Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? Did you have any particular experiences/stories that shaped your adult life?

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I was born in Toronto. We moved to San Francisco in 2001, my parents bought a house and were living the “American dream.” Some of my best memories growing up were of me picking plums out of my neighbors’ plum trees, putting them in a wheelbarrow, and selling them to the entire neighborhood. This was one of the first times when my parents realized that I was a true entrepreneur. That memory has stuck with me to this day and I love to share it with people.

What is something you wish you would’ve realized earlier in your life?

I wish I would have realized that when you start a business, you have to love the product. You can’t like it or think that it is okay. You must love it and believe that it really can help solve a problem. I think this is important because then when you do go out there to sell that product, it doesn’t become a sales pitch anymore because you are speaking from the heart.

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?

“Invest in your local area” is one that I hear all the time in the real estate world, and it doesn’t make any sense at all. I live in Los Angeles now and homes here are $1-2M for something very basic. If I were to invest here, I would need hundreds of thousands of dollars. Instead, I can invest out of state and buy that same home in Memphis for $100,000 and it makes money while I sleep. Now, why would I invest in California?

Tell me about one of the darker periods you’ve experienced in life. How you came out of it and what you learned from it?

One of the darkest periods of my life was when I had terrible vertigo for about a year. I couldn’t go to school, I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do anything. It took about a year of my life away. It made me understand what it felt like to be injured and unable to move. Now that that has passed, I am grateful every day to be able to even walk and stand up and feel okay or good. I don’t even need to feel great every single day. As long as I can walk around and do what I need to do, that is good enough for me.

What is one thing that you do that you feel has been the biggest contributor to your success so far?

I think one of the things that have been the biggest contributor to my success would be my work ethic. I never give up I’m always looking for different solutions to problems. I never had let any roadblocks stop me. Especially in Real Estate, there are so many different ways to invest in Real Estate that it can become overwhelming and there are many different methods that you need to go through before you figure out the best real estate method for you. I’ve tried everything and never gave up until I found out of state turnkey rental properties.

What is your morning routine?

I begin my day by waking up at 7 AM. I make a cup of coffee and sit at my computer for the next couple of hours handling emails before I have my breakfast.

What habit or behavior that you have pursued for a few years has most improved your life?

One habit that I think has helped me tremendously would be working out a couple of times a week. It has been very difficult throughout the pandemic to continue to work out but I have gotten creative. Working out really lets me open up my mind to get my mind away from work so that I can come back to work with a fresh mindset and not be enamored with the stress of the job.

What are your strategies for being productive and using your time most efficiently?

I think one of the best apps that I signed up for was Calendly. This app really helps me schedule my time and helps me book phone calls so that people don’t overlap phone calls or anything like that. I got sick and tired of figuring out the best time to chat with somebody over email and figure there must be a better way. So Calendly has been that solution for me and it’s been amazing. I never have to worry about scheduling a phone call again.

What book(s) have influenced your life the most? Why?

One book that I have read recently that really changed my life was Sell it Like Serhant by Ryan Serhant. It was a great book about sales and how to sell without being “salesy.” Being an entrepreneur, you need to sell. But I hate going out there and annoying people with my product or service. So, his book really broke it down on how you can sell your products without being “salesy.”

Do you have any quotes you live by or think of often?

One of my favorite quotes is “Don’t go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”