Building a portfolio with side hustles

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.

So today's episode, you guys have Sharon Song. She's a digital nomad. She has a portfolio of 30 units, and she shares different ways that she's being able to not just live life on her own terms, but build a beautiful portfolio. Isn't that a dream, Mandy?

That is quite literally living the dream. You know, I really, my favorite part about this is, you know, we all kind of have this real estate investing habit, right? And you need some way, like an engine for cash flow to feed that habit. And how creative has Sharon been to, to make sure that that's happening, right? So she has multiple streams of income. I, I hadn't even thought of a half dozen ways she listed. Yes.

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.

Top real estate investors love to talk about how they save so much on taxes, but But how are they able to build rental property empires while skirting Uncle Sam? 1031 exchanges. 1031 exchanges allow you to defer capital gains taxes while you sell an investment property, exchanging your old property for a bigger, better one and avoiding the tax man while you do it. And that's where First American Exchange Company comes in. They're the leaders in 1031 exchanges. Whether you're a seasoned investor or just starting, First American Exchange can help you with simple rental property exchanges, complex commercial real estate investments, reverse exchanges, and more. Don't let your taxes eat into your profits. Visit First American Exchange Company at firstexchange.com or call them at 800-556-2520. That's firstexchange.com or 800-556-2520. Keep your money in your pocket and propel your portfolio further at firstexchange.com. First American Exchange Company does not provide tax or legal advice. Consult your financial, real estate, tax, or legal advisor about your circumstances. First American Exchange Company. Safe, smart, secure.

Welcome back, ladies, to The Real Estate Investor Show. I am Andresa Guidelli. I am Mindy. Hello, Mindy. Liz is still on vacation, so Mindy is taking over. Thanks so much again, Mindy.

Oh, so excited to be here.

Awesome. In today's episode, I have Sharon Song with us. Welcome to the show, Sharon.

Thank you so much for having me.

Awesome. So before we get into today's story, so Mandy and I, between the interviews, we were talking about some stuff that happens behind the scenes, right? And how we were able to come through from the ashes. So Mandy, let's talk about what did not go right because I think that's important when we talk about things that did not go right. And the examples and how you're able to come out of it and the lessons that you learned so other women don't make the same mistakes. Want to share your story?

Sure. And now in a little nutshell, there was a deal that I was moving towards that I had never done anything with this guy that I'd met at church and our kids played together, right? So I wanted to do something small. He was a single family guy. So here, I'll help you buy for cash. I'll be the cash. You'll return it in a few weeks and then we'll go do the bigger deal. Well, anyway, yada, yada, yada, homeboy who I went to church with stole my $110,000. Like literally cashed the checks. 6 weeks, 8 weeks go by. I do a title search. He had never bought the property. So yeah.

Right.

So I think it's super important that, you know, after that, like I was embarrassed. I had 300-some units at the time and I'm like, I should know better. Like how dumb am I? I had just gone through my divorce and I, you know, all of that, like probably I was clinically depressed. If I'm being honest, right? But I think it's so important, you know, to, you know, this super embarrassing, right? Like it should be super embarrassing, but I'm someone who gets a chance to talk on a podcast. You people think I know what I'm doing kind of, right? But we all have these things that you're embarrassed of. And if you're not, that's something that could have stopped me. That's something that I could have, you know, put my tail between my legs and never bought another property again. But I'm here to tell you, you can figure out a way to to get over things like that. So one thing I do now is a background check on everyone that I'm gonna do a deal with or give a huge check to. One quick Google search, I would've seen that this guy was a creep, you know? So do the due diligence on the people you're investing with, cuz it's a marriage.

Even though you go to church with them.

Yeah.

I mean, how silly was that?

Mindy, but tell everybody what happened after. What'd you think?

Oh, so I knew he had never bought the properties and I was in bed, whatever, like thinking about like, Oh my God, I can't believe I did that. Well, I knew the real estate agent who knew the distressed sellers. So I just went to her and said, hey, can I have that same deal? $45,000 for each property. I took different liquidity, bought for cash those, those two properties. So they were worth over $100,000 each. I was buying for $45,000 each. So I bought them. So I made back more than the $110,000. And he, you know, I, I have things going on in the background to try to get the money back. In general. So I'm here to tell you, you can triumph from anything. Yeah.

You go, girl. You go. So Sharon, thank you so much for being on our show. We are excited to hear more about your story. Let's get started with what made you get started in real estate. What propelled you to choose this industry?

Yeah. In 2012, I was always like interested. I like, at my job, I know I was like always on Redfin, like looking at properties, looking at properties in different markets because I was from the Bay Area. So Properties were really expensive, so I knew out-of-state investing was something I was particularly interested in. And fast forward 2013, I bought my first property. It was like an hour away in California. And then I bought, I started buying out-of-state actually in 2019 and 2020. So like there were many years where I was kind of scared of investing out-of-state because I didn't know the markets. But now my husband and I have 33 units right now and trying to build a portfolio right now. I've also been interested in, you know, building passive income and creating financial freedom. And actually my story was in 2016, I quit my job and traveled the world for 2 years while building passive income through online side hustles actually first. So that was what I did first and then kind of went back into real estate again. So I was building passive income on like, Etsy, blogging, Amazon. And then I built my personal brand on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and everything. Got it to close to like a million followers for everything. And I teach people how to, you know, build passive income and improve their finances.

Wonderful.

So I had the opportunity to teach the Strive Pod for small multis, and many folks who end up buying a small multi to get that scale, do it a little further away than in their actual backyard. So one thing that can happen there and that we talk a lot about in the pod is that things can go wrong quickly if you don't have your eyes on the property. Tell me a couple actionable things that you do to kind of keep your hands around properties that are afar.

Yeah. So I think the boots on the ground team is extremely important. So vetting your property management companies, Working with specific agents who can send you deals regularly. It's really important to find the right team to work with since you're not going to be there. There's been properties where I haven't seen them and I purchased them. So as long as you have the right team, you can keep replicating the process. If you can trust that they will look after the property and all that stuff, the PMs are the ones who have the best grasp on the market rents, the type of, you know, neighborhoods that are best and stuff like that. So I'm able to ask them the questions and they can help with that, you know, understanding the markets.

So Sharon, for folks that are from California or other areas where they feel that they cannot invest in their backyard and they're looking at off-state investment, right? We hear a lot about, okay, the property management company is You know, one of the crucial team members that you must have it. Many, many women say, okay, what do I do? What do I ask them? How do you, you've been successfully doing this, how do you vet them? What questions do you ask the property management companies or what red flags should be, you know, in our face to say, oh, that's not a good fit? Because it's important for us to really understand. We know about vetting them. But many times we don't know what that really means. So break that down for us, please.

Yeah. So when I vet PM companies, I usually call like a bunch of different ones. I find possible like referrals from agents or I'm looking online and checking their ratings and stuff like that. So as I'm calling them, I'm asking them like their tenant screening process, eviction processes, their fees, different things like that where I can kind of gauge like their professionalism too. So I've been, there's ones where when they answer, I can tell they're not as like, oh, I have this process in place for this and this and this. So those are ones I avoid. The ones that aren't really responsive to when I call and they haven't picked up yet on the first call, then I'm like, okay, maybe they're not going to be on call when I'm doing this. So stuff like that. I'm asking also how many units are they currently managing? So just asking them a series of questions and then like just kind of seeing how they answer. I kind of like just put it on a doc and kind of decide from there based off of what I ask them essentially.

Maybe it's because I just bared my soul, but I'm very interested to know something that went wrong with a PM. Because I feel like if you're, as a woman, that I don't want to ask a hard question. I've already hired you and I don't want to, you know, I don't want to say no now because I already said yeah.

Right.

So what is something that you, you either in the interview process or having had to fire a property management firm, what is a hard thing you had to do with PM?

So I actually haven't had an issue with PMs. I know it could be difficult to kind of let go of someone. I was just thinking kind of when you were telling your story of something that was, you know, a mistake or something in my journey. This is a different type of story, but we recently bought a property at $65K, really cheap, and we wanted to do it for Airbnb. And we saw that the laws said that you can't have one Airbnb within like 500 feet of another. But we checked the website, looked like this address was fine. But when we actually called them after we bought it, it looked like someone was already in the process of doing it and they, they hadn't updated the website yet. So something like I should have called earlier to do that. But the good thing is like with that type of property, we had multiple exit strategies. So we could do midterm rental or long-term or even flip it, but we're probably going to keep it because I actually haven't sold the property yet because I just enjoy like holding onto each one and enjoy the appreciation benefits. So yeah, that was just like a mistake I could think of in my journey so far.

There we go. So you guys have a portfolio of 30 units, right?

Yeah, 33.

So walk us the first property. How did you acquire it? Was it single family, a multifamily? Walk us through the first deal.

Yeah, the first property was a single family property. The story wasn't too crazy 'cause my parents actually had an agent they were working with and they passed on the deal. And my parents asked if I wanted to invest in it. I was like, yes. And then I put in my money. But since I had just like graduated from college, started working at my first full-time job, I asked if my brother could like be in on it 50/50 with me and then I would pay him back slowly. So over time I paid him back slowly and then transferred that property fully under my name. But then, yeah, so it was $240,000. We put in like $13,000 of renovations, converted like a den into like another bedroom, and then you know, I hadn't touched real estate in a while 'cause I, I was doing the online side hustle stuff. And then my next investment was a fourplex. So it got at $175K and now it's like appreciated to maybe $260K or $270K, which is great. And this was like during the pandemic, I think everyone was really scared, but it ended up being like a booming time, I guess, for, for housing prices.

[Speaker:ASHLEY_KARPUSNER] And where are the properties located?

Yeah, so, well, with our portfolio combined, it's California, Texas, Georgia, and Florida. So we, well, my first one was in California. The next few were in Texas under my name. And then me and my husband invested in Georgia together for a lot of those properties. He has some in Florida. I don't have any of those in Florida, but we actually did combine our portfolios recently for asset protection purposes and stuff like that.

Very smart. I see also in the progression of growing a portfolio, because 33 is sizable, right? Usually the first 1 or 2 acquisitions, you have savings from whatever side hustle, day job, whatever. But then at some point you run out of money, right? So, you know, what are some things that you did in the process of hitting some walls, running out of money or lending becoming difficult? Get you over the hump to continue to grow?

Yeah, so we've done like a cash-out refinance to get more capital out. We've worked with a private money lender. We've also done like some cross-collateralization where we bought a 7-unit package one time and cross-collateralized with another property we bought like free and clear. So then that helped finance that whole thing. Basically finding a small local bank in Georgia was helpful so that it made it easier for these like flexible ways of buying flexible terms and stuff like that. So yeah, so these are some of the things, but I would also say that a lot of it was kind of increasing my income too with like all these other side hustles that were building me passive income. I had multiple income streams working for me that allowed me to grow, you know, the amount of money I had to put it back into real estate.

[Speaker:ANDRESA GUIDELLI] I love that.

And I want, we want to focus on the side hustles, right? Because many times we put our eggs in one little basket And then we don't have that cash flow coming through. And you have built a huge following in different social medias. So share with us, what are the side hustles and how did that— it has been helping you to support your real estate investment?

Yeah. So when I first started, I started with an Etsy shop. Like I was selling digital products on Etsy so that anytime people bought, it would just automatically fulfill those orders. So you wouldn't have to like hold or ship inventory. And then I like did blogging as well. I even tried to sell Kindle books. I did Amazon FBA where basically you ship products to the Amazon warehouse and whenever you get sales, the warehouse will like fulfill the orders for you. Merch by Amazon, which is like you can upload designs on custom apparel and whenever people purchase, they will print and fulfill your orders for you too. So a lot of these are like very hands-off and passive. And what I found was like every one of these income streams work. It's just a matter of like which one you have time for and which one you're more passionate about. So then fast forward, like I started my personal brand and a lot of it, the revenue comes from like sponsorships, like ad revenue, like affiliates, products and stuff, stuff like that. My Merch by Amazon and Etsy are still going as well. So like over time I've been able to build these multiple passive income streams and they all take time to build up, but it works for you in the long run. So that's the awesome part about it.

I kind of feel like that my whole ethos of investing is, is very similar to yours, right? Like I've gotta figure out like an engine for cash flow is what I call it to feed my habit of real estate investing, which is this perfect feedback, you know? And in terms of acquisition, what are you looking at now? What type of a deal has your attention?

Yeah, I'm usually looking at properties under like $200K right now. I'm currently investing like in Dallas area, so I actually moved to Dallas in January. We Airbnb'd out our place in the Bay Area, which makes up for the two mortgages. So I kind of say that's like a little Airbnb house hack that lets us reduce our expenses even more. And yeah, I'm looking for ones that could actually potentially work as a short-term rental right now, because I'm trying to get into that space a little bit more. And I think the good thing, like I mentioned, is if something doesn't pan out with these cheaper properties, I can still have it cash flow with renting it out long-term or doing a midterm with it. So that's kind of the idea. I'm a little bit more risk-averse, so that's why I'm looking at a lower price point and like, and making sure it can cash flow and has appreciation potential. And if anything doesn't work out, I still have another strategy to make up for it.

And looking at the market as it is right now, nobody has a crystal ball. If you do, great for you. But for the majority of population that don't have a crystal ball, I'm curious to know, How are you navigating it and how are you bracing yourself to whatever might happen or might not happen?

Yeah, so right now we are holding onto a lot of cash just kind of in case, kind of watching the market. We did pick up that property at $65K because we thought it wasn't, it's not risky. It's a cheap kind of project. And we also like it for content purposes. So I like documenting the journeys because people want to see what's going on. So it was also a lot for that, that reason. But we are holding onto a lot, especially because we did that cash-out refinance and got like $230K back or something from this moldy house, which I talked about. Yeah, it was like this whole journey that people have seen a lot of the content for where it was like completely moldy inside, bought it for $120K, now it's worth maybe over $350K, but we got it essentially at $330K for the cash-out refinance. So we were able to pull out about like $230K or so. And that allows us to kind of hold onto some more cash and just kind of watch the market, see if there's bigger dips and then we'll probably invest more. We actually looked at a property recently that was, it was pretty crazy. It was owned by a, I guess a drug dealer who got, went to prison for 54 years or something. Yeah.

Oh, there you go.

Yeah. And he had, I guess he was selling like meth and stuff like that. So when I walked the property, I was kind of scared. I was like, is this going to be a health hazard and stuff like that? So yeah, we're still looking at properties, but we're not like being super impulsive and buying because we know there might be bigger dips, but we enjoy looking at distressed properties and seeing like if we can fix it up and get it at a higher value, get it up to a higher value.

Awesome. And I think that the way that the real estate investors are sharing and building their brand right now has shifted, especially with TikTok, right? Everything is content, but many times you're just in the middle of stuff and then you forget. It's not intentional, right? But what you're saying is very intentional. So share with me your journey regarding building your brand and how that has been helping you grow your portfolio?

Yeah, definitely. So I guess with social media, like I really started my YouTube channel in 2019 and then TikTok in 2020. I did have the blog that I started in 2015, but, uh, it's just kind of in the background. I think most of my stuff blew up from like the short-form videos actually. So TikTok was really like when things started growing a lot more and then Reels came out and then I started repurposing that short-form content. On Instagram as well. So I feel like short-form video can really build up your personal brand. It's not oversaturated right now, I don't think, because of the way the algorithm works. It makes it so that it shows people what they would be interested in versus just like the people that they follow. So if you're, you know, if your content has value, it's going to spread. So ultimately it's not like too saturated where you can't get into it now. It's helped me because like just networking-wise, like it's a lot easier now, honestly. So people want to talk and stuff like that. That, that part makes it easier. And also just like if I wanted to just post something where people could, you know, send me deals or whatever, like I think it would be a lot easier because I haven't done that personally, but like I have a friend who does that regularly and gets incoming deals all the time just from social media. And like, you know, I could reach out and get more, like I, I would be able to raise capital a lot easier too. So if I were to put that energy out there, I probably would be able to do it. So I think those are some of the benefits and obviously it is like a side hustle too. So like having more income from the side hustle allows me to put it back into real estate.

So if someone wanted to build a brand right now, you would put them into short-form videos. What are some things, you know, you mentioned that, you know, the value, if you add value, it'll be spreadable? Is this like a hashtag thing? What are, what are the things that I need to know when, when creating short-form videos?

Yeah, so when people are watching short-form video, they're like scrolling really quickly. So you have to get their attention right away and you have to make them stay. So watch time is the most crucial. I would say watch time, then engagement. So like if they're staying to the end of the video, they're probably, it's probably a good video, especially the longer videos that they'll stay all the way to the end for like the 3-minute ones. That means like it signals to TikTok and these platforms like, oh, this is like a solid one. People wanna watch it. So you gotta make sure you nail the hook and you gotta make sure that essentially like any little pauses, like I cut those out because that is a chance that they're gonna leave, right? So any chance that they'll leave, like you try to minimize that and try to make sure that they watch it the whole way through.

The, the biggest, I think, objection people and women that are listening is time, right? There's so many platforms and they have the rehabs going on and building their portfolio, and then the list goes on and on. So how do you do with, I don't, with the creating content? Do you doing batch? Do you schedule time for it? You go with the flow of the day? What, what are your secrets?

Yeah, so I try to batch it. Lately I have been experiencing some burnout, so I totally understand because It can be hard to keep up with it for so long, but it is easier when you script on one day and you just focus on that and then like you film on another day. And for, I feel like for girls you have to put on makeup and all this stuff. So like, yeah. So like for me, I kind of am like, you know what, I'm gonna put on makeup this day and then I'll film like multiple videos for that day. So that, that makes it easier because I don't wanna put it on every single day.

Yeah.

Okay.

Got it.

[Speaker:Andresa Guidelli] Yeah, so I mean, for me it just makes it easier. And then I actually have someone who helps me schedule now a little bit too. So hiring out like anything like you don't have time for is really crucial, I think, for, you know, saving time and like making sure you're focusing on the right things. So I spent a lot of this year building systems, hiring the right people, you know, and making sure I had like a project management board too. So like using Notion. And like having it so that like one, you know, the editor knows, okay, these are ready to be edited and then he can move it to the next one where the other person can schedule that content. So it just makes it a lot easier for me.

So I'll tell you this who, not how concept that this was in at InvestHerCon that we just came back from. What this was the single most powerful takeaway for me is that mama needs more help in her life. Sharon, I wanna follow your example. Give me some ideas for how did you know that this is a thing? That I need to hand off? And then how did you find that person to take it over for you?

[Speaker:ASHLEY_KELLY] Yeah, I think it comes down to what are the tasks you don't want to do? What are the tasks you aren't good at and like will move the needle? So I think for me, it's like those are the ones that I didn't want to do. And I knew that if I focused on other tasks, those things would actually grow my business. So I'm trying to have someone work in the business while I work on the business. So that way, like, I can grow everything while they systemize it and make it a lot easier for me. So in this, uh, in, in the content space, it's like, I don't wanna be editing. I'm doing the stuff that requires me. So that requires like the filming part cuz I'm in it. So that part requires me, but the editing doesn't require me. So it can be hard because a lot of times you're like, oh, like I have the creative eye. Like I won't, I don't wanna hand this off. But then like once you do it, you find like a lot of times they can be better than you. And then like if you can't even go back after that, cuz you're like, oh, it just like makes my life so much easier. So I think that's another piece. It's like, what are the things that really require you to be in and what like really doesn't as well? And like outsourcing those.

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 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.

Ready to pop the question? The jewelers at bluenile.com have got sparkle down to a science with beautiful lab-grown diamonds worthy of your most brilliant moments. Their lab-grown diamonds are independently graded and guaranteed identical to natural diamonds, and they're ready to ship to your door. Go to bluenile.com and use promo code POD to get $50 off your purchase of $500 or more. That's code POD at bluenile.com for $50 off. Bluenile.com, code POD.

Jewelry isn't a gift you give just once. It's a way to remind your loved one of a beautiful moment every time they see it. Blue Nile can help you find the gift that says how you feel and says it beautifully with expert guidance and a wide assortment of jewelry of the highest quality at the best price. Go to bluenile.com and experience the convenience of shopping Blue Nile, the original online jeweler since 1999. That's bluenile.com to find the perfect jewelry gift for any occasion. bluenile.com.

I love that. And I also think that you got to put our ego aside or unlearn a lot of stuff that we have learned throughout generations, right? That we need to do it all in order to earn the right to have free time in order to— okay, but if I don't do it, then what? Am I gonna be called lazy or, well, I need to do it. So to prove to whom, I don't know. But did you have that mental battle in your head or you were like, this is easy peasy, take it from me?

It's actually, yeah, it was hard because, well, first of all, training's a lot of work, so I'm like, ugh, I don't really wanna do that. But the easier way is while you're training, you screen record it too, so that, and then you put it in an SOP doc so that like if anything happens, right? Like you can hand that off to someone else a lot easier so you don't have to do that process again. And it was like a lot of work and a lot of like, you know, I, I can do it better or whatever, but like if you have other people working for you, then you get a lot more time back. It's like you only have the, the 40 hours or whatever, but if you have multiple people, then you'll have like 80 or 120 or 160. So it's just like, it's like I knew in the long run that it would be a lot better for my business. So that's why I just like really focused on that.

I think SOPs are Andresa's love language. Just, just so you know. Yeah. Yeah.

SOPs and KPIs, like they're—

Yeah.

Well, how are you finding folks? I've been on Upwork before. Are you putting out ads? What's the best way to find someone to fill these needs?

Yeah, for me, actually, all of them were through Upwork. If you are looking for someone, you know, in a different location, like OnlineJobs.ph is a good one. That's what my husband has used. Too, but even in your own networks, like we have a summer intern right now working with us, like she's coming in in a few hours, you know, that was actually just a friend's daughter. Like he really wanted us to have an internship with her or whatever so she can learn too. So even in your own circles, if you can find someone, that's a good way as well.

Get the help, right? Get the help. I don't think we have excuses now because people can do so many things from whatever they are. I was talking to one of the team members and she's gathering where people are located. And then I came to my head that I actually don't know where everybody that I work with, where they are located. Folks from Australia, I know you guys because we need to schedule the correct time zone, right? But a lot of people, I actually don't know. And it's not that I don't care, but it doesn't matter to the sense that if the job gets done, if the project is moving forward and people are coming to the meetings prepared and ready to go, it really doesn't matter, right? So it's, it's a new era, I guess, uh, to navigate. Sharon, thank you so much for being on our show. Please share where the ladies can find more information about you.

Yeah, definitely. So with my social media, you can find me on my full name, Sharon Sung. So that's on my Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and then you can find my website at digitalnomadquest.com.

Awesome. We will put all of those things in our show notes. And now let's transition into our fabulous 3 questions. Sharon, are you ready?

Yes.

What is the—

I'm ready about a year ago.

Drum roll, please. What is the most transformational book that you've ever read?

Well, 2 books come to mind. I think everyone probably references it, but 4-Hour Workweek and Rich Dad Poor Dad were 2. That like really changed my life because basically after I had traveled in 2014 for a month, I read those books and that built my whole like passive income financial freedom journey ever since.

You are kind of living the 4-Hour Workweek life right now. Yeah. But what is your, your most powerful routine to live a financially free and balanced life?

Well, I guess like ultimately it's all about increasing your income, reducing your expenses. Income minus expenses, all that multiplied by your investments. So I really live by that and just like, I'm very, I think, value-driven and frugal and stuff like that. So like, I don't spend on the things that like, that I don't care about. Like material goods, don't care. Like I don't care about that as much versus experiences. Like I care about that more. So I'm okay with spending on that. I'm okay with spending on my business and on real estate and stuff like that. But I don't care as much about like sporting a nice car or like fancy bags and stuff like that. So I guess that's something I live by.

You are my people too. Yeah.

Right. People that are like no makeup. Yeah. We don't care about the bags and all that.

Just keep the real estate.

The chances for you to find me at a clothing store is very little. You have to find me at construction store, picking up tile. I have more fun with that.

Those are my people.

Love it.

Which woman, famous or not, has inspired you the most?

I would say my mom. I'm sure other people have said that, but for me, I think like just my parents, they sacrificed so much for me and like really gave me a lot of that love and attention that, and also gave me, like allowed me to be financially savvy cuz like they passed that down to me too. And they just like taught me a lot and like cared for me a lot that I'm just really appreciative and they're super inspiring. They've done so much, like they came from Hong Kong, China, they didn't really have much and they immigrated here all for us. So like, and they've been able to, you know, retire and be okay. And because they worked really hard to get their finances up there. And I think I look at that a lot and like bring it into my own life as well.

Wonderful. Sharon, we really appreciate you spending your time with us and sharing your experience. Thank you so much. 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 it 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.

Ciao.