He Sold at the Perfect Time — Business, Investing & Economic Lessons from Mikey Taylor

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Earn Your Leisure

Episode Title: He Sold at the Perfect Time — Business, Investing & Economic Lessons from Mikey Taylor
Air Date: February 8, 2026
Hosts: Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings (w/ Menelik Lumumba)
Guest: Mikey Taylor – Entrepreneur, Investor, Former Professional Skateboarder, Mayor

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Overview

This episode features Mikey Taylor, who shares his unique journey from professional skateboarding to building, scaling, and selling a nationally recognized brewery, entering commercial real estate, entering private equity, and ultimately a foray into local politics as Mayor. The discussion dives into high-level business and investing lessons, economic outlooks, and practical advice for entrepreneurs. Notably, Mikey outlines how he successfully timed the sale of his company, thoughts on when to exit an investment, the shifting U.S. economy, and the future of work in a world increasingly shaped by AI.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Selling a Business: Timing & Strategy

• Investor Expectations and Exit Routes: Mikey explains the necessity to build either a cash-dividend engine or a business built for acquisition when you take on investors [03:58].
• Industry & Market Timing: His team decided to sell the brewery when big beverage companies were actively acquiring and paying premium multiples. They feared if they waited, the window—and the lucrative valuations—would close.
  • “Sometimes it’s timing, sometimes it’s luck, and sometimes you’re able to see some of the data and then make a maybe educated decision.” (Mikey Taylor, 05:04)
• Reluctance to Repeat Success in the Same Field: He avoided starting another brewery due to fears of diminishing returns and decided to disrupt a new industry (real estate), thereby finding new "blue ocean" opportunities [05:16].

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2. Transition from Athlete to Entrepreneur

• Leveraging Athletic Discipline: Mikey credits his focus and drive to habits learned from professional sports, specifically maintaining discipline, managing risk and reward, and embracing uncomfortable transitions:
  • “I had sponsors that paid me while I was relevant ... and I did not like that feeling. It’s probably similar to just having a job and your boss basically is the decision maker on your future.” (Mikey Taylor, 06:53)
• Taking Control of One's Future: The entrepreneurial journey began as a way to move away from dependency on sponsors—paralleling a desire for ownership and long-term security.

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3. Becoming Mayor: Business Skills in Local Government

• Political Involvement Explained: Initially distrusting of typical politicians, Mikey found local politics different and tangible (“budgets and sidewalks and real estate ... things we actually feel and touch every single day” [08:22]).
• Civic Ceiling: He made clear he doesn't want to pursue politics beyond the local level, planning to return to entrepreneurship after his tenure.

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4. Economic Outlook – The Federal Reserve’s Changing Role

• Potential Impact of a New Fed Chair: The episode discusses what a shift toward a more "referee" and less "stabilizer" Fed would mean—potentially more volatility but fewer artificial bubbles:
  • “What it really is, is stay out of it and be the referee. I’m not going to be the stabilizer, I’m going to be the referee. And what that means is more potential volatility.” (Mikey Taylor, 09:43)
• Concerns about Economic Sustainability for Younger Generations: Mikey links today’s economic issues—especially those hampering millennials and Gen Z—to decades of propping up markets, resulting in high living costs and asset bubbles [11:51].

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5. National Debt and Political Gridlock

• Limiting Paths Forward: Reduction of spending or increased revenue are the only ways out, but political appetite is lacking for both, leading to stagnation:
  • “If you’re an elected official, ... if you ran on a platform of ‘we’re cutting,’ you’re not getting elected. ... The only real shot is control expenses where they’re at and grow our way out.” (Mikey Taylor, 14:44)
• Growth via Innovation (e.g., AI): Optimism about transformative AI driving the GDP and creating escape velocity for the U.S.
• Rise of Political Independents: Sign of possible shifts in the political landscape [15:51].

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6. Entrepreneurial Insight: Idea vs. Operator

• Operator > Idea: Execution is what separates successful ventures from failures, echoing the need to pair visionaries with skilled operators:
  • “There are more good ideas out there that don’t get executed than bad ideas that people try to drive forward.” (Mikey Taylor, 19:03)
• Team-building is Key: Solopreneurs should be willing to share equity and revenue upfront to build a scalable team [19:03–20:29].

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7. The State of Real Estate in 2026

• Commercial Real Estate Outlook:
  • Offices are heavily challenged but will rebound in a hybrid model.
  • Industrial and retail remain robust, with “community” and human connection keeping brick-and-mortar alive.
  • Multifamily rents are correcting, especially in low-regulation, fast-building markets.
  • Broad theme: Higher interest rates have created a current “buying opportunity.” (Mikey Taylor, 21:05)

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8. Millennial and Gen Z “Career Crisis” & Housing Affordability

• Concerns about Upward Mobility:
  • “I think the big issue with the millennials and Gen Z is it’s housing. ... 50 to 70% of our income going towards housing. ... The American dream is taken off the board at that point.” (Mikey Taylor, 23:07)
• Policy Solutions Debate: Calls for a blend of increased supply and smarter regulation—“the private market and the policymakers need to come together and actually speak the same language” [23:07–25:35].

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9. Missed Opportunities and Lessons Learned

• Regret Over Missing Early Bitcoin: Mikey’s take: When you hear about something new, ask questions and learn; don’t dismiss out of hand.
  • “If somebody is talking about something, treat it as if they have information that you don’t have and ask questions for you to learn.” (Mikey Taylor, 25:50)

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10. Demystifying Private Equity

• Private Equity vs. Real Estate Syndication:
  • PE means raising capital outside public markets; can be as small as group deals ($5,000) to huge institutional funds.
  • Typical play is to consolidate, create efficiencies, drive up EBITDA, and exit for a multiple.
  • Real estate syndication: Instead, gather investors to develop or reposition properties for group wealth generation [26:54–28:43].

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11. Defining Legacy

• Character & Impact over Assets:
  • “...I think the only thing I would want them to view what I was while I was here is that I was somebody that they trusted and ... could count on.” (Mikey Taylor, 29:01)
  • Teach children values and character first, wealth management second.

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12. Five High-Return Priorities for Entrepreneurs

• Sales
• Financial management
• Metrics/tracking & operational structure (EOS/Traction framework)
• Culture
• Leadership development
  • “If you have somebody that you built up and they ... end up leaving your company ... don’t get pissed at that. That’s ... a great example that you did your job as a leader.” (Mikey Taylor, 30:19)

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Memorable Quotes with Timestamps

• On Selling at the Right Time:
  “Sometimes it’s timing, sometimes it’s luck, and sometimes you’re able to see some of the data and then make a maybe educated decision.” (Mikey Taylor, 05:04)
• On Entrepreneurial Discipline:
  “At the end of the day, investing should be boring, right? We just want to make it exciting. But ... establish [disciplines] and then hold to it. If you just do that, you’re gonna look back, you’re gonna be in a pretty good spot.” (Mikey Taylor, 06:25)
• On Economic Risks:
  “If you viewed America as us, as individuals, we all bring in a certain amount of money ... we are spending way too much and we are borrowing like crazy. And the inevitable outcome of that is bankruptcy.” (Mikey Taylor, 12:52)
• On Real Estate & Housing Policy:
  “The True answer is it’s going to land somewhere in the middle, like the private market and the policymakers need to come together and actually speak the same language ... and you haven’t seen that happen yet in a lot of the markets.” (Mikey Taylor, 24:15)
• On Legacy:
  “It’s more important that we instill good character and good values and give them the tools for them to go on and do their thing as opposed to just passing down assets.” (Mikey Taylor, 29:01)

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Key Timestamps for Major Segments

• 03:58 — Deciding when to sell a company
• 05:16 — Transition from brewery to real estate
• 06:53 — Athlete mindset applied to entrepreneurship
• 08:22 — Getting into politics (city level)
• 09:43 — Fed chair/policy and economic volatility
• 11:51 — The debt crisis and hope for AI-driven growth
• 19:03 — Idea versus operator in business scalability
• 21:05 — 2026 commercial real estate outlook
• 23:07 — Millennial/Gen Z career and housing issues
• 25:50 — Mikey’s biggest missed investment (“early Bitcoin”)
• 26:54 — Private equity demystified
• 29:01 — Reflections on legacy
• 30:19 — Five highest-ROI business focuses

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Tone & Takeaways

Mikey Taylor delivers candid, practical wisdom—honest about risk, enthusiastic about innovation, and deeply focused on values-driven leadership. This episode is packed with actionable frameworks for selling a business, investing, surviving political and economic headwinds, and building a legacy far beyond financial wealth.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, investors, and civic leaders, this conversation is a masterclass in timing, discipline, and thoughtful, adaptive leadership.

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Transcript

[Mikey Taylor]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting.

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[Mikey Taylor]

More Americans listen to podcasts than ad supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's.

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[Mikey Taylor]

Learn how podcasting can help your business. Call 844-844-IHeart.

[Menelik Lumumba]

Black history lives in our stories, our culture and the conversations we still having today this Black History Month. The podcast I didn't know, maybe you didn't either. Digs into the perspectives and experiences that don't always make the textbook. Let me tell you about Garrett Morgan Bruh had to pretend he didn't even exist just to sell his own invention. Listen to I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either. From the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or simply wherever you get your podcast. 1969. Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. And at Morehouse College, the students make.

[Hans Charles]

These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson locked up. The members of the board of trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr. It's the true story of protest and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles, our menelik Lumumba. Listen to the a Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Podcast Host 1]

Let's bring our guest up. Can we please? Hey, man, how's it going?

[Mikey Taylor]

What a show I came into, huh? Fed chair switch up when to sell profits. What's going on, guys?

[Podcast Host 2]

Hey, brother, how are you?

[Menelik Lumumba]

Mr. Mayor, how are you?

[Mikey Taylor]

I'm doing well, thank you guys.

[Podcast Host 1]

Yeah, man. Mikey Taylor. Entrepreneur, investor, former professional skateboarder turned civic leader. He built and exited a nationally recognized brewery. We're going to be talking about that Selling a company transitioned into Commercial real estate and private equity, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Extremely accomplished athlete, now an extremely accomplished entrepreneur and investor. Thank you for joining us. Appreciate it.

[Mikey Taylor]

Thank you for having me.

[Menelik Lumumba]

God's been good all the time treating you, man.

[Mikey Taylor]

You know, it's. It's busy right now. It's going well, though. We got it under. We're doing a pretty good job.

[Podcast Host 1]

We're.

[Mikey Taylor]

We're safe, we're clean, we've got good jobs. We're just trying to maintain and push forward.

[Menelik Lumumba]

Amen.

[Podcast Host 1]

So I wanna. We're gonna talk about your transition from an athlete to an entrepreneur, but I wanna just go right into it. As far as your decision to actually. Well, the idea. Right. As far as going into entrepreneurship, you, Your company got it acquired. We. So we just actually, this is perfect timing because we just got finished talking about selling, like when to sell, when to sell, when to sell a stock. But also, like, you know, very few people have insight on when to sell a company. So what was the thought process in selling a company? Can you walk us through that journey?

[Mikey Taylor]

Yeah. So first and foremost, we had investors. So anytime you're going to bring on investors, you're going to have to answer the question, how are they making money? And you're either going to build a business that pays a dividend or you're going to build a business that exits. And so what we did was we got a handful of offers on the table, and then we had to make the decision on if we should take more capital to grow the business to a larger position than to potentially exit in the future. And that calculation just didn't really make sense for us. And secondarily, we were looking at the industry. And at that time in the beer industry, all the big giants, your Miller Coors, your Anheuser, as your constellations, were buying. And so we definitely were concerned that once the big players stopped buying, the multiples went down. And so we made a calculated decision. And then in hindsight, we were correct at the timing side. So sometimes it's timing, sometimes it's luck, and sometimes you're able to see some of the data and then make a maybe educated decision.

[Menelik Lumumba]

Yeah. After you make the exit. Right. A lot of times people are looking for the next company to build. You kind of made a pivot and went into real estate. Like, what. What was that process like for you?

[Mikey Taylor]

All right, so I know this is a little bit contrarian, but I was a little bit scared of lightning striking twice. And we went into an industry where we were a little Bit of disruptors. And we found a model that worked. And then a lot of the other companies came in and started using it. So over time, it. It wasn't special anymore. And so I was definitely scared that if I did it again in the beer space, I was going to flounder. So I just switched it, went to another industry, tried to take that model into something nobody had seen before, and then all of a sudden, it was blue Ocean again. So that was more my framework. I was just scared of doing the same thing twice.

[Podcast Host 1]

Before you ask that question, because that's actually. So that's what you just said, Ian, as far as if you option trading, don't try to run the gambit of hitting lightning in the bottle twice, right? Take your profit and put it to a more conservative index fund. So across disciplines, it's a lot of the same practices. So I just wanted to kind of highlight that because that's actually in line with what you just had mentioned earlier.

[Mikey Taylor]

Look, at the end of the day, investing should be boring, right? We just want to make it exciting. But when you guys were talking about your buy sell disciplines, at what point point am I a seller? It's really important to establish that and then hold to it. If you just do that, you're gonna look back, you're gonna be in a pretty good spot.

[Podcast Host 2]

Why do you think most people don't stick to that discipline of when to exit? And for you personally, what habits as an athlete did you have that made you incredibly successful as an entrepreneur?

[Mikey Taylor]

That carried over, okay, so why don't we do that? Because we're human and, you know, we see opportunity and we get dollar signs in our eyes, we want more. And that's just something we have to fight, is that side of us. For me as an athlete, you know, number one, I was doing something I loved, and I didn't want it to end. But the reality was it was going to end. And how I looked at it was I had sponsors that paid me while I was relevant, and I just felt like they controlled my future. And I did not like that feeling. It's probably similar to just having a job and your boss basically is the decision maker on your future. And there's something that's uncomfortable with that. And so I just tried to put myself in a position where I didn't have to rely on my sponsors anymore. And really what that meant is if I can move out of a position where I was completely dependent on income and start owning assets that eventually paid me well, I felt like I was taking Power away from them and putting them into kind of my future, which I love that feeling once I accomplished it.

[Podcast Host 1]

So you led a life that you can write a book on. You know, you're a legendary professional athlete in the realm of skating. Then you, you know, had a business that was actually successful enough to actually exit. Then you start to invest in real estate, and now you're the mayor of a city.

[Mikey Taylor]

Yeah, I am. Yeah.

[Podcast Host 1]

So how'd the politics then come into play?

[Mikey Taylor]

That's a good question, huh? We're gonna get to know each other real good, huh, boys? You know, the. The. You know, the politics. For me, I was always frustrated by politics. Every time I looked at politicians, they didn't seem like real people to me. They always sold, they never delivered. It was completely opposite from what you have to do as an entrepreneur. So I really had no interest in going into that world. But the only caveat is if you get involved in the local level at the city, it's completely different than a lot of the things we talk about or argue about on the national side, because the decisions you're making are things that you, your family, your residents are feeling. And it's actually. It is political in some regard. But, I mean, think about what we're voting on. It's budgets and sidewalks and real estate. It's things that we actually feel and touch every single day. And so I felt like I would get involved there, but that was going to be my ceiling. I never wanted to do more than this. And so I think that's probably going to be it. I do this run and then step out and keep building more companies.

[Menelik Lumumba]

You heard us talking about the new Fed chair. You recently put up a post that Trump's Fed pick could reshape real estate faster than rate cuts. Can you break that down? Explain it to the audience?

[Mikey Taylor]

Okay, so it really comes down now. We will see what. I will be completely transparent with everyone here on. You don't know what somebody's going to do until they start acting. So if, you know, Wash gets in, we'll see. But at least his idea is a little bit different than what the Fed has been probably over the last 20 years, which the Fed has become the stabilizer. It's like they come in and they go, okay, how do we protect the market? How do we protect unemployment? And what that means is when bad things happen, they come in and save the day. 2008 was our most recent. Well, you could call 2020 our most recent example, but 2008 was a big shift. And what should have happened is a full blown crash. A lot of those banks should have completely gone under for the decisions they were making and the Fed covered them. And so the new potential Fed chair has a different outlook. We'll see if he acts on it, but what it really is is stay out of it and be the referee. I'm not going to be the stabilizer, I'm going to be the referee. And what that means is more potential volatility. It means things could crash. But if things crash, you don't have a lot of bubbles created that are held up by ultimately easy money printing. And so that does mean there's going to be some pain. So I want to be careful in saying this. I recognize pain and that sucks. I don't want things to hurt. But usually what happens is we try to protect pain on the front end and then we put ourselves in a situation where it's worse for us on the back end. I mean, look at, look at millennials and Gen Z and ask them how everything's going. They're going to tell you it's not going very well. And I think a lot of that is because we put ourselves in a situation where things are so out of reach for so much of us, so many of us. And I think that's because we've artificially held up the market beyond what it's actually at. That's at least my outlook. We'll see what happens from all of this though.

[Podcast Host 2]

Do you think we're too far in the rabbit hole to fix the changes that in the pain that Gen Z may be feeling?

[Mikey Taylor]

I hope not. I really do. I think probably the most fair way to say this is there are some things that could come into play that change everything. Like, you know, you're looking at AI and everything going on there. The potential for how productive this could be and what that could mean for GDP growth could put us in a position where if we course correct on some of this other bureaucracy and you know, support that we've had, we could right size this thing that could right size our debt issue that we're struggling with. But I'm naturally more of an optimist. I try to find the potential pathway and focus on that. But there's some things that could come into play that make it worse as well. I just know where we're at right now is not healthy. That's at least my view. What do you guys think? You guys feel like we're in a healthy spot?

[Podcast Host 2]

Well, really quick, you said there's some things that could make it worse. What are some of those roadblocks or financial asteroids that the audience may not be aware about that could make it worse?

[Mikey Taylor]

Okay, so I'm gonna. I'll keep this kind of high level, and I'll try to make it pretty simple. If you viewed America as us, as individuals, we all bring in a certain amount of money, we all spend a certain amount of money, and there's some debt component, potentially, we are spending way too much and we are borrowing like crazy. And the inevitable outcome of that is bankruptcy. And so there's a choice that we have to make. Right. If you're in debt, you have two options to get out of it. You either cut back your expenses and put more of your revenue towards paying off your debt, or you increase your revenue and pay more of your debt elsewhere. Right. So it's either growth or pullback for us. I don't think we can save our way out of this. I think it has to be a combo, and we've got to be in a position where we're not giving away the farm. And I think we've just given away too much and we've outsourced everything. So I think that's the. That's the challenge. If anyone's a reader in this audience and, you know, you want to get caught up on this, read Ray Dalia's books, the debt crisis and everything he's forecasting, that is a potential for us that we have to avoid.

[Podcast Host 1]

Well, how do you think that we have an opportunity to get out of that? Because nobody wants to. Well, at least the Republicans, they don't want to raise taxes. The Democrats don't want to cut programs, and the Republicans don't really want to cut programs, too, if you're really honest about it. Because, I mean, the major programs as far as military and health benefits and things that really, really cause trillions of dollars to get taken out, there's no real solution on how to cut that from that. So if we're not going to cut anything and we're not going to raise taxes, I mean, what. What can we actually do?

[Mikey Taylor]

Okay, so that's. It's actually really interesting that you brought that up, because I would say that has been a recent shift on the Republican Party that there's no appetite for cutting programs there either. I think the fascinating part is it's the people don't have an appetite for it. If you're an elected official, what you're supposed to be is a representation of the people who voted for you. And if you ran on a Platform of we're cutting, you're not getting elected. And so we're in a tough spot. Right. I think probably knowing that the only real shot is control expenses where they're at and grow our way out in, you know, I think you could make the claim that AI could get us there, but if the politicians aren't willing to do it, the only option is growth. The caveat to that is, are you guys seeing the percentage of people that are moving into the Independent party? Yeah, it's massive. It's the largest group we've ever seen in history. That could be a tell for what's, what's coming politically, that the majority of people don't have faith in either side. And if we saw a situation where the two party system didn't control everything, that could be something totally new for us. But with that said, if I'm trying to pick the most likely outcome, it's grow your way out of this.

[Podcast Host 1]

When you say, oh, just for clarification, when you say grow your way out of this, what does that actually mean though? Like as far as on a corporate side, just to have more corporate profits? Because that's not coming back if we don't tax corporations. So.

[Mikey Taylor]

Yeah, that's a good question. The large corporation scenario we're in, that's a, that's a whole separate conversation, right? Just look at this. Total revenue into the government, right? So every single revenue stream that the government has, how do we increase that? And now you can definitely make the case, and I get it, that this is nuance and there's not enough time for this. But if companies are growing and taxes are coming in at a larger dollar amount, well, there's the potential for growth. The large corporations not paying taxes. That's nuance and there's caveat to it. The corporations are paying taxes. It's, you know, at what portions are they taking loss? That covers a lot of it. And you know, where to R and D go, where's the incentive go? That's a separate combo.

[Menelik Lumumba]

You, you mentioned something, you said after this political run, you're going back to finding companies, owning companies, which is interesting because it makes me think of where do you see or what excites you? What type of company would you be looking at of the future? Right. It's going to be a little bit different than when you started your entrepreneurial journey. What, what companies are the wave of the future? Which ones excite you? What are you looking for when you're trying to find one?

[Mikey Taylor]

Yeah, that's a good question. Now I heard somebody say, I'm not sure who it was, but one of you guys said that you want people to win with their money, right? If you're new, we want you to grow your wealth, we want you to succeed. That that outlook is very much in alignment with me. I want people to understand how to manage their money, how to invest it and put the, you know, let's grow the middle class and let's grow it upward. So if you're not in the middle class, let's get you there. If you're in the middle class, let's try to, you know, extend it up. That's really my focus. That's why we built the business we have now. You know, all the content we put out is financial literacy. We have opportunities for people to invest in real estate with us, whether you're accredited or you're not, so you can grow your wealth that way. The next business I start will probably be in some way aligned with that. I won't tap into a, you know, maybe a tech platform or AI. It'll probably be around how do I help more people grow what they own?

[Podcast Host 2]

For the entrepreneurs listening tonight, what matters more to you? The idea or the operator? And if they're looking to scale, like what are some must haves in business now that will allow them to scale?

[Mikey Taylor]

It's a phenomenal question. Okay, so number one, this is not to take away from the idea because the idea is incredibly important. But there are more good ideas out there that don't get executed than bad ideas that people try to drive forward. So there is a pairing. You have to have a good idea, you have to have an operator, because if you can't bring the idea to reality and then you can't scale it, the idea is almost worthless in some regard. So if you're a visionary pair with an operator, bring an operator or a team of operators into the business so that you can actually track your momentum forward. And then it just becomes a game of right person, right seat. What seat do you need? Find the right person and fill it, and then track the progress. The beginning stages are the hardest. So if you're a solopreneur, it's the hardest to go from one person to three, and then from three onward. And so what you're going to have to wrestle with is when you're the solopreneur, you're making all the money and for a time you're going to make less than because you're going to have to pay somebody else to get involved. You might have to give somebody equity to get involved. But two people can go further than one. So the idea is take the hits on the front end, delay your gratification, build the team, and what you're going to experience on the back end is going to be much larger.

[Podcast Host 1]

So let's talk about real estate. You went into commercial real estate, so you're a real estate investor, but you're also a politician. So I was interested to see your thoughts on this. Is commercial real estate debt? Because we've been seeing, even in New York, the Chrysler Building, they, they, that's in shambles right now, like so many office buildings. When you think of commercial real estate, at least on the office side, but a lot of other commercial, whether it's even businesses, they're going online and people are not coming in the same and everything has changed. So what's your thoughts on commercial real estate in 2026?

[Mikey Taylor]

Okay, so commercial real estate, just for anybody who doesn't know, is a lot of different asset classes. It's office, it's, you know, industrial warehouse, it's retail, it's commercial multifamily. Office is definitely getting hit the hardest. That will reshape, it will survive. Even though we're going digital, we have not mastered how to work as an organization and maintain culture digitally. And so it's probably going to become somewhat of a hybrid. And I think that hybrid is going to hold. So I think there's a buying opportunity on office where you can buy it at extreme discount. Industrial is going to be here. You know, retail, I think is going to still be here as well. A lot of us wrote that off in, you know, 2009 to 2014, as E Comm. Started pumping. I think retail is going to stay because at the end of the day, we're emotional creatures that like community. We like seeing and feeling. And so there will be a footprint for that. Multifamily in a lot of markets is correcting hard right now. It's a lot of the markets where the regulation is low and they actually added supply. But here's the thing to know about commercial commercial real estate values are tied to interest rates. So when the Fed drove rates up 3x, you watched prices come down because of that. That's very different than how single family works. So we're just in a moment where there's a buying opportunity. I think you probably have a year or so of that and then we'll see things tighten and then we'll go through the beginning of the cycle again and it'll happen again. And Again, after that.

[Menelik Lumumba]

The most important thing is that people will need capital. And you had this thesis on the millennial career crisis that we're in. I had a conversation about that earlier today. And just where we're headed, what's your thoughts on how we combat it? What can we do to put a dent in it? Because it's a real thing.

[Mikey Taylor]

Right.

[Menelik Lumumba]

When we talk about the amount of jobs that are going to be replaced, yes, some will be created. But if we don't have income, then we're not going to be able to invest in residential real estate or commercial real estate.

[Mikey Taylor]

Okay, so there's two parts to that. The millennial career crisis is real 100%. What AI does and how we're going to make money. I actually think there's a higher probability that we experience something similar to the Industrial revolution, where we see a lot of new jobs created because of AI. I don't know if we're all just going to be jobless and, you know, something like UBI is going to turn on. Not saying that doesn't happen. I think that's lower probability. I think the big issue with the millennials and Gen Z is it's housing. It's like we got 50 to 70% of our income going towards housing. And the price tag for a first time purchase is so high, the American dream is taken off the board at that point. And so I think the conversation for housing is more what happened and why are we here? I think that goes back to the old outlook of the Fed. We have allowed a bubble to be created because we are trying to artificially support people in and through. And so what does that mean? Number one, you gotta add supply. If our population grows and we're not adding supply, you, you're going to watch asset prices increase. You know, some of the other things is it's regulation and politicians. You know, if you, if you're, if you're looking at the housing crisis, right. I think both sides can agree that prices are too high. Now it just becomes, what's the solution? And I would say one group looks at the solution as being the government. The government needs to come in. They need to build more regulation, there needs to be rent controls, there needs to be, you know, eviction moratoriums. And that will bring prices down. The other side views it as government. Get out of the way. Let us build. I promise you we will build too much. And when we do, you know, you're going to experience something like Texas is right now. Prices are dropping at a crazy rate. Yeah, the True answer is it's going to land somewhere in the middle, like the private market. And the policymakers need to come together and actually speak the same language. They need to get aligned on what the desired outcome is, which is more housing, which will bring prices down. And you haven't seen that happen yet in a lot of the markets. Some you have, but the majority of markets you haven't yet.

[Podcast Host 2]

We all have one story of an investment that we missed out on that we wish we would have been a part of. Is there an investment that you missed and investing into, whether it's real estate or a company, and what's the lesson that you Learned from it?

[Mikey Taylor]

2011, one of my friends started talking to me about Bitcoin and he's telling me about this digital currency on some website that you could buy, and it was going to be the future. And instead of me asking him questions to learn about it, I looked at him and went, bro, you are crazy. That's some black market stuff. You're going to lose all your money. And he made an astronomical amount of money, and I waited until 2019 to buy in. And so the moral of this story is if somebody is talking about something, treat it as if they have information that you don't have and ask questions for you to learn. And that message goes actually beyond investment. So I think we should talk to everyone that way.

[Podcast Host 1]

Private equity, for people that may not be familiar, like, explain, you know, how's it. What's the real metrics in private equity as far as how companies are evaluated, who gets money? Like, you know, what's been your experience with private equity?

[Mikey Taylor]

Okay, so what private equity means is that you are getting your capital outside of the public markets. You're not going to the stock market for capital. And so that can look like a bunch of institutions or pension funds are giving you money, all the way down to, like, what my company is, you can invest with us for as little as $5,000. So there's a lot of different ranges of it. Traditional private equity means that you're buying businesses. The real estate I do is technically called private equity real estate. But investing in real estate as a syndication is different than what you're seeing with a business. And what you're seeing over there. The multiples on traditional private equity are typically going to be 3 to 5x. And what they're doing is they're buying a bunch of businesses inside of a certain industry, and they're trying to create efficiency efficiencies in it. They're trying to drive revenue up and they're trying to cut expenses back. And then when they do that at scale, they then try to offload the portfolio and make money. Now, there's a big problem happening in traditional private equity where they're buying up small, kind of mom and pop type of businesses. They're running the culture into the ground. The consumer is getting a product that is not even close to as good as. And you're seeing a challenge there. On the real estate side, what we do is we go try to find real estate that doesn't exist or is vacant, and then we pool investors together, and then we go in and we buy it. We usually develop something new. And when you're developing, you have the opportunity to grow the value of it. And so that's how we grow wealth. We just do it as a group as opposed to an individual.

[Menelik Lumumba]

As you look at your career, how it's played out, obviously you've had different multiples throughout each stage, each decade. I wonder what you defined as your legacy. Like, what do you want it to be looking for? I know you're a husband, you're a father. How do you see your legacy shaping out?

[Mikey Taylor]

All right, that's a. That's a. That's a good question. I would say for anyone who's met me, talked to me, has a relationship with me, I think the only thing I would want them to view what I was while I was here is that I was somebody that they trusted and just overall was like somebody they could count on. For my kids, I think it's more about what my wife and I put into them as opposed to what we leave them. I'm not saying I don't leave my kids anything, but I think it's more important that we instill good character and good values and give them the tools for them to go on and do their thing as opposed to just passing down assets. So that's kind of where we put more of our attention. I want to build them up to be, you know, good husbands and good wives and good fathers and good mothers. But I also want them to know how money works. So I'm not. I'm not saying that to say we don't teach them about money. We do that as well. I just think that's secondary.

[Podcast Host 2]

If you can only pick five things that you can focus on on a daily in your business, which are those five things that would give you the highest return.

[Mikey Taylor]

All right, you have to pay attention to sales is without sales, there's no revenue that comes in. So sales is a big One, you got to manage the money correctly. So having somebody on your accounting team is a necessity. The tracking of the different pillars of your business. We use a system called eos. It's from the book Traction. So if you're an entrepreneur and you want to learn how to manage a business correctly, I'd recommend buying that book. The other one culture is a really big one. Make sure that everyone on your team is very clear on where you're headed, that you're building them up and they're a part of the organization. And then I probably put last, which is the kind of what puts all the glue together is leadership. Make sure that if you're in a leadership position, you are not the one that's trying to take all of the credit or being the star. I really think a leader is looking at the people next to you and building them up to be something greater than what maybe they even realize. And if you have somebody that you built up and they built a skill set and they end up leaving your company and working for somebody else, don't get pissed at that. That's actually a great example that you did your job as a leader, because at the end of the day, what you're trying to do is build people up.

[Podcast Host 1]

Well, Mikey, thank you for your time.

[Menelik Lumumba]

Black History lives in our stories, our culture, and the conversations we still having today. I didn't know this Black History Month, the podcast. I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either. Digs into the moments, perspectives and experiences that don't always make the textbook. Let me tell you about Garrett Morgan Bruh had to pretend he didn't even exist just to sell his own invention. Listen to I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either. From the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or simply wherever you get your podcast. 1969. Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. And at Morehouse College, the students make their move.

[Hans Charles]

These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up. The members of the board of trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr. It's the true story of protest and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles.

[Menelik Lumumba]

I'm Menelik Lumumba.

[Hans Charles]

Listen to the A Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[iHeart Podcast Announcer]

This is Ryder Strong and I have a new podcast called the red weather. In 1995, my neighbor Anna Trainor disappeared from a commune. It was nature and trees and praying and drugs. So, no, I am not your guru back then. I lied to everybody. They have had this case for 30 years. I'm going back to my hometown to uncover the truth. Listen to the Red weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Nav Green]

This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats and plenty more. What's up, man? It's your boy Nav Green from the bright Broken Play podcast. Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. Guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs. The Chief. It's time to rebuild. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[iHeart Podcast Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Mikey Taylor]

Guaranteed Human.