How To Stay Inspired And Motivated In Your Business With Jas Takhar

Hey, it's Mark Podolski, the land geek with your favorite niche real estate website, thelandgeek.com and on this week's roundtable podcast, we actually have a special guest guest Jaz Takar from Jaztakar. Jaz, I did that. Right, right.

You did it good, Matto. You did really well. Thank you for that.

Jazz is a Toronto native. We're not going to beat him up for being Canadian. And it's been in the sales and service industry for over 26 years. And soon after deciding to try his hand in real estate, he founded REC Canada under Royal LePage. And for over five years, he successfully kept his team top three in the country with 50 realtors, 11 support staff. His team advises and assists over 625 buyers, sellers, and investors. He is a podcast host. He is an author. He has a media company, the Ground Up Media, where he helps other real estate agents produce quality content. We're going to learn a lot from this guy. I feel like we're just going to get smarter. Jaz, welcome.

Well, thank you, thank you, thank you for having me. And big shout out to to all of you because as a fellow content creator, I know how tough it is to get guests to even just start, like, putting yourself out there for people to see you and hear you and maybe read a blog of yours. And so just a massive congratulations and kudos to all of you for putting yourselves out there, because the virus that I like to spread is pos. So thank you for doing what you guys do.

Well, that's one virus I'd like to catch for sure. So on this week's roundtable, I'm going to just pass it off to each one of our lanky coaches. We have Tate and Teria today. The rest of the coaches, you know, we just got done with the boot camp. They're taking time off. They don't. You know what, they don't even care anymore about the podcast. Me, honest. But that's okay. We. You've got the 18 here, so no worries.

I was always taught, worry about the people that are here, not the ones that are not. So let's do it.

So, Jaz, I'm going to ask the first question. I just want you to rewind the tape and tell us how you even got started in real estate.

So, look, I'm born in. You mentioned Toronto, Canada, but I'm born and raised in the northern part of Toronto in an area called Rexdale. And it's really known, doesn't really have a good reputation. It's not a place where it's full of people to look up to and good mentors. Maybe going to the corner is not the best spot to go to, but I was very, very lucky. Like I won the lottery with the home that I grew up in. Father, mother, father, taxi driver, his whole life. Mother, factory worker her whole life. And then I had two older brothers. And anybody who has older brothers or older siblings knows it's a very healthy reminder that you're closer to bottom than you are to the top. Right? Like, I mean they, they drill it in you. I just turned 40 a couple of weeks ago. I was with them actually last night. They were beating up on me verbally, but I mean like with lots of, lots of love, right? So one of my brothers, very outgoing, extrovert, took me out and, and when he was 25 and I'm 15, 10 year difference. Like I was sitting in conversations with people who are 10 years older than I was. The other brother, the middle brother, not as much as like out there, got into some trouble. And so I guess he always felt like he needed to keep me out of that. And so I really had both extremes while I grew up. But at a very young age I also knew that and I think my family knew, I'm talking like 7, 8, 10 years old, that school wasn't going to be my avenue. Like I just wasn't going to learn in that setting. Specifically once I started to wanting to get out and help with the book fair, the, the bake sale, knocking on doors as a kid, like helping sell Christmas ornaments. I'm East Indian, we don't celebrate Christmas that much. But I just now looking back, it was to get out of class, but I also liked it. Like I just like meeting people. 12 years old, I get my first paper route and I get paid probably for the week. I got like 25 bucks. But as a 12 year old, 25 bucks goes a long way, especially back in like the early, early 90s. And I was hooked. I was hooked. I was like, oh wow, I get to deliver papers, knock on doors. The nicer I am, the bigger tip I get for their subscription. Okay, this kind of makes sense. Oh, and I get to keep the money and spend it on arcades and fries and gravy. You can kind of tell I like food. Where I got really, really hooked. 14, 16 years old, I get a co op placement from a high school in a retail store selling shoes. Not like the Al Bundy type of shoes. And some of your younger listeners and viewers are like, what the Heck is this guy talking about? But it was like helping sprinters, marathon runners in a store where I really needed to know product knowledge. And so I, till this day, probably know more than I need to know about what type of footwear everyone should be wearing, depending on how much they walk, how much they run. But it really taught me, I'm talking like 15, 16 years old, the importance of having product knowledge. And then if you liked what you did, which I did at that age, wow, do you ever have the secret sauce? Because you know what the heck you're talking about, and you're good at it. Time to go. All in. 17, 18, I get a job at the bank. And at 20 was the 1920, I started to work in car sales. And that was a massive shift for me because we all know, like, if firemen and firewomen are the most trusted profession. Car salesmen, new cars, used cars, used cars. I worked in the new car. So I thought I was a little bit better than the used car salesman, but doesn't have a really good reputation. So the bar set very low. Smart enough at 19, 20. Okay, you know what? I just don't need to push people as long as I'm not that buy five now. And if you don't buy now, like all that garbage and I just did what I like to say, remove the friction in people's. In people doing business with you, I might have a leg up. Well, it worked. I was nice to people. I gave them the facts, let them make their own informed decisions. And. And people started to buy with me, but more importantly, they introduced me to their family members, their colleagues, and their neighbors. Looking around now I'm 22 years at that time, 23 years of age, I'm looking around. Amazing. People at this dealership still talk to them till this day, but they've been there for 15, 18 years. I'm realizing they got a ceiling, they're making a certain amount. You really can't get past that. There's maybe a handful of people on the continent that are in that half a million, $750 million kind of range in car sales. And I also liked the process of investing in real estate. I understood it. You buy something, rent it out, you get residual income, real wealth. You know, at a very young age, I kind of realized that. And I said, it's time to marry the two. Like, there's one big ticket item that I haven't, for lack of a better word, conquered. And. And I like the product, which is actually investing in real Estate. At 23 years of age, I got my license, jumped in with both feet, and the rest, I guess they say, is history.

Wow. Wow. Taria, what are your thoughts?

That's impressive and full circle. Right? So you talked a lot about the sales and passion and product knowledge is what really stood out to me. Knowing what it is you have, you're offering or you're trying to sell, that was key for me. But impressive. Yeah.

Like, I think. I think, you know, some people say that, well, I'm an amazing salesperson or whatever, Right? Like, someone might say that about themselves and.

Oh.

Or you're so good at sales, you can sell ice to an Eskimo. Me, I'm just different. Like, if I don't want to sell ice and I don't care about ice, I'm not going to have the passion to care about the product enough to keep me up at night and wake me up in the morning to go immerse myself. We all know the best way to learn a new language. Like, I take it. And I'm not trying to, like, judge a book by a cover, by its cover. I don't think anyone here knows Punjabi other than me. That's my language. Okay. But the best way to learn it is to go to India. Go to India, go to the state of Punjab, immerse yourself there and learn it. And so when you actually like the product you sell, I think you just have a leg up on people. Like, you are going to want to learn more about it, which makes it easier to actually sell.

Yeah.

I mean, the three of us cannot speak Punjabi, but we can speak chicken tikka masala, saad paneer, Malai kafta.

Yeah, exactly.

Y' all love it. Extra spice.

Hey.

Hey.

I'm getting real hungry. I'm about to leave this podcast right now because you said three of my favorite Indian, three of my favorite Indian dishes.

But, Tate, what question do you have for jobs?

So obviously, you know, you've had a lot of good success in life, and your story is inspiring, honestly. And one of the things that you mentioned on was sales, right? Like, you started off in sales, you're still in sales at the end of the day, right? I mean, you're still involved in it. So what we deal with in the land business is we are constantly dealing with prospects, right? Future people, potential buyers. So a question for you is, what can somebody do to increase their confidence when it comes to sales? You hit on a couple key words there. You said passion, right? Like, you got to have a passion for what you're doing. Or a passion for what you're selling. So if you were to advise somebody who's just getting in the game of maybe learning to sell, what advice would you give them?

I think the number one advice I would give someone is enjoy the process of hearing no and failing. I don't know where we got it from as just. Just being younger. Maybe like, you know, our families, our friends, teachers, whatever it is, just being scared of failing. And sales, if you're closing 100% of the people you're meeting, I would like to meet you. Like, because I just don't like, at a high level. There's just not many people who close at that high percentile. And so I would strongly recommend, before getting in or if you're just getting started, get real used to hearing no and fail forward. Understand? Okay, I talked to seven people, all seven said no. Ask them for the feedback. Hey, Tate, like, I know, I know this is not the right product or service for you. Can you just let me know, like, was it, was it the product or service? Was it the way that I presented it? Did I not maybe ask more questions? And I asked, Tate, is because I don't want to be pushy with you. I truly want to get better at this. So can you let me in on why? And I have a feeling most of the time, most of the time your prospect is just going to say, I'm not ready yet. Right? And so what I tell my team, I have 54 real estate agents on my team and hundreds and thousands that I talk to on the socials about that exact same thing. And what I say to people is, first and foremost, stop trying to convince your prospect. Just go in sort of sorting mode. What does that mean? That when you're speaking to somebody, think to yourself, self, is this person ready now? And if not, can I educate them enough and ask them the question if I can stay in touch with them? Because you might not be ready now. And that's okay. In fact, what's the chances of the stars aligning and all that stuff working out? That they're ready right then and there and if they are, you're kind of order taking, you're not really selling, you're not following up. Right. And so, and so I would say have the mindset of sorting and not convincing. And what you're sorting for is for people that are ready right now. And if they're not, can you stay in touch with them? Do you have their permission? Not the spamming bullshit, but I actually stay, like, actually have their permission or the number three, delete. Because they said, you know what, Jaz, I don't like, like, like I don't like the fact that you're always waving your hands and you come with all this energy and that you wear a T shirt or most of the time I wear a hoodie. And I help people invest hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate every single year. I'm not saying that to impress anyone who's watching or listening. It's really to impress upon you where all the data is coming from. So I get that from people. They're like, like I think I'm a good look, okay looking kind of guy. Like my mom always told me that. And so I hope that is projected through the screen. But, and if it's not, that's okay. Like, look, there's 6.6 million people in a 7A 50 mile radius here in what we call the greater Toronto area. Okay, 6.6. I want them all. The truth of the matter is I'm just not going to get to them all. And so I understand that. I understand that. And so what I'm doing is just sorting for people who want to be part of my tribe, who want to be in my community, who resonate with me and the ones that resonate with me. Let's go. I'm going to educate you so much. I'm going to lead with education and I'm going to continue to educate you. And I peel back the curtains, I tell all my prospects and clients. The reason I'm educating you is for a couple of reasons. One, you're going to be easier to deal with just in the future while you go through the process. And number two, I know if I educate you enough for free and that's my business model, doesn't need to be anybody else's. But if I educate you for free, chances are if you're a regular human being, you're going to go back to the trusted source that was like almost the information center and not the salesperson. So I would say sort, don't convince and I'll give you another one as well. And like if, if, if you're not somebody who's going to be persistent in following up, get out of the business now because you're going to meet 10 people, eight of them are going to say no. The difference, the difference is going to be if you follow up with those eight people and get in front of them enough times with value, not bothering them and saying, hey, take you ready to buy a house? You want to sell a house? Tonight, like, not bad stuff, but, like, give actual value, which is done through education or entertainment, and then. And then consistently do that enough. It might take a year, it might take a year and a half. It depends. If you're selling a water bottle, it might take 20 minutes, it might take an hour and a half. If you're selling a piece of real estate, a piece of land, that might take a year and a half, you got to consistently be okay with following up.

Yeah, the follow up. It's something that's overlooked so much in our line of work, isn't it? I mean, people, they're looking for the layups, and there's nothing wrong with being a layup guy, right? Like, you go and you get the ball and you get, you know, you make the easy shot and you're good to go. But where people really excel is when they can, you know, power through the muck, right? And they can put their head down and say, you know what? Water off a duck's back. It's not going to hurt my feelings. And if you tell me no, I'm thankful because now I know not to waste your time or mine. Right?

Yeah.

And look, I mean, whatever you got to tell yourself in the mirror, when people say no, for me, it's always like, not yet. Like, when people say no, I know it's a not yet. Right? Like, like, as long as we get past the stuff that you don't like me because of my voice, right? Like that, that stuff, I'll get rid of all that kind of stuff. But if it's just like somebody who says no, I know intuitively, I know it's just not yet. They're not ready right now. Right. And so, and so you spoke about, I mean, the layups, Right. For me, I mean, anybody who's getting started, and until you go through yourself, like, I can, we can, we can give them all the books, give them all the podcasts. Us four can talk about it till the cows come home. Until they go through it, they're never going to feel it. But I can tell you 17 years later, I have people who are just buying with me now, and I met them 17 years ago. Right, Right. And what I want people to really get out of that is that so gratifying, because I know I put in the work. I put in the work by sending them the emails, making phone calls, inviting them to go to my Instagram, like in the last few years, but inviting them to events, what, whatever it was, I actually did the work. It's so much more gratifying 100%.

That resonates so much. That's very powerful.

Absolutely.

Absolutely. Sharia putting in the reps. Harris, what question do you have for Jazz?

So, Jaz, being a part of sales and real estate in general, we all see peaks and valleys. You know, we have hot markets and markets that slow down. So how do you keep yourself motivated? We have a lot of land investors. They're just now starting, and things may not be going exactly the way they would want. How do you keep yourself motivated even when the business is not taking off as you like or your team motivated? When we're in a dip, let's keep our head down. How do you motivate yourself as well as your team?

Yeah, so I loved how you kind of prefaced the question between myself and my team. For myself, it all starts with gratitude. Like, I'm not even like, what the heck am I doing on a podcast with you guys? Like, really, like, you know what I mean? Like, I'm not supposed to be doing this. They, the teachers, the guidance counselors, my friends, parents, all of them said the same thing, right? So for me, I just. My father, taxi driver, like, you know, when he made 60 bucks in the day, like, that was huge. Huge. You know, household income for my father and mother was probably, like, I'm talking, like, even as. As recent as 15 years ago, 12 years ago was probably like 65, $70,000 household income. Three sons, right? And so, like, the fact that I have the opportunity to even. Even be in the game of business, and to me, it really is the game. It's not life. Like, I don't really care when somebody doesn't buy or they don't use my service. Like, in the big scheme of things, we're talking about what, Maybe out of 8 billion people, there might be a billion people that don't have running water. Like, and I'm really taking it to that level, you know, because we gotta. We gotta remind ourselves. And that's where I go. So when, when, when there is some dips, like, even in the last couple of years, we went into lockdown here, and we're still somewhat in a lockdown here in Toronto, Canada. I mean, just to understand that, wow, like, I still have the ability to call people and, and ask if they want to buy seller and invest in real estate. And we were very classy about it. We didn't it right away, but people are losing their businesses, People are dying. Like, you know what I mean? And so for me, I go straight to gratitude for my team. How I try to motivate them for a lack of a better word, is really find out what their why is. Right. So to your investors, like, why do you want to do this? Why is this important for you? And if the why is strong enough, you'll start to feel like you're not being pushed to do something, you're actually being pulled to do it. So I ask my team members all the time, business in the year, in their life, and then I'm trying to reverse engineer it as much as I possibly can, because, believe it or not, it's not always money. Like, it's just not. Like, I got. I got 54 agents, as I mentioned, who are independent contractors, and then I got about 14 support staff. Right. And so it's a mix of all ages, like men, female, all of that. Right. And different parts of their life. And what I've come to realize over time now, oh, not everyone's motivated over money. Like, some people just want more time. They want more balance. Like, they don't want to work 70 hours a week. And so for me, I'm trying to reverse engineer what they're looking for. If they're looking for 40 hours a week, I'm going to try to get them into that box. I also realize that they shouldn't be working as hard as I am because they don't get paid like me. So the audacity to think that they should from a leader's perspective. I mean, I throw that out in the garden. Like, I throw that out right away. I know they're not going to be working as hard as me because they're not incentivized like me as well. I love it.

Thank you. Very good.

So, Jaz, last question before we get to your tip of the week, and it's going to be a little bit of a curveball for you. What's the worst piece of advice you see or hear given in your area of expertise of sales, real estate, investing?

I'm going to say it was a curveball because I don't think anybody's ever asked me that one. I think it's a podcast.

Jazz.

Yeah, I like it. Good job, good job, good job. That being nice, you might finish last. Like, you know, nice guys finish last. I'm not an ass to people. Like, I'm just not, you know, or at least I try not to be. And sometimes it might come off like I am. But my intent inside, I know I'm a nice guy. And I don't think I'm finishing last. And so I know Just people always said, like in sales, you got to be gritty and try to take, like, it's like you got to beat someone up in negotiations. You know, I've negotiated, I don't know how many deals I've negotiated, shoes and all that kind of stuff that I went over at the start. And giving, like, giving in a negotiation doesn't mean you're losing. In fact, it might actually help, and it has in the future with other deals, especially in real estate, like when you're doing joint ventures, if you give a little bit more to the other person, they feel good because they're winning and they want to. Now you almost become the person that every wants to do a deal with because people just know that you leave money on the table. And so I think, like to put that in a nice little bow for you. Like, I think when people say that nice guys finish last, I just don't think that's true. I don't. I think, I think you can be a nice human being. You could be liked. You can lead. Like, you can lead if you want to. You can inspire if that's something that you want to do. And by being nice doesn't mean that you're going to finish last. In fact, in fact, if you look at people who have passed away of recent, like, and if you really go to like, one of my favorite people of all time, let alone basketball players is Kobe Bryant. Followed his whole life when he got into the league and all that. And on the court he wanted to rip your face off, Right? But if you ask his, his teammates and in practice, same type of thing, he pushed people. But if you ask people about who he was, he wasn't like that. He was a nice guy. And think about the outpouring that happened when he passed away. Like, that wasn't just in the States or in Canada, right across the world, people like, we all stopped for a basketball player, you know what I mean? But, but, but some people who thought he wasn't nice, but he truly was, think about what we have to say to him about him.

Yeah, Jaz, it's such a great answer and timely answer for me personally because I'm actually reading a book about it right now called Humankind and the author makes the argument that we actually, it was not survival of the fittest, it was survival of the kindest.

Wow. And because not surprised.

We're pro social species. We have to collaborate. And so I can go on and on about it. I haven't finished the book, so I won't. But I will say it is a really interesting read and it's. Your answer was, you know, timely for me. So phenomenal. But now we're at that point in the podcast. We're going to put you on the spot one more time. We're going to ask you for your tip of the week. A website, a resource, a book, something else actionable for the art of passive income listeners to go improve their businesses, improve their lives. But before you do that, we have to give a shout out to our sponsor this week, which is Flight School. Learn how the next 16 weeks can literally transform your life. Go up the mountain of land investing with Scott Todd as your Sherpa. He's done it thousands of times. He's going to take you up there quickly, safely, efficiently. Oh, and by the way, that flight school tuition ain't going to cost you nothing, guaranteed. You're going to make back that money 180 days or less. Just show us your work. Learn more. Go to landgeek.com training thelandgeek.com training Jess, what is your tip of the week?

I would say I'm just going through some construction here in my office right now, and so usually I'm sitting in front of a different wall, but we just took everything down on that wall. And there's anybody who's ever seen any of my content, my podcast, you'll see a massive sign that says ready, fire. Aim. And it's a reminder to myself and to anybody who comes into this room, including obviously my team members, that we're going to pull the trigger as much as we possibly can and then adjust along the way. Now I get some heck for it because people are like, well, you're just going to be pulling the trigger. It's like, no, no, no, you didn't read the sign. It says aim, but it's just after the fire, meaning let's adjust along the way instead of falling into paralysis by analysis. I know it screws with people because we were BO and told like, look, before you leave, don't pull the trigger until you have the target all lined up. But in, in life, in business and in real estate, what you can do is that you can pull the trigger and tie up deals. Like, it's so cool in real estate that you can do this because you can pull. You can, you, you can, you can have a due diligence on your lawyer's review, your lawyer's mother's cousin's review, if the seller agrees on it, whatever it is. So pull the trigger consistently and on a regular basis. So fire as much as you can because you'll. You'll come to learn if. If you're. If you're. If you're too far to the left, too far to the right, too high, I. Too high up or too down low. But you'll only know that if you actually pull the trigger, rather than just sitting there and waiting for the perfect time. Because in life, in business and real estate, there is no perfect time. You gotta make it happen. So ready, fire, Aim.

I love it. I love it like that. Well, usually I put Teria on the spot and ask her for her tip of the week, but this week, because we have a special guest, Jaz, I'm going to give it a tip of the week. Look at her smile. Look how happy she is.

I see that. Look at that smile. That smile is, like, trumps me by miles. Like, that's awesome. So infectious.

Great, right? The amount of relief. The tip of the week. Learn more about Jazz takar@jaztakar ca.jazticar ca. Check out his podcast, all the other information on there. I feel smarter just by spending a little bit of time with you, Jazz. And definitely your positivity is infectious. Thank you so much for your mentorship today. Are we good?

I had a blast, guys. Thank you so much for having me. Really, really means the world to me. Thank you.

All right, let's do this. 1, 2, 3. Let, let, let freedom.

Freedom.

Jaz is like, if I knew you guys would end like that, I don't know if I would have.

I would have joined in.

All right, no worries. Thanks, everybody.

Thank you.

Thanks, Jess. 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@thelandgeek.com training let freedom ring.