The Truth About Financial Independence for Canadians

Erwin Szeto
  • 3.5 (4)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

Are you a Canadian real estate investor looking for real Canadian Content? You've found it! Since 2016, this weekly show has helped Canadians cut through the BS and uncover the truth about how to most effectively invest in real estate. Ranked as high as #81 globally in iTunes' Business category, host Erwin Szeto is a real estate investor and 4X Investor Realtor of the Year, with just under $500M in income property transactions. Erwin interviews top investors and wealth builders, sharing strategies that worked and didn't work. This is your blueprint for long-term wealth through real estate.

  1. 1d ago

    60-Hour Weeks for 25 Years. Then 10 Hours a Week. Then an 8-Figure Exit | Byron Darlison

    Byron Darlison founded Rise Vision in 1992 in Toronto and ran it for 30 years without raising a dollar of outside equity. For 25 of those years, by his own admission, the business was unfocused, unpredictable, and running him. In year 25, he hired a Metronomics coach and installed a business operating system. In the 5 years that followed, profits went from break-even to 20% sustained net margins, his work week dropped from 60 hours to under 10, and the business grew to serve organizations in over 100 countries.  In year 30, he sold Rise Vision for an 8-figure exit to a Taiwanese industrial display manufacturer, with no earn-out and no employment clause. His team still runs and grows the business today.  He now coaches a small number of founders privately and serves as Mentorship Chair and Accelerator Coach at Entrepreneurs' Organization Toronto.  In this conversation, we cover:  Why 25 years of hard work without a system produced inconsistent results, and what changed in year 25  What a business operating system actually is, why most founders fail to self-implement one, and why a coach changes everything  How Byron's team internalized the system to the point where the business self-corrected without him  What made Rise Vision attractive enough to sell with no earn-out, no employment clause, and a premium multiple  The owner's outcome framework: why most founders never ask what they actually want from their business  Why the definition of strategy is the word no, and how narrowing to 1 core customer changed everything  The founder's dilemma: why founders who solve every problem are the biggest bottleneck in their business  What the great wealth transfer means for buyers and why many boomer-owned businesses are deeply undervalued  Why Byron says entrepreneurship is less risky than employment, not more, if you are willing to do the work  How AI has allowed Byron to run a 14-agent software development pipeline from his home, solo, at a fraction of traditional cost    Byron's arc is one of the clearest illustrations of what TAFI is now built around: multiple paths to financial independence, and the discipline to pick one and execute it properly.

    1h 38m

  2. 4d ago

    A Hall Pass to Go All In and Build 200 AI Agents Across 7 Divisions - Mike Schwarz, MyZone AI

    What does it actually look like to go all-in on AI? Mike Schwarz, founder and CEO of MyZone AI, negotiated a hall pass from his wife, adjusted his medication, and spent 3 to 4 months working until 2, 3, and 4 in the morning to find out. The result: 200 plus autonomous AI agents running across 7 divisions of his business.  Mike has 25 years in tech, from building nightlife social networks in 1999 before Friendster existed, to running a full AI solutions company out of Vancouver today. He coaches CEOs and speaks at Entrepreneurs' Organization and YPO events. And he says the window for getting ahead in AI is measured in months, not years.  In this episode, we go from first principles. What is AI. What is an agent. What is the difference between an agent and ChatGPT. Why legacy SaaS companies are down 50 to 60 percent. And what a non-developer can actually do right now to start automating their business.  Real examples from this conversation: Mike's agent replied to 183 unread LinkedIn messages in 30 minutes, starred the 19 personal ones, and left them for him. He built a custom math game for his son in an hour using an AI coding agent. And after a sales call, he can send a fully personalized 5-page proposal website to a prospect in 10 minutes.  Mike's one thing: master the art of learning. It's not about being technical. It's about being a sponge. Because the window is short and it's moving fast.  Mike teaches regular free monthly workshops at myzone.ai. Upcoming: June 18 — How to Secure Your Agents. July 9 — How to Become an Agentic Developer (no coding required).

    52 min

  3. Jun 11

    From Factory Worker to $300K Realtor | Milena Simsic

    Milena Simsic made $300,000 in commissions in her first year as a realtor, without any prior real estate connections, using nothing but TikTok and Instagram. She had no social media presence before she got her license. She figured it out in public.    Milena is the founder of WindSocial Realty in Windsor, Ontario, and the publisher of the Windsor Real Estate Insider, a newsletter and magazine that grew to 9,000 subscribers in under a year. She also runs Windsor REI Social, a 3,000-member community that fills events with 100 to 200 investors. She is currently switching brokerages from EXP to Real and building a community for realtors who want to learn AI-powered marketing.    In this conversation, we cover:  Why Windsor's single-family homes have held value while student rentals and investment properties have softened  What the Gordy Howe Bridge delay and the EV plant mean for Windsor's growth trajectory  How Milena made $300K her first year as a realtor off TikTok and Instagram alone  Why she replaced her virtual assistant with Claude AI and built her CRM systems in an afternoon  How the top agents implementing AI are going to absorb market share from those who are not  Why she left EXP for Real, and what Real is getting right that most online brokerages are not  The health crisis that doubled her business once she fixed it  Why business owners are particularly vulnerable to loneliness and what she did about it  How Windsor REI Social went from monthly to biannual events and why that made it bigger    Milena's arc is the arc TAFI was rebranded to celebrate: a factory worker and ICU nurse who saw where the highest-leverage play was, went all in, and built a media brand and a business that works without grinding 60 hours a week.  CONNECT WITH MILENA SIMSIC Windsor Real Estate Insider: https://www.windsorrealestateinsider.comInstagram / LinkedIn / Facebook / YouTube: search 'Milena Simsic' Chapters 00:00: Introduction and Cold Open  01:20: Milena's background: factory worker, nursing, COVID, Windsor  03:00: Breaking news: brokerage switch from EXP to Real  04:00: Windsor Real Estate Insider magazine, 9,000 subscribers  05:30: Windsor market conditions: what is holding and what is not  07:00: The Gordy Howe Bridge delay  08:30: EV plant, population growth, downtown development  09:30: What investors are doing in Windsor right now  13:00: $300K first year off TikTok and Instagram  17:00: Building Windsor REI Social to 3,000 members  22:00: AI adoption gap: top agents vs. everyone else  28:00: Replacing a virtual assistant with Claude  31:00: How many hours per week to run the business  33:30: Teaching other realtors AI-powered marketing  38:00: The Windsor pageant: why she entered, first runner up  41:00: The autoimmune condition, the health pivot, business doubling  45:00: Salsa dancing as the one thing that started everything  48:00: Business owner loneliness and why dance helps  51:00: EXP vs. Real: why the switch and what Real is doing differently  58:00: AI tools, Fiverr comparison, what Claude does that nobody else can match  01:01:00: Advice for young people: build your skill set, buy a business, zero excuses  01:03:00: Wrap up and where to find Milena

    1h 12m

  4. Jun 5

    Buying a 25-Year-Old Bookkeeping Firm | Ming Lim & Bryan Ma

    In January 2026, Ming Lim and Bryan Ma closed on AccounTrain, a 25-year-old bookkeeping firm based in Ottawa with clients across Canada. They beat out five other offers. They paid 1.3 times annual revenue. They spent almost two years searching for the right deal.  Ming is the managing partner of Volition Properties, where his team has helped Canadians transact on more than $300 million of Toronto investment real estate. Bryan spent 20 years in Canadian financial services. He's a CPA, a CFA, and holds an MBA. He worked at three of the biggest professional services firms in the country and most recently at Intact Insurance in mergers and acquisitions.  In this conversation, we cover:  Why these two real estate operators are buying a business instead of more rentals  How they sourced AccounTrain through Poe Group and a buy-side community called Village Wealth  The difference between bookkeeping and full accounting firms, and why the simpler business won  How multiples in this industry actually work (1.2 to 2.5 times revenue depending on quality)  Why vendor take-back mortgages are standard in business sales, even though they're rare in Canadian real estate  The seller's 25 years of institutional knowledge that was kept entirely in one person's head  How Bryan and Ming approached due diligence with Bryan's M&A background as the advantage  The lifestyle case for a business over a rental portfolio  What they're modernizing now that they own it (CRM, workflow management, AI tools)  Practical advice for small business owners with messy books  This episode is part of TAFI's coverage of the great wealth transfer from retiring boomers to the next generation of Canadian operators. If you're an active real estate investor looking at what's next, this is the playbook. 📩Connect with Ming and Bryan AccounTrain: https://accountrain.com/ (Their bookkeeping firm) Volition Properties: https://www.volitionprop.com/ (Ming's real estate brokerage) Reach them through LinkedIn or via the AccounTrain website 📌 Free training on the investment loan strategy: Saturday, June 27th (Oakville hybrid):https://wealthhacker.krtra.com/t/x5X1OCIDrAXc and Tuesday, July 7th (Zoom only): https://wealthhacker.krtra.com/t/n98gpqD3cVoQ Walking through the math, the loss scenarios, and how it fits alongside a real estate portfolio. 📌 Timestamps00:00 – Welcome & Tesla update01:30 – Investment club math ($35K → $140K)07:12 – Introducing Ming Lim & Bryan Ma09:30 – Why buy a business when you already own real estate 13:00 – How Ming and Bryan met and decided to partner up 17:00 – Two years of searching, joining Village Wealth 21:00 – Bookkeeping vs full accounting, why the simpler business won 26:00 – Deals closing in 24 to 48 hours, the competitive reality 31:00 – Multiples in the industry, 1.2 to 2.5 times revenue 41:00 – Vendor take-back mortgages, standard in business sales 46:00 – Maintaining the seller relationship after closing 52:00 – AI in the accounting industry, where it is and isn't useful 63:00 – Cash flow management as the real value of bookkeeping 67:00 – Toronto market check-in, May 2026 72:00 – Final thoughts on buying a business

    1h 18m

  5. May 28

    20 Years in Canadian Finance, Now He Only Buys $70K Cleveland Duplexes | Carlos Rodrigues

    Carlos Rodrigues spent 20 years in Canadian financial services. Mutual funds, life insurance both levels, and a full mortgage broker with five agents under him. He tried to start his own fund. Canadian compliance costs killed it.  Now he drives 4.5 hours each way from Hamilton to Cleveland, Ohio to buy duplexes for $70,000 that appraise at $170,000 after renovation.  In this episode, we get into:  The $70,000 duplex near the Cleveland Clinic with a toilet falling through the floor  How Section 8 rentals pay 20 to 30% above market, with one tenant paying $14 of her $1,400 rent  Why 100% loan-to-cost financing is back, and why this isn't 2008  The joint venture partner who added $30,000 to $40,000 in renovation scope while Carlos was at Home Depot  The contractor who ghosted him a week before closing  How ICE enforcement is hitting the US construction labor pool  Cleveland's side yard program: buy a vacant lot next to your house for $100  Why Carlos won't invest in Hamilton anymore, even though he lives there  Plus my own update: my Hamilton duplex tenant has been non-paying for 7 months, $12,000 deep, and we're still waiting on the LTB. This is the world we're operating in.  Want the investment loan strategy that produced a 40.6% return since September 2025?  I'm hosting a free training on Saturday May 30 (Oakville hybrid) and Tuesday June 2 (Zoom only). Walking through the complete strategy, the math, every loss scenario, and how it fits alongside a real estate portfolio.  Register at: ⁠https://wealthhacker.krtra.com/t/uqyHFbipnPrK⁠ Connect with Carlos:  Website: cashflowcarlos.com, Instagram & TikTok: @cashflowcarlos  Connect with Erwin:  Podcast: tafipod.ca Free Wealth Freedom Blueprint: infinitywealth.ca/freereport  Book a Wealth Planning Call: linked at ⁠www.infinitywealth.ca⁠

    1h 18m

  6. May 25

    He Talks to AI While Walking the Dog | Greg Kowalczyk

    In this episode, Erwin sits down with Greg—an engineer turned real estate investor and e-commerce entrepreneur who scaled his business to $700K/month and is now leveraging AI to build apps, automate workflows, and save tens of thousands of dollars. From buying his first property with no experience to renovating duplexes across Ontario, Greg shares the real ups and downs of real estate investing—along with how he expanded into e-commerce and built multiple income streams. But the biggest shift? AI. Greg breaks down how he’s using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to: Build apps without codingReplace $50K–$70K development costsCreate product images without expensive photoshootsAutomate business processes and marketingTo follow Greg: https://www.gregkowalczyk.com/ https://www.bronteharbourclassic.com/ (Discount code: Erwin) This episode is packed with insights for anyone looking to stay ahead in real estate, business, and the AI revolution.

    1h 25m

  7. May 18

    Rebuilding Wealth After Divorce: Sarah Coupland on Ontario Multifamily, Distressed Properties, and Creative Financing

    What would you do if you had to sell your entire real estate portfolio… and start over? In this episode, we sit down with investor Sarah Copeland, who went from managing over 60 doors to liquidating everything—and now rebuilding from scratch in today’s market. She shares the real, behind-the-scenes story of navigating divorce, selling cash-flowing properties, and resetting her entire strategy. We break down how she transformed a distressed 12-plex into a high-performing asset, the lessons from a $1M+ renovation, and why she’s shifting back to joint ventures and simpler deals. This is a raw and honest conversation about what actually happens in real estate investing—when things don’t go as planned. If you're an investor trying to make sense of today’s market or wondering how to move forward in uncertain times, this episode will give you clarity, perspective, and practical takeaways. 📩 Want to connect with Sarah? website: SarahCopeland.ca / tagproperties.caor, email: sarah@sarahcoupland.ca Also, don't miss the 🔥 Free Live Training: The $100,000 Zero‑Down Strategy. I’m walking through the full math, risks, and real use cases live.📍 Saturday, May 30 (Hybrid – Oakville + Zoom)📍 Tuesday, June 2 (Zoom Only – 8pm ET) 👉 Register here:⁠ https://wealthhacker.krtra.com/t/uqyHFbipnPrK⁠ 🎧 Subscribe to The Truth About Financial Independence for Canadians (TAFI) 🌐 https://tafipod.ca

    1h 20m

  8. May 8

    Welcome to the Truth About Financial Independence

    Passive real estate investing in Canada has changed — and for many investors, the math no longer works. In this episode, Erwin Szeto explains why he’s been telling investors to diversify out of Ontario real estate since 2023 and what he’s personally doing instead to build wealth without turning investing into a second job. You’ll learn: Why passive real estate in Ontario is effectively goneHow rent control, LTB delays, and rising costs changed the landscapeWhy U.S. real estate, business ownership, and leveraged investing matterThe real‑estate‑style leverage strategy applied to the stock marketThis episode marks the evolution of the show into The Truth About Financial Independence for Canadians (TAFI) — focused on multiple paths to wealth, time freedom, and peace of mind. Also, don't miss the 🔥 Free Live Training: The $100,000 Zero‑Down Strategy. I’m walking through the full math, risks, and real use cases live.📍 Saturday, May 30 (Hybrid – Oakville + Zoom)📍 Tuesday, June 2 (Zoom Only – 8pm ET) 👉 Register here: https://wealthhacker.krtra.com/t/uqyHFbipnPrK 🎧 Subscribe to The Truth About Financial Independence for Canadians (TAFI) 🌐 https://tafipod.ca

    22 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Are you a Canadian real estate investor looking for real Canadian Content? You've found it! Since 2016, this weekly show has helped Canadians cut through the BS and uncover the truth about how to most effectively invest in real estate. Ranked as high as #81 globally in iTunes' Business category, host Erwin Szeto is a real estate investor and 4X Investor Realtor of the Year, with just under $500M in income property transactions. Erwin interviews top investors and wealth builders, sharing strategies that worked and didn't work. This is your blueprint for long-term wealth through real estate.

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