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The Matt King Show
046: Andrew Freed | The Six-Figure Trap: How He Quit His W2 Job and Built a 550-Unit Real Estate Portfolio
00:47:46
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- [00:05]
A
It was May, I believe the year was 2024.
- [00:09]
B
It was 2024. Yes.
- [00:11]
A
You were at the Austin Entrepreneurial Summit. Powered by GoBundance.
- [00:14]
B
Amazing conference. Yep.
- [00:16]
A
And I put you on the spot in front of 200 people.
- [00:20]
B
To be honest, I think it was the second time you put me on the spot.
- [00:24]
A
But yes, that was the more aggressive time. Second was the more aggressive time. And you were quiet quitting in your job. You were running a W2 while also building a massive real estate portfolio.
- [00:34]
B
I was.
- [00:35]
A
How did you sleep with yourself at night knowing that you were quiet quitting while also doing something on the side?
- [00:40]
B
I felt guilty, honestly. Like, if I was my boss at that time, I would have fired myself. Right. But it was just, you know, from my perspective, was just easy money. You know, at a certain point, you know, do I chase the 100 grand salary or do I give that up and go for the moon? Right. And what I will say is, after taking that leap, I think in a matter of three to four months, I forexed my annual income.
- [01:03]
A
But it took you how long to take that leap? I mean, how long have you been talking about it? Years.
- [01:07]
B
I was scared. I was scared out of my mind because I always had the W2 mindset. I got my. My bachelor's, I got my master's. I grew up thinking I need to get that six figure job at that swanky organization, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Like, that was my identity more than anything.
- [01:22]
A
Yeah. And did that come from your parents? Did that come from society? Like, where did that come from?
- [01:27]
B
That absolutely came from my parents. My parents were, you know, a white collar, you know, valued education, valued a good job, valued working for a good company, you know, and I. I always wanted to control my own destiny. And at a certain point, I think in my 30s, that's when I came to the realization that I really have to stop living somebody else's dream and really be living my dream.
- [01:51]
A
Was there a moment that made you realize that? Was there a sequence of moments? Like what? What made you realize that?
- [01:58]
B
I think what really made me realize that, which I'm sure many of your viewers can relate with, is just reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. When I read that book, I literally had tears streaming down my face. On. You know, I've literally been living life the wrong way. I've been. My mindset has been wrong. The way I approached my money has been wrong. I think up to that point, I've used people with money in an evil context. Right. And that was kind of embreaded. In me, in society. And I realized after reading that book that people with success, financial fitness, that comes through discipline and that comes to determination. And ultimately I wasn't doing that. I was procrastinating. I wasn't living the life I wanted to live. And that that was really a crossroad where I had to make a change.
- [02:37]
A
And did you find on this journey that money wasn't evil?
- [02:41]
B
I did. I found on this journey that the more you lean into gratitude, the more you lean into abundance, the more you lean into providing value to the world, the more money comes to you. Right. So a lot of times when I'm doing business transactions, I don't really think about how much money I'm making. I think how much value am I creating.
- [02:59]
A
Yeah, yeah. And I think that's like a key differentiator. Like the, the people that I've been fortunate to surround myself with that are successful from a financial perspective, which we all know there's many more definitions to success than just money. But they understand that it's not about the money, it's about the value. And the more value you can create, the more money you can receive, which means the more value you can create elsewhere, whether that's shopping, whether that's giving it away, whether that's finding charities. And I think what I've really found is the, the public eye paints a negative light on most successful people because the system and the government actually want us to follow the status quo. The quo you were following when you were growing up. Right. Get a job, go into debt, live off the system, work that job for 40 years, get retirement, if there is still retirement, Social Security there for us. And then you become actually like a product of the system, but you become dependent on the system. And you bucked it.
- [03:56]
B
I did. And you know, what I would say is I honestly think, you know, money is modern day slavery. I don't people, I don't think people realize the control that money has over their life. Yeah, right. I didn't realize that through my entire 30s and reading that book, I came to the realization that, yeah, Maybe I had six months, maybe a 12 months of reserves, but if I got fired from that job, I'd have to go crawling back to that job. And that, you know, that reliance on some other thing really kind of, you know, opened my eyes to the possibilities.
- [04:27]
A
Yeah. And I remember standing on stage, you were very vulnerable and brave and stood up. And then I just totally took advantage of that opportunity to put you on the spot. But I remember telling you, what is the Worst case scenario. And as you articulated your worst case scenario, it was literally the exact thing you were living in your W2 job, working for the man, sacrificing your goals, sacrificing your vision, sacrificing your dreams. And I think one of the ways to really ground ourselves in what risk is or what fear is, is say, what is the worst thing that can happen? Because so often I find that the worst thing can happen is the exact thing that I'm in right now. And nothing stopped you from, if the real estate thing didn't work, which is worked, but nothing stopped you from going, getting another W2 or even going back to that same job. Like you left on good terms, I assume.
- [05:16]
B
Yes.
- [05:17]
A
So you call mom or you call dad, you say, hey, I quit. What happened?
- [05:24]
B
They were scared for me.
- [05:25]
A
Were they?
- [05:26]
B
They were scared. They were questioning whether this was the right decision. You know, I, I was honestly the most successful person in my family from, from all accounts, but they were worried for me. And from a place of love. Right, I understand. But ultimately, you know, like you mentioned there, the status quo is a decision. And I don't think people realize doing nothing is a decision. Right. And if, if your current place in life is where you don't want to be, that is the status quo. And do you want to continue this for 34 years or do you want to make a change? And it came at a crossroad. I, I, it was, it was a certain point where I was escaping more in devices and I had, I had to make a decision. Do I want to continue this life and continue this job and escape more and more in vices, in the women and the video games and the weed and anything I could do to get me off my, my mind off of, you know, the life I wanted to live and live in regret or take a leap. And worst case, like you said, I go bankrupt and I get another job six to 12 months later.
- [06:22]
A
So would you say the man you are today is happier, more fulfilled?
- [06:27]
B
I am absolutely, Absolutely happier, more fulfilled. I honestly think I am in flow right now on a daily basis. I mean, don't get me wrong, it comes with its challenges. I mean, with growing a business, you have growing pains, right? But ultimately I live with way more purpose and I'm honestly way more happier every single day.
- [06:45]
A
And I think that's important to talk about is like with, with growing a business or with growing anything comes growing pain. But if it wasn't worth it, there would never be a pain. And so you don't stop when you start to feel pain in your business, you don't start to stop when, you don't stop, when you feel pain in working out, when you're trying to change your physique, you lean into that pain and that discomfort because you know on the other side of it, that's where the gold lies. So, so you're working to build this business. Talk to me a little bit about what the business looks like today, but then also tell me where it's going to be five years from now.
- [07:14]
B
Absolutely. So this year was a transformational year. We closed on 250 rental units. Currently as of now, I have about 30 employees that work for me under my property management company and my agent team. We self manage around 550 of my rental units and we acquire these units through syndications and joint ventures. Typically buy value add multifamily, you know, 20 to 30% discount on a price per unit basis. Go through our value add strategy, increase the net income, net operating income, suck up the equity, buy more property.
- [07:48]
A
Talk to me a little bit about this value add thing because I think that's such a bud word buzzword in the, in the world of real estate. Like, oh, we're going to value add it. And for most people value add is like new paint, new carpet. No, doesn't work.
- [07:58]
B
No.
- [07:59]
A
So what's your strategy?
- [08:00]
B
I mean it all, you're attacking value add from two different directions, either the revenue or the expenses. Right. So a typical strategy for us would be identify a commercial asset, a multifamily property that has shared utilities. Right. Can we put that utilities back in the tenant? Can we install heat pumps? Can we separate the electricity? That's an easy low hanging fruit. Right. Another example of that would be, you know, if you see these outsized units, square footage wise, a 1200 square foot two bed, you can, you could easily find one or two more bedrooms in there, increasing the revenue by a couple hundred dollars every single month. Long hanging fruit. We did, we do that sort of value add all day. Like another simple value add which a lot of people seem to forget is, you know, if there's extra square footage in your building. Right. Rather than adding an additional unit, which comes with a lot of regulatory requirements, you can add that square footage to another bed, another unit and create bedrooms. So these are the kind of value add strategies we do to really increase the revenue and decrease the expenses.
- [08:57]
A
And then is the goal to hold it for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years? Or is the goal to value add it, flip it, sell it?
- [09:04]
B
So wealth in real estate is made through holding it. You make wealth in real estate through the other profit levers beyond, beyond cash flow. What I'm talking about is mortgage pay down, forced appreciation, and especially the tax benefits. So my goal is to hold all these assets because I built a majority of my net worth through holding these assets, through not paying taxes, through the amazing amount of equity that I've built that I can leverage to buy more and more and more property. So ultimately my goal is to either buy and hold it, keep refinancing, or if I'm going to sell 1031 into a larger asset and do the same exact strategy over and over and over again.
- [09:44]
A
So do you think that more wealth is made in real estate or on the hold or on the acquisition?
- [09:49]
B
I think more wealth is absolutely made on the whole. Right. And the reason for that is because the wealth in real estate, especially C class properties which I buy, is made in the operations. You could, you could overpay for a property. And if you operate that right, that can turn into a good deal. You could underpay for a property, and if you operate that horribly, it could turn into the worst deal ever.
- [10:10]
A
Yeah, and I think that's, that's a, it's a good point. Like I've always been a big believer and I would argue this for or five hours with you, wealth is real wealth. And real estate is actually made on the acquisition. Because to your point, if you overpay for an asset, you could manage it, Right. But in order to acquire it, you knew what your management was going to look like. You had to have a plan when you went in to buy that asset. And I believe one of the things a lot of people have done wrong, from call it 2022 to today where we're sitting, is they didn't pay enough attention to the acquisition. They thought they could value add to get to where they needed to be. They didn't pay enough attention to the insurance increases or the tax increases. And now a lot of these syndicators are about to go belly up unless the banks continue to extend and pretend, which is a real possibility. But unless the, unless there's like a miracle or some sort of a Hail Mary from Trump or the banks, a lot of these people are about to lose assets because they bought wrong. And so I think, like we're saying the same thing, just in different ways. When you're saying that wealth is built in real estate from the hold, you're saying it's built in real estate from the hold because you had the Plan as to how you were going to maximize that asset, how you were going to generate your yield, generate your return, or pull all those different levers you had. I think the problem is a lot of people don't recognize that true wealth is actually made when you buy the asset, because you have to have a plan when you acquire it. And if you overpay without a plan, you're screwed. If you underpay without a plan, you're screwed. If you pay. Right. Without a plan, you're screwed. And so the buying of the asset with a crystal clear plan in place is the most important thing.
- [11:38]
B
I would absolutely agree with that. What I will say is, you know, my experience working with other syndicators, multifamily investors is, yeah, you're exactly right. It's very important to buy right. Because that could, that could hide mistakes. Right. But ultimately, if you're not managing the asset right, which I see, I see time and time and time again, you know, you could turn a great deal into an okay deal.
- [12:04]
A
Yeah, right.
- [12:05]
B
And you know, when it comes to real estate, everybody says real estate, it's such a broad thing. Like you're, you know, you're probably talking about real estate with cap rates 4 or 5 in Arizona, in the Sunbelt. Right. I'm talking real estate in New England with cap rates 8, 9, 10. Right. So it's sort of a different, they're sort of different assets within real estate. Oh, that. It's kind of hard to paint a broad brush.
- [12:28]
A
Sure. I mean, there's not only different assets, there's different markets.
- [12:31]
B
Exactly.
- [12:32]
A
The kind of asset you're buying in New England is very different than that same asset here in Austin, Texas. Yes. Taxes are very different, Tenant base is very different. Regulatory requirements are very different. And so I think a lot of people listen to podcasts like this and I'm like, oh my gosh. Andrew Fried said gold. I can manage my way to a successful asset, which is not untrue. And if you buy at the wrong price and don't have a ceiling on your interest rates and don't underwrite increases in insurance, you are quickly going to find yourself that no matter what you do, that asset is not going to be able to support the debt load.
- [13:07]
B
Absolutely.
- [13:08]
A
But to your point, it's all about operations. So when you're building out this business, you're buying all these assets, you're doing it very quickly. Like, most people would look at your play and say, like, oh, that was what, a five year play, a seven year play? Like, no, that was Last year, how do you think about building teams, systems and then managing those people?
- [13:30]
B
So growing this organization, early on I ran into this amazing tool called the culture Index. There's many forms about this. It's personality tests, which more or less they give you tools to make sure your hiring the right person with the right skill set and putting them in the right seat. Right. So early on, I hired a consultant to help me implement this software. And it really made me, you know, think of business in a completely different way. You know, just like you're creating a championship sports team, you have to have certain specialties and certain expertise in different positions. Yeah, right. So utilizing that, that software, I was able to put myself in the qb. I was able to have, you know, offensive linemen, I was able to have wide receivers. And when you're scaling a business at a certain point, it's not about finding opportunity, it's about hiring talent. Because if you hire the right talent, the opportunity will come.
- [14:19]
A
It's all about talent. I mean, we've all heard it time and time again. How much does the wrong hire cost you? Time, money, energy, all that stuff. But at the end of the day, there is nothing that I have found that will determine the trajectory of your business more than the people inside of your business running it with you.
- [14:37]
B
You absolutely.
- [14:38]
A
You've got to have the right people in the right seats with the right culture. And that's what creates the opportunities that you've had for you. So what was the first key hire you made?
- [14:48]
B
My first key hire was my operations manager, Cassie. We ended up, my partner, had a gym and she was the operations manager over here. I think he found her on Fiverr. Right, Fiverr.
- [14:59]
A
Fiverr.
- [15:00]
B
I found her right on Fiverr. And. And this woman's living. This woman's living the dream life. She's over in Europe, traveling, working remote, and doing jobs in the United States. So, yeah, she came on board and she literally built my entire organization. Like she's this amazing genius that I could just tell her what I want. She'll go, she'll tinker away, she'll come back, she'll have it done right. I don't even give her much direction. Just tell her the end result, what do I want? She'll figure it out. So the first thing she did was she built our whole property management company via appfolio. She then implemented Trello property management software to keep all of our staff on track and she helped hire our entire organization. So In a mere two years, we went from, I think, one employee to around 25.
- [15:48]
A
And she did. You leaned on her for all of that?
- [15:50]
B
She. I leaned on her for mostly everything. Yeah. So, you know, I'm the type of person where I'm a visionary. I'm really good at coming up with the ideas, but I'm not really good at executing it. Right. So I had two key hires who are partners that really came in my business that really allowed me to scale to find your doors in a couple of years. My first partner was Zach Gray, my business partner. He's the integrator, he's the boots on the ground. He's the one that makes sure these at the stabilization plans come to fruition. And then Cassie is my operations manager and she builds the structure. You know, I'll come up with a vision, I'll tell exactly what she wants, she'll build it brick by brick. Then when I come back, it's going to be this beautiful mosaic. Right.
- [16:27]
A
And is she still remote?
- [16:28]
B
She is still remote, yes.
- [16:30]
A
So the only people that are in person are the people that are managing the properties on the ground or nobody's in person.
- [16:37]
B
I have an array of hires, so I have a lot of people in the Philippines. I probably four or five virtual assistants help with leasing agents, executive assistants, marketing specialist, and then I have on site property managers. I have about six of them. I have some administrative property managers. These are all local. And then I have maintenance tax. I have two or three maintenance techs, a couple of carpenters which are local. And then Cassie is remote. Yes.
- [17:03]
A
And all of them are W2 or you do some 1099, some variations of it?
- [17:08]
B
I do. Currently I do a hybrid approach.
- [17:10]
A
Hybrid approach, Cool. And then when you're going through building this business, hiring these people, acquiring these assets, how do you think about risk?
- [17:19]
B
How do I think about risk? The way I really think about risk is, you know, whenever I go into any business endeavor, I think about I have to come up with a comprehensive business plan. I have to build in contingencies and I have to have all the resources up front to get my business plan to fruition within three months. Right. And I think a lot of people don't manage risk that way. They'll take in this huge value add property and they'll under raise or they won't have enough money in the operating area town or they won't ask for enough construction money or they won't build enough contingencies. And then when things go left or right, they throw their hands up in the air. Right. But if you come in with a solid plan, you come in with solid contingencies, you come in with the right plan up front and you plan to hit the ground running in day one. I think that mitigates a lot of risk. And, you know, I think the one. I think one of the major competitive advantages to me and my partner is we attack business with urgency. Right. Like, like it, what it will take other syndicators to do in 12 months, it will take us to do in six months.
- [18:23]
A
Do you think at any point that urgency becomes a liability?
- [18:26]
B
It does become a liability in the fact that it pushes our team very, very hard. Right. And you know, we have felt growing pains in that regard because some people can't keep up with the speed. Right. So, you know, it has, it, it has its downsides, but it also has its upsides. Everything in life, life is a double edged sword. Right. And I would rather be on the side of getting shit done than be on the other side of the spectrum.
- [18:50]
A
Is that how you look at all things in life or is that just your business mindset?
- [18:54]
B
No, that's everything in life. I live life with no regrets. I go all into everything, as you can tell, you know, you. You put me on the spot to quit my W2. I did. You know, it took me two times, but. It took you two times? Yes. It did take you two times. Yes. But I eventually did it.
- [19:07]
A
That's my fault. I'm not a good salesman.
- [19:11]
B
No. The first time you didn't threaten my beard. You didn't, you didn't do the right incentives.
- [19:15]
A
Right.
- [19:15]
B
What's Warren Buffett say, choose the right incentives, I'll show you the right results?
- [19:20]
A
Yep, yep, that's correct. That's correct. So that's how you attack everything in life?
- [19:24]
B
Absolutely.
- [19:25]
A
So you went on a pretty crazy health transformation.
- [19:28]
B
I did.
- [19:29]
A
I mean, lost how much weight?
- [19:31]
B
42 pounds.
- [19:32]
A
42 pounds. How much body fat? I mean, like just crazy results, right?
- [19:35]
B
Yeah, I think it was like 24% body fat to like 12 or 13.
- [19:40]
A
What was the catalyst to get you to go on that journey?
- [19:44]
B
The catalyst to get me to go on that journey was ultimately I was kicking ass in mostly every bucket besides fitness. Right. And, you know, I kept making goals. I never, I never, you know, moved forward with those goals.
- [19:58]
A
Why?
- [19:59]
B
I just made excuses. I always, you know, I leaned into things I was comfortable with. I'm good at business, I'm good at finances, I'm good at other components of my life. And it didn't come easy to me. Right. But at a certain point, I think it was at A Go Go abundance event. I saw the results of the previous event, and somebody. And I think somebody mentioned. I was like, I told, I always wanted a six pack, right? And I think that program was $10,000. And I asked myself, would I pay $10,000 for a six pack? And the answer to that was yes. I was like, I might as well do it. So I just jumped in and in the process of doing it, you know, I. I got addicted to the discipline. Right. That level of discipline that you need to get in, that level of fitness transit translates to so many components of your life. Right. I think you've experienced this with running marathons, right?
- [20:44]
A
For sure, man. Like the, The. The discipline required to maintain and manage your health, especially in America with the American diet and all of the fast food and all of the easy to access food here.
- [20:57]
B
Totally.
- [20:58]
A
It requires some extreme discipline.
- [21:00]
B
Absolutely.
- [21:00]
A
But when you change your body, you also change your mind. So as you went through this health journey, this transformation, what about you changed.
- [21:10]
B
So many components about me? I mean, first of all, I just love the. The aspect, this journey of just becoming a hardened freaking warrior. I mean, I just freaking love it. And I love inspiring other people. That's what gets me up at night. That's great. Sorry. That's what gets me up during the day. So I absolutely love it.
- [21:24]
A
Probably keeps you up at night too.
- [21:25]
B
But it kind of keeps me up at night too. Yes. I do have a lot of. Lot of things my plate, but I. I love my life way more than what it was when I was working my W2. What are we talking about?
- [21:36]
A
So who did you become on this transformational journey? Like what. How did you change?
- [21:40]
B
The way I changed is I literally changed every aspect of my life. I changed the way I eat. I had to monitor every single thing I put into my stomach. I changed the way I did cardio. I had to monitor my heart rate to ensure I was in the right zone. It's specifically zone two for burning fat. You know, I had to do. I had to go to the gym. Like, when I went to the gym, I just went on machines. I just pulled things. I had no intent. You know, I learned to focus on certain areas of my body. You know, I learned to. I learned to sleep better. I learned that stress feeds into weight loss. There were so many components, it literally changed the entire person I am today.
- [22:21]
A
Would you say that there was any part of you that was holding on to this identity that you weren't healthy that you had to let go of?
- [22:31]
B
I think the thing that really Held me back was. I think the really thing that held me back was the fact that I. I didn't even believe I could do it. I've never been in that shape in my entire life.
- [22:46]
A
Yeah.
- [22:46]
B
I've never had six packs. I've always been, you know, husky. I've never been in shape and I didn't even think it was possible. Right. Like you're doing the program. I. The thing about hiring a coach, the thing about hiring an expert is they've done this and they have years and years and years and years of experience. And I've learned early on in this financial journey that, you know, when you get advice from experts, lead into it. Yeah, lead into it. Don't ask questions and just do it. Yeah. And that was the biggest thing I learned and I just did it. I didn't ask any questions. I just did exactly what he told me to do day in and day out.
- [23:19]
A
I think it's really important though, to identify. You were given a label growing up of husky.
- [23:23]
B
Yeah.
- [23:24]
A
Otherwise that word would not have come out of your mouth. Right. Somebody somewhere said, he's husky. Like, people labeled me as stocky. Like, oh, he's just stocky. Right. Husky is another great word for it. Right. But you had that label and so your entire life you've lived with that label, but you've also live. Lived with that limiting belief of like, I don't know if I can get that healthy. I don't think I can do it. I don't think I am capable of that. But once you broke down that barrier, you realize that was just a story you told yourself or a story that other people told you that you didn't have to carry anymore.
- [23:55]
B
Absolutely. Absolutely.
- [23:57]
A
Where else in your life have you had these stories and how have you let them go?
- [24:04]
B
You know, I. So in this, in this journey that I, this four year journey went from zero to 500 doors, I, you know, became financially free. I quit my W2. You know, I've definitely went inward and I really had to come face to face with a lot of my demons. Right. And one of the ways I did this a lot was with, you know, some plant medicine. I went down to Peru for a week. I went to the Amazon rainforest. I went with some shaman and I really had to look inward. Right. And ultimately, you know, I think it all comes down to, you know, just wanting to be loved. Right. And. And, you know, I just, I just came to the realization that the more value I provide to the world, the more, the more the world will love back. Love me back. Right. And that's been my guiding principle and that's really helped me build this empire today.
- [24:54]
A
Do you love yourself?
- [24:56]
B
I do love myself. I do love myself. I love the person I am today. I love the fact that I only live with any regrets. And I can confidently say right now that if I died, I would die happy.
- [25:07]
A
You go down to the Amazon with the shamans.
- [25:10]
B
Yeah.
- [25:11]
A
Did that version of you love themselves?
- [25:13]
B
That version of me did not love myself. That version of me had all those limiting beliefs. That version of me didn't have the confidence to do what I do today. Right. If you tried to throw my 5, 10 year old self into what I do on a daily basis, I would burn and I would fail.
- [25:26]
A
Yeah.
- [25:27]
B
Right.
- [25:28]
A
What's fascinating about that, from my perspective, just hearing your story, which thank you for being vulnerable, is you were seeking love and approval from others that you didn't even know how to give to yourself.
- [25:38]
B
It's true.
- [25:39]
A
So how can you get it from anybody else?
- [25:41]
B
Absolutely.
- [25:41]
A
If you can't even give it to yourself?
- [25:43]
B
And to your point, one of my intentions going down there, going into one of these experiences, I wanted to be best friends with myself. Because how many times do you just say horrible, horrendous things to yourself in your head? Like, would you say that to anybody you loved?
- [25:55]
A
Yeah.
- [25:56]
B
So why do you say that to yourself? Kind to yourself. You should be loving to yourself. Right. Because ultimately you need the support to really live the life you need. You want to live.
- [26:06]
A
Yeah. I had a very similar moment in my life. Not in Peru, not with the shamans, but where I recognized that I was talking to myself in a way that I wouldn't talk to anybody else. And I'll never forget David Osborne pulled me aside and he's like, look, I had to learn the same lesson. But let me ask you a question. You have a newborn baby. Would you talk to her that way? It's like, no. It's like, so why the hell would you talk to yourself that way?
- [26:29]
B
Yeah.
- [26:30]
A
And that was the moment I realized that our mind is like a garden. What we water grows, you, you water the weeds, the weeds are going to take off. The weeds grow by themselves. Without water, you don't need to help them. But if you water the plants and you weed the garden, now all of a sudden you can have your mind be this beautiful, safe space for you to feel confident and comfortable inside of your own self. And once you do that, then you can actually start seeking approval, love, and acceptance from other people.
- [26:56]
B
Absolutely. Thought is the Coin of heaven. One of my favorite quotes.
- [26:59]
A
Thought is the coin of heaven. What does that mean to you?
- [27:02]
B
Thought is the coin of heaven. Mean? All creation comes from thought. All destruction comes from thought. Everything that exists in this world comes from thought. This table would not exist. This mic would not exist. You would not exist.
- [27:14]
A
That's right.
- [27:14]
B
Without that.
- [27:15]
A
My dad had a lot of thoughts that night, but I think you're spot on. Right. Like, so much of what we see on a daily basis is to try to manipulate our thoughts. I read recently that we see over 10,000 ads a day. I mean, you think about it, you go on Facebook, you're seeing ads, you go on Instagram, you're seeing ads, you pull up the Wall Street Journal, you're seeing ads. You drive to the ranch, you're seeing restaurants and billboards and ads. Right. How do you make sure that your thoughts stay clean? In this world full of noise and.
- [27:49]
B
Other people's agendas, being indistractable is an absolute superpower that not many people have the ability to do. And it's not. It's no fault of their own. There's so much media and things coming your way. Social media, for example. So one tactic I utilize is, first of all, I. I take all social media off my phone. I'm a content creator. I'm not a content user. Like, that's number one.
- [28:12]
A
Yeah, you're a creator, not a consumer.
- [28:13]
B
Exactly. Exactly. But know, what I do every single day is, you know, I literally go to a cafe, I'll go somewhere quiet, I'll write three things I'm grateful for, and then I'll write, you know, what can I do today to. To create my 10 year, 5 year, 1 year vision of the person I want to become, the life I want to live. Right. And I do that every single day. Right. And literally just the act of writing it down, it gets done. I literally don't even look at my list again that entire day. But it just magically get some because they're. There's intention behind that. Right. And ultimately it all comes down to intention. Right?
- [28:49]
A
Yeah. Do you think that this superpower of not being distracted, which I.
- [28:54]
B
Which I have adhd, so it took me some. Which I do, but it took me.
- [28:58]
A
Some time to figure out that just answers the question. So this is a. Is a superpower that can be learned.
- [29:04]
B
Absolutely.
- [29:05]
A
That can be groomed. It's a muscle that can be built.
- [29:07]
B
Totally.
- [29:08]
A
How long did it take you to build it?
- [29:10]
B
Oh, my God. It took me my entire 20s up to my 30s and you know what I would say is I always had, I always had dreams of being an entrepreneur. I always wanted to be my own man, but I always had these great ideas. And then I just procrastinated and didn't do and took no action and made excuses. Right. And you know, I think after reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I came to realization that, like, you know, I mean, I only have one life. Do I want to live in regret or do I want to leave everything on the table?
- [29:42]
A
Yeah. What's fascinating for me about this is I was recently listening to Chris Williamson's podcast, arguably one of the best podcasts, and he had Matthew McConaughey on, arguably one of the best storytellers to ever obviously be on a podcast.
- [29:55]
B
Absolutely.
- [29:56]
A
And they were talking about this idea of studying the result, not the rise. And I think people listening to this be like, man, I'd love to own 500 units. Like, man, look at Andrew's life, it's so epic. He's doing what he wants when he wants with six pack. Like, gosh, I want that life. But the real gold in your journey is if people study the rise. The how did you get through your 20s? How did you get through your 30s? How did you recognize that you needed this superpower that this muscle had to be groomed and grown and given attention to? And when we study the rise, then we can actually start to learn from how we can implement those things in our lives. Right. It's easy for you, Real estate guy. I'm sure you were studying like the Brandon Turners of the world and looking up to the David Osborne's like these people with these giant real estate portfolios, but their result doesn't teach you anything. Yes, it shows you what's possible, but you don't see the trials, you don't see the tribulations, you don't see the failures, you don't see the hard days, you don't see the good days. And so when you're looking at Andrew Freed 7.5 or whatever version you're going to next, who are you studying? Who are you learning from? Who are you emulating? Who are you copying?
- [31:02]
B
Yeah, I think you bring up a really good point. You know, you have read the, have you ever read this book, Peaks and Valleys? Yeah, Fantastic book. And what you're really referring to is studying the Valley, right? Studying the low points because everybody could see the high points, but the low points is what created the hardened diamond to get you to who you are today.
- [31:19]
A
And what I'm saying is, don't just study the valley, study from valley to peak. And once they get to peak, you don't need to study them anymore. Because if you study from valley to peak and learn from that journey and implement it in your life, which is a big step that most people miss, they think, oh, I studied it. Now it's just going to happen. Like, feel the dreams. But if you look at the valley and then study their ascent up the mountain to the quote unquote peak, whatever that is for that person, that's where the gold lies.
- [31:50]
B
You know, I'm really thankful because growing up I had a really, really tough childhood. Nobody would assume I would be the person I am today. You know, I had no friends. I had. I had adhd. I was hopped up on Adderall. I just escaped in the video games, literally. I don't think I had a friend until I was like, 12. Right. So I had a really lonely childhood growing up, you know, and over time, I weaned myself off Adderall. I ended up doing better in school. Right. But I'm super thankful for that time. Right. Because I'm just thankful that I had the valley so young that the peak was just. Could happen in my 20s and my 30s. And I could really live this life today because a lot of people literally takes them to the middle age to hit the valley. And at that point, time's not at their time, not to their advantage.
- [32:37]
A
Yeah. You know, so you're at a young age, you got no friends, you're lonely, probably felt like you were different, didn't.
- [32:43]
B
Fit in, suicidal at that point.
- [32:45]
A
Who helped you get through those moments?
- [32:48]
B
I had a loving mother. She definitely helped me get through those moments. And then I did develop some friendships in high school that I have today that they did help me get through out of that funk. And they let. They gave me the confidence to become the person I am. And eventually in high school, I became the captain of some of my sports teams. I've started to have a little bit of success and kind of, you know, iterated from there until, you know, my 30s when I kind of started, I had that hockey stick effect.
- [33:12]
A
So mom was. Was crucial.
- [33:14]
B
Absolutely. I love my mother. I'm actually taking her to Machu Picchu this year. I took her to Hawaii last year.
- [33:21]
A
Um, yeah.
- [33:21]
B
She's my rock. I love her.
- [33:22]
A
And do you have any siblings?
- [33:23]
B
I have two other siblings.
- [33:25]
A
And what are they like?
- [33:26]
B
They are very supportive. I'm the youngest and both of them, I have definitely. I mean, they're amazing people, have amazing families. They definitely have the W2 mindset, for sure.
- [33:36]
A
Which. Which I think it's important to note. There's nothing wrong with that.
- [33:38]
B
Yep.
- [33:39]
A
I mean, there's so many times I talk to people who are successful entrepreneurs like yourself, and it's like, they're bad. I'm good. And in reality, without people like your siblings who have the W2 mindset, you don't have a business. Because those are the kind of people that are working for you.
- [33:52]
B
Totally.
- [33:52]
A
Those are the kind of people that are in the trenches with you. Right.
- [33:54]
B
You need worker bees. You need worker bees.
- [33:56]
A
And I think it's important to note that if you have a W2 mindset, there's nothing wrong with you. It's okay. You can still have a beautiful, abundant, amazing life. And when I think about your childhood growing up. Right. There was probably nothing wrong with you. Yeah. You had ADHD or whatever label they tried to throw at you at that time, and they gave you a bunch of medication that probably changed your personality, that made you feel less confident, less secure. But there was nothing wrong with you. You were just different. And different's okay.
- [34:24]
B
Well. Well, what was really different was my thought. Right. It just went down negative rabbit holes. You know, I was just not confident and, you know, and took me a very, very long time to realize how much my thought had effect on my.
- [34:40]
A
External world, and probably a long time to realize those thoughts weren't thoughts you were born with. They were given to you by other people, other scenarios, other teachers, other parents. And all of a sudden you heard that and then you took it and kept it inside. And I think it's. I think it's really a fascinating thing to think about, which is, you know, thoughts are our everything. Right. Like you talked about earlier. But thoughts also come from others. What people say to us, what people do to us, help us develop a thought pattern. So while you're leading teams, while you're raising families, while you're doing whatever you're doing, I think it's very important to pay attention to the words you use and the things you say and the way that those words can carry weight that you don't even recognize.
- [35:28]
B
And who you listen to and who you take advice from. For sure. Absolutely.
- [35:32]
A
I mean, Aaron Rodgers has one of my favorite quotes of all time, which is, I would never take criticism from somebody I wouldn't take advice from. It's like, if that guy's going to criticize how I play quarterback in the NFL, would I hire him to be my quarterback coach? No. Then why would I even Listen to a word he has to say.
- [35:50]
B
Totally.
- [35:52]
A
So back to this question of you've gotten to where you are now. Next version of you, who are you studying? Who are you emulating? Who are you learning from? Who are you modeling off of?
- [36:04]
B
So one of the main, one of the reasons I, I love gobundance for many reasons but there's so many kick ass entrepreneurs within Gobundance that you could literally find somebody who's one year ahead of you. Three years, five years, 10 years. And I can emulate people within Gobundance that are at different levels of me at, at my stage in, in my journey. Right. So that's a great resource that I absolutely have leaned on people within the organization at gobundance. Literally a piece, a five minute piece of advice. Literally made me half a million dollars.
- [36:37]
A
Yeah.
- [36:37]
B
Right. So it's like that's definitely one bucket I'm leaning on. I'm also leaning very much into the Tony Robbins. You know, he is the guru of gurus. He has literally compiled all the best personal development, self help knowledge in a really concise and effective manner. And I'm really leaning into that. So I think this year I'm going to be doing his date with destiny. I'm going to be going to Fiji and doing his health and wellness mastery. So yeah, I just. To your point, there's always something, there's always more things you can learn and get better at. And I think that's ultimately the journey in life is just to be a better version of yourself every single day.
- [37:19]
A
Gobundance is a community of over 800 high performers, entrepreneurs and investors with a combined net worth of over $5.7 billion. But look, it's not just about the money. We're about building lives of abundance. If you're ready for a tribe that challenges you to achieve a higher standard for yourself, visit gobundance.com tribe that's G-O B U N-A-N-C-E.com T R I B E to apply today. You really understand like your tribe, the five people you spend the most time with is ultimately going to determine your destiny. More than anything. You surround yourself with people that are aspiring, that are climbing, that are striving to be better men, better husbands, better fathers, better humans. Naturally you're going to become that too. And you found ways to put yourselves in rooms. Whether it's Tony Robbins paying for date with destiny or joining go abundance, you found yourself, you found ways to put yourself in those rooms to be around those people that can help inspire you pull, you motivate you, educate you, whatever word it is, to the next level that you are seeking in your life.
- [38:28]
B
Yeah. I mean, you bring up a good point. And the one real catalyst that helped me exponentially grow to the business I have today is I found a mentor very early on. His name is John Bombachi, and he was in my market doing exactly what I wanted to do, except the only exception was he had hundreds of doors. Right. So what did I do? I found it a way to provide value to him in the form of being an agent on his brokerage, in the form of bringing him wholesale deals, in the form of bringing him opportunity. But that resulted in him taking me under his wing. Right. And then three, four or five years later, he's my mentor. Like, lo and behold, I have a couple hundred units. Right.
- [39:04]
A
Yeah.
- [39:04]
B
Because like you said, you're the average of the five people you associate yourself with.
- [39:09]
A
But it's also. You recognized that service was the Trojan horse to knowledge.
- [39:14]
B
Absolutely.
- [39:14]
A
The only way to get him to give you the time of day, because he had hundreds of units and you were just this aspiring real estate investor was to find a way to serve him. Yeah. And when you were an agent on his team and when you brought him wholesale deals and you helped him made more money, what does he want to naturally do? Help me return the favor.
- [39:31]
B
Yeah. I mean, people don't understand that reciprocity is a freaking spell.
- [39:36]
A
Yes.
- [39:36]
B
Right. Like, if I am, if I provide endless value to day after day after day, then I call you for a quick some help. Like, you're obviously gonna help me. It would literally be weird if you did it.
- [39:47]
A
Yes. It's the law of reciprocity.
- [39:49]
B
Right.
- [39:49]
A
Like, yes. It doesn't always show up the way we think. Like, oh, I helped him with this thing. Now I need. Like, it doesn't always show up that way. But generally speaking, from the law of averages, the law of reciprocity says that when I serve, I too, will be served.
- [40:02]
B
Exactly. And I'm not going into a transaction like, you know, I'm helping you because I expect you to help me later. I just provide good to the world, and then when I need help, I reach out to somebody who will help me. And I ended up providing good to them. They want to help me.
- [40:12]
A
Yeah. And I think the importance of having a mentor cannot be talked about enough. I mean, it's mentors that have helped me along on my journey. It's mentors that have bet on me, believed in me, poured into me. But the other thing I Think a lot of people discount is like, oh, I can't get a mentor, I can't, nobody will talk to me. I don't know how to serve that person. In the world we live in Today, we have YouTube, we have podcasts, we have Instagram, we have TikTok, although it might be still controlled by the Chinese. But we have all these things. Right. There is so many ways to adopt a mentor that you never actually meet, that never actually meets you. You can study them, you can learn from them, you can see how they speak, you can see how they think, and you can adapt all of those things. So this whole notion of like having a mentor, I think is one of the magic bullets of life. But so many people say, like, I don't know how to do it, I can't do it. Like, the reality is you got to really want to do it. Because if you want to find a mentor, you can find a mentor for anything.
- [41:10]
B
Absolutely.
- [41:10]
A
I mean, Tony Robbins is a mentor of yours now, right now, that's not saying Tony's going to pick up the phone and be like, hey Andrew, how are you? But you are consuming the information he is sharing. You're applying it to your life and therefore he is a mentor.
- [41:23]
B
Absolutely.
- [41:24]
A
And people discount how easy it is.
- [41:27]
B
Yes, absolutely.
- [41:28]
A
But they discount easy. Everything is because it requires a choice, which for most people is very hard.
- [41:33]
B
I mean, everybody knows what it takes to get a six pack. Nobody does it. Right. I mean, you know, knowledge isn't power. Action with knowledge is power.
- [41:40]
A
Yeah, that's 100% correct. And I think, you know, listening to conversations like this, people will recognize that knowledge is one thing, action is everything. Like without action, you don't have 500 doors. Without action, you don't find that operations manager that can build the business. Without action, you don't get out of the rut or the funk you were in as a young child and find your way, find your people, find your calling. Like, action is everything. So as you move forward through 26, 27, move down your life, what actions are you trying to take?
- [42:14]
B
So my 10 year goal is I want to help 10,000 people reach financial independence. I want to syndicate 10,000 doors, actively own 500 rental units, travel to 100 countries, be 185 and feel amazing and start a family. Those are my ultimate goals. What I would say is I seem to hit my goals very quickly. So maybe I'll, once I hit them, maybe I'll come from new goals in five years, I don't know. But that's where it's at right now.
- [42:39]
A
Yeah. It goes back to this concept of the arrival fallacy. Right. And I just literally wrote a newsletter on this arrival fallacy plus the Cheshire Cat, which. The Cheshire Cat is the Alice in Wonderland cat. Right.
- [42:49]
B
Okay.
- [42:50]
A
And if you remember the movie Alice in Wonderland, she comes to this fork in the road and she asked the cat, you know, where should I go? Where do I go? And he says to her, well, that purely depends on where you want to go. Because if you don't know where you want to go, it doesn't matter which way you go.
- [43:02]
B
Totally.
- [43:03]
A
And what I find very powerful is when I asked you that question, you didn't just rattle off like, I want to own a big real estate portfolio, I want to do this. Like you rattle off specific numbers, specific targets that you plan to hit. And so you have that vision in mind. How long did it take you to craft that vision though?
- [43:23]
B
I crafted that through the book. Vivid vision. Right. I just, I created a 10 year vision of what I dreamed, what my life would look like on a day, daily day basis. And then I simply reverse engineered to what that would look like. Right. And you know, ultimately, you know, personal goals are great, but I've gotten the most satisfaction from providing impact and helping others.
- [43:47]
A
Yeah.
- [43:47]
B
So I think I would like to lean more into that. I mean, ultimately I'm at that point, I am financially free. And what really drives me is, you know, I love building things and I love providing impact and helping others.
- [43:58]
A
Yeah. And that's, that's proof in how you answered the question. The first thing you said, help 10,000 people get financially free. So it's clear to me, like, that's your passion, that's your purpose. Then the question is just how do you do it? Yeah. And you've obviously got a planner. It wouldn't be on the goals.
- [44:14]
B
Yep.
- [44:16]
A
So my last question for you is where are you most flirting with disaster in your life?
- [44:22]
B
Where am I most flirting with disaster? I would probably say relationships and romantic relationships.
- [44:28]
A
I.
- [44:28]
B
Business comes easy to me now. Fitness comes easy to me after I put the, you know, got the discipline now. Relationships and dating doesn't. Doesn't come easy me. So I've, I've gone on dates unsuccessfully and I will continue to work on that. So maybe I'll hire a coach, read some books, kind of lean into that, that bucket this year.
- [44:46]
A
Why do you think it's not been successful for you?
- [44:49]
B
I, it's like the way I describe it, it's like, it's like dating David Goggins. Like, I'm too much sometimes. You know, I. I go at it. You know, it's so. I'm an intense personality.
- [44:58]
A
Yeah. An acquired taste.
- [45:01]
B
I'm an acquired taste.
- [45:02]
A
Yes. A Husk Husky.
- [45:03]
B
Husky.
- [45:04]
A
Can't believe you. Who gave you that?
- [45:07]
B
I don't know. I don't even know where that came from.
- [45:09]
A
It had to have come somewhere. Like, you know, it's like. It's crazy. But, yeah. I think it just goes to show that when people are listening to this, they might think you have it all figured out. You've got it all together. You got the health, you got the financial freedoms. You're happy. You're taking mom to Machu Picchu, but still, you are flirting with disaster. You're finding ways to grow, finding ways to improve in areas that you are not strong today. And what I think is powerful is the first thing you said is hire a coach, read some books. It's going back to the knowledge. Because without the knowledge, it's hard to take the action. But with the knowledge and the action, with that intense personality, the result should be pretty. Pretty easily achieved, unstoppable. So people listening to this are like, man, I want to hear more about what he's up to. I want to be a part of those 10,000 he makes financially free. Where can they find you? Where can they learn more?
- [45:54]
B
They can find me at Andrew Freed on Facebook or on LinkedIn or at investor Freed on Instagram. I host local meetups in the New England area to help other people reach financial independence. So if you're in the area, come check out some of my meetups. It's a great time, and it's completely free.
- [46:11]
A
Look, man, I had a. A really fun time hanging out with you today. I've. I've known you for a long time. It's been an honor to watch you on your journey, to watch you take action toward the life you had to let go of, seeking acceptance and approval from other people and to bring that for yourself first and foremost, which I think was ultimately what kept you in UW2 more than anything. But that's my opinion, and I. I really had a lot of fun watching you drive the tractor and feeding some longhorns today. I appreciate you being here.
- [46:37]
B
Oh, thank you so much. No, I personally want to thank you. You, Matt, because you really helped me get the confidence to really leave my W2. And ultimately, I wouldn't have done it without your push. Right. And what that has caused. That has caused me to provide so much impact to the world that has provided so much financial abundance to me and that has provided so much time, freedom, that I am just immensely grateful to you, Matt. So I just wanted to thank you.
- [46:59]
A
Yeah, it's my pleasure, man. Like, I, I I like to think one of the superpowers I have is I see the greatness in other people. And I put you on the spot for a reason, because I had seen you multiple times with the same story and the same narrative. I'm like, man, this guy has an opportunity to choose greatness. He just needs to be shown that there's no other way. And who would have thought threatening a man to cut off his beard was the easiest way to do it?
- [47:23]
B
I was frightened.
- [47:24]
A
You were frightened. Look, man, I appreciate you being here. Thanks again.
- [47:27]
B
Thank you, Sam.