From $35K Bet to 7-Figure Airbnb Empire - Linda Kim

Summary

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Escaping the Drift with John Gafford

Episode: From $35K Bet to 7-Figure Airbnb Empire - Linda Kim
Date: April 14, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features Linda Kim, who transitioned from a capped nine-to-five tech career and a difficult personal chapter to building a thriving seven-figure Airbnb arbitrage business. Host John Gafford and Linda dive deep into her journey, the nuts and bolts of the arbitrage strategy, mindset shifts, actionable business tactics, and how she leveraged mentorship to break through financial and personal stagnation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Linda’s Background and Mindset Shift

• Immigrant upbringing and rat race: Linda grew up in Seattle to Korean immigrant parents, both longtime postal workers, lacking exposure to a growth mindset.
• Feeling adrift: Despite moving to beautiful Orange County and holding a creative director role at top tech companies, Linda continued to feel unfulfilled and "stuck."
• Catalyst for change: A toxic marriage and the sudden loss of her best friend became wake-up calls, pushing her to seek more out of life and regain agency.
  • Quote: “I just felt like even though I was in beautiful Orange county... I still didn't feel fulfilled.” (Linda Kim, 02:19)

2. Making the Leap: Investing in Mentorship

• Initial search: Dissatisfied with the salary ceiling and monotony of tech, Linda searched for quick paths to financial freedom, considering various side hustles.
• Discovering Airbnb Arbitrage: After exploring drop shipping and flipping, she gravitated toward Airbnb arbitrage, intrigued by the business model and the mentors she found on social media.
• High-stakes investment: Linda invested $35,000 in a mentorship program by Chris Choi, drawn by his proven success and energy, despite never having invested in herself or attended networking events before.
  • Quote: “Some people might go off price... but something about him spoke to me… it was scary because I’d never invested in coaching.” (Linda Kim, 05:53)

3. Implementation and Taking Action

• Quick execution: Within just two weeks of starting the mentorship, Linda acquired her first properties by taking immediate action—unlike others in her cohort.
  • Quote: “I learned everything in a short period... got my properties in the second week of the coaching class.” (Linda Kim, 07:37)
• Action vs. education: John emphasizes that education without action is just entertainment, with Linda agreeing that her “tunnel vision” and commitment were crucial.
  • Quote: “Education without action is entertainment.” (John Gafford, 08:32)
• Source of drive: Linda attributes her relentless drive to the sense of autonomy gained post-divorce and her deep-seated want for actualization—not to competition with her ex.

4. Building the Right Network & Growth Environment

• Networking evolution: Initially fearful, Linda became a regular at entrepreneurial events, seeking rooms where she’s not the best, ensuring continuous growth.
• How she networks: Picks events based on the value and attendee list; listens in before joining conversations and makes authentic connections.
• Networking tips: John offers the tactic of asking about people, not their careers, to build real rapport.
  • Quote: “I ask people... not where do you work? Tell me about you. ...that question, it’s like watching a record skip.” (John Gafford, 14:27)

5. The Power of Coaching and Mentorship

• Ongoing investment: Beyond her initial mentorship, Linda has hired multiple business coaches and participated in masterminds, crediting these experiences with her rapid growth, especially in shifting out of the 9-to-5 mindset.
  • Quote: “Especially coming from the nine to five mindset... that totally changed everything for me.” (Linda Kim, 15:57)
• Book recommendations: Rich Dad Poor Dad, Atomic Habits, The Compound Effect, Think and Grow Rich—tools for continuously retraining the entrepreneurial mindset.

6. The Nuts & Bolts of Airbnb Arbitrage

What is Airbnb Arbitrage?

• Leasing properties from landlords with upfront disclosure, then renting them on Airbnb for profit.
  • Quote: “You rent a property from the landlord and then you put it on Airbnb… by renting.” (Linda Kim, 17:27)
• Industry myths: Despite talk of Airbnb being “dead,” Linda argues markets are still strong ($90B in 2025 bookings). Opposition is often driven by people selling alternative programs, not market realities.

Operating Tactics:

• Market selection: Strictly researches cities ahead of time, avoids over-regulated areas, and highlights flexibility—she can exit a market easily since she doesn’t own.
• Ideal property: Prefers single-family homes, minimum three bedrooms (five is ideal), and focuses on quality design over extreme uniqueness or amenities.
  • Quote: “If you do single family, nicer looking homes, you can make a lot in the right area.” (Linda Kim, 19:42)
• Numbers that make sense: Looks to net double the rent; wants to profit roughly the rent amount above all costs (e.g., rent $4k, profit $4k or more).
• Startup costs: Budget roughly 3–4 times monthly rent for furniture and setup; $25,000+ is the target for startup capital.
• Speed of setup: Can have a new property up and booking within two weeks, thanks to rapid shipping and established checklists for essentials.
  • Quote: “About two weeks. From lease to...” (Linda Kim, 24:35)

7. Operations, Challenges, and Scaling

• Furnishing: Mix of affordable but attractive online retailers (e.g., Wayfair, Overstock). Sometimes customizes per property for design variety.
• Management: Uses local cleaning teams and virtual assistants (primarily in the Philippines) to automate messaging and scheduling. John recommends Latin America for timezone and accent.
  • Quote: “It’s on autopilot because you have the same cleaner… Just show up and then…” (Linda Kim, 29:30)
• Optimization: Listing optimization on Airbnb is key—fast response rates (aided by VAs) boost ranking and visibility.
  • Quote: “If your response rate is low, they're not going to push your listing to the top.” (Linda Kim, 31:08)
• Direct bookings: Currently relies heavily on Airbnb, but is building her own platform.
• Staying ahead: If a market flattens, she simply exits at lease end.

8. Risk, Returns, and Realities

• Loss prevention and client experience: Discloses operations to landlords, avoids regulatory pitfalls, has never had a property trashed.
• Financials: Some properties have reached up to $11,000 net profit/month; has operated up to nine single-family rentals.
• Key challenge: Saturation and poor design are what impacts success most; keeping listings differentiated is key.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I just had this fire inside me after going through my divorce... It was always inside, but it just never came out.”
  – Linda Kim, 08:57

• “I want to be polarizing for people... I either want you in or out as quickly as possible.”
  – John Gafford, 10:55

• “Such a great way to get in with low capital and low risk.”
  – Linda Kim, 33:10

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• Linda’s backstory & mindset shift: 01:23 – 03:03
• Discovery of Airbnb arbitrage & mentorship choice: 04:18 – 05:53
• Taking action vs. others in cohort: 07:37 – 08:32
• Networking strategies: 10:33 – 15:18
• Mentorship and mindset transformation: 15:43 – 16:57
• Arbitrage explained and market realities: 17:20 – 18:48
• Deal analysis & setup process: 20:38 – 23:26
• Operations, property setup, and scaling: 24:08 – 29:00
• Listing SEO and VAs: 30:55 – 32:19
• Coaching program overview: 30:00 – 32:41
• Risk and recap: 32:41 – 33:34

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Linda’s Coaching Offer

• Program covers: Mindset, business formation, landlord pitching, listing setup and design, SEO, and pricing.
• Contact: bnbmasterysociety.com – Free consultation calls for fit assessment. (32:29)

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Final Takeaways

• Break out of comfort zones with strategic risk-taking and mentorship.
• Real estate investing can be accessible through creative strategies like arbitrage, with minimal capital and risk compared to ownership.
• Community, action, and continuous self-investment are essential drivers of extraordinary success.
• The Airbnb market—despite the chatter—is alive and those who adapt and differentiate can still thrive.

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Transcript

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[Linda Kim]

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[Podcast Host]

Back again, back again for another episode of. Like it says, the opening, the show that gets you from where you are to where you want to be. And today, live in studio from one of my favorite places in the world, Orange County. Coming all the way to Vegas. This is a person who changed her stars through the miraculous business of what's called Airbnb Arbitrage. Now, I know some of you might be hearing this and saying, oh, I heard that was dead. That doesn't work anymore. Well, listen, this is a person that's thrown a seven figure income that says it's not. And I want to hear all about it, on how it still works and why it still works and where it still works. So, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the program. This is Linda Kim. Linda, is that accurate?

[Linda Kim]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Did I freak out? Was I too loud? You ready to go?

[Linda Kim]

Energy? Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

You ready to go? All right, cool. So tell me, give me a little color on the back end of your story, like how you got to be you.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. So I pretty much grew up, born and raised in Seattle, Washington.

[Podcast Host]

My parents wanna push us a little closer.

[Linda Kim]

You're good. So my parents were immigrated from Korea. They were in the same job post office for 30 years. And so I kind of grew up in that. No, I didn't really have a growth mindset. I kind of just did the same thing for so many years and just, you know, being in the cycle of that rat race. And so I moved to California during COVID with my ex and just over. It was not the healthiest relationship, but something at that point I felt like, okay, I don't want to keep doing the same thing. And I just feel stuck. I want more of my life.

[Podcast Host]

Were you guys married?

[Linda Kim]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

Married with kids. And I just felt like this is going to be my life forever. And I didn't. It just didn't feel right. And my best friend passed away and I felt like it was kind of a wake up call. Of do I really want to do this for the rest of my life?

[Podcast Host]

Did you feel like your life wasn't yours? You weren't controlling it?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, exactly. And I, I knew I was settling. I just felt like even though I was in beautiful, you know, Orange county, like, you know, I just, I loved it, but I still didn't feel fulfilled. So.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

All right, so. So you make a ch. Now question, because I. I don't know. When you were with your ex, was he the primary breadwinner at that point? Is that how that was?

[Linda Kim]

No. So we actually were both in tech.

[Podcast Host]

Both were in tech. Okay, cool. I missed it. See, I didn't hear that part.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we were both in tech, but he wasn't very growth minded. And once we split, I just felt like I just kind of pursued bigger things on my own.

[Podcast Host]

When you say you were in tech, what did you do?

[Linda Kim]

I was a creative director for like, Amazon, Microsoft, video video game companies.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, cool.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So. But even doing that wasn't really what you wanted to do.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, because I was climbing the ladder and I got to the point of director and I felt like, oh, this is so cool. But then it's like you reach the cap of your salary and you can't, you know, go higher, and then you feel like you're working all the time in meetings. So I felt like, I want to make more money fast. And so I started looking on Google.

[Podcast Host]

I'll never, I'll never forget. I was working for a national real estate or national restaurant chain, and I got promoted to a certain level within that chain. And the vice president of the company called me and just said, in his snarky way of congratulating me, he said, get your resume ready.

[VRBO Narrator]

Oh.

[Podcast Host]

And I said, why? And he goes, nowhere else to go but out. Like, this is as high as you're gonna go. There's nowhere else to go to out. And he was right, dude. I mean, I was like, I was like, ooh, that's a terrible thing to hear. But it's accurate. And it happens so often for people is, you know, if somebody else is controlling the trajectory of your life, you know, as far as what your job title is, what your income is, what you're allowed to do. Yeah, you do hit a ceiling. You do hit a place where this is all you can do. So. Yeah, you know, and it's when you. When you realize that it's normally not a good day.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, exactly. And I got laid off too, right after I started my Airbnb Business. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, that's the worst, too. So. So you said you got on Google. What'd you find? What'd you find on the old Google?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, I was like. I was like, I had this drive to make a lot of money fast, and I didn't want to. Well, because, you know, those. All the things of drop shipping, flipping houses and all these other things. And. And then I came across Airbnb Arbitrage, and that was one of the many things. Something about that just intrigued me more. And then so I just kept getting pushed. Those mentors on, you know, Instagram, they keep sending you the ads.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Once you hit your. Yeah, once the algorithm picks up, you might want something to get them all.

[Linda Kim]

Exactly.

[Podcast Host]

Who did you settle on as a. As a mentor, if you don't mind me asking?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, his name is Chris Choi.

[Podcast Host]

I don't know Chris.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, but he had built this multimillion dollar business. He was in his late 20s. He was pretty young, and his lifestyle, I just felt like, oh, my God, I want to do that. And. And obviously I didn't know if it would work, but I ended up investing with him and it changed my entire

[Podcast Host]

life with this plan. Okay, cool. So when you talked about you made the jump to invest with him, how much, mind me asking how much investment it was?

[Linda Kim]

It was $35,000.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, that's a lot.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah, that's a lot.

[Podcast Host]

And thank goodness you didn't invest that in the Amazon drop shipping thing. Cause, dude, a lot of people did spend that much and got burned on that thing. Oh, my gosh. That was. Yeah, that was a really bad business.

[Linda Kim]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

A lot of those people that were spinning up those stores for people and making a lot of false pretense changes. I mean, do you see anybod advertising anymore?

[Linda Kim]

That's true.

[Podcast Host]

There's still people. There's still people coaching people how to do what you do. Nobody's talking about spinning up Amazon drop shipping.

[Linda Kim]

That's true.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Because it was just. It was just a scam. So that was a lot. So talk to me about that. Because most people, again, like, that number is pretty big, right? That's a big, like, chunk. It's not like, a little bit of money. What was that decision like to make that investment?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, because he. He was charging the most out of anybody. And I don't know why, because, you know, most people. Some people might go off price. Oh, well, this one's 10K. I'm just gonna go over here. Something about him spoke to me. I don't know if it was, I don't know what it was, but it was scary because I'd never invested in coaching. I never went to networking events at that point. I was in my 9 to 5. I rarely socialize.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Linda Kim]

So somewhere, somehow, that just came to me that. To, like, it was just my gut instincts to say yes.

[Podcast Host]

To say yes.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. And it was more like he was taking applications. I'm taking 10 people a month, and I just felt like, oh, he's not going to get back to me. Probably I'll just apply for this thing and go on with my life.

[Podcast Host]

Do you think in retrospect, now, that might have been a sales pitch? That might have been a takeaway.

[Linda Kim]

Close.

[Podcast Host]

I'm just saying, I'm only taking potato. I'm pretty sure. Look, this is all I'm going to say, and no offense to Chris, I'm sure he's a wonderful dude, but if there's a line of people that are willing to give me $35,000 for what I know I'm not getting to the 10th person and saying, no, no more of you $35,000 people. I'm. Anyone else. Yeah. Something tells me that might not be accurate, but good for him, dude. Good for him. And it worked out. So God bless. Good for everybody. Right, so tell me about his system versus what you do now. Are you working exactly what he told you to do, or have you tweaked it a little bit? Is there. Is there a little angle on it? Like, what's the difference?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, how I run my business?

[Podcast Host]

No, just from what you learned then. Right. Like. Like, you obviously started doing exactly what he told you to do. So, like, what is. What was the premise? Obviously, we're not going to go through the whole. But what was the premise of this business? For people that don't understand the concept of Airbnb and arbitrage? And then I want to talk about how you put your little spin on it.

[Linda Kim]

That's a really great question, because I think a lot of mentorships, people feel like, oh, I didn't learn the right way, or I didn't learn enough. I learned. I really learned everything in a short period because I got my second pro or my properties in the second week of the coaching class. So it was super fast, and I was still in my tech job, and so I learned everything from setting up my business to negotiating and pitching to the landlord. Where do I go look for properties? And then I acquired properties, set them up, everything. SEO. Yeah. So I had a running business at the end of like, in two weeks or. Well, I got my properties on the second week of class because it was a pitching class. So I went out and started calling, thinking, oh, this is going to take me a while. And then I just got them. And I was like, oh, my God.

[Podcast Host]

Was everybody else having the same kind of success you were in the group or just, you know.

[Linda Kim]

No, I was the only one that got started a business from that cohort. And then one guy started later.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Good.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. So funny.

[Podcast Host]

Dude. It's so. I say it all the time, man. Education without action is entertainment. And there are way more entertaining things you could probably could have sat through or spent $35,000 on. Right. But people. I never. People do it all the time. They spend money on courses, they spend money on things, they buy books, and then they just don't ever take action. What do you think is. What do you think is different about you versus everybody else that makes you an action taker?

[Linda Kim]

I love that question. I kind of think about that. I don't know. I just had this fire inside of me after going through my divorce that I just felt like that thing that I told you about, that I just want to do something with my life, and it was always inside, but it just never came out because I was with that person that wasn't like that. So I think by then I felt like, okay, I put $35,000. I'm going to do everything it takes to make this happen. And I was literally tunnel vision from that moment.

[Podcast Host]

Was that. Okay, so let's get. Let's go a little deeper here. Do you think that was because you wanted to show your ex you could do it without him? Or was it a competition that you wanted to beat him? Or was it. What do you think it was?

[Linda Kim]

That's a good question. It actually wasn't. Yeah, I think I just always like that. It just was. I just had my own freedom to kind of go all in. And it. If I find something that I really want to do, I will give it 100%. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So it's so. So.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, but it's. I don't feel like that with everything, though.

[Podcast Host]

But so what? Okay, so what does something have to do to make it worth your all in?

[Linda Kim]

I don't know. I think there's just this passion for it that just comes out of nowhere. Even my coaching program, and I just have so much passion for it that I'm like, everything's all into that right now. Yeah. Yeah. So it's just that one thing that really, like, ignites me.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So next question. As somebody that is all in, when they're all in, how do you deal with people around you that are not.

[Linda Kim]

Oh yeah, so I used to be around a lot of that, a lot of people that weren't like minded and then I kind of wouldn't be. But now I, I try to be around people that are aligned and like minded and they're doing better than me. So I feel like I need to do better to catch up. So now I'm really. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And how are you finding those rooms?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, so it took over time. I was going to a lot of networking events, a little bit less now, but I was going to conferences events and then I would just kind of meet people here and there and I'm sure you know that the more you do that the more you easily filter and you can kind of see what's not aligned. So now it's a group of people where they're just really doing amazing things, including Shane and. Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

It's funny, you want to get to a point very quickly where you're like I, I, I want to be polarizing for people because I either want you in or out as quickly as possible. I need to sort you very quickly, very quickly I need to sort you. So let's talk about that a little more because so you talk about going to networking events and that sort of stuff. How are you finding these? What are you seeking out when you're looking for them? How many of them are you going to?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, so obviously like I said, when I was in my 9 to 5 I never went to even one.

[Podcast Host]

I didn't have to because.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Somebody else telling you what was going on today?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, I never had that. But in California I just started. Well, I was invited by. Do you know Apollo Ohno?

[Podcast Host]

I don't.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, Olympian. He used to be a speed skater.

[Podcast Host]

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I do know he is. Yes I do. Yes I do.

[Linda Kim]

So he is one of my childhood friends, but real good friends and he invited me to this party in LA and everything just happened from there and I met so many people from that one going to that one event and one thing led to another and I just kept slowly getting invited to things about like entrepreneur events and that's how I would find them. Just one person to another person, another person. And when you.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, let's talk about that because obviously you're good at networking if they're, you're getting invited to other places. So what is your pro? I'm Curious what your process is for going to a network event.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

What's your process?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. Okay. So I. I used to. When I wasn't going, I. The thought of going and talking to strangers actually wasn't pleasant. Like. Like, I. I wasn't. I felt like I was scared to do that.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. But now I don't. I love going. I. I would. I'll go by myself all the time. So my process is I'll see what kind of value I might get from that event. Now I'm a little bit better, but, like, what kind of people are going to be there? What is the industry? And if I've gone there before, obviously I'll go back if I liked it. So it really depends on who I meet there.

[Podcast Host]

That's what I'm saying. When you meet people, what's your plan? How do you. How. How do you go about it? Do you have a system that you use? Like, you're walking the floor, you're at the cocktail party, everybody's here. What are we doing? Yeah, tell me about, Tell me about Linda's process. When I'm walking the floor, what are we doing?

[Linda Kim]

I think. I don't know. I think sometimes you kind of can tell. It's not always visual, though, but you kind of sense people's energies or how they're moving in the room or what they're talking about. I'll kind of listen kind of in the background, see what they're talking about and see, oh, I can cut an neck with that.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

I can resonate. And then I'll kind of go up to them and start talking to them and make conversations.

[Podcast Host]

You're kind of 45 degree. You're kind of 45 your way into the conversation.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And drop it in. Okay. I like it. I. I have a very. I have a. I. A process when I go to networking events. I'm an absolute process because this. And I'll tell you what it is. First of all, my secret weapon is my wife, because my memory is terrible. My, like, really quick. I terrible with names. So I take her with me as often as I can, and as I introduce people, she's taking notes behind me, she's writing down in her notes. We have a shared apple note for whatever event it is. Like, tall guy, brown suit was talked about this. His name is Fred. Here's. Here's what he does. So I'm really listening to them, and I'm not trying to sit there and go, fred, blue suit. Fred, blue suit. Fred, blue suit. Right. I'm not doing that. So that's number one. But. But I find my. The best networking thing that I ever did was or I ever learned was when I walk up to people and everybody's in that walking resume mode. Right. I'm always like, I asked people, I say, tell me about you. And they're like, oh, I work at so and so, and I do this and blah, blah. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Not where do you work? Tell me about you. I mean, are you married, you single, your kids, whatever? And that question, it's like watching a record skip. People are just like, what? Oh, yeah, no, I'm from so and so. I got a wife and three kids. And I've been this. Because we start asking about themselves. They're like, this person really wants to know who I am as a human and not just read my resume. And I found that to be incredibly effective. Do you have any little networking tips like that that you like? Something that maybe you've done in the past? That is because to me, the reason I do that is because I find it's more important to be memorable and have a good memory.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, I really like that. I want to be a member. Yes. And you know, like, see, people like it when other people are interested in who they are than what they do. So I. I can see why you do that. But I. I also try to bring a personal angle to it. So obviously one of the things is the conversation. What are they talking about in that moment? Instead of going up and just saying, oh, what do you do for work? I'll either relate to them on what they're talking about at that point, or you push off.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, or you push off. Yeah. You're not even. You're. Or you're only interjecting yourself in conversations where, you know, you can bring something to the table.

[Linda Kim]

Oh, no, no. It just depends on who it is. But yeah, I'll either try to join their conversation or do you know, like. Yeah, or you compliment that on something that is genuine. Obviously you're not gonna fake it, but yeah, try to find something where you can relate on with each other. I think that's really helpful.

[Podcast Host]

That's cool.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Are you part of any like paid mastermind groups or anything like that?

[Linda Kim]

So I did my mentorship and then after that I hired a business coach, I hired another. I did another mastermind. Yes. I've done a few since that.

[Podcast Host]

You've done a few. How important do you think that. That that is to your success?

[Linda Kim]

Everything. I think it's so much, especially coming from the nine to five mindset.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Linda Kim]

It just helps so much that books, it totally changed everything for me.

[Podcast Host]

All right.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, well, that's.

[Podcast Host]

That's it. So breaking out of the 9 to 5 mindset into an entrepreneurial mindset, what advice would you give to people that need to do that?

[Linda Kim]

I. I would say. Well, I would say hire a mentor or a coach. I think it's so helpful to expedite your success because if I tried to figure out Airbnb on my own, I wouldn't be here today. I. I don't think I would have followed through or I wouldn't have been as, you know, have done it as well. I would say. He actually made us read certain books.

[Podcast Host]

What books?

[Linda Kim]

Rich dad, Poor dad, all the classics, you know, Atomic Habits. Is it Compound Effect or. Yeah, all these different books.

[Podcast Host]

Think, Think and Grow Rich.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, all that stuff. So doing that just made me read more and more and I just kept kind of. It's not like brainwashing, but you're really training your mind to think differently.

[Podcast Host]

No, no, wait, dude, I tell people all the time. I think it's so much more important what you put in your ears and what you earn, your eyes and what you put in your mouth. People are, you know, in this. And now so many people are on just a steady diet of just the next real or the next story or whatever. It's just this mindless, numbing scrolling that. Yeah, you. Absolutely. If you just change what's. What you're digesting with your brain, you can completely change your thought process.

[Linda Kim]

I totally agree.

[Podcast Host]

Well, let's talk a little bit more about. About Airbnb arbitrage, because for those of you who don't know what that is, I'll let you explain it. What is it?

[Linda Kim]

It's pretty much when you rent a property from the landlord and then you put it on Airbnb so you're not purchasing your get. Getting properties onto Airbnb by renting. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And you disclose everything to the, to the, to the landlord. You tell them it's a corporate rental.

[Linda Kim]

You're.

[Podcast Host]

You're very upfront with them. You don't, you don't go tell them you're going to be living there and then turn their house in Airbnb, because that can cause problems.

[Linda Kim]

Exactly.

[Podcast Host]

Right. So. Well, what are some. Because now you know, of course, let's talk about this. Because everybody's saying Airbnb is dead. It's dead. It's dead. It's dead. It's dead. Why are people saying that? And why are they wrong?

[Linda Kim]

So I had this conversation with some people and we noticed some of the people that are saying that not everybody, but some of them are trying to get other people to invest into their program. Maybe they're doing RV parks or they're doing pad splits. Yeah. Or house wholesale. They're like, oh, don't do that. Come do this.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah. I have a saying which is I never buy the protest sign when the person that's telling me about the protest. So it's, I kind of get it. It's fine. But, but have you seen, I mean, obviously there's markets where it's become really oversaturated. You've seen a lot of legislation in certain markets come down. Orange County's dreadful. Now for Airbnb. There are. It has gotten tougher. So have you pulled out of some markets and moved into other markets? Like, like what, what changes have you made with the market, with the markets as they as, as they change?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. So. So one of the facts is they said that last year Airbnb had $90 billion in bookings still for 2025. So I feel like, okay, the Airbnb is dead. I'm like, well, it's such a huge industry still because everyone's still going to need a place to go stay if they don't want a hotel. And then. So the thing with the market is that I always research ahead of time and so I operate in areas that are allowed. And obviously the nice thing about if it isn't is that you're not owning it. So you can easily just take, take your stuff out and go to a new, new city.

[Podcast Host]

How long have a lease are you signing on these properties?

[Linda Kim]

One year at a time.

[Podcast Host]

One year at a time.

[Linda Kim]

But every landlord has rene it every year.

[Podcast Host]

They always renew.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. Because they love it.

[Podcast Host]

What's your best market?

[Linda Kim]

Well, so I do Southern California, Orange County, Louisiana, and then I was doing a Houston, Texas.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

They're all doing really well. Very cool.

[Podcast Host]

What makes a good Airbnb?

[Linda Kim]

I would say something that looks nice. So I learned from my mentor, he does luxury Airbnb. So I learned to do single family. And I think that's part of the maybe things where other people didn't find success. They, maybe they're doing a bunch of apartments or. Yeah, yeah. But if you do single family, nicer looking homes, you can make a lot in the right area.

[Podcast Host]

But I think, do you think you have to make them unique? Do you think there has to be Something really unique about the house that makes it stand out. Like, wow, that looks like a cool place.

[Linda Kim]

That's a good question. So my houses don't have. They didn't have the, like, fancy pools or amenities, but I designed. Designed them well and to look nicer.

[Podcast Host]

Are you theming them or. No, no, no.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. So it's just nice furniture and then it just gets bookings right away.

[Podcast Host]

It just gets booked when you're, when you're penciling a deal. Right. Walk me through penciling an Airbnb arbitrage deal. Walk me through it. Let's say I want to do one in Houston, Texas. What am I looking for? What do the numbers need to look like to make this a good deal?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. So you're going to go look for a house that obviously looks nice on, you know, go through Zillow or wherever. You're looking at your listings and I'm sure you obviously know real estate, but look for something that's not dated, that's something you would want to stay in, that looks attractive. It doesn't have to be obviously super high in luxury, but something nice. And then more bedrooms the better. So you're going to make more, you know, three.

[Podcast Host]

You have a minimum that you go by.

[Linda Kim]

Minimum? Three. Minimum.

[Podcast Host]

Three.

[Linda Kim]

Five. Five is like.

[Podcast Host]

Five is ideal.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah. So if you have a four bedroom with a den, I always convert the den because then you make even more money and then you're going to take that house and then typically you want to make double the rent. So if the rent is 4,000, you want to profit. 4,000, minimum.

[Podcast Host]

Got it.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. And yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So is there, are there websites where you can look at projected Airbnb rates? Right. What are those websites?

[Linda Kim]

Air DNA.

[Podcast Host]

Air DNA. That's what it is. Yep. You can look at that. So you're looking. You won't do anything less than a projected 50. Now, when you're penciling the deal to do the investment in the furniture, what are you penciling out? Is it price per square foot? What do you look? How are you running the. Those numbers?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, so it's about. You want to spend about three to four times the rent. So that's on average.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. And I figured a way to do it where you're not spending money on super high end luxury furniture that's super expensive.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

But still making it look nice. So there's that balance of.

[Podcast Host]

Just by finding places like IKEA to buy stuff.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. Or not ikea, but I don't know,

[Podcast Host]

I'm just throwing it out there.

[Linda Kim]

No, no. That's a good question. So not. Well, you could do IKEA for some stuff, but in generally, even places like Wayfair.

[Podcast Host]

Overstock.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. Nowadays there's so many options of nice furniture that's not super crazy expensive. Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

No, I agree. There's a lot of options and things you can do.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Now, you're not altering these products. You're not doing wallpaper, you're not doing. You're not doing paint. You're just really just doing artwork. And literally, furniture and housewares is.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. But the. When I first started, I got one house by Disneyland that was a little more dated, and so I was. I did kind of paint some stuff, but after that, I was.

[Podcast Host]

It made a little kitchier.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Because by Disney.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. Or. Yeah. You know, kind of updated the kitchen a little bit, but now I just get homes that are kind of more.

[Podcast Host]

Ready to go.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, ready to go.

[Podcast Host]

So you're doing this across the country. How do you handle this across. Like, how do you. Do you have to go to Houston and actually go buy all this stuff and put it in the house? Or do you have shopping lift managers, hire them locally? How do you handle that?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, so I. I could have had my team go set it up, but I like to just go in there, but it only takes me a weekend, so I'll just go in there, have all the furniture shipped, hire everybody to come in the weekend, and we just set everything up at this point.

[Podcast Host]

Do you have, like, a shopping list that you have that you can plug and play? You get a house. Like, you don't have to sit there and toil over Wayfair for 10 hours. You just. This is my couch. These are my chairs. You just know what works, and it's good.

[Linda Kim]

Well, I could do that, but I try to make them a little bit different. So I do kind of shop around. Okay, so you do that.

[Podcast Host]

Does that. Is that part. Is that part of what's fun for you then?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah, it is a little time consuming, but some stuff I'll reuse, but sometimes I want to make it new, so. Yeah. And that's my other business, too. I do that for other people.

[Podcast Host]

I was gonna say, do you fancy. You fancy yourself a little bit of a designer then?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Anybody that's in real estate line, we all fancy ours. We all fancy ourselves designers at this point. Like.

[Linda Kim]

No, true.

[Podcast Host]

No, you need to go with the Taj Mahal stone, not the. You know, we all know. We. We all fancy ourselves as fancy. So you actually Physically go there and set these things up. So from the time you take the lease. Right, I take a lease. How long are you normally up before you're getting your first booking? What's the. What's the. What's the Runway?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, so. So I was in Texas, or I was trying to get one before 2026. That was just my goal in my head. And it was about three weeks. Was it like the first week of December, first or second week? And I was like, oh, my God, I'm running out of time. I gotta. You know, I just wanna get this. And so I found one right before, like, within two weeks. So we negotiated, I signed the contract, ordered everything and flew out there. So I think about two weeks. Okay. From lease to.

[Podcast Host]

Is that your standard of what you have is two weeks from least to being ready to go? Because how do you get furniture from Wayfair in two weeks? That's crazy.

[Linda Kim]

It comes in like two days now.

[Podcast Host]

So that's it.

[VRBO Narrator]

Really?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Are you. Are you. Is that. That obviously plays a factor in how quickly you can get this stuff, right?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

What do you buy? The housewives? You just go to, like, Target and just bang it out?

[Linda Kim]

Well, that's up to Target or Amazon. Oh, yeah, that kind of stuff. I kind of already have a list.

[Podcast Host]

You just have a list of. And you can reoccurring and just bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Plates or plates?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, exactly.

[Podcast Host]

Plates are plates. Okay. Cool.

[Linda Kim]

Towels. You know, it's all the same stuff.

[Podcast Host]

So. So many people now are trying to manage, like, their properties off Airbnb, off vrbo. Do you have sites where they can book directly for you on your stuff? Do you have your own site?

[Linda Kim]

I. I'm creating one, but I haven't had to rely on it yet just because Airbnb's been pretty good.

[Podcast Host]

What split do they take? Airbnb?

[Linda Kim]

Well, I think they changed it now to 13%.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, what was it. What was it before?

[Linda Kim]

I think before the. You had. The guest would pay some of that, but now it's all the host fee. I'm not sure why they did that, but. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, because $90 billion isn't enough. It sounds. I guess you got to make a little money. Got to get. Got to get the revenue so they can get their valuation up.

[Linda Kim]

Which is.

[Podcast Host]

Which is how it works. So you're trying to make. So when you say I want to make twice the rent on the. On the. Is that net or gross?

[Linda Kim]

That's net. Well, so let's say. Let's say you got $12,000 on Airbnb. Then you pay the $4,000 rent, then you profit 8. So it's like.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, so you're trying to make a net. You're trying to make a net 8, is that.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So that's. But that's really not net net because that doesn't include utilities or anything else. Yeah, yeah, that's just your gross top line after Airbnb's money. So if you, if you're renting for four, do you want to bring in 12 on Airbnb?

[Linda Kim]

If you, if you're running for four, you want to bring in eight, because half of that goes to rent.

[Podcast Host]

Right. Okay. So. I mean. Okay, I get it. So. Okay, sorry. I don't know how we got the math screwed up. I know you're estimating $8,000 is what you want to bring in, so you're getting four. And then by the time utilities and everything else comes down to that, what are you normally left with?

[Linda Kim]

Utilities? Only couple few hundred.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

All right.

[Linda Kim]

But sometimes it even goes like the Houston house, it's 4,003, 900 for rent for a five bedroom, which is great. Better than California prices. And so what? The highest one that had 11,000 net profit.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, Last March.

[Podcast Host]

So how many? Well, let me ask you this though, because there are months when you lose, right?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. Not so far. It depends on the market.

[Podcast Host]

Not so far.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, so you haven't had any losers. How many houses do you have going at one time?

[Linda Kim]

So I've acquired nine total of single family.

[Podcast Host]

So nine single families going.

[Linda Kim]

But now I'm restructuring my Houston properties.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

How are you restructuring those?

[Linda Kim]

So I was testing the market over a year ago because I'd never been there. And I tried two different neighborhoods. One did really well, the one not as well. So I, I moved everything to the.

[Podcast Host]

To the new.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Why Houston?

[Linda Kim]

I. Everyone asked that. It's so random. But I had a friend show me around and they had really lenient regulation. So I was like, okay, maybe I should try it here.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Linda Kim]

And it did really well and it just worked out.

[Podcast Host]

So. Yeah, it's literally just a crapshoot.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. Well, I did air DNA too, but part of it was just looking at the neighborhoods.

[Podcast Host]

How accurate do you find air DNA to be?

[Linda Kim]

That's a good question. I think it can be a little hit and miss, but it's been pretty good so far, like anything else. Yeah. Because you don't want to go for something that has 40% occupancy. You don't want to go.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Linda Kim]

Really low. But if it's like 60, maybe.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, that's like your thing. You're looking for 6%.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. 60, 70.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, cool. If somebody wanted to get in this and starting just first day, what would you recommend them to do?

[Linda Kim]

Well, I would hire a mentor just because I did.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, we did. We already asked that, didn't we? I already asked that question. Yeah, I did hire a mentor. I mean, actually working. But just do the same thing you're doing. Just find a landlord that's willing to let you do it and run the numbers.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

How much capital do you think they need to have to get to get into this?

[Linda Kim]

I would say first and first month rent, deposit money for furniture. And so if you're looking at a house, it's probably in around 25k.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. So you're looking at. Yeah, because you've got. Okay, you have the. You have the lease, the deposit, and you said three to four times the deposit is what you want to put it in furniture.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And how it goes. Okay. And then. Yeah. And then you're up and kind of running in two weeks with bookings.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

How long does it take? I don't even know how long it take Airbnb to, like, process the money. Is it instant?

[Linda Kim]

Oh, for the bookings?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Is it instant?

[Linda Kim]

It's pretty quick. It's once they come. I think it's once they get there.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Linda Kim]

It's pretty fast.

[Podcast Host]

You get it very fast.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Have you ever had anybody trash a house?

[Linda Kim]

No.

[Podcast Host]

No. Okay, well, yeah. How are you dealing with cleaning? Just find local cleaners that'll go.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. I've been lucky, too, because every city of Go, I have one team that does everything because they want the business. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So do you. Yeah. I. I found that there's. Those businesses have been popping up quite a bit where they'll find them. Had you just googled in that market, like, Airbnb help and they were helping you.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. Or I'll look on Yelp or ask agents for recommendations. Yeah. And they've been great.

[Podcast Host]

So that's smart.

[Linda Kim]

Yes. It's on autopilot because you have the same cleaner. They have their schedules, like, texted to them.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Linda Kim]

Just show up and then.

[Podcast Host]

And you haven't seen a drop off at all. So you're, like, just. Just really confused what these people are even talking about. So Airbnb is dead.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. I think it really comes down to design and saturation. Yeah. Yeah. So if you. If you set yourself apart, I think you're gonna do well. Okay, so.

[Podcast Host]

Wow. That's cool. Let's talk about your coaching program, because if somebody's listening to this, they're like, I. I want to learn more about this. Like some. Walk me through your coaching program.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah. So it's pretty much everything from. I start with mindset, too, because obviously, you know, it's so important. If you go into that without it, you're just gonna have a hard time.

[Podcast Host]

Yep.

[Linda Kim]

So that setting up your business, your llc, your website, how do you go pitch the landlord to get properties? And I had one person consultation the other day, and they said, oh, I took another coaching program. It's been four months and I don't have one yet. And so they have. They don't have property. So I teach you how to use. Yeah. Learn all that stuff because I don't think you people always teach it the right way. Yeah, yeah. So that is so important. And then obviously setting up your listing, how do you design it? I think I'm only one of the coaches that teaches how to design. I don't think there's a lot out

[Podcast Host]

there that makes sense.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because that's like, that's how you make your money. Yeah, yeah. So I teach all that and then SEO, pricing strategies, everything.

[Podcast Host]

So when you say SEO, like, talk about what you mean by that. Because isn't everything going through Airbnb so you try to show up better on Airbnb? Is that what you're talking about? What are the. Let's talk about that. What are the tips and tricks for showing up better on Airbnb?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So even I wasn't aware that was a thing.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, yeah, it's. It's listing optimization, too. Even something like your response rate. I don't know if people know that if your response rate is low, they're not going to push your listing to the top. So even something like that will help you.

[Podcast Host]

So how do you make sure you have a high response? Do you have VAs that are managing your.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

VAs that are managing all your inbounds. Okay, so you're not missing anything.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, exactly. I didn't in the first year and I missed some of the stuff.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah. And where your v. Where your VA

[Linda Kim]

is located in Philippines.

[Podcast Host]

Philippines. But they work US hours. They're right there.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, exactly.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. It's amazing how much help you can get. A great pricing. We started.

[Linda Kim]

We.

[Podcast Host]

We've kind of. We've leaned away from the Philippines now, and I'm really big on. I love Colombia and Venezuela. Oh, I love. Yeah. Because there's great English speakers. It's really close to our time zone.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So you don't get that sometimes occasional grogginess that you get from the Philippines. So. Yeah, I love those markets for V.

[Linda Kim]

Oh, where do you find that? Like, from those countries, you just go

[Podcast Host]

on work and then whatever you need done, and then you can literally just specify what countries you want on upwork when you post the job.

[Linda Kim]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

But you'll find good and, and they're good. I find the pricing is, is, is better than the Philippines.

[Linda Kim]

Oh, wow.

[Podcast Host]

These are good people. And they're, they're happy to have the jobs and they work hard and do a good job. So I like that very much as. As we go that route. Cool. So if they want to join your coaching program, how do they do it?

[Linda Kim]

Yeah, so I, I have a website, bnbmastery society.com. and then I, I do free consultation calls with people just to make it's the right fit. Make sure it's the right fit. And then. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Awesome.

[Linda Kim]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Well, dude, Linda, I am so great. I'm so grateful you came in. I love the story. I think you're crushing. Good for you. That's awesome. Airbnb is not dead. You can still make money. And listen, if you want to get into real estate, this is kind of. I mean, if you want to cash flow it, you're obviously not going to get into your appreciation, you're not going to get those benefits. But if you want some flexibility on maybe is this a good deal? Maybe. Is it not a good deal? You're not speculating markets. If you're worried about the real estate market going down, hey, maybe this is the way to do it, right?

[Linda Kim]

100%. Yeah. Such a great way to get in with low capital and low risk.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Yeah, I love that. Well, thanks for coming by, guys. If you listen to this, if you're in a place where you're not happy with your current corporate life, take a chance. Do something different. Do what Linda did. Jump on it. Go out there, find a path. Because there's a ton of them out there. And there's a way that you can change your trajectory. We'll see you next week.

[VRBO Narrator]

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