Real Estate TV Show Producer Talks The Reality Of Investing | Brad Holcman - The A Game Podcast: Real Estate Investing For Entrepreneurs

Episode Transcript
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(00:13):
Welcome to the A game podcast with NickLaMagna, digging into the minds and
experiences of some of today's brightestentrepreneurs in real estate and
business, along with Hollywood stars, UFCfighters, and your favorite rock bands.
People that have figured out how toovercome obstacles, take chances,
live boldly, and no matter what theydo, they always bring their A game.

(00:48):
All right.
My guest today on the a gamepodcast is Brad Holtzman and
the whole point of this show.
Is to show you that ordinarypeople can achieve extraordinary
things every single day.
And this episode is no different.
Just the 300 plus episodes we havewith multimillionaires, athletes,
entrepreneurs, fighters, and allkinds of people who have done amazing
things can show you the path on howyou can overcome obstacles, mindset,

(01:10):
all kinds of insecurity things.
Avoid some of the mistakes that they sharewith you and benefit from the lessons
that have helped them To now help youand if those episodes are not enough
brad is an a& e exec who's behind someof the greatest shows there triple digit
flip 50 50 flip Zombie flipping withdolmar cross jameel danji pace morby.
He was behind sons of anarchybrickleberry all kinds of different shows.

(01:30):
If you look up his resume, hewas nominated for four Emmys.
The guy is incredible.
And he has now transitioned and takenthe stuff where he was behind the camera
for some of your favorite reality shows.
And then he's now actually doing reality.
himself by becoming areal estate investor.
So incredible guy.
And we just had such a greatconversation that we almost went at
half hour before and half hour afterstill weaving without recording.

(01:53):
So this was something thatreally hit home for me.
It was a fantastic conversation.
I thought he brought up amazing pointsand we spent probably a third of
the time talking about really goodprinciples of people in business.
Another third of the time talkingabout reality TV, how to get a TV show.
What you need, what it's like talkingabout some of the things he's been pitched
and just a really fun conversation.
And then we finish off really talkingabout what he's doing in real estate,

(02:15):
why he's doing it in real estate andsome lessons that you can take away,
whether you're new, experienced,advanced, whatever it might be.
This is going to be a fantasticepisode for you to listen.
And the only fee for this show isfor you guys to please subscribe.
The subscription goes a long wayand just by you guys engaging on the
algorithm and going and subscribingto the podcast changes everything and
allows us to continue to do this show.

(02:37):
So it is available everywhere youwatch and listen to your podcast.
Please subscribe to our YouTube.
Please subscribe to our podcast.
If you don't know how tofind it, just go to nick.
com slash links.
L I N K S. And look for theA game podcast, real estate
investing for entrepreneurs.
And of course, please follow us onsocial media, interact the way that
Brad knows that he got value and gavevalue is by you interacting with some

(02:59):
of the posts I made from this episode.
Most of you are scrolling allday on social media anyway.
Take a minute, engage share,tag a friend, give a thumbs up.
And it shows Brad.
That he gave value to you guys andthat he can pass on to other people
to come on and continue to giveyou guys free great information.
But the big thing here is Iwant to do real estate together.
So whether you would liketo buy real estate from me.

(03:19):
Sell real estate to me or partnertogether on some level, please contact
me either by sending me the words realestate through your social media, or
just text me the words real estate to 51 6 5 4 0 5 7 3 3 5 1 6 5 4 0 5 7 3 3.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate Brad coming on.
I appreciate you guys.
Shout out to James Dana.

(03:40):
We talk about him a lot this episode, agame podcast and have a fantastic day.
All right, my guest today on theA Game podcast is a man of many
talents who has earned his blackbelt in many aspects of his life.
And continues to have a whitebelt mentality growing up in
Detroit by way of LA, New York.
He is now fighting out of Charlotte, NorthCarolina, and he has made quite a name

(04:03):
for himself in the world of television,entertainment, and storytelling.
Going from Fox 21, working on showssuch as Sons of Anarchy and Homeland,
then making the jump to A& E as anexecutive producer of such shows as 60
Days In, Intervention, and dozens more.
He took the reins for Homemade Nation,where he was responsible for the
widely popular genre of real estatebased TV shows, including Triple
Digit Flip with our buddy, Spike.

(04:23):
Pace Morby and Jamil Danji, 24 hour flip,50 50 flip, Rachel Ray's rebuild, Zombie
House flipping with my buddy DolmarCross, and he even recently signed and
onboarded a show with Reese Witherspoon.
As if climbing that mountaintopmany times was not enough, he is now
reinventing himself again and beginninghis own journey going from the small
screen to the real estate scene.

(04:45):
As a real estate investor helping peopleout of a pickle, his business C& E
Homes is becoming known as a big dill.
He is a baseball player, a volunteerfirefighter, a four time Emmy nominee, a
father, a husband, a Peloton sensation.
He has mastered the evolution of thedance and the art of storytelling.

(05:05):
Please welcome to the A Gamepodcast, my buddy, Brad Holtzman.
Welcome, sir. I will be sending that to myparents as soon as I get a copy of this.
Thank you.
Holy cow, when you put it in oneparagraph I guess I've done a few things
and I've loved every second of it.
So thank you for that unbelievableintro and thank you for having me.

(05:26):
Man, thank you for gracing uswith your presence today, dude.
You are a class act.
You were very nice to me aboutrearranging this stuff and
being patient and cool about it.
I'm very happy to get asecond opportunity, but you're
usually the guy behind the guy.
So I love being able to geta little bit of your story.
So I know there's definitely someholes in there that I missed.
So for somebody who is maybe notfamiliar with your journey of who
you are and where you came from,can you give us a quick snapshot?

(05:50):
Yeah.
So I am from Detroit.
I always have a Detroit mentality.
We work hard, we care deeplyfor others and family first,
and that's the Detroit attitude.
After Detroit I went tothe University of Michigan.
I went in, I went to LA andfollowed a girl out to la.
As a result of that experience, Iended up entertaining in entertainment.

(06:12):
When you're in LA, the businessmeans entertainment, so you
can't help, but fall into it.
And what I found was Ireally loved creating.
I really loved developing television,specifically television, and had
a unbelievable run out in LA.
was part of the beginnings ofHomeland in the room when Sons

(06:32):
of Anarchy was created and boughtand oversaw a few seasons of that.
Brickleberry was an animated show,but really my transition was when
I also ran all of the unscriptedshows at the studio at Fox.
and got to experience how to createunscripted shows, which is very
different than scripted shows, whichled me the other side of the country

(06:56):
to New York, a place I would neverlive in until I went to my wife and
said, would we ever move to New York?
And she said, yeah.
And I looked at her, she's from Pasadena.
Went to University of Michigan, neverknew she had a love of New York, but
she had a love of the suburbs of NewYork, which is where we ended up, and I
found myself at A& E Television Network,and over the course of A& E, we I was

(07:18):
able to help create and develop someof the really distinctive different
shows, all of which which is really mybrand of entertainment with a purpose.
So, really strong, entertainingfront shows, and I'm really But they
really did have a purpose, whichbrought me into the home shows.
I was handed the home showsat A& E about three years ago
which had a good slate of shows.

(07:40):
And I saw it as an opportunity to createa new business and and evolve a brand.
So all of the shows thatyou said, it's funny.
I sometimes even forget some ofthe shows that I was a part of.
But it's been really fun.
And that was really what introducedme into the real estate world.
The real estate world has a verydifferent breed of individual.
And whether it's because I was thehot girl in the room because I was

(08:04):
able to put people on TV, I got toexperience the best of the best.
And I saw these individuals as incrediblehumans, people that care deeply for
each other and the industry, caredeeply to help people through many
times the worst days of their lives.
And as a result of all the goodand all they give, and with
a heart first mentality, Theyalso made a little bit of money.

(08:26):
And I'm here sitting at a W 2.
I have a good salary, but Ididn't have control over my day.
I didn't have control over my salary.
And I saw all these individuals, not justliving a great life, because they earned,
somebody says this line, earn your views.
And I knew that I never reallyearned my views because it was

(08:47):
somebody else that gave me the money.
It was a W2 environment.
So I said, you know what, I'mgoing to earn my views and decided
I'm going to take all of thelearnings I have from 20 years.
Of producing content.
I'm going to do something with itspecifically within the real estate world
And I also want to invest with my realestate friends, which it wasn't illegal

(09:08):
But I wasn't going to do it while Ioversaw if i'm going to invest with pace
and jamil and james standard and all thefolks That i'm in business with I probably
shouldn't do it while I'm also their boss.
So as soon as I left I placed a few callsand a couple of calls came to me and that
started my real estate investment journey.
And right now I'm blending the two worldsin my various endeavors, which that

(09:30):
couldn't be happier, but it also couldn'tbe more stressful and anxiety ridden,
but I'm feeling again and I really do.
I had a great career.
I love my colleagues.
I love the companies.
I would never change a day out of it.
I'm so proud of the work I've done andthe relationships I've built as a result.
But now I'm super excited to take all ofthat and move the ball forward in both,

(09:54):
content, helping others with their brand.
And also I will absolutely beon the biggest stages in the
country talking about real estate.
That's so cool, man.
And shout out to James Daynard, man.
I have had some rockstars on this podcast.
That guy's a rock star.
If people don't know who he is like yourfavorite real estate investors, favorite
real estate investor is James Daynard.
He may have a show coming out soon, which.

(10:18):
That was one of my lastcommissions as an A& E executive.
I'm very grateful to say he's a goodfriend of mine and I'm investing with him
as well, and hopefully helping him takehis business even more of the next level.
We're very blessed to surround ourselveswith the best people that we can.
We're both part of a group togetherthat boy, it's, it really is.

(10:40):
Proximity is everything.
Proximity is power and you can't help,but want to do more for others when you're
in a seat and a room full of people doingit through helping other people as well.
So it's been awesome.
It's been great.
I love that, man.
So we were talking a little bit offlinebefore we got on here and I said,
you're the perfect guest because whatI tell my students over the years is

(11:01):
at this point of my life, not becauseI'm some cool guy, but just because.
I've always kept peopleand I'm a people collector.
I don't throw away relationships.
So I've had the same best friendssince I was in kindergarten.
And when you're friends with peopleyour whole life that work their
butts off, eventually they becomesuccessful and then they introduce
you to their other successful friends.
So I'm lucky enough now to be in someof the circles like you're in where I

(11:22):
have friends that are UFC champions,they're movie stars, they're actors,
they're comedians, they're astronauts.
And what I tell people iseverybody that grew up.
Or doing things that wegrew up thinking were cool.
Every one of them now wants to talkto me about investing in real estate.
And that was what you were saying islike all these people that people like,
man, what that person does is cool.
Their new love is like real estate.
So you mix these perfect worlds together.

(11:44):
And I think that you are a very unique.
Individual because I've been listeningto you a lot over the last few weeks,
and I feel like you have this verydifferent gift where your job is to be
listening to people to find out wherethe story is and if it's a story you can
market, which I feel like is somethingmost people don't do is listen enough,
everybody's just waiting to talk.

(12:06):
But you're also a great storyteller.
So I don't usually find somebodythat's a good talker, because they're
talking too much more than listening.
And I also don't Meet a lot of peoplethat are successful that all they do is
talk because they're never listening.
Where is that fine line?
And how have you found being a goodlistener and being a good storyteller?
Once you get that nice blend, how has thathelped you in both of your businesses?

(12:29):
Well, thank you for that.
I appreciate that as a verynobody's ever said that about
me and about an individual.
So I really appreciate that.
I think it comes from frankly, whatI've been doing my entire career.
If I only spoke, I would be producingthings that I would want people to watch.

(12:50):
If I only listened I would never be ableto show people some of the most amazing,
great people in what they do in the world.
So the only way for me to create anddevelop what people want is for me
to listen to who they are, and thenalso listen to my audience and what
they want, and then tell that story.

(13:12):
But based on the actual world thatI'm hearing and listening from
and then able to tell an audience,so it requires listening 1st.
100 percent of the time.
I know.
And I'm rolling my eyes is that I'mabout to say this, but you have 2 years.
And one mouth for a reason.

(13:33):
It almost sounds like a dad jokethat's just gone flat, but it's true.
So I honestly, I really consciously tryto listen two times more than I talk.
I'm also a talker.
And when you do talk you also learnwhat works and what doesn't work.
So talking is practice.
And if you're not practicing, you'renever going to be able to tell a story.

(13:55):
So for every story that works.
There's probably 10 more that doesnot, but it just takes the reps in.
So I'm also a study, I love to read.
I love to listen to podcasts and I lovewhen they're incredible storytellers.
And I really listen to storytellers,not just to consume that story, but to

(14:16):
understand how they're telling the story.
I was speaking at my cam rightsinvestor fuel conference.
And it's funny because Itold a story about creating
distinct and different content.
I get down on the stage and Mike gotup and talked about the hero's journey.
And a couple of times, he'slike, why did I pick this?
Why there's Brad in the room?
This is what he lives for.
He's who he is.

(14:36):
And my response was it is.
But not enough people know it.
And until everybody understands howjourneys are told, or stories told
through entertainment, but also tounderstand somebody's life, let's keep
telling that story over and over again.
Because that framework has such a value.
Ultimately, I can onlycreate what somebody wants.

(14:58):
I can't create what I want.
That is not a businessthat converts whatsoever.
So, until we understandthere is a journey.
There is something thatour audience wants.
Our job is to give them what theywant based on the skill set we have.
Keep listening.
And also, when you listen and something isamiss, you need to change course quickly.

(15:18):
So we've done that in television a lot.
We are very quick to pullsomething and to be a failure.
And there's been very fewinstances in entertainment where
things don't hit right away.
And then all of a sudden they hit later.
That's very few incidents thateverybody will bring up friends.
Friends is a perfect example.

(15:39):
It should have been canceledin the first season.
But there was somebody that believedin it, but also why that lasted is
because it wasn't creatively bad.
It just didn't connectwith an audience yet.
So they looked at it, they made somerevisions, put a little bit more
marketing muscle into it, and all ofa sudden it hits in the second season.
Seinfeld as well.
Seinfeld has a massive storywhere again, it should have been

(16:01):
canceled, did the same thing.
So very few things will qualifyunder it's creatively brilliant.
It's just not hitting, but whenthat does, you have to understand,
but also pull the plug quick.
It's not about you.
Who cares if you're hurt?
All that matters is are we doing somethingto appease the other side and listening
to our customers, listening to thepeople that are going to consume our

(16:22):
products, buy our products and feed themmore and more until they stop buying.
And then we move on.
Dude, there is so many good parallelsyou pulled out of that I don't even know
which one to start with, but you bringup a few other really good examples
of not quitting when you're down.
That's why I love like jujitsuis my thing where there's so many
parallels where like when you weretalking about listening and actually

(16:44):
listening, not just waiting to talk.
It's almost like jujitsu where I don'tknow what my next thing is going to
be until they give me something andI have to react to what I'm given.
So I always have to bealert for I don't know.
Are you coming light?
Are you coming left?
You're going for my neck.
You're going for my head.
But I feel like that translates intoconversation is if you're zoning off,
just worrying about what you're going toget, then the person asked you something.
You're like, I don't know.
And you freeze up.

(17:05):
But then when you get discouraged iswhen you have a tough day and you quit.
And like you said, all these greatsuccess stories, especially we were
talking family guy before this.
I'm obsessed with family guy.
I was the guy who Watch the firstepisode when it was on I think during
the Superbowl for one show and then Ihad Everybody come up to my college and I
would just download them which took fivedays to download like one episode at the

(17:27):
time And I would just force people towatch it and then it got cancelled I don't
think people even remember that family guywas literally cancelled and I think it was
one of the only shows in history That thefans like fought back and there was these
petitions going around and I was sendingit to everybody and it came back and
now I think they just had the 26 years.
So I guess my followup question to youis when you're having those tough days

(17:48):
or those failures or their projectsthat don't work, what is some of the
positive mental talk or the lessons orthe mantras you tell yourself to keep
yourself fighting and not quitting?
It's hard.
Those are your darkest and lowest days.
And I really do believeit's okay to have a bad day.
It's okay to not be okay.

(18:10):
Not every day has to be a 10.
If somebody's gonna askyou, how was your day?
It's actually okay to be honestand say, well, not so great today.
Which is, by the way, the otherperson's fear, because now you have
to have a conversation about it.
But then you follow it up by saying,I know you didn't want to hear that.
You wanted me to say it's fine.
I wanted to be honest with you.
We don't have to talk about it.

(18:30):
I'm here.
I'm present and I'm lucky tohave this conversation with you.
I think you have to qualify that,but you have to trust your past.
You have to trust where you come from.
Self doubt is real.
It's big, but then theopposite also is big.
is that internal talk.
If you have self negative talk,it will bring you down, but

(18:53):
positive talk will bring you up.
I have had a, I would sayamateur meditation practice
for the last year or so.
So I'm not a veteran by any means.
I only do it for a now up to15 minutes, which is not long.
But it's longer than zero, gets me up inthe morning, and I do positive meditation.

(19:15):
Almost borderline affirmation.
It's not affirmation, butit's a positive meditation.
Because I know that in thisentrepreneurship world,
which I'm every day is new.
I have to build myself up.
I have to trust the journey that I've beenbuilding for 20 years is leading me to
this and has organically led me to this.
So when somebody doesn't respondquickly, or something is a no,

(19:38):
or this whole journey that I wenton all of a sudden falls flat.
I'm here for a reason.
I'm very blessed and lucky to behere, and let's keep planting seeds.
Let's plant seeds every day.
So, I do this I play tennis andI play baseball, but I also play
tennis now four days a week.
And that is a very lonely sport sometimes.
And I play doubles, butI also play singles.

(20:00):
And I have found, and I do thisin baseball too, every time I'm
at the bat, I talk to myself.
I said hit in baseball, and I, itjust sounds frou, but it works.
When I'm having a bad game, Igo up to that box and I'm like,
you're going to crush the ball.
You're going to hit that ball so hardthat the cover is going to fly off.

(20:22):
You're going to, younever talk negatively.
about the other person, you aretalking positively about what
you have somewhat control over.
Tennis, same thing.
Tennis for me, I live in the moment.
So it's not about the game score.
It's not about 40 30.
It's about winning this point.
And at the end of the day, ifyou win one more point than your

(20:43):
opponent, you're going to win.
That's all you have to do.
It doesn't have to be anything more.
So that's where in days, justwin one more time, find that win.
And also, I forgot to mention,in addition to my meditation,
I do a gratitude practice.
And yes, there's all thisscience that backs it up.
I know nothing about the science.
I know nothing about all the studies.

(21:03):
What I do know is, when I, that's thesecond thing I do after meditation.
I Give thanks and grateful and gratitudetowards three things or people depending
on the day and to wake up and be gratefulfor something and someone else right away
just puts you in a different mindset.

(21:24):
So, if I have that bad day, I knowI started with something good,
and you always can fall back onit so I think the big lesson is.
is your worst day is going to happen.
It's how you deal with it.
That makes it a very good day.
When you look back on it, nothinggood has happened out of just being
happy all the time, adversity and andgetting through all of the tough days

(21:49):
and seeing that wall in front of youand going, how can I break it down?
Versus Just get bouncing, from the wallof the wall or that when it was with
the animal houses where the marchingband just kept marching and marching.
It didn't do anything about it.
Don't be that, find a way andfigure it out and move forward.
I have a bracelet that's justtalks about, better every day.
It's not 1 percent every daybecause I also think maybe some days

(22:11):
it's not 1%, but just be mindfulabout being better every day.
So, yeah it's hard, it's okay,it sucks, it's the worst, but
we've all been through it.
The last thing I'd say is, if you, notfriends, But network, I think a network
and friends are two different things.
If you have a network and you havesomebody else going through it, like

(22:32):
you, maybe an accountability partner,it's always good to have somebody to
reach out to, could be your wife, couldbe, a friend, it could be a colleague,
somebody but also to get it out ofyour system, probably a good thing.
I don't journal, but I believejournaling also is a way to just get
it out, get that, all that out of you.
But yeah, to stew and just, Let it justfester inside is probably the worst thing.

(22:54):
If you have been kicking yourself thatyou didn't start investing in real
estate sooner, whether you're beginner,intermediate, or advanced, any way
you're looking to get out of residential,commercial, land development, wholesaling,
fix and flips, whatever it is, let'sfind a way to get you involved in some
projects, get you some properties, whetheryou want to sell some properties to me.
Whether you want to buy some propertiesfrom me, whether residential, fix and
flip, cashflow, multifamily, whateverit is you're looking for, is figure

(23:16):
out a way to get you involved or find away for us to partner up on some deals.
Reach out to me on any ofmy social media channels.
If you go on www.
nicknicknick.
com slash links, you will see allthe different ways to connect with
me and figure out how we can startto work together, make it happen.
Everybody that invests inreal estate always just says
they wish they did it sooner.
Best time to start is today.

(23:38):
I agree with that, man.
That's such amazing advice, dude.
You I understand why you're sogood at what you do now, but your
words are just so articulate andyou paint such a good picture.
And I feel like you're saying allthe things that I wish I could say.
You're just saying them better.
So I appreciate whatyou're saying there, man.
And you bring up anotherreally good point.
So obviously, Business, TV,entertainment, real estate, money.

(23:59):
It's a business, but there'semotions that get tied into that.
And I tell people very often thatas much as you're in real estate to
make money, you can get in the game,but if you want to stay in the game,
it's not just about money, it's aboutpeople and it's about relationships.
And I'm very guilty of trying to be apeople pleaser and sometimes I shy away.
from hard conversations, or I don't saythe thing up front, and then I wish I

(24:21):
would have said it later, and I thinkbeing able to find a nice way to be
direct, and having to have those, it'slike what we call the band aid, you
pull it off, it's things for a second,but if you keep putting it off, it's
going to bother you forever, and so,on both sides of that, I would like
to hear how, because you brought upsomething earlier, once, it's good.
I imagine you're really good at givingbad news in a way that just give it

(24:42):
because there's people that come up toyou and they think they have these great
shows or maybe a show gets canceled orit not gets not picked up and you just
have to have the tough conversation.
So my first question is as a leader,what are some examples or tips you
can give to have tough conversationsor maybe some reasons of why you
need to have them because this iswhat can go wrong if you don't.
And then my other part to that is nowthat you're new on the other side of that

(25:06):
as well as being a people pleaser, wetalked earlier about feedback and about
taking feedback and taking criticism.
And you said, Hey, when you havea show get canceled or a deal
go bad, you take those lessons.
You take that feedbackand you build from it.
And I feel like with real estate,like I could tell you, Hey, Brad, the
colors that you're picking, they suck.
And you'd be like, well, Nick's justa jerk, but then you put it on the

(25:26):
market and five or 10 people go see it.
And then the feedback from the clientsare I love the house, but the color sucks.
And I'm like, well, look, did I toldyou, and now you changed the color.
So sometimes you need that feedback.
But I know people that have ahundred people walk through our house
and say, Hey, the kitchen's ugly.
I don't want to buy it.
I'm gonna buy the house next door.
And it sits in the market for 10 monthsbecause they don't take the feedback.

(25:47):
They don't take the criticismand they don't want to adjust.
So giving feedback and taking feedback.
I would love how you do that as aprofessional and as a gentleman.
It's funny you say when you're talkingabout the giving feedback outside
of entertainment, I'm really badat having those hard conversations.
I have never had to make money.

(26:10):
I have never had to make money.
When you're a W 2 employee, you do a job,that job response and reward is a salary.
So 150 percent one week, I get my salary.
If I perform at 50percent, I get my salary.
There is no deviation whatsoever.
Now, over time, there may be, you may getfired, or you may get a reduction in pay,

(26:33):
or you may get a bonus and a promotion.
But that doesn't happen every day.
That happens once a year.
Once it's, they're long games.
But in the entrepreneurialworld, If you don't show up,
you're probably not making money.
And if you do show up at 150%, you'regoing to be rewarded for it eventually.
So having those hard conversations,I haven't figured out.

(26:54):
I have not in entertainmentand maybe this is where your.
listening to me andhearing me will help me.
I've always put that personon the other side of the table
in the shoes that I was in.
I have, I don't know if it's EQ or ifit's empathy or whatever it is I was

(27:17):
the person on the other side of thetable that I would prepare for weeks
and months just to have a conversationwith somebody that now I'm in the role.
And I know the people that sat withme on the same side of the table and
held my hand and talked me throughand made me a better person, those
are the people that I'm aligned with,and the people that would just give

(27:38):
no without reason are the people thatI just don't surround myself with.
So when I became that other personof authority for 12 years, My only
job was to make whoever's sitting onthe other side of the table better.
And if it was better because we madethe show better and it got commissioned
and we're in the fifth season, or ifit was the worst idea in the world and

(28:02):
I'm the one that tells them, probablynot a great idea and here's how to make
it better, but saying that probably notworth your time, what else do you have?
And it's one of those thingswhere the honesty, I do not
come from a business of honesty.
I come from a business of, I'm notgoing to respond to your email, I'm not
going to pick up your phone call, I'mgoing to have somebody else tell you no.

(28:26):
And I got frustrated with that.
I don't think that'sfair to the other person.
It was never fair.
So I never wanted to be that person.
I never was.
I had a lot of colleagues thatweren't that person, definitely.
And those are the people thatI surrounded myself with.
But, We know being on the other sideof the table, we want to hear the no,
and we want to understand why therewill be people on the other side of

(28:47):
the table that will not take that.
No, we'll not take that advice.
That's not your fault.
That's not on you.
That's on them.
But if you don't start the conversation,or you're in a proactive position
to help them, then it's there.
It's on them.
But I think it's our duty whenwe have these hard conversations.
Transcribed to deliver honesty in a verymindful and kindful way because I want

(29:12):
on this planet to make everybody thatinteracts with me better than they were
before because I also expect the same.
I want them to make me a better person.
I want them to show up.
So in terms of giving feedback,that's in terms of taking feedback.
One of the darkest days of my careerwas when I had a 360 degree assessment.

(29:34):
And what that is you havepeople that are at your level.
Your colleagues that see you day today, colleagues that don't talk to
you day to day, that see you fromafar, and then people that are your
junior execs, so slightly belowyou, and then your senior execs.
And they all talk to thisthird party about you.

(29:56):
And it's all about soft skills,and it has nothing to do with,
are you a good creative executive?
It wasn't about that at all.
It was about leadership, communication,management, all of the things.
And, holy cow, when I got myfeedback, there was one common
thing that everybody said.

(30:17):
It blew me away becauseI did not see it at all.
So I was in a positionto do one of two things.
I didn't know at all that wassomething that I was doing.
And it was a little bit aboutme talking a bit more of myself.
That other and this was years agobefore I even touched real estate and

(30:39):
I unintentionally would put myself in aposition just a slightly above the other
person, something never in a millionyears what I ever was intended to do.
But clearly the response was thereso I could have said, that's not my
intention, that's not me, I'm notgoing to change anything it's just
you guys it's just you guys it's onyou, but the whole point of a 360.

(31:01):
is to hear things that otherwise youwouldn't hear and then change as a result.
So instantly, I was like, okay,and I knew who all the people were.
I didn't know exactly who said what.
But I knew for me, what can I do?
to be better, not prove them wrong.
I never want to prove anybodywrong, I think that's spiteful,

(31:23):
I think that's just bad energy.
I just want to be strong, and Iwant to be the best person I can be,
and I want to see people, I want tohave somebody go up to me and say,
wow, holy cow, what improvement?
Or, how quick did you understand andlisten, and then you took that action?

(31:45):
And that's what happened, as Iwas able to Really listen, I was
crying in my office with a thirdparty individual for a good hour.
And I cry because my grandpa's asoftie and my, my, my family's a bit
of a softie, but it's like dad cry.
You're so happy for something.
This was not dad cry.
This was like, am I going to get fired?

(32:06):
And it wasn't because the whole purposeof it is to make you a better person.
And then took me a day, I gotup the next day and I'm like,
what today am I going to do?
So that the perception is completelyopposite of what I was told.
And the feedback that I receivedwas the best feedback in the world.
I think it was within two weeksthat it was like night and day.

(32:27):
Now what does it also do tothat other person, to the
people that gave the feedback?
It gave them permission to give morefeedback and be honest and open because
you want to help people that listenand take that and change as a result.
I want to help people.
So when people help me and I don'tcome through, that's two strikes.
One on me because I was able toreceive, but also on that other

(32:50):
person, they took the time tohelp me and to give me feedback.
And I didn't take that and Ididn't take it into action.
So I'm very consciousof when that happens.
But, and I think people should too,people call it constructive criticism.
I just think it should be criticism.
I construct ism is just like puttinga fancy bow on something that's.
Needs to be done.
It's the band aid, like just tellsomebody don't be afraid, and it's hard.

(33:14):
I don't do it with everybody partiallybecause I'm probably worried about
how they're going to take it.
You know what they're going to do.
Some people don't have thatskillset and I don't expect them to.
And I always say to all of thepeople that I work with, and even
just after I, I'm helping somebody.
in their business planand coaching them through.
My first time I've ever done it.

(33:37):
I probably asked her more questionslike what can I do better?
Is this something that I want tomake sure we are so well aligned?
And that was one of her best likecompliments to me was you are so in
tune with me and how I'm thinking.
There is no gray because you're askingthe question before even thinking about
it so that we go through this journeytogether in the right way to both advance.

(33:59):
So being mindful to of askingfor feedback and being open
to feedback being proactive.
We know those people that donot want feedback whatsoever.
You're not going to break them.
But we also know people that need thefeedback, and you're unsure, and just to
put one, if you're that person, be opento the feedback and be proactive, is
there anything that I could do better?

(34:19):
I, after every speech, or every talk,or if anybody asks me to do something,
I always ask what can I do better?
How can I be better?
What more can I do?
I always want to improve.
Be that person, so that when you'redoing something really bad, before
it ever blows up, somebody's pulledyou to the side and say, Hey, I
know you've been open to feedback.

(34:39):
Can I give you this feedback?
And be that person that goes, absolutely.
And then change as a result.
Don't be the person that doesn'tchange their paint color.
When somebody tells you.
Don't be that.
I told you so person.
Just go ahead.
Now, the other person may not always bevalid, but surround yourself with people

(35:02):
that you want to be surrounded withthat are experts, that are appreciative
of your efforts, understand, knowyou they're the ones that are going
to be your best friends, but also beyour biggest critiques in a good way.
I think that's awesome, man.
And you mentioned earlier abouthaving the right support around you.
And I think that's part of what thatcomes from is, I remember some of my
fighter buddies telling me the guymaking their sandwich at the deli is

(35:23):
giving them advice about what theyshould have done in the fight last night.
And it's dude, you're not like the,you've never been in there, but when
you're around a bunch of people that,Hey, I'm telling you this because
I wish somebody would have toldme this, or I made this mistake.
They've been through what you've beenthrough and you can tell that they're
coming from a place of, I'm giving thisto you not to hurt you, but to help you.
I think that intention comes throughand you being somebody who's proven
that multiple times, it starts toearn you that right to be like, Hey,

(35:46):
I'm only saying this because I'veproven to you multiple times that
this is to help you for your own good.
So, take it for what it is or don't, butthen don't come back to me for advice.
If you're not going to listen, I'd saythe thing there, you, you talked about
change and I think this is a greattime to talk about change because.
I've watched this industry for a whilewhere TV, I think is a bit of an enigma,
where one of my first oh my goodnessmoments was The Ultimate Fighter.

(36:09):
Like when that show first camearound, it's huge now, they're
on like season 30, but my buddieswere on like the first few seasons.
And I remember when I started talking tothem at the time, I think it was Spike TV.
It wasn't Fox or anything.
And they were casting people.
And I was like, well, obviouslythey're looking for the
best fighters in the world.
And it was like, no, like you have toshow up, have a big red Mohawk, have
a drinking problem, have daddy issues.

(36:30):
Like the TV people would ratherbook the person who had a losing
record, but a personality for TV.
And I was like, Holy crap.
That never shocked me that the networkhad more at it because of that.
And so my question for you islike the way, like somebody could
be a great real estate investor,but if they're not great for TV.
They might not be a right fit for a show.
And then coming from TV, how is thischanging the whole trajectory of TV?

(36:56):
Because I say it almost joking, butthe show or the movie Jerry Maguire,
there's that famous scene where he'sshow me the money, show me the money.
And I tell people that if JerryMaguire was a movie right now today
and Cuba Gooding Jr. walked inand said, Hey, I want a TV show.
I want a sports contract.
Jerry Maguire would take out hisphone and say, well, how many
followers do you have on Instagram?

(37:16):
And that would be the end of the movie.
So what is some of these things now where.
Do you have to have a crazypersonality and a crazy following
to even have a conversation withBrad about getting a TV show?
Alright, so I'm gonna distillone of, something you just said.
You do not have to have a following.
You do not.

(37:37):
I could care less howmany followers you have.
No one has proven that theamount of followers you have
equate to success on television.
Zero.
Now, I say that.
Some of Hollywood still believes that.
So, for example, people with bigfollowings would put, be put on
a show as executive producer.
What does that mean?
Basically, you're paying fortheir voice or for that tweet.

(37:59):
If the show is not good, if theperson in front of the camera
is not good, it does not matter.
It does not matter.
Now, what I will say, when I say theword good, in real estate, there's
only a finite amount of strategies.
It's not like somebody'screating something new every

(38:20):
day in the world of real estate.
The beauty of real estate is thatpretty much every path has been paved.
It's up to you what path you'regoing to follow based on who you are.
And the fact that you keep drivingbecause that path is not a straight line.
It is messy and curvy and sometimesyour destination is going to change.
Things are not always going to work.

(38:40):
You're going to get in traffic.
You're going to be late.
You may run out of gas at times.
But pretty much the path hasbeen paved from, for you to
get from one end to the end.
The only way that you fail is if you quit.
That was Henry Washingtontold me that a year ago.
And that's really whatkeeps me going every day.
I will say that quote to the end of time.
The only way you fail inreal estate is if you quit.

(39:02):
So in terms of television,I equated to Brandon.
So there was a room that I spoke to, andthere was about 150 people out there.
They were all some formof real estate investor.
Most of them were flippers.
The difference between all of them,they were all in different markets.
Maybe they were more focusedon this, on the old historical

(39:23):
homes, or they were on affordablehousing, or they were in multiple.
Whatever it was, essentiallythey all did the same thing.
They took an asset, they made itbetter, and they made money as a result.
Maybe I held on to it, maybe Iflipped on it, what, whatever it is.
But really, not that much difference.
But there were three people in thisaudience that instantly stuck out to me.
And to this day, it's now beenabout nine months since I gave

(39:46):
this speech, I still remember.
Cowboy hat, red shoes, and mullet.
Those three people stuckout in a sea of the same.
So I instantly went one stepfurther, I don't know who they
are, I asked them, turns out theyhad a pretty interesting story.

(40:12):
They actually followed theirdifferent look with the story because
they, the other part of this, theywere authentically themselves.
They weren't putting on a maskthat they didn't earn from
birth, or have from birth.
It's who they were, so theyhad a story of the mullet.
They had a story of why red shoes, andthey had the story of a cowboy hat.

(40:33):
Now how I consumed it is, that was brandy.
They were distinct and different.
There's somebody that Iinstantly wanted to know more of.
And that's what audiences are.
Are they the best?
Were they the best realestate investors in that room?
Probably not.
Out of 150, there's not a chancethat I picked out the three best
real estate investors in the worldthat then I would put on a TV screen.

(40:56):
But they were interestingand they instantly stuck out.
Audiences do that in the first 10 seconds.
Social world, you know this.
The three second hook,you know all of this.
Same thing in the television world.
If you do not hook somebodywithin the first 30 seconds in
TV, they will switch the channel.
They will never give you a chance.
So, we can do it visually,if they look different.

(41:20):
We can do that through voice, theysay something different, maybe
a saying is something different.
Or we can do it with format and concept.
That 60 days in, what if 7 people wentundercover to live as roommates in a jail?
I told, I said that in 5 seconds.
You're responding that you're like, what?
That's crazy.
So you, but you all, you have to front it.

(41:41):
So I never looked first forthe best real estate investors.
I look first through the mostinteresting people that are dying
for an audience to hear their story.
As a result of that story, they're goingto connect with millions of people.
My brand wasn't, I'm a milliondollar Lister agent that
only does 10 million homes.

(42:03):
That for me, wasn'trelatable to a mass audience.
I like detainable and aspirational typeof viewing, that, that's the masses.
So I look for people that weredoing things that if I was watching
you and I knew nothing aboutreal estate, I would connect.
I'm like, we're not so farapart, from each other.
Yes, you're more advanced and you've donethe thing, but not really so far apart.

(42:25):
I like those people andthose people are interesting.
Now, once you've passed that brand orthat, and I talk a lot about branding.
Think about, when you're ata grocery store, what compels
you to pick something up?
That nutrition label is not first.
There's probably a package.
Then you qualify, right?

(42:47):
Then you say, hey, okay,I'm on a no carb diet.
This doesn't have a lot ofcarbs, so I'm gonna buy it.
Same thing with television.
I then need to qualifyhow good that investor is.
Because I have to put on people thatare really good at what they do.
But that's second, because it'stelevision, it's entertainment.

(43:08):
So, I talk a lot about P. T. Barnum.
P. T. Barnum first had to pull anaudience in, because they knew,
he knew that his show was great.
But if I didn't show, if I didn'tget people in the door, nobody would
consume anything that I was doing.
So the same thing with televisionIs I have to get somebody there.
How do I get somebody there?

(43:29):
Somebody doing something different.
So different.
Somebody has a saying, somebodylooks differently, the title of the
show, something that brings you in.
And then once you're in, you have totrust the fact that when you're inside.
My content, I'm giving you some ofthe best in the class, or at least
giving you somebody that's good.
Absolutely.
And a lot of my friends thatare on my TV shows, they will

(43:51):
never say that they are the best.
They will never say that.
They will say they're theluckiest, but they're also saying,
I'm pretty good at what I do.
They're not bad.
They're definitely not bad.
They're not beginners.
They're a little bit more advanced.
So for me, when you look atwho you are and what you are.
And by the way, I wasn't even thinkingabout it for myself until a few weeks ago

(44:15):
when I was at a conference and I startedtalking about a love that I have I have a
love for pickles and you referenced that.
And then when I went down the deep dive.
I was like, wait a minute, that's realestate and how I looked at pickles
and real estate and then when I postedsomething about it, my mom goes.
You know that your second wordyou've ever said was pickle.

(44:36):
Ah.
It just kept going and going and going.
And I'm like, well, that's my brandbecause that's authentically me.
It's who I am.
And frankly, for me, I thinkcucumbers are pretty not good.
Yeah.
But you turn that cucumber into a pickle.
It's beautiful.
And the fact that you can turn acucumber into an old dill, a new

(44:59):
dill, it could be half sour, allset, like all of the different types.
It could be cold, it could be warm,it could be flaccid, it could be
clausen, all these different things.
I thought it was amazing.
And instantly, and the brandisn't created yet, but it's
distinctly and authentically me.
But if you didn't know me, And allyou heard was this real estate brand

(45:19):
with a pickle with the story behindit and very dad puns, relish the
transformation and all these things.
You would probably want to know more,and then now I have to, now I'm in
the door, now I have to prove myself.
Am I really that good?
Or am I just fake?
Am I just trying to have a good laugh?
Because then the audience will reject you.
The audience will reject you if youdon't have the goods behind you, but

(45:41):
they would have never experiencedyou if they didn't open up the door.
So for me this is everythingwhen it comes to casting.
And I have some ability, I don'tknow how or why, that when I talk
to somebody, I know instantly.
from an entertainment perspectiveif they're going to be good or not.
And if I have to work, then I knowthat they're not going to be good.

(46:03):
My job then is, now they're good, arethey really good behind the scenes?
In front of, behind what they say?
And for me, sometimes it doestake a little bit of a while.
But when I met Daynard, Iknew exactly he was perfect.
Yes, he's a good looking gentleman,but what he did at his job was

(46:24):
unbelievable and how he was on it.
on the set, or on, on hislocations, on his builds.
There was nothing like it.
He was the most entertaining person.
He was hard.
He was honest.
And all he wanted was everybody tobe at an A plus level every day.
And he was dishing itout, but out of love.
And that was not a televisioncharacter, that was exactly who he was.

(46:47):
And same thing acrossthe, across the board.
Dilmar's a perfect example.
Yes, good looking guy.
But by the way, good looking, that,that's one of the other myths too.
I think some of the most interestingand entertaining and amazing
people on this planet are ugly.
But they're beautiful because ofwho they are and what they are.
So would I date the person?
Maybe not But would I want them inmy house at my dinner table on my

(47:11):
television screen every day every minute?
Am I a massive fan?
Do I want to be around those people?
Absolutely.
That's really what matters infact, sometimes pretty people
don't do well because There'ssometimes something behind it.
I don't think you can be beautifuland an amazing person at once.
That's fake.
That's absolutely a false statement.

(47:31):
But generally I joke, my wifehas the looks, I have the humor.
We're winning, but she also hashumor too as she points out after I
say that statement, but point out.
And I also have thelooks, but that's okay.
But yeah, I think branding andbeing distinct and different and.

(47:52):
It has nothing to do with your following.
It has all to do with what comes outof your mouth and who you are as a
person and what you bring to the table.
That's incredible, man.
I know we're getting a little tighton time, but I got one or two more
questions on TV and then I want tohear about your real estate journey.
And how people can connect with you.
But I would get killed if I didn't askduring this episode, if somebody is
listening to this and they're a realestate investor and everybody's goal

(48:13):
is a real estate investor is one day.
I want to be on TV.
I want a TV show.
So what does that process look like?
If somebody is listening andthey're like, well, how the
heck do I get my own TV show?
Go Mark Ross, that handsome son of a gun.
How does that process happen?
The first thing that I will telleverybody is you have to put
yourself on camera yourself.

(48:33):
It's 2024.
All you need is this thing called a phone.
This is film quality.
The only thing you needis some sort of sound.
And by the way, the soundon this is not so bad.
So, if you're not puttingyourself on camera, you need
to keep putting yourself on.

(48:54):
So I look at, you mentionedfollowers on Instagram, or anywhere.
I look at how many videos have you put on.
Because you're actually doing thework that I need you to do anyways.
Because when you come withme, It's seven figure stakes.
You're walking into a seven figure world.
I can't have a beginnerperson in front of a camera.

(49:14):
So the first thing is you'vegot to keep doing the thing.
When you do the thing, whatabout your message cuts through
everyone else's message.
So also be mindful thatyou're not just rambling.
You're not just talking,but you're having impact.
You're intentional with your words.
And we all, in businessframework is everything.

(49:35):
And looking at different thingsand having some proprietoriness
to who you are and what you are.
What about that in your world?
Because just beingentertaining is not enough.
You have to have the goods behind it.
The door can open if you'reentertaining, but then you have
to have the substance behind it.
And that's really what you practice.
So the first thing is doing that.
The second is in the real estate world.

(49:58):
In television, there are people'sjobs literally just to troll the
internet to look at who's speakingat conferences and finding people
that are doing some amazing things.
One of my producer friends saysit perfectly, even after that.
So let's say you've been posting,you're great, you're amazing.

(50:18):
Somebody's after you and theysay, Hey, Bobby, you're fantastic.
Can I put you on tape?
There's still a very smallpercentage of you getting on TV.
Why?
Because to be good qualifiesyou, gets you in the door.
But then there's this thing that youhave no control over and it's timing.
There's very few networks thatare producing real estate shows.
So that's part of it.

(50:39):
And those networks may not have theknowledge of the real estate industry.
Just gonna say that.
So what they're talking aboutinternally sometimes has nothing to
do with anything that you're doing.
Here's a, for example, there was a showthat was in interior design based in Miami

(51:00):
on a certain network that I didn't workfor, but maybe there was another network.
That show tanked.
Tanked miserably.
Interior Design, Miami.
Why did it tank?
Talent was good.
Show was terribly produced.
Awful.
It was awfully produced.
There was another show.

(51:20):
Unbelievable talent.
Unbelievable world.
A plus.
Happened to be in Miami.
What was the response?
Well, our show failed in Florida.
Not in Miami.
In Florida, so we're not goingto be looking at any more shows
in Florida in the short term.
I'm like, well, what?

(51:41):
But the, this was interior as this wasrenovation and flipping it was in a
different, even a different part of Miami.
One was the high end Miami.
This was Miami Gardens and likereal like blue collar Miami.
But that's what sometimes happens.
So you sometimes have no control.
That's the end product.
I encourage everybody to keepputting yourself on camera.

(52:06):
Now I will absolutely put myself outthere to help anybody out as well.
I know the questions Iasked, I did that 20 years.
I still am doing it now.
I'm still constantly finding talent.
And in fact I was be around peoplewho also invest and do things.
So I was at the bigger pockets conference.
Here's a perfect example.
I'm at the bigger pockets conference.

(52:28):
I can't help but see people andare they good television people?
When you're at a 1500 person conference,you're likely going to find people
that are pretty good for television.
Still shocks to me to thisday that people haven't been
tapped for all the good people.
Which is amazing.
Don't know this person.
They were one of the speakers.
Just so happened, and thisis how the world works.

(52:51):
My Uber cancelled on megoing to the airport.
This is the end of theconference, going to the airport.
I'm with somebody and she's Oh Iheard this other person ordered
a van, not knowing it was a van.
So they have a wholevan just for one person.
Let me text the person.
In fact, the person has a van literallywaiting for them at the hotel.

(53:14):
They said, Brad, why don't you hop in?
And the person that I was with was goingto go in the Uber with me to the airport.
So now the three of us areall, she knows the person.
I don't know who this person is.
He goes, Hey, what do you do?
I said, well, I talked,about my TV experience.
He's Hey, I've been, I was approachedby some TV person a little bit ago.

(53:36):
Can you talk to me about it?
And all of a sudden it turnedinto this conversation.
And I'm flying out to see thisperson in a week to see if
there's a television person.
That was not planned.
Just be who you are.
But then here's what I did.
So that the front, I got meinto the door, but then on the
backside, I found out who he was.

(53:57):
I did my homework.
The person had a couplethousand videos on YouTube.
They were doing somethingvery distinct in real estate.
Not a different path, but justsomething distinct and different within.
The guy had a look that was memorable.
He had all the ingredients.
So, one, prepare yourselffor any conversation.

(54:20):
I'm sure all my informationwill be on this video.
I am more than happy foranybody to reach out to me.
Every day, I get, am Ia good television show?
Or I know somebody's agood television show.
I will be very honest with you.
Just because you're amazingdoesn't mean you're great for
TV, and just because you're greatTV doesn't mean you're amazing.

(54:40):
Now, I think to make money and geton stages and actually monetize,
that's a whole different world, andthat's what I'm getting into now.
I think that's a whole, to be ontelevision is a job but to make money
as a result of speaking in appearancesand all that's a different story.
So I've been guiding people to developtheir brand a bit more as a result so

(55:01):
they can get on the big stages thatthen also convert into students or
properties or deal flow or whateveryou need to do, but happy to do that.
Always happy to talk to peopleabout the television world.
So yeah, the biggestthing that people can do.
Put yourself on camera.
If you don't like yourself oncamera, I'm not going to like you.

(55:22):
Fair enough, man.
So what's one of the craziestthings you've been pitched?
I'm sure you've gottenall kinds of crazy stuff.
All right.
So the craziest pitch of all time to veryhigh level, this was not in real estate,
this was in food to very high level.
Like I ran networks, high level peopleare sitting in my colleague's office.

(55:43):
So it wasn't part of the first partof this and they were pitching this
unbelievable show about this amazing chef.
He wished he could be here.
But he called and said,he just couldn't make it.
He was local to the area.
But pitching him.
My executive friend had an understandingthat maybe I knew this person that
they're talking about, so he's hold on.

(56:05):
Hold on.
Let me bring Brad in.
So I reheard this whole pitchwhile same pitch, being told this.
Sorry.
He couldn't attend, whatever.
And we're looking at each other.
My, my colleague andI, and the pitch ends.
And I asked, I'm like, oh, when's thelast time you spoke to this individual?
And they were like, oh,a couple of days ago,

(56:28):
that person died three months prior.
Tragically, not in an accident, but it wasof sickness, but they were pitching me.
A dead chef that they claimedthat they spoke to a couple days
before and wasn't in the pitchbecause they couldn't make it.

(56:49):
These are two executives thathave ran television networks.
So everything in me was tryingto be so empathetic because we're
talking about somebody like, butit wasn't like the guy yesterday.
It was three months prior.
So all I'm questioning is over thelast 15 years, what else have you just.

(57:14):
Not been truthful about or not, butwe still, to this day, my colleague
and I say there's never anythingthat's going to top to a level, a
plus level executives pitching a chef.
That died three months ago that alsosaid they were probably that person

(57:35):
was going to be in the room now.
We didn't notice thiswas being told to us.
But and we also then we just happenedto because we weren't questioning.
Maybe it was the wrong person,but it was a pretty distinct name.
So we Googled the person.
We brought it on our phone and we'relike, show them the obituary and

(57:57):
all the love for this individual.
Just because we thought we were crazy.
We were not, we were the ones.
And they stood up, thankedus for the time, and left.
To this day.
No one has spoken about this.
They haven't spoken about it.
To this day, anytime I can tell this storywithout mentioning the names, because I

(58:19):
want to protect these individuals I do it.
But it was, I've never in amillion years ever had that happen.
But, crazy, like creative pitches,most of them I forget about
because they just don't make sense.
There was one quick thing, therewas a very A list celebrity
that was attached to a project.
And I'm not a fan of people beingattached to the project just for their

(58:41):
attachment, we talked about it earlierabout, I don't think anybody brings
anybody into the show brings in the showwas a fine show, but they thought bringing
this executive on would elevate it.
And I simply asked the question,not facetiously, but just real
honest, I'm like, Oh how did thisperson get involved in this project.
Because in my head, there was adisconnect, it didn't make sense,
and they were like, well, she doesn'tknow yet, and I said, but wait, you

(59:06):
just pitched that she was an executiveproducer on this project, and I'm
like, yeah, we pitched her the project,and I said, okay, and I said, well,
why do you think that she would beattached if she's not even involved?
And so, well, because she wants to bethe executive producer on projects and
I'm like, okay, well, then what abouther life connects her to this project?

(59:28):
And I, oh, well, it, well,it doesn't, but those are the
things that happen all the time.
It just doesn't make sense.
And yeah, that chef and tell theperson that you're on a project.
Fair enough, man.
So that's part of whyyou're transitioning out.
So I know I, I ate up a lot of your time.
I know you just got a couple minutesleft, but hey, so talk, let's talk

(59:49):
about now you are in the game youtook, you practice what you preach,
you take the stuff you were learning,you took those lessons and you went
and you started changing your own life.
So talk about what you are nowdoing in the real estate game.
Yeah, so a couple days after I left Ihad the best gift in the world, a phone
call from my friend Jimmy Daynard andhe said, you want to invest with me?
And I said, so I just lefta job and you're asking me

(01:00:12):
to give you money to invest.
Can we talk to my wife about that?
So, cut to I'm, my first house that Iflipped is with like a guy who I admire.
And who I can't believethat I actually know him.
He's that good in my life and just agood person and I'm blessed every day.
To, I, I talk to him almost every day.

(01:00:32):
And it's the best.
So we have a, the house is on the market.
I was very much a capital investor.
But as a result of having the bestindividuals around me and for years,
people telling me, when are you goingto leave TV to go into real estate?
And my translation was,okay, I have to do it.
I just have to.
I have to do it.
But I wanted to do it my own waybecause I'm not smart about that.

(01:00:57):
I'm like, I don't have to dothings alone, but I'm not.
So I listened a lot and I madeit my own and decided, here's
how I'm going to approach it.
I'm going to be friends with wholesalersin my market, which is Charlotte.
I'm going to go to every meetupimaginable, and I am going to be
the coolest, most best, the personthat people just want to be around.

(01:01:17):
And then I'm going to convert that into,hey, I'm looking for my first flip.
That's how it was in my head.
None of that actually happened.
I was at every meetup.
I wasn't being intentional.
I was friends to everybody andI found on a Facebook post this
property that somehow made sense.
I had become friends with the GC.

(01:01:38):
I sent the GC out becausewe wanted to work together.
I said, this is too good to be true.
I found this on Facebook.
He reports back.
Not only is it Actually real and we havesuch a spread that came with a second
parcel that's a buildable lot and we'relike what just so me being the person I
am this is my first real transaction Icalled up the wholesaler and said, hey,

(01:02:00):
one you under marketed by 300 square feet.
That was the other thing.
It was 300 square foot more than what theywere marketing as which never happens.
And there's a second parcel thatis already separated and buildable.
Good 15, 20, 000 here, and so yeah, weknew and I'm like, okay, here's my price.

(01:02:21):
Let's buy it.
Let's close it.
So now what do you do?
So I've had a lot of education.
I have a lot of friends.
But you never know how to doit until you start doing it.
So I'm doing that right now.
It's a town an hour and a half fromme which is quite a bit of a drive.
But it is a house that iseverything that I am so proud of
and why, who I am and what I am.
It's a house, complete distress.

(01:02:42):
It was the drug house on the market.
There was a squatter there.
Every month they would go to the citycouncil meeting and try, to get this
house off of, to condemn the house.
They just couldn't.
The first day we entered, the entireneighborhood came to us and thanked us.
And I shed a tear because I'm like,that's exactly who I was as an

(01:03:03):
executive, just wanting to help.
Even my real estate brand was.
We are solving the biggest problem onthis planet that nobody else wants to
solve, putting roofs and beautiful roofsand clean roofs over people's heads.
And as a result of doing that, peopledid profit from it, but it was the giving
mentality first, and I was doing it.
Cut to my second house.

(01:03:24):
I walk in, it smelled like you wouldn'tbelieve it was cat and dog pee everywhere,
remnants of the cats and dogs, becausethey were a cat and dog hoarder.
Two days earlier, this tenantwas there and I could not believe
this person lived in this place.
And I'm sitting here going,I have produced this house.

(01:03:47):
It's probably 50 timesover and now I'm living it.
I'm literally, my wife, who is now myinterior designer of the homes, she
like went in and just left the house.
I can't do it.
So I'm doing it.
Why I think if you don't have astrong mission, you are never going
to do the thing that you've alwayswanted to do, and I've always

(01:04:08):
wanted to do so much for this world.
I just couldn't.
I didn't know where that missionwas, and I was somewhat connecting
TV to it because I'm from Detroit.
And it was such a blessing for meto produce programs that my friends
that worked really hard jobs inDetroit would just turn on at night.
So I'm like, yes, that's my mission.
I'm providing entertainment.
And by the way, there's100 percent true to that.

(01:04:30):
But it wasn't fully there.
Now, I'm just starting, but I feel it.
There's a true mission that how manymillions of homes are in distress,
how many communities need affordablehousing, and the fact that people
aren't doing it because it doesn't pay.
There's no margins, but there is.
If you buy right, and it's a vacanthouse, and you renovate it, and you

(01:04:54):
bring the community back, Yes, I'mnot putting, buying a 100, 000 house
and making a million dollar house.
Because that's not what, who I amor what I am, but am I buying a
beautiful, amazing, way above theprice point that it should be because
my wife is an amazing designer andmy GC is amazing construction, am I
providing a great starter home at asuper affordable house in 2024 when

(01:05:17):
the dream of owning a home is dead?
Absolutely.
I need more and I'maddicted to that hustle.
I'm addicted to helping these communitiesand I'm addicted to having people see
the work of my team because I think Ihave built in very short amount of time.
The best team imaginable, but allof this two or three years of being

(01:05:37):
in this business without that work,it wouldn't have led me to this.
And I just woke upevery day and every day.
I'm like, what can I do?
What's another propertythat I can help turn around?
What's another property thatI can pay this second home?
I paid a wholesaler 16, 500 Thebuy price was sixty nine thousand.

(01:05:58):
They made sixteen thousand on a sixtynine thousand dollar purchase I couldn't
be more excited for that wholesalebecause sixteen thousand I don't It
doesn't mean anything to me because whatmeant to me is what I could buy it at
and the fact that somebody Will showthat check on social media And I'm the

(01:06:18):
one that had a big part of that check.
And then, that seller ofthe home wanted that house.
They inherited the house,wanted to get rid of it.
They get paid.
And then that family that's gonnabuy this house in a beautiful
town, I'm gonna be able to provide.
My wife gets to design the house.
A GC gets to renovate.
My agent gets the commission.

(01:06:38):
All of the subs get paid.
There's no other industry.
How can I not be excited about this?
And I'm not ever I wish Iwould have found this earlier.
I wish it about my house.
That's none of that.
I wasn't ready.
I was not in a position to do any of that.
And I'm ready now.
I brought my two kids to our first flip.
And they saw what daddy does.

(01:06:59):
Now they know my TV side, butthey saw I've always talked, I've
been talking about real estatefor the last couple of years.
So I put them to work.
What did I do?
In my television world,I'm like, wait a minute.
I gotta shoot content.
I gotta put myself in front of the camera.
So I had my oldest, she's 13, so she knowsmore social media than I ever will, at 13.
So I'm like, here's acamera, go horizontal.

(01:07:20):
Anytime I point out somethingI want you to follow.
A 10 year old, here's my phone, just doeverything vertical and just follow me.
And I'm just gonna takea tour of the house.
And we were going through, walkingthrough, we shot the whole thing.
I know what people want, because I'vebeen making those shows for three years.
My 13 year old knows how to shoot becauseshe's 13, and my 10 year old thought it

(01:07:40):
was just cool that she was filming Dad.
I then give that footage to my13 year old, because she knows
how to edit better than me.
Because I hire people to edit.
She's been doing that all her life.
Or, on CapCut and all those things.
And it's the most beautiful thing.
It's, it is the mostamazing thing, the blessing.
I never knew that when I took overthe home shows three years ago, it

(01:08:01):
would lead me to being a flipper.
Still the word, I'm a flipper.
I'm a real estate investor.
It pinched me, it's the mostexciting thing and I get to talk
about it on, on, on your podcastis just so crazy and amazing.
So thank you for allowing me tohave that voice and talk about it.
You, sir, are somebody who bringsyour A game to everything you
do in life and in business.

(01:08:22):
And this interview has been no different.
You definitely brought your Agame to the A game podcast today.
I wish we had more time totalk about your journey.
I think you're incredible, man.
I've been really enjoying thisconversation, but thankfully
you have a lot of really greatsocial media stuff going on.
So for people listening that wantto watch more of what you're doing,
follow you and connect with you.
All the show notes will be in thelinks there for, but what are some
of your favorite ways for peopleto connect with you before you go?

(01:08:43):
I love LinkedIn.
I think LinkedIn like on podcastor whatever is like a little bit
of the forgotten one, but I find Ijust I have a business mentality.
So I love connecting on LinkedIn.
I am starting to buildup my YouTube presence.
As much, I'm just filming onceand putting it on all the socials.
So YouTube's a little bit behind.
Instagram is probably the most yeah.

(01:09:05):
I don't know, meaningful and to geta little bit more of my life in that.
So, it's every day I postMonday through Friday.
A lot of it is because I didn'tfeel that I could post while
I was in my W 2 landscape.
But I do now.
And I talk about three things.
I talk about my journey andjourney into real estate investing.

(01:09:26):
I talk about content.
And I also talk, somethingthat we didn't even talk about
here is transitioning midlife.
You're 40.
You can absolutely make a change.
You're not starting from zero.
In fact, the 20 years is currencythat a 25 year old doesn't have yet.
And how do you do it?
I am not speaking from authority when Italk about midlife career transitioning.

(01:09:48):
I call it more evolution.
I don't like pivot.
I like evolution because it'sstacking and what you are.
But you absolutely can do it and I amtalking about it from, I'm only a few
months ahead of who my listeners are.
I am not speaking from authority.
You will see me fall down.
You will see me get frustrated.
You will see me walk and I'mlike, I woke up as much as I had a

(01:10:12):
gratitude practice of meditation anddid all the things in the morning.
I'm not having a good day.
And sometimes that is okayin the entrepreneurship
world and finding yourself.
And then there's some days.
You will never in the W2 world havethe biggest wins imaginable and they're
the best days and the days where, guesswhat, I get to go play tennis with
my wife at noon on Wednesday becausethat's the life that I'm building for.

(01:10:34):
So that I probably the mostproud of is because I don't see
people talking about and by theway, not unhappy with my career.
I'm not talking about unhappiness.
I'm just talking aboutthere's something more.
There's something more in what you'redoing, and how do you take what you've
done and stack it to where you're going?
What are transferable skills andopportunities that you've had

(01:10:55):
that you can now move forward?
Again, all of which I'm learning now.
I am not perfect by any means, but I knowit's been connecting with a lot of people.
And I do mention realestate as being one of them.
Why?
Because for me, it's the safety net.
Because if you don't have a financialground, then you can't do anything.
And I really believe I think that nomatter who you are, what you are, real

(01:11:15):
estate should be part of your life.
There's not a single personon this planet that cannot be
successful in real estate investing.
You just have to one know about itinto how you're going to approach it
and how you're going to attack it.
And I will help you through that in theway that I know how, because I think I am,
I did not have a house full of investors.
I found out about it three years ago.
I'm just learning about it now.

(01:11:37):
I do it my own way.
I am not on a house.
Sixty hours.
A week with my hammer.
That's not my job.
That's not what I'm good at.
So I tell you what I'm good at, howyou can find what you're good at.
And I do that just because I want peopleto be on this journey of real estate.
I want people to be financially free.
And I want people, they want to taketheir daughter out to, to go to lunch

(01:12:00):
at school on any given day in a moment'snotice that you have that opportunity
to if that's something that you want.
Not for everybody, certainly.
But also if you're happy with your W2,you can be a real estate investor and
I can help you through that as well.
Incredible man.
Well, you've done a reallygreat job of allowing us to
enjoy other people's journeys.
The one I am most excited aboutis continue to watch yours.

(01:12:21):
So thank you so much for being agreat guy, having great words and
sharing this experience with us.
Brad Halsman, ladies andgentlemen, have a fantastic day.

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Real Estate TV Show Producer Talks The Reality Of Investing | Brad Holcman

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Real Estate TV Show Producer Talks The Reality Of Investing | Brad Holcman