Tyler Chesser, Co-Founder of CF Capital, joins us to discuss his exit from the corporate world, getting started in multifamily real estate investing, hosting the Elevate Podcast, and the mindset that has enabled his growth.
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Transcript
Devin:
Tyler, welcome. How are you?
Tyler:
Devin, man, I’m fantastic. It’s great to be with you. How are you doing?
Devin:
I’m good, good. Staying busy and which is the default line, but I guess the company’s staying busy got a lot of stuff going on. I know you guys do too which is exciting. We’re talking mid-2021 right now and this episode is released right around then as well. Things are generally feeling pretty good. Feels like we’re getting back … The world’s getting back to it. I’m in Texas. How about your neck of the woods? Is everybody coming back to life? What’s it look like?
Tyler:
Yeah, man. I’ll tell you what, it is refreshing. I’m in Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky, and man it’s … 2020 was interesting. Early 2021 was still lingering effects. I know Texas is probably a little bit different. I was in Dallas in February and I was like wait a minute what’s going on here? This is interesting.
Devin:
What’s going on?
Tyler:
And it was great. It was really refreshing. I was actually at a conference, the first conference that I’d been to since the pandemic. And I was like man, give me all the crowds, give me this without mask, and all this. And it’s been really nice but activities picking up I think you’re seeing a lot of interesting things in the market, of course, but man, energy is good right now so I’m excited.
Devin:
That’s I think we’re coming into a great season here cautiously optimistic. Well, listen, before we get too far into it man, let’s back up and I want to give the audience here a sense of your background. And I always like to know how you came to real estate and why? Was there a big turning point for you? But what did that journey look like pre-real estate and getting into real estate?
Tyler:
I think it’s really interesting and I appreciate the question because of the fact that most people don’t start in real estate, right?
Devin:
Right.
Tyler:
For people, it’s not their first landing spot. It was not for me. I started my career in the corporate world, in corporate America. And I started in sales and I transitioned into marketing, that’s what I went to school for an undergraduate. I was a digital marketer and I actually worked for a global restaurant company in launching really that brand into new markets across the world which is really exciting. As an international marketing specialist, I was growing and I was getting promotions and things like that, but I also wasn’t growing to the degree that I wanted to. And what I learned about corporate America was that it was moreso about time in the saddle and politics, in general.
Devin:
No doubt.
Tyler:
That effectiveness. And I was like wait a minute that doesn’t feel right. But I looked around and everyone else was like … They had almost been beaten into submission to where-
Devin:
Yes.
Tyler:
That’s what they … That’s how it is and that’s how it’s going to be. And I was like maybe there was a little bit of a internal dissonance there. Maybe I was a little bit of a rebel to say, “I’m not okay with that” but it took me a few years to really say, “I’m not okay with that and oh, by the way, here’s my plan.,” right because my first plan was hey, I’m going to beef up my resume and I’m going to get out there and I’m going to start interviewing, right. I’m going to start talking to other organizations. It took me a little bit to realize after doing a few interviews I’m like, I don’t love that organization. Don’t love that organization. And I was like what am I doing? I’m just going to get myself into the same mess somewhere else.
Tyler:
So I started asking myself more questions and it was all this pain, right. You were talking before the conversation … Before we started recording today, that every new initiative that you take in your business is likely because of some pain, right, you’re solving some pain. And in this situation, I was in pain, right. I was experiencing some financial struggles a little bit. I mean, I wasn’t getting paid what I thought I was worth. And I was growing and I was working full-time and even beyond that. And I had a salary position with benefits and all these things-
Devin:
Sure.
Tyler:
And I was like man, I don’t know about this so I started asking questions. Long story short, I learned about real estate. I had bought a house a few years before that and the first entrance to real estate that I really experienced was from my realtor, right, and looking at houses. And it was interesting because it’s such a primitive thought now looking back but that’s how I entered into this world was my realtor said, “Hey look, maybe you should become a realtor. Maybe you should get your license.” And so I ended up getting my real estate license and started selling houses on the side. I was doing my corporate job and I was selling houses on the side. And I’m like man, you know what, this is interesting because I actually doubled my income within six months. And I’m like-
Devin:
Wow.
Tyler:
Okay, that’s great I like that. But then the emotional baggage of doing residential real estate didn’t really jive with me and I was like all right maybe there’s something else. And as I walked through that door I learned more about commercial real estate. I learned more about income-producing real estate which was a totally new world to me I’d never experienced before. And so I stepped into being a commercial real estate agent. And then I grew as a broker.
Tyler:
Along the way I started investing in real estate because of what Robert Kiyosaki taught me about how the rich look at money, and assets, and liabilities. And so I was like wait a minute if I’m selling multifamily real estate if I’m selling retail and office real estate, why don’t I participate as an investor as well? And so I was able to learn by growing as an agent than a broker and I set up my own brokerage company. But as I grew as an investor that’s when I really learned so much more about the power of real estate. And so, obviously, I’ve continued to grow and scale in as a multifamily investor. But that’s how I got into it.
Devin:
I love everything about that story, man. There is so much in there. Thank you for the no doubt condensed recap there. So let’s put this in perspective. We talked before we recorded about an upcoming project. And not that you’re pitching a deal here or violating SEC things, but just give us a sense of the size of the current project that you’re working on right now today.
Tyler:
So we’re about to close a 250 unit property over in Indiana right now. It’s a value add, multifamily project. And it’s exciting because it’s one of these properties that’s really been overlooked. There’s a lot of front page … I call them front page markets in the United States, right. And you-
Devin:
Yes.
Tyler:
Think of Atlanta or you think of Dallas or you think of some of these other places that are in the same vein. And we’ve been a little bit contrarian in the market that we’ve chosen for this particular acquisition and it’s been overlooked. And so we think there’s so much meat on the bone to go in and add value. To add value not only to the community and the people who live there, but also our investors and ourselves because we invest in every single one of our deals.
Tyler:
So this is a C-class multifamily asset that sits in a B submarket which is great that’s exactly what you look for. And it’s almost like wait a minute what’s the story here? What’s the problem? Why are we the only one seeing this? So that’s exciting. And that’s almost rare in this market. I’m sure you would agree with that, Devin in many ways.
Devin:
Right.
Tyler:
Because it’s such a competitive marketplace. But that’s the deal we’re about to close here in the next month or so. But we’ve got another deal coming up it’s about 140 units here in Louisville, Kentucky where I’m located and it’s similar. It’s another value add project. It actually has had some value added to it and it’s proven the concept and we’re going to take it to the next level and continue along that trajectory. So that’s what we look at. We always like for a property to have some sort of value add whether it’s operationally or physically or what have you. And so just trying to be creative to improve not only the quality of the asset but, of course, the financials in the performance end.
Devin:
I love it. I love it. So side hustle as a realtor. Fast-forward not too far, you’re buying 250 units as a principal, right?
Tyler:
That’s exactly right.
Devin:
I mean, that’s phenomenal, congratulations. And I love it. I love … Nothing fires me up like hearing that … A story like that, right. Certainly, you are super dedicated and working hard, but you’ve got a framework that can get you where you want to be. And I absolutely resonate with that. And it’s interesting hearing you talk about your corporate days because I’ve been out of the corporate world for six plus years now, I forgot about a lot … How much I hated a lot of that stuff. Politics, oh my gosh, it was 80% politics. And that would drive me crazy too is not … I’m like an efficiency nut, right, and it wasn’t about that. And I’m like wait, how has this … How is their money left on the bottom line after all these inefficiencies I see and all this politics it’s amazing?
Devin:
But I love what you said about the framework of the corporate world was not able to put you where you wanted to be. Even if you were really good, right. It’s like you’re running in the wrong race or you have your … The analogy, you have your ladder against the wrong building, right. And even if you get to the top and you’re like well, and I got to the top of the wrong building. I won and the prize isn’t really what I was after, right.
Tyler:
That’s absolutely right. And that’s a great analogy because I was climbing that ladder and then I looked around and said, “Well, wait a minute, let me climb that ladder. Let me put my ladder against that other organization.” And I realized well, wait a minute, what am I doing climbing this ladder? So it was a total … I had to completely question everything that I was taught because I grew up in a middle-class background and it was hey, go to school, get good grades, get a good job, and then by the time you’re 65 you’re going to have a 401k and all these different things. That was what we were taught. And that’s what my parents were taught. That’s what our entire society is taught. So I had to rip out those beliefs from the roots and it was not an easy process.
Tyler:
It was painful, to be honest with you because I felt like well, wait a minute if that’s what I was … If that’s what I learned then what else isn’t true? Or, what else is maybe not relevant for me? So that was a whole transformation. And as I got into real estate, I had to transform even further because man we’re on the front lines of the emotional rollercoaster of us being entrepreneurs. And, of course, I mean, real estate it’s like man, expect the unexpected. There’s always going to be something crazy around the next corner. So how are you managing your own emotions and being ready for that, right? And so it’s just been a transformation not only from the beliefs and just the reality of what’s going to set us up for a lifestyle that we love rather than just living that sort of middle-class lifestyle?
Devin:
I love It. I absolutely love it. The belief system is such a trap or can be, and it’s like this invisible trap, right. And within the corporate environment, I talk about it having a lot of gravity and it’s really hard to get out of the orbit once you’re in it especially if you’re making good money and especially you got a family to support. It only gets … The gravity only gets more intense as time goes on. And so to burst out of that gravity of that corporate environment when everybody else around you … You have all this pressure and social proof of that everybody’s doing this one thing. One of the things I’ve found is peer groups, right. If there’s anything I can attribute to the acceleration of my companies it’s intentionally choosing peer groups, right. How was that for you? And was that something that you sought out? Or, was there a mentor or peer group that helped you make this fairly huge leap to being an entrepreneur?
Tyler:
Yes, absolutely. So when I got into real estate as an agent, I worked for a broker, right. There was a broker who directly oversaw me and he was an individual who I had been friends of my family so that’s how I … That was my connection into the space.
Devin:
Sure.
Tyler:
And he said, “Look, if you’re going to get into this business you need a coach.” And I’m like, “What are you talking about?”
Devin:
Right.
Tyler:
I’ve never hired a coach or anything like that.
Devin:
I’m smart.
Tyler:
And he’s like here’s … Right. I’ll figure it out. You can teach me, right. You’re my coach, right. But he says, “Here’s the guy who I’ve worked with before so I recommend that you work with him.” And so when I got involved in this world I was totally transformed. And the reason why was because I didn’t know about any of this stuff, even the basic stuff, right.
Devin:
Right.
Tyler:
Even just the basic stuff of learning, and growing, and understanding your mindset, and understanding your commitment, and your consistency, and all these things. But I learned through the coach the power of books and the power of learning. And man, when I graduated college I’ll never forget this. When I was a senior in college I was the president of my fraternity and I felt like I was working so hard and I was doing all these things and man, I was so busy. And I remember when I graduated college I’m like, I’m retired now. I’m retired. Now, all I have to do is work.
Devin:
The hard works done.
Tyler:
And I never once thought about hey, I need to learn more. I was just like look, now I got my corporate job and I’ll just climb the ladder. And but when I got into real estate what was required of me was to learn, and to grow, and to build a business based on trust and based on influence and adding value to other people. And so I had to learn about all of those things. I also had to learn more about myself. I had to learn more about how to effectively negotiate. And so I just opened up this labyrinth and one of the first books … I remember my coach kept talking about Think and Grow Rich. And, of course, we know all about Think and Grow Rich and many of the listeners do as well. But when I read that book man, my eyes were totally crossed. I was like what is he talking about?
Devin:
Right.
Tyler:
Autosuggestion. What are you guys talking about?
Devin:
Right.
Tyler:
And so I just struggled through that book and I started to apply it. I started to apply it to my life. I was in my early to mid-20s at the time and I’m like man, you know what I want a girlfriend. So I was … I would read the book and I’d go out and like girls would start to be attracted to me and it wasn’t because of looks or anything like that, it was my aura. My aura started to change and my energy started to change. As corny and goofy as that sounds, it was a total transformation, you know what I mean?
Devin:
No, I love it. It’s the intention of it, right. There’s so much in that book. It, obviously, gets a lot of lip service. I read that book when I was 14, it made no sense to me and I read it again and again and again for years and years and years. And I look back now, I’ll be 43 this week, and I’m like boy, did that book have a profound impact on me. And sometimes I have to … We make the mistake that everybody thinks like we do a lot of the times. And so I go yeah this is … I make these assumptions and mental leaps and you must too and it’s like oh no, no, a lot of people don’t have that framework like at all whatsoever, right.
Tyler:
I agree. Happy Birthday, by the way.
Devin:
Oh, Thanks. Thank you. So I love it that getting a coach, getting exposed to these new ideas it’s a requisite. You mentioned the emotional roller coaster and that is such a big … Especially those of us that raise capital, right. I think that is a new level of emotional fortitude that’s required for that. What are some things that have … What’s your journey been like there managing … I mean, at some point you’re managing millions of dollars of investor capital and that really is a profound, sacred duty that you shouldn’t take on unless you are really up for the challenge, right? What is it that … And then, of course, the acquisitions and operation. I mean, just being an entrepreneur, in general, right, it’s ups and downs you have to be ready for all that. But what’s helped you deal with that emotional roller coaster as you’ve gone on through your entrepreneurial journey?
Tyler:
For me, it just always comes down to doing the right thing, right, and treating other people the way that I would expect to be treated. And even taking that a step further and really just treating that with delicacy, for lack of a better word. Anytime someone trusts in me and our team to invest alongside us and with us in our opportunities I mean, there couldn’t be anything … A greater responsibility.
Devin:
Right.
Tyler:
But it’s also, at the same time, it’s hey, you know what I’m going to over-communicate, we’re going to be fully transparent, you’re going to understand what challenges we’re incurring or what challenges we’re encountering, and how things are going, right. And also, if there are challenges it’s not about beating around the bush it’s about getting straight to that situation. So for me, it comes down to in terms of managing that emotional rollercoaster, honestly, for me, it just comes down to honesty and understanding that I’m going to be honest in all capacities, right. Because it’s never going to go perfect. It’s never going to go exactly … We talked about … I believe you and I’ve actually talked about this before.
Tyler:
Sometimes a pro forma is just that, right, it’s a pro forma. It’s not necessarily how reality is going to play out. And hopefully, we try to be conservative. And typically in many capacities, our pro formas are even outpaced. But at the end of the day, it’s about having the understanding that look, I’m honest, I’m straightforward, I’m who you see is what you get. And for me, it’s about playing the long game, right, because-
Devin:
Totally.
Tyler:
I can either cut corners and win in the short-term or I can take every single long turn and I can do it the right way, and that’s just the right way to treat people. And the other thing too is that if I speak to somebody and they say, “Hey, I’m interested in this deal tell me about it,” and we’ll talk about it but we’ll also talk about what are their goals and what’s their situation look like? And if it doesn’t make sense but maybe we need to raise another $500,000 or another million dollars for our deal and man, we really need that, we could really use their capital, but if it doesn’t make sense for them it’s about having that long-term view approach in saying, “Look, this doesn’t make sense for you right now.”
Tyler:
And that to me, it’s those little investments in my own mentality, in my own mindset to say, “Look, I can be trusted not only in terms of sticking with this long-term view but also I can be trusted in that I always have the best outlook for the people that entrust me with their resources.” So I don’t know if that makes sense but those are just a few things. It’s really the long-term view that really has the most impact.
Devin:
I love it. I think if you have an investor first approach to building all your company, your whole company, and you have a long-term approach, we just made that … That’s just the North Star. And if you do that and I’ve seen other people do it and I’m just copying other people that have done that, you guys are doing, there’s a little bit of an oversimplification, but the rest takes care of itself. I mean, it really does. It really does. And so-
Tyler:
I like that investors first. That’s a really good one.
Devin:
I mean, it’s like hey, listen, it’s whatever … All our underwriting, everything we do is how’s this going to impact investor? What’s this going to do for investor? If we can get that part right, what’s the investor experience like? Everything else is really going to take care of itself. And so that’s a great framework. I love it. Let’s talk a little bit about the team. What is … What’s the team look like today when you guys are out going down taking down these 100, 200 unit type deals?
Tyler:
Yeah, man. So our team is pretty lean I mean, for the most part. We were talking about it before. I mean, we’ve got an analyst, a consultant that’s basically we’re on retainer for and they underwrite all our deals on our behalf. And, of course, we dive deep. My partner and I are both CCIM trained and so it’s really important for us to understand sort of the nuances, the ins and outs of the underwriting so that we can either advise or make tweaks on that. But we’re not in the weeds. I mean, as you know, I mean, this is one of the most important pieces of our business. So that’s one of our most important key team members.
Tyler:
On all of our assets we third-party property manager right now. At some point, we’ll probably reach a critical mass where it makes sense, as I know that you’ve done, in terms of taking management within house. But we’ve got a great property management company that we work with in our region that we’re active in right now, and we’ve got others that we’re targeting, and other management companies that we have a great relationship with there. And so those are really two of our more important relationship team members. In terms of investor relations, I actually handle investor relations but we actually outsource our … We have a portal through IMS, Investor Management Services.
Devin:
Great.
Tyler:
And so that’s a really, really important component of our business so that folks can manage their investment, they can manage how they’re receiving distributions, and K-1s, and communication, and such. And so that’s a leverage point that’s really important to us. In addition to that, my business partner and I, obviously, are very active in the day-to-day operation but we also have an individual on our team who really handles a lot of admin work for us. We have another individual who handles a lot of the marketing whether it’s writing or design or even videos or anything like that on our properties. And we also do outsource some other sort of SEO work. We actually have an individual that we work with and we actually collaborate alongside with and write blogs and do education because our marketing process is all about education-based marketing, right.
Devin:
Love it.
Tyler:
It’s about doing the podcast and all that stuff. So I also do a podcast it’s called Elevate and, of course, you’ve been an awesome guest on our show. And so those are a few things. And, of course, we’ve got people who help us on editing and things like that, but that’s basically the team, man. But we try to stay lean and mean because it’s not about making this big bloated thing that just really eats up all the resources so that we can be nimble and we can capture opportunities. So that’s what our team looks like today.
Devin:
I love it. You’re able to be nimble and conversely, you’re able to be in a position to not close a deal and that’s really powerful, right?
Tyler:
Yes.
Devin:
I mean, if you’re … We see organizations that do have just an incredible amount of payroll and recurring overhead and you got to just jam deals in the pipeline to keep the lights on and that’s fine. I’m not saying that’s an inherently bad business model, I’m just saying if you’ve got a lean team where you’ve got the divisional labor, you’ve got certain specialists, maybe somebody doesn’t need to be on a 40 hour a week payroll it’s just a retainer thing that’s … It’s beautiful and it keeps your payroll and overhead low and then that you’re not forced to do a deal. You can be real picky on the acquisition side. You want to close every deal that pencils, but you don’t want to be in a position where you have to close the deal this quarter in order to make payroll or whatever. So that’s a beautiful model. I love it.
Tyler:
Critically important what you just said because our philosophy is no deal is better than a bad deal. We can be as patient as we need to be, right. If we don’t buy a deal this quarter or next quarter that’s okay. I mean, obviously, like you and I it’s man, we love to grow. Expansion is where we want to be but if for some reason the deals aren’t making sense and the market is not giving us what we need to make sense in terms of the risk-reward ratio, then let’s keep looking. So that’s so critically important.
Devin:
I love it. And I’m always fascinated by you can … A smart entrepreneur with the right team, and the right peer group, and the right drive for it can build a substantial set of assets and a substantial amount of investors on a relatively small team. It’s not like you have some huge C-suite that is commanding all these millions of dollars in salary and all this stuff, but you can go out and buy some meaningful deals and you’re competing with much, much bigger institutions. And in some ways, you’re able to complete … Back to your point about being nimble, you might be a little faster. You might be the first guy on the ground. You mentioned you’re going to tour a property after this podcast, right?
Tyler:
Right.
Devin:
And so that nimbleness, the responsiveness with sellers and everything and brokers I’m sure is an advantage for you guys.
Tyler:
And also being hands-on I think is important.
Devin:
Right, right.
Tyler:
We’re not outsourcing touring properties. We’re not outsourcing conversations with brokers or even investors because the core to our philosophy is that our relationships are everything, right. All-
Devin:
Yes.
Tyler:
There’s certainly things that we can streamline, and we can scale, and we can improve in terms of our operations, in terms of some of the inner workings of whether it’s admin or otherwise, but we cannot outsource our relationships and I don’t believe we ever will. We never will outsource our relationships whether it’s deal facing, or equity facing, or even debt facing, right. So what are those different components? So being nimble and being a lean team allows us to have a very hands-on approach. My business partner and I will both be at this property today to decide hey look, this is ours for the taking, do we want this deal? And why do we want it? And really digging in even to the comps it’s like let’s go look at these comps and really trust but verify our assumptions here and decide if we want to put investor capital, our capital at risk to capture the potential upside. So I think it’s really important.
Devin:
I love it. I love the hands-on approach. Speaking to the capital, the debt, and the equity, what is a typical capital stack on a project look like for you guys? Is it pretty straightforward? Is it different layers of equity? What does that look like for you guys these days?
Tyler:
Pretty straightforward for the most part. I mean, obviously, we live in a changing marketplace, it’s always evolving. But in terms of equity, we don’t do two classes of investors. At least at this stage, we have not. We’re considering that and some of the more aggressive submarkets that we look at I think it always helps.
Devin:
Sure.
Tyler:
To be more competitive. But right now we’re just one standard size of equity and pretty straightforward, pretty standard across the industry there. But in terms of how we finance our deals from a debt perspective, of course, that’s deal unique and specific. But depending on the particular opportunity, I mean, what we’ve looked at more recently in many of the deals over the past several months has been bridge financing and debt funds to maximize leverage and overall to be as competitive as possible. But to also, GSEs have gotten back in the game and in the mix as of late removing a lot of those COVID reserve requirements which, obviously, impacted cash on cash in a big way.
Devin:
Big ways.
Tyler:
So that’s typically what our capital stack has looked like.
Devin:
So a pretty straightforward setup then. That’s good. And it’s always … The debt market’s always changing and the bridge stuff totally went away a year ago and now it’s roaring back. And so you evaluate that deal by deal. So you guys are just doing hey if it’s a $3 million equity raise you put it out to your investors with a what 100K minimum and just first come first serve?
Tyler:
Yeah. So we typically do a 50K minimum and it’s a great example. So we just raised in that ballpark about 3.2 million as a 50K minimum and we typically offer a preferred return paid on a monthly basis.
Devin:
Love it.
Tyler:
And a percentage of the upside. And we typically have an incentivization there when we reach a certain internal rate of return, when we outperform projections, then we’re incentivized and that waterfall then goes to a different split. But that’s in an alignment with the long-term relationship, right.
Devin:
Totally.
Tyler:
We want people to know that we’re incentivized to perform and outperform those projections. And when we do that, we reap those benefits as well and they also participate in that upside. So that’s typically how it’s structured. And for the most part, we like to keep it pretty simple from that perspective.
Devin:
I think that helps. I mean, I’m sure you guys have all types of investors from really savvy guys that are passive investors with 20 deals around the country to that dentist that is the first-time investor going is this even real?
Tyler:
So true.
Devin:
We can all own this apartment complex. And you need to be able to explain to that guy in 30 seconds what the … How it works.
Tyler:
Yes.
Devin:
And so I’ve … It just aired. In fact, I … Every deal we do I feel like our decks and our materials are getting simpler. I think there’s an inclination in the beginning to strut your stuff and oh man, look at all this stuff I know about finance and everything, but sometimes investors are like it’s going over my head, right. What’s the net here? What am I getting every month? How long are we in the deal? What’s it going to do for me overall? What’s it mean for my taxes? What’s in it for me, right?
Tyler:
Exactly right, man.
Devin:
I think-
Tyler:
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, right?
Devin:
Absolutely. I mean, any idiot can complicate it and put out 150-page deck that looked like some MBA consultant put it together and it’s just a … It’s confusion, mass confusion. So simplicity is … I love it. It’s actually hard to do and if you could pull it off that’s great. I love it, man. So I mean, you’ve built the team, doing deals, get a team structure together, you’re hosting the podcast. How’s that gone and how long have you been doing that? And what’s the experience as a podcast host been like for you?
Tyler:
Man, I tell you what I’ve grown tremendously as a podcast host, as a person.
Devin:
Sure.
Tyler:
To be able to listen and to be able to engage in a conversation. So, anybody that’s listening that’s thinking about starting a podcast, I recommend it and I’m sure you would as well, Devin. But relationships across the board has been phenomenal. But I’ve been doing the podcast now for a year. It’s called Elevate. It’s all about mindset, mind expansion, and personal growth for high-performing real estate investors.
Devin:
Love it.
Tyler:
And we talk with folks like yourself who are high-performing real estate investors. We also talk with people like Seth Godin. We talk with people like Dave Asprey.
Devin:
No kidding. You got Seth Godin on your show?
Tyler:
Oh, yeah, baby.
Devin:
That’s awesome. Congrats, man.
Tyler:
Thank you, man. We’ve had some incredible people and we talk about … It’s really a multidisciplinary approach to learning and growing because I don’t know about you, but if we want to create big things in real estate or if we want to capture great opportunities we’ve got to be able to train ourselves from a multi-faceted approach, right. We have to understand psychology. We have to understand history. We have to understand economics, math. All of these different things. Biology.
Devin:
Money, finance, HR. I mean, on and on.
Tyler:
Exactly. So if you want to be a high performer it’s about really collecting all of this so you can be innovative, so you can be thoughtful. And so that when a rare opportunity comes you can leap forward with tremendous vigor, right. It’s not about taking every opportunity that comes your way, but it’s about seeing an advantage. And so it’s not just about being a high-performing real estate investor but it’s about designing a life, right because we get into real estate, not for just money, but we get into real estate for the lifestyle that it can provide and design for us. So that’s what Elevate’s all about, man. But I’ll tell you what, I’ve learned so much. I continue every single day it’s a challenge, man. You turn that microphone on and it’s all right, you have to be authentic, you have to be real. And so it just caused me to become a better communicator, a better listener. I’ll tell you what, my network has grown exponentially as a result-
Devin:
No doubt.
Tyler:
Because you … The relationships that you build as a result of just having these conversations, man. You and I … Next time I see you in San Antonio we’re grabbing a beer. There’s no doubt in my mind.
Devin:
Totally.
Tyler:
It’s just so fun, man.
Devin:
It is. There’s such a weird … I debated on starting a podcast for a long time. And finally, I said, “Well, if it never got one … If it never got a single download would there still be upside to it?” And, obviously, for the guests that wouldn’t be great, but for me personally I was like yeah, it’d still be a win. The connection, the learning, the … I mean, you learn something every time. You’re meeting new people all over the country. Like-minded people that you’re not just going to run into at a coffee shop or whatever. So that part of it is huge, man. So I’m glad, I’m really glad to hear that. And that’s … I like that you can branch out to some different types of guests too. That keeps it fun for you, keeps it fun for your audience. Talk about just growing your network.
Devin:
I mean, I tell people that I’m either coaching or that are younger it’s your hierarchy of priorities is network first, number one, and then two your skills and knowledge, and then your capital, right. The capital’s going to come, you’re going to get there, but protect your network like it is the number one priority, your reputation, right. And that it all revolves around that. I wish somebody sat down when I was 22 and told me that because I can look back on some days in my corporate career where I was not thinking that way. I’ve learned better. But I love it, man. Well, congrats on the success of the podcast. Well, let’s wrap it up. I want to leave people a link to get to reach out to you, connect with you. Other than the podcast, what’s a good avenue for them to do that?
Tyler:
I mean, I would imagine most of your folks are real estate investors so just go check out our CF Capital website. It’s cfcapllc.com. We have an eBook actually that we’ve created. It’s the 10 Ways to Increase Cash Flow in an Apartment Complex so-
Devin:
Awesome.
Tyler:
If anybody’s looking for some free education we offer that. So folks just go to CFcapllc.com to find that. Of course, Elevate Podcast. If you’re listening to podcasts go check that out as well it’s free and 100% exciting and fun just like this podcast. So you can go check that out anywhere you listen to podcasts or elevatepod.com.
Devin:
I love it, man. Well, you guys are putting out some great content, you’re doing great things out there. Thank you for jumping on and sharing the story and here’s to continued success.
Tyler:
Thanks, Devin. I appreciate it, man. Thank you so much for having me and I hope you have a great day my friend.
Devin:
Awesome. Good luck on the tour.
Tyler:
Appreciate it, man.
Devin:
All right, we’ll see you.
Tyler:
All right, buddy. Talk to you later.