Please note the current podcast with weekly land investing round table discussions with our Land Geek coaches and clients can be found at The Art of Passive Income Podcast

It's true...nothing stays the same in business and that means it's time to say goodbye.

You get to witness the evolution of a podcast!

The Dawn of The Land Geek Era brought The Land Geek Podcast.

The Passive Income Obsession Grew with The Best Passive Income Model Podcast. 

And now, the Brand New Mutation is here with The Art of Passive Income Podcast!

Listen in one last time as Mark remembers all the great guests he's hosted and says good-bye as he's moving on to the next big thing.

  TIP OF THE WEEK:

Check out the new Art of Passive Income Podcast.

If you subscribe, rate, and review The Art of Passive Income and send a screenshot to [email protected] you’ll not only have a chance to win an Investor’s Toolkit, but we’re going to send you some free goodies right away. 

 

 

 

Uh-oh, this isn’t Mark…today we’re mixing things up a bit.

Every task I’ve helped Mark with he’s always told me to make it my own—he has always given me creative room to breathe. So while Mark was busy with other things this week, I thought I’d sneak on here and share with you some of my favorite highlights from Land Geek students.

Why should you care about my favorite student stories?

If you haven’t guessed yet, it’s me, Danielle Dyball…if you don’t know who I am well I’m always working hard behind the scenes here on the Land Geek team. My official title is Chief Geek Administrator, and while I help with everything from support to planning Bootcamps, one of my favorite things about working with Mark is the community. Getting to know the students is always encouraging…whether it’s helping you troubleshoot technical issues or listening as you share your story with us, I absolutely love the Land Geek Community.

And we know how much you all love hearing from The Land Geek students too, so I’ve handpicked some of my favorite stories from star pupils.

Chris Clark kicks off this episode. Chris is now a Land Geek coach—hear how he got started with land investing using Mark’s system and why he prefers land over house flips any day.

Next is John & Becky Burnett, our first couple team. While John always sees the big picture, Becky has the ability to narrow down that vision to accomplish all those little tasks required to reach the ultimate goal. Becky is John’s perfect partner in marriage, married for 32 years, and in business—and while they may not remember how they found Mark they do know his methods are solid as they’ve created a successful business together.  

Sometimes it gets a bit confusing when we’re on-boarding new coaching students because not only do we have Chris Clark as a coach, but Chris Pritchard has also recently joined the coaching team. Chris Pritchard found The Land Geek while looking for his next side hustle…listen in as Chris shares with us how land investing has been his greatest side hustle.

Last but not least…when talking about Land Geek students we just can’t get away without talking about Scott Todd. Scott has definitely reached celebrity status in the community and I’ve even been told a few times that some of our lady Land Geeks out there have a major crush on Scott. In this episode, Mark & Scott talk about building your list.

And if you just can’t get enough of Mark and Scott be sure to check out their new podcast, The Art of Passive Income! If you subscribe, rate, and review The Art of Passive Income and send a screenshot to [email protected] you’ll not only have a chance to win an Investor’s Toolkit, but we’re going to send you some free goodies right away. 

If you haven’t registered yet for the Vegas Bootcamp go do so now, Bootcamp is two weeks away and we are down to our last two seats. Go to thelandgeek.com/bootcamp for details!

Well, the show wouldn’t be complete without a tip of the week, my tip is to go join the free community at thelandgeek.com—ask questions, share your story.

Are you ready to discover the best passive income models out there?

Mark and Scott are sure it's land, but once your land business is 90% automated maybe you'd like to create another stream of income?

As technology, automation, and robotics change the world and business, those with solo economic dependency are in trouble.

Listen in as The Best Passive Income Model meets Mixergy? Maybe not that intense, but we have great things in store for you...

Today, Mark and Scott talk shop, get geeky, and weigh in on what technology has in store for the future as they introduce their new podcast which launches next week!

  TIP OF THE WEEK:

Scott: Checkout Pipedrive, a CRM that helped Scott followup on a lead and make a deal this week.

Mark: Sorry Android people, YouTube Director is for Apple users, but helps small businesses create ads for YouTube.

Want your questions answered? Summit your question at wiselike.com/mark-podolsky Your question may just end up on the next FAQ episode!   We are ready for Vegas, Baby—you've got to get to Bootcamp! Isn't it time to meet the community and take your training to the next level? Learn more and register here: thelandgeek.com/bootcamp   The Official Land Geek Motivation & Wealth Creation Group on Facebook has over 300 members. Join for free today!

Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.

We haven't had a bigger guest than today...we're thrilled to announce—bing bong bing, ding ding dong—Mark Podolsky!   Listen in as Mark interviews The Land Geek himself as he goes through his mailbag answering some of those questions we hear all the time.   It's time to get your newbie questions answered...

• How much money do you need to get started?
• Can I really do a dual deal with no money?
• Where are the best places to invest?
• Can an international investor be successful with The Land Geek's model?

Want your questions answered? Summit your question at wiselike.com/mark-podolsky Your question may just end up on the next FAQ episode!   We are ready for Vegas, Baby—you've got to get to Bootcamp! Isn't it time to meet the community and take your training to the next level? Learn more and register here: thelandgeek.com/bootcamp   The Official Land Geek Motivation & Wealth Creation Group on Facebook has over 300 members. Join for free today! TIP OF THE WEEK:

 

Read Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts--Becoming the Person You Want to Be by Marshall Goldsmith, plus more!

Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.

In today’s episode of the Best Passive Income Model, Mark talks with Mark Asquith—host of Excellence Expected, the number one small business podcast out of the UK.

Excellence Expected is a way to share actual advice and inspirational initiatives borne out of the trials and tests he was faced with when he started and ran his businesses.

Mark is also the co-founder of an online podcasting platform, PodcastWebsites, which he runs with John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire.

Mark delves into how he broke through the noise in the market and created his own noise to get traction and drive sign ups.

Three important factors are:

• Run test experiments.
• Build an avatar or profile of your ideal customer.
• Get out there, boots on the ground and talk to people!

If you talk to 10 people and ask them to talk to 10 people, you will grow and surpass expectations.

Listen in for all the details!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark Podolsky: Read Ask: The Counterintuitive Online Method to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy...Create a Mass of Raving Fans...and Take Any Business to the Next Level by Ryan Lavesque.  Also, learn more about Mark Asquith at Excellence Expected.com

Mark Asquith: Read The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Robert Fitzgerald—a book that will walk you through how to question people, how to talk to people in an unassuming manner, how to extract the right type of information from people so that you get the details that you need and your secret. Also, read Will It Fly?: How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don't Waste Your Time and Money by Patt Flynn. This book will teach you how to talk to your customers for research as well.

Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.

In this episode of The Best Passive Income podcast, Mark talks with Jefferson Lilly—ParkStreetPartners.com. Jefferson is a self-made millionaire and mobile home park investment expert, educator, and industry consultant who has been featured in The New York Times, Bloomberg Magazine, and on the Real Money television show. 

Jefferson provides affordable housing to help people become homeowners. He tells us why he chose mobile home parks and how it's structured so that you don’t have to put much time or money into it, making it a true passive income!  

We also discuss:  

• The parts of the business that suck
• Managing the parks
• Using outside capital 

Want to know more about this lucrative scale-able extension of the land niche?

Listen in as we delve into mobile home investing! 

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: Go to IFTTT.com to automate searches. Also, learn more about Jefferson Lilly at ParkStreetPartners.com.

Jeff: Go to SearchTempest.com—a website that goes out and prowls through both Craigslist and eBay where you can type key words and find them.

Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.

 

In this episode of the Best Passive Income Model Podcast, Mark talks to a fellow tax delinquent land investor, Jack Bosch—JackBosch.com.

Jack, who is an immigrant from Germany, came to the US in 1997 with two suitcases, student debt, and zero knowledge on buying and selling real estate. Three years later he fell into land investing and has developed a system that has made him millions from 3,800 deals!

He has also written an Amazon #1 seller with his wife, Michelle—Forever Cash: Break the Earn-Spend Cycle, Take Charge of your Life, Build Everlasting Wealth.

Jack shares his story with us and delves into: 

• Working with his wife
• Why there isn't a big pool of land investors
• His best deal
• What he thinks the future holds for land investors

Plus, did being an immigrant give him an advantage?

Listen in for for his answer and as we dig deep into the land niche!

Tip of the Week

Mark: Go to MyOpenPath.com if you’re interested in tax delinquent investing. If you’re interested in going even deeper and going into land investing, Jack Bosch has a one stop shop for it for a few bucks for month. You can get mini courses and test-drive everything. He has 10 modules on house flipping and a 16- module tax lien course. Get forever cash!

Jack: For house investors, go to the CommunityBuyingGroup.com, they pooled power for multiple buyers and they get discounts from outlets such as Office Depot. You might be able to join for free.

Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.

 

In today’s Best Passive Income Model podcast, Mark talks with Heath Binder—head of investor relations for RealtyMogul.com. Heath is a crowd  funding expert and in just two years, he has helped raise over $180,000,000!

Heath shares his journey from real estate to private wealth management, and finally to real estate crowdfunding.

Listen in as we talk about:

• The definition of an accredited investor
• The benefits on an online platform like Realty Mogul
• Why choose a crowdfunding platform over your family and friends network
• Capital raising tips

One of the most important tips, which is applicable no matter what type of business you're in, you want to have a real sense of transparency. You need to establish trust with the people who are gonna give you their business.

Also, Heath doesn't view investors who pepper him with due diligence questions as an impediment but rather as a learning process for his junior guys. 

That can also be said for land investing, whether you're a newbie or seasoned investor—we all may prefer easy, problem free due diligence, but the learning comes from the ones that make you work! Don't look at it as a hindrance, but an opportunity for growth.

There is a lot of great information about real estate crowdfunding in this episode. Plus, commendable business practices for building a creditable business!

Listen in now for all the details!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: I recommend learning more about RealtyMogul. It’s not a bad place to park your money with ROI averaging at about 9%.

Heath: I recommend Happiest Baby on the Block by a doctor named Harvey Karp. I also recommend checking out FiveThirtyEight.com for the latest news on the elections. Finally, go check out TechnologyInvestor.com.

Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.

In today’s episode, Mark Podolsky, the Land Geek, talks to Leslie Samuel, former university professor and creator of becomeablogger.com and interactive biology blogs. His passion for education has led him on a mission to change the world one blog at a time. With a simple message of creating content, inspiring others, he is changing the world while building a solid online business.

When he started to do research for his biology blogs, he saw that the other biology blogs were boring and made him yawn. He remembers getting his start with 400 people until he was able to build his community to 15,000 to 20,000 people a month. In the last month alone, he was able to get 95,000 to that blog and he hasn’t even touched his blog for years! His blog gave him the chance to teach what he wanted to teach and it eventually landed him a job as a professor.

To build his blog, he says he used a combination of a number of different things. He put his videos on YouTube, the number two search engine in the world and leveraged that platform. He also said he was specific with the way he came up with titles for his videos. He says when people need information, they search and once they find content, if it’s good content, they’ll subscribe and start looking for other videos. Eventually, YouTube is going to see that and start recommending your videos as you’re searching. He also did “Strategic Outreach” where he approached other sites and bloggers in the same niche and formed alliances with them. This created a ripple effect for him. Essentially, blogging is about creating good content, putting it out there, making sure it’s written from a unique angle, and getting the right people exposed to it.

When asked what good content was, Leslie says it depends on your target audience and having an understanding of who you want to reach. It is content that helps a specific person accomplish a specific goal or overcome a specific struggle but does it in a way that resonates with that person.

When identifying your target audience, Leslie suggests that you have to know exactly who you are trying to reach. The narrower that niche is, the better and it is because if you know exactly who your audience is down to a tee and you create content that’s just for them, when the person finds you, they will know that the content you are creating is just for them. Make a list of questions that your target audience may have and start answering those questions by creating your blog post, which may consist of content, videos, or podcasts. Help your target audience accomplish their goals. Knowing and understanding the language they speak is also important.

Leslie also makes sure he has written content. He even has someone transcribe his video so that he could have written content that Google will send a ton of traffic for because it’s indexing the written content. Choosing the medium that resonates with your audience is important.

Monetizing your blog can take the form of affiliate marketing. This entails signing up with a company that has a product or service for sale, featuring the product or service on your website, and getting commissions from those sales. Then eventually, you can start creating your own products such as a course or an ebook.

Getting a person’s email address is difficult but Leslie says that once you have their email address, you can start nurturing that relationship with them. In that relationship, once people get to know you, trust you, and see you as an authority in whatever niche you’re in, they’re more likely to buy from you. Building an email list is one of the most important things to do when building an online business.

Email marketing is not dead, according to Leslie. He still thinks it’s one of the most effective way to drive sales. He says it’s more effective than social media and just about any other that we see out there. This, combined with webinars, are Leslie’s way of promoting his blog. Webinars with a good email follow-up sequence make sales go through the roof.

On getting exposure and traffic, being in all the social media networks may not be the solution. He suggests that you pick one and master it. Choosing one social media network and focusing on it is effective and that is how you can make an impact in the noisy world we live in.

When asked if Mark had the Best Passive Income Model, Leslie said it was the Best Passive Income Model for Mark.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Leslie: Read No Excuses by Brian Tracy. It doesn’t just go through the psychology and all that stuff but it also gives you actionable steps you can take. For me, the book was a game changer.

Mark: Learn more about Leslie and go to becomeablogger.com where he’s creating a ton of value.

Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.

In today’s episode, Mark Podolsky, the Land Geek, talks to Sam Dogen who has been writing on personal finance for 7 years. He has an MBA for UC Berkeley, rated a 5.0 as a tennis player, a 16 handicapper in gold, and speaks three languages pretty well. He has lived in different countries and visited roughly 40 countries as of March 2015. He has been seen in The Wall Street Journal, The L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, Bloomberg, Kiplinger, and now, is a guest on the Best Passive Income Model Podcast.

Sam worked in equities from 1999 to 2012, servicing institutional fund managers that they invest in. These were mostly mutual funds and some hedge funds. He also helped take private companies and placed institutional investors in public companies when they go IPO. The kind of stress Sam had to deal with working for the industry was getting to work at 5 AM in New York and 6 AM in San Francisco just to keep his finger on the pulse in relation to what was going on in the markets. There was never a dull moment. Working in the industry was fun for the first 9 years until 2008 to 2009 when it was no longer doing so well because of the housing market collapse. There was also a lack of correlation between performance and he had to subsidize the less well-performing peers. Then, the dot.com bubble burst in 2000. He particularly didn’t enjoy being considered Public Enemy No. 1 by people who didn’t pay their mortgages as was his experience working in the industry at that time.

He started financialsamurai.com in 2009 to help allay fears and worries of people who experienced the crunch. Eventually, he also wrote a book called, “How to Engineer Your Layoff: Negotiate Your Severance and Be Free.” The book advises people never to quit but get laid off. Getting laid off gets you a severance package and the mandatory Warn Act Pay, a requirement by states and by larger companies to provide one or three months worth of pay that allow people to transition during a mass lay off. It is different from a severance pay. Benefits to be derived from getting laid off is being able to get a better recommendation from your peers, unemployment benefits which is currently at 26 weeks maximum per state, COBRA, and other things that will help you transition into the next phase of your life.

Getting laid off if you are a star performer is a little different. You will need to build building blocks to get the severance negotiation by having a good relationship with your direct boss and the HR Manager at your office. Start the conversation, research online, and perhaps you can volunteer yourself to save someone else. This saves your manager from having to deal with laying other people off. Dealing with a bad manager is difficult as well.

Sam’s book, “How to Engineer Your Layoff: Negotiate Your Severance and Be Free” empowers the employee. We have way more power than we realize. However, he mentions that putting stuff out on the internet will not make you a desirable candidate to other companies who may want to hire you and it doesn’t help the company either. If you have someone who has been trained to replace you, you can have a seamless transition. It’s about communicating with the people around you. Sam speaks from experience. He was able to get a severance package that has allowed him to take care of his living expenses until 2017. Hearing from people who write Sam to tell him their lives are so much better now has been the best experience for him.

When asked about his definition of happiness, Sam equates this with progress. His philosophy is that when your relationships at home are progressing, you are happy. The difference between the rich and the poor, according to Sam, is not that great.

Another concept Sam has come up with is Stealth Wealth. It is a way you think about money and think about how you want to be perceived by society in general. Having lived in different countries where there’s so much poverty has helped give Sam a different perspective. While others brag about their material possessions, there are people who are suffering. Being stealthy about what you own is better because you need to focus on purpose rather than your material worth.

As a writer, Sam killed time and searched for stories by joining Über and becoming a driver. He met many random people and noticed the dichotomy between the wealthy and the others in San Francisco. Hearing their stories and reading their emails and comments on his LinkedIn account makes him happy.

Sam and Mark both agree that in this day and age, everybody should try to leverage the internet in some way and try to make a lifestyle they want. His comment on Mark’s Best Passive Income Model is that he has a great passive income model and the key is if it’s working for him, he should continue doing it. There’s a plethora of ways to make money online but he says that Mark’s business model sounds good to him.

TIP OF THE WEEK:

Sam: Save an amount that hurts you a little bit. If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not saving enough. Everything starts with a fundamental aggressive savings model for you to be free and build those passive income streams.

To better guide parents on how to raise financially savvy children, I advise against having them read my articles on “How To Convince Your Parents To Buy You Everything You Want,” and “No Wonder Why Millennials Don’t Give A Damn About Money.” Children should read “Spoiled or Clueless? Try to Work Minimum Wage Jobs.”

Mark: Go to financialsamurai.com and read the most commented posts on the sidebar, “How Much Money Do The Top Income Earners Make?” “Creating Powerful Friends,” “How Much Should People Have Saved in their 401ks at Different Ages?” and “The 1/10th Rule For Car Buying Everyone Must Follow.”

Also read , “Scraping By On $500,000 a Year: Why It’s So Hard For High Income Earners To Escape The Rat Race.”

Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.

In today’s episode, Mark Podolsky, the Land Geek talks to Jim Palmer, a marketing, business builder, and in-demand coach. Jim is the founder of the the Dream Business Academy, Dream Business Coaching, and Mastermind Program. He is also the host of Dream Business TV watched by thousands of entrepreneurs and small businesses. He hosts Stick Like Glue Radio, a weekly podcast based on Jim’s own unique brand of smart marketing and business building strategies. He is internationally known as the Newsletter Guru and creator of No Hassle Newsletters and No Hassle Social Media.

Jim’s 30 years of practical business experience and his kind of staying power is anchored on powerful customer relationships. As an old school thinker, he believes that getting up every day, delivering value, and focusing on service first will give you a longer lasting and profitable business.

Jim set out to be a Vice President by the time he was 40. He achieved it but when he turned 41, his position was eliminated and he was unemployed. At that time, he had four teenagers to support and mortgages and bills to pay. He suffered through 15 months of unemployment and was even diagnosed with cancer. This brought him clarity and he started his first business because he was at a low point in his life and the only place to go from there was up. His first year of business was revenue free but it eventually caught hold and took off, becoming a 6-figure business. After 5 years, he started all over again. He created No Hassle Newsletters. 7 years ago, he started his own coaching business.

Mark mentioned speaking to The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur author, Mike Michalowicz. He has written other books, including the Pumpkin Plan and Profit First. When an entrepreneur starts a business, there’s a lot of time but no money. However, when the business gets bigger, there is money but no time. Only about 5% of entrepreneurs are able to get systems and processes into place, allowing them to be free. Jim’s wife jolted him back to reality when she asked him when they were going to go on vacation – something they were unable to do during the lean years. The reality of time freedom hit him. Then, he hired his first virtual assistant.

Jim brought up an interesting concept, “When I,” which is about moving your goal past when you should be investing in the future and the future company you want to have. The fastest way to get there is by getting a coach or working with somebody with experience. Another point Jim brought up is automating his business and documenting everything to a point where if something happens to him, his wife could effectively take over. Mark has done the same thing. Putting systems and procedures in place will allow you the flexibility of either continuing your business or selling it to a new owner who can then take over two days later and continue to run it. That’s a big part of getting top dollar for your business. For Mark, it’s in a Dropbox folder named, “In Case of Death.”

Jim’s journey to becoming a prolific marketer and author of six books started with his first book. From this experience, he has learned that you don’t need to be perfect. A lot of people suffer from perfectionism, which prevent them from doing things they can be doing. Jim’s advice is to decide you want to be judged on the value of the information and content you’re providing. Being his authentic self has been liberating for him. Just be a prolific curator of the content. The content draws people to you. You just have to remember that people consume content in a number of different ways.

Adam Grant’s book, the “Originals,” talks about people like Mozart and Bach who create original work. They kept creating work and as they did this they created masterpieces! Getting stuck because of perfectionism is something you can avoid. Good is good enough and you can always go back and iterate your past work. Mark calls it, “embracing the suck!” What’s important is that you have to be your authentic self because it’s liberating. Putting yourself out there will attract the right kind of people and repel people you’re not meant to do business with.

You also need to be immune to criticism. You will not have a shortage of people who are going to tell you that you should be doing things differently. Jim mentions a hater who commented about his video where he also featured his dog. The hater said when Jim looked at his dog, he was disrespecting the audience. One way to deal with it is like water off a duck’s back. Grant Cordone’s take on this is if you’re not getting haters, you’re not working hard enough. Even if you only have 30% of your audience that’s going to love you, you can already make a nice living off them.

One of the main things you need to do to be successful in business is to cure a pain and solve a problem. Starting with his No Hassle Newsletter, several other businesses came from that. The ideas usually came from customers who wanted more help. Jim says you shouldn’t overthink. That’s what gets you stuck. He doesn’t celebrate initial transactions but rather, he celebrates lifetime customers. It’s your job to find out all the other ways you can help them enrich their lives.

In dealing with haters, Jim asks his assistant about the background of that particular hater and if no business has been generated out of that hater, he just hits the unsubscribe button. He will not put up with being disrespected.

When asked if Mark had the Best Passive Income Model, Jim says he’s got one heck of a killer model. More importantly, Jim pointed out Mark’s clarity, enthusiasm, and passion for the business. He also pointed out vital things you need to succeed in business such as the processes and systems that are in place and that Mark knows his numbers. Since buying and selling raw land is not something the big companies are interested in, Mark is essentially flying under the radar too! Jim also applauded Mark’s abundance mentality. “Sharks swim in dense packs where there’s ample food supply,” a successful person once told Jim. Mark says that there’s always room for innovation similar to Cirque de Soleil’s model. They took the zoo, combined it with theater, and created a completely new market segment.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Jim: If you want to make a boatload of money, stop answering your phone. You will earn significantly more income for who you are than what you do. It’s about your positioning in the marketplace. As a coach, it doesn’t help him to answer his phone like an operator. If people jump through hoops to be able to talk to him, he has already positioned himself because it now becomes a big deal to speak with him.

You also want to have someone in your business, who will hold your feet to the fire so you can get things done and that is how you grow.

Mark: Get Jim’s free ebook, “Decide: The Ultimate Success Trigger” for free. You only have to pay $6.95 for shipping and handling for a 200-page book that will teach you how to finely tune your mindset and start the business you’ve always imagined. You can get it from DecideForSuccess.com.

Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.