\n<\/p>\n
The key to financial freedom<\/strong>? Work as a pizza delivery driver! Not only will you learn how to handle high-pressure situations, but you might also find your next property<\/strong> on a regular pizza run! At least that\u2019s what Pamela Bardhi<\/strong> did to build her twenty-seven-unit rental property portfolio <\/strong>and reach <\/strong>financial independence<\/strong><\/a> in her late twenties<\/strong>! Pamela\u2019s family moved to the United States when she was just five years old, thrusting her into the restaurant business before she realized that real estate was her true passion.<\/p>\n Pamela did everything right. She studied hard, got scholarships, worked at internships, and built her own business<\/strong>, but she was still miserable<\/strong>. Working every day of the week, often twelve hours at a time, was eating away at her. She wanted some side income<\/strong><\/a> to help her dial back the time spent building her business, but when her first deal turned into a $100,000 profit<\/strong>, the property game was too enticing to resist. Since then, she\u2019s scaled to massive heights and wants you to do the same.<\/p>\n With twenty-seven rental units, over one hundred deals done, and a financially free lifestyle by thirty-one<\/strong>, Pamela knows what it takes to build a property portfolio FAST<\/strong>. But she also knows what can make it crumble. Pamela shares her three BIGGEST lessons learned<\/strong> from doing over one hundred deals and how she turned delivering pizzas into a passive income stream <\/strong>that will create generational wealth<\/strong> for her whole family.<\/p>\n David: Pamela: David: Rob: David: Rob: David: Rob: David: Rob: David: Rob: David: Rob: David: Rob: David: Pamela: David: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: Rob: David: Pamela: David: Pamela: David: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: David: Pamela: David: Rob: Pamela: David: Pamela: David: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: David: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: David: Pamela: David: Pamela: David: Pamela: David: Pamela: David: Pamela: David: Rob: David: Rob: David: Rob: David: Rob: David: Rob: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: Rob: Pamela: David: Rob: David: Pamela: David: Rob: David: \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Help us reach new listeners on iTunes by leaving us a rating and review! It takes just 30 seconds and instructions can be found here<\/a>. Thanks! We really appreciate it!<\/p>\n Interested in learning more about today\u2019s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email <\/em>[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Note By BiggerPockets:<\/b> These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.<\/p>\n
This is the BiggerPockets podcast show, 779.<\/p>\n
I went from delivering pizzas to a nine figure real estate career, which was absolutely insane. And getting in the development game, the construction game, and learning about how to add value to properties and all these different things, and then building my own portfolio in this realm has really enabled me to be financially free at such a young age and also create generational wealth for my family to come. And generations beyond that. If they\u2019re smart with it, of course.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s going on everyone? It\u2019s David Greene, your host of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast. The biggest, the best, the baddest real estate podcast in the world. Joined today by a fellow bad man, Robert Abasolo. Rob, how you feeling today?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m feeling good. I\u2019m feeling energized. I walked 10,000 steps today. I worked out, I launched a company. It\u2019s like the running joke on Instagram where they\u2019re like, \u201cStart an LLC by 6:00 AM.\u201d I actually did. Not by 6:00, but later on. So it feels good. I\u2019m feeling I got a new vibe about me. How about that?<\/p>\n
Apparently walking 10,000 steps can completely change your life. So there you have it. This is what Rob considers exercise.<\/p>\n
Well, no, I also worked out. Cool it, pal.<\/p>\n
Okay, I thought you were saying the workout was the 10,000 steps and I was a little disappointed. That\u2019s in addition to the workout? Now, I\u2019m getting excited. Okay.<\/p>\n
And very important, through new said company, I was able to save us four to $600,000 in taxes on our Scottsdale property through cost segregation and then bonus depreciation and all that good stuff. So yeah, it always feels nice to lower your tax bill.<\/p>\n
Oh, yeah. And I love that you took credit for it, like you invented cost segregation or had the crazy idea to utilize it for the situation when that\u2019s one of the reasons we bought the house.<\/p>\n
True. However, my company is a cost segregation company and thus-<\/p>\n
Oh, I did not know about this. You have a cost segregation company now?<\/p>\n
I do.<\/p>\n
All right, well slow down over there, Turbo. You\u2019re making all the rest of us feel inferior.<\/p>\n
Well, you have 18 companies. You start 15 LLCs by 5:00 AM.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s me. I\u2019m that guy. Jocko\u2019s up doing a workout and I\u2019m up starting an LLC. That\u2019s exactly right. In today\u2019s show, we interview Pamela Bardhi, who has a fascinating story. Who went from delivering $9 pizzas to owning a nine figure real estate portfolio. And you can too. We interviewed Pamela and she shares a lot of practical advice as well as sort of the emotional parts of her story where her brain clicked, things changed, and she got off of the wrong path and onto the right path where she\u2019s now living her best life and we are excited to bring this to you. Rob, what were some of your favorite parts of today\u2019s show?<\/p>\n
I think, honestly, it\u2019s a really great story because we get right into why she wants to build generational wealth. A lot of people just sort of toss that out there, but she gave us the motivation on how to do that. She talked about how she found a mentor that helped guide her through a lot of her first deals and how that led into a lot of the successes. She\u2019s done a hundred deals and she\u2019s 31. She was on the Forbes, I guess, 30 Under 30 list by age 27. I mean, it\u2019s kind of one of those talks where she keeps naming the accolades and I\u2019m like, \u201cOkay, I need to turn things around. I need to start several LLCs by 6:00 AM.\u201d It\u2019s a very motivating guest to have on the pod.<\/p>\n
And very fun too. You guys are going to love this one. You\u2019re going to want to go follow her when you\u2019re done. Before we bring in Pamela, today\u2019s quick tip is you\u2019ve got the skills, now go put them to work in real estate. Many people listening to this, yes, you as you\u2019re listening right now, have specific skills that you develop through life experiences or workplace experiences or a combination of the two. Those will help you in your real estate career. Just look for the right opportunity to use them. And a bonus quick tip to listen for, your pizza delivery guy may help you build a deal funnel for deals. Listen to today\u2019s show to find out how. All right, listen to today\u2019s show. And on the next episode, Rob is going to explain how he has applied math to real estate to cause it to make money and not lose money. We got you here at BiggerPockets. All right, let\u2019s bring in Pamela. Pamela, welcome to the BiggerPockets podcast. How are you today?<\/p>\n
I am doing lovely my friend. How are you?<\/p>\n
I am wonderful and I\u2019m excited to dig into your story here. There\u2019s so many cool parts of it. So people have a little understanding of your background, you have done over 100 deals between flips and renovations. Currently, you own 27 units, have been investing for 10 years in Boston. And as a fun fact, you side hustled as a DJ in college. Anything that I missed?<\/p>\n
Sounds about right. And I\u2019m a dog mom. I have two dogs. I always count them in there.<\/p>\n
Now, are you still a dog mom after you have a kid? I\u2019m just kidding. This is a call back to a previous podcast.<\/p>\n
Always.<\/p>\n
But we\u2019ll come out soon before this. Sorry, David, carry on.<\/p>\n
So Pamela, what are your dog\u2019s names? First off, let\u2019s give them a shout-out.<\/p>\n
Absolutely. Rhea, who\u2019s five years old and Blue, who\u2019s a year and a half. They are hilarious.<\/p>\n
Okay, this sounds like the makings of a country song already. We\u2019re up to a great start here. Do you call him Old Blue by chance? I feel like you got to call the dog Old before Blue.<\/p>\n
I have not yet, but I\u2019ve definitely got to mention that to him. He is a spunky dude.<\/p>\n
All right. So tell me, how has real estate investing transformed your life up to this point?<\/p>\n
Where do I even begin? I mean, it\u2019s transcended generations from me at this point, which is I think the most beautiful part of it all. By the time I was 27, I went from delivering pizzas to a nine figure real estate career, which was absolutely insane. And getting in the development game, the construction game, learning about how to add value to properties and all these different things, and then building my own portfolio in this realm has really enabled me to be financially free at such a young age and also create generational wealth for my family to come and generations beyond that. If they\u2019re smart with it, of course, and maintain what I\u2019ve established. But yes, that\u2019s I think, the most powerful thing about real estate. It\u2019s a long game. You guys say that all the time. It\u2019s a long game.
It\u2019s not a let\u2019s make six figures in six months kind of deal. It\u2019s let\u2019s build for the future. Let\u2019s play this out throughout a couple of years and build and build and build and go from that. And all of a sudden you go\u2026 This compound interest and rock and roll from there. So it\u2019s transcended so much. Aside from that too, it\u2019s also community. How cool is it that real estate is the space\u2026 As developers and as people in real estate, we help to define communities. We help get people into those homes. We create those homes. There\u2019s a whole ideology that I have about all of that, but it\u2019s just the coolest thing in the world for me.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s really cool. Well, I don\u2019t want to glaze over what you said, which is you went from delivering $9 pizzas to building a nine figure real estate business. That that\u2019s really cool. One thing that you mentioned was generational wealth, and I was just sort of curious on is there a particular reason why you want to build generational wealth? Because that is something we talk about a lot in real estate, but I don\u2019t think we ever get into why that\u2019s important to the actual individual. Is there anything in particular that resonates for you, why that\u2019s such an important goal?<\/p>\n
Totally. So I mean, I came to the US when I was about five years old and my parents came here with nothing to build the American dream. And really everything from such a young age for me in my ear was \u201cBuild for your family. Build for the future,\u201d do all of that stuff. And then my parents getting into business and all of that, and then me eventually getting into real estate, I saw the impact of all of that kind of in the long run. And I understood how powerful real estate truly is. I mean, we all think about like, \u201cOh, let\u2019s make money, let\u2019s do this. Let\u2019s get into real estate, let\u2019s do this long term.\u201d
And then we really look at it. And most people don\u2019t ask themselves, \u201cWhy am I doing this? Why hustle so hard? Why do this? Why go crazy over all of this?\u201d And the answer is legacy. Why are we working our tails off at this point? It\u2019s so that our generations can then have something we didn\u2019t have and continue to elevate the generational line continuously down the line because real estate builds that wealth. I mean, the last stat I read was 76% of the US, their main source of wealth comes from their primary residence, which is insane. They take equity lines of credit to pay for college. I mean, there\u2019s all kinds of stuff. This is a powerful wealth vehicle for Americans.<\/p>\n
So as we mentioned, you\u2019re in Boston now? Is that where you grew up?<\/p>\n
Yeah, so when I was five years old, we moved to Boston Mass, and that\u2019s where we\u2019ve been kind of this whole time since we came from Italy, because I was born in Tirana, Albania, which is right above Greece, moved to Italy when I was about six months old. And then we won the visa lottery when I was about five to come to the US. So we came straight to Boston.<\/p>\n
Okay. So you were five years old when you came here. So most of your life you\u2019ve lived here. How did you avoid picking up the Boston accent? I don\u2019t hear any of it right now.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know. See, the thing is, Dave, a lot of people tell me that I do have it. They\u2019re like, \u201cOh, you must be from Boston.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cI don\u2019t have an accent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tell me that you parked the car near the water.<\/p>\n
No, near the Harvard yard.<\/p>\n
I parked the car near Harvard Yard. See, I say my Rs and everything. I don\u2019t know, why do the people say I got the Boston accent? It\u2019s hilarious.<\/p>\n
All right, so you avoided a Boston accent, but you did not avoid being exposed to entrepreneurialism. I understand that you went to college. What was your major in school?<\/p>\n
So when I went to undergrad, I went to Stonehill College and I literally thought\u2026 So being an entrepreneur my whole life. So my parents came here when I was about five years old. My dad ended up buying a restaurant when I was about 10. He spent many, many years working three jobs. I barely saw my dad when we were growing up because my mom was a stay-at-home mom. My brother was a newborn and I was young. So my dad worked all types of jobs and eventually ended up buying a restaurant because his best friend gave him a down payment to do so. And he said, \u201cHey man, the way that you build wealth in America\u2019s one of two ways. A, you own real estate. B, you own your own business.\u201d He\u2019s like, I know you don\u2019t have the credit to buy real estate right now, but keep that in mind for the future. But here\u2019s a down payment, go out and buy a restaurant.
So my father bought a restaurant when I was about 10 years old and it was the coolest thing ever because I just wanted to hang out with my dad. And so I dragged myself to work with him, even though he was like, \u201cPam, stay home, play with toys.\u201d And I was like, \u201cNope, I\u2019m getting into the game, dad.\u201d And so my whole life I had spent in the restaurant industry and then doing all kinds of other things. I\u2019m probably one of the most unemployable people on planet earth because I\u2019ve never worked anything corporate, never did any type of job. So when I went to college though, ironically enough, my parents said, \u201cHey, Pam, we really want you to get into something that\u2019s more secure. We don\u2019t want you working 12 to 14 hours like we do in our business so that you can get married, start a family, do that stuff,\u201d which is interesting coming from entrepreneurs.
But the restaurant business is really tough. And growing up in the immigrant mentality of how much you physically work determines your success levels, that\u2019s a whole other thing. So when I went to college, I actually went in for marketing. I got a full scholarship to Stonehill and I was wicked pumped\u2026 See, the Boston came out. And then I\u2019m taking this supplied calculus class. And first off, I don\u2019t even understand algebra one, let alone algebra two and then get into calculus. And it was this adjunct professor that just was on my case. He just kept throwing tests at us and I was like, \u201cDude, I don\u2019t even understand algebra. You\u2019re throwing calculus at me. This doesn\u2019t make logical sense.\u201d See geometry, I would slay geometry all day, all night. Now, algebra and calculus is a whole nother thing.
So I get to the middle of the semester and I have a 40 in this class and I\u2019m like, \u201cI\u2019m going to lose my scholarship. I need to drop this class.\u201d I\u2019m thinking that I went in for marketing was then going to graduate Stonehill and work corporate and then get into a 9:00 to 5:00. And then when I was 40 start a business or something. That was not the case. I dropped this class and I thought my entire world ended basically because I could no longer take that major because I needed that class.<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t it funny how certain classes click and they make all the sense in the world and other ones for the life of you, no matter how hard you work, something just doesn\u2019t fit. Very smart people can struggle with certain topics and I\u2019ve always been fascinated by\u2026 You said you could slay geometry, but calculus was really\u2026 It was similar for me. Geometry, I didn\u2019t understand how anyone could struggle with that. It was so sensible. Just if this is this, then that has to be that. And basic algebra, same type of thing. But when I got into pre-calculus and it was complex formulas that there was no logical connection between those numbers on a piece of paper and a graph that they turned into, my mind could not make a connection to understand that type of thing. Economics made all the sense in the world, supply and demand, and if this happens, that\u2019s likely to happen.
I was like, \u201cHow could anyone not understand that?\u201d I think a lot of people that go through an experience like yours, they feel there\u2019s something wrong with them. It crushes their confidence. They think \u201cI\u2019m just not meant for this. Other people are good at this, not me.\u201d And then the saddest thing ever happens, they quit. They say, \u201cAll right, well, I\u2019m just going to resign myself to being a secretary or playing small in some way because I tried and I wasn\u2019t smart enough. I didn\u2019t make it.\u201d Did you have a moment like that where you questioned your ability to start a business, to be an entrepreneur, to be successful? Or did you just have an unflappable confidence that carried you through that?<\/p>\n
Well, you made a lot of interesting points there. Now, some classes struck more than others and it was so interesting to me how I loved geometry. I was a beast at chemistry. I had 101 average in chemistry. I should have been in Breaking Bad. I should have been casted for that at this point, to be honest. But I really got to a point where I got super down on myself. I\u2019m like, \u201cDang, why don\u2019t I get this? No matter how much I try, it seems like I\u2019m beating myself against the wall and it\u2019s just not working.\u201d I\u2019ve always been surrounded by incredible mentors and incredible souls in my life that were like, \u201cPam, just because that doesn\u2019t work for you means that you\u2019re just meant for something else, and that is totally cool and totally okay and don\u2019t freak out.\u201d So I decided to then be dramatic and change my entire major to communications which I loved because I love people. I absolutely love people.
And then shortly thereafter, I was missing the whole business piece because I love that. It\u2019s something that was kind of inherent to me. Imagine you\u2019re in the restaurant business since you were 10 years old. You develop all these business skills. I mean, my parents were making me pay bills by the time I was 12. Like, \u201cPam, you call them and make the payment over the phone.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cI don\u2019t know what to say.\u201d They\u2019re like, \u201cWell, we can\u2019t speak English, so you\u2019re going to have to do it.\u201d And so these skill sets that as a kid I was like, \u201cOh my God, this is so annoying. No other kid has to do this.\u201d But it built me into business.
So reflecting back on that, when I was in college, it was kind of like, \u201cWell, I\u2019m missing the whole business element of this. I love entrepreneurship.\u201d So that\u2019s when I decided to go into Stonehill and say, \u201cHey, I want to double major and I want to create my own major in entrepreneurship.\u201d And I remember as Professor [inaudible 00:16:16] and he\u2019s like, \u201cPam, you\u2019d be the first in school history to do that. I mean, we\u2019ve had minors but never are a major.\u201d So that\u2019s when I combined the two. But even still at that point, still at that point, I didn\u2019t think that I was going to be an entrepreneur right when I graduated. I had another moment, another one.<\/p>\n
Okay. All right. So well, first of all, I just had a flashback to my childhood because my parents are also immigrants and I used to always have to call companies and pretend to be my dad or my mom whenever I had a higher voice. I\u2019ve never met anyone else that had to do that. So small connection there. But I know you were helping your parents out occasionally with the restaurant. You picked up another sort of side hustle or another part-time job in college too, right?<\/p>\n
I created it, for sure. It was hilarious. And I was a DJ, so inadvertently when my father was doing pizza deliveries as we were growing up, when he bought the restaurant\u2026 At that time, there was cassettes and then there was CDs and then came MP3s and Aux cords. Now, my dad\u2019s driving around all day. He didn\u2019t have anything to listen to, so I\u2019d always be jamming with him in the car. That was one of our favorite bonding moments was literally just jamming in his minivan, driving around town in Boston, dropping pizzas off and food off.
Now, all those mixtapes said DJ Pammy B on them. I literally would burn CDs for my dad and create mixtapes and a whole list and everything since it was available to burn. And it was hilarious because I go into college and I\u2019ve always loved music. I\u2019ve always been at parties, under 21s. Anything that I can get into, I was there, I was vibing. That was my jam. So come college days, I\u2019m a freshman going out on campus at Stonehill and I\u2019m going to all these parties. I\u2019m like, \u201cThis music is horrendous. You can\u2019t even dance to this. Who are these people? Who\u2019s DJing these things?\u201d
And so, I went back to my room with my three roommates and we just threw a party and it got super wild. And from there my name spread around campus and all of a sudden I became DJ Pammy B and was getting paid stupid money per night to DJ and get free drinks and get free food and everything. And back in 2009, that was a lot of money. 300 bucks a night plus food, plus drinks was unreal. I was like, \u201cGuys, I\u2019ve made it.\u201d So it\u2019s something I did all four years and it was a blast. It was cool because you control the energy of the room. You\u2019re bringing different cultures together. It\u2019s a vibe. And the stuff you see from the DJ booth is hysterical. You get the best view of all of it.<\/p>\n
So this experience broke you out of the paint color by number. Go here, go there, go there. Here\u2019s the box you fit in. Then you moved to this one and this one, the corporate world that you were preparing yourself to get into to seeing creativity, to seeing opportunity, to making your own way. I guess as a DJ, you can create the environment you want as opposed to in the corporate world, you bounce around looking for the environment you want. What was the turning point where you decided you were going to do your own thing, that you weren\u2019t going to wait until you were 40 to start that business?<\/p>\n
Yeah. So it happened on accident. Most of us, we get into these situations and we\u2019re like, \u201cOh, man, I was not planning this.\u201d It was my junior year I was entering into, I was still fixated that I was going to be in marketing when I graduated undergrad. And I\u2019m still telling myself I want to do events in marketing, I want people, I want to put on big events because the DJ in me came out. Love those vibes. So I was thinking about the biggest sports venue in Boston. What better place to be that where all the action is for sports, entertainment, all that stuff. That\u2019s where I wanted to be. So I was like, \u201cYou know what? Spring semester, I\u2019m going to do an internship there and I\u2019m going to rock it.\u201d
And so I got the internship, which was extremely difficult to get into. The end of the internship, I was doing social media and marketing for them at that point. And at that time, social media was still a fairly new thing. This was 14, 15 years ago at this point. And I go in for my final review for my internship and my supervisor\u2019s like, \u201cOh yeah, Pam, thank you so much for everything throughout the semester.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cOh yeah, no, no, thank you guys, learned so much. This is so cool. What a different experience for me. What\u2019s my grade?\u201d And of course, I\u2019m the kid that showed up every single day, was going above and beyond, was crushing it, participating in everything, teacher\u2019s pet level type stuff. But I\u2019m just built to do things at a very high level and to always be doing multiple things at once. I can\u2019t sit still.
And so she\u2019s like, \u201cOh, Pam, it\u2019s a B minus.\u201d And I was like, \u201cCan I just ask why?\u201d And the interior of me was filled with rage because I\u2019m like, \u201cDude, I showed up. I did all the things. Why did I get a B minus here? I get punished for doing the right thing? I don\u2019t get it.\u201d And she literally said to me the words that changed my life, \u201cYou\u2019re just too ambitious.\u201d And I remember hearing that and just going ballistic in my mind, but still got to keep your cool in front of people. You\u2019re like, \u201cYou\u2019re just too ambitious?\u201d
I lost my mind. I\u2019m like, that\u2019s the one thing my parents always said to do was just to be ambitious and go out there and get it in whatever it is that you want and go get it. And that\u2019s what I did my whole life. Whatever I wanted, I got it, period, because I worked my tail off for it. Now, if it was meant for me or not, it dictates itself in the future. But I remember walking out of that room and I said, \u201cThank you so much.\u201d And I was walking out of the office threshold door, and I remember just little tap on my shoulder that was like, \u201cHey, Pam, you\u2019re not meant to work for anybody When you graduate, you\u2019re meant to do your own thing. This is why this didn\u2019t work out.\u201d And I felt this immediate relief and I was like, \u201cOh, I get it.\u201d
\u201cIf you\u2019re going to be an entrepreneur, you got to remember to have a big heart no matter what you do, okay? Just promise me that.\u201d And I was like, \u201cOkay, dad.\u201d And that was that conversation. And later that summer, my dad had a vacancy coming up in his building next to his restaurant, which is where I had been my whole life. That\u2019s where I worked and helped my parents and all of that. And I had the opportunity to present a business plan to my dad. And so that\u2019s what I did and got prepared for senior year.<\/p>\n
Okay, so you tried too hard and you crushed it too hard at your internship. And they\u2019re like, \u201cHey, we don\u2019t overachievers over here. We only do the status quo.\u201d And so that sort of lit this fire in you to be like, \u201cAll right, I\u2019m going to be too ambitious, but for myself.\u201d I feel like I said that word myself. And then you called your parents and you\u2019re like, \u201cHey, guys, I\u2019m never going to work for somebody.\u201d And somehow miraculously\u2026 I mean, I imagine they understood the grit that you had, but they were on board. And did real estate come right into the picture as soon as the vacancy opened at your dad\u2019s place? Or was it some sometime after that?<\/p>\n
It was sometime after that. So ironically, I had two restaurants by the time I was 21 because I was super young in college, so I graduated a year early from everyone. So I opened my first restaurant, which was Rio, and then I was offered a partnership opportunity on another restaurant in downtown Boston. So I had two restaurants that I was running by my senior year and then-<\/p>\n
Wow. At 21?<\/p>\n
And one of them, the one in downtown Boston was the biggest food operations in the entire country. So if you know where the Hatch Shell is in Boston, where they do July 4th, the Pops and all that?<\/p>\n
Were you asking that to us?<\/p>\n
Yeah, if you guys heard of the Hatch Shell where they do the Boston Pops and they do the big July 4th celebration and all that? So my partner, we ran that. So we ran every food vendor from the Mass app, so from the Museum of Science to the Mass Ave Bridge, which is miles. So we controlled that. And then we had a brick and mortar location as well. And I had another restaurant on top of that. So this was me at 21 hustling around, I mean working every single day because events, it\u2019s primarily weekends and it\u2019s like 12 to 14 hour days. And I\u2019m sitting here like, \u201cMan, this is craziness.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cI started two of my own businesses. I thought this was going to be the dream. And here I am still hustling, still grinding, still working, what is going on?\u201d
I still wasn\u2019t fulfilled and it felt so messed up. This is another moment that I felt like down and out in failure on myself because I\u2019m like, \u201cThis is people\u2019s dreams to open their own business. And here I am not fulfilled.\u201d I felt like an ungrateful little kid, but I wasn\u2019t happy, which was ironic. And so I had a lot within myself. And then these real estate developers started to come through our stores and my restaurants. And then also my uncle was a general contractor. He was starting to get into flips because this was around 2013, 2014 when I started getting into the game. Around 2013 is when I was learning because I was like, \u201cWhat is this real estate game all about?\u201d
Because the first time someone mentioned it to me, I was like, \u201cI\u2019m not selling houses, thank you very much.\u201d I was like, \u201cThat\u2019s not what I\u2019m interested in.\u201d And then these real estate developers started coming to my restaurants and I\u2019m like, \u201cWho are these dudes, man? They come in whenever they want. They have the nicest cars, the nicest clothes. They\u2019re talking about their vacations and how they\u2019re going to leave on Thursday night to go to their vacation house.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cThere is no way that they do anything legal. These are drug dealers, a hundred thousand percent. These are drug dealers. There\u2019s no legality in what they do.\u201d And then I started talking to them like, \u201cWhat do you guys actually do?\u201d And started getting into it. And they were telling me about making your money work for you and just concepts that you\u2019ve never heard before. And here I went through undergrad, a very expensive undergrad. Luckily I had a full scholarship there, but did all the things that society told me to and even started my own businesses and just all these things.
And yet I still wasn\u2019t exposed to these ideologies in these types of businesses where making money work for you, investing, what is that? As an immigrant, we knew that hustle determined your success levels. If you weren\u2019t working then you weren\u2019t successful, period. And that\u2019s just the way it was. And so that\u2019s when I decided to go into real estate investing because I was like, \u201cWhat is this game that they\u2019re talking about? I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t get it. This is pretty cool.\u201d It was like, \u201cLet me look into this.\u201d And that\u2019s when I dove in. So again, a whole nother accident that kind of just happened on its own.<\/p>\n
Wow, that\u2019s crazy. Well, an \u201cAccident.\u201d But I think really it\u2019s your ability to adapt, I\u2019m sure is sort of really what forms your entire career. It\u2019s really cool to hear this unfold. So let\u2019s get into your early deals. First, it sounds like from our previous talk you had a mentor. So what made you choose to get a mentor diving right into real estate?<\/p>\n
Well, so my game plan in getting into real estate, and the reason why I got into it was not for me to get out of restaurants. My whole game plan was like, \u201cHey, I want to do a flip or two per year so that I can have some additional income aside from my restaurants.\u201d And it\u2019s something that I can do because I don\u2019t have to be on site every day and all these things. My uncle was a GC and all of that. And so I remember thinking about getting into it and I literally went to every networking event that I possibly could, connected with everyone that I possibly could. And this was around the time that HGTV was really blowing up, Flip or Flop and all those shows were coming out and all of that.
And I remember just thinking to myself, I\u2019m like, \u201cPam, you have so much to lose. You need to hire a coach.\u201d And my mentors were telling me the same thing. They\u2019re like, \u201cPam, this is a brand new game for you. You\u2019ve got a lot to lose. You have two restaurants, you\u2019ve got employees and things. You can\u2019t just try to figure it out. This is big money where you could lose thousands. Yes, it\u2019s high risk, high reward, but it\u2019s high risk and you could lose your damn shirt like a lot of people have, so be careful.\u201d
And this was still four years after 2008, 2009. So there was still a lot of overflow of deals from that time period. And so there was still a lot of people that were newly burned from all of that. So that was the biggest piece of advice that I got was \u201cPam, hire a coach and just somebody who\u2019s been there, done that, who\u2019s playing in your marketplace and just roll with that. You have too much to lose to try to figure it out yourself. You\u2019re going to time hack and time save and all of that, but just don\u2019t forget this part of the game, please.\u201d And so that was the best move I ever did, literally.<\/p>\n
Yeah. Learn from someone else\u2019s experience. And so obviously it sounds like you were able to avoid a ton of mistakes, but you said that you wanted to do a couple of flips every single year to start making some extra income every single year. You landed on flips. How did you land on what to look for in a flip, really not knowing much about the real estate landscape?<\/p>\n
So everything ran by my coach. I was trained by him. Every single move that I made was always audited, I like to say. I\u2019m like, \u201cOkay, so show me the way. How do I get to these deals? How do I make this happen?\u201d It was a step-by-step. I got the handholding the whole time. So he told me, \u201cPam, number one thing is you fall in love with numbers and not the actual house and you run numbers and analyze every single property.\u201d He\u2019s like, \u201cBut first you\u2019ve got to figure out what are you going to buy? What\u2019s your budget? What are you going to buy? And then from there you can work numbers.\u201d But if you\u2019re kind of in the unknown, you\u2019re going to be all over the place, which is what happens with most investors as they\u2019re starting. They want to do everything everywhere. They live on the East Coast, but they want to do a deal on the West Coast because they think magically somehow it\u2019s going to happen.
So he told me, you get very focused on what it is that you want, figure out your asset class, your budget, and then move from there. And I said, \u201cWell, I would like to start with a single family.\u201d It seems manageable. I don\u2019t want to go into a two or three unit property when it\u2019s my first rehab. I want to be as low risk as I possibly can and single family was that. So that\u2019s what we were looking for and we came across an awesome deal from a local wholesaler actually, and picked that deal up. That was the deal that made me go all in real estate, to be honest with you.<\/p>\n
It sounds so obvious when you say it because it\u2019s sort of hiring a personal trainer at a gym. They just know how to guide you immediately. \u201cHey, this is what you do, this is what you don\u2019t do. You do this and this and this. If you do all these things, you\u2019ll have results.\u201d And I kind of feel like sometimes coaches get way too much of a bad shake in this industry, but it sounds like it ended up working for you pretty fantastically. So I do want to hear about your first flip. Tell us the story. How did it all pan out?<\/p>\n
Sure. Well, the first day that I pulled up to it, I couldn\u2019t find it. I drove by it 17 times and I was like, \u201cWhat is this thing?\u201d And I remember going in and it was terrifying. It had fallen apart and the family\u2026 So the story was that the family had\u2026 So the kids were out of state, they\u2019re older, they moved out of state and the parents had gone to a nursing home. And so the house had been sitting vacant for a while and in need of serious disrepair, which was super sad because I could see so many different beautiful characteristics in the house like cathedral ceilings and all this gorgeousness that it had and all the potential that it had.
And I remember the sellers really\u2026 The son was mainly handling it. And he said something to me and he\u2019s like, \u201cPam, please just one thing. Please restore this house the way we remember it as kids because that was our home that we grew up in and we just want to see it come back to life because it\u2019s so sad to see it in disrepair.\u201d So I picked that thing up at 150. It was an awesome deal. I\u2019m like, \u201cI wish we could do 150s here around the Boston Mass market.\u201d But this deal was particularly in Stoughton, and it\u2019s funny because this was only 10 minutes away from where I used to live in college. So Stonehill College is in Easton, so just a stone\u2019s throw away. So I was very familiar with the area and then it was a full [inaudible 00:33:24] rehab. We added another bathroom and all the things. It ended up being a three bed, two bath and absolutely came out absolutely gorgeous. And I\u2019ll never forget, I sent those photos to the family and the video walkthroughs when we were done and they were absolutely mind blown.
They\u2019re like, \u201cHow did you do that? It looks absolutely unreal. Pam, thank you so much for restoring that. And our family legacy can now continue.\u201d They were happy that it\u2019s at this stage now. And then I\u2019ll never forget, I\u2019m sitting there at the open house and I\u2019m just soaking it all in. I see the family that actually ended up buying the property and they\u2019re interacting with it, they\u2019re engaging with it, they\u2019re loving it and talking about all the details, all the things and all the heart and soul that I put into it, they\u2019re talking about it and I\u2019m like, \u201cWow, this is the coolest thing in the world.\u201d It was a very surreal experience for me kind of sitting back and being like, \u201cHoly crap, this is how you impact people.\u201d You literally are creating the homes or the properties that people create memories in. That\u2019s the craziest thing in the whole entire world, the coolest thing and the greatest privilege.<\/p>\n
So that was the affirmation. This is where I\u2019m supposed to be. I\u2019m doing the right thing.<\/p>\n
Oh my God. Yeah.<\/p>\n
Now, I\u2019m curious because you grew up in the restaurant industry trying to figure out how do we use space? How do we create an environment that people want to make memories? They\u2019re kind of coming here, they\u2019re going to eat. You want them to feel welcome, you want them to be in an environment that they\u2019re comfortable, they\u2019re going to laugh, tell jokes. You sort of applied that same logic to housing. Do you think that was just happenstance or do you think that some of your background in the entrepreneurial world made it so that designing homes clicked for you?<\/p>\n
Totally. So it was something that I didn\u2019t even realize that I had. I can literally walk into a space and see it all. For me, it was like nothing scares me, still doesn\u2019t. And people are amazed by that. It\u2019ll be just the crappiest, dingiest and they\u2019re like, \u201cPam, I\u2026\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, if you take down this wall and this wall, we keep this open concept\u201d and this and this\u2026 It\u2019s like I can see the final product up here in ways that other people can\u2019t. My visualization skills are on a whole nother level when it comes to that. And that\u2019s what happened with that property.
And to add some figures and some backdrop on that one, I made 100K on that deal. I put in about\u2026 I think it was 125 and then we had some holding costs and stuff and ultimately sold it for over 400. So on my first deal making pretty much 100K profit, I\u2019m thinking to myself as somebody who owns two restaurants, how many dinners or sandwiches do I have to sell to net 100K? It was a lot of sandwiches. So it all started clicking for me and designing out my restaurants, I didn\u2019t realize that I had that skillset in designing places and things and how that really applied to what was going to happen down the line in real estate, through development and all of that. So it was all connected. I see it now, but at the time I was always so super confused.<\/p>\n
So Pam, you have now done over 100 deals, like we said when we started the podcast here. What are some lessons that you can share that you\u2019ve learned along the way?<\/p>\n
So the top three I would say is financial forecasting, operational efficiencies and partnerships. So those three things have been the most critical that I\u2019ve learned. And starting with financial forecasting now, I tend to be a very optimistic human being. And the thing is I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, I can get it done within six months. I can get it done with X amount budget.\u201d Found out a couple of times that really wasn\u2019t the case. I under budgeted where I was supposed to and realized that cash flow is really important. Cash is king to keep all the deals moving and flowing so you don\u2019t run into any issues. However, how did I mitigate that? And what was the lesson learned there? Number one is make sure you\u2019re opting in for a contingency on every single one of your deals. Create a cushion for yourself in every deal that you do.
I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a flip, I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a buy and hold, I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s anything like that. Make sure you\u2019re allocating 20 to 25%. Like, \u201cHey, if this goes south, I\u2019m going to make sure that I have this in my budget to allocate for that.\u201d And guess what? If the project goes awesome and you\u2019re just as optimistic as you thought you were going to be, then amazing. You get to keep that money at the end of the day, but at least allocate that when you\u2019re analyzing the deal from day one.
Tying into the financial forecasting model, another item that I would like to add in there is making sure that you have several different exit strategies when it comes to a property. We\u2019re in a market where things seem to be changing on a month by month basis. So if you\u2019re purchasing something as a flip, make sure that you are also running it as a long-term hold just in case that property for some reason isn\u2019t selling or it\u2019s going to sell for less than what you thought it would so that you\u2019re not losing money on the deal. So make sure that when you\u2019re running your numbers from day one, you\u2019re analyzing different ways that you can get out of that deal with your shirt on. So if it\u2019s going to be a flip or buy and hold, make sure you at least got two ways out.
So operational efficiencies, what I found was whenever I would have a deal that was more than 30 minutes away from each other, I would have operational inefficiencies because for example, I\u2019m in Boston and there\u2019s North Shore and South Shore and typically there\u2019s no contractor who works on the North Shore that\u2019s going to go to South Shore. They don\u2019t cross certain highways, they work in their zone and that\u2019s it. And I found that I lost a lot of time that way, which means I lost a lot of money. So the key here is to make sure that you\u2019re centralizing operations. So if you\u2019ve got one project going on and you\u2019re looking to scale some more, try to keep them within 15, 20 minutes of each other and keep the same contractors on the job, it\u2019s going to keep things moving much faster. So that is definitely lesson number two.
So number three, partnerships and pretty much all the clan of people that you\u2019re going to have around you, surrounding you during these projects. So just a whole lot of people, making sure that you vet them correctly, make sure that your goals are aligned. And for example, ask yourself question number one, would I have a drink with this person? Would I actually party with this person? If the answer is no, most likely you\u2019re not with the right partner. You want to enjoy the company and build long-term relationships. You don\u2019t want to just, for example, start with one lender and then move on to the next and move on to the next. You want to stay solid with one partner, one attorney, one lender, that kind of thing. So that way you\u2019re cranking out efficiently and building for the long-term together and have aligned goals. That\u2019s super important for long-term growth and scaling.
Some red flags to look out for when you are vetting your partners is anybody who\u2019s really trying to throw themselves at you, I find is very uncomfortable and strange and never really works out well. If they\u2019re trying to throw themselves at you and get very salesy, you can feel that right away. You\u2019re like, \u201cOkay, this is probably not the partner.\u201d And then you\u2019re going to ask yourself that question, would I actually want to hang out with this person? Probably not because they seem very, very clingy. All of these things are things to think about when you\u2019re vetting your partners because you\u2019re going to be dealing with them nonstop. And typically they say that 10% of the people in the market do 90% of the deals, and that\u2019s the truth. The big dogs, the ones who are out there doing deals are the ones who really don\u2019t say much, right? It\u2019s referral basis, they do things on their own and that kind of thing. That\u2019s who you want to be affiliated with, for sure.
What would I say to new real estate investors or those who are just simply interested in real estate in general? Well, first things first is you\u2019ve got to ask yourself, do you want to be a passive or an active investor? That\u2019s the first place to start because real estate is a very overwhelming type of industry. You can make money everywhere. The question is how do you want to make it and how does it suit your lifestyle and fit your needs? So are you going to go passive, which means you\u2019re investing in a fund and then you get your dividends in return and you\u2019re kind of hands off on the deal? Or is it that you want to be an active investor and purchase properties and be hands on and kind of do the thing, whether it\u2019s buy and hold or do fix or flip deals. So that\u2019s the question to start with baseline like, \u201cHey, passive or active?\u201d Before you do absolutely anything else, that\u2019s step number one.
Now for step number two for advice for new investors is how do you choose your market? Because, oh my God, this has been one that I\u2019ve had to guide so many people on and I\u2019m like, \u201cListen, it doesn\u2019t have to be super complicated. Just start in your market.\u201d When I started, literally some of the best market that I knew was West Roxbury here based in Boston, Massachusetts, because that\u2019s where I delivered pizzas. And literally I was like, \u201cWell, this is where I have the relationships the best. This is where I know every street. This is where I know all the things. So why would I not start here? When I become super big, then I can go crazy and go everywhere else.\u201d
So I started by printing out just literally an eight and a half by 11 sheet and it\u2019s black and white and all it said was, \u201cHey, I buy houses in this area, please give me a call if you\u2019re interested,\u201d and my cell phone number. Super plain, no crazy designer, no bandit signs, none of that stuff. Put it on the pizza boxes. And people would call and text me and be like, \u201cOh, Pam, this is what you\u2019re doing now?\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cYeah,\u201d and then I got a whole bunch of leads from that. But again, start with your relationships and start with your market. From there, you can always expand. You just need a starting point.
So the third piece of advice for new real estate investors, anyone interested in getting into the real estate game is surrounding yourself with like-minded people and creating partnerships off of that. Because in the beginning when I had absolutely no idea what I was doing in real estate, didn\u2019t know anything about it, I started going to networking events. Essentially I wanted to surround myself with real estate developers because that\u2019s what I knew I wanted to do. I had decided that I wanted to be an active investor, that I wanted to flip a couple of houses a year. I knew I wanted to do it in my market, which was in Boston. So I looked for events in Boston that I could go out and meet like-minded people and people who are doing deals in that market.
So that\u2019s super important. I mean, if you\u2019re connecting with people, say you\u2019re on East Coast and you\u2019re connecting with people on the West Coast, it\u2019d be a little bit different because those are different markets. So surround yourself with like-minded people that are doing the things that you want to do in your market most specifically. And if not, somewhere close by. And from there, you can start to meet your lenders, your attorneys, there\u2019s contractors, there\u2019s other real estate investors, and you start to get all of these tips. And sometimes in the very beginning, you may not be equipped to handle a deal completely by yourself. So maybe there\u2019s somebody that you can partner with at one of those events that you meet. I hear that all the time. So those are definitely the top three things I would suggest when getting started.
So within those partnerships and going to these networking events, you\u2019re going to find that you\u2019re going to meet individuals that inspire you and you think to yourself, \u201cOh my god, this person\u2019s incredible. If they did it, I could do it too.\u201d And that was certainly my case. One of the people that inspired me the most in this industry when I got into real estate development was Cindy Stumpo. She was a builder, still is a builder. She\u2019s out there hustling, grinding every single day. She began in the eighties and she\u2019s building in the most top tier markets in literally the State of Massachusetts, if not the entire country, which is Newton and Brookline. And I\u2019m saying to myself, \u201cThis woman has built all these projects in the toughest cities to ever build in, 3 to 5 million houses minimum,\u201d that\u2019s like her minimum and beyond. And I just remember thinking, \u201cWell, she did it, then I could too.\u201d
Finding a model and somebody who inspires you is also a very, very key thing when you\u2019re first getting started because you can relate to them. And it\u2019s almost like if they trail blaze the way, it\u2019s almost like you can walk in those footsteps as well, which is absolutely incredible. And the first thing I did, even though I still think to this day\u2026 I\u2019m like, I can\u2019t even believe I showed up to her office and asked her\u2026 I said to her is straight up. I said, \u201cCindy, I know you don\u2019t know me, but I just think you\u2019re absolutely amazing and just thank you for being who you are and just being fearless and doing what you do because you\u2019re inspiring me now to go out there and do my thing, even though I have no idea where I\u2019m going with it. Just know that you\u2019ve inspired me to at least take these steps forward.\u201d
So finding that model is really, really key. And I\u2019ll never forget, she said to me, \u201cHoney, anything you need, I\u2019m here.\u201d Even simple words of encouragement, that really propelled me forward and look at where it got me to this day. So I always give credit to my role model there all the time. It\u2019s funny, I texted her this morning actually, and we\u2019re still in touch.<\/p>\n
What are some of the skills that you gained working in your family\u2019s restaurants and then running yours that you feel translated into real estate? And what I\u2019m hoping for here is people that are in a position right now, they work for a CPA, they\u2019re a paralegal, they\u2019re a nurse. They have something where they built skills, and we want them to understand how that could translate into real estate success and make the transition easier for them.<\/p>\n
So first and foremost, I think that everyone who wants to start a business or get into real estate should have the prerequisite of working as a bartender and\/or waitress or waiter before they do that because that is the biggest pressure test of all time. So being in restaurants since I was 10 years old, I was taught to improvise. I was taught customer service skills, how to connect with people, how to manage a million different things at once. Operations, all these things that I didn\u2019t even know became second nature to me. And so translating into real estate, managing people, motivating people, helping them when there was deals, because in real estate we put out fires all the time, that translated over beautifully, all of it because all the skills that I built in the restaurant world completely translated over, even though it seems like completely different industries, it touched on the same things.
Your problem solving, at the end of the day, you\u2019re literally problem solving and relationships, which I love. And so for anyone who\u2019s out there that\u2019s looking to transition into real estate, I mean, I say this all the time to everyone that I know. I\u2019m like, \u201cGuys, real estate fits into your life differently, whether you\u2019re a nurse, doctor, whatever.\u201d If you want completely passive income, invest in a fund and just close your eyes. And that\u2019s how you\u2019re going to get invested in real estate. If you want to be hands-on, then it\u2019s going to be a little bit more different than that. But just know that there\u2019s different ways for you to get involved in real estate, that there could be ways that doesn\u2019t work for most people but it works for you. Maybe you side hustle on the side and you want to be a real estate agent because you want to get closer to the deals. Maybe you partner with a local developer and invest in their deals.
I mean, there\u2019s a million different ways you get involved with real estate. And just because you\u2019re a nurse or doctor, you\u2019re in a totally different industry does not mean that it can stop you from investing in it. I mean, listen, your primary residence is real estate right there. So you choose how active, how passive, and how deep you want to go. Just don\u2019t be afraid of it. And if you are afraid of it, and if you are afraid of that risk, then just kind of back up and say, \u201cWho can I align with that can make this a little bit easier?\u201d Maybe it\u2019s a local developer like I was mentioning or something that you\u2019re taking the risk off yourself. Because there\u2019s people that I\u2019ve heard that are like, \u201cOh, Pam, to be successful in real estate, I\u2019ve heard you\u2019ve got to quit everything and put all this money in and do all this.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cGuys, no. That is the biggest lie ever. Just because one person did it one way doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s going to translate the same for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Question for you, because I worked in restaurants all the way through college, do you still get those anxiety fueled dreams where you\u2019re in the restaurant and you\u2019re trying to put the pizza in the box and you drop it on the floor, and then you\u2019re trying to open the next box and it won\u2019t open, and then you realize you left a pizza in the oven and it\u2019s burned and the phone\u2019s ringing it and everything is going wrong and you can\u2019t get your hands to work. Am I the only one that has those terrible nightmares or have you had those two?<\/p>\n
I have completely had those two, Dave. Honestly, I absolutely have. And it\u2019s so funny because I used to deliver pizzas as well, so sometimes I would drive too fast and the cheese wasn\u2019t fully settled on that top layer. And if it had toppings and I\u2019ll open it and I\u2019ll be like, \u201cOh my God, the green peppers are everywhere.\u201d No, you\u2019re not alone. You\u2019re totally not alone on that one.<\/p>\n
Rob, did you ever have anything like that, similar nightmares in your past jobs? Never. You didn\u2019t have a marketing dream where they\u2019re like, \u201cRob, what is your great idea?\u201d And you\u2019re just like, \u201cOh my God, I don\u2019t have one.\u201d And everyone\u2019s staring at you disappointed.<\/p>\n
Yeah. I guess my nightmare was that I would be so successful at my 9:00 to 5:00 that I\u2019d keep getting promoted and then settle into the status quo of just living day to day for the corporate machine that bogs us down and doesn\u2019t really ever let us spread our wing and fly away. And so yeah, that was my nightmare for a long time. But thank goodness I\u2019m a real estate investor now.<\/p>\n
So your nightmare was that you were too good at what you did and you just got too comfortable?<\/p>\n
That they would tell me I was too ambitious.<\/p>\n
All right. Well, thank you for\u2026 Those things are real, dude. When you work in the service industry, you are dealing with so much pressure and anxiety that\u2019s building up and you just don\u2019t realize it. It all comes out in your dreams. And years later, I was doing that a long time ago, 20 years later, I\u2019m still having these nightmares. I\u2019m glad it\u2019s just not me.<\/p>\n
This inspires me to start a YouTube series with you because we always get the headlines. I\u2019m sure the headline for this podcast is From $9 Pizzas to Nine Figure Portfolio, but we never hear\u2026 It\u2019s always from waiter to millionaire, but we never hear from millionaire to waiter. And so maybe you and I do a YouTube series where we go back to our grassroots and become a waiter again.<\/p>\n
That could be fun.<\/p>\n
And see if we still have the chops.<\/p>\n
Yeah, see if we still have what it takes. Maybe make an instructional video for other people. I could do that. Here\u2019s how you learn how to be a good waiter.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve often thought of that because everybody wants to be the millionaire, but sometimes you got to be good at what you\u2019re doing to build the skills. Like what Pam Pamela was just saying, she got good at this, which translated to this, which translated to this, and ultimately led you, Pam, to where you are today versus trying to skip that whole process and not giving your best. And that\u2019s my philosophy is you have to pursue excellence with where you are that will open up doors to get you somewhere new. So let\u2019s recap your current portfolio. 27 properties, the president of a real estate consulting and development company, a nine figure net worth by the age of 30. What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n
So it\u2019s interesting that yes, that was a beautiful recap. It\u2019s been a hell of a journey though. Going into flips, then I got into construction because I was boots on the ground the whole time. And then getting into brokerage because people were like, \u201cPam, you\u2019re leaving money on the table by not getting involved in these deals. Everyone\u2019s asking you for advice.\u201d So that\u2019s kind of how the trifecta of all three came up. And that\u2019s how I really built this career was through diversified revenue streams in real estate, not just development. And kind of when I got to my first net seven figure a year is when I had this little tap on the shoulder that it\u2019s like, \u201cPam,\u201d this was when I was 27, \u201cyou\u2019re doing great things for yourself. What are you doing for the world?\u201d And I was like, \u201cWell, damn.\u201d That\u2019s when I started kind of soul-searching and dove into wanting to get into the coaching space because again, realizing that real estate changed my life.
And so that\u2019s kind of what has been happening alongside all of this. The development, the construction, all of that stuff. The consulting and the coaching side of things is really helping people get to the next level. And then really thinking about intention has really been the next thing that I\u2019m really honed in on. And Rob, I\u2019m so interested, because I know you\u2019re in this space, to you hear what you say about this, but building with intention and kind of studying what does the world need now? Anyone can build condos. Anyone can build new construction, anyone can flip. Anyone can do all of that stuff. You just need to learn the skillset. But I really want to build with intention and what is it that I want to build? I want to get into affordable housing. And what I mean by that is things that can be reasonably built for a reasonable cost, which really doesn\u2019t exist in the construction industry right now.
I\u2019ve watched it for the last decade, I\u2019ve been part of it. One project can last you an entire year. Whereas if you get into creating a tiny home development or a shipping home container development, you are kind of accelerating the pedal much faster. You\u2019re not dealing with as much construction overhead. Most of all, you save time. And so that\u2019s kind of what I\u2019m working on next is how do we develop these communities that people can actually afford, that could be done fairly quickly and that we build with intention and how do we build these communities across the country? So that\u2019s where my mind is next, to be honest with you. And I am expecting twin girls in August. So that\u2019s a big one in terms of family.<\/p>\n
Yay. Congrats.<\/p>\n
Thank you. But in terms of real estate and business, the investment side, I really want to be building with intention. And then on the real estate front, I mean I\u2019m always helping people elevate through real estate, whether it\u2019s through coaching, consulting, still building up my portfolio as well. But that\u2019s kind of where it\u2019s all at right now. I mean, it\u2019s such a legacy builder. Real estate is the freedom vehicle, period.<\/p>\n
Yeah. So do you think\u2026 Because I mean, you\u2019ve done a hundred deals so far, you\u2019ve got 27 properties, is that going to slow down and then you\u2019re going to really ramp up the kind of tiny home affordable space community aspect? Are you going to keep that machine rocking and rolling while you sort of pursue a different endeavor within this space?<\/p>\n
So my portfolio, it basically pays all my bills and everything and then some, which is amazing. So being at my age, I\u2019m 31 now, being at this age where you\u2019re pretty much all set for life, but still wanting more, that\u2019s kind of where I\u2019m at. That\u2019s where everyone comes into play with wanting to help them elevate through real estate and all of that. But building with intention is definitely next. I think now, because it\u2019s my slowdown time with the girls is really when I\u2019m going to go hard because I tell people\u2026 They\u2019re like, \u201cDo you think they\u2019re going to slow you down?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cNo, they\u2019re coming with me. They\u2019re coming to job sites as babies and we\u2019re going to go crush it together.\u201d So it\u2019s interesting that as I\u2019m shifting into this new space, it gives me the perfect time to build those relationships and kind of build that model the way that I want to and really then go out there and execute as soon as I\u2019m able to. Really, that\u2019s the next wave.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s amazing. Well, let me ask you this as we wrap up here, why should you be looking for deals from your pizza guy?<\/p>\n
Oh, my gosh. Remember, real estate is a local business. When I first started in real estate, I\u2019m not even joking, I printed out, \u201cI want to buy your house,\u201d put my cell phone number. And I was like, \u201cText me or call me.\u201d And I printed these out and put them on the pizza boxes at my family\u2019s restaurant. Because my family sold this restaurant about a year and a half ago. So they had it when I first started in investing and I put it on every pizza box.
And believe it or not, I\u2019d have agents call me, homeowners call me. And they\u2019re like, \u201cHey, Pam, we didn\u2019t know you were in real estate. This is super cool. I have an uncle who\u2019s looking to sell his two family or whatever.\u201d All my deals happened organically through my relationships, which was amazing. And that\u2019s how I got a steal of a deal, even at the biggest height of the market, which was insane. But yeah, the total valuable tool, small businesses are so key for the locations that you want to get into and the local pizza guy is the guy. He\u2019s going to get you the deals.<\/p>\n
All right, Pamela, thank you so much for sharing your story. I think this is awesome. It\u2019s a wonderful American success story. You started off with an entrepreneurial family. Your father starts a business. He is not afraid to start in the trenches delivering pizzas himself, bringing you in the car with him. He\u2019s bringing you to work and you\u2019re making these memories and bonding together as you\u2019re jamming out to the music of DJ Pammy B, you go from cassette tapes to CDs to MP3s and eventually start your own business, realize you\u2019re too ambitious for the corporate world, follow in their footsteps, but amplify the success that your family had, making it even bigger. Not afraid to do things differently, like putting your information on a pizza box and finding the right mentors. I love hearing this. I hope more people are inspired by this and copy it. Rob, what do you think?<\/p>\n
I agree with that. I think we have a story of adaptability and how that helped create a nine figure portfolio.<\/p>\n
So Pamela, for people that want to know more about this fascinating journey you\u2019ve been on, where can they reach out and find out more about you?<\/p>\n
Absolutely. So I\u2019m on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, all over Pamela Bardhi, B-A-R-D-H-I, and it\u2019s also my website, www.pamelabardhi.com. To reach out and find me there, DM me, I\u2019m always floating around just living life. So please reach out to me anytime. Any way that I can help you, I\u2019m here, man. I just want to see people rock it and slay it. I mean, what real estate has done in my life, I mean from delivering pizzas to a nine figure real estate career, featured in Forbes and Time Magazine by the time I was 27. If that could happen for me, a kid that came to this country with absolutely nothing and was able to build that just through hustle, it can totally happen for you.<\/p>\n
It all started with avoiding that Boston accent. I really think that the skills that you built resisting the urge led to the amazing success you have now. Rob, where can people find out more about you?<\/p>\n
Oh, they can find out more about me on the Apple Podcast store where you can leave us a five star review and we appreciate it. I appreciate it so much that I\u2019m not even going to plug my channels because I would rather you just go there, just give us a quick little, \u201cOh, hey, five star. Rob and Dave are so funny. We love these guys. We learned so much about real estate.\u201d That way we can get served up to new audiences and hopefully inspire more people to have amazing stories like Pam. David, what about you?<\/p>\n
Well, I need a pity follow because Rob has so many more followers on YouTube than me. So I will ask for a pity follow. I\u2019m not too proud to beg. Please go to YouTube.com at DavidGreene24 and subscribe to my channel there. Or check out davidgreene24.com or DavidGreene24 all over social media, the most boring screen name in all of the real estate space, which forces me to make up for it with better content. Pam, thanks again so much. This was a blast. Thank you for sharing your story. We\u2019ll have to have you back on again. This is David Greene for Pamela, the life of the party, Bardhi and Rob Salt Bae, Abasolo signing out.<\/p>\n