799: Is It Possible To Work Less And Earn More?

0:01This episode is supported by What Should I Do With My Money? From Morgan Stanley. Okay, can we just talk about how money is legitimately one of the hardest topics to bring up. Like even when you think you have your stuff together, there's always this really weird awkwardness around it. That's why I am obsessed with this podcast. It actually makes money conversations feel approachable. I recently listened to an episode about affording multiple big life things at once, like a wedding, a house, an IVF, if they were all happening at the same time. And honestly, it hit home. So many people are wondering, can we actually have it all without sacrificing our sanity or our savings?

0:42What I love is that they bring in real experts who help break down these massive costs into actual doable steps. It's like having a money mentor in your ear who gets it. Search for What Should I Do With My Money in your podcast player. We'll also include a link in the show notes. Many thanks to What Should I Do With My Money and Morgan Stanley for their support. then it's a matter of like identifying our zone of geniuses our strengths and how can we actually monetize it in a way where we can begin earning money and figure out a way to automate our life to where we're not having to go the day-to-day grind every day i'm jenna kutcher your host of the gold digger podcast i escaped the corporate world at the age of 23 with nothing more than a $300 camera from Craigslist and a dream.

1:31Now I'm running a seven figure online business that feels even better than it looks all from my house in small town, Minnesota with my family. Here we value time as our currency. We mix the woo and the work, and we are in the pursuit of building businesses that give us the freedom to live lives that we love. I've always loved turning big goals into reality, and I'm here to help you do the same. This isn't just a peek behind the curtain, come along with me and my guests as we tear the whole curtain down. Every week, we tackle practical, no-fluff marketing strategies and host honest discussions on what works and what doesn't.

2:08Join me and my expert guests for actionable insights to help you grow your dream business with confidence. Pull up a seat and get ready to be challenged, inspired, and empowered. This is the Gold Digger Podcast. What if I told you that you don't necessarily have to work harder in order to dig your biggest goals. Like, would you believe me or would you think I'm crazy? My guest today has cracked the code on how to work less and earn more and how you can also do the same. Yes, you heard that right. Erica Brown is a real estate investor and serial entrepreneur who went from living paycheck to paycheck to having a multi-million dollar real estate empire that generates over six figures of real estate income each year.

2:52Her rental portfolio and experience cover everything from multifamily properties, single family homes, land ownership, commercial properties, short-term and midterm rentals, Section 8 rentals, and home building. And if all of that sounded like gibberish to you, don't leave because you are going to be shocked at how she actually got started and how much it cost her to begin. She is so passionate about teaching others, especially women and people of color, how to invest in real estate that she's hosting her first real estate conference later this year. And she's giving away an entire house. Yes, you have to listen to that part.

3:27Now, Erica is a natural problem solver who enjoys helping others overcome any challenges of real estate investing. Her passion is to help others create passive income for themselves using real estate investing so that they can be freed up to pursue the things God has truly called them to do. And I just love today's episode because we go in so many different directions. So if you have never even considered real estate investing, or you're just curious about her journey, which is so interesting in and of itself, today's episode is for you. And I will tell you, there's one part in this episode where we uncovered something that I think could shift everything for you.

4:05And Erica figured this out. And I noticed it as a through line in this episode, and I called it out. And I will tell you, if you know this one thing, your whole business and your life is going to change. So without further ado, welcome to the Gold Digger podcast, Erica. It's no secret that starting a business is hard. Even if you have an amazing idea, bringing it to life can be super overwhelming. HubSpot's new entrepreneurship kit is designed to help you go from idea generator to full-fledged business owner. And let me tell you, I wish I had this when I was first starting my business. This all-inclusive kit takes the guesswork out of entrepreneurship with step-by-step guides, practical resources, and easy to use templates.

4:48It literally walks you through every stage of starting a business and even has freelance pricing worksheets and loads more to help you get up and running immediately. Now, the best part is that it's free at HubSpot.com slash ENT. With expert guidance from HubSpot, starting a business doesn't have to be hard. So don't wait to start yours. Head to HubSpot.com slash ENT to download the free entrepreneurship kit, all from a company who knows a thing or two about growing bigger and better. That's hubspot.com slash ENT. Okay, Erica, we both know that a lot of people have clicked on this episode about working less and earning more and God bless them.

5:29They are skeptics. So give it to us straight. Is passive revenue a real thing? Yes and no. I'm sorry I can't give a straight answer, but yes and no. So I am an investor through and through. Yes, I invest in real estate. That's my sweet spot, but I am an investor through and through. So I invest not only in real estate, but also in businesses and stocks too. So some of the income that I do earn is truly, truly passive. Like I just collect checks. I don't have to do anything. and then some of the income that I earn, I do do a little bit of work for it. And some of it, you know, maybe I work for a small period of time, but then everything else is passive.

6:12So just say yes or no. Yes. I feel like this is such a both and thing. And I love how you explain this because I think there are pockets of passive income. And so often we see like the really clickbaity, like Instagram things of like, I just got this much, but like, I didn't do anything. And I think most of us savvy entrepreneurs know that there is some sort of exchange happening, whether it is energetic, whether it is time, whether it is money to get something off the ground. And so I love how you do that. So I want to kind of know, let's dive deeper into this. Like, how did you get into all these different ways of investing?

6:49Was this natural for you? Was this something you had to learn? Did your parents teach you like, give it to me straight? No, I did not. My parents did not teach me. We owned our house, one house growing up, and we were so grateful to own that house. That's it. So definitely did not grow up being an investor or even thought of this idea. I worked at a bank. I was a bank manager and I was a mom. Well, I am a mom, but I was a mom of young children and just felt like I love what I do and I'm climbing the corporate ladder, but I'm also really, I want to spend more time with the kids. I'm feeling guilty and this is, you know, the struggle and the tug of war that, you know, we talk about a lot.

7:28And so I'm in that place and I'm learning and I'm trying to get up the corporate ladder and I just keep hitting this ceiling and I'm like, okay, God, there has to be something else. And so thankfully, because I'm at the bank, I actually get to meet all these amazing people. And so I noticed whether I am talking to a entrepreneur, a successful entrepreneur, or another high income earning individual, they all have one thing in common. They all invest in real estate. And so that was the first just exposure to say, Hmm, I need to learn more about this. And then I began to learn and dive deep into it.

8:06What did it look like learning? Because I feel like real estate, I was very much raised like you. We had one home. We lived in the same home all the way. My parents just sold it after like 30 or 40 years. So what did it look like even dipping your toe into that water of exploring it? Because that had to be something like that was so different. Yes, it was very different. One of the things that initially attracted me to real estate was that it has such a low barrier of entry versus stocks or any other type of investment. Lots of other investments, you have to actually have a lot of money to earn money.

8:42But real estate was that one thing as I began reading, like one of the first books I read was rich dad, poor dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It's a very common book. I really recommend it for a first time, a person who's interested in real estate, but being able to read that book and then began understanding that real estate can actually start with like, I started investing with $3 ,000. Like we bought our first house. It was a foreclosure and we bought it and we We got a, you know, a first time home buyer loan and we put down$3 ,000 and we rented out our basement to a friend at our church to help us pay for childcare.

9:18And that was our first investment. And so, you know, now almost less than a decade later, we own multi-million dollars of real estate from that one first investment. And so, I mean, name another type of investment that you can do that. Yeah. So we love real estate as well. And I just kind of figured out really early on, I would always do the math of like, how much does this cost? And at what point would we be just bringing in profits, right? Take away the expense. Like, what does that look like? And the timeframe in the window can actually be rather short. And I think a lot of people think, you know, it's going to take 30, 40, 50 years, especially if they saw their parents paying their mortgages their entire lives.

10:02And so it's such an interesting world, but I feel like it can be really intimidating especially given the economy and the shifts and the interest rates and all these things happening where people are like even questioning, can I own a house for myself, let alone as an investment? So talk to me about that. Yes, that the fear is very real. My suggestion when there is the fear is there, that's a sign of a lack of knowledge. So when you begin increasing your knowledge, the good thing is we're in an information age where you can go to YouTube, you can go to Instagram and you can learn so much. And so being able to actually learn from people like my story and other stories out there, it really does help to demystify this idea of how complicated it is, because it is intimidating.

10:48But once you actually begin to break it down and just go one house at a time, it really does open up a whole world for you. So talk to me, let's kind of go back to that initial question of like, how much work does it take? Because I think for some people, they are overwhelmed by the idea, let alone the work. So walk me through kind of, give me an example of one of the properties you own and kind of how that works. Cause I think it's so fascinating. Yes, absolutely. So I'm here in Georgia and we loved, we moved here maybe 14 years ago and we love going to the mountains. That's like our thing. We want every year we rent a cabin, we would go to the mountains.

11:28And so a few years ago, we decided that we were going to buy our own cabin. And so we decided we're going to buy a cabin. We got a vacation home loan. So we didn't have to put down 20%. We put down 10%. And so we bought the cabin, we closed on it. And we wanted to buy something that we have to do a little bit of work towards so we can set it up and we can like take our time and like come on the weekends and casually, you know, begin to renovate it and then rent it out. So we took about six months or so, and we would come on the weekends. And while we were there, we would paint, we would renovate, we would go to local thrift shops and restock the home.

12:07And so after about six months of just weekends dedicated towards renovating that property, then we were like, okay, we're ready to go. We put it on Airbnb. And now that property does really well every month. Not only do we cover the expenses, but we also make money and we get to visit it when we want to. So we had a short period of time that we decided to devote to getting it up and ready or what I call stabilization, stabilizing the property. And then once it's stabilized, then we can go away and work on something else. And that property now just collects income. And even on a management basis, we set up a team and systems to where maybe about one or two hours a week it takes for us to manage it.

12:49And I've trained my son to actually be the property manager. Yes. Oh my gosh. Okay. So we have a very similar situation. We've had the same team for seven years. They feel like an extension of our family. And even this morning we woke up and I'm like, Hey babe, you got to let William know if he can check out late today. And like, so we're very in it and it's not fully passive, but like you can kind of choose how active you want it to be. whether you want to fully outsource it. I have a family member who owns homes and they fully outsource that and they're very hands-off. And like, we like, I like to know like who's staying and like, what are they celebrating?

13:28And I don't know, like that gives me so much joy. And so it is such a fun thing. And my husband does the majority of that, but I'll like poke in there and send people recommendations and things like that. So it is so fun. What does your son think about it? Like, is this inspiring him? Oh yeah. He loves it. He loves it. He's always sending them tips. And like, when we're in town, we go to these places and then it's really great because my husband and my son would visit the property like once a month. And so they'll go and he'll restock everything. So he's really invested in it because he's involved and we really love that.

14:03We try to keep our kids involved as much as possible. I love that. Okay. So we've covered a bit of real estate and I have a feeling we're going to circle back, but I'm curious about some of the other ways that you work less to earn more. And I do feel Erica, and I'm not sure if you feel this too, but I feel like there is this like collective, I don't want to call it an awakening, but this collective energy happening, especially among women who have careers and are choosing careers and maybe also have families or maybe are considering that where it's like, I don't want to do the grind. Right. I think most of us can relate to like the grind is required.

14:40The hustle is required to get the dream off the ground. But if hustle is the only way of sustaining it, like don't sign me up for that. And the more conversations I have with women, the more that I feel like there is just this kind of era that we're entering where it's like, I want to like do a job that I love and I want to live a life that I love. And so this idea of like figuring out ways to earn more without working more. Let's talk about that. Yes. And, and one, I say, always say for women, one, we have to get to a place where we understand and we feel like we're actually worthy of that. Yes.

15:17Because that's the first thing, because we're constantly giving to everyone else and we feel bad when we take time for ourselves. So we have to get to a place of like, Hey, I'm actually worthy of being able to work less and earn more. Yes. We get to that place, then it's a matter of like identifying our zone of geniuses, our strengths, and how can we actually monetize it in a way where we can begin earning money and figure out a way to automate our life to where we're not having to go the day-to-day grind every day. Yes. A few months ago, I got my colors done and I learned that your girl is an autumn, which means out with the black and in with the brown.

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18:03That's shopify.com slash gold digger. Go to shopify.com slash gold digger and make this Black Friday one to remember. Okay, so let's talk about that first part because I think that is huge about understanding. I am doing so much therapy right now, Erica, just around this wiring that is so innate in me of like, if I just work harder, everything will be fine. Like, I think so many of us have been wired this way by being, you know, people pleasers or performers or, you know, athletes or like whatever that looks like. And man, it is so much work to like unwire and rewire in the way of like, I am worthy of rest and I am worthy of joy.

18:45Have you found anything that has helped you kind of sink into that worthiness more? Yes, I do a lot of mindset work because especially for me, I run a business, but I also homeschool my kids too at the same time. And so that can be kind of crazy. And I don't want and I really enjoy it. I want to be able to do both. So I intentionally work on my mindset, whether it is therapy, whether it is I really plug into a group of women who are also moms, who are also business owners. And we like intentionally travel annually and we get on the calls every month. And I really tap into those networks and just remind myself on a day to day basis, like I'm doing my best.

19:30And what the work that I am putting in is actually serving my family and it's bringing me joy. and I deserve that and that's okay. Amen. Okay. Let's talk about the second part because I think you tapped into something really powerful. It's almost like the unconscious competence in women is astounding. And I don't know about you, Erica, but I have so many women in my circle who I'm like, you are a stinking genius at this. Or like, if everyone knew how to do this thing, how you do it, the world would be better. And yet as women, we are so quick to squash our goodness, to squash the things that set us apart.

20:07Do you have any advice on how to like uncover what we are good at? Because I also feel like women are so hard on ourselves and like, we don't even see it. We're just so close to it. Yes. No, 1000%. So you have assessments. Of course you have, like I'm big on the assessments. I love this assessment called working genius. It really does help to identify like what are your natural strengths and how you work. Enneagram, are you big on Enneagram? I love that. But also really being able to say like, what do people constantly come to me for? Okay. Whether that's advice on something specific or whether that's, as for me, it was asking me advice about like financial moves and real estate.

20:47So naturally that's how I actually started my company, helping people learn how to invest. Literally, it was just a group of friends who were like, can you teach me? And I didn't have time to see 30 people individually. So we started a company, you know? And so what are people, like, what are the problems around you that people are bringing to you? And how can you actually turn that into a business to help you solve it that actually gives you joy and fuels you and also creates, you know, income. And then from there, you can figure out what are ways I can make this passive through automation and all the things.

21:23Okay. So you just touched on something so good. And when you're like, I can't teach 30 people, like I don't have time to sit down for 30 coffee dates. I think that that is something that people don't recognize as the value of their time. And when you recognize that, that is like where you start to think, okay, how could I create something once, but serve many people? Like everyone's asking me this one question. Could I create a piece of content or a podcast episode or a YouTube video or a free download. Like that is how we get our value out into the world, but it is so much smarter. And people don't feel as guilty asking you for help when they know that you have something that you can easily get to them.

22:04Right. So it's like, I am actually, we're planting a garden and one of my friends, Nicole Burke, she is like this amazing gardener. And she like goes to people's houses and do all of this. And I was like, I am going to look through all of her free content. I bought her book. I bought her course. And I was like, she's already created everything that I could have questions about. Like, I don't need to text her my questions. She's got this content free. And so I love that. Tell me about like the starting of your business. What did that look like? And did you realize that you had that unconscious competence as you were learning?

22:37No, I definitely did not realize I had the unconscious competence. So I was starting to invest and you know we were buying our first house and then we was like okay this is actually easier than we thought let's buy a few more and I would just share what I was doing with my friends along the way because I'm so happy every time I learn something new I'm always sharing with other people and so then I started because I'm also a real estate agent I started helping people buy and sell homes but then I was like okay how can I so many people are coming to me so let me figure out how to do this in a effective efficient way so then I started this community I call it the owning it and living in community because we actually believe in owning it through ownership, but also living it at the same time.

23:16We don't subscribe to the hustle culture. So the beautiful thing that I didn't realize once I started this company and started teaching in these groups is the beautiful community that came from it. Because a lot of times we are the first ones to do this. We're the first one to become entrepreneurs. We're the first one to become investors. And that can feel very isolating. You can feel very alone. And so being able, that was the, I had no idea that this amazing community of supportive people who are coming together and just loving on each other. Now we have people who are like best friends and traveling and doing all these things just from me saying yes.

23:55So sometimes it's like you saying yes can really unlock opportunities to change other people's lives. And so I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to be able to do that. So I want to know, where would somebody begin? So if we've like piqued their curiosity, like, do they go on to like Zillow? Like, where do we start with this? Because I feel like it's overwhelming to start. And the only reason we got into it is that we were like wandering around and saw an open house and like stumbled into it and then started running the numbers. Like I was literally doing napkin math at a coffee shop and was like, I think we could do this.

24:33So where do we begin? Yes. So you're going to be surprised, but I actually suggest that you don't begin on Zillow and you don't even begin with real estate. You begin with the lifestyle that you want to live. So you decide on, look, my husband and I, We do an annual planning like weekend and we begin thinking about what do we want our life to look like, feel like, what do we want to give our time to? You start there. Once you do that, now you actually say, how much does this life cost? Okay. And then once you identify what this life costs and you say, okay, according to what this life costs, we need to bring in an additional, you know,$3 ,000 a month.

25:13Okay. Let's just say that. So then we say, OK, if we want to accomplish this plan in three years, then that means that we need to add a thousand dollars to our portfolio every single year to be able to get towards this dream. So then you go to Zillow and you, you know, or you go to basically, I would say a mentor is going to be your best bet, whether there's someone in your community around you that is a real estate investor or you find an online community that can help you. Then you find a mentor because a mentor can help you to develop a specific strategy. Maybe it's Airbnb. Maybe it is multifamily property.

25:53having that mentor and giving you guidance will help you to identify exactly how you need to accumulate that thousand dollars to your portfolio per year. So that now when you go to a real estate agent, you're like, okay, real estate agent, I'm looking for a condo that is this amount of money that's going to generate this amount of income per month. And you're able to be super specific. And once you have clarity, then that's when you're able to actually be able to accomplish your goals much faster and quicker. So the quicker you can get to that clarity and pass the confusion and usually a mentor can help you fast track that.