January 28, 2025 • 21 mins
What would you do if an unexpected encounter changed the course of your career forever? Meet Davidson Joseph, the inspiring owner of Redach LLC, who shifted from a stable nursing profession to the challenging world of real estate contracting in Southwest Florida. Hear how an interaction with an unlicensed contractor ignited his drive to become licensed himself, sparking a journey filled with resilience and tenacity. Davidson takes us through his transformative story, from losing everything during the 2008 market crash to rebuilding with sheer self-reliance and a refusal to accept defeat. His insights into personal growth through adversity and the pursuit of self-determination offer valuable lessons for anyone facing career challenges.
Davidson also shares his unconventional approach to business, emphasizing the power of robust subcontractor relationships over traditional employment models. Discover how he navigates the intricate dynamics of the construction industry, leveraging trust and flexibility to forge successful ventures. As he reflects on his personal journey from Haiti to Florida, Davidson highlights the courage needed to embrace entrepreneurship and the rewards that come with it. This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for those in real estate or any field seeking inspiration to push through obstacles and achieve their aspirations.
Redach LLC
Davidson Joseph
(239) 628-2543
davidsonjoseph215@yahoo.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, cabo, jimSchaller.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 228
of the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today we have Good NeighborDavidson Joseph from Redash LLC.
Welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Good morning, how are you guys?
I'm happy to be here.
Welcome, I'm happy to having mehere, thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
Always exciting to get to knowpeople in the community and what
they do and share that with ourlisteners.
So, without further ado, let'sjump right in.
And why don't you share alittle bit about what you do?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Well, my name is Davidson Joseph.
Originally, I'm from Haiti.
I've been living in SouthwestFlorida for 25 years.
There I go to school, become aregistered nurse, my wife become
a registered nurse.
We've been a nurse now for 17years, but about eight years ago
I start playing with realestate in terms of construction.
(01:02):
So I ended up paying acontractor to build a house for
me.
By the time he's done, he'sstill almost $16,000.
Wow.
And then come to find out henever had his license in the
first place.
He was borrowing it fromanother person.
Oh, I was so mad.
(01:22):
I still sell the house, make alittle profit, but instead of
blaming him, I take charge of mylife.
I say so mad.
I still sell the house, make alittle profit, but instead of
blaming him, I take charge of mylife.
I say you know what?
I'm a registered nurse.
It cannot be that hard.
So I go back to school, becomea contractor.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
This was the best 16,000 I ever lost.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
That is.
That is, you know, sometimesthrough adversity, adversity, we
find our way, find our path.
And if I can't explain it toyou, this is the best thing that
ever happened to me.
So I ended up I say, okay, Ineed to learn this, instead of
blaming him, I shouldn't knowbetter.
So I go to school, become acontractor now I own my, my
craft.
And then you say you know what,let me try to do one for me.
I do first house and I sell it,and I do a second one, and the
(02:09):
next year I do four for myselfand I sort of make some money.
Then next year I'll do eight,like right now, as I'm talking
to you, I'm building 15 homes.
Wow, not even one dime from thebank that is.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
That is awesome, that is crazy I love it I love it so
I was gonna ask you how you gotinvolved in it.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
But that's pretty, that's a, that's a great story
the truth is, uh, when I firstcame to america I'm gonna tell
you a secret, though my mother,my mother moved to america when
I was three years old, so Inever grew up with my mom, so
she applied for green card forme and everything, but it took
22 years for the government toapprove me to come here.
(02:52):
That's a side note.
We're not talking aboutimmigration, but legal
immigration is almost harderthan illegal immigration.
But when I came here, I wasalready 26 years old, and then I
went to school, become a nurseuh, this is what we do.
But in 2002, I started in realestate.
(03:15):
I started buying and selling,buying and selling.
By 2008, I have eight homes,beautiful homes in tempe,
everywhere and the marketcrashed.
I lost everything.
I lost everything, but I didn'tlose my experience, my flipping
experience.
That's when I go to school tobecome a nurse.
I had to file for bankruptcyand I start from scratch.
(03:39):
That's why I just told you Idon't mess with people's money,
I don't mess with banks.
I start from the scratch.
If I have to work three jobs, Iwork three jobs to save enough
money to do one project.
I know it's really against therule right now, because
everybody tries to use people'smoney to start projects.
I always tell them everythingis good when people are buying,
(04:02):
everything is good when themusic is playing.
Everybody's dancing.
When the music stop, you knowwho really is dancing with the
wrong place in the wrongneighborhood.
Because if the bank, if you'renot selling, and the bank need
this money, it's gonna take yourproperty absolutely yeah, stuff
(04:25):
that you've worked hard for.
Oh, yes, sir, yes, sir.
What I tell people?
This is what I tell people.
I hate losing.
I know hate is a strong word,right?
I hate losing 10 times than Ilove winning.
When you win, there's nothingthere, you just okay.
(04:45):
I win, I build a house, I make$70,000.
Okay, so what next?
I build a house, I make$100,000.
There is nothing to celebrateit, just rip it, just rinse and
repeat.
But when you lose, he haunts me.
I cannot sleep.
I blame myself, I blameeverybody, I blame the world.
I tell myself I will never loseagain.
(05:06):
So the reason there is risk isbecause you don't know what
you're doing.
So if I don't know what I'mdoing, guess what?
There's room for improvement,there's room for learning.
So I went to basics.
I start learning about just apiece of land.
Just look at the piece of land.
I can learn everything I needto know about that piece of land
(05:26):
.
If I don't know it, that's myproblem.
So I learn every step of theway.
Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
And that is great.
That is great because you know,like you said, through
adversity or challenges, that'swhen people grow, that's when
people learn, you adapt and youovercome and you've moved
forward from that.
You've learned from that.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Talking about challenges, I mean there's some
big challenges.
It seems like you've beenthrough a couple, but what is
one of the biggest challengesyou've been since you started
this?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Tell you the truth because of my background, right,
because I have gone through therecession of 2008, this teach
me so much, right?
So, being a developer now, ifthere was a challenge, it will
be the.
The challenge to scale there isin my seat.
(06:21):
That's the greatest thing tobalance.
When do you scale?
Because people always come tothe party too late.
If you were to ask me, I'll saythe best time to scale in real
estate was between 2010 and 2014.
(06:41):
But this was the time peoplewere running away.
So, for me, as a developer,when do you scale?
When do you go to the bank?
Instead of doing 10 projects ayear, try to do 50?
.
This is my challenge, and so,in terms of practicality, my
(07:07):
biggest challenge was with mysubcontractors.
Just a side note, I run a bigbusiness with no employee.
It's just me.
My wife is there, we both50-50%, so I don't have pay
employee.
I fully go to the subcontractormodel.
Basically, I will hiresubcontractor for every part of
(07:28):
the construction.
When I started, though, thecontractor business is almost
like a universe on itself.
You can call a contractor 50times.
He never pick up your phone.
I have, because he doesn't knowyou like that.
So the relationship in thebusiness is more important than
the business itself.
(07:49):
Now, all my contractors now Icreate a model for them.
When I met them, they said thefirst thing you do, you come to
my house, let's sit and talk.
This is where I live, this ismy family, this is my house.
You can always come here andfind me and I go meet with them.
And when I pick up the call onSunday night, they're going to
(08:10):
pick up that call If I have anemergency on the job site.
The relationship is what makesthem come to work, not the money
I pay them.
So to answer your question howdo you scale?
When do you scale?
Answer your question how do youscale?
When do you scale?
That's the first challenge.
The second one is how do youdevelop a bond with your
(08:30):
subcontractor that's alwaysgoing to show up for you on time
, even if you don't have moneyto show them up front?
I have people I can call rightnow and say okay, go to that
piece of land, start clearingthe land, bring dirt, get the
pad ready for construction.
That's almost $40,000 worth ofwork.
They will go and do the wholething without even the contract
(08:54):
signed, because they knowwhenever they want to get paid.
All they have to do is make aphone call or stop by the house.
I'll write them a check.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Very nice and that's great.
That speaks volumes to therelationships that you've built.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Yes sir, that was the biggest hurdle to go over.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So let's talk about because you do things a little
bit different.
Let's talk about myths ormisconceptions people have
because of the way you approachthings.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Misconceptions.
Everybody thinks they can do itBecause there is.
The biggest universe now isYouTube.
The biggest university isYouTube and TikTok and Instagram
.
Somebody will go watch a videoand they think they can do it.
So you have a lot of peopleplaying with stuff.
(09:49):
They have no idea what's goingon.
So I would strongly suggest that, yes, you can do anything you
put your heart into, but you canalso do everything you put your
mind into in terms of educatingyourself.
That's the biggestmisconception, in my opinion.
(10:10):
And the other misconception isbecause a lot of people think
they cannot do it either,because they think it's
overwhelming.
Oh my God, oh my God, I don'tknow how you do all this.
Overwhelmed Again, educatingyourself.
Find a mentor, find somebodythat do not talk about it but
actually doing it and say heyman, what do I need to do to tag
(10:36):
along with you?
Do you have a book?
Do you have a course?
Do you have a system?
Are you taking internshippeople?
I just want to know how to dothis, but I don't want to do it
by myself.
I want somebody to hold my hand.
So it's a two-way street.
In one way, somebody thinksthey can do it just by watching
a video the other way.
(10:57):
Somebody totally thinks theycannot do it.
And I'm telling you this forthe last three years I
completely do not go to workanymore.
I used to work in an NCHhospital.
Everybody know me there.
For 15 years I loved nursing.
I've been a registered nurse.
But when you work for someone,I don't care how much they pay
(11:20):
you, but they pay you meaningthey decide your value up front.
But they pay you meaning theydecide your value upfront and
once you sign the paper you getthe job.
That's mean you accept theprice, the value they're gonna
pay you from that day forward.
They may do a little threepercent, five percent raise in
there, but your salary is cappedin their mind.
Unless you're a salesperson,you get paid on commission.
(11:43):
But if you pay hourly like whenI left the last paycheck, I was
making 75 an hour.
That's good money, trust me.
When I started in america Istarted four dollars an hour to
move from four dollars to twelvedollars to sixteen, to eighteen
to twenty, to get to 75 an hour.
This is a lifetime for fromwhere I'm sitting.
But I ask myself what's next?
(12:05):
I did not leave my job.
I started a business on theside I go to work at night doing
my 60 hours a week at night.
During the morning I work andsleep three hours.
I do that for four years.
But I tell my wife the minutemy side job start making more
than the nurse, I will leavenursing.
(12:27):
That's what I did three yearsago and the rest is history.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Wow, very, very nice, very nice.
Now, you're originally fromHaiti.
What?
Speaker 3 (12:35):
brought you to.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Southwest Florida.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Well, my mom lived in West Palm Beach now for almost
47 years.
So when I first came to Americain 2000, I moved to West Palm.
I spent two weeks with mymother.
Then I moved to Orlando becauseI have a niece there.
They said there's some jobthere.
I moved there and startedmaking four or five dollars an
hour.
Then I met with my wife.
(13:00):
At that time she was living inLehigh.
So within a year and a half weget married.
So we moved to jupiter, florida, and then there I build a
little house.
That was my first house.
I built 92 000 square feet andbefore I even get married I
build a house with a builder.
Then, two years later, in 2000,I believe 2004, my wife finished
(13:23):
college and she was admitted toEdison College in Fort Myers to
the nursing program.
And then she said well, shecannot go because we just built
a house in Jupiter, florida.
I said, uh-uh, we're going tosell the house.
Education comes first.
We're going to sell the house,education comes first.
We're going to move over there.
I didn't know.
The house I bid in $92,000 wasalready worth $160,000, making
(13:50):
$6 an hour at Walgreens.
Back then my wife was workingat Wendy's making $6.75.
When we sell that house,everybody get their money and
then we work away $42,000.
That was like half a milliondollars back then for me.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
So from there we moved to Lehigh.
We built a house and then I buyfour pieces of lead at $4,000
each.
And then I went to Ocala andbuy one house and I buy another
house in Silver Spring, ocala.
That was all in that $42,000.
Within two years, the land Ibought in 2004, I sell each of
(14:28):
them in 2006 for $50,000.
Wow, that's how I started.
That's why I say from 2000 to2008, I already own eight homes.
That first little move fromSouthwest, that was the open
gate, Even though I losteverything.
But I did not.
I'll tell you why.
When I lost all my house, Istill have a quarter million
dollars in the bank.
(14:49):
So I let the house go and I getto another bank and I make a
deal with the bank.
I say I see you have a house onforeclosure.
He says what are you going todo?
I said I'm buying it cash for$82,000 in 2008.
I buy house cash and I get offthe mortgage risk.
I own my house clear and freein 2008.
Wow, it changed the game for menow because in 2014, all the
(15:15):
bank is coming after me to sueme because I have so many
foreclosures.
So I filed for bankruptcy.
They couldn't touch my privatehome.
It was protected by Homestead.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Nice, very nice.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
So my life is a dream man.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
It is I'm excited.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
I love it.
It's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
So you sound like a very busy man, but when you get
a moment of free time, what doyou enjoy doing outside of work?
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Oh, my wife says my mind is already racing what I
really?
First of all, let's put it incontext when you really love
what you do, it doesn't feellike you're working anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
So when I'm working, it doesn't matter whether, if I
go to work at six o'clock andit's 10 o'clock, I'm still on
the field.
It doesn't feel like I'mworking because I'm not
constrained by nobody.
I'm on my own time.
I decide what I do.
So when I'm tired I go home, orI might decide to stay home
(16:21):
till 12 o'clock and use my phoneto call subcontractors.
But in reality, me and my wife,what we really like to do now
we like to do a lot of vacation.
We do a lot of cruises.
We do a lot of vacation hereand there.
I go to church.
I'm a Christian.
I go to church every Sunday.
I have many prayer meeting inmy house with my kids and other
family members on the phone attime.
(16:41):
I watch a lot of content.
I watch a lot of content.
I learn.
I'm always in the learning modeat the end with everything.
I've built a beautiful pool inmy house, so, if anything, you
see me by my pool just justrelaxing.
I just like to be lazy, put myfeet up and just read a book and
just watch my pool, watch mykid.
(17:02):
I have four kids, fourbeautiful kids, so I'm a blessed
man.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
That's it.
That's relax, a well-deservedrelaxation.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
So how would the listeners go about contacting
you if they wanted to learn moreabout what you do or had some
questions?
Speaker 3 (17:19):
ah, this is a good one.
I used to have a website, but Idon't maintain it.
I let it go down.
But guess what?
I?
I actually going to give you my.
I don't know if it's permittedto give my my email.
Oh yeah, absolutely, yep, uh,they can actually.
Not only I'm gonna give you myemail, I'm gonna give my
(17:40):
personal cell phone.
I'm an open guy, you know, I'mnot.
I'm not that crafted.
I ask people two things bemindful of my time and then,
most likely, just text me.
Because I have so many vendors50, 60 phone call I usually
don't pick up my phone callanymore.
I just let it go to text or orvoicemail.
(18:04):
If it's important, I willreturn the call.
So my personal cell phone,which is I use for my business,
is two, three, nine, six, twentyeight, twenty five, forty three
.
Two, three, nine, six, two,eight, twenty five, forty three.
And my personal email when I get, when I get 239-628-2543.
239-628-2543.
(18:26):
And my personal email when Iget really a big shot.
Maybe I won't give that anymore, but my personal email is
actually my name.
I got four or five emails, butI only use my personal email
quicker than anything else.
My personal email is my name,which is Davidson D-V-I-D-S-O-N,
joseph, j-o-s-e-p-h.
215 at yahoocom Since I came toAmerica.
That was my first email and Ikept it 25 years.
(18:47):
I got the same email.
But you know what it is.
As you keep moving in thisworld, time is very limited for
you.
Everybody a piece of it.
So what I'm working on now?
I'm working to have my first uhbook about construction.
Very nice, right to see howmany friends and family that
(19:10):
call me.
Hey, man, I start this house.
Can you tell me what I do afterI do the drywall?
Where do I buy my roof supply?
What about my foundation?
So what I'm doing?
I'm doing a simple, probably100 page book and teach people.
Hey, you don't have to talk tome anymore.
Go grab the book 19 bucks.
If you follow the book, you canmake 60, 70, $80,000 a year.
(19:31):
You don't have to talk to meanymore.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
But if you buy the book, you're happy.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
But if you buy the book, you're happy.
Maybe you call me.
I'm a designer.
Of course that's for the future, but if somebody wanted to
contact me, send me a text.
Right now I'm helping a lot ofgood people in the community.
I have nurses that are making$60,000 a year and then I build
one project for them.
They sell it.
They make $90,000 profit.
(19:56):
Very nice, very nice, you'redoing the right things yes, sir,
and even my friend asked me howyou build so cheap for the
people.
I said guess what?
Whether they build for with me,I'm still building what I can
for me.
If my capacity right now is 10hours a year, whether you work
with me or not, I'm still gonnamake my 10 hours a year and I'm
(20:16):
gonna be have a good year.
So if a customer or client cometo'm still going to make my 10
house a year and I'm going tohave a good year.
So if a customer or client cometo me, I want to be mindful of
their own money and I tell themdon't build this house, because
you're not going to make anymoney.
This is what you build andyou're going to make $60,000,
$70,000 a year or you can keepit for your family, but I don't
need your money to survive.
(20:37):
So if I'm going to help you, Ineed to build for you where you
make some money on your money.
One of the things I tell all myinvestors you work for me.
You make at least 20 to 22%return on your money.
That's it.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Nice, nice, I love it .
I love everything you're doing.
Davidson, it's been a pleasuregetting to know you.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Yes, sir, likewise.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Thank you for being such a good neighbor and I hope
to see you out in the communityhere soon.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Yes sir, yes sir, Thank you, thank you.
I'm glad I get to be part ofthe podcast with you, mr Jen.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast, estero.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPAasterocom.
That's gnpasterocom, or call839-296-2621.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, cabo, jimSchaller.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 228
of the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today we have Good NeighborDavidson Joseph from Redash LLC.
Welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Good morning, how are you guys?
I'm happy to be here.
Welcome, I'm happy to having mehere, thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
Always exciting to get to knowpeople in the community and what
they do and share that with ourlisteners.
So, without further ado, let'sjump right in.
And why don't you share alittle bit about what you do?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Well, my name is Davidson Joseph.
Originally, I'm from Haiti.
I've been living in SouthwestFlorida for 25 years.
There I go to school, become aregistered nurse, my wife become
a registered nurse.
We've been a nurse now for 17years, but about eight years ago
I start playing with realestate in terms of construction.
(01:02):
So I ended up paying acontractor to build a house for
me.
By the time he's done, he'sstill almost $16,000.
Wow.
And then come to find out henever had his license in the
first place.
He was borrowing it fromanother person.
Oh, I was so mad.
(01:22):
I still sell the house, make alittle profit, but instead of
blaming him, I take charge of mylife.
I say so mad.
I still sell the house, make alittle profit, but instead of
blaming him, I take charge of mylife.
I say you know what?
I'm a registered nurse.
It cannot be that hard.
So I go back to school, becomea contractor.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
This was the best 16,000 I ever lost.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
That is.
That is, you know, sometimesthrough adversity, adversity, we
find our way, find our path.
And if I can't explain it toyou, this is the best thing that
ever happened to me.
So I ended up I say, okay, Ineed to learn this, instead of
blaming him, I shouldn't knowbetter.
So I go to school, become acontractor now I own my, my
craft.
And then you say you know what,let me try to do one for me.
I do first house and I sell it,and I do a second one, and the
(02:09):
next year I do four for myselfand I sort of make some money.
Then next year I'll do eight,like right now, as I'm talking
to you, I'm building 15 homes.
Wow, not even one dime from thebank that is.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
That is awesome, that is crazy I love it I love it so
I was gonna ask you how you gotinvolved in it.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
But that's pretty, that's a, that's a great story
the truth is, uh, when I firstcame to america I'm gonna tell
you a secret, though my mother,my mother moved to america when
I was three years old, so Inever grew up with my mom, so
she applied for green card forme and everything, but it took
22 years for the government toapprove me to come here.
(02:52):
That's a side note.
We're not talking aboutimmigration, but legal
immigration is almost harderthan illegal immigration.
But when I came here, I wasalready 26 years old, and then I
went to school, become a nurseuh, this is what we do.
But in 2002, I started in realestate.
(03:15):
I started buying and selling,buying and selling.
By 2008, I have eight homes,beautiful homes in tempe,
everywhere and the marketcrashed.
I lost everything.
I lost everything, but I didn'tlose my experience, my flipping
experience.
That's when I go to school tobecome a nurse.
I had to file for bankruptcyand I start from scratch.
(03:39):
That's why I just told you Idon't mess with people's money,
I don't mess with banks.
I start from the scratch.
If I have to work three jobs, Iwork three jobs to save enough
money to do one project.
I know it's really against therule right now, because
everybody tries to use people'smoney to start projects.
I always tell them everythingis good when people are buying,
(04:02):
everything is good when themusic is playing.
Everybody's dancing.
When the music stop, you knowwho really is dancing with the
wrong place in the wrongneighborhood.
Because if the bank, if you'renot selling, and the bank need
this money, it's gonna take yourproperty absolutely yeah, stuff
(04:25):
that you've worked hard for.
Oh, yes, sir, yes, sir.
What I tell people?
This is what I tell people.
I hate losing.
I know hate is a strong word,right?
I hate losing 10 times than Ilove winning.
When you win, there's nothingthere, you just okay.
(04:45):
I win, I build a house, I make$70,000.
Okay, so what next?
I build a house, I make$100,000.
There is nothing to celebrateit, just rip it, just rinse and
repeat.
But when you lose, he haunts me.
I cannot sleep.
I blame myself, I blameeverybody, I blame the world.
I tell myself I will never loseagain.
(05:06):
So the reason there is risk isbecause you don't know what
you're doing.
So if I don't know what I'mdoing, guess what?
There's room for improvement,there's room for learning.
So I went to basics.
I start learning about just apiece of land.
Just look at the piece of land.
I can learn everything I needto know about that piece of land
(05:26):
.
If I don't know it, that's myproblem.
So I learn every step of theway.
Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
And that is great.
That is great because you know,like you said, through
adversity or challenges, that'swhen people grow, that's when
people learn, you adapt and youovercome and you've moved
forward from that.
You've learned from that.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Talking about challenges, I mean there's some
big challenges.
It seems like you've beenthrough a couple, but what is
one of the biggest challengesyou've been since you started
this?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Tell you the truth because of my background, right,
because I have gone through therecession of 2008, this teach
me so much, right?
So, being a developer now, ifthere was a challenge, it will
be the.
The challenge to scale there isin my seat.
(06:21):
That's the greatest thing tobalance.
When do you scale?
Because people always come tothe party too late.
If you were to ask me, I'll saythe best time to scale in real
estate was between 2010 and 2014.
(06:41):
But this was the time peoplewere running away.
So, for me, as a developer,when do you scale?
When do you go to the bank?
Instead of doing 10 projects ayear, try to do 50?
.
This is my challenge, and so,in terms of practicality, my
(07:07):
biggest challenge was with mysubcontractors.
Just a side note, I run a bigbusiness with no employee.
It's just me.
My wife is there, we both50-50%, so I don't have pay
employee.
I fully go to the subcontractormodel.
Basically, I will hiresubcontractor for every part of
(07:28):
the construction.
When I started, though, thecontractor business is almost
like a universe on itself.
You can call a contractor 50times.
He never pick up your phone.
I have, because he doesn't knowyou like that.
So the relationship in thebusiness is more important than
the business itself.
(07:49):
Now, all my contractors now Icreate a model for them.
When I met them, they said thefirst thing you do, you come to
my house, let's sit and talk.
This is where I live, this ismy family, this is my house.
You can always come here andfind me and I go meet with them.
And when I pick up the call onSunday night, they're going to
(08:10):
pick up that call If I have anemergency on the job site.
The relationship is what makesthem come to work, not the money
I pay them.
So to answer your question howdo you scale?
When do you scale?
Answer your question how do youscale?
When do you scale?
That's the first challenge.
The second one is how do youdevelop a bond with your
(08:30):
subcontractor that's alwaysgoing to show up for you on time
, even if you don't have moneyto show them up front?
I have people I can call rightnow and say okay, go to that
piece of land, start clearingthe land, bring dirt, get the
pad ready for construction.
That's almost $40,000 worth ofwork.
They will go and do the wholething without even the contract
(08:54):
signed, because they knowwhenever they want to get paid.
All they have to do is make aphone call or stop by the house.
I'll write them a check.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Very nice and that's great.
That speaks volumes to therelationships that you've built.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Yes sir, that was the biggest hurdle to go over.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So let's talk about because you do things a little
bit different.
Let's talk about myths ormisconceptions people have
because of the way you approachthings.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Misconceptions.
Everybody thinks they can do itBecause there is.
The biggest universe now isYouTube.
The biggest university isYouTube and TikTok and Instagram
.
Somebody will go watch a videoand they think they can do it.
So you have a lot of peopleplaying with stuff.
(09:49):
They have no idea what's goingon.
So I would strongly suggest that, yes, you can do anything you
put your heart into, but you canalso do everything you put your
mind into in terms of educatingyourself.
That's the biggestmisconception, in my opinion.
(10:10):
And the other misconception isbecause a lot of people think
they cannot do it either,because they think it's
overwhelming.
Oh my God, oh my God, I don'tknow how you do all this.
Overwhelmed Again, educatingyourself.
Find a mentor, find somebodythat do not talk about it but
actually doing it and say heyman, what do I need to do to tag
(10:36):
along with you?
Do you have a book?
Do you have a course?
Do you have a system?
Are you taking internshippeople?
I just want to know how to dothis, but I don't want to do it
by myself.
I want somebody to hold my hand.
So it's a two-way street.
In one way, somebody thinksthey can do it just by watching
a video the other way.
(10:57):
Somebody totally thinks theycannot do it.
And I'm telling you this forthe last three years I
completely do not go to workanymore.
I used to work in an NCHhospital.
Everybody know me there.
For 15 years I loved nursing.
I've been a registered nurse.
But when you work for someone,I don't care how much they pay
(11:20):
you, but they pay you meaningthey decide your value up front.
But they pay you meaning theydecide your value upfront and
once you sign the paper you getthe job.
That's mean you accept theprice, the value they're gonna
pay you from that day forward.
They may do a little threepercent, five percent raise in
there, but your salary is cappedin their mind.
Unless you're a salesperson,you get paid on commission.
(11:43):
But if you pay hourly like whenI left the last paycheck, I was
making 75 an hour.
That's good money, trust me.
When I started in america Istarted four dollars an hour to
move from four dollars to twelvedollars to sixteen, to eighteen
to twenty, to get to 75 an hour.
This is a lifetime for fromwhere I'm sitting.
But I ask myself what's next?
(12:05):
I did not leave my job.
I started a business on theside I go to work at night doing
my 60 hours a week at night.
During the morning I work andsleep three hours.
I do that for four years.
But I tell my wife the minutemy side job start making more
than the nurse, I will leavenursing.
(12:27):
That's what I did three yearsago and the rest is history.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Wow, very, very nice, very nice.
Now, you're originally fromHaiti.
What?
Speaker 3 (12:35):
brought you to.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Southwest Florida.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Well, my mom lived in West Palm Beach now for almost
47 years.
So when I first came to Americain 2000, I moved to West Palm.
I spent two weeks with mymother.
Then I moved to Orlando becauseI have a niece there.
They said there's some jobthere.
I moved there and startedmaking four or five dollars an
hour.
Then I met with my wife.
(13:00):
At that time she was living inLehigh.
So within a year and a half weget married.
So we moved to jupiter, florida, and then there I build a
little house.
That was my first house.
I built 92 000 square feet andbefore I even get married I
build a house with a builder.
Then, two years later, in 2000,I believe 2004, my wife finished
(13:23):
college and she was admitted toEdison College in Fort Myers to
the nursing program.
And then she said well, shecannot go because we just built
a house in Jupiter, florida.
I said, uh-uh, we're going tosell the house.
Education comes first.
We're going to sell the house,education comes first.
We're going to move over there.
I didn't know.
The house I bid in $92,000 wasalready worth $160,000, making
(13:50):
$6 an hour at Walgreens.
Back then my wife was workingat Wendy's making $6.75.
When we sell that house,everybody get their money and
then we work away $42,000.
That was like half a milliondollars back then for me.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
So from there we moved to Lehigh.
We built a house and then I buyfour pieces of lead at $4,000
each.
And then I went to Ocala andbuy one house and I buy another
house in Silver Spring, ocala.
That was all in that $42,000.
Within two years, the land Ibought in 2004, I sell each of
(14:28):
them in 2006 for $50,000.
Wow, that's how I started.
That's why I say from 2000 to2008, I already own eight homes.
That first little move fromSouthwest, that was the open
gate, Even though I losteverything.
But I did not.
I'll tell you why.
When I lost all my house, Istill have a quarter million
dollars in the bank.
(14:49):
So I let the house go and I getto another bank and I make a
deal with the bank.
I say I see you have a house onforeclosure.
He says what are you going todo?
I said I'm buying it cash for$82,000 in 2008.
I buy house cash and I get offthe mortgage risk.
I own my house clear and freein 2008.
Wow, it changed the game for menow because in 2014, all the
(15:15):
bank is coming after me to sueme because I have so many
foreclosures.
So I filed for bankruptcy.
They couldn't touch my privatehome.
It was protected by Homestead.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Nice, very nice.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
So my life is a dream man.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
It is I'm excited.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
I love it.
It's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
So you sound like a very busy man, but when you get
a moment of free time, what doyou enjoy doing outside of work?
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Oh, my wife says my mind is already racing what I
really?
First of all, let's put it incontext when you really love
what you do, it doesn't feellike you're working anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
So when I'm working, it doesn't matter whether, if I
go to work at six o'clock andit's 10 o'clock, I'm still on
the field.
It doesn't feel like I'mworking because I'm not
constrained by nobody.
I'm on my own time.
I decide what I do.
So when I'm tired I go home, orI might decide to stay home
(16:21):
till 12 o'clock and use my phoneto call subcontractors.
But in reality, me and my wife,what we really like to do now
we like to do a lot of vacation.
We do a lot of cruises.
We do a lot of vacation hereand there.
I go to church.
I'm a Christian.
I go to church every Sunday.
I have many prayer meeting inmy house with my kids and other
family members on the phone attime.
(16:41):
I watch a lot of content.
I watch a lot of content.
I learn.
I'm always in the learning modeat the end with everything.
I've built a beautiful pool inmy house, so, if anything, you
see me by my pool just justrelaxing.
I just like to be lazy, put myfeet up and just read a book and
just watch my pool, watch mykid.
(17:02):
I have four kids, fourbeautiful kids, so I'm a blessed
man.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
That's it.
That's relax, a well-deservedrelaxation.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
So how would the listeners go about contacting
you if they wanted to learn moreabout what you do or had some
questions?
Speaker 3 (17:19):
ah, this is a good one.
I used to have a website, but Idon't maintain it.
I let it go down.
But guess what?
I?
I actually going to give you my.
I don't know if it's permittedto give my my email.
Oh yeah, absolutely, yep, uh,they can actually.
Not only I'm gonna give you myemail, I'm gonna give my
(17:40):
personal cell phone.
I'm an open guy, you know, I'mnot.
I'm not that crafted.
I ask people two things bemindful of my time and then,
most likely, just text me.
Because I have so many vendors50, 60 phone call I usually
don't pick up my phone callanymore.
I just let it go to text or orvoicemail.
(18:04):
If it's important, I willreturn the call.
So my personal cell phone,which is I use for my business,
is two, three, nine, six, twentyeight, twenty five, forty three
.
Two, three, nine, six, two,eight, twenty five, forty three.
And my personal email when I get, when I get 239-628-2543.
239-628-2543.
(18:26):
And my personal email when Iget really a big shot.
Maybe I won't give that anymore, but my personal email is
actually my name.
I got four or five emails, butI only use my personal email
quicker than anything else.
My personal email is my name,which is Davidson D-V-I-D-S-O-N,
joseph, j-o-s-e-p-h.
215 at yahoocom Since I came toAmerica.
That was my first email and Ikept it 25 years.
(18:47):
I got the same email.
But you know what it is.
As you keep moving in thisworld, time is very limited for
you.
Everybody a piece of it.
So what I'm working on now?
I'm working to have my first uhbook about construction.
Very nice, right to see howmany friends and family that
(19:10):
call me.
Hey, man, I start this house.
Can you tell me what I do afterI do the drywall?
Where do I buy my roof supply?
What about my foundation?
So what I'm doing?
I'm doing a simple, probably100 page book and teach people.
Hey, you don't have to talk tome anymore.
Go grab the book 19 bucks.
If you follow the book, you canmake 60, 70, $80,000 a year.
(19:31):
You don't have to talk to meanymore.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
But if you buy the book, you're happy.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
But if you buy the book, you're happy.
Maybe you call me.
I'm a designer.
Of course that's for the future, but if somebody wanted to
contact me, send me a text.
Right now I'm helping a lot ofgood people in the community.
I have nurses that are making$60,000 a year and then I build
one project for them.
They sell it.
They make $90,000 profit.
(19:56):
Very nice, very nice, you'redoing the right things yes, sir,
and even my friend asked me howyou build so cheap for the
people.
I said guess what?
Whether they build for with me,I'm still building what I can
for me.
If my capacity right now is 10hours a year, whether you work
with me or not, I'm still gonnamake my 10 hours a year and I'm
(20:16):
gonna be have a good year.
So if a customer or client cometo'm still going to make my 10
house a year and I'm going tohave a good year.
So if a customer or client cometo me, I want to be mindful of
their own money and I tell themdon't build this house, because
you're not going to make anymoney.
This is what you build andyou're going to make $60,000,
$70,000 a year or you can keepit for your family, but I don't
need your money to survive.
(20:37):
So if I'm going to help you, Ineed to build for you where you
make some money on your money.
One of the things I tell all myinvestors you work for me.
You make at least 20 to 22%return on your money.
That's it.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Nice, nice, I love it .
I love everything you're doing.
Davidson, it's been a pleasuregetting to know you.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Yes, sir, likewise.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Thank you for being such a good neighbor and I hope
to see you out in the communityhere soon.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Yes sir, yes sir, Thank you, thank you.
I'm glad I get to be part ofthe podcast with you, mr Jen.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast, estero.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPAasterocom.
That's gnpasterocom, or call839-296-2621.
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