From A Life Flight To Flight School—A Land Geek Student Case Study

Hey, it's Eric Peterson here, hijacking the roundtable podcast today, filling in for the Land geek, Mark Podolsky. Www.thelandgeek.com Don't worry. Mark is safe and sound in an undisclosed location. To avoid any possible contact with the coronavirus, he stopped at Costco on the way and bought enough toilet paper and water for the next two years, he said. So anyways, as you can tell, Mark's not here today, and I am hosting the podcast. So we have most of our regulars here with us, including a special guest that we will be revealing soon. So let's get started by welcoming dude buddy Scott Bossman, the Nightcap og. How's it going, Scott?

Nice. Nice intro, dude. I'm impressed. It's going really well. Thanks for having me.

Awesome. And we've got Mr. Mike Zaino, the Zen master, I believe. Are you on a cruise right now, Mike?

No, no, that's when this podcast airs. We'll be on the cruise.

Okay. I knew it was coming.

Yeah, it's gonna be fun. We'll probably have lots of free space to roam, fighting for chairs. It'll be great.

Yeah, it might be you and the captain.

I was telling Mike, Dave flew home from Punta Cana on Sunday on a flight that flies 160. 165 people. There were two folks on the flight traveling way down. Yeah. So, Michael, have a good time. No lines.

Hopefully no lines. No waiting.

All right, well, and you all know Mimi. She's here. Welcome to Terrorist Hunter.

Good to have you.

We have coronavirus here in Arlington. Now they're talking about closing the schools down. It's going to be interesting. Got all my hand sanitizer on my soap.

Perfect.

It's everywhere. So. All right, so today's podcast, sponsored by flight school, learn the land business from the brain Scott Todd, in just 14 weeks. For more information, visit TheLandgeek Training and Schedule a call with Scott Bossman or Mike Zano. And without further ado, let's go ahead and get started. Today, our special guest is none other than Sid Christiansen. Sid has been a part of the land geek community for probably about a year now. Started off in flight school, and is now a current coaching student. So, Sid, do you want to just start off by telling us about how you got here and what flight school was like, how the coaching program has helped you grow your business?

Yeah, yeah, you bet. So I just thinking about, like, kind of what started all this, and I've always been interested in looking for different alternatives to make money and, you know, Rather than just working. I love the idea of having money work for you. And so I actually got started in this by listening to the Landgate podcast and I thought that flipping land would take a lot of work. It was kind of weird. And so I was gonna go the route of buying and selling, or not buying, just, I mean, not selling, but just buying rentals and then renting them out. And I was about to buy one and then I ended up breaking my leg on a snow bike. And I work construction, so it's very important to be able to walk around and do that work. So me breaking my leg, I had all this time on my hands, but also I was just laying in the snow just thinking about what I could do. As we're waiting for the life flight helicopter to come pick me up, I thought, well, now I can look into that land thing, have all this time on my hands and I can just see what it's all about and maybe I can just kind of dabble in it a little bit and see, see where it goes. And I also thought, you know, what really motivated me to get really after this was to get my wife home from work. She's a nurse and we now have three kids. And it's, I mean there's, we're so we're very busy with that and she wants to be a stay at home mom. So that was really what was my motivation. And then also it'd be nice to replace my income eventually. So I got on the phone with Scott Bossman. We got set up into flight school. I think it started one year from today, I think is when we started and going through flight school. Scott Todd, just being the great teacher that he is, he made us take action. And I just followed what he told us to do and look, what do you know, it worked. So it's been good. So big learning curve for me, that's for sure.

Yeah, I mean, that's a great story, Sid. I mean, you make the injury of laying there on the mountain with a broken leg just sound like nothing but. Sure, it was, it was a pretty intense situation for yourself and those that were with you, but glad you're, you're doing well now and enjoying the land business here.

Yeah, yeah, it was fun. I've never given it up. I went snow biking last week. So we're back, we're back on the bike and tearing things up again. So.

Good.

I'm just, I'm just avoiding my brother a little bit. I'm hanging back a little bit more, making sure he's not going to run into me because that's what happened. He ran into me, broke my leg. So I'm definitely a little more cautious.

Excellent. All right, I'm gonna pass it over to Mr. Scott Bossman for the first question to Sid.

All right, awesome. So this is kind of reminiscent to me of grill the geeks at boot camp. This is. This is what we do. We have all the coaching students get up front and talk to us about their journey. And one of my favorite parts of boot camp is just hearing. Hearing where people were a year ago and where they are today. And Sid, I remember talking to you a year ago. I was at a bed and breakfast in Illinois, hanging out for the weekend with my wife, drinking some coffee. And I remember your story, and I remember thinking that's, you know, it's cool because Mike Zano and I get to talk to a lot of people like you that just, you know, they have an amazing why. So you talked a little bit about your why, but I guess expand on that a little bit. And for me, you know, when things get really difficult, the why kind of keeps you going. So when things are difficult for you, what do you do and how do you handle things? And maybe we can get to a little bit more of the logistics of your business in a minute, but tell us a little bit more about your why and how that motivates you. I guess.

Yeah. So my parents, my dad's been super hard worker all his life. He's built a construction business. I work for him. We also own a farm. And I've always remembered being able to spend time with him and work with him. But also the summers are so busy. We're moving irrigation pipe, we're digging basements. And winter things slowed down, but in the summer, that's like when you want to go on vacations and spend all this time with your family. And I just looked at my young family and I just want more time with them eventually to do some of those things, go on trips and being able to stay with and go camping or whatever. So that's what really motivates me. And also I want my wife to be a stay at home mom, and she wants to be a stay at home mom. And I think it'd be awesome to be a stay at home dad. I don't think I could stay home all the time. I'll have to always be working or doing something, something busy. But I just want to have the option to be financially free eventually.

And do you feel like it's going that direction? I mean, you look at your journey over the last year, where you were a year ago, where you are now, just tell us a little bit about that and how it feels.

Yeah, so there's, I mean, there's definitely times where you question, like, oh man, is this really gonna work? Am I gonna really be able to sell this property that I got? And just follow, like doing the daily things, those small, little things. All sudden you start selling property, you start finding property to buy and it started to work. Like, at first I was scared, nervous, like, is it gonna work for me? And eventually I've started seeing those little wins, those little successes, and that's just kind of what keeps me motivated to keep moving forward with this.

Awesome. Well, I don't want to steal all the questions, so thanks, Scott. Who's next?

Let's go to Mike next.

Sid, great to have you on here. Curious. You seem. I've always thought of you as like, super positive. Like you just have an ultra positive personality. How much? First of all, I guess you can confirm whether that's true or not, but how much do you think that's led. Contributed to your success? I mean, did. I mean, I know it's. You had some doubts in the beginning, but you seem really positive. And how much is the attitude you bring to the equation helped you?

I think it helps a lot. I think that's another trait that I get from my, My dad is he's, he's super positive. And you know, there's. In the construction world, we. I've seen him go through hard times where we had a broken piece of equipment and he's made it through, but he's like, he showed me just a. Get in there and figure it out. He just says, you can do it. You can almost do anything as long as you put your mind to it. And that's one thing I've learned from my dad is if you, you just need to figure it out for yourself and it's. Sometimes it takes hard work and other times it comes easy, but most of the time it's going to be hard at first, but as you do it, you'll get better at it. And I think, I don't know, he's just blessed me with that outlook of life because, I mean, we always, he always had a good, good look on life. He always tried to look at the positives in life and he's been very successful in doing it and doing construction. But I think it's because he's. He's not stopped at a problem and put his hands up. He Got in there and he's figured it out.

Yeah, that totally makes sense. You know, kind of leads me into the consistency question. I often tell people, you know, the biggest challenge that they're probably going to encounter in the beginning is consistency. Right. So the fact of getting everything done, you know, getting the five steps we follow, we always talk about them, but staying consistent with them. How have you managed to keep consistent? Has there been any, you know, any tips for anybody or. Obviously, you know, life happens, things tend.

To get in the way.

I know you've had some wonderful things happen to your family, you know, new addition that's probably challenged your time, but how'd you stay consistent?

I find that it's really quiet about 4am so that's when I get up and I do just the daily things I have set aside just so I'm waking up early doing, you know, posting ads, training VA's, building, building systems and just learning in the mornings that's, that's when I get my best work done is from 4am to 6am and then after that I'm greeted by my boys and they're, they're noisy and they're ready to play and anyway, so I spend a little time with them before I go to work and so I just carve that time out and you know, I just don't get much sleep, but I know it's gonna be worth it in the end.

Yeah, no, that's awesome. I mean, definitely sounds like you have a, basically a power morning, right, that you, that you embrace and. No, that's awesome. So I guess final question would be what's, I guess what is something you're not gonna say most proud of, but in terms of an obstacle that you've overcome, you know, in this process? You said it's been about a year. Has there been something that stands out that, you know, kind of created a roadblock? But you did what your dad taught you and you pushed through it. Anything in particular or. I don't know, open ended?

Yeah. So when I first, I think my first boot camp I went to right about then I bought a bunch of properties that I thought I could sell and I was just having a hard, hard time selling them and I couldn't put my finger on it, but I offered them for wholesale and I tried different things to sell them and eventually they sold. I sold a few on land Arbitrage. So I just, I tried different things. So that was maybe my first challenge is getting some property that I wasn't sure about being able to sell. I Was nervous because I didn't. It was a new area I didn't really know as well, and. But, I mean, I got them sold eventually, and I don't know, that was. I think seeing me do that just kind of gave me the confidence that I could do it with other properties. As long as we're buying them. Right. Like. Like we're taught, you know, about a quarter of what they're worth, then, I mean, you should. You will be able to sell them. It just will take a little bit effort.

Great. No, great answer.

Thank you.

Yeah. I think that, you know, rinse, repeat, as Mark always says, and each time you go through it, I agree. It builds confidence and, like, seasons you as a lane investor.

Right.

And gives you the ability to, you know, take on bigger things with confidence. So very good. Thank you. I appreciate it. I will hand it back to our host.

All right, thanks, Mike. Mimi, what questions do you have for Sid today?

Well, I'd like to know what you find the hardest part of the business is for you. What do you struggle with? What do you look to delegate, and what part actually suits you? Well, what do you like to do and what do you plan on keeping?

So the hardest part, I would say, is just trying to hire people. I have a hard time letting go, I think. I mean, I've had. I've hired people and it's been a huge benefit, but I think building the systems and training is. I'm. I have a little bit harder time with. I think it's because I get a little frustrated because I expect more from people than they do. And I know it's me. I need to be better at training. And that aspect has been hard for me, but I'm seeing that I'm able to. I've hired a few tasks out. Like, I hate due diligence. I hate doing all that research. And I was able to get rid of, like, the title search and the due diligence and kind of all that. At first, just doing all that, I don't know, mindless searching, because I hated that. What I do like about the business is I really like selling properties. I get excited about it, and I'm working with the different buyers on the properties. And anyway, just kind of. I don't know, I enjoy that and just closing the deal and what. What brings the money in?

So let's say you think you'll keep that. Mm, that's awesome.

So, Sid, what. What advice would you have for someone just getting started in the business? Maybe they found the podcast or read Mark's book or, you know, they're. They're just getting started. I mean, any advice there?

I'd say what really helped me was taking flight school would be my advice. Just because all the information is out there to do, you know, pretty much anything. You could figure it out on your own. But flight school really, like, it shows you examples of how the work is to be done. And that's really what I needed. I just needed someone that knows what they're doing just to show me how to do it. I think that was really beneficial just to have had somebody just show me how to do it. I got the toolkit, and I read Mark's book, and that was helpful, but just taking action was probably the most helpful of all. Just learning as I go.

So did you. You bought the toolkit and then you went into flight school? Did you go to boot camp before flight school?

No, I. Well, I bought the toolkit in flight school at once. Cause I think flight school starting like one week later. So I read like, one thing in the toolkit.

Okay.

Then I went to boot camp, I think a month or so after flight school. And that was really beneficial, too. Just a refresher of everything you learn in flight school and being able to talk to the coaches with your questions and meet the community, that was that. That's been awesome because the community were able to work with each other and, you know, buy and sell properties with one another to, you know, close deals. So that's been really helpful.

Great. I think one of probably the most common question that gets asked during grill the geeks is, is what has been your favorite deal so far and what are the numbers?

Think about that. Probably my first one. And the reason why I say it, because I think that's what really gave me the confidence to go forward. And this one, it was at boot camp, and the buyer was not the best buyer. I was just ready to sell something. I was excited about it, and. But I made about $1,000 off that deal, and then she defaulted, and then I've sold that property again. So so far, that's been my favorite deal. So.

The property that keeps on giving.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I got all my money out of that property for the first sale, and then the second sale is just all profit. And so, I mean, that was exciting for me. It was just a small little property, but it just shows that, you know, this system works.

Yeah. Awesome. Well, I think if everybody has another question, we'll go around the room one more time.

So, Scott, I just want to say I like what Sid said about having Scott Todd as a mentor because like, Sid, can you imagine running an excavator without having like, without having a mentor, like learning, learning things online or on YouTube without somebody there? Or can I imagine being a physical therapist without like going to school? And there are some people out there who are very gifted who could like take that information and come out the back end and able to do really high level things like that. But that to me is what flight school is. I mean, you're there, he's literally a seasoned professor in the land business. And you go from, you know, 0 miles per hour to 60 over in four months and then you're doing deals. It's like, I know how to do this. But. So I love that. But let's see what other question. Tell us a little bit about. So you went to boot camp, which is always a phenomenal experience. I think that's kind of a, I don't know, it's, it's a really, it's an experience that leaves a major impact on all lane geeks, I think. So you, you had a great first boot camp. I remember talking to you there. But then the next boot camp, once you started coaching you, you get to go into the VIP room there. Tell us a little bit about the VIP room at boot camp and what that experience is like for you and how that helps grow your business as well.

Yeah, so I think we're all at different points in our business. We're all working on different parts of our business. And sometimes for me, I was, you get a little just kind of distracted on certain things. Like I can't remember what I was worried about then, but when I went to boot camp in the VIP room, it's the community of all the land geeks together are, you know, they bring all that knowledge into one room and then you're able to listen to everybody and then apply what you know, what is best for your business. So what you're going through and you could ask, you could ask, you know, the land geeks, you guys, the coaches, different, like whatever you're going through in your business, you were able to get like answers. And it's not just like a coach call because I would get, I get an answer, then I go and think about it for about four hours and I'd come back with another question on that same, same thing. And I was able to do that with, you know, you know, those three days or two days or whatever. And that was really nice to do.

Oh, Scott, you're on mute.

Yeah, sorry. Yeah. So you get all those high level executors in the room and it just kind of elevates the room, which I think is really awesome. So cool. Are you going to the next boot camp in April? Hopefully.

I'm not. I'm staying home with the. My wife's like, you need to stay home this time with the kids.

All right, well, we'll FaceTime you or something and you can feel like you're there. Yeah, awesome.

Thanks, Scott. Mike, do you have another question for Sid?

Well, I think I'd just like to, you know, you were talking about that micro deal that, you know, the first deal you had and sold for 1,000. I think it's often overlooked that we're in a very micro niche when it comes a niche, whatever when it comes to real estate. And I think it's actually exciting that people know they can pick it up by their own bootstrap. So if you wouldn't mind just like, what's your average acquisition cost? I think it's always good for people to hear the type of market we're involved in.

So how much I pay to buy the property and go through all the.

Yeah, not so much what you sell for, really. I mean, we could talk about that if you want. But just curious, like, how much does it cost to buy a property that you could actually start to build some serious passive income with, you know, selling one, selling another. Because that's what we do. And I think that oftentimes that's missed. And it's an important point that people realize that, you know, how much would I be looking to invest in a property if I wanted to do something similar to what you're doing?

Yeah. So I think at the low end I've bought property for about $300, and then on the high end it's been about 1800, just depending on the property. So. So it's not, I mean, It's. Everything's under $2,000 per property and that, you know, and then just times it by four. That's what I've been trying to do mostly, is times things by four. Obviously it's sometimes a little different. Sometimes other property like that, that first property I was talking about, I sold, I bought that one for $300. Right. I sold that one for like 6,3600. So every once in a while you get those kind of yields, but is that what you were asking?

Yeah, I think that's exactly.

Yeah, that's exactly it. Just people get a good sense that. And I love that. I love that this is a business that you can build steadily, build wealth on micro deals. So yes. Thank you.

Awesome. Thanks, Mike. Mimi, do you have another question for Sid?

Sure. What are your goals for your business for 20.

20.

2020. So my goal, I kind of been doing it by a month. I guess I'll have to add it up. But I'm trying to increase my passive income by $400 every month. That's kind of my goal. And right now I'm actually ahead of that. So I might just cut a month off and then try and go more, just go there faster. So that's been my goal right Now, I guess 400 times 12, that would be whatever that is. That's my goal of increasing. But I know, you know, once you get that increase, it's just, you know, it adds to the big pile eventually.

And as you learn. Right. You'll gain momentum and speed and you'll go beyond that.

Yep.

Awesome. Good for you, Sid.

That's awesome. So just to give the listeners an idea, like, you know, you've been in the business for about 12 months, give or take, and how many terms deals do you currently have?

I should have looked that up. I know I've done so I have about 30 terms deals and then 10 cash wholesale deals that I've done.

So awesome. That's great. All right, well that brings us to the tip of the week. So Mimi's here, but she's not going to do the tip of the week today. Sid is going to give us a great tip. What do you have?

So something that's really helped me and not just achieving my goals in this land business, but every aspect of life, whatever you set your mind to is goal setting. And I've read this book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. And I really liked because he goes into and he explains that you just kind of set your day up by doing the, you know, small micro tasks that lead to big results. And he's not saying that once you set a goal, then that's it. You just work towards the goal. That goal. He says you make lifestyle changes to where you want to go. And so my tip would be on that, read that book. And then there's another part of that is I use this app called Things. I think it's just for Apple. I'm not sure, but it lets you set reoccurring events, reoccurring tasks in your life. So that's really helped me. So I kind of build my goals out to where I want to be, but I create like a reoccurring task that happens on a certain day, so I kind of don't have to think about it. Like my phone, that app things reminds me of what tasks I need to do to get to my goal.

So.

And then. So all I have to focus on is doing that task. And I know if I do my task, then the goal happen, so. I really like that app things. It helps me stay focused and work towards my goal. You just need to build your, I guess your path or, you know, decide on what key lead indicators that you need to do to get your lag indicators like the goal and then just do them.

Excellent. Thanks, Sid. All right. And that.

We know Scott Todd won't be able to take advantage of that amazing app.

It won't work on his surface. Right. It might work on his Apple iPhone, though.

True.

He doesn't want people to know about that, but it's the truth.

Good point.

All right, well, that wraps up the podcast for today. Should we do the standard ending? Is everybody ready?

Yes.

All right.

Yeah.

I don't even know how to begin it without Mark leading us here, so let's just go.

Let fredom Rita.

All right, awesome.

Give us the countdown, Eric. Mark is totally going to make fun of that.

I know I messed it up. I gave it my best.

No, you did a great job. Yeah.

Mike, you'll have to tell us how the cruise goes.

Yeah.

I may be talking to you guys for a long time from that cruise.

Yeah, you might.

Mimi's right, though. You might actually not have many passengers on there. Could be the best vacation in the world.

So many trips are getting canceled. Dave had a conference this week. It got canceled. I went to see someone at a furniture shop who was leaving on vacation. Her vacation was canceled. To me is just left and right.

As long as I have scotch and Internet, we'll survive.

There you go. Business can run and you can enjoy yourself. It's all good. Weather will be nice wherever you are, right?

Yes. Yes.

What more could you ask for? Got the love of your life with you. It's all good.

We're gonna try nightcap episode Nightcap.

No way.

From the cruise ship.

Oh, yeah. We'll do it from the. One of the. I've done that cruise from the deck. Is that right?

Yep.

Yeah. Yeah.

Oh, that's awesome.

Most definitely.

Excellent.

That'll be fun. Where's it go?

So it goes to all the different islands. We fly out of Puerto Rico to a number of different islands.

That's awesome.

I'm not sure.

That's awesome. So, yeah, you'll be warm.

Yeah, no, it's. We'll be warm, and I don't know. It's gonna be interesting. I think it might actually be awesome.

It might. You might be safer, right? Gets on the boat and all of us are getting infected, then.

Yeah. The cruise ship is gonna be the safe zone.

Yeah.

All right.

Again, I don't know. It's going to be great. Or it's going to be the beginning of, like, a Stephen King TV series, so we'll see.

Plus, I read yesterday, Plus, I read yesterday that the virus, just like the flu virus, it likes cold weather. So you're going down there. It's. I mean, yeah. The virus isn't going to even be able to live for five days like it does up here in Wisconsin. It's going to live for, like, five seconds. You'll be fine.

Oh, yeah.

All right.

We'Ll keep you all posted.

Probably.

Well, we have a running tally. How many podcasts I'm on from the cruise ship. 4, 5, 6.

We didn't get any snow. We had the warmest winter in 140 years. So I'm hoping I didn't get any snow days. So I'm gonna have. I'm gonna have coronavirus days.

Yeah. Right.

Kids home because of coronavirus.

What's with all the toilet paper? Why are people stocking up on toilet paper?

I think they're just doing it. Just pantries in general. You hear about the lady that thought she was ordering 48 rolls and ordered 48 boxes and ended up with, like, 1500 rolls of toilet paper?

No, but I mean, like, people are acting like it's a giant snowstorm or like a hurricane or something. Like they need to stock up on the essentials. But, you know, I mean, it's crazy.

Yeah.

Did you see the. Did you see the meme yesterday that went viral where, you know, the claw machine where you can get different toys out of the claw machine? Right. Some store manager thought it'd be creative to throw toilet paper in this claw machine, and he was taking pictures of it, and it was only $2 per try. So you could, you know, put $2 in and see if you could get a one roll of toilet paper with the claw. I thought that was hilarious.

That is funny.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

If I can find Eric, I'm impressed with your hosting capabilities.

Very nice.

I don't know, guys. One time thing.

I would say there probably isn't a better time than to be able to work from home. And people would probably love to own land where they can get away from everybody. So I think our business is gonna thrive in this environment.

Yep.

There you go.

Write some headlines around the coronavirus for.

Your hands off gridding. Get away from it, all right?

Get away from people.

No germs out there.

Yep. Yeah. It's a good time to be working from home. Yep.

All right.

Cruise ship. Well.

Thank you, everybody.

Thanks, Eric.

Thank you, Eric.

Thank you, Eric.

Thanks.