Jonna Weber transforms from a reluctant investor who viewed real estate as risky to a community leader and team builder with a thriving portfolio spanning decades of experience. Her journey illustrates how consistent action over time, learning from others, and pushing through fear creates lasting success in real estate investing.
• Sold an underperforming property losing $800 monthly during a market downswing to purchase two positive cash flow properties
• Discovered the power of investor communities by attending the first-ever BiggerPockets conference
• Created the Boise Real Estate Investor Network after recognizing Idaho's potential market growth
• Weathered the 2008 recession by holding properties despite significant value drops
• Managed challenging tenant situations including unauthorized pets and even a tenant suicide
• Used traditional financing methods initially but now leverages creative financing including seller financing
• Places high value on learning through community rather than expensive coaching programs
• Implements simplification and focus on what works rather than constant pursuit of new ventures
• Emphasizes that discomfort is essential to entrepreneurial success
Head to BoiseREIN.com to learn more about the Boise Real Estate Investor Network or JonnaWeber.com for anything else real estate related.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Forget what you've heard.
Forged in Fire is where realentrepreneurs come to share the
untold truths of success thelate nights, the crushing
setbacks, the moments thatchange everything.
No fluff, just fire, ready tostep into the heat and unlock
(00:25):
what it really takes to build abusiness.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
This is where legends are made for multifamily
investors, showing you how to gofrom zero to your first or next
cash-flowing property.
And I did say free right, headto ForgeReiAcademycom, slash MF.
Again.
Forgereiacademycom, slash MF.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another
exciting episode of Forged inFire.
I am your co-host, nateFarm-Reedon, but again, cole is
on vacation, so I am just yourhost.
So you've got me.
Today, we're going to bear withit, we're going to go and roll
with all the punches, but we'vegot an exciting episode today.
Before we dive all the way in,though, let's go through a few
(01:19):
of the housekeeping.
So, number one, please makesure that you leave us a rating
and a review.
Number two, make sure that yousubscribe and click that bell so
that way you get alertedanytime an episode of Forge and
Fire drops.
And lastly, make sure that youbuckle up, because this is going
to be a hell of a ride.
I'm so excited to dive in.
Today we are talking to a dearfriend of mine, jonna Weber.
(01:43):
She is remarkable.
She has done tons of amazingthings in the real estate world.
She's an entrepreneur.
She's been on tons of differentpodcasts.
Enough about me, about her.
Let her talk about her.
So, without further ado, comeon stage, jonna.
How are you doing?
It's so great to see you.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
I'm doing amazing.
Thank you, I love your energy,nate.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Good morning Good morning, good morning and thank
you so much.
So please let us into yourworld, tell us a little bit
about yourself.
What got you here?
What brought you here?
Speaker 4 (02:14):
All right, well, thank you.
It's so cool being involved with, touching base with so many
great investor andentrepreneurial-minded folks
throughout the country.
I'm in the great state of Idahoand what brought me here is I
have been on a couple of decadelong entrepreneurial journey and
(02:34):
investing journey started backin the day I had a first career.
I was a corporate meetingplanner and then had my kids
stayed home with them forseveral years, had that blessing
, had a short stint in teachingelementary school and quickly
developed a passion during thattime for real estate investing
and my husband and I started ourinvesting journey when our kids
(02:56):
were really little, beenbuilding a portfolio ever since.
I am a real estate agent andteam leader, been doing that for
about 12 years and a couple ofyears ago I started a full forge
talk about being, you know,forging into something but
started an investor communityhere in the state of Idaho
(03:16):
called the Boise Real EstateInvestor Network and we've got
hundreds and thousands ofinvestors pouring into that
community here in the state ofIdaho and it's been a fun
journey.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
It is such an honor, a pleasure and a privilege to
have you here on Forged in Fireand just hearing some of the
things that you've been through,I had no idea that you taught
it at one point in your life.
This is amazing.
It's a very short stint.
It's very short stint.
It happened, thoughint.
It happened, though, and that'swhat counts.
So talk to me a little bitabout, um, your business
(03:50):
strategy and what like got youinto the real estate side of
things and then what it lookslike kind of today absolutely
well the business.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
My first like what I would say real business
ownership because my husband andI have on multiple businesses
um was really real estateinvesting.
Getting serious about that.
We purchased our firstinvestment property back gosh, a
long time ago, 21 years ago andat that time my husband was all
full bore, wanting to getinvolved in real estate
(04:21):
investing and I was the scaredone.
I was dragging my feet, Ithought it was risky and I
didn't want anything to do withanything that might involve
losing money.
And I'm just so.
It's so funny we look backtoday because I'm the one who
really is the real estateprofessional in the family now.
But I was dragging my feet.
But you know, what we had is areal pivotal, pivotal time back
(04:46):
when there was the, the nationalrecession and things were
changing and the economy wasscary and my husband nearly lost
his corporate job at that time.
And all of a sudden, when I waslike safely thinking, we were
fine, we were living theAmerican dream, we had two kids,
we had a house that we owned,we had a few rest investment
(05:07):
properties thanks to him, but Iwasn't really wanting to
increase our portfolio at thattime and we had that scare where
we realized, oh my gosh, wecould be, like one mortgage
payment, away from having tomake some very scary decisions.
Now, fortunately, that didn'thappen.
He didn't lose his career atthat time, but it was very close
(05:29):
and we decided I say we, butreally that's when it got into
my heart that we needed to havesome other options besides one,
like we say, w-2 income cominginto our family.
And we had a rental property atthat time that we had moved out
of a big house, moved across thecountry for his work, and it
(05:49):
was just sitting there as arental property.
But it was $800 negative cashflow a month and it was not.
We didn't, I didn't know what.
I didn't know.
It was not a good investment.
And so we made the difficultdecision at that time to sell
that property we have someequity in it and to take that
(06:10):
and turn it into two cashflowing rental properties.
At that time and once I sawthat work, even though it was so
scary, we sold at the bottom ofthe market that property.
But once I saw it work and weactually generated positive cash
flow, I was hooked and westarted growing our portfolio
from there.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Oh my gosh, holy cow.
So many things I want to diveinto, but okay, that's the start
.
Yes, oh my gosh.
Okay, well, let me ask you this.
So this is phenomenal.
I appreciate you diving in.
So, before I really dissecteverything, I've got to ask you
this one.
Then, talking about some ofthat mindset of negative
(06:55):
cashflow 800 month over monthlet's just go ahead.
We're going to sell this one,and what was going on with your
thought process behind?
Okay, we've been seeing itmonth over month with it losing
money.
Let's just go ahead and we'regoing to attempt to buy two more
.
What?
Speaker 4 (07:12):
were you thinking, yeah, it was something bigger
than me, I tell you, but onething that made such a
difference?
And then I think there's twothings.
One thing that made such adifference.
And then I think there's twothings.
One I had the, just the nudge,like you know, when you have
those internal feelings thatsomething is supposed to change
and that you have an idea and itmay work.
(07:32):
So there was that, and that, Ithink, really comes from prayer
and meditation and sitting withyourself and being open to
listening.
Two is I started to get involved.
It was actually bigger pocketsat the time, um, which was still
fairly small at back at.
This is back 2011 and uh, itwas something where I found out
(07:58):
that there were more people thatwere actually doing real estate
investing and that it actuallycould work for people, and and
so it was a combination oflistening and really feeling
that internal feeling fromwithin and from above that this
is supposed to happen, but alsogetting in affiliation with
(08:19):
others that were like-minded andwere actually doing that, and
that built my faith that wecould actually do something like
that.
But it wasn't a straightjourney, so we went ahead and
did that.
We turned it into twoproperties and then we started
to look for more and we did.
We're fortunate enough to buyseveral during that that economy
slowdown, where it was a greattime to buy.
(08:41):
But I tell you for everyone wepicked up, there were two that I
was scared about and walkedaway from, because that fear
didn't just like magically goaway.
Right, it was still very scaryand there were sleepless nights,
and that's what I'd like totell a lot of new investors is
you're going to feel the fear,no matter what, but you've got
to trust the numbers and yourfirst deals are not going to be
(09:03):
perfect, right, but they aregoing to get you in the game and
it's those first couple thatare the scariest and that's what
you got to get over the humpand then it really gets fun.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Oh my gosh, you've touched on so many different
like key nuggets that I justwant to backtrack.
So you found out about BP orBiggerPockets.
For those that are listeningwho might not know about
BiggerPockets, it's an amazingplatform, one-stop shop.
Make sure that you look into it.
But was it there that maybe youfound other people or different
(09:40):
resources?
Did you find mentors as well tocollaborate with?
Speaker 4 (09:45):
It was the start of it.
So here's the real game changer.
So once we started the ballrolling and we had a couple of
rental properties that at thetime we had purchased two those
two that I talked about rentalproperties and I was looking for
resources, getting moreinvolved with Bigger Pockets,
and then Josh Dorkin, who wasthe founder of BiggerPockets, he
(10:06):
announced they were going to doa real estate summit and it was
in Denver.
Colorado was their first ever.
Again, they were so small.
I don't think Josh had anyemployees at that time and I, on
faith, I had no business.
I was teaching school and Isaid to my husband like what do
(10:27):
you think if I, if I go down tothis conference, I don't know, I
might learn something?
And I did and went by myself,didn't know a soul, but there
were 300 people there Again, itwas very small back then met so
many incredible people that Istill am in touch with several
of them to this day and Irealized that I was the only
(10:50):
person that I know of from thestate of Idaho that was at that
conference.
So there we talked about littlenudges.
There there was someonespeaking on stage that said
Boise, idaho.
If you don't know Idaho yet.
Trust me, in five years you'regoing to know this name Boise,
idaho, and everyone around theroom was writing down.
(11:12):
Like Boise, by the way it'sspelled, it's pronounced Boise.
There's no Z in Boise.
And if you're local, you knowthat.
But everyone was going Boiseand I looked around.
I just said there was like alight bulb moment, there was
opportunity.
And that's when I started tothink I'm going to get my real
estate license because there'sopportunity for investors
(11:34):
investing in Boise, idaho.
And that is that aha momentthat truly changed the
trajectory of my career and mademe unemployable because I
couldn't go back to teachingthat I was going to do this.
And that is the power ofcommunity and getting together
(11:55):
with others and having thatconcentrated time with others
that are like-minded and thatinspire you to do things that
you think would be crazy.
If you're sitting in the breakroom of your, your job, you know
it's just amazing how thattransformation can happen.
So that's how it kind of allspiraled and I got the
confidence to move forward.
(12:16):
I didn't have a fancy orexpensive mentor or coach.
I learned through osmosis, Ilearned through podcasts, I
learned through books, I learnedthrough the forums and then I
started my own meetup here inIdaho right after that
conference.
I was so excited and that's howkind of everything has grown
since then and I'm so gratefulfor that time in my life where I
(12:38):
just was scared, but I jumpedinto something new and it's just
powerful.
You can't even describe it.
If you're listening to this,you've never been in a room with
others that are full of fire,like you are Nate, that are
entrepreneurial and investors.
I mean, that's what's going tocatch your spark in most
instances.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Oh my gosh mic drop.
So let me just retrace thisentire journey here, because you
did a deep dive in and Iappreciate it, because this is
what we asked for, but cool micdrop.
So, if I'm understandingcorrectly, first you actually
attended the very first meetupfor BiggerPockets.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
I'm an OG mate.
I'm an OG Yep An.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
OG in the game.
Holy cow, hats off to you.
So you went in, knew nobodywent by yourself 300 people in
the room.
You're like I'm just going togo and the worst that's going to
happen is I'm going to learnsomething.
So you stepped in the room andthen not Z but Boise.
Did I pronounce that correctly?
Speaker 4 (13:41):
That's correct.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Yes, okay, I was practicing with the mic off,
okay, so Boise was mentioned andyou're like.
You know what I'm thinking,outside of the box.
If, in five years, this placeis actually going to become the
hub of where most real estatechange acts is going to happen,
I need to be sitting at thetable somehow, some way.
(14:02):
So why not be that centerperson that everybody's going to
need to get to know?
Is that?
Was that the?
Speaker 4 (14:08):
thought process that's kind of I mean, I wasn't
quite as black and white, itjust was something that, like I
knew, I knew that we have a.
We have a saying like at myreal estate brokerage, for
example I'm at eXp Realty thesaying is once you see it, you
can't unsee it.
Brokerage, for example I'm ateXp Realty the saying is once
you see it, you can't unsee it.
That's what I felt Like onceyou see the possibilities, you
(14:31):
can't go back.
I couldn't go back to theclassroom and just pretend that
I hadn't seen that possibilityand move forward.
So it was just something biggerthan me that I just I needed to
move forward and I that afterreally one year in our true
teaching capacity.
I also had a series of events.
I had two family members withcancer that wound up passing
(14:52):
away.
I had my principal with cancerand he, he, he knew as much as
teaching is such a beautifulpassion and calling.
He knew it wasn't mine and he,as someone who was gravely ill,
he kind of spoke that truth intome and he said you need to be
doing what you want to be doing,you need to be finding your
(15:12):
passion and doing what you'remeant to be doing truly, and so
I appreciate it was a littlehard to hear at the time, but it
was a gift and I had theopportunity to continue teaching
.
I wasn't being let go oranything a gift and I had the
opportunity to continue teaching.
I wasn't being let go oranything.
I decided to make that leap andmove into getting my license and
then furthering our investingjourneys as a family.
(15:33):
It was powerful, it was scaryand it was something that I'm so
grateful for today.
I cannot even tell you howthankful I am and how much
further we are as a familyfinancially because of that
decision.
And it wasn't like some hugefancy deal we did, it was just
(15:57):
some consistent action for aperiod of years, period of years
that you know you talk aboutthe compound effect and just
doing that consistently andbeing aligned and both being
real estate as an agent to bringin that ordinary income and
then the investing side of itmarried so beautifully together
that we never could have done ifI was split and working for 40
(16:21):
hours a week in a completelydifferent industry, you know.
So it was.
It was a great thing.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
I appreciate your vulnerability and, as one of my
mentors and coaches calls it,opening up the kimono and
bringing us into your world andprayers and condolences for
those that you had lost.
But thank you for sharing andtalk to me a little bit more
about, and I love hearing youtalk about consistency and being
able to.
(16:49):
I don't yet see the entire plan, but as long as I just continue
to move forward and I like tosay moving that needle forward,
you see the action steps and youmake things attainable, so I
love hearing that from you.
But tell me a little bit aboutsome of the journey You've been
invested for a while now.
Yeah, Trials, tribulations,some of the struggles from you
(17:09):
can take it from when you firstgot started to going through
different cycles in the market,to what you've got going on now.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
And there's a couple of things that I think are
interesting but related to thecycles in the market.
I'm glad you brought that upbecause that is scary.
So once I mentioned during thatrecession, we had a few
properties already and we hadactually moved into a property.
We had moved back, we had livedin North Carolina for a couple
of years which is what made thatone house that we were losing
(17:40):
$800 a month on a rental.
We came on back to the Boisearea, moved into a house we
bought intentionally to become arental, but we were going to
live in it for a year and thatwas 2007.
And that's when, right afterthat, the market just plummeted
and we watched this house we hadmoved into drop in value by
(18:01):
half, house we had moved intodrop in value by half, as well
as our rental properties, andthat was so scary.
But the thing that can andagain, this is why it was so
important to get incommunication and alignment with
other real estate investors wewere all in it together and what
I knew and what others hadtaught me is like, as long as
your tenant is paying themortgage and your current and
(18:25):
your payments, there's no reasonto panic and sell.
So we didn't sell anythingother than that one.
Losing rental property duringthe recession.
We held on it was painful andwe weren't able to move out of
that house.
We had wanted to be a rentalafter a year.
We actually wound up there fornine years and which was fine.
It was a great entry levelhouse.
Our kids, we got very closebecause we were in a small space
(18:47):
together and no regrets there.
But it was just a huge learningexperience.
But and we may, we may, entersome kind of that was
cataclysmic almost.
But if someone's in a marketwhere all of a sudden they're
like, oh my gosh, I paid$500,000 for this home, I'm
living in it.
It's worth 350.
If you're able to make thepayments completely and easily
(19:09):
like, there's no need to panic.
It's a, it's a waiting game.
Things do get better, right,and so that was.
That was part of it.
That was a very hard experienceto go through, but it was one
of the ones that was not soglamorous about rental
properties.
And then just self.
We've self managed most ofthese properties all throughout
(19:32):
the year, so we've had thingsfrom.
You know.
Obviously there's been lots ofinstances where pets come in
when they're not supposed to bethere.
We've had a suicide in aproperty, we've had some very
interesting situations andyou'll hear people a lot of
times say they don't want tohave rentals because they're
afraid of the 3 am toilet call,plugged up toilet call and all
(19:53):
these kind of things.
You just, you just flex thatmuscle and you don't let it
overtake you because at the endof the day, it's just real
estate.
Yes, we had a suicide in aproperty, somebody did actually
die, but 99.9% of the time it'sjust real estate and you got to
treat it like a business.
You talk to a lot ofentrepreneurs I know a lot of
(20:13):
your listeners are entrepreneursand you treat your real estate
investments like a business,like everything else.
And you can.
What's the word Carpet?
I can't say the word today,carpet.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
You put it in a box right, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
Nate.
But you do.
You kind of have to just put itin its own little place and
just treat it like a businessand can't get all emotionally
wrapped up in it.
So there's been a lot of upsand downs, but the more that you
systemize things, put yourscreening process into place,
have things set so that you canrinse and repeat on every tenant
(21:01):
that comes in, all those sortof things it makes it a lot
easier.
But no, is it passive?
No, but is it worth it?
100%?
We talk about choose your hard,right.
Your hard is working forsomebody that you don't like,
doing something you don't wantto do for 50 hours a week, right
?
It's just so funny when I hearthat that people don't want to
(21:22):
do something like have a rentalproperty because they're afraid
of the toilet needs plunged.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
Again, mic drop.
I love it.
Choose your heart.
Everybody out there, make sureyou pause, rewind that, the
entire section, the entiresegment, the entire episode.
Re-listen to everything becauseJohn is freaking, spitting
knowledge right now.
So just kind of a formalityquestion.
(21:52):
We kind of talked aboutproperty that was losing money,
grabbed the equity from it, wasable to tap into that after the
sale to be able to drop it intotwo properties.
But what does it look like interms of financing and funding
for your current deals and areyou still buying right now to
expand and talk to us a littlebit about your strategy now?
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Great question.
Well, there's so much availabletoday that I so wish I would
have tapped into and known aboutback in the day, so to speak,
because we didn't know what wedidn't know.
And we did do conventionalfunding for conventional loans.
For our first like 10properties, we were able to use
the one to four properties andthen use portfolio loans local
(22:35):
lenders for that.
But we were very fortunatebecause my husband had a great,
you know, w2 income and that'sanother thing.
We we scrimped and we saved andwe put down traditional down
payments.
So even during the downturn andmost times we did have some
equity in the property and wemade sacrifices, like our
(22:56):
friends were buying newfurniture and new escalades and
all the things, making goodlivings and going on the fancy
vacations and we were living inthat house, like I mentioned,
for nine years that we intendedto have as a rental and we were
taking every extra penny that wemade and putting them into
those rental properties, and soit wasn't easy.
(23:20):
Now today there's so many greatoptions with creative financing
, seller financing.
I just sold our firstcommercial deal this year.
We did, I should say that sellerfinancing and that's really fun
to be on that side of it.
So there was just a lot that wedidn't know.
But since then there's just somany opportunities to tap into
(23:42):
the equity you already have inrental properties.
So we were been able topurchase additional through
pulling out money out of theexisting properties and then
purchasing from there.
So we've gotten creative since,but I didn't know any different
at the beginning.
It wasn't easy, but we usetraditional, traditional loans
(24:02):
and part of now having a realestate community that's so much
fun.
I mean I started this it'scalled Boise Real Estate
Investor Network and we startedit a couple of years ago and I
cannot even believe how much Ihave learned from other
investors that are showing mehow to do things ethically,
creatively and that work and areable to help you scale so much
(24:27):
faster than we did.
I could have bought 10 timesthe properties we did back in
the day during that once in alifetime opportunity if I would
have had exposure to some of theyeah, I've heard some of your
guests Nate people that aredoing such great things or
invest in passively and otheropportunities that have really
(24:47):
better returns.
So I love that there's so manyincredible options available
today that I didn't know aboutat the time.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Thank you so much for sharing all that.
Thank you so much for the kindwords.
I appreciate it.
You are amongst all of thegreat guests that we've had, so
thank you so much.
We haven't even finished theepisode but, my gosh, I want to
make sure that all of ourlisteners out there caught just
that one piece and that onenugget that was just dropped.
There was so many, but I wantto pinpoint.
It is the fact that Jonnacreated this network and even
(25:24):
though she was like let's cometogether, let's work together,
she's still consistently andcontinuously learning from
everybody.
That's still coming together.
Oh, my gosh, completelyPinpoints all the way back to
the beginning of theconversation of when she was
able to go to the BiggerPocketsfirst convention.
Og in the room.
Again, hats off to you.
And just networking andsurrounding yourself with other
(25:47):
like-minded individuals helpspropel, helps move the needle
forward.
As I say so much on this, I'mforcing fire in any of our talks
and I just want to make surethat that's highlighted the fact
that it doesn't matter how muchof an expert that you think you
are or that you believe thatyou can be.
You can always learn something.
New strategy.
We talked seller finance.
(26:08):
Hats off to you on doing that.
How's that deal going, by theway?
Speaker 4 (26:12):
It's great they're paying, they're paying.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it.
Ok, so before we get into thenext fun segment, I have to.
We have a little bit of asurprise for you.
We are going into what we callthe fire round.
Now, if you heard our show, youknow a little bit about it.
We've got six questions we'regoing to throw at you and you
(26:38):
can answer as succinctly aspossible.
Or, if you'd like to go off andelaborate a little bit more,
that's cool, but the only caveatis that I want you to answer
with the first thing that comesto mind.
Oh, gosh okay got it okay, allright.
So question number one whatseparates top performing
(26:59):
entrepreneurs from the rest ofthe crowd?
The ability to be uncomfortable, being scared and doing it
anyway.
Ooh, so good.
I've not heard that one, but Ilove it.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Okay, and what is a daily habit that's contributed
to your success?
Oh gosh First thing.
Oh gosh first thing.
I don't really listen to music.
I listen to, I mean people giveme a hard time.
I listen to so many learningpodcasts.
I mean just podcasts where whenI'm walking my dog, when I'm at
the gym, you know whether I'min drive time.
I just don't waste thatopportunity.
(27:40):
Getting ready in the mornings,I'm always learning.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Always learning.
Oh, I love it, I love it, Ilove it.
Okay, what is a piece of advicethat you would give to yourself
if you were starting over again?
Speaker 4 (27:56):
it doesn't all have to be done in one year, and if I
were starting over again, Iwould be much more intentional
on what activities are actuallygoing to move the needle, which
and which are just like kickingtires and wasting time, because
time is as I.
As I'm an empty nester now Iknow that time is the most
valuable thing that we have, andso I would really pay attention
(28:19):
to and learn from others whatreally moves the needle and
carve out time for that, familytime and what's the other things
that are really important inlife.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I love it.
What's one of your favoritebusiness books?
Speaker 4 (28:36):
Oh, lastly, I know you've heard this a lot, but the
Darren Hardy books, excuse me.
Well, darren Hardy books aregreat.
The compound effect, and thenBenjamin Hardy that's the one I
meant to go to but who, not how.
And the new 10 X is better thantwo X.
Those are game changers,whether you're investing or any
(28:56):
kind of entrepreneurial venture.
Who, not how, my favorite booksoh so good Journey, always
learning to outsource andleverage.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Yes, yes, ok, so what is your favorite part about
owning a business?
And this can be any or all ofyour ventures.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
My favorite part is it's so funny.
We talk about time freedom.
We all know we all work harderthan almost anyone that has a
job.
But um, but that freedom, thattime freedom and ability to
control my own future, is justhuge.
You know I always laugh.
I'm unemployable, I know I am,so I better it's up to me
(29:34):
because I'm not going to go backand work for somebody else
again.
And that is one of those thingswhere you've got to be
uncomfortable or comfortablewith being uncomfortable, but
there's nothing like having thatcontrol of your future.
I know it's not for everybody,but for most of us it's pretty
addicting.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Say that again yes, yes, yes, okay.
And final question.
I'm failing at this, by the way, I was not supposed to have a
single word in between thethings that you say, but
everything you say.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
It's so catchy.
I've been grinning from ear toear throughout this whole show.
Well, I appreciate you.
Thank you.
People are listening.
They just have to imagine thishuge grin on his face Amazing.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
You're making me blush.
Okay, hold on Back to it.
Okay, fire round.
Final question we can getthrough this.
Here we go.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
All right.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
So what is something new that you've implemented
that's driven success for yourbusiness?
Speaker 4 (30:31):
It's a work in progress, right, the idea that
it's okay to do the same thingover and over again.
And what I mean by that is we,as entrepreneurs and investors,
we get the shiny object syndromeand we're always off into new
things, new ventures.
So one thing that I'veimplemented is taking some
(30:54):
things, really looking hard atsome things that are working
well and just taking the time tohone in on those and to
fine-tune them and make thembetter, rather than just ditch
them for something new becauseI'm bored.
It's painful sometimes becausewe want to do that all the time
and start fresh because thestartup is so much fun.
But I've implemented not justditching things If I'm bored of
(31:18):
them.
We got to fine tune them,automate them, you know, as much
as possible, let someone elsedo them, but don't give up on
them and don't quit.
I'm guilty of that, I will tell.
I'll be the first to admit.
So I'm working this year.
My words I have more than oneword, but it's simplify and
execute and just get narrowingeven more on the few things that
(31:39):
we're really, really good atand executing them, but
executing them well and over andover, and just growing that
piece of it.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
So freaking good.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
Oh my gosh, I can tell you about my failures,
where I ditch things that werejust about ready to take off
because I was bored and I don'trecommend it Seriously.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Oh, just stick with it.
Like we go back and forth allthe time.
Heck, we were just talking, wasit?
It was like a week or two agoand Cole and myself we were just
laughing and we're like anybodythat works with us has to just
hate us at times because we'reChinese.
Then, like we come up with anidea in the middle of the night,
(32:22):
we're on the phone working tillthree am.
We call an office meeting.
Everybody comes together.
We're like we're going in thisdirection.
Now here we go.
It just happens.
I'm laughing because it sitsand resonates with me so well.
So thank you.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
Of course, yeah, no, it's a work in progress.
I can tell we're bothvisionaries and you get out
there and yeah, and then I'llcome back to my team and throw
out my whole all my ideas I'vehad with meeting with other
visionaries and you know, thenthey quickly get me back to
earth on what makes money.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
This is great.
However, let's reel it back in.
And okay, here we go.
Trust me, I get it.
So you have survived the fireround.
That wasn't too bad, was it?
Speaker 4 (33:07):
No, it was awesome, I love it.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
I love it.
You are amazing.
All right, so this has beenphenomenal, but I've got two
final questions for you.
Okay, question number one anyother advice that you'd like to
give to all of our listeners outthere?
And then question number two iswhere can people find you?
So?
Speaker 4 (33:31):
lay it on Advice that I'd like to give listeners.
Well, I think we've kind ofoutlined I mean the biggest
messaging that I have is to givelisteners.
Well, I think we've kind ofoutlined.
I mean, the biggest messagingthat I have is surround yourself
with others, get involved, getin those circles, get in the
right rooms is the biggest thing.
Don't go it alone.
That is so important, I think,no matter what industry you're
(33:53):
in.
And then, as far as people canfind me, if you happen to be in
the state of Idaho, our networkis statewide, so you can go to
BoiseRein B-O-I-S-E-R-E-I-NcomFind out all about what we're
doing.
We've got a podcast Idaho RealEstate Investor Show all of that
good stuff.
For anything else about me orreal estate related, you can
(34:14):
head over to jonnawebercom.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
I love it.
Jonna, this has been phenomenal.
You've taken us on an amazingjourney from all the way back to
early 2000s and then yourexperience with the recession
and then deciding to double ortriple down on having an asset
that was losing month over month.
And, like you know what we'regoing for this we're going all
in Buying two more off of thatsucceeding.
(34:40):
And now you're crushing it inthis industry and you are a
trend center of magnitude, ofproportion, I guess we could say
.
To where you're starting,different groups, people are
coming together.
Folks look at you and look toyou for guidance.
You're also learning andleveraging the folks that are
inside of your circle and I wantto say it's truly an honor,
(35:02):
it's a pleasure and a privilegeto have you on this show.
So thank you so much foreverything.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Thank you, Nate.
This has been great.
I'm a big fan of what you guysare doing.
I appreciate the opportunityand I wish you all the best in
25 and beyond.
Speaker 3 (35:16):
Let's go In 2025, we thrive For those that are
listening.
Make sure that you get homesafe.
Thank you so much for tuning into Forged in Fire.
Again, make sure that you likeleave a rating.
Leave a review Only helps usgrow.
And also make sure that youreach out to Jonna.
Reach out to her, Ask herquestions, Pick her brain, have
her on your shows as well.
She is amazing.
(35:37):
This has been awesome, butwithout further ado, we will see
you all on the next episode ofForged in Fire.
Thank you all so much.
Take care.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
Before we get on with the show, we have a bonus for
you.
We created a free program formultifamily investors showing
you how to go from zero to yourfirst or next cash flowing
property.
And I did say free right.
Head to ForgeREIacademycom,slash MF.
Again.
Forgereiacademycom, slash MF.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Forged in
Fire.
If you enjoyed today's raw,unfiltered stories, don't forget
to like, subscribe and leave usa review.
Your feedback helps us bringmore real-world insights to
entrepreneurs like you.
Be sure to join us next timefor even more lessons, struggles
(36:36):
and breakthroughs on the roadto success.
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Speaker 3 (00:59):
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another
exciting episode of Forged inFire.
I am your co-host, nateFarm-Reedon, but again, cole is
on vacation, so I am just yourhost.
So you've got me.
Today, we're going to bear withit, we're going to go and roll
with all the punches, but we'vegot an exciting episode today.
Before we dive all the way in,though, let's go through a few
(01:19):
of the housekeeping.
So, number one, please makesure that you leave us a rating
and a review.
Number two, make sure that yousubscribe and click that bell so
that way you get alertedanytime an episode of Forge and
Fire drops.
And lastly, make sure that youbuckle up, because this is going
to be a hell of a ride.
I'm so excited to dive in.
Today we are talking to a dearfriend of mine, jonna Weber.
(01:43):
She is remarkable.
She has done tons of amazingthings in the real estate world.
She's an entrepreneur.
She's been on tons of differentpodcasts.
Enough about me, about her.
Let her talk about her.
So, without further ado, comeon stage, jonna.
How are you doing?
It's so great to see you.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
I'm doing amazing.
Thank you, I love your energy,nate.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Good morning Good morning, good morning and thank
you so much.
So please let us into yourworld, tell us a little bit
about yourself.
What got you here?
What brought you here?
Speaker 4 (02:14):
All right, well, thank you.
It's so cool being involved with, touching base with so many
great investor andentrepreneurial-minded folks
throughout the country.
I'm in the great state of Idahoand what brought me here is I
have been on a couple of decadelong entrepreneurial journey and
(02:34):
investing journey started backin the day I had a first career.
I was a corporate meetingplanner and then had my kids
stayed home with them forseveral years, had that blessing
, had a short stint in teachingelementary school and quickly
developed a passion during thattime for real estate investing
and my husband and I started ourinvesting journey when our kids
(02:56):
were really little, beenbuilding a portfolio ever since.
I am a real estate agent andteam leader, been doing that for
about 12 years and a couple ofyears ago I started a full forge
talk about being, you know,forging into something but
started an investor communityhere in the state of Idaho
(03:16):
called the Boise Real EstateInvestor Network and we've got
hundreds and thousands ofinvestors pouring into that
community here in the state ofIdaho and it's been a fun
journey.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
It is such an honor, a pleasure and a privilege to
have you here on Forged in Fireand just hearing some of the
things that you've been through,I had no idea that you taught
it at one point in your life.
This is amazing.
It's a very short stint.
It's very short stint.
It happened, thoughint.
It happened, though, and that'swhat counts.
So talk to me a little bitabout, um, your business
(03:50):
strategy and what like got youinto the real estate side of
things and then what it lookslike kind of today absolutely
well the business.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
My first like what I would say real business
ownership because my husband andI have on multiple businesses
um was really real estateinvesting.
Getting serious about that.
We purchased our firstinvestment property back gosh, a
long time ago, 21 years ago andat that time my husband was all
full bore, wanting to getinvolved in real estate
(04:21):
investing and I was the scaredone.
I was dragging my feet, Ithought it was risky and I
didn't want anything to do withanything that might involve
losing money.
And I'm just so.
It's so funny we look backtoday because I'm the one who
really is the real estateprofessional in the family now.
But I was dragging my feet.
But you know, what we had is areal pivotal, pivotal time back
(04:46):
when there was the, the nationalrecession and things were
changing and the economy wasscary and my husband nearly lost
his corporate job at that time.
And all of a sudden, when I waslike safely thinking, we were
fine, we were living theAmerican dream, we had two kids,
we had a house that we owned,we had a few rest investment
(05:07):
properties thanks to him, but Iwasn't really wanting to
increase our portfolio at thattime and we had that scare where
we realized, oh my gosh, wecould be, like one mortgage
payment, away from having tomake some very scary decisions.
Now, fortunately, that didn'thappen.
He didn't lose his career atthat time, but it was very close
(05:29):
and we decided I say we, butreally that's when it got into
my heart that we needed to havesome other options besides one,
like we say, w-2 income cominginto our family.
And we had a rental property atthat time that we had moved out
of a big house, moved across thecountry for his work, and it
(05:49):
was just sitting there as arental property.
But it was $800 negative cashflow a month and it was not.
We didn't, I didn't know what.
I didn't know.
It was not a good investment.
And so we made the difficultdecision at that time to sell
that property we have someequity in it and to take that
(06:10):
and turn it into two cashflowing rental properties.
At that time and once I sawthat work, even though it was so
scary, we sold at the bottom ofthe market that property.
But once I saw it work and weactually generated positive cash
flow, I was hooked and westarted growing our portfolio
from there.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Oh my gosh, holy cow.
So many things I want to diveinto, but okay, that's the start
.
Yes, oh my gosh.
Okay, well, let me ask you this.
So this is phenomenal.
I appreciate you diving in.
So, before I really dissecteverything, I've got to ask you
this one.
Then, talking about some ofthat mindset of negative
(06:55):
cashflow 800 month over monthlet's just go ahead.
We're going to sell this one,and what was going on with your
thought process behind?
Okay, we've been seeing itmonth over month with it losing
money.
Let's just go ahead and we'regoing to attempt to buy two more
.
What?
Speaker 4 (07:12):
were you thinking, yeah, it was something bigger
than me, I tell you, but onething that made such a
difference?
And then I think there's twothings.
One thing that made such adifference.
And then I think there's twothings.
One I had the, just the nudge,like you know, when you have
those internal feelings thatsomething is supposed to change
and that you have an idea and itmay work.
(07:32):
So there was that, and that, Ithink, really comes from prayer
and meditation and sitting withyourself and being open to
listening.
Two is I started to get involved.
It was actually bigger pocketsat the time, um, which was still
fairly small at back at.
This is back 2011 and uh, itwas something where I found out
(07:58):
that there were more people thatwere actually doing real estate
investing and that it actuallycould work for people, and and
so it was a combination oflistening and really feeling
that internal feeling fromwithin and from above that this
is supposed to happen, but alsogetting in affiliation with
(08:19):
others that were like-minded andwere actually doing that, and
that built my faith that wecould actually do something like
that.
But it wasn't a straightjourney, so we went ahead and
did that.
We turned it into twoproperties and then we started
to look for more and we did.
We're fortunate enough to buyseveral during that that economy
slowdown, where it was a greattime to buy.
(08:41):
But I tell you for everyone wepicked up, there were two that I
was scared about and walkedaway from, because that fear
didn't just like magically goaway.
Right, it was still very scaryand there were sleepless nights,
and that's what I'd like totell a lot of new investors is
you're going to feel the fear,no matter what, but you've got
to trust the numbers and yourfirst deals are not going to be
(09:03):
perfect, right, but they aregoing to get you in the game and
it's those first couple thatare the scariest and that's what
you got to get over the humpand then it really gets fun.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Oh my gosh, you've touched on so many different
like key nuggets that I justwant to backtrack.
So you found out about BP orBiggerPockets.
For those that are listeningwho might not know about
BiggerPockets, it's an amazingplatform, one-stop shop.
Make sure that you look into it.
But was it there that maybe youfound other people or different
(09:40):
resources?
Did you find mentors as well tocollaborate with?
Speaker 4 (09:45):
It was the start of it.
So here's the real game changer.
So once we started the ballrolling and we had a couple of
rental properties that at thetime we had purchased two those
two that I talked about rentalproperties and I was looking for
resources, getting moreinvolved with Bigger Pockets,
and then Josh Dorkin, who wasthe founder of BiggerPockets, he
(10:06):
announced they were going to doa real estate summit and it was
in Denver.
Colorado was their first ever.
Again, they were so small.
I don't think Josh had anyemployees at that time and I, on
faith, I had no business.
I was teaching school and Isaid to my husband like what do
(10:27):
you think if I, if I go down tothis conference, I don't know, I
might learn something?
And I did and went by myself,didn't know a soul, but there
were 300 people there Again, itwas very small back then met so
many incredible people that Istill am in touch with several
of them to this day and Irealized that I was the only
(10:50):
person that I know of from thestate of Idaho that was at that
conference.
So there we talked about littlenudges.
There there was someonespeaking on stage that said
Boise, idaho.
If you don't know Idaho yet.
Trust me, in five years you'regoing to know this name Boise,
idaho, and everyone around theroom was writing down.
(11:12):
Like Boise, by the way it'sspelled, it's pronounced Boise.
There's no Z in Boise.
And if you're local, you knowthat.
But everyone was going Boiseand I looked around.
I just said there was like alight bulb moment, there was
opportunity.
And that's when I started tothink I'm going to get my real
estate license because there'sopportunity for investors
(11:34):
investing in Boise, idaho.
And that is that aha momentthat truly changed the
trajectory of my career and mademe unemployable because I
couldn't go back to teachingthat I was going to do this.
And that is the power ofcommunity and getting together
(11:55):
with others and having thatconcentrated time with others
that are like-minded and thatinspire you to do things that
you think would be crazy.
If you're sitting in the breakroom of your, your job, you know
it's just amazing how thattransformation can happen.
So that's how it kind of allspiraled and I got the
confidence to move forward.
(12:16):
I didn't have a fancy orexpensive mentor or coach.
I learned through osmosis, Ilearned through podcasts, I
learned through books, I learnedthrough the forums and then I
started my own meetup here inIdaho right after that
conference.
I was so excited and that's howkind of everything has grown
since then and I'm so gratefulfor that time in my life where I
(12:38):
just was scared, but I jumpedinto something new and it's just
powerful.
You can't even describe it.
If you're listening to this,you've never been in a room with
others that are full of fire,like you are Nate, that are
entrepreneurial and investors.
I mean, that's what's going tocatch your spark in most
instances.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Oh my gosh mic drop.
So let me just retrace thisentire journey here, because you
did a deep dive in and Iappreciate it, because this is
what we asked for, but cool micdrop.
So, if I'm understandingcorrectly, first you actually
attended the very first meetupfor BiggerPockets.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
I'm an OG mate.
I'm an OG Yep An.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
OG in the game.
Holy cow, hats off to you.
So you went in, knew nobodywent by yourself 300 people in
the room.
You're like I'm just going togo and the worst that's going to
happen is I'm going to learnsomething.
So you stepped in the room andthen not Z but Boise.
Did I pronounce that correctly?
Speaker 4 (13:41):
That's correct.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Yes, okay, I was practicing with the mic off,
okay, so Boise was mentioned andyou're like.
You know what I'm thinking,outside of the box.
If, in five years, this placeis actually going to become the
hub of where most real estatechange acts is going to happen,
I need to be sitting at thetable somehow, some way.
(14:02):
So why not be that centerperson that everybody's going to
need to get to know?
Is that?
Was that the?
Speaker 4 (14:08):
thought process that's kind of I mean, I wasn't
quite as black and white, itjust was something that, like I
knew, I knew that we have a.
We have a saying like at myreal estate brokerage, for
example I'm at eXp Realty thesaying is once you see it, you
can't unsee it.
Brokerage, for example I'm ateXp Realty the saying is once
you see it, you can't unsee it.
That's what I felt Like onceyou see the possibilities, you
(14:31):
can't go back.
I couldn't go back to theclassroom and just pretend that
I hadn't seen that possibilityand move forward.
So it was just something biggerthan me that I just I needed to
move forward and I that afterreally one year in our true
teaching capacity.
I also had a series of events.
I had two family members withcancer that wound up passing
(14:52):
away.
I had my principal with cancerand he, he, he knew as much as
teaching is such a beautifulpassion and calling.
He knew it wasn't mine and he,as someone who was gravely ill,
he kind of spoke that truth intome and he said you need to be
doing what you want to be doing,you need to be finding your
(15:12):
passion and doing what you'remeant to be doing truly, and so
I appreciate it was a littlehard to hear at the time, but it
was a gift and I had theopportunity to continue teaching
.
I wasn't being let go oranything a gift and I had the
opportunity to continue teaching.
I wasn't being let go oranything.
I decided to make that leap andmove into getting my license and
then furthering our investingjourneys as a family.
(15:33):
It was powerful, it was scaryand it was something that I'm so
grateful for today.
I cannot even tell you howthankful I am and how much
further we are as a familyfinancially because of that
decision.
And it wasn't like some hugefancy deal we did, it was just
(15:57):
some consistent action for aperiod of years, period of years
that you know you talk aboutthe compound effect and just
doing that consistently andbeing aligned and both being
real estate as an agent to bringin that ordinary income and
then the investing side of itmarried so beautifully together
that we never could have done ifI was split and working for 40
(16:21):
hours a week in a completelydifferent industry, you know.
So it was.
It was a great thing.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
I appreciate your vulnerability and, as one of my
mentors and coaches calls it,opening up the kimono and
bringing us into your world andprayers and condolences for
those that you had lost.
But thank you for sharing andtalk to me a little bit more
about, and I love hearing youtalk about consistency and being
able to.
(16:49):
I don't yet see the entire plan, but as long as I just continue
to move forward and I like tosay moving that needle forward,
you see the action steps and youmake things attainable, so I
love hearing that from you.
But tell me a little bit aboutsome of the journey You've been
invested for a while now.
Yeah, Trials, tribulations,some of the struggles from you
(17:09):
can take it from when you firstgot started to going through
different cycles in the market,to what you've got going on now.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
And there's a couple of things that I think are
interesting but related to thecycles in the market.
I'm glad you brought that upbecause that is scary.
So once I mentioned during thatrecession, we had a few
properties already and we hadactually moved into a property.
We had moved back, we had livedin North Carolina for a couple
of years which is what made thatone house that we were losing
(17:40):
$800 a month on a rental.
We came on back to the Boisearea, moved into a house we
bought intentionally to become arental, but we were going to
live in it for a year and thatwas 2007.
And that's when, right afterthat, the market just plummeted
and we watched this house we hadmoved into drop in value by
(18:01):
half, house we had moved intodrop in value by half, as well
as our rental properties, andthat was so scary.
But the thing that can andagain, this is why it was so
important to get incommunication and alignment with
other real estate investors wewere all in it together and what
I knew and what others hadtaught me is like, as long as
your tenant is paying themortgage and your current and
(18:25):
your payments, there's no reasonto panic and sell.
So we didn't sell anythingother than that one.
Losing rental property duringthe recession.
We held on it was painful andwe weren't able to move out of
that house.
We had wanted to be a rentalafter a year.
We actually wound up there fornine years and which was fine.
It was a great entry levelhouse.
Our kids, we got very closebecause we were in a small space
(18:47):
together and no regrets there.
But it was just a huge learningexperience.
But and we may, we may, entersome kind of that was
cataclysmic almost.
But if someone's in a marketwhere all of a sudden they're
like, oh my gosh, I paid$500,000 for this home, I'm
living in it.
It's worth 350.
If you're able to make thepayments completely and easily
(19:09):
like, there's no need to panic.
It's a, it's a waiting game.
Things do get better, right,and so that was.
That was part of it.
That was a very hard experienceto go through, but it was one
of the ones that was not soglamorous about rental
properties.
And then just self.
We've self managed most ofthese properties all throughout
(19:32):
the year, so we've had thingsfrom.
You know.
Obviously there's been lots ofinstances where pets come in
when they're not supposed to bethere.
We've had a suicide in aproperty, we've had some very
interesting situations andyou'll hear people a lot of
times say they don't want tohave rentals because they're
afraid of the 3 am toilet call,plugged up toilet call and all
(19:53):
these kind of things.
You just, you just flex thatmuscle and you don't let it
overtake you because at the endof the day, it's just real
estate.
Yes, we had a suicide in aproperty, somebody did actually
die, but 99.9% of the time it'sjust real estate and you got to
treat it like a business.
You talk to a lot ofentrepreneurs I know a lot of
(20:13):
your listeners are entrepreneursand you treat your real estate
investments like a business,like everything else.
And you can.
What's the word Carpet?
I can't say the word today,carpet.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
You put it in a box right, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
Nate.
But you do.
You kind of have to just put itin its own little place and
just treat it like a businessand can't get all emotionally
wrapped up in it.
So there's been a lot of upsand downs, but the more that you
systemize things, put yourscreening process into place,
have things set so that you canrinse and repeat on every tenant
(21:01):
that comes in, all those sortof things it makes it a lot
easier.
But no, is it passive?
No, but is it worth it?
100%?
We talk about choose your hard,right.
Your hard is working forsomebody that you don't like,
doing something you don't wantto do for 50 hours a week, right
?
It's just so funny when I hearthat that people don't want to
(21:22):
do something like have a rentalproperty because they're afraid
of the toilet needs plunged.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
Again, mic drop.
I love it.
Choose your heart.
Everybody out there, make sureyou pause, rewind that, the
entire section, the entiresegment, the entire episode.
Re-listen to everything becauseJohn is freaking, spitting
knowledge right now.
So just kind of a formalityquestion.
(21:52):
We kind of talked aboutproperty that was losing money,
grabbed the equity from it, wasable to tap into that after the
sale to be able to drop it intotwo properties.
But what does it look like interms of financing and funding
for your current deals and areyou still buying right now to
expand and talk to us a littlebit about your strategy now?
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Great question.
Well, there's so much availabletoday that I so wish I would
have tapped into and known aboutback in the day, so to speak,
because we didn't know what wedidn't know.
And we did do conventionalfunding for conventional loans.
For our first like 10properties, we were able to use
the one to four properties andthen use portfolio loans local
(22:35):
lenders for that.
But we were very fortunatebecause my husband had a great,
you know, w2 income and that'sanother thing.
We we scrimped and we saved andwe put down traditional down
payments.
So even during the downturn andmost times we did have some
equity in the property and wemade sacrifices, like our
(22:56):
friends were buying newfurniture and new escalades and
all the things, making goodlivings and going on the fancy
vacations and we were living inthat house, like I mentioned,
for nine years that we intendedto have as a rental and we were
taking every extra penny that wemade and putting them into
those rental properties, and soit wasn't easy.
(23:20):
Now today there's so many greatoptions with creative financing
, seller financing.
I just sold our firstcommercial deal this year.
We did, I should say that sellerfinancing and that's really fun
to be on that side of it.
So there was just a lot that wedidn't know.
But since then there's just somany opportunities to tap into
(23:42):
the equity you already have inrental properties.
So we were been able topurchase additional through
pulling out money out of theexisting properties and then
purchasing from there.
So we've gotten creative since,but I didn't know any different
at the beginning.
It wasn't easy, but we usetraditional, traditional loans
(24:02):
and part of now having a realestate community that's so much
fun.
I mean I started this it'scalled Boise Real Estate
Investor Network and we startedit a couple of years ago and I
cannot even believe how much Ihave learned from other
investors that are showing mehow to do things ethically,
creatively and that work and areable to help you scale so much
(24:27):
faster than we did.
I could have bought 10 timesthe properties we did back in
the day during that once in alifetime opportunity if I would
have had exposure to some of theyeah, I've heard some of your
guests Nate people that aredoing such great things or
invest in passively and otheropportunities that have really
(24:47):
better returns.
So I love that there's so manyincredible options available
today that I didn't know aboutat the time.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Thank you so much for sharing all that.
Thank you so much for the kindwords.
I appreciate it.
You are amongst all of thegreat guests that we've had, so
thank you so much.
We haven't even finished theepisode but, my gosh, I want to
make sure that all of ourlisteners out there caught just
that one piece and that onenugget that was just dropped.
There was so many, but I wantto pinpoint.
It is the fact that Jonnacreated this network and even
(25:24):
though she was like let's cometogether, let's work together,
she's still consistently andcontinuously learning from
everybody.
That's still coming together.
Oh, my gosh, completelyPinpoints all the way back to
the beginning of theconversation of when she was
able to go to the BiggerPocketsfirst convention.
Og in the room.
Again, hats off to you.
And just networking andsurrounding yourself with other
(25:47):
like-minded individuals helpspropel, helps move the needle
forward.
As I say so much on this, I'mforcing fire in any of our talks
and I just want to make surethat that's highlighted the fact
that it doesn't matter how muchof an expert that you think you
are or that you believe thatyou can be.
You can always learn something.
New strategy.
We talked seller finance.
(26:08):
Hats off to you on doing that.
How's that deal going, by theway?
Speaker 4 (26:12):
It's great they're paying, they're paying.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it.
Ok, so before we get into thenext fun segment, I have to.
We have a little bit of asurprise for you.
We are going into what we callthe fire round.
Now, if you heard our show, youknow a little bit about it.
We've got six questions we'regoing to throw at you and you
(26:38):
can answer as succinctly aspossible.
Or, if you'd like to go off andelaborate a little bit more,
that's cool, but the only caveatis that I want you to answer
with the first thing that comesto mind.
Oh, gosh okay got it okay, allright.
So question number one whatseparates top performing
(26:59):
entrepreneurs from the rest ofthe crowd?
The ability to be uncomfortable, being scared and doing it
anyway.
Ooh, so good.
I've not heard that one, but Ilove it.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Okay, and what is a daily habit that's contributed
to your success?
Oh gosh First thing.
Oh gosh first thing.
I don't really listen to music.
I listen to, I mean people giveme a hard time.
I listen to so many learningpodcasts.
I mean just podcasts where whenI'm walking my dog, when I'm at
the gym, you know whether I'min drive time.
I just don't waste thatopportunity.
(27:40):
Getting ready in the mornings,I'm always learning.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Always learning.
Oh, I love it, I love it, Ilove it.
Okay, what is a piece of advicethat you would give to yourself
if you were starting over again?
Speaker 4 (27:56):
it doesn't all have to be done in one year, and if I
were starting over again, Iwould be much more intentional
on what activities are actuallygoing to move the needle, which
and which are just like kickingtires and wasting time, because
time is as I.
As I'm an empty nester now Iknow that time is the most
valuable thing that we have, andso I would really pay attention
(28:19):
to and learn from others whatreally moves the needle and
carve out time for that, familytime and what's the other things
that are really important inlife.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I love it.
What's one of your favoritebusiness books?
Speaker 4 (28:36):
Oh, lastly, I know you've heard this a lot, but the
Darren Hardy books, excuse me.
Well, darren Hardy books aregreat.
The compound effect, and thenBenjamin Hardy that's the one I
meant to go to but who, not how.
And the new 10 X is better thantwo X.
Those are game changers,whether you're investing or any
(28:56):
kind of entrepreneurial venture.
Who, not how, my favorite booksoh so good Journey, always
learning to outsource andleverage.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Yes, yes, ok, so what is your favorite part about
owning a business?
And this can be any or all ofyour ventures.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
My favorite part is it's so funny.
We talk about time freedom.
We all know we all work harderthan almost anyone that has a
job.
But um, but that freedom, thattime freedom and ability to
control my own future, is justhuge.
You know I always laugh.
I'm unemployable, I know I am,so I better it's up to me
(29:34):
because I'm not going to go backand work for somebody else
again.
And that is one of those thingswhere you've got to be
uncomfortable or comfortablewith being uncomfortable, but
there's nothing like having thatcontrol of your future.
I know it's not for everybody,but for most of us it's pretty
addicting.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Say that again yes, yes, yes, okay.
And final question.
I'm failing at this, by the way, I was not supposed to have a
single word in between thethings that you say, but
everything you say.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
It's so catchy.
I've been grinning from ear toear throughout this whole show.
Well, I appreciate you.
Thank you.
People are listening.
They just have to imagine thishuge grin on his face Amazing.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
You're making me blush.
Okay, hold on Back to it.
Okay, fire round.
Final question we can getthrough this.
Here we go.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
All right.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
So what is something new that you've implemented
that's driven success for yourbusiness?
Speaker 4 (30:31):
It's a work in progress, right, the idea that
it's okay to do the same thingover and over again.
And what I mean by that is we,as entrepreneurs and investors,
we get the shiny object syndromeand we're always off into new
things, new ventures.
So one thing that I'veimplemented is taking some
(30:54):
things, really looking hard atsome things that are working
well and just taking the time tohone in on those and to
fine-tune them and make thembetter, rather than just ditch
them for something new becauseI'm bored.
It's painful sometimes becausewe want to do that all the time
and start fresh because thestartup is so much fun.
But I've implemented not justditching things If I'm bored of
(31:18):
them.
We got to fine tune them,automate them, you know, as much
as possible, let someone elsedo them, but don't give up on
them and don't quit.
I'm guilty of that, I will tell.
I'll be the first to admit.
So I'm working this year.
My words I have more than oneword, but it's simplify and
execute and just get narrowingeven more on the few things that
(31:39):
we're really, really good atand executing them, but
executing them well and over andover, and just growing that
piece of it.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
So freaking good.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
Oh my gosh, I can tell you about my failures,
where I ditch things that werejust about ready to take off
because I was bored and I don'trecommend it Seriously.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Oh, just stick with it.
Like we go back and forth allthe time.
Heck, we were just talking, wasit?
It was like a week or two agoand Cole and myself we were just
laughing and we're like anybodythat works with us has to just
hate us at times because we'reChinese.
Then, like we come up with anidea in the middle of the night,
(32:22):
we're on the phone working tillthree am.
We call an office meeting.
Everybody comes together.
We're like we're going in thisdirection.
Now here we go.
It just happens.
I'm laughing because it sitsand resonates with me so well.
So thank you.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
Of course, yeah, no, it's a work in progress.
I can tell we're bothvisionaries and you get out
there and yeah, and then I'llcome back to my team and throw
out my whole all my ideas I'vehad with meeting with other
visionaries and you know, thenthey quickly get me back to
earth on what makes money.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
This is great.
However, let's reel it back in.
And okay, here we go.
Trust me, I get it.
So you have survived the fireround.
That wasn't too bad, was it?
Speaker 4 (33:07):
No, it was awesome, I love it.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
I love it.
You are amazing.
All right, so this has beenphenomenal, but I've got two
final questions for you.
Okay, question number one anyother advice that you'd like to
give to all of our listeners outthere?
And then question number two iswhere can people find you?
So?
Speaker 4 (33:31):
lay it on Advice that I'd like to give listeners.
Well, I think we've kind ofoutlined I mean the biggest
messaging that I have is to givelisteners.
Well, I think we've kind ofoutlined.
I mean, the biggest messagingthat I have is surround yourself
with others, get involved, getin those circles, get in the
right rooms is the biggest thing.
Don't go it alone.
That is so important, I think,no matter what industry you're
(33:53):
in.
And then, as far as people canfind me, if you happen to be in
the state of Idaho, our networkis statewide, so you can go to
BoiseRein B-O-I-S-E-R-E-I-NcomFind out all about what we're
doing.
We've got a podcast Idaho RealEstate Investor Show all of that
good stuff.
For anything else about me orreal estate related, you can
(34:14):
head over to jonnawebercom.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
I love it.
Jonna, this has been phenomenal.
You've taken us on an amazingjourney from all the way back to
early 2000s and then yourexperience with the recession
and then deciding to double ortriple down on having an asset
that was losing month over month.
And, like you know what we'regoing for this we're going all
in Buying two more off of thatsucceeding.
(34:40):
And now you're crushing it inthis industry and you are a
trend center of magnitude, ofproportion, I guess we could say
.
To where you're starting,different groups, people are
coming together.
Folks look at you and look toyou for guidance.
You're also learning andleveraging the folks that are
inside of your circle and I wantto say it's truly an honor,
(35:02):
it's a pleasure and a privilegeto have you on this show.
So thank you so much foreverything.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Thank you, Nate.
This has been great.
I'm a big fan of what you guysare doing.
I appreciate the opportunityand I wish you all the best in
25 and beyond.
Speaker 3 (35:16):
Let's go In 2025, we thrive For those that are
listening.
Make sure that you get homesafe.
Thank you so much for tuning into Forged in Fire.
Again, make sure that you likeleave a rating.
Leave a review Only helps usgrow.
And also make sure that youreach out to Jonna.
Reach out to her, Ask herquestions, Pick her brain, have
her on your shows as well.
She is amazing.
(35:37):
This has been awesome, butwithout further ado, we will see
you all on the next episode ofForged in Fire.
Thank you all so much.
Take care.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
Before we get on with the show, we have a bonus for
you.
We created a free program formultifamily investors showing
you how to go from zero to yourfirst or next cash flowing
property.
And I did say free right.
Head to ForgeREIacademycom,slash MF.
Again.
Forgereiacademycom, slash MF.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Forged in
Fire.
If you enjoyed today's raw,unfiltered stories, don't forget
to like, subscribe and leave usa review.
Your feedback helps us bringmore real-world insights to
entrepreneurs like you.
Be sure to join us next timefor even more lessons, struggles
(36:36):
and breakthroughs on the roadto success.
Keep forging ahead.
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