Explore every episode of the podcast Rags To Riches

In this episode Terry goes over what makes the average and elite so far apart.

In this episode Terry goes over the importance of having a strong network of people including family. Having a supportive group of people is essential in anyones journey.

5 ways to INCREASE consistency There is a solution to ALWAYS deliver and progress in the pursuit of your goals 🚀 To stop with the UPS and DOWNS Make money one month Make non the next In this podcast I share with you EXACTLY how to increase consistency and reduce the ups and downs the peaks and troughs

Kevin is one of the UK’s leading experts and authorities on creating wealth. He is an economist, author and the founder of WealthBuilders, an organisation dedicated to helping create multiple streams of recurring income independently of your job or business. Kevin teach's a simple, step-by-step, easy to follow processes that anybody can use to build wealth.

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: In this episode Terry discusses how to juggle all things that are going on in your life, whether that be business, property, relationships, fitness.

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: In this episode Terry discusses how to build a great team around you and when the best time is to start 

In this episode Terry dives into how to adapt to the market in 2022 and therefore make and save more money!

Reece is a serial investor and accomplished entrepreneur. He is the CEO of award- winning professional property development company HJ Collection who launched its first asset backed property investment bond in 2019. Additionally he co-founded Osborne Baldwin Limited (trading as ‘Hunter Jones’) in 2013, and he has been at the forefront in the investment opportunities they introduce.

 Reece has extensive knowledge in sourcing, developing, introducing and raising capital for property developments in the UK and worldwide, having raised over £100M from private investors over the last few years, developing out over 1,000 units at a GDV in excess of £220m, completing over 30 projects in the last 5 years alone along with his development partners, providing an extraordinary track record of client success.

He has several other business interests in the property, marketing & leisure industries, as well as being a keynote speaker at many national business events. Reece is also the host of his own Top 25 podcast “Mennie Talks”, where he interviews proven and renowned business leaders known worldwide.

Hayley is named one of the UK's most inspirational female entrepreneurs. Co-founder of Your Freedom Empire and SKY TV Property presenter 

Hayley is the Co-founder of Your Freedom Empire training organisation and CEO of several businesses, a professional property investor, mentor, trainer and coach. She spends all of her time either looking at investment opportunities to grow her investment portfolio or mentoring and training UK and Internationals from across the globe on how to invest in the UK property market and business. 

Currently working “Part Time” on his businesses and living a “Full Time” life, Jessen resides in rural Kent, England with his beautiful family! As a serial entrepreneur, business mentor, author, NLP Practitioner and 7 x Award Winning International Speaker, Jessen knows a thing or two about ‘keeping it all in check!’ 

He owns and has sold multiple businesses in private health care, hair & beauty, property and training & development. Jessen specialises in taking businesses from the £0 to £1m+ per annum so that YOU can own your very own Lifestyle Business! 

He now dedicates his time to mentoring fellow entrepreneurs to do the same as well as ‘break free’ from their businesses and live the lives they truly deserve. He is also the Founder of The Business & Marketing School™ which is the fastest growing training facility for Entrepreneurs to access real time, Business & Marketing Training that works in today’s economy.

But life wasn’t always like that……..

Jessen began his entrepreneurial journey in 2004 as a 24 year old. He opened a tile and bathroom showroom and lost £65,000 in the first year…OUCH! This hurt him bad as a young entrepreneur, but taught him lessons he didn’t know would benefit him in the future. Jessen went back into ‘employment’ as a Mental Health Nurse in a one of the UK’s largest private hospitals and quickly climbed the ranks to management within 3 short years. After achieving great financial success for his employer Jessen was sadly told in 2009 that his ‘his services were no longer required!’ 

Armed with a vow of never working for anyone again and a toolbox of life lessons, Jessen set up his own private healthcare business 5 months later and managed to quadruple it’s income in 2 short years! He then systemised the business; which allowed him to step away without reducing his income to lead a financially free life from the age of 31 & a millionaire 18 months later.

Jessen now spends his time with his family and training entrepreneurs all over the world on how to start, grow and expand their businesses whilst being able to work less on it or even step away COMPLETELY! He does this through his unique training system; which does not exist anywhere else in the world.

Jessen’s life and business experience makes him the go to person for any entrepreneur needing to get ‘unstuck’ and on track to success. He has a passion for sharing his unique skill set with others, which helps his clients achieve massive success without the pain he had to go through. His passion for teaching and Public Speaking has seen him win 7 Public Speaking Awards in 4 years, including Best Worldwide Male Speaker & UK Public Speaking Champion of the Year as well as feature on National TV in the UK.

Jasmine & Priya are the ladies behind The Hard Hat Developers a property investment company established by Jasmine Dosanjh and Priya Kripalani.

Starting as friends, Jasmine and Priya began their journey together as business partners in 2018 after individually fine-tuning their own investment portfolios.

With their passion for property, aligned ambitions and matching morals, Jasmine and Priya joined forces to progress in the industry together. From there on, Hard Hat Developers was born.

This is a previous podcast episode which managed to glitch and disappear. So, we're lucky enough to have Helen featuring again on the show! This was one of our most popular podcasts episodes to date, so if you missed it- now's your chance!


Helen is a seasoned property investor and the only female Angel Investor on SkyTV’s “Property Elevator” TV show.  With a background in Investment Banking, she has built a diversified portfolio of investments, with over £60 million of projects in progress. Often called “The Investor’s Investor”, it’s no wonder she is so in demand by those wanting her seal of approval before making investment choices as well as by the media for her insightful commentary on property and investing trends. 


As well as being a regular contributor to Property Investor News magazine and a national property awards judge, she is a friendly face in the world of property, co-founding the Property Sisters UK community, an open network bringing together real estate ladies at any mile of the road looking to make a real and profitable journey of it. She balances all of this with a keen interest in spirituality and fascination for personal development and divides her time between London and Malta.

Charm City Buyers was founded when Khalil and his partner Kyara purchased their first property in Connecticut in September of 2012. It was their mission to be financially independent before 30 years old, but they didn’t stop there. 

They’re also on a mission to positively transform the community and neighbourhoods where they invest, and they’re bringing other investors along with them.

After they officially retired from the rat race, they are now focusing all of their efforts on maintaining their empire and helping others to build their own.

In this highly anticipated episode, I open up and share the full story of my journey—from humble beginnings to achieving success on a scale I could only dream of. You'll hear about the challenges, the setbacks, and the pivotal moments that shaped my path. I’ll take you through the crucial decisions that transformed my life, offering practical tips and insights that you can apply to your own journey.

This is not just a story about success; it's about resilience, determination, and learning from the inevitable mistakes along the way. If you've ever wondered how I built an 8-figure property portfolio, established 11 thriving companies, and grew a team of over 100 dedicated staff, this episode is for you. Whether you're starting out or looking to level up, you’ll find valuable lessons here that can help you avoid common pitfalls and fast-track your success. Join me as I pull back the curtain on what it really takes to go from rags to riches.

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: In this episode Terry discusses why he thinks you should be investing your own money into property.

Jay is passionate about Real Estate (20+ years in the industry), a specialist in the UK property market with a niche in Auctions.

Knowledgeable & Experienced:
💥 Commercial Property
💥 Short Leases & Enfranchisement
💥 Creative Deal Structures
💥 Investment Strategy
💥 Value Creation & Multiplication 
💥 Risk Management & Mitigation

Director of multiple businesses. Co-Author of Before The Hammer Falls - The Insiders Guide to Auction Property Success and a semi-regular contributor on the subjects of UK real estate, investing, and property auctions with PIN (Property Investor News) Magazine.

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: In this episode Terry discusses his top tips for how to use the power of attraction to make real changes in your life.

Adam has been involved in around 500 property deals in the past decade or so, most of which he has held to build a substantial residential portfolio, with some commercial property also thrown in. He has JV experience that runs into 8-figures worth of deals, and has bought and sold limited companies with property assets in, and also trading businesses.

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: In this episode Terry discusses whether he believes property is really passive.

A property entrepreneur with over 15 years first-hand experience in residential, commercial and holiday home property investment, property development, and holiday home management. Dale has grown what is now The SDDE Smith Group from one holiday home in March 2017, to a group of six customer facing brands with over two hundred emloyees and a forecasted group turnover of over £25million for 2022.

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: In this episode Terry discusses the methods he used in his own personal life to eliminate any self doubt.

John Howard is one of the most experienced property developers and investors in the UK today, with nearly four decades of experience in the industry. John’s proficiency stems from the sale and purchase of almost 4,000 houses, apartments and developments within the UK.

With a rental portfolio similar to many investors through his property companies, John’s experience is vast; from buying traditional houses, hotels and large scheme developments.

One of the recent developments in John’s portfolio is the £27million construction of 150 apartments on Ipswich Waterfront. A unique distinction between John and many large developers is his passion and drive for small deals and developments. 

This year has seen the launch of the John Howard Listed Bond which is regulated on the Euronext Exchange, the largest in Europe. Allowing high net worth investors, the opportunity to invest in some of the developments that John purchases.

His fervour for advising and helping less experienced property developers and investors has also led him to launching the John Howard Joint Venture Fund. John co-invests with other property developers and offers his own guidance and mentorship allowing ambitions to become a reality.

The knowledge that John has gained throughout his career is now being passed on through his books, property seminars and TV appearances. John co-producers both Property Elevator and Property Graduate on Property TV on Sky and is a regular contributor on Property Question Time.

If you’ve never heard about this guy called Arsh Ellahi - you are in a surprise. Arsh is well known for his brutally honest account of his portfolio, his experience, his challenges and his 'real life stuff'.

With a portfolio of 1000+ tenants and having built multiple 7 figure businesses Arsh talks about the ‘Boom, Bust and Back Again’

Liam J Ryan started out selling sweets in the schoolyard, and today he has completed over £28 million pounds worth of property deals , raised over £9 million from private fingers and his training business does over 7 figures yearly in revenue.

You are going to FAIL without a plan Certainly if your goals are relatively large You need a goal with a plan with action points and milestones to hit along the way If you don’t have this This podcast explains exactly how to build a plan and what you need to have in there to maximise the likelyhood of achieving the goal

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: Property, business and life in general can get so hectic and busy. In this episode Terry discusses his top tips on how to stay motivated through it all.

Simon Zutshi is a professional property investor. He has over two decades of personal experience investing in residential property in the UK and overseas

Simon started investing as a first time buyer in 1995 as a recent graduate in debt. He found a strategy to purchase his first property using none of his own money. By renting out the spare rooms, he was able to cover the mortgage payments and effectively live for free! Caught by the property bug, Simon Zutshi started to buy more property. Thus, by the age of 32, he was financially independent. All from the passive income generated from his property portfolio.

Since an early age, Simon Zutshi has been interested in the art of magic. He started performing professionally at the age of 13. He then became a member of the world-famous Magic circle. This was by his early 20’s. Simon has often said that investing in property draws many parallels with magic. Once you know the secret, what seemed impossible before is simple to achieve. As and in order to become truly successful, you must practice and apply your knowledge with skill.

Simon now spends his time helping and educating other investors. This is by sharing his ‘hands-on experience’ gained over many years as a successful investor. He is one of the few property investors in the UK who is a member of the Professional Speakers Association. As such, Simon Zutshi is regularly invited to share his residential property investing strategies at the major property exhibitions and entrepreneurial business conferences in the UK and around the world.’

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: Terry discusses the age old question - Does money make you happy?

Jatin has over 17 years’ experience within the capital and property markets. Previously working as an investment banker at UBS for 12 years, he was responsible for Portfolio Risk Management and optimising performance of bond portfolios.  he is a serial entrepreneur, who once started a fresh juice bar in London just as the UK was flying head-first into the biggest recession in recent memory.  Luckily, he left that behind and then started Shojin in 2009, having recognised that there was a huge opportunity to bring a broader market of investors into lucrative property deals which they would not otherwise have access to.

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: Terry reveals his own secrets on how he deals with burnout and being overwhelmed as an entrepreneur and investor.

Nathan Winch is a British entrepreneur and private equity investor with over 12 years experience. Having started, scaled and sold companies in medtech, SaaS and FMCG, Nathan’s specialities include concept commercialisation, supply chain mobilisation, acquisitions and horizontal integration. He is also an avid property developer with a portfolio across the UK.

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: Terry reveals his own secrets on how he leverages  his time.

Solo episode with your host Terry Blackburn: Terry reveals his own secrets on how he identifies property opportunities on Rightmove.

Alfie Best: Billionaire, £700 million in assets, who has 16,000 residents living on his 93 mobile home parks across the UK.

In this solo episode I discuss the mechanics of goal setting. I speak about how setting targets helped me to not only reach, but over take my goals this last year. I hope you enjoy listening to how I achieved my own goals in 2021 and hope you take something away for 2022! Happy New Year!

In this episode, we dive deep into the art of negotiating massive property discounts. Discover proven strategies to secure properties at prices up to 40% below market value. Whether you're a seasoned investor or just starting in property, these expert tips and tactics will empower you to negotiate better deals, save significantly, and boost your investment returns. Tune in to learn the secrets of successful property negotiation and take your property game to the next level. Don't miss out on these invaluable insights!

Mark Shaw: 37 Purchases in 9 months, the power of lease options, creative purchasing and wealth creation.

Multiple Award Winning Fast Growth Entrepreneur Specialising in Investment, Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions.

🥇 Entrepreneur of The Year 2018 🥇 

Founder and Managing Director of PPN UK one of the UKs leading property groups achieving 100%+ growth year on
year from 2011 to date - Top 2% of Fast Growth Companies in the UK.

Experienced and award winning investor, Entreprenueur, business consultant, and Director.

Joe Gonzalez is a real estate investor from Houston,TX USA who has built a virtual real estate acquisitions company. 

In just 3 years his company has generated $2.9 Million dollars in revenue by selling its interest in its real estate dealings also known as Real Estate ‘Wholesaling’. 

This unique business model involves never visiting properties, making offers over the phone, running a lean team of virtual assistants, low overhead and never taking on the risk of a property loan.

Alfie Best is the founder and Chairman of Wyldecrest Parks, the largest mobile home park provider with 90+ mobile home parks and 16,000+ residents across the UK. Trading since 2001, Wyldecrest Park is the only park home provider who is ISO9001 accredited.  

The company has won numerous awards over the years including the 2018 Essex Business of the Year and more recently the Global Business Insights’ Park Home Operator of the year 2021 and 2022.  Alfie himself has been nominated for Entrepreneur of the year a number of times recently winning the accolade for the Business Influencer Magazine Awards 2021!  He also took part in the recent ITV programme Undercover Big Boss.

Charlotte Edwards is an ‘accidental’ property developer, turning tragedy into triumph as she rebuilt a family development business in just 18 months, with no prior knowledge or experience, yet managed to deliver the most profitable year since the business began 30 years ago.

Charlotte’s story is both empowering and inspirational, more so as she has achieved all of this alongside being a single mum and during Covid. 

Amazon No.1 Best Selling Author of ‘How I Bought 3 London Properties For A Football Ticket’ & ‘Awaken Your Inner Hero Within 24 Hours’. 📚 

🗞 Featured on 📣 
✅ MailOnline “Property Tycoon” 
✅Buy Association “Property Mogul”
✅Share Radio “Property Magnet & Expert”
✅TimeOut London “Rags-to-Riches story began”

🎬 Also appeared on: 📺 BBC, Sky News, iTV, 
🗞 The Sunday Times, Mirror, The Negotiator, Property Investor Today, Landlord Today, 
🎙 NewsTalk

This weeks podcast we take things outside of the U.K with Ryan Luke CEO of Luke Capital Group & Co-Founder at Peak Performance Property


Ryan's Bio:

In September 2018 I decided to stop playing small and took the world of property serious. 
I was tired of long hours and an unbalanced life and I had no pension so I needed to create a business that would pay me without working too much. 

Long story short...
Fast forward a year and I had acquired 21 properties in 7 months. 
Another year and the portfolio reached over 150 units with a mixture of leases, rentals, managed and owned and was worth 7 figures... 😱

Starting with no real experience, no network and limited funds. 

I created a predictable, sustainable and scalable business on all fronts which continues to serve me and my clients to this very day as we continue to expand aggressively 🔥


❇️ SA Property Specialist & Mentor
🏘 Built 7 Figure (equity) Portfolio in less than 2 years 
🏘 Control 100+ properties in UK & Dubai
▶️ YouTube Property Channel 
📚 Amazon Author 
📸 10k+ Instagram followers
🎙”How To…Property” Podcast Host
🧰 Co Founder of Peak Performance Property 

Looking back over highlights from Episode 13 of Rag To Riches with Tom Smyth: 1000 Apartments, Worldwide businesses, Grant Cardone Licensee, how to take massive action in your life and grow in all areas of your life.

Staying very strong this week with Mark Shaw.

What a legend Mark is, so fascinating. Another guest that I’m so pleased to have had the opportunity to chat with. 

Listen to how Mark went from invoicing parents for chores as child, to setting up an Estate Agency, to 37 property purchases in 9 months!! 


Get ready to learn about …

• The power of lease options
• Creative purchasing 
• Wealth creation

In this exciting episode, I talk with David and Matt from Property Sourcing Network. Speaking on business, property and sales.

Tom Smyth is the founder, managing director and owner of Dream Luxury Serviced Apartments. Who, in just four short years has grown Dream Apartments from a start-up company to Northern Ireland’s leading serviced-apartments provider with over 500 design-led apartments in major UK urban hubs, including Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester, Belfast and Middlesbrough & internationally in Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Sao Paulo - employing over 200 staff.

Dream Apartments introduced a new concept in luxury, short-term accommodation and hospitality in Belfast, opened a new market sector and set the standards for serviced apartments. Dream Apartments is the realisation of Tom’s initial vision for changing the way people use and engage with the hospitality and short-term accommodation sector.

Tom is a true example of a budding entrepreneur with a passion for business growth combined with giving back to his local community where possible. His growth on social media has been exponential, growing from 500 to 11.9k followers on Instagram in just under 6 months and reaching 6,000 followers on TikTok in under 3 months and one of his videos reaching 188,000 views.

Tom’s infectious positive mental attitude has allowed him to grow his business to exponential levels within just four years of launching.

Tom has an extremely positive mindset and outlook on life, and believes that if you take massive action, you can overcome any adversity or challenges. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Tom immediately began brainstorming solutions to overcome the devastating effects of this virus.  

Much like the rest of the world, the coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted the hospitality industry and beyond. When the world went into lockdown, Tom and Dream Luxury Serviced Apartments had to think strategically and act fast. With leisure guests being put on pause, they had to focus their effort solely on corporate and business travellers. The occupancy levels stayed the same but with a different split as 100% of the travellers were now on business. According to our system operator, Dream Luxury Serviced Apartments were one of the two only serviced apartments company to survive the Covid-19 pandemic and the severe impacts of a lockdown.

Dream had to completely restructure their business model and adapt to the market, facilitating the needs of only corporate clients in an uncharted climate. Growing from under 300 apartments to now over 500 apartments in a global pandemic is a huge achievement for Tom and the Dream brand. Securing deals with high profile companies for long term lets highlights not only how adaptable the Dream brand is, but also Tom’s tenacity and determination to deal with and overcome any situation he is faced with.

With restrictions now easing and leisure guests resuming, Dream are now reaping in the benefits of housing both more corporate guests and a large number of leisure guests, being fully booked most weekends in all cities throughout the UK.

Dream Luxury Serviced Apartments are now opening brand new luxury apartments in Dundee on the 1st November 2021. Dream’s expansion in Scotland is true example of how rapidly the company has grown in the last 4 years. Situated in the heart of Dundee’s West End, Dream Apartments offers spacious, amenity rich, self-catering apartments for both leisure & corporate guests to enjoy a home from home experience whilst travelling. Just a 7 minute drive from Dundee airport and a short distance from the train station, Dream Apartments Dundee is close to Dundee University, The V&A, Waterfront area, shops, bars and restaurants. Comprising 25 apartments, these 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units offer comfortable furnishings with scenic city & river views - some even have balconies! For those who wish to upgrade, a penthouse is also available.

Our iconic ap

Looking back over highlights from Episode 12 of Rag To Riches with Mike Aspinall - 6+ million in property, sourcing 20 deals per month, business & gratitude

Mike is founder of Northern Property Group. A group of businesses that completed on 148 property transactions for clients in the last 12 months, involving over 20 million pounds worth of property all across the northern power house.

Mike is an ex professional rugby player and coach Mike moved into property and business for a more rounded life style and sees success as attempting to create abundance in all areas of life, health, wealth, love & happiness.