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Podcast Transcription
Dave Dubeau [00:00:09] Everyone, this is Dave Dubeau from the property, Profits Real Estate podcast here with another special real estate investment club Spotlight interview and today zooming in with us is Chris Forsythe, who represents the Joplin area. We’re based out of what’s that?
Chris Forsythe [00:00:29] Yeah, you got it. Thanks for having me on, Dave.
Dave Dubeau [00:00:31] My pleasure. So you’re zooming in from Missouri. Is that correct?
Chris Forsythe [00:00:35] We are. So, yeah, so Joplin, Missouri. So I’m at Kansas side. I’ve got an office in Kansas and I live in Missouri, so I’m right on that line. But yeah, so Missouri, it is.
Dave Dubeau [00:00:45] All right. Missouri perfect. So tell us a little bit about the club when you guys got started. How many folks you got as part of your membership? All that kind of good stuff. Yeah.
Chris Forsythe [00:00:55] So it goes back. About three years ago, I was a group about four to six investors just meeting, meeting at a restaurant and just chatting about real estate that went on for about a couple of years and then COVID hit. So that group kind of dissolved, if you would say that we’re still a Facebook group. But it kind of quit meeting and all that. So I came in at the end of the COVID thing. It’s like, how can we get the group back to meeting, get reengaged and all that. And so earlier this year, we’ve actually formed the official group, join the national media and we’d kick things back off after the whole, you know, shut down and all that. So. Yeah, well, it’s one of the things started again this year.
Dave Dubeau [00:01:38] Oh, that’s wonderful. Hats off to you for starting up something even bigger and better, you know, in spite of COVID and all like terrible stuff. So. Right, Chris, how many folks have you got in the membership at this point? I know you’re just getting things started, just getting things rolling.
Chris Forsythe [00:01:55] Yeah. So we have a monthly meeting and I can get into it a little bit. But I think our group, our Facebook group, where I just checked it, we’re like at 287 on the group as far as we kind of have engaged and we reach out to week on week. So we’re definitely in the embassy of it, but we’re definitely doing our best to kick things off and keep the meetings out there and reach out to other communities, not only the Joplin area, but we’ve got a lot of small communities in the area as well.
Dave Dubeau [00:02:21] So let’s talk a little bit about that. What? I’m not familiar with Joplin. What is the size of the town?
Chris Forsythe [00:02:26] Approximately we are around 50. And then so but the area itself, like we’ve got about, we’re about 80 miles or about 100 miles, I guess, or more south of Kansas City, right? So we’ve got a pretty wide area we cover. We can actually get down into Oklahoma. And then of course, as you know, around the Arkansas lines we’ve got like they call it the four St. area. So we’ve kind of got a little bit of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas all mixed in.
Dave Dubeau [00:02:54] So the demographic that you’re reaching out to, you got about 50000 people right in in Japan itself and then what would you say, the surrounding area with those four states going to the area that you’re reaching out to? But what do you think the total population would be?
Chris Forsythe [00:03:08] You know, and I haven’t run the numbers on that community. So like, we’ve got Carthage, Missouri. I’m trying to think through a few things right now. PITTSBURGH Kansas is 30 miles away. That’s closer to 20000. So we’ve got a lot of small communities that have two to four thousand people. And I’m sorry, probably a lot of those scattered out of
Dave Dubeau [00:03:26] the size of the market by reaching out to those smaller communities. Yes, very, very cool. Well, I’m a kind of a small town guy myself as well, so I can definitely relate to that. What was it that really inspired you? And your partners to start this rehab, because it’s definitely at the beginning, it’s a labor of love. There’s a lot of effort, a lot of work involved. What really got you inspired to get this rolling and especially in a serious matter like this?
Chris Forsythe [00:03:54] Yeah. So the president, Tim Williams, he he’s been involved in it since it was, you know, the four or five six guys meeting at the at the restaurant. So his passion is he’s a real estate investor. He’s a landlord. And so he’s got a passion for real estate. For me, I’m in the insurance industry as well, and I’m also a real estate investor. So for me, kind of dating back to when I was 20 years old, twenty one years old and bought my first property, I kind of took a liking for investing on that first purchase. And it kind of went from there. So for me, it’s I like to connect with people. I love building those relationships. And then just the passion I have for the insurance and real estate industry itself.
Dave Dubeau [00:04:36] Yeah, makes a lot of sense.
Chris Forsythe [00:04:37] Cool thing about real estate is you can connect with people. You can put, you know, as you know, you can put deals together last for a lifetime, you know, a relationship that lasts for a lifetime.
Dave Dubeau [00:04:47] So, yeah, very well says, especially in smaller, tight knit communities. It’s a great way to expand your network and really connect with people on a much more meaningful way. Right? Yeah. So, Chris, you know, some of the folks watching this or listening to this interview might be thinking, what are the big benefits or why should I get involved in a local real estate investment association or a club? What would you say to those folks? What have been the big benefits for you? Yeah.
Chris Forsythe [00:05:16] So kind of a couple of things there is the reason you should is really the plug in. So in our typical meeting, we’ll have everyone there for maybe a loan officer at a bank private money lender. You know, you’ve got an insurance agent, a can that it can ensure those high risk properties. A lot of times are some pretty high risk associated with a purchase. So you’ve kind of got someone from every facet of the industry in the room. Not only that, they’re open. It’s really cooled to see how open everyone is just to share free information. And sometimes it’s not only what their successes have been, sometimes it’s where they really failed, and we had one presenter come in and actually talk about his failures. And so not only are there a lot of successes, but there can be a lot of failures. And so being able to sometimes I learn from watching other people’s failures.
Dave Dubeau [00:06:07] Yeah, I got a comparison of the intent as a group helps you avoid making those mistakes yourself right now. All right. Very good. Now I admire you guys taking on the task of starting your own RIA. What have been some of the big benefits for you for getting it started so somebody might be in a similar situation there in a small area, a small community, they don’t have a local real estate investment club or a meet up or anything like that. What would you recommend to those folks about the benefits of actually taking that action and starting a group up themselves,
Chris Forsythe [00:06:42] starting a group? Yeah. So and once again, you don’t necessarily have to be an investor to start a group. You can have a passion for connecting with people. So, you know, for me, it’s building. I’ve been building some relationships not only on the insurance side, but I’ve actually put together a partnership or two on some on some property purchases recently out of the group. And so you don’t necessarily have to be a real estate investor. You could be a handyman or and say, Hey, you know, my community of six thousand people, we don’t have a place for people to connect. I want to start that place for people to connect. And real estate is kind of common ground for people. You know, whether you’re a handyman, an insurance agent, you know, a foreign guy, housekeeper, you know, we’ll have house cleaners come in. So it’s really a great way to connect no matter what you bring to the table.
Dave Dubeau [00:07:37] Yeah, it’s a great way to connect and start building up your business so you don’t even have to be an active state best as long as you’re, you know, you’re related in some aspect to real estate investing game. It makes sense, huh? Yeah, I’m aware of a lot of a lot of realtors that have started clubs. That’s an obvious one. But yeah, you’re right. Why not? We got a handyman service or you got a cleaning service. If you’re dealing with real estate in your day to day, why not start a club and surround yourself by likeminded individuals? Now, Chris, I got to this is fun chatting with you at this infancy stage of your of your rehab because you’re just getting things up and going. And you know, heck, I spoke to somebody a little while ago that their club, I believe, has been going for 40 years. It started like 1980, and they’re still going strong. But so it’s fun to start was a talk with somebody who is just getting it up and rolling. What would you say are the keys to success of really getting the most out of your membership in a club like, if not you as one of the active? You know, people in the cloud, one of the organizers, but the members, what can they do, not just kind of sit back passively and learn stuff? How can they really squeeze all the juice out of that experience?
Chris Forsythe [00:08:54] I think the first thing I would tell people is bring value first. So it’s so easy to walk in the room as a new guest. Maybe be a little intimidated, like, oh wow, in your room with foreign investors. That’s not really the case. There’s something to give, no matter what you bring into the room. So back to the handyman. You know, really coming into the room, open minded, being willing to give advice, maybe your expertize in your field and being prepared to give first. Because when you open up and start sharing, it’s going to come back.
Dave Dubeau [00:09:26] So how would you open up and start sharing like if you’re not? A lot of people are kind of introverted. They’re not just naturally geared towards that. What would you recommend for people in order to be able to, you know, give first?
Chris Forsythe [00:09:38] That’s good question. So we open it up at the beginning of the meeting. We always open it up to do around the room, but sometimes that can be a little awkward, you know, like, OK, it’s almost it’s almost my time. I haven’t got a deal yet. But being able to open up and being honest about that and saying, Hey, I’m Jim the handyman. I’m here today, you know, just in the room to listen and maybe share a little bit of your experience and your job filled in what you offer. The same time, like I said, being willing to offer free advice. So if I’m the handyman, do a free home assessment for somebody, you know, be willing to be opened to give those services away.
Dave Dubeau [00:10:15] Yeah, that’ll generate a lot of goodwill. That’ll generate business for sure, and it makes a lot of sense. What about volunteering to help out in the club, in the meetings and speaking opportunities or introduction type things? What are your thoughts on that, Chris?
Chris Forsythe [00:10:29] Yeah. So recently we did. I can drive for a local charity organization. You know, a lot of folks maybe haven’t built the get up and present, you know, they don’t have something they want to give a full presentation on, but they were able to come and plug in with that organization and give back. So volunteering, I mean, I could always help use help marketing. I know Tim could as well help running the meetings. You know, I help videoing. So we do VIDEO We do some live streams opportunity there. There’s opportunity to check people in at the door. Yeah.
Dave Dubeau [00:11:02] And the nice thing is the more active you are in the club, even if you’re an introvert, it doesn’t matter. You can help check people in at the door. They see you start those conversations, you start those relationships and say, actually, quite often the other person starting the conversation because you’re there helping. But people see that you’re actively involved. They start to associate you with being a player in the local area as far as real estate investing goes. So again, that builds up a little bit more confidence over time. And you know, you don’t have to be a speaker, but you could introduce a speaker. You could do these kind of things just to kind of dip your toe in the waters and get more comfortable doing that kind of thing, I think. I don’t know about you, but I think the more actively involved you are in your local area, the more you’re going to get out of it. Yeah.
Chris Forsythe [00:11:52] And yeah, you’re going to plug in, you’re going to be a little happier with what’s going on. You’ve got a little more control of what’s going on. You got to say, right? Yeah. Yeah, this bakery, you know, we’re always looking for a guest speaker. We know the network with folks and bring in some guest speakers to us is highly beneficial to them.
Dave Dubeau [00:12:09] It makes a lot of sense. Yeah. So you guys got started at the end of the pandemic. Are you doing a combination of in-person and virtual events or what are what are your events look like? What are your meetings look like?
Chris Forsythe [00:12:22] Chris. So when we kicked it back off, we did a lot of virtual and we did virtual along with meeting in person just to make sure we could connect with everyone. Because the hybrid,
Dave Dubeau [00:12:32] the hybrid tech. Yeah. Uh-Huh.
Chris Forsythe [00:12:35] Right now, we’ve done more in-person. We are looking at some better options to do more livestreaming, but we really want people to come in and connect with us at this point into the meeting setting and really get to know them and shake hands. And so we’ve been really putting a focus on in-person meetings. We are going to probably expand into more live streaming. We’d like to do more than just once a month, you know, we do first Tuesday, the mob that six teams are meeting to really want to do more throughout the month. And so I’m actually networking with some smaller communities right now meeting with them to meet investors where they are. Okay. Yeah. Not just in Joplin, but you know, Lamar, Nevada, Missouri. Some places like that where I can meet people where they are.
Dave Dubeau [00:13:19] Yeah. Smart idea. Get the word out. Spread out. Spread the word about the whole thing. Fantastic. So, Chris, time flies when we’re out front. Five people want to find out more about your real. Where should they go? What should they do?
Chris Forsythe [00:13:31] So, yes, the Joplin area recom we’re going to probably link that up to this podcast, but that’s the best place to get a hold of us. My office number six zero two three one six four six zero. I love. I love it. When people call the office to, you know, kind of old school pick up the phone, they’ll ask me, like, tell me about the area I’d love to, you know, and I always make time for those folks because it’s always fun connecting and learning their story.
Dave Dubeau [00:13:56] Fantastic. Well, Chris, thank you so much and congratulations for getting this started in a challenging time, right? I mean, those people are not starting local warriors right after a pandemic. You are. So tip my hat to you. And the fact that it sounds like you’re going and growing concern. So congrats. Thank you.
Chris Forsythe [00:14:14] Thank you. Thank you.
Dave Dubeau [00:14:15] All right, everybody. Thanks for tuning in. See you on the next episode. Thanks for tuning into this special Spotlight episode. Now, if you’re a real estate investor and you’re looking to find private money partners and raise capital for your deals, then check out Money Partner Formula dot com. You get a free copy of my book. You can find out how to raise six figures or more in six weeks or less. Again, that’s money partner formula dot com.