Story of failure: Formatting an SD card from a trip to Costa Rica. Erik Cabral left corporate America after 20+ years. He jumped head first into real estate investing in order to achieve financial freedom. Educating himself, building networks, and analyzing hundreds of deals he purchased his first multi-family building in less than one year. He’s a partner in the Renault Winery & Resort, which is the 2nd oldest winery in the US, offers private capital to his network of investors for various projects and looks for opportunities to expand and grow his network. Erik is the founder of the media agency, On Air Brands; the innovative networking and podcasting event PodMAX; the real estate investment company Mindado Investment Group; host, co-host, and producer on multiple shows: Entrepreneurs Circle, Capital Hacking, Cashflow Ninja, and VaynerMedia’s Chief Heart Officer Claude Silvers’ show, “Emotional Optimism: Living in the Silver Lining”. With multiple businesses, partnerships, and podcasts Erik is the quintessential “serial entrepreneur” who spends much of his time helping others grow their businesses, brands, and reputation. Erik loves to share his decades of experience in creative, branding, and marketing strategies as well as helping others leverage the power within the podcasting platform. Erik sits on the board of a 1,000+ member real estate investor group called SJREIA. He is also a proud member of GoBundance, which is a tribe of millionaires seeking to share all successes, struggles, ambitions, and failures without being judged. Erik holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in NYC and lives in Central NJ, with his wife and two daughters. In today’s episode Erik talks about: - celebrating on the 100th episode - On Air Brands podcasting agency - being a graphic designer before real estate and podcasting - two decades of climbing the corporate ladder - loved getting in the weeds - scary exciting - saving along a runway before leaving his job - assessing his monthly “nut” - left brain vs. right brain - Erik’s wife trusting him to succeed in real estate - could have easily married someone different but lucky to marry his wife - making the right decisions when it matters - mentors in the form of managers - Angelo Ritocco as a mentor - modeling his management style after a previous mentor - trial by fire in real estate - dropping a lot of coin on real estate education - aligning with whoever was in the front of the room - squeaky wheel type guy - local guy named Rick that mentored Erik - writing deals on napkins during lunch - Napoleon complex from short managers - curmudgeon type of men but getting past the hard shell - certain personality types that lean towards helping people - you just have to ask - getting a little cocky and moving on from mentors - moving towards syndication and larger deals - how tricky it is to value previous mentors and still move on - staying in touch with previous mentors - embrace the “f” word - shiny object syndrome - not cool to be unfocused - not loving real estate, but loving the returns - liking passive investment - starting On Air Brands - clients wanting to interview people he knew - getting everyone in the same room - live podcasting events - assembling a great team - VaynerMedia starting to pay attention - Gary V telling Erik he doesn’t have patience and that his product stinks - Podmax - not liking a business model and punting on an idea - Caleb Silver scheduled as next event and cancelling - so much happening from creating a company that stopped working - getting into the network of some great people - trying is better than not trying - anything is possible, but there are levels of difficulty - discerning source and experience of advice - “Oh, this is what focus looks like.” - making the decision to shift his focus and business model - letting clients go - why you’re saying yes a lot in the beginning - focusing the teams energy on what will grow the company - GoBundance events taking a lot of time - knowing what he needs to do and why it’s difficult - how starting a company can get boring - doing things that are repetitious and predictable - putting a book into motion - the importance of a personal brand - getting the business to a stable point and not needing him - building blocks of consistency - having a weekend fling - on the fast track to burnout - four shows every week for a year and a half - creating something of value - hearing new stories every podcast - pod-fading away - committing in the beginning - knowing that I needed to do it for a year - the many benefits of podcasting - having to spend money to gain experience in the past - how podcasting helped his speaking skill - putting the reps in - reaching milestones in business - always being vulnerable in business - learning so much in a previous venture that would catapult to the next thing - “Diluted focus equals diluted results.” - Gary Vaden - focusing vs. being focused - less travel and more time at home this year - something to give