#12: Will Higgins, Realtor & Coach - Rebounding from a layoff, how you can create passive income, and why you need a mentor

In corporate America, it's the same exact thing, except when you're doing it for yourself. Right. The difference is in corporate America, you're going to get that same check. Right. I remember it's probably this time every February when we were at the railroad, Jake, this was. Guess what this time was? This was bonus time. You know what I mean? And everybody was so excited and, you know, kissing ass, you know, and this was the time of the year where what somebody thought about you would reflect in a monetary amount. Right. As an entrepreneur, guess what? I get a bonus every month. Cause I work my ass off for it. And I think that's the huge difference. And that's the mindset, right? Like my success isn't determined on anybody else. My success is determined on me. And once you can grasp that, that I think you'll. You'll do well as an entrepreneur.

On today's episode of Heading west, we have Realtor coach and entrepreneur Will Higgins. Man, what a stud is there. Did you also walk away, Steve, from this thinking, yeah, Will could be a realtor, he could be a congressman. He can really do whatever he wants. He's going to succeed at whatever he does. Did you get that, too?

I got the exact same thing. I just don't want to be in front of him when he goes by me and he'll go by fast.

Yeah, he's a guy going places. And, you know, I was alongside of him because I've got a personal relationship with. I was alongside of him when he got laid off. And this is such a timely episode because people are going through layoffs left and right. Every time I look on, I look at the news or I'm on LinkedIn or Facebook, I'm hearing about somebody I know getting laid off. And for most people, that's a really difficult time. Their foundation is being shaken. And for Will, when he got laid off, he saw that as a sign and sort of as a jumping off point for his passion, which was real estate. And he is exploding. And it's just. It's a testament to who he is, but also the people around him and the things he's doing and investing himself. But, man, an incredible, incredible conversation.

And hearing Will's story, it's your first reaction that if you are being laid off, that what am I going to do? But Will's first reaction was, now I get to do what I have always wanted to do. So this gave me encouragement of anybody out there who is or might be getting laid off. This may be the greatest time of your life to actually do what you want to do.

Yeah. Whether you're getting laid off, whether you're thinking about starting a business, whether you're thinking about. About how do I create some passive income really to help my family and myself out. This is the episode for you. So we're just going to head west. We're going to jump into it. Stay tuned as we discuss how to rebound from a layoff, how you can create passive income, and why you need a mentor. With our guest, Will Higgins, this episode is brought to you by Skyline Point Capital. If you're anything like me, you're always considering where to invest your money. Stocks, bonds, crypto, rental home. The list is literally endless. As we've all seen over the past year, the stock market is unstable, the housing market is just weird and inflation is on the rise. In times like these, the clear place to invest my money is in multifamily real estate, AKA apartment complexes. Here's why. Returns on real estate investments have little to no correlation with the stock market. There's lower volatility, stable income streams, and the tax benefits are insane. And let's not forget that the apartments will typically appreciate in value over time, which means you can walk away with a pretty nice return when the complex is sold in three to five years. Best of all, multifamily investing is passive, so you get all the benefits without the hassle and headache of your typical rental home investment. Getting started has never been easier. Head to skylinepointcapital.com to learn how you can start investing today. Long time no see.

Yeah, dude. Yes. We were, we were together in a past career and now look at us.

I know. Who would ever thought.

Past career?

Yeah. So Will and I used to work at the railroad at the beginning of our careers and we both since left corporate America and now out. Out of. Yeah, out of corporate America, which is a blessing. How's the experience been for you?

Yes, man, it's been amazing, you know, but, but again, but still at that looking back, I, I feel like that corporate experience, I mean, hands down, it, it was really great. And just the training, right, because you know, I just went to a mastermind in Dallas that I spent, you know, all this money on for myself, right, the personal development. But all of that was given to us, like all the sales training and stuff. I've actually been able to use a lot of that to, to my personal benefit and I just think that was one of the most valuable pieces of being there. So I do cherish the experience and I'm glad that we did have that Experience.

I think it was a good foundation to be built upon, I think, to your point, coming out of college, starting at a great company, great individuals, great experience, but it was really a launch pad to doing things that probably fit me and your personality a little bit more, which is entrepreneurship, building businesses, growing teams, and really just scratching that entrepreneurial itch, so to speak. But it was such a great foundation to get started.

Yeah, yeah, learn. I've always, I was always told, learn on someone else's dime, right? So really learned on their dime. Learned a lot of foundational things that I think translated well, especially to, to a sales career, you know.

Well, I think that's a good place to launch off with your story. So your, your story really begins mid. In the middle of that time at the corporate America. You were looking for a way to grow your passive income through a side hustle, so to speak, because you wanted to, to really assist in your future retirement. How, how did you get into real estate from, you know, working at, working at the railroad and now you're getting a real estate. There's really, no, there's not a lot of, like, points where those two converge. So why real estate? How'd you get started in that? And, and what was that sort of itch to, to, to create passive income?

Yeah. So, so the, the, the. They collided outside of the corporate environment. So real estate actually started for me back in 2005. My grandfather gave me a rental property, right? So he, he, he gave me a rental property, and I rehabbed it, not knowing anything about this, right. I got the loan, I rehabbed it, I rented it out, and it was a duplex, and I've had it ever since 2005, you know, so I did that one. And then in addition, in 2006, I actually did another one. So I did a flip in Atlanta, and I was like, wait, this is really cool. But at the time I was getting my mba and I graduated from my MBA and I went to work. So I set my passion aside. Well, something that I guess I kind of didn't know was my passion, but I set that aside and I started working. And then fast forward, you know, at the job we were at the career we were at, they moved you every two years. So every two years I found myself in a new city and starting over. And I said, you know what? This is not how I want to live life. This was not fulfilling for me and the family. You know, also my wife, you know, she had, she had goals and ambitions and things like that. And with us moving, we Cannot set a stable ground. So I think they moved me to Atlanta like in 2011. And I said, at that point, I set out looking for other opportunities to kind of exit or build something on the side. And I got close. And then guess what? They moved me again in 2011. And when they moved me in 2011, I said, you know what? This is the last time they're going to move me. So I started, I started again trying to figure out what I was going to do. And then it came back to real estate. And I got into real estate part time while I was still at the railroad. And I guess I don't know how to do anything part time, but I got into, I got into real estate part time and, and it really took off. So I ended up getting rookie of the year. I was over at a local Keller Williams, and I got rookie of the year working part time. So I knew there was something to it. And then February 12, 2019, I got the call from corporate saying that, hey, we're going to let you go. You know, we're going to give you the, the, the, the, the severance package. And I, I, I remember that call, like, to this day. I remember I was pulling up and I was actually on the phone with another, another, another person at the company. He was out in Dallas, and he too got the call. But we literally were on the call saying, man, I wish we get the package. I wish we get the package. Well, I got the call and I was very excited. I remember, I remember to this day taking that call. I was, I was excited. But, you know, the, think about, from a management perspective, they're having to let somebody go, and, you know, the guy's all somber and all these other things. And I was actually kind of excited to get the news because I'm like, okay, you're gonna pay me to go follow my dreams, you know?

Yes, and amen. I'll take.

And I remember. Yes, exactly. And I remember my wife, she was a, she, she showed some concern, right? But after that, it was Sky's the limit, man. I, that was on a Tuesday. By Friday, I had, there was a conference that I was going to in my hometown of New Orleans. I went to that conference, and when I came back, you would think I had never worked at the railroad. I think that's my superpower, man. I, I can, when I see an opportunity, I can literally shift gears and completely forget about the last thing I was doing.

Wow.

Well, what was that, Will? When you went to that conference, what did you see in front of You. Your superpower was going, okay, I'm going to go for it. What were you going for?

Yeah, so opportunity. So for me, I'm. I'm an easily excitable gentleman. So if I see. I just need to see it. If I see somebody doing well, I know if they can do it, I can do it. So I saw a lot of people doing well that have been doing this for a long time. And in my short, you know, short stint, the success I had, I said, you know what? The sky's the limit, and I just hit the ground running.

Yeah, that's. That's kind of in your DNA. Your personality is very nimble. You're excitable. You see something intriguing and you're going to jump in head first. And you made that joke. You never do anything part time. I don't know if anybody's successful in anything, is ever doing anything part time, but there's something in you that you're just wired that way. But there. I want to pick your brain a little bit on this, this getting let go, because there's. There's a lot of people who are going through that as we speak. Tech companies are laying people off. People are downsizing. They're going through this cataclysmic change in their life. Can you kind of walk us through how did you bounce back so quickly? What was your mindset? And I know you were excited about it, but help us think through this from the perspective somebody who's never done this before or maybe isn't wired that way. How would you coach somebody in rebounding quickly to do something new?

Yeah, life, business, careers, I think everything is about momentum. And with that being said, I had already started building momentum. Right. So I'd already fixed my mindset that I was going to do something else. And I had already started laying the framework, the groundwork for that. Right. So I started laying the tracks. Right. We're talking about the railroad here. So I started. I started laying the tracks a while ago, you know, and I sought out mentors. I. For some reason, I don't know what it is, but I always attract these amazing mentors and people into my lives. And as an entrepreneur, I think you realize how valuable that is. But having mentors, having people that can lay the groundwork and people that have been where you're trying to go, I mean, you just erase all the mistakes and all the growing pains and all those other things. So the fastest way, I think, to. To get to where you're going is, is mentorship, coaching, training, personal development. So I was already doing a lot of that stuff. I just took it to the next level and that's what that event was, personal development.

Well, one of the things I see in the normal progress of going from college to a job, it seems like college trains you for a job, to do a job. And when you, when you mentioned mastermind, what I see with that and I've, I go to masterminds. I was just one in, in Milwaukee last week. But it's amazing when you get around people like, people like goals and the energy, it feeds off itself for the common good. You learn from their, from those moments. Are you taking advantage of multi or masterminds anytime you can get a chance with that? And if you are, what is the different subjects you're looking at? As you said, personal development. Is it real estate? Is it hiring and firing? Can you kind of give us your journey on that? What that looks like?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So for me it, it's, it's a lot of it's been digital marketing and I'm, I'm selective so. And it's not just masterminds, it's also courses. So last year I think I probably spent about $20,000 on different courses from different people that I, I enjoy this. Last week I went to a mastermind in Dallas that was 2,500 bucks and it was a two day intensive. You know last year I did, I did. It was $5,000 to go hang out with this millionaire. This guy named Billy Jean is marketing to go hang out with him for a day. So a lot of stuff I do is, is either focused around development and developing other people or like digital marketing and sales.

And from that it's, you're investing in yourself. It seems like you are one of the best investments people say you can do is to invest in yourself to be better, learn more, just keep moving in that process. Are you feeling the same way?

Oh yeah, definitely. Definitely. If, if I think we had this on the last call I was on if someone was just getting started in business and they had a thousand dollars, it's like where would you spend that thousand? And I said on yourself. Personal development, professional pictures, but literally on yourself. You're your best investment better than any stock or anything else. Like you, you can out perform the market any day, every day you.

So you just touched on going to marketing and you spending a lot of time on your marketing. The past conversation you and I had, you and I were talking about utilizing innovative marketing techniques in order to, in order to really disrupt the industry that you're in. And to get to the top of the echelon, which you're at the top of the echelon. And you've been doing this for a short amount of year, not short in that you're new at it, but you climbed to the top faster than you probably should have at the. In the years you spent in. And I imagine a fair amount of that's due to the innovative technology and marketing tactics that you're using. That seems. That's not astounding to me because I know who you are, but that's astounding to me because I know the industry you're in. Real estate, like the railroad rear end is such a legacy business that they're usually the ones that are the slowest to adopt innovative technology. How were you able to navigate those waters to. To cut through the red tape, so to speak, and then to utilize marketing to get you where you are and further.

You know, that's a good, Great question, Jake. So it all, it all. For me, it all goes back to resourcefulness. But also, if you want something bad enough, you will become resourceful. When you, when you develop the mindset or establish the mindset that everything you need to succeed is right there in front of you, you become extremely resourceful. And for me, getting into real estate in Southern California, which is actually one of the hardest markets to operate in, one, because the prices, right, like the prices are so high, in order for a person to buy, sell, invest in this market, they gotta have their stuff together, you know, and we realized as a, as a country, there's a lot of things standing in front of people having. There's a lot of pieces to put together, right, to become successful. So with me getting into real estate in this market where I didn't know anybody, I needed to figure out a way to feed my family, you know. So with that being said, I needed to become resourceful. And in terms of, you know, most of the established real estate agents out there, they have this big old sphere because they've been doing it for a long time, right? They know everybody. They have all these past clients. I had none of that. So I needed to figure out how to become omnipresent, how to show that I was the right guy, how to make people feel a certain way, right? Like it's an experience, how to make people feel a certain way so that they. When they think about real estate, they think about me. And the fastest way to do that was through social media. So I had to adopt social media. I had to adopt Digital marketing, because I had to get people into my funnel, into my world. And that was the quickest, fastest way to do it.

When you talk about digital marketing, I mean, it's, it's this. It's all over the place, and it changes monthly and yearly. Can you describe the digital marketing or what it looked like for you in the real estate business? Because everybody thinks that digital marketing is just posting a comment on Facebook or a post or something. It sounds like it. That will. It's much bigger than that.

Yes, yes. So when I think digital marketing, it's creating a. A funnel. So it's creating a funnel. So at the top of the funnel, you just want everybody coming to one place. Right? So you want everybody dumping into one place. And then there's, there's levels below that where you're filtering out people, where you're figuring out what's now business, what's later business. And then at the bottom of that bubble funnel, what comes out is, is cashflow for your business. Um, so I think that for, for me, digital marketing and what that looked like, how that presented itself was Facebook ads. So I learned Facebook ads, I learned Instagram, and those were mainly the two sites that I was using in the beginning. But it was literally figuring out how to get attention on my page and then how to funnel those people into my CRM so that I could personally reach out to them and find out if they wanted to buy or sell.

And are these mostly people from California that you're drawing in or are you. Are you working nationwide at this point?

So now, so now it's more nationwide with the bulk of it coming from California. But I let, I let everybody know now that I have a national sales network. Right. And that's why, if you follow my page, I'm always posting folks in other markets because guess what happens? I get referrals now in those other markets because now they know that I operate there. Again, back to digital marketing, it's really about. And what I learned in the beginning. Cause I transitioned careers from being a railroader to being a real estate guy. It takes about six or seven touches for, for it to stick in someone's brain and them to realize that you've changed. So for me, it's constantly putting out a message. And then, you know, now I'm top of mind when people think about buying or selling wherever they are.

You know what I love about that? The beauty of what you're. What you're explaining here is that people oftentimes assume think that, okay, Will lives in California he can only work in California. That's not the case. You're using media and for what I see a lot of video content to really establish your personal brand, establish your credibility with people. People know you as an expert in your field. They like you, they know you, they trust you. And you're able to then leverage your personal brand to these other extensions of yourself throughout the other 49 states. You're able to say, hey, you like me, you trust me. I can connect you with this other person who I vetted, I, I vouch for, and they're gonna treat you really good. Whether you're in Florida, you're in Texas, you're in Rhode island, does not matter. They've got Will's seal of approval. And you're able to establish that through, through marketing, through establishing your own personal brand.

Yep. And, and guess what? That also goes back to. I think the, the most profitable business is a brokering business. Right. So now I just become the broker.

Yep. See, we're coming back around to that. Passive income, it sounds like, because I was thinking about that you went from, okay, I'm earning an income from the railroad. My passive income is real estate. Well, now you don't have the real, the, the, the real railroading income. Now your real estate's your direct income. So is brokering your passive income now, is that, is that where that's coming into play?

You know, it's a piece of it, but again, it's a, it's a piece of, it's a piece of the pie. What I joined this, I joined a real estate company. It's called Exp Realty. And there's passive income built into it. So if I look at my business right now, I'm, I'm getting, I'm deriving income from a couple of different areas in my business. So I have my active income, which is my sales.

Right.

Um, I am part owner in an escrow company. So I'm, I'm, I'm getting some money, passive income from that. Right. Because I'm not actually, you know, handling that business. Um, I have rental properties, so I'm getting income from that. I still call that kind of active. But also the company that I'm at, we have something called revenue share. So I derive a ton of passive income from the revenue share. And essentially anybody within my organization, it's a, it's a multi level, this sort of like a multi level marketing built into the company structure, just like at a Keller Williams. But it, anybody within my structure, within my organization, I have almost 200 agents, anytime they transact, I get to a very small piece, but I participate very, you know, a very small piece, I participate in their business. And that equates to a ton of passive income.

Will, is that generated from you providing a lead to that agent or how was that derived? How do you earn that passive income from these 200 agents?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's, it's revenue share, so it comes off the top. So essentially it, it's generated when they sell a home. And I, for me, I, I found out really early in my real estate career that I enjoyed coaching, training, helping other people be successful versus me, you know, helping a buyer or seller. So with that being said, now I get to coach these people and help them be more successful and then my reward is the revenue share. So a lot of times they don't have to pay me for their coaching, they just pay me by producing. Right.

Do you, do you, do you think that'll be your, your future is, is obviously selling houses, but, but just coaching and helping and, and passing off wisdom that you've, you've over your experience. Is that where you really see your future is in those two areas?

Definitely. Definitely, yeah. So with that being said, I just joined a company called Hero Nation. So it's, it's a business more so more business coaching. So not just real estate, but just coaching entrepreneurs and small business owners. So that's a huge part of my, you know, my, my, my evolution because my goal is in the next two years to be out of selling homes and then just really into coaching, training, developing and running other small businesses.

That's incredible. I mean you've been, you've been selling for six, six years, roughly six.

Is that not yet. So I started in 20. I think I started part time 2018 and then I went full time February 12, 2019. Good Lord, four years.

Yeah, just to give you a little bit of context too, I think we talked about this, but it's just in case. So last year will hit the top 2% of all agents in his brokerage agency for selling 30 million of, of real estate at exp. So just to give you some context of, of timelines and, and success rate. So when you say out, out in two years, that sounds absurd in like just without context, but in that context it makes perfect sense and it's totally attainable.

So I wanna, I can, I can, I can see from Will in, in the energy he's given off and the excitement and the idea of being a coach, he, I can tell he's Gonna excel and do really well in that environment. Because he just lights up when he talks about coaching.

Oh, yeah, yeah. I appreciate that. I mean, again, it's something about being able to help that person. It's not just selling a house. Right. Because now they're able to provide for their family. And people remember that. You know what I mean? Like, people remember that. And the simple things that I do. Like, for example, I've helped one of my agents triple her production. Triple, Triple. And that's so rewarding because guess what mortgage is paid. I've seen her get a new car, you know, new house. Like, you've seen lives change. And that's what I love about the real estate industry. Your life can change in a year. Completely change in a year.

You know, I. Okay, I have to bounce this off you, Steve, because he just said something that, that is so true. And, and in a lot of ways, that's the reason why you, Steve, got into real estate as well. Right? Creating generational wealth for individuals. Right.

And creating what we call that plan B mindset. Every put, everybody puts their eggs in one basket. Like, Will, you were in the railroad. I had my manufacturing side. But there are times in life something changes. Will, you got laid off in the railroad. We help people with a plan B. Using real estate to create that passive income. And like, you Will, like what you're doing with your agents, you're a mentor to them. You're guiding, being that hero, guiding them down the journey. That's the same thing we try to do with our customers and our, and our clients on the real estate side. On real estate investing, it takes a mentor to do that. And we've seen, even though people have been trying to do it themselves and like Will, when you're working with your, your clients, they're in the real estate and they think they're trying and they're brute forcing it. Sometimes it takes a guy like Will to come by their side and go, why don't you try this and be that guy? That has to be really rewarding for you.

Oh, yeah, definitely. Oh, I mean, again, I like, like, like you guys said, I light up. But I pride myself in helping agents get their first transaction, especially the new ones. I pride myself in helping them because guess what? Every great book starts with a page one. You know what I mean? And no one will forget you if you help them get their first transaction, their first, you know, investment property. So all these things play a big, a huge role in their lives. And when they hit these huge milestones, they'll be able to look back and say, you know what? Steve and Jake helped me get this, this property and guess what? I paid for my, my, I sold it and paid for my kids tuition or guess what, I sold this one and then I brought more units and you know, we were able to take this family vacation or we were able to pay for our kids tuition or pay for a wedding or you know what I mean? So things are impactful, they're impactful at will.

At what point do you see people going, I need a coach, I need a mentor. What part in their journey will, whatever that is, real estate or whatever, do they finally realize, you know what? I need help.

You know, I think, I think it's one of those things where you have to push them to that, to that point. But also it's a value thing. So once you can help them realize that the value that you bring to their situation or to their business, once they see the value there, then it's like, well, how could I not have had this? You know what I mean? But sometimes people just see a price tag, oh, it's going to cost me a thousand dollars a month. Right. But if I can make you 20,000, I'll do that every day, right?

Yep. What do you see? Do you, what do you usually inter intersect with these new clients of yours? Coaching clients, is it. And I know it's sort, it's a little bit of a different question than Steve's in that is your ideal client a brand new entrepreneur or have they hit that, the, the, the ceiling and they realize man, if I want to break through this thing, I need someone who can help me push another percent every day. Do you have an ideal?

Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's, it's typically somebody that's been in two or three years that, that has had a level of success. Right. But it's not repeatable success like you can, what'd they say? A broken clock is wrong. Two times a day, right?

Two times a day. It's right.

There's there, there, there's so much money in this industry that you can stumble in it and experience some success, but you can't repeat it if you don't have the systems, processes, mindset, motivation in place. So that's where I step in.

That's so good.

Do you help them with their scalability to such that their systems and processes work while they're sleeping at night? Like you say you're on Facebook, ads and et cetera. How are people adapting to that, that new digital technology that you're, you're teaching them and how to be a better marketer and a better entrepreneur that has a scalable business. How are they doing that? How do they grasp that?

Yeah, yeah. So the beauty of it is I, I literally have a team now. So where it looks like it's me, that's the beauty of social media, right? Like, they don't have to know it's not you doing it.

Yep, I love it.

Yeah. You know what I mean? Like they don't have to know. As long as you, you, you like have your, establish your brand and you know, like the pillars of content, what you want to put out, you do not have to do it so someone else can, can, can do it. As long as you're responding and being genuine in your response. Content can be created by other individuals or content creators can be created by you, but curated by someone else.

And you use that content with your clients, your entrepreneurs, your system, your company helps provide that content for them to help scale their business.

Correct? Correct. Correct. So, yeah, so it's definitely an option. And like you guys are doing YouTube. YouTube is actually really big and really good for me and it magnifies your message.

You're doing mostly, if I heard you correctly, you're doing mostly on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube, right? That you're not. Are you on Instagram, Twitter?

I am, yeah. I'm on Instagram, not on Twitter. And I haven't really messed with TikTok much. I know I'm there, I think my team posting, but I'm not interacting much. Maybe that's something I need to, you know, play around with. But, you know, you can only do so much.

There's only 24 hours in a day for most people. What I want to put a bow on this, on this, this entrepreneurial journey of yours in the sense that I think they're for, for people who are listening, they have this. Maybe they're in a corporate job right now or they, maybe they've found themselves in a rut or stuck and they're, they're thinking about jumping and doing the next thing. But maybe they have a family, maybe that, you know, that's scary because they've got a family support, which. That was your case. That was my case for sure. I'm pretty sure that was Steve's as well. What would you say to that person that is thinking about stepping away? How, how do they overcome the fear of going out, starting their own business, starting a passive income stream? How should they, how should they change their mindset about that and then how should they should get started?

Yeah. So I'll, I'll, I'll. I guess I'll just give an example. Cause I did it. And it wasn't easy, right? It wasn't pretty. Um, I think social media glorifies entrepreneurship, right? Cause you see the guys riding around in the fancy cars and, you know, spending a lot of money and, you know what I mean, at the club, popping bottles. And it's not that at first, right? It's that later. It's not that first. Um, and just knowing that you need to dig in and do the work, right? Like it's a whole mindset thing. So my first two years, well, my first year and a half, I was working at the railroad. And I can tell you what my days look like. Um, and you build so many amazing memories and tough skin during that time. I would get up every morning at 4, 4:30. I'm in the gym by 5. When I leave the gym, I'm at the office. I had two computers, right? So I did my Union Pacific work for the first part of the day. I closed that computer, kept that, kept the, kept the, you know, the iPhone or BlackBerry, whatever we were using back then, I kept that going and I was just responsive that afternoon. But then I was working on my real estate business for the rest of the day. At least once a week I had worked myself so hard that I would crash. I would go to sleep at 5pm and wake up the next morning at 5am like it was alive. It was. Right. It was just, it was just that serious and that hard. And there was nothing glamorous about it. And I got rejection. I, you know, I was doing open houses, I was doing all the things right. But I was, I really wanted it. I really wanted it. So you really have to ask yourself, do you really want it? And I, I basically had to maintain both until one could, could satisfy what I needed to survive, you know. Um, and some of the other things I did was. I mean, I got really into budgeting, so I cut out a lot of things and I needed to figure out what my number was. So I knew going into real estate, I needed to make $10,000 a month. So if you know what you need to make, you can create a plan around that. And that's exactly what I had to do. So my first year, I think I did 50 or 50 or 60,000. And that was working part time. I was like, okay, all right. It's not quite what I was making at the railroad, right? But then the next year I made 158,000. I was like, boom.

Got it.

That's it. I love touchdown.

That's that, man. That's the best answer to my question because we're talking about, and this circle back to what you were, to what you were saying of momentum, forward momentum. Before you even left your previous job, you had started on your next one and you weren't, you know, you weren't being shiesty about it. You did your work, you paid you due diligence with, with your, the person who's paying your paycheck. But then when that was done, you moved on to the other thing and you got some forward momentum before you were able to either quit or be fired from next job. And you had momentum going forward. And so you had a game plan in that you got four momentum, you built a budget. I mean, that's, that's picture perfect of how you should approach starting any entrepreneurial endeavor. Um, yeah, that's, that's just the best way you can approach it, hands down.

And the other thing I see in people that, that are coming out of the corporate world, well, you, you can very quickly see you've got the drive, the innovation and the confidence to make something happen. I see, I see some people that have been in the corporate world that maybe not have the confidence, they're unsure of their abilities, but it's there. It just hasn't been molded or allowed to blossom. If, if I was one of, if I was in that category and I would, had. I was scared to jump out on my own, but I know I needed to do it. What advice would you give me?

You have all the tools that companies pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into you to in training and to be successful. Follow up. I think some of the biggest things I took away from corporate was the follow up, right? The follow up, the, the water cooler talk, the building relationships, right? Like all those things you did to succeed in corporate America, it's the same exact thing except for you're doing it for yourself, right? The difference is in corporate America you're going to get that same check, right? I remember and it's probably this time every February when we were at the railroad, Jake, this was, guess what this time was? This was bonus time, you know what I mean? And everybody was so excited and you know, kissing ass and oh, can I say. That's right. Everybody was, you know, was all excited and this was the time of the year where what somebody thought about you would reflect in a monetary amount, right. As an entrepreneur, guess what I Get a bonus every month because I work my ass off for it. And I think that's the huge difference. And that's the, that's the mindset, right? Like I'm, My success isn't determined on anybody else. My success is determined on me. And once you can, can, can grasp that, I think you'll, you'll do well as an entrepreneur.

I, I had a guy who I mentored in the past, and he, he struggled with a lot of, A lot of thoughts that would, that would, that would push him back against taking the step that he knew he should take. And he was thinking about going on his own, and he just had all these negative thoughts. And one of the things I told him was, oh, all of your worst nightmares are only in your head. Like, they don't exist anywhere else. Everything, every barrier you're creating exists in your mind. And you can get past them if you just get outta your head. And an old coach of mine, old mentor of mine, used to say that 99.9% of all fears, doubts and anxieties never happen. So just take that first step, as we say, head west, Just get started, get head that way. And you'll, and you'll, you'll get yourself out of it. But it's, you just gotta get out of your head because that's where your worst enemy resides. And that's typically you.

Oh, yeah. If you're, you know, I, I adopted this a long time ago, this saying, but if you're. The harder you are, are on yourself, the easier the world is, right? So, like, I beat myself up, but when it comes time to show up, right? Like, folks don't see that I, I excel, but that's because I'm so hard on myself. You know what I mean?

You're your own worst critic. And that happens. Well, you would also. It sounds like you invested in yourself when it came to personnel. Person, not personnel, but personal development, learning new skills.

What.

When you went to those masterminds or that training, what were you looking for in personal development?

That's a, I think that's a, that's a really great question and a good point. It's always one thing, right? So every time I go to these events, there's something I want to walk away from, but I'm also keeping my antennas up for something that I might pick up. But what I would say is that, and this is why I've been able to be so successful is that, yes, we can go to all the, all the masterminds, all the conferences, all these Things, but don't try to absorb everything. Take one thing and implement immediately. One thing and implement immediately. Because if you do not do it immediately, you will not. So that's been my. My biggest thing. I always take one thing and I implement it immediately.

I see people going, going to the conferences and they're taking all these notes and they're writing all these things down.

That's Jake.

And you got a notebook full of things. And out of that they walk away and go back to their daily life that they had prior to they went to the conference and. And the idea of getting away with or coming away with one teachable moment. I like to make three teachable moments. But I can tell you what, when we go to these masterminds, I learn some of my best ideas come from not the teaching at the seminar, but the networking with people at dinner and lunch. And somebody will say something. I'm doing this, this, this, this, and my what?

Yep.

That wasn't part. That wasn't part of the mastermind. It was the networking. So I encourage anybody that goes to any mastermind, any conference, anything is to network and talk to as many people as you can and be engaged in the conversation. And that's scary to some people. That's scary.

Well, at the end of every episode will. Cause we're running out of time here. We do a little speed round of questions, quick questions, quick answers, just so everybody can get to know you a little bit more. So I'll launch into these and give us your best answer. Do you have any daily rituals that you swear by.

Getting up early and going to the gym? Like, that's my time. We have so many distractions in life. You have to carve out a sliver of the day that's just for you.

That's good. I love that you get up at 4:30 in the morning. That's it. That's catching up on everybody else. All right, what's one piece of real estate advice that you'd give to others?

Get a mentor. Definitely get a mentor. Don't do it alone. There's so many different opportunities within real estate and you don't want to. I would also say don't niche. Right? Don't niche immediately. Let your niche pick you. Because there's so many different ways to make money, but you have to enjoy what you do. And there's only one way to find that out, and it's to try everything out.

That's good. What's one item you cannot live without?

Oh, man.

You know.

I got. I gotta get Rid of this question. It's, it's always the iPhone or the computer.

Welcome.

Yeah, I should, I gotta put like a disclaimer. Cannot be iPhone or Mac computer. All right, a couple more. In what situations do you find you're the most happy or fulfilled?

Again? When it's, I think when it's coaching and training others and seeing them succeed and you know, reach new levels, man, like that. Something about it, dude. Something about it just, just, just does it for me.

That's so good. All right, last but not least, the title of this, this podcast called Heading West. It's really a picture of just get going, just get started. Move west. You'll, you'll circum, you'll, you'll see circumnavigate as you go. You'll head left, you'll head right. Always heading towards the same direction. But with that in mind, as you head west in life, where do you hope to end up?

You know, I hope to end up coaching and training full time, man. So I'm like I said, I'm about two years away from that and I'd like to pick up a couple more investments along the way. I also like to pick you guys brain at some point because I think, especially with my LinkedIn strategy, I think it'd be huge to help a lot of the corporate folks here get into investment and help my clients buy their second home. So I mean, I think that's definitely a point of interest.

Oh, we're definitely interested in that. Well, Will you, you're doing a lot. Where can people find you? Whether they want to buy a house, whether they want to connect about LinkedIn, whether they want to get coached, where can they find you?

So on YouTube, I'm Will Higgins. On Instagram, I'm Will Higgins. Underscore, underscore. And probably if you just go to Google, type in Will Higgins. I should show up. I think I put enough content out there, so Google me, Google me.

We'll link to everything too, so we can easily find you. But check Will out again. He's a top real estate agent, California, but nationwide as well. If you're looking for a coach, he's your guy. And if you're looking for real estate advice, if you're looking for content on real estate estate investing, skylinepointcapital. Com. Will, that was a blast. I'm so thankful you could join us today. And thank you so much just for sharing your wisdom and your experience as you headed west in life.

Thanks, Jake. Thanks, Steve.