The Mindset Shift That Helped Her Scale a Multi-Million Dollar Business

Speaker A: Foreign.

Speaker B: Welcome to Life Changing Money, a podcast all about one of the most taboo, uh, topics in the world, Money. I'm your host, Barbara Srihan and we're going behind the scenes on business owners journeys to money, success and wealth. Let's get started.

Speaker C: Hello and welcome to another episode of Life Changing Money. I'm so excited for this week's episode because we have Tina here and she is from Hawaii. And let me just say like the second you walked in and you had a lei for me, I was just like, oh, I love this girl.

Speaker A: Sweet.

Speaker C: Have you just gotten into like a habit of doing that when you like, come to the. Do you call it the mainland?

Speaker A: Yes, we do call it the mainland, but no, this was actually my first time to travel with lays huh. Yeah.

Speaker C: And I was your first lei.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, 1,000%. So it was a new experience for me, thankfully. I just, I. Yeah, there's a whole process to it.

Speaker C: Aw. Well, thank you. It was so sweet. She also, we've been at the be seen retreat in New York City all week and she also brought chocolates for all the retreaters. So we've just been like enjoying the most delicious macadamia nut, uh, chocolates as well. But how did you end up in Hawaii?

Speaker A: Well, long story short, I was looking for a change. I had graduated high school, I was living on my own and I was just like financially responsible. We're m on the Life Changing Money podcast. So, um, and friends saw that I was financially responsible enough to ask me if I wanted to buy a one way ticket with her to Hawaii and be her roommate. And I said, sure, why not? I'm already living on my own. I moved out as soon as I graduated high school and I just said yes. We bought one way tickets, saved up for 10 months, said we'd stay out there at least a year to make sure that nobody would leave somebody hanging with rent or you know, just commitment. And we did it. And I knew on the plane ride over though, like as I was landing that this was going to be my new home.

Speaker C: A did your friend end up staying?

Speaker A: So moved out there with two friends. So the three of us ended up staying at least a year. They stayed about a year and a half and I stayed, stayed and I mean it was, it was a really hard startup. Like I went with two suitcases and saved up from working a couple jobs and I would skateboard and catch the bus and I really roughed it and lived it. But I said if I'm going to be broke in Texas, like I can Be broke in Hawaii. Like, I'm not used to electricity bills. I'm not used to paying this, this and that. Like, why not do it in paradise?

Speaker C: Wow, that's a really good mindset. Yeah. And then when did you become a real estate agent?

Speaker A: Okay, so, um, that, you know, everyone grows up like, I want to be an astronaut, I want to be a doctor, a lawyer, whatever it is that they're inspired when they're a kid. Well, I grew up saying I wanted to be a real estate agent because my beloved grandma, my momo, was a real estate agent. And when my parents were making ends meet, I would hang out with her on weekends. And when do real estate agents work weekends? Exactly. So I spent all that time with her, and we'd go help buyers, and she'd give me a camera, a digital camera to take photos with the buyers. And I felt important. She included me. She meant everything to me. She loved me unconditionally. And then, uh, in 2014, I was in the middle of going to college and she passed away. I was visiting every year and I left school mid semester to go be with her. And I was kind of having this, like, almost quarter life crisis of like, what am I really gonna do? I wanna make an impact on people's lives, but I don't really know what that is yet. I was in school to be a physical therapist. That year is when they said you had to go from being having a master's to having a doct be a physical therapist. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, like, I'm barely making ends meet in Hawaii. I'm a waitress. I'm paying my way through out of state tuition, which is like three times the price. And this is gonna be a long journey. But at her funeral, so many people got up on that podium and talked about how life changing she was for them. She helped families get their immigration paperwork from Mexico to Texas. She helped them get their first job. She helped them get their first home, their starter home, and then just help them build generational wealth, living like the true American dream was possible. But she wasn't. She didn't treat anyone transactional. She was very relationship based. So growing up with her, I knew that because I'd go to quinceanera on the weekend and it's like, mija, huh? This is your cousin, this is your cousin, and everyone's, uh, a cousin, Yes. I literally didn't know who was and who wasn't. But, yeah, I wanted to have. Carry on her legacy and make that impact. So went Back to Hawaii. Spent some time just like decompressing and thinking about my future. And. And then I just read the book, you are a badass by Jen Sincero.

Speaker C: Have you read it? I have it.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: It's so good, isn't it? Like it just like really speaks to you. I was like the line of like, I'm just gonna try. So I was like, I'm just gonna try real estate and see if it pays for physical therapy, school and the rest in Hawaii.

Speaker C: You did school in Hawaii?

Speaker A: Yeah. So I mean, once I moved out there when I was 19, there was no looking back. I came back to spend my grandma's last days with her and I was there for her funeral, but then I went back to Hawaii again.

Speaker C: Oh, okay. So you said, I'm gonna use real estate to pay for college.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: And?

Speaker A: And well, I set a goal to make six figures in my first year. So it didn't take 12 months, it took 13 because my first six months I didn't make a dime.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: Like it's a hard startup and I just was in there working. This is before I was a mom. I was working 60 hour weeks. I was only working at the restaurant just to like literally make enough money. I was counting dollars to go into the grocery store to buy food. And um, I was just super broke trying to make it work. And then when I started to feel that passion of helping families and saw the greater purpose already that I was doing in real estate, because I didn't know that real estate could be so life changing and impactful until I heard everyone at my momo's funeral. M so then I was like, wait, I've found something that makes me happy. And then, let's be honest, we're on the life changing money podcast. Like I made in a year in real estate without a college degree what physical therapists are making after college degrees. And so I was like, I think I could stick with this. I enjoy this and I seem to be good at it, so I think I can stick with it.

Speaker C: So did you graduate?

Speaker A: No, no, I didn't go back to school. Yeah. Hey, why went the entrepreneur route?

Speaker C: Wow. Uh, so how did it feel going from literally counting dollars to go to the grocery store to six figures in a year?

Speaker A: Well, this is so funny because I, uh, mean you make that money, but if you don't have the right guidance and the right tax strategies that you learn very quickly the second year that you shouldn't have probably spent that money the way you spent it. And not that I was spending it on anything crazy. But I mean I was still like just trying to make ends meet and you know, investing in myself, investing in my career. So yeah, it wasn't until a couple years in that, uh, it was really the life changing money that I noticed was a huge difference. And there was a huge shift also when I got a mentor. I think having mentors is great and I know that everybody that has been at this retreat this week believes in that. My mentor helped me actually go from, you know, learning all the transactional side of real estate things to being relationship based. And I just, I went from selling. My first year was the end of 2016, 2017. Right. And then 2018 I did about 10 to 13 mil. Ish. And then 2019 I did 25 mil. And the big difference in that, in scaling my business was just becoming ten times more myself, my authentic self, relationship based. And I just built a referral based business. And that, uh, mentor really let me, didn't dim my light, encouraged me to shine into that, which made a huge difference. And I forgot what the question was. That's okay.

Speaker C: I tell people that all the time though, about when you're like just yourself, you're like fully expressed self, you're magnetic. So those clients of yours were just like attracted to you because you were

Speaker A: being just like who you were caring about people. Like they're not just transactions. It's like you're helping families build generational wealth.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker A: So that was like the big, yeah, that was the big changing year in scaling my business and really seeing a difference in my lifestyle and what could be. I was just scratching the surface on what could be accomplished.

Speaker C: I have a ton of real estate clients in the tax strategy side, but also like, I think there's eight or nine real estate agents in the council this year. And some of them have the exact opposite mindset of you. Of like you said you love it and you love the relationships and it's changing people's lives. And then some of them are like, I'm um, so burnt out and everyone just complains and you know, so how did you get through not feeling like that?

Speaker A: So actually that's a very common trend in real estate because you build this big business and then you end up resenting or regretting carrying on that path or building the business. And I see it all the time in Hawaii. You see realtors making good, good sales, they're doing great, they're providing for their family, they're building 10 times generational wealth. They get burnout, breakdown. They like Just move to the mainland, they move somewhere quiet, they get an 8 to 5. They never look or touch real estate again. And I saw it, started to see that pattern. And when I did, I said, I don't want that. So I started delegating, getting systems and structure in my business and did it 10 times harder when I became a mom at the end of 2021. Because I had a greater purpose for not working as hard, like not working as long and hard as I was. I needed to be a leader.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: Because what gets you to selling like 10mil a year in real estate is so different than going from 10 mil to 20, 30, 40, 50 mil. Right. It takes leadership skills. And the ones that actually enjoy their real estate career are the ones that learn. You have to go from being the operator to the CEO. And that's what I coach high performing women in real estate on that actual transformation. It's coaching to say, I am no longer going to do the things that don't bring me joy in real estate. So I say if it doesn't require my license, my judgment or my relationship, I don't have to do it. So if you can actually stick to the things that bring you joy. We talked about house managers this week at the retreat. And so I like to say it's like the dishes and laundry at home have to get done to keep your home moving.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: But do they have to get done by you? So it's the same thing for real estate. There's dishes and laundry in your real estate business that have to get done to keep moving the business forward, but it doesn't have to get done by you. So when you learn how to be a true leader, step into your CEO era and just start to lead a team, delegate, have the support system structure, you're going to avoid burnout and breakdown.

Speaker C: What would you say to the real estate agent that when you say that, they'll be like, oh, uh, but my client would never want someone else to show them around different houses.

Speaker A: Your clients are going to understand what you said the presence for. So you're not going to want to just tell your client, like you're not going to want to start from the beginning. It's all you, you, you. And then you tell your client, hey, by the way, like you're going to go out with Sally today. No, if you set the presence from early on and hey, I'm going to. Maybe you do the first day of showings. Hey, I'm going to be there for your first day of showings. But Any showings after that, Sally's going to be taking you. This is how I run my business. It's the same thing when you look at all other industries and businesses. They have receptionists, they have people that are helping them. And what's wrong with you having people that help you too? So you can be in your zone of genius, which is negotiating for them, listening to them when they have a concern. This is a lot of people's biggest financial investment and you need to make sure that you're present for them when they call in a panic and you're not too busy out doing showings or admin or marketing.

Speaker C: What part, what island are you on? Oahu. Oh, on Oahu. What, like real estate trends are you seeing over there? I know a lot of people that are like, I'd love to have a beach house. I would love to have a house in Hawaii.

Speaker A: Well, I would love to help you, but I will say that those start at like 5 to 15 mil, so.

Speaker C: Wow. Okay.

Speaker A: Yeah, so. So if you really want that luxurious beachfront home, you just need to be ready to spend that money and have a plan for it. Because Airbnbs have very strict laws in Hawaii. So when you're not there, it's not that you can just rent it out. As an Airbnb, the trends that I'm seeing are that, uh, everyone loves Hawaii. Like, yeah, I mean, everyone loves Hawaii, has always loved Hawaii. And if you go there a few times a year, why not buy a home there and you can come there and visit and have other friends and family have a place to stay too. But it's probably a tax write off, right?

Speaker C: It could be depending on how we structure it for sure. Explain the, like 99 year land lease things.

Speaker A: Okay, so there's a difference between leasehold, uh, and fee simple. And the simplest way to explain it is we don't have RV parks. You know, when you go camping on the mainland, we don't have that. But you own your rv, right? You drive around, you own your rv, but then you have to park it somewhere and you have to pay wherever you park it to park there for, like if you're going to camp there for a week. So that's essentially what it is, except for they built the large buildings on leased land. So these buildings will have a lease that expires in whatever year, and then they have to decide if they're going to renew the lease or change it to fee simple. But when you're paying, if you have a mortgage on a leasehold property, you're paying your mortgage, the maintenance fees, HOA dues, property taxes, but on top of that, you're paying rent to the landowner and your property actually depreciates in value over time. It may be good from a tax strategy perspective or if you have no heirs and you again want the tax benefits from owning a property, but it's the homes depreciate over time. So that's one form of leasehold. Another form of leasehold is that there is Hawaiian lands that you have to be 50% Hawaiian to buy these homes. And they do blood work and everything for that as well, actually.

Speaker C: Oh, uh, wow.

Speaker A: Yeah. So I always say if you just happen to get on the websites and a deal looks too good to be true, it most likely is. M. Most likely.

Speaker C: So I thought every house in Hawaii is on a 99 year lease. Oh, no, not all of them. There's just like.

Speaker A: Oh, only a small fraction.

Speaker C: Oh, okay.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So no, there's a lot more in like Honolulu Townside is what we call it. And then there's the Hawaiian Homelands.

Speaker C: Okay, so there are houses, you buy it and it's like yours.

Speaker A: Yeah. You own the home and you own the land. Yes.

Speaker C: Okay. Yes. Because someone told me that one time about the 99 year lease thing and then my whole thing was like, well, what if they don't want to renew that lease?

Speaker A: Yeah, you're out of luck.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker A: Yeah, they could bulldoze the building down.

Speaker C: Wow.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: Okay, well, I'm glad it's not for everywhere.

Speaker A: I'm glad to give that information.

Speaker C: Okay, so for your clients that you're coaching on how to be better real estate agents and to scale their business, what would be like, some of the common things you're telling them?

Speaker A: Well, you know, I got into it because, like, I built systems and structure in my business and agents were seeing me speak on stages and they saw my numbers. I didn't have to post them. You know, once you start having success, you don't have to post like the success. They saw me as being a successful real estate agent, but what they also saw was me being a very present mother. And so I got approached like, do you want to help me? I was like, yeah, sure. So I got into helping some moms in real estate and realized that, yeah, I can give you all the systems and structure and templates and everything, but at the end of the day, it's a true transformation of a mindset. It's really like transforming your mind from being the operator and feeling like you have to do Everything to stepping into this new, new season. And I mean that's the same thing. Like coming to these retreats, getting in different rooms, you have to have different perspective. Perspective on what you're doing and what you're building towards. So when you're stepping into this new season, it's, it's a mindset transformation. Mhm. Yeah.

Speaker C: So good with everything. Even with like being seen, which we just wrapped up, the be seen retreat in New York City and everyone wants to be more seen, whether it's social media, podcasts, like this stages. And it's really like a mindset of like, are you okay to actually have the light shining on you? Because the brighter you shine, the bigger the shadow. And I'd love to hear like just maybe a favorite moment from the retreat or something that you're taking away from this week.

Speaker A: So many good notes just from it all. Like there's just so much. I think the biggest takeaway is you truly have to put yourself in rooms with other high performing, ambitious women who value business and also value motherhood because you can have it all. That is a lot of what I coach on in the real estate world, but it's also great to be around other women who are doing it across all industries.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker A: So getting in this room, hearing from Barb, like the speakers, the uh, speakers were just incredible. The way they poured into us and it felt like they were talking to each of us individually in this small, intimate, close room was just next level. Like they really brought their A game and it wasn't just about the topics that they came to the table with. I mean Callan coming in there and talking about her very successful launch and talking about her mindset around money.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: It wasn't just about AI this and this is how you know you can do this in Clawed. Like I really valued how she opened up about her relationship with money and how she prepared mentally for the money. You even said, you know what you said about where money likes to go. So, um, why don't you repeat that?

Speaker C: Oh, money loves to know where it's going. So it's like if you were to come to this retreat and I didn't send you any emails beforehand or, or I didn't create an app for you to tell you where you should go and what time and what's the address and what should you wear and what's the theme and like give you all the things like I try to give everything you need so you feel a little bit more like, well, if you don't have that for your money. And money's just coming in and it doesn't know where to go. It's like chaotic. And so it actually will keep you from making more money. And so something Callan shared was before her launch was which she expected to do a 4 million launch and she actually did a $20 million launch. We think it's the biggest female launch of all time. No one else has come forward to say that they did a bigger one. But she's, she planned for it. She had the tax strategy team, the financial team, she already had the bank accounts open of where all the money was going to go. And so it just kept coming in.

Speaker A: I love that. Like, that was just gold in this retreat to hear that. And I also love how Nicole spoke up and said how money didn't change Callan. And I think that it can, it's true. Like all of us can just be our true authentic self. And money doesn't have to change who you are to others in this world. Like, Barb, you are so successful. But something that I noticed is like, anywhere we went, you were talking to everybody, you were getting to know everybody, which led to us all going on the rooftop. Like, that was incredible.

Speaker C: It was so cool.

Speaker A: Yeah. And it's just, uh, you know, relationship building and being your true, authentic self, uh, to be seen in your own light because everyone has their own story and everyone is so unique. And at this be seen retreat, it was about, you know, being seen, of course, but also just like tying into your true, authentic self and being tunnel vision for who you are, what your goals are, how you're going to get there. Yet at the same time with your tunnel vision, being around others who are going to encourage you and uplift you and inspire you and say you do that. And they're cheering for your success like it's their own. And that's the room that you created. Thank you.

Speaker C: What's one intention that you can take into like, the next six months?

Speaker A: I am going to intentionally put myself in rooms that I may not feel ready for.

Speaker C: Mhm. I love that we have one. If you're next year, we'd love to have you. But I hope that I get to be in a room with you again. Because seriously, like, you're like, you shine so bright. It's funny you're wearing pink today. Cause like, I see just like pink, beautiful, fun, like around you, in your aura. And I saw that the last few days. So thank you for being here.

Speaker A: So sweet. Barb, you are an incredible host and I just really, uh, am so grateful for this whole experience. Thank you so much for having me on this podcast. And we'll definitely be in lots of rooms in the future together.

Speaker C: And maybe I'll see you in Hawaii.

Speaker A: Yes, definitely.

Speaker C: Where can people find you?

Speaker A: My Instagram handle is tinamariegamble.

Speaker C: Thank you.

Speaker B: Thank you for listening to this episode of Life Changing Money. Don't forget to subscribe and I would love if you left a review and shared it with your friends. See you next time.