Drop the Guilt and Enjoy Your Profit: A Profit First Strategy With Melissa Johnson

Episode 91: Drop the Guilt and Enjoy Your Profit: A Profit First Strategy With Melissa Johnson

The Profit First REI Podcast

June 13, 2022

David Richter

Summary:

Being self-employed is scary, and there’s a lot to learn. Getting your confidence up in the alley requires a lot of work, especially when entering a business like real estate. Every entrepreneur is unique,  so it’s essential to create a business and lifestyle that enriches and aligns with YOU as an individual. But don’t you worry because Melissa Johnson will spill her secrets in today’s episode and show you how.

Takeaways:

[2:13] Melissa’s story on how she landed in real estate

[4:17] How did she end up doing a thousand deals, and what steps did she take to get there?

[6:18] The personal growth, mindset, and things that she’d learn while doing real estate

[9:23] Did her parents sit down with her and talk about money growing up, or is it all self-taught?

[20:02] What does she think about the Profit First framework, and how can they help people who just started real estate?

[20:44] The importance of allocating your money where it needs to go

[23:00] Why does she think finances take the back burner for most businesses?

[24:36] A lot of people from real estate don’t come from a real estate background. They come from other businesses.

Quotes:

[14:15] “Understanding what money can do for you is a big lesson.”

[15:15] “I think there’s something to be said for enjoying the fruits of your labor.”

[26:37] “Learn from those who have gone before you.”

Links:

Melissa’s Website – themelissajohnson.com

Left Main CRM – leftmainrei.co

Melissa’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-mcray-johnson-8794827/

Rich Dad Poor Dad- https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612680194

Tired of living deal to deal? 

If you are a real estate investor or business owner who is tired of living deal to deal, and want to double your profits, head over here to book your no-obligation discovery call with me. Either myself or someone from my team will hop on a short call with you to get clear on your business goals, remove any obstacles holding you back, and map out a game plan to help you finally start keeping more of the money you work so hard to make. – David

Transcript:

Melissa Johnson:

That’s, you know, another important lesson that I want them to learn about money is to enjoy it, but also to, you know, use it to make more money. So teaching the older ones about passive income and, and things like that, those are all things that I really want them to learn and understand.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Profit First REI podcast, where real estate investors, master financial management, eradicate entrepreneurial poverty, and learn to be profitable from day one. Now for your host, David Richter,

David Richter:

Hey everyone this is your host David Richter with another special guest on the Profit First REI podcast. We have Melissa Johnson and Melissa is incredible real estate investors. She’s been investing since 2003. She’s done over a thousand flips in a thousand flips in her lifetime. She’s done rentals notes, raised money. She’s also raised five children too, which is probably the biggest feat that I’ve said so far on this, you know, so far on this introduction, she also coaches education. She’s got her own podcast too. The E3 Podcast. Make sure you’ve check that out. She’s also working with the Left Main CRM. She’ll be talking about that near the end, but I can’t endorse that one enough. Just tracking your numbers. She’s been done life coaching, she’s done it all. So you’ve got you’ve, we’ve got a special package for you here in Melissa with her experience and what she’s done. And then also I get to interact with her. She’s one of the people that we’re in several masterminds together, and I get to see her, you know, like other people’s opinions of her and how they interact. And everyone holds Melissa in very high regard. She’s a real, she’s real, you know, she’s got that. She’s genuine has that integrity. And that’s why she’s on here today. So Melissa, thank you so much for being on the Profit First for REI podcast.

Melissa Johnson:

Wow. That was a heck of an introduction. Thank you.

David Richter:

<Laugh> I’m known for my introductions. That’s about it on this podcast. So now you can stop listening. Just kidding. No, we’re we’re done, but yeah, I just wanted to say thanks for being on. I know you impact a lot of people, but we all start somewhere. So tell us how that journey started. Like why real estate and how you got started and you know, like, just tell us your story.

Melissa Johnson:

Sure. So I kind of fell into real estate. It wasn’t something I knew anything about or was seeking out or anything like that. It was more about the lifestyle that was offered through real estate, through, you know, the power of real estate and investing. So I was just working, you know, regular job. I worked for a defense contractor. We had contracts with the air force and doing stuff like that kind of boring stuff. And then learned about real estate investing and saw how that affected, you know, the people’s lives that were doing it and thought, you know, okay, this could be like a really great thing. And so did that part-time for several years while still working the full-time job and then eventually transitioned to full-time, which was really scary at first. But it was kind of funny, like when I look back about it, I never thought that it wouldn’t work out.

Melissa Johnson:

So maybe like mindset weigh a big part in that. Yeah. More so than any kind of common sense, but it ended up really great. It was a really, it’s been a great journey. I love what real estate has done for my life, for my kids lives. You know, we’ve been able to, you know, they’ve been able to have a great life because of real estate. And I, I feel like I’ve enjoyed life because of it too. And being able to help so many people in so many different ways, you know, from helping sellers to, you know, eventually the coaching and moving into software, just, you know, there’s just so many opportunities to help people. So that’s been, it’s been very, very rewarding.

David Richter:

Awesome. Yeah. It seems like you get into real estate, it opens up your mind to what else is connected to real estate. Like you said, there’s the software component, there’s the coaching component. I mean, when you do that many deals, you want to spread that love, you want to make sure other people can get the life that you’ve had and that you’ve been able to give your children and, you know, like here’s, here’s some of those steps. So I love that. And I love when people teach when they’ve actually been in the trenches. So that’s was, you know, you’ve had quite the real estate career here. So then where did you end up, you know, like, oh, doing a thousand deals in, like, was that, you know, like a hundred deals that you were doing a year or like, you know, like how did you, you know, mask so many flips over your lifetime?

Melissa Johnson:

It was, it was kind of a process. It was kind of a slow start, you know, it was like a slow burn. Yeah. You know, and then it just kind of, as things grew and eventually, you know, taking on a team and being able to do more, you know, and, and having all those different exit strategies too, allows you to do a lot more deals, you know, because they weren’t necessarily all like rehabs, but yeah. And the bulk of it was that was a big part of our business, but eventually, you know, wholesaling came into place. You’re able to do a lot more deals that way, bird dogging, you know, creating notes, which I love doing buying rental properties. So stuff like that, just mixing up those exit strategies, but then building a team really kind of helped take that to the next level.

David Richter:

Did you, huh? Let’s see. Did you ever get to a place where you didn’t like the process or you didn’t like flipping or, you know, you were growing so much, but you felt like, you know, kind of just spinning your wheels. Did you ever feel, you got to that place inside of the business? Either front, middle end,

Melissa Johnson:

There were several burnout points. I think, you know, you do something for so long. And then I don’t know. I think a lot of us have that, that curse when you’re an entrepreneur of having that ADHD brain kind of, and, and I definitely have that, so I lose interest in things over time. So it’s like, oh, I’ve flipped a lot of houses. What else? You know? And so that, that’s been kind of fun, just transitioning in that journey with that.

David Richter:

Okay. So then you raised five children while you were doing this. I mean, so this, this was definitely something that they grew up and do any of, are any of them interested in real estate or have they taken an interest in what you are doing or are they all like, oh, real estate. That’s great for mom, but I wanna do this, that or the other thing.

Melissa Johnson:

Yeah. You know, what’s been funny about that. I, I get that question a lot and you know, I, I’ve never tried to push them in any, any specific direction. Yeah. But what’s been really interesting is it’s not really the real estate that they’ve, they’ve taken to, but more of the mindset and the things that I’ve learned, like the personal growth has come more in like that has captured more of their attention. So it’s more of like I noticed with my older daughter, like she’s becoming, she’s turned out to be kind of entrepreneurial. And then one of my twins, you know, she’s, she’s pretty entrepreneurial. She wants to open up a gym and she’s getting her personal certifi, personal trainer certification. And, and so it wasn’t necessarily real estate that they’re interested in, but more of just being an entrepreneur, they’ve seen, like, mom doesn’t have to go.

Melissa Johnson:

Like the older ones saw me go to the office and they saw that transition happen. But my two younger ones, they’ve never known mom to go to an office. You know, I’ve always been at home. They don’t know anything else. And they know that I’m working, you know, setting those boundaries is, is important, but oh yeah. But it it’s been really exciting. Teaching them about being an entrepreneur and really about a lot of the mindset stuff. I, I love talking about that with my kids and they, they just kind of soak it up. They, they seem to really have taken to that.

David Richter:

I love that because that I think is what we try to convey. Well, if you’re a, I need to say this in a politically correct manner, right. I mean, this is a podcast going out everywhere. So we want to do it in a, like an emotionally intelligent way, you know, like with our kids and make sure that they know that there’s a healthy way, you know, of doing this, there’s an unhealthy way of doing it. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. And then also I love what you said there, where you were like, I didn’t push ’em in any direction, but they caught kind of that mindset. And you had mentioned that before too, of like, oh no, I just, you know, always plowed through and you know, it was really the mindset. And I think that’s, we see that and we hear that in a lot of the books and that’s a lot of the coaching is around mindset, but it is true.

David Richter:

I mean, that’s why it is cliche, cuz we hear it so much, but it is really about the mindset and being able to tackle the, the challenges. And it’s especially hard when you’re going through it. But if you’ve got kids, then it’s like, then it’s, you’re doing it for them too. Like I have to get through this. So they see that you can come out on the other side and you know, it’s this, I’ve got a four year old daughter and you know, some days are better than others and it’s, it’s been fun seeing her, you know, like if there’s a down day, it’s like, well, are you okay, dad? You know, it’s like doing those types of things and it’s like, they, you can catch even at a young age that they’re picking up on. Okay. They’re really looking at what we’re doing. So we’ve gotta be that, that light there. And I love what you said, just they’re catching onto that mindset, the entrepreneurial side of just, this is what, how can I bring value to the world? How can I bring value, you know, to other people. So absolutely love that it’s just foundational

Melissa Johnson:

Right.

David Richter:

Is a foundation. Yeah.

Melissa Johnson:

Because they can take that anywhere. They go in life, whether it’s real estate or, you know, my older daughters are like in the sciences one’s of vet tech. Yeah. The other one’s what is it? I never remember what her she’s graduating from college next month. <Laugh> and it’s like conservation biology kind of thing. You know, they’re all under the sciences, but they’ve take, they, that mindset stuff I think has helped them through those journeys through college and you know, and stuff like that.

David Richter:

It doesn’t matter what their vocation is or where they go. It’s getting that inside of as, as early in age as possible. So it sounds like cuz being the first podcast, I asked them questions around money and I sometimes I ask like, did your parents sit down with you and ever talk about money or the mindset or whatnot? Was that something that you grew up in or was that where you were like, I’m the first generation to pass this stuff on and you know, like do that. So what about you?

Melissa Johnson:

I love that question because that’s something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately actually, you know, like what made me different? You know, why, why did I turn out this way? And I think back, you know, to growing up and my parents, you know, that was a whole different generation. Like they were all about security. And like, I remember having these big dreams when I was younger. Like I wanted to be, I wanted to go to art college. And so I’m, I’m also an artist and I love art and being creative. And like that was my dream. Then I wanted to be a cop, you know, and all these things. And they were like, no, no like cops too dangerous. No, you can’t be an artist professionally, cuz that’s not a good career. And you know, it’s not safe, you know, it’s yeah, you won’t make money doing that.

Melissa Johnson:

And so they were more about, you know go to college, get good grades, get a good job, that’s stable and secure, save your money and you know, that kind of thing, like make sure your credit is perfect, you know, and, and you know, all that kind of stuff. And it’s only because they didn’t know anything different. Yeah. And so when I became an entrepreneur full time it was so it, it kind of rubbed me a little bit because you know, it was like, well, I hope it works out for you, you know? And they were, they were well, meaning, you know, but they just, you know, and I didn’t think I was just like, whoa, here we go. You know, <laugh> not

David Richter:

Right.

Melissa Johnson:

You know, I wasn’t really scared of what might happen, but you know, I had to learn all these things and I had to learn about, you know, managing money as an entrepreneur and, and it’s not easy and like money, like that kind of stuff. Like I’m, I’m okay with numbers, but it’s not really my jam. So

David Richter:

Yeah, <laugh> right.

Melissa Johnson:

You know, but you have to learn those things because if you’re gonna run a business in a responsible way, you have to learn how to manage your money. Yeah. And so I had to learn all that on my own. Okay. I wasn’t, I wasn’t brought up with that. It was just a whole different mentality, you know? Like you gotta stay outta debt. You know? Interesting enough. My daughter, one of my daughters texted me last night and she said, the text said, have you heard of Dave Ramsey? <Laugh> and I literally busted out laughing and I texted her back and I said, yeah, he’s been around for a hot minute. You know why? And she said well I was just, you know, listening to some of his stuff. She’s like, what do you think about that? And I said, well, I understand, you know what he’s saying?

Melissa Johnson:

I said, but there’s, there’s a newer school of thought that it’s okay to take on debt. You know, if you’re, if it’s done in a responsible way, like you need to leverage debt to your advantage, you know, like I couldn’t do any of the stuff that I’ve done if I didn’t put myself into debt at, at several points, you know? Yeah. And so you have to, you have to like go to that place to do, but it was just funny that, that she had brought that up and it kind of made me think about those things.

David Richter:

And I love that, that she came to you, you know, that speaks a lot right there, just that your child was comfortable enough to say, Hey, I was listening to some guy, you know, and like, have you, you know, and that she thought of you to, to text and to be the one, you know, and that’s, I know that’s something that some parents would just strive to just be that person to come to and be like, Hey, you know, they’re talking to me about money, you know, like something in the real world here, you know, like this guy that is, you know, talking about money all the time or this real stuff. So I think that also speaks, you know, I know that’s not what we were, you were focused on, but I, I still think that is something that’s really big. And then being able to have those conversations about money and, and like you said, it’s not to their discredit, your parents or anyone.

David Richter:

It’s just, like you said, that’s how they were raised. They don’t, we don’t know differently. And then I feel like our access to information is so much easier today. So you can get like, what do you want to learn about? So we can go there. We’ve got more of an excuse to be able to go off and do our crazy entrepreneurial rabbit trail things. Yeah. And where back then it was like, oh, you know, like, you know, this is all we know, this is, you know, you follow these steps, you’ll be a success. Like we, you know, like we are and have the comfortable life that we do. So love that love that you can talk with your children about. So let’s talk about that. Let’s stay there because I always ask, I’ve got a four year old daughter, so I want to give her as much as the good mindset as possible. What lessons about money? Do you want to pass on to your children and hope that they catch, or there’s some big ones that stand out to you? Like I wanna make sure that they have this mindset around it.

Melissa Johnson:

Yeah. I think some of the big things is, you know, like teaching them. Well, first of all, like with my daughter, you know, she’s 22, you know, she, so she’s just kind of getting started in life, but teaching them that it is okay, you know, to be like, she, if she wants to open up a gym, she’s gonna have to put herself in debt. If she were to wait until she had enough money to start a gym, we’d be waiting forever. <Laugh> right. You know? So there are responsible ways to take on debt. I think that’s important for them to learn. I think, you know, understanding what money can do for you. Mm-Hmm <affirmative> is a big lesson. That’s something I’ve been working with my son on because he’s nine. And he is like, I, I see him being an entrepreneur. He’s very like, he’s gonna be great at sales. I think, cuz he can convince anyone to do anything. <Laugh> yeah. It’s kind of funny. That’s great. But he’s, he’s like really money driven, you know, if I need him to do something, if I offered a like the kid will do anything for a buck seriously, <laugh> like anything.

David Richter:

That’s great.

Melissa Johnson:

So I’ve been trying to teach him like, that’s good, but you know, what are you gonna do with that money? And when you get it, you know, are you going to save it? Are you gonna blow it? Like what are you like? So trying to teach them, I don’t want him to grow up to, you know, if he comes into a lot of money and then go blow it on, on a Lambo or something, you know, like I don’t want him to be that kid, that guy. And so trying to teach him like when you get some money, enjoy some of it. Because I think that that’s a big lesson that I didn’t learn till way later in life too. It’s like doing all these deals and stuff, making all this money, but then we, you know, it always went back into the company and never really enjoyed any of it.

Melissa Johnson:

And I think there’s something to be said for enjoying the fruits of your labor. Yeah. And I went a really long time without doing that. Like I felt so guilty almost about putting a pool in my backyard, you know, because I always wanted one, but he was like, oh, that’s a lot of money. I don’t know. And you know, finally it’s like, why don’t, why don’t I enjoy this a little bit, you know? Yeah. And so trying to teach him, you know, when he gets some money, enjoy a little bit of it, but then what can you, how can you take the other part of that money and use it to make some more money? And so over the summer we started doing a reading program. So I started paying him 50 bucks for every personal development book that he would read. Wow. And then we would talk about it and then I would have him like write little summaries and to, to make it easier for him.

Melissa Johnson:

Cuz he is nine. We just kind of went chapter by chapter, but he read several books and he’d get his 50 bucks. And of course he wanted to blow it all on V bucks for Fortnite. And <laugh>, you know, the first, the very first one. So he, the first one he did was rich dad, poor dad. And immediately when he finished, you know, we talked about it and then he is like, can I have my 20, my 50 bucks now? You know, I wanna get V bucks. And I said, well, did you not just learn anything from what you just read? <Laugh> I was kinda like, oh, but but it, it was it, you know, then I was like, so, so proud of him though, because we talked about it and I said, well, what did you learn from this book? Think about what you just read and think about what you’re asking me right now.

Melissa Johnson:

And he, he really sat here in my office. I have a chair next and we sat here in the chair and, and he thought about it for maybe a minute or so. And then he said, okay, can I have $20 for V books? And I’m gonna take the other $30 and I’m gonna buy another book to read so I can make 50 more dollars. And I said, now you’re using your head. Hmm, good. That makes way more sense. Yeah. But I was really proud that he came to that conclusion on his own, you know, very,

David Richter:

I think that’s very cool.

Melissa Johnson:

Yeah. So I think that’s, that’s, you know, another important lesson that I want them to learn about money is to enjoy it, but also to, you know, use it to make more money. So teaching the older ones about passive income and, and things like that, those are all things that I really want them to learn and understand.

David Richter:

Awesome now. And I love that. What would you say? You know, like what his answer was too, because I think that is the best return. If you’re gonna spend money, spend it on your investing in yourself, in the books, in the training, in the education, you’re listening to this podcast right now, you know, it’s like the different things that you’re doing as the listener and being able to get the content that you want to become a better human being, honestly, at the, of the day, not just a better investor, but just a better human and leveling up yourself. And that’s so important that I love that too. Cuz I’ve heard that from multiple people that I admire. I definitely admire you Melissa. So that’s just another, another tick here to say like, yes, once Ellie gets old enough, once you can actually read, cuz I, you know, it’s like, I wanna do all this stuff right now, but she’s four, you know, she’s just learning her ABCs.

David Richter:

One, two threes, you know, she’s got those down, but it’s like now we gotta form words and sentences. So once we’re there rich dad, port ads, you gotta read that first off. Like, and once she’s five, boom, that’s it. No, but that’s where I wanna make sure we do it. Some structure like that. So I’ve written that down cuz I definitely want to do that. I love that concept of, of paying the children to, you know, investing in them, to read, to read and really have those conversations. Cause like, like you said, I like, I’m just looking behind the scenes. Just the fact that you’re sitting down with him having these conversations, if the book doesn’t sink in, then he’s getting the fact that this is important to mom. This is important to, you know, my future. And like, you know, even though it won’t click, it might not click then with him.

David Richter:

It’s just those frameworks of sitting down and having those conversations, like when you said what was, what was different about me? You know, and this is one of those things that, you know, just as you’ve grown, one of the things that you’re passing on to them. So absolutely love that. Love that answer. Love what you wanna pass on. Love asking those types of questions, which leads me, honestly, that was a great segue into Profit First and the mentality. So do you wanna give your thoughts around Profit First, the mentality behind it? Like making sure you pay yourself. I believe you got an advanced copy of Profit First for real estate investing. So you’ve got an actual book with you. One of the first ones on the podcast that has the Profit First for real estate investing book. All right there, you’re on YouTube. You can actually see this. So there you go. <Laugh> but she’s got an actual book. So just tell me your thoughts around that and how that differs from maybe the mindset when you were in the trenches 2003, you know, onward, you know, till recently of just that mindset of like, yeah, like you even said, you, it felt bad for putting in a pool like where that mindset was to then after reading that book and hearing those concepts, like what you think of that framework and how that can help maybe people who are starting on the real estate investing journey.

Melissa Johnson:

I tell you, I wish I had had this book 18 years ago. <Laugh> start with that. <Laugh> because when you’re, when you’re just getting started, like you don’t know what you don’t know. Right? Yeah. And that, I feel like the financial piece of all, this is always kind of left on the back burner, you know? And I’m just as guilty as anyone else of it. Like, I mean went along for so long, just kind of managing things like I’ve always been kind of I had a, I have a bookkeeping background too, so I understand about keeping books and stuff like that. Yeah. But I love this concept of like, you know, the different buckets and, and allocating your, your money where it needs to go so that, you know, when you throw it all in the pot together, <laugh> you, it’s hard to see, you know, well what’s going where, and, and one big thing that I learned, I think it was, it was a several years ago I took this deep dive into the financial part of the business and it started with marketing because that’s like, that was our biggest spend.

Melissa Johnson:

Yeah. And so when I did that, I’m like, wow, there’s so many other pieces to like how all that stuff ties together financially. Like, you know what you’re spending on marketing and then like, you know, return and like I do notes. And so like everything was just going into one pot, you know? And it’s like, I think I would’ve had a better picture of my business. Had I understood where all the money was actually coming from and where it was going instead of just going into the one big pot. Yeah. And so I love that. And then the whole like paying yourself first because I remember for years not paying myself. Hmm. You know? Yeah. Like, because everything just went back into the business, but you know, you can’t, you can’t operate that way. So it’s just like, well I need just a little bit, you know, and then just like, and then it makes it hard for you to even manage your own personal finances when you don’t have a handle on, if you have like no budget or no idea, like what’s coming in.

Melissa Johnson:

Yeah. And what’s going out. And so it makes it hard to know like, well, I just need like 1500, you know, for this month to cover everything, you know, why am I living like a poor person? And I’ve got all this money sitting over here, like not doing anything for me and not knowing where it’s going, where it’s coming from. Like, so I think that just that, that clear organization of your finances gives you such a more, a better picture of your business. Yeah. And like, you can make better decisions that way. Like I really believe that like once you have, cuz once I took that deep dive, I’m like, well shoot. Like, why am I wasting all this money on this? This isn’t even working, you know? And there I’ve, you know, blown all this money on it and it didn’t even work. And I didn’t even know because I didn’t take the time to, to really look at everything.

David Richter:

Yeah. No, I love that. And you, I love what you said there too, is that it’s on the back burner. Usually the finances are, you know, it’s like then I, I hear that so much. It’s like, this is the last thing that we put in place. Like <laugh>, if you’re gonna make money, please, for the love of God, keep the money too. So why do you think entrepreneurs in general business, people, startups, real estate investors, entrepreneurs, this big pot that we call ourselves here, what do you, why do you think that the finances take the back burner for most businesses?

Melissa Johnson:

I feel like I know this one <laugh> because I think that what I have noticed just from being out here for so long and I, I talk to people all over the country for many years now and, and hear what people say. And, and I I’m, I’m like a real, I, I like to pay attention to what people say and then what they don’t say. And what I have noticed is that a lot of us that are in this industry, especially in real estate, we don’t come from real estate backgrounds. We come from all these like other businesses, you know, like I was, you know, I was, I did some bookkeeping, but like I came from, you know, doing defense contract, like admin type stuff, you know? Yeah. I didn’t know anything about business. You know, I knew about a little bit about the money part, but I didn’t know.

Melissa Johnson:

And I, and I see that with a lot of us, you know, we’re all coming from all these different industries. And so finance is scary. You know, if you don’t, if that’s not part of your background, it can be really intimidating. And I think that’s the biggest problem. And so what do we all do when something’s big and scary? It’s like, oh, I’ll deal with that later. <Laugh> like, I’m just gonna, you know, like not worry about that because you know, you’re making money. And so you’re not really stressed out about that, you know, but it’s kind of like the last thing that you wanna think about, I guess. Yeah. I mean, I know it was for me at least,

David Richter:

No, I, I love that cuz that’s what we see. And yeah, you hit the nail on the head that most of us don’t have a background in business or entrepreneurship or like you said, what made me different? Cuz I was the first one in my family. So you might not even have an example in your family or, or from your previous job because it might have been admin. It might have just been government work or nine to five job over here at this machine shop or like whatever it is that we did before we jumped into real estate investing, then we’re jumping in and there’s courses for marketing there’s courses for operations there’s courses for systems there’s courses for sales, you know, there’s like all this education, but then no one teaches on the finances, that portion. So yeah, and I, I, you hit the nail on the head.

David Richter:

It’s just, it’s scary. It’s intimidating. And it’s not what, it’s not what most, most people don’t even have, what you have, like the little bit of bookkeeping background that you have there. Like most people don’t even have that. So it’s like, it’s a very intimidating to go through that. So if you’re listening right now, this is, we understand, we understand where you are, where you’re coming from, where you’re wanting to go to and that’s why we wanna help. And that’s why Melissa’s given you this info here, Melissa, this has been awesome. So thank you so much for the mindset that you’ve given, you know, like with your children and with the just growing up and he helping them see the light and getting them to where they, where you want them and where you want to bring them to. And then also just the other things that you’ve talked about here, I think it’s very revealing what you said that once you have that control and you have that clarity around the finances decisions become easier. I think that was another big nugget here that you said. So just have a couple last questions here. Number one, what general real estate investing advice do you have for all listeners here that are, you know, this could be any advice, just the best advice you’ve ever received or what you would want to impart to people today before we leave?

Melissa Johnson:

Well I think for people just getting started, I think it’s really important to have a coach, a mentor. I think that’s just huge, you know, why reinvent the wheel? You know, <laugh> yes. You know, learn from, learn from those who have gone before you. Right?

David Richter:

Exactly. That’s a great one. Especially with what you just said, <laugh> our background, isn’t usually business and entrepreneurship or real estate investing. You want to, if you can purchase access to someone who’s been there and has that that’s so good, cuz that’s exactly where you

Melissa Johnson:

Highly recommend it. I’ve started it out with a mentor and I still to this day utilize coaching. Yeah. I think it just, it, we should always be educating ourselves.

David Richter:

So, oh yeah. I, yes. I, I very much believe in that I’m right now at five figures a month, I think just on coaching, mentoring, either masterminds or personal mentorship. And it’s like, that has helped me so much in getting to where we want to go because yeah, I’ve, I’m not gonna lie. I haven’t done this rodeo, you know, a thousand times before or taken 17 businesses to where they, you know, like wherever, you know, like for myself personally. And it’s like, I wanna make sure that we are on the right track. So I love that, Melissa. That’s great advice for anyone, which I know you also help people get to where they need to be. And that’s another you, if you can borrow Melissa’s 18 years, that’s the thing is that you can go out there, you can purchase someone’s mindset, you can see where they’re at and say, where am I now?

David Richter:

And how do I get to where you, you know, where you’ve ended up and how you’ve gotten there. So that’s exactly what that’s all about. So I can’t endorse Melissa enough. So let’s just end there. What is, you’ve provided a ton of value here. I think on the mindset around finances, around the, how you’ve raised the children about just the mindset, the whole mentality of entrepreneurship. So how can the listeners provide value back to you? What are you working on right now? How do you wanna connect with people? What do you need or what would you want to ask of our listeners?

Melissa Johnson:

Well, something that I think would be very relevant right now is I’ve been working with Left Main CRM. It’s a CRM system for real estate investors and special bonus. We actually have a Profit First dashboard. That ties into exactly what you’re doing. So if you’re doing this already or if you’re just getting started, you can use this dashboard and you can see everything that you wanna see about your finances right there within the CRM system does a lot of other amazing things. So if anyone’s interested in that, you can go to Left Main rei.co and see a little bit more about that.

David Richter:

Awesome. I can’t endorse that enough to, I used to in my lifetime, I’ve built CRMs Podium CRMs for people in the real estate investing world. It’s one of the many things that I’ve done. So I like the software portion, but Left Main and it’s reporting functionality. I think blows Podium outta the water blows a lot of these other systems it’s simpler and it ties in with your money systems like QuickBooks online. And that to me was what would sold me. I’m like, if I can tie in exactly what I’m spending to, exactly what I’m making, this is the winner, you know, like I can truly see numbers, not something I put on a spreadsheet or hopefully this person entered something into this, you know, system over here that they’re manually entering. It’s like, no, it’s pulling actual numbers from these different data sources and then get spitting out the return. So can’t endorse that enough. I love it. Several of our clients are using Left Main and they have those dashboards and they love them and we love seeing them as well too. So make sure to go to that was Left Main rei.co correct? Left Main rei.co. So we’ll make sure to put that in the notes too. Melissa’s been an honor having you on and make sure she’s got other things too. You need to just, I believe your personal website is TheMelissaJohnson.com. Correct? Mm-hmm TheMelissaJohnson.com

David Richter:

TheMelissaJohnson.com. Look her up. She’s got coaching. She’s got training. She’s not promoting herself enough on you. So I wanna make sure I promote her on you. She’s does a lot of incredible things can help a lot of people. So I can’t endorse her enough Left Main, Melissa, thank you so much for being on today.

David Richter:

Thank you. Thank you so much for listening to today’s show. If you found this episode valuable, could you do me a quick favor? Could you give us an honest rating within iTunes and be honest, you could say whether you liked it or not. And obviously with iTunes, the more reviews and ratings we have, the better it is for other people that are searching for a Profit First and a podcast. So we’d love to be ranked on there and that’s thanks to your help. So we would really appreciate that if you would like to go give us a rating. Also, if you’re looking to connect with us further, I would highly recommend checking out our Facebook group Profit First for Real Estate Investors. And that’s literally what it’s called. So you can type in Profit First for real estate investors and you’ll be able to find <laugh>, you’ll be able to find our Facebook group right there.

David Richter:

So come join active real estate investors who are supporting each other and growing their businesses and profits together. That’s what that group is all about. The link should be in the description below. And if you’re interested in working with us and implementing Profit First in your real estate business, we offer coaching and guidance. So if you wanna work with someone who’s actually Profit First certified and who works right now currently with real estate businesses, you can actually go start your application process by going to simpleCFOsolutions.com/apply, or just go right to simpleCFOsolutions.com. And there’s an apply button right on there. If you wanna actually start your Profit First journey with someone who can actually walk you through those step by step and help, you know, and grow your cash flow. Thanks again for joining us for another episode of the Profit First REI podcast. See you next episode.