Latest / Revolution of Purpose Podcast / Breaking the Golden Handcuffs: An interview with Brendan Dauenhauer

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Breaking the Golden Handcuffs: An interview with Brendan Dauenhauer · Revolution of Purpose Podcast

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Welcome to the Revolution of Purpose Podcast. I'm your host,
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John Streit, and each week we bring you conversations with thought leaders,
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entrepreneurs, and individuals who have aligned their life
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with purpose and created extraordinary results. So I'm going to
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live through it and accept it radically with grace and hope and love.
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I mean, I would be proud to be in this household. It was an honor.
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I had so much fun. Tune in every Monday for the Revolution of Purpose solo
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show and every Thursday for Revolution of Purpose Conversations.
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Welcome to this episode of the Revolution of Purpose Podcast.
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Today, I am so excited to welcome Brendon Dauenhauer to the Revolution
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of Purpose Pod. Brendon is an entrepreneur who has built
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his career in the world of real estate investing, helping connect
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investors with opportunities through Dauenhauer Capital.
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But what really catches my attention about Brendon is
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that he's entering a new season as well, one that's focused not just
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on building wealth through real estate, on helping others develop the knowledge,
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the confidence, and the mindset to build wealth themselves. I love
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conversations like this because as you know, I love talking about purpose
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and this is definitely more than just business. This is about purpose.
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This is also about growth. It's about evolution of who we become.
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And we've been talking a lot on this pod lately about our identity.
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And I think every entrepreneur reaches moments where they have
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to decide whether they're simply going to build a successful successful business,
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or create a lasting impact and shift their identity by investing in other
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people. Today, we're going to explore Brendon's journey,
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what he's learned along the way, and why he's passionate about helping others
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get started in real estate, and what this next chapter looks like as he
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launches his own coaching program. So, Brendon, welcome to the Revolution
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of Purpose Podcast. I'm really looking forward to this. Wow,
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John, what an intro. Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here.
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I appreciate you having me on. You're so welcome.
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You're so welcome. So I love to ask this first
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question to every guest that comes on this show. Who are
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you today that your younger self would be proud
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of, Brendan? Goodness, we're getting that deep on question
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1, huh? Question 1, we just dive in.
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Who am I today that my younger self would be proud of? The first
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thing that came to mind after repeating that question was just somebody who
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goes big and takes a lot of risk. You know, I think growing
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up, I was very risk-averse. I was super introverted
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and still trying to navigate my way around life,
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right? And I also grew up in a very conservative household where like
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money and finances were, you know,
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very mechanically saved and things of that nature to where
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it's like almost scarcity in a way, I would say,
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without Without like it being super
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prominent, there was just that like underlying tone of scarcity, I think.
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And now I think I am just the complete opposite of that in
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the best ways possible. I feel confident, you know, taking risk and I look
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forward to taking risk as an individual now. So, I think that
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would be my answer. Have you ever read,
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and I'm sure you probably have, Rich Dad Poor Dad? Oh, yes.
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But not until about maybe a year or two ago, actually. I was already a
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real estate investor by the time I read it. But yes, I have read it.
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That, that is, that's a life-changing book for sure. But it sounds
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kind of like you grew up in the, the safe 9
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to 5. This is what you do to save for
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retirement. And, you know, that type of, that type of life.
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Is that, is that correct? You think? That is 100% correct.
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And both of my parents were in the military, and their parents were in the
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military. And that was just how it was, right? It's like you
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go to school, you get a degree, you get a great job, and then you
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save for retirement. And you also save a lot of money while
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you're getting to retirement. It's not even just the 401s or
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the IRAs or things of that nature. It was like, save as much as you
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possibly can so that you can enjoy your life
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when you're 65 sort of thing. And I think the irony in
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all of that is my brother and I, and I only have one sibling,
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are both entrepreneurs now. And we don't have any entrepreneurs
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within our line of family whatsoever. We kind
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of broke that family tradition
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of keeping the 9-to-5s. You decided you did
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not want to wait until you're 65 to live life,
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right? That is correct. I don't think anybody does.
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And, you know, I honestly credit a lot to my brother. You know,
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he's my older brother and he kind of set that tone.
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I think I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. Like, back in elementary school,
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I would go buy a bunch of candy at Sam's Club or Costco
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or whatever it was at the time. And I would put it literally in like
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a briefcase. And I'd go to school and I'd hustle it and
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I'd sell it out of the briefcase. And I remember like
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getting in trouble or doing something like that. But I always just
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remember wanting to do that. And, you know, it took me until I was I'm
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35 now and it took me till I was around 33 years old to become
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a full-time entrepreneur. You know, I really didn't
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take that jump for so many years later. You know, I worked the 9-to-5
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world for way too long. God, we talked once before about
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the golden handcuffs and how that 9-to-5 really is
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like golden handcuffs and it's tough. I mean, I, you know,
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when I finally gave up my W-2 job and I I
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mean, I look back on that now and think, how did I not burn that
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ship sooner? But there's just something about knowing
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you have a consistent paycheck that can kind of give you peace.
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And you have to do it. If you're an entrepreneur, you have to do it
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when the time's right for you. I think it probably differs for everybody.
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You're so right. And I would say now the golden handcuffs are more
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golden than they've ever been, right? Like I came from my last
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job was at Netflix. And oh my goodness, being a
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FAANG company and one of the top companies within the world,
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they will give you any and every benefit to keep you around at
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any cost. You're walking into the nicest facilities every day.
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There's paid catered lunches every day when you go in. I mean,
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they're not going to let you off easy. But I think we all know
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that even with all those great benefits, when there's a burning desire within
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you, that burning desire is much stronger than all the
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paid lunches and the high pay and the stock options and
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things of that nature. You're so right. It reminds me
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of a quote that I heard once that said, a Rolex is not a flex
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if it tells you when your lunch hour is over. Dang. And that's
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so good. It's so powerful. It's so powerful.
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So, I'm so glad you mentioned Netflix because I was going to ask you from
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a career standpoint, what was life like? Before real estate.
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And I know you were in tech for a little bit.
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What was that like then? Yeah, you know what's interesting? I'll give a brief
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overview of my career path. But I actually,
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out of high school, went to university for a semester,
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did fairly well, and it just felt like it wasn't for me. And I remember
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approaching my mom at some point, I said,
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hey, I don't think university is for me, but I want to go to music
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school. And I don't know what it
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was, but by the grace of God, she was fully on board with that.
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And she was like, you know what, I feel like you are meant to go
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to music school. And, you know, up and throughout like high school and junior high
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and things of that nature, I was in band and played in drumline. And,
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you know, I was a percussionist and a drummer and just absolutely loved it.
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And I ended up going to music school in Los Angeles. I literally left
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the semester after university and went out there. And my
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dream at the time was to play in a band.
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And I did that for a while. We had, you know, some moderate success up
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until I was about 25, 26 years old,
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but kind of saw the writing on the wall. And as I did see that
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writing on the wall, I went and started applying at jobs.
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And while I was in the band, I actually used to work at Apple and
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I was working at like the Genius Bar. You know, like when you go
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into the Apple Store and you need tech support, that was me. I was behind
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that bar helping people. And I worked there for way longer than
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I'm willing to admit, but it helped float the bills, right? I was a starving
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musician in Los Angeles trying to make ways with the band.
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So, believe me, people like me needed the Genius Bar. So,
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people like me thank people like you for helping us.
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Totally. But that job was phenomenal just because
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it taught me how to socially interact with people and empathize
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with people and, you know, obviously be very proficient within
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technology as well. And then I remember applying at Disney
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Animation. So, you know, people who make all the great films we watch, and I
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have no idea how I got this job. I like to tell people I was
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the personality hire because when I did get the job there,
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everyone on my team had a computer science degree except me.
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And I snuck my way in the door. They hired me on to wrap
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up Moana at the time, back when that was the first one,
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back when that was about to be released. And it was just surreal, you know,
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walking into that studio every day. I felt, you know,
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so out of place with all these extremely talented creatives and
9:45
directors and producers. I mean, there's still people there who hand draw
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2D animation from like the Aladdin era. It's just wild.
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But anyways, that took me to eventually go
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to Netflix because Netflix decided they were going to open up their own
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animation studio. And they started poaching every single
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human from Pixar, DreamWorks, Disney, Cartoon Network,
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Nickelodeon, you know, wherever someone was drawing stuff or doing
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any form of animation, they wanted a piece of it to compete as they're,
10:16
you know, building their conglomerate. And I was one of the first to leave and
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go over there from Disney. And I'm so glad I did because that
10:25
was, you know, Disney is such a,
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like a well-refined machine when you go in there, like they create movies one
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way, their stories, you know, are similar in
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ways. And it's just like, hey, you don't go outside this box,
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you come into work, we're going to make these movies the way they're made,
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you don't do anything else. And a lot of people work really well in
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that environment. And Netflix was
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the complete opposite. They said, hey, here's a credit card, go do and buy whatever
10:56
it takes to build this animation studio as quickly as possible.
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And my boss didn't come from animation, and he didn't even work in
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animation. And so like, I literally had the freedom to go do whatever I want.
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We were building all the infrastructure and IT and servers and everything you
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can imagine that it would take to, you know, build a multi-million,
11:16
potentially billion-dollar company. And it was awesome. I felt like I could
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spread my wings for the first time in my life and like really like show
11:24
people what I was made of. And I never had that freedom at Apple or
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Disney. But, you know, that all being said,
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there was a burning desire to get into real estate.
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And once the pandemic hit, Netflix was like, hey, you know,
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everyone can go leave and we're going to be a global company at this point,
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like fully remote, anyone can go live wherever they want. And I said,
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Great, I'll move to Nashville. And my brother's out
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here, you know, I really liked the city every time I visited. And I knew
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it would be an easier barrier to entry for me for real estate. And that's
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what I wanted to do was start investing and developing and all this stuff.
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And one thing led to another. And eventually,
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I just took that jump and that plunge, and it was awesome.
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I have to ask, though, choosing Nashville, Did music
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play a part in that decision at all? Honestly,
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no. And every time I tell people I have a music degree or that I
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used to play drums for, you know, X amount of years, they always find it
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so controversial that I don't play anymore. I mean, I still have some equipment,
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but I'll be honest, Jon, like, I really don't have a strong desire.
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Like, every now and then I come back and like, oh, I want to
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like dabble around and play, but like, I don't think it's something I
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want to do. Well, I know it's not something I want to do for a
12:40
living. And playing music in Nashville is a grind out here.
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You know, people are playing on Broadway 5, 6 nights a week for
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5 hours to make a few hundred dollars. And don't get me wrong,
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some people enjoy that and like that lifestyle, but I just knew
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it wasn't for me. No, I think that sounds right.
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And I can totally relate to that. I was a theater major in college,
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and I'm not acting or writing or directing anymore
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either. And But I enjoy going to see plays and
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musicals and I enjoy good films, but it's
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not, you know, there was a time in my life where I'm like, yeah,
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that's my goal. That's what I want to do. But as I got older and
13:20
then realized I wasn't cut out to be a starving artist and,
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you know, realized I wanted my life to look different, then I was able to
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kind of let that go. And I think that sort of, it reminds me of
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that Steve Jobs quote where, you know, you can't connect the dots looking forward,
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but you can connect the dots when you're looking backwards. See all those
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things in my life that led me to right here, even though
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they seem like my purpose at the time, they seem like my passion at the
13:45
time, they led me to where I am today. And that's exactly what it sounds
13:48
like for you. You have like this insane resume. You're like, well, I've worked
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for Disney, worked for Apple, worked for Netflix,
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like companies that people are like, that's my goal. I've made
14:00
it. And then you're like, no, there was something more for me.
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I had to do something in real estate. And that shows right there, it had
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to be a burning desire because who else gives up that type of
14:10
job security and resume for something. 1 million percent.
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And I know you know this too. But like, once you get a taste of
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the entrepreneurial life, it's like, there's no going back.
14:21
That freedom that you have is unlike anything that
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I can describe. I mean, it is just so fulfilling.
14:28
And yeah, being my own boss is so fulfilling. Being able to impact others
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is so fulfilling. I mean, the list goes on. It's truly like,
14:36
infinite possibilities every day when you wake up.
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Absolutely. Were there any specific fears that almost
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kept you from making that leap? My goodness,
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yes. I actually had a business coach at the time.
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And him and I were trying to like be very mechanical and
14:53
plot like when I would leave Netflix. And so I was like working up towards
14:57
it with him for maybe like 4 to 6 months.
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And I remember we were trying to decide
15:05
on a date. And I was like, all right, I'm gonna do it. And I'm
15:10
trying— I think it was like March of 20— oh man,
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2024 or something like that.
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20— yeah, 2024. And I was like, all right, I'm gonna leave
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in June. And I had this month or like this date about
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like 3 months out or something like that, or 2 months out.
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And he was like, Why don't you just do it in like 2 weeks?
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I was like, what do you mean 2 weeks? I was like, no, like,
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I just literally spent all this time. We've been working together for 6 months.
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And now you want 2 weeks when I finally found a date that I feel
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comfortable with? And I'm so grateful for him at the
15:43
time, because he totally pushed me outside of my comfort zone. And he's
15:46
like, nothing is going to change in a couple weeks, in a few months.
15:50
He's like, there's literally nothing. And he was totally right. But yeah,
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you know, like, I've never been an entrepreneur before. And it was,
15:59
it was a whole new atmosphere to me. And when I initially was leaving
16:03
Netflix, my plan was to do short-term rental property management.
16:07
Like, I had a short-term rental that I managed. I had just joined a mastermind
16:11
I spent nearly $20,000 on. And I was like gearing up
16:14
for this big moment of like, yeah, I'm starting this company, it's gonna be awesome.
16:18
And yeah, I didn't know what the landscape entailed whatsoever.
16:24
So, not just the fear of the unknown, but it
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sounds like some fear of identity too.
16:32
It sounds like you had to become somebody different
16:37
to build Dauenhauer Capital, right? I mean,
16:40
would you say that's fair? 1 million percent. And kind of like what I
16:44
was alluding to, just to give a little more backstory and history,
16:48
The, the plan was to leave Netflix to
16:52
do a short-term rental property management company. I ended up taking that jump.
16:57
And, you know, the whole reason I was able to get up into that point
17:00
is when I moved to Nashville, I would attend every real estate networking event
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I could get my hands on. I didn't care what it was about. All I
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knew was I needed to meet people and build relationships,
17:11
and just see where it took me. And so I had a pretty strong network.
17:15
And then After I quit, and, you know, I just would go on
17:19
coffees with people and stuff like that, 2 of my now
17:22
business partners approached me and they were like, hey, you know, we're building all
17:26
these single-family and multifamily homes, but our biggest
17:30
struggle is raising capital. I was like, that's interesting.
17:34
They're like, do you know of anyone who would be interested, you know, in investing
17:38
in real estate? I was like, I don't, but I think I can
17:42
raise the capital. Like, you know, I moved from Los Angeles. I know a
17:46
lot of people at Netflix who are doing really well for themselves, let me do
17:50
it. And so that ended up being what turned into
17:53
my real estate career, wasn't even the property management company, it started in development.
17:58
And so I was like, alright, I'll raise capital.
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I had no idea what I was getting into at the time. And now,
18:05
you know, that has turned into like having my own company where I raise capital
18:09
for Dow and Howard Capital that feeds it into my other businesses,
18:12
or even maybe if someone else needs help within one of their deals,
18:15
I can help raise it on their behalf. Sort of thing. But back
18:19
to what you said about the Steve Jobs thing of, you know, only connecting the
18:22
dots backwards, like I had no intentions of starting Dauin Hour Capital at
18:26
any point until, you know, maybe a year and a half ago or so.
18:31
Wow. So how did, how did you get that confidence to be like, I can
18:35
raise capital? I mean, that's a lot different than animation and tech
18:39
and everything else you were doing. But somehow, was it just
18:43
inside you? Was it built? Like, where did that confidence come from? I think
18:47
it slowly, slowly grew. And one part
18:51
of the story I forgot to mention is that while I was still at Netflix,
18:55
and like up until the point of me leaving, I was actually investing
18:59
some of my own capital with some guys locally on deals. So they
19:02
were raising the capital for flipping homes, I would give
19:06
them, let's just say like $50,000 or whatever the number was,
19:09
and I'd get a 12% return on. So I kind of saw the inner workings
19:13
of how these guys were doing it, just being an investor myself.
19:18
And then eventually, it got to the point, yeah, when, when my 2 now
19:21
business partners approached me, I was like, okay, like, I think I understand this.
19:25
Like, I know some wealthy people. And to be honest,
19:28
John, like, I just wanted it so bad. Like, I was just gonna make it
19:30
happen. I didn't know what it took. But like, I knew, like,
19:34
development was the path that seemed right for
19:38
me, even though I just left to start a property management company. I was like,
19:40
this is a huge opportunity. Like, I will figure this out even though I don't
19:44
know what I'm doing. And I think some of the times in life, like,
19:47
you just got to take that jump. I don't truly think any of us
19:50
know what we're actually doing right until we jump. Well, and you
19:55
burned the ships too, you know, like that, that is
19:58
a huge change in your mindset when you do burn the
20:02
ships. Like, that's huge. And when you're like, okay, I left Netflix
20:05
and you didn't just leave, you know, you moved to Nashville,
20:09
you're no longer in Los Angeles. Like, and I know that they're a global company,
20:12
you could still technically work there. But still, you got away from
20:16
a lot of the people that you would have been networking with and just
20:19
kind of went all in on short-term rentals. And then that led you to this
20:23
next phase. So what makes someone—
20:27
I know you do a lot with partnerships. So what makes someone trustworthy enough
20:31
to invest with? Do you— let me, let me rephrase that
20:35
potentially. Do you mean someone like me, like getting money from them
20:38
and them having the confidence to invest within me?
20:42
I think probably, uh, maybe, uh,
20:46
maybe that's the answer. I like— I'm thinking when
20:49
you're investing, other people are investing their money with you, then are
20:54
there, are there ever times where you're like, I don't think this is a match,
20:57
I don't know, that's maybe trustworthy or something like that? And,
21:00
and so you're, you're just like, oh, I don't, I don't know, I'm gonna,
21:03
I'm gonna work with these people. Does that make sense? Or— yeah, no, but I
21:07
also know you partnered with, you know, you have business partners as well. So I
21:10
could really be both, like for your own businesses, and then also
21:14
when you're helping other people by raising capital.
21:18
Yeah, I think I understand that question. So some
21:22
people may not be a good fit for us when I raise
21:26
capital. And usually, you know, the funniest thing I tell people
21:30
with raising capital is the more experienced investor,
21:34
the harder it is to raise capital. So, like, if I'm raising from
21:38
someone who is very liquid and invests in
21:42
a diverse, you know, set of portfolio,
21:46
they are more difficult to get money from because they understand the
21:49
game. They want a lot of securities behind the money that they'd
21:53
be giving me. They want a super high return because they know that if they
21:56
don't go with me, they can find other vehicles to get that kind of return
22:00
as well. So, my best client honestly is
22:03
the 9-to-5 worker that I once was. It's a lot of people who
22:07
want to get into real estate that haven't been in real estate.
22:10
And this is a good intro to them. And that's exactly how it happened for
22:14
me, right? I was investing with guys. I didn't, you know, I was close real
22:18
estate adjacent. And then eventually I turned into a real estate
22:22
professional. So I think it's a lot of people who are like, hey, I'm used
22:25
to just investing in my 401 or an IRA or
22:28
bonds or some kind of security of that
22:32
nature. But I would love to get into real estate. I don't own a home,
22:35
or maybe I do own a home and I have a HELOC, or, you know,
22:38
I have some extra capital here or there. So I try to target people in
22:42
those scenarios, and they are by far the best.
22:46
That makes a lot of sense, because if someone's working a 9 to 5,
22:49
they're looking for something more passive when it comes to their investing,
22:53
as opposed to, like you said, if someone's already out there doing themselves,
22:57
then they're probably not your person per se. You know,
23:01
they just buy their own rental properties or whatever. But, you know,
23:04
I think this makes a lot of sense because you're serving people by giving
23:08
them the opportunity to invest while still working their own 9-to-5
23:12
if they aren't entrepreneurs at heart. What mistakes
23:16
do you think a lot of new investors make?
23:20
Well, I'll tell you this, I have made some myself and I think really new
23:25
investors, at least when it comes to investing in real estate need to
23:29
understand how deals are underwritten. Because I
23:33
see so many deals come across my desk of people raising capital or
23:37
needing money for different real estate vehicles. And you
23:40
truly have to understand how it's underwritten, you need to know the market,
23:45
you need to understand their exit strategy. So whether they're going to sell,
23:48
whether they're going to refi and hold it, or whatever it is,
23:52
And between those 3 things, I think you can get a good grasp of,
23:56
hey, is this a good deal or not? The problem is, to your point you
24:00
just mentioned, most people who work 9-to-5s don't have the time to
24:04
underwrite and understand how all this works. And that's why it's such
24:08
a relationship-heavy thing
24:11
I do when I talk to people, right? Like, they need to see the proof
24:15
is in the pudding. And I show them past records of like, hey,
24:18
here's all of our deals that have been successful. And we've always paid every
24:22
single investor back their initial capital and return, even if we've lost
24:26
money or not. And I'm not going to say or try to pretend that I
24:30
haven't lost money, because I have definitely lost money in real estate deals. But we
24:34
underwrite this to even if we do lose money, or, you know, things hit
24:38
rock bottom, our investors are still protected. And,
24:41
you know, now if '08 happens again, I can't guarantee that by any means.
24:44
But as long as some like catastrophic event
24:48
doesn't occur, most of the time these investors are safe.
24:52
But still, you need to trust the person who is taking your money. And you
24:56
need to understand that they know what they're talking about when underwriting these deals.
25:00
I've never heard of someone who raises capital say those
25:05
words, even if we lose money, we're going to protect your
25:08
investment. I've never heard that. And, and like you said,
25:12
I mean, it's, it's not foolproof if the entire economy collapses or
25:16
whatever. But But that alone sets you apart from other
25:20
people who are raising capital. I mean,
25:25
that's a bold statement, a bold claim. Yeah.
25:28
And truly, I think an '08 event would be
25:31
one of the only scenarios where it's like, hey, we all are losing right now.
25:35
And I can't help you out. But most of the time,
25:38
what I'm referring to is if we do lose money, it's not a lot of
25:42
money. We're not losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. So if we do take a
25:46
$10,000, $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 hit, Yeah, that's coming out of
25:49
like my income or my company's income, because it is way
25:53
more valuable to have that investor come back to me at a later time
25:56
than to burn them, have them lose money. It's like I'm playing the long game
26:00
here. Like I'm not playing the short game, even if that means I'm taking a
26:04
net loss. That's, that's really powerful.
26:07
I love that. And it makes a lot of sense. And just from, from how
26:12
much I know you right now, too, it seems to absolutely match your level of
26:16
integrity. That I've seen. And that's,
26:19
I think that's amazing. And that kind of, you know, if somebody's looking
26:23
to invest, and I'm sure you probably, you know, are dealing with, with investors
26:27
who, who can take a small loss or something
26:31
like that. But if even if they don't hit it out of the park on
26:33
one deal, because they trust you, they're going to come back for another deal,
26:37
another deal. And I think that, that separates
26:42
you from a lot of people that raise capital. Please pardon me while I interrupt
26:45
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26:49
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28:45
I mentioned. And now, let's get you back to today's episode.
28:50
But what would you say separates, like, great deals
28:54
from average deals too? I think it's really about
28:59
the amount of,
29:02
like, buffer you have, per se, like, how much capital
29:06
are we going to clear at the end of this deal? Because really, that's what's
29:09
protecting you at the end of the day. It's like, how much money are we
29:11
making so we can pay investors out? So, a lot of times,
29:14
we do flat rate deals for our investors. So, we'll raise,
29:19
let's just say, $100,000, and we'll give the investors usually between
29:22
12% and 18% return on their money, which is awesome, right?
29:26
I'm on a mission to prove that, hey, we beat the stock market.
29:30
Yeah. We beat the stock market on average,
29:34
right? And it's cool because this vehicle is secured,
29:38
protected, insured, buy real estate, right? So you're on the
29:42
title of the actual real estate. We put these investors
29:46
on the insurance policy too, right? So like if a fire or tornado
29:50
or something knocks down the building, they're going to get a payout from the
29:53
insurance alongside us. And we also, you know,
29:57
write up promissory notes to our title companies to make sure that like, hey,
30:01
this is all documented, you're protected, you know, if need be. But it's
30:05
really about that fat that's on the deal. You know, if you have a bigger
30:08
deal, that is going to be way safer for the investors to guarantee that
30:12
they have their capital. So when you see these slim margin deals,
30:16
you know, sure, they can work out and investors can get high percentages
30:19
of what they're promised, but you're in the danger zone,
30:22
you're truly playing with fire. And, you know, the, as you know, John, being an
30:26
agent, like the market has just fluctuated way too much over the past couple years
30:31
to be playing those games. Absolutely. And I know a
30:34
wise real estate investor told me once, this was probably on my very first
30:38
flip that I did, because I've also done real estate
30:41
investing in the past as well. And I remember he told me, he said,
30:44
well, you make your money on the front end. And if you
30:48
go into it with a small margin, you're not going
30:52
to somehow make up for that on the back. Like, you're— that
30:56
margin just keeps going one thing after another. You know, I remember my very
31:00
first flip. I mean, I think I probably made like $1,000
31:05
by the time all was said and done. You know, and they say if you
31:08
don't lose money in your first flip, then it's great experience. And I mean,
31:12
it was, it was like going to real estate school. Like my contractor,
31:17
like the whole deal was taking longer than thought. He had another job that started,
31:20
just pulled off the last 2 weeks. I'm like in this house that
31:24
I'm flipping, putting on doorknobs myself and like fixing,
31:27
you know, the blinds and stuff. But it worked and I did
31:31
it. And you can't, You know, you can't get that education any other
31:35
way. So it was amazing. But I definitely learned, I'm like, okay, I need more,
31:39
I need more fat on the bone. I need more meat on the bone for
31:42
the next deal. 100%. It can get super scary and
31:46
nervous. And everyone thinks that like flipping is just
31:50
how it is on HGTV. But oh my goodness,
31:53
there is so much further from the truth.
31:57
Yeah, it is a high-risk, high-reward industry.
32:01
Yeah, on HGTV, I mean, they, they're like,
32:04
oh no, we just had a massive plumbing leak, and they go to commercial break,
32:07
and then they come back and they're like, oh, it was fine, we got it
32:11
worked out. I feel like, you know, it's like, that's not how real life works.
32:14
When you go to commercial, you still have a massive plumbing leak, you know.
32:18
Exactly. It takes money to fix it. So yeah,
32:21
so shifting gears a little bit to, to coaching,
32:25
so what is What is making you feel this
32:30
pull to coaching? I'm honestly imagining that it is
32:34
somewhat service-related because it seems like you love working
32:38
with kind of new investors and people who aren't investing
32:42
all the time. So, is that what's making you think about coaching and real estate
32:46
coaching specifically? Yeah. I think it's a combination
32:49
of things. Being around
32:53
a bunch of coaches all the time like yourself, John. Like, I'm surrounded with
32:57
all of my peers and mentors as coaches, and it's
33:01
just so awesome to see the growth within all of the students
33:05
of that, right? And I think that does come from a place of
33:09
service. And truly, like, real estate has changed
33:13
my life in a way I would have never expected whatsoever.
33:16
Starting to invest in those flips, And then getting into development
33:21
and just knowing and doing what I know now and having a ton of real
33:25
estate within the past 5 years, it's truly a
33:29
blessing. And I'm like, people need to know this. I have so
33:33
many friends that want to get out of their 9 to 5 and they've
33:38
tried everything. They've tried different side hustles and all these things. I'm like,
33:41
hey, just start with one property. You know what I mean? Obviously, the cash
33:45
flow and things of that nature is not going to get you out. But if
33:48
you're trying to build long-term wealth. It is amazing.
33:51
And I started off by getting a short-term rental.
33:55
And what's awesome about that is like, I get to go exercise that short-term rental
33:59
by going and staying there and hanging out. I let my friends go and
34:02
stay there. And it's just the coolest piece or
34:06
type of real estate you can do because it's just fun and you
34:10
get to create other experiences for people. This one is in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
34:14
So, it's about 3.5, 4 hours away. A lot of my portfolio is
34:18
out there. But yeah, it's so much fun. And you get
34:22
to create these lifelong experiences for people using the short-term
34:26
rental vehicle. I mean, I've had people propose at this cabin,
34:29
they spend anniversaries all the time. And some of my most fond memories
34:34
growing up was staying at short-term rentals with my family. And so,
34:38
it's just kind of like passing down the torch. But with that all being said,
34:42
Yeah, it comes back to like, how do I now help other people do this?
34:46
Because there is so much wealth out there
34:50
to be shared. Like, I realized, like, I can't take all this down myself.
34:53
Even if I could, I wouldn't want to. Like, how do we get all my
34:57
friends and family and people who are truly driven to get on the same boat
35:00
and come experience it too? I love that.
35:04
We are tapped into an infinite supply. That's it,
35:07
man. I mean, it's out there and it doesn't all belong to
35:11
the billionaires or trillionaires. I had somebody, and it's weird to
35:15
say that, but now we get to say trillionaire. It's actually singular, but billionaires
35:19
and trillionaire. Yeah, totally. But, yeah, I had somebody
35:24
ask me in my DMs.
35:28
I have an appointment center, but I still hop into a lot of my own
35:31
DMs. And somebody was like, what do you think about all these billionaires?
35:35
You know, aren't they just evil? And I was like, some of them maybe,
35:38
but some of them aren't. I was like, some of them have done a lot
35:40
of good things. And it's a good reminder that we get to decide what we
35:44
do with whatever wealth we make. We don't have to accumulate it
35:48
just to be like Scrooge McDuck and dive into a pile of
35:51
gold coins. Money in the hands of good people does good things.
35:56
And so building wealth, there should never be anything that
36:00
is shameful or evil around building wealth. Like,
36:04
we get to help other people through building wealth,
36:07
and then they get to help other people, and then they get to help other
36:10
people. You can't have a global initiative to end world hunger if
36:14
there's no wealth or capital behind it, you know?
36:17
So I think that's— yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I had
36:20
a pretty big mental shift that took me way
36:24
long to learn, and what that is is like just sharing with
36:28
others. When I was at Netflix is a very
36:32
cutthroat environment. Yes, you know, they claim, oh,
36:35
we're a big team, and, you know, we're growing and all this stuff. But at
36:38
the end of the day, your colleague would slit your throat to get
36:42
that promotion over you, right? Like, people are grinding
36:46
to move to the top in big tech. And that's just the way it was.
36:49
And so, I feel like when I left, I kind of took that mentality unconsciously
36:54
into real estate, you know, and I'm like, no, like, I want to do this
36:57
deal all by myself. I don't want to, you know, split the equity or do
37:00
anything anything of that nature. And now I'm like, who wants to come
37:04
in? You know, like, let's bring everybody in who wants to be a part of
37:07
this deal. And what's awesome is the more you build relationships with people
37:10
and do more deals with people, law of reciprocity, it just all
37:14
comes back tenfold. Like, I get to go do more stuff and more
37:18
opportunities with others. And I'm starting to realize, like, you can't scale without giving
37:22
and sharing to other people either. And so, if I
37:26
were to give any piece of advice to anyone listening to this, it's like,
37:29
start doing real estate with people you know, like, and trust, but make
37:33
sure you know, like, and trust them on a deeper level
37:36
when you're starting off. But then it just starts exploding. You're going and
37:41
doing it with everybody. Ah, that's huge.
37:45
That's some great advice right there. How would you say your definition of
37:49
success has changed through this whole journey, Brendan?
37:52
My gosh, I honestly think about that very frequently.
37:57
And I think I still am mentally defining what success means to
38:01
me. Personally. Because I think once you start accumulating
38:05
wealth, you realize like, hey, this is awesome and fun, but it's
38:10
not the end-all be-all. And, you know, some of
38:13
my favorite times in life are just hanging out with friends talking about life and
38:17
quantum physics and all the stuff we love to read and
38:21
chat about all the time, right? But it's like, I didn't need wealth to get
38:25
to that place. Like, that stuff's been in front of me the whole time.
38:28
Wealth is just a vehicle that allows you to go experience maybe
38:32
some more physical abundance within the world. So, I don't know
38:35
how I define it, to be honest, Jon. I know that my
38:39
end goal, or maybe one of my bigger
38:43
goals, or probably the biggest I have on the map right now, is I want
38:46
to own a museum that's philanthropic and completely
38:50
gives back once I'm gone. And I think that comes
38:53
back to me growing up and loving the arts, kind of similar to you.
38:58
So opulent and calm and at peace when I go to like art museums.
39:03
And I even started recently like collecting art and like, I just,
39:06
I just love it so much. And I'm like, I want other people to feel
39:09
that opulence and that safety when they come into my museum.
39:13
But also, it's like, hey, this is a philanthropic venture, we'll always give back
39:17
and make a difference. And I feel like we all need to focus on,
39:20
you know, making the world a better place before we leave it.
39:24
A beautiful and a powerful legacy, Brendan. It really
39:28
is. And I love that. And, you know, the philanthropic nature of
39:32
that museum, would that be to sort of provide a place
39:35
for the arts to maybe people who don't have those options?
39:40
I'll be honest, I don't know what it is. I think on it frequently,
39:43
and I have a few thoughts in mind, but I haven't zeroed in on what
39:47
that is. And I think what's awesome is I don't really
39:50
need to know the how yet. Like, I know when that comes to me and
39:53
when that hits me, it will be the right time and the right thing.
39:56
All I know is like, hey, that's my vision and that's where I'm heading right
40:00
now to build that. And that's part of what I want my legacy to
40:03
be. That's amazing. And you light up when you talk about
40:06
it. So, that is definitely part of your legacy. You can tell. Thank you.
40:10
You know, the more that we flow into the things that give us life,
40:14
then we know we're going in the right direction. You know, it's when we think
40:17
about the things we don't like doing and we're like, I hate that, then that's
40:22
a good thing of being like, okay, is that something that you can give to
40:25
someone else? Is that someone that you can hire someone to do or whatever?
40:28
Just create room so that you can flow in the
40:31
things you love to do. And when those things light you up, run toward those.
40:35
Absolutely. So I'm going to give you a quick lightning round,
40:39
Brendan. Oh boy. I hope you're ready. Here we go. All right.
40:43
Let's do it. All right. So, yeah, first answer that
40:47
you're comfortable sharing that comes to your mind. All right.
40:51
We'll start with favorite book. Oh,
40:54
by far, How to Win Friends and Influence People.
40:59
I tell people that all the time. And, you know, for those who haven't read
41:02
that book, you know, it might sound manipulative, but it is the furthest
41:06
thing from the truth. It's all about being a good conversationalist.
41:10
And I actually love teaching about that book and that topic as
41:14
well, because I think conversation is just one of the
41:18
most powerful human experiences that is out there. And to be a good conversationalist,
41:21
you're naturally going to attract better people in business into your life.
41:26
Absolutely. Um, so I know we're in the lightning round,
41:30
but I want to say, so would that play a part in the coaching
41:33
that you're going to do? Is that part of what you would teach and coach
41:36
people? Like not just about how to find a good real estate deal or invest,
41:40
but would that be part of that coaching? I think there's elements to it.
41:44
And I honestly haven't really thought about that because How
41:47
to Win Friends and Influence People, at least the way I interpret it, can get
41:50
really mechanical when you're just talking to people.
41:54
But maybe that is because, yeah, when you're raising capital, the first step is to
41:58
build a good relationship with the people you want to get capital from.
42:02
Absolutely. Okay. Next lightning round, back to my
42:06
original format. So, what's the best investment you've ever
42:10
made financially? Well, I did
42:13
just buy some SpaceX stock, but unfortunately,
42:16
that's already down at what I bought it at. But I think long-term,
42:20
that might be one of the best investments. But I think I'm
42:26
trying to think of a specific real estate deal that is the
42:29
most lucrative. But like, yeah, I biasedly will say
42:33
real estate just because I think it's awesome. You get the tax benefits, appreciation,
42:36
the cash flow, etc., etc. It might be my first
42:40
house that I lived in. You know, I have a 2.75% rate
42:44
on there. It's in Nashville. It's appreciated a few hundred thousand dollars since
42:48
I bought it. I would say that is the best one I've done so far.
42:52
I'm living in my best investment. Same. Yeah.
42:57
And that, you know, that will be a rental for as long as I can
43:00
keep it a rental. And I have no intentions of selling.
43:04
Awesome. So, what about worst investment? Anything stand out where you're like,
43:08
oh, man, I wish I— Yes, I have,
43:11
you know, back to investing in other people. I have, you know, lost capital
43:16
investing in a bad flip. I was kind of on a high thinking like,
43:19
oh, yeah, what could go wrong? Wrong. And all the other deals I had done
43:22
have gone right. And yes, have lost money
43:26
definitely investing in other people's deals.
43:29
So yeah, I think that goes back to like we were saying, like, make sure
43:32
you know who you're investing with and how to at least read a pro forma
43:36
and understand what it looks like. That is, that is huge advice.
43:40
Oh my gosh, if you don't know what a pro forma is, do not invest.
43:43
Like, you've got— you need to have some basic knowledge for that.
43:48
And honestly, now with Claude and ChatGPT, just put the
43:51
pro forma in there and let Claude guide you and help decide
43:56
if it's a good deal or not. It is a whole new world.
44:00
Well, that's my next question. How do you feel like AI is going to change
44:05
the real estate space? My goodness.
44:09
John, I'll tell you, one of my best friends owns a
44:13
very successful marketing company and he is super into AI. And the
44:17
irony is I worked in tech for almost 15 years. Years. And I utilize AI
44:21
close to every day, but not at the extent of like some other people I
44:25
know like him. And so like, when I get on a call with him,
44:28
like he just makes me feel super inferior, not intentionally. I'm just like, holy crap,
44:32
I have so much to learn. So with that all being said, I don't have
44:37
a direct response to that. But what I personally use it for is
44:41
underwriting the crap out of deals, you know, like we just went under contract
44:44
on a micro resort, and resorts have so many logistics to
44:49
where like, I don't think I could have built this pro forma spreadsheet without the
44:52
help of Claude. But now I'm just like, hey, telling it this, telling it that,
44:55
typing it in, you know, you don't have to be an Excel genius in order
44:59
to succeed anymore. I don't need to have, you know,
45:02
someone who has a degree in finance to be able to assist me with that.
45:06
And I actually feel confident within it. But that is like the
45:09
smallest sliver where I think AI is going to help real estate.
45:14
Yeah, but I think that's something that— that's some knowledge that's accessible and
45:18
that people who watch this that maybe aren't investors,
45:22
that's going to help a lot of people, you know? Yeah. If you aren't
45:26
sure about the deal, use AI, it'll help you underwrite it. I think that's a
45:30
very good, a very good point. So what does Brendan's morning
45:33
routine look like? Woo! It looks like hitting snooze a
45:37
couple of times. I'm going to be honest, I'm human. I hit snooze probably at
45:41
least twice per day. Try to get up by around 7:15.
45:46
I actually meet every single morning, Monday through Friday,
45:50
with 2 other guys to where we'll read personal development material.
45:54
Like right now, we're reading the good old classic Think and Grow Rich,
45:58
and we're reading it front to back. And what's so awesome is
46:01
just having people like that who are aligned and want to grow and develop alongside
46:05
you. And we get to challenge each other and we meet, yeah, every single morning,
46:09
Monday through Friday. If you miss the call, you owe the other people
46:12
$100 in the call. So, it's like, you better show up
46:16
every time. And it's just awesome. But that,
46:20
I would say, is like the non-negotiable morning routine. And then
46:24
after that, I go and I have a— I'm fortunate to have a gym in
46:27
my house. I go to the gym downstairs and work out. Then I snuggle
46:31
with my dog briefly and have breakfast. Then I'm off to the races. But I
46:35
keep Do Not Disturb on until 10:00 AM every day. Like, I refuse to
46:38
like wake up in this chaos of like notifications
46:42
and checking stuff and just like getting right into it. Like I ease
46:47
into my day every single day. And that has been a game changer for me.
46:52
It is so huge. I really do believe that we, we win our day
46:56
by winning our mornings. I mean, absolutely.
46:59
Couldn't agree more. Took me 35 years to get to that
47:03
point. But yeah, I completely agree. So,
47:06
I just have a couple more questions for you, but I want to thank you
47:10
so much, Brenna, for taking this time to be here on the Revolution
47:13
of Purpose podcast. And it's just awesome to
47:17
see how you're growing in your purpose. You're clearly flowing in it.
47:20
You're making a difference. You have goals
47:25
around not just wealth, but also philanthropy.
47:28
And I think it's awesome to see that. So, I'm so thankful that you're
47:32
here. Thank you so much. Truly an honor. So if someone
47:36
is listening to this, and they feel stuck in a career
47:39
that no longer fits, or they're terrified to make the leap,
47:44
what would you tell them? Hmm, you know, I think what's
47:48
interesting is that if you believe in,
47:52
you know, a God of any kind, that, or the
47:56
universe, or, you know, whatever you want to call it, that you're fully supported.
48:00
And I truly believe that, like, these ideas or downloads aren't
48:04
imprinted into your mind unless you were
48:08
able to achieve them. And so for someone who even has the idea
48:12
of leaving their 9 to 5, just knowing that you're fully supported,
48:16
I mean, is such a game changer. And that takes a mental shift to
48:19
get to, right? But I think anything is truly possible.
48:24
And I love how within our reality, like,
48:27
things are constantly challenged and pushed and records are broken and
48:30
just speaks to like, truly, like, we can do anything.
48:34
Like, the human potential is truly limitless. And I
48:38
hope that anyone who's listening just doesn't feel fearful,
48:42
because fear is the only thing that's going to hold you back. And fear really
48:45
is an illusion at the end of the day. Absolutely. Every decision
48:50
is either fear or faith. I mean, every single one.
48:53
And so don't, don't make the fearful ones if you can help it.
48:57
It takes changing your paradigm, but that's huge.
49:01
So, the last question I have for you, as you know,
49:04
this entire podcast is about purpose and living your purpose.
49:08
So, what is one thing about purpose that you think maybe most
49:12
people are missing? I think purpose really
49:16
just looks different for everybody. And I think that's okay.
49:20
You know, like a lot of people's quote purpose is to get rich and have
49:24
a lot of nice things. And I think that's a lie and a joke compared
49:27
to what society has told us is, but like,
49:30
Truly, purpose can mean anything. Like, I look at like stay-at-home
49:35
moms and my goodness, like that is a calling and a purpose. And a
49:39
lot of those stay-at-home moms feel inadequate because they're not having this
49:43
7-figure job or, you know, being able to support financially
49:47
a family or whatever. But it's like, hey, like there is so much meaning and
49:50
purpose in just being a mom. And that was something I had growing up and
49:54
like wouldn't have traded it for anything. Right. And so I just
49:58
hope that people who feel a calling, like, you know what your calling— I
50:02
truly believe everyone knows what their calling is and their purpose is. And it really
50:05
comes down to that faith or fear if you're going to pursue it. But there
50:08
is no purpose too big or too small within this world.
50:13
We're truly all here for a reason. I love that. That's huge.
50:17
And yeah, whatever your purpose looks like,
50:20
have the courage to flow in it. If it doesn't align, let it go.
50:24
Flow in that purpose. That is— yes. Brendan, if people want to
50:28
connect with you, what is the best way to do that? You can
50:31
find me on probably Instagram or LinkedIn. On Instagram, it is
50:35
Build with Brendan. You can also find me at dowinhowercapital.com.
50:40
But those are probably the best 2 ways to find me.
50:43
That is fantastic. And so, if they are watching this and they may want to
50:48
look into ways to invest with you, I'm assuming they need to be
50:52
an accredited investor. To make that happen,
50:55
just reach out through Dauenhauer Capital? Yeah.
50:59
Just fill out the form on dauenhauercapital.com. You actually do
51:02
not have to be an accredited investor to work with me. But yeah,
51:05
just fill out a few questions, super easy,
51:09
and I'd love to reach out and connect with them. That's fantastic, man.
51:13
And yeah, as you have everything
51:17
ready for the launch of the coaching program, I will update that
51:21
in the show notes, too. So, if you're watching this in the
51:24
end of July 2026, when it originally airs, or if you
51:28
see it months later, definitely check out the show notes because we will
51:31
put that information there. Because if I were looking to get started in
51:36
real estate investing, having a coach would be paramount. And so, I'm so
51:40
glad that you're planning to do that, Brendan. Thank you so much. Yeah, it will
51:44
be all over my Instagram too. Wherever you find it in the notes or Instagram,
51:47
it'll be there. That is fantastic. Well, thank you
51:51
again for being here, and thank you, uh, for everyone that
51:54
tunes into this, uh, Revolution of Purpose, the conversation shows on Thursdays.
51:58
I know you got a lot out of this. It has just been amazing to
52:02
have Brendan with us. And don't forget Monday's solo show. I'll be deep diving
52:06
again into identity and mindset. And no matter
52:10
what comes your way, make sure you are living and flowing in your purpose.
52:14
Purpose. Have a great day. Thank you so much for spending
52:17
this time with me today. If this episode encouraged you,
52:21
if it challenged you, or if it helped you see your life a
52:24
little bit differently, would you do me a favor? Subscribe to the podcast,
52:28
leave a rating or review, and share this episode with someone who
52:32
needs to hear it. Every share helps us reach more people who are
52:36
searching for hope, purpose, and a life of greater meaning.
52:40
And if you're ready to stop wondering what's next and start living with
52:44
greater clarity and purpose in your own life, I would love to meet
52:48
with you personally. Visit johnstreet.org right
52:51
now to schedule your complimentary live purpose and clarity
52:55
call with me. Until next time, remember,
52:59
your purpose is not something you find. It is something you awaken
53:03
to, and then you choose to live it.
53:06
Go make today another step in your own revolution of purpose.