From Sneaker Hustles to Cabin Resorts: Rajan Chida’s Leap Into Development | EP#07

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a movement for LOCALS ready to lead.In this inspiring episode of Local Real Estate Developers, we sit down with Rajan Chida — a young entrepreneur who went from reselling sneakers to co-developing a modern cabin resort alongside his partner, Renzo. With no formal background in real estate, Rajan shares how sheer curiosity, hustle, and relationship-building opened the door to his first major development opportunity.

Rajan unpacks how his early hustle selling shoes taught him valuable lessons in grit, scaling, and flipping — all of which translated into his journey as a developer. He also reveals the exact steps he took to get in the room with active developers, the importance of adding value before asking for anything, and how a single trip to Waco, Texas sparked the vision for his first major build — a short-term rental resort modeled after Live Oak Lake.

Topics Covered Include:

✅ Lessons learned from flipping sneakers and scaling a business

✅ How Rajan found and added value to his first real estate mentor

✅ The power of belief, self-education, and action over analysis

✅ Creating a development vision and selling it to a partner ✅ Why trusting your gut can unlock game-changing opportunities

✅ Building for experience: Designing a cabin resort with intention

✅ How partnerships and alignment create momentum in development
Rajan’s story proves that you don’t need to have it all figured out to get started. You just need to show up, stay curious, and find ways to add value. 💡 “I had no idea what I was doing. But I knew I had to keep taking steps forward.” – Rajan Chida

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Guest Name: Rajan Chida

Website: https://www.royaloakretreat.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajanchida/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/royaloakretreat/ 

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