Latest news with #ProfitFirst
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A financially independent real estate investor shares the book that changed his strategy and helped him build a profitable portfolio of rentals
Before buying his first property, Manny Reyna read as many books about real estate as he had time. The knowledge he gained gave him the confidence to buy when interest rates hit record lows in 2021. His favorite business book, 'Blue Ocean Strategy, changed the way he thought about his portfolio. When Manny Reyna struggled to find a tenant for one of his investment properties, he turned to a principle he learned from "Blue Ocean Strategy." The book, co-authored by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, breaks down the market universe into two main categories: "red oceans" — the industries in existence today, or the known market space — and "blue oceans," the industries not in existence, or the unknown market space. While "red ocean strategy" is all about competing in an existing market space, "blue ocean strategy" is about creating an uncontested market space and capturing new demand. "One of my homes was not picking up on Airbnb," Reyna, who rents two single-family homes and two tiny homes in San Antonio, told Business Insider. "So, I shifted my strategy to something called mid-term rentals. I took the playbook right out of 'Blue Ocean Strategy': Everyone's looking at this shiny object — short-term rentals — but what about mid-term rentals?" He listed the property on Furnished Finder, which specializes in 30-day plus stays and is geared toward traveling professionals. It's less mainstream than sites like Airbnb and VRBO, and Reyna had to spend time familiarizing himself with a new platform. "Furnished Finder charges you to post your home, they bring in tenant leads, and then you have to engage them, so that's a whole other thing," he said. "I had to make templates and figure out the whole process, everything from screening tenants through a third-party app called KeyCheck to taking deposits and writing leases." The upfront work paid off, he said: "When I went to mid-term rentals, I was able to pick up a lot more bookings. For whatever reason, in the area where the home is in San Antonio, there are a lot of medical professionals that go there, a lot of construction professionals, and a lot of business professionals." Reyna spent years working in the US Army before purchasing his first property. "I was a medic, so we wouldn't really have too much to do unless somebody got hurt. With that downtime, I read so many books about business and real estate and finance," he said. "We didn't have a way to get internet a lot of the time, so I just read anything I could get my hands on." When he was wrapping up his service in 2021, he had about $12,000 in savings, a family to support, and a career to figure out. "I was super concerned about a lot of things," he said. But, as interest rates started to drop to historic lows in 2021, Reyna recognized an opportunity to buy property and start building equity. The knowledge he'd acquired reading "Blue Ocean Strategy" and other books, including "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and "Profit First," helped him turn the idea of buying a home into reality relatively quickly. "I won't say that I was an expert, but I had some confidence," he said. The mindset he developed in the Army also helped him act quickly. "They teach you to make a decision and act on it. I was just thinking, 'This is a now-or-never moment. The interest rates are super low. I know they're going to go back up soon.'" He found a single-family home, financed it with a 0% down VA loan, and locked in a 3% interest rate. He and his family moved in in the spring of 2021. That property is now one of four rentals that he owns. Self-education is one lever you can pull if you're cash-strapped or starting from scratch. "I really just read anything I could get my hands on because I felt like I was so behind and needed to figure out a way to make money for my family," said Reyna. "So that was the fastest thing I could do — just read, read, read, read, read, and try to get caught up on everything." Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
09-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
A financially independent real estate investor shares the book that changed his strategy and helped him build a profitable portfolio of rentals
When Manny Reyna struggled to find a tenant for one of his investment properties, he turned to a principle he learned from " Blue Ocean Strategy." The book, co-authored by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, breaks down the market universe into two main categories: "red oceans" — the industries in existence today, or the known market space — and "blue oceans," the industries not in existence, or the unknown market space. While "red ocean strategy" is all about competing in an existing market space, "blue ocean strategy" is about creating an uncontested market space and capturing new demand. "One of my homes was not picking up on Airbnb," Reyna, who rents two single-family homes and two tiny homes in San Antonio, told Business Insider. "So, I shifted my strategy to something called mid-term rentals. I took the playbook right out of 'Blue Ocean Strategy': Everyone's looking at this shiny object — short-term rentals — but what about mid-term rentals?" He listed the property on Furnished Finder, which specializes in 30-day plus stays and is geared toward traveling professionals. It's less mainstream than sites like Airbnb and VRBO, and Reyna had to spend time familiarizing himself with a new platform. "Furnished Finder charges you to post your home, they bring in tenant leads, and then you have to engage them, so that's a whole other thing," he said. "I had to make templates and figure out the whole process, everything from screening tenants through a third-party app called KeyCheck to taking deposits and writing leases." The upfront work paid off, he said: "When I went to mid-term rentals, I was able to pick up a lot more bookings. For whatever reason, in the area where the home is in San Antonio, there are a lot of medical professionals that go there, a lot of construction professionals, and a lot of business professionals." Using books to get his foot in the real estate door Reyna spent years working in the US Army before purchasing his first property. "I was a medic, so we wouldn't really have too much to do unless somebody got hurt. With that downtime, I read so many books about business and real estate and finance," he said. "We didn't have a way to get internet a lot of the time, so I just read anything I could get my hands on." When he was wrapping up his service in 2021, he had about $12,000 in savings, a family to support, and a career to figure out. "I was super concerned about a lot of things," he said. But, as interest rates started to drop to historic lows in 2021, Reyna recognized an opportunity to buy property and start building equity. The knowledge he'd acquired reading "Blue Ocean Strategy" and other books, including "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and "Profit First," helped him turn the idea of buying a home into reality relatively quickly. "I won't say that I was an expert, but I had some confidence," he said. The mindset he developed in the Army also helped him act quickly. "They teach you to make a decision and act on it. I was just thinking, 'This is a now-or-never moment. The interest rates are super low. I know they're going to go back up soon.'" He found a single-family home, financed it with a 0% down VA loan, and locked in a 3% interest rate. He and his family moved in in the spring of 2021. That property is now one of four rentals that he owns. Self-education is one lever you can pull if you're cash-strapped or starting from scratch. "I really just read anything I could get my hands on because I felt like I was so behind and needed to figure out a way to make money for my family," said Reyna. "So that was the fastest thing I could do — just read, read, read, read, read, and try to get caught up on everything."
Business Journals
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
10 insider secrets to thriving in the entrepreneurial wild
Entrepreneurship is a journey paved by resilience, ingenuity, grit, hustle and – if you are a member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) – a supportive community. In Maryland, EO is a cornerstone for business owners, offering a network for both learning as well as personal/professional growth. I'm offering 10 hacks I wish I knew sooner, which contributed significantly to my own personal and professional development. They are a random compilation of experiences during the last six years or so of my EO Baltimore membership. 1. I joined EO in January 2019. In June 2019 I attended a workshop, based on the book 'Profit First,' where I learned a methodology to pay myself (and my taxes) first. Thanks to this workshop, I had way more money in my personal bank account within six months and was able to start profit sharing with my team. 2. That September I attended a conference where a fellow entrepreneur shared with me that during his team's self-performance evaluations, he asks people to rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 10, but he takes away the 7. So, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, _, 8, 9,1 0. He said sevens are where people go to hide, and if you force them to pick a six or an eight, it drives people to dig down and get more real with themselves (and you). He was absolutely right. 3. Same conference. Everyone kept using the word 'traction.' They knew something I didn't. I learned 'Traction' is a book by Gino Wickman. My company, Brand Builders, started implementing EOS. My leadership team got aligned, and we started getting more done in two weeks than in whole quarters. It felt like magic. (Another EO Baltimore friend said it to me this way: 'Structure sets you free; for nearly every problem, there's a solution involving structure.') expand 4. The Change Paradigm. (See diagram.). It works like this:20% of people are unfazed by change, adopting easily with little to no resistance. Sixty percent of people will adapt, but at different rates. It's our job as entrepreneurs to create as little friction as possible, so they can adapt more readily/quickly. Twenty percent aren't coming. In fact, they will go to great lengths to dig their heels in and thwart the change at every turn. Successful change management includes Identifying which groups your team members fall into and create a plan for each. 5. Time doesn't heal; energy does. – Finnian Kelly. His point was clear: If time healed, then we wouldn't be affected by our childhood traumas. Energy work is now part of my journey. expand 6. From my EO forum (it's six of us who meet monthly): 'There's nothing more powerful than the right book at the right time.' Here's an off-the-top-of-my-head list, I personally recommend: 'American Icon,' Alan Mulally 'The Desire Map,' Danielle LaPorte 'No More Mr. Nice Guy,' Dr. Robert Glover (I didn't actually read this one, but it was recommended during a trying time in my marriage; my husband read it, and it was instrumental.) 'Fierce Conversations,' Susan Scott 'The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,' Patrick Lencioni 'The Power of the Other,' Dr. Henry Cloud 'Get a Grip,' Gino Wickman and Mike Paton 'The Obstacle Is the Way,' Ryan Holiday 'Giftology,' John Ruhlin 'The Leader Within Us,' Warren Rustand 7. Warren Rustand taught me there are 86,400 seconds in a day. And encouraged me to stop wasting seconds on what you won't care about in 10 years. 8. Jack Daly demonstrated how to structure a lucrative referral bonus for employees as we were coming out of Covid – one I could afford when I couldn't afford much – but still was meaningful enough to incentivize my team to refer critical talent. (Think incrementally - 20%; 20%; 60% in terms of payouts). 9. Big one: Regret(s) help us because it shows us what we value most. Think of a compilation of regrets being a photographic negative of a good life. Do three exercises: Write a Failure Resume for yourself. Three columns at the top of the page: Mistakes/Setbacks What Did I Learn? What I Am Doing Next/Differently? Conduct a Regret Pre-Mortem on next big endeavor. Place a phone call to yourself – What am I going to care about in 10 years?. 10. I just attended EO's Global Leadership Conference, where Deepak Chopra spoke to 1,600 entrepreneurs from 56 countries. To become a member of EO, you must own a business, generating at least $1 million in annual revenue or join our accelerator program, which accepts entrepreneurs whose businesses range from $250,000 to $1 million revenue and are looking to grow to a million in two to four years.
