IAM2437 – Entrepreneur, Investor and Author Passionate About Helping People Become Financially Free

Michael Blank

00:00 - 00:22

And so most people then have having done three deals have replaced their income and they love it so much. They just keep on going because it's so much fun. And the people have decided to get into that. I mean, they've literally have covered their living expenses within one to two years of the point where they decided that they're gonna start with multifamily. And that's out of all the shenanigans I've done, you know, everything I've done, it is the fastest, most reliable, most learnable business that you can start.

Intro

00:24 - 00:50

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Grist values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I am CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless

00:51 - 01:14

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I am CEO podcast. And I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Michael Blink of Nighthawk Equity. Michael, it's awesome to have you on the show. Hey, it's great to be here. Thanks so much for having me. No problem. Super excited to have you on. And what I want to do is just read a little bit more about Michael because he's doing some awesome things. So you can learn a little bit more about him. And Michael Blank is an entrepreneur, investor and author of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing.

Gresham Harkless

01:14 - 01:55

He's a coach and leading authority on apartment investing in the United States. As a CEO of Nighthawk Equity, bestselling author, host of the Apartment Building Investing podcast, columnist and real estate investor, Mike's passionate about helping people become financially free in three to five years by investing in apartment building deals with a special focus on raising money. Through Blink's investment company, Nighthawk Equity, he controls over $27 million in performing multifamily assets all over the United States and has raised over $6 million. In addition to his own investing activities, he's helped students purchase over 2,300 units valued at $86 million through his unique deal desk and training programs.

Gresham Harkless

01:55 - 02:23

Blank's been interviewed by top real estate podcasts including BiggerPockets, Joe Fairless, Best Ever Show, Get Rich Education, Cashflow Ninja, and many more. The Michael Blink blog has been listed in the top 25 real estate investment blogs of 2018 by Leap Property Management, and he is a contributor to FlipNerd. Michael, are you ready to speak to the I am CEO community? I am. Let's do it. Awesome. Let's do it. So the first question I had was to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. I want to let you start your business.

Michael Blank

02:23 - 02:49

Yeah. So, I mean, I was an entrepreneur at heart always, but I didn't know it until I was in probably my gosh, my early thirties. So I was just, you know, I was never surrounded by any of them. My dad was IBM for 40 years and none of my family was. So I went to school and I got my good grades. I checked the boxes. I got into, into computer programming and I was in the right place, right time. And I joined a company called Web Methods in the late nineties. We went public and put a bunch of money in my pocket, which was great.

Michael Blank

02:49 - 03:16

And then I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and I was like, Oh my gosh, It doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank. It matters how much passive income you had. And I had very, very little. And so after some soul searching, I decided that I was going to abandon my background as a software person and my job. And I figured I had enough runway. So I just quit my job and did a bunch of stuff all at once. I started to flip some houses. I took some... I learned how to trade stocks and options.

Michael Blank

03:16 - 03:50

And I've got into an apartment building course. But my big idea, Gresh, was restaurants. And this is because I was, you know, those five guys burgers, they're actually from our area, Northern Virginia. And so I knew some of the franchisees there and they're like, Oh, this is great. You just would just cost this much to open. You'll hire someone to run all these restaurants and you sit back and count the passive income. I'm like, sweet. That's exactly what Robert Kiyosaki talks about. To make a long story short, I subsequently lost my IPO millions in that restaurant experience, added a couple hundred thousand dollars of unsecured lines of credit on top of that, almost lost my house, and I clawed my way out with real estate.

Michael Blank

03:50 - 04:12

In my case, like so many, it was with single family house investing. So in my case, it was flipping houses, and I was making good money with it. The problem was, after a while, we're buying two houses every month, and I had a team, and la la la, but man, it was a lot of work. So I had gotten into this apartment building during this period. And meanwhile, the apartment building was sending me mailbox money. After a while, I was like, man, I mean, I got to get out of this. I created my rat race, my own rat race for me.

Michael Blank

04:13 - 04:35

So I was my own entrepreneur working for myself. But then I came to the realization that's not actually the end goal. The end goal was financial freedom, meaning that I could do whatever I wanted. I could take a break. I could keep going. You know, I could work on my terms. I just found I couldn't. It was frustrating to me because I thought that's what my goal was. And it turns out it wasn't. So I shifted to apartment buildings. And I started blogging about it on The Bigger Pockets and people were very interested, were asking me questions.

Michael Blank

04:35 - 05:02

So I did some seminars, then I developed my syndicated deal analyzer and we put on some courses, online courses. And today we have the podcast, we have the book, we have mentoring programs, we have live events. And so our goal really is to help people become financially free with real estate. So many people are thinking single family houses, but then very few people actually quit their job as single family houses. Most, 95% quietly do with apartment buildings. And that's what gets me really excited. Awesome.

Gresham Harkless

05:02 - 05:19

Awesome. Awesome. Well, it's definitely, you know, great to hear, you know, you've been able to, to get out of that. Cause like you mentioned in the very beginning, a lot of times your reality or what's real or what can be possible in the world is sometimes what's around you. But like you mentioned, like when you were introduced to these things, then you started to, it started to become your reality. The next thing you know, you know, you're, you know, you have your own real estate empire.

Michael Blank

05:19 - 05:44

Yeah, I mean, I think you've got to be clear about what you want, right? So sometimes we just get on the ladder and we climb up and we get to the top and we realize the ladder was leaning up against the wrong wall. And that was my case. And I just wasn't clear what I really wanted, right? So, you know, here's the thing. And people who have quit their jobs, no one actually retires. Like, who wants that? You know, maybe we retire for like a couple months and then you get really bored. You're always going to be working.

Michael Blank

05:44 - 06:08

That's just the way that humans are wired, you know, maybe in particular men, but just in general, we have to do something productive. But within that, right, we want to be able to provide for families in a one hand, but we also want to control our time, we wanted to work on our terms. And that's really what entrepreneurship allows you to do. The danger with entrepreneurship, as you know, is that we can always do more, we can always work harder. And so we start losing that life balance if we're not careful.

Gresham Harkless

06:08 - 06:23

Yeah, absolutely. And that's why I love, um, you know, what you've been able to build, but also what you're helping others do. And I know there might be people that are listening or watching. So could you tell us a little bit more on, you know, those people that might be listening and watching maybe on the wrong ladder or maybe just in a nine to five and trying to figure out how to get out.

Michael Blank

06:23 - 06:47

Well, it depends, right? I mean, it depends. If someone is thinking real estate, which some listening, watching are like, oh, gosh, you know, if I want to retire sometime in the next 10 years, maybe I should buy a rental property. Maybe I'll try to write or buy a rental property every year, one every other year. And those are good thoughts to have, right? People are already thinking, hey, this can't go on. People have different reasons why they can't go on. But they're like, man, I got to get out of this thing in 10 years or five years for various different reasons.

Michael Blank

06:48 - 07:11

And most people then gravitate towards single family housing investing. And that's because every time you go to the local real estate investing meetings, that's what 98% of people do and talk about. But like I said, if I've studied it, and I have, I've written a book about it, and I interview people who have quit their jobs, and most of them start with single families, like I did, and they realize the insanity of it, they realize that they can actually never get there. And if you play this through, you could have maybe a portfolio of 40 rental properties.

Michael Blank

07:11 - 07:39

But my gosh, that's a lot of properties to buy. Then you're going to manage it. And most people in a single family are going to do what? They're going to manage it themselves. That turns into a nightmare. And a few that do go over the hump, they create property management companies. I don't want to create a property management company. That's not really my idea of fun, but that's some way that people doing it. But on the other hand, with multifamily, most people do three deals, three transactions, and they've covered their living expenses. And this is because it's relatively easy to get into it starting, let's say, small.

Michael Blank

07:39 - 08:06

And then the second and third deal become progressively easier and bigger. And so most people then, having done three deals, have replaced their income. And they love it so much. They just keep on going because it's so much fun. And the people have decided to get into that. I mean, they've literally have covered their living expenses within one to two years of, of the point where they decided that they're going to start with multifamily. And that's out of all the shenanigans I've done, you know, everything I've done, it is the fastest, most reliable, most learnable business that you can start.

Michael Blank

08:06 - 08:07

Yeah, that makes perfect

Gresham Harkless

08:07 - 08:25

sense. And I absolutely love that. And I love, because it's kind of like a hack within a hack, because like you mentioned, you know, when you go to the real estate seminars, you're always hearing, you know, it's a single family homes. and that's the way to wealth, but you bringing in a different perspective and you knowing, cause you did it and you interview people that have done it and all those things and you understand that there's a definitely a better way, which I love that.

Michael Blank

08:26 - 08:54

Yeah, I mean, most people, when they hear that, they go, this is great, Michael, but how do I do it without experience? Why don't I, you know, why don't I landlord for five to 10 years and I'll learn my experience and the money I'm making, I'll roll it into apartments. So the perception is that it's a, it's a very, an advanced strategy that requires lots of money. And it is, but it isn't. So in other words, you don't actually need your own experience. In fact, having single family house experience does very little. You get very little credibility, if none at all, from having flipped or landlord houses.

Michael Blank

08:54 - 09:21

It's like a different world. And number two, you don't need your own money because you're going to end up raising it. Even if you have money, if you have $100,000 or $500,000, I don't care. Okay, you have enough money to do one deal, then what? Then you're going to be out of money. So either way, you're going to be raising money. So you don't actually need money to start with at all. In the experience part, you overcome by educating yourself, which is easy to do, relatively inexpensive. And then you build a team of people around you, like brokers, property managers, who are more experienced.

Michael Blank

09:21 - 09:31

You have advisors. And then you talk about yourself confidently using the right words in terms of your team. And all of a sudden to the outsider, you look incredibly experienced when you actually haven't done a single deal yet.

Gresham Harkless

09:32 - 09:45

Right. That makes perfect sense because you're leaning on the expertise of the strategy and also the people that are on your team, which is insanely important. And would you consider that what I would call it like your secret sauce, which you feel kind of distinguishes you and sets you apart? Is that part of it?

Michael Blank

09:45 - 10:16

I mean, Seeker Sauce, I suppose, is my focus, my monological focus on the first deal. In fact, I coined something called the law of the first deal in my book, because it's so, so universal. Like literally, I have not found a single exception to the rule where someone intentionally does a multifamily deal of any size, including a duplex, And they always have quit their jobs in three to five years. And in fact, it's never that long. It's normally one to two years. And that's very, very powerful. So all we have to do is help someone do their first deal, the bigger the better.

Michael Blank

10:16 - 10:21

But if it's only a duplex, it still triggers a lot of the first deal. And that to me is very encouraging and very powerful.

Gresham Harkless

10:21 - 10:28

Right. And so the law of the first deal, could you talk a little bit more about that? About what exactly that is? Is that just getting the ball rolling? Or is there something more to that?

Michael Blank

10:28 - 10:56

A lot of the first deal, basically, it says that the first deal is the hardest to do, takes the longest, and is the smallest. And there's obviously a lot of obvious reasons for that. But then what happens is when they've done that first deal, that small first deal, the second and third follow in rapid, almost automatic succession. They happen without trying. And the reason for that is because once you've closed your first deal, the brokers that maybe were kind of brushing you off are like, oh my gosh, this guy did a deal. So they start calling you with deals.

Michael Blank

10:56 - 11:21

And they start calling you with deals that aren't even listed yet. That's where the magic is. Your investors are like, ah, let me see how Gresh does here with this first one. I'm on the fence. Let's see what he does. And then he closes his first deal. Well, now they're going to come off the fence. So it becomes much easier now to acquire new deals and to raise more money. And your confidence in your comfort zone expands so much as you do a deal. So the progression is two units, 10 units, 25 units, 50, and then plus something, something like that.

Michael Blank

11:21 - 11:39

So wherever your comfort zone is right now, if your comfort zone is 10 units, then the first deal might be a 10 unit. The second deal might be somewhere between 25 and 50. And the third deal is going to be somewhere between 50 and a hundred typically that's the progression. And then now you control, you know, a hundred units and uh, you know, now you're, you're making about $10,000 a month. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I

Gresham Harkless

11:39 - 11:56

absolutely love that. Cause the hardest part is usually just getting started. So, when you're able to do that, then like, like dominoes stuff starts to fall over, you start to get bigger and better. So I love that concept. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an Apple book or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Michael Blank

11:56 - 12:25

Wow, good. A hack is something I started doing a few years ago, as I've always struggled with a morning routine, right? And I knew I had to have one, but I just I still struggle with meditating and that stuff until I read The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. I don't know if you've read or not, who's listening, gotta read this book. It's a great hack because what it does is it shows you what to do with the first 60 minutes of the day, right? So it's a rhythm of silence, of reading, of meditating, of praying, of writing, visualizing, and it kind of provides you a system for that.

Michael Blank

12:25 - 12:52

you're like, Oh, my gosh, now I know what to do. And it's just like this blueprint for what to do in the first 60 minutes. And this is a lot of very, very powerful things, depending on what you're doing. You know, you if you feel gratitude, right, that sets your day up. If you visualize that makes your goals more powerful. If you reflect on how you interacted with people the day before, it strengthens your relationships. So it's really been a major difference. And and how actually is speaking at my my event in Dallas and end of July.

Michael Blank

12:52 - 12:58

So we've Hal Elrod speaking there, and we get to hang out with him a little bit, and that's really exciting, looking forward to that.

Gresham Harkless

12:58 - 13:18

Yeah, it goes back to what you were saying on making sure that you surround yourself with a good team and people that are experts. So being able to kind of leverage and tap into that expertise is definitely huge. So I definitely agree with that. I mean, I love that book read, so I'm definitely gonna pick that up. And now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice, or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business owners?

Michael Blank

13:18 - 13:41

Oh, my gosh, I would have handed myself rich dad, poor dad, as soon as it came out, which would have been late 90s. And I didn't read until I was until it was 2004. And it really comes down to, you know, financial education, really, what does that mean, and setting up your financial plan, you know, putting that ladder up against the right wall, which is financial freedom, right, you want to set something up, if you're starting a business, this is some of the frustrating things, sometimes you starting a business, What is your exit strategy out of that business, right?

Michael Blank

13:41 - 14:06

Are you going to toil and labor in your business until the day you drop, right? Or is there some kind of exit plan, right? So an exit plan could be either selling the business or better yet, replacing yourself with a president of some sort. And then that person runs a business and now you essentially deriving income from that business. And now you can sit on the beach for three months until you get bored and then you start another business, right? But most entrepreneurs don't have the exit plan. right? So they're just they're just create another job for themselves.

Michael Blank

14:06 - 14:36

And that's really frustrating. So really being clear about what do you want your business to do for you, right? Because we end up working for our own business instead of the business working for us. And there's another great book I read recently called profit first. And it really it really exemplifies how you treat the money the sales coming in. And most entrepreneurs, this is the perfect example of this mentality is Most entrepreneurs have sales coming in, then they spend as they spend as in the invest in it. And then if there's something left over, they use it as a profit.

Michael Blank

14:36 - 15:01

Well, most in most cases, because entrepreneurs always need to grow, we're all thinking growth, growth, growth, we're spending as much as we can. So we grow as fast as we can, and there's nothing left over. So we live, we live from paycheck to paycheck. We have no emergency fund, you know, and if we have a bad month or two, all of a sudden now we're destitute. And profit first says, look, why don't you architect make the business work for you? You create your sales, you take your profit target out first, and then you have to spend what's left.

Michael Blank

15:02 - 15:11

And if you don't have enough to spend, you're gonna have to get resourceful. And entrepreneurs are really resourceful. But there's a shift now the business is working for me and not and not the other way around.

Gresham Harkless

15:11 - 15:37

Yeah, absolutely. I love that. It's all the concept of pay yourself first and pay yourself first, whatever that looks like. So I love that CEO nugget. And now I wanted to ask you for the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote unquote CEOs on the show. So, Michael, what does being a CEO mean to you? Being king. There you go. dictator. Exactly. You get that, you get to have the empire yourself and you get to build it how you want it to build it. So, I definitely agree.

Michael Blank

15:37 - 15:38

That's

Gresham Harkless

15:38 - 15:49

right. I love that definition. Well, Michael, I truly appreciate your time. I wanted to pass you the mic just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and our listeners know and how of course they can find you, get a copy of your book, and listen to your podcast.

Michael Blank

15:49 - 16:19

Yeah, the book is probably the great entry point into my universe. It's called Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing. It's on Amazon. My website is The Michael Blank. That's T-H-E and then Michael, B-L-A-N-K at the end. Or just Google apartment building investing and it should be fairly easy to find. We have a whole bunch of free resources. We have a YouTube channel. We have a podcast. We have blog articles. And then we have training programs and mentoring and live events as well. So anyone who thinks they might want to be learning more about multifamily investing, hopefully we can help them out.

Gresham Harkless

16:19 - 16:25

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And we'll make sure to have all those links in the show notes as well so that anybody can follow up with you. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Intro

16:25 - 16:59

Thank you for listening to the IMCEO podcast powered by CB Nation and Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at imceo.co. IMCEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Want to level up your business even more? Read blogs, listen to podcasts, and watch videos at CBNation.co. Also, check out our I Am CEO Facebook group. This has been the I Am CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.