Latest / Single Tree Nation Show / Brent Phillips | The Story Behind Milk & Honey Ranch, Faith, Family & Purpose

Transcript

Brent Phillips | The Story Behind Milk & Honey Ranch, Faith, Family & Purpose · Single Tree Nation Show

0:03
Welcome back to Singletree Nation, guys.
0:05
I'm your man, Charlie Eblen,
0:07
and as always,
0:07
we have our illustrious co-host, Mr.
0:09
Derry Wells, with us today.
0:10
What is up, everybody?
0:12
Thank you guys for joining us.
0:14
We want to give a quick shout out
0:15
to our primary technology sponsor, Toast.
0:19
They partner with us here on the show
0:21
and at the restaurant to help us provide
0:23
undeniable hospitality with their
0:25
products.
0:25
the best technology out today so thank you
0:29
toast for all that you do for us
0:31
if you have any questions or want to
0:33
get involved and need help with getting a
0:35
pos system for your business please reach
0:38
out to us and i'll be happy to
0:40
help you and connect you with the right
0:41
folks
0:43
Derry, I am so excited about today's show.
0:45
Yes, absolutely.
0:47
Man, I,
0:48
I spend a lot of time making videos,
0:52
getting on, getting on YouTube,
0:55
making shorts, doing clips.
0:57
I don't spend a lot of time on
0:59
social media from a standpoint of doom
1:01
scrolling and getting the chance to scroll
1:04
through all the funny things.
1:09
Right.
1:09
Our guest today.
1:12
happened to show up in my feet.
1:16
I am so excited for him to be
1:18
able to tell his story.
1:19
The universe was watching.
1:21
Man, the little bit I know,
1:24
and I told him pre-show that the little
1:26
bit I know,
1:28
I didn't even do any more research because
1:30
I just want to be able to dive
1:31
in and get to hear it straight from
1:34
his mouth.
1:35
So Brent, without any further ado,
1:37
welcome to the show.
1:38
We have the owner of Milk and Honey.
1:42
Brent, we are super happy to have you,
1:45
man.
1:45
Welcome to the show.
1:47
Thank you so much.
1:48
Thank you.
1:49
It's a huge honor that, you know,
1:52
my story is at all interesting to anybody.
1:55
So it means a lot.
1:58
It is absolutely incredible, man.
2:02
For those of you who have never heard
2:04
of Milk and Honey,
2:07
where is Milk and Honey?
2:09
So Milk and Honey Ranch is in between
2:13
Houston and Austin in Texas.
2:15
So, yeah, we're like right in the middle.
2:19
We're in a little place called Burton,
2:21
which nobody would have ever heard of.
2:23
But near us is the Blue Bell Ice
2:25
Cream Factory, which, you know,
2:28
is a big deal in Texas.
2:30
They love their Blue Bell.
2:31
I think Blue Bell is a big deal
2:33
everywhere.
2:34
Yeah.
2:36
It's why I had to lose thirty pounds
2:38
last year.
2:41
Ice cream is my nemesis, Brent.
2:44
I can put down some ice cream quickly.
2:47
But I digress.
2:49
So we, like I said,
2:52
I found you on social media,
2:55
got a little bit about your story.
2:57
I really want to dive in.
2:59
How long have you had the ranch?
3:02
I bought the land in April of twenty
3:05
one.
3:06
So coming up on five years.
3:09
Yeah.
3:11
So what I like to do is find
3:13
out about the people prior to what they're
3:16
currently doing and really kind of give a
3:19
little bit more of a story than just
3:21
what the business that they're currently
3:23
doing is, right?
3:25
It means a little bit more when you
3:27
know the background of the people that are
3:29
running it.
3:29
So prior to twenty one,
3:31
what were you doing?
3:33
So I've always been well, you know,
3:36
ever since I've been working,
3:37
I've been a software engineer.
3:40
And so, uh, that's why me, uh,
3:42
having this ranch and,
3:44
and what it's become is,
3:45
is hilarious to everybody that knew me
3:48
because it is so far from everything I
3:50
studied, my personality, you know,
3:53
everything else.
3:53
I was a coder, you know,
3:55
sitting behind a screen for,
3:56
for hours and hours at a time.
3:59
And so my brother and I actually started
4:01
a tech med business after his daughter had
4:03
a stroke at a few days old.
4:06
And so him and I built that together
4:08
and we did that for ten years until
4:09
it was acquired by a public company.
4:14
And, you know,
4:15
sometimes the best ideas come out of the
4:18
worst personal situations.
4:24
Yeah, yeah.
4:24
Now you, the accent.
4:28
You don't sound like you're from right
4:30
outside of Houston.
4:32
No, I'm deep South Texas.
4:34
So South, I'm on another continent,
4:36
South Africa.
4:38
That is pretty far South.
4:39
That is pretty far South.
4:42
So born and raised in South Africa?
4:46
Yes.
4:47
Born and raised in South Africa.
4:49
I actually came across to America because
4:51
my brother got recruited to play rugby.
4:54
in Aspen, Colorado,
4:55
of which we knew nothing about except for
4:57
the movie, Dumb and Dumber,
4:59
which turns out- Oh,
4:59
that is a fantastic reference.
5:01
That is outstanding.
5:03
That's all we knew.
5:03
And then it turns out that wasn't even
5:05
Aspen, you know, in the movie.
5:10
That is outstanding.
5:11
That just goes to show you whatever's
5:14
coming out of America,
5:15
the rest of the world don't know what
5:17
we're actually doing.
5:18
And so I love that- Yeah,
5:19
we believe it.
5:20
You know, we believe it.
5:21
Absolutely.
5:22
My brother lived overseas for a number of
5:24
years.
5:24
He said people there don't have the right
5:27
concept because it's just what gets
5:29
portrayed or on the news or whatever.
5:31
And so if it shows up in,
5:33
in pop culture or stuff,
5:34
that's just what people hang on to.
5:35
So what a movie.
5:39
learn about it's just like my friends uh
5:41
you know and now that i live in
5:43
texas they're like does everybody ride
5:44
around on horses i'm like yes yes yes
5:51
they do yes the answer is always yes
5:53
that is rich so what what year did
5:56
you come to aspen to search for dumb
6:00
and dumber
6:01
So, uh, two thousand and two.
6:03
Um, so I was, uh,
6:05
twenty-two years old at the time.
6:06
I came to America with, uh,
6:09
twenty-four hundred dollars, um,
6:12
and two suitcases and,
6:13
and that was everything I owned and
6:15
everything I had.
6:16
And I spent the first six months living
6:19
in a basement, eating hot pockets, uh,
6:21
you know, doing whatever jobs I could do.
6:24
There was nothing below me.
6:26
And that was my introduction to the land
6:28
of opportunity.
6:30
And where I found a little bit of
6:32
a breakthrough was I started working for
6:35
this wireless internet company,
6:38
which wireless, you know,
6:39
in two thousand two was it was a
6:40
you know, it was a big deal.
6:43
And it was a point to point.
6:46
And you had to climb on the roof
6:47
to install this antenna to to reach the
6:49
tower.
6:50
And nobody wanted to do it because of
6:52
the snowy roofs and everything like that.
6:54
And I was like, I'll do it.
6:56
never having even been on a roof.
6:58
And so with no safety equipment or
7:01
anything like that,
7:01
I would get up on those roofs and
7:03
install those antennas and I got all the
7:04
business because everybody else deemed it
7:07
unsafe and I deemed it fantastic because I
7:09
wouldn't have to eat Hot Pockets.
7:12
yes yes what's that they say the the
7:16
man that drives a uh uh a whole
7:19
rusted beat down car there's somebody that
7:22
envies him because he's riding a bicycle
7:24
to work every day yeah yeah he's the
7:27
guy with a bicycle because he's walking to
7:29
work every day that's right yeah yeah
7:31
absolutely you were envying the guy eating
7:33
ramen because you had hot that's
7:35
outstanding i love that
7:38
so you're you're you're putting wireless
7:41
antennas on the tops of snowy roofs in
7:44
aspen yeah and your brother's playing
7:48
rugby have y'all started the company yet
7:54
no no so so um i uh he
7:57
ended up starting like a back treatment uh
8:00
clinic in aspen a lot of people turns
8:02
out
8:03
have back pain.
8:03
So he was helping a lot of people
8:05
with that.
8:06
And I ended up starting my own computer
8:08
company.
8:10
And so that's what we did the whole
8:12
time.
8:13
We were there for about nine years.
8:14
And then I actually left Aspen and moved
8:17
back to South Africa to be a missionary.
8:20
Um, and so, uh, uh,
8:22
I've got an amazing wife who, you know,
8:25
I don't know how many wives would,
8:26
would give up Aspen for, you know,
8:29
to go back to South Africa,
8:31
but she did.
8:32
And, um, and so South Africa as well,
8:35
or she is from South Africa.
8:37
Okay.
8:39
Um, and I, you know, I just,
8:41
I just really wanted to do something that
8:43
was going to make a difference in the
8:44
world.
8:45
And so we moved back and that's when
8:48
my niece had the stroke.
8:50
And so my brother reached out to me
8:52
in South Africa and said, hey, bro,
8:54
nobody knows what to do.
8:56
We can't find the right people.
8:58
There's got to be an easier way.
8:59
He said, come help me build this company,
9:01
and I promise you,
9:02
we will help more people in this world
9:05
than what you could possibly do there.
9:08
And he was right.
9:10
I mean, we built this company.
9:12
Of course, nothing's easy.
9:15
Every week,
9:16
we didn't know if we would be able
9:17
to make it financially.
9:20
And but we ended up helping hundreds and
9:24
hundreds and hundreds of thousands of
9:25
people with complex medical cases that I
9:28
don't know what would have happened
9:29
otherwise with their lives.
9:31
It was a very rewarding business.
9:35
People who had been sick for ten years
9:38
couldn't get out of bed.
9:39
You know,
9:40
we'd get them in front of like top,
9:41
top medical specialists and they're like,
9:43
you're on the wrong medication.
9:44
You've been diagnosed for the wrong
9:46
disease.
9:47
And that's actually what's affecting your
9:49
health.
9:50
So lots of,
9:52
lots of things like that saved a lot
9:53
of lives who were on wrong chemo,
9:56
wrong treatments, you know,
9:57
all sorts of stuff.
9:58
So it was great.
10:00
It was great.
10:02
That is outstanding.
10:03
Absolutely outstanding.
10:04
So you did that for ten years.
10:07
Yeah.
10:09
And, uh, after that ten years, um,
10:14
when did you sell the company?
10:16
So it was around, um, around, uh,
10:20
I think we had started discussions in
10:21
like, and so, um,
10:24
we had always lived in an apartment and
10:26
we never had, uh, we never had, um,
10:30
a lot of money,
10:30
but we were very happy.
10:33
And so anyway, then this company,
10:34
our company got bought and, you know,
10:36
I had, uh, a small piece of it,
10:38
but this company bought our company for
10:40
four hundred and sixty million dollars,
10:42
which.
10:45
It's, it's just,
10:45
it's just like an amount that you,
10:48
you read about on,
10:49
on a newspaper article or watch it.
10:50
Do you never ever think that it could
10:52
possibly happen to you?
10:53
Four hundred and sixty million dollars.
10:57
That's like that's movie show like stuff.
11:00
You don't have to pause for a second
11:02
to say that out loud.
11:04
Yeah, no, it was, it was crazy.
11:06
And, um,
11:08
we we uh i just gotta i gotta
11:12
tell you man that's absolutely incredible
11:17
yeah it it was amazing but we haven't
11:20
even gotten to the rest of it but
11:22
you started something from nothing yeah
11:26
and built it to a four hundred and
11:28
sixty million dollar a half a billion
11:31
dollar yeah yeah
11:34
I am so excited for the rest of
11:36
this show.
11:38
You have just like, I have a warm,
11:40
fuzzy feeling on the inside.
11:43
The best part about all of this is,
11:46
is I can already tell how much of
11:50
an amazing person you are from moving here
11:55
when you're twenty two years old with
11:57
twenty four hundred dollars in your
11:58
pocket.
12:00
eating hot pockets and climbing on snowy
12:02
roofs, risking your life every single day,
12:05
just to be able to eat.
12:06
We talked,
12:07
we had this conversation not too long ago
12:09
about entrepreneurs and who they are and
12:12
what they really do and the ability.
12:17
What's crazy to me is I get the
12:19
feeling from you that the money doesn't
12:21
mean anything.
12:23
And the amount of lives that you saved
12:26
and made better and impacted in the world
12:29
means ten times more than any dollar
12:31
amount ever could.
12:33
And it just warms my soul to even.
12:36
It's karma.
12:40
It is.
12:40
I'm getting excited over here.
12:42
I'm just so.
12:44
You got me all worked up, Brent.
12:47
yeah don't get too excited because
12:48
otherwise i'm about to disappoint you very
12:51
hard you know that is outstanding i can't
12:53
wait because that's just an epic turn in
12:55
the show so before we do that we
12:58
are going to take a quick break and
13:00
we're going to come back and learn a
13:01
little bit more
13:06
Welcome back to Singletree Nation, guys.
13:08
I am here with Brent from Milk and
13:10
Honey.
13:10
We are talking about his incredible
13:12
journey.
13:12
Milk and Honey Ranch.
13:14
Milk and Honey Ranch.
13:14
I just want to distinguish that.
13:16
Milk and Honey Ranch.
13:17
I am not saying the full name.
13:19
That is my fault.
13:20
No, that's fine.
13:23
I'm stoked, man.
13:25
I'm stoked.
13:25
So we are we are twenty twenty twenty
13:28
twenty one coming out of a pandemic.
13:34
Yes.
13:36
Yeah.
13:37
And now,
13:39
were you was your company acquired?
13:43
Was that process started during COVID?
13:45
Yes.
13:46
In the end?
13:47
Yeah.
13:48
So that all happened during COVID and sold
13:50
during COVID.
13:51
Crazy.
13:53
And, you know, COVID was a very important
13:57
thing for me,
13:57
as I'm sure I know it affected everybody
14:00
in different ways.
14:01
And it changed my life,
14:03
I think for the better.
14:04
And I'll tell you why,
14:05
is I was always at the office,
14:08
you know, I would work sixteen,
14:09
eighteen hour days and not not to
14:11
exaggerate.
14:12
I mean,
14:13
I would sleep very little building a
14:15
company of our size with, you know,
14:17
only having limited resources and
14:18
everything like that.
14:19
A lot of sacrifices and
14:23
Um,
14:23
I just got used to being at the
14:24
office.
14:25
I mean,
14:25
I love my wife and my kids,
14:27
you know, but I would see them, uh,
14:28
you know, very, very, uh, little.
14:32
And when COVID happened,
14:34
it brought me home like everybody else.
14:37
And when I was at home,
14:39
I was like,
14:40
I really love being around my family,
14:43
like
14:45
It's unique what that'll do to you,
14:46
isn't it?
14:46
Yes.
14:46
I was like,
14:48
I married my wife on purpose because I
14:50
really like being around her.
14:52
And, you know, my kiddos, I was like,
14:55
I've only got a few years left with
14:56
them before they become, you know,
14:59
before they go to college and stuff like
15:00
that.
15:01
I need to.
15:02
I need to change my life.
15:04
I've got to transition to something else.
15:07
And so that happened.
15:09
And then the freeze happened in Texas,
15:10
which shut down the whole of Texas.
15:12
And we were without power, water, heat.
15:16
You couldn't go to the shops.
15:17
All the shops were closed,
15:18
everything like that.
15:19
And it was an eye opening moment for
15:21
me about how useless I really was because
15:24
I've always been in technology.
15:26
And because I've been in technology,
15:28
I love all things technology,
15:29
Uber Eats and all of these things.
15:32
And all of that was taken away like
15:34
that.
15:35
And I was like,
15:36
I don't know how to fix a water
15:37
pipe.
15:38
I don't know how to do any of
15:39
those things because I never had to do
15:42
those things.
15:43
And I was like,
15:46
that's when I decided that we were gonna
15:48
get a ranch, you know,
15:49
get some land and we would learn farming
15:51
and like,
15:53
we're gonna learn this stuff together.
15:55
And I'm gonna teach my kids something,
15:57
yeah.
15:57
Are you still,
15:58
you still own the company or was this,
16:00
you knew this was,
16:01
the company was being sold and so this
16:04
was the plan.
16:06
Now,
16:06
when you say that you were gonna buy
16:07
a ranch or land, was it...
16:10
just for like a family farm was your
16:13
idea?
16:14
Yes, exactly.
16:16
Just a family farm.
16:17
I never ever had the intention of it
16:19
becoming what it is today,
16:20
and I'll obviously explain that.
16:22
But all I wanted was a family farm
16:25
that we could raise some animals,
16:27
we could learn how to process them,
16:29
we could just become sufficient.
16:32
And not because I'm a prepper,
16:34
but if we could learn how to be
16:37
self-sufficient,
16:38
then I've achieved
16:40
like this amazing life cycle.
16:43
And we've learned how to be able to
16:45
take care of ourselves.
16:47
So that was the goal.
16:53
Um, and so this is in, in, in,
16:56
um,
16:56
so I looked at a bunch of ranchers
16:58
and everything like that.
16:59
And so I knew I was getting enough
17:01
money to, to,
17:03
so they were paying us out in, uh,
17:05
some in cash and the rest were in
17:07
shares.
17:08
Um, but the,
17:10
the shares were doing well and, you know,
17:13
so, um, I took the,
17:14
the cash that I got and I,
17:16
and I bought the land, uh, for cash.
17:18
So I didn't have to get a loan
17:20
or anything like that.
17:20
And then.
17:22
I started borrowing against my shares in
17:27
order to do everything else.
17:28
Because I mean,
17:29
what could possibly go wrong when you've
17:31
got that much?
17:36
I mean, I never had to work again,
17:38
which was the weirdest feeling because
17:40
I've had to work so hard my whole
17:42
life and I'm grateful for it.
17:43
I'm not complaining at all.
17:45
But I've had to work very hard for
17:47
everything.
17:49
And anyway, so we started, you know,
17:52
building some houses and I was building my
17:56
mama house and I was building my brother
17:57
and sister-in-law house.
17:59
And I was building a guest house that
18:01
we would move into first.
18:02
And then we had a plan to build
18:03
like a nice big house for ourselves
18:06
because we finally had, you know,
18:07
we finally had some money.
18:10
And anyway,
18:13
and this was a very important part of
18:15
the story.
18:16
The war broke out in the Ukraine.
18:19
And, um,
18:21
I had just finished building a six car
18:23
garage and it had a huge attic, um,
18:26
a huge attic.
18:28
And when the war broke out in the
18:29
Ukraine,
18:30
I've got a lot of relationships in the
18:31
Ukraine because of, um,
18:33
software engineering,
18:35
some of the best developers come from
18:37
there.
18:37
And, um,
18:39
so I converted my attic in this garage
18:42
into a hotel.
18:44
Uh, four bedroom, two bathroom, uh,
18:47
we called it the hotel.
18:48
Mm-hmm and I said to,
18:49
to anybody in the Ukraine, uh,
18:51
among my group, you, your family,
18:52
your friends,
18:54
if you can get to the us,
18:55
I'll take care of you.
18:56
And, and, you know,
18:57
you can rebuild your life, um,
19:01
rebuild your life here.
19:02
Anyway, I went, I went to sleep, um,
19:07
a multimillionaire and I woke up at three
19:10
o'clock in the morning with a sick
19:13
feeling.
19:14
And for some reason,
19:16
I went and I looked at the shares.
19:21
And the shares had plummeted from I think
19:23
it was forty six or fifty six dollars
19:26
to three dollars a share.
19:32
And because it had dropped and my hedges
19:35
against, you know, I lost everything.
19:39
Everything.
19:41
And I stumbled
19:45
I couldn't tell if I was having a
19:46
nightmare.
19:47
I don't know if you've ever had one
19:48
of those dreams where you're not sure when
19:49
you wake up, if it really happened,
19:50
but then like,
19:52
thankfully you realize it was a dream and
19:53
you're like, oh my gosh,
19:54
like I'm so glad.
19:56
Well, I had that feeling,
19:57
but I wasn't waking up.
19:59
I was like,
20:03
I stumbled out of the house and I
20:06
ended up collapsing,
20:08
like in the bush somewhere on this farm.
20:11
And
20:12
It was it was the worst feeling because
20:15
it was like to have to have to
20:18
have made to have finally got to a
20:21
point that that I was financially secure
20:23
for the rest of my life.
20:26
And then to have lost it,
20:28
it was better than I never had it.
20:31
You know, because it was like I had,
20:34
I had tasted of something and it was
20:37
so fleeting.
20:38
And I felt so guilty,
20:39
even though it wasn't my fault.
20:42
I felt like I had squandered this
20:44
incredible gift that God had given.
20:47
And I was lying on the ground.
20:49
I mean,
20:50
I thought like my heart was going to
20:52
give out.
20:54
And I remember the prayer I prayed because
20:57
I didn't feel worthy to ask anything of
20:59
God.
21:00
And I just said, God,
21:03
will you please have mercy on me?
21:06
That was the only prayer that I could
21:09
utter because
21:11
Yeah, I've got a wife, two kids,
21:13
I've moved them from the city.
21:14
Uh, the other thing is they,
21:17
they had offered me a corporate job that
21:20
I would have been set for life,
21:22
you know,
21:23
and I turned that down to rather come
21:25
and, and, and do this.
21:26
So,
21:27
so now all of these things are going
21:28
through my mind.
21:29
Like I've,
21:30
I have royally screwed up my life, my,
21:33
my, my kids, my wife,
21:34
like
21:36
I didn't even have enough money to pay
21:38
the the five hundred dollar electric bill
21:41
that was going to come.
21:42
I lost my four one K,
21:43
I lost my savings, everything was gone.
21:48
And I tell you, looking back now,
21:53
and I'll explain it.
21:55
It's one of the best things that ever
21:56
happened to me.
22:00
I know it sounds crazy.
22:06
The person that I have become from that
22:08
devastating moment,
22:10
I wouldn't trade for anything.
22:13
And it was so vital,
22:15
the lessons that I learned during this
22:17
moment for what I'm about to tell you.
22:20
But that's why I tell you, like,
22:22
four hundred and sixty million,
22:23
and it's like, unbelievable, like,
22:26
this is incredible.
22:28
And then the rest of the story comes
22:30
and it's gone.
22:31
And that's not everybody's story.
22:32
There's people who made a lot of money
22:34
and they got to keep it.
22:37
It wasn't God's plan for you.
22:41
I never got to keep it.
22:42
So anyway,
22:43
I lay there and then I decided, OK,
22:44
I've got a wife and two kids.
22:46
I'm going to do whatever it takes.
22:49
Like I will do whatever it takes and
22:51
I must tell you, um,
22:55
I don't know if I would have done
22:57
something stupid that night if I was a
22:59
single adult.
23:00
But if ever there was a time that
23:02
I felt like taking my life,
23:04
it would have been then.
23:05
Because it was so overwhelming and so
23:08
hopeless and so like,
23:10
everything I'd worked for my whole life
23:12
was gone.
23:13
At least, that's what you think, right?
23:16
Of course, there's so much more life,
23:18
but having a wife and a kid,
23:20
that wasn't even an option.
23:24
because I had to take care of my
23:25
family.
23:26
I strongly believe out of all my biblical
23:29
principles,
23:30
taking care of your family is such a
23:34
big deal.
23:35
And when I was a young boy,
23:39
my dad in South Africa threw us out
23:41
on the street.
23:41
So I saw the result of a father
23:45
who didn't take care of his family.
23:47
And, you know,
23:48
we were homeless for periods of time,
23:51
having to sleep in people's homes and
23:53
trying to figure out where to go.
23:55
And I think, you know,
23:56
somewhere in my heart I promised I will
23:58
never be that kind of father.
24:00
I will always take care of my family.
24:03
And anyway,
24:04
so I started to work several jobs, IT.
24:08
So I went back into IT from the
24:10
farm.
24:11
And thank God for Starlink,
24:13
because otherwise, I couldn't have,
24:15
I couldn't have done that.
24:17
But I was working on multiple time zones
24:19
working through the night,
24:21
which was something I wasn't, you know,
24:23
uncommon for me.
24:25
Trying to pay the bills and the ranch
24:27
is very expensive with all the animals and
24:29
all that stuff.
24:30
And I still wasn't making it out.
24:33
And then I had the idea to put
24:37
that place that I had built to help
24:39
others rebuild their lives,
24:42
God was now going to use to save
24:45
our farm.
24:47
So I put it on Airbnb.
24:48
This was September of twenty-two.
24:51
I put an attic above a garage.
24:57
On Airbnb.
24:58
And I called it the hotel.
25:01
That is outstanding.
25:04
That is outstanding.
25:06
It was all we had.
25:07
Now, what's so funny,
25:08
this place doesn't even have windows,
25:10
right?
25:11
So if you think about it, Airbnb.
25:13
And you're like, it doesn't have windows.
25:16
But it was all I had.
25:17
There was nothing else I had to offer.
25:20
And I think to anybody who's listening,
25:22
who's an entrepreneur and stuff like that,
25:24
you know,
25:24
sometimes when you've only got one pathway
25:26
forward,
25:27
it's actually a huge blessing because you
25:30
don't second guess anything because you
25:32
can only go one way.
25:34
And so some of these IT jobs and
25:36
stuff started to dry up.
25:39
And I applied.
25:40
Now I have a master's in software
25:42
engineering.
25:43
I've taken a company from conception all
25:46
the way to sale.
25:48
These are really sought after things.
25:51
I'm a chief technology officer.
25:54
I've got all of these things.
25:56
I applied to over forty jobs on LinkedIn
25:59
and I didn't even get a chance to
26:02
interview.
26:04
And that was when I realized that God
26:06
had now closed those doors to me.
26:09
And I needed to pursue this ridiculous
26:12
path of Airbnb.
26:16
which there's nothing in my background.
26:21
You're not a super host with Airbnb.
26:26
So I put it online and it booked
26:29
almost immediately.
26:31
And I was like, whoa.
26:32
And then it booked again and it booked
26:33
again.
26:34
And then I looked and it was only
26:36
women booking this Airbnb.
26:38
And I was like,
26:39
I don't even know why they're booking it.
26:40
I'm in the middle of nowhere.
26:43
I have no idea,
26:43
but I'm so grateful that these people are
26:45
booking.
26:45
So when the woman arrived,
26:49
it was so funny.
26:51
If you've ever seen an overzealous host,
26:53
it was me.
26:56
We had sourdough bread waiting for them.
26:58
We had cupcakes.
26:59
I was offering to cook meals.
27:01
And then I'd come home and like, babes,
27:02
I need you to cook dinner for the
27:04
guests.
27:04
Yeah.
27:06
Like my wife's cooking in our kitchen and
27:09
I'm taking food up to them.
27:11
I mean,
27:11
I was doing anything short of kissing
27:13
their hands, you know,
27:14
just because I was so grateful that they
27:16
were booking.
27:16
But I said to them, I said,
27:18
please don't take this wrong way.
27:19
But like, why are you here?
27:21
Like, why did you book this Airbnb?
27:22
And they're like, oh,
27:23
there wasn't anywhere else to go.
27:25
I'm like, what are you talking about?
27:27
They're like Round Top.
27:28
Round Top's fully booked.
27:29
I'm like, what's a Round Top?
27:31
Anyway,
27:32
fifteen minutes down the road from us is
27:34
the I think it's the world's largest
27:36
antique festival that happens three times
27:39
a year.
27:40
And I happen to list my Airbnb right
27:43
before the start of it.
27:45
Wow.
27:45
And so there was no accommodation.
27:48
Nobody could get accommodation.
27:49
So I was just by default getting people
27:51
who didn't want to come to my ranch.
27:53
It just was the only place that they
27:54
could book.
27:55
It's the only place that wasn't an hour
27:58
and a half away.
28:00
So it was amazing.
28:02
And even though we didn't have much to
28:05
offer at the time, I mean,
28:06
we had a swimming pool,
28:08
but it wasn't anywhere close to what we
28:10
have now.
28:12
Like,
28:12
I think these people could both tell how
28:15
much I wanted to please them and how
28:16
desperate I was at the same time.
28:19
And then these same women then brought
28:21
their families back to visit.
28:24
And so we were this like little farm
28:26
with a few animals and stuff like that.
28:28
So those women were so pivotal in our
28:34
business surviving,
28:36
because they weren't just booking one
28:38
time, they were booking multiple times.
28:40
Uh, you know, so they,
28:42
I had these early adopters right in the
28:44
beginning, which was, which was so, so,
28:47
so important.
28:48
Um, and so then I had, um,
28:51
a mobile home and this,
28:53
I was very insecure to put on because
28:56
these,
28:56
these round top women who come to round
28:58
top, they like, uh, uh,
29:01
heart maintenance is not the right word,
29:02
but they like.
29:06
They're on the housewives.
29:13
Yeah, yeah.
29:15
And so I bought this mobile home for
29:17
my housekeeper.
29:18
This was when we were still going to
29:20
have money.
29:22
But after we lost everything, no,
29:23
poor people don't have housekeepers,
29:25
right?
29:25
So I had this mobile home sitting there.
29:29
And I was like,
29:31
what if I put this on Airbnb?
29:34
I don't know, like,
29:35
are people going to want to stay in
29:36
a mobile home?
29:37
And once again, it was all I had.
29:40
So I put this mobile home on Airbnb
29:42
and I called it The Cabin.
29:43
Well done.
29:45
Well done.
29:49
It's all in how you sell it.
29:50
I love it.
29:52
It's all in how you sell it.
29:55
And people booked it, you know.
29:57
And, you know,
29:58
it's got a ton of five-star reviews,
30:00
this Cabin.
30:03
And now I had two stays that were
30:08
bringing in money and people were coming
30:09
back again for the summer and the spring
30:11
and things.
30:13
And we were doing whatever we could.
30:14
We were giving them smalls.
30:15
I mean,
30:16
we were giving away so much stuff,
30:18
you know, just to,
30:19
because genuinely without them,
30:21
we were done.
30:23
Then, and once again, God is so gracious.
30:27
I found a builder.
30:29
that I said, would you build me three,
30:33
we call them casitas,
30:36
would you build me three casitas,
30:39
but I can't pay you for them up
30:41
front.
30:43
Like,
30:44
I will pay you as money come in,
30:46
but like,
30:47
I don't have the money to do it.
30:49
I was just honest with him.
30:50
I said, I don't have the money,
30:51
but can you build me this street?
30:53
So he agreed to do it.
30:56
Without a contractor like that,
30:59
I could never have done it because the
31:00
bank wouldn't even lend me two hundred
31:02
thousand dollars.
31:04
They wouldn't lend me anything because I
31:07
had no money.
31:08
I had nothing to show for it.
31:09
I mean, you know.
31:13
And so here's where I really learned a
31:15
lesson is so I started to rent these
31:20
things off of Airbnb because Airbnb,
31:22
you only get the money when they arrive.
31:25
But I needed the money now.
31:28
And so I used AI to generate images
31:33
of these casitas.
31:36
And then I put those on our website
31:39
for people to book.
31:41
So when they booked it,
31:42
we would get the money now.
31:43
But these places,
31:45
they didn't exist at all.
31:47
Wow.
31:50
It was genius.
31:52
I'm sure I'm not the first person to
31:53
think of it.
31:53
But it was, you know,
31:54
when you're desperate,
31:55
you come up with all sorts of ways.
31:57
Absolutely.
31:58
And so people started to book these
32:00
casitas for the spring and everything like
32:02
that, even though they didn't exist.
32:04
And then I could take that money and
32:05
I could pay this contractor, you know,
32:09
to keep going.
32:11
We'd never missed.
32:12
So I've done this.
32:13
Now we have thirty six days and I've
32:15
done this with every stay.
32:18
We put it on, we make AI images,
32:21
we put it on,
32:22
and then we let people book it.
32:23
And then we use the money of the
32:25
bookings to pay for the stay.
32:28
And that is how we have built the
32:30
ranch.
32:31
So we built this ranch with no money.
32:36
and borrowing from the future.
32:37
So when somebody would cancel a
32:40
reservation,
32:41
it was like a daggy in the heart.
32:43
Like, please don't cancel.
32:45
I've already spent your money.
32:47
I can't give it back to you.
32:50
I spent your money to build the building
32:51
you're wanting to come stay in.
32:52
We're still putting drywall up on it,
32:55
so I need the money.
32:57
Yeah.
32:58
And we never missed one deadline.
33:01
I mean,
33:01
there were times that we finished five
33:03
minutes before a guest arrived,
33:06
but a guest never arrived and they were
33:08
like, where's my stay?
33:09
You know, it was always ready.
33:12
It was always better than the AI pitches.
33:15
And I had just reinvested everything.
33:19
And this will be the first year that
33:22
we will be profitable.
33:24
So we have run at a loss this
33:27
entire time.
33:29
But because I'm borrowing from the future,
33:32
I've been able to float the ranch all
33:33
this time.
33:35
But we will now be profitable in twenty
33:37
twenty six.
33:38
We've we've lived very frugally.
33:43
You know,
33:43
we we watch everything while still having
33:47
fun.
33:47
Brent, all of that is amazing.
33:50
But if my recognition serves me correctly,
33:59
it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows like
34:01
you just painted.
34:06
No.
34:06
And something happened with your wife not
34:08
too long ago as well, correct?
34:09
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
34:13
So, in twenty-three, right,
34:15
we had built the casitas that I told
34:16
you about, and we had paid for them,
34:18
and we had five thousand dollars in the
34:19
bank.
34:20
So, at that time, we had five stays.
34:22
five stays on the ranch and we were
34:25
heading into twenty twenty four.
34:26
And I just, man,
34:27
I felt so good for the next year
34:29
because we had survived.
34:31
We had survived losing everything and we
34:34
had five thousand dollars in the bank and
34:37
these new units.
34:37
I mean, we were unstoppable.
34:40
And anyway, and my wife,
34:43
I joked with my wife heading into this
34:45
year, I was like,
34:46
don't give me any declarations for the
34:48
year.
34:48
Just be quiet.
34:49
Because at the end of twenty three,
34:51
she says,
34:51
I think twenty twenty four is our year.
34:53
Be quiet.
34:54
So anyway, on the eighth of January,
35:01
I received a call that she had been
35:03
in a massive car accident and she had
35:06
been life flighted to the hospital and
35:07
they didn't think she would make it.
35:10
And why I say that when I lost
35:13
all the money, I became a better man.
35:16
I feel like I was,
35:18
I was prepared by God for this moment,
35:22
because when I lost the money,
35:24
I came apart, you know, I collapsed and,
35:29
and,
35:29
and I felt like my world was over.
35:32
But when I got the news about my
35:33
wife, I didn't come apart.
35:38
I was calm.
35:39
I didn't cry.
35:41
I didn't scream.
35:42
I didn't panic.
35:44
I just knew that the same God that
35:47
had brought us through all of this,
35:51
He was going to do it again in
35:52
some way.
35:52
I didn't know an outcome.
35:53
I didn't know if she would live or
35:54
not live,
35:56
but I'd seen the gracious goodness of God
35:59
And I knew that we would see it
36:00
again.
36:02
And I came inside and I sat the
36:03
kids down and I said,
36:04
I'm going to tell you something,
36:05
but don't panic,
36:06
everything's going to be okay.
36:07
And then I told them and they immediately
36:09
panicked.
36:12
Of course, of course.
36:15
How old were your kids?
36:17
Thirteen and fifteen at the time.
36:23
You know,
36:23
we were driving down to the hospital,
36:25
which was an hour and a half away
36:26
from us.
36:28
And they were crying in the back end.
36:31
And I said to them, I said,
36:32
I promise you, I promise you this.
36:34
We are going to see the goodness of
36:36
God one way or another.
36:38
That I can give you my word.
36:39
I didn't promise them their mom that was
36:41
going to live.
36:41
I didn't know that.
36:43
But I could promise them that we would
36:44
see the goodness of God.
36:46
And we got to the hospital,
36:48
and they already had a child psychologist
36:50
and a chaplain in the room to prepare
36:53
the kids for her passing.
36:57
And I mean,
36:57
the scene in the hospital was awful.
37:01
I mean, it caught me by surprise,
37:04
and it took my breath away just how
37:06
bad a shape she was in.
37:09
And they said, you know,
37:11
stay by your phone because we have to,
37:13
they wouldn't let me stay there in that
37:15
room.
37:15
They said they have to open up her
37:16
skull to relieve the pressure.
37:18
I mean, she was banged up really badly.
37:20
And my dad had died like that.
37:23
He had pressure on his brain that it
37:25
opened up his skull and he never made
37:26
it.
37:26
So I had that thought of that.
37:31
And I just posted on Facebook and I
37:33
just said,
37:34
my wife's been in a terrible accident.
37:35
I just need you to pray.
37:38
And I posted that while I was driving
37:39
down to the hospital.
37:41
By the time I got to the hospital,
37:42
I don't even know how they found out,
37:44
there was about twenty people in a circle
37:46
in the waiting room praying for my wife.
37:50
From all different stages in my life,
37:52
people had come out of the woodwork to
37:54
come pray for her.
37:56
Anyway, she made it through the night.
37:59
They didn't have to open her skull.
38:01
And I just knew from that moment that…
38:03
that God was going to complete this,
38:05
you know.
38:06
And so I had no more worry after
38:07
that,
38:07
even though I had to get through a
38:08
lot of hurdles.
38:09
But the second day she was in the
38:12
hospital,
38:13
I had to put ten thousand dollars on
38:14
a credit card.
38:15
So I was already five thousand dollars in
38:17
debt.
38:18
And the medical insurance that I had
38:20
wouldn't pay.
38:21
It was this like Christian Medicare kind
38:24
of thing that was supposed to be for
38:27
catastrophe.
38:29
Anyway, they weren't very good.
38:32
So I'm already in debt.
38:35
I stopped everything for the ranch,
38:38
stopped all marketing,
38:39
stopped everything that we were doing,
38:41
and I only posted prayer requests and
38:44
testimonies.
38:45
So like, hey,
38:47
they're saying my wife is in a vegetative
38:49
state.
38:49
Hey, my wife is awake.
38:51
Hey,
38:51
they're saying my wife is crippling blood.
38:54
Guess what?
38:54
She can move her legs.
38:56
You know, and it was just like,
38:57
they're saying her lung is collapsed.
38:59
Her lung is inflated.
39:00
So that's all I did on the page.
39:02
And with humor.
39:04
I mean,
39:04
we laughed more through this than I think
39:06
at any stage in my life.
39:08
And I explained it because, I mean,
39:09
some people wrote some terrible things to
39:11
me on social media, you know, just...
39:14
because I had joy during this time,
39:16
they took it as that I wasn't taking
39:18
it seriously.
39:20
And I explained it like this.
39:21
I said,
39:22
the reason we can have joy is because
39:23
we have hope.
39:25
If you don't have hope, you're sure,
39:29
all you left is with what you see
39:31
right now.
39:31
But when you have hope,
39:33
you're excited for the future.
39:35
You're excited for, you know,
39:37
the good things to come.
39:37
And I told the kids, I said, look,
39:39
you are not honoring mom by crying and
39:42
moping and all of these things.
39:44
You know,
39:44
you are honoring God by having faith that
39:47
he's going to do something good.
39:48
So go have fun with your friends,
39:49
go out, you know, go do these things.
39:51
And so we walked through this very
39:53
differently than I think a lot of people
39:55
do.
39:56
And so that attracted an audience on
39:59
social media.
40:01
People loved tuning in to see what crazy
40:04
thing I was doing.
40:04
And I made, for example,
40:06
I made this one video,
40:07
which comes from the movie Hot Rod.
40:10
And so I said, Hi, I'm Brent,
40:12
and I like to party.
40:14
And then I turned it on to my
40:15
wife.
40:18
She's all banged up.
40:19
They've shaved their head,
40:21
her one eye is closed.
40:22
I mean, she's got brain damage.
40:24
I mean, all this stuff.
40:25
She's like, Hi, I'm Daniela.
40:29
I also like to party.
40:33
It was stuff like that that we just
40:35
did.
40:36
And she didn't know who I was.
40:39
So that brought a whole lot of humor
40:42
because she didn't know who I was.
40:43
She didn't remember me.
40:44
She didn't remember the kids.
40:46
She didn't remember we lived on a farm.
40:48
She thought we were in New Zealand,
40:49
which we've never been to.
40:51
She thought I was twenty six.
40:52
So, I mean,
40:53
there was so many opportunity for jokes,
40:56
you know, through all of these things.
40:57
She was trying to escape the hospital all
40:59
the time.
41:00
and so instead of panicking we you know
41:03
i told funny stories and um here's the
41:06
miracle that happened while we were in the
41:08
hospital with not asking anybody for a
41:11
cent the ranch booked up for the next
41:15
year and a half oh my word the
41:18
next year and a half uh uh i
41:21
was still meeting people who had booked
41:22
during that time so here's the incredible
41:26
thing i had a year and a half
41:28
of of money
41:30
right up front.
41:33
And so the other thing is my brother
41:38
bought me a McLaren when we sold the
41:40
business as a thank you gift.
41:44
And that is a beautiful story.
41:45
I don't know if we have time for
41:49
that.
41:50
You want me to tell it quickly?
41:51
Yeah, yeah.
41:53
Anyway, so I was driving a smart car.
41:56
I don't know if you know a smart
41:58
car,
41:58
but it's the smallest car you can buy
42:00
and the cheapest car.
42:01
Yes, sir.
42:02
That's what I was driving, right?
42:04
And we were going to a fancy restaurant
42:08
to celebrate, you know,
42:10
what had happened with the business and
42:11
everything like that.
42:12
And he says to me,
42:13
go valet the car.
42:14
And I said, bro,
42:15
I'm not valeting a car.
42:17
Nobody valets a smart car.
42:19
I mean, it's just embarrassing.
42:21
Like...
42:22
Who pulls up a smart car?
42:25
Yeah, he has my keys.
42:26
You know what I'm saying?
42:27
You take your car and you park it
42:29
as far away from everybody as possible,
42:33
right?
42:34
He says, no, no, it'll be fine.
42:35
Go valet the car.
42:36
Anyway, I go valet the smart car.
42:38
And when we come out,
42:40
there is this white McLaren parked outside
42:44
the restaurant.
42:44
Now, at this stage,
42:45
I don't know it's mine.
42:47
And I'm like, oh my gosh,
42:49
this is incredible.
42:50
And whoever's driving this, well done.
42:53
Congratulations, whoever you are, like,
42:55
well done.
42:55
And,
42:56
and my brother throws me the keys and
42:57
he says, it's yours.
43:00
And, uh, I mean,
43:01
it still brings tears to my eyes today.
43:03
It's not that I,
43:04
I was given a McLaren.
43:06
It's that my brother gave me a McLaren.
43:09
You know, that,
43:10
that this was something my,
43:12
my big brother decided to do with his
43:14
money.
43:15
And, um,
43:17
I mean, it was, it was,
43:18
it was amazing,
43:18
but I still had this McLaren.
43:20
So even though I'd lost everything,
43:22
this McLaren was parked in the garage.
43:26
And,
43:26
and so I had an idea one day,
43:28
I'm like, you're, you're, you're,
43:30
you're thousands of dollars in the hole
43:34
and you're driving back and forth to the
43:35
hospital in a McLaren,
43:37
borrowing future sales.
43:39
Y'all look.
43:44
yeah it's it's cherry on top that just
43:47
takes the cake it's um you know so
43:51
so i have this idea that i'm gonna
43:52
raffle the mclaren anyway my wife ran up
43:57
over half a million dollars worth of um
44:00
medical debt that that um they wouldn't
44:02
pay for so i put the mclaren on
44:05
a raffle and uh i said hey
44:08
You know, two hundred dollars a ticket,
44:11
you know,
44:11
all of it is going towards paying for
44:12
my wife's medical expenses.
44:14
Anyway, people were so gracious.
44:16
I got double the value for the McLaren
44:19
than if I had gone and sold it.
44:21
Wow.
44:22
And then you could you could either get
44:24
the money, you know, or you could,
44:26
you know,
44:29
the money that was worth for it.
44:31
And I would keep all of it towards
44:33
the medical expense or you could have the
44:34
car.
44:35
Anyway,
44:36
I got to pay every cent of that
44:39
medical debt with that.
44:42
And then I had all the money where
44:44
people had booked for a year and a
44:46
half because I transitioned off Airbnb to
44:48
direct bookings.
44:50
And what should have been the year that
44:54
destroyed us was the year that made us.
44:58
Because after that happened,
45:00
we got hit by a tornado.
45:02
They did a bunch of damage,
45:05
and my insurance company canceled us.
45:08
I just said, hey,
45:09
I just want to find out, like,
45:11
what does my policy say about getting hit
45:13
by a tornado?
45:15
And they're like, your policy's canceled.
45:16
Like, they didn't even want me to, like...
45:17
You didn't even get to turn in.
45:18
You didn't even get it turned up.
45:22
I didn't get to turn in.
45:23
I just asked a question, like, hey,
45:24
I have a friend who might be...
45:27
Your policy's canceled.
45:30
And that happened.
45:31
And then and then I got I got
45:33
sued for the milk and honey ranch,
45:36
the milk and honey name.
45:38
That's why I have to say milk and
45:39
honey ranch.
45:39
Yeah,
45:40
I got sued for the milk and honey
45:41
name.
45:42
And that, that again,
45:45
threatened to this is all in in in.
45:47
You know,
45:51
so I'm just coming out of this with
45:52
my wife, tornado hits us.
45:55
And and
45:56
And I tell you, I never screamed.
45:58
I never shouted.
45:59
I never behaved badly through any of this
46:02
stuff because I just knew God was walking
46:05
us through something.
46:06
He was building something.
46:07
And all I needed to do was just
46:09
hold on to him.
46:11
And so now I'm in this lawsuit and
46:14
I haven't told anybody about it.
46:16
And I hire a lawyer,
46:18
I didn't even have a lawyer.
46:19
I hire a lawyer who meets with their
46:21
counsel and my lawyer comes back to me
46:23
and this is word for word what my
46:24
lawyer says to me.
46:25
He says, give them the name,
46:27
you don't stand a chance.
46:29
They're a public company, you're a nobody.
46:33
They've got lots of money and you have
46:34
nothing.
46:37
said thanks thanks appreciate your
46:39
optimism yeah great advice if it doesn't
46:42
work out as a lawyer you should go
46:44
be a life coach right there yes and
46:47
so i said i said listen i haven't
46:49
even heard what god wants to do here
46:51
i haven't i'm going to go pray about
46:52
this and and let me see maybe god
46:55
wants to save this this ranch and if
46:57
so then then so be it and if
46:58
not then then fine whatever
47:01
Anyway, I go pray about it.
47:03
Three days later,
47:04
my brother calls me from Austin,
47:06
who doesn't know anything about this
47:08
lawsuit.
47:08
And he says, hey, bro,
47:10
I was just at a businessman's breakfast
47:13
and I was sitting next to the CEO
47:15
of this company.
47:17
That was for you guys.
47:20
I said, they're suing me.
47:22
He says, no, he's a really nice guy.
47:24
I said, I don't know.
47:31
Anyway, a few days later,
47:33
my brother has now got me on a
47:35
zoom call with the CEO of this public
47:37
company.
47:38
Here I am,
47:40
and nobody on this little ranch on a
47:42
zoom call with the CEO of this public
47:45
company.
47:46
And I'm chatting to him and he's like,
47:48
hey, first, I want to apologize.
47:50
I had no idea about this.
47:51
This was our external counsel.
47:53
You know,
47:53
they just go and look for these things.
47:56
He said,
47:56
you should never have been dealt this.
47:59
This is completely wrong.
48:00
And I'm dropping this whole thing.
48:04
I mean, what are the chances?
48:06
I mean,
48:07
I can only explain it by God's grace,
48:09
right?
48:09
But what are the chances that I'm getting
48:11
sued by a company and my brother ends
48:13
up with the CEO at breakfast?
48:18
That's just those things.
48:19
Yeah, you can't make that up.
48:21
You can't make it up.
48:23
And so that happened.
48:25
And then they took away our ag exemption.
48:28
The county took away our ag exemption,
48:31
which would have pushed our...
48:35
Our property tax is up to a point
48:36
that I couldn't, I couldn't pay.
48:38
So the agricultural, you know, it's,
48:39
it's much lower for, for land.
48:42
So they're like, no,
48:42
you're doing all this.
48:43
You're doing all this hotel stuff.
48:45
You know,
48:46
we taking away your egg exemption.
48:47
And it was just one thing after another
48:51
thing, after another thing,
48:52
after another thing.
48:53
And what we achieved in.
48:59
I think we went from five stays to
49:02
like twenty-five stays.
49:05
in the year of my wife's accident,
49:07
of the tornado, of being sued,
49:10
of them taking away our ag exemption,
49:13
I mean,
49:14
nothing stopped us from progressing.
49:18
But we moved from just being a place
49:20
where you could rent a stay,
49:23
and Milk and Honey Ranch became a symbol
49:25
of hope for people.
49:28
And, and,
49:28
and the guests that came were like, Hey,
49:31
we followed you during your,
49:32
your wife's accident.
49:33
My wife's got cancer.
49:35
You gave us hope.
49:35
Hey, I just lost my son,
49:38
but I saw the peace that you had.
49:40
And,
49:40
and that's what I want for my life.
49:42
It became this, like this place that,
49:44
that, that people were coming,
49:46
that were going through stuff in life and
49:49
marriages that were on the rocks would
49:51
come here for a vacation and
49:54
and like reconnect.
49:55
And I mean, it just,
49:57
and that's the part is when you're
49:59
building a business,
50:00
of course you have to make money, right?
50:02
Otherwise it can't continue.
50:06
You have to make money.
50:09
If you can find a way where you
50:12
can genuinely provide something for
50:17
people's hearts at the same time,
50:19
you have found a great resource.
50:24
the same thing was with second MD, uh,
50:26
our previous business, you know,
50:28
it made money,
50:29
but we changed people's lives and,
50:31
and with, and with the ranch,
50:33
it's become the same thing.
50:34
This, this, it's the symbol of hope.
50:36
It's a place that people can come to
50:38
reconnect, to be together,
50:40
to experience nature, you know,
50:43
to be with animals that they've never seen
50:45
outside of a photograph.
50:48
Um,
50:49
And that whole part of the business,
50:53
I couldn't have manufactured.
50:55
That came out of our own tragedy.
51:00
And I think all of us have to
51:03
walk through these things in life.
51:04
And nobody wants to be uncomfortable and
51:09
go through tough things.
51:10
But it is those moments that take us
51:13
from ordinary to something special.
51:17
It's the dark valleys.
51:20
It's the hard times.
51:23
And I am so grateful.
51:26
What should have been the worst year of
51:28
my life has been the best year of
51:30
my life.
51:32
It transformed my children in ways that no
51:36
university could ever teach them.
51:39
There's no book that they could read the
51:42
things that they learned through all of
51:44
this.
51:46
Brent, I want to,
51:47
through this entire story,
51:48
two things that are related stand out to
51:50
me.
51:51
Y'all were in an apartment and you wanted
51:54
to go teach them life skills,
51:56
so to speak.
51:58
And you've got, you've sold the company,
51:59
you've got more money than you've ever
52:02
known what to do with.
52:03
And one thing you said that really just
52:05
jumped out at me,
52:06
you said that you bought the land.
52:10
And so many people would have still
52:12
financed that land purchase.
52:14
Yeah.
52:14
And you said you bought that.
52:16
And I think that one of the unique
52:18
elements in this,
52:19
from just listening to the entirety of
52:21
your story, is that willingness,
52:26
that obedience, if you will,
52:27
that you'd already been taken care of
52:29
because most people in financial planning
52:32
would tell you to finance it because you
52:33
were going to write it off,
52:34
the depreciation and all the other.
52:36
And here you are,
52:38
you pay for the land up front.
52:40
And so you always had this piece to
52:41
fall back on and now you've built it
52:43
into these beautiful things.
52:44
And I tell you, I,
52:46
I'm going to tell him myself here,
52:47
Charlie,
52:49
I usually do the research on people.
52:51
Yeah.
52:51
Yeah.
52:52
I did not see your last name on
52:54
the Google invite.
52:56
I haven't looked anything up about you and
52:57
I have held off tears about three
52:59
different times from your story right
53:01
here.
53:01
And this is,
53:04
I love that you're not telling it with
53:05
an element of sadness,
53:07
but of gratitude and of thankfulness.
53:10
And I truly hope twenty twenty six is
53:12
your year,
53:13
like not just to turn a profit,
53:14
but just to really find a groove,
53:18
so to speak,
53:18
in life and not have to battle all
53:20
the uphill battles.
53:21
But that's a
53:23
That's just unique because most people
53:25
would have financed that.
53:26
And if you'd had that leveraged in any
53:28
sort of way, you wouldn't even have land.
53:30
But that was the purchase you made.
53:32
And I love that unique detail with your
53:36
story there.
53:36
So well done.
53:39
Just genuinely well done.
53:41
Amazing.
53:43
How far booked out are you currently?
53:46
So, um, for large, uh, larger bookings,
53:49
you have to book, you know,
53:50
like six months, maybe a year, uh, ahead,
53:52
you know, for small, uh, smaller bookings,
53:54
you know,
53:54
because now we have thirty-five stays,
53:56
we sleep a hundred and forty-five people.
54:00
Wow.
54:01
Um, and, um, you know, the, the,
54:04
the first year we did it,
54:06
the revenue was,
54:07
was twenty-five thousand dollars.
54:09
That's what we made our first year in
54:12
twenty-two.
54:14
Mm.
54:14
Um, and.
54:18
You know,
54:20
sometimes you look at companies and you
54:21
think they kind of just like popped out
54:23
of the ground, you know,
54:26
but anything that's worth building,
54:30
it's been a progression and it's harder
54:33
than,
54:33
and I want to say that to anybody
54:34
who's starting a business,
54:37
starting a business is maybe one of the
54:39
hardest things you can do, as you know.
54:43
Yes.
54:44
You know,
54:45
there's all those memes that like,
54:46
I left working for somebody else for four
54:49
thousand dollars a month so that I could
54:50
work for myself and earn forty dollars a
54:54
month.
54:56
It is so hard, but I tell you,
55:00
it transforms you if you allow it and
55:03
you don't get bitter and frustrated in
55:04
that.
55:05
It transforms you into a better human
55:07
being.
55:09
because when somebody messes up your order
55:10
at a restaurant and stuff like that,
55:12
you can always tell the people who,
55:14
who haven't really learned about life.
55:16
Like if they mess up my order at
55:18
a restaurant and they bring me the wrong
55:20
food, my kids will tell you,
55:21
they just like,
55:22
that's what dad's eating tonight.
55:24
You know, you know what I'm saying?
55:25
Like if I ordered a burger,
55:26
they bring me the salmon.
55:27
I'm like, okay, I guess,
55:29
I guess I'm having salmon.
55:31
It's, it's, it's,
55:33
there are just so many things that, that,
55:36
When you see the other side of the
55:37
table, you're so much more gracious with.
55:41
Because, you know,
55:42
everybody's trying to do their best and
55:44
mistakes happen and things go wrong.
55:47
And I think being in business really,
55:52
really helps you with that.
55:54
Charlie,
55:54
I was going to mess with you when
55:56
you said that
55:58
you hadn't done the research.
55:59
I was going to say,
56:00
when you asked about the ranch,
56:01
it's going to be like,
56:02
what are you talking about?
56:03
I started only fans and that's how I
56:05
made my money.
56:10
Look, I, I don't,
56:12
I don't knock your hustle.
56:15
I've been saying for years,
56:17
I was going to do it for a
56:18
long time and just have my right foot.
56:21
Just going to be pictures of my feet.
56:24
Oh, wow.
56:27
Listen, Brett,
56:29
we're we're running out of time.
56:30
But before we before we go,
56:32
I got one question for you.
56:33
We have a segment and I have to
56:34
get to it.
56:36
Yeah,
56:36
we have two segments that we have to
56:37
get to.
56:38
So they're they're quickly but one of
56:39
them, we call dinner for two.
56:43
And if you could go and have dinner
56:45
with someone past, present or future,
56:49
who would that be?
56:49
And why?
56:52
Not not to not to, you know,
56:55
sound dumb,
56:56
but Jesus would absolutely be one of them.
57:01
Just to hear His heart for humanity,
57:05
you know,
57:06
directly and ask Him the question like,
57:09
how do I do that better?
57:11
And the second would be Elon Musk.
57:14
And I'll tell you why,
57:17
not because of his wealth.
57:19
Because of his ability to to go through
57:23
so much negative stuff.
57:26
Yeah.
57:27
People turning on him and, you know,
57:29
and him launch SpaceX and Neuralink and
57:33
the boring.
57:35
I would love to understand how the heck
57:38
he does... Just a glimpse into that.
57:42
Just a glimpse?
57:43
Yeah.
57:44
I always... Go ahead.
57:46
I was going to say with the Jesus
57:48
answer,
57:49
my answer was I wanted to talk to
57:50
teenage Jesus.
57:52
Yeah.
57:52
Because that's what we don't get to see
57:54
much of.
57:55
I want that perspective a little bit.
57:57
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
57:57
Adolescent Jesus.
57:59
Yeah, that's great.
58:01
The that's outstanding.
58:03
The next the next segment we have is
58:06
mac or beans.
58:08
So typically,
58:09
especially you being in Texas,
58:11
there's a lot of barbecue restaurants
58:12
around.
58:13
Yes.
58:13
When you when you go into a barbecue
58:15
restaurant, you get your protein,
58:18
whether you're a brisket guy or a rib
58:20
guy, doesn't matter.
58:22
You get a side item and it's typically
58:24
either going to be the mac and cheese
58:27
or the beans.
58:28
Yeah.
58:29
Which one do you get?
58:30
I get the beans.
58:33
I love it.
58:33
I get the beans, yeah.
58:35
Somehow it seems a healthier choice.
58:37
It's probably not,
58:37
but somehow it seems a healthier choice.
58:40
It depends on how they're prepared.
58:42
I can tell you,
58:44
when you come to Nashville and you come
58:46
to hang out with us,
58:48
it doesn't matter whether you get the
58:49
beans or the Macs.
58:50
Neither one of them are good for you.
58:52
They are both delicious,
58:54
just not healthy options.
58:57
Thank you, guys.
58:58
You've been very gracious.
58:59
Thank you so much for letting me be
59:01
here with you.
59:02
Of course, of course.
59:03
Darryl, you got a Friday feel-good for us?
59:04
I do, and...
59:07
Right there in the last few minutes of
59:09
what Brent was saying,
59:11
he really tied it in.
59:11
He didn't mean to.
59:13
Stop building a jail cell with your words
59:17
and with your thoughts.
59:18
It's hard for everyone you can overcome.
59:21
That's a quote by Andy Frazella.
59:23
It's hard for us all.
59:24
Keep the positivity flowing.
59:27
Make sure that you're doing what you can
59:29
to control the situation.
59:30
Y'all know what to do.
59:30
Find somebody you know.
59:31
Tell them you love them.
59:32
i absolutely love it brent if people are
59:34
trying to find the milk and honey ranch
59:37
how can they do that milkandhoneyranch.com
59:40
is the the best way perfect if they're
59:44
on instagram milk and honey ranch same
59:46
thing facebook you know just search milk
59:48
and honey ranch and all the photos you
59:51
see now are real
59:56
No more AI.
59:57
I love that specific.
59:58
Yes.
59:59
Yes.
59:59
That is outstanding.
1:00:01
That's great.
1:00:01
Brent,
1:00:01
thank you so much for coming to hang
1:00:03
out with us today.
1:00:05
I appreciate it.
1:00:06
Your story is absolutely incredible.
1:00:09
Yes.
1:00:09
If you guys are looking for a vacation,
1:00:12
go to Milk and Honey Ranch.
1:00:14
Book it today.
1:00:15
If it's a big stay,
1:00:17
you want to get ahead of it,
1:00:18
look at it for twenty twenty seven and
1:00:20
twenty twenty eight.
1:00:21
He books up quick.
1:00:23
I can promise you that I will be
1:00:25
there sometime soon,
1:00:26
even if it's just for one night.
1:00:29
Look, y'all know what to do.
1:00:30
If you want to get involved with the
1:00:31
show,
1:00:31
please feel free to reach out to me.
1:00:33
You can call me at six one five
1:00:35
three zero seven zero one two zero.
1:00:37
Email me at Charlie at single tree
1:00:40
bbq.com.
1:00:41
Make sure that you like share and
1:00:43
subscribe to the YouTube channel.
1:00:45
Every Saturday and Sunday morning,
1:00:47
we air on ninety four point nine.
1:00:49
The fan.
1:00:51
You don't want to miss a show.
1:00:53
Make sure you subscribe.
1:00:54
And until next time, guys,
1:00:56
we'll see you then.
1:00:57
Y'all be good.