The BetterLife Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Dan Martell is a SaaS kingpin who buys a new software company every month. But as a teen, the only thing he was pursuing was a life of crime - until a stint in rehab introduced him to his first love: coding.

In this episode, Dan shares the philosophies behind his "buy back your time" approach, his top strategies for hiring and training teams, and his counterintuitive takes on parenting, fitness, and building real wealth.

Dan also talks about: 
- Top mistakes founders make when hiring (and how to avoid them)
-The "train don't tell" approach to leading teams
- The 10-80-10 rule for empowering your team
- His thoughts on God, spirituality, and living a purpose-driven life
- Strategies for recruiting top talent
- Why building wealth for others is the path to true riches
- The power of constantly taking on new challenges

Books Mentioned:
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- Love is a Killer App by Tim Sanders
- A Happy Pocket Full of Money by David Cameron Gikandi
- What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter

Connect with Dan: 

📖 His Book: https://a.co/d/98Y0mLV 

💻 Website: https://www.danmartell.com/ 

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danmartell/ 

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@danvmartell 

Connect with Brandon:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardybrandon

💻 BetterLife Tribe, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: https://abetterlife.com/

📸 BetterLife Tribe’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlife/

💻 OpenDoor Capital, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://odcfund.com/

📸 OpenDoor Capital’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opendoorcapital/

Connect with Cam:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cam.cathcart/

💻 Deal Flow Real Estate, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: http://dealflowrealestate.com/

💻 Revel City HomeBuyers, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://revelcityhomebuyers.com/

📸 Revel City HomeBuyers’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revelcityhomebuyers/ 

🙏 SHOW SPONSORS

• TurboTenant: Market your rental, screen tenants, and collect rent… all in one place! Use the code BRANDON10 to get 10% off upon sign-up at https://go.abetterlife.com/turbotenant_pod Or check out all of their incredible FREE resources for landlords at https://go.abetterlife.com/toolbox_pod

• BallPoint Marketing: These guys know how to find deals… BallPoint Marketing is the leader (and the company that I use) for all things direct mail marketing! They’ll write the postcards, send them out, build out a CRM, and even field the calls for you! All you have to do is go to https://go.abetterlife.com/bp_pod for a strategy call and a discount!

Interested in building wealth without losing your soul? Join the BetterLife Tribe here: https://join.abetterlife.com/tribe

Scadi Etienne is one of the most INSPIRING real estate investors in the game, earning eye-popping returns while serving as a compassionate landlord to his low-income tenants.

Born in Brooklyn to an immigrant mother, Scadi’s family was evicted 8 times throughout his childhood. Despite those challenges, he excelled in school and joined the military, where he discovered the transformative power of real estate investing.

In this episode, Scadi shares his unique "human first" approach to investing in C- and D-class properties, emphasizing the importance of understanding and connecting with tenants from similar backgrounds. He discusses his strategies for finding deals, building relationships with wholesalers, and navigating the challenges of investing in New York and Baltimore.

Scadi also talks about:
- Why he ate tuna fish EVERY DAY for 6 months after buying a condo (despite having 6-figures saved!)
- The CRAZY appreciation on his Bed-Stuy 3-Family (now worth over $2 million)
- His secret to being INSANELY selective and only doing 30% cash-on-cash deals
- Why compassion is his secret weapon in the dog-eat-dog world of real estate investing
- Why he REFUSES to raise money from others (and how newbies get burned)

Books Mentioned:
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
- Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki 
- The Bible 

Connect with Scadi: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamscadi/ 

Connect with Brandon:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardybrandon

💻 BetterLife Tribe, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: https://abetterlife.com/

📸 BetterLife Tribe’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlife/

💻 Open Door Capital, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://odcfund.com/

📸 Open Door Capital’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opendoorcapital/

Connect with Cam:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cam.cathcart/

💻 Deal Flow Real Estate, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: http://dealflowrealestate.com/

💻 Revel City Homebuyers, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://revelcityhomebuyers.com/

📸 Revel City Homebuyers’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revelcityhomebuyers/ 

Scadi’s charitable cause (100% of ad revenue goes here):
- The Brooklyn Bank, A community-based 501c3 nonprofit organization that fosters financial independence among communities of color through teaching financial literacy.

🙏 SHOW SPONSORS

• TurboTenant: Market your rental, screen tenants, and collect rent… all in one place! Use the code BRANDON10 to get 10% off upon sign-up at https://go.abetterlife.com/turbotenant_pod Or check out all of their incredible FREE resources for landlords at https://go.abetterlife.com/toolbox_pod

• BallPoint Marketing: These guys know how to find deals… BallPoint Marketing is the leader (and the company that I use) for all things direct mail marketing! They’ll write the postcards, send them out, build out a CRM, and even field the calls for you! All you have to do is go to https://go.abetterlife.com/bp_pod for a strategy call and a discount!

Interested in building wealth without losing your soul? Join the BetterLife Tribe here: https://join.abetterlife.com/tribe

Ever heard the expression “what got you here won’t get you there”?

It’s especially true for real estate investors today. Instead of finding great deals – or getting bailed out thanks to rising values – you’ve got to make great deals and unlock hidden value.

So we brought in BiggerPockets Podcast host David Greene for a game of “How Do I…”, where he and Brandon break down 6 different real estate investing strategies, and how to execute each one – today – without putting yourself at risk of financial ruin.

Recorded in front of a live audience at the BetterLife REI Summit last month, this episode covers:
- Does traditional 20% down rental property investing still work in 2024?
- How to “make” the deal rather than finding it 
- Two things you must do to successfully BRRR in today’s market
- Why this is actually a great market for flipping houses
- Is it a good time to wholesale?
- How House hacking is up to 7X more efficient than buying rentals
- The risks of commercial real estate investing in this environment
- A super-detailed breakdown of cap rates and commercial vs. residential financing

Books Mentioned:
- Traction by Gino Wickman
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert R. Kiyosaki

This value-packed episode was part of the 2024 BetterLife REI Summit – hosted by the BetterLife Tribe, where we help you build wealth through real estate without losing your soul 🏄. Learn how to get involved here: https://join.abetterlife.com/tribe

Connect with David: 

Books: https://store.biggerpockets.com/collections/more-by-david-greene

Website: https://the1brokerage.com/

BiggerPockets Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/biggerpockets-real-estate-podcast/id594419649

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidgreene24/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@officialdavidgreene

Connect with Brandon:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardybrandon

💻 BetterLife Tribe, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: https://abetterlife.com/

📸 BetterLife Tribe’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlife/

💻 OpenDoor Capital, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://odcfund.com/

📸 OpenDoor Capital’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opendoorcapital/

Connect with Cam:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cam.cathcart/

💻 Deal Flow Real Estate, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: http://dealflowrealestate.com/

💻 Revel City HomeBuyers, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://revelcityhomebuyers.com/

📸 Revel City HomeBuyers’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revelcityhomebuyers/ 

Chenoa and David Rivera are a real estate investing couple who starred in “Rustic Rehab” before narrowly escaping the deadliest wildfire in California’s history.

Today, you’ll hear how they survived; the role they played rebuilding their hometown; how they find deals today; and why they recently went on a multifamily “buying spree.”

Chenoa and David also talk about:
- How they were cast in their own reality TV show
- The Camp Fire that took out 7 of their flips
- Rebuilding using fire-proof resistant materials
- Finding and keeping great contractors who are “like family”
- Making it work as a married couple in business together
- How they generate a flood of inbound leads 
- How they found a “big fish” private money lender to fund all their deals
- And much more!

Books Mentioned:
- The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer
- The Power of One More by Ed Mylett
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Connect with David and Chenoa: 

David’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chenoaanddavid/

Chenoa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrschenoarivera/

Connect with Brandon:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardybrandon

💻 BetterLife Tribe, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: https://abetterlife.com/

📸 BetterLife Tribe’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlife/

💻 OpenDoor Capital, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://odcfund.com/

📸 OpenDoor Capital’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opendoorcapital/

Connect with Cam:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cam.cathcart/

💻 Deal Flow Real Estate, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: http://dealflowrealestate.com/

💻 Revel City HomeBuyers, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://revelcityhomebuyers.com/

📸 Revel City HomeBuyers’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revelcityhomebuyers/ 

David and Chenoa’s charitable cause (100% of ad revenue goes here):
- Lahaina Restoration Foundation - It is a 501(c)3 Hawai‘i nonprofit organization chartered in 1962. Its mission is to be stewards and storytellers of Lahaina’s Historic & Cultural Heritage.

Show Sponsor:
- Open Door Capital - Providing affordable housing for residents while maximizing returns for investors

BetterLife Tribe: 

Interested in building wealth without losing your soul? Join the BetterLife Tribe here: https://join.abetterlife.com/tribe

Megan and Jeff Ahern are real estate investors who buy cash-flowing assets in the American heartland while living in an island paradise. But their journey to get here wasn’t an easy one, and today you’ll hear their incredible story from start to finish. 

Megan and Jeff openly share their evolution from party lifestyle and alcohol-fueled relationship problems in their marriage to getting sober and replacing drinking with an all-out focus on fitness, faith, and building wealth through real estate. 

Despite going $50,000 into the hole as newbies, they didn’t give up on their dream and as a result they now own 20+ cash-flowing rentals, a profitable staging business, and are raising their 3 kids in Maui in a community of like-minded business owners.

Megan and Jeff also talk about:
- Spending $30,000 on an event as newbies and losing money on their first deal
- Moving from California to Lincoln, Nebraska to go all-in on rental properties
- Where they find deals – a lead source Brandon’s never talked about 
- How they get 100% bank financing on their rehabs 
- Investing in sober living houses and “medium-term rentals”
- The home staging business that rakes in $100K/year with “zero” effort
- Their advice to people thinking about getting sober
- What happened when former Marine Jeff’s parachute failed to deploy
- What they learned from “the 7-plex from hell”
- The books, quotes, and people that shaped who they are today

Books Mentioned:
- Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters
- Legacy by James Kerr
- The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer and John Ortberg
- Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Connect with Jeff and Megan: 

Megan’s Website: https://www.tattyinvestor.com/

Jeff’s Website: https://www.acornhuskers.com/

Jeff’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/4f_jeff/

Megan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_tatty_investor/

Connect with Brandon:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardybrandon

💻 BetterLife Tribe, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: https://abetterlife.com/

📸 BetterLife Tribe’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlife/

💻 OpenDoor Capital, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://odcfund.com/

📸 OpenDoor Capital’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opendoorcapital/

Connect with Cam:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cam.cathcart/

💻 Deal Flow Real Estate, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: http://dealflowrealestate.com/

💻 Revel City HomeBuyers, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://revelcityhomebuyers.com/

📸 Revel City HomeBuyers’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revelcityhomebuyers/ 

Jeff and Megan’s charitable cause (100% of ad revenue goes here):
- The Mighty Oaks Foundation - A faith-based Veteran service organization that teaches combat Veterans struggling with Post Traumatic Stress, how to get beyond combat trauma, and live their lives in the manner God intended.

Show Sponsor:
- Deal Flow Real Estate - Flip, Wholesale, and Hold More Houses In Every Market

Interested in building wealth without losing your soul? Join the BetterLife Tribe here: https://join.abetterlife.com/tribe

Should you build wealth one rental house at a time, or jump right into BIG deals like Grant Cardone recommends? Brandon reveals his answer to that question and delivers a masterclass on building a team that can buy and manage large, valuable properties – allowing you to build wealth much faster without some of the headaches that come with single family houses and small multifamily properties.

Brandon also talks about:
- What he thinks Cardone gets right (and wrong) about buying big deals
- “The Stack” method for buying 100 units in 5 years
- The 4 Mindset Levels of Leadership
- The 4 Bottlenecks you must solve as you scale
- The team members you need 
- The LUCK Funnel 
- Choosing your hard

Books Mentioned:
- Work the System by Sam Carpenter
- The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- The Book on Flipping Houses by J Scott
- Traction by Gino Wickman
- Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

This value-packed episode was delivered as part of a Financial Freedom Hour – just one of the many benefits of joining the BetterLife Tribe, where we help you build wealth through real estate without losing your soul 🏄. You can sign up here: https://join.abetterlife.com/tribe

Connect with Brandon:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardybrandon

💻 BetterLife Tribe, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: https://abetterlife.com/

📸 BetterLife Tribe’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlife/

💻 OpenDoor Capital, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://odcfund.com/

📸 OpenDoor Capital’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opendoorcapital/

Connect with Cam:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cam.cathcart/

💻 Deal Flow Real Estate, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: http://dealflowrealestate.com/

💻 Revel City HomeBuyers, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Company: https://revelcityhomebuyers.com/

📸 Revel City HomeBuyers’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revelcityhomebuyers/ 

Thach Nguyen is one of, if not the, most visible and popular real estate influencers online. And as he explains in this episode, the reason why is simple: his story.

Today, you’ll hear it all: from catching the “last plane” out of Vietnam in 1975 and standing in lines at the food bank in Seattle, to becoming  7-figure real estate agent in his twenties, to buying 15 rental properties while still living with his mom and dad!

Thach is a super genuine, positive guy, and it’s no wonder why 250 million people tune into his content every month. This conversation chance to learn from a real estate master, and get to know him on a deeper level by diving into topics like debt, risk, passion, marriage, parenting, and more. 

Thach also talks about:
- Discovering real estate while parking cars at a Chinese restaurant
- The 3 things that made him a Top 1% realtor
- Living (way) beneath his means to reach financial freedom faster
- Knocking doors every day to generate sales
- Why “aligning” is more important than “grinding”
- Whether it’s a good idea to pay off mortgages early
- How to find a deal today, step by step
- Philanthropy and teaching 
- His parenting advice, summed up in one sentence
- The secrets to his success on social media (no team!)

Books Mentioned:
- Ask and It is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks
- Manifest Your Destiny by Wayne W. Dyer
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown
- Golden Son by Pierce Brown

Connect with Thach: 

- Website: https://www.thachrealestategroup.com/

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thachnguyen/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thachn

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thachn/

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thachnguyen/

Connect with Brandon:
- Instagram: link to his IG
- BetterLife Tribe, Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: link to abetterlife.com
- OpenDoor Capital. Brandon’s Real Estate Investing Company: link to ODCFund.com

Connect with Cam:
- Instagram: link to his IG
- Deal Flow Real Estate, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Mastermind: link to DealFlowRealEstate.com
- Revel City HomeBuyers, Cam’s Real Estate Investing Company: link to revelcityhomebuyers.com

Thach’s charitable cause (100% of ad revenue goes here):
- RAVE Foundation - RAVE Foundation’s 26 by 2026 initiative will build 26 new fields in time for the world's biggest sporting tournament - FIFA World Cup - comes to North America in 2026.

Show Sponsor:
- Open Door Capital 
- Think you might be sitting on some equity that could be put to better use? Try our free Return on Equity Calculator here! https://odcfund.com/roe

Marc Kuhn built a $25 million/year construction company from scratch and is now funneling his profits into a real estate asset you probably haven’t heard of.

In this episode, Marc shares why he thinks “luxury storage” is the future; how he got into development and syndication after building his wealth in a blue-collar industry; and why he thinks buying businesses from baby boomers is such a hot opportunity right now.

Marc also talks about:
- How he scaled his construction company and avoided the traps his dad fell into
- How he’d go from $0 to $20,000/month if his life depended on it 
- The seller financing deal that made his net worth soar
- Using creative financing to win in a high-interest-rate environment
- What luxury storage is and why demand is rising
- Building an audience on LinkedIn

Books Mentioned:
- The Road Less Stupid by Keith J. Cunningham
- How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
- The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone
- The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
- Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Connect with Marc: 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marc-kuhn

Substack: https://marckuhn.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marc.kuhn.mak

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marc.kuhn.mak

Connect with us!

Website: https://abetterlife.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlife/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/beardybrandon

Marc’s charitable cause (100% of ad revenue goes here):
- Backing the Blue Line

Show Sponsor:
- Interested in building wealth without losing your soul? Join the BetterLife Tribe here: https://join.abetterlife.com/tribe

Pete Kelly is the CEO of Apartment Life, which helps multifamily landlords slash their largest expense: vacancy. 

Pete’s organization works with multifamily building owners to place coordinators whose sole mission is to befriend, connect with, and assist residents in their day-to-day lives. The result? Tenants stay longer. And apartment building owners add an average of $200k to their NOI and millions to their net worth.

Pete also talks about: 
- Why loneliness is the biggest reason tenants don't renew their leases 
- How Apartment Life finds mission-driven team members 
- Why property managers love his service
- The average return on investment investors can expect
- How you can apply his tactics even if you don’t own multifamily
- Finding real estate deals in 2024
- His parenting advice and why he wishes he had a time machine

Books Mentioned:
- The Holy Bible by ESV Bibles
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- Preaching Christ in All of Scripture by Edmund P. Clowney
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
- Practicing The Presence Of God The Best Rule of a Holy Life by Brother Lawrence

Connect with Pete and Apartment Life: 

Website: https://apartmentlife.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aptlife

Listen to the end, where Pete gives out his phone number

Connect with us!

Website: https://abetterlife.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlife/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/beardybrandon

Pete’s charitable cause (100% of ad revenue goes here):
- Apartment Life

Show Sponsor: 

The BetterLife Tribe, where we help you build wealth through real estate without losing your soul

Tyler Cauble is a commercial real estate investor in Nashville, Tennessee. On today’s show: how he went from selling Cutco Knives door-to-door, to doing his first land deal with none of his own money, to using syndication to buy, renovate, rent, and refinance (BRRR) millions of dollars of commercial real estate in one of the hottest markets in the country.

Tyler also talks about: 
- Exactly how he’d get started in commercial real estate investing today
- The differences between residential and commercial real estate deals
- How to get brokers to take you seriously
- What he learned about sales at Cutco (he broke a sales record!)
- Transforming an abandoned car wash into a food hall with “ghost kitchens” 
- Why he’s all-in on office space despite remote work
- The opportunity in turning stale office buildings into coworking spaces
- The impact of higher interest rates
- What type of cash-on-cash returns to expect in commercial investing
- How much you need for a down payment
- Does go off market to find deals? (spoiler: yes)
- Why he’s cash-heavy in 2024
- Why he quit drinking alcohol
- The books, people and quotes that have shaped who he is

Books Mentioned:
- Walkable City by Jeff Speck
- Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat by David Greene
- The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Connect with Tyler: 

Website: https://www.tylercauble.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tylercauble

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commercial_in_nashville/?hl=en

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tylercauble

Connect with us!

Website: https://abetterlife.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlife/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/beardybrandon

Tyler’s charitable cause (100% of ad revenue goes here):
- Vanderbilt Children's Hospital

Show Sponsor:
- The BetterLife REI Summit May 3-5 in Denver, CO. The most actionable “how to” real estate event for new and experienced investors. Grab your tickets here: https://reisummit2024.com/

Interested in building wealth without losing your soul? Join the BetterLife Tribe here: https://join.abetterlife.com/tribe