Action Academy Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Action Academy | Millionaire Mentorship For Your Life & Business
Host: Brian Luebben
Guest: Brandon Hicks
Episode: He Quit His $150k Engineering Job (and JUST Became A Millionaire) Through Self Storage Investing
Date: November 5, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features Brandon Hicks, a former senior-level engineer who recently crossed into millionaire status by investing in self storage. Hosted by Brian Luebben, the conversation dives into Brandon’s journey from a W2 job to full-time entrepreneurship, scaling a self-storage portfolio, overcoming self-limiting beliefs around money, and the real mindset and tactical shifts required to replace a six-figure income with self-made cashflow. The episode emphasizes not just wealth accumulation, but the freedom and experiences that new income and mindset can provide.

Key Topics and Insights

1. The Significance of Zermatt, Switzerland ([00:02]–[06:10])

• Transforming Money Mindset: Brandon shares how returning to Zermatt, Switzerland, after years marked a pivotal moment of self-reflection and growth. Previously stuck in a "penny-pinching" mindset, he recounts upgrading from a modest hotel room in 2018 to a grand suite today, using it as a metaphor for what financial freedom truly provides.

  “I just would never allow myself to spend the extra, in the grand scheme of things, an extra $200 to get the Matterhorn view versus, like, the city view. And so this time... we're gonna go big, we're gonna do it.” — Brandon ([04:40])

• Mindset as a Limiting Thermostat: Observing others enjoying more luxurious experiences, Brandon questions his own ingrained limits and vows to reset his expectations.

• Celebration as Strategy: Encouraged by Brian to celebrate his first big wholesale win, even when tempted to save, demonstrating how stepping into abundance creates new standards.

2. Achieving Millionaire Status Through Self Storage ([06:10]–[10:11])

• Financial Milestone: Brandon reaches millionaire status through aggressive self storage investing—over $5M in acquisitions and nearly $1M in value add at a single location within a year.

  “We just crossed millionaire status... we bought over $5 million of self storage and we added almost a million dollars of value at one location already.” — Brandon ([06:18])

• Why Commercial Real Estate/Storage? Brandon explains that value in commercial real estate is driven by net operating income (NOI), enabling significant value creation through operational improvements and rent increases. A 20% rent increase benefits NOI and, multiplied by cap rates, creates outsized equity gains.

3. Strategies for Forced Appreciation ([10:11]–[14:05])

• Asset Management Beats Simple Acquisition: Brian and Brandon illustrate, with hands-on examples, how modest operational changes (rent raises, contract negotiation, optimizing units) can generate hundreds of thousands in property value.

  • Brian’s examples across:
    • Private Equity (roll-up strategies and EBITDA multiples),
    • Multifamily (bulk WiFi deals for value add),
    • Boutique Hotels (converting manager suites to rentable units).

• Key Quote:

  “Acquisition is a cool game to play, but asset management is an even cooler game.” — Brian ([10:11])

4. Scaling the Self Storage Portfolio: Wins and Challenges ([14:05]–[22:08])

• Portfolio Evolution: Joins Action Academy in 2022 with a standout wholesale deal; leaves job but faces an initial income drought as the market tightens.

• The Reality of Entrepreneurship: Despite massive early wins ($370k in a year), Brandon describes dropping to just $2k earned the following year, underscoring the volatility and perseverance required in real estate investing.

  “The next year I made two grand. So I went from 370 to 2.” — Brandon ([15:23])

• Learning by Doing: Managing properties, taking first client calls, handling auctions—Brandon details the steep but essential learning curve.

• Scaling Up: Now over $9M in assets under management and 100k sqft of self-managed storage.

5. The Power of Partnerships and Community ([17:11]–[20:15])

• Finding Complementary Partnerships: Brandon meets his business partner, Rob, through Action Academy. Their complementary skills—Brandon analytical, Rob relationship-focused—enable the successful acquisition of their best asset so far, emphasizing the value of sustained networking and relationship-building in deal sourcing.

• Deal Example: Secured a high-potential property after six months of relationship-building with the seller, leveraging shifts in the seller’s plans for a win-win structure.

6. There’s Never a “Right Time” for the Big Deal ([20:15]–[27:20])

• Facing Resistance and Uncertainty: Both Brian and Brandon discuss how every “bigger” deal feels intimidating, and nobody ever feels fully ready. The solution is to embrace action, rely on the network, and trust in their ability to solve problems as they arise.

  • Progression: From loans and legal hurdles to last-minute investor pull-outs, the path is never linear.

  “There’s never a point where you're going to be ready to do the big deal ever. ...You start to figure things out and then you adjust to that new price.” — Brian ([20:15])

• Overcoming Short-Term Pain: Each major leap comes with short-term stress but long-term upside—be it a real estate deal, ultramarathon, or personal commitment.

7. Lessons in Problem-Solving and Grit ([27:20]–[36:26])

• Macro Skill: Facing New Problems with Composure: Brian notes that the recurring challenge as you level up is to encounter and solve brand new problems without panic, modeling the approach of top CEOs.

• Storytelling as Motivation: Brandon shares his ultramarathon story—almost quitting but pressing on ("what story am I going to tell?")—using it as a powerful analogy for business and life challenges.

  “I was the last—have the longest recorded time at that race. No one has taken longer to finish... I actually have the longest unofficial time, which I’m pretty damn proud of.” — Brandon ([29:19])

• Quotes for Endurance:

  • “Choose the path with the most short-term pain because almost always that is the correct path.” — Brian ([33:41])
  • “Don’t make long-term decisions based off of short-term pain.” — Brandon ([34:36])

• Concrete Investing Example: Deciding to risk hard-earned money for a high-potential deal and nearly losing it all, but managing to raise the largest pool of investor capital yet, resulting in an asset with outstanding upside.

8. The Power of Environment and Community ([38:53]–[40:36])

• Normalizing Abundance: By joining the right community, Brandon normalized big deals, bigger travel, and an elevated lifestyle. (“Now, it’s weird to not buy multimillion dollar properties.”)

  “For me, that difference was joining a community. And then once you get around that community, it’s like now you know—it’s like weird to not buy multimillion dollar properties.” — Brandon ([38:53])

• Being Surrounded by Action Takers: Travel, investing, taking on hard physical challenges become normal in the right circle.

• Call to Action: Encouragement for listeners hesitant about joining Action Academy to surround themselves with achievers to fast-track both mindset and results.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Upgrading Mindset:
  “I have no idea where that's even come from... there's something that's keeping me back and holding me back... like I have this thermometer or temperature or something that's telling me that I'm a $200 a night hotel person...”
  — Brandon ([01:44])

• On Commercial Real Estate Value:
  “So any NOI increase that you can do... divided by a 7% or 8% number has a very large impact.”
  — Brandon ([07:51])

• Asset Management Insights:
  “A 20% raise across the board for 100 and some odd tenants... raising hundreds of thousands of dollars of value... just from sending out 80 emails.”
  — Brandon ([08:32])

• On Entrepreneurial Uncertainty:
  “I can't make a buck to save my—like I can't make anything this year.”
  — Brandon ([15:30])

• Problem Solving:
  “It's having a brand new problem that you haven't experienced before, staring at it... saying, this sucks, and I'm gonna figure it out. I'm not gonna stress about it…”
  — Brian ([27:20])

• Ultramarathon & Business Parallels:
  “What's the story that I'm going to tell? Am I going to tell the story about how it got really hard and I turned around and walked back down the mountain, or am I going to tell the story about how I pushed through?”
  — Brandon ([29:19])

• On Community:
  “Now, you know, it's like weird to not buy multimillion dollar properties…”
  — Brandon ([38:53])

Key Timestamps

• 00:02: Intro—Zermatt, Switzerland: Meaning and symbolism
• 06:10: Hitting millionaire status from self storage
• 07:51: Why commercial (vs. residential) real estate creates wealth
• 10:11: Asset management and forced appreciation strategies
• 14:05: Portfolio growth: Numbers from 2022 – 2025
• 17:11: The story behind a great partnership
• 22:08: Handling 'the big deal' and mental leaps
• 27:20: Macro skill—overcoming new, big problems
• 29:19: Ultramarathon analogy—building resilience
• 33:41: Choosing the path of most short-term pain
• 38:53: The transformative power of community

Resources & How to Connect

• Brandon Hicks on Instagram: @realbhicks
• Action Academy: actionacademy.com

Final Call to Action

If you’re on the fence—whether it’s about leaving your job, joining a mastermind, or making your first big investment—“The environment you choose will set your standard. Surround yourself with action takers, and what once seemed impossible rapidly becomes your new normal.”