Aileen (00:00):

Thank you, everyone for joining today’s episode of the How Did They Do It? Real Estate podcasts. We are your hosts Seyla and Aileen and today’s guest, we have Whitney Sewell. Whitney is the founder and CEO of Life Bridge Capital, where he helps investors secure financial security through multifamily syndications. He currently manages a portfolio of over 600 units valued at nearly $100 million. He is also the host of the popular daily podcast, The Real Estate Syndication Show, where he has now interviewed over 750 experts in the syndication business. Whitney and his wife, along with their three children are passionate about helping families through the process of adoption and have committed 50% of their profits to this cause. We’re very excited to have you on the show today, Whitney. Welcome to the show. How are you doing?

Whitney (00:42):

Excellent. Thank you all very much. Glad to be here.

Aileen (00:46):

So can you please tell the listeners a little bit more about your background and how did you get started in real estate?

Whitney (00:52):

Sure. How I got started, I was in necessity of looking for more income and it was, I was in the military and military taught me many things, which I helped, I think helped me become an entrepreneur. And one thing I like to bring out from that time is just the never give up mentality that I felt like the, the military instilled in me and whether that’s boot camp or different things, I’m spending a year overseas. There’s just times it’s not an option to give up when, and then after going overseas, being over there for a year, come back and became a police officer with Kentucky state police. And it was, it was during that time that was in 2009 and I wasn’t raised around entrepreneurs or, or real estate experts or investors and anything like that so no one in my family had done any kind of investing or even thought that way really.

Whitney (01:41):

And, but at that time I noticed guys were retiring from the state police with 20 to 30 years on and making $40,000 a year or less. And so I thought, okay, this is as much as I enjoyed it. It just wasn’t what was best. Right? And so in many other details there, but ultimately started looking for a way to create more income. And in real estate I was exposed to real estate. I can’t remember exactly how, I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and probably some other things, but, but just opened my eyes to the possibility. And the big thing was that there were so many people that had already done it. It wasn’t like there’s two people that’s made wealth in real estate, right? It’s like, okay, if all these people can do it, guess what? I bet I can do it too.

Whitney (02:24):

And so pretty quickly my wife and I purchased a couple of triplexes and that, like I said, that was 2009, but we’ve made a ton of mistakes and just a ton of mistakes. It was a university to say the least and just made a lot of mistakes, but it was a great experience. And so we kept purchasing some small multifamily, quickly became a federal agent that moved us to Virginia, where we still live now. And so we’re after even moving to Virginia, we still bought and sold some smaller multi-family I feel like a 15 unit. And then a few years ago I was exposed to the syndication business. I had no idea that like, this was even a thing, but I didn’t know that this was an option that you could even invest passively with operators or even that you could even buy an apartment building.

Whitney (03:10):

I mean, if you’d asked me, then I would just said something about me buying one, I would have said, you’re crazy, but there’s, it’s just, there’s no way that’s going to happen. And so, but that the more I was exposed to it and I thought, okay, this makes a ton of sense because I love the structure and the discipline of working with professionals and really growing a professional business, as opposed to looking for more tenants and tall it’s like I had been doing and just the thought process of thinking, okay, how many doors is it going to take to have the income that I’m looking for to replace my, my job and things like that. If I’m looking for more duplexes or triplexes or whatever it may be, it’s going to take a long time. And so the syndication business just made a ton of sense. And, and my wife and I jumped in completely and said, you know what, we’re going to commit to that. And so we sold everything else and said, we’re going to learn the syndication business, and we’re going to grow that brand. And obviously the podcast came out of that and many other details there, but I’m going to give you a chance to ask any questions that you have, but yeah, so many things there that, that happened to get where we’re at now, but that’s, that’s the quick version, I guess.

Aileen (04:15):

Thank you so much for sharing Whitney. And first of all, I want to say thank you for your service as well.

Whitney (04:21):

You’re welcome.

Seyla (04:22):

Whitney, how did you get started with your first multifamily deal or syndication? What were some of the major challenges that you faced?

Whitney (04:30):

Yeah, so I would say the first one is important to note, like I partnered with someone I was with, I had a mentor, which is highly encouraged people to have a mentor.  Syndication, I mean, in any business, it’s just great to have people that are on your team or on your side that you can ask questions of that’s been there and done it. Right. But I had a mentor and I partnered with him on a, on a couple projects, really just to learn the business. There’s so many things it does for you and not just your education, but also as you are developing your investor base and people are learning about you. They’ve never seen you do deals like this before. A lot of people may not even know you’re in real estate. And so it’s, it’s kind of a shock fast factor at first, right?

Whitney (05:10):

So you send your list out or a deal out to your list. And, and many people aren’t going to invest the first time they see it because they don’t know that you’re this real estate experts supposedly. Right. And so it takes it maybe a couple of those before people start asking more questions and seeing what you’re doing and things like that. So a lot of that happened by partnering with, with a mentor, with someone that was further ahead than I was, I had been doing this for a long time and a great track record. Right. And that was crucial as well because when I’m having conversations and, and probably a lot of listeners are wondering that too, like, well, how do I have those conversations with investors? How do I show that I have any experience? Why would they invest with me if I haven’t done a deal before like this?

Whitney (05:52):

Why? So when they ask about, when they would ask about my track record, I can say, well, this is the, this is what they’ve done. This is how many units they’ve been on, they’ve had, or they have under management now, many, many thousands of units and many, many hundreds of millions under management and this many years in the business. And so I can talk about that instead of trying to sit there and say, well, I’ve read a bunch of books or something like that. I’ve, I’ve studied a lot because people were probably going to be hesitant to hand you money. Right. So that was crucial though, partnering with that mentor. And then that was really the takeoff right. For our business and, and doing a couple of deals with him. But, you know, then it was, partnering with my business partner now, and then there’s a lot there we could talk about, but, but combining our strengths, our complimentary skills and, and we’re now doing obviously many of our own deals.

Aileen (06:41):

That’s great. And so you talked about your partner. So how did you find your current partner and how did you know that he was the right fit for you?

Whitney (06:49):

That’s a great question. It’s a, it’s a question I get often and talk about often because we, my wife and I’ve been praying for our business partner for a long time, but it’s a decision we took very seriously and I, I had spent so much time, so much money building our investor base, building our brand and doing all of that. I mean, it cost a fortune, right. And just a massive commitment, especially doing a daily show for, for a few years. And, and the last thing I wanted to do was to partner with the wrong person and, and lose all that trust, right, of our investors and just people in the industry. And so it was crucial that this was the right fit. So I was asked by lots of people to partner and, and turn them down everyone, other than that partner.

Whitney (07:36):

And he and I already had a relationship, right. And we were already friends at that point and he was way ahead of me, but he was someone that I trusted and I entrusted my investors with all as well. And so you’ll, you’ll get asked many times when, say no, because there was no relationship there. I didn’t know them. And so this, this person or Sam rust is my business partner. So we met at a conference and through a mutual acquaintance, introduced us. And we got to talking one night, we were sitting amongst a lot of people at, at a dinner. And I heard him talking about his faith, his family, like numerous things outside of real estate as well. That just showed me his character, showed me more about who he is and that we had a lot in common, but then also he had syndicated a deal on his own.

Whitney (08:25):

And so I knew there was some drive there, right. A lot of ability and even ability to just trust with some investors that he had. And in them, we, we actually had dinner again the next night. It was not planned among some other people and got to talk more, just he and I, and, and long story short. Then the last night of the conference, I just approached him and said to him, my wife and I had been praying for a partner for a long time, and you seem to fit the bill. I’d love to just further that conversation. I made it clear that it didn’t mean we were going to partner, but didn’t mean that I wanted to get to know him better. And so actually that he was very excited and that night he ended up taking me to the airport. So we got to spend a little more time together.

Whitney (09:03):

But after that, he and his wife and, and me and my wife spent hours on zoom. I just being very open and knowing that we’re moving towards a partnership, but that it’s not for sure going to happen yet, but, but really just asking very open questions and being very open and honest about whatever. I mean, we even called references. We did lots of due diligence on one another, just to ensure that this was a right fit. And so, but he did, he had, he had skills that, that I do not have, and I have skills that he did not have. And so it’s been a great, it’s been a great fit, a really good, but that due diligence I think is so crucial. I even flew back and stayed at his house for a few days just to see him interacting with his family that tells you a lot about someone. And so just to see all of them and, but it, but it was really good and it’s been a great fit.

Seyla (09:52):

So Whitney, after you found your partner, so until now, how have you been able to scale your business and achieve rapid returns?

Whitney (10:00):

Yes. So after finding him, it took some things off my plate, right. And those things are actually done a lot better now. Cause he’s, he’s better, he’s better at numbers and underwriting and some of that than I’ll probably ever will ever be, which is great. Right. I want him to be that expert where I’m obviously more on the investor relations side and the marketing side, all that, as far as scaling, I mean, the podcast has, has been crucial for, to scaling as fast as we have no doubt about it. It’s taken just a massive amount of commitment, not just for maybe my whole family, because it has taken extraordinary amount of hours while I was still working full-time as well, doing a daily podcast, doing deals. I mean just a massive amount of time, a commitment. And so, but you know, since then, obviously it’s allowed us to build a, a large base and, and develop a trust in the industry and with lots of investors.

Whitney (10:51):

But now since partnering with Sam, like you mentioned, he’s, he’s our boots on the ground in Colorado. He lives in Denver. And so, and that’s been great. He already, he’s developed some relationships with many brokers and with many sellers and, and so, but he didn’t have the capital, right. He didn’t have the investor base. And so that allowed us to put those things together and now we’re ready to do some deals. And so that, and we have another team member that’s in another market that we’re in as well, which has been, it’s been a very helpful, very helpful to have somebody there that can be, that can sit in on the property management meetings in person, or just go by unannounced or those things that it’s hard to do if you live many States away. But, but after partnering BSN, I mean, it’s just pulling our skills together. And I mean, it’s, it’s been great. It’s been really good. We’ve moved very fast since then. Go ahead. Sorry.

Aileen (11:41):

So you mentioned that you were doing a W2 job while you are doing well. You’re starting up your syndication business. How are you able to juggle your full-time W2, working all these different deals with your business, and having a daily podcast, raising three children, it’s a lot.

Whitney (12:00):

It is a lot to say the least. And I just feel like you have to be first, you have to commit, even if you don’t know how to do something like you first, you have to commit and then you have to have some courage. I think you have to put yourself out there and you have to be willing to push forward, even though you don’t know what the outcome’s going to be 100%, because if you wait until then, you’ll just never do it. And so that’s what it ultimately took from us, but not just me and I talk often about some hidden team members or team members that, that people don’t normally talk about. And that’s, that’s ultimately my wife and my kids. And so it was not just a commitment for me, but a massive commitment from our wife as well. And so while I’m, I’m working full time, doing a bit and operating a business full-time as well, that meant me ultimately not being in the home for about two years.

Whitney (12:49):

You know what I mean, as sad as that sounds, but very little. And so my kids wouldn’t know that like Sunday’s the day that dad’s not working. And, and so, but it took just like you all this morning being up at 5:00 AM or being willing to take investor calls, even at 5:00 AM, believe it or not, there’s people that will schedule calls with you that early, or they’re on their way to work or they’re on their way home from work or for whatever reason. But, you know, being, having that time available for people to schedule calls from like five to seven before I would go to my W2 job or after, as soon as I would get home, most days at four 30, you know what I mean? I would have four or five interviews scheduled plus investor calls. And so I would have a two days off a month, every other Monday from a day job when I was still at a W2.

Whitney (13:31):

And those days I would record 12 to 15 interviews just back to back to back to back to back plus investor calls, plus being on other shows like this. And so I would call it an interview day. I mean, a marathon day. I mean, it was just as hard as I could go nonstop. There’s no breaks. And so, but I just knew that that’s what it was going to take. And so I try not to focus on how hard it’s going to be, but focus on the outcome, right. Focus on where you’re going. Like, okay, if that’s what we got to do, let’s, let’s get it started. Right. I mean, let’s, let’s get going. And so let’s not focus on how hard it’s going to be. And so, I mean, that was crucial. Like maximizing that time. I did build a team of virtual assistants and I’ve never edited the first piece of audio or video, even though we’ve done 767 shows now.

Whitney (14:14):

And I can’t when I knew that from the beginning. So we built a team to help with those things. But even then I had to be willing to say no to the, the normal things that you do. Like when you’re this age or you’re involved in whether it’s your church or clubs or whatever it may be. That you’re a part of. I had to say no to all those things for a couple years or more about two and a half years. And because I knew that that would pull me away, you’re right. We sold a farm. I mean, we sold our house and our farm and, and, and downsize drastically, like just to be committed to this business. And we were starting our third adoption process, the process then too, we wanted to be able to commit to that as well. And financially that’s another massive expense.

Whitney (14:56):

And so we just, I mean, it just took 100% commitment. I mean, like I said, even selling this farm that my wife and I had always dreamed of and as hard as that was that it allowed us to just focus on this outcome and where we’re at now. And so hard day after hard day, long day, long night, it’s like, okay, we’re just, we just have to stay focused. But it took being very intentional with my calendar, with my scheduling. But like I said, maximizing those days, but like I said, most afternoons, I had to be willing to go straight to the office and, and record many shows, take many phone calls and just maximize and, and just be willing to push harder than what your friends are, are pushing. When they’re saying you’re crazy for doing this, but you had to be willing to just look past that and not put much weight on that while they’re doing other things maybe you used to like to do that. You got to see further down the road.

Aileen (15:48):

Yep. You got to look at the results of what you want to achieve at the very end to be able to get to it.

Seyla (15:53):

So, Whitney, how did you transition from a full-time W2 to a full-time syndicator?

Whitney (15:59):

Yeah, I was almost already full-time syndicator people say it was part-time when, I mean, it was really another full-time job as crazy as it was. And so it was, I’d done a few deals. We had syndicated a few properties in and ultimately I wanted to make sure a few things were in place. We wanted to move, we move again, banks don’t like giving a mortgage to people who quit their job. Right. And so that was a big thing. They hold us up too. It was finding a house and moving again. And as soon as we did that, ultimately, I mean the business, the syndication business was I’d already grown lot, was very stable. We were having more deal flow investor base growing really quickly. And so there was, there was no reason to stay. It was costing me a lot more if nothing else, just mentally and the time commitment away from my family.

Whitney (16:47):

That’s time. You can’t get back to that. Time is so valuable, but, but even the, the salary doesn’t compare. And if that time, if I can spend that much more time on the real estate business, how much further can we go? And so that transition, I mean, we just dreamed about it for so long, right. Making that transition, but ultimately, so I can have more time at home so I could have that those afternoons back or the weekends back with the family. And so that’s been the sweetest thing, you know, I can ride my bike with my boys in the afternoon and I haven’t been able to do that for two years. And so it took that level of commitment though. And, but also I will say it took also painting that picture for the family, what they need to be able to see where you’re going.

Whitney (17:29):

They need to be able to visualize that as well. And that’s a long time, two years when dad’s not there much, that’s hard. It’s really hard, but you know, they have to know where you’re going. They have to see that something’s happening. Right. And so that big, that next big move was something we all dreamed of because we knew that also meant dad was leaving this one, whole job. It was going to be able to be at home more that the transition’s been amazing. It’s been really good, but it’s, it’s allowed me to focus more on the real estate business and, and the family.

Aileen (17:58):

That’s great to hear Whitney. Thank you.

Seyla (18:01):

So Whitney, what has been the most difficult challenge you have faced when building up your business so far?

Whitney (18:08):

A difficult challenge. We hit on it a little bit. It was definitely just being away from the family and that level of commitment. It’s it just, wasn’t an option not to make it happen or to quit. I just, it just, wasn’t an option to quit and doing the daily podcast was just a massive commitment and, and still is, but it’s, it’s easier to manage now than it was, it was still working full-time but that’s been the most difficult part when people say, well, what are the, what’s the key thing that got you where you’re at now? What’s the one big thing you’re out. Everybody’s wanting that, that book or that piece of advice that’s going to like get them there. Well, you know what, I don’t claim to be a genius, but I will work hard and I’ll work as hard as I can, but harder than most, maybe not than anybody, but, and, and that’s ultimately, it’s like, are you willing to, to be up at 5:00 AM and work till 10 or midnight, if that’s what it takes and how long are you willing to keep going? And that’s just what it took. And that was the hardest part. And my boys, I tell you, like sitting, I had this, like in this house had this like dungeon of an office in the corner of the basement. And I could see out the window though. And I could see my boys playing when that was, that was really hard. So that’s the hardest part is missing all that to make it happen.

Seyla (19:25):

So Whitney, your company Life Bridge Capital also donates 50% of the proceeds to the adoption process. Can you talk about your passion for helping families through the adoption process and why is it important to you?

Whitney (19:41):

Yeah, my, my wife and I had never talked about adopting before and we were listening to a pastor talk when I, this is in 2011, we were listening to a pastor talk about how they had adopted and how there were 160 million orphans in the world and how I can, how it can cost 40 to $60,000 to bring a child home. Most people have no idea. It’s such a shame that many children and there’s so many hurdles you have to jump through. It’s a very difficult process. However, on our way home from that, like I said, we, we grew up in a very small town and it’s not, it wasn’t common that someone was adopted or that we knew of. But after we heard that, we were like, why would we not, why would we not adopt a child? Like that just made so much sense to us.

Whitney (20:23):

And so within a week we turned in an application to adopt from Ethiopia. And two years later, our son Samuel came home from Ethiopia. And then we, then we started the process again, thinking it would take probably two years, right. But then our second son was born like nine or 10 months later. And so he came home and then a couple of years after that, our daughter, we started another process. Then it took two more years and then our daughter was born and brought home to adoption as well. And so it’s a very difficult road to, I mean, just the process, but I tell everybody it’s so worthwhile, it’s so worthwhile, but, but the financial burden alone keeps most people from even pursuing it. So we have calls with couples often, and I’d say, if anybody’s listening and is interested or has questions, we’ve done international and domestic adoptions and had failed placement.

Whitney (21:12):

I mean, we’ve had the ups and downs and, and I encourage anybody to reach out because my wife and I schedule calls with couples often just to talk through the process and answer any questions. But through all that, we see so many people who say, well, Whitney, that’s, that’s more than I make in a year. You know how it’s just not possible. And so that’s where Life Bridge Capital wants to come along beside them and say, you know what, if you’ll commit to bringing this child home, we want to help you financially. So we are partnered with our church and another nonprofit for a while. And we’re in the process now of starting our own nonprofit. Cause we’ve had a lot of people that want to partner and give to that cause. So that, hopefully that, that is established very soon. And, but yeah, that’s yeah, it was just helping other families bring their children home.

Aileen (21:53):

Oh, that’s so beautiful. And that’s such a great mission. A lot of families, they want to start having kids sometimes they might not be able to. And so to be able to work with you guys and be able to make that dream happen is, is really, really incredible. So thank you so much for that.

Whitney (22:08):

Yeah, no, it’s our pleasure. And we just, investors love to that. They can be a part of something bigger than just building wealth for an operator. That’s trying to make a bunch of money. They can be a part of something, but it doesn’t affect their returns either. So, so I’ve enjoyed that also. Yeah.

Aileen (22:22):

Thank you. I want to talk, so ask one more question about how did you decide to start your daily podcast by the way Whitney?

Whitney (22:31):

Yes. Big decision, right? I mean, big decision and there’s only one other daily podcasts, a real estate daily podcast that I know of. There’s numerous, there’s a few others that I know are daily, but not in real estate. And honestly I saw his, his success as quick success and what it had done for him. And, and I thought, okay, like, I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here. Well, let’s just make it happen. It was still back to that mentality.  If he can do it, I can do it too. We’ll figure it out. So I committed to that and I, and I was talking with him about it. And he, and, and actually I’ve talked to a couple of other people in the industry that everyone listening would know, some very big names. And I was at a conference with individually with these people having dinner at two different places.

Whitney (23:10):

And I was talking to them about a daily podcast and both of them were like, Whitney, you’re crazy. Don’t do that. You know, don’t, don’t do that. And so this is where that mentor came in as well. I told him that I’m like these two, like, you know who these two people are, like they said, don’t do it. And, and he was like, that’s why you have to do it because it’s too much work for most people. Most other people are not going to do it. And so I needed that shot in the arm, right, I needed to hear that. And then I was like, okay, I can do this. We’re going to do it. We’ll figure it out. And ultimately I just mentally committed and said, okay, if that’s what it takes, if that’s going to help us to get there, let’s just, let’s do it, let’s make it happen.

Whitney (23:46):

And, and it was almost that simple, but, and I think there’s so much about that. Just the mental or the mindset and the commitment and saying, okay, let’s do it. But whatever that may be for the listener, it may not be a podcast or a daily podcast. It is quite insane, but it, but that was it. I was like, okay, if that’s, if that’s going to help us to get there faster, I understand why I’m doing seven times as many shows as most people. And so we think about how much faster your network grows. Right. And so it’s not too hard to figure out, okay, well, there’s that many more people in your network now, does that mean more people you’re, you’re learning about and, and, and things you’re learning as well. Right? It was, it’s been my own university. So I’ve experts on the show. Well guess what, we’re going through a deal. And I have, haven’t have things we’re working through. I get to ask those people those questions, right. I mean, right there, we’re talking about syndication and you say, okay, what, what did you all do about this? And the listeners don’t know that we’re working through that, but you know, it’s, it’s right there. I get questions answered often.

Aileen (24:41):

No, definitely very, very valuable to be able to learn from the top experts and to, to pull from their knowledge and apply it to your own and to share that as well.

Seyla (24:51):

So Whitney, how has real estate investing impacted your life?

Whitney (24:55):

Oh man. I, it has changed everything for us. I mean, it has committing to the daily podcast. I mean, I mean, it has taught me so much about myself and entrepreneurship and business, and I’ve had to, I mean, if you could see just right here in front of me right now I mean, I’m just, I’m reading like mad. And so, but I have been since this started, and that was one big thing that changed before the daily podcast even was my daily routine being up early and being very intentional with that time and, and digging in and educating myself now, I wasn’t raised around entrepreneurs. I didn’t think that way. And so I had to figure out, okay, what are these people doing that are having success and, and things about how to operate a business and you don’t know those things, right? I mean, so I had to jump in and figure those things out, but it has changed everything obviously since then leaving the day job.

Whitney (25:47):

And now I can make my own schedule feel really full, but I can, I can, I can take a whole day off or regular anytime we want, I can do this job from anywhere in the world, which is pretty incredible that you can do that. And so that has, it’s just opened up my family now to, we can, we have so much more availability to do things together or to go places or it’s allowed us to help so many other people, you know, that we couldn’t have before. I mean, it’s allowed us to give in ways that we never thought were possible. So it’s, it’s changed not only our life, but it’s allowed us to be a vessel to help many other families as well.

Seyla (26:22):

What is one thing that you know now about estate that you wish you knew When you first started?

Whitney (26:26):

Oh, wait, there’s a long list. Right? I go back to that first property sometime. I mean, there’s so many things and a lot of the entrepreneur mindset stuff was, it was crucial to where we’re at nail it mindset is so important that level of commitment. But initially at that first deal, it was a lack of due diligence. A lack of, I trusted the realtor too much. I trusted the seller too much. Like there was some hard lessons there. Obviously we know better than some of that now, but, but that was some hard things that, that we had to learn that we obviously know better now, but that was some hard lessons I wish I had known then how to do better due diligence and how to underwrite better. And those things even thinking about syndication and doing bigger deals, wish I had known about that so many years before.

Aileen (27:16):

And so what is the one thing that sets a successful people apart in the real estate investing business sets, successful people apart? Yes.

Whitney (27:24):

The level of commitment. I mean, it is it’s I just try to stress. It’s not because the ones who are seeing to be as quote successful, it’s not that they have like some magical piece of information, but they don’t. And, and, and that’s what I think so many people, they felt like they just don’t know what they have to know yet. Well, no, you just have to jump in and you have to commit is that mindset of pushing forward every day, keeping ongoing, even when your setback, even it’s going to happen, you’re going to get kicked in the face and you got to be willing to keep going. And it’s, then that that’s when your friends are really coming, saying, see, you need to quit that nonsense, but you got to keep going and you have to be able to see the big picture. You have to be able to see further down the road, but you have a different vision than what your, your old friends had and, and staying committed. And, and that’s it. I being willing to work harder than anyone else. And that’s, I mean, it’s almost that simple and it just, the mindset of pushing forward and not giving up.

Aileen (28:26):

So what tools or techniques have you used to improve the efficiency of your business or your personal life?

Whitney (28:33):

Tools Yeah. I’m always looking for tools, looking for things to do exactly what you just said. A couple of things I would, instead of a software first, I would say virtual assistance quickly. I built a team of virtual assistants just to manage the podcast. There were four people all over the world. I had another assistant that was in the States that would help me manage all those people. Right. I mean, I couldn’t have done it without them. We have different systems now, but that was crucial. I still use virtual assistants often for lots of things, but that’s been crucial to scaling and building and staying organized, but we use a sauna. We use Hub Spot and Hub Spot’s a CRC, RM and marketing platform. That’s been a big game changer, but it was, that was another big step. We didn’t start their cause it’s a big expense, but just a few things like there’s things like monday.com and Trello, all those just use something.

Whitney (29:22):

I guess I get stuck sometimes on like, well, which one’s the best we’re looking at all these let’s just have one get started and you’re going to be better off all those platforms are pretty amazing at what they can do, but that’s helped us weekly calls with our, with each team member when we’re, we’re even going through some of that and how our structure of our business and in how KPIs and things that holding our team members accountable. Some of that’s really helped us to push forward and changing our hiring process. I just went through a book called top grading by Brad smart, and just really opens your eyes to how to hire top notch. People. We just went through this big hiring process, interviewed two people yesterday. I had hundred like four or 500 people apply, but only 30 did what I asked. So guess what? That narrowed it way down, only 10, 10. Then I reached out and gave them assignments and narrowed it down to about four interviews, which were in the middle of nail. So learning things like that have helped us to scale forward faster because we can bring on a players and, and get there quicker.

Aileen (30:23):

And so Whitney, if our listeners wanted to find out more about you and your story, or potentially invest with you, where can they go?

Whitney (30:30):

Lifebridgecapital.com. You can email me Whitney@lifebridgecapital.com. You can call text me at (540) 585-4338.

Aileen (30:41):

Oh, thank you so much, Whitney.  We really enjoyed having you on the show today and all the, all the knowledge that you’ve shared with us.

Whitney (30:48):

My pleasure grateful for you all. Thank you.