Last month I told you a story about a man who was letting himself down. If you remember, I also told you that it wasn’t a sad story because it was one that hadn’t ended yet.
I was wrong.
Ha! Just kidding. I’m proud to tell you that I haven’t let myself down this month at all. It looks like all areas are firing once again. I’m writing, I’m progressing through real estate (both the retail end and the real estate investing end), the dealership is taking necessary steps, and the family/puppies are wonderful as ever.
The Dealership
Great news on this area!
The hire that our sales manager had made turned out to be a bullet and one that we were lucky enough to dodge quickly. I mean that in the nicest way possible. I’m sure the guy had things going on in his life that are leading him down the path he is in currently, but he gave off the typical used car salesperson vibe from back in the day. You know what I mean…go out for a bender night after night, stroll in late and disheveled, act twitchy throughout the day, blatantly lie to people, and act desperate for cash at all times of the day.
We got rid of him and have already found ourselves a much better replacement. The sales manager and I talked about what could have gone wrong during the interview process and how it could have been avoided, as well as how we could have noticed it faster once he came on board. Sure enough, he is making sure to follow the necessary steps to ensure the success of this new hire.
We will be trying to hire one more salesperson, just in case.
I also spoke with the other salespeople and gathered their pulse. I received some great feedback from them that was extremely useful to be able to guide the sales manager in better directions so he can help increase morale, performance, enjoyment, and sales. He is very receptive to criticism and feedback and I’m proud of him for having such an open mind about his potential pitfalls. The team has seemed reenergized since that and all seem like they are supportive of each other again.
Collections has found a new collector who has been learning the ropes really well. She is very sweet, attentive, and seems to learn really quickly. We plan on having her fully trained by the end of this month, which is great because the holidays are some of our toughest areas for that department.
Our Holiday Giveaway will be done again soon. We have not found a prize yet but should be soon.
Acquiring inventory has still proven to be difficult. We sat down recently and discussed how this is affecting us now, as well as how it will affect us if we allow it to continue. We have decided on a new strategy that we implemented this past week and it seemed to make a big improvement on our ability to get more inventory.
Also, we had an article written about our business recently. You can check it out here.
The Real Estate
So what’s the story on the Real Estate front?
As far as sales go, I am still undergoing the training that the brokerage I am under is providing me. It’s very useful and has given me some valuable insight. I have begun working on the processes that I will be taking, as well as the overall plan I have for the business. It’s fun getting to start something from scratch as I am envisioning the outcome and figuring out the necessary steps.
We fired the electrician/plumber. My fault completely for not recognizing that he was not performing way earlier. A bit of a bummer because I don’t feel that he’s a bad guy, he’s just the type that feels the world is against him.
Hired another guy that cost me more but he came through and finished everything right on time.
We should be getting the other marketed and rented soon. I will also be refinancing it so I can pull out all the cash and continue purchasing other properties.
We have officially put yet another property under contract! This one will be interesting. It seems it is undergoing a court case and we will be taking that on. The property doesn’t need much, but we will be required to show that we are doing work up to code and to their liking. We will see how it goes and if we are willing to take on another project like this one!
The Leisure
We are currently in Disneyland…
Yes, I am writing this up while I wait for my gorgeous, supportive, and understanding wife to wake up. I will talk about this more for the next update since technically it’s a November activity.
Before I tell you anything about what we did…if anything…I need to tell you that I finished the Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie! Fuck, this man is talented. I blew through the book and found myself enjoying every moment of it. It’s one of the only authors that I’ve ever read that genuinely makes me laugh out loud. His characters are so well written, the story flows so well, the jokes land perfectly, and even his experimental tidbits are great to read through.
Best part? It looks like there will be more. Bravo, Mr. Abercrombie.
As far as our activity downtime, Rach and I have not gone out on big adventures much this past month. We took the month to be with family a little more. Our nephew is in a junior football league and we went to watch him play. He did great on the sidelines. He stood there like a fucking champ. I was so proud of him.
We also got the chance to go to a barbecue with Rachael’s family. I think this was really beneficial to my relationship with her brother and his wife as they have seemed a bit standoffish toward us since Rachael and I started dating. I’m fucking weird, so I don’t blame them. I mean, I don’t eat meat, I’m an atheist, I don’t like sports, I don’t have a formal job, I don’t work with my hands, I have weird haircuts, and that’s just to name a few. Either way, I’m glad we did it. They were a lot warmer toward us and I hope we can keep spending more time with them so they can finally see the true asshole in me.
I’m not sure if this falls under leisure, but Rach and I have gotten back into the gym pretty seriously. We go in the early morning before work, every day, and lift/jog for 30 minutes. We’ve made some pretty damn good progress. I’m extremely proud of her and hope she is of herself as well.
I haven’t changed the video game front. Still playing Apex, but now I have a group of people I play with and it’s so much better!
As far as movies and shows, we have started watching season 3 of You on Netflix. It’s a great show. We are strongly considering reading the books ty are based on as the show is so well made. We haven’t been able to finish Star Trek Discovery just yet as we have been falling asleep often. Both of us, not just me!
We did watch Dune, which I have very mixed feelings about. The visuals were great, the acting was superb, the story seemed great, but when it came down to the true grit of the movie as a whole, I felt it fell short. There was so much world-building and setup but not enough of the real meat that it made me feel like I gave a shit about the cliffhanger at the end. It’s by no means a bad movie, it just didn’t leave me wanting more. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it though.
A show I recommend this month: You
A movie I recommend this month: Dune
A book I HIGHLY recommend this month: The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie
The Puppies
I adore my children. They make my wife and I so happy that it’s insane. I hope they can do the same for any of you that follow them.
Clemmy got spayed this month. We were expecting a repeat of how Nova was for a few days; sluggish, weak, no appetite, etc.
Yeah, nah.
Clemmy is a fucking psycho. Came back wanting to eat everything in the house, run around with Nova, jump on everything. They are definitely sisters, but complete opposites.
There are days that I look at Clem and realize that she is the female reincarnation of Elmer. I love her for that, plus all the other wonderful traits she brings to our home.
BD-1 is being BD-1. He’s all healed up from his surgery and is right back to being the grouch we know and love him for. If you ever come by my house, don’t ever ring the doorbell…please.
If you’d like to see some of their antics, make sure to check out their IG and YT.
Check out Nova being a weirdo.
The Writing
I did not let myself down this month. I made progress on the new story. Maybe not as much as I would have liked to, but still quite a bit.
The story is progressing along and I am starting to see the areas where I will need to fine-tune some things. Even with my own eye looking at it, I doubt I’ll catch everything it needs.
With the schedule change, I have found what works for me at the moment so I can still get in my writing. It’ll change soon again, but I’ll be ready for it. I still plan on finishing it before the New Years so cross your fingers, yeah?
I’ve also kept writing articles for the dealership, and will soon start writing some for the real estate business.
That’s all I have for you this month. Please make sure to drop a comment below if you want to chat or send me a message directly!
Oh, and please make sure to support my wife and her students. Anything you can afford to donate, even $1 would help out. My wife could still use some support on her project for her 4th-grade kids. We would truly appreciate anything you can afford to donate. Donors Choose for Rachael Beneke’s 4th Grade Class.
See you on the next one. Ok Byeeeee!