Podcasts about jc it

LK:  To me, this chapter is a masterpiece. People have secret agendas, everything is working on at least three layers at once, and everybody in this chapter is right and wrong about everything.  JC: It's a common refrain online for people who really dislike the author, for extremely legitimate reasons, who will often say, "Oh, the books are mediocre." This is the kind of chapter where I want to go, "How do you read this and call it mediocre?" As much as I dislike the author personally, I've got to admit this is just damn good. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit hpafter2020.com.

HIGHLIGHTSComing together and building a new business togetherMove Ventures is acquiring Hapday GroupBusiness partners should complement each other Honesty is a crucial part in doing business Things to be excited for in 2022QUOTESJC: "It's been a story of believing that you can actually do the thing that you think of and if you are willing to do that extra effort that's needed. We're not the smartest guys on the planet, we're just relentless and consistent, and I guess, very social."Rob: "Move is gonna be taking it into the next level and so, 20 people, coming in 2022. Phil and I will be coming out as board members to help drive growth, scalability, process, like these are exciting things and the story leading up to it is one of pure magic through simple networking and great conversation."Filip: "The first question is like, am I gonna enjoy working with this person. And with you guys, I think it just works. Sometimes JC and I we understand each other without words. Sometimes we just sit down and just let things happen. It was very similar with guys,  just living abroad and living in different countries it really helps us to understand each other we have to have the same kind of mindset."Philip: "Rob and I both have a pretty strong moral compass. We really believe in giving and taking and we believe that what we put out into the world is going to be brought back to us. And I didn't have to ask this of you guys. I saw it. I saw the way that you conducted yourselves in those conversations, which was I want to do right by these people and if I don't think that I can do right with what they're requesting, I will tell them. And maybe we lost a deal or two because of that, but I would much rather be that way."JC: "It's not just about how much money you can make, it's also about how can you enable more people to become better versions of themselves, in this case, through tech and sales."Connect with Philip, Filip, and JC through the links belowPhilip Delvecchio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pdelvec/JC Rico: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcricoc/Filip Karwala: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fkarwala/Move Ventures: www.move.partnersDon't forget to subscribe and leave a review.Connect with Rob:www.beacons.page/robnapoliwww.linkedin.com/in/robnapIG: @rise_up.robnapWe have teamed up with Phin, a social impact marketing firm, to give back for each episode. To learn more, visit: https://app.phinforgood.com.

For this special series, Inspiring Impact, HIROC is partnering with AdvantAge Ontario to highlight the work of several of the presenters from their 2021 online education and networking event. Today we're talking with one of the session presenters, Jennifer Cornell, Director of Long Term Care for the County of Grey. She moved into the position in 2019. During the tumultuous time that followed, she's been fortified by the support of the Long Term Care community where leaders are encouraged to express vulnerability and “Call a Friend” when they need help. Jennifer has also derived strength from the County slogan, Colour It Your Way – words that express a promise and a philosophy of person-centred care. Making that philosophy central to every decision she says has meant talking about it a lot and getting curious about what it means to people. Quotables ”In a new leadership role, in a pandemic, I have found and continue to find the Colour It model and that framework really helpful in taking a step back, taking a breath and thinking through how can I use Colour It to make a person-centred decision.” – JC “We use the Colour It language and the Colour It acronym to ask meaningful questions.” – JC “The Long Term Care sector is a really caring and compassionate and innovative and helpful group of leaders. When you reach out and say, ‘Hey, I'm not sure how to handle this', someone responds.” – JC “Many times staff flexed their start time so they could support their kids at home and also still fulfill their commitment at work. We really took this very flexible approach.” – JC “Get clear on your purpose and vision. What is it you're trying to achieve as an organization or as a care home, then go out and start saying the words. Ask lots of questions. People will tell you when you ask them.” – JC “I do depend on my colleagues to give me a nudge and say, ‘Hey, you've suggested I take a break, I think you need to take a break too.'” – JC “It's so true when you talk about having that North Star of Colour It Your Way, making sure you remember and say it.” – PDS “We're in the early stages of two new builds, new redevelopments and so Colour It will be a very strong theme and guide – the North Star – to help us make sure we're on vision.” – JC   Mentioned in this Episode: AdvantAge Ontario AdvantAge Ontario Annual Convention Grey County Long Term Care Grey Gables Lee Manor Rockwood Terrace Colour It Your Way Brené Brown Happily Ever Older – Moira Welsh Atul Gawande – Being Mortal   Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.

What are the top five investments for new graduates or fresh grads to invest in and to start to accumulate? Marvin: If I'm a fresh grad, I'd still do stocks and I'd still go into business. That's it. I don't know if I'll do bonds if I'm a fresh grad. I don't know if I'll do it. Anything that has maybe a high degree of risk, I will try it earlier on. So I think that's how I will look at it. Anything that they understand that will give them larger upsides since they are still young, I think that would be better for them. So I suggest that they study. Look for investments that make sense for them, and then what they understand, what they think they can grow with, and then what they think will work for them. That's what they should focus on. But for me, I always tell them, start businesses as early as they can. And then when the businesses start making money, put them on the stock market. And then when the stocks make money, buy preferred shares, buy REITs, buy bonds, or later on, they can also buy real estate. So any of those. JC: Like Marvin said, what makes sense for you? Honestly, it depends per person of what opportunities you see, what is allowed for you. My situation is different from Marvin. My situation is different from my cousin. So It depends. You just have to honestly compare the different investments. A lot of the challenges with young people that I see, they keep talking about it. They don't actually put in the time and try, oh, how much is it going to cost me to buy a single family home? How much is it going to cost me to, how do I compute the tax for that? How do I find out the HOA - homeowners association- fees? All of that. If you don't put in the time to actually try to even check if it makes sense, then you're never going to start. But for me, based on my background, I'd really go with business. Marvin: Business is really amazing. If I didn't do stocks, I'd really do business because that's one of the best ways to do it. Businesses will add money to you while with stocks, it helps you multiply it. Here's the difference between business and stock. With business, when you go home, you also take home the headache, especially if it's a person you're having problems with. But in stocks, there is none. When the market is close, there is nothing you can do with it. But if you are a business operator, for example when you collect money from your clients but they don't pay you, you bring that with you and sometimes there's even a feeling of resentment to it. Things like that. You bounced a check, or an employee steals from you, or how do you increase sales also, or you have other competitors. So there's so many factors that you can't control. Unlike when you go into the stock market, after trading hours, that's it, you're done. You're done. So I think that's the difference. And I think it's nice that when you're still young, you start early for you to know what will work for you and why it also works for you. So that's it. That's just my take on it, I guess. That's the difference of being an employee and a business person. It's true that you get to do what you want. But the flip side to that is, you also don't get to do what you want. There are also cons in the stock market. The cons in the stock market is you don't control it. In business, you can control it. Right? You can control it. The misconception of other people is you invest to retire. That's not true. You invest to do what you like, if what you like makes money for you also. We've been brainwashed that if you're an employee or retired, you should start your business. People think that being in a business is the end and all. There's more riding in your shoulders. I've worked harder, longer, when I was no longer an employee compared to when I was still an employee. It's more stressful. JC: It really depends on you, again, on what pushes you, on what motivates you, if this is something you like. So Marvin's advice is right. Do what really works for you.

I looked over at the white cat, who had finally opened his eyes, and mulled over possible names. His coat was so poofy, it made him shapeless, like a giant marshmallow. Hmm, that wasn’t too bad of a name. I cocked my head at Marshmallow, and he stared back at me with piercing sapphire eyes. We maintained eye contact for so long, it felt like a staring contest. I would show him who was boss. Okay, I blinked first. In the midst of the surreal times we're going through, it was beyond wonderful to sit down and chat with Jennifer J. Chow. I was already a fan of her Winston Wong cozy mysteries and I'd had the pleasure of meeting her at the California Crime Writers Conference last year. Her latest book, Mimi Lee Gets A Clue, is the first in a new cozy series and is out this month -- just in time for the comfort read we all need. A deserving victim. An adorable heroine. A talking cat. What more could you ask for? Whatever it is, Jennifer hits it with the Sassy Cat Mysteries. Mimi Lee is a terrific heroine with strong family ties and a growing relationship with her telepathic cat -- as well as with the cute attorney she met doing laundry. For warmth and humor, this new series hits it out of the park. Jennifer is also the author of the Winston Wong cozy series, starting with Seniors Sleuth, and featuring a male detective steeped in video games, as well as award-winning books for Young Adults and a host of short stories. I particularly want to mention her short story "Moon Girl," which is in the anthology, Brave New Girls: Tales of Heroines Who Hack. Proceeds from this book are donated to a scholarship fund through the Society of Women Engineers, so definitely worth checking out. Jennifer gives a shout out to a thriller she's currently loving, Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel, as well as to mystery writers Dale Furutani and Naomi Hirahara. And to learn more about Jennifer herself, check out her website. And if you have already devoured Mimi Lee Gets A Clue, you can pre-order Book Two in the Sassy Cat mysteries, Mimi Lee Reads Between the Lines, right here. Enjoy our conversation. As always, there is a transcript below if you prefer to read rather than listen. I also want to wish you all well. During these crazy times, I hope you and yours are staying safe and finding comfort in each other and a good book. Take care! Laura Transcript of Interview with Jennifer J. Chow Laura Brennan: Jennifer J. Chow writes multicultural mysteries and fantastical YA. Her Asian American novels include Dragonfly Dreams (a Teen Vogue pick), The 228 Legacy, the Winston Wong cozy mystery series, and a brand-new series called The Sassy Cat Mysteries. The brand-new first book in that series, Mimi Lee Gets A Clue, is just out now. Jennifer, thank you for joining me. Jennifer J. Chow: Thanks for having me, Laura. LB: So how did you get started writing? JC: I think I always liked writing, even as a kid I would make up stories in my head. When I got older and started reading a lot of books, I also thought it was really cool that anyone could be a writer. I remember borrowing my dad's typewriter and typing out my actual first story and then he took it to work with him and showed all his colleagues. So, that's really sweet. LB: Was it a mystery? JC: It wasn't a mystery, but it was one of those "twins switching identities," right? So I guess sort of a mystery in the way that they tried to pretend to be one another. But it was kind of one of those fun romps of mistaken identity. LB: So then when did you decide to turn your eye to mysteries? JC: I guess there are two points. One actually was when I was in elementary school. We had a teacher, I think it was in sixth grade, and she was really into all sorts of creative writing, poetry and short stories. And I do remember that she assigned us a short story. In that short story, I decided to make it a mystery and she really had some positive comments about it.

James: Let's get started. One, two, three... Hi, audience, this is James Kandasamy from Achieve Investment Group. Today we are going to be having JC Castello from our Achieve Wealth True Value-add Real Estate Investing Podcast. And I would like to welcome JC to the podcast. Hey JC, welcome. JC: Hey, thanks, James. Thanks for having me. James: So JC has what? Right now, around 725 units worth around 70 million and he has bought and sold like 1000 over units. And he primarily focuses on DFW and he's in the Bay area. So, did I get all your facts right, JC? JC: Yeah. You got in just about right. That's right. James: So, do you want to tell our audience about, how did you get started? How is your company structured? Because your company structure, it's very interesting for me. So go ahead and do that. JC: Yeah, I mean, how I got started in the multifamily business. I have an engineering degree and I've been working in the technology sector in a past life for about 15 to 20 years in semiconductors. And somewhere along the way, I always had a big passion for real estate. Pretty early on in my semiconductor career, I started buying single-family rentals in the Silicon Valley area and realized that I needed to be able to scale it a lot better because I was so busy with work that managing single-families wasn't all that easy. So I started just going to a lot of networking events, real estate clubs and whatnot, asking a lot of questions of people and I found out about apartments and found out that they were a lot more scalable. And so, I read everything I could. I got my hands in all kinds of books and went to lots of different seminars and training and networked with a bunch of the local investors here in Silicon Valley. I had sold a couple of my single-family homes originally wanted to buy an apartment complex here in San Jose. And I did all the numbers and it was negative cash flow, pretty much from the beginning. And I thought, well if I'm gonna buy for equity because there's no cash flow, I'd rather just keep buying homes because I think homes in Silicon Valley are better equity drivers than an apartment complex. So that led me to really look outside of California for cash flowing apartment investments. And I did a lot of research and everything was telling me that Texas was a great area to go. I mean, this was back in like 2004/5. And so, after a little bit of research and some time passed about 2006/7, I was ready to kinda go and take my money out to Texas and get it going. And so kind of, that's how I got started and that's kind of how my company was born. James: Awesome. Awesome. So, yeah, I was in the Bay area a couple of days back and I'm meeting some of my investors. It's just so crazy, the prices there. And I mean, one of the investors asked me, 'You know, why don't you buy in this area?" I said, "I like to make money from thin air." Then he asked, "How is that?" I said, "I like my tenants to pay for my mortgage." So which means I want it to be cash flowing and I still get cashflow on top of it. So pay the mortgage and get cash flow. So if you buy in the Bay area or even in LA, I mean, a lot of coastal cities, just the cap rate is so low, you know, you basically, appreciation play, which means you buy the deal and you pray that it's going to go up. Right? So, JC: Yeah. And look, I'm not here to tell you or tell anybody that investing in real estate in California is not a good thing. It's actually a very, very good thing. I mean, I own personal homes here in California and various places and they've been great investments for me, but they're not cash flow investments; they're equity plays. And so over the 10, 20, 30 years, absolutely; it's been phenomenally great, including any of the single family rentals that I had in the past. But I like to buy single family homes here in an equity state and I like to buy cash flowing properties for apartments in other more cashflow yielding places like Texas. So that's kind of my investment philosophy. James: Got it, got it. So you started like in 2006, 2007. So at what point of your life was that, were you working at that time and how did you get that aha moment, okay, I need to invest in real estate? JC: Yeah. Well you know, in 2001 and you would know this, James, I think you're an ex tech guy, there was the whole technology bubble burst. And I was several years out of college in a professional working environment, got laid off from an engineering job and that really caused me to do a little bit of reflection in 2001 after September 11 hit. And that's kind of where I had my aha moment, if you will. And right around that time, I read Rich Dad/ Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, which changed my perspective on things as did I know a lot of other people. And it taught me about assets and liabilities first and foremost. Assets put money in your pocket, liabilities take money out of your pocket. And I realized that even though I had been a young guy that had been successful and, and bought my own single-family home, really, it wasn't putting money into my pocket because it was a liability. I had to pay the mortgage every month. So long story short, I decided that I was going to start investing in rental real estate as I got back into my next technology job, once the sort of 2001 recovery happened and that's what I did. Ever since then, I was like, look, real estate rentals are going to be what the thing that I'm going to do is and I'm pretty passionate about it anyways. I always liked real estate, so that's exactly kind of how I got started on my path. And I worked all the way up at my job until 2011 which is when I effectively left my W2 semiconductor job. I actually also helped start another company up with a couple of my other buddies from my ex-technology company. And so we did a startup company that was successful as well. And we did that from about 2012 to 2018. Actually the company's still going, but I'm no longer part of it. So I like to work really hard. James, I'll tell you that much. James: That's crazy. So, I mean, you are a tech guy. I mean, I didn't know until we talk a few months back on how many similarities we have. I used to be in the semiconductor industry as well. So I mean, why not you looked at stock at that time? I mean a stock used to be like, I mean a lot of engineers, like for me, I was like intrigued with stocks. I was always saying, let me solve the worldwide puzzle here of the stock market. So did you try that as well? JC: Yeah, definitely in my younger years. I mean, I drank the Koolaid like everybody else, you know, I was in love with the stock market. And I saw tech stocks, every day going up like gangbusters. So it was like, okay, let's pick Broadcom, let's pick Cisco, let's pick all these other tech stocks that were going to make us all multi-millionaires. And it was kind of a wild ride because there would be some big ups and then there would be some big downs. And so, it just got really frustrating because I find myself thinking about how our stocks were doing every day and sort of checking in on E-Trade accountants and seeing whether I had made money or lost money. And I just said, look, it's not worth it. I don't want to live like that. So, I think what I've learned since then is, look, I'm not here to say that the stock market isn't a great investment. I think what I'm here to say is that a financial advisor that's worth his salt is going to tell you that you should definitely have a good healthy mix of stocks, bonds, money market, and alternative assets, which real estate certainly fits the bill. And I think that 10 to 20% is about what people recommend that are financial experts in terms of how much you should be allocated to things like real estate. So I'm a big believer that people should never swing too much any one way. Make sure and be a little bit diversified, but certainly, 10 to 20% at least in real estate is a good healthy number. James: Got it. Yeah, I mean, I was intrigued with stocks as well and you know, it's all technical analysis. I did a lot of book reading and trying to solve and you know, Japanese candlesticks books and all that. But I think it works with a lot of fear and emotion. I mean, fear is great, it works with a lot of emotions. Which is, you can say numbers don't lie but in the stock market, the numbers can be manipulated using fear and greed by big institutions and that's where I got caught. Every time I go to stock markets, I lose money. JC: And the other thing too, I think the other thing that's important to understand is, it's not just about how much you're making before tax. One of the things that I think I'd made the mistake of as a younger person was not fully understanding how to invest with maximum tax sheltering and maximum tax advantage. And one of the things that I've seen with real estate investing is that there are huge tax incentives out there. Everything legal that encourages you as a real estate investor to keep doing it. And there are extremely, especially now with the tax cuts and jobs act that was passed and that went into effect in November of 2017. The benefits of the tax sheltering piece of real estate investing is extremely phenomenal. And so I think that the real aha moment is not just that you can invest in real estate and make good cash flow, but it's that you can invest in real estate, make good cash flow, and not pay taxes on that cash flow that you're putting in your pocket. That's really amazing. James: Got it, got it. So, coming back to your transition from a W2 job to a full-time real estate entrepreneur. So you said you started in 2006, but only after quite a number of years. When did you become a full-time person? JC: 2012. James: Okay. So what were you thinking in 2012, beginning January of 2012, what were you thinking and when did you resign and what was that trigger that allowed you...? JC: Well, you know, the trigger was, as I told you, I'm a 'slow and steady wins the race' type of person. My investment philosophy is 'go long, not short'. I always like to take the long route cause I believe in taking as little risk as possible to get where you want to get. So, I stayed with my company and my job for a long time and maybe even longer than I needed to because I also did another company with a couple of other buddies. But what that did was that gave me a real stable base so that I was never taking any risk. And so my route in real estate has never been to take big risks and I apply that same philosophy to our company in the way that we buy properties and the way that we look to partner with investors. We are always going to take the lower risk path. We're not just looking at yields and looking for the highest yields. We're looking for the highest mix of risk-adjusted returns. That's what we're looking for. And so that is I think a fundamental piece of why my journey took a little bit longer, in terms of transitioning away from a W2 job. James: So did you have a goal of a certain income level, a certain percentage of your W2? I mean, you don't have, tell me the percentage, but was that goal that you decided if I hit this much income in real estate, okay, I'm going to go full time into this. I'm okay to let go of my...? JC: Yeah. I mean, I definitely had some numbers in mind and they were, obviously, based on my costs of living. So as soon as I was able to bring in enough free cash flow that was greater than or equal to my cost of living with some margin, then I was comfortable exiting. And so, I think that's an important consideration for anybody that's doing this stuff. And you want to make sure, you know, you don't need to be necessarily significantly positive, but your costs of living, whatever it is, you should really be able to at least cover that. And I'm not talking about with like, you know, I'm talking about just with money coming in from rentals and whatnot, not talking about, you know all the other fees and whatnot that you generate. James: Yeah. Yeah. Correct. I mean, just advice to whoever listening. Sometimes you go for the weekend boot camp and you think that there's no point of working a W2 job. I mean, there's no such thing, right? I mean, real estate is awesome but it takes time to get to a certain level of income. And especially if you have [13:22unintelligible] in life, just don't give up on your work and go into real estate; take it slow and steady and you will get there. I mean, there's a lot of learnings to be done in real estate anyway that you can't learn in a weekend boot camp. JC: It's very, very wise words. And I hope that anybody out there would listen to that. James: Yeah, absolutely. So now you're in California, right? I mean, I don't know which year was this. So now you look at Dallas. Why did Dallas flash in front of your eyes? Why not Phoenix or Austin or Orlando, Tampa? JC: Well, Texas, as a whole. When I was doing my research, one of the big stats that jumped out to me was that I believe it was in 2008...I think it was 2008, Texas became the number two state in terms of the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state. It actually surpassed California. And before that, I had seen a lot of data that was telling me that this transition was happening from a corporate side. And from a corporate side, as we all know, Texas has a very business-friendly state. And I also saw a lot of migration patterns that were happening that were driving people away from the coastal areas, specifically California, and driving them to Texas. Also to Pheonix but not in the sheer magnitude that they were going to Texas. So really for me, what convinced me to go to Texas was the data and it was the job growth, the population growth. And the other thing that really convinced me was the quality of life that could be had in Texas for a relatively low amount of money. Back in 2006, when I first started buying out there, you could buy a pretty decent home for 150 to $200,000 in Dallas, Fort worth. Now, of course, you know, I had to decide, you know, it wasn't just Texas, it's where you're going to go in Texas. There are basically four major areas you can go; you can go to Houston, you can go to San Antonio, you can go to Austin or you can go to DFW. I chose DFW because Houston, to me, was a little bit more of an oil-based economy so I didn't like being dependent on oil. If the oil was good, everything's good in Houston. If oil goes bad, it can be a little bit difficult. And Austin, I really, really liked; I continue to love Austin. However, I always knew that Austin was like Silicon Valley. The dirt is very expensive, so the cap rates are a little bit lower so they don't cash flow quite as well. But I still do like Austin if I had to say, the second market in Texas. San Antonio is just sort of a little bit slow and steady. There's really no significant job growth, at least not significant, you know, amazingly. And there's slow and steady population growth. So everything in San Antonio is hunky-dory for a long time, but there's no real like superstar momentum there. DFW, on the other hand to me, had a lot of the characteristics that I felt was perfect for an investment home for me. I wanted to be there for 10, 20, 30, 40 years. They've got a very diverse economy, lots of different jobs sectors and they are tops in the nation for job growth, population growth, consistently. And the quality of life there is very, very good. There are 8 million people, 4th largest metroplex in the nation behind New York, one; LA, two and Chicago three. And actually, of those top three, they're all sort of negative population. So meaning, they're losing people in Texas; Dallas Fort worth is gaining. So for all those reasons, I thought back then that this would be a great place for us to go set up shop and I haven't been disappointed. It's been a great run, to be honest with ya. James: Got it. So now you decided on Dallas. What was the first step? I mean, who did you first establish contact with and how did you build your team? JC: Yeah, you know I was a big believer in shadowing people. So I had a couple of friends that I had met and gotten to know in the local Silicon Valley real estate circles who were buying apartments in Dallas. And so, I would shadow them. I would get on a plane and go with them when they would go check on their properties. And because they saw that I was willing to do that, they took me around to the local brokerage shops, Marcus & Millichap and all the other shops and they introduced me to all the brokers. And because these guys were already doing deals and established when the brokers met me, I had a little bit of credibility, not much, but I had more than just if I had come in on my own without them saying that I was a good guy. So that's the way that I got my start in the apartment world in Dallas, coming from California. James: Got it. So, I mean, if I understand your business, you own the asset management, but you also own your own property management company. JC: That's correct. Yeah. We opened up shop in 2013. We integrated the third party operations in house and we formed our own management company and we've been managing our own properties since then. James: So that's really unique because I mean, even for me, we have our own property management company, but we are here in Austin, San Antonio, so we are locals. But how did you do it from California and then you establish a property management company and why did you decide to do that rather than a third-party property management company? JC: Well, the how and the why. The why, I sometimes ask myself why multiple times. But I know after getting through all the hard times and now that we've got a model that works really, really well, I know that it was worth it for us. Because we have a large degree of predictability by having operations in house. I never throw stones at third party management companies because I've walked a mile in their shoes now. And I think it's a difficult business even when you control it yourself. And I think that third party managers, for the most part, are extremely good. I'm not here to say that we have built a significantly better mousetrap, but what we do have is we have a mousetrap that we built. And so, we know the process of how we go to market with it and we know what the numbers are and so, we have a high degree of predictability for our investors. At the end of the day, it's all about making sure that we deliver what we said we're going to do for our investors. And so the predictability piece that we have by having the operations in-house for us is key. How did I do it? You know, it wasn't easy. I think that you have to look for a superstar person that you can find that has enough talent to be able to sort of get this off the ground in the local market that you've built your portfolio in. And I was fortunate enough to find that person through a lot of hard work and some luck. And once I found that person, I knew that it was going to work and that was the big difference for me. James: And when you started in 2013, how many units did you have that you were convinced that you can have your own property management company? JC: It wasn't that many. I think we had maybe four properties, maybe five properties, something like that. James: Like a few hundred units. JC: Yeah. A few hundred units. Yeah, that's right. James: So who was this first person, what was that person's role? I mean, you don't have to name names, but I want to know the role of that person. JC: I mean, they were the VP of Operations. That's what they did. Everything related to operations was what they were responsible for. James: So you hired VP of Operations and from VP of Operation, the other person hired the rest of the crew? JC: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I mean, look, we're only 725 units currently, so we don't necessarily have a bunch of regional managers working for our company and we're set up a little bit differently than sort of your traditional management companies. But what I will say is that you really need that foundational person, that foundational piece if you want to have a successful operation in any one given market. James: Okay. Okay. Got it. But what was that aha moment in 2012 that you said, okay, I can't do this anymore 2013, I'm going to do my own property management? What was that push over the cliff moment that you said, okay, I'm giving up on this? JC: You know, I can't say that there was any one particular thing. I think that it was always our strategy to open up our own shop because we wanted to make sure that we had a high degree of predictability within the operations piece. And that's a very valuable component for our investment partners. Being fully integrated doesn't mean much unless it provides good predictability for returns. And what we've seen is that we've enjoyed a very, very high degree of predictability with having our own operations piece. So we're going to continue to have that as part of our model, but at the same time, we're never completely committed to any one particular thing. So meaning that we have a fiduciary duty to do what's best for our investors. If at any given time we understood that our operations or our management piece wasn't the best strategy, then we would certainly look at divesting that piece. I don't see that happening, but we're always open to making sure that we're doing the best thing for our investors. James: So how frequently do you travel from California to Dallas to manage this operation? JC: Well, I tried to get out there, my wife will say I'm out there all the time and I sometimes look back at my calendar and go, yeah, I think she might be right. But usually, it works out to be about six to eight weeks time, is how long I'm out there. And I'm usually out there for a couple of days and I get back to the home base. James: So six to eight weeks through it the year? JC: Right. James: Got it. Got it. So you've tried maybe like once a month or less than once a month, depends on...? JC: Yeah. And it's really as needed too because I have a pretty good system. So I mean, I can jump on a plane tomorrow morning and so it just depends. I get out there as needed, you know, immediately when needed. James: Okay. So let's go into the operational aspects. So you're in California, your operation management, the whole company is here. You have a VP of Operations, you are sitting that you're not coming to Dallas. So tell me like in a week, how would you manage this operation? Is it through Zoom calls, through weekly meetings, through properties or how do you do your asset management? JC: Well, first of all, asset management is handled by a separate person at our company, at multifamily property group. So we do have an asset management person. And in terms of operations, I think as you rightly pointed out, there's a lot of things that we do with technology these days to make it pretty efficient to be managing from another state; Zoom meeting, like what we're doing here is a great one. Lots of phone calls, lots of emails. And also I'm a big believer in driving the company by key performance indices or indicators. And so KPIs, for us, are a big deal because we pretty much keep on top of the numbers from a day to day basis and we manage according to how the numbers are telling us to manage and we go deep where we see that we're having issues with any one particular area. And so, we have a pretty structured way about how we monitor what's happening on the operations piece. And everybody's got a pretty strict lead defined set of roles and responsibilities, which kind of helps to keep everything in motion even though I'm not in the Dallas area. James: Got it. So how frequent do you look at your financials? JC: How frequently do we look at it? I mean, almost every day. James: Okay, good. So when you look at it everyday, what are the KPIs that you look for to see whether the properties are in the right direction or not? JC: Yeah. The big ones we're going to track are income to budget. We're gonna track expenses to budget, especially repairs and maintenance and CAPEX. A CAPEX, the budget, we're going to track, we're going to track current vacancy and we're going to track future vacancy. We're also going to pay strict attention to resident retention; how many people are actually renewing their leases? One of the things on the operational piece that we've learned along the way is that you have basically with the property, you've got a front door and you've got a back door. The front door is where you lease the new units and you bring the new residents in. And the back door is where you have people either renewing their leases after they've been there for a year or you have them leaving your property. And we like to talk about closing the back door because if we can get people to renew their leases, that is worth literally thousands of dollars in expenses and vacancy and marketing to our profitability. So, I think as operators and as investors, we always want to think about buying a property and renovating it and filling it up with people. But we should more care about keeping the people happy and butts in the seats because that's where we're really going to save our money once the property has been stabilized. It takes about 18 months to 24 months to stabilize a property once you buy it and create the value. But then if you're a longterm holder, like we are, you're holding the property for a long period of time. And that's really dependent on how well you operate, how well you provide customer service and how well you can keep the people renewing their leases. So for us, we really like to focus on resident retention. That's a really big deal for us. James: So that's one of the biggest KPI that you look for, resident retention? JC: Absolutely. James: Making sure that back doors close. So can you tell us like one to two things that you do to keep residents renewing? JC: You know, it's really simple, right? You don't want to get too caught up in a lot of complicated stuff so one of the biggest things that you need to do is follow up with people after work orders. Make sure that they're happy. Make sure that the work order was completed.; first of all, completed. Second of all, was it done right? And third of all was the customer happy with the experience? James: So, I think the resident retention is one of the most important things that you guys look at, especially closing the back door. And can you tell us one to two things that you and your company do to make sure that people keep on renewing or motivated to renew? JC: Yeah, I mean, it's important to focus on from a very high level, really the most what should be obviously simple strategies and have a process in place to make sure that it gets followed through. Like, for example, if there's a worker that's placed, following up with the person with a phone call, the customer, and saying, "Hey, was the work order done to your satisfaction? Did you have a good experience, how did you feel about it?" And that's a big deal because a lot of people that don't have work orders completed the right way are the ones that are gonna end up leaving the property with a bad taste in their mouth. And then a lot of people are actually surprised when we call them and they basically are just happy that we chose to call them and follow up. And that actually makes them so much happier, to begin with. So I think following up on work orders. The other thing is following up after a move in and making sure that the unit was fully functional; if there was something that was missed, making sure that you take care of it. And then the other thing that I think is really important is when it comes time to renew, you need to give the resident enough runway, to listen to them when you want to call them to renew. Because they're always going to have some concerns, either if the rent's going up or something. But normally it's actually, a lot of times it's just, "Hey, you know, I've got a couple of things wrong with my unit and I need you to fix them." And so, you've gotta be able to actually talk to them and understand why they're frustrated and fix those things and then they're willing to renew. So I think basic follow up is really the key. Following up with the resident on some sort of a documented frequency that enables you to keep a pulse on how they're feeling about their experience. James: Got it. Got it. So I presume that most of the deals that you buy, you try to do value add on the apartment, right? I mean, you guys do renovation, you've put in good management and all the smaller things in the interior and exterior, is that right? JC: Yeah, I mean basically you got it right. So number one is, acquire the deal at the right numbers. Number two is, renovate; which includes exterior amenities and unit upgrades. And then number three is, put a great operations team in place. And so those are sort of the three pillars of a successful investment and a successful life cycle of an investment for us at least. James: Got it. So what is the most valuable value add that you think in your mind that gives you the biggest bang for the buck? JC: You know, I really couldn't point to any one thing. What I would say is that your upgrades to your units are really important. Because a lot of people get sort of jaded by the exterior pops, like, you know, put some paint on the walls and stuff. But I've found that unit upgrades are really at the core of what you want to give in terms of your experience to the customers when they're walking through. And then the other thing that's really important is that there's a cohesive feel to the renovations that you do from the exterior; be it the painting or the amenities improvements. One of the things that I think people miss a lot is that they put money into exterior items, but there doesn't seem to be a cohesive feel. It doesn't feel like a clean, unified vision for what you wanted to present to the customer. And I think that's a big deal. It goes all the way down to the color schemes and it goes down to the signage and how that matches with the colors and how it matches with the amenities and also how it flows into the leasing office. You know, do the colors and the vision and what you're portraying with the signage and the exterior, does it match to what somebody is walking into the front door to lease a unit? Furthermore, do the units, sort of, match to the vision of what the exterior is saying? So, I think that it's not just one of these things, it's basically having a holistic approach to how you tie it all together so that it feels like a common vision when you drive to the front door all the way till when you go into the model unit. James: Got it. Interesting. Because you are looking at more of cohesiveness of the whole units and how they feel than a specific item. So let's go to your personal side of it. So I mean, you started in 2006 and then now it's 2019, you bought and sold like thousand units. So you must have a good write on the apartment cycles. So why do you do what you do? JC: Why do I do what I do? That's a good question. I think that ultimately what we're doing here is we're basically building a business that is focused on providing a great value to the community, to the customers, to the people that we rent our units to. I think it sounds cliche, but actually I think not enough people to do what we do actually talk about it. You know, when we come into a property and we invest multiple millions of dollars in the renovations and do the transformation of the property, really what we're doing is we're improving the lives of the community that lives there. And it makes a big difference in, we get told all the time how much they care to see all the stuff that we're doing. And so the first thing is making a difference in the community, I think is what's really, really cool. And we've done that over many, many properties now. So we've gotten to see that time and time again. I think the second thing is, partners. So we work with a lot of amazing partners, contractors, vendors, lenders, lawyers; there's so many that I can go on and on with. But what's really special about what we're doing is that we've developed really close relationships with a lot of these people that have been with us for many years. And so, we've become somewhat of friends with them as well as business associates. So it's really great to kind of see how much our success has impacted their success as well. And sort of a 'rising tide floats all boats things' mentality is where I get a lot of joy, personal satisfaction out of what we've done here. And I think the third thing is really is it's about our investors. I mean, I can tell you personal stories of many people that I'm very good friends with that have come along the ride for us, that we have literally changed their lives because of these great investments that we've been able to do over the years. And so I think that this business is about touching people's lives. Touching people's lives in every single aspect of what we're doing. For me, that's what really makes it fun for me every day. James: Would you do this same role for the next 20 years? JC: Yeah, of course, man. I'm not retiring. I mean, this is great. You know, we've got a great team, we've got a great company. And real estate investing to me it's more of a lifestyle thing too. So to be honest with you, this is something that I believe in doing irrespective of my company. This is sort of a personal belief that real estate investing is a very, very good way to take the money that you're making from whatever method that you're generating it and pump it into something that's going to give you a longterm return. James: Got it. Got it. Was there a proud moment in real estate that you think you will never forget that you can ride it on your tombstone? JC: Yeah. Well, I don't think I'm gonna put anything real estate related on my tombstone. James: Of course not. But if there was something that when you are at a very old age, you're going to think I'm really, really proud that I did that, can you describe that moment? JC: No, I don't think I've gotten there yet, man. I think there's still so much more to be done. You know, any proud moments, I think they're all stepping stones. I'm telling you, every day I wake up and I'm excited about where we're taking the company, things that we're doing to grow the company, new ideas that we've got. And I don't think we've reached our full potential in any way, shape, form, or fashion. James: Okay. no, what I mean is like, did you touch any employee in a certain way that, in terms of changing their life, any tenants, any property that you think that we really did a good job and that I'm really, really proud of that. JC: Yeah. I mean, you know, nothing particular comes to mind. I mean, look, I can give you a million examples, right? But the very last property, for example, that we renovated, I thought that it was the best one we've ever done. And I thought that just seeing the people that have been writing reviews on our property, coming online reviews and whatnot and hearing the feedback that we get from our management or our onsite staff has been so happy that we've made the change with the property. So yeah, that's very rewarding to us for sure. James: Got it. Got it. Top three things that you want to advice newbies who wanna walk your path. JC: I'm only going to give you one. I think it's the most important one. It is 'go long, not short.' Take the long road, do it slow and steady. Don't take unnecessary risks and make sure that you build the foundation and spend your time building a foundation solidly before you try to go too fast. I think that that's a mistake that a lot of people make. And I think that doing it slow and steady is there's a lot of benefits to that. And that's the way that we built our company. James: Got it. Got it. Yeah. I see so many craze out there on people want to do so many big things very quickly in real estate now because it is how the market is right now. So what's your strategy right now in this market cycle? JC: I don't think we really changed our strategy. We remain and always have been. We are opportunistic buyers and we're strategic sellers. I've talked about that before, I did a blog post on that. And the way that we've always seen it is, strategically speaking, if it's the right time to exit an asset, we're going to do it. It's been a great time lately to sell properties. It's also been a great time to keep properties, be a net keeper. We talk about that too. Opportunistically buying simply means that if we find a great deal, we don't care whether it's a hot market or a down market or a sideways market. If it's a great deal and the numbers work, we're going to pull the trigger. We know exactly what we're looking for. We've been around long enough to know that when we see that type of a deal and we've got the right relationships in place with the brokerage shop to do it. We're gonna make it happen because what we've seen is we've had some of our best acquisitions in what some people would call a seller's market or on a hot market, an upmarket. And so I think being an opportunistic buyer and always being ready to strike if the right numbers present themselves is where you need to be positioned. James: Got it. Got it. Before we end, I've asked you this question, which is completely different from what other questions I asked and normally it's not in my mind. But you are from California, investing in Dallas so you know a lot about these two markets. So do you think when recession hits...I mean, that's already a lot of people moving to Texas and Florida and maybe Phoenix. Do you think when the recession happened, there's going to be a lot more people moving... JC: Moving to Texas? James: Yes. I mean all this Texas and Florida and other markets. JC: Well, I don't know the answer to that question per se. But what I can tell you is this; it's becoming increasingly difficult to be a very smart college graduate in Silicon Valley and be able to see yourself making a life out here. And so even now with the job market being pretty decent, people are still leaving. And they're leaving because they just can't see themselves being willing to spend so much money to buy a house here, on top of the student loans that they've got and on top of the cost of living that they've got with high rents and whatnot, how do you save to buy a home here? And so, I don't think that that's going to change and I don't think that it matters whether we have a blip on the radar with the recession. The fundamentals are such that it's creating a very big incentive for people to move out, to go to other states where they can look to buy a home with a little bit more ease, can actually afford to pay rent with a little bit more ease. And so it's naturally speaking, we, as a company, believe that there's going to be continual growth. And in markets like Dallas Fortworth right now where rents are still, even as they'd gone up are still below the median affordability across the nation. Obviously, Silicon Valley is on the opposite end of that spectrum with San Francisco and San Jose, you got some of the highest rents in the nation. It's very unaffordable for how much people make here. So I personally think that the migration away from the coastal communities is going to continue. I don't see that trend stopping anytime soon. James: Yeah. No, I'm not saying it's going to stop. I think it's going to double or triple because when the recession happens, I mean, people are gonna lose jobs. And where your house mortgage is fixed, the house mortgage not gonna reduce. But if you are losing your job, people are gonna take that equity and at least move to cheapo States, like where they can pay less in mortgage and buy better houses and lead a better life, I guess, in terms of house expenses. Because I read some article that on average in the US, somebody's paying like, 60% of their pay going to mortgage. I think it's much higher in the Silicon Valley and Bay area. So what's the point of living and paying 80% to the house? There's a lot of other things you want to enjoy. JC: I agree. I agree. I mean, that's exactly why we're moving our investments out there to places like Texas for sure. I completely agree with that. James: Got it. Got it. Alright. JC, tell our audience how to get hold of you and if you want to give your contact information. JC: Yeah. If anybody out there wants to check us out, they can go to our website, multifamilypropertygroup.com. But more importantly, I actually host a video podcast with one of my buddies, Paul Peoples. It's a weekly show, it's called the Apartment Investors Show. So if you wanna actually see us in action, talking about how to make smart investments in multifamily, you can go to YouTube and search for the Apartment Investors Show. And we've got a whole host of great curated videos where we bring in experts in many different facets of multifamily investing. And you might learn a thing or two if you go to that, to our show. James: I'm sure that everybody's going to learn a lot of things because I've seen some of the videos. It was really good. JC: Thank you. James: Awesome, JC. That's it. Thanks for coming on the show. And happy that you add a lot of value to our audience and listeners. JC: Yeah, thanks a lot for hosting. I really appreciate it. I had a good time. James: Thank you. Bye. JC: All right, bye-bye.

Show notes: Justin Christianson 00:15 - Presentation Justin Christianson and how we met 02:35 - How did you become an entrepreneur? - JC: I was an electrician in my twenties but I got tired of working so hard, that long everyday. So I started selling cell phones, it started there. 07:35 - “Failing miserably at a bunch of things and getting used to being an entrepreneur” 11:32 - Is there any vivid memory about a very hard moment on the business path? - JC Selling cell phones I got my ass chewed from everybody because I was trying to grow my business and I knocked on the wrong door. 13:20 - What was the catalyst that got you into lead generation? - JC: “It was wild west before the first Google slap” 17:50 - What set you up and how do you choose your opportunities now? - JC: “I have a fairly high risk tolerance. If someone is spending money on it, chances are that the need is there” 21:21 - What are your strongest personality trades with your business partner? 23:40 - Back to the story with the Wild West and lead generation 25:23 - What product were you selling? - JC: Info 28:25 - JC: I essentially built “Optimizely” before it was a thing 30:20 - The beginning of “Conversion Fanatics” 33:11 - What does “Conversion Fanatics” do? - JC: Basically we make marketing more effective through testing. 37:35 - How big a deal is this for the customer, revenue wise? 42:25 - Quick fire questions Any unusual things you eat or drink regularly? How do you get yourself into a state of flow? What opinion or habit you have that other people tend to disagree with? If you ran a school what non traditional lesson would you teach? What book affected you the most? Any advice for your previous boss? Advice for entrepreneurs that are parents? Best advice ever given to you? Would you rather fight one horse sized duck or one hundred duck sized horses? What makes you happy? Any asks or requests for the audience?

This episode is presented by Chicago Sport and Social Club, reminding you that summer is just around the corner. Get into a summer volleyball league now and use code "GOALS" to get 5 percent off until March 15. It's no secret that we're majorly in awe of the ladies of Stylisted — after all, this isn't the first time we've talked (okay, gushed) about co-founders Julia and Lauren on aSweatLife. But when we brought them into evolveHER to be interviewed during our Lunch-and-Learn live podcast recordings, we were reminded all over again why these ladies have inspired us so much in the first place. Seeing them speak in front of an all-female audience (many of whom had entrepreneurial inclinations) was nothing short of a kick in the pants to go after what you want. Another thing that really came through over the microphone was the true teamwork and friendship that acts as the foundation of Stylisted. "The partnership is our business," Lauren stated matter-of-factly. "It was in the very beginning and it is to this day." As friends and partners, Julia and Lauren learned to rally each other when one was feeling down. At the same time, they learned one major entrepreneurial lesson early on: never be afraid to ask for help, whether from each other or from outside resources. "People want to help," stressed Julia. "Everyone is eager in a way to show off what they're good at and help you out... definitely don't be afraid of that." Just in case we weren't convinced, Lauren added, "Your ability to ask for help and leave your shame at the door is all you have for the first two years.” When you don't have money or experience, you're forced to admit when you don't know something. Luckily, as the co-founders discovered, all it takes is a simple ask, and the entrepreneurial community is usually excited to help a fellow founder. Julia and Lauren recognize that they're fortunate to have been able to grow together as founders, when all too often you read about rough breakups and unwanted exits between partners in start-ups. They attribute that path to having the same long-term vision for the company. At evolveHER, Julia and Lauren spoke about the importance of having the same overall vision for a company when working with a partner and co-founder — but at the same time, they make sure to set small, achievable goals that you can accomplish on a shorter timeline. With balanced goals and a balanced partnership, one thing is clear: the Stylisted co-founders are paving the way for female entrepreneurs in the tech space to empower each other.   ---   KG:All right, welcome to the #WeGotGoals podcast, live edition from SweatWorkingWeek. My name is Kristen Geil. I am sitting here with Julia and Lauren from Stylisted. Hi Guys. Thanks for being here. JC, LK: Hello, thanks for having us. KG: We're excited to hear everything that you have to say. So let's start from the beginning. The story of how you guys came to be is more than just, you saw a problem and you worked to create a solution. It's also about the two of you coming together with your unique strengths to make an idea into a reality. Can you guys share your origin story with us? JC: Sure. It’s Lauren's brainchild, so I'll let her tell the tale for us. LK: Stylisted was very much born from a personal pain point. We were inspired by a professor who told us to start what we know. We had both just moved to Chicago to attend business school and we were both entrepreneurial. We had always wanted to start a business and we had kicked around a bunch of ideas, but this start what you know concept, which seems so obvious to us now, was kind of a novel idea. We had these ideas that had nothing to do with our experience or expertise. And after many failed attempts to get my makeup done before friend's wedding, all coming to a head at a wedding that I had in Atlanta. I called Julia and I said, why is it so difficult to find out who's good and who's available when it comes to event prep? I want to get my makeup done or my hair done, but I don't know who's in my area, who can do a great job. And she completely commiserated, shared her own failed attempts and also kind of educated me on this call and told me about the life of the freelance makeup artist. She had worked directly with makeup artists in her time at NARS cosmetics before business school and understood their pain points that they work at some salon or cosmetic counter only to be told how much, how many hours that can work and when and to give 50 percent to the salon owner. And they want to freelance more to supplement their income, but they can't find clients. So Julia's experience in my experience really came together. It was the perfect marriage and we decided to build a solution. KG: So how did Stylisted start? I know you didn't come up with the app right off the bat. JC: No, it was incredibly manual. We took a Powerpoint Deck and I reached out to makeup artists and hairstylists that I knew from my previous position. I told them about the idea. We got validation that they wanted what we were proposing to build and got them to send little bios, photos of their work and we created this pdf deck and started sending it to all of our friends who are getting married, who had business school formals, interviews, things like that. Anything you could think of where you'd want a blowout or you know, full-on makeup for you and your friends and people were being very receptive to it and they liked the idea. They started asking to book people and the stylists were getting excited about it. So that was our absolutely free way of starting the business and beginning to test it out. KG: And then you saw that there was a demand for these services and you moved forward with creating an app from there. JC:A website, your website first we scraped together our pennies and decided to hire someone. Actually it was like a godsend. Lauren met our CTO, advisor, our technical advisor at an internship and he recommended this guy to us who needed to diversify his portfolio. He had been doing political websites in DC and we're like, we have a doozy for you. We're going to have you build this beauty website. LK:Here’s something different. JC:And he did it for a few thousand dollars and a lot of hours and sweat and we spent our Christmas vacation our second year of business school just working on the website and iterating. And then we launched essentially when we graduated. KG:Wow. That's a lot to accomplish while you're still in business school and dealing with all of that course load. JC:Yes it is. But we at Chicago Booth, we did the new venture challenge, which essentially was a class that allowed us to grow and cultivate this business and test it out and get feedback. So I would argue that it's easier to do it in business school then it would be for someone with a full time job family, things like that. We were very much in a position to take the risk and spend the time. KG:And because you guys were in this together from the start, you had that advantage of having someone to lean on when things got tough, sleepless nights. I'm sure countless hours spent trying to accomplish just one thing. We've all heard about accountability is the strategy for going after your goals, but you take it to a new level when you're talking about starting a company with a partner and a co-founder. So how do you think that partnership has impacted your business and how you guys approach goals as a team? LK: I mean the, the partnership is our business. It was the very beginning and it is to this day. You know, for us, and I've said this before, it almost felt like the game of chicken at the beginning where we would bounce an idea or something we're going to do off the other person and say like, I'm going to email so and so like five women's groups this week and see what they say. And once you say it out loud and you commit to that person, you're going to do that. Then they also feel like they have to do something and you're kind of like, OK, and then after awhile you're like, we're doing this like we are building towards beginning of business. So that was kind of the origin and um, you know, to this day we keep ourselves accountable and it's, it's been almost five years, very much like a marriage. You hope that you grow together. And thankfully we have. But I think in terms of goals, I think we think about goals in terms of short-term and long-term. And I think it's really important on to make sure that you have the same long-term goals or vision, but to spend most of your time and your energy on those short-term goals to make this feel digestible and something that you can actually accomplish. So instead of saying, I'm going to sell this business in five years, and that be your primary objective, say, OK, we're going to have a thousand customers by January, or we're gonna, you know, what are the smaller chunks of short term goals that you can actually accomplish? It's like saying, if you want to start going to the gym, you're not going to say, I want to look like a babe by summer. We're going to say, OK, no, I'm going to start going to the gym every three months. Or you know, start drinking more water. Like what are those really small, shorter term goals that you can actually achieve? KG: Speaking of goals, on the podcast, we ask everyone who comes on to main questions. So let's get into the first one. What is one big goal that you've accomplished with Stylisted? Why was it important? How did you get there? And it can be the same or different for both of you. JC:I want to say just existing to this day has been the goal. I think from the beginning there were a few things you want to accomplish. You want to solve a problem, you want to help people. In our case, the women like us, the clients with this pain point and the stylist who now we have men and women who’ve doubled their income by working on Stylisted and it's amazing to send out the W-9s. Holy Cow, she made this much that year? And Lauren is so much more in those weeds that when I get to see it, I'm like, Whoa, that's so great. LK: And people applying for apartments are emailing us, asking them how much did I make this year? And then we're like, oh wow, you made $30,000 last year. That's pretty good. JC:Yeah, that's, that's amazing. So yeah, there are a lot of different goals that we had when we started it and you know, we're kind of checking them off and obviously we won't sit here and say that a lucrative exit wouldn't be the absolute, you know, wonderful end goal or what we've always said is the company, you know, outgrowing the two of us and how can we work with some larger to continue to grow Stylisted and make it the best it can be. Yeah, I mean we're here four and a half years later and I'm just so proud of. I mean, that's not a great answer. Sorry. That's not a great answer. KG: That's a great answer. Lauren, would you agree or do you have anything else? LK:My answer is similar. I like that I created a job for myself that actually now has a paycheck and insurance, health insurance and that we've created that for other people, jobs that they really like, that you know, they're excited to show up to work every day for and that's really a huge. That was a huge goal for us at the onset and we accomplished that. KG: Yeah. You can tell that you've really made a tangible impact on these peoples lives. The freelancers that you employ through Stylisted. Has that sort of affected how you look towards the future knowing that you're to thank and sort of responsible for these people and how their lives proceed from here? JC:Absolutely. It's a lot of pressure, but in a way I think it helps keep us motivated towards those goals because we are a small internal team, but we have, you know, nearly 300 stylists who depend on us for their supplemental income and it's very much a symbiotic relationship. We work really hard for them every single day so that when they go to a client they want to work really hard for us, for the brand and I think so far that's working out. KGI read an interview that you guys did. I'm not sure when it was from, but I think you said something about the importance of having a short term memory when it comes to achieving goals. Can you sort of share what you meant by that with the group and how it goes into, you know, accomplishing one thing and then moving on to the next. LK:One thing that we've tried to do is celebrate really small wins but then not allow ourselves to get too hung up because you need to move on to the next small when there are so many setbacks when you're starting a business and running a business and you can't really let yourself get in too much of a funk about anything negative, you have to move forward and celebrate the small wins as they come, even if they feel really small because that kind of thing will just allow you to feel your progress and allow you to wake up the next morning and do it again. KG: What kind of small wins for examples that you guys celebrated back in the early days or even still today? JC:Oh, like a celebrity booking us. That’s always fun. I mean hitting a new number, like a weekend where we have, you know, dozens and dozens of weddings like, wow, I can't believe we're doing this. Things like that. They're just special for me or those moments where you do see how it's impacting the freelancers and when they send a little note of gratitude or something like that, it's so small, but that's like the coolest stuff that we love. Even seeing a five star review from a client, we look at that stuff all the time and it means so much when we know that they're getting great service and we're really proud of the brand that we built and what we're putting out there. KG:Does it get a little bit sweeter? Being able to celebrate those, hitting those small goals with a partner and a friend? JC:Absolutely. LK:Absolutely, and it works both ways. The good bad to have somebody to share that with is just necessary. KG:Yeah, takes a little bit of the burden off you. LK:Yes. KG:I know that with a startup, setting realistic goals can be tricky because on the one hand you want to reach for the stars and change the world or change people's lives, but on the other you don't always have a full picture of the data that you're working with or your customer base. Especially early on when you're still sort of experimenting and navigating the new platform that you're creating. How was your goal setting at Stylisted impacted by those unknown factors and how were you able to overcome that? LKYeah, this kind of goes back to something I touched on earlier, but just starting small setting really small digestible goals for yourself, you don't have to know everything to take what you know and try to act accordingly so your goal can be super small. Like I'm going to email five media outlets today or this week and I'm going to aim to get a response from at least one of them, to have at least one brand placement. You know, you don't have to have all the answers to do something like that. And I think it's important to never use not having the answers as an excuse to not act. JC:Yeah. I would also say find the data somewhere you can. And we, I mean coming from Booth that was necessary, like, well we would tell all of these teachers and advisors, excuse me, professors, you know there, this doesn't exist, so how are we going to tell you how big the market is? And simply they wouldn't take that for an answer. You'd go out there, look into to the beauty market. Tell us what the salon industry size is, whittle that down to what you think the, you know, how many women who go to the salon would want to take it in home, how many women are going to a makeup counter, things like that, and then start with an MVP and see what actually happens and get that small sample pool and use that and that's kind of what we had to do and that's I think what every entrepreneur has to do because you're going to be convincing a lot of people that your idea is something that you have something here with nothing to fall back on, especially without a track record, especially as women and we needed numbers to back us up and not just two women saying we have a lot of events and we really want this and we think all our friends do so like get on board. LK:This is gonna be huge! JC: It wasn't enough, so you find that you figure out a way to find it. KG:I did an interview with someone who works with entrepreneurs recently and he said the two biggest qualities he tended to see over and over again in successful entrepreneurs was tenacity and being comfortable with the unknown in working with that every day, and it sounds like that's something you guys have navigated really well over the past five years. JC:Thank you. We've tried. LK:We’re kind of chipping away at the unknown and in a way you're helped by having it limited resources. In our case, no money because I feel that when some people have unlimited funding, they go right to the solution and they spend thousands or millions of dollars on building what they believe to be the right solution instead of really focusing initially on the problem and figuring out what the right solution is. So we've iterated and our platform has changed and our processes have changed. Our infrastructure has changed. All of that has changed because we couldn't just jump at building that million dollar platform right off the gate. KG:At aSweatLife, one of our favorite sayings is everything is better with friends and I was really struck by your all's partnership because you weren't afraid to ask for help from each other or from outside people and I think that's something that we struggle with a lot because you don't want to appear weak or like you don't know what you're doing. What advice would you give to women who have big goals for this year, for the future and want to enlist their friend's talents and support in trying to achieve those? JC:I think people want to help is the first thing we have asked for so much help for the past four or five years and everyone is eager to, in a way, you know, show off what they're good at and help you out. When you ask for someone's advice, they're flattered. It's a good thing to be asked for help. So definitely don't be afraid of that. And at the same time, you know, be careful who you align yourself with. You want someone who truly is there to support you. You don't want someone who's going to knock down your ideas or you know, be in competition with you. It's hard to. It's hard to find what we have. I feel very, very lucky and I think that everyone can do it, but you really have to be careful in picking that counterpart and so many times in the beginning we had people say, why are you doing this with your friend? It’s not going to end well, and here we are. We're still going. LK:Totally. JC: I’m Lauren's maid of honor in April. LK:She is. KG:Congratulations you guys are going to look beautiful I’m. You guys are going to have the best hair and makeup and the business that day. JC:Exactly, that’s the hope. KG:What was an example of a time where you remember having to ask for help either from each other or from an outside source? LK: I mean, your ability to ask for help and leave your shame at the door is all you have in the first, I would say two years. You don't have money. You don't have any experience and you just have to continually put yourself out there and ask people for help and admit when you don't know something and empower people that do know that thing that you don't k

Recorded 5/2/17 Hall of Presidents - what’s happening with it? Hat toss game Countdown to Glenn’s WDW trip Chris created a countdown app in the ‘90s - first one ever!!! Postcard-ware Glenn is counting down on dry erase calendars - 81 days to go! Disney Cruise app Glenn and family can’t wait Kids are even going to ride Expedition Everest Accidental Tech Podcast talks about Disney Chris visits Disney Springs, and Chris has complaints (no, really!) Orange vs. Lime parking garages Key lime pie vs. lemon meringue pie The garage itself is great (wow! a compliment!) Disorientation Why go to Disney Springs? Why do people like it? Used to have a different, slower vibe to it Cars at the Boathouse restaurant - $125 for 20 minutes Renting Water Sprites/Water Mice Were they ever officially called Water Mice? Glenn doesn’t think so. Send a message to @tron_fm to let us know what you call them Automated cars at WDW Used first in Cast Member areas only Benefits to introducing automated cars to the public at WDW and will help adoption Changes to the Jungle Cruise Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) is making a JC movie Announced that he was working with Imagineers on changes to the JC It was officially denied by Disney Glenn’s Dad didn’t like the JC; affected Glenn’s view of it. Glenn likes it He also didn’t like 20K Under the Sea, and he was right on that one Chris never got to ride 20K; he didn’t miss anything according to Glenn Disney Emoji Blitz Special Event: Main Street Electrical Parade emoji Still frustrating; Glenn is quitting again People doing good things [Barefoot College](https://www.barefootcollege.org/) Picks of the week: Glenn: [Undercover Tourist](https://www.undercovertourist.com/); future guest? Chris: Reversing a pick - [Tiko 3D Printer](https://tiko3d.com/); they’re out of business now. Chris’s actual pick: [Simplify 3D](https://www.simplify3d.com/) Aftershow Would you be POTUS? Rolex 24 renewal Need guest for next show Crossing guard on road behind WDW All-boys and all-girls high schools in New Orleans (Go [Raiders!](https://www.rummelraiders.com/)) How to pronounce “Louisiana” Pirates of the Caribbean movie and Johnny Depp appearing in POTC in Disneyland