In this episode of The Tactical Empire, Mike Tenerelli shares his inspiring journey from reality TV star to successful real estate investor. He discusses the Real Estate Strategies that helped him make the transition, highlighting the importance of fitness and balancing family life with business ambitions. Mike dives into various real estate techniques like wholesaling and partnerships while emphasizing the significance of being part of a supportive community like The Tactical Empire. He also shares his future goals and valuable lessons learned along the way.
In this episode of The Tactical Empire, Mike Tenerelli shares his inspiring journey from reality TV star to successful real estate investor. He discusses the Real Estate Strategies that helped him make the transition, highlighting the importance of fitness and balancing family life with business ambitions. Mike dives into various real estate techniques like wholesaling and partnerships while emphasizing the significance of being part of a supportive community like The Tactical Empire. He also shares his future goals and valuable lessons learned along the way.
00:00Introduction to Mike Tenerelli
05:35Transitioning from TV to Real Estate
10:39Diving into Real Estate Strategies
13:35Balancing Family and Business
20:09The Importance of Partnerships
29:11Learning from the Tactical Empire Community
@realjeffsmith (00:01)
Welcome to another episode of the Tactical Empire. Today I'm joined by Sean Ryder and a special guest, none other than a celebrity. Guys, we have a celebrity for you today. His name, Mike Tenerelli from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, apparently. I'm just learning all of this, but he's also a real estate investor and a pretty all around good guy. so, Mike, welcome. Tell us a little bit about yourself, my man. Let's go.
Mike Tenerelli (00:20)
you
What's up guys. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. you know, obviously I'm, I'm, I'm part of the tactical empire. So I know these two gentlemen pretty well, but, ⁓ but yeah, yeah. Previous life was on one, on a couple of TV shows, ⁓ hosted by ABC, ⁓ and, ⁓ moved on from there. Now obviously married with, with a 19 month old and another due in about 30 days here. So all hands on deck there and, and,
real estate investing day by day. So happy to be here and I appreciate it.
@realjeffsmith (01:05)
Oh man, we're excited to have you. We're excited to have you. Sean, you... Go ahead, sorry.
@shawn_rider_ (01:09)
All right, hold on.
Yeah, I got you. got you. got you. We're just going to go right to the jugular. So yeah, as you mentioned, right, we could just call you a reality TV personality a few years back, then switch over to gym ownership now, heavy in the real estate space, real estate agent, real estate investor, long-term holds, fix and flips, all that stuff. We're going to talk about the real estate, probably a decent bit on this episode, but real quick, what are some things about you that
have helped you shift from one thing to another. Again, for other people it may not be TV personality to business owner to investor, but what are some skills that Mike Tenerelli has that you feel have worked in your favor over the last 10 years as you've gotten into your 30s?
Mike Tenerelli (02:02)
Definitely. I appreciate the question. You know, just learning to deal with adversity, learning to be on a team. You know, I was always a part of team sports in high school and college. You know, just being comfortable, being uncomfortable. And then being a leader, being captains of those teams and being a leader in business, kind of all those added together have helped me to get to the point where I'm at today. 42 years old.
@shawn_rider_ (02:33)
See, I said thirties. I didn't even know you were in your four 42 years old baby to on the way, but I'll challenge you on that answer in regards like there's plenty of other former athletes that were captains of their teams. But they're 42 and they're still talking about being the captain of their football team and they haven't done shit since. So what sets you apart? What has made you different? What would you attribute that to in order to actually use those skills later on in life instead of?
used to having those skills and then just being the average overweight 42 year old male that can't see his dick when it gets hard because his stomach is so big. Let's just be honest, that's the masses right now and that's not what we're about. So ⁓ how have you been able to actually set yourself apart from that?
Mike Tenerelli (03:21)
Yeah, I mean, CrossFit has a huge, huge part in that, you know, owning a gym. I was always into, you know, working out through football, right? So out of college, I never stopped basically was, was in terms of the fitness journey here. You know, I, the day after I played my last game, I was back in the gym, you know, and, and, and shortly after that, I started my own CrossFit gym. That's when CrossFit was blowing up. That was, you know, 2010s let's call it.
And that led me to opening the gym and just continuing that healthy lifestyle. Not only did the gym help me physically, but being the owner, running the show, dealing with employees, dealing with constant adversity ⁓ also carried over into life today.
@shawn_rider_ (04:11)
Yeah, I I kind of feel for that. ⁓ For me, like, I just feel like it's in my DNA. ⁓ I tell everyone this story when this topic gets brought up. ⁓ I remember the first time I stepped in a gym with grown men in eighth grade, the biggest, strongest kid on our eighth grade football team invited me to the YMCA with him and his mom. And I haven't stopped going to the gym since.
So I think other people will hear that and be like, well, it must be nice for you guys, right? you got into the gym, then it became, you owned a gym. Now that totally makes sense. Well, that doesn't make it any easier. I mean, it's very easy. I know plenty of gym owners that are not healthy and fit. So, ⁓ you know, for me, I just think it's in my DNA and I've been doing it for so long that it's just a part of my lifestyle. Now I've had, I've had the change as kids came along and I started working on bigger projects, had to adjust what fitness looks like to me and the amount of time that I allocate to it. But
Being 36 turning 37 here soon, I think I'm in maintenance mode for the rest of my life. Jeff and I have a running joke over the past few months that, know, grown man weight is over 200 pounds. I haven't been above 192 in a very long time. Just got done a 36 hour fast Jeff. I was down to 186 after the first 36 hours. So not even close to grown man weight. But go ahead, Jeff, why don't you jump in here and get off the topic before I start hammering fitness too hard.
@realjeffsmith (05:35)
⁓
So tell us, like you've made a transition, you've done a few different businesses. So now you're deeply entrenched in the real estate industry right now in the Chicago area, correct? Yeah, and so like, ⁓ tell us a little bit more about that. What drew you to real estate, first of
Mike Tenerelli (05:49)
Correct. Correct.
So had a construction background. I was running the CrossFit gym and the family business at the same time, which was construction related. So had a construction background, decided back in 2017 to do my first flip. At that time I was unlicensed. So did my first flip, was successful at it, having that construction background, knowing what things should cost, how long things should take.
leaning on a realtor for ARV comps and things like that because I was brand new with that. Wound up ⁓ being successful with it, got licensed because of it, and then getting licensed kind of opened up a few more doors in terms of brokerage and ⁓ entries to a bunch of different real estate avenues.
@realjeffsmith (06:46)
Sure, sure. And so ⁓ at this point, you're running an agency and doing flipping and investing, or what is your path at this point? mean, real estate takes a lot of different forms. We take a lot of different turns as investors and participants. where are you at currently?
Mike Tenerelli (07:06)
Yeah, so ⁓ I'm on a real estate team. ⁓ So, you know, the team provides warm leads to me and buyer leads. ⁓ As still a newer agent, I'm handling my managing brokers, buyers, which as you know, dealing, you know, handling buyers in this market is not easy because you're losing out, especially in my area. You know, you're losing out to multiple bids and over asking things like that. But I've been able to navigate that ⁓ pretty, pretty well, I'd say.
Um, so they're the brokerage end is there. Um, and then investing wise, um, you know, I, I do flips. I've, I've got, uh, five properties that I own that I rent out, uh, in the Chicagoland area and actually two in Milwaukee, which is a 90 minute drive from me. Um, so, you know, uh, the, five rental properties, I'm doing a fix and flip right now. Um, I'd like to, you know, be doing more, but I, um, you know, I'm pretty.
pretty anal on the numbers and making sure that these things come out the way they're supposed to come out. So right now just one. But really what has kind of flipped everything upside down in the real estate world for me is wholesaling. ⁓ I just got into wholesaling over the past couple of months. ⁓ I kind of start my real estate journey with wholesale goggles on. So I'm just trying to capture warm
motivated seller leads like everybody else, right? ⁓ I'm trying to get belly to belly with them. I'm doing it locally. And then, you know, if you're into a property for a good number, ⁓ that's what I love about real estate. Then from there, there's a multitude of things you can do with it. You you can just stick with wholesaling and just get another investor in there and make your quick profit and move on. You can hold onto it if it's too good to pass up. For me,
I feel like I have to make 50 grand or more on a flip for me to do it just for the time, effort, energy, lending, ⁓ cashflow perspective. So ⁓ if I'm on a wholesale appointment and I think I can make 50 or more, I'll just hold onto it, get it under contract and do it myself. Otherwise I will just pass it on to another investor. Also, ⁓ there's a lot of criteria that can be met ⁓ rental-wise, burr-wise. ⁓
@realjeffsmith (09:05)
it.
Mike Tenerelli (09:30)
lever in the bird strategy as well. So I'm always looking to add to my rental portfolio. I know it's not for everyone. A lot of people don't like dealing with tenants and toilets, but that's the long term goal. know, wholesaling is just transactional, right? Yeah, you're going to make money doing it, but I want to build something for the young family here to pass on to them one day. So that's where the rentals come in.
@realjeffsmith (09:54)
Yeah, there's short-term money and kind of medium-term money and long-term money in the real estate game, right? like your long-term rentals, your buy-in holds, that's a longer life cycle. You're talking five to seven years or longer on those. And then you need your front-end cash flow type things. Medium would be considered like a flip. It's going to take you four to six months. And then short-term is like, what are you doing on a monthly basis to put?
food on the table from a cash flow standpoint. So you've got all those bases covered it sounds like. So ideally what are you doing, like what is the Tenerelli Real Estate Express look like in ⁓ like 24 months from now?
Mike Tenerelli (10:39)
continuing to get belly to belly like we like to call it with motivated sellers, right? ⁓ I feel like if I can get my ass through the door, then I'm leaving that appointment with a contract in hand, right? It's just what does it take to get to that point is the question, right? So I've been researching and you guys have helped me with this as well. I've been researching different VAs, right? So, you know, basically ⁓ my process is, ⁓ you know,
Get that stacked list, download from whatever website of choice to find motivated sellers, whether it be foreclosure, ⁓ high equity, absentee owner. People have different philosophies on how they come up with their list. you know, basically get a list by county of let's call it 15,000 people. Get a good VA on the line that ⁓ can cold call all of them and filter in the warm leads to you.
Right? And then, and then from there, you're taking over and you're trying to, you're trying to buy houses. You're trying to get properties under contract. And then kind of like we talked about before, you get those properties under contract at a good number. Well, you know, the world's your oyster at that point. That's the goal moving forward. Those keep, keep going with that. Um, let's call it 80 % wholesale and 20 % holding on.
either a burr or a flip. So just continuing to grow that way, continuing to perfect my processes, continuing to be lean and mean in a kind of a one man lone wolf ⁓ operation right now. ⁓ If and when I get to the point where I can't handle all the calls ⁓ and go on all the appointments, then I'll think about bringing someone else on. But until then, that's kind of ⁓ the 20, let's call it the 12 month strategy at this point.
@realjeffsmith (12:38)
All right, I love it. I love it, man. Hell yeah. You can fast track that. That shouldn't take very long to scale. Like, that's a six month plan. Let's go.
Mike Tenerelli (12:48)
Yeah, well with the tactical empires help, you know, I'll be there in six months. ⁓
@realjeffsmith (12:53)
Yeah.
@shawn_rider_ (12:54)
And
you're doing you're doing just fine. But that that does lead into my next question, which is like you you did hit this year this this year running. This is when you made the I wouldn't say switch but made the hyper focus on the wholesaling business because a year ago when you were getting in the group that wasn't on the radar but wholesaling kind of has taken full focus in the 80 % as you said. So what does from July 1 of this year to January 1 of next year? Looking back what it is? What is it that you have hoped to have?
accomplished, not just in real estate, but like what are the things that you're working on right now in all areas of life that you would be proud of if you accomplish some of those before 2026.
Mike Tenerelli (13:35)
Yeah, no, mean, it all goes hand in hand and I appreciate the question, you know, with the young family, there's nothing more that that motivates that than a young family that you have to support. So, ⁓ you know, that motivates me ⁓ to continue, you know, wholesaling and real estate investing. Right. And ⁓ just put my head down and keep moving there. I don't have ⁓ a number goal yet, just because, like you said, I really just started all this in twenty twenty five. ⁓
But, you know, like I said, continuing to do that, ⁓ staying on top of fitness, you know, I still can carve out an hour a day, like I hope most of the listeners here can do to devote to myself. You know, I'm not, I'm not the guy that goes out and plays a five hour round of 18 holes of golf and, you know, ⁓ drinks 25 beers and, and, and that calls it a workout. Right. So I'm more, I'm more of a, me an hour a day and I'm happy. So, you know, I,
@realjeffsmith (14:20)
Thank
Mike Tenerelli (14:33)
after I closed my gym, just joined up with a gym near me that I like. for me, it's a lot nicer to just show up for an hour and be in and out and done, rather than having to deal with employees and leases and equipment and members. just continue to stay on top of my fitness, continue to be there for the young family and tie in.
⁓ income earning ⁓ into that trio and that's pretty much my life for the next couple of years.
@realjeffsmith (15:07)
you.
Congrats on the baby coming, by the way. I keep missing my opportunity and I'm waiting for Sean to talk, but like I want to sneak that in there while I'm waiting on Sean to talk. We're excited. Excited to add to the family.
Mike Tenerelli (15:13)
Thank you.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
@shawn_rider_ (15:24)
Well, mean,
that topic always comes up, right? Regardless if you have a newborn coming in in the next 30 days, like Mikey does, the previous guy that we had on already has a kid and he's just focused on building his businesses and then having play time with his family. how do you, for lack of a better term, how do you juggle being a high achieving man?
but also a millennial father. And it's proven that us millennials spend about three times the amount of time with our kids than our parents and dads spent with us. And that's a burden. mean, I'm grateful for it, but it's also like, we have higher expectations than the generation before us on, we need to make more money than they did. I mean, it's just how the world works. Everything is more expensive. ⁓
but how do we continue to spend time with our family? So how do you put guardrails and a governor on? I like the thought of guardrails and a governor because either way I'm still on the highway, right? I can go as fast or as slow as I want at different points, but I'm not gonna swerve all the way left. I'm not gonna swerve all the way right. So what does the guardrails and governors look like for Mikey in his typical life so he can make sure that he's ⁓ giving attention and time to things that are most important?
Mike Tenerelli (16:44)
That's a great question. And that's one of the biggest challenges with kind of the lone wolf strategy, right? Which a lot of us in this group are, you know, and, you know, setting schedules, right? ⁓ You know, for me, you know, with the wholesaling game, it's, it's, you know, spending my mornings making calls, right? ⁓ And then, and then setting a schedule for the afternoon, but then also making sure that
I'm available for my wife's doctor's appointments, right? That she's got once a week here for the next 30 days, right? So it's, and you made a great point, Sean, you know, nowadays, right? It's not the old Monday through Friday, you know, I'm gonna put my work boots and work hat on and I'm gonna be home at the same time every day and I'm the one going and earning the money. In my situation, I'm the sole income earner. in that way, it's the same, but like you said,
there's nothing better than the ability to ⁓ create your own schedule and spend that three times amount with your kids. I wouldn't trade that for the world, you know, but at the same time, it is a little bit of ⁓ a juggling act because you can spend, I want to spend all day, every day with my kids, right? But I got to provide for the family. So it's creating that schedule, it's creating that balance and it's continuing. It's not, you know,
Every day you're trying to get to the point where you have all that kind of set and you have your work schedule, your family schedule, everything's kosher and you can be the best version of yourself in both areas. But trying to stay disciplined in creating that schedule and sticking to that schedule is key and it's a continuing work in progress for men like us.
@shawn_rider_ (18:36)
Yeah, I you've used the phrase lone wolf and I get what you're saying in regards to like your individual ⁓ work and tasks and the investment strategy that you have right now. You're still surrounded by the agency, right? You're still getting support there. You're in the inner circle. So you're a step ahead of other quote lone wolves that are literally trying to do everything and find the answers by themselves. So kudos to you for doing that and being in the group. ⁓ But the other thing
I love that you bring that up because as we think forward to Scottsdale or not Scottsdale when we think forward to Little Rock, Arkansas for September's meetup, and I've already been thinking about what I would present on. I'm going to present on the company of one for high achieving men. And that's based off of the book that I've recommended on this podcast, Company of One. And in that book, he talks about how a company of one isn't literally just an individual running an entire business.
It can be, but how do we create that autonomy by defining the growth that we want and getting the right players on the team? Now, in regards to your investment, you talked about hiring VAs and getting them to work the list and setting leads to you. But I also know that you've kind of reached out to me and some other guys in the group about partnering on certain deals. So you are making attempts to bring the right people into the mix. outside of just like hiring a VA.
How does Mike ⁓ understand, how do you understand ⁓ the steps that you need to take to get to the next level with what you're trying to do?
Mike Tenerelli (20:09)
Great question and a huge aspect of that is JV partnerships in my opinion, with me at least. ⁓ I would rather get to where I'm going quicker with sharing the pot, so to say, rather than fumbling and stumbling on my own ⁓ and scraping the finances together needed to continue to invest, right? So ⁓ every...
deal that I approach with the wholesale goggles on, right, is also the potential for another partnership depending on where I take it, right? So if it's a burr, know, financing is needed. If it's a flip, financing is needed, right? So that opens a whole nother pathway to partnerships that will help me and other people like me and other people like you guys scale quicker because you're leveraging
your relationships to be able to ⁓ move quicker and to get to the point you need to get to.
@realjeffsmith (21:17)
yeah.
@shawn_rider_ (21:18)
Jeff, you probably have more insights on that. You've been in the game and JV'd a lot. ⁓ support, little mentorship here, little knowledge bomb for Mikey on your end from your past experiences.
@realjeffsmith (21:31)
I think that that's exactly the right mindset to have. think most investors get hung up. mean, when you talk about lone wolf, it can go a lot of different directions. ⁓ Most investors get hung up with not wanting partners because they've been burned doing partnerships in other industries. for me, like, so you're saying all the right things, Mike. I love hearing what you're saying because you're like, what this gives us is this gives us speed and leverage to grow quickly.
and it's also mutually beneficial. And that's really what you're looking for in a JV partnership when it comes to real estate, more than anything. And I think also real estate is a completely different animal to partner in than any other brick and mortar business, certainly service-based business, anything like that. If you're working on a regular basis with the people, somebody's gotta go run the front desk, that's a different animal to partner on.
than a real estate transaction where it's crystal clear what everyone's roles are and somebody's the operator and somebody's the the financier type situation. so kudos to you for for understanding and seeing that because I mean I always say I'd rather have 50 percent of a watermelon than 100 percent of a grape. And so like you have the right mindset to grow because now you can go to 10 million dollars 20 million dollars worth of real estate.
in a much quicker time frame than you trying to save your earned income, use the flip proceeds to do the next flip. Because at that point, even if you roll in your own proceeds, you're only doing one flip at a time. Whereas if you leverage other people's money, you might be doing two, three, four, five flips a quarter. And then a year from now, you might be doing two, three, four, five flips a month.
And so it really just changes the economics and the scalability of it by going down the road that you're choosing to go down, as you already know. I mean, kudos to you for recognizing that and seeing how speed and leverage can be obtained. And then also understanding like, I can use the inner circle for this because some of these guys are like laser focused on their business, which they should be, and they shouldn't be distracted by real estate.
because it can just be a distraction, but there are ways for them to participate as well that they may not recognize because to your first point, some people aren't interested in toilets and renters and all that stuff. And most of those guys shouldn't be in that game anyway. And so is there more of a pseudo passive way to be involved? And your answer is yes. so I think you're utilizing the group for exactly what you're supposed to be doing within it.
which is awesome.
Mike Tenerelli (24:24)
Yeah, I appreciate that. And I've learned a lot of that from you, Jeff, to be honest with you. And also, ⁓ you know, talk about strategic partnerships in real estate, right? So the goal is, is obviously, you know, you're using the same lender or maybe two or... Lenders, maybe two or three, because I do shop lenders, okay? But, you know, flip-wise, right? If I'm doing, you know, three, four flips a month, right? I then have my GC's
full attention, okay? Doing one or two flips a year, right? I'm on the back burner for him. Like a project that's supposed to take 30 days, he's probably gonna take 60 days. But if I'm feeding him that much business through the power of the group here, through the power of JVing a deal, right? And really pouring gasoline on that fire, which is a Mr. Wonderful term from Shark Tank, but I love it. But then you're really starting to hum.
@realjeffsmith (24:54)
Exactly.
Mike Tenerelli (25:21)
You know, you're really starting to build those strategic partnerships with the operational side. Right. And then at that point, ⁓ you know, you're continuing to JV, you're continuing to look for partners because you have so many deals coming in that you don't even know what to do with them. You know, so the is...
@realjeffsmith (25:39)
Well, that's when
you start to see economies of scale kick in too. And you reach like critical mass. So what happens is you start seeing more deals because you're an actual active guy that is doing deals. So people know you're a solid buyer. So you get more deals and you also hold the attention of your contractors and you get deals on that front because now you can essentially pay for a whole team.
to work multiple projects on a monthly basis so they know they can stay busy and you then get better deals there. It's just a situation of the rich get richer, but it's really the more the action takers get fed more is ultimately what it is. And the more action you can take, the more action comes your way. You know what I mean?
Mike Tenerelli (26:27)
Absolutely. And I've got some flippers that I know of and I'm exploring this as well, that actually JV with their general contractor, right? I mean, what better formula could that create, right? Because now the GC has skin in the game. He wants to be done as soon as possible because the sooner he's done, the more money both parties make, right? So I know some guys that are very successful at that and that's kind of on my agenda as well. You know, when you're talking about JVs, it's not just with the
@realjeffsmith (26:39)
Yes. ⁓
I've done that, if you-
Mike Tenerelli (26:57)
with a finance or that you can JV in many different ways.
@realjeffsmith (27:01)
Yep, it depends on how stabilized their contracting company is. But yeah, you can do that for sure, especially with wholesale deals. If you control the deal, then you can go find the partner and essentially they bring the rehab budget and they bring it through their company and it's some sweat equity kind of deal. But then we split the proceeds at the end, you pay for the rehab that gets done still. ⁓ there's a lot of ways to...
cut that up, but yes, that's super smart way to look into it too. That's a really good idea.
because you have access to the deals. So, yeah.
Mike Tenerelli (27:37)
Yeah. Right. Getting
in the deal at a good number is the key to all of this. Right. So, but there are some guys that I know that and I haven't done this quite yet that are that are really good and good at what's called takedowns, which I'm sure Jeff, you know all about this strategy. But I mean, they're basically getting into a house that, you know, is in rough shape and the seller's motivated and you get it under contract.
And instead of doing a full gut rehab that takes, you know, that three, four, five months, right? You're just doing either a spackle job on the walls, you're tearing out the flooring, you're cleaning the place out, right? You're basically giving a blank canvas to a buyer and you could either still pass that down to another investor and just make it a little sweeter for them or you just list it that way, right? As a broker.
I can just list a property that is a little cleaner than it was when I bought it. And with how hot the market is still and with the low inventory, you can still make some great money just doing take down deals.
@realjeffsmith (28:50)
Yep. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a lot of different things we can talk about offline. I've got some other strategies for you that would work too, but I don't want to go down the rabbit hole on the episode because I will just confuse people. ⁓
Mike Tenerelli (28:55)
Yeah.
@shawn_rider_ (28:56)
Okay.
Mike Tenerelli (29:02)
Yeah.
@shawn_rider_ (29:02)
No, careful fellas.
This is a free podcast. This is a free podcast. Mikey, Mikey's a paying client. He'll get that information offline. That brings up, you know what they say, we got to give out all that free shit before someone pays us. So hopefully this is good enough. Now you're crushing it, Mike. Appreciate it. But with all that being said, right? Like going back to the beginning and working our way up now, like former athlete, TV personality, business owner, ⁓ agent, investor, you've done
@realjeffsmith (29:05)
you
Mike Tenerelli (29:09)
We're giving all the knowledge right now. ⁓
@realjeffsmith (29:11)
Yeah
@shawn_rider_ (29:31)
And again, you said you were on teams, but I'm getting to a point that this is slightly different, right? Like you've been pseudo successful or you've been doing the things that you feel are going to make you successful and you've done really well for yourself. I want to acknowledge that. So why, why get into the tactical vampires inner circle? And after getting into it, you know, a year ago, ⁓ what has some of the big shifts been for you or changes that you've seen and value that you've gotten out of the men in the group. And I'm not talking about Jeff and I, I'm talking about just being in a group of
Mike Tenerelli (29:42)
Thank you.
@shawn_rider_ (29:59)
65 plus other high achieving men ⁓ inside of a ⁓ very specific group of people.
Mike Tenerelli (30:08)
Yeah, no, mean, you you got to tribe up as people say, right? You got to get with other people that think the way you do, that have the similar goals that you do, that will motivate you and that will help you and JV with you. So that the group, you know, was easy for me because it aligned with everything that I'm looking to do. And why not?
do it with like-minded men that will help, will partner with you, that will give you some great ideas, that will just be there for you, right? And you need a sounding board, you need like-minded people in your life, right? Especially if you're doing this on your own, you have a group to lean on. So for me, ⁓ it was a no-brainer and the four Fs aligned with me right away and ⁓ it was really...
one of the easiest decisions I've made to join.
@shawn_rider_ (31:10)
Well, we appreciate that. ⁓ What have you taken from other men in the group? You don't have to use names unless you want to, but ⁓ I feel like one of the assets and value adds to the group that men don't understand they're gonna get when they're in it is the breadth and width and depth of knowledge of the other men that are paying to be in that circle. Is there anything that stands out from anyone in the group that helped you move the needle since?
the last meetup or the meetup before that.
Mike Tenerelli (31:43)
Yeah, I mean, the last meetup, you know, I learned a lot from Rex, right? New member, ⁓ kick ass broker, ⁓ you know, ⁓ and, you know, I'm still finding my way on the brokerage end. You know, you can only put so much energy into one thing, right? So am I going to focus all my energies on the wholesaling or the brokerage? But he really, ⁓
brought up some great ideas, brokerage rise and things that he's doing in the Virginia area that have been helping get listings, right? So, he's been a really good sounding board, and then of course the two of you guys, but everybody that I come across, especially at the meetups, just bounce ideas off of the financial component of...
you know, certain guys, ⁓ you know, doing the high cash value, ⁓ life insurance, which Sean kind of leads, ⁓ you know, just knowing that there's other people, other men that are like you, that are doing the same thing makes you feel a lot better, you know, so it makes you feel like you're, you're not alone in this journey, you know, ⁓ so, ⁓ it's, it's, it's been, it's, and you always learn something, you know, especially I would highly suggest everyone, you know,
make sure they're staying on the calls, right? Attending the in-person meetups when they can. And ⁓ just know that every person, every man in this group is there to help because they're looking for help themselves. So it's just a mutually beneficial group.
@shawn_rider_ (33:25)
Love that and appreciate that. I'm gonna put you on the spot with an exercise that we'd like to do at the meetups, but I think it makes for good podcast content. whatever comes to mind first, and it doesn't matter what area of life it is in, but between now and, ⁓ well, it's not between now and January 1st, but in the foreseeable future, the next 30 days, what is something that you need to start doing, keep doing, and stop doing?
The quickest answer that comes to your head on all three of those, start, keep, and stop doing to get you what it is that you're trying to achieve this year.
Mike Tenerelli (34:02)
Start is I need to hire a VA. ⁓ Keep doing is just continuing to ⁓ field the buyers that my managing broker is literally handing to me because that's still a good source of income. ⁓ Start, keep, what was the third? Sorry.
@shawn_rider_ (34:21)
Stop doing.
@realjeffsmith (34:22)
stuff.
Mike Tenerelli (34:23)
Stop stop doing well, that's a long list but Stop doing would be ⁓ and I've already kind of done it but Stop, ⁓ you know jumping at every little shiny object and I feel like finally I've started to get a little focused here and know what my path is gonna be I've got I've kind of experienced every little path in the real estate game and I kind of know what what my path is now and it Honestly, it just took doing it
to realize, yes, this is for me. No, this isn't for me. I've only been full time, let's call it a year and a half, two years. So it takes time. It was more like trial and error type of process. But definitely stop. And I already have, like I said, of jumping at every little shiny object.
@shawn_rider_ (35:12)
I think that's a recurring theme with shiny objects and high achieving men. So I think that's why we put the guardrails in. But in order to know what's your pathway is you got to try a few different things. You got to get into different projects and you got to make mistakes and you got to sometimes partner with the wrong people and lose a little money. I don't know if that's what you're referencing, but that's what we see within the group. You know, for me in particular, like three years ago, I started investing in short term rentals. Last year I sold one.
Yesterday I closed on the sale of a second and now I only own one. It did really, really well for me, but it doesn't fit my criteria and what I wanna do moving forward. So it wasn't necessarily a mistake, but it was a change of course. So I think you're finding your groove here. ⁓ Jeff, I mean, he's hit everything that I wanted to get from him. I know he's a big value add to the people. So anything else you got for ol' Mikey for us?
@realjeffsmith (36:02)
No, no, I appreciate your time, Mike. It's been a pleasure getting to talk to you. It's been fun to watch your growth over the last year and kind of more than anything you ⁓ being a little bit more collectively comfortable in your direction. Because what you're talking about, I think with regards to real estate is any path works in real estate. And when you get into it, you see everybody making money.
and you're just like, I can make money this way, can make money this way, can make money this way. But if you split your attention and never get great at anything, you're always going to be an inch deep and a mile wide. And I think that's where a lot of early investors make their biggest mistakes, right? But you've got to pay that tuition with time and with money and mistakes. so you've done a good job. I just see you more and more comfortable in what's going on.
and kind of understanding the inevitability if you settle down and you focus on these couple things that like the long line of trajectory before you hit the hockey stick has begun for you and you're kind of just trusting the process which is fun to watch. ⁓ And I like how you mentioned the collective suffering of ⁓ watching everybody get their ass kicked in our group because I think that's why we're really there is like ⁓
Yeah, you're going through this, I'm going through this. And like, there's no level that you get to where you don't stop getting your fucking teeth kicked in. And I think it's nice for everyone to see that from time to time and understand that like, the problems never end. And so you might as well just slow down and like really embrace the here and now of like what's important to us, the values that we espouse, which is taking care of yourself and taking care of your family and paying attention to them.
because like all this stuff is just going to happen over time because we know the processes and the steps that we need to take. ⁓ Now that's not to say we don't make mistakes. It's just the business and the finance side of things is like an inevitability of like a freight train that's going. And once you understand where you're going and you stop jerking off paths, going different directions, you really can kind of settle down into that. And it's been fun to see you.
kind of find your way and be like, okay, this is crystal clear on where I can deliver immense value. And so congratulations, kudos to you. Your next three to five years is going to be an amazing thing. Your kids are going to be growing. Your bank's going to be growing. It's going to be fun.
Mike Tenerelli (38:35)
I appreciate that, Jeff. And thank you to the both of you guys. And you guys have definitely been a sounding board to me and other members have as well, of course. And I also put this out there and I think everyone knows, but any members in the group or outside of the group that are listening to this, if you ever have a question, you ever need help, if you ever think, hey, I want to do what Mike's doing or feel free, I'm always around. So I firmly believe in paying it forward. I firmly believe that...
helping others ⁓ is a ⁓ way to not only ⁓ feel good about yourself, right? And feel like you're helping others, but it'll help, it'll pay for itself in the end. And like I said, I believe that with all my heart and ⁓ thanks for having me on. I really appreciate it. And I'll be talking to you guys and seeing you guys soon.
@realjeffsmith (39:28)
Yeah, brother.
@shawn_rider_ (39:28)
How can people reach, whether or not
they're in the inner circle or not, how can people reach out to you?
Mike Tenerelli (39:34)
Yeah, I'm on mostly Instagram and Facebook. So if you just search my name, I'm on there. ⁓ You know, and I could ⁓ drop my phone or email as well. I'm not sure how that would get. Maybe we can just drop that in the notes ⁓ and that'd be totally fine either way.
@realjeffsmith (39:52)
Okay. Yeah. If you guys are interested in looking for an operator and you're cash investor, this man's doing flips. So hit us up and, or hit him up, Mike Tenerelli, and we'll throw his ⁓ links in the show notes. And you guys heard it here. He wants to move people forward quickly. So ⁓ thanks for your time today, man. As always guys, you can join us in the Tactical Empire Facebook community, like and subscribe to us on YouTube.
and you can message Sean and I directly on Instagram. We can link you up with Mike if you want. He's just a text message or a phone call away. ⁓ have a great week, kick ass, and we will see you next week.