Episode 29 - How One Man's Real Estate Journey is Changing Lives!
In this episode, we sit down with Lenny The Boss, a passionate real estate investor and founder of the Kids Real Estate and Financial Literacy Academy. Lenny shares insights into how running has helped him manage anxiety, the importance of staying present in both life and business and the value of networking to create long-term success. The conversation is packed with practical advice on mindset, productivity, and building a solid foundation in real estate and financial education for kids.
TAKEAWAY 1: Running as a Mental Health Tool Lenny explains how running has not only improved his physical health but also helped him manage anxiety and ADHD.
TAKEAWAY 2: The Power of Being Present Lenny emphasizes the importance of being fully present in whatever you're doing—whether it’s work, family time, or even eating.
TAKEAWAY 3: Networking and Planting Seeds for Success Lenny discusses the importance of networking and building meaningful relationships in real estate and life.
This episode is packed with actionable insights for anyone looking to improve their mindset, productivity, and networking skills. From running as a tool for mental health to building meaningful connections in the real estate world, Lenny offers practical advice on how to keep moving forward in both life and business. Don’t forget to check out Lenny’s Kids Real Estate and Financial Literacy Academy to learn more about his mission to teach financial literacy to young future leaders.
TRANSCRIPT
∎ Teaser / Highlighted Clip
[Lenny The Boss] (0:00 - 0:26)
I compare everything to you jumping in the car and having a destination for your life, right? So anytime you jump into a car, there's never a time you're jumping into a car and saying, I'm just gonna drive with nowhere to go. You always have a planned destination.
Well, guess what? When you wake up in the morning for your business, for your life, whatever you're doing, you should have a plan for the day of where you're trying to go.
∎ Podcast Intro:
[Stephen Husted] (0:26 - 2:32)
So welcome to The Breakthrough with Steven Husted, the show that takes you behind the scenes with successful entrepreneurs, real estate investors, and other movers and shakers in the business world. In each episode, we'll sit down with our guests to explore their personal and professional journeys, including the challenges they faced, the breakthrough moments that propelled them to success, and the strategies and the tactics they used to get there. Get inspired by new ideas and strategies and get to know our guests on a deeper level.
Join us for candid conversations, powerful insights, and plenty of breakthrough moments. Please help us grow by subscribing and sharing the podcast and welcome to the show.
∎ Guest Introduction:
Hey everybody, welcome to The Breakthrough with Steven Husted.
Today, we've got a special guest who's all about shaking things up in real estate and life, Lenny the Boss. You might know him from his powerhouse social media presence or his innovative Kids Real Estate and Financial Literacy Academy. But there's so much more to this guy that meets the eye.
Lenny's got a way of breaking down the real estate game that's both inspiring and practical. From his early days of hustling to his current mission to empowering the next generation, he's got stories and insights that will get you thinking. We're talking about everything from why financial literacy isn't just a buzzword to the behind-the-scenes grind that makes it all possible.
Oh, and we'll even dive into some real-life running strategies because who doesn't need a bit of brain boost, right? So stick around, get ready for some real talk with Lenny. Trust me, you don't want to miss this episode.
He's got a lot to say.
∎ Podcast Proper:
All right, Lenny. Boom.
You're on. Boom is right. After we found out where we need to have your eyes on the camera for this.
[Lenny The Boss] (2:33 - 3:05)
Yeah. Yeah. All the time, man.
Behind-the-scenes is always the best. It is. You know, like people don't really realize what it takes to get to the point of delivering something that's good.
Like people don't know all the work that goes in. I mean, we're going back and forth. We over here changing cameras out.
We're over here fixing lighting, you know, and these are all the things that no one ever sees. They just see we got Steven here with Lenny the Boss and it's an awesome podcast.
[Stephen Husted] (3:06 - 3:24)
Did you think that when you first started your podcast too, you're like, well, yeah, I want to interview people. I want to get to know people, learn, you know, get information, learn. And then all of a sudden you start to do a few of them.
You're like, wait a minute, this has way more layers of things I got to learn and do. Think about, right? It turns into a- So much.
[Lenny The Boss] (3:24 - 4:00)
Right? So much. And the funny thing about it is, you know, I have a co-host and he the one called me and was like, hey, let's start this podcast.
And I was like, in my head, I was saying no, everything he was saying, I was saying no in my head until he start touching on these points. And then fast forward, like you said, when you start, you're like, oh, okay, cool. Here's the three things you have to do.
And man, this is going to be sweet. You come in here and you set up and you talk about some fantastic value stuff and then you hit the off button and that's it. Like I wish.
[Stephen Husted] (4:01 - 5:00)
Complete. You know, I've said this before on mine. I don't even know.
Maybe I said this on yours. I can't remember, but I remember going, oh, I really want to start a podcast. I like talking to people.
But you know, I think with my quote unquote ADHD and anxiety and all this, it's been really hard growing up to just sit there and really focus on what people have to say and what they're saying. Like my brain is going so quick. I'm thinking about a million other things, even though, and I'm still focusing on them.
It's like a game. It's like a, it's a serious game of just paying attention and being present with what people are saying. And the podcast has created that now.
Like now I'm much better at focusing on what people have to say. You know, and that's not what it was in the beginning, but it was, it really scared me in the beginning. Like I was really nervous about it.
It was just super stressful.
[Lenny The Boss] (5:00 - 5:07)
So you're saying that doing the podcast actually helped you out? I think so. Yeah.
Wow.
[Stephen Husted] (5:08 - 6:06)
And you know what? And I'll tell you another trick and you're gonna like this trick because I know what you're doing as far as exercise is concerned. But I got into running end of October of 2023.
And I just noticed every time I'd run, you know, 20, 30 minutes, my brain would just kind of cool down. I was way more calm, way more focused. And one time I went on a run before a podcast and got into the podcast and I was just like so relaxed.
And the conversation went good instead of being so wound up. And that's just typically how I run. I'm pretty wound up person.
You know, I'm always just like, and that's anxiety, right? Whatever it is, anxiety, ADHD. I did get, I got diagnosed and supposedly I do have like severe anxiety.
So, but the fact of the matter is it, you know, it feels like you're just wound up. So yeah, that's where it's at. So I know you've been running.
[Lenny The Boss] (6:08 - 7:00)
Yeah, but before we jump a thing, you have to get that word out, Steven. You know, like the great thing about you, you're an action taker and you also try things. And obviously, you know, going out running is something that a lot of people can try.
And there might be people out there that you can help with just saying, hey, this is what I've done and this is what I've done for me. You should try it. And you should get that word out, man.
You gotta get that word out because I'm pretty sure that there's gonna be thousands of people who's gonna knock on your door six months, a year, or even years later saying, Steven, I watched your podcast and you told me to go out there and run before I get into an activity. And I did that and it changed my life. So Steven, you're holding some information from a lot of people that you gotta get the word out, man.
Gotta get the word out.
[Stephen Husted] (7:00 - 8:13)
I think, you know, honestly, I have been in mostly in Instagram stories. I talk about it a lot. And then I started going down a weird rabbit hole of, okay, am I talking about this too much?
You know what I mean? Like you start to get really hyper-focused on something. You just wanna keep telling people, but it's like, okay, I don't know.
Maybe I should, maybe I've said enough, but fitness, cardio is, for me, it's what saves me. I can care less about looking good more than how I feel. Feeling good is where I need to be.
Yes. It's where I need to be. And if I can get that on a daily basis, like today, I was gonna run before our podcast, but my body was telling me, you needed a day off.
Like, because I would probably run and work out every single day, but I had a pretty big weekend of, you know, I went mountain biking and did a lot there, went on a big run. And then I just needed some, I needed a day off, you know? I need a recovery day.
But, you know, I was like, well, Lenny's coming on. I better run in the morning. Ah, yeah, I'm not running.
And then I'm thinking as I'm driving to come here, I'm like, I bet your Lenny ran, so I gotta ask him.
[Lenny The Boss] (8:14 - 9:46)
Now, guess what? Today, I didn't. Yesterday, I did.
Now, let me tell you about yesterday. It's pretty interesting because I woke up feeling amazing. Like, it's been a long time since I woke up feeling super well-rested, focused.
I mean, strength-wise, I felt great. So I'm like, I'm about to go out here and beast this run. Like, I'm really looking forward.
The day before, I ran eight miles, okay? So I'm like, I know I'm gonna do eight miles today, even more. Like, I just feel it.
I got out there. You know, I stretched because, you know, as you get older, man, you gotta stretch it out. So I stretched for about 20 minutes, 25 minutes, feeling great.
I mean, no one could have told me that I felt any better. I got out there and I swear, man, I was probably about seven minutes in my run and was like, oh my God, I think I'm already gonna do two and a half miles today. I don't know what happened.
I wound up doing six because I pushed myself to that point, but it was weird on how I went in feeling great, feeling amazing, but I'm not even a mile in, or maybe, no, not even a mile in, almost a mile, and I'm already, you know, telling my mind, which is the wrong thing to do, oh my God, I gotta cut this run short, you know? But I pushed myself through, I did six miles, but I just found that to be very weird.
[Stephen Husted] (9:47 - 10:12)
Well, I don't find it to be weird because I think I go through that all the time in running and for cycling. The first couple miles, it's kind of that, you know, the self-talk kicks in. Oh, I don't wanna do this.
You shouldn't do this much. Let's cut that ride short. Let's cut that run short.
You don't need to go that distance. But how did you feel once you're really into it, like three miles in? Then were you changing your thought process at that point?
[Lenny The Boss] (10:13 - 12:12)
So with my runs, you know, what I like to do is, you know, like the running around a track for me is the most boring thing in the world. It just don't do it for me, right? You have to run around a track like four times to get a mile or whatever it is, right?
So what I like to do is I like to have points to points, meaning if I start here and I end up here, I know that that's gonna be three miles. You know, it's a sense of accomplishment for me, right? So I know that I have to get around, you know, so like it's this place I run around where, you know, it's a great scenery for me, cars, people walking their dogs, their pets.
So I get a mixture of just me by myself, my personal thoughts with saying hello to people who walking their dogs or who might be out running or walking, people biking, cars, noise, birds. You just kind of getting the whole nature thing going on. And I know if I run around this whole thing once, that's three miles, right?
So that always gives me a goal. I sit here and say, okay, cool. My goal today is I wanna run six miles.
Guess what? I have to run around here twice, right? So getting to your question, you know, I'm a mile in, I'm already saying, I'm only gonna run this thing once, right?
But I probably got to maybe like two and a half miles. And that's when I started to push myself and said, no, I'm not only gonna do three. I'm gonna go ahead and knock out at least six, right?
You know, cause that was the goal to do six to seven miles today. So, you know, like you said, you know, starting was rough. I mean, it was brutal.
The doubt, the confidence was low, but then it's something that kicks in around that two, three miles where you like, you know what, I can do another three miles or I could do another two miles. And that's exactly what happened.
[Stephen Husted] (12:13 - 12:21)
Isn't it interesting how you bring that up? But what you just said about your run, don't you go through that in business and everything else?
[Lenny The Boss] (12:24 - 14:59)
Hmm, well, let me tell you a story. So, you know, I plan my days, right? Because I tell everybody this, you know, I compare everything to you jumping in the car and having a destination for your life, right?
So anytime you jump into a car, there's never a time you're jumping into a car and saying, I'm just going to drive, there's nowhere to go. You always have a planned destination. Well, guess what?
When you wake up in the morning for your business, for your life, whatever you're doing, you should have a plan for the day of where you're trying to go. So this happened the other day, you're going to crack up at this. So I had a plan once again, one Saturday, I think it was a Saturday.
I woke up feeling great and I got a plan. I did something really early with my son. And then I came back, I'm like, all right, son, you know, you got your friends outside.
You go do that thing. I'm going to come down to the lab for what you see and start getting cranking. And dude, I was so unmotivated.
I'm talking about, I'm like, my God, I can't get through any of these things. Now, I don't do this often, but for whatever reason, my son came back in and said, you know, a lot of his friends were not there. They had like sports and baseball and all these other things.
So he was just in the house. And dude, I'm talking about, listen, Steven, I was not getting anything done. I was so not in tune that I said, you know what?
This is telling me to shut it down for the day and go upstairs with my son. I went upstairs with my son and we wound up just going out for the day. We just said, you know what, son, me and you, mom's away.
Let's go and have some fun. What do you have on your mind? And I shut it down and you sometimes need that.
Yeah, you do. And I went out, I had a ball. I'm talking about a ball.
We went out, we ate, we had a whole bunch of fun, some activities that he wanted to do. And then for whatever reason, when I got back home, I was able to put a couple hours in the lab, I like to call it, and I was productive at that time. So I just needed that time to shut it down and understand that, shut it down, go do something productive though.
I did something productive, which was with my son, okay, providing value in his life. And then I was able to come back and then accomplish a few of the important things I had needed to accomplish anyway.
[Stephen Husted] (14:59 - 15:30)
It's hard to do. And I think that that's your brain and your body telling you you need to step away to get back into the pocket and create it and work through some of that friction that you're trying to go through in your business. And sometimes it's always there and we have it all year round.
There's something that we're working through. And sometimes we just have to step away from it to understand, to kind of get through it. Else it's always on our mind.
[Lenny The Boss] (15:31 - 15:31)
Always.
[Stephen Husted] (15:31 - 15:31)
It's always.
[Lenny The Boss] (15:32 - 15:32)
Always.
[Stephen Husted] (15:33 - 15:44)
Which is a blessing and a curse. When it's on your mind, that means you're really actively focusing on moving forward. But it's also on your mind that can weigh you down too.
[Lenny The Boss] (15:45 - 17:57)
I'm gonna share something. Jim Rohn, I'm a big fan of him. And I listened to all his old stuff and he always speaks about being present for what you're doing.
So if you're working, be present working, all right? If you're spending time with your significant other, be present there. He even goes as far as say, be present when you eat your food.
Like really taste your food. Really eat that chicken or that steak or those veggies and really be there and not anywhere else, right? So what I tend to do or try to do, because it's a struggle, okay?
Is I'm gonna be brutally honest, when I really wanna be present with my son, when I really wanna be present with my wife, I have a watch that is connected to my phone. I take my watch off my wrist. I take my phone and I put it on silent and I put it in another room, right?
And what that will allow me to do for the most part is I'm not running to my phone to look at what text messages or emails I got or if I got any messages on social or anything like that is forcing me to be much more present with them, which is gaining quality time with them, quality time with myself as well, right? Because I love spending my time with them, especially being present and not head in the phone, looking at messages, talking to them while I'm responding to someone else. You know, so that's one technique that I have to say, Steven, that works for me is taking this watch off because a lot of people gonna tend to try to sneak and keep that watch on, right?
You know, no, no, no, no, no. Take that watch off. I'm on to you guys out there.
I'm on to you, you know, but take that watch off because look, at the end of the day, truth be told, Steven, think about it, man. If you message me at one o'clock PM, and I didn't message you back until 2.15 PM, how big of a deal is that really?
[Stephen Husted] (17:57 - 17:58)
Not a big deal at all.
[Lenny The Boss] (17:59 - 20:00)
It's not a big deal at all. We unfortunately live in this microwavable state of everything need to be instant now. So, oh my God, Steven messaged me at one o'clock.
I must message him at 1.02. I cannot go past that. And we need to slow down. That's not the issue.
And I also do something else too with work too, man, that I do time blocking. So I do this 50 in 10 plan, all right? So with this 50 in 10 plan is 50 minutes of work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, and then 10 minutes of not working, get up, stretch my legs, look at social, look at text messages, respond at that time, and then back again for my 50 in 10.
And I found that that helps me be productive. So I'm always looking to get things done in a certain timeframe. I guess the word I should use is efficient.
Helps me with efficiency. You know, I'm getting things done in a timeframe. And dude, I use three by five cards.
Let me show you. Like I use these guys, three by five cards, right? To sit here and write down what I plan to accomplish today.
I put time, date spotted by my items. I like to call it a success list. By my success list, I put in times by when I want to complete things.
And then, you know, I use a timer. Dude, I use a timer, Steven. When that 50 minutes is up, right?
I do, you know, if it's something I'm working on, email or something or whatever, I clean it up and then I get up and put a timer on for 10 minutes. You know, when it's nice outside, I go outside, I get some air, I'm texting people. So it might look like I'm on social a lot, but you know, when I'm running this plan, I'm only on social for like 10 to 12 minutes every off the hour.
But that's enough time, honestly, to get that. Cause you know, we know we need that dopamine hit. So go get your dopamine hit for 10 minutes and then come back and make a fortune for yourself.
[Stephen Husted] (20:01 - 20:04)
So you feel like it's turned into like a little bit of a game because you're on a timer?
[Lenny The Boss] (20:05 - 21:23)
You know what, it's fun. It's enjoyable. And also what it does is, you're right, it is a game because it allows me to say, you know what, can I get this done in 45 minutes?
Can I get this done in 30 minutes? So now I figured out, wow, I'm now getting more done doing that than, you know, just letting my day just be and I take breaks whenever. You know, now I still throw in a lunch break, of course.
I still throw in a little longer breaks as well, but I put everything on my success list. So for example, you know, being on your platform today was on my success list. You know, I blocked that time, you know, to sit here and ensure that I had the time.
I had this referral meeting that I go to on Tuesdays, which is with a group of other entrepreneurs and we talk about our business and how we can help each other out. So that was on my list to do, you know, that was at nine to 10 o'clock this morning, AM. You know, I met with them.
So everything is on there, man. And, but I did find myself being more, getting more items done due to the fact that I'm putting myself under this 50 minute kind of scrutiny.
[Stephen Husted] (21:24 - 21:43)
What do you do when it's a big project and it's gonna require more time? Do you just keep like logging it back on? Is it something that's like ongoing?
You're like, okay, I worked through phase one of whatever that is. And then tomorrow could be a little bit more on the other thing. Cause some of these projects, some things that we're working through take a long time as well.
[Lenny The Boss] (21:44 - 22:38)
Hey, I got a project that I'm working on right now. Actually, I'm going to, once we log off of this, I'm jumping right into that. And I'm estimating it's going to take probably a total of eight hours to complete, right?
Now I'm not going to complete it all today. You know, that's eight hours if I run into zero problems, you know, but I'm going to, you know, probably the work, at least four hours of it today is going to be consecutive. So I'm going to work my 50 minutes, stop, take a break, go talk to the wife, you know, see what she's up to, get some huggies and some kissies, you know, and then come back, right?
Jump right back into where I left off. You know what I mean? Until I complete my, I got a budget of four hours I want to complete today.
Until I complete those four hours, I'm hoping I get through it with no problems, but we'll see, but that's my goal. So, but yeah, I just jumped right back into where I left off. How many days are working?
[Stephen Husted] (22:39 - 22:44)
Do you work every day? Like, are you the type that's doing something every day?
[Lenny The Boss] (22:45 - 25:40)
I do something every day. So one of my mentors told me, do something on your business every day, even if it's five minutes or 20 hours. He said, you just, it's a momentum thing.
Correct. You don't want to lose the momentum. So doing something on your business can be anything.
It can be, you know, checking your daily sales. It can be, hey, you know, I got 10 emails I need to respond to. Respond to these 10 emails.
It, you know, and that's what I mean by anything. So of course, you know, there's no such thing as balance or I try to define it. I should sit there and say, to me, it's just planning.
You know what I mean? It's like, hey, all right. So my wife and I, we share a calendar and thank God, because if we was not sharing a calendar, I would not be married because she would have divorced me a long time ago because I would just forget any and everything.
All right. You know, so shout out to whoever created the shared calendar. I love you.
So we got this shared calendar. So she put things on the calendar. When something comes up, I put things on the calendar.
So we are now always know what's going on. And then, you know, when we meet up, you know, at night or during the day, we talk about, you know, some of the items that we put on the calendar. So, you know, and that's what you plan for.
So when I wake up, you know, and I'm writing out my success list, I'm looking at the calendar, seeing what's going on, you know, and I'm planning accordingly. So I know what's going on this weekend, right? And I know you got goals, right?
So I know when I want things done by. So I'm like, okay, my son has, cause I'm his football coach, you know, so he got football on Wednesday, I mean, sorry, he got football on Saturday and he got football on Sunday. So I know that those times, and I got to church and, you know, so those times I know that I'm not going to be doing, you know, work per se, you know, so how can I work, you know, around it, you know, and what's important.
You know, I also want to spend some time, you know, with the family, kind of doing some family stuff if that's sitting around, goofing off at the house, watching movie, going to the park, whatever that is, I want that. So I have that in there too, on my success list, I have family time, Stephen, I put it on here, man. Now don't tell my wife, I'm looking back, I put that on my success list.
She just thinks I'm a really good husband here, right? You know, but I put it on here. That's good.
And I'm like, all right, cool, you know what, this is the time I'm spending with my family and I'm dedicating that time, you know, to them. And then there's times I'm like, hey, I got a project I'm working on, you know, if y'all need me right now is the time, ask me what's up, what's going on, who need help with homework, what's up? Because when I get locked down in that lab downstairs, I really don't need anybody interrupting me, asking me where the remote control is.
[Stephen Husted] (25:40 - 25:51)
Right. I'm getting into my zone. What are you working on right now?
What's the biggest thing on your mind right now?
[Lenny The Boss] (25:51 - 32:13)
The biggest thing on my mind is, I have this Kids Real Estate and Financial Literacy Academy that I have. And I'm working at, you know, it's been a really blessed and I'll tell you a little more about it after I answer your question. So what I'm working on right now is, I'm putting together an online program.
So I'm gonna call it the digital library. And what's gonna happen is, it's gonna have all the modules in there, all the lesson plans in there, you know, for individuals all across the world, all across the United States, to be able to subscribe, log in, and learn everything when it comes to the Kids Real Estate and Financial Literacy, right? If you don't mind, can I give you a little idea of what it's about?
Yeah, go for it. The name I love, Kids Real Estate and Financial Literacy Academy. However, we're so much bigger than that, all right?
We cover four pillars, okay? And the first pillar is mindset and confidence building, all right, which is super important. Steven, you already know, there's nothing that we can do without having the right mindset and building our self-confidence.
Because I let these, I call them young future leaders. We focus on kids between fourth through 12th grade. These young future leaders, I like to call them, you know, they have to have a way to say, hey, I can't rely on anyone else to help me build my confidence.
What do I need to do to build my own? And that's where we teach it, okay? As well as having that right mindset because you have to sit here and have the right mindset.
I call it a foundation. Your foundation must be strong, you know, because if you have a strong foundation, that means you can build. With a weak foundation, you can build too, but it's just a matter of time that that building is going to fall because your foundation is weak.
But if your foundation is strong, your building will always be strong. So totally believe in that. The second pillar is entrepreneurship.
You know, we teach the difference between a product business and the service business. We also teach how to leverage other people's time. So one of the questions I always ask the kids is, you know, is there a way to have more than 24 hours in one day, right?
And everybody looks at me like I'm crazy. Well, the way is you leverage other people's time and that's the way that you have more than 24 hours in one day. You know, and we also do a lot of role-playing, okay?
And they love it. I'm telling you, I love it. I provide scripts.
Some kids are, I mean, some kids are owners. Some kids are employees. Some kids are customers.
And we run through these scripts and they love it. I love it. And at the end, I just ask insightful questions, right?
Because there's no right or wrong. So I ask questions like, okay, employee, you know, you went out, you mowed this customer lawn, the customer gave you $100. You had to take the $100 back to the owner, give the $100 to the owner, and then the owner gave you $25 for your pay.
How do you feel? Man, and I vividly remember this one future leader jump up and say, I feel wrong, right? You know, and it's funny.
And we just go through all the basically real world things because truth be told is there's no right or wrong. You know, if you wanna be an employee, then hey, that's what you wanna be. Go out, be the best employee you can.
If you wanna go out and be an owner, entrepreneur, then go out and do that. I just wanna open these kids up their minds to say, this is how the real world works. And now you have the choice in the real world now that you are educated on how it works.
So that's my goal there. The third pillar, which is a really cool pillar is something that the country suffers from, which is credit, okay? You know, we teach credit.
We teach what credit is. We teach how to properly use credit. We teach the difference between assets and liabilities.
We teach the difference between good debt and bad debt. Okay? I'm a real estate investor.
So, you know, I have to teach them how to leverage the credit as well. So that's a whole pillar. They love it, right?
Assets versus liabilities. We have like characters that we go through with them. Super cool.
They love that too. Then the fourth pillar is obviously the real estate investing, all right? Now, one of the things I key on is when we going through analyzing deals, I do not analyze a deal under $500,000.
And the reason why is because I wanna normalize big numbers with these young future leaders. It's important. It's important to understand that it doesn't matter if the asset is 700,000 or 1.2. What matters is that you underwrote the deal. You're gonna sit here and cashflow on the number you wanna cashflow on. Your cash in cash is gonna be great, right? You project some equity coming on.
That's even though it's a bonus, but you kind of project the upbringing of the neighborhood, right? And your credit's good because you know I already taught you how to make sure your credit's straight. So you can either go borrow the money traditionally through the bank, or you can bring it to people who, you know, private money, and they're more than willing to invest as well as long as they can see a return that's suitable for them.
And I want, you know, the kids to know that. That's the reason why I analyze deals over 500 grand. And then another thing we do is we teach the kids how to write the acronym SMART Goals.
We teach them how to write them the right way because we know that there's only one way to live a design life, and that's to have goals. You know, you can have a great life. You can make a lot of money, but it might not be designed.
Sometimes the wind just blow you in the right area, right? Sometimes, that's the key word I'm saying here. Please focus on this sometimes, all right?
Not everyone, but if you wanna live a designed life, then you must have goals. So I teach them how to write them the right way, and we also create a vision board in class. Yeah, you gotta show them the vision.
[Stephen Husted] (32:13 - 32:14)
Gotta show them the vision.
[Lenny The Boss] (32:15 - 33:06)
And truthfully, as you know, when you were 18, the vision you had for your life totally changed when you turned 25. Completely. And then when you were 25 to 30, that vision changed.
When you were 35, that vision changed. So what I key on is, okay, how can I create this vision board and make it a habit in your life? At fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh grade, eighth grade, I'm not too concerned what's on your vision board.
I'm more concerned on you understand the importance of having one, how to use it, okay? And why you're using it, and the things to do with it, and create that habit in your life. That's my goal, create the habit.
Because look, you in eighth grade, by the time you are a senior, your goals and everything is gonna change, right?
[Stephen Husted] (33:07 - 33:17)
Yeah, how do they take to the vision board? Like what are their, do they, what kind of questions do they bring up about a vision board? And what are they putting on their vision boards?
Like that, I'd be serious about that.
[Lenny The Boss] (33:17 - 33:36)
Listen, the vision board session is so cool because I provide the actual blank board, a really big board, and then we bring in all different types of magazines. I bring in markers, right? And I tell everybody, everybody vision board should be different.
There's no one vision board should look the same.
[Stephen Husted] (33:36 - 33:36)
Yeah, absolutely.
[Lenny The Boss] (33:37 - 36:48)
I see, so people are drawing things on their vision board. People are cutting out things. And I say, the only thing I want you to do is label it and be able to explain it, right?
You know, and make sure that is very specific as possible. And in class, I give them some best practices to do so they can have some direction. And then I walk around in class and I kind of, you know, help them out, help them during the way, but it's exciting for them.
Truth be told, Steven, I mean, it's like they all done it before. So it amazes me when I ask the kids, have they done a vision board before? They say, no, you know, I heard of it, but I never actually put one in place.
But I guess through all the classes and all the teaching and just the direction of how to accomplish this vision board, I mean, people put on there, you know, what they want to do with their family. People put on there, obviously, what they want to be when they grow up. People put on there even like some funny things, they want, you know, yeah, some funny stuff, you know, from games they want to do.
You know, a lot of kids these days want to be gamers, I guess, due to YouTube and stuff like that, you know? And I mean, some people have yachts on there, and I mean, big houses. And also I failed to mention that we do this big dreaming session.
So I bring the kids up right on stage and I make them close their eyes and you got to dream. You know, tell me about where you see yourself, what you want. And this one kid vividly was talking about a beach house that they had in Florida.
And I mean, he started, Steven, he started from the front door. He said, this is what the front of the house looked like. This is how many floors it is, the color.
He walked through the door and said, when you look left, this is what you see, a living room. This isn't a living room. When you look right, it's the dining room.
When you keep walking, you walk into the kitchen. You know, he tells me about the kitchen. And then he says, you walk out the back onto a patio.
And then he says, off to the left is where all the adults go and my parents for drinking. I mean, oh my God, listen, he was laying it out. You know, I thought I was in a movie.
I was- That's a visionary for you. Yeah, but that didn't stop. He said, you keep walking down to the sand of the beach.
And then after the sand is his dock where he got a yacht. I mean, the kid had it together. You know what I mean?
I actually told his parents, I said, you better continue to invest into his, just his upbringing of not all the way sports, but just his mind. Cause he have something that was, he's a very, this kid I'm talking about, he was extremely clear on everything in class. Like it was like crystal.
And anyone who has clarity, they're going to be the easiest ones to achieve anything that they want to do in life.
[Stephen Husted] (36:48 - 36:50)
Well, he's a visionary, sounds like to me, right?
[Lenny The Boss] (36:50 - 36:51)
Yes.
[Stephen Husted] (36:51 - 37:41)
Yeah, usually the visionaries are, they'll see that, they'll see the future. And it's now they're just revert. They're going, they revert backwards and move towards it.
They figure out how to get to that goal or whatever they're looking for. Yeah, it's very interesting. That's really cool.
Super cool. That's pretty awesome. I think that's a great thing.
And it's great for, I try to pull things on my daughter. She's not having it yet on all kinds of things. Hey, you made some money.
Why don't we put it a little bit into some Apple stock? She's like, why? That's what my mom does.
Why do I got to do that? I'm like, oh, I hope our conversations and everything she hears me going through on a day to day, hopefully that sinks in at some point down the road. And she goes, oh, you know, and now I know what my dad was doing.
[Lenny The Boss] (37:42 - 37:52)
That's funny. But just to add to that, you know, we run classes out of Marlton, New Jersey. You know, however, I do travel, Steven.
I actually did.
[Stephen Husted] (37:52 - 37:52)
Oh, you do?
[Lenny The Boss] (37:53 - 38:47)
That's cool. Yeah, yeah. I did an event out in Riverside, California.
We did a two day event. So obviously I'm on one coast. So for those who don't know the map, right?
New Jersey is on the far East coast, okay? And I flew across the whole entire country to the West coast in California. And we did a two day event out there.
I'm actually working with TD Bank. We're supposed to put it on an event out in Detroit. So I'll be going to Detroit.
I have been to obviously Pennsylvania, working with some schools, some afterschool programs. I have been to Delaware and I'm looking to go to Florida. And if there's anyone out there that, you know, deal with the youth, right?
And you can get some kids together within that grade range, fourth through 12th. I'm your guy, give me a bug. Let's talk.
[Stephen Husted] (38:47 - 38:52)
That's good. I like it. So what have you been doing as far as summits?
[Lenny The Boss] (38:54 - 38:54)
Summits, man.
[Stephen Husted] (38:55 - 38:57)
So- You've been going to a lot of places recently.
[Lenny The Boss] (38:58 - 41:10)
Yeah. So I actually, I recently just got back from one. So I went to this last week.
I was in San Diego. Once again, over there in California. I went to a MTR Summit, right?
And it was great, man. It was probably over 500 people there. A two day event, really a three day event because the first day was like heavy networking.
And, you know, one of the things I love by going to events is a couple of things. One, before I even sign up to purchase a ticket to go to an event, I asked myself a few questions. And the main question I asked myself is, why am I going here?
And what am I looking to get out of it? And if I can answer those questions, then my credit card comes out and I buy the ticket, I buy the airplane ticket, you know, a hotel room, whatever's needed, right? You know, and I always have, and then I write down one other thing.
I sit here and say, when I leave this event and I come back home, what will make this event successful for me? So that is what drives me when I'm at the event. And that gives me a reason to accomplish everything I'm looking to accomplish.
And what I like to accomplish when I go to events is, one, I'm a huge networking guy. So I like to sit here and meet so many different people from so many different walks of life that all kind of, in my case, that event was a real estate space event. So now I get to hear what other people are doing and I get to make friends, I get to sit here.
I mean, some of my best friends have came out of these meetups that, you know, I went everywhere across the United States to attend. We vacationed together with family. We bounced business ideas off of one another.
I invested in one of my friends' business idea, you know, that he had with this big ranch that he's doing just right outside of San Diego, you know, and it's just been just a wonderful ride. And I love just meeting people. I'm gonna tell you another thing.
[Stephen Husted] (41:11 - 41:14)
You're definitely a people person. I know that fact.
[Lenny The Boss] (41:16 - 42:39)
Well, hey, you know, that's what God gave me. So I have to take advantage of it, right? I know, I know.
But I tell people, man, you know, I tell you this one story. It was this one time, actually the first time I ever been to LA. I went to an event.
It was a three-day event. It was like over 700 people there. It cost me almost maybe $4,000, in between 35 and $4,000 from a ticket to, you know, airfare to the room, everything, eating and all.
So that $4,000 investment, to date, that made me well over 250 grand, you know, due to the connections I have made, due to me making a connection with somebody and they telling me to invest in a certain area with properties, due to, actually I met a guy there that lives only two hours away. So I'm out all the way in LA, right? I met a guy there that lived two hours away from me on the East Coast, wound up making over $50,000 with him.
You know what I mean? So, and that was all off of just one, a $4,000 investment rounding up, and then two, having a reason why you're there. And my reason, 90% of the time is just to meet people and continue to network with them.
[Stephen Husted] (42:40 - 43:25)
That's the biggest takeaway. I mean, it's good to go into these groups and listen to the speakers and everything. And that's fantastic.
It's always good. It gets you pumped up. But it's like the minute you leave the room and it could be anywhere.
You could be going to the bathroom. You could be meeting somebody, you know, and then see him out at lunch or in the hallway or walking down the street. And, you know, a year goes down the road and now you're doing a real estate deal together.
Or, you know, there's something coming up or they're a wholesaler or there's an opportunity and you can buy a property. It's a big deal. And I don't think a lot of people know that until they go there and they go through what you've gone through.
And then they realize, okay, these are more than just going to hear speakers.
[Lenny The Boss] (43:26 - 44:48)
But Steven, once again, you got to remove the microwave thing, right? Because everybody's always looking for ROI tomorrow. Oh, okay, cool.
I'm at this event today. What happens tomorrow? Well, these things for me panned it out a year or two later.
Yeah, definitely. You know what I mean? Definitely.
And, but they never would have panned it out if I never would have went. So you got to understand that you don't know everything that the future holds. You just got to sit here and be, you know, stubborn with, you know, your goal, you know, but flexible with the way that you go about achieving it.
You know what I mean? And one of the things for me is just meeting people, you know, networking with them, you know, putting them in. Some of them become my really good friends.
Some of them become my just only event seeing friends. Some of them become, you know, just sending business messages to one another. Some of them becomes, you know, inspiration to each other.
So you put them in all different types of categories and you hear a whole bunch of different things that people are doing as well, because sometimes you think that you know it all. Oh yeah, I'm a beast. I'm the authority in this space.
I'm this, I'm that. But guess what? There's some people out there that's doing some cool stuff.
And the only way you're going to know is by talking to people.
[Stephen Husted] (44:50 - 45:42)
And a lot of these people that go to these summits or like the BiggerPockets conferences, some of them are not even on social media. I mean, some of them are very low key. And then you get to hear some stuff like just sitting at lunch.
You know, I met a lady at the BiggerPockets conference in San Diego and oh my God, it's the craziest story. Just everything she was doing and she was probably mid 60s, I would say. Been investing for 30 years.
And it was just a very organic conversation, but she just was layering this and just giving all this really cool advice of how she like, you know, took all those mistakes and learned from them and made better systems and just all these little nuggets. And it was just, you know, 30 minutes at lunch, that's it. 30 minutes, you know, super cool.
[Lenny The Boss] (45:42 - 48:03)
That's it. I just wish people really understood the value behind that. A lot of people, for whatever reason, they don't see the value in networking, you know.
Maybe because I have seen the fruits of it. I think that's part of it. That's part of it.
You know, and also, I guess it don't hurt that I'm a people person. Like, I guess that helps as well. You know, I gotta throw that out there, right?
I get it. You know what I mean? I get it.
You know, I get it. I'm a people person, you know. But listen, I just saw a lady in San Diego when I was at this event.
And I don't know what made me stop her, but I stopped her, I spoke to her and we talking. And I don't know, the conversation led to her telling me that she was, what do you call it, an introvert, right? And then at that point, I pulled her to the side and I just, you know, God just gave me the gift, the words to say, and I gave her some things just to do to get over it, right?
As in while you're there to accomplish what you need to accomplish. She hunted me down the next day. You know, and remember, there's over 500 people here.
Hunted me down. Hey, hey, hey, I've been looking for you. I'm like, hey, what's up?
What's going on? And she said, everything you have said to me I've been doing has been working great. She said, I am so much in debt with you.
What can I do for you? And I just looked at it. I was like, I'm gonna be honest.
The best thing you can do is, you know, take my advice, right, and continue on with it. And maybe you and I can do a deal in the future. Now, yeah, that's what I do.
That's it. I said, I don't know. I said, I didn't, I don't look for anything in return for anything I do.
I said, but I'm pretty sure that maybe one day, I don't know, you might be the administrator of a college and my son's trying to get in there. And voila, boom, bada bang, you help out there. Who knows?
But I said, as of right now, I'm not looking for anything but you to be your best. You know, and she just was like, so thank you. Here's my number.
She's old school. She wrote it down on a piece of paper. Here's my number.
She said, whatever you need, if I can do it, I'll help out. I said, great. This is more than enough for me.
Thank you.
[Stephen Husted] (48:03 - 49:19)
Or she pays it forward too. You know, I've had conversations with people recently that are getting into real estate and want to invest. And a lot of them that I talk with, and I go, you know, it's not just about investing in real estate.
There's mindset, it's a full circle of things that you kind of have to hit on to be successful, not only as a real estate investor, but also just a life investor. You know, you really got to put a lot of different things and then I don't know how I'm going to pay you back. I'm like, pay it back to somebody else that needs it.
That you see somebody coming that is leaning into you and what you've put out to them, give that energy back to them and let them do it too. You know, pass it around. So I think that that's a big part of it.
And you get a lot of that at the conferences too. I met a lady in New York that was first conference, never bought any investment properties. She's going to go back and buy.
And she's like, I'm so like, and she was so excited. It was great. You know what I mean?
And it was just a 20, you know, 20 minute conversation. And yeah, it feels good. Cause you know, then I'm wondering, oh, I can't wait to go back to see where she is.
You know, if she runs, if we run into each other, sometimes it's, you know, they're big conferences. So, so I tell people the same thing.
[Lenny The Boss] (49:19 - 50:44)
I say, hey, listen, you better treat people well. I said, because everybody started with zero. Yes, absolutely.
And then I say, you're seeing a lot of people who now got 10 properties, 15 properties, a hundred properties or doors, whatever you want to call it. I said, but there was one time that they were you. Right?
I said, so, you know, and these individuals, they got no doors today, five years later, they're going to be on stage. Yes. They're going to be, some of these people are going to be on stage.
We're going to be coming to the conference saying, oh my God, I remember when she, I remember when he, you know, and they also going to remember you for the, taking the time out of your day to invest, you know, into them on some of the things that they couldn't see or didn't know about at that time in their journey. And, you know, I had one person shout me out on stage, man. He was like, hey man, you know, I want to shout out Lenny the boss because he gave me some advice last year.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And I'm eating, I'm eating in the back, running my mouth when I'm supposed to be talking. You know, you both need to listen.
What's going on? And I'm eating, talking, I hear my name and I look up and I'm like, you know, now everybody's kind of like looking at me. I'm trying to like swallow what I'm eating.
You know what I mean? Put my hand up like I'm, you know, yeah, yeah, thanks. You know, I was like, oh man, I really should have been sitting in the seat paying attention, not running my mouth.
[Stephen Husted] (50:46 - 50:50)
So what are you doing right now as far as investing? Like what have you been focusing on?
[Lenny The Boss] (50:51 - 52:19)
Yeah, so right now, man, a couple of things. One, I have invested with a friend of mine. He had a really nice, interesting project that he's working on and he was looking for some passive investors.
And I really like what he's doing, like him as a person. We talk all the time, like to, you know, do a lot of the same things, you know, his better half, know my better half. We hung out on boats and stuff like that together.
So love that guy a lot. So I decided to invest with him. That's one thing I did.
Another thing too is I'm looking to, I'm looking at this market where it potentially has some opportunities to do some flips. So, you know, I have someone out here, kind of like a partner who's doing some research to see if it does. And that, and then secondly, we're kind of looking for, we're doing some, I want to consider myself on the ground level of this, right, where we're doing some research on kind of like sober living.
So we're just kind of doing some research that nothing, you know, we didn't make a move or anything like that. We're just trying to see, you know, does it make sense to bring something like that to our portfolio? And we're just doing some investigation or research type of stuff right now.
So those are really the things I'm focusing on.
[Stephen Husted] (52:19 - 52:20)
And what are you currently investing?
[Lenny The Boss] (52:22 - 52:32)
So I currently have some long-term rentals, right, which are all in New Jersey. And I have some short-term rentals, which is out in Myrtle Beach and in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
[Stephen Husted] (52:33 - 52:34)
How's your Smoky Mountains performing?
[Lenny The Boss] (52:36 - 53:11)
Smoky Mountains is performing well. You know, obviously it was a little decline, you know, in the market, but the great thing for us is we bought at the right time. So we have a lot of room to play with our daily night, you know, rates and stuff like that.
So we have some room. And it's, you know, hey, look, back when it was the pandemic, I'm telling you, the money was just falling out of the sky, you know what I mean? So, and I have to be honest, the money is not falling out of the sky, but we're still in the green.
[Stephen Husted] (53:12 - 53:18)
We're still in the green. What years did you buy? Because you're gonna tie it into the interest rate, which is the savior of everything.
[Lenny The Boss] (53:18 - 55:33)
So, yeah, so I'm 3% interest rate. Yeah, yeah, I'm 3% interest rate, man. So, and that's what I mean.
That's the reason why we have, you know, because, you know, like I just was looking at some numbers and, you know, one of our cabins, we paid a brand new construction. Back then it was like 647 or something like that, 647,000. And with 3%, I think our mortgage is like, I don't know, 3,200, 3,300 bucks or something like that.
You know, mortgage insurance and all that. Now that I'm looking at the deal, it's like for 650 with the interest rates, it's like $6,000 worth of mortgage. I'm like, I can't buy this, you know what I mean?
So it's just pretty interesting. And that was looking at like a three, two, which my cabin is a five, five, you know what I mean? So, you know, with appreciation of the property values and the interest rates going up, you know, it makes it a little tighter.
I think what it does is this, and you tell me how you feel about this. So when short-term rentals came about, I think the viewpoint got screwed up because a lot of people started making a lot of money with it. The whole viewpoint of getting in short-term rentals is really was you can make more money on this one property doing short-term rentals versus long-term.
That's the goal, right? Long-term, you'd make 400 bucks of cashflow, but short-term, you can make a thousand. And that's supposed to have been fine.
But somewhere in the dialogue somewhere, you know, people thought that you were supposed to be making 3,000, 4,000, $5,000 on average a month. And if you're not making that, then it's not a good deal. And it's just like, no, that's wrong.
It's you're really supposed to be looking at this. And I wanna hear your opinion on it, but you're supposed to say, hey, if I had this as a long-term, this is what I would make. But if I short-term rental this, then it would make much more money from an annual perspective, you know?
So what are your thoughts about that?
[Stephen Husted] (55:33 - 58:29)
Well, we bought a cabin in the Smokies back in 2022, I think, May. Was it May? Or was it 23?
23, was it right when the rates were starting to crank up? And we bought it off a tired landlord. And he was self-managing it.
He owned three on one street, amazing views. And he was charging 350 a night and he was booked solid, but it was during, you know, we were still in COVID. So I guess it was 2022.
And we looked at it, terrible photos, terrible furniture. I'm like, oh, we're just gonna go in there. We're gonna do new photos.
We're gonna update the interior. You know, we're gonna crank this out, better copy, better management, and we're gonna double, and we did in the beginning. But I knew the whole COVID scenario, I think that was gonna slow down.
That was something I was trying to analyze when I was talking to a lot of people from like the short-term shop was, I don't really care about what was going on during COVID, what was going on in 2018? Yeah, that's what I, just, I wanna know those numbers. And we were doing a DSCR loan.
And when we're in escrow, the rates were shooting up. And I think, you know, we bought at one, one, we put a little, almost 375 down, I think. And our payment's five grand, five grand.
And then that, and obviously the market shifted. I would say February, March, no, March, April, March and April, you know, we brought our own cash to the table every month so far, you know, about $1,000 per me and my business partner. But, you know, it is what it is.
You know, all we're doing now is trying to just work on making the cabin better, amenities, small amenities. You know, little bang for your buck. But we, I never went into it thinking I was gonna make, you know, five grand in cashflow a month after expenses.
You know, I did, I was pretty, you know, clear on that part of it. I knew that we could get software and run it pretty lean and, you know, not have to put it, and we don't put a lot of time into it. I mean, we have software and everything works.
You know, you get a couple guests, you know what I'm saying? Like if you can get systems in place and you got software using hospitable and things like that, it's pretty self-sufficient, you know? But then sometimes it does, you know, it seems like then you have points where everything goes wrong.
And it could be on several places, right? This one day you wake up, you got a water heater going out, you got this guest complaining about this, you got this. It's like, and it's almost like it hits you at first.
You're like, ah, then you go, okay, calm down. What do I gotta do first? All right, who do I gotta call on this?
You know? So, but, you know.
[Lenny The Boss] (58:31 - 58:33)
But that's business, right? Like what business doesn't go there?
[Stephen Husted] (58:34 - 59:02)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, and I think at the beginning, I think at the beginning for some people, it is a little overwhelming, but you need to know just kind of take a step back, think about what you gotta do, who you gotta call, especially in the Smokies. The Smokies is a pretty well-oiled machine.
You know, there's a person for everything, right? It is one of those markets where- Thank God. Thank God, yeah.
Because if you don't, if you have two handymen and they can't reach out, I mean, one Google search and you got about another 10.
[Lenny The Boss] (59:04 - 59:08)
Yup. That's so true. So true, yes.
[Stephen Husted] (59:08 - 59:57)
But we're thinking of getting out of the Smokies actually. And that's nothing against the cabin or how it's performing. We actually like it, but we're moving on to another strategy and we just, you know, want to get that capital out.
We don't think it's going to appreciate it anymore at this point. And it's just sitting. So I'm like, well, you know, I have no problem.
But what I'm concerned about is something that you just brought up is, you know, we bought at 1.1. Let's just say it's worth a million 50 now. Someone's going to have to poke out a lot of cash to get, you know, I don't know what people are, I'm not really following the Smokies market and what investors are doing in the Smokies right now. Are investors still buying and just running their number?
Like how they, what are they doing now? Because I'm not focused up there right now. So I have no idea.
[Lenny The Boss] (59:57 - 1:02:16)
I can't totally answer that question, but I'ma just dig a guess, right? They're not doing anything. Yeah, because I haven't talked to anybody.
You know what I mean? So I don't want to sit here, but a couple of things. One, you said cash, right?
The one thing about this appreciation wave that we had where people were bidding on properties, 30, 40, $50,000 over asking price, and then coming out their pockets, making the difference up between what the asset was appraising for. That told me that people got cash because you had to have a down payment, closing, plus the difference between the appraisal amount and what they accepted the bid for. And that told me that you had money somewhere.
And that, I mean, it was out of control. You know that, Steven. I mean, you couldn't, if the price of the property was $250, you knew you was going to get that property for like $290.
Right? You know, or $300. You know, and then you had to come out your pocket in addition to your regular closing amount and your down payment amount, maybe another $30,000.
Right? You know, so, and this wasn't just for investors. This was for investors.
This was for people who were buying their very first home. Their second home, whatever. It just was the market, but people were doing it.
And I kept saying to myself, who got all this money? Like, like, like, like- West coast, east coast. My neighbor sold his house, right?
And he moved from New Jersey to Atlanta. And he just kept telling me, oh my God, they keep bidding, they keep bidding. And the appraisal came in and the person had to come out their pocket $35,000 more.
And they did. And I'm just like, there's so many deals is being closed. Where's everybody?
So that tells me that people got money or they can find it. One or the other. Right?
So that, that answers that question. You asked the question, how do people have to download this? People got it.
It's somewhere and people know how to find it.
[Stephen Husted] (1:02:16 - 1:02:30)
Well, no, I'm curious more about this. Are they, because of the rates and everything? Yeah, they got, I'm not concerned about the down payment part.
I'm wondering, how are they underwriting deals in the Smokies now with these rates as high as they are? I see.
[Lenny The Boss] (1:02:31 - 1:02:31)
You know what I'm saying?
[Stephen Husted] (1:02:31 - 1:02:45)
Like if they wanted to buy, if they wanted to buy my cabin right now, I'm thinking about it as a buyer. Okay, okay. So if they bought it a million 50, here's their payment.
I know how much I make. Like they're going to have to bring in more cash than I had to.
[Lenny The Boss] (1:02:46 - 1:04:06)
Well, it all depends on the reason they buy. Sure. Let me tell you a quick story what I've learned.
It's not short-term rentals, but this is just real estate investing, right? So I told you, I coached one of my kids, one of my son, one of his football teams, right? So I'm speaking to one of the parents.
He owns a construction business. And we're talking to each other. I'm telling him I'm a real estate investor.
And he started laughing. He said, you know, I got some real estate, but I don't even know how much I make. And I'm like, looking at it, I'm like, you know, who talks like this, right?
Well, he was like, dude, I don't even want it. He said, I think I'm losing. He said, but what happened is I needed it because my accountant said we can now, because he saw I was writing a check for $80,000.
He said, now I'm writing a check for 20. He said, so whatever that properties are doing, he's telling me care. He said, cause whatever.
And I'm like, wow. So that told me Steven, that told me that when you see a property come off the market for a price that it came off of and you say, who bought this property and why did they buy it, right? Because it don't make no money, it's impossible, right?
You know, and, but people buy the properties for so many different reasons, Steven. It's true. And that's what opened my eyes to that.
[Stephen Husted] (1:04:07 - 1:04:19)
Good, I'm going to keep that. I hope that's what's going to go on when we put ours on. What, you don't need to know my numbers.
You don't need the numbers. You need some losses.
[Lenny The Boss] (1:04:20 - 1:04:23)
You might need some losses, you know.
[Stephen Husted] (1:04:23 - 1:04:24)
And take your family to Smokies.
[Lenny The Boss] (1:04:25 - 1:05:16)
You know, some people are cool with just breaking even and they're being able to use it five times a year. Correct, that's true. You know, like it's so many different reasons on why people buy properties that, you know, you don't know, maybe they got a 1031 it and this is the only thing they can find.
Right, and they just got to park it right there. They just got to park it right there for now. You know what I mean?
Man, there's just so many different scenarios and maybe because I'm such a positive thinker and I'm like, dude, it's going to happen, right? You know, and one of the reasons somebody's going to come like, because people are still buying houses. I see people who are realtors out in the Smokies and I just closed another deal, this deal on the contract, you know.
So I'm like, hey man, people are still buying. That's good. That's me something.
[Stephen Husted] (1:05:16 - 1:05:25)
What do you see yourself doing then? Like what big goal do you have in the next year or so? Like what's in the horizon that you still haven't got to but it's been on your mind?
[Lenny The Boss] (1:05:26 - 1:08:28)
Dude, honestly speaking, man, you know, I just got this kids real estate financial literacy academy that I want to build. And for 2024, just to date this time, is a year for planting seeds. So, you know, I have been out everywhere locally.
Obviously, you know, I go to a lot of events all across the country sometimes and outside the country as well. And all I'm doing really is planting a lot of seeds right now to get the brand out there, you know, so we can sit here and grow this academy because look, you know, where I come from, you know, financial literacy was something that maybe one out of, and this is no joke, maybe one out of a hundred thousand people knew, right? And I want to change that.
I want to sit here and get into areas where, you know, the financial literacy is not something that's taught. And I want to make sure we bring that because I didn't have that. My mother, she was a single parent, you know, she had 10 kids, I was a 10th kid and she gave me and my other brothers and sisters all the attributes we needed outside of financial literacy because that's just a piece she didn't have, you know, but she gave us everything else we needed to go out and find that piece for ourselves.
And I want to be the individual that bring that into those communities where it's not so profound and make it a profound thing so these individuals can now grow up when they turn 18, they know how to use credit, you know, what credit is, you know, not to use, not to spend so much of their money on bad debt type of things, you know, and knowing the difference between what's an asset and the liability, understanding how to budget, how to save to invest, because it's important to say it just like that, save to invest, right? You know, to teach them that money is a tool, okay? And that's exactly what it is, is nothing but a tool to generate more money.
And these are the things that just wasn't taught to me. And I wish that they were at a young age because honestly, speaking, Steven, I probably wouldn't be sitting here on this podcast with you right now and I'd probably be on a yacht somewhere, you know, saying, hey, we're going over to Japan to have lunch, okay? So, and, you know, it's a joke, but it's a serious joke.
And I just want people to be much more informed and I want people to start their journey much more sooner. And I want financial literacy to be a piece that is being taught early rather than you going out trying to research it and find it out later after you done dig yourself a five foot hole and that you have to climb out of, you know, which is very challenging. So, that's where a lot of my eggs is in that basket of building the brand.
[Stephen Husted] (1:08:28 - 1:08:35)
That's great. Well, I wish you the best on that. I think it's really cool.
Definitely cool. Thank you. Where can the audience find you?
[Lenny The Boss] (1:08:36 - 1:09:16)
Cool, man. Hey, listen, you know, obviously you can go to kidsrealestateacademy.com forward slash enroll. Once again, it's kidsrealestateacademy.com forward slash enroll. You might want to opt in there because we've got so much information going out there. Or if you want to follow me, you can follow me on Facebook or IG. For Facebook, you can follow me at lennytheboss.com forward slash Facebook or lennytheboss.com forward slash IG. And that's spelled L-E-N-N-Y-T-H-E-B-O-S-S.com forward slash Facebook or IG. Boom.
[Stephen Husted] (1:09:18 - 1:09:36)
Boom. I think, well, I appreciate you jumping on. It was funny that I was talking to Angel.
She's like, well, who are your guests? I'm like, you know what? I've been seeing Lenny's post recently on Instagram and I knew what you're doing with this academy.
And so I said, reach out to Lenny. Get him on the podcast.
[Lenny The Boss] (1:09:37 - 1:09:51)
I love it, man. Hey, listen, even, I really appreciate you doing this. I don't take anything lightly.
I'm super grateful for being on your platform. Hopefully I provided your audience with some value. And once again, thank you for having me.
[Stephen Husted] (1:09:51 - 1:10:25)
All right, buddy, you have a great day. Talk to you soon. All right, you too.
Boom.
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