Finding Your Entrepreneurial Way with Dr Joseph Ryan Smolarz

Josh (00:00:02) - Hey, good day everybody. Welcome to the deal, Scout. On today's show, we're going to have a conversation about real estate. And it looks like we're going to talk about blockchain and technology from a doctor who's an otolaryngologist. Right. Is that right? That's right. You got it. So normally when I see otolaryngologist I see oto rhino, laryngeal, largest ear nose, throat doctor. But it seems like you didn't do that. Were you trying to save characters on LinkedIn or you stay away from the nose?

Joseph (00:00:30) - Probably. Probably the former. So it just depends on who you talk to or board recognizes otolaryngology. Some people call it OTA Rhino larynx. Just depends on the time and the day.

Josh (00:00:42) - Got it, got it. I have a medical background. That's the only reason I know that, because we had to study all the root words. But let's dive into like, what the heck are you doing? So you've got your doctor. Yeah, but you're a technologist, you're in blockchain, you're in real estate.

Josh (00:00:57) - What the heck do you do?

Joseph (00:00:59) - That's a good question. My my wife and children ask me the same question all the time. So yeah. Yeah. So a little bit about my story. I back in 2017 ish decided I was a full time doctor. It had zero idea about anything in the financial world, and I'll kind of put myself out there. I couldn't even get into my bank account. I had to call my wife and she would tell me, if, you know, if the finances were good or bad, had zero idea. So I decided to go back to business school and I did that. It happened very quickly. Next couple of months later, I was sitting in the seat in Miami, and so from there really figured out that I like the finance world and I also like doing medicine stuff, doing surgeries and that sort of thing. So I've kind of built this a little bit of a hybrid system since 2017. And so I have we have an e-commerce company and that that's going good.

Joseph (00:02:06) - We do assisted living. And my main focus is self storage. And so that's where I spend a lot of my time building my teams and all that sort of thing. So it just kind of happened. It just happened on its own, as far as I can tell.

Josh (00:02:25) - So, all right, this is a common thing. I just interviewed a doctor, Michael McManus, not too long ago. And he, you know, doctor Who turned real estate investor now, you know, working with people like you, really smart people. But he, you know, he kind of validated this. And I'd love to hear your thoughts. Doctors, surgeons, specialists, really good at their craft. Sometimes not so good with the financial literacy. They, you know, they pour themselves, their mind, their efforts and energy into becoming good at their craft. But something's got to give. And it for them or for you. Financial literacy. You didn't even know how to log in to your bank.

Joseph (00:03:04) - Yeah, that's exactly right.

Joseph (00:03:06) - So as you go through this training process, you know, it's grueling, takes up all of your time, all of your 20s, for that matter. And throughout that process, you're told, you know, you can't do the things that other people do because you push yourself to the limits and you don't know when to stop. You can't fly planes. Well, have my license. You can't. You can't do business. Okay, well, I went to business school, so really and truly, it's all garbage. And it's, um, it's kind of the stereotype and the myth. You do have to be very disciplined if you're going to take that route. There are, in my opinion, many ways to do it. You can partner with other people and or you can do it, you know, really do it and do it on your own. But you do have to be careful because you're pushing probably. I mean, there's lots of people out there that push that hard, but you're sort of going to the limits.

Joseph (00:04:05) - Yeah.

Josh (00:04:06) - Yeah. So man, this is so good. You go to school and you're, you know it's not easy becoming into doctor. Right. That's not a easy path to go. And then especially if you're getting into some level of specialty to have someone to say you can't do anything else, like don't go fly a plane, don't start a business, don't do anything like that. And you're like, well, I'm going to I'm going to do that too. How did that feel? Like, you know, you're you're devoting your life and energy to to working your ass off and making money and to helping people. And then someone say, you can't do something. What did that feel like?

Joseph (00:04:41) - It felt like they were doing it for a purpose in my opinion. I think that when you put yourself in a position where all you do is help other people, it is exorbitantly heart fulfilling, right? And if you don't ever look up, you may not ever take care of your own well-being.

Josh (00:05:06) - Oh, yeah.

Joseph (00:05:08) - Exercise financial freedom. Whatever it is, I see it over and over. All these these. Some of my mentors even wake up 75 years old and they've not known anything other than medicine their whole life. And they're like, wait a minute. I was supposed to retire ten years ago. And, you know, maybe the maybe the finances don't look as great as I thought they did. Right? So there's no there hasn't been any estate planning. There hasn't been anything done on the on the front side. And so they're playing catch up just like we played catch up in our 20s. Right. We we were ten years behind everyone else trying to build that wealth, trying to, you know, push that part of our lives forward. And so it really hit home with me during that time. And so I decided to do, do something about it.

Josh (00:06:00) - Yeah. What was the wake up call?

Joseph (00:06:03) - Well. It was right before.

Josh (00:06:06) - So September 6th.

Joseph (00:06:07) - 2017, we had two category five hurricanes back to back, and I had already made that decision that I was going to try my hand in the business world, sort of say.

Joseph (00:06:22) - And when that day happened, I would say probably everything changed for me. It became it became very clear that I needed to take care of that aspect of not only my life, but my family's life.

Josh (00:06:41) - What about the storms made that wake up call?

Joseph (00:06:45) - So we. All of the projections were that it was going to go north. Going to go north. Right. So we we didn't do a whole lot of sort of preparation. Thankfully I had my wife and new son. They were on a trip already and so they weren't here. But we got word that Saint Martin saw the pictures and it was completely destroyed, and it was heading right for us, and it hit and ended up that I had one of our employees and her sister and a six week old baby in the house at the time. And when I went out after it was done, it was like being in the Wizard of Oz. We're. We're not in Kansas anymore. Yeah, right. Everything was just completely gone and we were out of electricity for about four months.

Joseph (00:07:48) - So. There was a lot of life change that happened during that time.

Josh (00:07:54) - Yeah.

Joseph (00:07:55) - A lot of hey, Ryan, you need to sort of wake up and take a look around.

Josh (00:08:01) - It's so easy to get comfortable, especially if you're a high income producer or if you're a professional or you're a specialist. Right? Like in your you get into your zone and then an act of God comes and you have no control over it. And then now you're for weeks without power.

Joseph (00:08:19) - For months.

Josh (00:08:20) - Or month for months without power. And your life has changed because of a storm, right? So the storm of life came, and now you're looking up and you go, Holy moly, I don't know if you know, like if you're not, if you're not using a scalpel, you're not getting paid. Right. Like you don't if you're not showing up to work, you're not getting paid. Now you go. What the hell could I do about this? You took. You started going. Okay, I got to diversify.

Josh (00:08:46) - I got to think about other asset classes. I got to think about other businesses. And you took that as an opportunity to. To change. Wow. That's interesting. If that storm didn't come. And I'm interviewing you today.

Joseph (00:08:59) - Yeah.

Josh (00:09:00) - What would be your conversation?

Joseph (00:09:03) - I don't know, I mean, hindsight's 2020, right? I was I was sort of moving in that direction. It just kind of pushed me forward quite a bit in a very short period of time. But. I still always had this sort of itch that I couldn't scratch, right? Um, even in medical school, um, had that entrepreneurial spirit, um, doing outside jobs and that sort of thing. So it very well could have ended up in the same place. It would have certainly been a different path. Um, but and maybe I would have never figured it out that that's what was missing from my life. I don't I don't know, but, man, it would have been a travesty if I didn't.

Josh (00:09:47) - Yeah.

Josh (00:09:47) - Interesting. So thank God, you know, your wife and your your baby were okay, and they were traveling. So you you finally get a hold of your wife and you're like, hey, I'm okay, but I got shit to do. I got to go. Gotta go to school. Got to learn, right? Because I've got to do something different or add to it. Right, and add another stream of income. So now here we are, 2023 at time of recording. What has changed in your world? You're in e-commerce. You're in assisted living self storage. You got your pilot's license, went to business school a lot.

Joseph (00:10:20) - A lot. Yeah. Cool. I don't know. Now it's just sort of the norm, which it never was before. So I mean, it's interesting to think about it that way. It just kind of happened. And so, um, I think I'm a better person because of it, because I think I'm happier. Um, I think that I've found sort of my calling and so used to I'd be mad and angry most of the time.

Joseph (00:10:48) - Now I'm just happy and tired.

Josh (00:10:52) - Being an entrepreneur, you will be tired, guaranteed, right, man? Okay, so we talk about happiness and you say you think you're a better person? Definitely happier. More tired for sure. Do you? Where do you think the happiness comes from? Compared know side by side comparison. Let's say two parallel universes. One the storms never happened and you just stay, doctor. Nothing else. Versus now. Why is their happiness different?

Joseph (00:11:22) - I think that there's something to finding where you're supposed to be in life and working on the projects that you want to work on, right? And you fulfilling the goals that are your goals. And I think about this a lot where, you know, there are some times doing all this that I'm probably not as home as much as I should be or, you know, doing those sorts of things. But I really, really want my son and daughter to see me chasing my goals and trying my best to be the best person and being able to reach my.

Joseph (00:12:02) - The the ultimate person that I can be. Right. Fulfill my potential. That's the word I'm looking for. And I want them to see that.

Josh (00:12:10) - Yeah, I forget who said it, but they said my greatest fear is one day dying, not death. Death didn't fear, but like one day dying and meeting the person I could have been. That's hell. Right? And who was that?

Joseph (00:12:24) - Ed millett.

Josh (00:12:26) - Nice. Thank you, Mr. Ed, I appreciate you. That's a really great quote. So you went to business school. Was that the first foray? You're like, okay, first let's get an education. Is that where you started?

Joseph (00:12:40) - Yeah. So we did start the assisted living home before then. Okay. Um, and realized that there were some shortcomings in my financial literacy, but.

Josh (00:12:56) - Yeah.

Joseph (00:12:57) - And so that's sort of been my Mo my whole life is, you know, if you want to figure out something out, then you go find the best in the world to teach you and invest in yourself.

Joseph (00:13:09) - Doesn't really matter what it costs you. You know, figure out a way to make it happen.

Josh (00:13:14) - Sure. So who was what was? How do you go about finding the best in the world at something?

Joseph (00:13:21) - So, I mean, just like anybody else, start googling, right?

Josh (00:13:24) - Yeah.

Josh (00:13:25) - Google. Who's the best deal or whatever, right?

Joseph (00:13:27) - Yeah. Now it's Bard or, you know, chat. But yeah, you know, I think it's just a lot of research and talking to people and seeing where you're comfortable. And I mean, a good mentor to me, maybe the best thing that you can ever have. Right. Um, be able to bounce those things off of and have the, you know, access to 20, 30 years of, of doing whatever it is that you're trying to do. And so I think it's I think you just got to walk down the path. I think, you know, ready, aim, fire. But you know, not ready. Ehm ehm ehm fire.

Joseph (00:14:08) - Just pick a pick one and go for it.

Josh (00:14:11) - Yeah.

Josh (00:14:12) - I think a lot of entrepreneurs really get stuck in this whole thing of like, I don't know which direction to go, right? And you said, you know, you, you, you attribute a lot of your joy and happiness now to finding your way, to finding your path, to finding your calling is the way you put it. How do you go about finding your calling? I think a lot of people especially like I mean, I struggled with it deeply. How do you go about finding your calling?

Joseph (00:14:41) - Boy, I wish I had the the answer to that. I'd be a very wealthy person. But I do think that joy and happiness are different. I think Joy's day to day and happiness is if you're being fulfilled. That's from Matthew McConaughey. But, um. You know, I think that you have to experience as much as you can experience. And for me, it really didn't hit me over the head. But, you know, going through that process, I love problem solving.

Joseph (00:15:13) - Right. And that's what business is, is just a series of big problems. And so, you know, you walk down that road and at some point you're like, all right, this isn't for me. And then you do something else. But you got even, you know, you just got to keep getting back up. Even when things don't work out very well. Just dust yourself off. You keep going. And in my mind, sort of the universe has a way of kind of steering you in the right direction, as long as you don't. Give up, right? And I wish I had the the magic bullet of how to find it. And if some if there are people out there that have that and that's awesome. But I agree with you. I don't think it's the norm. I think you just keep pushing and, you know, go down the path of being a as good of a person as you can be and doing good for the world. And I think you probably at some point going to get that back.

Josh (00:16:09) - Yeah.

Josh (00:16:10) - I had my coach had to, had to stop me for a second. I was at the time I was like just maybe turned 40. I'm only 42. I don't know, maybe I'll start eight. He said, Josh, what's your rush? I was like, man, I'm I feel behind, I feel like and I think you mentioned that even in this earlier in the thing, like trying to catch up like in your 20s and you know, you invest all this time and energy and then you have a massive failure or a major setback. So like, I'm, I feel like I'm trying to play catch up. And he goes, what's the rush? And I go, I don't know, man. Like, I, I don't know, I don't know, I'm catching up with Joneses. Right. Yeah.

Joseph (00:16:49) - Well here's my opinion on it. If you if you read the studies on very successful people. They walk faster than other people, they talk faster than other people, and they sleep less than other people.

Joseph (00:17:02) - So to me, when somebody says that to me, I want to vomit, because to me, life is a sprint every single day.

Josh (00:17:11) - Interesting. Why?

Joseph (00:17:13) - Because I want to be. I want to reach that potential or as close to it as I possibly can.

Josh (00:17:20) - How do you know if you're doing it or not?

Joseph (00:17:22) - Well, you know, I think Marlette said it best, right.

Josh (00:17:26) - Yeah.

Josh (00:17:28) - Well so with every deal maker. So this this story, you know the show is called the Deal Scout. Right. So we're going to talk about hunting deals. We're going to talk about putting deals together. We're going to talk about financials and business. But I always have to know the mindset of a deal maker because like I think mindset for me is the number one thing that's going to determine whether someone's successful or not. Now true success, right? Not like hey dad, you know, died and left me, you know, a run, an operating business that I don't have to show up to.

Josh (00:17:59) - I don't, you know, I'm not considering that. I'm saying, like, you accomplishing what you're called to do. That's success for me. Wow. So I love sharing this and mindset. Like, how do you go about working on your mindset? Give us give us some input that you have learned to help overcome obstacles, to push through, to run, to sprint, and to continue doing that for long periods of time.

Joseph (00:18:23) - Yeah. So I mean, I don't know how much of it's ingrained in me or not, but.

Josh (00:18:29) - I.

Joseph (00:18:30) - Think part of it is listening to people like yourself and very influential people over and over. And when you go down that path. To me, or what I found in my experience was they're all saying the same thing, right? And so you have to think about it a little bit and sort of understand it. But. If you listen to enough content to me, like when I go to sleep, that's the stuff I'm thinking about, right? Just it's just like you say, it's a mindset.

Joseph (00:19:05) - And just just keep going.

Josh (00:19:08) - Yeah.

Josh (00:19:08) - Were you always this driven? Now, I know you have to be driven to a certain amount to become a doctor, right? And especially in a specialist. But like if we went back to your ten year old self, 15 year old self, whatever. Like what were you like then? Were you driven?

Joseph (00:19:23) - Yeah. So I think about that time in my life often I was definitely driven. Um, but I didn't understand that it wasn't going to be given to me. Right. I didn't know how hard I was going to have to work. Yeah. Um, and so I made a lot of mistakes. Um. And I think part of it is just having an underdeveloped brain, especially being male, when you're in your teens and especially yeah, you know, I don't think most of us out there at that age are malicious in any way. You just don't make good decisions. And so, um, I think if you met me back then, you would get that drive from me.

Joseph (00:20:06) - But there was no direction.

Josh (00:20:09) - Hmm.

Josh (00:20:10) - Got it. Taking notes. Man, this is pretty interesting. All right. So business school, assisted living. Now, did you build, operate, you know, your own assisted living facility? How many beds? How many doors were you? Where are you guys doing?

Josh (00:20:23) - Yeah, so.

Joseph (00:20:24) - We did build it through a franchise model. Okay. We built the first phase. 20 beds. Sorry, 22 beds, 20 rooms. So there's two double occupancies. We just finished last year, the second phase. So now we have 40 rooms, 45 beds and have been through, you know, pretty much everything that you can imagine. And hopefully we're coming out in the back end of that. But that may well, I've had lots of things happen in my life where I had to just constantly keep up and, you know, get up off the ground, dust myself off. Yeah, but that was certainly a big one.

Josh (00:21:03) - Yeah. Covid really kicked assisted living facilities hard.

Josh (00:21:09) - We've interviewed a few since then and we're working on, you know, trying to help fix some projects, great profitable projects. Covid hit and it just crushed a lot of the industry. Um, was that one of those instances that really challenged your fortitude?

Joseph (00:21:26) - Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Two floods. Um, you know, just some wild stuff happened and, um. You know, if I really am honest with myself, 90% of it was my fault.

Josh (00:21:44) - You know. Um, how is.

Josh (00:21:47) - Covid your like like looking back at that, how do you take responsibility for that?

Joseph (00:21:52) - Well, I think you have to take responsibility for everything that happens in your business. Just off the top, right? Sure. So you are the person if you're driving the ship. But. We should have had some. How can I say this political way? We should have probably hired a little differently and set the facility up where even in so in bad times. Right. I think we mentioned it earlier. That's when the, the shift happens, the transfer of wealth.

Joseph (00:22:29) - Well, the same thing to me happens with businesses. The only the strong survive. Right. And so if you're if you're number one in market share or number one and really it's the reputation of whoever your clients are, then it's very unlikely that you're going to go under. Right. And after that and you're able to just hang on for dear life. Then you look around and where's my competition? They're just you're the.

Josh (00:22:59) - Only one left standing.

Joseph (00:23:00) - You're the only one left standing. Do that and most of it was because we didn't know what we were doing right. And so we didn't position ourselves to be in that position. And that's my fault.

Josh (00:23:17) - Wow. I love how you take responsibility. You know, Jocko wrote the book about, you know, extreme ownership and leadership. And and it talks about taking that responsibility. My wife said something the other day. She goes, Josh, that wasn't your fault. And we were talking about a business failure that I was just a part of and had nothing to do with the failure of it.

Josh (00:23:37) - And she goes, that wasn't your fault. And I said, yes, it was. I saw the warning signs, I saw this, I ignored that, I did that, and I've got to own my piece of it because it it's still attributed to the hole. And, you know, I think I really respect your ability to take, you know, ownership of that. That's really cool. I want to honor you for that. So from from there into e-commerce, self storage, blockchain. Like what the heck. Like talk to us about the journey here.

Joseph (00:24:04) - Yeah. So after business school, um, you know, I told you I was scratching the itch, and so, um, sort of. Everything exploded. Had too many things I wanted to do with my life once I figured it out.

Josh (00:24:20) - Yeah.

Joseph (00:24:21) - So, you know, I started really wanting to learn the financial markets and the equities, and so. Um, here again went to try to find the best that I could find.

Joseph (00:24:33) - Learn how to, um, pick stocks. And with that was man came with such a good education. Was going in to learn about how to make money in stocks. And that came out with learning how to evaluate a business, a public business.

Josh (00:24:48) - Nice.

Joseph (00:24:49) - That was sort of the core thesis of this particular program. And it was really eye opening to me that you're never going to know what's going to happen later, right? You're not you're not. Nobody has the crystal ball when people tell you that they're just wrong. Um, but they're you mentioned it before. There's there are telltale signs, right. Um, just for one off the top, you have to know the management inside it out. Because when you buy that stock, even if you're buying one share, you're an owner of that business. Right. And so some of the guys, um, that kind of ran the program and some of the guys that they were meant or their mentors would actually go to wherever it was, where the management was, and they would talk to the, you know, the preacher or the priest or whoever it was.

Joseph (00:25:42) - And, you know, try to get is this a good person? Right? Am I putting my money with a person who is honorable and respectable and all the things trustworthy? Um. So it was the whole world after I got through. Just the first part of it was so different than I thought it was. Um. That it was really sort of a breath of fresh air, even though there's so many scams and so much stuff out there that's bad. But that was really cool to see.

Josh (00:26:21) - It's so cool. So with much wisdom comes much sorrow. Such grief. Right. So when you the more education, the more like you're exposed to the good, the bad and the ugly man it could create. Chaos in your own brain, but it could also create clarity for you. You said, this is neat. I'm diving in more so. Business owner, real estate developer and builder. Diving in self storage now. So now you're you know, you go from picking stocks and learning how to evaluate publicly traded companies into self storage and blockchain.

Josh (00:26:55) - Keep going buddy.

Joseph (00:26:58) - So yeah self storage was one of those things there. Again um, I was listening to a podcast and the guy was talking about self storage and he's saying how good it was and how great and you know, simple part. It was a simple business or as simple as it can be. You got a concrete slab and a metal box. And that really resonated with me because my life was so complicated. Right? And previously in my life, I'd always picked the hardest and the most complicated thing that you could do, right? Um, and so I said, you know what? This, I think, is going to be my hedge in life. This is going to be my my thing that. When things get so complicated. I'm at least going to have one thing that that may not be so complicated and that I can wrap my head around at least what we're doing, right. We're providing a space for people to put their stuff.

Josh (00:28:10) - All right.

Josh (00:28:11) - Got it.

Josh (00:28:13) - Mm hmm.

Joseph (00:28:13) - So found the again. Found the best person I think is probably the best person in the world to teach. Um, and just sort of latched on, and I've been there ever since. I go to. We have a mastermind every quarter. And, you know, it's they're sort of like family now. And, you know, they get to we kind of pitch deals back and forth and. It's more about the it's more about the relationships at this point. But yeah, just kind of ended up that way.

Josh (00:28:43) - Yeah, man, that's really cool. So here you're building and you kind of found your hedge in life, right. Like the difference between assisted living, you know, 40 beds where you're constantly caring for someone, cleaning and caring. And it's such a noble thing, but it's complicated. So complicated versus a concrete slab, you know, keyless or, you know, a remote control thing that lifts the gate and you go in, people drop their stuff, they don't pay, you know, you figure that out, but it's you're not dealing with tenants and toilets is what my self storage buddies say.

Josh (00:29:17) - Yeah. And I'm like, man, that sounds that does sound simple. So you're, you know, you've looked at those two asset classes as you're moving forward, you're involved in some real estate funds and some, you know, of your own investing and growth, like where do you see yourself moving to the future?

Joseph (00:29:36) - Yeah. So I went out after business school, as I think a lot of people in that position do. Just trying to figure out where you want to be. Yeah. And now it's sort of, you know, coming. Coming in closer tight to where I want to really focus on the things that. That I want to focus on. And it it really is about, you know, the finance part and valuation companies is a part of that. But I've really sort of been able thankfully to find. Where I want to be, you know, halfway through my life. But, you know.

Josh (00:30:22) - Man, no, I think that I think people go, like you said, 70, 80 years old without discovering this.

Josh (00:30:29) - So I think people like you. Are are rare because you will go figure it out. And that's hard to do because it you're faced with risk, you're faced with failures. You're faced with the uncertainty of where will this lead. And, you know, security and comfort is our enemy. And it's so easy, especially if you're making money and you're comfortable. Got your four and one K, your wife, your cat, your kids, white picket fence. But the storms of life come and realize that that is a fake comfort. It's a fake security blanket.

Joseph (00:31:06) - Yeah. So this was not me, but it's so true. You really have two choices, right? You can pick the merry go round, or you can pick the roller coaster and pick the roller coaster. You better hang on tight. Right?

Josh (00:31:18) - Said that.

Joseph (00:31:19) - Same guy. Mr..

Josh (00:31:21) - Okay.

Josh (00:31:22) - Got it. Because the entrepreneurial roller coaster is the guy I forget what Dan Hart or. Yeah, Dan Hardy wrote wrote that book, The Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster.

Josh (00:31:29) - You love quotes, don't you?

Josh (00:31:31) - Yeah.

Joseph (00:31:32) - I love things that I can hang on to in times of trouble.

Josh (00:31:36) - Yeah.

Josh (00:31:37) - What's your favorite quote in business or life?

Joseph (00:31:40) - I mean, Buffett probably said it best. Rule number one don't lose money. Number two, three, four five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten. Don't lose money.

Josh (00:31:49) - Right.

Josh (00:31:50) - One more dollar. How much do you want to make? One more dollar. And this is cool. So as you're as you're building this out tell us a little bit about where you're at now 2023. You guys are building some neat things. Tell us about that.

Joseph (00:32:06) - Yeah. So really the storage portion which I mentioned before is kind of where my focus is. And so we're I've been trying to build this fund for the past year. And there again hit all kinds of landmines. Um, you know, every made every mistake in the book to get it set up. And there were times where just decided, you know, I'm going to take two weeks off and I'm just going to think about whether we need to keep this going.

Joseph (00:32:37) - And every time. It just something appeared right at the last minute and been like, okay, here's the direction you needed to go. Yeah. And for me, that was. Comforting. Um, and I don't know if those things wouldn't have happened, whether I would have kept going with it. Um. But. Building the fund, helping people. Sort of reach their goals financially is very comforting to me. It's it's kind of like being a doctor, right? You. You have somebody's well-being or you were responsible for somebody's well-being, right? They have to make their own choices. But without your guidance and your trust and your, you know, doing the right things, then that's going to be a big problem for their entire life. You know, not just them, but their family and being able to put food on the table and all the stuff. Right. Be able to work less, have that mental health. Um, that's good and everything. So to me, I really take it to heart and I really like where I am.

Joseph (00:34:01) - I like both sides of my life. I like the medicine part and the finance part, and never knew how much that would be so close to the medical side. But to me, it truly is. Yeah.

Josh (00:34:15) - Super cool for people who want to learn more about you, connect with you and see the kind of opportunities and deals that you're working on. Where can people go to find that?

Joseph (00:34:24) - So Store partners is probably the best place to get started to see kind of what we're up to. Um, we talk with a lot of doctors and about these exact things we're talking about today, really on all the platforms that store. Um, so, you know, there's a even a link on the store partners. Com sign up. We'll have a have a chat and have a talk just like this. Um, hopefully we can get to know a lot of people out there. So that's where we are.

Josh (00:34:58) - Yeah.

Josh (00:34:58) - So building building the fund. Go take down some. Are you guys going to.

Josh (00:35:04) - I don't know how much you could get into the details of what you're going to, the direction you guys are going to head or is it going to be more development, acquisition, combination of both? Are you allowed to talk about that? I know that you're you're on the verge of some cool things that you just can't share everything. But what can you share?

Josh (00:35:19) - Yeah.

Joseph (00:35:20) - So right now so in the beginning we like stabilize assets. So we're we're doing the acquisitions up front. Um, taken out the occupancy risk and taken up out the development risk until we get our footing. Um, we're talking to as many owners of self storage out there as we can to make sure that everybody knows that, you know, we're a buyer. And even in this, even in this time, we love seller financing. We talk a lot about creative finance. And to me, that is what makes, um, what makes the most sense. Because if you do it right, everybody wins, right? And so that's the goal.

Joseph (00:36:10) - Um, we could go out there and be sort of nefarious and try to, you know, push people down on price and that sort of thing. But, you know, in the end, you're only going to do a couple deals if people you get your name gets thrown around out there like, you know, you're not doing the right thing, then you're never going to go far. It's just not going to happen. So.

Josh (00:36:38) - Awesome, awesome, awesome. So one more time, where can people go to connect with you and learn more about that project?

Joseph (00:36:44) - Its store partners.com.

Josh (00:36:47) - Store.

Joseph (00:36:49) - Store partners. Yes.

Josh (00:36:51) - Okay, cool.

Josh (00:36:52) - And we'll put that in the show notes below. So guys, as you're listening into this podcast episode, as always, reach out to our guests, say thanks for being on the show. Their contact information will be in the show notes below. Say hey, heard you on the show. I want to learn more. I want to learn with you and from you.

Josh (00:37:08) - I want to learn more about this. So that's a good place to go. Um, as you're as you're building this out back to you as your as you're building this out, you know, and you and I have a chat 20 years from now. Right? We look back and be like, wow, we did it. If you could look at one milestone that you accomplished in your life and you said that was the most important milestone, it could be business or personal, what would you say that that that milestone is specifically.

Joseph (00:37:35) - Yeah. There to my son and.

Josh (00:37:38) - And what what does that look like that they've accomplished or what?

Josh (00:37:43) - Yeah.

Joseph (00:37:44) - So if we if we push it out 20 years in the future, is that they have a good head on their shoulders and that they're trying to reach their full potential, um, you know, chasing their dreams. And, you know, when they get knocked down, they get back up and, you know, things weren't handed to them. And they, they, you know, did it on their own, you know.

Joseph (00:38:05) - Sure. I'm here to I'm here to help and be a mentor and teach them every possible thing I can. But that's really what it's about. Think.

Josh (00:38:12) - Yeah, that they went for it.

Joseph (00:38:14) - But they went for it. They went.

Josh (00:38:16) - For it.

Josh (00:38:16) - Super cool, super cool. Uh, as always, ladies and gentlemen, in the audience, reach out to our guests. Hey, thank you for connecting. Connect with them through the links in the show notes. If you have a specific deal that you'd like to talk about here on the Deal Scout, or how you go about deals or what kind of deals you're looking for, head on over to the deal. Scout. Fill out a quick form. We could talk about some deals, maybe help you finance some deals, maybe help you knock down some deals, or maybe get you on the show and talk about it. Till then, we'll talk to you all on the next episode. Bye, everybody.