Episode 68: A Land Flipping Success Story with Christina Walls

Michelle: Welcome to the “InFLOW” podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Bosch. Excited to be here with you guys today, and have an amazing guest with me. Her name is Christina Walls. She is one of the amazing trailblazers within our land investing community. And I am so excited to have you here, Christina. Welcome to the “InFLOW” podcast.

Christina: Hi, Michelle. Thanks for having me.

Michelle: Yeah. Thank you for being here with us. Thank you, for sure. Christina, you know, I know that you are not new to entrepreneurship, that you have…before being in the real estate space, because I know you are now a professional land flipper, besides being in the real estate space, you know, you have in parallel another business that, basically, the real estate investing is, for you, right now, a gig that can potentially turn into something that you do full-time here real soon with that level of success that you’ve had. So, you’re incredibly, you know, a rockstar, kicking ass out there on two fronts, and entrepreneurship is not new to you. But I want us to go back to what has brought you to the point where you’re at right now. And could you tell us a little bit about your journey around how you grew up around money, you know, how was money when you were growing up, what connotation do you have with money from those times and now?

Christina: Well, I grew up in Ohio, single mom, youngest of four, and we didn’t have a lot of money, but I kind of didn’t realize it, I didn’t know kind of where we were financially. Money wasn’t really discussed in the house. We grew up in the country, in farm country, and almost everybody I was around was in, you know, similar farm homes around fields. I did know that there were some times we didn’t have a lot of money, but it was just really not a topic at all, very seldom. I knew my mom would be frustrated sometimes or that she was struggling, but when you’re a kid, you kind of don’t realize it. You know what I’m saying? So, probably not until I got older did I realize probably the burden she bore. She just didn’t talk about it, you know? And so, I had, like, no financial education at all. You know, the schools don’t teach it.

But, as a child, I definitely had dreams, you know? I wanted to do something in this life. And it wasn’t necessarily rooted in money, but it was just internal ambition. I wanted to do something with myself. So, later on in life, I just, you know, went to college, and had regular jobs, and stuff like that. But then, it was time for my son to go to school, and I didn’t like the school system where we were, so I thought, “You know what? I need to make enough money to send him to any school I want to send him to.” So, I started a cleaning business, and that’s just kind of where it started. I was able to put him through any school that he wanted, I was able to be available to him.

But I knew it was temporary. I knew I didn’t wanna continue with the cleaning business forever. It’s kind of an annoying job. But I didn’t know there was a recession. So, I guess there was a recession, and I was hiring people. So, service is a good thing. But one of the things I started realizing was that when you have your own business, nobody tells you how much you’re gonna make, that’s up to you. You know, nobody says you gotta work Monday, Friday, 9:00 to 5:00, and that’s it. So, it kind of sparked an interest in me to never work for anybody else, you know? And I knew I wanted to do real estate at one point, but I was kind of like, “Man, how am I gonna do this? I have no education. I have no funds to start investing.” So, I tried to get my real estate license, and quickly realized I’m not a very good realtor because I try to be too independent. My broker did not like me. I was like, “Oh, I have to ask you for everything? My bad.” So, that’s how…

Michelle: And, yeah, I mean, it’s a different mentality, you know, because it’s not entrepreneurial. It is in a way, but at the end of the day, if you’re working for the commission…I always have felt that there’s something that you have not gotten completely right, that you have not seen the full picture, you know?

Christina: Yeah, that’s right.

Michelle: So, tell us about your journey. So then, how did you get started with real estate? So, one was to try to go get your license and work, basically, in a brokerage. And how did you stumble into land flipping?

Christina: When my son turned 16 and I didn’t have to drive him to basketball, and swimming, and school, and all of that, I started attending classes at one of our local REI, Central Florida Real Estate Association. It was just an investors association. And I went to a Sunday class, and Jack Bosch, your husband, was giving a class on flipping land. And there was a couple sitting in front of me, and they had just done like one or two deals. And as I sat there and I was listening, and I thought, “I can do this. You know, this is something I can do.” So, I bought the course, and, literally, I just started immediately. And I did my first deal in 30 days. Literally, I did a double close on a piece of property that was just slightly delinquent in taxes, and I made $8,000 in 30 days. And I was like, “Oh, my gosh, let me just keep repeating this.”

Michelle: Yeah. And you know what? A lot of us, because we get so many distractions, you know, we find something, it works well, and because it works so well, we kind of get bored and go onto something else. But what made you think that…when you said that you were sitting there and then you thought, “Oh, I think I can do this,” what were the things that made you think that, you know? Was it something about the strategy, or was it the simplicity, or was it a little bit of the real estate background that you had? What made you think, “Okay, I can do this.”?

Christina: Well, I could do it from anywhere, predominantly, you know, and that appealed to me. I could do it…

Michelle: Especially in these times right now. Can you imagine…

Christina: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.

Michelle: …you know, having to go and look at a property?

Christina: No.

Michelle: Absolutely. Yeah.

Christina: So, I think probably the simplicity of it. It really is very simple. There’s step one, step two, step three, step four. And then, as I talked to the people in front of me who were doing it, and I asked them about the program, you know, it’s literally step one, step two, step three. And I had talked to other investor mentors in different areas, and I needed step one, step two, step three because I felt lost when they were talking to me. Like, I didn’t quite know the language, I didn’t know everything that went into it. And whenever I realized that the program was literally step one, step two, step three, and it was so easy to implement. And that’s why, I think…

You know, and I remember early on, somebody had posted something about trying something different, and I think you posted something about, “First learn this process first, and then maybe veer out.” And I thought, “That’s so true.” And I think, also, like, as the story goes, when the student is ready, the teacher arrives. I was ready to commit, you know? I was ready to make a change, and I was actively looking. And I did, once I got the program and started watching it, I truly committed. I committed to being successful in it, you know? And, of course, that’s step one.

Michelle: And that commitment is so important, that we are firm in that commitment, that we kind of like, you know, burn the boat, so to speak, and focus, because there will be struggles, you know? Like, anything else, in spite of the simplicity, we all have to deal with struggles along the way. What do you think are some of the biggest struggles that you had, you know, when you were starting with the land flipping?

Christina: Probably starting is just learning things I didn’t know, just kind of being nervous about learning, just the little things. I mean, it wasn’t the big things. It was kind of like, “Oh, my gosh, I don’t know how to mail-merge. Oh, my gosh, I don’t know what to do with this Excel spreadsheet.” It was really the minor things, but again, because I made the commitment to learn and to be successful, I said, “Okay, I don’t know how to do it, but I’ll just figure it out. I’ll watch YouTube. I’ll go to Fiverr. I’ll go to Upwork. I’ll pay someone to help me.” And, you know, that’s really the root of it, I just committed to being successful and to learning it.

Michelle: Yeah. So then, you do, you know, your first deal, it’s $8,000, you keep on doing deals, you keep on doing them. For how long have you been doing this now?

Christina: A little over two years.

Michelle: A little over two years. At some point, though, you decide, you know, that you wanted a mentor and a coach. At what point were you that you thought, “Okay, I need this now.”?

Christina: Okay. So, I can do deals, I don’t have an issue with doing deals, I can talk to people. So, to me, it wasn’t doing the deals where the problem rested. For me, even in my other business, I got to a certain level and I just became stagnant.

Michelle: Kind of like your income plateaus, you know? Yeah.

Christina: Yeah. Well, not just income. Knowledge. You know, I didn’t have business knowledge. So, I specifically called your office and I said, “You know, don’t set me up with somebody to tell me to mail out 4,000 letters, this and that.” I said, “I need somebody that’s gonna help me grow my business. Not the deal part.” Not that my coach hasn’t helped me with a few issues on deals, but that’s not really our focus. And I had very specific goals. When I called for the coaching, you know, I said, “Don’t give me this, don’t give me that. This is what I need.” And I knew I needed it because, even in my other business, I only knew what I knew. I needed something from the outside coming in, teaching me things that I never learned.

You know, I didn’t go to school for business, I had no business, and I realized that running a business is just not one aspect. You know, you can know how to negotiate and do deals all day long, but until you know how to run the business, the business side…which isn’t very glamorous and isn’t very fun, but if you don’t do it, you will never go beyond where you are. And my goal is to, you know, first hit the $1 million mark, and then hit the $2 million, whatever it is. You know what I’m saying? But that’s my goal. And I knew that you don’t get on the Olympic podium by yourself, you do need a team and you do need support. And my coach has been very instrumental in… And every time it’s time for our meeting, I have goals, you know, there’s things that I want to do, there’s places I wanna go. And we do need support, we do need people from the outside.

Michelle: Yeah. And that’s the beauty about our program, is that we are a family, you know, and we are a boutique organization, we’re not a huge organization. And what that means is that we’re really able to customize and adapt to the speed, to the level. We have an amazing, you know, group of master coaches right now, and they know how to adapt based on where someone’s at. And based on that, you know, you’re kind of placed with the right coach, in addition to us having an assessment, you know, that kind of, like, assesses how you take action. It’s not just your personality, but action in general, and based on your goals and where you’re at in your business. For sure, that is something that, you know, we take a lot of pride, in being able to do that. And I’m super happy to hear that you’re getting it.

Christina: Me too. And it applies just not to one business. What it means for me is across the board.

Michelle: Exactly. It’s a transfer.

Christina: Yes.

Michelle: Yeah, exactly. It’s skills that you master, basically, and that you can transfer them no matter what you’re doing. Absolutely. Now, what are the biggest things that you think have changed since you started working with a coach in terms of like…when you say, you know, “I didn’t have any business degree or any business knowledge. And, yes, I can do the deal,” so what has changed in terms of how you run your business now?

Christina: Well, I would say conversion rates, KPI, key performance indicators, what I have control of and what I can adjust. That was, like, our first meeting, and I was like, “Oh, my gosh, how have I lived this long and did not know these things, you know, the things I can control and the things I can’t control?” And, also, again, I always emphasize mind frame. One of the things my coach and I talk about is mind frame. And I can say, you know, people don’t realize that, for me, a vehicle of growing has been land investing in terms of my mind frame, you know? Because once you do something that you wanted to do and you realize you can do it, it changes you, it opens up a door.

Michelle: Yeah. How has that transformed you, you know?

Christina: Oh, my gosh.

Michelle: Not just money in the bank account. But can you give us some specific examples?

Christina: Absolutely. I mean, to me, it might sound strange, but it’s almost been like a healing process on some levels. It might sound strange saying that, but, like, I grew up with a single mom, my dad was an alcoholic, I had all of these, like, hindrances. I wanted to be somebody, you know, I wanted to do something in life, but I had all of these internal struggles, and blocks, and fears. And I just said, “You know what?” Again, it goes back to the commitment. I committed to being successful. And with that commitment, it means that I have to commit to overcoming fears, I have to commit to doing things that I really don’t know how to do and figuring it out as I go. So, I mean, it’s been instrumental in confidence.

And then, you start meeting people, and they’re doing fantastic things right along with you, and you’re like, “Oh, my gosh. You’re doing that. I can do that.” And they become your friends, and it becomes a network. And then, you really start realizing that, you know, a good portion of your life, you were kind of like in a cave. And now, you come out of this cave, and you still have things you struggle with, there’s still days where you think like, “Oh, my gosh. Wow.” But you start realizing that those are just moments, and that’s in your mind, and if you move beyond it, then you’ll really find that what’s on the other side of that fear is where you’re looking to go. You have to move through it. So, it’s been instrumental in just… You know, I made a video one time about how real estate investing changed my world. But it really did. And, you know, people don’t realize. And it’s not about money. I mean, money is the side product. But what it does to you in terms of learning and growing is phenomenal. Definitely.

Michelle: Yeah. So, we need to talk a little bit about money only because if we don’t discuss money, we’re gonna end up homeless.

Christina: Right.

Michelle: So, I wanted to ask you, and if you don’t mind sharing, you know, approximately, your first year…you said you’re two years in it. What were your overall or global profits, you know, the first year, or since you started the land business, whichever way you wanna share it?

Christina: So, the first year, part-time, I profited $50,000, second year, $100.000, and so far, this first quarter, about $80,000 so far.

Michelle: So, $80,000 in just one quarter?

Christina: Right. And that would be with seller financing deals, cash deals, you know, a multitude of deals. So, this has been my best first quarter, for sure.

Michelle: Do you think that it’s the KPIs, it’s really dialing in on the KPIs that has made the difference along with all the cumulative experience over the last two years?

Christina: I think what starts happening is things start falling into place. I think you gotta go through some things, you gotta learn some things, and things just start falling into place because you’re being consistent, because you’re doing what you’re supposed to do.

Michelle: Or even, like, the checking in with…for example, I know your coach is Mike Smyre, correct?

Christina: Correct. That’s correct.

Michelle: And you’re with him on a weekly…and in terms of, like, setting goals with him at the beginning of the year, you know, all of that for the quarter, has that, do you think, been part also what moved the needle? Because you’re just $20,000 short from your entire second year in just one quarter.

Christina: Yeah, that’s correct. Well, I do think the consistency and, you know, writing the goals down and setting the goals. Last time I talked to Mike, he was like, “So, are you hitting your goals?” I’m like, “I’m hitting my goals. Yeah, absolutely. I’m hitting my goals.” Now, will I hit them every month? I plan to hit them every month, you know? That’s why I’m setting the goal, so I can hit them. Now, of course, sometimes you have those fears like, “Oh, my gosh, I’m not gonna hit it.” Well, just keep going. You know what I mean? Just keep going.

Michelle: Yeah, absolutely.

Christina: So, yeah, I think putting them down on paper, and looking at them, and then working backwards, “This is the goal. What do I need to…”

Michelle: Reverse engineering.

Christina: Yes.

Michelle: And that’s something that, you know, every single of our coaches knows, that they need to have those conversations, really, at the beginning of this coaching relationship, because this is so important, to know what the goal is, so that you have a target, you know, a general direction. If things are a little bit fluid as you go, but at least you know what you’re shooting for, and being able to then decide, “Okay, this is what I need to be doing on a monthly basis, you know, to meet my quarterly goal. This is what I need to be doing on a weekly basis. And this what I need to be doing on a daily basis,” and so on and so forth. Yeah, these structure rhythms of success are critical and you cannot imagine how much we emphasize that, you know, during our…because we have, every other week, coaches calls, basically, with our entire coaching team. And that’s something we definitely, you know, emphasize.

Now, I wanted to ask you, in times like the ones that we’re living right now, with a lot of uncertainty, at the time of this recording, Christina, how do you incorporate inflows of grace, of ease in your life, and what keeps your mind in a positive state? Because if we’re in a fearful state, you know, these goals are not gonna be met, creativity is not gonna kick in…I always call them, like, heavenly downloads are not gonna meet you, and magic is not gonna happen, and you’re not gonna come up with creative solutions to whatever issues we face in uncertain times. So, what are some of the things that you do, some of the daily practices that you bring into your life to kind of, like, incorporate grace and ease into your life?

Christina: Well, the opposite of faith is fear, you know? And fear is a hindrance, and we all typically can recognize when fear is knocking at the door. We feel a hindrance, we feel, like, scared. So, I think just having awareness of this, and, you know, to be honest, just annihilating it by taking action. You know, sit down with your plans, take the action.

And, also, I’m a very firm believer that the dreams that we have and the goals that we have inside, they’re not something we make up. I think it’s like a God-given dream and goal. And if it’s a God-given dream and goal, then we have the ability to fulfill that dream and goal. So, what goes on around us is what goes on around us, but we have the power to control what we do, you know? I don’t listen to the haters, or whatever you wanna call them, you know, to the negative things. I understand we live in a world where there’s insecurity and there’s things going on, but I’m not going to fall for it, so to speak. You know, again, whenever there was a recession in my other business, I was hiring people, you know, because I knew I had a goal, I knew I had a purpose, and I knew that I had the ability to fulfill it. And it’s no different.

Michelle: Yeah. And you basically, instead of being, you know, reactive, you’re responding to what’s going on in your environment and you’re capitalizing on the opportunities that are out there of people needing your service, you know, back then when that recessionary period happened, back in 2008, 2009 is what I’m thinking of.

Christina: Right.

Michelle: So, what are you most excited about the future in spite of the uncertainty we live in? What are you excited about for you, for your family, for your son, I don’t know, for your business?

Christina: Well, you know, one of the things you said is that the flow of creativity, you know? So, what happens is, as you progress, you get these ideas, you’re like, “Oh, my gosh, that would be great to do.” So, I will probably always do land, you know? I definitely enjoy it, there’s multi-benefits to it. So, some of the different things that I wanna do is I wanna show my family what’s possible. That’s important to me. You know, not everybody has the same mind frame. Even though we grew up in the same house, we don’t all have the same mind frame. So, I want to show my family, but I also wanna show women that you don’t have to be stuck in a particular scenario.

I have done all of this solo, and I can recall, you know, feeling kind of sorry for myself at one point. And I thought, “You know what? That’s not working for me no more. I’m my own person. I’m gonna make my own choices, and I’m gonna make my own destiny.” So, there’s so many things I’m excited about the future, you know? I mean, there really is. I wanna create passive income, you know, I’m working on a book, I wanna do speaking. I mean, there’s so much. You know what I mean? But, again, it all starts with that door opening and you going through it. A lot of times, people falter because of fear. The door’s right there in front of them, you know? So, I guess, for me, part of my mission would be to encourage people to go through that door, you know, go through that door, be willing to take the risk, be willing to be uncomfortable, be willing to succeed, be willing to commit. Oh, my gosh, I’m excited about a lot of things.

Michelle: Wonderful. Now, if you were to…and that’s kind of, like, to wrap up. If you wanted to leave, you know, someone with one piece of advice, for a woman listening out there, or just any person, anyone that is listening to us, what would that be?

Christina: I guess, probably, when you feel stuck, and you don’t know what to do, and you have a dream within you, don’t repress it, be willing to, again, go through the barriers, be willing to take the steps that are necessary, be willing to meet new people, be in new surroundings. You know, again, I think it comes down to taking the risk. And, also, I would say one more thing would be check your emotions because your emotions can tell you one thing, but within, you feel another. Like I had said earlier, I had a desire as a child to do something. Well, you know, if you don’t act on that, then you’re just gonna remain where you are. And most people are complacent.

Michelle: Well, we call that remaining in, like, comfortable misery, you know, where there’s that whisper of your soul, of your heart, that deep yearning, and you don’t act on it. Yeah, it’s like painfully miserable, you know what I mean, to feel that on a daily basis? Yeah, it’s almost like that pressure on potential in it can even, like, sometimes, you know, really manifest in anxiety and depression in people. You know what I mean? We’re talking emotions right now. And it’s so important, really, to listen to that whisper, to really have faith in yourself, and take the next leap, and so on and so forth.

Thank you so much, Christina. This has been an amazing conversation. I didn’t know that you were, like, really…I knew you were kicking some butt, but, wow, Q1 of 2020 is looking amazing. And I didn’t know that, you know, you had started as a realtor and so on and so forth. So, it was very interesting, you know, to learn your journey, and how you grew up, and how you’re really using this as a vehicle right now to really transform, to really be the beginning of generational blessings for your family of what’s possible, of really pushing the boundaries of possibility for yours and everyone that comes into your space, especially because now you want to also be incredibly influential for others. And that’s what it’s about, you know?

For us, land flipping, you know, or entrepreneurship in the form of land flipping, has really sculpted our spirit and has allowed us to really, you know, start looking at, “How can I be transformational, not just to my family but outside, of others?” You know what I mean? And so, if you work it, if you stay committed, it can really move you from just money in the bank, and tactical, and strategical to really living a very purpose-driven life, you know? I’m super excited to hear that because, like I said, you are a leader and a trailblazer. I can already recognize and see that. You know, I had, like I said to you earlier, another of our gals that is also in the coaching program, and we are so proud of you guys and excited to continue to support you into…even why not present you the opportunity while we’re here recording, that we would love to have you be part of the leadership team that continues to help us affect and bring that spirit of transformation of hope to others with the one thing that we know how to do well, you know?

So, thank you so much, Christina. And I’ll talk to you a little bit more about that off-recording. But it was such a pleasure and an honor. If anyone watching or listening to this, if you guys are interested in learning a little bit about our program, you can go to landconsultation.com, www.landconsultation.com. And you can also hook up with Christina. She is part of our Facebook group, the “Land Profit Generator Real Estate Investing” group. And do you wanna…I don’t know, any information as to how could people connect with you, you know, outside of the Facebook group, you’re very welcome to share it.

Christina: Just probably Facebook, Christina Walls, or clwalls71@gmail.com.

Michelle: Perfect. Awesome.

Christina: Email address.

Michelle: Thank you. Thank you so much. It was such an honor, Christina.

Christina: Thank you, Michelle. And it was an honor. I appreciate you inviting me.

Michelle: Thank you.