Your Bucket List Drives Your Joy
The Investor's Guide To Joy Episode 5
Randy Smith is the Founder of Impact Equity which was formed to help investors achieve strong results in their pasive real estate investing strategies. Randy and Impact Equity have helped more than 100+ investors place over $7.3MM+ across three operators and 15 different opportunities since launching in June of 2022.
Randy started his real estate investing career doing out of state, single-family, long term rentals, and he quickly realized the many additional benefits he could receive by switching his strategy to passively investing in multifamily syndications. Randy has now invested in 25 different passive investments with 11 different operators which gives him the unique knowledge and expertise to recognize a strong passive opportunity.
Randy currently resides in Peoria, Arizona with his wife Jenny, and he spent 25 years working in various business development and leadership roles in Corporate America.
Connect with Randy https://impact-equity.smartmarketingbiz.com/portfolio/
Resources:
Raising Capital for Real Estate: How to Attract Investors, Establish Credibility, and Fund Deals https://amzn.to/3KAfpUz
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Highlights of the Podcast
01:09 - The bucket list items
02:50 - Give other space to allow them to stay
04:12 - A general admission participation
07:05 - A high level for a number of years
08:29 - Relationships need more energy
10:19 - Attention at regular intervals
12:26 - Seeking more adventure in other areas
14:32 - How are you budgeting?
16:13 - A way to get the money
20:50 - What was going through your mind
22:24 - When you're going through transition things
25:04 - What's the definition in your mind?
29:41 - Resources to make sure that you can be sustainable for the long term
32:26 - A fairly smart person and be willing to invest in yourself
35:33 - Accomplishing those goals
36:59 - The Investors Guide to join today
Paul Graham [00:00:08] Hey everyone, and welcome back to The Investor's Guide to Joy. Today I interview Randy Smith. We first met at a Jason Drees event in Austin, Texas. Jason is a mindset coach, has been transformational in my life, and we've kept in touch in a number of different. Other communities and aspects as in abundance and also fundraising, rainy fundraisers for using fund of funds and a number of different projects, from multifamily to single family rentals in the short term rental space. And so we've been able to connect in a lot of different aspects as I raise funds in luxury, short term rentals and oil and gas. Three things that were the biggest takeaways for me in this episode were the communities that we surround ourselves with, how bucket list can transform the communication and the trust we have with other people, and imposter syndrome, and something that will always feel. But do we actually have to always feel that we're an imposter, or are we not just growing and learning in the process? Are we not trying, achieving and giving ourselves permission to also go after the bucket list items or create that new position or opportunity? Try that new hobby is a fascinating realization. Lastly, with communities, it was interesting to reflect on not just the people that are around us and the average of how we are those, you know, five people we surround ourselves with and the communities we surround ourselves with, but also the language that those people use. It's one thing to be around people who are very high achieving or great in their area of work or their, you know, personal life, but it's also the words they use when success happens to you or trials happen with you. For example, if you were laid off from your corporate job, do these people say, what an amazing opportunity for you to go explore and learn what's next? Or I'm sorry, no, there's definitely some empathy and sympathy with the fact that you were just let go, most likely unexpectedly. But the frame reference of how those people are showing up and supporting you gives them you affirmation for what you can and should, in my opinion, really go for. I've had a couple times where I've been laid off, let go, fire the like, and they've been truly transformational to my next season of life. And so if there's one thing that I would say to take away, in addition to what you'll take away from this episode, it's not only the words that you use, but the power of positivity can really transform someone's life for what they could go up next. Imagine if you were the reason why your positive attitude for giving someone permission and giving them that opportunity for them to give themselves permission to go after the dream that they've always wanted to do, but wasn't really sure if they just got laid off or fired or let go. That would be, I believe, an incredible opportunity to start that journey. So keep encouraging others. Give other space to allow them to stay and be focused on their own. A genius, and have a great time tuning in his episode. All right. Hey everyone, welcome to the Investors Guide to Joy. So I have Randy Smith here who has been a fascinating person to watch but get to know over the years. So Randy, thanks for coming on. Excited to have you. Have you tell your story and also share with what you've been up to and what you can do. I think that's other main reason why it's really excited to reach out to you. I don't know what you can't do. Maybe we'll learn today what you're going to do next. Thanks for coming on.
Randy Smith [00:03:23] Yeah, Paul, thanks so much for having me on the show. It's been fun to get to know you and kind of watch your path over the last couple of years as well. So thanks for having me.
Paul Graham [00:03:30] You bet. Yeah. Everything's a joyous nature, so wanted to start off like so from us. Meaning from, like a, you know, Jason Drees conference, right in Austin. I think one thing that was fascinating was just how, you know, in that conference or maybe other type of conferences, I don't follow you around. So I'm not sure all the things you've been exposed to, you know, what what sort of things kind of happened. Right. So you had a number of breakthroughs at some of those conferences, like either, you know, specifically or maybe even like in general, kind of where were you at because you were about to leave corporate or what kind of timeline was that? Yeah.
Randy Smith [00:04:05] Yeah. So it's interesting, I, I joined that community, I believe, in January of 22. And that was just as a kind of a general admission participation at that point, some online training. And I had been in my corporate America job, I mean, coming up on 25 years at that point. So various various companies, but primarily a sales guy or sales leader for for most of those years, I certainly was feeling the grind. I was feeling some burnout. I was ready to make a change of some sort and, join that community just for the mindset aspect of it. And I, I had never spent a dime on an event like that before. I had bought books and and tapes and CDs and mindset type stuff, Tony Robbins stuff. But I had never paid for for this kind of event or participation in my life. So it was a new experience for me. And fortunately, I was pretty deep with that community. When I got laid off in June of 22, and the community kind of surrounded around me and. It gave me the support I needed to launch my first business and enjoying the entrepreneurial space. So it was a pivotal time in my in my transformation, and it was just really valuable to be there for Uber.
Paul Graham [00:05:18] So did you hit the 25 year mark?
Randy Smith [00:05:20] It was right there. Yeah, I'd have to like really dig in, but it's probably plus or minus a few bites.
Paul Graham [00:05:26] So yeah, I was going to say that, you know, how do you celebrate your 25th year. And it seems like it was celebrated for you if you know, hey, here's kind of the next path in life.
Randy Smith [00:05:34] Yeah, yeah. No, it's and it's funny too. I think you could tell the type of person you're talking to because a lot of people are like, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I feel so bad. And then there's the other folks that are congratulations. They want to give you a high five. You know, when when you get laid off from corporate America. So it was good. Good to be around that group of folks for sure.
Paul Graham [00:05:52] Well congrats. Glad you're here.
Randy Smith [00:05:53] Yeah.
Paul Graham [00:05:54] So I mean, you mentioned, you know, grind and burnout, right. And that often happens I think with very, you know, successful people. Right. Especially in the sales world. Right. I started in the sales world and it was just challenging to take time off because then you wouldn't hit your quota. And only some of the managers I had at the time was just like, yeah, absolutely. Take as much time, do what you need, but also like your photos, like how do you square peg round all this? Right. So, you know, over the 25 years, especially to someone like I'm thinking to myself, like, you know, I have like a decade of not even formal corporate. It's been back and forth and craziness. Right? But just someone who's thinking of like 25 years, that's, you know, so much so long, something like that. And you're grinding kind of through that. What sort of perspectives did you have through that? Was that the constant pace and tempo through the entire time? What was that? Yeah, really just that like experience. Right. Because not everyone has that in of itself.
Randy Smith [00:06:48] Yeah, I think there there are seasons that you go through and there are seasons when you put your head down and you grind in there, seasons where you do what you got to do to to get by. So it's it's hard to really summarize the whole thing, but I, I'm a type A personality guy. I've been a guy who's performed at a high level for a number of years. I probably have bigger expectations on myself than any leader ever put on me. And just just that drive to achieve and and accomplish was always with me. So certainly it wasn't wasn't the same throughout. It was not a constant effort. But there were seasons, definitely seasons of intentionality. And I hear I like that.
Paul Graham [00:07:26] Phrase, okay, what do you think of the thought of balance? And what I mean by balance is there's, you know, a number of quotes out there that are essentially like, great things happen in the extremes, right? But if you were to say, hey, clock in at nine, clock out at five, just do those things. Consistency consistently showing up is absolutely beneficial. But again, those kind of seasons and those sort of extremes, what how do you how did you balance the seasons is really what the question is.
Randy Smith [00:07:52] Yeah. So you know, it's interesting. I've had different phases of my life and probably having to do with with family dynamics and health and, and relationship changes, those types of things where balance becomes more important. But I think balance is a verb. It's an ever changing target. You know, I think Brandy Turner uses the analogy of the wagon wheel where you have these seven or 10 or 15 whoever, depending on who you're talking to. These call it seven life areas. And if any one life area is out of whack, then then the wagon wheel is a pretty bumpy ride. But no doubt there are times when career needs more energy, attention, focus. There are times when relationships need more energy, attention, focus and whether that's your your kids or your spouse or your parents, whatever that is. So I think, and I've heard somebody say too, that there's like 2 or 3 main areas of your life, like pick two that you want to focus on. And I was always the guy where I wasn't willing to give up on any one area to or to sacrifice in one area to have tremendous abundance in one area. I think the well-rounded life is is the happy life, but certainly you've got to spend more time and energy on certain areas at different seasons in your life. So yeah.
Paul Graham [00:09:02] How did you approach that Wagon Wheel? You know, I'm thinking about is it reactionary, is it proactive? Does it, you know, depend certainly with relationships. Hey, I, you know, need more time right. That there's a vocal communicative specific you know what actually that's not specific but just hey pay attention to me. Right. And so sometimes it is. Yes. Like yes. You know, here let's you know, do this navigate that. What is your general just approach to it. Is it proactive reactive. Does it depend on the thing or the season or the or like depth of relationship even or.
Randy Smith [00:09:34] Yeah. Well you know I will tell you that this has been this been a moving target. This has changed over time. Certainly in the past. I would go all in on one area until I essentially was breaking other areas, and then it would very quickly become apparent that I needed to spend more time and energy on those other areas. So, you know, I'm I'm a 50 plus year old guy now, so I've got a little bit of experience under my belt, and I am I tend to approach things a little bit differently today, where I know that I have a certain amount of sleep I need to get, I need to eat in a certain. Way. I need to have a certain amount of exercise in my what I call my big relationships. You know, my dad, sister, brother, spouse, kids like those big. Our relationships require attention at regular intervals. And if I if I start to feel in any one of those areas, my whole ship gets pretty rocky. So it's important for me to be able to focus on all of those areas. Otherwise, Randy doesn't show up as the best version of Randy, which impacts all areas of my life.
Paul Graham [00:10:36] So yeah, no, definitely it hits you reminding me of something I heard recently. Curious. You know, what thoughts come back? Maybe agree or disagree, right. But it's just that it's the big all right type of relationships. It's that it's a quantity with the big R's right and quality with work. And that just opened my eyes to the fact of like, it's not just, you know, the time, right? Or even like time boxing people have. Oh yeah, I saw you two hours and it's quality time, like, you know, let's call it Ivan. But it's again that like consistency of the randomness that is the relationship for, you know, the quantity of it. And. Yeah, anyway, it just reminded me of that. It's just fascinating to to share.
Randy Smith [00:11:19] Any and I think the intentionality of the time that you spend is is critically important. Like I, I will share with my wife at times where whether I feel we're connected or not has really no kind of no impact on whether she feels connected or not. So we can spend a whole weekend together, and then she does not feel like we're connected because we've been so busy. So making sure that we have dedicated time is critically important. And, you know, we've started to do some things and this is a relationship show, but something fun that we've started to do. Sure. Please. Yeah, we we're planning each month, one of us has to plan a fun event that the other person doesn't get a lot of input on. Okay, you pretty much have to say yes, you're going to go and do it. And, you know, we've had some amazing experiences in the last handful of months just because we're we're dedicating the time and we're committing to it, and we're allowing the other person to make commitments that are going to put us or pull us out of our comfort zone and do things that we wouldn't normally do. So that's been really fun, and I'm trying to do the same thing with my daughter, and I'm seeking more adventure in other areas in my life as well. So that's that's been a really nice change.
Paul Graham [00:12:30] That's incredible. And so what has been the, we can share maybe the most exciting or different or kind of out of the blue thing you've done that you didn't, you know, think you'd like would. But how is that grown or changed, like your mindset as well as, like your relationship?
Randy Smith [00:12:45] Yeah. I mean, the last year has been kind of it's been transformational for me. I joined a group that you and I both are in. I'm going to go visit as well. And and that adventure piece is a big piece of it, but a simple thing with my wife and I, like I have loved skiing my whole life. She loved skiing when she was younger. She had that skiing 25 years and we went skiing this year. We had a blast. We got lessons together and literally we weren't even coming down the mountain yet and she was planning our next ski trip. So yeah, I think we just got to we got to push ourselves sometimes to do uncomfortable things. And we we went in a hot air balloon another month, which I'm afraid of heights. So that was a little scary for me. But we in the blast. It was really fun and really just something kind of simple. We went and walked around downtown and looked at murals two a day, but I never in a million years would have said, hey, that's something I want to go do on a Sunday afternoon. Sure. But we had a blast. We had a really good time doing it. So there's a lot of fun.
Paul Graham [00:13:41] Yeah, shoved into a roller coaster. That's that's exciting. And it makes me think of not just doing uncomfortable things like I think like the, you know, ice baths or, you know, some kind of bar or like other challenges and things and marathons and stuff and, or, but also like doing things with encouragement and with support and doing it together, new or, you know, experiences that have already been experienced and maybe in different ways. Or again, yeah, hey, I've not done this. I was since I was a kid. Right. Let's go. Just do this, try this, and then see how it how it feels and how it goes. For those that are probably thinking more detailed, like I kind of am myself, what have you found on like the tactical side of things? Like do you just have you guys listed out like, hey, these are the things that are like non-negotiable, like I won't do kind of thing and then are just like, hey, everything else, like, how are you budgeting? You know, it seems like there's a, you know, time cadence. But someone is just, like, more curious about this. Like, what kind of tactical things have you learned from this? Because, I mean, you're already, you know, in the seat rocking and rolling with this.
Randy Smith [00:14:45] Yeah. So and great question. We have take a little bit different mindset on the finance piece. I wrote a book called I Was Zero recently which is which is discussed a lot in the community that we're part of. And yeah, it's kind of changed my mindset about some of those things where, you know, I'm no longer like saving for the rainy day or, you know, waiting until some future. Predetermined time where I'm going to start living life. And our goal is we want to live life today. You never know if tomorrow is going to come. So, sure, we're we're booking the trips, we're doing the activities, we're having the adventures. We're investing in relationships. I it's something from that book I thought was really important that if just the simple idea where we you save our whole life so we have enough money to make it through, you know, on golden years and either one, we're not in good enough shape to go do the things that we want to do or two, we end up dying and we never get to use the money. And if we're saving our money to give it to our kids, why not give it to our kids today when they could use it more? Because I'm sure, much like yourself, like, do you want $1 million in 30 years? Or would you prefer to have $100,000 to help with the downpayment of the house, like with what's going to give you the ability to enjoy those dollars more? And if you want to give to to some type of cause, don't you think they prefer to have your money today versus waiting for, you know, another 30 or 40 years to die? So, so taking that kind of piece into the financial piece of it is, yeah, we're not going to stress out about the finances of it because the money's there. We'll find a way to get the money. You know, as far as the, the maybe a red list or something, we haven't thought that far and maybe we should. I mean, let me just say I get it right.
Paul Graham [00:16:23] Yeah.
Randy Smith [00:16:24] Yeah, I guess I'm going to trust her at this point. But yeah, maybe I should give some thought to that, because there are some things that I certainly would not want to do. But.
Paul Graham [00:16:33] Do you guys, do you guys have a like or dislike bucket list things? Are these just like, hey, I saw this like article like, well, yeah. So maybe you approach this, right? Because you're, you're you're only self. Right?
Randy Smith [00:16:42] Yeah. So I'm a bucket list guy okay. I, you know skiing is something that's on the bucket list and travel all the continents, many different countries that kind of stuff. My wife is more the creative and the, the feeler in the empath of the things. So she she will see things that just exciter and next thing you know, that's on the list for next month. So I very much am going down the list of all the things I want to do in in this world. She is is a little more reactionary to it.
Paul Graham [00:17:10] So yeah. What is one thing on your bucket list that you are most you, you think it's going to be the most like challenging or requires a lot of connections or just like a throwing out there? This would be cool. I'm not sure how on earth this could possibly happen.
Randy Smith [00:17:26] There's something. Yes. Yeah. So kind of the big three, right. You know or I want it's I want to visit all the continents so that. Oh that is a tough one right. The first six would be fun. The last one will be tough. I suspect I'm going.
Paul Graham [00:17:36] To touch, you know, or what's what's your thought on like being on a continent. Have you define the rules.
Randy Smith [00:17:41] So no, we have it. It's funny you say that because we went to Spain a year and a half ago or something. You know, we took a ferry over to Morocco. So technically I've been to Africa, but, you know, we want to go do the big African safari, you know, so the seven continents. I really have a desire to buy or pay off. My wife's my mother in law and my mom's homes. So from a financial standpoint, that's something we really want to do. Both were very hard workers their whole lives, and we want to be able to give to them the way that they gave to us for all those years. And then there was a third one. I said, the big three, oh, I have a goal and aspiration to compete at a national level in an athletic event. And, you know, I've done Iron Man, I've done a bunch of marathons, I've done. But this is those types of things. So I'm not sure which one it's going to be, but I, I really need to get going on that because that gets harder and harder as you get older. So. Sure.
Paul Graham [00:18:35] Yeah. How are you going to or what are you going to do to celebrate when those houses are paid off and when you do some sort of national event that you, you know, competed?
Randy Smith [00:18:42] I hate to say it, the problem just set another goal. You know, it's like they say they send, astronauts off to make sure that they have goals when they come back, because what's the goals achieved? It can be a depressing place to be. And I, I experienced that what I did, I and and have done marathons and stuff. So probably just setting setting bigger, more elaborate goals. And I think in that to go spiritual I knew but I, I feel like God would have us live the most abundant life we can possibly live. That's what he would have for me and for for others as well. So my goal is to to live as big as possible as long as I can.
Paul Graham [00:19:17] So yeah. You bet. No, that's so that's so great. And I was so moved by that, I forgot my thought that I had previously. We'll see if it comes back soon because it was a. Yeah I agree. Right. There's some things that I'm going with right now where it's like and I like that that's big and abundant. And what would people think? Would it work. How would it, you know, kind of thinking stuff a lot. Love Excel spreadsheets, right. And oftentimes just leading into the unknown is just a fascinating, beautiful thing. And at least for myself, I found that the most I know credible, amazing, life changing things that I've experienced were not planned. They were not necessarily, you know, seen or predicted. Right. And so, as I think of that thought in the back of my subconscious, that's also a good thing to think about with capital raising. Right. And so I first. Want to do this, you know, kind of sequentially and in terms of, you know, how how you've experienced life, right? So you mentioned, you know, going to some events, conferences have really spent maybe even a dollar on kind of, you know, yourself with your books. I mean, sure, right. Those are kind of gifts like under $20. I don't it's really investing in yourself, right? At least for myself. It's been like, you know, I'm worthy of a book. I believe everyone has that capacity of worthiness, a book. But, you know, a couple hundred dollars, couple thousand dollars, 10,000, tens of thousands of dollars, like on yourself and things that you don't have a set rate, you know, return on investment type of thing. What has that experience? You know, you've been like, certainly you're here, right. But can you think of like some of those moments of like right before you gave probably a, you know, credit card, right. Like what was going through your mind. How are your feeling? What were thoughts like, what was that like.
Randy Smith [00:20:55] Yeah, I so I think the big for me, the big fears that always come up in those situations are one, you know, like I don't want to look like a chump in and get taken advantage of and then credit on the back end to like salesperson.
Paul Graham [00:21:10] Yeah, I hear you. Yeah.
Randy Smith [00:21:11] Exactly. Like the sales guys are the worst critics of sales guys. Yeah. And being a 25 year sales guy, like I sure I am critical and of those things. So yeah so that one and then like essentially what are people going to think of me is always the biggest fear. I don't have the fears. If I'm going to I'm going to die paid in this. And I do not know. I'm not going to have a place to live or food to eat. I can always go to make money. That's not ever the issue. It's reputational stuff that really bothers me. And so those kind of things come into play. But then the opposite of all of those things as well, like, I, I don't want to look back and regret not spending the money as well. So, you know, I mentioned I had not spent hardly any money on myself from a professional development standpoint up until that point, but I spent $40,000 that year on programs and coaching and internships. Masterminds. This last, I'm probably in the $30,000 range the following year. And oddly enough, as an entrepreneur, I am making less money than I have probably made since I was in my early 20s. But I'm building the foundation, and the foundation requires like resources and a commitment and attention to things other than W-2 mindset focused line thoughts. So I think it's critical in investing yourself when you're when you're going through transition things.
Paul Graham [00:22:26] So and balance I think is a good word here. How do you then balance the hey, I am, you know, maybe worthy. I am building the foundation and things like that. And I don't have that like return on investment from just pure blind optimism.
Randy Smith [00:22:39] Yeah I mean that's a tough question, right. And only time will tell whether this strategy is working or not. But, you know, the first year and a half in the business, I would say it's about a break even. We're finally at a point where we're cash flow positive with the business. You know, I have my KPIs that I use as measurements as to whether success is happening or not. And, you know, it's right there, you know, like whether this is moving in the direction that we want it to or not. Mathematically, I can show how the numbers are moving in the right direction. And, you know, the future income that will be generated from the activities up to this point. But it's it's difficult, you know, when you have the ability to go back to corporate America and make two, $300,000 a year. That's a scary place to be, you know, so or it's not I won't say scary. It is. It's it's difficult because kind of going back to that place where, like, all these W-2 employees think you're absolutely nuts when you step away from the high from the ideal job. But they don't know what I know about where this is going, essentially. So yeah.
Paul Graham [00:23:37] So what do you remind yourself in those kind of thoughts of like building that foundation or the pieces of like, hey, is this going to kind of work out?
Randy Smith [00:23:45] So I think everything that you do is a learning lesson. It's either a win or learning assets. So, you know, the struggles that I heard a quote the other day, like the struggles you're having today, are going to be the grand finale of your story tomorrow, right? So it will be. It will be, you know, it's showing in the credits, essentially, like nobody has the amazing mountaintop glory without going through the grind and the hustle and the challenges that get you there. So and come out willing to lead and live the mediocre life out of fear from going after whatever you want to do.
Paul Graham [00:24:18] So yeah, but I think get going after what you really want to do is exciting lifestyle, you know, whole nine yards really alignment maybe even purpose in some aspects as well. You know, and you know, creating something out of nothing. You mentioned something earlier that, you know, I think is a good a quotable piece. Right. We find a way to, you know, get the money. Right. And that comes very specifically in raising capital. So certainly that's a good mantra. You know, you're in the right, you know, space for that. What do you maybe want to share more about it. Either you know, perspective or tactical things or, you know, mindset because they're, you know, have been thoughts of just what do you like? Where does it come from? I think you just you just, you know, and. Right. And then there's very tactical sort of thoughts behind it. But it is I mean, a little bit of an art and science or what. What's the definition in your mind?
Randy Smith [00:25:05] Yeah, it's hard to say. I think, you know, there's this idea of givers game that I, that I believe even really that I feel like if you give enough and you create enough value in this universe, it will come back to you tenfold. And that's been my experience with everything that I've done. When I was in corporate America, I was the guy who is greeting the new folks to the company and put it, haven't even put time on my calendar and kind of walking them through like, here's what I would suggest that you do to see success in your early years here and spent probably hundreds of hours doing that kind of stuff, and even my boss at the time thought it was crazy that I did it, but that came back in and benefited me for years and years while I was in that W-2. And oddly enough, those are the people that are now investing with me. You know, here it is sometimes 1015 I'm meeting with a guy today that I've not talked to in about 15 years, but we worked together for ten years, and he saw the value that I brought to the organization years and years ago. So the person that you are stays with you and it's remembered and it comes back to benefits in years to come. So I take that same mentality and what I do in a day like my calendar is wide open. My wife and I talk about this constantly. Why I let so many people book time on my calendar. But those relationships that are built during those times that they may or may not invest with me today, but at some point in the future, if I've brought value to them, that will come back to me, either from them or from some other source and confidant.
Paul Graham [00:26:30] So did you approach some of these conversations with like how, you know, could I add value and kind of like curious and like looking for it? Or is it more if it comes up like situationally, then you're like, yeah, no, I have a direct person.
Randy Smith [00:26:44] Yeah. No, I mean, I asked the question quite often, like, how can I bring value to you? Like before we get off the phone here, like, even if it's even if I'm booking time with them to try to get something from them, I want to know how I can bring value to them, because that that rule of reciprocity is, is something that's true. Like if you help somebody, they will feel inclined to help you at some point. Whether whether directly or indirectly. So, you know, selfishly, helping other people is self-serving as well. Okay. So.
Paul Graham [00:27:11] Yeah, and there's also the expression of, you know, other people, you know, have, you know, your money, if you will. Right. And so it's just talking to, to other people and same thing for yourself. Right. Like it's also getting, you know, money as well and also helps them too. But certainly it's not about money. You mentioned like you know, training, onboarding, you know, coaching or supporting as well. You're not just, you know, funds. It's also time intentions or you know, we talked about earlier encouragement sometimes some sort of, you know, need that for a lot of the fundraising you've done in the in the relationships you've built. What is it been like? I would say there's a handful of people I know, I probably bushels of people I know honestly, that are like, I want to raise funds. I want to use other people's money. Share, you know, SEO quotes galore. But I mean, actually in the sea, you know, certainly you have a sales background. So it makes sense as, you know, capital raiser. But just, you know what? What comes to mind on, you know, sharing the experience you've had the past couple of years and really what it's been like in, you know, the sea.
Randy Smith [00:28:09] Yeah.
Paul Graham [00:28:09] So it's.
Randy Smith [00:28:11] You know, taking investment capital is you need to be very confident you're not going to lose people's capital in order to take it in. If you are going to take it, you've got to be willing to put your own dollars out there as well. And then if things don't go as planned, you've got to find a way to make that right and make it all. So I think it's important, if you're coming into this space, that you need to have your own experience and you need to have your own story as to why you're the right guy to be doing what you're doing. I think there's far too many people in this space that have no business taking other people's money. They've not invested themselves personally, and they're certainly not experts enough to do the due diligence on deals that needs to be done before you start placing capital. So the thing I always tell to people when they want to start raising capital, I ask if they've invested, if they have it, I say, stop what you're doing and find a way to make some money so you can invest it yourself and say, you know what it's like to wire 25, 50, or $100,000 to some random person that you've never met face to face. You can't possibly be empathetic to the person who's wiring that money unless you've done it yourself. And so once you do that, I think you know, this business, like most businesses, is based on relationships. So you have to have longstanding relationships with the people that you're working with, both as an investor and as an operator as well. So this space is not a get rich quick space. It's a long term play that require, you know, businesses with systems and process and, and, resources to make sure that you can be sustainable for the long term.
Paul Graham [00:29:45] Yeah. It reminds me of the expression of base hits, right? Bringing those base hits and having things stack up in that consistency. And again, like I mentioned, the foundation is also a good opportunity to reiterate the intentionality aspect, right? Again, it's not just good operators and, you know, funds that are attractive to investors. It also the, you know, intentionality of why you're doing it, how you're doing it. And sometimes saying, hey, I don't think or this fundamentally is not like the best thing for you and I won't take your money. Right. Like, because it's not, you know, personality or other things galore that it's a, it's a good separator on again why you're doing it. And it's not, you know, a wealth piece. It's a service. And like you mentioned intentional piece. What is that then for individuals who want to get into, you know, raising capital to play kind of this long game, have you found it challenging to to, I guess, learn how to raise capital? Is there really not a lot to learn? It's more just like execute. Like what? How do people I don't want to even say like start out. So you did mention, you know what I think that I absolutely echo like send those types of funds to a really, really good operator. There's a number of books that I can include, you know, here in terms of like resources, but what other kind of pieces would you say to people who want to get into it? To encourage them, but also to detract them, right, to say, hey, this is what it takes, this is what you're going to do. Things like that.
Randy Smith [00:31:10] Sure. Yeah. So I mean, if if you come to this with the heart of helping and for creating opportunity for folks, and I think that's the right intention behind it, this, this type of business, like any anything worth, worth doing is going to be difficult. It's not going to be easy. There is certainly a grind to this process where, you know, sometimes there are days when I've got 12 or 15 calls on the calendar and, you know, if you wake up with with an upset spouse or a kid that doesn't want to get to school, that it gets a little hard to get excited to hop on that first call. But you've got to do the reps and it's really just a numbers game. So over time you start to establish, you know what, what your KPIs are and how many people you got to talk to and how many presentations you've got to do to get the number of commitments that you need to hit your numbers. So this is not a business for the for the faint of heart by any means. And this I share quite often like I, I've never worked so many hours and worked as hard for so little money on the front end in my entire life, but the payoff will be big on the back end if everything goes as planned. So I it's hard to say, like, what do you say to somebody to detract them from it or to encourage them to? I think salespeople do very well in this role. But I think really all you need is high integrity and be a fairly smart person and be willing to invest in yourself, invest in your business on the front end and know that that it's going to be a long game. It's it's a 3 to 5 year play before you're going to see any real income on the back end.
Paul Graham [00:32:38] So yeah, let's get some integrity sheets out to some capital raisers. Make sense. So one thing that I think would be absolutely imperative for you to, you know, talk to you or share, you know, as things might come up is the topic of impostor syndrome, right. So you're in number of capital raising groups, right. And a capital raise or like yourself and again stepping out kind of from I guess the really the boat that was in the rug that was like pulled out from under you. Right? Hey. Sure. No longer, you know, at this company what I what does that mean? You know, like, how do you manage that? Like, I mean, there's a number of questions around this, but just like imposter syndrome, like open floor and talk about it, what what comes to what comes in your heart.
Randy Smith [00:33:19] So I mean, it's a real deal. It's something that I struggle with. It's something I think every entrepreneur struggles with, even the biggest and the best have somebody else that they're looking at, that they're feeling like an imposter. They have the imposter syndrome going as well. So what I remind myself is that every single person had a first year entrepreneurship experience. Everybody had a first five year entrepreneur experience as well. They all look a little bit different. But every entrepreneur out there has had struggles. I've never met an entrepreneur that didn't have the same imposter syndrome that you're talking about. I've never met like Elon Musk or Bill gates or something like that. But I suspect at some point they did as well. And and I think it's important just to understand that it's going to take time and you're going to have to work harder than you've ever had to work before. But if you do like the results can be can be really amazing. So I met this interesting space where I've been doing this for a couple of years, and I go to conferences and people recognize me, know me from podcast to be on panels and all that. And it's interesting. It plays on the ego, you know, because everybody wants to be recognized and acknowledged. Right? But deep down, I know what I'm capable of and I'm still far short of what that is. So I got a really long way to go. But, certainly helps to to have some recognition acknowledgment along the way as well.
Paul Graham [00:34:34] So how would you define your capability? Is that like the reps you're doing or like the sets you're doing? And again, kind of a gym analogy, or is it like, you know, capital raised or I mean, are these KPIs like what what does that look like?
Randy Smith [00:34:48] Yeah. So that's a really good question. So one thing I learned through like doing Iron Man, doing marathon, doing those types of things is that. Yeah, I mean, if you look at me, if I were to stand up and turn around like I'm not an overly stiff person and kind of like the short, fat ball guy who's what it is. But what I know at my core is that if I make a decision to do something, there is literally nothing in this world that I cannot do. And I've learned that repeatedly from some of the challenging things that I've done in the past. So this business that I'm focusing on, I will be one of the best in this space at some point. And I'm not saying that to brag, but I'm saying that maybe to be my own cheerleader. But I know that, you know, historically, when I've made those decisions that I end up accomplishing those goals. So I don't know if that's going to go above and beyond, but certainly not trying to sound like a bragger, but I just I know myself well enough to know that so.
Paul Graham [00:35:42] And so and I don't think it is. And here's why. If someone would come to me and say, hey, can you lift that 20 pound weight 20 times, I would say, absolutely. Let me do it with my eyes closed. Right. Because I've done it a thousand times. Yeah. There's no difference between a confidence and ego because there's a level of certainty and, you know, confidence interval from the, you know, station sort of mindset. So yeah, that's that's yeah, that's a good, good perspective on that. So with this guide to joy and closing in with our time, what would you leave into the guide. Right. Is there some sort of quote or motto or intention or perspective. What do you feel would be beneficial to your former self? Current self? Think like that.
Randy Smith [00:36:28] So, you know, one of my favorite quotes of all time is whether you believe you can or you believe you can't, you're right. And if you're going around telling yourself that you can't do this, you will convince yourself that you can't and you won't be able to do it. So that's one of my favorite.
Paul Graham [00:36:41] Oh, awesome. Well, really, thanks so much for your time and perspective. I'm going to probably make some trips once a month and do some fun things, but but some links and ways to find you and we'll see you out there raising capital.
Randy Smith [00:36:54] Awesome. Paul, thanks so much for having me on the show. This is a lot of fun. Yeah.
Paul Graham [00:36:57] You bet. Thanks, Ryan. Take care. Thanks for joining the Investors Guide to join today, where we aim to change your life by one degree in each episode. These days, I'm raising funds for oil and Gas Syndications, a luxury short term rental super property syndication, which is a lot of fun and managed by Luxury Desert Escapes. I also help people get what they want through finance, mindset and action to help them eliminate worry, build better habits, create their life, and live their life. If any of these things seem of interest to you or you just want to chat, connect with me. Let's chat more until we see you again.