Once Reluctant UPS Delivery Driver Turns Expert Real Estate Investor 🚚➡️🏡

All right, guys, before we get started, I want you to make sure that you listen to everything our guest has to say on today. Because he started from not doing anything right, being a UPS driver and really not even wanting to be in real estate. But then he got that extra added oomph and push from his spouse and now they're built a large portfolio of rentals and they're educating people on how to do the same. So if you're on the fence and you don't know what to do about getting into real estate state, make sure you listen to this episode because it's very inspiring and there are some actionable tips in here for you to follow. So let's jump right into this episode. But before we do, Remember, go to marcusemaloney.com that's marcusemaloney.com Download your free purchase contract if you're looking to get started with real estate wholesaling and you need a great real estate contract to get started with, you can go directly to Marcus E. Maloney. Go about halfway down the homepage and you will see purchase contract. Just click that give it to me button and it will be delivered directly to your inbox. And then also if you need someone to talk to, remember I don't like to use the word pick my brain, but if you need 15 minutes just for me to help steer you in the right direction or answer some of your questions, again, go to marcusemaloney.com youm'll see right in the banner 15 minute free consultation. I love to jump on a quick call with you. Again, no sales pitch, none of that. I just want to genuinely answer your questions because my desire is to give back and I would love to give back to the people that follow me. So let's do it. Let's jump right in. Let's talk to CJ Kalio. In this episode of the We Love Equity Real Estate show, we went out.

And bought portfolios of single family homes and grew to a mass in a matter of five years where me and my wife are both able to leave our jobs and we've now shifted from residential to commercial real estate and, and been using this monopoly analogy of taking those green houses and trading them in for the red hotel. We've been doing that with our portfolio and, and we've been successful in commercial for the last four and a half years and living a very, very wonderful life where I get the freedom of time and I get to choose how my days are going to look instead of showing up during Christmas and not knowing when I'm going to finish work.

You're listening to the We Love Equity Real Estate Show, a podcast that discuss the intricacies of real estate investing with your host, Marcus E. Maloney. Marcus is a real estate investor best known for being the Equity King. He's been awarded that moniker because he and his team find amazing real estate deals. He will be talking with investors who have done some transformational things in the real estate industry. They'll discuss their process, their strategies and how their investments transform their lives and the communities they invest in. We welcome you to the We Love Equity Real estate show.

The WeLove Equity show is brought to you by Azria, widely recognized as an outstanding resource for real estate investors with exceptional education, networking and support along with profit enhancing benefits and all aspect of real estate investing. Visit asria@www.asria.org. that's visit azria@www.azrea.org. hello great audience of the We Love Equity Real Estate Show. This is your host, Marcus Maloney. And I'm excited today about about what we have to share on today. I have a very, very special guest that's going to share with you guys his amazing story, what he's doing now and what he's looking to do in the future. So if you haven't done a deal or you're looking to get started to build passive income, looking to build that real estate portfolio, I want you to grab your pen, paper notepads and get ready to learn from expertise in the real estate industry right now. So before we get started, just some general housekeeping tips. You can always go to marcusemaloney.com get anything pretty much that you want for free, right? We have free assignment agreements, free purchase contracts. If you want to spend 15 minutes with me, yes, that's me. You can go on that website. Marcus E. Maloney, schedule your 15 minute free consultation directly with me. Trust me, no sales pitch, no sales or anything like that. Just make sure you have your questions ready for me to answer. That way you can get the most out of those 15 minutes. So without any, any further delay, let's jump right into this episode with CJ Kalio who is a real estate investor with Wynn Properties and he's going to talk and share with you what they're doing and their business and how you can get started as a real estate investor. So CJ man, welcome to the show. How are you?

I'm doing great, Marcus. Thanks for the warm introduction.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. And I know I didn't do your intro any justice Man. So give us the background kind of who you are, how you got started as a real estate investor. And then, you know, you got to add your lovely wife because she's your partner, your best bud, your do or die. So we got to make sure we get her in also, okay?

Yes, sir. So our story starts back when I was working my W2 profession. And mind you, I was in Hawaii at the time and that's where I was born and raised. And I just recently moved to Reno, Nevada about 18 months ago. So my story starts when I'm back on the rock, back in the island of Middle Pacific. Like I said, I was a UPS trip driver. That was my profession. That's what I, what I, I sought after. It was what I was raised to, to strive for, right? That strong union position, good hourly pay, benefits, medical retirement, the whole nine yards, right? The consistency, the security in a good job. And that's what I had as a UPS driver. I loved what I did. I was delivering packages, making good money, providing for my family, being able to live a very comfortable life in Hawaii, which is not very easy to do without a good paying profession. And I was so satisfied and content until I wasn't. And that wasn't was this particular time of year that I'm sure your whole, your guest and you might know where us UPS drivers don that brown suit and become that Santa Claus delivering all your Christmas gifts and Amazon packages. And up until this particular year, during this particular season, I was able to tolerate it. I actually had fun, I enjoyed it. It was something that I got excitement for around that time of year because I got to deliver. Yes, I got to make people happy, all while still having time with family. Well, this particular Christmas was not that normal Christmas. It was Christmas from hell. It was the nightmare prepared. We got smashed with more deliveries and packages than we ever seen in our entire time that I was working at ups. And I found myself working seven days a week long hours and not see my family. And it took a toll on me. I was depressed, I was angry, I was frustrated. I was like, this isn't worth any dollar amount for me to not be able to spend my favorite time of year, Christmas with my loved ones. I mean, I, I work Christmas Day. It was that it was that busy. And this went on for five to six months and just having that question, like, is this really something I want to continue doing the rest of my life? Like, is this the only Christmas or is there going to be more Christmases like this? Do I want to chance it? So after Everything subsided and it calmed down. I was still upset, angry, frustrated. And I approached my wife and I was like, you know what, I can't do this any longer. I, I want to quit. And she shocked me with her answer, saying, sure, you can quit. However, I have one question for you. How are we going to replace your income? Never thought about it. Emotional in the moment, caught up in what was happening in life at the time, that I didn't think things through. And she really challenged me around this. Well, you know, I, I support you. I want you to, to leave. I wasn't satisfied. Our kids were very sad that you weren't born. And I don't want this to happen again. So why don't we try real estate? I've been looking into it. I, I've been researching it. I found this strategy can rent property and create streams of cash flow. Now, if we do enough of it, create a portfolio big enough, we can replace your income. How about that? And it's so interesting with my mindset at the time, being such a novice in investing in myself, that turned on my very biggest supporter. Basically shut down my wife's opportunity because I was afraid. I was scared to death. I didn't know anything about real estate. I don't have trade background. I'm not a handy guy. You can't tell me, go and fix this, I'll get a screwdriver and try to pound in a nail. That's how I was, right? In this time of my life, I didn't understand a thing. So it really scared me and I took her away. I said, you know what? You go do. You go figure out this real estate stuff. I'm going to go do me and stay in with what I know, which is anything I could do that I had experience in. So I started businesses up and tried to make things work from a standpoint of I can create my own income, right? And like most startups, they don't work. I, I ended up investing more time, more money, more frustration into this, where I, I found myself in a deeper hole, if you want to call it that, six to nine months later, because they all failed, you know, and then I made this realization, like, look, what I'm doing isn't working. My wife over here has still been looking into real estate, still sharing opportunity with me. And the common denominator is I'm the one that's resistant to it. So why don't I just humble myself a little bit and give it a go? Because what I, what I tried didn't work. So I came back to her and I was like, you know what? I don't really believe in it, but I'll support you in it. So she took me to one of these meetups. I called it a cult at the time and scam. So let me ask something.

Yeah, let me ask you this real quick, cj. So what was it that. What was your apprehensions? Was it just because you was a novice and you just didn't know or did you meet somebody that had a. That term with real estate kind of. What was it?

Well, it was a combination of both and, and what I've called, what I've called it to be in present day. It's just pure pride, right man on the household I'm supposed to provide, I'm supposed to know everything. And I created this imaginary perfect type of a husband father that I couldn't be. And part of it was hearing hear, say about how real estate to scam and how things go sideways. And another part of it was just the lack of information and knowledge and I didn't want to look stupid. I didn't want to be that bad. Right? So going to that meetup with that mindset still in play, I was that defensive, non confrontable man in the back of the room saying I'm here to support her, go talk to her. I'm not interested in real estate. I'm just here for moral support.

Right? Okay.

Funny thing is, is over time going to these meetups with her coming as a moral support, I started to hear, start to see. I started to realize that there is no real perfect strategy. People did learn lessons and they did find success. It just took them committed to a process long enough to create the result. Well, my pride started to drop. I became open to asking questions even though it may have looked bum. I was a newbie question, right? And I became vulnerable in a sense to the process of learning. And lo and behold, after so many meetups, I shifted and I was like, you know what? I think you're right. Let's just give it a shot. So we went off and bought our first turnkey property from a reference at one of the meetups. And we found value in, in that process and we started there and we got confidence with built up a. A small portfolio of 5, 5 single family homes of all turnkey. And then we finally ran out of money. After running out of money, we had the new, what I called next level opportunity to gain creative around continuing on in our path. Because five doors doesn't create the cash flow to replace a ups Paycheck. Right. Tell you that right now. It just didn't work. So we, we then learned to, to adjust and pivot. And one of our favorite strategies was utilizing opm, other people's money or private money. And we went out and bought portfolios of single family homes and, and grew to a mass in a matter of five years where me and my wife are both able to leave our jobs. And we've now shifted from residential to commercial real estate and been using this monopoly analogy of taking those green houses and trading them in for the red hotel. We've been doing that with our portfolio and we've been successful in commercial for the last four and a half years and living a very, very wonderful life where I get the freedom of time and I get to choose how my days are going to look instead of showing up during Christmas and not knowing when I'm going to finish work. And the side benefit to the success was there's wanted to learn how. And we were able to create a business on the mentorship side to assist people that want to do what we do, to have what we have. And it's fulfilled a different level of purpose in my life. I can say.

Okay, so you gave us a lot there. Right? Thank you so much. That way everybody can get a perspective of your background. Because you know what, a lot of people go through that to where immediately, you know, they think, okay, real estate, what's the scam? What's the pitch? You know, somebody's just trying to get my money. Right. But one thing that you said that was really, really key and you said that you saw people that started, but they stay committed to the process even though they had some failures. Do you think that that was a key catalyst for you to continue on to support your wife, knowing that other people made those mistakes, but they still persevered and pressed through.

Yeah, I mean, it's that proof of concept, living through somebody else's lessons, right. They, they failed in this arena and still overcame it and found success by the pure resilience and resolve to, they committed to what they set out to do. So if their goal is financial independence like it was for us, and they stuck with it and then achieved it despite obstacles and opportunities of lessons learned, something's got to work, right? I mean, it's a proof of concept, it's irrefutable. They did it, they achieved it. And that's where I found the confidence in. Okay, well, let's, let's give it a go. Right? I saw them, them being vulnerable enough to share Their lessons. And that gave me that push.

And you know what? That's. That's really hard. And I'm glad that you're speaking on this, CJ because when people come from one profession and they looking to get into something else, they're a little scared because one, because of pride to start asking those serious questions, how do I do this? What do I need to learn things like that? Because they may be on the mountaintop in one profession, but they're in the valley in another profession. And they don't. They, they can't. They can't work in between those two kids, those two caveats, right? So they're like, well, I know it all in this profession. I don't know anything in this profession. I don't want to be vulnerable to ask questions and try and figure things out. But, man, kudos to you for sticking through it and showing your wife that moral support to get to where you guys are now. So with that being said, this first opportunity, this first deal, how did it come about? And kind of tell me, what were your thinking? What was you thinking throughout the process? Right? Because your wife is gung ho, she's willing to do it, and you're kind of like, I don't know about this. And some couples, they go through that, where one is really excited about real estate and the other one is like, okay, what's the pitch? What's the scam? How long are you going to be doing this? You know, things like that. So kind of walk us through that first deal, what you were going through, how you guys found a deal, so on and so forth.

Yeah, great question. And when I look back, it still gives me somewhat of a chill because it was a transition for me more than it was for her. She was like you said, she's on fire for. She was on board. I was the resistant, reluctant one. And what happened was the networking, the seeing the people share their, their, their highs and lows of, of real estate and, and really connecting with those that were doing what we wanted to do, which is buy and hold and buy and hold for us, made sense out of Hawaii, out in the mainland, and getting connected with their network. So asking them simple questions like, who do you use? Or who would you refer me to to get started? And we got turned on to a turnkey provider, and that's how we found our first deal. And knowing, not knowing what we didn't know at the time, but. And only knowing we had our capital and our mortgage ability, that's how we pursued the deal. We were Thinking we're going to buy a turnkey. We have the 20 to 25% down that a lender would need, and we qualify for mortgages because we have a good paying. We have good paying professions. And that's how we took down the deal. So in my mind is, okay, I can slowly build off of this, and it may take me 20 years to get to my goal, and I'm starting today. That's where I was at in my mindset.

Okay, so you started with turnkey, and it was offshore. Well, not offshore, but it was virtual. So where, what city or state was it in?

Yeah, our first property we bought. We were introduced to Indianapolis Market to buy a turnkey.

Okay. So we got Indianapolis. You're all the way in Hawaii. You know, were you nervous about putting a lot of faith and trust into this turnkey provider?

Yes. So a lot of what we decided hinged on the person referring us because they had credibility to us in person. Person and experience with this provider there. And it doesn't eliminate all fear. Right. So I got to step into courage. And to me, what I say is, courage is not the absence of fear. It's courage is knowing fear is present and doing it anyway. And I got courageous around taking that first step because the first step's usually the hardest, or at least it was for me. And when we did, we stopped, we paused everything. Marcus. Because they're like, we need to make sure this is real. We need to make sure we bought an actual property at an actual tenants in place that were creating some income and that we were able to pay our debt down. Like, is this even worth our time? And we sat on it for six to nine months. And after seeing it for that consistent amount of time, we started to gain the confidence, say, hey, let's go back at it and do another one.

Okay? Okay. So through a referral, you know, you found your turnkey provider. So. And the reason why I bring this up is because I'm affiliated with the largest REA in the country, which is asria Arizona Real Estate Investors Association. And we harp on and we tell people that being in the room is where things happen. Right? So just think if your wife wasn't going to the meetups, taking you to the meetups, you wouldn't have met this referral who then referred you to this turnkey provider. So everybody that's out there listening, and you want to get started in real estate or any industry, right? You got to be where the people are that's doing what you aspire to do. So Your wife is smart. She said, okay, well I want to do real estate. I'm gonna go where all of the people are doing real estate. So now was this regular meetup or was it a RIA kind of. What, what was the makeup of the group?

The majority of the group were flippers because Hawaii is such a very high appreciation state that, you know, cash flow is nearly impossible to do. Not impossible nearly. So most people tend to flip in wholesale. So that's what the majority of the makeup was in the group. However, those that were successful at flipping knew that buying hold and cash flow was another addition to their portfolio. To you, I guess you'd say offset the risk with flipping to have the consistency. So that's where they turned us on to turnkey. Because they didn't have the commitment to building teams out of state. They just knew the people to connect with to say, hey, I made this lump sum of money, let me go buy a couple of your properties. And they transition their profits to portfolio creation. And, and that's where we, we kind of learn from, I guess, flippers who did out of state investing. That's where the connection lied.

Yep. And that's, and that's very true because most people, when you get into real estate, they're similar to ucj. They're working a full time job and they like, man, how can I create passive income? Because everybody want mailbox money, as we call it, money to come in without us physically putting in time to do it. So you talk to most flippers, wholesalers, builders, whatever, they're, they're end game is to have mailbox money and that's that passive money to come in. So that's, that's very true. Flippers. I started out with wholesaling and flipping and then it was like, hey, you know what, I got all of this money coming in. I don't want to have to go out and work for it. Why don't I buy some rentals so the money could just automatically come in. And that's the whole psychology and psyche behind most real estate investors is you know what, let the money work for you and you not work for the money.

Safe to say, yes, very, very true. And, and that's what we saw in our market with the active, successful flippers is that they knew they get to find ways to create other sources because market shift for Flipper could change everything. And having that stability or foundational build of your portfolio supports the, the holding period that you may experience between markets.

And I can attest to that. Right. Because interest Rates jumped up the middle of last year. Right. And I was flipping and wholesaling, and then it's like crickets. Everything just stopped for a moment. But if it wasn't for my portfolio of rentals, I don't know what I would have did. So, guys, you out there listening, and I know that you're excited about wholesaling and fixing and flipping because it's transactional, right? It's moving and shakers. You're making things happen. But the real wealth is in the passive income because you have many quadrants where it helps you with taxes, it helps you with the debt, pay down, mortgage pay down. Again, it's passive income. You know, it's so many ways that it can help you to where you don't have to get out there and create that active income. So you guys got that first one right. I hope, cj, you looked at your wife and said, you know what? I'm a believer. Thank you, baby, for showing me the way.

I, I did in some, some sense. And I, I got eager to move further along with it. So I, I encourage, let's proceed forward. And that's what we did. The next year, we bought four more.

Okay. Okay. So you went from one to four. How was the cash flow on those properties? Because I know some people, they hear turnkey rentals, right? And sometimes it has a negative stigma because they figure, hey, you know what, the turnkey provider is making all of the money, and then the investor is kind of picking up, picking up the scraps. I'm assuming it was very profitable for you guys. That's why you went from one to four, correct?

Yes. And back, back when we started. And this makes me believe the whole, When's the best time to invest in real estate? 20 years ago? When's the next best time Now? Because that's, that's what it was, right? Back then, there was this thing called the 1% rule, where when you're buying property, if it's worth a hundred thousand, you're looking to gross a hundred, a thousand dollars in rent. That's the 1% rule you would kind of base your meals off of to say, I can cash roll. And we were actually bending the 1% rule with the turnkey providers because at that time they were still, you know, ups and downs in the market and not, not amazing deals like it was a few years ago, and we were able to hit that. So our cash flow per door, after all expenses, including debt Service, was around 250 to 300. So we're, we're Getting some pretty good cash flow in there compared to what you might see nowadays with the higher rates, you may not even get anywhere near 300.

Right. And like you said, that that is when it comes to the market shifts. And I tell people, you have to study and you have to know your market. Real estate is not just let me put some money in this asset and this asset is going to create a return. But you have to start studying your market and you have to go macro and micro because you can look at the overall picture of what's going on in the real estate industry as far as, hey, interest rates are at 7%. You know, everybody's dealing with that. But then market specific Indianapolis is different from St. Louis, which is different from Hawaii, which is different from Nashville. So you have to know each market independently.

Yes, very good. That's something that we, we like to encourage others to do too. Because, you know, using Hawaii as an example, you want cash flow. Does it make sense in that market? Run your numbers. The numbers don't lie. Math doesn't lie. It's either working or it doesn't. Well, if it doesn't shift, find a new market. Find a market that does support what you're looking to do.

True, true. And guys, it's not difficult to shift to a different market. Right. Just like CJ novice not knowing anything, they got started and said, you know what, we're going to go over to Indianapolis. Did you ever go over to Indianapolis and walk any other properties? No.

Never.

Right. Did you ever go to Indianapolis and screen any other tenants?

Nope.

No, never. Did you ever go over to Indianapolis and hang blinds or paint the rooms or anything? Never. But yet you was cash flowing on those properties in Indianapolis.

Yes, sir.

So you guys have to eliminate that limiting belief of I have to touch it, I have to feel it, I have to be there in order for it to work. C.J. and his wife is living proof that you don't have to do.

Yeah, it's a huge benefit to what we do because at least back at home in Hawaii, the tendency is, let me do everything. Well, everybody has a cap at some point. So what you're doing, self motivated, self driven, self rehab, self rent, whatever you want to call it, if you're not paying yourself, are your numbers accurate? And I get a lot of resistance and, and sometimes frustration and anger lashed out at me for asking that question. Because they want to, they want it to look better than it actually is. They're justified. Deal. Right. So if I'm property managing myself and I'm not paying myself 10% like I would. The market reminder would, am I really cash flowing and what is your time really worth? That's the key, is knowing the value of your time. And for me, I'm not an expert in property management, but that person I'm paying 10% is. And I can fold into that standard because now I'm paying somebody to provide a service, and if they don't provide it, I can give them feedback on or ask for them to, to do something different or simply move on to somebody new.

Yep. And. And I'm, I'm. I'm guilty of it. So, guys, I'm raising my hand. I'm guilty. When I started, my portfolio was like, I'm gonna do everything. I'm gonna save that 10% and keep that 10%. But then, you know, I moved and now I'm 1500 miles away and I was flying back and forth checking on things and I'm like, Marcus, what are you doing? You're a lot smarter than this. By the time you pay for round trip tickets, you know, maybe twice quarterly, you're eating up all your cash flow. Hire the freaking property manager and let them do it.

Yeah. And. And I'm guilty to it at some degree too. It just didn't look the same way as you. Right. I. I needed to control certain aspects where I'm not an expert in, and that didn't serve me. It cost me more money. The investment was learning that I get to trust and build teams. Because back to networking and reis, the business is a relationship driven business. Real estate is just a byproduct of relationship. I get my deals because I have connections with network, not because I'm direct to the property.

Yeah.

So having the mindset around building teams. I love the book Dan Sullivan wrote, who not how. Finding the who's who are the experts in that market. Who are my property managers, my lenders, my agents, my contractors, whatever. I may need somebody out there that's skilled, gifted, and focused only to do that service. Who is that person and how do I get in their space?

Yep. So if you guys haven't read that book, who not how, I highly recommend it. Right. Because that's one of the things that I lead off with is what's my goal? Who can help me reach this goal? Because I know if the goal is big enough, I'm not going to know what to do. I'm not going to know how to do it. So let me employ somebody that can help me get there in that direction. And I'm Assuming. Well, not assuming, but I know that this is what you and your wife does. Correct. You, you guys now have started because you, you have that expertise now. Now you're starting to show people how to do what you do, correct?

Yes, sir. It's, it's paying it forward. Somebody once did it to me, I get to do it too. And it's really focusing in on what I. People like to ask me, how do I find a good mentor or somebody that I should, should follow. Ask two questions. Do they have what you want to have and are they doing what you want to do? And if the answer is to yes, give them a shot. And the key to, to it too. On top of that is, is you get to be teachable. That's something I learned the hard way is I, I can't seek guidance from an expert and not be willing to, to do something uncomfortable. If they told me to do it and they're successful in it, why won't I do what they did? I get to do or emulate some level of what they did to achieve what they did. Being achieved. Right. And if not, why am I wasting their time? Because their time is valuable, you know, and understanding that, that value of time again, there it goes.

Yep, yep. And that's, and that's. And I can say this is one of the biggest mistakes that I see with newer investors that's getting started is because I educate as well and I say, okay, this is what you need to do as a group. We need to do X, Y and Z. One, two, and three. Well, they want to do three. One, two, A, B and C and not follow the path. I said, only thing you need to do is follow the path. You know, don't start thinking outside of the path until you master the basics. Once you master the basics now, you can specialize it to what you're trying to do. So, man, thank you, cj. Because you just, you just struck a chord with me on that one. Because I, I see the same thing.

Yeah. And you really think of it. I like to share with others, like just take any professional athlete or sport, they're still being guided by somebody gifted and skilled in a specific area that they get to be a student of. Even though they're at the top 1% of, of NFL, NBA, MLB. Right. They're still being coached and guided through things that they can improve on because there's always room for growth. If you can understand that. It's not a destination. It's, it's, it's a journey. Get comfortable with the Journey of learning and growing. Because you don't know everything and neither do I. And I don't ever want to, then that means I'm dying. Yeah, I've hit it all. I have nothing else to live for, you know.

So true, so true. So you, you and your wife got these five doors, right? And you're doing that. What did you guys do next after that? So you got five, got cash flow coming in. What was next?

Yeah, what was next was we got presented with our, one of our first major growth opportunities and that was we got turned away from mortgages. We weren't allowed to, to carry traditional mortgage anymore because of our dti. Debt to income was too high now that we had our primary and we had a bunch of rentals. So we got faced with the challenge of what's next. And for us, what's next was staying true to the goal. We didn't achieve financial independence yet. I wasn't able to replace my income from ups. And this is just a fork in the road that I get to learn from and I'm going to be grateful that I stuck with it. And that's what I kept repeating to myself even in the midst of fear that step encourage again, got to figure out something new. And what that new was was OPM or other people's money. Learning how to leverage other forms of capital that I may not have known was available to me prior because I relied on what I knew. What I knew is I qualified for mortgages because I had a good paying job until I didn't qualify. And that's what took us to the huge growth that we experience over the next couple years.

Okay, so kind of, let's, let's kind of unpack that and walk through that. Right? Because some people say, hey, you know what, I don't know how I, I feel uncomfortable asking people for money. I feel uncomfortable, you know, reaching out for people. So how, what was that process for you and your wife?

Cj, he's, the process was, is we found ourselves under contract on a 1212 unit portfolio acquisition that required all cash. That, that gave me the spark to start taking action on something I wasn't quite sure I wanted to do. And, and like you're saying all those questions around how do I, how do I, how do I came up and I had to make a decision on, you know, what I get to just do. And that's what I did. So I, I did anything I could think of to convince people why they should lend me money. And I learned a lot of lessons through that process, I eventually got it 27 days into the 30 day close we were able to ra half a mil. And I learned a lot of things that worked and I learned a lot of things that didn't work and I learned a lot about myself on who I was in the midst of pressure that I got to change or at least choose to be different in the future regarding raising capital.

So let's, let's, let's kind of break that down into two parts. Right. So what did work and then what didn't work? Right. Because I like to give people actionable next steps. So what were some of the things that you did that worked in order for you to raise? You know that 500k?

Yeah. What worked was coming from a place of not needing money. Like I'm presenting opportunity. So what, what I, what I continue to, to, to use as a teaching method for raising capital is it's always an opportunity for the people you're talking to. It's never a ask. I'm not asking for cash, I'm offering you an opportunity because that's what it was, an opportunity to invest in me and the product that I have, which is real estate. And that's what worked. What didn't work was asking, was chasing money, was being I guess you would say bullish in the presentation where you need this. So going back to what worked was respecting where people were at. Not everybody I talked to was ready to lend. Not everybody I was talking to saw opportunity in what I had to offer and being able to honor and respect them where they're at really worked work. What didn't was being pushy in moments of sure. Knowing that my crunch, my deadline was coming up. Right. So I had this sense of urgency around, well I gotta raise, I gotta raise, I gotta raise. And so I started calming myself and saying no, I just get to talk to more people. And that's what I ended up doing.

And what group did you start with? You know, was it that, that mentorship group that you were already in or was it more so family and friends or was it coworkers kind of. What was, what was that initial group that you started talking to?

Yeah, it was the people that, that trusted me the most first because I figured they would have the more open mindedness to an opportunity. Right. So it was family and friends. It was people that I knew for a long period of time, people that knew that I were in, I already was in real estate and I started having conversations there. And the funny thing is is I love encouraging people to start with family. And here's why. I got the most honest, brutal, honest feedback from them around my presentation, around what I was presenting. And I got a, I got a choice at that time to, to acknowledge that, you know what? I am bullish, I am pushy, I am not respecting people. Maybe I should shift to the other side. And it came from the feedback of family. And now most of my family saw no value in it, which then led me to going into, deeper into my network. Right? So I, I like to say it's like a ring of influence. You're just working the rings. Word. Because the farther out you go, the more challenging is, the more, More people you get to talk to, purely because you don't have that trust factor built in already.

So the family, they. And this is, this is great, man. C.J. this is, this is a great conversation. So the family didn't see the value. Was it because they didn't understand the value in real estate or was it they were scared? Scared.

They were scared. And that's a lot of what we're talking about in the beginning about hearsay, right? You hear about real estate being a scam. You hear about people getting burned and, and tricked into product. That's not real, right? And it, One of the things I like to share is, well, my, my, my cousin that was interested said that they wouldn't then because their friends, brothers, sisters, uncles, co workers and got scammed. And you know how far removed that is from them. But that's what they chose to buy into, which meant I didn't provide enough value and, or trust in my opportunity and my presentation for them to. They. They basically believed in that over what I brought. Now I get to improve on my presentation, get to improve on my approach, get to improve on my opportunity that I'm sharing with others to get them more confident in. Hey, yeah, that could have happened, but we don't know the situation. Here's what I have, and here's what it could look like.

Like, right, man. Very, very good. Very good. I like, I like talking about the raising private capital piece because again, you. Once you start becoming successful, you do run out of money, but the opportunities come, right? And then you, you're like, man, I really want to do this deal, but I don't have the capital. Now what. And you took that now what to say? All right, I need to start learning how to raise private capital capital now. Learning how to raise that. That private capital. Did you find a mentor for that or did you. How did you learn how to raise.

That private capital, your hard headedness. And I guess this is where my pride and ego served me for a short, short stint, was I'm not gonna let this portfolio go. I'm gonna find a way to raise money. And I've read a book, the Greatest salesman in the World, OG Mandino. And one of the the quotes from that book is, I will persist until I succeed. And that's what I would repeat. I will persist until I succeed. I will persist until I succeed. And that's what I did. So despite the shortfalls, despite the improper presentation or the asking of money, I just continued on and put through it. I committed to the end result. I wanted to create. And it took a lot of conversations, it took a lot of sleepless nights, and I did it. And once I did, there's that switch that clicks on saying, okay, you're capable, you have to do it again.

Okay. All right, great. So let's do this real quick. CJ let's take a brief break, hear a word from our sponsors. When we come back, I want to talk to you about how you and your wife are partnering together to help other people to come over, overcome those fears, to really get into real estate. So let's take a brief break, hear a word from my sponsors, and we will be right back.

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All right, guys, we are back with CJ Kalio and we were talking about raising private capital before we went on break. But now we're back and I really want to dive in, C.J. because a lot of people, you know, they face that roadblock where one spouse is ready to go, the other spouse is on the fence. You know, you guys work, work through it. But now you're starting to educate others on how to get into real estate. How exactly are you guys doing that?

Yeah, the thing about reaching a certain level of success, people notice. And that's what happened with us when we were achieving the growth of our portfolio. Periodically we would host meetups. We found value in, in wanting to create opportunity to meet people more often. And we didn't want to stay. Stay tied to what was only available currently. So we created our own meetup. And from there we got to share our story, we got to share our progress. We got to share our highs and lows, the lessons learned and what and successes we found. And people were interested because they. The funny thing is is there were so many people in the same boat as us of not wanting to trade time for money anymore. At their W2, they weren't happy. No amount of money would keep them happy at their profession. They wanted to know what are the other options? Because these things aren't really taught in school. And at the meetup, people would ask us, they would follow us. They would, they would insisting they say, hey, would you be willing to teach? And I never saw it as something I wanted to do. I didn't do well in school. I wasn't ever thinking I would be a teacher of some sort. And. And that's what it ended up stumbling into where I got challenged one day. It's like, well, what's your purpose beyond achieving leaving W2 your UPS job? That's a great question. No. Why can't I teach others to do the same if they're in the same boat as me? Why would I hold that in right? All the gifts of wisdom and knowledge and experience that I'VE gained over the years. Why would I keep that to myself? That's selfish. That is not abundant. And that came from my sister in law. And my sister in law really got the spark going where it's like, you know what, you have value, you have a story, you have something that people want and yearn for that. If you don't put it out there, you're going to miss your opportunity. And the keyword of a missing opportunity is what went boom. You know what, let's do this and that. That's what where it started. So in the beginning, it was just very small and, and, and intentional with a few people I was willing to work with. And present day, five years later, we're working with over a hundred people right now through forms of mentorship to, to get them to do what we do, to have what we have. And it's been fun, it's been a great journey, man.

That's excellent. That's excellent, C.J. so if somebody are you. So for your, you know, education, is it, you know, do they have to meet in person or can they be anywhere? Can they be in Indianapolis? Can they be in, you know, Nashville to work with you, or does it have to be local?

That's a great question, Marcus. And I have to say that one of the few things I, I saw value out of COVID was the ability to network over Zoom. We were doing it prior to and people thought it was silly. And because of that, we have been able to establish where we can cross anywhere, you know, so I have, I'm working with mentees that are in, in Virginia, in Texas, in Florida, in California, in Washington, in Hawaii. It's just spanned all over the country because of the ability to meet. And we do a lot of our program via Zoom on call and we, we get to network and work together as a collective because we've created a community now that provides support. So not only do you get access to me and my wife, you get access to alumni, people who have graduated from the program and that stay in the working are continuing to, to build their portfolio with the newer investors and we sprinkle in team members and other resources and networking opportunities to build what you want that will get you moving forward.

Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. Okay, so cj, how can we reach you? How can we come in contact with you in order to explore those opportunities?

Yeah, I mean, everybody's on social media, so why not me? So we have, our Instagram handle is at WN Properties. You can follow us there for all the latest Updates and, and so forth. And if you found like our my story or me and my wife's story resonates or hits home and you're just curious a little bit more about what we do in a nutshell, I'd like to give you a free gift. You just go to our website, why not now in realestate.com and claim your free PDF.

Okay, there you go, guys, right there. Why not now.com and claim your free PDF from CJ and his wife? Go there right now because we want you guys to get that because it's going to help you and it's going to lead you in the right direction. Okay, C.J. signing off here, man. Give us some words of encouragement for those people that were like you going to the meetup, got their arms folded, legs crossed, don't want to talk to anybody, but just there for moral support. What can you tell them or the people that are interested, like your wife, but just hit those roadblocks. What's some words of encouragement for those individuals?

The first thing that comes to mind is indecision is a decision. And then more is lost in indecision than making the wrong decision. So what I would encourage the newer investors or those that might be feeling stuck is. Is take action somewhere and stay true to the process long enough to create a result. And once you create the result, follow up with a debrief, review it, see how you liked it, what worked, what didn't, and what are you going to do next because of it? The thing about what we do is you always get to move, adjust, pivot, evolve, and grow. You're never going to stay stagnant. Well, what is the quote? Success is rented and rent is due daily. So you're putting in that work constantly, and that's how you achieve what you want to achieve.

There you go. Well, cj, it was a pleasure and an honor to speak with you, man. What we're going to have to do next time is we're going to make sure that your wife is on the call, right? Because I want to get her perspective as well. So this is an open invitation for your wife to reach out to me so she can be on the show and we can have you guys together because I know she has some dynamic stories that she can speak from a female's perspective and speak from us spouse's perspective. You know, going in with a husband that's kind of skittish on the fence about doing everything. So let her know she has an open invitation to be here on the show. Okay?

Absolutely, Marcus. And I appreciate the time you've given me.

Well, thank you so much. You all know exactly what to do. We gave you some key calls to action, right? Go out reach out friend like Follow Win Properties, that's WNN Properties. And go and claim your free gift. Reach out to cj, Let them know if he inspired you, if he motivated you, please let him know because these words of encouragement inspire us and keep us doing what we love to do, which is to teach, educate and reach out to you all. So it's Marcus Maloney ending this We Love Equity Real Estate show with another successful guest gift, CJ Calio of Wynn Wynn Properties. And thank you so much for being here and it was my pleasure.

Thanks Marcus.

Thank you for listening to today's show. I picked up some great actionable items and I'm sure you did as well. If so, let me know. You can always reach me via social media@facebook.com mrcsmolec Twitter rcsmalone and of course IG rcsmalone. You can also always reach me via emailmeloniquityri.com make sure you reach out to our guests as well. You can always find their contact information in the show notes below. If you have not subscribed already, what are you waiting for? Join the family. And while you're at it, leave us a five star review. This is how we tell if we're providing you with what you need for your journey. If there is someone you would like for me to interview, or if there's a subject matter you would like for me to cover, please let me know. Finally, if you're looking for additional information about real estate investing, go to equityrealestateblog.com also YouTube.com Marcus Maloney until next time family. Always enjoy the journey. Sam.