How a Serial Corporate America Person Ended Up as a Land Investor

Hey, it's Mark Podolski, the Land Geek with your favorite niche real estate website, thelandgeek.com and this podcast is going to be such a treat for you. It is going to be so enlightening because these are the podcasts that people love the most. When we talk to a former flight school client, a former coaching client that has gone through the trials and tribulations of a land investing journey, and we get to peel back the onion of that journey and discover their insights, get their pearls of wisdom so that you can go ahead and use it on your own journey and also just know that what is possible when you take the action. So our guest today is Cheryl Paulson. Cheryl, welcome.

Thank you, Mark. I'm so happy to be here.

I'm so excited to hear about your story. So let's just start like, you know, what, what's your background and how did you find Land Geek?

Yeah, so I am a serial corporate America, you know, person. I've been in sales, sales management, it, my whole career, medical sales. And I also knew that that was, I didn't want to do that my whole life. Like, I always watched as, as folks or my, my friends, parents retired, I'd always ask them, did they enjoy what they did, did they wish they do it different? And nobody ever said, mark, I loved my career, right? So I always felt like a young career person going, man, there's not a whole lot to look forward to here. You know, the grind of it all that everybody look and they're hanging in there for something, some carrot. So I've also have been, you know, probably 15ish years now, always tried to find a business to start. Like, I've had this little bug, this entrepreneurial bug, but nothing's ever panned out. You know, I do it work for a little bit and then it wouldn't work. I'd make some extra money. But it was never anything that was sustainable. So I, I, I kind of, I always, I'm kind of that person. Like, okay, I've, I know, you know, I've had a career, but I know that I wanted out. I wanted that backup plan because anything can happen at any time. Plus, I knew that that was, I never found it fulfilling. So I came across a land geek about 18 months ago now.

Okay, wow. And so how did you, how did you come across it?

You know, it was, it would have been Facebook. It would have been a Facebook ad for, for Dirt Rich.

Okay.

And it just happened to be over the Christmas break and, and the ad resonated with me, you know, it was just the way it just resonated to say, here's an opportunity with something physical. And I'm like, that's. That's. I can. I can kind of do that. And it was. I was like, what have I got to lose? I love reading books like that. Just kind of like, what' out there? What are other people doing? I hadn't heard of that before. You know, like, I think real estate was always in my periphery, but it was not something that I had pulled the trigger on. I always felt like it was. I had to. One of the. I had a lot of. I guess I would say I have failed forward a lot. So I kind of knew what I didn't like or what didn't work for me as a single mom. And a lot of it was working the evenings or the. Or weekends or I had to go do events, you know, just something. And I was like, it just. It never. I could never put enough energy into it. So I read the book, and immediately it was just. It resonated with me that you were authentic. There was something here. Like, the model was almost such a. Keep it simple. Stupid.

You're right.

How could I not? Like, Like, I almost. I almost had to move forward to be like, there's got. Like, there's gotta be something more. How can it be this simple that you mail. You buy the land because they have to get rid of it, and then you sell it on a. On, let's say, Facebook marketplace. And then I kind of dabbled on the Facebook. And like, sure enough, people are there. People are offering these owner financing. So it was just very easy to kind of validate the model. And so. And the way that you had also presented it was with such a guarantee, right? Like, you know, here's what we're going to provide you the foundation, and. And you can't guarantee anything, but it was like, you can do this. And so I went right into flight school.

You did? Okay, That's. That's. Yeah, that's amazing. So what was flight school like for you? And how long did it take you in those six first 16 weeks to. To buy properties? And did you even sell a property? Yeah, at that time.

So. And I will say, you know, I like the options between the toolkit in flight school. I think those are two great options for folks I've always had. And this would be consistent with kind of going into the coaching program. You know, the flight school has that accountability piece to it, you know, So I really like that about it because it's too easy when you do work full time, you know, to just to fall behind or just to say, oh, I'll get to it later. But when you're in, you know, you're assigned to a class. So I followed flight school. Like I was. I was like, I'm going to commit to those, to, to that time frame to, to give it the best shot. I don't want to drag it out. You know, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But I really want to see like it checks all of my boxes of being able to really do this rem, you know, not have to go out and not that you can't join the Chamber of Commerce, right. Not that you don't do those things, but you don't have to. You don't have to go have a booth somewhere to try to sell a product. And. And that was really the only way that it was going to be sustainable for me to be able to do in those pockets of time. Because those pockets are after work, on the weekends, after you put kids to bed. Right, right. And so that was why I was like, I'm just all in. I would have. I bought right away. Like as soon as I mailed, you know, I did. I followed the, the template that that Scott teaches. So I knew going into it what, you know, what my budget was. I love that about the flight school and I assume toolkit as well. It's so transparent. No one, no one is saying you can do this with $50. Right. Like it's really saying, here's, you know, based on budget, you might be able to go faster or slower. So I think that too is really so many things out there, Mark are like the get rich quick. And this was so authentic about. There is work. This is. It's a real business. It takes capital, but there's ways to get capital. You know, it doesn't just have to be. It was just so honest. So I just followed it to the T. I just pushed myself to do the. That homework in the pockets of the. Of the evening. I think the other thing that was great was you guys were so honest about you should have this amount of time, you know, you need to have. You need to be able to find. You know, it's easy to say I don't have those 10 hours a week, but if you want this, you're going to have to not watch TV for a couple hours, you know, a day to be able to find it. So I really, I just went into flight school with eyes wide open and I Just, I appreciate that so much because it was laid out for you to be successful. Successful. I think everybody wants to go as fast as possible. It takes a little bit to get the, the marketing set up, and it takes a little bit to figure out your avatar and your voice. So I wouldn't say that I sold land immediately. Like, okay, you've listed and it's right away because you have to, you have to answer the phone, you have to call people back. You know, you just have to get into a little bit of a groove there. But I had sold property by the end of flight school.

Wow.

Yeah.

So, okay, so you went full cycle by the end of flight school, and you, you found the time even though you're working full time in the corporate world, you've got, you know, you're a mom, you're a single mom, and you're, you know, working on in the mornings, you're working in the evenings. When did you start to delegate and buy yourself some more time? And then what made you want to go into coaching as well?

Yep. So the end of flight school starts to talk about how to grow it. So the, you know, we're taught that foundation through flight school, and you're just kind of, you know, skinning your knees and then going back and going, what worked? What didn't work? You've got resources as part of flight school to learn from those things. I, you know, the. I went into it and got out of it what I wanted. I knew it was going to work. And so I knew that there's enough things that, like, I would want guidance from folks. You know, I want to be able to scale this and grow this and plug those holes. So really, I would say by some of it was timing that there had been a boot camp. So I kind of saw what else was out there. I knew at least halfway through flight school that I wanted to get into coaching because I, at that point, I'm like, this works. Now I really want to make sure that I've got that support to. To make as few mistakes as possible, you know, so that I can do it right as much the first time as I. As I can. So I did. I went into it for that accountability and for that guidance to skin my knees as little as possible. That's the first thing that kind of happens in, in the coaching is looking at what is that foundation that up from the, from flight school now what do we need to plug and then what can we get off your plate? Like, real honest conversations about what do you like, what do you don't like. What do you avoid? You know, because some of it you just don't know. It's still a little. They're new terms. Right. Intake and, you know, marketing is a little bit different than marketing that I've thought of before. Avatars and is different than what I've done, you know, worked with in. In the B2B arena before. So that was so valuable to really help me see what I couldn't see for myself and where to. Where to outsource. But it happens very. It was a seamless transition of that discussion from flight school into coaching.

Okay, so in. So over the coaching period, how would you say, how would you describe the. The growth of your. Of your business and what were you able to achieve? Not just financially, but also, you know, creating team so that you're To a point where, like, you're not just solving your money problems, but you're also solving your time problems.

Yeah, I would say that's also one of the things that I failed at in the past is that offloading stuff. Right. I can do it better or I can do it. Geez. It's just f. For me, I definitely fall into that category of it's faster for me to do it myself or it's scary to invest money in something that, well, I can do it, but it's too easy for me personally. Just too easy to get overwhelmed with things or all of a sudden I get to that point where I'm overwhelmed and I should have. You know, now it feels overwhelming to try to. To offload it because I've got too much on my plate. So that was. That was really the part that the coaches, they can see what you can't. They can. What is it you can see the forest through? I can't see the forest.

Right, right.

Coaches can see where you're struggling because they know what questions to ask and that it was slowly like taking the pieces, you know, what are you doing well at where's. I think a common question that I would come that we started all of the coaching sessions was like, where are you and what are you struggling with? What you know, what's that problem? And a lot of times what I would say my problem is, wasn't the problem, you know, so that was just the beauty of that experience to say, no, you don't have a sales problem, you have a marketing problem. You know, just because you haven't sold something, here's why you're not selling something. And, and a lot of it, a lot of times it's because it was something I wasn't good at, so I was kind of avoiding it, thinking I had a. Had a different problem. Oh, I need a salesperson. No, you don't. No, you need. This is what you need to outsource first. So they were so good at helping me understand my own limitations and shortcomings to start to hire the right people in the right order.

Yeah. It's so funny because I'll always say to people who ask about coaching, they think it's about how to. It's. It might be 20 how to, maybe 10 how to. And the rest of it is really helping you get out of your own way.

Yeah, it's mindset because it's.

It's.

It's hard having a business, you know, it is free. You're investing your own money, then you've got to go. You know, you've got. You've got to figure out how to grow. So now it's scary to get to that next next step. So having just the guidance of folks that have been through those and they've tried things and they understand what has worked, what hasn't worked, where they've made mistakes and they're. They're so, again, transparent and authentic about sharing their experiences.

Yeah. No, it's incredible. So do you have a favorite deal?

You know, I think it was probably that first one because I started to see the groove of it and it was. It. It happened to be. Happened to be a woman and it. But really outside of gender, I would say that most of my business is to selling to men. But the theme of it was that they wanted something tangible to show for their life. Like. Like they have worked their whole life and just, gosh darn it, nothing to show for it. And so for me, it was like, that's the light. So it was one. It was my first sale, but it was a light bulb moment for me because it was. She was talk. She was doing the selling. She was basically writing my marketing for me because she was telling me without. Without me knowing how to ask it. She was telling me why she wanted this, and I was like, that's it. That's my avatar. So for me, it was such an aha moment in my business because she. We just kind of clicked and so we talk. Talked a lot and she shared a lot now and she was just doing all my marketing for me for the future.

You know, it's so funny you say that, because I'll say to people, any business problem can be solved by just talking to your customers.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's so good. That's so good. Okay, so let's talk about how many deals did you buy and sell in your year of coaching?

In my year of coaching, I had hit the 25 deal mark. So I, I felt very good about that. You know, I have, I, I don't know, I think it's easy for us to think we should have done more, but I really felt good that at the end of my year of coaching actually ended up being that. That answer is actually my first year in the business. So it would have been. Yep. So that actually would have been like six months of coaching. So I ended my first year in the land business with 25 deals under my belt. And that is working full time. And again being a mom, a single mom, and then doing this in the pockets of my time. I was so, so happy with myself. I was so happy that because some of that mark was expanding and contracting to fix some problems so that the sales got easier and they got cleaner and I didn't make so many mistakes on them or, you know, so there is a lot, I think when, again, I don't know what people think when they hear that number, but it's real, right? Like it's a. Okay, let's learn from these. Oh, I made some mistakes. It took, Took like just things you don't know. You don't know what you don't know sometimes when you, when you go through it. So I felt so good in the end of my first year, which would have been half flight school, half coaching.

Okay. And so now it's 18 months later. How has your life changed in the last 18 months?

The biggest thing I think was confidence. I had always, like, you know, what's. I was a happy person. Right. I got up, I loved what I did. I love, you know, I love my life. I really had nothing to complain about, but there was always that bit of a nagging feeling in the back of my head of like, I felt like my customers, like, what is all this for? You know, like, it's just the grind every day. This gave me the confidence to know there was a light at the end of the tunnel. There was. I didn't have to fear the layoffs because I was setting myself up for the what if I. I have and still have that, that six year plan to say that this business will replace my income. And I say six years because that's kind of what I've seen on average with others being realistic about it. Right. Like, it grows, but it doesn't happen overnight. And I did Actually a couple months ago, find myself in that position where it was like being laid off. Me kind of making the decision that I'm the right one, I should be laid off. It was just getting miserable. I haven't yet replaced my income, but I knew that I had built a foundation of a real business that what if I put my energy into this instead of those five to 10 hours. Hours a week, what could I do? And I actually, and this is somebody who's just been, never been without a job, right. As a backup plan, I, for the first time in my life felt like I was in control of something. And I had that confidence because it was such a solid business foundation that I built through the, through flight school and coaching.

Yeah, yeah. And how about your personal life?

So it was very funny. So I had gone. So it's a silly story to tell, but I will tell people. There's got to be other people in my position. So I had, you know, you find yourself midlife, divorced, single mom. And I'm thinking, you know, and I'm just going through life, right? Like I'm busy working, trying to start a business. And for my 50th birthday, my girlfriend who is also turning 50, she says she was also a single mom and she's like, we should go to an astrologer. Let's just see what the next year has. Our big year. What does the next year have in store for us? And this would have been December ish timeframe. And the astrologer says, hey, in October you met the love of your life. And I was like, you gotta be kidding me. Like I've been so s. Like no, I didn't, I was like arguing with this 85 year old astrologer, you know, and she's like, no, think back. And I was, I must have pouted all of December mark. Like I was really like, I cannot believe I've been so, like blinders. Just work. Such a workaholic that I let something pass. Like I was, I wasn't even open to the idea that I could, you know, there's another part of life. And one of my customers had, you know, I didn't quite think about it this way.

This is a land customer.

This is a land.

Someone is buying land from you.

Someone is buying land from me. And one day like I'm busy kind of getting my taxes ready, you know, in, in January and he's like, you know, we talk a lot and I really enjoy our conversations. You know, I, I think that there might be something here. And I'm like creep. Like, oh my gosh. Because I was like, this guy's bought like three properties from me now. And I'm thinking, oh my. Oh gosh. The things we have to deal with.

Right, right.

I kind of blew it off. Like, well, you know, I'm very busy with tax season and. And I couldn't quite shake it because I was like, what? What ground? Like, I went back and looked Mark, and sure enough, we talked all the time. And when I actually simmered down a little bit, I was like, we do talk. We have a lot of things in common. And. And I went. And I did one more thing. I went back and I was like, when did we meet? And it was in October when the astrologer said, oh my gosh, I have to see where this goes. So I called him back and I was like, okay, here's why I'm gonna entertain this. Right, Right.

And he wasn't freaked out.

And we are a two peas in a pod. We're a match made in heaven. It has.

How long is. So how long have you guys been together now?

Since end of January.

Okay. So we're, we're recording this in July. So it's about seven months.

Yeah.

And it's going great.

It's going great.

It's the love of your. Love of your life.

Love of my life, yes.

And a good land. And a good land customer.

Exactly.

So. So what does he think about you? You know, you're. This is your business now. I mean, you're, you're a single mom. I mean, you've got bills to pay.

Yep.

You're used to making very high income. You're not there yet. What's, what's that feel like? Is there, is there, you know, anxieties or excitement? Is there. What's the.

A little of both. Because in the past I have felt like, you know, because I did, I also did a lot with startup companies, just real stressful. And I would end something going. I just need like a six month sabbatical. Like, I. It was getting to the point where I felt like I really. Each next phase of my career I was getting, giving and able to give less and less. So I was starting to recognize that. But I never, I never felt like I, I had earned it. Right. Like, I never felt like it was okay to use some of my savings to give myself some downtime to have a gap on my resume. Right, right. Like, that's what I had always. That was like a part of my ego, I guess. Right. That I had this, you know, this resume that went from one great career to the next. And when, you know, when these things happened and I one, I kind of realized, like, I'm missing out on a whole part of my life, that I'm not giving anything to myself. I'm just working and trying to care for a minor. And then when I realized, like, I do have something to give to another human, and these jobs just all take, take, take. So there is a bit of anxiety to say I am using my savings to supplement, you know, what the land business is bringing in. But there's such a confidence in the, the structure and of what I've built with, with the land business. Like, I, I really feel so confident. And there's always a, what's the worst thing that can happen? Go find another. Another job. You know, like that's, that's the worst thing that would have to happen in my life. And so that kind of makes me laugh sometimes. Like, that's what I've been afraid of.

Right, right.

Explaining that I took some time for myself, you know, between. Between jobs, like, that would be the worst thing that I ever have to say.

Yeah. No. And, you know, it's so funny because it's, it is a numbers game. And we know, we know our numbers and we know definitively that if you invest, say, a hundred thousand likes for every $100,000 you invest, it's going to throw off approximately $10,000 a month of passive income within, say, 12 to 36 months, depending on your skill set. And so if you don't have a hundred thousand dollars, the question is, well, how do I get it? And, and you just start, there's lots of money out there. When you have that track record that you have, people want a really good return on their money. And so it's just a matter of time before the land business is providing enough passive income for you that it's going to exceed your fixed expenses. And you can work if you want. You can not work if you don't want to. And that's that, that confidence, that freedom is, I think, priceless. And also when you go in, if you do take another job, there's that feeling. You don't need it. Yeah, it's a different feeling when, when you have that, you know that need. Right. You know, in even any relationship, even if, you know, if you're like, even a personal relationship, like, it's. It doesn't feel great. It's like, oh, I need this. And, and no, when you can let it go, it's. And just be free it's great.

Yeah, for sure. That's such a good word. It is so freeing to not need, you know, not have that. Like, what are they going to think? You know, what do they think of my resume? Like, you know, to be so proud of, of what I have here. I think that's another. I just haven't felt that in a long time. To feel that's probably, I haven't really thought about it like that, Mark. But I feel so proud of what I've been able to accomplish.

No, you absolutely should. Okay, so before we go to your tip of the week.

Yeah.

What are your final words of wisdom to someone who's listening to this? They're in that cubicle at Procter and Gamble and they, they know they want a change in life. They feel like you did that there was something else out there. And, but it's scary, right? And what would your best advice be for them to be, you just do it.

You know, they, it's, it really doesn't, it, it's amazing how easy it is to find 10 hours a week. It's am amazing how we waste, how much time we waste. So it's so it, it's easy to sit back and think I just don't have the time to be able to do that. But we waste a lot of time. And then you, when you start having fun with it, right? Like, oh my gosh, all of a sudden you bought land like I own land now. And you start to. That was kind of the first freeing piece. Like, okay, there I own land. Like that's my, that's just what. Even if this doesn't pan out, I've got a backup plan right there. I own land outright. So that would, right there. It's, it's a fun business. The community that you've built is like no other. I mean people are just amazing.

Like just No, I, I, I, I mean I'm telling you that is like our secret asset is our community. Yeah, they're amazing.

They're amazing. Yeah, it's so I would say going into it you might be like, where am I going to buy land? Where am I going to find money? It is, the process takes you through what's your budget, where should you find land, right? Like instead of overthinking it, know that the system works, the business model works, the support system is here in the community and you know, in the tools and resources available. And I think it's also to know it is a longer term plan, you know, depending on how much time you have to put into it, but it's there. And it is so freeing to know that you've got that backup plan.

That's amazing. Well, if you guys want to be like Cheryl, go to thelandgeek.com training and schedule a call with one of our land experts. They will assess if how much time, how much capital you have and see if this is the right avenue for you to solve not just your money problems, but also your time problems. So today's podcast, as always, is, is sponsored by flight school and schedule that. Call the landgeek.com forward/training and find out if, like Cheryl, this can change your life. Cheryl Paulson, you are just a delight and your story is so inspiring. But I'm gonna push you again for one more tip of the week. A website and resource, a book, something else actionable for the art of passive income. Listeners ago. Improve their businesses, improve their lives. What have you got?

Part of this journey has been becoming a better human, which I also think has improved my relationship with myself, my family. Obviously I became open enough to be, you know, in a relationship with another person. And it's also helped me, oddly enough, in the sales side. So the, the resource I have today is a book called the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Luis. And what really has been a big part of my transformation, which has helped me understand how to build trust in all of the relationships that I have, including with when you get people on the phone and those four agreements are, be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions and always do your best. And you know, there's a lot in that. But I would encourage anyone who just wants a little self reflection because it does help ground you every day.

Oh yeah, I have the chills. I love that book. And it's one of those books that I, I should revisit more than I do for whatever reason I, and people keep mentioning it on the podcast and I, I love that book. And when you, when you say the four agreements, again, it's just, there's so, it's so simple. Like life can be so much simpler than we make it out to be. And the, the, it just, you know, to live, to live by just those four agreements. Yeah, it's transformative.

It's, it goes back to what you had said. It's so freeing to know that you're responsible for half of a relationship. Right. Like that you can't, you can't control anyone else. So just be responsible for yourself and the right people will come into your life. Life.

No, a hundred percent. And. All right, well, my tip of the week is not going to be as good, but I've got. It's gonna be a good. I've got. I have to give a tip of the week. So Cheryl lists your properties on landmodo.com and you could check out her properties on there. But I would say that if you wanted some help, let's say, with your marketing, I would actually play with Claude AI as well as Chat GPT and again, it's an intern. I wouldn't ship whatever they give you, but I would play around with it and that would be my. My tip of the week is, you know, kind of split test the copy that's written on ChatGPT and Claude AI again. It's going to get you 80% there. I would not ship it, but it would save some time and see what kind of results you get. All right, well, Cheryl, are we good?

We're good. All right, well, it's like bucket list for me to get on your show.

Oh, fantastic. We'll do a part two. Part two for sure. Yeah. I mean, the part two for me is going to be. You're like, I, I've replaced my income. Yeah, that will be the part two. We can always do a middle one in between as we go through the journey. But I want to thank the listeners. Just remind you that the only way that Cheryl's going to come back is if you do three little favors. Follow rate, review the podcast, send a screenshot of that review, support thelangic.com and just like Shiro started, I'll send you a signed copy copy of Dirt Rich. But even if you don't want Dirt Rich or you've already read Dirt Rich, just do it selfishly for yourself because our guests look at our reviews and the more reviews we have, the. The better guests will be able to provide you. So please do it. All right, sure. Do you want to do this together?

Yes.

1, 2, 3, let's. Freedom. Not bad, not bad. All right, thanks, everybody.

Thank you, Mark. Thanks for listening to the Art of Passive Income podcast. Are you ready to learn how you can start building a passive income without renters, rehabs, renovations or rodents? Schedule a free consultation at the land geek.com forward/training.

Let freedom ring.