In this mini‑episode of The Real Estate Investor Show, co‑hosts Liz and Andresa Guidelli discuss how women investors can use accountability partners to accelerate their real‑estate goals. They define what an accountability partner is—not a micromanager or a parent—but a supportive peer who holds each other to higher standards. The hosts share the benefits of having a partner, such as increased motivation, reduced excuses, and higher achievement. They then outline practical dos: (1) vet like‑minded, complementary partners; (2) set clear expectations, communication cadence, and measurable KPIs; (3) commit to a defined time frame (e.g., 3‑6 months) while allowing for tweaks; (4) be explicit about what you need accountability for. They also list key don’ts: avoid micromanaging or assuming the other person needs the same things; don’t break your word or fail to clean up mistakes; don’t limit yourself to partners who are identical—diversity in personality, skill set, and experience adds value; and be aware of personal triggers that can cause friction. Finally, they advise listeners to find partners through investor meet‑ups or by starting local groups, and they close with a call to action to subscribe to the show. Sponsor messages for Rent to Retirement and Steadily.com are interspersed but are not central to the instructional content.
Chapters
Welcome, ladies, to The Real Estate Investor Show, providing inspiration, strategies, and insight to empower women investors to live balanced and financially free lives. Now, here are your co-hosts, Liz and Andresa Guidelli. Welcome back, ladies.
This is Liz, and this is Andresa.
Welcome back to The Real Estate Investor Show. Mini-Sode Edition. So what we're going to talk about, Andresa, today is accountability partners, dos and don'ts. Oh boy.
Damn it. Well, accountability is essential for us to grow, right? And it's not like a, oh, let me think about it. I think this is a must. And we're going to tell you why.
Interest rates are sky high in 2023, and buying a rental property means you could get stuck with an 8%, 9%, or 10% mortgage rate. But what about a 2.99% rate with Rent to Retirement? Rent to Retirement has 2.99% seller financing available on turnkey properties. You heard that right. That's a seller-financed 2.99% interest rate with an average cash flow of over $900 per month. Plus, they've got options where you can put as little as 5% down with no PMI. As the nation's leading turnkey investment company, Rent to Retirement helps investors build headache-free, high-cash-flow rental portfolios. And since their properties are fully turnkey, newly built or renovated, leased and managed, anyone can invest, even those who aren't into landlording. So what are you waiting for? This 2.99% rate deal won't last long. To learn more, visit renttoretirement.com. That's renttoretirement.com. Or text REI to 33777. Again, text REI to 33777.
You're trying to close on your next rental. So why is your insurance company dragging its feet with long lead times and never-ending paper forms? It's no wonder it takes forever to finally get a policy. Modern investors deserve better. They deserve Steadily.com. At Steadily.com, you'll get fast, affordable landlord insurance available online 24/7 in just a few clicks. You can even get next-day coverage, which takes just minutes, by the way, to obtain. And you can do it all from your phone. Steadily was founded by landlords who created insurance products tailored to the unique needs of this industry. It's their sole focus, and that's why landlords nationwide consistently rate them 4.8 out of 5 stars. So whether you've got a single-family, short-term, or multifamily portfolio, Steadily.com can secure the best coverage at the best price to protect your properties. Discover how Steadily can save you both time and money on your rental property insurance. Visit Steadily.com for a commitment-free quote tailored to your needs today.
Okay, so why this came up, it's always helpful to know why this came up. 'Cause we really, Andresa and I really are so conscious of bringing just the best content we can to all of you along our journey of like, what's pertinent, what's real, you know, versus like, what's a random thing we could talk about? Like we think about this, we really focus on it and what's been coming up a lot in our investor Facebook community. You know, one of the deliverables from our InvestorCon from last year in June was accountability groups. So we actually put women together in accountability groups. And so, you know, a lot of the, some of the women were like, I, I didn't get on that accountability group. Can I jump into an accountability group? And then obviously, you know, Andresa, that's part of our Strive membership, right? Mm-hmm. One of the trademarks of what really holds these groups together and what the, these women together is they're part of a really small-knit accountability group. Yes. So I see a lot of conversation about it and, and I don't think it's something we talk about. What is it? What to do and what not to do? Because there is a recipe. And I can remember when I was like, I don't know about you Andresa, but like one of my first accountability partners, right? I met someone at a networking event. Surprise, surprise. We became like friendly together. Surprise, surprise. And I remember like, we should really hold each other accountable. And you know, she said that to me and I'm like, yeah, that, that's what I need. You know? And you know, for the first couple weeks we're like best friends, you know, talking, this is what I'm gonna accomplish. This is what I'm gonna accomplish. And then like the third week, what happened? It was like I couldn't get her, she couldn't get me. And then we just faded. It just faded into the sunset or whatever that's called. So my point in saying this is that like most relationships, they start out really, really on a high note and it's the best intentions and sometimes can end just kind of, and especially with accountability partners, they can just fizzle. What we wanna do is not allow you to fizzle. We want you to set you up for success. So number one, What is accountability partners? It is not micromanaging each other. First off, just so you're clear, it's not about me checking in every day unless Andresa wanted that.
No, thank you.
But not, but, but it's really about holding each other to a new standard. It is what it's about. And holding each other accountable to the sense of where do you wanna go and what do you need to get there? And that accountability partner is there to support you along the journey. Not to be your mom, but certainly to be your cheerleader, right? And to give you new ideas, but also say, hey, you said you wanted to do this, did you do it? That's different than micromanaging. So I just wanted to share that in terms of like how I see accountability partners and the ones that have worked really well. The benefits of accountability partners. I know some of you that are like solopreneurs, think about it, right? When we serve on Dress for Success, we're like, that half hour I could be working with an accountability partner, I can get a lot done by myself, right? And I know, I know you women listening right now are like, I don't have time for accountability partner. I'll just rather do it myself. I don't need accountability. So here's the benefit of why it's helpful to have an accountability partner in your world and for whatever goal you want. You might have a, a running partner, accountability partner. Doesn't have to be just real estate investing or business. It could be anything, or a relationship person, you know, people trying to work on their marriages together, whatever it might be. But why it's so helpful is that you're going to achieve more with people than yourself. It's just as simple as that. And when it's just you, we make excuses, we find reasons, we, we love excuses, we love reasons why we don't do things. I do. But when, when it comes to being in a relationship like that with an accountability partner, my standards increase, my drive to accomplish something increases than if it be on my own. So it's the same thing with an accountability partner. That's the benefit is you'll go further with an accountability partner. So that's what I wanna share there. So let's talk about some dos. Mm-hmm. And then I have some don'ts. So dos, find like-minded women that have similar goals to you. Why is that important? So I'm gonna answer that. I'm gonna ask the question and answer.
Don't get bored.
You don't get bored. Just kidding.
But that's the truth, right?
If they're in different levels of their careers, You're gonna get bored and you're not gonna be able to support each other the way you need to be supported.
Yeah.
Right. So like, you know, if I'm somebody who literally just quit her job and I really wanna build a team and build a business, I'm starting a business, that's exciting. Mm-hmm. And you should have an accountability partner. If I'm someone who's growing a team, learning leadership lessons, when to let go, all the fun things that we're learning, right, as entrepreneurs and as leaders. A different conversation, right?
One person's just retiring is also another one, or quitting their job to start investing in real estate. It's just different, different phases, right?
And with accountability partners, here's the key. When you're vetting accountability partners, you need to have a sense of, I can help this person and they can help me. I don't think you can have a successful accountability partnership if that's not there on some level. So that's important as a do, you know, I, I also, when you're talking to people and you're, you're trying to vet, right? Don't just become accountability partners with anyone. You're gonna invest in your time. You wanna make sure it's the right fit. Big fans of that for partners and all the things that we talk about. Ask them, have you ever had an accountability partner? What does a great accountability partnership look like to you? You know, it might be like, oh, we talk occasionally. And you're like, I, I need someone I'm talking to every day. Or they're like, yeah, we talk every day for a half hour. You're like, well, that's intense. I don't have that kind of time. Right? So you're gonna be able to know what success looks like to them. By asking that question and you'll learn a little bit about, and, and you're like, why take that so seriously? We're talking about accountability partners. If you're investing 5 minutes into something, you should damn well better vet what you're doing. 'Cause 5 minutes becomes 30 minutes becomes hours in a relationship, right? All the time Andresa and I spend together, right? It's a lot of time. You better be investing in the right relationships. Third thing, when you're setting up your partnership after you've vetted them, this is the right person. We have similarities. Like-minded, we're going after similar things, we can support each other. Get laser-focused on the expectations. So everything from how often, as, as Andresa says, right? KPIs is her love language. Well, you need to have KPIs in this relationship too on some level, at least the specifics and setting it up for success, right? So how often, what type of communication you're gonna have, what are the non-negotiables? You know, all those sort of conversations. We're, we're women, we're busy, we have a lot going on. An accountability partnership, in a sense, is something that you also need to manage and get really clear on what you need and what that person needs, or one person's gonna annoy the other or something's gonna get missed. If really important too is that you need to be clear on what you need accountability for. If you're like a people pleaser, you wanna help people, you'll get on those calls and just wanna help the person. And at the end of the call, they'll be like, oh, how can I support you? And you're like, I don't know. I haven't thought about that. I have no idea what that is. I've never experienced that cuz I'm not a people pleaser. No, I am. I'm a recovering people pleaser, Andresa.
You are in recovery.
Yeah, I'm in recovery. And what's really important is that if you get on calls with people literally about accountability and you don't know what you need, just don't do that. You've gotta be clear on what you need and want. If it's not a knee jerk for you, then write it on your piece of paper, put it on a Post-it note and get into the habit. Create a new habit if it's not a natural thing to you. But I think that's important. I think a lot of service-oriented people forget that. They're holding other people accountable and they don't even know what they need and they feel depleted. Last thing is set a time how long you'll commit to this accountability partnership. So what I mean by that is give it 6 months, give it a year, give it 3 months in your head. You gotta tweak things in life. It's not gonna be like overnight, this is a perfect accountability partner. It may not. And if it's somebody that's really gonna help you and you're gonna help them, it's gonna need some tweaks. When Andresa and I started this podcast, we didn't say we're gonna record 10 episodes and we're done. We said we're gonna give what, 6 months, I think we said. Yeah. And we said we're gonna give this 6 months no matter what, no matter who listens, how many listen, how successful it is, how not successful it is. We're giving this our all for 6 months and then we will reevaluate. So we put our heads down and we got to work. And I think it's the same kind of thing here is that you need to focus when you're entering any partnership. You gotta have time to tweak. And I think people give up too quickly. Couple don'ts and then we'll wrap up. Any other dos, Andresa?
No, I think that that's the foundation for it.
Okay. Absolutely.
Good.
Don'ts. Don't find an accountability just like you. Now you're like, Liz, you told me to find a like, yes, I told you to find a like-minded person that has similar goals, that's on, on a similar level, achieving similar type of, you know, outcomes in your life. Yes. And I would say it's really, really helpful to work with an accountability partner that's different from you. Whether it's personality, whether it's skills, whether it's experience that adds flavor to life. If you're subjective and you take a lot of things personally, it's really helpful to have someone that doesn't take things personally to bounce things off of, right? So I'm a big fan of that diversity. And don't break your word. And if you do, clean up, become accountable to it, accountable to yourself. You're gonna break your word, you're gonna screw up, you're gonna make mistakes. That's life. But you gotta be able to be kind of, be able to clean up and don't assume the other person needs what you need. That's the last one. We assume people want and need what we want because it's all what we know, right? As people, as a human being. But that is not the case, especially if you're working with somebody that's a little different than you.
That's deep.
Yep.
Let me tell you something. Here's the truth about accountability. The bottom line is a lot of people, a lot of investors say that they want to be accountable and be held accountable. But then when they are, they get pissed off about that person. Why is that person checking on me? Right? So you've got to check yourself. And instead of looking at that person as somebody that is bothering you, look at that person that is holding you accountable as somebody that is standing with you on the same boat because you both understand What's the goal to be achieved? And if that's happening and you're feeling like uncomfortable or pissed off, that's on you to be curious, to check what triggers are happening there. Because the goal is to achieve the goal. Did you like that? The goal is to achieve the goal. So just trust people. And even if you don't want to follow the accountability that the other person is offering to you, there is a trust. Issue there that needs to be investigated further. But don't think, don't think, don't make the mistake that you're going to be held accountable and you're going to feel comfortable throughout this entire process.
You won't.
Expect to be triggered. Expect to disagree. Expect to have different types of conversations because it's all part of the process. Okay, have some fun with our accountability person too. Get to know them personally. So the trust level increases. That's all what we got for today.
And, and one more thing. If you do not know where to find an accountability partner, get out to the investor meetups that are literally across the country. And if you don't have an investor meetup, start one in your local area. So I just encourage that. That's why we form these meetups is to get around like-minded women. So we appreciate you being on this journey with us.
Love it. Ciao. If you enjoyed this podcast and want to receive updates on our next interviews, go to our website, therealestateinvestor.com. There you can subscribe to our show, become part of our investor community, and get updates on upcoming episodes.
If you like our show, please share with other women who would benefit, and don't forget to leave us a rating on iTunes. We'd really appreciate it. And as always, we encourage you to take one action as a result of today's show and put it into motion so you can live both a financially free and balanced life. Thanks for spending time with us.
