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Leaving an unsatisfying career is a dream buried in almost all of us.
Doing something about it is hard.
Expect advice for starting your first business, battling mental blockades and handling the financial transition out.
Given through compelling stories from entrepreneurs, charity owners, athletes, and inspiring individual who have uncovered their purpose.
Quittable aims to give you the belief & skills needed to leave an unfulfilling career, before life passes you by.
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Hello, friends. Welcome back. Glad you could make it for another. Allow me to introduce our guest today, Dan Budden. Dan's the cofounder of 53 Degrees Property.
Dean:He has scaled that business to the moon. He's got over 100 Airbnb units now. Now Dan shares his journey from university sailing to building this thriving property business, discussing everything from managing multiple units to dealing with difficult guests to scaling, and how this all enables him to travel the world pretty much full time. Believe me, he does. If you follow him on Instagram, you'll see.
Dean:You'll hear us talk about how Dan scaled his initial side hustle to 70 grand monthly profit. Also, how you can build a scalable Airbnb business, the pros and cons of big growth, how to build a business that suits your desired life, and why he recommends to build a business that doesn't rely on you. As you'll come to know throughout the episode Dan is a very funny, charming and just kind person which is quite refreshing in this chaotic world of property. What you'll also come to notice in the episode is that this this business is how I managed to leave my career in sales. So a lot of serendipity throughout this episode.
Dean:Dan and I actually met earlier this year through Instagram DMs and we kind of hit it off and ever since then we've been just become good friends. And I listened back to the episode and honestly it is packed with so much value. And every time I speak to Dan I get this rush of just inspiration and belief and general just practical tips that he always leaves me with. Like the guy is a gun. So if you stick around to the very end you'll hear how you can actually partner with Dan to do what he does if you want to get out of what you're doing.
Dean:Before we get into the episode, one more thing. I want to thank each and every one of you. You guys are genuinely fucking legends. Everyone who has listened to 1 episode, to a few episodes, to half an episode, who has sent me a DM on Instagram, who has connected with me on LinkedIn, who has signed up to the newsletter. I really cannot state to you how much I appreciate that.
Dean:And I know everyone you listen to who does a fucking podcast says thanks to the listeners, but truly being in this position I feel an immense wave of gratitude for each of you who has gone to the border of taking your phone out, putting your fucking headphones in, listening to what we've got to say and then going to a different app to send me a message and tell me how you felt and tell me that you've connected with the mission like that does not go over my head. And to all of you who have done that, to all of you who have also listened in the shadows and said nothing I appreciate you each individually and I just wanted to thank you. That's it. And special shout out to all of the OGs who've been here since episode 1, 2 and 3. Much love to you all.
Dean:Now, enough of me, let's get into this episode. I hope you enjoy it. Right, So let's start then for getting an understanding of 53 Degrees Property. Obviously, I know what this is, we're both in the same world, but let's just pretend the person listening has zero idea, like no idea what you do and how you do it. Give them an idea.
Dan:Yeah. Cool. So 53 years property basically has 2 services. So we have our rent to service accommodation side, so our guaranteed rent service for landlords, and then we have our Airbnb management side. And in simple terms, the rent to service accommodation side, we guarantee the rent to the landlords for 3 to 5 years.
Dan:We then agree that we can let it out on a short term basis, and we make the profit. The profit is basically what we pay the landlord, and then above that, what we take in is our profit. And usually per deal, you make somewhere between £800, £1,000 a month. And the management side, we take a management fee to operate that property as a short term let. So we'll take a 15% management fee, and we'll operate it as an Airbnb or a short term let for the landlord, and then take that take that as our revenue that comes in.
Dean:What do you prefer?
Dan:Honestly, I think the Rent2Says side is a bit more enjoyable because you don't have to deal with the landlords, but also the management side you can scale them much faster as well. So the Rent2Says side I enjoy because you have more control over it, you can put your own spin on things, it's, you know, it's your deal at the end of the day, But the management side, you can scale faster. There's less risk involved. So I enjoy both of them, to be honest with you. I just enjoy making money.
Dan:Let's be real.
Dean:Alright. Well, let's stick on that then. So profit wise, like, what what's let's let's think about the size of the portfolio then because for me, like, mine is relatively small in comparison. I've got 12 in my portfolio. That's, like, that's good for me, you know.
Dean:What's the size and what sort of profit are you looking at?
Dan:Yeah. So we've got 32 Renters SAs at the moment. We've got 70 plus management. I say 70 plus because we're basically taking on, like, 2 properties a week at the moment, so the figure's kind of always moving. But we are over a 100 once the current properties are onboarded, which we we've also got 4 properties that we own ourselves.
Dan:So, yeah, each of the Rent 2 SA makes, let's say, £1,000 a month profit, that's 32 k a month profit in the Rent 2 SA business. The management business makes somewhere between 500 to up to £1500 a month per deal, so like London we make £1500 a month, but in Liverpool we might make £200, £300 a month, so if we took like £500 a month, let's just say that, I mean that's another £35,000 a month profit on the RentUSA on the management, sorry, and then we've got our deals that we own ourselves for the 4 that we own in Crewe, They make somewhere probably around, like, the 700 or a £1,000 a month mark because they're on repayment mortgages, SA mortgages, which charge a high interest rate. So
Dean:So if my rough back of the envelope math is correct, we're talking, like, what, 60, 70 k in profit?
Dan:Yes. I'm not yeah. 60, 78. Yeah. 60, 70 k profit a month.
Dan:Yeah. It's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. Not bad.
Dan:Not bad. It's alright. It's alright.
Dean:If I was listening then, I'd be like, oh my god. 70 k per month profit, you know, if I was in a job. That's just like wild numbers. Like that's that's more than the average salary. That's like double, probably, what an average salary might be in profit.
Dean:As you and I know, like, it's not always that. It's not that doesn't mean you, Dan, just receive 70 ks. Like, so like, for you, like, do you do you pay yourself much?
Dan:So to be fair, we do it, like, quite tax efficiently. And, honestly, like, you don't need to pay yourself. I don't pay myself that much out of the business. I do have other businesses that pay me as well. But for me, it's, like, very much, like, where you are in life and, like, what you're trying to do with the business, how far you're trying to take it.
Dan:Like you say, that profit looks amazing. Right? But, ultimately, that is that is, like, you know, net profit on each of the deals. So, obviously, the business has a lot of administration costs as well, which will bring that down. And depending on what you're trying to do with the business, are you trying to, like, gear it to sell it?
Dan:Are you trying to make value in the business, or are you trying to just get profits to close to 0 as possible on the on the bottom line? So you could say, like, the bottom line is 0, but it's not it it gets to a point you just can't get the bottom line to 0, and so you have to pay some sort of corporation tax, but, yeah, with the profit side, you know, that's not something that I I don't take all that money in, and also it's taken 5 years to get to that place as well, it's not like we've did overnight, but, yeah, I pay myself to be honest, I I push pay myself the, minimum sat, like, salary wise, and then in terms of like most tax efficient salary we can take which I think is like £12,750 and then we take dividends up to the maximum allowance which is like 37,500 or something where you get taxed 7.5%. Don't, you know, don't quote me on all those numbers but I think that's the correct amount. We just work with an accountant, actually my dad, so shout out to him, who sorts all that and we just, you know, ultimately just wanna get good tax advice.
Dan:And we don't like I said, I don't need to take all that money out, so I wouldn't take any more out than I need to. Yeah.
Dean:I do the exact same thing actually. The small salary and then bit of dividends.
Dan:Plenty,
Dean:you know. When you started, right, you said you started 4 years ago. For example, right, a lot of people start businesses for different reasons. For example, for me, when I started I wanted to just be more geographically flexible and not necessarily have to be here or go to an office. I'm quite rebellious you might say in that sense.
Dean:But when you started it versus to where you are now, because you're obviously you're going on a different trajectory to me. Whereas, we have the same vehicle, right, but we kinda want different things from it. Like, when you started, what did you want it to be at that point?
Dan:Yeah. So when I started, I was in a much different place as well. So I just finished university. I was selling for Great Britain at the time as well. And my dad had a small portfolio, and this is kind of how I got into it.
Dan:My dad kind of said, like, I'll help, you know, but he's busy with his accountancy business, so he wanted to, like, prove I could do it alongside the sailing. And me and my mom said, look. Let's go 50 50 into it. And what happened was I came out of university, and I just had all this free time because all my life I've been balancing, like, even GCSE level, balancing GCSE and sailing, hockey, balancing. And then I went to university.
Dan:I was balancing GB sailing and university. So when I finished university, I had all this free time. I was like, oh my gosh. What do I do with that? And, yes, you you know, I was sailing every single day.
Dan:I was full time sailing, but in the you you could only sail really, like, 5 days a week, let's say, and then so your weekends are free, and, also, all the evenings are free. Like, you could there's only so much gym, bike, planning, and sailing you can do in a day. So I had a lot of spare time that I wanted to fill up with something. I obviously saw my dad's small portfolio that he was getting passive income from, so I had a bit of you know, he'd done developments before I could see the property was something that, you know, you can make passive money from. And I was like, yeah.
Dan:I want passive income. So the kind of the reason for starting, it was ultimately, like, I wanted to create a it's a bit different from myself, but, yeah, I wanted to create an income, alongside my sailing so that sailing wasn't the thing that I was getting paid for. I was doing it because I wanted to go to Olympics and wanted to get a gold medal, and I wanted to pursue that dream rather than, am I just doing this? I had this question. Am I just doing this because it's the only thing that pays me?
Dan:It doesn't pay well. It pays you enough to, like, sustain, like, net 0 for the month probably, because all your expenses are paid for and stuff like that, but it was kind of I had this this thing in my head where I was like, am I just doing this because I'm doing it, and it's, like, easy and I'm getting paid for it? Am I doing this because it's a dream of mine? So once I'd replaced the, you know, I'd more than more than replace, you know, tripled the income I was getting from sailing in the property side, and then when it came to Olympic trials I could put 100% into it. Yes.
Dan:That meant we might get into it, but, yes, that meant it hurt even more when we didn't get there, but I did know that I looked back and I did everything I could to try and get there, and I can, you know, hand on heart say I spent a year and a half fully engaged in the sailing side of it, and, yeah, it didn't work out. But, look back, and if if the whole time, I just I wouldn't have known if I was doing it just because it was the thing that I did and I was getting paid for, or it's the thing that I did because I wanted to pursue that dream of being an Olympian. So for me, that's why I started it. As I, you know, obviously finished sailing, it was really, it's always been in the back of my mind. It's that, like, passive income.
Dan:I love to travel as you probably know. I love to travel. I love to be in different places. I don't wanna be, like you say, geographically locked down anywhere. And I just don't think I'd work for anyone else.
Dan:I've never worked for anyone else in my life. I'm very fortunate to say that, But I've always had, you know, probably a bit of ADHD about me, like, you know, entrepreneurial spirit, wanting to always do something, have, like, different plates spinning all the time. Like, I like to keep a quite fast lifestyle.
Dean:Were you one of the kids who was, like, selling sweets in the yard?
Dan:I'll be honest. Look. I wasn't I wasn't that kid, but and I look back, and I don't know where, like, the entrepreneurial spirit came from. But what you know, year 7, 8, and 9 and I've said this on on some other podcast as well. Like, year 7, 8, and 9, I was, like, such a, like, a bad student.
Dan:Like, I was, like, you know, yeah. 789, you're probably 11 I think it's, like, 11 to 13. I think 13, 14, something like that. I forgot I don't know what age it is, but I think it's a 13, 14. It makes me write yeah.
Dan:13, 14. So around that age. And I was just, like, disrupting class. My grades were really low. I didn't have any entrepreneurial spirit.
Dan:I was a little fat kid. Like, I wasn't fat, but I was chubby. And then I think when I started sailing in, like, year 9, year 10, that's the first time that I set goals, and I could see there was, like, progression. And then I started to do that in other parts of my life as well. So I think sailing kinda saved me in that respect, having something to focus towards.
Dan:And, yeah, it just I think that's where my not entrepreneurial spirit, but, like, spirit to, you know, do something better in my life came from, for sure.
Dean:But you've never worked for anyone? Yeah. Did you never have a job when you're, like, 15?
Dan:Never had a job. Because I was always saying so by the time I got to a point, like, at year 7, 89, I was just just having fun with the lads, to answer you. I just messed around in school. It was so weird. And then never had a job on the side.
Dan:And, like, year 10, 11 is normally when you start to, like, do those, you know, like Waitrose or something. But I'd started sailing, so I couldn't do I applied for Waitrose to be fair. I don't know if I actually got I think I actually got turned down the job because I was like, yeah. I'm not actually gonna be around that much. So they probably just said, like, this guy is I got through to the, in person interviews, though, which is you know, we got through.
Dan:The CV was obviously there. But, yeah, I never had a job, but I did at school. You know, I I was deputy head boy. I organized all the social events. I was, like, the social sec as it were.
Dan:And, yeah, I took the heat for everything and all the and all the head boy meetings with the TED teacher. I took the heat for it all because it was just I was a scapegoat because I was the GB sailor, so it was fine. But, yeah, I'd I'd never well, I also never had a had a job as such. I did, you know, put my mind to a lot of things. So that's that's wild
Dean:to me to think that you've never had a job because I don't know many people who've, like, never had, like, any sort of, like, because you've no reference point. You know what it you don't know what it's like to be pissed off at your boss.
Dan:Yeah. I really never I'm very fortunate to say, obviously, I haven't had a job. But also, there is a part of me that doesn't know what the other side's like, you know. When I when I was at university, I wasn't in property. I wasn't in the business.
Dan:I was just sailing in university. And I watched Wolf of Wall Street, and I was like, yes. I wanna be finance. I wanna be, like, a stock trader. So I positioned myself at university doing economics and finance.
Dan:I just went all down the finance route, stocks, trading, everything like that. And I do still do a lot of stocks trading, crypto, stuff like that, and that is what I've used that degree for, really, and all the knowledge I learned in there. And I've had the best 3 years of my life as well. But, yeah, I've never had a boss as such. The I guess, I mean, I had a boss at uni, to be fair.
Dan:So I I I was just I was a, sales rep at university for some of the events, and I became, like, one of the head sales reps for, like, one of the biggest events in Exeter. So I did have a boss at some point, but that was literally 1st week university freshers. I wanted to get a hat and I had to sell some tickets. So that's probably the only time I've had a job, I guess.
Dean:So you've, like the reason you started then was that you finished uni, this dream had kind of, you know, came and went, let's say, and then you saw your dad's portfolio making money and then you were like 'fuck it, I'm just gonna give this a crack'. And then fast forward 5 years now, you're making 70 ks in your business in profit a month. Like, you know, definitely pat on the back worthy, let's say. Is that did you think when starting, could you have imagined that you'd be this far or did you think you'd be further or did you think you'd be less?
Dan:Yeah. I don't wanna sound cocky, but I'm really good at visualization. So I can definitely see, you know, exactly where we're gonna get to. I always knew we're gonna hit 3 figures in the number of units. It's just that how long it takes.
Dan:So for me, it was a real hard balance because the 1st 3 years, it was technically a side hustle alongside my sailing, so we did limit growth. So we only took on during the 1st 2 years, obviously, you can't get deals falling at your feet, so we were working for deals. But once it got to a point where we could take on more than 1 property a month, we actually limited it to 1 property a month, and we created, like, a bit of demand. And we just basically said, 1 property a month's all we can do because Dan's sailing. Mom doesn't wanna, you know, put all this effort into you know, doesn't wanna work full time nonstop.
Dan:And so when I wasn't sailing, I'd be working my business. When I was sailing, because we're only taking on one property and we weren't scaling crazy fast, it meant that I could focus on, you know, building the business out. But I do in hindsight, we could have grown much faster, but it has meant we've built out a really good team, and that slow growth actually is, I think, has bit of silver lining into it as well. So, yeah, I always knew we were gonna get to this level. It's just like you have to pin I don't really reflect on it that much.
Dan:You have to pinch yourself sometimes. And it's like you say, £70 a month is absolutely mental, but you don't really think about it too much because, you know, you're looking for 6 figures a month. You're looking we wanna do our 1st million month in revenue, and I think we'll get that in the next 6 months, hopefully, with the growth plans. Does the goalpost just always move? 100%.
Dan:Yeah. The goalpost never is in the same place. And this is something where you've I've I've definitely realized I need to enjoy the journey more because I'm always thinking about the next thing. It was, like, the Rolex as well. It was, like, I really want to get a Rolex.
Dan:So the first time we did, like, a £1,000,000 revenue in our rent to SA business, I was like, right. I'll get a Rolex. And then it was, like, right now I want AP. Right now I want, like, Pat x. So it's just the goalpost always move, and for me, yeah, as once you realize that, you then go, okay.
Dan:Right. Then I wanna just enjoy what I do, and I'm really strong on to my mom and my sister who also work in the business. I'm like, don't don't tell me what you're doing right now. Tell me what you want to do, and let's build the business around that because we're in a fortunate position where we can do that. So an example would be my mom would always, like, check Slack and basically be like a low key guest services manager.
Dan:But I'm like, mom, you don't want to do that. So what do you want to do? And let's build the business that way. Because if we build the business that way and there's no business there, then so be it. Let's move on.
Dan:Let's go to something else. I'm very, like, cutthroat when it comes to that. Obviously, the business will work, and it's just it's a figure of speech. But if you're if you build the business how you wanna build it and you've got no money left at the end of the day, then you need to do something else because it's not a business. Right?
Dan:So everyone just builds themselves a job. So anyone who would be looking to leave their job, you know, to build a business, don't just go and build yourself a job because that is the worst thing you can do.
Dean:I had the fucking same realization, you know, I was like a year and a half into building the business. As I said, smaller scale than yours so I can relate to all of these things just on a smaller scale. But then it got to this point and I was like, I don't want to necessarily make this bigger. This is like a nice amount for me right now and I don't want with more of this becomes more of a job for me. And this, like you said to to your mum, that's not how I want to build this and what I want to be doing.
Dean:And that's what's kind
Dan:of led me to this now, to to starting a podcast because I feel like why not share that with people? But it's about building what you want to be. Right? Yeah. People also don't realize that that's actually possible when you're so I imagine anyway, like I say, I haven't really been in a job.
Dan:The only jobs I've had, yeah, sales rep at university and I was a DJ at some point, but very self employed gigs, you know. So it was really good. But what what I'm saying is, yeah, people don't realize what's what you can do. You can build a business. An actual business is one that works without you.
Dan:A business is not a business that you work in unless you're an employee or you're a director and you have a specific role and responsibility. And I've knew this from the start, and literally instantly, we got 2 units. We had 4 VAs. You might think sorry. 2 VAs.
Dan:When we had 4 units, we had 2 VAs. And you might think that's an absolute massive overkill, but I don't wanna do guest services. I don't wanna ever take a phone call from guests. So I need to have VAs there. So instantly, you're building the business as it should be rather than just building yourself a job.
Dean:You don't you don't wanna run this business. You wanna own this business, right? And I've said this to, like, me and you both mentor people, we're part of the same community. One of the common things that I see in people who have built a similar business to yours and mine is that they're just caught up in the weeds. And Henry, who was on the podcast a few days ago said it brilliantly.
Dean:He said there's £10 tasks, £100 tasks and £1,000 tasks. And everyone just gets caught up doing £10 tasks all day. And I'm like saying to these mentees, like, you didn't build this business to run this business, you built it to own it. Right?
Dan:Yeah. I mean, if you did if you did but if you love what you do and you say for example you love guest services, then by all means, put yourself in that role. That's fine. But then you need to have other people in other roles that are doing the other jobs because otherwise, you will just, you know, build yourself a job. And I think, ultimately, it depends on, like, what gives you purpose in life.
Dan:Right? But you do need to set out if you start a business. What do you wanna get out of this? You know? Are you trying to build the business because you just want some money?
Dan:Like, what's the end goal? But then what do you wanna do on a day to day basis? You know? So you know what level it's at. Like, you say if you're happy at the level you're at now, then great.
Dan:Go to your podcast. You know? For me, I am now in I what I wanna do is expand into different markets. I love, you know, networking, meeting new people, open up new businesses. Literally, you've got, like, 7 different businesses.
Dan:I absolutely love it. Just thrill for being, like, a CEO and just businesses. So that's what I wanna do. So if I can do that in my business, which we will do, and we'll obviously look at, like, acquiring cleaning, maintenance, other businesses. That's what I love doing, so I'm gonna build it that way.
Dean:So if I was listening now, I'd be probably a little bit hyped up. I'm like, alright. Dan has gone in a few years from building this business and it sounds great, you've got loads of money coming in, you're making all these decisions, you're very autonomous, you travel a lot. Amazing, right? I think it'd be useful to maybe explain what life as a serviced accommodation operator, right, is like.
Dean:And now a common word we hear a lot in this industry, 'currents', right? There's a lot of 'currents' when people stay in your property. They the Karen level dials up significantly on average. The average person is more likely to be a Karen. And we know this all too well.
Dean:Like, what is a standout Karen for you?
Dan:A standout Karen. I'll be honest, the bigger you get the more Karens you get and it is very very linear in that respect. Standout Karens are just like people I'll be honest, The Karens you get, and they don't always come across badly, are the ones who pay the least money. Like, people who have our worst Karens are shout out to Liverpool here. Our worst Karens are, you know, someone who's staying in, like, a one bed l 17 who's paid 50, £60 a night, and they wanna get every single discount here and there.
Dan:Our best guests are luxury clients who spend $15 a month for an apartment in London. They know exactly what they're expecting. Yes. They might require a few extra things, but most of them are like business people who understand we've got a business and, like, the reputation, and we're gonna do what we can to serve them. And they're very you know, everything you do to try and save them is they they're like, thank you, you know, thank you for this, thank you for this, because they understand that we are trying to do our best.
Dan:Whereas at Karen, everything you do is not good enough. So no matter if you solve the issue, they want compensation. And like I say, it's always people who have a pet who always want that little extra discount. So if you were to start this business, there's an easy way around this. Just pitch yourself in the luxury higher end or the long term end.
Dan:Think like yourself, you know, London, long term guests, you get less Karens as an example because you've got longer to deal with it. It's basically the thing. And if you do get a Karen for a long term guest, you can get them out and it's okay, and you you know, you can get your next long term guest in. But, ultimately, yeah, a Karen is someone who just stays at your property with the sole intention of trying to get money back before you even step to a foot, like, foot through the front door. And, yeah, what I would say is if you're gonna get into this market, and what we're doing as well expanding to, like, the luxury end, the higher end, and just make your clients people that, like, aren't gonna complain, which is quite easy to do if you just get the the higher end market.
Dean:I think in sticking with what this business can actually throw at you and what curveballs right? There's a lot of curveballs in this business. It's not smooth. But
Dan:prostitutes. Nice.
Dean:You've had quite a few experiences with prostitutes as per your Instagram.
Dan:Hey, prostitutes aren't all bad, you know. Like, we've had a lot of we have had a lot of prostitutes there at our properties and sometimes we don't know, sometimes we do know, it's easy to find out afterwards obviously. The worst, to be honest with you, the worst are like gangs, like if a gang comes and uses your makes your house a drug den or makes it like a a stash house, that's when there's an issue, Rather than, like, prostitutes just have if there's, like, neighbors, for example, they have, you know, 10 guys coming in every single night, and it's, like, between the hours of, like, 1 AM to 5 AM. But usually what happens is they'll book the property for 7 days, and then they'll only use 2 of those nights to make a lot of money back. And I actually went into yeah.
Dan:A good story, I guess. We've probably got time for it, but I went into one of the properties because we'd I was in the area anyway. We'd noticed on the camera the night before that there was literally 1 guy every 10 minutes coming through the front door, and I was like, oh my gosh. That is rough. Anyway, I went to the property, knocked on the door.
Dan:I could see people screwing around in the house. I was like, and then they just didn't answer the door. So this is weird. Rang the guest, a guy answered, and then the brother, I could see there was, like, 3 women in the house. Anyway, I can only presume he was obviously the p I PIMP.
Dan:So I I was when I knocked on the door again, they finally answered the door, and this lady, Brazilian lady, opened the door, skimpy outfit on, obviously, thought I was a client. And I just said, you know, I'm the owner. I went in and I just said, look, you can't the the smoke alarm kept going off. I was like, the smoke alarm's gone off because you're smoking inside. Look, you can't smoke inside.
Dan:All the clients are obviously smoking inside. And I I said, look, you can't have any more men around. I showed her a video of what and she was like, oh my like, she was literally obviously heartbroken. I said, look, here's you, here's them. It's very obvious what's going on here.
Dan:And then I went downstairs, went into the dining room to just check something literally cash power on the table, and I was, like, do I take that? I didn't take it, I left it there, but obviously it's very evident evidence. They were prostitutes, there was no more issues that night, they checked out the next day, no issues. But we've had them where they've stayed before and there's been no issues, and you only find out afterwards when the the bin's full of, Johnny's. So So,
Dean:yeah, you got me.
Dan:You got me. But they don't usually trash the place. Like I say, the worst guests you have are, like, gangs who use it as stash house.
Dean:Hey there. Hope you're enjoying the episode so far. I come to you with a gift. If you are one of the many, many people who check out the show and who need ideas, you're lacking direction in which you can go, I've got something for you. I have built a breakdown of the 5, in my view, most accessible business models that you can try today with just a phone and a fucking laptop.
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Dean:Thank you and enjoy the episode. One of the things that, I've been asked a few times before is like how do you feel about the impact of having a service accommodation business, right, on the housing crisis in, you know, which is quite common in a lot of big cities? Like, what what how do you feel about that subject when that's brought up?
Dan:So it's pretty prominent at the moment, obviously, with the change in, like, government as well, like, labor coming in. There's a lot of talk about bringing in, like, licensing, 90 day rules across the board to try and increase the number of houses. But I'll be honest, like and I don't want this come across the wrong way. Loads of houses are being built and, like, loads of units are being built, but the problem is the units being built are the wrong units. So I think if they wanna change something with the housing crisis, they need to stop building tower blocks with, like, apartments that are 2, 3 grand a month.
Dan:You know? Like, in Manchester, you can go there and be like, how is there a housing crisis? Every single street, there is a new skyscraper being built. The problem is it's obviously skyscrapers being built and not houses that people can afford, so I don't necessarily think that the housing crisis is that rife for someone who's got money. The housing crisis obviously is a the housing crisis because there's the rents are so goddamn high, so they need to stop building skyscrapers and start building houses is the point.
Dan:But the problem is they need to incentivize people to do that. So they need to incentivize developers to make it more worthwhile to build out houses. The the excuse or explanation of, you know you know, you get it all the time on TikTok. If you put out a video and it goes goes slightly viral, you will get someone who says you've taken for rent to rent, for example, you're taking properties off someone who could be renting it. But in reality, we're taking properties that aren't getting rent anyway or they're too expensive for people to rent.
Dan:So we're only doing you know, we're helping the landlords, but like I say, it's a fundamental issue rather than it's not me causing the problem. You know? There's bigger there's bigger fish that need to make some decisions to sort the actual issue out.
Dean:So just gonna segue, right, into the world of education in property and specifically our world in service accommodation, right? I spent a fuck load of money on being mentored. It was upwards of $15 for a course and mentorship. And there's every Tom, Dick and Harry that you see online who's done something in property is trying to pedal a course for 5, 10 grand at a time. Like, what do you think about the ethics of someone selling a course for that much?
Dan:Well, straight to the point, we are gonna single handedly kill the 3 to 5 grand Rent2 SA course market. The the people who are selling courses on Instagram, ultimately, half the followers are bought anyway in most cases. And the ones that aren't bought, they've got, like, one viral video where it's, you know, them and their friend in 1st class off to the buy. Maybe you know what I'm talking about. After the buy with 10 to 12 units.
Dan:I wanna name names. But the problem is is that they expect they show a lifestyle that's been built off the fact of their Corso, not off the fact of the amount of units they've got. And it's not hard to find out the credibility. The problem with social media is very easy to just pretend you're doing something you're not. Like I say, if I had a Lamborghini in Dubai, doesn't necessarily mean that money has come from my Rent2 SA business.
Dan:Actually, it's come from all the money I've made from selling courses because ultimately selling courses is bloody, like, lucrative. What I do say is, like, the note over the next 3 months, hopefully, I'll check. We can help to change the course of the industry, especially for the Rent2 SA side. We're gonna push, obviously, the SACO community really hard, which is the community that we built, which is 49.99 a month, and you get access to which, I once it's built out completely, will be the best course in
Dean:the market 100%. I think as well I fundamentally this is one of the reasons why I think me and you connect, and have connected is because we both fundamentally agree that it's it's it's not right to charge people who are unsuspecting that much money. And I think if you have a system or a subscription model that only incentivizes you to stay and pay money if you receive value, because if you don't receive value you go, right? And that's why I like, what you're building with Sayco and what I've been a part of as well. What do you think is, like, if you were to turn back time, right, and go back into your first day, like, what, because I know my answer to this, but what do you think is one thing that you wish you knew before starting building this business?
Dean:Because it obviously sounds so sexy man, like, you're making loads of money but what is something that you didn't know that you wish you did? I can give you my answer while you're thinking, right? Okay,
Dan:give me your answer what I'm thinking.
Dean:My answer is I wish I knew it was a 247 business.
Dan:I think with that, it's not necessarily just my business, but it's every business. I think the expectation that, yeah, it obviously is 24 hours. And I don't think it necessarily would have put me off. Like, I don't wanna say I would have known that and got put off. The thing I wish I would've knew was, like, a simple one would've been, like, professional photos earlier.
Dan:I would've I would've then got bookings straight away rather than waiting 2, 3 months to get bookings in. But I was fortunate that I didn't spend a lot of money on mentorship. I know I found someone who had a very small portfolio. I was very young, got a lot of free a lot a lot of free information off him. I then paid for mentorship, but it was, like, £500 a month.
Dan:I only paid 3 months, like, £1500 to get what I needed to know. But people come up to me and, you know, say, Dan, I want can you mentor me? I'm like, well, you don't need to pay 2 and a half grand a month for mentorship because you're not at the stage. So I don't I don't mentor people who don't have 15, 20 units because I can provide that value in SEICO, which is 4999 a month, which they can just leave after a month if it's not valuable. Or they go in and they go, actually, what?
Dan:This isn't for me. I put so many people off SA business because I'm like, look. You realize, like you say, probably is the one thing I wish I knew. It's 247 business. You know, there are other businesses that aren't 247.
Dan:You might have to work equal in every business that you wanna grow, you're gonna have to work equally as hard, but it's is this business gonna take up your whole life? Can you get a guest, you know, that's calling you the whole time? And that's where if you're trying to balance it with work, you may look at another business that might be like Amazon FBA, but you still got hospitality. You still you still got customers. You've got, you know, sell to, but you might wanna look for a business that doesn't necessarily need that direct to consumer model, which very much is Airbnb in short term.
Dan:That's And
Dean:the thing is, like, it's all businesses will be work. This is just one component of it that, like, I think I it would have irritated me a bit. I don't know because, you know, you're out, you're having dinner or whatever. And if you're not at your size, right for example, right, your size that you're at you've got employees that kind of cover everything. My size, I do but not quite as many as employees, right?
Dean:So sometimes it still might roll up to me, a message comes in, 'I guess checks in late, the fucking key's this way' or whatever. That type of thing. It's just that it it's one of the cons. But believe me, the pros I have, the flexibility I have, like, the the autonomy I have, it balances out for sure.
Dan:100%. I think if you're gonna and then, again, it goes back to, like, what you wanna get out of it, what level you wanna get to, how much work you wanna do each each week. The fact is it might come back to you, but, like, you can still build it out so you have people on the ground. Like, one of the reasons I travel so much and everyone's like, why do you travel all the time? I'm like, it's not like I'm traveling and just on holiday the whole time.
Dan:Yes. I have a good time. I'm on a glacier. I had a great time. And I am on holiday, but I do work everywhere I go.
Dan:When I go on holiday, I work for 2, 3 hours a minimum. Even in Croatia, when I was going out every single night. Because I love what I do. But, also, I wanna create a business that allows me to travel. And the only way I'm gonna really do that is by not being where the business is, because then you have to.
Dan:When you if the call comes to you that there's an issue and the key is in the wrong place, you have to work out. You can't go there and do it. The problem is so many people are, oh, just do I'll go do it because it cost me less. That's not the point. It's not a business then.
Dan:It's just a job. And that point, if you can get when you start your business, if you can go, okay. This is gonna cost x amount to do it. Well, that's how much it costs. That's a business cost if you don't want that to be your job.
Dan:If you want it to be that job, then crack on. Go do it. But that's the and it's the same with setups. It's the same with everything. And people in the community were asking the other day, should I get a van?
Dan:Should and I'm like, well, do you if you want a van, do you have an interior design business? Do you have a staging business? Do you wanna do all the maintenance? Because if you get a van, that's basically what you're saying. You're saying, I'm gonna do all the maintenance for my Airbnbs, and no one wants to do that.
Dan:Well, I mean, you might wanna do that. You know? Hands up. You can if you want. And, look, people love maintenance.
Dan:But that's what it is. It's it and it comes back to your $10 task 10 pound 10 task versus a £1,000 task. It's if that cost you a £100, that's how much it costs you. Either find someone cheaper or pay that fee because if you weren't in the UK, and again, it goes back to what you wanna do for me. I wanna build a business that I can travel around.
Dan:That's why I travel because it means I'm gonna build a business that way, you know.
Dean:I agree. I think it's so important to just remember that when you are building this, what the hell do you want life to look like? It's it's such an obvious thing and it's just so easy to get caught up in the £10 shit and you don't wanna be there. But I wanted to move to a different side of things. So you obviously post online, you have a good social media presence now, you've grown your Instagram account, you've, gotten some notoriety for yourself.
Dean:And with notoriety of some form online comes negativity. What's, like, one of the funniest negative comments you've got? Can you remember?
Dan:Yeah. So, I mean, I've been I've what happened was with the social media side, just to, like, give some context, when I was sailing I was trying to get sponsors for sailing. So I was trying to get, like, a 100 k a year in sponsorship, but I was also trying to post about how I'm making $10 a month in property. So it was really contradictory. So I didn't really post for the 1st 3 to 4 years of my business or 3 years.
Dan:And then, like, a year ago, I basically just turned up on the scene with, like, 30 units. I was like, hey, guys. I'm here. So I built the following. Yes.
Dan:Like, I I, like, put a lot of time into building the following from 1500 to 4 whatever it is, 4,700 or whatever it is. But I haven't posted that much recently. When I was posting more, the biggest thing that pisses me off for me is, like, it's your dad's business. It's daddy's daddy's money. Because it's not like it.
Dan:You know, it's a family business, and we have worked hard. It wouldn't be where it is without my family. But, ultimately, like, it is our business, and, like, it's not no one's you know, it's no one's. My dad didn't put any money into it, for example. It's not like they only put the same amount that I did in, and it's minding my mom's business than when we started it, you know, so that's really what pisses me off the most.
Dan:But I don't know if it gets me that much because haters just make, you know, more views, which makes me more money at the end of the day, so I can't complain.
Dean:Yeah, that one that one particularly is quite on the nose, I can imagine. But did you because you come across very sure footed and unwavering in your approaches. Like, I never see you beat up or down or like talking negatively. And, look, business is hard right? Business isn't easy, but like wearing it with a smile I think is a a superpower, genuinely.
Dean:But have you ever had a day where you actually wanted or thought about quitting?
Dan:I mean, a 100% there's many a days like this. Like, just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Right? What you see on social media and all that kind of thing is ultimately is, it's not a performance, but it is you show what you wanna show. Right?
Dan:And the reason I don't talk about the other side of it that much is because when you're in that moment, you don't really wanna talk about that much. There are some days I wake up, I have not that much motivation. Some days I wake up with loads of motivation. One of the reasons I keep myself so busy is because if I'm not busy, then you have time to think, and then you you think about other things and whatever, and you get into not dark holes as such, but you lose a bit of motivation. I think, yeah, to to sit here and say that I'm happy a 100% of the time and always, you know, smile on my face is, you know yeah.
Dan:Maybe I have a good superpower that I can put a smile on and I'd naturally, I do I love talking to people, so and I love, like, motivating people to do something and showing people what's possible. So it's very easy for me because when I'm talking to people, I'm happy. So when you see me talk on podcasts, I'm always like, yeah, this is what I wanna do, this is what I'm doing, and it motivates people and that brings me joy, hence why I like the community I love doing as well. And that's why that's what you see on social media because I'm talking to people all the time or I'm at network events, you know, or I'm in the property stuff. But when I'm, you know, behind the scenes, it's me on my own in my office, in my flat, it is quite lonely, you know, within the day, but I do have a lot of motivation to get it to where I wanna get to.
Dan:So I've I've got better definitely over the years, you know, as it's become more comfortable, which is kind of a bit of a danger really because when it's comfortable, you're like, oh, I could just, like, stop this and sit on 70 k a month. But it's not that's when you have to disattach from the money side of things. It's actually okay. I'm not actually doing it for the I am doing it for the money, yes, and the freedom, but also also I do it because I love building businesses like I said earlier. So where I wanna get it to is 1,000 500,000 pound valuation, 3 to 5 years.
Dan:Start with the end in mind. That is the goal now. Right? Let's go do that. As long as I'm working towards something, I'm in a pretty good step.
Dan:But, yeah, to sit here and say that I don't wake up some days, I'm like, oh my god. I don't wanna do this is yeah. It wouldn't be a massive lie. There's definitely some days where I lack motivation. Have I ever thought about quitting their business?
Dan:Yes. But not in the sense that we're talking about here. So, like, being a family business, I've, like, openly, I've tried to present offers to my mom, my sister many a times about buying them out, which is the wrong way to do it because I do lack a lot of empathy at times. I'm very good at being like, this is business. This is family.
Dan:I'm very good at, like, putting business first or putting, you know, my goals first, stuff like that. So the quitting side was more like me threatening to write, you do it then. I'll just go do my own business rather than sorry. It was the wrong side. It's not the quitting we're talking about here.
Dan:I've never thought actually this business isn't for me because, again, it's not about, the Airbnb or the hospital. It's just the business itself. With every business you do, there's problems. You know, there's gonna be issues. It's gonna be hard.
Dan:It's not easy. But, ultimately, the longer you're around, the more successful you're gonna be. So
Dean:There is no easy business and anyone who tells you there is is probably trying to sell you a course. And I think in hearing you say that, what it's what's clear is you've got a goal, you are trying to get to this place, but the person who's listening, right, they might not have actually even gotten to the point of starting something to even give them a goal to work towards with it. They might be stuck just before that and they might be crippled by fear. And for me fear was prevalent before I started, right? And one of the things that kind of helped me jump over the line was how would I feel if I didn't change anything and I was 70 or 80 and I still maintained what I was doing?
Dean:That scared the shit out of me. But for you, do you remember what was kind of like pushing you over the line to start this at that point when you did that mentoring?
Dan:I think, for me, the the the point of that that moment really comes when I stopped the sailing about a year ago because I could have continued to stay on the British sailing team for another 4 years, campaign towards the Olympics in 2028, and go from there. But it was, like, quite a big decision to leave sailing. But just that exact question is the perfect question to ask yourself. If I sit here now and we're doing the same thing, yes, you might have some promotions or whatever, but am I happy doing this for the next even, like, less than, like, 3 to 5 years. Like, we're quite young, and I'm 26.
Dan:Like, the when I'm 30 years old, do I wanna be doing exactly what I'm doing right now? I'm like, actually, I wanna be at this point then. But just start with the end in mind. It don't just have to be the actual business model you're gonna go down. What it's what you wanna be doing at that point in your life.
Dan:It's like, okay. In next like, in 3 to 5 years, what do I wanna be doing? Or even, like, right now, what would I love to do? And it's not like you have to, you know, jump ship. I'm not saying you have to have the balls to jump ship straight away and leave your job because I don't think that's the right thing to do.
Dan:You wanna build someone alongside, replace your income, then you can leave your job if you want it. But I know people who are in property who are on, like, 6 figure salaries. And the reason they don't leave is because getting a mortgage is bloody easy, and so they may as well stay on their job. And also, they'd love their job. So they're like, actually, I can build my property and put your job becomes more relaxing because it's not that much pressure on it anymore.
Dan:You know? And it's not actually and then at the point when they wanna eventually switch across, they can. So yeah. I mean, that's the point. I think it's more yeah.
Dan:With the job side of it, you don't have to, you know, jump ship straight away. It doesn't have to be like a bang. Just think about that question of, okay. What do I enjoy what I do right now? Because all I need to all I wanna get across to people is that open your eyes up.
Dan:There is there is a lot of things out there you can do, and hopefully you'll look at myself as someone and go, actually, yeah, there is a business model there. You don't have you don't have to do my business model. But there are so many business models, especially, like, right now, you know, there is a serious, like, digital gold rush where, you know, there's so many ways to make money. It is so easy to make money right now, whether it's in, probably, crypto, Amazon FBA, Facebook buying businesses. You can buy businesses for no money.
Dan:Like, it can happen. There's so much out there right
Dean:now. What I was thinking there as you were saying that was you said when you're 30 you want it to be this. Right? And I think that highlights something that a lot of people maybe struggle with or don't do quite enough which is to think in terms of years. Like, think what you can accomplish.
Dean:If you started today and did something for 2 years, like, for example, using me as an example, 2 years ago I didn't have a property business. 2 years ago I was in a job and I did this thing. It was really tough, It was shit. There was days I wanted to pull my hair out but over time things start to change, right? And I think people struggle with thinking far ahead.
Dean:I know I still struggle with it. I'm not saying I've figured it out but it was something that just stuck out
Dan:to me there. And I
Dean:think what stops people is probably, like you said, that that fear. And the alongside fear may be a void of belief. Like, if you were advising someone now how to, kinda, change the narrative, the talk track in their head to something more empowering and something more positive, how would you recommend they could start to change the way that sounds in their head?
Dan:First of all, like, you need to, you know, be very open with yourself about who you are as a person. Don't try and be someone you're not. So first off, you need to work out mentally where you're at in terms of are you someone who's optimistic, pessimistic? Are you someone that sees opportunities or problems? Stuff like that first.
Dan:You know, do do a test. Like, do we were talking earlier about DISC profiles. So go online. You can type in DISC, and it will give DISC profile, and you can profile yourself. And it used to answer questions that will give you your profile.
Dan:It basically tells you it'll give you, like, a 15 page document of exactly who you are as a person, and we do that with all our employees now. And that in itself is just, okay. Now I'm more aware of who I am. Okay. Right.
Dan:And it will tell you, like, ways you can pivot to make you think in different ways. Because if I sit here with someone who's really pessimistic, they bring problems to me. I instantly see solutions. I instantly see opportunities. So I've never really had a fear of failure because I'm, like, every time you fail, you're one step closer to succeeding.
Dan:So the fear of failure has never really been a thing for me. I've always been, like, competitive. And if I ever get nervous, ever get, like, stuff you know, the butterflies in my stomach, I'm like, right. I'm ready for battle. Let's go.
Dan:It's rather than being like, oh, I'm nervous. Oh, I might mess up. Oh, my gosh. What if I say the wrong thing? Because you everyone cares about what other people think so much and it's like, in reality, everyone's thinking the same as you are.
Dan:Everyone's sat there thinking about themselves, thinking about what if I do this wrong, what if I do that wrong. No one has the time or capacity to think about what you're doing. You know? And if they do, then they're probably insecure themselves, and they're just reflecting out what they're feeling on the inside. So first of all, work out who you are as a person, and then you can actually act on that and go, okay.
Dan:So I am naturally pessimistic. So when someone presents me an idea, maybe I can talk to someone who's more of an optimist, and that maybe you could come to me and get energy from me and go, okay, actually, yeah, and get the help of the right people. Or you can look at and in that disc profile, it'll actually give you ways to be okay. Rather than once you know like I said, once you know who you are, it's very easy to change. You can't change it if you don't know what you are.
Dan:And people are too scared to admit who they are. It's okay to be a pessimist. It's okay to be risk averse. You don't have to be optimistic all the time. Smile on your face.
Dan:It's okay to be someone who's fear who's fail you know, fear of failure. But what it is is, okay. Can I change that? And if I know that and I'm scared of the failure, you go, actually, what's the worst that could happen? Okay.
Dan:The thing with Rent 2 SA, I'm always like, oh, what if I can't fill the property? If you can't fill the property, you've got a fully furnished house that looks bloody amazing, put out an open rent, net even. Like, you could just put your exact cost. You can make a £100 a month profit. Okay.
Dan:Do that 10 times. That's a £1,000 a month. But it's very safe because you've got basic just a normal letting which is what letting agents do. So it's like worst case scenario. Right?
Dan:You try it. You might lose a bit of money, but in reality, you won't even lose that much money because you can just rent it out on open rent for the exact same price you're paying and just net 0, you know.
Dean:What I love about what you just said there is just just being aware of what you are like and not looking at it negatively. Like, if you're risk averse then you're risk averse. Use that. Use that. Like, I have plenty of friends who are, like, are super, like, standoffish when it comes to going for something, but it's good for them.
Dean:And then I have other friends, like me, who's maybe a bit more on the impulsive side. And that works because that might be something that maybe you'll go for something when you might not have maybe shouldn't have, right? I'm gonna ask you your thoughts and just segue here to your thoughts on a phrase because it really comes across in in you. You are very much more a glass half full. Even the way you talk you're like come to me with a problem, I think of solution, I think of opportunity.
Dean:What do you think of the phrase the world belongs to optimists'?
Dan:I've actually never heard that phrase before. To be fair, I quite like it because, I'm optimists so it's all good. I think, like like we just said there, it's the superpowers in both. Right? The superpower power in being a pessimist and optimist because and also if you can find someone who's the opposite to you and being business partners, then you're great you'll make a great match because one of you is gonna be pushing risky side, the other one's gonna be seeing all the problems.
Dan:They find the solutions. It's absolute power team. So that, you know, you can't ultimately, if you're an optimist like myself, you do I still need to delve into the pessimist side, like, because I'm aware of it. I tone it down sometimes. I have to think of the of the other side as well, and that's the same goes for when you know you're a pessimist.
Dan:You have to think of the other side. So I think, like, ultimately the reason, like, pessimists if you said pessimists rule the world, it didn't quite have the same kind of ring to it. People with glass half empty, but I'm saying you can easily just change you can if you know you're a pessimist, you can easily just literally flip on its head and go, actually, that might make me an optimist because I can now see the problems more than the optimist can. And I can make those I can, you know, delve into those solutions and actually push even harder knowing actually, okay, I've already solved all these problems. Whereas I might I might go full head first into it and I'll fail on the way.
Dan:So whereas you might go full head first into it, already having the solutions for the problems you've just seen that I haven't seen yet. So, actually, pessimists are, like, really powerful. Likewise, the optimist, I might act faster, so I might be a bit further ahead the whole time. So it's really I think in social media, you might think optimists throughout the world because everyone you see on social media is someone who's, like, 3, you know, who projects themselves as an optimist whether they are or not. But it's, you know, it's you see on social media it's, like, flaunting this, flaunting that.
Dan:I've got this business, this business. It's like, blah blah blah. I'm more optimistic. But in reality some of them are probably pessimist.
Dean:I think when I think of that phrase I think of, like, I don't know, Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, you know, someone who's just like we are gonna go to fucking Mars. You know, that level of optimism. And myself, I'm actually quite pessimistic. I would often predict worst case. Maybe to my detriment sometimes.
Dean:I don't know. But I definitely think making space for a more positive talk track is a very practical thing to do.
Dan:Also, like, the level we're at as well, like, unless you wanna be Elon Musk, you're probably not listening to this podcast. Let's be real. You're probably in your basement somewhere building absolutely crazy. So it's like, put in such perspective again. Like, start with the end in mind.
Dan:Where do you wanna be? You know? If you wanna beat Elon Musk, then, like I say, you've got some work to do. Like, that guy was, you know, cooking up some stuff early doors. You know?
Dan:He's probably building PayPal at my age right now or sold it for some, whatever, 1,000,000. Same with Jeff Bezos, you know? Like, he's already grinding, already starting. So if you if you aren't listening to this podcast and you're not already doing that, you're probably not a Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, or anything like that. So if you are listening, then just, you know, work out who you are and then work with the end of mind of, like, where do you wanna get to?
Dan:Because it's also, like, you could be, like, 34. You might have 2 kids like mine. The risk the risk preferences for me, I don't have any, you know, responsibilities right now. You know? Any responsibility that has my business.
Dan:At the end of the day, I'm very optimistic that if it failed, I just build another one tomorrow. And, actually, I already have 7, so it's not like one I'm already very well diversified, so it's not like if all of them are gonna fail exactly at the same time. But, yeah, it's just it's you know, the goalposts are different for everyone. And, yes, they might always change, but that's why it's like, what do you wanna do? So that when they do change, you're still enjoying this bit this part of it, you know, the whole process side and nothing's easy.
Dan:You know, your job's not easy at the end of the day.
Dean:Hey. Hope you're enjoying the episode with Dan. The episode is a bit to round off now. I do ask Dan one more really deep question, and he gives a deep answer. And if you have enjoyed this episode, I urge you to take some action based on what Dan has said.
Dean:You've heard him talk about how he initially started this as a side hustle, and also you've heard me talk about how this was a way for me to just merely not do my job that I wasn't really in any way interested in. And and for you, it might be something different, but it can be a vehicle of sorts to get you away from where you are now to maybe where you want to be. So I hope you found a lot of value in this. And what I would like to hear from you is what questions could I have asked Dan throughout this interview that would have been interesting to you? What would have been helpful to you, please drop me a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and I will take everything you say on board because you are exactly who this is intended for.
Dean:And if you're finding value that is a job well done in my eyes. So, last thing I'll say is if you have enjoyed this, if you've taken something from it, please do support the show by sharing it with a friend who is maybe in a similar situation or who wants a similar thing as you would. Equally you can support by rating the show on Spotify or Apple or subscribing if you're perhaps watching on YouTube. And I would be eternally grateful. I'll send you back into the last part of this conversation with Dan.
Dean:I really hope that it was an enjoyable listen at the very least and best case a useful listen in making change for what you want to change in your life. Much love, I'll catch you next time. And it's just asking that question like what do you want to do?' And we get caught up in like, we've all got our shit, we're all doing this, we all probably are guilty of going a 1000000 miles an hour and being non stop. And it's like, you might as well do something that you want to do because it is gonna end someday. And one thing I was curious to ask, because you're a very mission orientated man, you visualize, you're, like, clear cut in where you're going.
Dean:How do you want to be remembered?
Dan:I'll be honest. One of the things I go talk about quite a lot is I just don't want everyone to talk bad about me. I don't wanna be that guy. Like, I know a lot of people that come to me and talk bad about people. Oh, this guy says this on social media.
Dan:Like, these aren't who they say they are. I just wanna be remembered as a guy who was always honest. He he is who he says he is. He only ever tried to help people. I have given like, an example would be a woman who spent £25,000 on courses, and I just said, look.
Dan:I'll give you a free one hour consultation. And this is where my hourly rate's nearly 3 to 5 an hour now. Said, look. Let's do a free consultation. I wanna help you out.
Dan:Literally helped her out with some automation, showed her through it on the call, burst into tears, crying her eyes out. I'm, like, that gave me a massive obviously, I didn't I wasn't happy that she was crying, but I was happy that I'd helped her. And, like, if the more people I can help, the happier I'll be. I I I just wanna be remembered as someone who I only ever tried to help anyone, I only ever tried to provide value, and someone who just yeah. Like, I would hope that people don't look at me and go obviously, there's gonna be some haters out there who are gonna say that, like, yeah, well, he just makes it look so easy or whatever it is.
Dan:But I don't want someone who actually knows me to be like, yeah, he's an asshole. Because I know a lot of people who know people, who have spoke to people, and they come away like, yeah, he's that guy. You know? And I just don't I don't I mean, I don't think I portray that to anyone that I actually meet. And I just wanna hope that, yeah, anyone who actually meets me knows me, has that, you know, has that thought about me.
Dan:And, ultimately, yeah, I'd wanna be remembered as, you know, building one of the biggest management companies in the UK starting from, what, 25,000,000 and then being happy as Larry. But it's very much that's more of, like, what I wanna be remembered for.
Dean:I think if I was the person listening to this I'd be pumped up because you've kind of just explained, 'hey look, in a few short years, they might feel long when you're doing it, you can grow a big business and you can grow it so that you can travel, you can grow it so that you can build a big empire, you can grow it to build whatever you want. And I think you've also given a gateway, right? You've got Seiko, the community, which I'm gonna link in the description. So anyone who wants to join and can join on the free side and want to check it out, they can dabble in this as a means to create that freedom. But I think you've shared a lot of wisdom today, Dan, and it's been great having you.
Dan:I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on.