February 6, 2023

Do you want to learn how to leverage your teams, people, and time? This week on the LeanlikeaCPA Podcast there is a special guest. Zasha Smith joins us and tells how she quit her nine to five to become a full time real estate investor and house flipper.

Zasha started this week by telling us her story. She was an engineer working nine to five as a civil engineer. She wanted to get out of the rat race and free up more time, so she started looking into real estate. Zasha got her first flip and first rental to net $103,000. She looked at her job making $70,000 working 70 hours and the power of real estate investing took her by storm. The lightbulb went off and she decided to go full time.

In 2020, Zasha quit her job. She flipped 17 homes last year with eight more in progress this year. She hit her goal of $26,000 gross passive income and is continuing to learn and grow. She had a lot to share, so let's dive in. 

Question #1: How long did it take to quit working a job and go full time with real estate?

Answer #1: It took about a year to transition. It was hard to fight through confusion around loans and buying properties, but after that, going all in was a no-brainer.

Question #2: Did the pandemic help with the transition?

Answer #2: The pandemic showed that not everything is set in stone. It was an eye opening moment that showed that companies can fail just like entrepreneurs. Starting a company can be a similar risk to starting a new job.

Question #3: How did others help or hinder entrepreneurial progress?

Answer #4: There were people who were very encouraging. However, those who seem to be discouraging could also be trying to look out for you.

Question #5: What is happening right now with the RV park?

Answer #5: Right now the RV park is an abandoned site. This being said, the park is in a great area and there are a lot of new attractions coming in the next few years.

Question #6: Other than the RV park, what else is on the horizon? 

Answer #6: Offloading properties is very pressing. The housing market has slowed down, so it is getting harder and more important to sell soon when it comes to house flips. 

Question #7: What processes or systems work well for improving efficiency?

Answer #7: Calendly is a great platform that helps to book and manage meetings. Slack is another great one. It helps teams communicate well between one another. Lastly, social media platforms like linkedin are a great way to meet other professionals and build business relationships. 

Question #8: What’s especially good about linkedin?

Answer #8: Linkedin tends to have higher paid professionals. This makes it a much better platform when it comes to things like trying to raise capital for real estate investments. 

Question #9: What is on the forecast for 2023?

Answer #9: Starting a fund is something coming soon. Something that is really hard is trying to coordinate multiple investors and real estate projects. So having a fund set up where money can be collected quickly and easily is coming soon and will help solve this problem. 

Question #10: What is one great piece of advice?

Answer #10: Surround yourself with others like you. It is important to be around other people who have the same goals as you. It helps tremendously to have others to fall back on or those who can direct you to help if need be.

Having Zasha on the show was a great opportunity. She had so much experience to share that could help you. Check out the whole podcast below. 

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