Right now I'm on my way to Michigan. Many of you know that I've been going back and forth between California to Michigan (and back again) for the past 4 years.
There are a couple of reasons I'm going.
1) To set up the new warehouse for my health supplement company.
2) To look at some incredible cash flowing property deals.
Now, many of you who aren't familiar with the greater Detroit area don't know what's really going on there. And since you probably don't know what's going on, I'm about to "clue" you in.
Detroit is getting worse. Much worse. If you thought it was a 3rd-world-country war zone, that's true...plus a lot worse than that! When a city goes bankrupt, it affects many things including local businesses, job opportunities, and the need to take on "extracurricular" activities (i.e. illegal activities) to support your family. When people are hungry, they become desperate.
People are getting shot and killed for a few bucks in their wallet. People fear going to a gas station since many end up getting car jacked while filling up their tanks.
But I think the most horrifying truth about all these tragedies that happen multiple times a day in Detroit is that, on top of it getting progressively worse, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.
I did some research on exactly when the most beautiful formerly-higher-end Detroit neighborhoods with these gorgeous English tudors went from "normal" neighborhoods to downtrodden hell-holes. But I didn't get the answers I was looking for. In fact, when I did pinpoint the "when," I was even more bamboozled as to the "why" part of the equation.
You'd think, just by understanding when the Big 3 auto manufacturers started declining in the 1960s, that these neighborhoods would have started unraveling about then...or maybe a decade later like in the 1970s perhaps. Right?
Wrong.
Strangely, a lot of these gorgeous neighborhoods with stellar and unmatched architectural beauty started falling apart to "the element" in the mid-1990s.
I know. It's pretty freaking startling, isn't it?
Why the 1990s?
No clue. And that's what scares me the most.
It reminds me of a school of fish. You don't know who the leader is. But one of them is the leader. And it's uncanny how fast they change course in near-unison within a fraction of a second without a "why" or "when" to use as a barometer.
That's much how Detroit is except that you can bank on one thing being for certain: when it changes, it just gets worse. Never better. You just don't know which neighborhoods will suddenly go to hell in a hand-basket or when.
Everyone in Detroit is running scared right now. It's like someone sucked all the oxygen out of the air while normal law-abiding citizens either prepare for war in the streets or are packing up their caravans and leaving everything behind for good.
So, why do I bother with an area that's a war zone?
First of all, you can still buy smart. There are "somewhat bad" areas, "just bad" areas, and "really bad" areas. Yes, it's like taking "Class D" properties and giving them grades. So, you have Class D+, Class D, and Class D-.
But what about Class C...or even Class B?
See, that's the part I'm getting at here. You don't have to take a war-zone area like Detroit and choose while level of shitty you will subject yourself to.
Instead, you bank on the fear with apartment building owners running around like chickens with their heads cut off, thinking the world is ending, and wanting to get out before "all hell breaks loose."
Years ago I did extremely well doing letter campaigns to lists of apartment building owners in specific parts of the country that I'm targeting. Then the bubble ballooned and the letter campaigns stopped working. The bubble popped (or rather exploded) and rocked the banking world to the point where we were literally hours away from a complete banking collapse in 2008 (which a lot of Americans don't even know how close we were). People who took cash out of their property by gutting their equity instantly found themselves upside down on their property. Doing creative deals with apartment owners became a thing of the past. Letter campaigns stopped working. Property owners started losing their properties to the bank. We all know the story.
Recently, there's been a revitalization in letter campaigns as of about 2 years ago.
Even more recent (since only a few months ago), I've been working with an incredibly unique letter campaign targeting apartment building owners in the greater Detroit area (including Macomb County).
But...this campaign is unique. How? Because I'm targeting the first and most powerful sales motivator: fear! I'm playing on the fears of "the sky is falling down" with these apartment building owners.
And it's working.
No, it's not like your traditional letter campaign where you're sending a letter to offer more to your apartment building owner or even to offer him a fair market-value price. In fact, you're not even mentioning anything about price or an offer at all. You're simply playing on the fear that their property is becoming more and more worthless as the minutes tick on because their area is becoming infested with the worst type of criminal element Detroit has ever seen in its history.
The good news? You can pick and choose your deals. You can offer them much less for their property than what's "fair" or even "market value." And, best of all, you don't have to choose between shitty Class D property #1 or shitty Class D property #2. Instead, you focus on the suburban cities where the element hasn't reached...yet.
And this strategy can work anywhere there is any type of criminal problem or element. This includes Memphis, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Sacramento, St. Louis, Chicago...and on and on.
So...what does this "top secret" letter say since it's not like the rest of the letters that you'd use in a more "traditional" letter campaign?
Guess you'll just have to come to Los Angeles on September 13th and 14th to find out. I'll be revealing this incredible secret during my 2-day Total Wealth Building Boot Camp Seminar. I'm doing a kick-ass 40th Birthday Weekend Blow Out deal that will literally blow your mind.
Plus you'll be extremely excited to know more about the impressive guest speakers I'll be having.
Plus...something I didn't mention on my website but I have at least 2 of my investor partners who will be attending as audience attendees who will be talking with my students to find solid equity partnership deals to fund. They'll be making the rounds, having drinks with students, and seeking out places they can put their money!
Here's the link to register and get the deal: http://www.monicamain.com/birthday_blow_out
Questions? Call my office after 9am Pacific Time at (661) 295-5050.
Just in case anyone is ever wondering why I never "go away" like I threaten to, it's because of stories like these. Check out this email that mysteriously ended up coming to me in my personal email inbox (which is an email I never give out to anyone):
"Monica,
I read your book about apartment investing back in 2010. Fast forward 4 years and today I own $18,000,000 in commercial real estate, over 630 units. Your book helped me tremendously and the confidence to make it happen! Thank you again Monica and see you at the top!!
Stephen"
I sent him an email back about how I was blown away with his email and told him congratulations on his success. I asked him if, by chance, he was willing to come out and speak at my event in September in Los Angeles. This was his reply:
"Monica,
Thank you for responding. I do have a humble beginning. Just 26 months ago I was living in a hotel in Dallas with less than $1,000 to my name. The one asset during that journey was my mindset. I read your course and had a millionaire mind. My first deal was a 50 unit apartment in Texas at $16,500 a door. I had it under contract for the right price but I had a huge problem. No money! I went to my step dad and he didn't have the 20% for the down payment either, which was $165,000. We got creative and went to the bank. My step dad had 1 rental property free and clear and we asked the bank if they would take his rental property as collateral, which they did. The second problem was we needed $50k to do the rehab. We didn't have it. The same bank agreed to give us a rehab loan. Fast forward 6 months later we refinanced the 50 unit and the appraisal came in at $1,500,000. We created $500,000 in equity on our first multi family deal in 6 months!
Our second deal is even better. Its a 108 unit in Dallas. We paid $2,850,000 for the property and it was 80% occupied. The seller agreed to hold 10% on a second note, so we got into the property with 10% down which was $285,000. Most of the $285,000 was equity we created on the first 50 unit. We filled the property up from 80% to 95% in 45 days. We just got a appraisal on the 108 unit last month and the property appraised for $4,000,000!! We created $1,150,000 in equity in less than 6 months on this deal! The great part was the previous owner had just rehabbed the property and just wanted out. She was 83 years old and her hard money loan was ballooning. I have several other apartment deals I could talk about. It really blows my mind on my balance sheet that I became a millionaire within 2 years. The best part is my step dad and I own 100% of our deals with no outside equity partners, except the 224 unit in Houston. I would love to share my story with a group of apartment entrepreneurs. I have not done a lot of public speaking but I am sure I can bring it. I have a lot of passion and multi family is the fastest way to accelerate massive wealth in the shortest period of time. I am sure I can come up with a PowerPoint and go over the properties we've purchased. We just closed a 85 unit apartment last week. The property was originally listed for $2,400,000 and we closed it for $1,625,000, again with no money down. We used equity out of our 108 unit and cross collateralized on the 85 unit. As you can tell I am really passionate about multi family. If you can let me know the day and time, along with how long the presentation should be. I will get working on it! :)
Stephen"
Stephen gave me his cell number so I called him today. What an incredible person! He's full of energy and inspiration like you wouldn't believe.
But more importantly, he made me think about some things.
Over the past few weeks I've been seriously thinking about the direction I want to go in. I re-watched a movie I saw some time ago called The Shift by Dr. Wayne Dyer. Good movie. You can watch it on YouTube.com if you feel so inclined.
I think we all get to a point in our lives where we feel "stuck" or know we want to venture into a different direction but don't know which direction to go into.
I've been at that stage for awhile now. This is what triggered my obsession with all of these different creative writing ventures and classes. Still, there's something missing.
This is what it looks like when we're traveling on the freeway of life. You're in the middle of nowhere with just your headlights illuminating the road a few feet at a time. You're on some path but without a specific destination in mind.
Then a sign post comes into light.
Mine came a few months back when I had a major New York publisher show interest in my Apartment Building Millionaire book and perhaps taking it mainstream.
"No thanks," I said. In my mind I convinced myself that nobody listens to me anyway. After all, we tend to focus on the negative (i.e. the glass half empty) rather than the success stories that I get every week.
So, I ignored the sign post while envisioning a completely different life for myself. It was probably more of a fantasy just to get away from what I'm really meant to do.
Then Hawaii for spring break came around this past April. Out of nowhere I had this really strong pull that I needed to help people on a larger scale. The thought of the New York publisher came to mind. I asked my daughter if I should write screenplays or if I should help people. "Help people," was her immediate response. And that was that.
Three weeks ago I started pounding out a book proposal. Then I stopped. "Is anyone really listening? Does anyone care about changing their life?"
Then Stephen wrote me his mind-blowing email. Out of nowhere. Just like that.
When I got on the phone with him he said, "We really need to do a book to tell everyone about this."
Another sign post illuminated. (The universe is about to hit me on my head with one of them if I don't listen this time.)
Back to Stephen, I think it's amazing that he agreed to speak at the 2-day seminar event in Los Angeles in September. As I explained to him on the phone, nobody cares that he's not a "polished professional speaker" because that's not why people go to an event like that. They come for the information. Not for a show. And his story is incredible.
The most awesome part about all of it is that he plans on sharing with you exactly what he did step by step to go from nothing to where he is now in only 4 years.
I put Stephen in my "star student" category for multifamily/apartment building success. Aran Dunlop is my star student for MHPs and Andrew Shaw is my star student for commercial-commercial buildings.
But $18 million and 630 units in 4 years?! Holy sh**! That's huge. Majorly huge!!
You know what? Anyone can do it if they focus and put their mind to it. And that's the entire point. Even if you know the mechanics, you can greatly benefit by having someone like Stephen rub off on you with motivation, inspiration, and a go-getter attitude.
I think it's your turn now, don't you agree?
For a short time, I have a deal on the seminar for those of you who want to have someone "magical" rub off on them.
A couple of days ago, I told you about 3 of my main Aggressive Income Strategies and how they're working so well that I'm taking advantage of this period of "borrowed time" to funnel Aggressive into Passive Income.
Then I promised to tell you about the top 4 best Passive Income property classes. So, here they are:
1) Single family residences (SFRs): As long as you don't mortgage these babies (and pay 100% cash), this is my preferred investment right now. I get the highest amount of rent per month, have the greatest amount of expense pass-through (on a residential property), and have the lowest amount of expenses (which means higher bottom-line cash flow) on these types of properties. Why no mortgage? Because it's too risky if your only tenant stops paying rent (through loss of job, maliciousness, death, etc.). You'll then personally have to carry the mortgage until an eviction occurs. And if it happens to more than a couple of your houses (because of a dip in the economy), you'll end up losing them.
2) "Quads": These are 4-plexes: You need great credit because you'll get a residential loan on these as an "investor." They require 25% cash down but the qualification requirements (aside from a 680+ mid-FICO and the cash) are nil. They offer a very nice cash flow yet have the highest bottom-line cash flow by percentage out of every other type of multifamily because the expenses are so low. (Not as low as an SFR but pretty damn close!)
3) Small apartment houses (24 units or less): I have really been focused on these for the past couple of years. I haven't even considered anything larger for the last solid 2 years. Why? The economy has changing. All serious "big boy" investors were snatching up all of the larger apartment buildings like they were going out of style since about late 2011. I found myself thoroughly sick of dealing with corporations with snotty real estate agents to boot while competing with malicious game-playing investors. Smaller apartment buildings are mom-and-pop owned and operated while most big investors avoid them altogether because they're not considered "big" money. So, no competition for me and I can negotiate with real people. Plus, lenders don't run me through the loop on requirements and I get much better bottom-line cash flow than I would on larger apartment buildings.
4) MHPs (mobile home parks): Specifically "resident-owned" properties, or at least that's how they are converted upon immediate possession...this means that the residents own their mobile homes (or trailers) and I just get "pad/lot" rent. I don't maintain any of the units, just the grounds. This is the ideal and most profitable situation. MHPs typically have the lowest expense ratio which are equivalent to the low expenses on SFRs.
What do I mean about properties with a "low" or "lowest expense ratio"?
You have something called a GOI or a "gross operating income." This is calculated annually (as with everything having to do with investment properties). It means the "gross receipts" or "gross rents" received in the period of a year.
Your "expense ratio" is the percentage or "chunk" of the GOI that's taken to cover property expenses including, but not limited to, insurance, management, utilities, taxes, etc.
Here's something that surprises most of my students. The larger the apartment building, the higher your expense ratio percentage. For example, a 100-unit apartment building in the Midwest will probably have an expense ratio of about 68%. This means that a whopping 68% of your GOI goes to expenses. And no, this does not include the mortgage payment either!
So, if your building has a GOI (or gross rental receipts) of $100,000 per year, a whopping $68,000 per year is going out for expenses and not even covering a single cent of the mortgage payment. This means that, more than likely, you're not making a damn dime on these types of properties.
However, when you have smaller multifamily properties, the expense ratio (or percentage) is much lower. You have fewer expenses. You have less money going out for property maintenance (including landscaping and snow blowing), fewer dollars for management costs, few (or no) common-area utilities to pay for, and lower property taxes.
If you had a "quad" (4-plex) in the same area of the Midwest, your expense ratio would be shoved down to about 32%. That's less than half of what it costs to operate a much larger property!
Doesn't it make more sense to, say, buy 25 "quads" (totaling 100 units), all with a consistent expense ratio of 32% across all 25 buildings vs. buying 1 single 100-unit building with an expense ratio of more than double? It certainly makes sense to me. Yes, it's more work but it's much more profitable.
Yet, strangely, all of my most fresh-out-of-the-box newbie real estate investing students want to run right out and get that 800-unit building. (I had a property that was so large that it required a freaking unbelievable 88% in expense ratio to keep the property functioning. Once I took the property over, I cured the vacancy problem then sold it. It didn't seem worth it to me to make chump change on the cash flow on such a large building when I could do 100% better on a handful of smaller properties. It just didn't make any sense to me!) These types of assets are a waste of time even if a newbie investor can somehow miraculously raise the millions of dollars needed for the down payment, have the credit requirements in place, show the lender a management resume and prove that they have a vast portfolio of other properties verifying that (s)he is an experienced enough investor. (Yes, all this stuff is required to purchase multi-million-dollar properties.)
This is all stuff you need to know if you want to cash in with real estate in the New Economy.
How are you going to learn all of this stuff overnight?
I'm not aiming at teaching you everything overnight. My job is to get you started. Get you motivated and educated enough to get off your ass and get started in the business of investing.
This is where my September LA event comes in. Not only am I going to show you how to get the money for your real estate but where to invest that money for maximum leverage and bottom-line cash flow.
What I'm going to be describing to you in 2 power-packed days in Los Angeles is exactly what I'm doing on this Aggressive Income side (Day 1) and where I'm funneling the cash (Day 2) into Passive Income Assets.
This is going to be a more intense seminar event than my prior events because the days will be longer. I'm aiming on presenting 3 days worth of material in only 2 days.
Here's the link: http://www.monicamain.com/new_wealth_warrior_seminar_event
If you want to get started with the Aggressive Income side right now, I have my last ever New Wealth Ninja Mentorship Group starting on Wednesday. This will kick-start the Aggressive side into action so, by the time you attend the event in September, you'll already have some cash for your Passive Income Assets!
Many of you have been clued in on the fastest and most streamlined way to wealth:
Aggressive to Passive Income
For some of you newcomers (or those of you who have amnesia), Aggressive Income is when you basically write your own check, making however much you want through a home-based business that you start with next to nothing and operate with next to no overhead. (You certainlydon't want employees!)
With the competition in real estate these days (since the market has been heating up due to our economic recovery), you really should have cash down for your real estate deals.
And why for real estate?
Because there isn't a single investment out there aside from cash flowing passive income real estate that can beat the long-term retirement benefits other than real estate.
And how awesome is it that you can be retired, enjoying a massive increase in your bottom-line cash flow each decade, and being about to more than keep up with hyper inflation, taking trips whenever you want (instead of just talking about traveling the world yet never actually doing it), and not having to worry about making ends meet when you're old and gray?
Here's the cold, hard truth of what's going on out there:
Seniors are working at fast food restaurants and as grocery store baggers, not because they want to but because they have to. Many lost their retirement or are living long beyond the capacity of their retirement savings and they're competing with pimple-faced teenagers over bogus minimum-wage jobs to survive.
Nobody really anticipated the changes of the economy. Nobody knew what our New Economy would look like.
But here's something that would have never changed for someone who would have purchased a bunch of investment real estate in, say, the 70s and was actually smart enough to buy and hold those properties till today: they wouldn't be worried about vying for a job that a teenager should have, wondering how they're going to pay for the drastic price increase of their needed prescription medications, or wondering how they're going to cover their health insurance requirements.
Anyone smart enough to buy investment property in the 70s and who have kept those properties...well, those folks are sitting pretty, literally laughing their way to the bank each and every month like clockwork.
When I first started teaching my successful real estate investing strategies back in 2002/2003, I remember listening to people my parent's age whining and bitching about how they would be "well off" if they only invested in the 70s and how they missed the boat.
I would always roll my eyeballs because (1) I was born in the mid-70s and couldn't invest during that time if I wanted to, and (2) there is always opportunity whether it's now or in the near future.
All you have is right now. You don't have the past to keep hanging your "what ifs" on anymore because that'll never do you a damn bit of good.
What I did notice is that these people who would always complain and insist they should have invested probably wouldn't have invested anyway, even if they had every advantage at the time including (1) perfect personal credit, (2) the down payment cash, and (3) a leprechaun instantly appearing in their lap, jumping up and down, and insisting that there's "gold" in 1970s real estate.
How do I know that this is the case? Because right now we still have opportunities that areeven better than those in the 70s...and these people are still doing nothing about that opportunity.
Maybe you're one of those people. (I sure hope not!)
In order to compete in this real estate market, you're going to have to get yourself some cash for these deals. And the best way I know of is via Aggressive Income Strategies.
Many of my students have asked me since I've announced my major changes in Global Success exactly why I'm stepping back from teaching. (And they often ask if it's forever or just a temporary thing...of which I don't have an answer yet.) The truth is...I put my money where my mouth is and I walk the talk.
For the past 2 years I've been talking about Aggressive Income. I've even used myself as my own "case study" for new experiments so that I could give my students the most precise and timely step-by-step strategies that work in today's economic conditions.
And because of that, of course, I've created some incredibly lucrative and profitable Aggressive Income businesses that do exactly what I need them to do: get me the cash to continue funneling into my passive income (real estate) investments. Since these strategies require much less in the "brain power" department than the energy it takes to teach, train, speak and write for my students, I know that I'm on a time limit on getting more passive income properties before the music stops. (I'm already working on "borrowed" time since the window of opportunity has officially closed in many major cities in the country already.)
Here are my top Aggressive Income Strategies I've been actively using:
1) Health supplement distribution: I have 2 main methods of distribution which are (1) business-to-business (wholesale) and (2) consumer direct (Internet and mail order). Part of the Internet distribution portion is via eBay and Amazon.
2) Information publishing: Global Success fits into this category. (I actually make a lot more money with the health supplement business.)
3) Kindle publishing: This is fairly new for me and is less than a year old. I'm doing extremely well with it and making a nice steady stream of residual income.
These strategies will get you started on the Aggressive Income side and making the cash needed for your real estate deals in no time!
As of a few minutes ago, Jeanine's been terminated. Yes, that's right. She's been the negative chick in my office who can't shut up about how bad life is. I knew I was going to terminate her earlier in the week when I finally had enough of her complaining about...well, every freaking thing. It was giving me a headache.
And I'm sure she's bitching as we speak about what an ass**** I am. Reality is, I just couldn't take it anymore and I'm sure there are other people in her life who are also struggling with her "strong" personality.
What people don't understand is that they bring things on themselves...and then they don't want to take personal responsibility for it.
Don't let that be you.
Just as easy as it is for you to take responsibility for the bad in your life, you can immediate take responsibility for shifting your life in the direction you want to go.
And you can do that today. That's how fast you can make the shift.
You see, it's merely a realization and decision you make.
Do you decide to take personal responsibility? Or do you decide to blame others?
If you admit that it is all you who is creating the crappy life you have, you can empower yourself to know that it'll be all you who gets to create the life you want. Today. Right now.
One thing that I'm constantly in awe of is the amount of opportunity that all of us have in today's global economy. I love it! We have even more opportunity now than we did 10 years ago and it's getting better and better with technology, globalization and a strengthening economy.
If you're not making money, there's something wrong.
A couple of years ago I did an Aggressive Income experiment that ended up turning into a multi-million-dollar per year business. And this was merely an experiment to show my students acting as my own "case study" if you will.
One of the things I keep pressing upon is the urgency behind getting a powerful income-producing Aggressive Income Business so that you can funnel that cash into Passive Income Assets (including apartment buildings, SFRs, MHPs, etc.).
And time is running out.
How is time running out exactly?
As the economy recovers, prices of real estate will increase. This means less (or no) profitability in cash flowing real estate.
The good news for you is that the real estate market has tapered off. It's gone into a slight plateau (with still an upward hardly-noticeable incline). This will give you the opportunity to get your sh** together once and for all.
What's even more exciting is that I'm doing a very intense 2-day New Wealth Warrior Boot Camp Seminar in September in Los Angeles. I'm coining it "Monica's Last Stand."
Here's the truth of the matter:
When I started this "case study" experiment 2 years ago, I didn't expect it to go quite as well as it did. What this opportunity allows me to do is get a ton of cash in Aggressive Income to funnel directly into Passive Income Assets.
And I can do this without thinking too much. Or at all, for that matter.
The Global Success side of my company requires thinking on my part. And energy. And stress. I sort of need a break from that for a while.
What I'm going to be describing to you in 2 power-packed days in Los Angeles is exactly what I'm doing on this Aggressive Income side (Day 1) and where I'm funneling the cash (Day 2) into Passive Income Assets.
This is going to be a more intense seminar event than my prior events because the days will be longer. I'm aiming on presenting 3 days worth of material in only 2 days.
On the last night of this event, I'll be throwing a mini-retirement party for Lea and I want you guys and gals to be there since she's been a tremendous service to GSS for the past...damn, going on 5 years now!
I'm offering a kick-ass deal right now since it is my birthday month and all. And it's not just any birthday month for me. I'm turning 40. ;-)
If you have any questions, call my office at (661) 295-5050.
I've been going on and on with me ongoing issues with this one difficult employee of mine: Jeanine.
You know what's strange about looking at other people: you can clearly see what they're doing wrong when you can possibly be missing the point when it comes to looking at those very same issues in yourself.
For example, Jeanine will sit in my office day in and day out bitching about how shitty life is for her. Yet when I've shown her how to improve her credit, her response is this: "Black people don't have credit or credit cards." Hmmm...interesting choice of words, except that I know a lot of black people who have good credit and understand the value of being responsible with their credit.
And I'm still waiting for her to decide that she wants to improve her life by at least getting a brochure to that beauty school she's been talking about.
In the meantime, she sits in my office morning after morning complaining about how difficult life is for her as a single mom.
And I've just about had it with the negative energy that she's been bringing to my office. (I won't tell you exactly what will be happening but her days are drastically numbered here. I'll keep you posted.)
Jeanine, it seems, has a chip on her shoulder. She's preliminarily decided how bad life will be and fulfills that prophecy for herself by refusing to better her life in any way...then says, "Told you so!"
I hate excuse-makers. Period. I know what it means to have an uphill battle. Yet I keep showing up, doing what I can in my power to make things happen, and keep swinging that bat until things happen for me. We can't control everything but we can control more than we think based on making decisions and, most importantly, taking positive actions to get to where we want to go.
Most of you know about my hobby as a screenwriter. Last year I decided to stop talking about it and to start doing something about it. No, I can't control whether my work will be seen by the right people or whether I'll ever sell a screenplay to Hollywood. What I can control is sitting my ass down, writing the scripts, and sending them out to see what happens.
One thing about the universe that is freaking awesome. When you set out on a specific path, if it's not right for you, you'll be purposely veered into the correct direction.
However, here's the catch. If you don't embark on any path, you won't be diverted or re-directed onto the right path.
The universe hates inactivity and lack of movement. You sit on your ass and make no attempt at doing anything for your life, you'll get ass-sitting results (otherwise known as "nothing").
However, when you get out there and make an honest attempt at fulfilling any dream you want for yourself, the universe will part the waters for you. It just may be different waters in a different sea...a much better sea and one that you would have never considered before.
Once I started embarking on my screenwriting journey, I realized something. I've outgrown the dream. It was a dream that the teenage Monica had. It's not a dream I have anymore. Yes, I'm still writing just because I enjoy it but when I started thinking through having meetings with studios and going through the Hollywood charade, I have this sinking feeling in my stomach.
I was put on this earth to serve in a much greater way than to churn out a bunch of popcorn scripts.
Here's what happened when I began my writing journey:
After I finished my first screenplay, I was given a powerful vision in a dream. And when I woke up, I realized what my next step in the writing journey needs to be.
Would the universe have given me this clue had I not set out in any direction as far as writing goes? Probably not. After all, the universe has been withholding this information for me until the force knew I was ready to start moving. Only then did it unfold this revelation once I began moving in a specific direction...any direction!
Don't worry about not moving in the right direction or making the right decision. The only time you need to worry about that is if you're going to make a decision that is irreversible such as having a child or...cutting your left arm off. Otherwise, if you're moving in a direction that you 100% believe is the right choice for now, start moving and your realdirection will be revealed to you only after you've made the "movement commitment" and you're actually moving forth with your goal.
So, what was revealed to me in this "vision" of mine?
I'll tell you soon. Very soon.
What's awesome about being put on the correct path is that you just "know" that it's the right one. You have this sense of excitement in the pit of your stomach with the thought of..."Of course this is it; I was born to do this!" And it feels like the sun and stars are in perfect alignment for the first time in your life. Even winning the lottery wouldn't give you such a high, exhilarating feeling than receiving this gift from the universe.
Meanwhile, we have people (like Jeanine, for instance) whose only movement is flapping their gums about how the world is conspiring against them to ensure that they remain unsuccessful. Forget about the fact that these people refuse to get off their asses to do something to progressively move forward. Let's not mention that little itty-bitty part. No. Instead, let's focus on why it's everyone else's fault that they can't get anywhere.
I was telling Lea this morning that there is not a single excuse anyone can use for not achieving their dreams except for laziness. When I work on my writing, I do so at night (sometimes until midnight) and on the weekends for at least 10 hours (if not longer) because nothing will hold me back from what I want to do. Nothing.
And I'm a single parent. And I work 50 hours a week.
So, nobody has an excuse unless you're lying in a hospital bed in a coma or a body cast.
Do you have any freaking idea how abundant the opportunities are in this country? I'm in awe of that everyday! I clearly see the opportunity and I'm always lining things up for myself to take advantage of what's right here right in front of me day in and day out in this great country we call the United States of America.
This summer is going to be my summer of movement. July is a huge month for me. I'm actually shutting down the warehouse that I have and stuffing everything into a tiny office. (I'm going from a 4,200 square foot warehouse/office to a 1,200 square foot warehouse/office. Yes, I'm shaving 3,000 square feet off.)
What happened to September 30th? Well, remember what I just said about the universe and movement? Once I made the decision that I was going to move, this amazing opportunity just showed up last week for this unit that, coincidentally, I've been looking at on and off for the past few years. I wanted to wait until September but the unit is coming available July 1st and I'd miss out on it if I waited. (These units go lightning fast.) I already applied, was approved, and I'm signing the lease.
And I haven't felt so excited in a very long time.
Why? Because I have a plan in my mind and it's unfolding...quicker than anticipated.
One of these plan elements has to do with real estate investing. The other is Aggressive Income to dump into specific types of real estate.
I love using myself as my own experimental guinea pig. All I'm going to be doing for the next 18 months solid (after I move office in July) is "the plan."
What is "the plan"?
I can't tell you. Not yet, anyway.
But here's how you can find out about "the plan:" http://www.monicamain.com/new_wealth_warrior_seminar_event
Ever since I chunked down my "New Life" timeline back in March, everything has been automatically changing in my life without much effort on my part. In fact, at the link above, I show you what this timeline looks like so you can see it yourself.
My point in all this? If you believe someone is holding you back then you're right. Unfortunately, that person who is holding you back is you. Maybe it's time you stop doing that to yourself. The world will move on...with or without your participation.
Amazon Kindle books dominate almost 20% of the total book marketplace in the United States. Yes, you did read that correctly. This means that 20% of all book sales in the USA are Amazon Kindle books.
Kind of makes you understand just how vast (and potentially profitable) this marketplace can be.
Except that not just any Average Joe will make a fortune with Kindle books. In fact, most people that attempt to publish a Kindle book will fail and never make any money at all. Most won't well a single book.
There are reasons for this, of course. There are the obvious reasons such as a sucky topic with a sucky title and a sucky cover.
And then there are the not-so-obvious reasons. These are the reasons you need to know if you want to enjoy a possible $20,000 per month Aggressive (and I guess sort of "Passive" too) Income while seeing the monthly stats that you're selling thousands of books a day. That's right. A day!
There are some rules to make this happen.
Like I mentioned, most people with a semi-working brain can figure out the obvious reasons. But...what about the not-so-obvious reasons?
Many of my students were shocked when I revealed what I've been doing on Amazon Kindle. I started writing these "shocking" little stories a couple of years ago but didn't have the nerve to start posting them on Amazon until last year.
And things just took off quite unexpectedly. (If you haven't listened to my audio seminar on what types of Kindle books I've been selling like hot cakes under pen names, click on this link to find out: http://www.monicamain.com/kindle_cash_flow.)
Yes, you can make quite a bit of money doing this but, I'll warn you: this business of Amazon Kindle publishing (1) isn't a get-rich-quick scheme, and (2) isn't for everybody.
I now have my Kindle Cash Flow System that will start shipping next week. I've slashed the price on it for my premier discount price. You'll find that it's probably one of the cheapest courses I've ever offered because I want to get as much information out there to my students before I exit stage left...by the end of the summer.
In the last couple of weeks, I've continued on with the Battle of My Staff...actually, not with my "staff" but rather with one single person on my staff.
Most of you know that Lea is great. I have not one beef with Lea. She's the most dedicated and loyal person I've ever known and I know I made a big mistake by offering her the option of retirement; instead I should have kept my mouth shut because I'll never be able to find anyone else as awesome as she is.
No...we're not talking about Lea here. We're talking about that Jeanine chick that was the individual that pushed me over the edge. What edge? That edge where I was on the fence of "Should I?" or "Shouldn't I?" keep marching on with Global Success.
So, what else is happening in the world of Jeanine?
Let's see. It started off with giving her a simple set of instructions on what I needed with a postcard mailing -- and telling her precisely what to do twice -- and having her not only completely screw it up but to drag another employee to help her fix her screw up for several hours...making me pay more than double her rate of pay to do the work that she should have done correctly the first time.
But mistakes I can handle. Even if they're stupid mistakes. They get fixed and we all move on, right?
It's the attitude and the sense of self-perceived entitlement that really gets to me.
It's never about "Hey boss, how can I be of more value to you and your company?" Instead it's more like "You owe me a living so...how dare you suggest that I'll be out of a job soon!"
In which case my comeback is, "You're lucky you've lasted this long to begin with considering the attitude problem and lack of worth ethic."
You see, one thing about Jeanine. She has a dream about becoming a hairdresser. (Or so I thought.) What I've told her time and time again -- multiple times, in fact -- over the course of the past year is, "Sign up for beauty school already!" And I've been barraged, time and time again, with a variety of excuses which were exactly that and nothing more: excuses with no basiswhatsoever.
I never mentioned it to her but, if she was serious enough and showed some level of commitment to becoming a hair dresser, I would have paid for beauty school for her. Except we never got that far because I couldn't even get her to pick up the phone and get brochures from local beauty schools. Without seeing any level of commitment (including the easiest task of calling about or going online for a brochure or catalog), I didn't have an "in" to offer her my assistance in any way because it was pretty clear that she didn't want to follow through with all the jibber-jabber she was spewing out to us about becoming a hair dresser for the past solid year.
Then I realized something critical here.
You're either a destined "worker bee" for somebody else. Or you're not.
Nobody -- including a magic genie -- can "undo" or remove the worker bee mentality. Perhaps, if you're one of those people who has dreams about doing something else with your life but you haven't picked up the phone for the simplest task of getting a brochure, then the cold hard truth is that you're a worker bee. You're not an entrepreneur. And that's the way it'll probably be for the rest of your life.
Are you ready to face that as your true reality?
Or are you ready to make some major changes in your life, even if it means swimming against the "currents" of your trained mentality?
By the way, I can't make that decision for you. Only you can make that decision for yourself. However, once you make that decision, you have to start working your action steps immediately, even if it's only ordering a brochure, reading a book, adopting the correct education you need, or starting the bite-size action steps toward your goal. Talking about making the steps is verydifferent than actually doing the steps!
If you're not willing to do anything about your current circumstances, be a man or woman and admit it to yourself rather than continuing to fool yourself with a dream that you know damn well you will never pursue.
Otherwise, start taking some action already!
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I don't have the answers to everything. And, of course, all of the tools that I give to my students aren't the end-all be-all solutions that fit everyone's dreams and lifestyle requirements. And that's okay if this is how it is for you. That's just reality.
But back to Jeanine...
So, after the screw ups and yet, on top of that, the expectation that I give her another raise (when, in reality, she's got the skills of a minimum wage employee yet makes much more than that...and still expects/wants more), she's going to start expressing (behind my back) her dislike in my decision to shut down my warehouse on September 30th to my alcoholic brother of all people (who she's met all of 3 times) with one question: "What about me?"
What about you?
Her argument is that nobody is thinking about her in all this.
"Hmmmm...you got 5 months warning that the warehouse is closing. This gives you ample time to secure another position elsewhere or go to beauty school. Neither of which you will intend to do, it seems."
My argument: nobody is thinking about me and how long I've had to run on a treadmill that I could have ditched several years ago due to my commitment, dedication, and loyalty to my staff, namely Lea. And to my students. I didn't need to be on this treadmill because of smart investments and multiple streams of income I've created for myself. But I stayed on because of my sense of loyalty. But I realized that some changes needed to occur to keep my sanity before I end up in a rubber room.
And now that Lea will be retiring, it's time that I step off the treadmill and start living a more stress-free life before I crack at the seams completely.
If your life isn't working financially, it's not the way the system is rigged that's deeming you a failure. It's you that's putting you in a failed position in life. Hard nut to crack, isn't it?
When I see people on the news complaining about the economy or watch journalism shows on the woes of people losing their homes because of the "economic downturn," I shake my head. The only reason they had a house to begin with was that they lucked out on a good-paying job and then...lost it, thus losing the home and everything else.
Here's the New Reality of the New Economy, folks! Each one of us have to think differently about how things are. We have to create our own opportunities. Blaming everyone else (former employer, the government, etc.) for your personal economic disasters is not taking personal responsibility for something that is onlyyour responsibility.
I don't know about you but I really like the concept and idea of being able to "write my own check" in life. I can make as much or as little as I want month-to-month. And if you haven't yet figured out how to do that, you may want to sit your ass down and start making some big decisions about where you want to go now.
Otherwise you become another Jeanine...actually suggesting that it's someone else's obligation to ensure that they have a successful life without taking a stitch of personal responsibility for it.
And I don't know about you but I have a personal and financial responsibility for the well-being of only one person in this world and that's my daughter. For everyone else -- especially those of you who are able-bodied adults -- time to "man up" (and this includes women), get off your ass, and start doing something to enhance your life in a positive way because neither I nor anyone else has the obligation to take care of you. You take care of you.
Funny thing about deciding and taking responsibility. Once you understand that only you are responsible for you (and your family), the seas will start to part for you. It's nobody else's obligation to take care of you in any way. With that understanding, you are granted freedom. The sky is the limit...meaning that there is no limit at all.
So, what am I getting at and is there a point to this endless rambling?
Of course, there's a point.
This summer is going to be my most exciting ever because I'm releasing my "New Wealth Warrior" series.
Here's what it looks like:
Installment #1: Kindle Cash Flow System - This power-packed complete course shows you how I've been able to rake in a consistent monthly cash flow with Amazon Kindle books and how anyone, with the right set of knowledge, can do this. If you have the right priced books, the right subject, the right cover, the right title, and you use the right pen names for each "grouping" of books you want to write then you can make $10,000 to $20,000 a month doing this!
Installment #2: Direct Mail Cash Flow System - How a simple "money numbers" spreadsheet changed the way I did business through direct marketing. Once I started over from scratch (and yes, I completely started over with my direct mail business), I did it in a way of working only from the numbers meaning that I can generate as much as I want based on how much mail I want to mail out to specific buyer mailing lists. I have a successful health supplement company where direct mail marketing is a huge money-maker for me.
Installment #3: eBay and Amazon Cash Flow System - eBay isn't what it used to be, as it seems that most of the riff-raff has been tossed out and they've made it a much more strict (and less profitable) platform for home-based biz oppers. Now that the rules have become more stationary, for those who figure out the rules can profit anywhere from $20,000 to $80,000 per month. When you add selling products on Amazon in the mix, you have a serious business with a serious cash flow. But not all products are good to sell on eBay and Amazon. In this system, you'll learn what sells and what to avoid.
And...I've had some students ask me about creating an Information Publishing Cash Flow System. Depending on how well the other New Wealth Warrior installments go, I may add this as an Installment #4 because it's yet another stream of income that I've made an untold fortune with. So, I'll keep you posted on this installment.
Right now we're on Installment #1 and I'm giving my students a kick-ass deal on it. It's so kick-ass that I don't think I priced it right. It's too low but...what the hell.
I know. Totally weird, isn't it? Sometimes I have to ask myself if I haven't fallen off the deep end yet.
In case some of you haven't quite figured this out yet, I realize that I'm working on "borrowed time" here and I have a sole interest in getting as much out there to my students as possible before I step back behind the curtain. Again. (I did this once before years ago and basically fell off the radar for about 4 years before coming back to teach students again.)
Hopefully most of you understand how my Total Wealth Building Strategy works. If you need a refresher, here it is:
1) Set up an Aggressive Income Business (which is typically a home-based enterprise that generates a lot of cash with no/low overhead.
2) Sink your extra cash into property deals.
3) Make Passive Income from your acquired cash flowing real estate deals.
4) Acquire enough properties to meet (and beat) your Financial Freedom Point.
5) Retire and sail off into the sunset (or whatever you want to do) in less than 36 months.
6) Enjoy an increased cash flow after you pay off your properties; ideally you'll have done this in under 10 years.
7) Rents double in 15 to 18 years on your cash flowing properties so you'll get another boost in your retirement income at that time.
8) Never sell those properties; in fact, put the properties in a trust and make it very clear to your kids and grandchildren that, if they sell, all the proceeds from each property sale goes to a specific charity (or set of charities). So, this forces them to manage the properties and enjoy the benefit of the cash flow rather than being stupid fools, selling the properties, pissing away the money, and being broke a couple years after that. (What can I say? That's what these dummy kids do these days!)
Okay, so now that I outlined my Total Wealth Building Strategy, now I get to tell you something kind of special that will help you kick off the first item in the list above.
At my last seminar in March, I talked about a really hot money-making topic with Amazon Kindle. In fact, it was so hot that my sh** competitor decided to come out with a bull**** course on Amazon Kindle right after he got my seminar videos and watched them. (That's what these losers do. I have 2 competitors that do this and it's not flattering at all. It just sucks all around.)
What sucks about this one particular competitor putting out a course on making money with Amazon Kindle is that he knows absolutely nothing about the subject because he doesn't practice what he preaches. (He also doesn't invest in apartment buildings either as he claims he does so...what else can I really expect? Right?)
Anyway, back to what I was talking about: I did a lengthy presentation on Amazon Kindle in March, revealing things I never revealed about this very unique Aggressive Income Strategy. I intended to specifically mention to my seminar attendees exactly how and why I knew as much about Kindle as I do.
Except something happened when I was up there speaking. I sort of chickened out and never mentioned what I was doing with my own Amazon Kindle activities.
I had a couple of my students ask me what I did with Amazon Kindle. I mentioned it to 2 of my female students and let 1 guy sort of guess. I think he was too embarrassed to come out and ask me what it was that I did with Amazon Kindle.
So, what is it? I talk about it in a "mini" audio seminar I did yesterday. Here is the link to it:
http://www.monicamain.com/kindle_cash_flow
It is along the lines of what one of my online cohorts sells. What does she sell? A set of very short "sex" books that make her over $20,000 a month.
Yes, you read that correctly. And no, these aren't the Dr. Ruth type of sex books either.
She makes over $20,000 a month just from one of her book sets. (She has others; this lady is raking in about $35,000 a month from Amazon Kindle.)
Many of my students over the years have asked me why I don't put more real estate books up on Kindle. (I only have one book on real estate.) Answer: I don't want to. That's why. I have no interest, don't need the money, and would rather focus on some of my more creative right-brained outlets since I knew, even 2 years ago, that I was stepping back and out of training.
And that I did. Again, check out this...rather surprising admission of what I've been doing with Amazon Kindle and how I was able to get a Kindle business going from scratch to fully up and running in just under 5 months. Here's the link: http://www.monicamain.com/kindle_cash_flow
Yes, I'm sort of "embarrassed" to reveal this little secret because I never planned on telling anyone. (My staff doesn't even know about this...although they will now!) But I'm revealing this little secret because I thought it was important for you to know how and why I know so much about the money-making power of Amazon Kindle and how easy it is to capitalize on this opportunity by doing some very simple easy-to-do things.
Don't judge me too harshly. After all, it's just creative writing.
I hope I don't insult anyone with this email but...wait. Who the hell am I kidding?! Bottom line: no matter how delicate I try to write an email, I'm always insulting someone so...to hell with it. I'll call a spade a spade. Or the ghetto a ghetto...because that's what it is, folks. Like it or leave it.
So, a couple of days ago, I gave you a break-down of an actual deal I'm doing with an investor partner where he's coming in with $190,000 cash to cover the entire price of a building that the seller dropped from $260,000 because we were paying all cash (and because the property was on the market for 7 months with no offers to date...except ours!)
Here's another one I'm working on for one of the 3 investors I was telling you about that felt a little jilted because he wasn't "selected" to participate in the kick-ass $9,479/monthly cash flow of the other deal.
This other deal is smaller. If you remember the $190,000 deal is 28 units. This other deal I'm working on is only 12 units. It doesn't mean it's any less spectacular though. The seller wants $200,000 for it. (Yeah, right!) It's 50% occupied and is grossing $28,800 per year as of right now before I do anything with the building.
My plan (and I haven't put in the offer yet but I'm actually drafting it today) is to offer the seller $140,000 cash.
Now, let me explain a couple things about this property.
1) It's a class C building in a class D area. Basically, it's in the ghetto. (I won't state where but most of you know where I tend to invest in Michigan.)
2) I've been given the preliminary docs (financials) on the property and...you won't believe this. It's been verified that the expenses are at 25% of the GOI. Freaking wow! Expenses are at about $7,200 per year right now.
3) I "walk in" with a cash flow of $1,640 per month at the paltry 50% occupancy level.
4) If I drag ass and take a full year to bring it up to, say, 90% occupancy, my cash flow goes to about $3,800 a month or almost $46,000 a year. (Some people don't even make that a year.)
Why would I bother with a crappy property like this?
The building is "newer" for this area. It was built in 1975. They just replaced the roof, windows, balconies, and carpet in all the units. And about 4 years ago they replaced the boilers. It just needs a little boost in the occupancy level.
Here are some "rules" for investing in a Class D ghetto-like area:
1) Make sure you do not buy on a "board up" block. This means that every other house or property is boarded up. Wrong move.
2) Make sure the building is still standing and not actually burned down. It takes Google Earth sometimes many years to "catch up" to the real street images in places like these so...make sure there's still a building there instead of just assuming that, because there's a picture on LoopNet.com, there must automatically still be something there. Sometimes it looks like a building is there until you see that the roof is all burned up. Not a good investment.
3) You usually can't go wrong if your apartment building is located on a very busy street. Yes, people still can get murdered there but your potential tenants would rather live near a busy street than in the middle of the woods where nobody can hear them yelling for help. (That's a joke...actually, maybe not. Truth is, your tenants want to live near grocery stores or the "party store" since many of your tenants won't have vehicles.)
4) Make sure there isn't any major structural damage, foundation cracks, parts of the interior building exposed to the elements, or major water (or storm or any other) damage that will take a fortune to fix. If there are units in the building that aren't rented, make sure they are aren't vacant because they are unrentable for reasons such as black mold, severe fire damage, or other pain-in-the-ass crap that you don't want to fix because it'll take a haz-mat and/or demo team just to deal with the unit.
5) This is the most important: make sure the property is still in service. Any out-of-service or 0% occupied property is a no-no! Now and forever! Understand? Even a 20% occupancy is still workable. However, try to stick with 50% occupied or more as a beginner.
And, of course...
6) Never offer the seller anything remotely close to what he or she is asking. This is one of these areas where you can still get away with being like Monica...the Lowball Queen! Don't feel like you're "insulting" the seller with a lowball offer because, if you think about it, their building being in existence is a insult to begin with. Isn't it an insult that the seller is putting up a property that he/she has done no work on in the last...who knows how long? Or that there's massive trash surrounding the property? Or that it looks like you'll need an African bush tribal dude with a machete to clear some of the "forest" that they've allowed to accumulate in the back of the property?
Now that's an insult to any prospective buyer! How dare they list something like that without at least cleaning it up? So...don't worry about insulting them with a lowball price of at least 25% off the asking price.
