Scaling your network is important because it builds your brand. This is what Whitney Sewell learned when he started a daily podcast show. Whitney is the host of The Real Estate Syndication Show, Founder of the Life Bridge Foundation and Life Bridge Capital. By building his network, he can find more investors and continue to scale his business. Learn how Whitney went from no network to consistently be able to raise $10mm in just a few hours! Learn how to have a mission, build a class A team, and more. Join your host Shannon Robnett and his guest Whitney Sewell to learn more about how to scale your network and nurture your relationships. Find out how the Life Bridge Foundation impacts the lives of hundreds of people and how Whitney manages it all.
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Listen to the podcast here:
Whitney Sewell: Scaling Your Network Of Investors
I'm going to interview probably one of the most prolific podcasters. A guy that has been doing this podcast daily for several years. In that guy, you are going to learn some secrets about what to do and what not to do about how to raise capital, how to meet people, how to influence that, how to get things going in your business when nothing seems to be working. I have the pleasure of interviewing a friend of mine, Whitney Sewell.
I am excellent, Shannon. A pleasure to be here.
It has been a while since we talked, we both operate in the market doing a lot of the same things but you have been doing a podcast now. How long?
I can't remember exactly, but it’s every day, almost 1,100 days straight.
It is amazing and it's a daily podcast. How do you come up with guests? One thousand one hundred different guests, that's a lot.
We do have some repeat guests depending on who they are and the topics that they bring, things like that, probably 1,000 different guests and it's nearly been a full-time job. I have always had a team that I built a team from the very beginning, happy to get into that. Doing a daily show, I knew that I could not produce a show.
If I had done a weekly show, I know that I would have said, “I can learn to edit the audio. I will save a little money there. I can learn to edit the video. I will make sure I will get that done.” I know that I would have gotten behind and gotten frustrated. I probably quit. I call it over-committing since I over-committed and said, “I'm going to do seven days a week.” I knew from the beginning I had to build the team. I just built processes and said, “This is what I need you to do.” I hire virtual assistants from all over the world for numerous different tasks that had to be done and then I had somebody. I laid out specific things that I needed them to do to find good guests for the show.
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Whitney, how are you?I am excellent, Shannon. A pleasure to be here.
It has been a while since we talked, we both operate in the market doing a lot of the same things but you have been doing a podcast now. How long?
I can't remember exactly, but it’s every day, almost 1,100 days straight.
It is amazing and it's a daily podcast. How do you come up with guests? One thousand one hundred different guests, that's a lot.
We do have some repeat guests depending on who they are and the topics that they bring, things like that, probably 1,000 different guests and it's nearly been a full-time job. I have always had a team that I built a team from the very beginning, happy to get into that. Doing a daily show, I knew that I could not produce a show.
If I had done a weekly show, I know that I would have said, “I can learn to edit the audio. I will save a little money there. I can learn to edit the video. I will make sure I will get that done.” I know that I would have gotten behind and gotten frustrated. I probably quit. I call it over-committing since I over-committed and said, “I'm going to do seven days a week.” I knew from the beginning I had to build the team. I just built processes and said, “This is what I need you to do.” I hire virtual assistants from all over the world for numerous different tasks that had to be done and then I had somebody. I laid out specific things that I needed them to do to find good guests for the show.
Always stay in front of your investors.
I'm proud to say that I was one of your guests but I am a little perplexed. I have only been invited once. I'm kidding. Why did you do this? Why did you set out to do a daily podcast? What motivated you to do that?
I get that question often and like, “Was it worth it and all those things?” At the time, I had a great mentor and ultimately, he did and done the same thing. I said, “What if and see how well it worked, I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here, let's get started and just make it happen?” It was almost that simple. I knew it could work. I just said, “Let's just do it. We will all figure it out.”
What was the goal behind doing the daily podcast? What was the end result?
The end result was obviously the branding and getting our name out there, the associated credibility with all these guests and building a network, you can imagine doing a weekly show versus doing a daily show. That's seven times as many people per week that I'm meeting and connecting with. People just like yourself have been doing this for a long time and very experienced.
I didn't know you, Shannon before I had you on the show. It is a massive networking opportunity. It's a way for me to meet experts like yourself and get to connect. Otherwise, if I just called you up, it would be hard to make that happen. It would be hard to connect to get to know one another as opposed to what the podcast can do because then, as I build a following, I can add value to experts in our space as well as you are getting started.
Eventually, you learn a lot. After 1,000 shows, it has been like my own university. Even then, as we are working on deals, what questions do you think I'm going to ask guests on the show if I know they have the answer? How did you do this? It may be something I'm working on, especially early on. It’s an amazing learning tool as well. I get to talk to 12 to 15 experts in one day. How often do you get to do that?
We talked about this a little bit in the pre-show but how many episodes did you have under your belt before you started to see fruit?
I was just speaking at a large event and somebody said like, “How long should I do this? How long until it's going to work all these things?” I tell everyone I hope it happens in six months but plan to do it for at least a year before you see any fruit and people see its consistency over a long time. Readers start hitting it rough and they can just count on it, count on your show, count on the type of show. They start to learn who you are as the host and get more involved. It takes time to build that top of following and loyalty to your show.
The reality is you are trying to talk to an audience that you want to invest in your deals. You are talking about a 5, 7-year window and they are looking at you going, “He has been consistent with 700, 800, 900 episodes. I guess I could probably trust them with my money.” It builds that credibility through the other side of that. What was the first example that you saw of doing this podcast and actually seeing it? What was the first fruit that you saw and went, “This is going to work?”
It was probably the example I gave to this individual, I said, “It was probably 300 to 400 shows in.” You can imagine a year in this workload, it was quite intense for my wife, me and the whole family. I was still working full-time. When I started this, I was a Federal agent, doing the daily podcast and started doing deals. It was quite insane. If anybody has done a podcast and knows what it costs to do one show, multiply it by 30 a month. It was a massive expense.
There were times the first year, it was like, “I don't even know if we can afford to keep going the next month.” The Lord would provide in big ways. I just made $10,000 here for this or whatever. The Lord provided in so many ways when we needed it. Some of the first things that started to happen were after the investor call where they would say, “I have been listening to you for several months. I feel like I already know you.”
That started happening over and over, Shannon. It's hard to put a value on that at that moment but I could start to see that they already feel like they know me. I get on an investor call and they talk for nearly the whole twenty minutes, then they say, “I didn't even allow you to talk.” I'm like, “It's okay,” then they say, “I feel like I already know you because I listened to you every day when I’m on my way to work or at the gym.”
There's so much value in that you just can't put a dollar amount to. I tell people, “If you looked at a profit and loss statement for the podcast, you would never start a podcast.” You would think I was crazy but if you look at the whole picture of our brand, our business and how fast we have been able to grow, it's a no-brainer.
How fast have you been able to grow? Let's just ask that blunt question. You started this podcast several episodes ago. That was your whole advertising budget, wasn't it?
It was everything I could do to keep that going.
I say that that was your whole advertising budget, all your free time and every last nerve your wife had. It was more than just all you were doing. What have you grown your brand into in several years?
I get that question often and like, “Was it worth it and all those things?” At the time, I had a great mentor and ultimately, he did and done the same thing. I said, “What if and see how well it worked, I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here, let's get started and just make it happen?” It was almost that simple. I knew it could work. I just said, “Let's just do it. We will all figure it out.”
What was the goal behind doing the daily podcast? What was the end result?
The end result was obviously the branding and getting our name out there, the associated credibility with all these guests and building a network, you can imagine doing a weekly show versus doing a daily show. That's seven times as many people per week that I'm meeting and connecting with. People just like yourself have been doing this for a long time and very experienced.
I didn't know you, Shannon before I had you on the show. It is a massive networking opportunity. It's a way for me to meet experts like yourself and get to connect. Otherwise, if I just called you up, it would be hard to make that happen. It would be hard to connect to get to know one another as opposed to what the podcast can do because then, as I build a following, I can add value to experts in our space as well as you are getting started.
Eventually, you learn a lot. After 1,000 shows, it has been like my own university. Even then, as we are working on deals, what questions do you think I'm going to ask guests on the show if I know they have the answer? How did you do this? It may be something I'm working on, especially early on. It’s an amazing learning tool as well. I get to talk to 12 to 15 experts in one day. How often do you get to do that?
We talked about this a little bit in the pre-show but how many episodes did you have under your belt before you started to see fruit?
I was just speaking at a large event and somebody said like, “How long should I do this? How long until it's going to work all these things?” I tell everyone I hope it happens in six months but plan to do it for at least a year before you see any fruit and people see its consistency over a long time. Readers start hitting it rough and they can just count on it, count on your show, count on the type of show. They start to learn who you are as the host and get more involved. It takes time to build that top of following and loyalty to your show.
The reality is you are trying to talk to an audience that you want to invest in your deals. You are talking about a 5, 7-year window and they are looking at you going, “He has been consistent with 700, 800, 900 episodes. I guess I could probably trust them with my money.” It builds that credibility through the other side of that. What was the first example that you saw of doing this podcast and actually seeing it? What was the first fruit that you saw and went, “This is going to work?”
It was probably the example I gave to this individual, I said, “It was probably 300 to 400 shows in.” You can imagine a year in this workload, it was quite intense for my wife, me and the whole family. I was still working full-time. When I started this, I was a Federal agent, doing the daily podcast and started doing deals. It was quite insane. If anybody has done a podcast and knows what it costs to do one show, multiply it by 30 a month. It was a massive expense.
There were times the first year, it was like, “I don't even know if we can afford to keep going the next month.” The Lord would provide in big ways. I just made $10,000 here for this or whatever. The Lord provided in so many ways when we needed it. Some of the first things that started to happen were after the investor call where they would say, “I have been listening to you for several months. I feel like I already know you.”
That started happening over and over, Shannon. It's hard to put a value on that at that moment but I could start to see that they already feel like they know me. I get on an investor call and they talk for nearly the whole twenty minutes, then they say, “I didn't even allow you to talk.” I'm like, “It's okay,” then they say, “I feel like I already know you because I listened to you every day when I’m on my way to work or at the gym.”
There's so much value in that you just can't put a dollar amount to. I tell people, “If you looked at a profit and loss statement for the podcast, you would never start a podcast.” You would think I was crazy but if you look at the whole picture of our brand, our business and how fast we have been able to grow, it's a no-brainer.
How fast have you been able to grow? Let's just ask that blunt question. You started this podcast several episodes ago. That was your whole advertising budget, wasn't it?
It was everything I could do to keep that going.
I say that that was your whole advertising budget, all your free time and every last nerve your wife had. It was more than just all you were doing. What have you grown your brand into in several years?
Scaling Your Network: You really get to build your network when you're doing a weekly show versus doing a daily show. That's seven times more people per week that you're meeting and connecting with.
It has been incredible what the Lord has done. With the first syndication, I had done some small multifamily since 2009 but nothing to scale. Fifteen units were like the largest. Even at that time, I was like, “Wow.” We are doing something. I had no idea that I could go buy a 100 unit complex. I would have laughed at you if you would have told me a few years back that I could do something like that.
At that time, I hired a mentor and I partnered on two projects. The first project, I remember I raised $250,000. I was excited about that. I did not come from wealth or any money. None of my family invested in that deal. I had no friends or family that were accredited. That was all from me networking as hard as I could go to, as many conferences as I could go to. It took me many weeks to raise that $250,000.
I think the next deal I raised was around $475,000 to $500,000. I was excited about that. We nearly doubled. The next deal was $1.2 million. The next one was $2.5 million to $3 million. The last was probably a $6 million or $7 million raise. It has been $10 million to $12 million raises. The first 4 of those 6 filled up in 8 to 10 hours and the last 2 or 3 have filled up in 3 to 4 hours. If you can imagine that over a few years, there are a lot more work behind making that happen. The podcast is the first connection to many other investors.
I see a lot of the similarities there because when I have the investor call, it is that they know you. They know the question, “Whitney, I know you are going to ask this question, have this guest and get this quality information.” It also shows your connection with others in the industry and the reliability of the information that you are giving because it's being validated by other experts all over. I have seen some of the same things and my story is similar to yours.
I've got a long construction background as everybody knows but I have seen where the same thing has happened as sweat and bullets on the first race then the second race is twice that, and now I'm looking for more deals. One minute, I’ve got too much deal. The next minute, I’ve got too much investor capital in and you are back and forth between the two. How do you balance that in the world that we live in? There are not deals around every corner like there weren't in 2012.
It is difficult. No doubt about it. We have waitlists for almost every project now, which is a blessing. I do not say that lightly. I know many operators that are struggling to raise money, even steal. It's definitely a blessing. A couple of things that we have even done is we had a small project and we just sent it out to the waitlist for the last few projects.
It's still filled up in just a few hours. Keep those people involved as much as possible. Give them that opportunity. They are showing interest in you. They want to invest with you. They already trust you. They want to get involved. We thought this is a great way to allow those people that haven't been able to invest with us to give them the first shot because they did show interest but didn't get it in time.
That was one way to help the whole list of investors to have an opportunity. In between deals, it comes in waves. It seems like the first half of this year was nothing for us. All of a sudden, three projects are happening and maybe another one. When that's happening, it's about staying in front of them. We just have many email campaigns and things like that.
We have spent a ton of time on that and it helps educate our investors over some time. We stay in front of them but try not to bug or nag them, of course. When we do have an opportunity, one very helpful thing is that they know they have a few hours typically. They do get signed up and that has been very helpful obviously. Over numerous deals for them to see, “I'm sorry but you may just have a few hours.” They know they have to get in there.
You went from NoMo to FOMO. No family, no friends, nobody that you knew was investing until now you have everybody calling you to go, “I know I just saw the email. I'm not in a position to wire money now. I'm at the gym but I will be back in an hour. Please save my spot.”
They will. They are calling or text me and say, “Sign me up. I can't get on there now. Please put me down.”
What is it that you think is the number one ingredient that your investors have? What is the one thing that if there's a commonality between them all and why they are investing, what is that one thing why they are investing with you?
I think there are numerous things but one of the very first things is our mission, our why and the way we give back. I didn't play in that in the beginning to be that way. The Lord had a different plan in that, even as I started networking as hard as I could go. Several years ago, I was going to every conference I possibly could for some years. It was just madness.
That was my whole goal. It was just meeting as many people as possible. I started to notice that by sharing out my mission first, I share this at conferences and speak now about this often because I have learned that it's so important. This was before I ever read Simon Sinek's book, Start With Why or any of those things.
I have seen that work in such a big way. If you go to a conference, there are 300 people there or whatever, even if there are 25 people there to meet up and you are all talking about real estate, how many people do you remember after you leave, especially a week later? It's so difficult. However, everybody says, “Nice to meet you, Whitney. What do you do?” Everybody says what do you do if it's the first time you have met.
I would mention something like, “My wife and I have started a foundation that helps children to be adopted, helps families with that financial burden and we do that through our commercial real estate business.” Investors get the amazing returns and tax benefits of owning real estate passively but also helping us save lives, children and helping these families.
How long you were going to make us wait for you to give that mission statement? Thank you for that. It's like the joke of, how do you keep an idiot in the dark and I will tell you someday but you finally dropped it on us so I didn't have to. I know that you are involved with that. How did that lead you to then have that further interaction with people?
At that time, I hired a mentor and I partnered on two projects. The first project, I remember I raised $250,000. I was excited about that. I did not come from wealth or any money. None of my family invested in that deal. I had no friends or family that were accredited. That was all from me networking as hard as I could go to, as many conferences as I could go to. It took me many weeks to raise that $250,000.
I think the next deal I raised was around $475,000 to $500,000. I was excited about that. We nearly doubled. The next deal was $1.2 million. The next one was $2.5 million to $3 million. The last was probably a $6 million or $7 million raise. It has been $10 million to $12 million raises. The first 4 of those 6 filled up in 8 to 10 hours and the last 2 or 3 have filled up in 3 to 4 hours. If you can imagine that over a few years, there are a lot more work behind making that happen. The podcast is the first connection to many other investors.
I see a lot of the similarities there because when I have the investor call, it is that they know you. They know the question, “Whitney, I know you are going to ask this question, have this guest and get this quality information.” It also shows your connection with others in the industry and the reliability of the information that you are giving because it's being validated by other experts all over. I have seen some of the same things and my story is similar to yours.
I've got a long construction background as everybody knows but I have seen where the same thing has happened as sweat and bullets on the first race then the second race is twice that, and now I'm looking for more deals. One minute, I’ve got too much deal. The next minute, I’ve got too much investor capital in and you are back and forth between the two. How do you balance that in the world that we live in? There are not deals around every corner like there weren't in 2012.
It is difficult. No doubt about it. We have waitlists for almost every project now, which is a blessing. I do not say that lightly. I know many operators that are struggling to raise money, even steal. It's definitely a blessing. A couple of things that we have even done is we had a small project and we just sent it out to the waitlist for the last few projects.
It's still filled up in just a few hours. Keep those people involved as much as possible. Give them that opportunity. They are showing interest in you. They want to invest with you. They already trust you. They want to get involved. We thought this is a great way to allow those people that haven't been able to invest with us to give them the first shot because they did show interest but didn't get it in time.
That was one way to help the whole list of investors to have an opportunity. In between deals, it comes in waves. It seems like the first half of this year was nothing for us. All of a sudden, three projects are happening and maybe another one. When that's happening, it's about staying in front of them. We just have many email campaigns and things like that.
We have spent a ton of time on that and it helps educate our investors over some time. We stay in front of them but try not to bug or nag them, of course. When we do have an opportunity, one very helpful thing is that they know they have a few hours typically. They do get signed up and that has been very helpful obviously. Over numerous deals for them to see, “I'm sorry but you may just have a few hours.” They know they have to get in there.
You went from NoMo to FOMO. No family, no friends, nobody that you knew was investing until now you have everybody calling you to go, “I know I just saw the email. I'm not in a position to wire money now. I'm at the gym but I will be back in an hour. Please save my spot.”
They will. They are calling or text me and say, “Sign me up. I can't get on there now. Please put me down.”
What is it that you think is the number one ingredient that your investors have? What is the one thing that if there's a commonality between them all and why they are investing, what is that one thing why they are investing with you?
I think there are numerous things but one of the very first things is our mission, our why and the way we give back. I didn't play in that in the beginning to be that way. The Lord had a different plan in that, even as I started networking as hard as I could go. Several years ago, I was going to every conference I possibly could for some years. It was just madness.
That was my whole goal. It was just meeting as many people as possible. I started to notice that by sharing out my mission first, I share this at conferences and speak now about this often because I have learned that it's so important. This was before I ever read Simon Sinek's book, Start With Why or any of those things.
I have seen that work in such a big way. If you go to a conference, there are 300 people there or whatever, even if there are 25 people there to meet up and you are all talking about real estate, how many people do you remember after you leave, especially a week later? It's so difficult. However, everybody says, “Nice to meet you, Whitney. What do you do?” Everybody says what do you do if it's the first time you have met.
I would mention something like, “My wife and I have started a foundation that helps children to be adopted, helps families with that financial burden and we do that through our commercial real estate business.” Investors get the amazing returns and tax benefits of owning real estate passively but also helping us save lives, children and helping these families.
How long you were going to make us wait for you to give that mission statement? Thank you for that. It's like the joke of, how do you keep an idiot in the dark and I will tell you someday but you finally dropped it on us so I didn't have to. I know that you are involved with that. How did that lead you to then have that further interaction with people?
Did you know that your investors want more than just financial gain?
You can imagine if you are at a conference, you are all talking about real estate. You are meeting all these people. You have this real estate conversation with 10 to 15 of those or whatever then all of a sudden, somebody says something like that. It's like, “What was that?” Instantly the conversation is different, Immediately it's like, “What was that? Tell me about the foundation. How's that connected your real estate business and about investors?” It’s totally different questions than you would normally get from that same individual that you just met and it was even deeper than that, Shannon.
What I tell people is that everybody heard of the know, like and trust. You’ve got to have the know, like and trust from your investor. I always say, “There's one thing that's missing.” That one thing is loyalty. It doesn't matter what your brand is and what your company is. You need loyalty from your customers. Our customers are our investors. They are our partners. When they have that loyalty, they want to see you succeed.
It's a different thing. They will hold their capital to invest with you because they wouldn't be involved in this other thing. Believe it or not, investors and your team want something more than just financial gain. When you can provide some means of that, it’s a very different relationship. For your team as well, everybody wants to make an honest living. We want them to make better than that and our investors too. However, it's a very different relationship. There's a different connection that's made when you can build that loyalty.
One example I will give quickly is Apple. People are crazy about Apple products if you either love them or hate them almost. People that love them don't care what the device is. They assume that it is best if it has that brand on there, whatever it is. That is such loyalty. People tattoo Harley Davidson on their arm or their back. Think about that loyalty. They are probably going to own a Harley Davidson the rest of their life. They are going to try to take their shirt off and all their buddies see their Harley Davidson tattoo. That is such brand loyalty that’s hard to get but that's what you need.
Whitney, you hit on something there that is true that we have seen as well. People want to do business with those that they know, like and trust but there has to be that something else. I think that a lot of people look at that and they miss that part. When they are out there, “We are like these guys. We are just as big as these guys. We are just as awesome as these guys.” There's that differentiation of where are you making yourself different?
I saw Jesse Itzler in person and gave his Why My Brownies Better speech. It hinted at that exact same thing. If you haven't seen it, find him on YouTube. It's a phenomenal speech but it's Why is My Brownie Better? It talks about what is different about you. Often we go to the pitch or we go to speak to someone about what we are doing that is just like everybody else and, this and that but we don't distinguish ourselves.
I love the fact that you have done that in a way that is of service. It's a way to truly make a difference in someone's life that will never ever be the same. You are talking about adoption, giving them a forever home and people that are wanting children that are getting something that for whatever reason, they can't have. You are changing lives and you have figured out a way to be able to do that and link that with business so that's why your brownies are better.
It's amazing what that does for your loyalty. What that does for your clientele because now they can associate that with you. That's such an amazing point that a lot of people miss is they get so caught up in the, “I’ve got to be like everybody else. Actually, I know this guy named Whitney. He's like me because we both have names that really mean Whitney and Shannon.”
I can joke about that with you. A boy named Sue was a song I knew well. I’ve got back at my kids. I named my boys Devin and Taylor. Here you are. You are differentiating yourself. What has that done for you when you are making that donation and end result possible? What has that done for your brand?
It has been an incredible ride. Obviously, we didn't have the funds to donate and didn't have donors for a long time. It was just a dream for the first couple of years, and finally, we applied, we’ve got the foundation started, then it still took several months to get approved. Once we had the donations and we were able to connect with the first three families, talk to them through Zoom and share with them that the Lifebridge Foundation was going to partner with them.
When I say partner, I mean it in a very big way. Let's say you are making $40,000 to $50,000 a year as a household and you are trying to raise $50,000 for your adoption. Think about that mindset of that individual. It just seems like, “How in the world could we do this?” That's more than I'm making here. That's what we hear often from couples that want to adopt but it just seems impossible to come up with that money.
We partner with them in a big way to help them commit to bringing their child home to adoption. We helped them with fundraising ideas and even helped them to use this as even a matching grant. That way, it encourages their fundraising abilities in a big way but getting to play just that little bitty role, we are so thankful the Lord has done this in our business and our foundation. It's just amazing to see but to see them light up, to see them like, “We can do this now and move forward.” It has been incredible and more than worth it.
I know the power of adoption. I have a sister that's adopted so I know what that's like. I know the life-changing experience that has been for her. I have seen how that's happened. I have friends that have adopted and I know that it was a sacrifice for them to get there to be able to come to that. I didn't know the costs involved because I haven't been involved in that side of it. I would think that they would be curious about, “How much has Lifebridge done?” Are they asking direct questions in pertains to that?
I expected it and I have told my bookkeeper and stuff, “I want the books to be immaculate because I would know people are going to ask and I want to be able to say, ‘Here you go. Here's what's happening with those things.’” I haven't. We have had people that want to partner because they love the way we are giving back and want to be a part of that. There haven't been questions about the foundation. How much is being given? We were putting it on the website now. As we are partnering with families, it's pretty obvious that family-after-family we are helping. I hope that it’s obvious that it is happening.
That's always the curiosity because as people that are living our lives on screen literally, you are living it out there and wanting to know what that is because making a difference is what you want to do. We get one trip around this planet, we are here to learn lessons and do things but more than anything, to make a difference in other people's lives.
It's awesome to see that you are doing that. When you are looking at the way that you view business because I see you as a person that likes to combine business and a mission, do you apply that to how you hire people or how you bring people on in your business? Is that part of what you are looking at? Are you just looking at it that, “I'm looking to hire people and we are here to do a job? That's all we focus on is the work?”
What I tell people is that everybody heard of the know, like and trust. You’ve got to have the know, like and trust from your investor. I always say, “There's one thing that's missing.” That one thing is loyalty. It doesn't matter what your brand is and what your company is. You need loyalty from your customers. Our customers are our investors. They are our partners. When they have that loyalty, they want to see you succeed.
It's a different thing. They will hold their capital to invest with you because they wouldn't be involved in this other thing. Believe it or not, investors and your team want something more than just financial gain. When you can provide some means of that, it’s a very different relationship. For your team as well, everybody wants to make an honest living. We want them to make better than that and our investors too. However, it's a very different relationship. There's a different connection that's made when you can build that loyalty.
One example I will give quickly is Apple. People are crazy about Apple products if you either love them or hate them almost. People that love them don't care what the device is. They assume that it is best if it has that brand on there, whatever it is. That is such loyalty. People tattoo Harley Davidson on their arm or their back. Think about that loyalty. They are probably going to own a Harley Davidson the rest of their life. They are going to try to take their shirt off and all their buddies see their Harley Davidson tattoo. That is such brand loyalty that’s hard to get but that's what you need.
Whitney, you hit on something there that is true that we have seen as well. People want to do business with those that they know, like and trust but there has to be that something else. I think that a lot of people look at that and they miss that part. When they are out there, “We are like these guys. We are just as big as these guys. We are just as awesome as these guys.” There's that differentiation of where are you making yourself different?
I saw Jesse Itzler in person and gave his Why My Brownies Better speech. It hinted at that exact same thing. If you haven't seen it, find him on YouTube. It's a phenomenal speech but it's Why is My Brownie Better? It talks about what is different about you. Often we go to the pitch or we go to speak to someone about what we are doing that is just like everybody else and, this and that but we don't distinguish ourselves.
I love the fact that you have done that in a way that is of service. It's a way to truly make a difference in someone's life that will never ever be the same. You are talking about adoption, giving them a forever home and people that are wanting children that are getting something that for whatever reason, they can't have. You are changing lives and you have figured out a way to be able to do that and link that with business so that's why your brownies are better.
It's amazing what that does for your loyalty. What that does for your clientele because now they can associate that with you. That's such an amazing point that a lot of people miss is they get so caught up in the, “I’ve got to be like everybody else. Actually, I know this guy named Whitney. He's like me because we both have names that really mean Whitney and Shannon.”
I can joke about that with you. A boy named Sue was a song I knew well. I’ve got back at my kids. I named my boys Devin and Taylor. Here you are. You are differentiating yourself. What has that done for you when you are making that donation and end result possible? What has that done for your brand?
It has been an incredible ride. Obviously, we didn't have the funds to donate and didn't have donors for a long time. It was just a dream for the first couple of years, and finally, we applied, we’ve got the foundation started, then it still took several months to get approved. Once we had the donations and we were able to connect with the first three families, talk to them through Zoom and share with them that the Lifebridge Foundation was going to partner with them.
When I say partner, I mean it in a very big way. Let's say you are making $40,000 to $50,000 a year as a household and you are trying to raise $50,000 for your adoption. Think about that mindset of that individual. It just seems like, “How in the world could we do this?” That's more than I'm making here. That's what we hear often from couples that want to adopt but it just seems impossible to come up with that money.
We partner with them in a big way to help them commit to bringing their child home to adoption. We helped them with fundraising ideas and even helped them to use this as even a matching grant. That way, it encourages their fundraising abilities in a big way but getting to play just that little bitty role, we are so thankful the Lord has done this in our business and our foundation. It's just amazing to see but to see them light up, to see them like, “We can do this now and move forward.” It has been incredible and more than worth it.
I know the power of adoption. I have a sister that's adopted so I know what that's like. I know the life-changing experience that has been for her. I have seen how that's happened. I have friends that have adopted and I know that it was a sacrifice for them to get there to be able to come to that. I didn't know the costs involved because I haven't been involved in that side of it. I would think that they would be curious about, “How much has Lifebridge done?” Are they asking direct questions in pertains to that?
I expected it and I have told my bookkeeper and stuff, “I want the books to be immaculate because I would know people are going to ask and I want to be able to say, ‘Here you go. Here's what's happening with those things.’” I haven't. We have had people that want to partner because they love the way we are giving back and want to be a part of that. There haven't been questions about the foundation. How much is being given? We were putting it on the website now. As we are partnering with families, it's pretty obvious that family-after-family we are helping. I hope that it’s obvious that it is happening.
That's always the curiosity because as people that are living our lives on screen literally, you are living it out there and wanting to know what that is because making a difference is what you want to do. We get one trip around this planet, we are here to learn lessons and do things but more than anything, to make a difference in other people's lives.
It's awesome to see that you are doing that. When you are looking at the way that you view business because I see you as a person that likes to combine business and a mission, do you apply that to how you hire people or how you bring people on in your business? Is that part of what you are looking at? Are you just looking at it that, “I'm looking to hire people and we are here to do a job? That's all we focus on is the work?”
Scaling Your Network: It takes time to build a loyal following. It's the consistency that gets listeners to start tuning in. They start to learn who you are as the host and just count on your show.
That is an interesting question. I don't know if I have ever been asked that before.
The guy that's done several podcasts. I'm sure you have done just about every question.
I tried when we are looking for team members, which we have grown a lot. We have more employees now than we have ever had. I have tried to be extremely intentional about finding Class-A talent. Some of the best of the best because when you are starting, you don't want to make a mistake with the wrong assistant or the wrong asset manager. You must find good team members, business partners or whatever. There were key things that were very important to me. I want us to be on the same page about numerous things but their drive, ability and desire to learn are so much more important to me than almost some of their skillsets.
I will train you or I will hire somebody to train you as long as you have the drive, stamina and wanting to push forward. Almost some entrepreneurial ability in you was so important. A big part of even our job description talks about our mission. We don't hold back on that. It's obvious too that new potential employee that this is what we stand for.
This is our mission. It doesn't affect your job at all. Most of them love playing a role in that. They will chip in here and there for the foundation. As far as doing a little work, my assistant practically built a website for the foundation. It's different abilities that they have that they chip in and they love being a part of that as well.
It's great to hear you say that it's more about heart, drive and things like that because I have heard it often. I thought they were just saying it about me that a trained monkey could do my job. I’ve got offended by that and then I realized that if you've got good people, the drive, the passion and the desire to make them become a reality than a trained monkey can if they have those things.
What we do is not easy but it's not impossible. It's not that difficult if you know what you are doing. Speaking of knowing what you are doing, you mentioned that you went to a lot of conferences, how did you get the expertise to know what personnel and talent that you needed? How are you able to see what was in front of you to know what you needed to hire?
That has been definitely a growing experience. One book I will recommend right off the bat is Topgrading by Bradford D Smart. I know I've got it behind me but I went through that book. It's on audible as well but get the hard copy. There are few different versions. There's an older version that has a lot more in it just so you know, I can't remember the exact version but if you are going to hire somebody, look up Topgrading. I have done numerous shows personally, just talking about the method that I use to hire my assistant. We had 700 applicants or something and I narrowed it down to four interviews through different types of tasks and things I asked them to do. Those four interviews were like four hours long each.
It is grueling but we don't want to make a mistake. It was so worth going through that book. Honestly, I probably used 30% or maybe 20% of that book but it was so helpful. Finding those people are difficult. We sent out the same job description on Indeed. Also, send it out to my network, had two different forms that were exactly alike through our CRM.
That way, I could track where people are coming from. As they came in, there were some specific things I asked them to do at the bottom of this. Actually, there were four things. Two of them were mandatory. Two were optional. Give them a little bit of room there for people to stand out. The very first thing was a fourteen-page questionnaire.
I go through this entire questionnaire on a podcast. You can hear every word of it. Who's going to fill that out. Not everybody. People on Indeed or people wherever, if they are just hitting the apply button, they are not checking out your job description. I bet the people that submit that they do care probably about working for you. They have done some research. That's a lot of work but we tell them where to send it exactly what to submit to us.
It narrowed it down to about 30 people out of 700 applicants immediately. I picked out to like the top twelve and I called them out of the blue, no notice and said, “I'm Whitney Sewell, you have been selected to go to the next round, whatever but then there are four tasks I need to be completed by tomorrow afternoon, here they are, thank you.” That narrowed it down to about eight people and that helped me get to that final four interviews.
They didn't have to do the perfect job answering those questions but it allowed me to see just their attention to detail, the way they communicate and the way they submitted things to me. Did they get it to me by the end of the day? Did they wait until midnight? Did they get it to me at all? All those things, did they even answer the phone? How did they answer the phone?
All those things you are getting to see through that process, how they submitted those documents and just many questions I wouldn't have even thought to ask. Even though I did investigations on a Federal level for a long time, there were questions on that questionnaire and through the interview process, I wouldn't have even thought of. They were very good. That's how we found Class A talent for my assistant.
I probably scratched myself off the list. I don't think I would have made it. I'm pretty certain about Page 3 of that questionnaire. I would scroll to the bottom and see how many more pages were to go. What was the number one thing you were looking for out of all of that? What was the number one thing you needed your assistant to be able to do?
Effort as much as anything. You have completed that. You have done it well. You could have even done it by hand but you did it as neat as you possibly could or whatever. I had people do at the highlighter or some put note. They tried to do it. It was like, “Seriously, you are applying for a position and you couldn't find a pen to use or use a marker and say it.” There would be a few like that. It sets people apart very quickly. Depending on the role. You have to have a great job description. You need to know exactly what this person is going to do for you.
The guy that's done several podcasts. I'm sure you have done just about every question.
I tried when we are looking for team members, which we have grown a lot. We have more employees now than we have ever had. I have tried to be extremely intentional about finding Class-A talent. Some of the best of the best because when you are starting, you don't want to make a mistake with the wrong assistant or the wrong asset manager. You must find good team members, business partners or whatever. There were key things that were very important to me. I want us to be on the same page about numerous things but their drive, ability and desire to learn are so much more important to me than almost some of their skillsets.
I will train you or I will hire somebody to train you as long as you have the drive, stamina and wanting to push forward. Almost some entrepreneurial ability in you was so important. A big part of even our job description talks about our mission. We don't hold back on that. It's obvious too that new potential employee that this is what we stand for.
This is our mission. It doesn't affect your job at all. Most of them love playing a role in that. They will chip in here and there for the foundation. As far as doing a little work, my assistant practically built a website for the foundation. It's different abilities that they have that they chip in and they love being a part of that as well.
It's great to hear you say that it's more about heart, drive and things like that because I have heard it often. I thought they were just saying it about me that a trained monkey could do my job. I’ve got offended by that and then I realized that if you've got good people, the drive, the passion and the desire to make them become a reality than a trained monkey can if they have those things.
What we do is not easy but it's not impossible. It's not that difficult if you know what you are doing. Speaking of knowing what you are doing, you mentioned that you went to a lot of conferences, how did you get the expertise to know what personnel and talent that you needed? How are you able to see what was in front of you to know what you needed to hire?
That has been definitely a growing experience. One book I will recommend right off the bat is Topgrading by Bradford D Smart. I know I've got it behind me but I went through that book. It's on audible as well but get the hard copy. There are few different versions. There's an older version that has a lot more in it just so you know, I can't remember the exact version but if you are going to hire somebody, look up Topgrading. I have done numerous shows personally, just talking about the method that I use to hire my assistant. We had 700 applicants or something and I narrowed it down to four interviews through different types of tasks and things I asked them to do. Those four interviews were like four hours long each.
It is grueling but we don't want to make a mistake. It was so worth going through that book. Honestly, I probably used 30% or maybe 20% of that book but it was so helpful. Finding those people are difficult. We sent out the same job description on Indeed. Also, send it out to my network, had two different forms that were exactly alike through our CRM.
That way, I could track where people are coming from. As they came in, there were some specific things I asked them to do at the bottom of this. Actually, there were four things. Two of them were mandatory. Two were optional. Give them a little bit of room there for people to stand out. The very first thing was a fourteen-page questionnaire.
I go through this entire questionnaire on a podcast. You can hear every word of it. Who's going to fill that out. Not everybody. People on Indeed or people wherever, if they are just hitting the apply button, they are not checking out your job description. I bet the people that submit that they do care probably about working for you. They have done some research. That's a lot of work but we tell them where to send it exactly what to submit to us.
It narrowed it down to about 30 people out of 700 applicants immediately. I picked out to like the top twelve and I called them out of the blue, no notice and said, “I'm Whitney Sewell, you have been selected to go to the next round, whatever but then there are four tasks I need to be completed by tomorrow afternoon, here they are, thank you.” That narrowed it down to about eight people and that helped me get to that final four interviews.
They didn't have to do the perfect job answering those questions but it allowed me to see just their attention to detail, the way they communicate and the way they submitted things to me. Did they get it to me by the end of the day? Did they wait until midnight? Did they get it to me at all? All those things, did they even answer the phone? How did they answer the phone?
All those things you are getting to see through that process, how they submitted those documents and just many questions I wouldn't have even thought to ask. Even though I did investigations on a Federal level for a long time, there were questions on that questionnaire and through the interview process, I wouldn't have even thought of. They were very good. That's how we found Class A talent for my assistant.
I probably scratched myself off the list. I don't think I would have made it. I'm pretty certain about Page 3 of that questionnaire. I would scroll to the bottom and see how many more pages were to go. What was the number one thing you were looking for out of all of that? What was the number one thing you needed your assistant to be able to do?
Effort as much as anything. You have completed that. You have done it well. You could have even done it by hand but you did it as neat as you possibly could or whatever. I had people do at the highlighter or some put note. They tried to do it. It was like, “Seriously, you are applying for a position and you couldn't find a pen to use or use a marker and say it.” There would be a few like that. It sets people apart very quickly. Depending on the role. You have to have a great job description. You need to know exactly what this person is going to do for you.
Your drive and desire to learn are so much more important than some of your skill sets.
You ask about that a little bit. I had to know that even as early as doing the podcast, I had to understand the podcast process and layout exactly the team members that I needed, whether it's an audio editing, video editing, copywriting for show notes, posting on social media, finding guests. I had to list all those things out and think, “Can somebody do two of those things, is this need to be a separate job,” and then lay out a process, manage that and hire somebody to manage that process, and ensure the team is functioning. We had a few months' worths of shows before we ever launched because I expected it to break down right at some point and we needed some buffer.
You worked for the Federal government. Of course, you expected it to break down. How long has your assistant been with you now
She has been with me for several months.
Is it everything you thought it was going to be?
She’s doing great. I'm very pleased with her.
That's a long process to put anybody through again.
I would also say I didn't start with that level of assistance. I'm paying her as much as I was making it a job. She is paid very well but I expect that because I want that caliber and it's so worth it. People want to find an assistant and pay them $20,000 a year. There are not many top-notch, Class A assistants that are going to work for that. They shouldn't work for that but I didn't start that way. My first assistant was like two hours a week and that lasted about two weeks, then I need 8 hours, then I needed 16. Six months later, I had to have somebody full-time but I had to get started.
Two things come to mind. One, I work but is worthy of his higher, you get what you pay for. If you combine those two and look at the shoes that you try to fill, we look the same way. We are looking for culture and a fit. I'm going to introduce the fourteen-page questionnaire. I'm going to go find that podcast. I'm going to lay that on the next person that we are looking to get. When you are looking for your podcast guests, how do you find them? Is that another fourteen-page questionnaire?
Definitely not. Early on, ultimately, I laid out a process for this individual, this virtual assistant, “Go to these other podcasts or LinkedIn and search for these things. Find that guests and their information.” We built a template. We automated that process to death. You can imagine doing 30 shows a month. There was a time I was doing 12 to 15 shows in one day at one time.
I did not have time to mess around. I did not have time to fix somebody's mic before the show. I needed them to show up prepared. We just automated until we can pull out so much. They can apply on the website. That does go to my production manager. She vets them a little bit. She will send them an invitation to be on the show. From there on, it's completely automated. Even them submitting their bio, their headshot, they do that through our form that we send them and then she gets that. I do nothing but the interview. Since the very beginning, that's all I have done. I have never edited the first piece of audio or video.
Neither have I. That's why it works at a part that I know not to do to keep it from breaking down. What does your podcast teach you about being a better syndicator?
Many things. It has pushed me in ways. Maybe we talked about it briefly beforehand but I call it over-committing. By over-committing, it has pushed me in ways that I would never be pushed before. I have to do seven days a week or doing those 12 to 15 interviews a day. My wife and I called it my marathon day.
I would stand behind a desk for about fifteen hours a day, nonstop. My office was in the basement and my wife would pack me lunch. In between shows, I would have two minutes. I would literally scarf down something and just keep going. That wouldn't even be the end of the day. I bet that's just what it took at that time to make it happen.
All that mindset stuff, I had to build a team from the very beginning. I learned so much from building that virtual assistant team from the beginning and to what we have now even spoken. A year before I started the podcast, I would never even heard of a podcast before. I didn't have a clue what a podcast was. I had no idea.
This comes up and I'm like, “Podcasts. What is that?” We are talking about me hosting a show and I'm like, “You are crazy. I don't know if I have ever spoken into a microphone before.” I had no idea, then it was just like, “I can see this works. I will push through that fear. I’ve got to be uncomfortable for me to grow. I knew that.” The first semi-shows were horrible because of me, not because of the guests. I also knew that if I didn't get started, I'm never going to improve. The first show wasn't even nothing compared to the twentieth show. It wasn't anything to the 100th or 500th.
It has pushed me in so many ways, not just the team alone but even speaking. It's allowed me to speak on stages I never imagined in front of thousands of people. I never imagined being able to do that but then me, being able to gather my story together, share it with those people, and then come up and say, “I have been listening to you for several years. I have been so inspired. I love what you are doing. By listening to your show or listened to you speak this morning, this is what I'm going to do or what I have done. You have inspired me in this way.” That's incredible.
You worked for the Federal government. Of course, you expected it to break down. How long has your assistant been with you now
She has been with me for several months.
Is it everything you thought it was going to be?
She’s doing great. I'm very pleased with her.
That's a long process to put anybody through again.
I would also say I didn't start with that level of assistance. I'm paying her as much as I was making it a job. She is paid very well but I expect that because I want that caliber and it's so worth it. People want to find an assistant and pay them $20,000 a year. There are not many top-notch, Class A assistants that are going to work for that. They shouldn't work for that but I didn't start that way. My first assistant was like two hours a week and that lasted about two weeks, then I need 8 hours, then I needed 16. Six months later, I had to have somebody full-time but I had to get started.
Two things come to mind. One, I work but is worthy of his higher, you get what you pay for. If you combine those two and look at the shoes that you try to fill, we look the same way. We are looking for culture and a fit. I'm going to introduce the fourteen-page questionnaire. I'm going to go find that podcast. I'm going to lay that on the next person that we are looking to get. When you are looking for your podcast guests, how do you find them? Is that another fourteen-page questionnaire?
Definitely not. Early on, ultimately, I laid out a process for this individual, this virtual assistant, “Go to these other podcasts or LinkedIn and search for these things. Find that guests and their information.” We built a template. We automated that process to death. You can imagine doing 30 shows a month. There was a time I was doing 12 to 15 shows in one day at one time.
I did not have time to mess around. I did not have time to fix somebody's mic before the show. I needed them to show up prepared. We just automated until we can pull out so much. They can apply on the website. That does go to my production manager. She vets them a little bit. She will send them an invitation to be on the show. From there on, it's completely automated. Even them submitting their bio, their headshot, they do that through our form that we send them and then she gets that. I do nothing but the interview. Since the very beginning, that's all I have done. I have never edited the first piece of audio or video.
Neither have I. That's why it works at a part that I know not to do to keep it from breaking down. What does your podcast teach you about being a better syndicator?
Many things. It has pushed me in ways. Maybe we talked about it briefly beforehand but I call it over-committing. By over-committing, it has pushed me in ways that I would never be pushed before. I have to do seven days a week or doing those 12 to 15 interviews a day. My wife and I called it my marathon day.
I would stand behind a desk for about fifteen hours a day, nonstop. My office was in the basement and my wife would pack me lunch. In between shows, I would have two minutes. I would literally scarf down something and just keep going. That wouldn't even be the end of the day. I bet that's just what it took at that time to make it happen.
All that mindset stuff, I had to build a team from the very beginning. I learned so much from building that virtual assistant team from the beginning and to what we have now even spoken. A year before I started the podcast, I would never even heard of a podcast before. I didn't have a clue what a podcast was. I had no idea.
This comes up and I'm like, “Podcasts. What is that?” We are talking about me hosting a show and I'm like, “You are crazy. I don't know if I have ever spoken into a microphone before.” I had no idea, then it was just like, “I can see this works. I will push through that fear. I’ve got to be uncomfortable for me to grow. I knew that.” The first semi-shows were horrible because of me, not because of the guests. I also knew that if I didn't get started, I'm never going to improve. The first show wasn't even nothing compared to the twentieth show. It wasn't anything to the 100th or 500th.
It has pushed me in so many ways, not just the team alone but even speaking. It's allowed me to speak on stages I never imagined in front of thousands of people. I never imagined being able to do that but then me, being able to gather my story together, share it with those people, and then come up and say, “I have been listening to you for several years. I have been so inspired. I love what you are doing. By listening to your show or listened to you speak this morning, this is what I'm going to do or what I have done. You have inspired me in this way.” That's incredible.
Scaling Your Network: Starting a podcast will push you to do things that you'd never done before. So when you over-commit, you will push yourself in ways that you'd never been pushed before.
I'm one of those guys. I was listening to your podcast. I don't listen to it every day but I have listened to it enough. I have seen the dedication and how you have completed that task. I was in a very similar situation where Valentine's Day 2020. I didn't have a social media account, not one, not a LinkedIn, not on anything, let alone a podcast, let alone any of these other things.
I saw where people like you were doing it and you were doing it well. You had made that commitment and you had stayed with that commitment. You and I spoke about what are some of the biggest differences between those that make it in the world and those that don't. We discussed it's that commitment.
You are committed to the information, the guests and the process. Out of that process, it's built a beautiful life. It has allowed you to achieve some of the goals that you had for yourself that allowed your business to launch and become very well-known because of that commitment. We also talked about how that applies to everything in life? How often do people fail to do that commitment? What was one of the challenging things where you thought, “I over-committed and it's not worth it? I shouldn't have done this.” Was there a time like that?
Right before I launched, I was trying to get this thing pooled up. It was just in the mode of getting launched and I went to different conferences. That's when I was just networking. I was going to as many conferences as I possibly could and just learning as much as I possibly could. I had dinner with two different individuals that everybody listening would know in our industry.
I already received quite a bit of pushback but from Military Law Enforcement, all that stuff, I was like, “I can do it. I'm going to push through this.” The mindset of never giving up. I was good with that. I was ready for people to criticize me, all those things. These two individuals considering who they were said, “Whitney, I tell him about the daily podcast, that they should be a guest.” They were like, “Whitney, why would you do that? That's crazy.”
You’ve got to give them that, though. That's a very valid point valid.
It did make me question it. Just because of who these individuals were I thought, “Maybe this is crazy.” This is why I encourage you to have the right people, even mentors say they are on your team and speaking to you. I said something to him about it and he said, “Whitney, that's why you have to do it because it's too much work for most people. They are not going to do it.” I was like, “Okay.” That just pushed me right back on track.
I was just back motivated again, “I’ve got this. You are right. We are going to go knock this out. We are going to figure it out. That's ultimately what we had to do.” Many other times, before the walk, we talked about the verse year to several years. It was difficult. We sold our farm to be able to do this. We sold a house we had always wanted. It’s very difficult for my wife. I gave up another business and passion that I would have since I was a little boy and I was doing very well at it.
I knew it was never going to be passive and to commit to commercial real estate. The next couple of years was so intense for our family. My wife did everything in the home. I was in the house but I was in the basement in my little office trying to make all this happen in a while. My boys, unfortunately, knew that and I don't even like to admit it but they knew they wouldn't see me until Sunday, even though I'm in the house. They knew they wouldn't see me until maybe Saturday night or Sunday. I just had to paint that vision for even our kids, like where we are going, what we are doing. I don't know how long it's going to take but we are going to get there
That's where we become such a microwave society that a lot of people miss out on all the blessings and all the things that could be in their life because they quit, whether it was school, job, relationship, all kinds of things, people quit on. Let me flip that around and go, “All of the people that you know, how many people are doing business on the level that you are?”
I don’t know. It’s too many.
That is a fantastic way to leave this episode with you. Here is a guy that has chosen to do what most people said was crazy. What most people said was not doable. Many episodes later, here he is and he can honestly say he's done what most never thought was possible or worth doing. He has almost no equal in this field. Thank you so much for that, Whitney. Thank you for being with us. I don't think we could have planned that to be ended any better than the way you just did. That was amazing and you are, too. More importantly, Whitney, your wife is amazing for putting up with you.
I'm glad you said that. I usually try to throw that in an episode because of no doubt about it. I could not have done it without her 110%.
Thank you for joining us here at the Real Estate Rundown. As always, we try to bring you top-notch people like Whitney, who is unparalleled at the top of their game. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to the Real Estate Rundown as well as Whitney's podcast at Life Bridge Capital and find us on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you get your blogs and get automatic updates. You will also find us on Instagram and YouTube. We would love to hear from you. Whitney, thank you once again for joining us right here.
My pleasure, Shannon. It’s an honor to be here and get to catch up with you again.
Guys, thank you again for joining us.
I saw where people like you were doing it and you were doing it well. You had made that commitment and you had stayed with that commitment. You and I spoke about what are some of the biggest differences between those that make it in the world and those that don't. We discussed it's that commitment.
You are committed to the information, the guests and the process. Out of that process, it's built a beautiful life. It has allowed you to achieve some of the goals that you had for yourself that allowed your business to launch and become very well-known because of that commitment. We also talked about how that applies to everything in life? How often do people fail to do that commitment? What was one of the challenging things where you thought, “I over-committed and it's not worth it? I shouldn't have done this.” Was there a time like that?
Right before I launched, I was trying to get this thing pooled up. It was just in the mode of getting launched and I went to different conferences. That's when I was just networking. I was going to as many conferences as I possibly could and just learning as much as I possibly could. I had dinner with two different individuals that everybody listening would know in our industry.
I already received quite a bit of pushback but from Military Law Enforcement, all that stuff, I was like, “I can do it. I'm going to push through this.” The mindset of never giving up. I was good with that. I was ready for people to criticize me, all those things. These two individuals considering who they were said, “Whitney, I tell him about the daily podcast, that they should be a guest.” They were like, “Whitney, why would you do that? That's crazy.”
You’ve got to give them that, though. That's a very valid point valid.
It did make me question it. Just because of who these individuals were I thought, “Maybe this is crazy.” This is why I encourage you to have the right people, even mentors say they are on your team and speaking to you. I said something to him about it and he said, “Whitney, that's why you have to do it because it's too much work for most people. They are not going to do it.” I was like, “Okay.” That just pushed me right back on track.
I was just back motivated again, “I’ve got this. You are right. We are going to go knock this out. We are going to figure it out. That's ultimately what we had to do.” Many other times, before the walk, we talked about the verse year to several years. It was difficult. We sold our farm to be able to do this. We sold a house we had always wanted. It’s very difficult for my wife. I gave up another business and passion that I would have since I was a little boy and I was doing very well at it.
I knew it was never going to be passive and to commit to commercial real estate. The next couple of years was so intense for our family. My wife did everything in the home. I was in the house but I was in the basement in my little office trying to make all this happen in a while. My boys, unfortunately, knew that and I don't even like to admit it but they knew they wouldn't see me until Sunday, even though I'm in the house. They knew they wouldn't see me until maybe Saturday night or Sunday. I just had to paint that vision for even our kids, like where we are going, what we are doing. I don't know how long it's going to take but we are going to get there
That's where we become such a microwave society that a lot of people miss out on all the blessings and all the things that could be in their life because they quit, whether it was school, job, relationship, all kinds of things, people quit on. Let me flip that around and go, “All of the people that you know, how many people are doing business on the level that you are?”
I don’t know. It’s too many.
That is a fantastic way to leave this episode with you. Here is a guy that has chosen to do what most people said was crazy. What most people said was not doable. Many episodes later, here he is and he can honestly say he's done what most never thought was possible or worth doing. He has almost no equal in this field. Thank you so much for that, Whitney. Thank you for being with us. I don't think we could have planned that to be ended any better than the way you just did. That was amazing and you are, too. More importantly, Whitney, your wife is amazing for putting up with you.
I'm glad you said that. I usually try to throw that in an episode because of no doubt about it. I could not have done it without her 110%.
Thank you for joining us here at the Real Estate Rundown. As always, we try to bring you top-notch people like Whitney, who is unparalleled at the top of their game. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to the Real Estate Rundown as well as Whitney's podcast at Life Bridge Capital and find us on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you get your blogs and get automatic updates. You will also find us on Instagram and YouTube. We would love to hear from you. Whitney, thank you once again for joining us right here.
My pleasure, Shannon. It’s an honor to be here and get to catch up with you again.
Guys, thank you again for joining us.
Important Links:
- Lifebridge Foundation
- Show - Real Estate Syndication Podcast Past Episode
- Start With Why
- YouTube - Jesse Itzler
- Topgrading
- Indeed
- Podcast – The Real Estate Syndication Show
- Spotify - Robnett's Real Estate Run Down
- iTunes - Robnett's Real Estate Run Down
- Instagram – Robnett’s Real Estate Rundown
- YouTube – Shannon Ray Robnett
About Whitney Sewell
Whitney Sewell is a country boy from rural Kentucky. He grew up riding horses and has always driven a Chevy truck. He is a veteran of the Army National Guard and spent all of 2005 deployed in Iraq. He was awarded the Soldier of the year that year. When he arrived home, he began working for the Kentucky State Police and courting his lovely wife, to whom he’s been married for over 10 years. Whitney and his wife, Chelsea, have three children who came to their family by adoption.
Whitney began investing in real estate in 2009 when it became clear that a career in law enforcement was not going to afford them the ability to live off one income as they desired. In 2017, they started Life Bridge Capital LLC, working with accredited investors and helping them improve their investment returns via the exceptional opportunities that multifamily syndication offers. Whitney has always had a passion for both real estate and helping others, and Life Bridge Capital LLC affords him the opportunity to do both, while also funding a very important cause that has become deeply personal. This becomes the best of both worlds for investors.
Through working with Whitney, investors not only receive exceptional returns financially but also change both the lives of orphans around the world and the lives of the families who adopt them. Whitney is quick to point out that while this is his own passion, he doesn’t make this the main focus to investors, but does hope a certain percentage feel good about what Life Bridge Capital does.
“We provide a fantastic return for our investors, and that’s why someone should invest with us first and foremost. However, it is my hope that this component of our business – us giving 50% of our own profit to adoption – perhaps helps sway someone to work with us, assuming all else is equal, of course. This is our calling, but our investors can smile knowing that just by working with us, they helped a little bit too.”
We have 900 doors under management valued at approximately $150 million.
Whitney is the host of The Real Estate Syndication Show, a daily podcast where he interviews experts in the real estate syndication business and provides essential content for his listeners. Life Bridge Capital's motto is: making a difference one investor, one child, at a time.
Whitney began investing in real estate in 2009 when it became clear that a career in law enforcement was not going to afford them the ability to live off one income as they desired. In 2017, they started Life Bridge Capital LLC, working with accredited investors and helping them improve their investment returns via the exceptional opportunities that multifamily syndication offers. Whitney has always had a passion for both real estate and helping others, and Life Bridge Capital LLC affords him the opportunity to do both, while also funding a very important cause that has become deeply personal. This becomes the best of both worlds for investors.
Through working with Whitney, investors not only receive exceptional returns financially but also change both the lives of orphans around the world and the lives of the families who adopt them. Whitney is quick to point out that while this is his own passion, he doesn’t make this the main focus to investors, but does hope a certain percentage feel good about what Life Bridge Capital does.
“We provide a fantastic return for our investors, and that’s why someone should invest with us first and foremost. However, it is my hope that this component of our business – us giving 50% of our own profit to adoption – perhaps helps sway someone to work with us, assuming all else is equal, of course. This is our calling, but our investors can smile knowing that just by working with us, they helped a little bit too.”
We have 900 doors under management valued at approximately $150 million.
Whitney is the host of The Real Estate Syndication Show, a daily podcast where he interviews experts in the real estate syndication business and provides essential content for his listeners. Life Bridge Capital's motto is: making a difference one investor, one child, at a time.