reached out and went through the script that you shared with us and had that conversation with them. So. And at the end of the day, I ended up with a four bedroom, two bath home, just like I said.

From the beginning, which is amazing. And you, because you did all that groundwork, you filled it up like I saw how quickly you were able to furnish it once you got the keys and within 90 days, which is what we talk about, you were completely full. Because the need for housing like this.

Everywhere, everywhere, there's so much of a need, which is. That's another part about the community that I love, is that there's no gatekeeping. There's too much of a need for one to gatekeep. Because when you're gatekeeping, I'm not hurting myself. I'm hurting someone who actually needs a place to stay. So if I have a full house and I get a phone call, yes. I'll still ask them if they want to be on my wait list. And a lot of times they'll say yes. I also follow it up with, let me also send you to two, three other places that I know offer space for women and children so that they can call those places and find somewhere safe to be. Not let me hold them in my bubble so when I finally get a bed free, I can call them back because I don't want that woman out on the street in an unsafe situation.

Yeah. And it's funny because I always wanted to house single parents, women and children specifically, but we started off with male homes because that's what the need was initially. So I just love that you're housing women and children. That's just so close to my heart. And keeping kids off the street first and foremost. Like, we get calls from our school district saying, hey, we have somebody whose family is homeless, a student at our school. Can you. Can you help them? So I love what you're doing for. Yeah, you're welcome. Um, I guess one more question. What does our support look like? Cause I'm sure there were times where you were like, I, I need some help. I don't quite know what to do with this situation. So what does that look like when you encounter something and you're like, help.

Oh, my goodness, the support is amazing. I cannot praise the community enough. I can at 2am in the morning, drop a question in our school community that you've created for us, and someone has answered it. By the time I've drifted off to sleep and I was back up again four or five hours later, still with the issue on my mind, and I'm like, oh, my gosh, two people have responded, and then by the middle of the day, three more people have responded. And by that time, you've chimed in, and I have so many answers and possible solutions to you explore. So the support is just. It's incomparable to other experiences I've had in other industries. I cannot praise it enough. So it inspires me to show up in that same Way, not only in our community, for my peers that are in the same industry, but also for my women in the home. I'll circle back and add, we were talking about the return on investment, if you will. Just going back to what you instill in the program about it coming from a place of compassion and actually having a bigger why then stability for us, like the riches are very diverse. I had a woman who, based on not following the rules, I had to do an immediate exit for her. And just this past Friday, just this past Friday, I had a community agency partner reach out to me with a referral. And then after she had that person fill out my intake form and I asked some questions and she released that person from her office, she called me back and she said, I just wanted to let you know that I got a call the other day where this person left a glowing review on my voicemail about just how amazing CFC Women's House is. Is. And even though she messed up, she was like, I highly recommend that place. It's phenomenal. You know, Juanyetta really cares, et cetera. And I'm on the phone with her, like, really? Because she was ticked off of that. That was the last person that I thought of. So when you talk about support, it's in those moments, too, because when we have those situations where we have to exit someone or we have to let a staff member go as we build our businesses, it doesn't feel good. You know, I don't roll out of bed saying, ooh, who do I get to exit today? Because really, it's a choice that they make to exit themselves, but to be able to go into the community to say, oh, this happened, and everyone just pours in to say, keep going. You got this. You know, remember your why. So thank you.

Yeah. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for giving back. Thank you for sharing your wins and your. Your lessons and your hard times, because it helps everybody in the community learn from it. And. And thank you for just being real and authentic. You've taken phone calls with people. There's a truck outside. You've taken phone calls with people. You've shared a ton of private messages, and everybody reports back. I loved having my. My call with Juanyetta. It left me feeling more confident, more at peace, and they knew what. What steps to take next. You also are now leading a Saturday call in our community, because thank you for that. You're like the model student who did everything they were supposed to, step by step, go through the video, take action instead of going through the Whole, you know, multiple courses that we have and feeling overwhelmed, you're just like, let me go and knock this out. And I just truly appreciate everything that you've given back to our community. And, of course, if there's anything I can do to help you moving forward, let me know. For anyone who is. Who is on the fence about joining Sober Living Riches, what would you tell them?

I would tell them to take action. Take action. I want to use another slogan, but that's trademarked. Take action. That's my message, because there's someone. I said this on one of the Saturday calls. Again, thank you for that opportunity. I love the Saturday calls. And someone mentioned this. I want to say it was the first Saturday that we kicked it off. And I said the same thing to her. I said, the longer you sit there and overanalyze and over process and overthink the videos and the steps we have to take, that's the longer. Someone who was looking for your space, looking for your home has to wait until they can get into your home. So just like the desire is building up inside of you to start this business, that same level of energy is building up in that person. They know it's coming. They're like, that home that's for me is out there. I just can't find it. They're waiting for you to get it set up. So thank you.

Yeah, you're welcome. And it's so true. Gosh, the. The amount of times I've talked to somebody who was like, yeah, I'm gonna wait a year. I'm like, that's 12 months that people in your community don't have a place to sleep. That's 12 months that you're not serving people. It's 12 months where you're not fulfilling your dream. Let's get started now. Why are we waiting? Tomorrow's not promised.

It's not promised. So that's where I'll end it. Well, folks, take action.

Yep. I love it. Well, thank you so much for being here today. Thank you for always being a giver. Thank you. And we'll see you next time on Saturday's calls.

All right. Thank you so much, Andrew. See you then. Bye. Bye.