Episode 9: Mastering the Art of Adaptability with Jesse Vasquez

In this episode, Stephen Husted engages in a captivating conversation with Jesse Vasquez exploring the world of entrepreneurship, the power of authenticity, and the necessity of continuous evolution for success in the business realm. They delve into the importance of cultivating robust relationships, particularly in B2B contexts, leveraging social platforms for effective networking, and strategically diversifying clientele in the rental space industry. With a focus on the future of midterm rentals.

Takeaway 1: The Significance of Authentic Relationships Building strong and authentic relationships is crucial for success in entrepreneurship. Nurturing B2B relationships can open up new opportunities and drive long-term growth.
Takeaway 2: Leveraging Social Platforms for Effective Networking Social media platforms play a vital role in connecting with like-minded individuals and potential clients. Utilize these platforms strategically to expand your network, share valuable content, and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.

Takeaway 3: Strategic Diversification of Clientele in the Rental Space Industry Diversifying your clientele beyond traditional short-term rentals can lead to increased profitability and stability. Targeting business travelers and contracted workers expands your market reach and provides opportunities for sustained growth.

Takeaway 4: Future of Midterm Rentals and Proactive Approach The future of the rental space industry lies in embracing midterm rentals and adapting to changing market demands. Take a proactive approach by identifying emerging trends and market needs to stay ahead of the curve. Be sure to follow Jesse Vasquez on Instagram ⁠@therealjessevasquez⁠ for more insightful content and updates on entrepreneurship, personal development, and the future of the rental space industry. Subscribe to our podcast and follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠ to stay updated on our latest episodes.

TRANSCRIPT

∎ Teaser / Highlighted Clip

[Jesse Vasquez] (0:00 - 0:38)

When I started this business, I left my W2 job two years ago. I've never worked harder in my entire life. So, you know, and I'm somebody that talks about systems.

I talk about all these things, but as an entrepreneur, like you're always, if you're going to build something successful, you know, you have to be a part of it. And that long game where you see people that are sitting on a beach somewhere drinking a margarita, like that's years and years and years of businesses where eventually they sell. But that's not like a reality for most people.

In fact, again, I know a lot of entrepreneurs that are, you know, eight figure earners, and they're still grinding and hustling on a daily basis. And what we see online isn't necessarily what reality is. Actually, it's far from the truth.

∎ Podcast Intro:

[Stephen Husted] (0:38 - 2:48)

Welcome to The Breakthrough with Stephen 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 there, I'm Stephen Husted, your host for The Breakthrough podcast.

And guess what? We have a super special guest joining us, Jesse Vasquez, an experienced entrepreneur who knows all about the midterm rental space and business development. In this episode, Jesse takes us from his unique beginnings to building a successful business.

We'll talk about what it's really like to run a business, learn important lessons, and get valuable insights into the mindset and strategies that led to his success. Jesse's journey shows us how important it is to work with the right partners and make smart choices. He shares how finding the right manager played a big role in growing his business.

Beyond business, Jesse and I explore how personal growth and talking things out can make a big difference. We both believe that these practices have helped us grow, showing how important it is to think about your life and talk openly with others. We'll also talk about how being thankful can shape a positive way of thinking and looking at life.

Join us as we discover the keys to success, from making smart choices to thinking about your life. It's going to be awesome.

∎ Podcast Proper:

Jesse, thanks, buddy, for joining.

I really appreciate it.

[Jesse Vasquez] (2:49 - 2:51)

Yeah, man, I'm glad to be here. I am definitely glad to be here.

[Stephen Husted] (2:52 - 4:08)

You know, I was telling you earlier that my guests right now that I've been choosing are people that I follow on Instagram or YouTube. And that's really where I start to make my decisions on who I want to have on. And it's basically just, you know, from getting to know you, from watching your videos, you know, like I get a connection there and I'm like, you know, okay, I want to get this person on my podcast.

Like, I feel like what you put out is real. And so, you know, I'm just so glad that when I DM'd you, like you were just like, okay, yeah, contact my assistant. And here we are today.

So I really appreciate it. And then one of the questions I asked you prior to getting on right now was, you know, I didn't want to start this podcast with things that you've already been talking about because you're on a lot of podcasts. And I want to get to this point where we could bring something to the audience that they haven't heard from you or me and see if we can kind of, you know, give them some value that way.

So we kind of started talking in it. You went into the topic that is a very important topic, I think, to discuss. And that's just being an entrepreneur and what you see online compared to really what goes on in real life.

So I think we should start right there.

[Jesse Vasquez] (4:08 - 6:31)

Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, you and I were talking offline. And yeah, I think I just put a newsletter out and I haven't put a newsletter out in probably, I don't know, three or four months.

And I put it out because the anniversary of me leaving my W2 job was not that long ago. So it was like I was sitting there self-reflecting on the last two years. And just so everybody knows context, I worked in the healthcare industry as a business development manager, which is basically a fancy way of saying sales rep.

Sorry, everybody out there that has those fancy titles, which I never liked, by the way. Titles are just so I don't like them. Well, they're lame.

But anyway, I busted my ass in that job. And like many of you that are out there listening to this right now, or even this podcast, you'll hear people that talk about making all this money and all these things. And in reality, it's really hard to get to that point.

In fact, you and I were just talking about 9% of businesses in the U.S. And maybe we should look up the statistics on how many actual businesses there are in the U.S. right now. Only 9% make $1 million a year. Only 9%, which is not very much.

And only, I forget what the percentage is, like one out of 250 makes $10 million or more. And I think when we watch YouTube or we watch Instagram, like we're seeing all these people that pull up in these Lamborghinis or I just bought five Airbnbs and now I'm making blah, blah, blah, blah. Like that's just not real.

Like that is the most far-fetched bullshit. Can I cuss on here? Because if not, I just did anyway.

You can block that out. But it's just not real. Like it's something that I feel like a lot of people think that that's what it is.

In fact, when I started this business, I left my W2 job two years ago. I've never worked harder in my entire life. So, you know, and I'm somebody that talks about systems.

I talk about all these things. But as an entrepreneur, like you're always, if you're going to build something successful, you know, you have to be a part of it. And that long game where you see people that are sitting on a beach somewhere, drinking a margarita, like that's years and years and years of businesses where eventually they sell.

But that's not like a reality for most people. In fact, again, I know a lot of entrepreneurs that are, you know, eight-figure earners, and they're still grinding and hustling on a daily basis. And what we see online isn't necessarily what reality is.

Actually, it's far from the truth. I mean, wouldn't you agree to that?

[Stephen Husted] (6:34 - 8:24)

100%. And it feels like it's always an ongoing battle. There's so many different ups and downs to it.

And the more you try to tweak out systems and processes, there's always a new challenge. There's always concern. I have not, and it's just not what is portrayed online.

And, you know, I was thinking about this too when I was driving over to my media room that I see people on Instagram. You know, they buy one property and now they got a course and all these numbers are rosy. This was really going on during COVID, I noticed.

And, you know, power to them for taking that step and, you know, putting themselves out there, putting that journey and creating the course. But I'm like, okay, have they gone through all these pain points yet? You know, have they run their business to almost empty and almost lost it and like really what's going on in the backend?

Because there's just so many different moving parts. But the problem is, I think in general, people want to portray the better sides of things and not the bad things. I was just telling my assistant, I shot a video in my car about the...

I'm a realtor as well. And I shot this video about, you know, this year the market is slower. I'm going to work harder than I've ever worked for less money.

And it's going to be a tough market for not only buyers, but also sellers. There's just going to be a lot of challenges. And so she edited the video and she said, I don't know if you really want to put this out.

I'm like, why? She's like, well, you know, you're kind of saying that you're not going to have the best year and you're not going to make the same amount of money. And I'm like, but that's the truth.

That's really the truth. That doesn't mean I'm failing and just this is what's going on. And, you know, there's going to be great years and there's going to be low years.

And that's just the reality of being an entrepreneur.

[Jesse Vasquez] (8:24 - 11:19)

Yeah, it really is. And I think that, again, I think pivoting is important. Realtors right now, you know, I work with a lot of agents and stuff.

You know, I connect with them. I'm not an agent myself, but I still feel like there's so many different avenues that agents can pivot in. I mean, we talked about the midterm rental space.

I have a couple agents that are learning midterm rentals and they know them pretty well. Their business has shot up and they've said to me like, hey, Jess, if I didn't pivot and go after these investors with this strategy, I'm doing it and they can see it. I wouldn't have these properties to be able to help out.

So there's other ways that people have to be intuitive to make money. And you're right, you're going to be working your ass off way more now than you did last year or even 2020 or even, you know, all these other years. And to go back on the core stuff that you talked about, I feel like a lot of people, folks can weed out those people that aren't necessarily doing it for the right reasons.

I feel like there's a really easy way to see when somebody is kind of bullshitting, you know? And I think COVID really started. Well, first off, the great resignation is real.

Like I left my job in 2020. So it was kind of like an eye-opener to me to leave that industry that I was in for 17 years. And granted, I was making $200,000, which is like a freaking amazing amount of money for somebody in the Central California.

I didn't graduate high school. So like I already don't even have the check marks that most people would have to even make $50,000 a year. So for me to be in a position, I was making $200,000 and to quit that, that's a crazy, crazy thing.

And I think the reason why I'm bringing that up is because I feel it's important for people to realize, you don't necessarily need to have these accolades that most people have. I think there's a lot of ways to build relevance to yourself, and that's by helping other people. And what's helped me in this space is having people know, like, and trust me.

I think those are the three things that were instilled in me as a kid. And that's what every salesperson needs to have in a certain degree. And we all know that.

You're a realtor. You know that for sure. So there's a book that I was given as a kid, How to Win Friends and Influence People.

That's a great book. Yeah. When I was younger, I didn't pick it up until I was probably about 20 years old.

And I just thumbed through it. That book right there, if anybody has the ability to just read something and start to understand it back to back and really take notes on it and implement those things that are talked about in that book, it can change the trajectory of your business. And you're an agent.

And I think at the end of the day, everybody's in sales to a certain degree. I mean, when you're born, you're a baby. You're crying.

You're selling like, hey, I want milk, right? Or if you're arguing with your wife or you want to go out to dinner, not necessarily arguing, but, you know, you're going to sell that you want Chinese food rather than Italian. It's like we're selling people on a regular basis.

And I forget there's a statistic that I read. It was like, on average, we're sold like 479 times a day. And that's including like our own family, you know, and regular decisions that we make on a regular basis.

So I feel like sales is just such an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to literally anything, which again, entrepreneurship is based off of that. There's a lot of sales in it. Do you feel you're really good at sales?

[Stephen Husted] (11:19 - 11:54)

I mean, so why I say that is I don't feel there's different levels of sales in selling. And I don't feel like you sell. Like when you sell, but you're just such a great communicator and how you put out that value information.

I feel there's a trust already established. I can feel that part. There's just different levels.

Like you brought up the Lamborghini. There's the salesperson that brings up, hey, let me take you through my garage. Then, you know, they take you down that, they want to get you in that funnel.

There's just different sides. How do you feel? Like, where do you think you sit?

[Jesse Vasquez] (11:54 - 13:21)

I love that you brought this up because I feel, and I was just thinking about this the other day, salespeople get bad names. Real estate agents, you happen to be one here, get bad names for selling people, quote unquote, right? And I think what happens is that people sell stuff that they don't actually believe in.

And it's 99% of people do that. They're selling, they're working for a job. They're selling for a company that they don't actually believe in.

And for me, why I feel like it's not sales to me anymore is because, say I talk to you and there's something that I have that I feel is like, we spent many hours building, putting together. And like, I know it works. Like, I almost feel like it's a disservice that if you don't, like, become part of this, and I'm not selling it.

I'm just like, I truly feel that. I know the community and all the things that we have. So I think for me, that's what really separates like a salesperson.

Because you don't want to have somebody, and I've seen this, and you might have seen this before too. Where somebody is on the phone and they close the deal. And they hang up and they're like, got them.

That right there is that feeling when you get, when you see that, just like, man, they just got duped into something or they're, that's why salespeople have a bad name. But if you're truly selling something and you hang up that phone, you're like, this person is going to change their life. Or if they implement these things, they're going to have a different reality in the next four to five years.

That's something that I feel when I hang up the phone or I'm ending a sales call. And I truly believe, again, I believe in what, you know, I'm doing. And I believe in the opportunities that are there.

And I think that's the difference, man, to be honest with you. That is, it's a massive difference.

[Stephen Husted] (13:22 - 15:32)

We were, we did wholesaling a couple of years ago. We stopped now. And I had these two gentlemen in different states that were cold calling.

And they were exactly like that. And we came across, there was a lady, an older lady. And he's like, I think I can close this one.

I'm like, okay, so you have a lady that's 89 years old. Where is she moving? Does she need movers?

What are we doing to help her? This is not just a transaction. Like this is a big move for her.

She's lived in this house for a long time. Like we need to support her. And they didn't understand that in the beginning because they were all about the sale part of it.

And I've come from a background of, yes, I work as an agent, but I've been helping people my whole life. I mean, I've had all my careers have been helping. So it's just a different type of mindset.

And honestly, I tell this to a lot of people. I've been saying this more and more lately is I don't feel like I'm that great at sales. Like I feel like it makes me uncomfortable.

I feel like just like helping people. You know, like I feel much better when it's just like, hey, I'm here to help you, guide you. I started doing a first-time investor consulting because I didn't want to create any more partnerships.

And now I got a first-time investors. And so I'm helping them set up an LLC, bank account, pick a market. The best feeling, the best feeling.

Because I can tell them right off the bat, I'm going to tell you and teach you all the things that I did wrong. So that you don't make those mistakes. I'm here.

I'm on your side. I'm going to guide you. And if the same goes with sales, I was so uncomfortable as a realtor, you know, doing just solds and putting, you know, the buyers in front of the door with the just sold.

It was, I never did it. And it made me very uncomfortable. It wasn't until I got to shoot content and teach the audience that here's my buyers, they just closed, but I'm going to bring them back.

And we're going to do a podcast and talk about all the things they went through, good and bad. Like, what did you talk about behind closed doors that I didn't know about? And it was really good and raw.

And it made sense because that's what, that's just the reality of how things are.

[Jesse Vasquez] (15:33 - 19:11)

I might be wrong about it, but, you know, that's kind of how I approach it. I agree with you, man. I think that, again, I'll kind of give you guys context to this.

And I just started talking about this not too long ago. When I first started in the midterm rental space, you know, we house people that lose their property due to a fire, flood, you know, kind of some kind of catastrophic event, which happens all the time. In fact, in the US, it's every 88 seconds, somebody loses their home to a fire or some kind of flood that happens in their home.

So they have to be relocated. And just so everybody gets context, typically insurance companies will pay, you know, three to five times long-term rental rates to have these folks stay at your home. And when I first found the option, the ability to do that, like I was making, you know, my, I'll just give you guys an example real quick.

It was my house payment was $1,800. We got our first contract with a company called ALE Solutions. This was in 2016.

And they paid 7,500 bucks. So I was cash flowing on one door, three bedroom, two bath, 1500 square feet, $5,000. And that's, that's insane for one door.

So for me, I was like, how do I get more of these? It's about the money. I want to continue to make money.

And I remember one time that I sat down with this woman and she sat at the table. She just lost her home to a fire. You have to walk the family through.

That's usually what I do. And I met her and she sat down. She's like, Jesse, can I talk to you for a minute?

She brought her dog. I asked her to bring her dog and whoever was going to be staying at the home. And they all sat at the table.

And she looked at me and just started crying. And she's like, the only thing that we want to be able to do, because they were staying in three different hotel rooms. There was a family of six.

There were older kids that were there that are Hispanic. The reason why I bring that up is because dinner at the table is like a big deal to Hispanics. I grew up Hispanic.

And she said, we're not able to sit at the dinner table. And that's the one thing that I just want to be able to have my kids and my family together for a meal a day. And she's like, for the last three weeks, we've been in separate rooms.

We haven't had the space to do it. And all I want to do is just to be able to do this one thing. And she was crying to me.

I remember tearing up and thinking to myself, the one thing that she wants out of all this stuff after she's lost her entire home, it was a fire that happened to her home. And literally the entire house was demolished, was to have dinner. The thing that most people don't talk about.

In fact, most people don't even take for granted. Yeah, exactly. So that moment after I connected with her, and this was about 2018, when I had that specific moment with this woman, is when I flipped my mind from making money to now being service based.

And the second that I did that, and I started thinking about how do I help people in these situations? There was an empathy side. I put myself in her shoes and the family's shoes.

Dude, that's when my business took off. Everything changed. Because I now, what we just talked about a minute ago, my properties were put up in a way that were essential for folks to come in.

They were comfortable. We were buying stuff that they had at their home that they weren't necessarily have, they didn't have it at their, or that they had at their home that they lost that they weren't necessarily having at my property. So we were going out of our way to bring these things into these homes.

And just the sheer happiness that people had, because they're dealing with traumatic stuff. That's when everything changed for me, man. So our business just grew.

I mean, we were doing, and we still are, bringing in a pretty good amount of cash, have these relationships with all these agencies now, making $6,000, $7,000 a door. And that's, to me, it was just the shift in mindset of being service based. And that's where everything literally changed.

And I know it's probably cliche for people to hear me say this, but it's something that really happens where you just start to think about the other side and how you can improve. And that's when the business changes, because you're not so centered around the dollar amount. You're more centered on, how do I create these relationships?

How do I allow these people to have a good experience here? How do I bring them into a home that feels comfortable? So everything just changed at that point.

[Stephen Husted] (19:13 - 20:18)

Yeah, that is the absolute mindset I've always had. Because I feel like when you put them first, you're already giving more than 100%. And that's just the reality of it.

And in the beginning, I started a midterm, not knowing it was a midterm back in 2015 on accident. We were starting off on this property in San Jose, and it was a condo. And we were going to make it an Airbnb.

They had HOA issues. And so we turned it into a midterm. And it was the greatest experience to help people.

Same way, not losing homes. Some people, they're getting their house from a flood. They're staying at the property.

Or we had people relocating. Their kid was going to San Diego, so they need to stay for six months. And just the fact of being able to just help them, support them in that way, where they're pretty much stressed out.

And when they can get comfortable in something, it's just there's so much gratification in that. And that's a big part of it. The money comes.

Once you already have that experience, the money comes.

[Jesse Vasquez] (20:20 - 21:11)

I'm totally with you on that. I think, again, it's just that it's that mind shift of serving people. And I think that's really, that servitude has a lot to do with success.

And I think sometimes people just have their blinders on, which I mean, money's great. I mean, I'm not going to lie. Money is fantastic to have.

But at the end of the day, I think when you are chasing money, you're going to have a hard time. When you start looking at the other side, it's a different awareness that a lot of people don't have. And you have to learn it.

It doesn't just come to you. A lot of people have it internally. Absolutely.

It's a learned behavior. I had it as a kid growing up. My family was very, they really looked at people in a different way when it came to serving.

So I think that, again, that was part of my culture. So I think that me being instilled with that was part of, it was already there. I just had to find it.

[Stephen Husted] (21:13 - 21:16)

What did you do before the medical career that you had?

[Jesse Vasquez] (21:17 - 25:13)

What type of first jobs did you, what were you doing in your first jobs? Dude, I got my first job when I was 16. Actually, yeah, I was 16.

I worked on a foster farms. It was basically where chickens die. I had a stick that had a nail on the end.

I'd go and have to pick them up 100 degree heat. You'd poke into these chickens, they would pop. That was my first job I ever had.

I was 16. I made $700 to buy my first car, which was a 1964 AMC Rambler. My dad helped me get it.

And then, yeah, I just had random jobs, like as a pizza delivery driver to 18. Then I worked at Walmart in the photo lab from about 18 to 20. And then I ended up getting a job, like I mentioned before, as a delivery driver for oxygen.

So I basically had oxygen. We would deliver it to these folks. And there was this one moment, and you're going to love this right here.

There was this dude that looked just like David Spade. And for those of you that are watching this, I was in the office. We had a lot of women that were working there.

They were customer service reps. We were in a big square office. There was probably about six of them.

David Spade walked in. Literally, everybody stands up and is like, what's up, David? And this is him walking through the office doing this.

And just everybody loved him. He was charismatic. And I was like, well, what does that guy do?

And they were like, oh, he's a sales rep. He's like the top sales rep of this company. And I go into my boss

I walk down this long hallway that has this really dim lit light. And it's kind of yellow. And it's fluorescent.

I go to my boss. His name was Vic. And I was like, hey, Vic, I want to do what David Spade guy is doing.

And he started laughing. He's like, you don't have a high school diploma. We only hire people that have degrees for sales.

And I just kept going back to him. Now, six months later, there was a position that became available. And basically, the David Spade lookalike had a bunch of accounts in these rural markets that he didn't want to deal with anymore.

And I was like, I'll take that. Like, just give me a shot. And they're like, we'll give you 90 days.

The first two months, I sucked ass. Like, that was bad. Month number three, I pulled in more numbers than the David Spade guy in less accounts.

And that was when I just realized, like, holy crap, I can build something. And my job was just to go in and talk to people. Like, basically have them send referrals over to me.

You know, connecting with people that needed oxygen. And they would send us a referral. We would test them, do all these things.

So, I realized at that point that I have this ability to be able to know, like, and, you know, get that connection with people. But I just had to do it long enough. And I had to stay consistent with it, you know, with it enough.

So, the cool thing about that company is that I didn't have a high school diploma. They allowed me to, you know, after bothering them enough to get that position, I took a position that was the shittiest accounts that were out. You know, the David Spade guy didn't want them.

And then I surpassed him in sales. And we actually ended up hiring, at the longest time this company only hired people that had college educations. And after I was hired, they realized, like, people that are outside of this education system can maybe even do better.

So, we started hiring people. I became a manager there. We ended up hiring people that didn't have, you know, the education piece, the business, you know, the business degrees and stuff.

And those folks outperformed the people that did. And it kind of changed the company culture. We were able to get them cheaper.

We were able to train them a lot better. And it just changed the trajectory of the way I looked at things. And also how that business was ran.

And I think that sometimes, you know, that's what kind of gave me the gateway to see the opportunity to build. And again, if it wasn't that skill that I had, that I learned over time, which is, again, know, like, and trust, not having a high school diploma is like a massive thing. And this, again, this was like, you know, early 2000s.

It was a different time than it is now. But building something is hard. And even if you don't have the skills, or you don't necessarily have what traditional people have, you know, the college education, high school diploma, the family that has the money, you come from, you know, immigrant families, like we still have the ability to build whatever we want, you just have to want it enough.

And I think that's where a lot of people draw the line that they don't necessarily want what they think they want. You know, they just see other people that have it and they don't really want that.

[Stephen Husted] (25:14 - 25:25)

They see what other people are doing and achieving, but they don't realize all the work and the back end that it takes to get to that point. And are they willing to really take it there? There's a lot of sacrifice that goes with that.

[Jesse Vasquez] (25:25 - 27:05)

Yeah. And, you know, I think I'm hardwired to, I was actually talking to one of my friends about this, like, I get jealous of people that have like a nine to five job where they make 60 grand a year and they have, you know, they live at home. Well, when I say home, like the hometown they grew up in and they work, they come home, they have a dog, they go on a vacation once a year.

You know, they're not waking up to 400 emails. They don't have that. But I just knew in my life, like I was wanting to do something great.

Like I wanted to build something that was fantastic. And, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. I don't think there's a right or wrong way.

I just knew that in me, I didn't want to, you know, I wanted to live like to my full potential. And I'm still figuring that out right now. Like I'm still, you know, two years into entrepreneurship.

Well, I guess eight altogether because I did a lot of this during a W2 job for six years, to be honest with you. And I've learned more in the last two years than I have like literally the last 30 years of my life. In fact, I've worked more than I ever have in the last 10 years combined.

So we were just this comes full circle now. So everybody understands like it's a lot of freaking work to build a business and to make this kind of money. If I was to transition my life with somebody else's and they're saying they want to be millionaires and stuff.

I think if they came into my life, that work is sometimes like, man, it's a lot. It's the problems become difficult. They become way more than what it is.

And sometimes winning is, you know, winning is frivolous lawsuits or like these, you know, things that happen, making hard choices. When most people don't have those kinds of things. And I think that's what winning looks like.

And in fact, I feel like we should be told that ahead of time. Like, you know, if you want to be successful, this is what's going to happen. You know, definitely.

[Stephen Husted] (27:05 - 27:34)

Are you super aware of your strong points and your weak points? And with your weak points, do you pretty much pass that on to your team? And are you hiring out?

Because in the very beginning, you're doing pretty much everything yourself. And then you start getting this point like, okay, I'm growing. I need to start hiring a virtual assistant or I got to get people on my team for this.

Did you go down that two-year journey as well? How do I build this? What do I really want to be doing?

[Jesse Vasquez] (27:35 - 28:52)

Yeah. When I was in my W2 job, so I bought my first property in 2015, just so you guys know. So I probably didn't hire an assistant until about 2018, 2019.

So she helped with the business a lot. But yeah, so over the last probably two and a half years, three years, I've been, you know, I have an operating manager now. And that's the part where I'm a visionary.

I'm like, I know this by the nature of myself. I think about things. I love the idea.

You and I talked about this offline. I love the idea of coming up with a business, starting to create it. And then that's where you need a person that's an integrator that is the opposite of me.

They can sit down and do the small independent things that are tasks that are hard. Ideas are easy and execution is hard. And I think most people don't realize that.

You learn it really quick when you get into your own business, you know? So for me, I feel like it's so important. Anybody out there who's looking to start a business, if you know what you're good at, if that's integration, which is putting systems together, communicating with people, find somebody that's a visionary to marry that couple with because those two things together are what build successful businesses.

And I know that now. I mean, it's so important for me to have that. And I just hired a COO or not a COO, but an operating manager that has that vision and that understanding.

And I know that we're going to grow a lot because of that.

[Stephen Husted] (28:52 - 29:40)

That was another one of my questions, but you answered it and I had a feeling. I go, I bet you Jesse's a visionary. I just, for some reason, maybe because, well, there's something else that I know that you're really good at.

You know what? You know what maybe actually DM you to get you on the podcast was the post you did with the photos. When you shot all those cool photos.

Yeah, that was it. I'm like, yeah. And I commented like, this is cool.

Like you just broke up your content and you showed that creative side. And I know you got tattoos. So I know that you have that artistic vision.

Like I just figured you were lining up right there. You're an integrator. How did you find that person?

How did you interview them?

[Jesse Vasquez] (29:41 - 30:59)

Dude, this is an awesome question. I'm getting goosebumps as we're talking about this. I lost my COO that I had.

She ended up moving to the Philippines. We ended up getting into a big argument and I don't want to make a long story short. We ended up having to, we parted ways.

And I think that's part of business too, is that you learn who you work with and who you don't work with. And I think one of the most important things that I've learned over the last couple of years is if somebody has integrity to really stick with those people that do, even if it's something small in their lives that's going on. I feel like the way that one person does one thing is the way they do everything.

So that's something I really pay attention to now. So the new gal, I posted a position online. She happened to watch me.

Her name's Tiffany. She happened to watch me on BiggerPockets, felt something, messaged me on LinkedIn. My assistant saw that message on LinkedIn, went and did an interview with her before I even saw it.

And then I saw her resume and I was like, oh, she might be a good fit. And he's like, oh, I already interviewed her. You're good to go now.

She's good. I met with her on the phone. And then we talked for probably a couple of weeks.

And she's like, I really want to get into this. This is something I've been wanting to do. I watch your content.

I love what you're doing. And I really want to be a part of it. And that's literally how I hired my operating manager, was just a LinkedIn, kind of like what you did.

Yeah, it was just a message. And I just felt it right away, like that connection. And it was just her going out of her way to send a message.

And it just worked out. It was kind of a surreal thing, to be honest with you.

[Stephen Husted] (31:00 - 31:15)

I think that's like the natural way. That's the right way. Because she was already, the difference is she was seeking out your vision, your business and what you guys, she wanted to be a part of that.

And that's a different thing than saying, hey, I'm going to go out and I'm going to apply for this. I need a job.

[Jesse Vasquez] (31:15 - 31:16)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (31:16 - 32:34)

I need a nine to five. Like, no, I want to grow this with you. I want to be on that journey, all the ups and the downs and work through all these pain points.

So huge. So huge. My assistant's that way.

I've had her a couple of years now. And boy, she's my head VA. I have a couple under her.

But she has worn every hat and she is literally running the show. She's my therapist. She gets to hear the good and the bad, all the tangents that I go through, you know, and she just gets it all.

And I explained to her, I need somebody to, because I don't have a lot of people that I could like. Most of my friends are W2. I don't have a lot of people that bounce all these different pain points that I go through.

And it could be as silly as a, why is this Instagram post the same format as the one that the editor did two months ago? Like just random things or why haven't I got an email back from the squatter that's in one of my properties? And it's been two days since the sheriff's went out, you know, like, and I have to vet and she's right there.

But I've made it very clear that don't take anything personal on when I'm, you know, upset or just going through my things. It's just, I need somebody to bounce that off and just get it off my chest.

[Jesse Vasquez] (32:35 - 33:49)

It's, it's Stephen, right? Yes. Okay.

Stephen. I don't know. Sometimes people have Stefan or Steven.

So I wanted to make sure I got it right. So yeah, I mean, I, with Tiff, when I hired her, one of the things that I really liked about her is that she was super open with communication. She's like, this is what I feel.

And it was the most unconventional way to hire somebody. Cause we were super like, I'm somebody that's been in therapy for the last, I don't even know, 12, 13 years. I am a big believer then.

If anybody has the opportunity to go to therapy, I think you should, because we spend all this time reading books, learning about things, but therapy is really a way to open up, to learn about yourself and why you make the decisions you do and thinking the way you do. So for me, it's important to grow in that sense internally. And I talked to dudes sometimes like, oh, you go to therapist.

You're such a, you're a wuss. I don't, I don't, I don't subscribe to that. Like, I feel like it's such an important piece, but one of the things that I, that I value that's come from therapy is being able to communicate with people.

So her being able to have that natural fluidity with conversation where she's super open and honest and I'm the way I'm the same way, you know, reciprocating that. I think that's important to have. And I think culture is another thing that's so, so important to have.

And, you know, we just hit it off and, and yeah, I think that's important to really find people that you value in a way that has, they have good ethics. And I think that's what she saw in me just by listening or watching a, you know, a podcast, which is, which is crazy.

[Stephen Husted] (33:49 - 33:49)

Right.

[Jesse Vasquez] (33:49 - 34:01)

So for me, yeah, I value that tremendously. It's, it's, and again, it's just the message. So anybody out there that's like looking to build something and you resonate with somebody, send them a freaking message and see what comes of it.

[Stephen Husted] (34:01 - 35:12)

It's very important. And you know, maybe you won't get a response, but maybe you will. I mean, I've had moments lately.

I'm a big Rich Roll fan. I watch pretty much all his podcasts and it seems like I get into one of his podcasts and I just had this urge. I just want to jump on the phone and call him because he's been in, he's been through a lot of the same things that I've gone through in my life and he's willing to put it all out there.

And I just like that. I just, you brought that up about therapy. I've been in therapy, you know, on and off my whole life since I was a kid.

I've gone through everything, the thick and thin, and I'm totally cool with it. You know, I have no problem talking about it. I feel like if I ever get any kind of pushback on that, I feel like that type of person that does it is probably the one that needs some serious therapy.

You know, they're just, they're just hiding for the things that they're just prolonging. And I, you know, life is kind of a evolvement and you're going to go through it and make changes and, and that's cool. And they're going to be good and they're gonna be bad at points.

So it just really depends on where you are.

[Jesse Vasquez] (35:13 - 35:13)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (35:13 - 35:14)

And it's part of life that you're doing that.

[Jesse Vasquez] (35:15 - 36:35)

Yeah. I think life is, you know, life has its ups and downs, just like our businesses and all these other things. You're going to have super high moments and you have super low moments and, you know, health is important.

Mental health is important. And again, I think learning about yourself is because most people don't even ask the questions that they meet with, you know, if I just met you right now, I'd be like, you know, where are you at? What do you want to do in a couple of years?

What's your goals? People don't even ask themselves that. And I think sometimes in therapy, those things are uncovered and a lot of people will ask about other people, but they don't ask of those things of themselves.

And it's just questions. And I feel like for me, it's just been such a door opener to be able to obviously like vent. I think you talked about that a minute ago.

Vent, but also understand the reason why we do things. And a lot of it could be from our childhood and, you know, certain things. And it's just kind of reinventing the way you think about, you know, how you were parented.

In fact, you reparent yourself in a lot of ways, what you were, what you thought was right, probably isn't the necessary, the right, right way to do things. You know, not all of us are graced with having parents that are emotionally available and there for us. And we have to learn those things in time.

And I think for me, you know, that was a process of unlearning some things and relearning what I, what I believed in and what I feel was, was, was important to me in the ways that I wanted to look at things. So, yeah, I mean, kudos to you, man, for, for taking the time and energy to talk about it. Because a lot of people hate on it, especially dudes.

They're like, you go to therapy, you must be like messed up. You're something's wrong with you. Well, something's wrong with everybody, you know what I mean?

[Stephen Husted] (36:36 - 36:51)

So everyone has, I don't care what level you're at. Everybody's got issues. We all, we're all going different things.

We all have, you know, self-doubt, insecurities. It's all there. It's just some people are willing to talk about it because it's therapeutic to talk about it.

[Jesse Vasquez] (36:51 - 36:52)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (36:52 - 37:07)

And some don't because it shows a sign of weakness. And I don't know, I just don't, it was almost the same thing as my assistant talking about that video that you sure you want to put that video out? It sheds a light that you're going to be really, you're going to work harder, but you're not making as much money.

[Jesse Vasquez] (37:08 - 37:08)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (37:08 - 39:40)

Yeah. That's the reality. That's what's going on.

You know, I have no, well, let me, I'll tell you a kind of a interesting story. So when I went to Neil's Academy to learn how to shoot content a couple of years ago, year and a half ago, one of his videographers somehow found out that I had this kind of a unique story from growing up and what I've gone through. I really haven't been able to talk about it.

I'm going to kind of give you a little bit of a watered down version. Part of it because I have a 16 year old daughter now and we just haven't let her know, you know, like, yeah, your dad did some crazy stuff growing up for a long period of time and how I got out of that and where I am today. That story hasn't been told, but he had told me, he's like, I understand you got all these different, you know, careers and you're an endurance athlete.

You race mountain bikes and, but you came from something that was pretty insane. And, you know, you went through a lot of pain. I'm like, yeah.

He's like, that's going to be part of your story, but you got to kind of focus on to this part of it right now. And I listened to part a little bit of what he said, but a lot of it hasn't been told and it comes back to like the therapy part. I think when you can put for us, we're here doing this podcast and people are going to listen to this and we're giving information to all kinds of different things, but this is something that sometimes people don't get to hear.

And it makes it, what it does is we translate this in a way that helps them take that next step that can push them in another direction. And that's, it's super important, you know, and I think that comes back to giving and helping others. Like that's just comes right back.

It's all, it's all for full circle. I know when I've taken on new investors and I got a referral from a gentleman, a good friend of mine. And he's a, he does a chiropractor.

He's a chiropractor. And he said, Hey, I met Stan. He's like, dude, you've changed that guy's thought process completely.

He's thinking in a whole different manner now. In two months, like he's thinking of different about money or investing himself, his wellbeing. He's like, you don't really understand how much you change this guy too much.

It's, it's actually, it's insane. And that just made me feel really good. It's not the money's great, but just that thought process is just, it's a good feeling to, you know, come across, you know?

[Jesse Vasquez] (39:40 - 41:02)

And I'll, I'll, I'll kind of cut on that. You didn't change him. He changed him.

But you gave him the resources to think in a different way. I think that sometimes, um, and I used to be this way, um, Stephen, for a long time. Like I had people that came into my life and I was like, if I just teach them how to do this, they're going to be, they're going to change the way they are.

And I'll give you an example. My brother has worked at a place called Rayleigh's. It's like a bond.

Uh, it's a, it's a grocery store. Yeah. Like I forget what it's called.

Bel Air foods. He's worked there since he was 16 years old. He's 50 now.

And it's the most stable job you'll ever have in your life. I mean, he's making pretty decent money, but he's never had, he's never invested in real estate, all those things. And I talked to him about this stuff.

And I'm like, man, if I can just get my brother to invest, cause you know, like I wanted to change the way he looked at things. And he told me one day, he's like, I don't need you to tell me how to do this. And I realized that moment because we want the best for our family.

Right. At that moment, like you can't change people. Like they have to want to do it themselves.

Um, and I was giving all this advice, all these things. And all of a sudden he just like looked at, I mean, he was pissed off and he's just like, you don't need to tell me this stuff. He's like, I'm not asking you for it.

And that's when I realized like, you know, I can't change people. Like I can't change this. I can't change this, but I can continue to talk about it.

And luckily you have the ability to be able to speak to people and they listen. And then they're, they're on that path to change. And I think, you know, that people can't change until they realize they want to, or they need to, um, or they're ready to, yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (41:02 - 41:12)

Or they're ready to, if you get them at the right moment, when they're ready to make that change, then, then it really sets in really well. What I've experienced.

[Jesse Vasquez] (41:12 - 42:16)

So, and that's what I love when people are ready, when people are like at that point where they're just like, I'm going to take this course, I'm going to go do this thing or whatever you do with Neil. Like at that point in your life, you're like, I'm ready to do something different and I'm going to absorb this information. I'm going to change the way that I'm looking at things.

And then you surround yourself with people. You put yourself in a room with the right people that have the same mindset, the same goals. Those things are so, so important.

Um, so it's this trajectory of kind of, you know, start small and you start listening to podcasts. You can inspire, you start reading books, you start thinking about self-help, you start getting into real estate, you start whatever it is, your journey. But it's about being around those people, connecting with folks that are, you know, to learn from.

And it's just, that's what I love, dude. Like I'm getting fired up talking about this because I just love the idea of people becoming something new. Like, you know, like our bodies, we change who we are every seven years.

We have brand new cells that come in. We're literally a different person. Molecularly, cellularly every seven years.

Um, so that just like for me, like, it's just such a cool thing to see people change into what they want to do or, you know, the ideas and having those come to fruition and being around people that are doing the same thing. It's just, it's energy, man. It's so incredible to see.

[Stephen Husted] (42:16 - 43:06)

Yeah, but you know what? It's also, we're in a time period that you, you see that in people in real time. If this was 2004, it's a, you, people were kind of siloed because we didn't have social media, we didn't have podcasts going on.

There wasn't all this information getting passed around. You know, you couldn't learn how to, when you went to go to learn how to invest, you had to go to like to a seminar and then you walked out of the seminar and you're buying a, like a CD and buying a course and you're off for the races and you know, you're reading Rich Dad Poured Out and you're, you're trying to figure it out, you know, but now we can jump on and do a podcast or you could do a YouTube or Instagram and we can pass them information, get the goosebumps and, and then, you know, they, other people can feel that energy. It's just a different time period for that.

Yeah.

[Jesse Vasquez] (43:06 - 43:42)

You know, this is just a whole different- How lucky are we? Because our ancestors had to get up early as hell in the morning, clock in somewhere, clock out, and then we get to freaking lay in our beds and produce content or think of ideas like, you know, that's, that's, we're living in such a, an awesome age to, to be able to pass information, to be able to build businesses and we're, we're doing things opposite of what our ancestors did. You know, you don't know, it's so, it's so cool to be, you know, to be alive and, you know, I'm a big person on gratitude, like being thankful for, you know, even the feeling the sun on your skin and stuff like that.

So I just feel, I mean, we're just lucky, man. We truly are.

[Stephen Husted] (43:43 - 44:17)

I was telling this to my, my wife this, this morning, I showed up to my media room and it's kind of, we have doors and there's a little bit of a courtyard and this guy's sitting there and probably homeless. And he's like, Hey, sorry, intrude. I just need to relax here.

I'm having really bad anxiety. You know, I just got, you know, I hope, you know, please don't call the cops. And I'm like, dude, it's cool.

Kick back. So I go upstairs in the media room, grab a bottle of water. We had some snacks we have for clients when they come in, went back down there and he was already gone.

[Jesse Vasquez] (44:17 - 44:17)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (44:18 - 45:26)

And so I walked and I saw him like, where are you going? He's like, I just, you know, I don't want to intrude. I don't want, I don't want to, I don't want any trouble.

I'm trying to get to the Alameda and Ray street, but I'm having really bad anxiety. And I, I know I go, well, you can just go down that street. It's like, I know that I just have to go down that street.

I just can't do it right now. And I'm like, I'm like, it's cool, man. I go, you know, here's the water snack.

You're welcome to kick back over there. And he's like, you know, I lost my tiny home and, you know, I got shot a month ago and I just got out of O'Connor hospital. And I was like, okay, I'm like, you just can kick back.

And, you know, I got, went upstairs and I was for all the things that I'm like, oh, this is not going good. This is wrong. This is bad.

And all this, you know, like gratitude is, is massive and a lot of different ways because there's a lot of people out there struggling really bad. And I think that sometimes we take some things for granted, you know, especially here in California, we hear, you know, we can get online and go, oh, San Francisco is really bad. Or there's all these things are wrong with California and all these things.

And we're just, but, you know, we have it better than a lot of people, you know, we kind of have to step back and rethink that.

[Jesse Vasquez] (45:26 - 46:13)

But, um, yeah, I was gonna say one of the things that I grew up with, and this is real quick, um, again, coming from a Hispanic household, like I would wake up in the morning, man, my mom would walk in and she would say like, what are you grateful for today? Like would tell me that every day or like, you're so lucky. Like you woke up, you know, many people just wish they were able to wake up again or people that woke up and they were healthy.

So like, for me, that was burned into me, dude, like day in day out. And it really, there's, there's a certain thing to think about feeling grateful, but there's another when you actually feel like, feel that gratitude, you feel grateful. I'm getting goosebumps again, talking about this, because I think a lot of times people, um, just don't, don't necessarily know what that feeling is.

And it's just something that it's, it's, it's, it's in you. It's, it's incredible. And everybody has the ability to tap into it.

[Stephen Husted] (46:13 - 46:24)

You know, you bring it up, you're bringing up the goosebumps. I don't hear that from a lot of people. Do you hear that for people?

Cause not really. A lot of people wouldn't bring that up.

[Jesse Vasquez] (46:24 - 46:25)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (46:25 - 47:09)

I get goosebumps a lot. Um, back when I was a DJ, that's when I used to get it a lot, especially when I'd be, I'd be out DJing, you know, and a certain record hits and the crowd, you know, reacts to it, you know, I'd get goosebumps. They even made records after that, but I get it here periodically.

And it's obviously a great emotion to, to have. The last time I got it was just a couple of weeks ago in Bali at a temple. You know, I met this guy and we had this like crazy spiritual connection and my wife's in there watching the whole thing.

And, and I, you know, he's talking to me and I go, yeah, I was looking, I got goosebumps and he looks at my arms and then he got even more intense, you know, he's like, Oh my gosh. So it's cool that you bring that up.

[Jesse Vasquez] (47:09 - 48:24)

Yeah. Well, the reason why I'm bringing that up is endorphins are like, um, that's endorphins when you get those, that's emotions like your body's literally releasing, releasing adrenaline and endorphins, the happy stuff. Right.

And that's, it's dopamine. And those little hits that you get. So when you talk about me being artistic, that's some of the times that I get the most goosebumps.

It could be listening to some indie band or listening to some punk rock band or listening to, you know, watching a dude do a kickflip because I was a big skateboarder. I still skate now, like watching a guy do like a big giant gap or whatever it is. I get goosebumps over those things, man.

And just feeling sometimes that I get, and it's, it's our body saying like, yeah, whatever you're talking about right now is like, this is good. You feel it and we get to see it, which is another thing, right? So it's just so awesome, man, to be able to, and again, that goes back to like, we're alive and human.

We can feel things like how freaking lucky are we? The chances of being born a human is it's one in 700 trillion. So, I mean, if you think about, if you think about those odds alone, like we could have been a fucking shoe or something, man.

Like that's, you know, like I could have been a freaking Adidas or like a freaking, you know, I probably wouldn't ended up being like a PF flyer or something, but I mean, we have the ability to, you know, we're humans and that's, that's just, we won the lottery already. You know what I mean?

[Stephen Husted] (48:24 - 49:02)

It's just definitely, I got a question for you. Yeah. It's kind of changed topics.

When you were first building out this midterm journey, what were your beginning pain points? Because now you're, you're teaching students, right? So they're coming to you.

They want to get into it. And obviously they have a lot of what ifs, you know, like where are my first steps? Did you stumble upon getting into it?

I don't know. You've probably talked about this before, but how did you got into your first one? I know you got, you had that light bulb moment, but what were your, what were your pain points in the very beginning?

Like, what were you trying to do in the beginning?

[Jesse Vasquez] (49:02 - 49:11)

Yeah. My pain points at the beginning. Did you hear my story about how I like ran into Barbara?

Was this travel nurse? Did you ever hear that? Did I ever, did you ever, that ever hit you?

Well, I'll just give a quick.

[Stephen Husted] (49:12 - 49:15)

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think, but tell, go ahead.

Yeah. Go ahead and tell a little bit about that.

[Jesse Vasquez] (49:15 - 53:05)

Yeah. So I was, like I mentioned before, I worked in healthcare. My job was to go in all these hospitals and there was this woman, her name was Barbara.

And here in California, everybody says, dude, and bro, and man, just like you guys are hearing, you know, Steven and I talk right now. And this woman, she had a Midwestern accent. She was from Fargo.

And she was saying, like I heard her say like, don't you know? And isn't he a doll? Stuff like that.

And I'm just like, I was instantly gravitated towards her. I remember going to her and being like, you know, where are you from? And she told me she's from Fargo, asked her name.

I always like to chat, you know, with people. And she said, you know, she's a travel nurse. And I was like, oh, that's cool.

Like, where are you staying? And she told me she was staying at Motel 6 on 9th Street, which is like the worst place to be. She was a clinician, like busting her ass for our community.

And she's staying at Motel 6, which is like a prostitute ridden, you know, like a lot of drugs in that place. Like it was probably not the place that you'd want to, you'd expect a travel nurse to be. And I was like, oh, wow.

And she's like, there's no housing. I was like, how much are you paying there? And she told me $3,000 a month to stay at a Motel 6.

And that's the light bulb moment that I had where I'm like, I didn't even own a property at that point. I'm like, holy crap. And I started seeing Barbaras in all the different hospitals that I went to.

So there was travel nurses literally everywhere. And then for me, that was the idea where I can house these folks. And everyone I talked to, Stephen was saying the same thing.

We can't find housing. We can't find housing. There's nowhere for us to stay.

They're not good accommodations. We can't cook there. And I went and talked to the HR department.

This is going to be something that's important for everybody to realize here. If you ever watch a movie where it'll show a door open. And I'm big on cinematography.

So I hope everybody can see this right now with their eyes. And then you start seeing the door close. And all of a sudden, it pans down to the bottom.

And a foot stops about an inch before the door closes. That's exactly what I did. So if you imagine a door about to shut, my foot stops in there.

A nurse just went into this thing. You have to badge to get into these rooms. And it was the HR department.

I said, hey, I'm sorry to barge in here. But I really want to find out how to house these folks. I'm thinking about buying properties.

And I just talked to Barbara on telly floor three at the hospital. And she's staying at Motel 6. And you guys know about that place.

And she's like, yeah, we've had a big problem with housing. If you can help us with housing, that'd be incredible. And that was when boom, went and got my first property.

Literally within a month after that, housed Barbara. Actually, Barbara ended up staying at the property. Not that go around, but about six months later, because she did another trial here.

And we rented the house for $4,500. And my mortgage payment was, that one I was telling you about, $1,800. So just on that one property, I was cash flowing a couple grand, because we had multiple travel nurses staying in one time.

So that was my story, man, how I found this idea. And that was the difficult part, is how do I connect with these companies? But that's what I did on my nine to five job, is I was connecting with people on a regular basis.

And it took me a while to realize, I just have to do what I'm doing now, but virtually. And this was before Zoom and all this other stuff. So it was me having to make phone calls.

And calling somebody on the phone or door knocking is freaking hard. That is where you learn so much stuff real quick. Tone in people's voices, literally everything.

Little nuances that most people don't think about. So it made me a better salesperson. It made me realize that how are we serving people?

How can I make their jobs easier? The same thing that I did with the hospital. So that's my light bulb moment for me.

Now it's just teaching people how to... Sometimes it could be a job that somebody has and they're a salesperson. Now you just translate those skills to this.

Or somebody that works as a schoolteacher. Schoolteachers are some of the best listeners on the planet. Now we just need to have them think in a different way and listen to people, give our answers afterwards.

And that's where sales reps have a hard time, is listening. They're in their heads thinking about the next sale, the next way to communicate, how I can get them on a different path. But true listeners, those are the salespeople because they know how to be in the moment and actually listen to what people are saying.

And then come up with an idea rather than be in our heads the whole time.

[Stephen Husted] (53:06 - 53:25)

So yeah, listening is a tough thing for a lot of people to do. It's just natural to kind of want to start to talk. But if you can sit back and just let people listen and see where they're going with things, that's where you start to find where you can help or even just communicate better with them.

[Jesse Vasquez] (53:25 - 53:26)

Totally.

[Stephen Husted] (53:26 - 53:26)

Yeah.

[Jesse Vasquez] (53:26 - 53:27)

Absorb.

[Stephen Husted] (53:27 - 53:47)

That's a big part of it. So you bought that first property. Then where did you go from there?

How did you start to know that you're going to start to scale this? Did you start to see a vision and get kind of a big picture going like, okay, I want to buy two or three more in this same location? How did you start to systematically approach it?

[Jesse Vasquez] (53:48 - 55:49)

Yeah. So I ended up getting a connection with a guy named Michael that worked for a company called AMN Healthcare. And he was just like, I've been looking for somebody like you for the longest time.

There's a lot of clinicians going into your market. There's not many homes that are there. Are you able to fill more homes or more properties if I send you clients that are coming?

And that's where I was like, holy smokes, I can now get a contract with a company and they're going to pay me for a year at a time to have clinicians stay at my home. And that's when I realized that light bulb went off where it's like now it's the companies that are doing this. And just so you guys know, to give context, my parents grew up, like I've mentioned, they were immigrants.

They bought real estate, which is one of the cool things about being able to come to this country. You can come here and create a life that you truly dream of by hard work and all this other stuff. But they ended up losing a lot of properties because my parents were super religious.

And if somebody had like a truck, like you just talked about this a minute ago, if somebody had hardships with stuff, my dad was like, oh, it's fine. We'll get us next month. You know, get us next month.

We'll get you next time. Or they got kids and they ended up losing properties because they were very giving in a sense. So subconsciously, I didn't want to have a traditional renter staying at my home.

I wanted to have somebody that was able to pay me up front where I can rely on this big company like AMN Healthcare to supply me with the money. I wasn't chasing anybody down. These companies were going to pay because that's what big companies do.

So that's when I started to realize like I have opportunities and it was through contracts with these companies rather than, you know, so those contracts are now starting to land on my lap. And that's when I had the light bulb. Like I can go create another, you know, buy another property, do the same thing or connect with somebody that has a home in my market and now get a referral fee.

So say I get a booking for them, you know, it's a $10,000 booking for the next X amount of months. I get 20% of that. They get a nice little booking.

I'm taking care of the family or the relocation specialist or the nurse. That homeowner is getting paid and I'm taking care of the agency. So that's when I'm like, I can scale now, you know.

So it just, it was a good move and it happened organically.

[Stephen Husted] (55:50 - 55:51)

That and that's the best way.

[Jesse Vasquez] (55:52 - 55:52)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (55:52 - 56:05)

You know, when it happens just like that. And where do you, where do you see this going in the next three to five years? Like vision-wise, like where do you, what's on your head right now that you haven't executed on?

[Jesse Vasquez] (56:06 - 56:06)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (56:06 - 56:13)

So right now. Cause you're a visionary. That means you have a bunch of them going on.

But what's sitting there right now that you keep thinking about on a, like a weekly basis?

[Jesse Vasquez] (56:13 - 57:34)

Yeah. Well, I bought, I bought a bunch of single family homes. I didn't diversify early enough.

And I think that's where I kind of screwed up, but I didn't necessarily screw up because it's still real estate. So now I'm looking at buying, you know, a 20 plex or something that's large, where I can house, you know, a ton of travel nurses or, you know, have one half travel nurses, the other half, you know, business travelers relocation and have a communal area where a lot of these travel nurses are coming from other places of the world. They're traveling by themselves.

We'll actually have like a communal area downstairs or somewhere in between where these folks can get together. And if you know now, like community is one of the biggest things you probably have it in your, in your, if you have a mastermind or whatever you're in masterminds, that community aspect is what draws people. And in fact, a lot of that community sometimes is better than the literature and the things that you get from these courses.

And for me, I want to be able to have that, but for this medical division or this world that comes in that are traveling and they come together, they have a communal space, the communal experience, not only that Steven, but they can be in California and get that same experience, go to Texas, have that same experience because we're branded the same kind of all over. So that concept right now is working. And the great thing about that is we can get a contract with say UCSF or Danron hospital or, you know, you know, Dignity Health, and they're going to pay us to have, you know, X amount of doors, no matter what.

And then we can have that three to five year contract, get those people in and out and then build that community aspect on it. So what we're doing in our masterclasses or mentorships, like I want to do that, but on a, you know, for people that are traveling, you know.

[Stephen Husted] (57:35 - 58:40)

Wow, that's awesome. I, I'm right now first, we're, we're starting our journey into midterms right now. Well, our new journey, we did it back in 2015 for a brief minute.

We sold that property and put it into a short-term rental in the Smokies, got a cabin. So I've been running that, but we were looking, we got our, most of our portfolio is out in Kansas city. And I've been looking at this area right by KU Med for a long period of time.

And it's just been really hard to get a property over there. And about two months ago, Duplex came in, it was a wholesale deal. And I grabbed it right away and it's literally walking distance to KU Med.

And, you know, we're going to start that, that journey of, and I don't hear a lot of people doing, doing midterms in, in Kansas city, but, you know, I know it's, I'm taking your advice on, you know, the hospital count, you know, how many, the bed, the bed count, you know, what's around there. And I think it's going to hit on more than just the traveling nurse aspect, you know, and so I'm going to treat it that way.

[Jesse Vasquez] (58:40 - 59:15)

That's good. Yeah. That's one of the, that's one of the things that people see.

They're like, I want to just house travel nurses. Well, what's going to happen when KU decides to only hire folks. So you have to have multiple different avatars to go after at one time.

And that's, that's the cool thing about this space is that, you know, Airbnbs, you have like one specific clientele. It could be families. It could be people going to your cabin, which might be a family, but the midterm space, there's so many different avatars you pull from.

It could be business travelers, relocation claims, you know, contracted workers, construction workers. Like there's literally so many different avatars, but that's good, man. That sounds like a good, good deal.

The more doors you have, the better. Yes.

[Stephen Husted] (59:15 - 1:00:00)

And it's, you know, it's a 2-1, 3-2 mix. And the 2-1 can be turned into a 3-1 if we want. There's plenty of room.

So I might just do that and market it in different ways because obviously it's going to add value to it. But I think based on where, and we might do the 3-2 as a long-term for the very beginning and get the 2-1 moving and get the proof of concept going right there because it's in an area that I've never heard people talking about. Everyone's been talking about, you know, the Florida, North Carolina, California, Ohio.

But, you know, we're going to see, we're going to take that leap of faith. And, you know, at the end of the day, if it's not going to be working out, we can make it into a long-term.

[Jesse Vasquez] (1:00:00 - 1:00:07)

Yeah. Well, there's numbers there. You can see a lot of that stuff.

If short-term is working there, then it was probably a good opportunity for midterm. You know, it's a good way.

[Stephen Husted] (1:00:07 - 1:00:42)

Yeah. It's interesting. There's a gentleman out there in Kansas City that does a lot of short-terms and I was talking to him and he didn't have a lot of data on the midterm part.

He's like, he couldn't really give me a solid answer. Like, hey, I don't know how good you're going to do. I do mostly short-term and, you know, they put a lot of regulation out there in Kansas City.

So, you know, you're going to have to just kind of take a leap of faith. And while I feel it's going to be a decent location for it, I think there's plenty of unique things going on around KU Med and the insurance part of it too. Yeah.

[Jesse Vasquez] (1:00:42 - 1:02:39)

Well, I can tell you this right now that the midterm rental space, you know, I'll talk about baseball terms here for a minute. You know, Airbnb has been around since 2007. It's kind of evolved already.

It is what it is. It's like in the seventh inning. That's what I would say.

But the midterm rental space, we're going back to baseball terms, like the umpires and you and I, they're not out on the field yet. The chalking crews out, you know, the field's crews out, ground crews chalking the field. That's how early we are.

So the next three to five years, you're going to start seeing more people that are in the short-term space transition because of regulations, because of city municipalities not allowing it. But if you're just listening on Airbnb or listening on Furnish Finder, you're going to have a hard time. If you're doing what I'm doing in the business side of things, business to business relationships, you're creating your own house on your own land.

And I think that's where most people are going to start in wanting to build in this space. Because again, Airbnb just got shut down in New York. New York City, they don't allow them anymore.

So 20,000, actually 40,000 are just gone, like literally gone overnight. So what are those people going to do? They're pivoting now.

And the problem with a lot of folks in this kind of business is they're reactionary. Like when it's too late, now they're pivoting. Like you got to pivot now, you got to dip your toe and understand these business models a little bit more and not rely on Airbnb and not rely on a Furnish Finder.

Like create your own substantial amount of referrals that come to you by building relationships with these companies, the travel, you know, the travel nursing companies, the hospital, because that's what's going to allow you to get contracts. You're not relying on Airbnb. You're creating a book of business, Stephen, that you're going to be able to sell outside of your real estate.

So you're actually creating that business. And I think most people, you know, will start thinking about this in the future. In fact, real estate's been a little, you know, a lot, in a lot of ways, too easy for the longest time.

Now it's starting to get back, you know, it's starting to get difficult again. Yeah, so you got to pivot. You have to have different ideas and different ways of doing things.

So I feel like this model is going to change. It's going to evolve. People are going to start to understand it more.

They're not going to be reliant on more OTAs. And this is, you know, I think it's kind of just the beginning part of where this industry is going. It's going to grow massively.

[Stephen Husted] (1:02:40 - 1:03:55)

I think so too. And, you know, you brought up not only the traveling nurse part, but, you know, the insurance aspect of it, right? The people that have had fires or flooding, you know, we got a taste of that in 2015 because we were getting contracts from hiring agencies for tech workers that would come over from overseas and, you know, they'd have a year contract.

And I remember going, Oh God, this is so great. It's guaranteed. I'm getting paid.

I know it's coming through this company. And that, it gives you a really a good sense of security. And I think we had three to five contracts the time period that we own that property.

And it's funny that now, you know, obviously we only had that one property and we went into other avenues, but now they're going fast forward into right today. All the information I've learned online or from you, from all the other people that I know, it's like makes it more comfortable going into this. Like I know, okay, I can reach out to all these right now and start just building that book of business, building those relationships.

And that's a huge part. So especially in the beginning, you better be, if you're not the type that can get on the phone and try to, you know, build relationships, you better have somebody on your team that knows how to do that. Because it's very important.

It's not going to just all come to you.

[Jesse Vasquez] (1:03:55 - 1:04:38)

Yeah, it's really not. And things are going to get more difficult. So again, I can be in a saturated market like San Francisco or Oakland even, and still kick ass there when there's literally thousands of other listings.

Because we have those relationships, if I was reliant on somebody just to find my property in Airbnb and click it and book it, so much more difficult. In the long run, I'm building true relationships that are going to pay me in dividends over time. And I think that's what you want in business is a long roadway to build a business, which you can always rely on these customers and these clients to supply you with folks that are going to stay.

So it's just a different way of doing things, but I think it's more an intuitive way. And I think it's a way that will outlast the, you know, the saturation that will come at a certain point.

[Stephen Husted] (1:04:39 - 1:04:57)

Absolutely. Well, with that note, I really appreciate you coming on. This was a great episode.

And I really love that it just goes in different directions. You know, what's funny is, I got my questions right here. I only touched on like two of them.

There's like 10.

[Jesse Vasquez] (1:04:58 - 1:04:58)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (1:04:58 - 1:05:05)

But that's good because I think that what got out is what needs to get out for today, you know, to the audience and to everybody else.

[Jesse Vasquez] (1:05:05 - 1:05:29)

I'll tell you this. There's too many podcasts that are structured. I think that sometimes, you know, when you talk to people, they have things that they're working on.

You have things that you're working on. And sometimes what we talked about today is just kind of affirming what we're doing is the right path, you know, for both you and I, but somebody can grab information. And it's constantly, we're always talking to ourselves, like, is this the right thing to do?

Am I building this the right way? Is this what entrepreneurship is like? Yeah, it's...

[Stephen Husted] (1:05:29 - 1:05:53)

Second guessing is such a huge... Yeah. You get these little moments of like, yeah, this all worked out great and I feel really good about whatever it is.

And all of a sudden you get kicked down, you know, and there's a lot of second guessing and you have to be really good at managing those emotions and those ups and downs. 100%. Being an entrepreneur.

That's a huge part of it. Where can the audience find you?

[Jesse Vasquez] (1:05:54 - 1:05:54)

Yeah.

[Stephen Husted] (1:05:55 - 1:05:59)

It's easy to find you, but where are you at? What are you doing? Where is everything going on at?

[Jesse Vasquez] (1:05:59 - 1:06:30)

I don't think it's easy to find me because it was like Jesse Vasquez is the most common Hispanic name on the planet Earth. So if you Google me, there's probably like a bunch of Jesse Vasquez that'll pop up, but you can find me on YouTube at Jesse Vasquez. You can find me on Instagram at TheRealJesseVasquez because there's, again, about a billion other Jesse Vasquez.

Or you can go to my website, www.TheRealJesseVasquez. And yeah, just shoot me a message on Instagram or wherever I'll connect. I usually connect with most people online. Appreciate it.

[Stephen Husted] (1:06:30 - 1:06:54)

Thank you so much. This was, it was such a great episode. Really good to hear, you know, different things that you're going through and also the goosebumps.

I'm glad you brought that up. I don't think a lot of people would bring that up and talk about it, but I do. So it's good to have that connection during this.

Yeah, definitely. We'll follow back up down the road here and see what else your journey has been taking you on.

[Jesse Vasquez] (1:06:54 - 1:06:56)

Sounds good. Thanks, Steven. I appreciate it.

[Stephen Husted] (1:06:56 - 1:06:57)

Awesome. Thanks a lot, Jesse.