Next Level Agents: The Kevin & Fred Show - Interviews with the best and brightest minds in the real estate industry Kevin Kauffman and Fred Weaver

A lot of people who would be exceptional recruiters don’t do it because it feels like too much of a burden. The idea of building tens or even hundreds of relationships and nurturing them just feels like too much of a logistical nightmare. 

And it would be…which is why it’s the wrong way to do it. If you had a recruiting strategy that was based in building community, it would be so much easier. 

A recruiting strategy based only on yourself is taxing and unsustainable. It’s like inviting 100 people to dinner and having to make all the food yourself. If you had a community, it would be like having a potluck where everyone brought in a dish for everyone to enjoy. 

Instead of having one-on-one relationships, a community-focused approach leverages relationships and takes a huge burden off of you. This is how we were able to build a rev share group of 2400 people. It was about building a room people want to be a part of and allowing everyone to do their part to build and nurture those relationships. That will continue to pay off.  

What other misconceptions keep people from the wins of recruiting? How do we bring leverage to our recruiting? Today, I’m joined by Chris Bowers for an in-depth conversation on recruiting and the easiest way to recruit. 


Quotes 

Don’t take advice from people who don’t have the life you want. -Chris Bowers

There are a few things that are absolutes in my life, everything else is negotiable. -Chris Bowers 

You can’t make people change, but you can make them do something different. -Kevin Kauffman 


Guest Info

Chris Bowers is a Realtor, Investor and owner of the Bowers Team, and the host of The agentXcel podcast. Chris has been in real estate for over 16 years, but he has been an entrepreneur since his teens. Today, Chris and his wife run a successful team selling over 140 units with half of those being Chris’ personal production. He has also built a solid rental portfolio that continues to grow to this day. 

Follow @chrisbowers_realestate on Instagram and listen to agentXcel on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  


CTA

​​Please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/nla

As driven entrepreneurs and hungry investors, we’re always searching for that big idea or once-in-a-lifetime deal. Then we find ourselves in a bunch of random businesses and investments in a bid to increase the odds of success. 

More often than not, that only leads to a loss of focus and ultimately, a loss of wealth. What if getting to that billion dollar idea is as simple as picking something and concentrating on that? There’s a ton of different things we could be doing, the real challenge is learning to focus and be patient.  

For Andrew Abernathey, concentrating on one idea allowed his business to ramp up to $250 million in a very short space of time. At one point, he was involved in a slew of random areas. It took losing a ton of money for him to realize that he didn’t know who he was or what exactly he was good at, and that’s why he was trying everything. That was the major turning point that made him think about his billion dollar idea and let go of everything else. The effect of his concentration can be seen in his results, and it’s something all entrepreneurs should think about. 

The urge to do everything will never go away for entrepreneurs. If you follow that urge, it might just rob you of the big idea you’re looking for. Instead of searching for the perfect idea and trying to do everything, think about what you can be great at and just focus on that. It’s hard and goes against every instinct we have as investors - just like the instinct to never sit on cash. Ultimately, putting your hands in too many pies and doing a deal for the sake of doing a deal is how big mistakes are made. 

Guest Info

Andrew Abernathey is the founder and CEO of Abernathey Holdings (AH), a leading real estate holding company driven by a passion for business and inspired by the value investing approach of Warren Buffett and the simplicity approach of Gary Tharaldson. His investing journey began at the age of 13, exploring a diverse range of public securities. Established in August 2012, AH initially pursued a diverse investment strategy. However, in 2019, they strategically shifted their focus to developing and owning class-A self-storage facilities across the sunbelt region, while also owning the operating companies to ensure vertical integration. This streamlined approach has not only enhanced their returns but also propelled AH to achieve remarkable market-beating results, elevating their assets under management (AUM) to an impressive $250 million.

For more information, go to https://www.andrewabernathey.com/,  https://abernatheyfoundation.com/ and https://unseen.org/. 



CTA

​​Please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/nla

This year, for the first time ever, I went to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting AKA Woodstock for Investors AKA Coachella for Capitalists.

Warren Buffett is by far, the world's most successful investor, and I was keen to hear what he had to say about the economy, his investing strategy and his mindset in the wake of the death of his business partner, Charlie Munger.

As usual, Warren had a lot of insightful things to say - things that I’ve been thinking about in my own business and my approach to building wealth. Berkshire Hathaway has made a few surprising moves over the last year, but hearing Warren Buffett talk about the governing strategy, a whole lot made sense.

Today, I share the most powerful lessons I took away from the meeting and how we can apply them to our own businesses.

Key Points  

The right way to evaluate a stock 
Look at stocks as a business and realize that the market is there to serve you, not to inform you. When Warren Buffett is evaluating whether or not to buy stock in a company, he's evaluating it the same way he would if he was buying the whole company. Whether you're buying a piece of a company or the whole thing, you should be evaluating the decision the same way. The market tells you when it’s a good time to buy or sell, and you should follow that. If you don’t listen to what the stock is saying, you're going to make a lot of mistakes. 

It's interesting how many mistakes you can make if you just keep going
If you're in business, mistakes will always be part of the game. If you're not making mistakes, you're probably not doing a lot of things. If you're intelligent and reflective, you'll learn from those mistakes.

Do what moves the needle 
With the recent passing of Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett has been thinking about what happens to the company when he passes away. He provided a simple but powerful blueprint for Berkshire's management team after he's gone - increase operating earnings, decrease shares outstanding and have a sizable cash investment for the occasional big opportunity. 

Cash is king 
There was a lot of buzz around Berkshire selling some of its holdings in Apple. Warren Buffett said his approach is all about reducing tax and increasing cash. It all goes back to the succession plan - having a sizable amount of cash so they could make an investment when there's a great opportunity. This is how I read deeper into this: Warren Buffett doesn't foresee things getting a whole lot better in the economy, and he foresees some more sales or good deals being available over the next 2 years.

Look for good deals, not just any deal 
When asked why Berkshire Hathaway’s cash hasn’t been invested, Buffett said, “I don't think anyone sitting at this table has any idea how to use it effectively, and therefore, we don't use it”. He then added, “we only swing at pitches we like”. If you’re sitting on a lot of cash, knowing where to put it is a big question and it's really easy to get antsy when you want to put the money to work. But when the world's most successful investor says “we only swing at pitches we like”, it's a good reminder to stay patient and look for great deals instead of just putting cash into any deal that comes your way. 

Navigating the noise 
The world that we live in is full of noise 24/7. When you go on social media, watch the news and read the economic reports, it’s hard to make sense of all the information coming your way as an investor. Warren Buffett’s insights and approaches are very simple. They cut right through the noise. This is not to say that none of the noise matters, but the key to investing is focusing on the things that matter the most. 


CTA

​​Please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/nla

There are a lot of stupid people who have been massively successful in real estate. This isn’t an insult, just the reality of how uncomplicated it can be to build a beautiful business. But if you lack in intelligence, there are a few things you can’t lack if you want to succeed. 

You can’t be impatient, inconsistent, undisciplined and undetermined. There’s a reason why the most successful agents came up in the toughest markets. It forces you to do all the right things in order to survive and live to sell another home. It forces you to pay attention, become a true student of the industry instead of burying your head in the sand or being stuck in your ivory tower. 

When you’ve learned how to do things the right way, it doesn’t matter what’s going on, you’ll always win. High inventory, low inventory, great rates or challenging rates, it doesn’t matter. If you have the right behaviors in place, your business will be market-proof. 

Today, I’m joined by real estate industry leader, Dave Fanale. We talk about what it takes to survive and thrive in this business


Quotes 

Never put your head in the sand, no matter how successful you are, never sit in the ivory tower. -Kevin Kauffman  

Don’t go after the business with the money in mind. See how you can help people and the money will follow. -Dave Fanale 

Don’t listen to someone on Instagram just because they have Reels that look good. Actually look at the fruit of their labor. There’s too many people out there that sound like experts but don’t have any results to speak of. -Kevin Kauffman


Guest Info

Dave Fanale is the founder of Real Estate Skill Builder, a new type of coaching company. Focusing on accountability, production, and focus. He has been in the real estate business his entire professional life, spanning actually 6 decades. David has experienced many different markets, from 20% interest rates to the mortgage crisis to the 2022 Shift. Dave’s real estate career has included Realtor, Property Manager, Leasing Manager, Home Builder, Mixed Use Property Developer/Builder/Designer, Developer, Broker/Owner of a Century 21 Franchise Company and Real Estate Coach.  Dave believes the most important thing a real estate agent has to have is adaptability. He has helped many agents build businesses as well as reinvent themselves over the years. Go to https://www.reskillbuilder.com for more information and subscribe to the RET YouTube channel. 


CTA

​​Please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/nla

Ever since hedge funds started bundles of single-family homes, institutional investors have been demonized. They’ve been blamed for ruining affordability, taking homes away from innocent consumers and killing real estate entirely. Reality isn’t quite as dramatic - that narrative is drastically overblown. In fact, many real estate professionals are missing out on massive opportunities by buying into this narrative. 

Here’s the truth: single family has become a huge asset class and it will continue to be one over the next decade. That’s why so many investors are getting into it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s killing real estate as we know it. Ben Riehle saw the opportunity and shifted his business model from a traditional broker/property management operation to asset management in single family rentals. 

As a real estate agent, you actually have a huge advantage because of your local knowledge, that’s what these companies are looking for. You could easily add this offering to your business and earn a lot more. 

How do you get into a conversation with these companies? Why is the current state of single family decades in the making? Are institutions destroying real estate? In this episode, Ben Riehle returns to talk about the pivot in his business and why he’s bullish on single family rentals. He also gives us the lay of the land in single family investments and how agents can use it to be more valuable. 

Guest Info

Ben Riehle is a real estate investor, entrepreneur and managing partner of First Floor Capital Management, a company building institutional grade SFR portfolios across the Midwest and Sunbelt. With 12 years of single family rental experience and over $250MM deployed, and $45 Mil. of assets under management (mostly SFR and a few legacy multifamily assets). Ben and his team are in the process of launching their next fund that will buy quality homes in great neighborhoods in Louisville, Kansas City, Phoenix and Tucson and hold them for the next 10 years. Follow @SFR_investor on Twitter/X, go to https://www.thesfrinvestor.com/ and https://www.ffcm.com/ for more information. 

CTA

​​Please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/nla

Whatever industry you’re in, marketing is something we all have to worry about. It’s our job to deliver eyeballs to whatever it is we have to offer. The challenge is, the rules of marketing and the platforms that can get us traffic are constantly changing, it’s hard to predict what will work in a few months. 

What we have to be aware of is that people are using these marketing platforms to do their due diligence before they even think of hiring us. We have to be authentic and tell a story that connects because that attracts the right clients and repels the wrong ones. 

As much as we use marketing to connect with people and build a relationship, we have to take the emotion out of it. To succeed at the marketing game, you have to focus on the math - the numbers and the dollars behind the strategy. If we get too emotionally invested, it can be hard for us to make the shifts and pivots that give us the results we want. 

What are the critical boxes our marketing content has to check? How do we succeed when the marketing landscape is always shifting? In this episode, I’m joined by CEO and Founder of Ezzey Digital Marketing, Michael Hamburger. He talks about the mentality we need to have about marketing, and how working in MLMs prepared him for the industry. 


Quotes 

Be who you are at all times, whether you’re on camera or not. -Kevin Kauffman  

Try to remove all the emotion from the marketing side of things when it’s decision making time. Make it about math. -Michael Hamburger 

You have to be authentic to who you are, inauthenticity has a stench people can sniff out real quick. -Michael Hamburger 

Guest Info

Michael Hamburger is the CEO and Founder of Ezzey Digital Marketing. He’s dedicated over 20 years to innovating the field of digital marketing. Ezzey Digital Marketing, based in Scottsdale, AZ, is renowned for crafting bespoke digital strategies that drive search engine rankings, generate leads, and amplify revenue across diverse sectors. At Ezzey, they take pride in being a mainstay of full-service marketing. Their forward-thinking solutions enable businesses to excel in the complex and competitive digital environment. Beyond these services, Michale also indulges his passion for coaching and training business owners, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and sales teams. Empowering others with tools and insights to navigate the digital age is a mission close to his heart. Go to https://ezzey.com/ for more information and follow Michael on Instagram. 

CTA

​​Please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/nla