Becoming an Authority in Your Coaching Business with David Richter

May 16, 2023
 

Sheri: We have a treat for you today. We have a special guest. His name is David Richter and here's why you really wanna pay attention to this. David is the author of Profit First for Real Estate Professionals.

It's right here. One of my favorite books. And you might be thinking to yourself well, but. I'm not a real estate investor. Well, that's okay. There's still time. But more importantly, David has written a book and as his journey of being a consultant and running a business has gone, he's used the book as an opportunity.

At least that's what I've seen. He's used it as an opportunity to really refine his ability to be the expert in up the craft in his niche. Or niche, depending on where you're at. And so we wanna hear his journey about how that's happened, kind of how he's gotten up to writing this book, as well as then everything that's happened since then, which has resulted in a podcast and tons of speaking engagements.

I see taking pictures all over the place, look at me at this stage. And I know there are a lot of coaches who aspire to be an author, a speaker, all of these things. So, This is super exciting. I can't wait to hear and get some nuggets out of your story. David.

David: Well, thanks for having me. I just like sharing because it's been a crazy journey so far. So this can help anyone out there just, you know, either bring more freedom to their family or like, just what does it take to do some of this stuff and to get to, some multiple seven figures. Like, okay, let's, here's the roadmap, but I don't know, do you want me to just dive into it or do you have any specific questions?

Because like, I could start when I was born. I was born as a baby. Just kidding. I won't go that far back, but I don't know where you want me to start. 

Faisal: Start from the point of struggle. Start from the point of struggle, like what are you struggling with, and then how did it send you on this path?

David: So I started as a real estate investor. I started in 2012, bought my first property and during the course of that time period, bought more properties and then started working with a real estate investment company where they were doing, a good size amount of deals, five deals a month.

So like, think of a fix-and-flip show on hgtv. They were doing about five of those every single month, which is a, 60 a year. That's pretty good. But we grew that company from like five deals a month to 25 deals a month. So almost one a day. Like through we did 300 deals. At our highest point. So it's like almost flipping a house or like buying a rental or something like that at 25 clips a month.

But the area of struggle was, even though we were doing 25 deals a month, we were spending 26 worth out the door. So it's like, why are we doing all this? Do you know? So that was one of the first light bulb moments in my mind. Because at that point I was about 25. I'm like, this is insane. Why are we bringing in and doing all this stuff and having so many staff and doing so many deals if we can't bonus anyone? 

The owners aren't able to take more pay increases, what is going on here? So that was my first eye-opening that even though it looks like you're doing a lot doesn't mean that you're keeping a lot. And I was like, oh, okay. That seems to be a big deal here.

But then I was going to mastermind in events where there were other coaches, entrepreneurs, and real estate investors, and they talk about what they're doing from the. Stage, but then you hear them at the bar later crying like, oh my gosh, I don't know where any of the money's going through. So I'm like, okay, it's not just us then.

So that was Comforting and discouraging all at the same time. Like, I'm not there alone. But then, oh shoot. This is like a common theme. Yeah. So what happened was I moved across the country and started working with another investor, but at this time I was much more savvy. I was like, show me your books. If we're gonna do business together, show me your numbers. Well, guess what? They were a mess. Just like most people's businesses. They don't have the right bookkeeper or the right person providing clarity. So we got it cleaned up, got him the clarity, I helped him get it in order and then the light bulb went off in his head he is like, Hey, there's where all my money's been going. I have a bunch of, rentals in my portfolio and I'm able to refinance now because it was under leverage. And I just saw, okay, this is not just us. This is not just people at Masterminds, this is probably like a recurring theme. So that's where I saw it firsthand in the struggle of that first business, cause it was affecting me, like even as a part of that business and not being the direct owner, but being on the leadership team.

 Not being able to get raises, not being able to do more, not having more opportunities. Then seeing it as a pattern across the industry. Then saying, okay, I could actually help. Just giving the clarity helped this one guy and he eventually told me, this has been life-changing. So that was kind of like the struggle I saw that most people were in

and then I lived part of it and then seeing it again and again. Then being able to actually see clarity on the other side. So that's what got me into what I'm doing now today, and what got me into the coaching, the financial aspect. This, it's a C F O type role business that I have a Fractural C F O service and that's where I met Mike Mackowitz and his book. A mentor of mine knew that I was gonna start a business. after that first guy said, Hey, this has been life-changing. I'm like, okay, I gotta turn this into a business. So that's where. I called one of my mentors and he said, have you read Profit First?

Which is a great cash flow book for any business. So if you're listening to this podcast as a coach or an entrepreneur, pick up that book. You don't have to pick up my book unless you're in the real estate investing world, but pick up that book because it helps anyone if you don't know where your money's going from the cash perspective and you're managing it through your bank accounts.

Here's a simple system to put more money in your pocket. So that's what appealed to me. Because even though I look like the numbers guy, I am not the numbers guy. Like I look like I should be, but I don't have an accounting degree. I don't have any background. If you're a coach that struggles with imposter syndrome, I had that to the max starting a C F O company without any financial background other than in the real estate company, I knew how to do the bookkeeping.

 I trained myself there, through the CPA and through other people. So that was my background. So I jumped into it and then read the book, then started implementing this cash flow system with the real estate investors that I knew and the connections that I had. That's what got me down the road of like, okay, I think I should write a book specifically for this industry because it's different enough like the cash flow system can be modified enough and specific examples for real estate investors versus just the general system that I could become the authority in my niche.

So that way that's when I went to the guy who wrote the original books and I said, Can I write this one? Here's my background and he said Yes, and that was like how the book deal got done. So that's kind of the struggle from living the 25 deals a month, spending 26 worth, and then going from like, okay, that's not just us having that problem to here's where this opportunity that I was able to insert myself in a lot of businesses.

So that's a very high-level overview of that journey. 

Sheri: Oh my gosh. I love that. There are so many aspects of that to unpack. One of the themes that I'm seeing, with you, David, is you've acted out of courage a lot because you saw a problem and you had one success.

Somebody's like, oh my gosh, this is life transformational, business transformational and you took that one thing and you're like, well, maybe I could make a business out of it. That takes a lot of courage to try and grow something big out of that one moment. 

David: Yes. I think it was, man, because Okay.

That's where a lot of people struggle with fear and then the courage is just acting on that fear and not letting the fear stop you. So yes, there was definitely that part of it, but I also have to give credit to a lot of the people that have poured into me my entire life and the real estate investing industry too.

Like I knew even though I could help this one guy, that this was a problem like most people struggle with and honestly, People listening right now probably struggle with, where is my money going? I'm good at consulting, I'm good at coaching, but like, yeah, right? I would rather stick my head in the sand, you know?

Or I'd stick my finger in a light socket then look at my p and l and my balance sheet, and was like what in the world is going on? So I understand that as well too. Very much being the entrepreneur. So it's I had that, and I tell people kind of when I first started, I almost felt like I had good connections from the industry I was in.

So that's why I tell people, like if you struggle with imposter syndrome, that might be your greatest strength is that you're not. The actual person that is the expert in a certain area of like, okay, I'm not a C F O. My background's not a C F O. My background's real estate investor. But that helps me understand the real estate investor more of like, what really matters to them. So that's where it's like, do you have that or are you the actual expert? Because then it's like, well then get that imposter syndrome out there. But that's where having the courage is. You know what else was good too?

Was that the first guy That I was working with, he was like, you're starting a business. He's like, oh man. Because we were working together, and he's like, I don't wanna lose ya and I want us to build something together but then he said he turned around the next day and said, could I be your first client? He's like, I'll pay you what I was going. I was already gonna bump up what we were gonna get paid and like this was the split. He's like, I'll do that for you, but I'll just pay your business now and be an actual client. So that guy believed in me right from the very beginning.

So that was huge wind in my sales. Then it was reaching out to my network and saying, do you think this is viable? Do you, is there any person that I should talk to that would need to hear this message? You know, just saying things like that to even test the water. So I was doing some of that before I started to, so I did it smart.

Like I didn't just like, this is a great idea, you know, and just jump totally in and so there was a little bit of planning behind the scenes that year too. Okay. Now I'm remembering more. You're uncovering a lot of things like Yes. That I forgot that year. This is nuts. I do not recommend anyone.

Do this, but I read I think 131 books that year. I read all of Dan Kennedy's no-BS line of books. So like on time management, on managing profit, on managing people, on the marketing and that stuff. Also, I was reading those books about the time I was starting the business.

I'm like, okay, I know I could do this. If there's stuff like this out there, there's gonna be a support system for me to jump in and that was really helpful. Going through some of those books. I don't recommend reading as much as I did, but like if you have specific series that will help you during certain times of your life, that really helped me during that time.

Giving even more confidence was going through some of that to be like, okay, there are business authors that have gone through this that have a proven model that actually know what they're talking about and it's not just a fluff piece to get into their program, you know? So that's where I was like, okay, I like this.

I like what he's saying. So that helped me as well too. Now I'm just trying to think of all those circumstances around that. That was another big one that helped me take that leap. Cause then I could at least research what I need to go out there and talk to the people I need to. 

Sheri: So one of the values that we hold with the Coach's Journey podcast because it's tied into the Coaching Mastery Community, which is our sponsor, is the value around the community and we kind of jokingly talk about the covert coach.

The coach that like wants to change the world, wants to have an impact, but they're so fearful, they're like holding themselves back. They kind of like, I'm a coach, like they're whispering but not really and so what I hear in your story also is that you were out there, you were collaborating and getting support from other people in the industry. This was not at all like, David figuring out how to do everything all by yourself. You had such a support system. So I want coaches to really understand that is, in our opinion too, is critical. 

David: Oh yeah. Success. A hundred percent like that is key. And it doesn't even necessarily have to be the people that you're speaking to. It could be good mentors, friends from your past that also have some experience that you don't, or might have connections that are connected to what you're going into it. So it's like I had a good support system to start off with, but not everything was business serving too. It was just like, I'm thinking about this.

What do you think? You know, like with your background and your emotional intelligence, what do you do? Am I making a rash decision here? So it was like having some of those good people along the way. So yeah, I don't like the covert stuff. Especially if you say you wanna change the world, it's one thing if you say, I wanna provide for my family, I have this specific goal

and it's like, well then you could probably do well, very well, the covert coach and be like, okay, I'm on an island, but I take very select clients and like I'm very exclusive. I'm more like a recluse, you know, like leave me alone on this hermit. But it's like if, you have to climb the mountaintop to the mountaintop to get to me.

So unless that's you, you have to be talking to people and this is gonna shock people cause I feel like they probably think I'm bubbly and outgoing. I am an introvert to my core. I do not like going to events. I do not like people in big crowds. I like people one-on-one, that's why I like podcasting too.

That's another reason why I started that cause I got to have more deeper conversations with people. Even though we might air it to hundreds, thousands of people, or whatever. It's still having a conversation one-on-one. So I didn't even like that. Like I still, I'm going next week. To a real estate event, and I'm gonna be with people, and I'm dreading it

and people would say like, no, you're out there, you're doing this stuff and I'm like, Nope, I don't like this. I don't like being away from my family and I don't love mingling in that setting with a lot of people. It's like I'm the one-on-one. But if I wouldn't have done that the last three years building this thing. I would've never had the impact that is out there now with this message. You know, we've helped hundreds of people. It's been millions of dollars coming in, telling us that we're actually doing a good job. You know, so it's like, this is where I know that it needed to go. So it's like if you want to change the world, you have to get out there and actually talk to people in the world and like say, here's what's going on

and the other thing too is that I found out, okay. You wanna know if you have a good business model or not run after doing organic stuff, like going out there and speaking or traveling or doing a podcast. Something that's as it's organic, but it's not paid traffic like Facebook or something like that.

Run paid traffic and see how it does. That's where we started. We only started running paid traffic this year. Yeah. But because I had been out there speaking, got the book out there, like paid traffic has been nuts for us. Our return has been crazy because there's another thing too. It's not just because I was out there,

what the message that you get to your audience too. I've had three and a half years of doing the same exact presentation, probably over a hundred times in person until I've got it to where I have it today. So it resonates more with people and it's simple. I had to get the message as simple as possible, cause when you first start going through it, you are the expert.

You go from a one to a 10 in your field and then it's hard to go from a 10 and then talk to people that have no idea. What you're talking about, like Profit first. Some people have never heard of the book. They don't know what that is. They get a funny look on their face, like what the freak is that?

And it's like I have to go from knowing all about it to. Do you know what you make, spend, and keep in your business? Do you know those three simple numbers? My daughter who is six years old, knows the words, make, spend, and keep. That was another key. Along this path too, was trying to get it as simple as possible. Cause people think, oh, if I just run paid traffic all my thing, all my worries will go away.

It's like, well, how good is your message? How good is the offering? Like, how good are you going to be actually doing this stuff? I could keep going and going, but someone else should probably take it and run with it.

 

Faisal: No. First of all, I really love your energy. I love your energy and your passion around this thing because it's very loud and clear

and I can tell that you care to share this. If you didn't care to share, you would be very, and also Sheri says like, he's a very unassuming guy and then you said something was very funny, so you're 

David: like, you know, I look like the numbers guy.

Yeah. Start talking. You don't look like the numbers guy. Yeah, that's hilarious. I get that. I, that's my MO I say that. Okay. Since we're talking to coaches, this is like the behind-the-scenes stuff. So, you know what, I always get a laugh when I say that. I say that on stages all the time because I do, I know who I am.

I know what I look like and I know also that also helps me get in touch with my audience. That helps me tell them. I also know that even though I look like this person, I am you. I am a real estate investor. I have lived the 25 deals a month, spending 26 without the door, and it sucked. And even though I look like the finance person, I can go in there and be dangerous enough to tell you what's going wrong, and I can spot it very quickly.

At this point, I can spot it. You know, almost like, okay, just show me. Show me your books. Do you even have them? Okay, there's your first issue. You know, so it's like, that's where just knowing your audience too, what resonates with them and then also knowing yourself, like if you're a coach and you look like the numbers person, lean into that.

 Even in my presentations now, I've got Harry Potter and Star Wars, like, I just like lean full into it and like, this is who I am. As you gotta, you love it or you hate it. You know? It's like, it's okay. But that's where I'm just trying to get that point across that I understand where they're coming from and that's where it's even that type of stuff.

I say that quite a bit on the different things that I'm on because it usually resonates with people. Mm-hmm. So that's why if you're a coach, Find those things, even the things you might not like about yourself. Do I wish I looked like a bodybuilder and stuff, like maybe in a perfect role, but now I lean into who I am and what I do, and what I love and what I accept at this point and I know Dr. Sheri, you know, with the psychology, like I want to accept. Who I am. I don't want anyone else holding my pen. Holding my self-worth. So it's like I wanna lean into that stuff and people respond to that. I had a good friend still on this topic. I'm not gonna go too far off.

And then we'll get back to what other questions you want. But I had a very good friend when I was writing the book Profit First for real estate investing that we would have an accountability call every week with each other. Yeah. And we got into some pretty heavy stuff. And he knew what I was going through in some of my personal life and he's like, now that you're on the other side of that, you should put some of that in your book.

Because he's like, that will show people the real you and like that you've struggled with some of this stuff too. And I was like, you know, that's a little scary. Put that right out there and I put it like chapter one, like it was just right at the very beginning. So if you pick up the book, you can see that.

But it's like he said, that'll help and now people tell me like, you spoke to me, or I know that I go through that with my wife or with my spouse or like, there's things that I go through as well too and it helps people really connect with you if you tell them what's really going on and don't just put on the coach consultant face all the time.

It's more like, Hey, I understand where you are. I don't understand where you're coming from, so sorry. I know that was a rabbit trail from looking like the numbers guy, but I wanted to also tell kind of the psychology about even saying words like that on a podcast or speaking or something that helps you endear yourself as a coaching consultant and gives the real you that tells people, he knows who he is and like how he can help.

So there you go.

 Faisal: And here's the effect  I just pictured you in a Hogwarts robe with 

 the Harry Potter light. 

David: Oh, man. You're on stage and you're talking about Yes. That's so great. Does my daughter have a Gryffindor robe and a wand? And did we play the Harry Potter game over the weekend?

Probably. Yeah. So it's like that picture is probably not far off from what really happens in real life. So there you go.

Faisal: what I hear there is that there's a lot of authenticity there and one of the things that I've learned is, so like you mentioned the real estate world. So then I've been in that world for a while.

Yeah. Somebody goes on stage, like people who go on stage, I have 5,000 doors, thousand doors. Oh boy. Then they come back and we're talking, you know, I hate being here. I hate speaking like I'm away from my family. You have no cash flow system for one thing. They're like, they're thinking about the long term, but nothing is going right, right now.

Yep. And they're struggling in the, but they don't talk about it openly about these things and it's the same challenge pretty much everywhere you go. So I think part of authenticity that, as you said, is just accepting who you are and showing up as that, and you hundred percent pause negatives and positives now you celebrate whatever you are, and coaches know this very well, but knowing something mentally and showing up with that in the world is actually very, very difficult.

David: Right. Practicality is a lot different than just being able to talk about, like here, it's like being on that call and having to be vulnerable and feeling the fear and then actually saying it, or being on stage in front of hundreds of people and like saying, this is what I went through. Like, yeah, it sucked

and it's like, but then you see the audience and they're actually looking at you paying attention. Their face isn't in their phone and they're like, oh yeah, I've been there as well too. That's why For most people, one of those deep things that they're always looking for is respect.

That's like a basic human need, we all want to be respected or we all want to give our respect to people that earn it and that's one way you earn it is by showing them the real you while a lot of people think it's like by saying the 5,000 doors and stuff, that's not what earns the respect.

It's like I have 5,000 doors, but I struggled with this. Either To get here, or what I struggle with now, or this is where I wanna make sure that I help you stay away from some of these things because, you know, there's a lot of trip wires that can be on the path. I resonate with that a hundred percent cause there's nothing worse.

Then when you go to those events and you know that person is just pulling bs, you know, that smoke on the stage, like just, oh my gosh. You know, like, I don't wanna be sitting here listening to this. 

Faisal: And what's, what's really interesting about this is that they're not like, in their mind, I don't think they even think that they're lying or anything, 

David: right?

Faisal: The way the industry works, like everybody, for example, in the real estate world, they talk about. Doors coaches might talk about, Hey, I have this many clients. Hey, I have this kinda business, but they might not have the cash flow to show that one. One of the things I actually learned from

David:  both revenue versus net profit 

Faisal: yeah, both Mike Machowicz and Grant Cardone talk about this quite a bit to another real estate investor, you should be using only about 20% of your revenue in the beginning.

You might use about. 40%, but you should push yourself to use only about 20%. The rest needs to get reinvested somewhere else and when I was listening to that a few years ago, I was using about 90%. 

David: Yeah. Yeah. Most people are there like, oh shit. 

Faisal: How the hell do I change this? I'm getting clients, I'm starting to get clients. I'm not anywhere near 20%, so I'm halfway there.

David: So I'm using half of my revenue for that and half of it is getting me. That's still great. 

Faisal: Yeah, but it's like slowly work in progress. But until I heard that from somebody who's had an experience, that Mike Machowicz talks about, the other side of it is that most systems for finances are set up around assuming that human beings are logical, but we're not.

David: Yeah, 

Faisal: we might logically think this is how it should go, but reality shows a very, very especially as you have. More money coming into your lifestyle starts to go up a little bit and then,

David:  yeah. 

Faisal: One thing after another. Before you know it, now you're doing as much as what you're making. You're like, okay,  what the hell do I do with that? David: Yeah. That's where most people struggle. Yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah. 

Faisal: And I think coaches listening to this, a lot of them might be struggling to even get clients. But that might not be the biggest challenge. The biggest challenge might be that you might have a job and you might not have enough of a cushion to even put yourself out there as a coach.

Yeah. You might not even be looking at your finances properly to say, Hey, if I did decide to go towards this as a transition part-time as a coach, or full-time, how long can I sustain myself? And what would that look like if I looked at my investments, and this is what I'm passionate about, this one, I think that's one of the things that holds coaches back is like, can I make money?

Yes, you will be, but you're not gonna make money in the first month. You need to put yourself out there. You need to do the work just like any other business. Takes a little bit of time for you to build on that. But you need to look at your financial situation. You need to look at what you are doing and even, yeah.

Steve Chandler, I have his book there. Crazy Good. He talks about it like if you jump into the, let's say the coaching world, cause you're building a business and you're like, I just wanna make money from day one, go get a job. Go find another way of making money until you build this system for this. Because that's gonna be a disservice to your clients. cause you are all, mostly your focus is gonna be money. Yeah. 

David: That's so good. 

Faisal: Gonna help you. 

David: And I agree. 

Faisal: There's one thing you said that, you said many profounding, but one thing you kind of passed by it very quickly. But that was really powerful.

I don't even know if you noticed it, but you said that you had millions of dollars coming in that told you that this thing is working, that you're pining your words, and to me, what I hear there is that the market decided that what you are offering out in the marketplace is valuable. And that's something that I don't think a lot of coaches understand about the capitalistic system, that because they're all kind of in their own head. I was too at one point where like, okay, what if I put this out there? Nobody cares about it. what if people can, it's not about you.

Because ultimately what's gonna decide whether or not this is even valuable, whether or not you're gonna make money is the marketplace. People are gonna decide whether it's valuable and that's what moves forward. 

David: And until you put it out there,  

Faisal: you could have all the best ideas out in the world. It doesn't mean squat. Could you expand on that? 

David: Well, yeah, that's why when I first started I was like, I want to, after reading Dan Kennedy's books, I said, I don't want to be the cheapest option. I don't want to go out there and give a cheap option. I want it to be expensive

and this was me. Okay. This is David three and a half years ago where he should be imposter syndrome galore and I definitely had some of that, but like I said, I'm gonna charge a lot of money and I'm gonna charge at least 20 and to me, it was a lot of money back then. 2,500 a month at least.

Like for people to work with me, if they work with me one-on-one, that's a different story now. But like back then I was like, are people gonna do this? But then I put myself out there and once I could explain what I was doing, giving them that clarity, even back then when I was horrible at explaining it.

I was getting people in the door because so many people understood they had a bookkeeper in CPA, but no one to really help them keep more money in their pockets. How do I take the dollars that are coming in and make sure I'm building an actual business and not going out of business or thinking about the money all the time?

As you said, like you mentioned that Faisal liked it. That's crazy that so many people think of money all the time, but they're trying to make an impact. But then their shoulders are tight and they're not able to think about anything. But can I put food on the table this week?

So I love what you said, like maybe you need to get a job. Maybe you need to do something to make an impact, but the market's gonna tell you if you've got something that's good. That's what also helped me go from. Do I need to keep doing this myself? Keep it very small and squeeze the profitability margin to Grant Cardone figures where you could be doing like 80%, you know, net profit margin.

But that was also too, I wanted to make that impact like we even talked about before. Like, do I want to change the world or do I wanna change my world? Like the people, just the people that I'm interacting with now. But I had so much feedback. Feedback in the form of dollars and clients that wanted to come in and where I'm like, I need help.

I need help. Like if I want to work with more people, if I want to make a bigger impact. That's kind of where the market even drove the expansion, which seems logical, right? Like that's where most people wouldn't need to get to that point. But I feel like you're saying, a lot of people don't even, I don't know, believe in themselves enough or maybe don't have enough.

Coming in like in the sales or like they don't know how to put themselves out there to know that, okay, is this a viable option? And then getting those dollars in return and if you're not getting it and you're doing a lot of things that might be the market telling you they don't really need this like this is not something, maybe it's a great idea for you.

That's why if you've got something that worked for you that has changed your life and it's changed other people's lives as well, that's where you can start getting that rolling and one other thing. That I wanted to touch on that you and the last point of like as you scale your business or like the different, you know, stages that you're at another book.

I think this will provide a lot of value to the coaches out there and the consultants that Mike Michalowicz has another book, not just Profit First. Profit First is all about how I get more dollars to stay in my bank account and be profitable and a good system for it. So definitely pick that one up. But he has another book.

Fix This Next, and it's an incredible book because it's about like if you've heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs for your personal life and all that. But this is like the business hierarchy of needs where it's got the little pyramid and it's like, what's broken and what do I need to fix next? So if it's like I don't have enough sales to feed my family, well that's the bottom of the pyramid.

Like sales have to be there. The engine has to be driven like you have to have leads to come in and you have to have money coming in to even manage it. That's where profit is the next step of that pyramid. I have to have sales coming in, but then I have to manage the dollars as soon as they're in my bank account.

I need the profitability there to then fuel more sales and to fuel the engine to make sure that hey, that I am able to continue building this like I want to, and that I'm able to have a business that is not kicking my butt all the time. So it's like sales, then profit. The next one is order. So like now you have to organize the chaos. That's where I was on my journey.

When I had more clients coming in than I could handle, I had to take the conscientious decision to say, do I want to have more order? Which might decrease profitability a little bit because now I'm investing in people in systems. So the order stage is like I have to. Convert some of that profitability that I have into order out of the chaos.

So like I need to invest in those people, systems, processes, you know, maybe some masterminds-type things to make sure, okay, who are the right people I need to be around that can help me organize this mess? So that's where the next step is order. Then that cycle repeats itself constantly. I feel like those three, cause then it's like, okay, now order's great, now I need more sales to come in to feed the team that I have.

So it's like, but then you still have to be profitable so that way you're not burning out because you've just gone up a level. But then you've skipped the profitability step and you keep thinking, you know, like that's why I love that pyramid there. Then the other two are impact and legacy. So the impact is how many people I reach in Legacy and am I able to pass it on? 

I've kept that framework a lot because I go constantly like, okay, the next stage of business I have to work on the sales, then I have to work on the profitability, and then I have the chaos that I've caused by going to this next level.

And that's where people just have to have some sort of framework in their mind of like, do I want to take that next step? Cause as you said, the marketplace was telling me this is a good idea, people need this. How big do we wanna get it? Okay, well let's build the sales, let's get some profitability in there.

Let's convert some of that profitability to order and see how long that goes. Because people ask me all the time like, what are your big end goals? And I'm like, honestly, I wanna keep doing that order until it stops working, until either the marketplace has dried up. Or we've reached every person that we can.

It's like I'm a young guy. I'm not looking in two years to retire from this business and be out there. Like I want to make an impact. So it's like, can I keep that process going too, to just see how large I can take it? And that's why. The play of the book and getting the book out there, which was not just a big business card, which it's a great credibility piece for sure.

It gets me on stages, it gets me into different rooms and stuff. But it's also built as a book that can actually help people like people have taken that not worked with me and had good success, and I'm like, Boom. The book is really accomplishing what I want it to accomplish, but then in turn helps other people know about it.

So there you go. I'll stop there. I'll let you get back to like the main question, but that's where I feel like the marketplace really does have that big effect of what, how big you can get. You might have a good idea, but then the marketplace is gonna tell you how big of an impact you're going to make eventually.

Faisal: Yeah. And I think you explained with that model that one of the big gaps so, this is how, and this is how I thought too in the beginning. It's like, yeah, alright, I'm starting a business. I want to make a bigger impact. So as you were describing that pyramid, I was thinking about the top of the pyramid, but I didn't know anything in the middle of it.

Yeah. Feel like just working with real estate investors as well as coaches and one of the reasons why I connected with real estate investors, even without being a real estate investor, is because I saw that I had the same goddamn problems that they do. So I think one of the things that most coaches and even investors do when they jump in is because a lot of them come from like a work world, corporate world, they have a job for it.

They were trained to think a certain way. That is not how business works at all. Like most of what we're taught. It does not apply when you're in the day-to-day option. It looks like it might, like if you just find a few clients, it does not. There are so many variables and it takes a little, quite a bit of time and work for your mind to even understand the variables and there.

So I think most coaches and most people come from a job world like I struggled with that for two years and I thought I was the only one. But as I was going through, I'm like, there were so many things I needed to make sense of and I kept underestimating. So I think most people underestimate what it takes to build a business.

Yeah. It's a longer-term journey. The focus, like a lot, as you said, you need to build the systems and that's what our focus is in C M C as well is that let's help you build the business system rather than get you a couple of clients, cause that is not gonna help you build a business two or three clients a year or in a month, we put a lot of free stuff just to get you started. Go get a few clients, but most coaches I talk to, they're thinking processes. Let's just get two or three clients. I'll be good. But here's what happens.

You'll get those two, three clients. You don't know how some of the systems work. Within six months, you're out of clients again. Right, and you know how to approach more people. You don't know how to set up the system for you to get more leads coming in. You don't know how to put yourself out there. You don't know what to reinvest in, which is another piece of it

is that we wanna keep the profit for reinvestment in the beginning stages of a business and if you can do that and sustain your life, you will start to build a business and a brand that will be very powerful as you move forward. And there's stages of that and I don't think anybody thinks about the stages of it.

They're just, I just wanna get a few clients.

David:  Yeah, exactly. Can I say one thing super quick, Sheri, because it's absolutely because it's me and I thought while you're talking about this, this is a great Star Wars quote, it's Yoda, right? You have to unlearn what you have learned. I don't know how many times I've thought of that quote over the last three and a half years building this thing of like, there's so many times I need to like just stop putting the stuff that I was running through a filter and put it through a new thing or learn something

and then I think about that in the real estate world, like you just said, so many people in their backgrounds like. Forget all that. Like if you're a coach and consultant listening to this, you have to get rid of every paradigm you've ever had about business and just listen to the people that are successful, like listen to that.

I honestly feel like that's why I've had a quicker trajectory, not just because of the marketplace, but because I didn't have as many bad habits. I didn't go to this crazy college that got an NBA and had the financial account like some of the liabilities that people have were assets at one point in their life and it's like, what in the world?

I have to change my whole mindset of like, okay, I need to switch this around. That was a good statement. Like, I need to write that down. I'm shocking myself. Sorry, I just, that was. Right. That's why that's like, there's my Yoda quote, but that's where a lot of people just have to unlearn that. That's why I was like, you got me here.

So I immediately thought Yoda and like, you gotta unlearn what you're learning so that way you can grow to where you want to get to and like not running outta clients and like thinking ahead because that's what it's really about. Of like, okay, can I be a few steps ahead? You don't have to get 10, 20 steps ahead.

Just making sure. Okay, are we on the right track? Of what we really want to get to. Sorry for cutting you off, Sheri. Yeah, you're fine. 

Sheri: You're our guest. We're picking your brains today and we'll totally let you snip that out for a reel or something so you can just, you know, blast it all over the place.

David: Yeah. Yeah. That was, I need to start saying that. I do need to write that down somewhere. I do need that piece cause I'm like, I think that one might resonate with people. I'll have to test it though, even though I like it doesn't mean other people like it. So, see, I gotta go on stage and see how people react to it.

And yeah. 

Faisal: Sheri, before you go into the four questions, I just wanna share a couple of things that might be like things to take away for coaches themselves. There. There are many things in there, but especially if you're starting as a coach there is actually no way for you to make a creative business unless you put yourself out there that, now, that might not be on social media, that might not be on every podcast there is, but it might be in person.

It might be you talking to the people around you. It doesn't matter how great you are as a coach, it doesn't matter how you are you. The first step is to put yourself out there and actually offer to support people, whether it's individuals or groups, whatever that is. Without that, there is no business. And once you start.

Doing that. Before you even start doing that, take a look at your finances. Read profit first, read David's book, profit First for real estate investors and really think through what's happening in your life right now. Where are your investments going? Because the first piece of investment is actually in your own education and your own professional development.

The coaches your own self. And you are doing that with other people. You're gonna go up to people and ask them, do you have a coach? They're gonna ask you, do you have a coach? And if you don't, That's a struggle point cause it'll be tough for you to sell then. That's part of what we do in C M C is to help you get not only the professional development support, but help get a coach as well as you're working through that and help you get the resources for you to move forward, to build a system a long-term scalable system for you to build a profitable business that will support you, but also serve a lot of people in the process there.

There's a huge need for coaching right now out there. It used to be very small. Now it's. Picking up like wildfire. It's in the real estate world. It's in the business world. It's in the entertainment world. It's in the athletic world and even normally, people are more and more aware of it. And as this is building up, you might fall behind if you don't jump in and invest in this and we're here to support you. So go to the links, and join our Facebook group. If you're listening to this outside or just go to coaching master community.com and you'll be able to gain a lot of information from that. I'll let Sheri take this before she starts messaging me a bunch of stuff that I won't like. 

Sheri: you always have so much good. Stuff to say. The challenge is our listeners don't have a full day to sit and listen to one long podcast.

Well, first of all, I wanna say David, I adore what you do and I first heard about Profit First from Mike Michalowitz. I think it was when he wrote his book back in like 2015. I had a large mental health practice and that revolutionized kind of how I thought about the finances and the practice. then I

told my husband about it because my husband if he looks at a spreadsheet, like his eyes crossed, we've had QuickBooks for like 15 years and I don't think he's ever logged into QuickBooks and so like, he just doesn't care about that stuff. That's not his personality and so I told him about this and he is like, you know don't worry about the bank account balance.

You know, stuff like that and so he's been using it in our real estate business and even C M C, we use profit first in our finances and so a hundred percent bought into the system and absolutely love what you bring to the real estate investing space with that, because there are some nuances.

If you are an investor, you happen to be listened to this, there are some nuances to how to understand profitability among the different types of some real estate strategies that I couldn't figure out in my brain, but the book does a really great job laying out, so that's amazing.

David:  Thank you. I appreciate that. If you're gonna make the money, you might as well keep it. I know it, you know, like, you're like, please take off of God. Yeah. So that's good. No, I appreciate that.  

Sheri: Yeah. We have a moral responsibility to our family to make sure that's profitable. That's my opinion.

David: Oh, man. Yeah. I could park there for a while, but I'll let you keep going.

Sheri: So. Alright, so we have a couple few questions that we'd love to ask. We ask this of most of our guests David, what is. I laugh as I say this cause most of a lot of the folks that we have on aren't necessarily authors. But what is one of the most influential books in your journey?

David:  Okay, so obviously Prophet First has been very influential, but there are a couple of others that I'll mention.

The Road less Stupid by Keith Cunningham. That's a great one that if you need to ask yourself tough questions and go through any stage of your business, like that's just a book of questions to ask yourself with whatever business, thing that you're facing. I would also say crucial conversations is up there as well, too.

That's an amazing, incredible book. I could keep going on and on and on, I'll just stop it with those two. 

Sheri: Perfect. I have not heard of the road Less stupid yet, so

David: . Oh, oh, Sheri, your life's gonna be changed. You're gonna love it. I know you, you're gonna love that book. 

Sheri: Awesome. I look forward to it and I may or may not go and buy that right when we're done. Right. 

David: Highly recommend it. 

Sheri: David, what are some of your hobbies other than dressing up with your daughter? 

David: Oh man. That's most of my hobbies right now, so Like with a little I got a six-year-old, so that's literally all we did on Saturday was play games and do stuff like that.

We even shut our phones off like we had no tech on Saturday. It was awesome. It was one of the best Saturdays I've ever had in my life, but that's the type of stuff I'm into right now. I like to golf. When I can, I don't think I've golfed for like a year and a half, but I tell people I like to golf cause that's where I was very active in my past life.

But that's something as well too. Reading, obviously I do like that. I'm a pretty typical person. I like movies as People can obviously see here. So it's like I love watching and seeing the new stuff that's coming out. You know, John Wick Four was in theaters the last couple of weeks, so you definitely know I saw that one. cause I'm a big Keanu Reeves fan just in general. 

Faisal: So, eh, I'm curious, are you a Marvels fan too, or no? 

It's hard for me not to like a movie. I'm just like that type of person. So yeah, I like a lot of the Marvel movies. I've seen all of 'em. Yeah, I have the Disney Plus watching all that stuff.  

Faisal: Also, can you share that book that you mentioned from Prophet first? The name again? Cause I'm pretty sure somebody's gonna ask about that. 

David: Fix this next by Mike Michalowicz so the same guy who wrote the original Profit First wrote, Fix This Next as well. 

Sheri: He also has another one about clockwork, like getting your business to run like clockwork.

 That's amazing and has literally been the driver for my husband and me taking the entire February of this year and going to Kenya with our family. That was our testing us little bit

David: Yeah. Yeah. 

Sheri: Well, before I move on to the last two questions, David, I wanted to honor you for spending your entire day just being silly with your daughter, because if I had to guess that is the perfect demonstration of you living out what, the system that you're trying to provide for other real estate investors, so they're not having to spend time on their books or worrying over the weekend and trying to figure out, oh, am I gonna pay whatever.

Like, no, you can actually have that downtime. Just enjoy the family. I love that. 

David: Try to live it out. Call it the Profit First life, schedule that stuff on Sunday night, and make sure the important things in your life are actually on your calendar. cause like even this morning, like before Ellie, my daughter went to school, we played for about half an hour, used to be a lot longer before this school thing.

Interrupted a lot of our playtime. Like we had an hour, like at least, you know? Yeah. It's like what in the world? But you know, school definitely has its perks too. Like, it's nice to go out with a wife too and like go to the different areas and stuff, so. Okay. I'm off on a tangent again until it becomes a liability.

Right, right. That's great. Until, yes. Oh, man. I'm writing that down again. 

Sheri: There you go. David, what do you think separates the successful coaches, you know, or we can generalize it to successful business people than those who give up fail, or really never even get started? They give up.

David:  You know, it's like kind of said it right there where if it's a failing idea, that's one thing.

If it's the market telling you one thing, but it's like that you just keep going. When you take action, you know, at the very beginning, most people have a hangup about sales. That's the big thing. They're scared of being a salesperson. For anything attached to sales, you need to learn that skill. You need to learn that, that it takes actually convincing people or walking them through, this is how you do it.

You don't have to buy it, but at least here are the options, and here's the value I could bring to you. So you can either say, okay, here you go, this is what I think is best, or here's another option. But just make sure that you learn some of those skills because you could tell them. Yeah, you're not the best fit.

Like, but I've got a good option over here. It's like being able to also know that your sales are getting people to where you really want them to be. You know, like I've had people that I have had to on the phone say, Like, let's sign up right now and then if you don't like it, refund all that.

But then they get in and they're like, thank God I did this. You know, like, because they were wondering if it was gonna be real behind the scenes or all the fears that you know, that you have when you sign up for something new. It's like just getting a good system for that. I think that is not touched on enough, it's like, I want you to be comfortable having those types of conversations and asking

difficult questions. Follow someone like Alex or Mosey or like get inside of here if you have any training for the clients, for the coaches, and the community here, it's like being able to ask the good questions to make sure, number one, it is a good fit. But then if it is like, okay, then really tell me what's going on.

You said this was a good fit. Like we need to have a deeper conversation. Is it you don't trust me? Or is it the money? Like, give me the real reason so I can at least pin you in the right direction. So that's another thing. That I think stops a lot of people, but that's when the rubber meets the road.

You're actually getting the calls and then you have to talk about the money, you know, like with people. But then the other thing is they don't know how to manage it on the backend if they are a good salesperson. So, I would say not starting or just giving up is probably the biggest reason. Then the second one is not psychologically saying that, yes, this is sales and I'm going to be good at it.

Sheri: Awesome and as you are working on impacting the real estate world and the finances and you've written a book and you've got the C f O company and you're doing some consulting and speaking and coaching, kinda a mixture of all of those, where do you feel like this whole experience of coaching the field of like helping people.

But you know, sometimes giving us them a system, sometimes just kind of helping push them forward. Where do you feel like that's headed? Because in some respects we're still kind of on the beginning end the front end of this whole you know, movement around kind of helping, helping people in this way. Yeah. Where do you predict that we're headed?

David:  I think as long as there are humans involved, it will continue to grow and multiply. You know, I know AI and like a lot of stuff like that is coming out and it's like they, the coach I feel like is gonna be one of those things that's like going to be around for a long time, and if not, like exponentially grow, like the demand for it because there might be more robotic stuff that can do more. Just very mundane, typical task and AI and stuff like that, and where you're going to need a more nuanced coach to pull the questions out of you that you need to be asking yourself in order to get to that next level, whatever they're doing, whether it's real estate investing or a brick and mortar or like, you know, like an online coaching or whatever that's going on.

So I feel like if anything, that now is a great time to capitalize on it, to be a part of this group, but then also that it's something that's gonna be around for a very long time. Because as long as the humans are involved, then we are going to need other humans to be able to say, this is what you don't do.

This is what you do like, and let me help you get there a lot faster with a lot less speed bumps along the way as well too. 

Sheri: Awesome. So, David, I know that our listeners enjoyed you as much as we did today, and there's clearly a wealth of wisdom that undergirds everything that you said and there's even more conversation we could have

and so when people, if people wanna binge you in a very appropriate way how are they gonna bite you 

David: on? I came out really wrong. I know, I know. That's great. Okay, well then you can find me on Netflix. Just kidding. Simple cfo.com. So if you go there, that's kind of the one-stop shop. So if you do wanna binge, it's there.

My podcast is there as well. Profit first for real estate investing. So if you're in a real estate investing community, we just talk about The numbers and like what people are going through and the struggles and the emotional side of money, and like if you've encountered anything on that side, I probably have someone on one episode that's gone through the exact same situation you're in.

So that's there. So simple cfo.com if you wanna work with us too, cause we don't just work with real estate investors, that's our main niche. But we work with anyone who's struggling with their money. If you don't know where your money's going. Can reach out, and see if we're a good fit. Probably have a conversation with me until I get a full-time salesperson in there because right now we're just scaling and growing and so I'm sitting in that seat still a little bit from time to time, but I just wanna make sure that people have that place there, simple, c f o.com.

You could get the book or the podcast or that type of stuff right there on that webpage. 

Sheri: Perfect. Well, we so appreciate your time and your energy as Faisal said, your energy is contagious again, in a good way. 

David: Good. Thank you. I'm contagious. You can binge me like this is a lot of good stuff here.

Yeah, all the things. And you'll get all these excerpts so you can use them. I can't wait. This is gonna be a great one. So, yeah, it's like, oh man. And I wanna just say one last thing as well too, like, If you're going to do something big like we had even, I keep circling back to what you said at the beginning, like if you want to change the world, it has to, you gotta tie some metrics to that too.

Like for me, my first tenure goal is like, I want to give a million dollars like I want to, and we're on track. Like we're given to Operation Underground Railroad, we're given to like a bunch of these different charities and organizations. It's like you need something like that when it gets tough too when you want to quit and you're like, well, I can't for them.

You know, and I can't for this just because it gets tough. I'm not saying that the market is telling you you shouldn't, that's a different conversation. But this is like, hey, going through a rough patch or whatnot, should I stay, should I not, do you have something bigger than yourself as well too? Keep that north star.

That's kind of how you counteract the giving up or the not starting to. Yeah, I love that. 

Faisal: It's funny cuz coaches should know that, but they forget it more than most people. Yeah. I forgot it multiple times throughout my journey and then I'm looking, I'm like, I'm not just doing this to make a quick buck. I'm thinking like, this is a big thing for me. This matters and whenever I connected with that vision, with that purpose, sense of purpose, like, oh, screw this. This is like a few years of with this, it's not that big a deal, and that worked out. Helps make decisions for you. 

David: Yeah, but that's why I love what you're doing. Most coaches need a coach too. It's like give, you're giving them a community, a platform, like to be able to have people that they could be around that they might, you know, get to that next level or next phase. So it's like, yeah. I love what you said. Most coaches, they know that they should be doing this, but they're not doing it.

It's the same with the real estate investor who got into it for financial freedom but doesn't have financial freedom. You know, it's like, okay. Do you realize we're not doing this just to create more expenses in the real estate business? Well, it's the same thing in coaching. Yeah. Like, you need a coach, you need a community here that's gonna help you stay on the right track.So I love what you guys are doing. 

Faisal: Thank you. I appreciate that. And then I just wanna share quickly a little bit about our vision and one of the things that seems very different is that we're not, first of all, one thing we've said in here, we're following it.

C M C is still not in the profit stages like we're working to build the system around it. Yeah. We all have our own businesses. We all have, like what? This is not our primary thing for us to just take a quick buck from you guys and I wanted to be vulnerable around them because we're building a lot of pieces of it.

It takes a lot. We're hiring people, we're reinvesting, we're investing time in the podcast, we're collaborating with other people. We've hired a marketing agency. We're doing a bunch of stuff just to build a system because we do have a long-term vision here. This actually fills the gap in the marketplace where coaches don't have a lot of support from the time they get trained to the time they have a fully functioning business.

And we, that's true. And most companies, for some reason, miss the whole gap. So this is a unique community that's gonna help you actually implement the things that you hear about from all these marketers and influencers. We're gonna actually take, hold your hands, support you, encourage you, challenge you to build that business, and get you the support daily that you need to move forward to build that business, build your craft.

And do it in a supportive community of fun-loving people. As you can tell, we're all fun here. And, really mean this because we the coaches who started this, the four of the business partners, we struggled with this the first couple years and we're working through a lot of that stuff.

So we know what it means to go through that journey, and we also know what it takes to start to get you to the other side of it and so definitely join us. If you're listening to this outside join our Facebook group. It's Coaching Mastery. Look for Coaching Mastery Community or go to coaching mastery community.com.

Like, like David, say one-stop shop. You'll be able to find a lot of resources there and connection points and like, and share this with any coach, cause more than likely most coaches are dealing with this stuff. Any coach that, you know, they might not be sharing it, but they're struggling with this area.

They might not be vulnerable to sharing it, but they're struggling. So share it with them, it'll help them. And aside from that, we'll see you next week in the same in this conversation, and let us know what you enjoyed about this podcast. 

David: All right. Bye. ​ 

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