Episode 63: Financial Freedom with Land Flipping – Featuring Megan Autrey

Michelle: Welcome to the “InFLOW” podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Bosch. I am super excited about my guest today, so let’s go ahead and get started.

Hi, I’m Michelle Bosch, real estate investor, mom, wife, and host of the “InFLOW” podcast, and I’m passionate about helping women invest in land and apartments. Join me each and every week for real estate investing strategies and interviews with thought leaders that will leave you inspired and ready to step into flow for inflows of cash, inflows of ease, and inflows of grace in your life. Now, here on YouTube, are the video versions of my podcasts, and in order for you to get my latest information, please go ahead and subscribe. And now, let’s go.

Welcome, everyone. This is Michelle Bosch, co-creator of the Land Profit Generator. I am super excited to have here with me today Megan Autrey, and I hope I’m pronouncing that correctly. Let’s just go ahead and get started. Like I said, I have my amazing, incredible rising star lady within the Land Profit Coaching program, Megan Autrey, with us today. And, you know, I wanted to bring her on and really talk about, you know, what does a leader in the making look like. You know, she’s an amazing trailblazer. I know that she is going to be, at some point, very soon in the near future, inducted into our Land Profit Generator Hall of Fame. And, you know, I’m just excited, excited to have her here.

So, Megan, I know that you are a firefighter wife, mom to two little girls, an outdoor enthusiast, that you do top-level whitewater rafting, and you’re an instructor, guide. I mean, it’s not like it’s just a hobby, but you teach others how to do this. And that you’ve also been, lately, doing some full-time real estate investing, doing land flipping. So, tell us a little bit about how did you…I wanna go a little bit back into, you know, what got you to where you are right now into the past, and tell us a little bit about how you grew up around money.

Megan: Sure. So, I was thinking about this last night, actually. When I grew up, my dad…I’m trying to figure out how in-depth to go. Money was tight for us growing up, it was really tight, and even into my teenage years. My dad switched careers, he went into finance, and he actually became really successful. But I think that that tight mindset just really carried over for us.

And so, going into adulthood, I think it sort of stunted me a little bit. I’ve sort of had what I call, like, a poverty mindset or a spirit of poverty, I guess, if you will, where, you know, you get something and you wanna hold onto it and you don’t wanna take any risks because that’s scary. And so, risk-taking was not something that I ever really did. I’m kind of a type A rule-follower in the first place, so when it comes to money, especially, the way that I’ve grown up and the things that I learned, even as a kid, is, like, you get it, you hold onto it, you save it. And so, risk-taking was never…yeah.

Michelle: And for us, as women, you know, we’re hard-wired for safety, for security. So, even, you know, that kinda, like, compounds the effect of, you know, wanting to hold on tight versus sometimes allowing money to flow.

Megan: Exactly. Yeah.

Michelle: So, tell us a little bit about your journey in real estate, you know, land flipping. How did you find land flipping? How did you find us?

Megan: That’s a great question. I’m really thankful that I did, I’ll start with that. Yeah, real estate is not, nor has it ever been in my past, a thing for me. My mother, actually, who lives locally here, she is a real estate agent, but she’s never really loved the showing and selling of houses, she loves the idea of flipping and just having a project. She likes projects. And I think she stumbled upon…I think Jack was speaking at a local realtor group or something along those lines. I’m not really clear, but that’s how she found out about it.

And then, she went to one of the Land Profit Generator live events. She got really pumped up, and she came home, and was like, “You have to do this with me.” And I’m like, “I don’t know anything about real estate. I’m, like, the last person that knows the first thing about real estate.” She’s like, “Well, but you’re good at marketing and computers and stuff, and I want you to come along and do this with me.” And, of course, I was like, “This sounds too good to be true, and I don’t even know what I’m doing, but yeah, okay, sure.” I mean, at that point, I was staying home with my kids, only working in the summer, so, I mean, I didn’t really have anything to lose. Yeah, that’s how I found out about it.

Michelle: Wonderful. I’m always, you know, just interested and fascinated by how people find us because land flipping at the end of the day is a gap…I always say it’s a gap in the real estate industry that others don’t care to really explore or look at because whenever someone thinks about real estate, something else comes in mind, you know, houses, multifamily, rehabbing, flipping, and so on and so forth. But land is something that I’m always curious to hear. So, you go to that, you guys decide that this is something that you guys wanna start with, and you go ahead and you start. And then, what happens?

Megan: Well, being that I didn’t know very much about real estate in general, a lot of the concepts were really kind of like just these bubbles in the air that I didn’t fully understand, but I said, “Okay, well, I’m just gonna do the steps and hope it works.” And so, that’s essentially what we did. Unfortunately, we picked all the wrong counties and all the wrong places. Instead of testing and all of that, it was just a lot of money in places that was not a good idea. And so, we did, I mean, we were faithful with doing it for about a year. It was about eight months. And then, I said, you know, “We’re missing something. We’re following the steps and watching the videos. I mean, I understand that I’m learning as I go, but…”

Michelle: Were the biggest struggles finding the areas, or did you get any deals under contract, or selling stuff was…what were the biggest struggles?

Megan: I would say just the biggest struggle was understanding the process, for me at least, I can only speak to me. We did get a couple of properties under contract, and I said, “Okay, cool, we’re gonna sell it.” Honestly, we had deals that we let go because I just didn’t know what I was doing. And so, you know, then we bit the bullet, we went to the fast-track two-day workshop. And after that, I was like, “Okay, I understand the process now. This makes sense.” And that’s when we were really like, “Okay, all out. Like, we’re gonna do this,” and we decided to go ahead and just get the coach to have that professional guidance of somebody who does understand. And within, I guess, three months, we had deals, and now it’s been…deals. I mean, 2020’s been good so far.

Michelle: Now, from going to that two-day, you know, Land Profit Maximizer workshop to then deciding that you wanted to, “Yeah, this clicked, and I’m going to coaching. You know, I definitely want that guidance and support.” But was there any fear? I mean, I know it’s you and Tina doing it together. You know, you guys are an amazing, unbeatable team here. But what were some of the hesitations? What was in your mind? What were you thinking?

Megan: I was thinking that…it really goes back to that spirit of poverty that I struggled with pretty much my whole life and wanting to hold onto what we had. And so, the idea of spending money to make money, to me, was a really big hurdle to overcome. And, you know, you hear it in business principles all the time, “You have to spend money to make money. You have to take risks. Like, that’s where the profit is,” but it’s really, really hard when it’s something that’s, like, so ingrained inside of you. And so, that was definitely the biggest hurdle.

And so, both of us, through a lot of discussion, honestly, prayer and just even consulting with family members and that sort of thing, it was a decision that we knew we needed to make, I think we were just looking for some validation in that decision. And in some places, we got it, in other places, we didn’t, but just learning to read through and know what voices to listen to, and yeah. So, we took the dive and haven’t looked back.

Michelle: That’s amazing. Now, how have things changed? You said now that you’ve been, you know…you have one of our master coaches, actually, Mr. Mike Smyre.

Megan: Yeah, he’s awesome.

Michelle: Yeah, he is a total rock star, a total badass, for sure. Now, how have things changed in terms of deals accepted, you know, sales and profits, the moment that you decided to have somebody really collapse time for you and help you in the process, you know, gain mastery over this?

Megan: Yeah. I mean, things changed in, like, every area possible from what we were doing. I mean, we were following the steps, but we didn’t have good systems in place, first of all. You know, he helped from the small things…well, not really small, but, like, the basic things like picking counties and picking the right counties, to helping us understand, you know, how to interpret numbers and response rates. And then, I would say the biggest thing for me was just having the backup. Like, when you think of a coach in exercise, you know? You can go exercise on your own, nobody’s stopping you, but having that encouragement, and that push, and that person behind you, like, cheering you on… I have had conversations…

Michelle: Be in your perfect form. At least my workout trainer gives you, “That’s not perfect form, Michelle.”

Megan: Yes, exactly, “Put weight in your heels, keep your back straight and your chest up,” all that. Yeah. I mean, I’ve had conversations with sellers and with buyers that I would never have thought I was capable of. But just having that person with some knowledge behind me, and then the encouragement…I mean, I have saved deals that I thought like, “That’s gone.” Well, we just got paid on that deal last week, so.

Michelle: Yeah, go ahead and give me an example of, like, one where it was probably a back-and-forth negotiation and really having the support of a coach really made a difference. Maybe it’s that one or any other one that you wanna talk about.

Megan: Yeah, that one’s a perfect one and it’s fresh, so I’ll go with that one. Yeah, I had a seller with a really interesting kind of a niche property under contract, you know, a very specific buyer would be needed. So, it was on the market for about a month and a half. And he called me up and said he wanted me to take it off the market, and he didn’t understand that that was gonna happen, and this, this, and that. He wanted out of the contract. And with my limited experience, I got really timid and I was kind of like, “Oh, okay. Like, I’ll let the title company know.”

Well, Mike found out, he’s like, “What? No way.” He’s like, “Here’s what you do.” So, he gave me some options and some talking points, and I went back to him. And I will never forget, sitting down, and, of course, my kids are playing upstairs, and I’m like, “Okay, they’re occupied, I’m gonna make this call.” Like, honestly, I was shaking, but my voice, like, you couldn’t tell. And I got on the phone with him, I was very calm, cool, collected, matter-of-fact, laid everything out. I explained it a few times. And at the end of that conversation, he said, “Well, we’ll just go ahead and keep things as they are, and, you know, you can keep marketing the property, and we’ll just continue.” And then, within a week from that point, we had a buyer. And so, you know…

Michelle: How much did you net on that one?

Megan: That one was about $14,000, I think.

Michelle: Wow, amazing. That would have been $14,000 less.

Megan: Exactly. And that’s what I’m learning, is that those things that are scary, I mean, they’re scary for a reason, it’s because I’ve never done it before, but once I do it, it’s like if you could just physically see…like one of those thermometers or those things that you hit at the fair, you know, and the thing goes up. It’s like my confidence just…boom, through the roof.

Michelle: Absolutely. Yeah. When you have somebody that can walk you through that, and you go and do it, and it works…and even if it doesn’t work, the next time it’ll work, you know? Because it could have been that that particular seller, you know, would have not agreed, but maybe another one…and now you have that in your toolkit, and that starts, like you said, bringing your cash confidence of being able to resolve any situation and any circumstance in a very creative way and knowing what to say, you know, to make it happen at the end of the day. Now, can you tell us a little bit about, you know, how much in profits have you had since then, and how many deals you’ve done, and how many deals are in the pipeline right now?

Megan: Sure. So, currently, I have seven properties under contract that I’m marketing. They’re not as big as some of the ones that I’ve had. I mean, you know, ebbs and flows, but. We closed five deals since the beginning of the year, and total profit so far is…I’m gonna give you just estimates because I don’t remember. But about $44,000 in total profits. But we have two that are…one should close either Friday or Monday, and that one’s gonna be $23,000.

Michelle: Wow. Bingo. Boom.

Megan: Yes. And then, another one, we just had a request for their closing date from the buyer. So, it’s all in a contract from both ends, it’s all at the title company. It won’t close till the first week in April, but that’ll be another $20,000.

Michelle: Yeah. Now, how do you think…and we talked a little bit about this, but, you know, in this process of gaining mastery, Megan, how has it transformed, like, your mind, your faith, your heart, your life, your family?

Megan: That’s a big question because a lot’s happened in just a few months, and I think I’m still mentally trying to catch up and come to the realization. It’s kind of amazing. As far as my family goes…

Michelle: Especially, even, like, in your relationship, you know, with Tina because you guys are working this together. I don’t know if there’s anything there. Yeah.

Megan: Oh, yeah. I mean, we’re complete opposites, which is actually great for business. It can be frustrating sometimes, relationally, but we’re so thankful for each other. Of course, we bicker once in a while, but, honestly, I think this has brought us together. It’s given us both a confidence boost. And so, you know, we’re just not as anxious, and more laid-back, and we have fun. So, there’s that. When we set goals at the live event in October, I really took that to heart and I wrote out a whole bunch of goals for, like, one-year and five-year.

And what is insane to me is that I’m already on track for so many of my one-year goals that I thought like, “Well, I wanna aim big, but not so big that I can’t hit it.” And I’m on track to hit it before the six-month mark, which is incredible. So, obviously, for my family, that’s putting us in a position where we can talk about vacation over the summer, it’s not, like, a big financial stress, “Can we do it? Can we not?” It’s like, “You know, what? Like, we’ve been working hard, and we’re okay. Let’s do it.” And that kinda freedom was something I didn’t know was even on the horizon for us. So, that’s incredible.

Michelle: Thank you for sharing that.

Megan: Yeah. And my faith. I mean, that’s really the driving force behind everything that I do. You know, I’ve known something big was coming for years, I just really felt that. I pray all the time, especially through this journey, once we started it, like, “Please bless it, please bless it,” and, you know, “I’m putting everything that I can into it. I just hope that you would bless that,” and He has, like, more than I could have imagined. And I think the biggest thing I’m learning now is that my dreams can be bigger. Like, you know, they say, “Dream big,” and I thought I was dreaming big, and now I’m thinking, “Well, I mean, I can go bigger. Like, this is big, but…”

Michelle: Sometimes when we’re there, you know, you cannot even imagine that you could possibly even engineer a next level of growth, you know?

Megan: Exactly.

Michelle: And it’s not until you hit that next level that you’re like, “Okay, you know, this is an ongoing process. This is mastery for life, you know, this is something that I can continue to evolve and learn. And once I’ve mastered this, maybe I can, you know, start trying other things.” But for the most part, you know, what you’ll find is that if we pick a lane and we create a framework to create some diversity with that lane that things will grow even more exponentially, and that mentality, that mindset of growth will grow as well, you know? I mean, it’s not just the dollars in the bank account, but that will grow.

And I always say that that kinda has to supersede the bank account. And sometimes, when we don’t have it…at least for us with Jack, when we seek out mentors, we can kind of, like, really borrow some of that next-level mindset from them. You know what I mean? And kind of, like, use it to help us get to that next level. But, you know, sometimes, I’ve been in the exact same spot like you, where I’m like, “I couldn’t possibly imagine what could be next.” And then, you get there, and you’re like, “Oh, my God. Yes, there is, there is a possibility to keep dreaming,” you know?

Megan: Absolutely. It’s a very freeing feeling. Absolutely.

Michelle: Yes, yes. Unless you’re experiencing it…it’s even hard to describe with words, but freedom is probably a very, very good one, a very good word, for sure. Now, biggest mindset shift then has been, and I think you’ve mentioned it already, that you had to invest in yourself and bank in yourself in order to make money. Would you say that that was the biggest mindset shift, or was there another one?

Megan: I think it would be that, and then just the level of confidence, which that’s been more of, like, a stepping stone sort of process, but it took a big leap. Like, when we decided to get the coaching, just knowing that there’s somebody to bounce stuff off of, that you can run things by…you know, instead of just kinda shooting in the dark and hoping for the best, at least I have somebody I can go to when I’m like, “This is new, I don’t know.”

Michelle: And now, you’re doing some…you know, I was just talking about this in our master class. Now, you’re doing some incredible, ridiculous jumps, quantum leaps in pretty much a three to six-month period, you know, leaps that people sometimes take years to see. And that is fantastic. Like I said, I know you are a trailblazer, for sure, in your family. You know, sometimes we don’t even think about it, but we are breaking generational curses of, you know, poverty consciousness and really bringing an end to what was my family history from a point of view of money and really creating a new beginning, you know, for our families.

And, of course, I’m excited because you’re a woman, you’re a lady, so I’m even banking on you guys too because I’m a big supporter of women. And Jack is the same. You know, we’re raising a daughter here at home as well, so. So, tell me about the future, the near future. I know you guys are excited about summer. But the future in general, what are you excited most about the future?

Megan: Oh, man. So much. Well, my husband, who’s a firefighter, you know, he’ll have 20 years in coming up in a couple of years. And to be able to just say like, “Hey, you don’t have to stay in that job if you don’t want to,” that’s really cool. Like, “Hey, come do this with me. Like, let’s go…” You know, we’ve talked about what kinda schooling we want for our kids, and I do love the idea, even if for a time, to homeschool, and just travel, and have them learn through experience, and to be able to have that flexibility as a family and do it as a unit with no restrictions or time bonds, you know, that’s huge. Gosh, that’s such a big question because, like, through my mind, I’m just running through all these things that I’m like, “Well, that’d be nice someday, that’d be nice someday,” it might not be someday, it might be this day. It’s an attainable thing. And so, that’s very exciting.

Michelle: That’s beautiful. Now, if you were to give, you know, one piece of advice to a woman, or just to anyone out there, you know, what would that be?

Megan: I mean, if I was talking to…it might be easier if I think of it as talking to, like, myself a year ago. Don’t be afraid to bet on yourself just because you don’t have the experience because the only way you gain experience is through experience, so you have to start somewhere. I’ll draw a little parallel for you because I’m gonna talk about something in a universe that I understand a lot better.

I’m a guide instructor for whitewater, and it’s a very male-dominated area. And so, when we have female guides come out, some of the things that I’ll talk to people about is, first of all, “You’re stronger than you think,” but the second thing is, you know, “We can do things, great things, but we are gonna do them differently because we’re different.” And so, like, in the guiding world, I focus a lot more on skill and technique with women because you’re not gonna be able to strong-arm something the way that a man does, we’re just not built the same, but that’s okay. And in the end, oftentimes, females make better guides because their skill and their technique is just on point out of necessity. So, don’t be afraid to just get out there, try new stuff, and figure out what works for you, because if you’re looking at other people and trying to figure out what they’re doing, copying other people isn’t gonna work for you necessarily, but…

Michelle: Unless it’s a coach. Unless it’s a coach, then I would say model, you know, like, they’re modeling you.

Megan: Yeah, absolutely. And that’s the other thing too when we train people, is, you know, you don’t just ride in one boat with one guide instructor the whole training, you go on boats with different people, and you pick up skills and things from each person, try all the things, and then figure out what works for you, because something’s going to.

Michelle: Yeah, absolutely. Now, how do you incorporate…because I know you’re also into health and wellness. How do you incorporate, you know, inflows of ease and grace in your life? Like, I know that, you know, you decided on coaching, and that’s one way of bringing ease, for example, into your business, by being able to really lean on someone, and stand on someone else’s shoulders, and so on. But what else do you do on a daily basis to kinda, like, bring that ease and grace in your life and stay in faith, like you did right now, throughout the struggles at the beginning, and then turning the corner once Mike was there with you, and so on and so forth?

Megan: Sure. Yeah, I came to realize very quickly that I needed to do some things to keep myself on track and to keep myself sane. And so, even though I’m not a morning person, I realized that with two small kids at home, which I’m sure is the case for a lot of women, if I wanted to have that time to do the things that I knew I needed to do, like prayer, exercise, meditation, journaling, I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning, and that was a really difficult adjustment for me. I’ll just leave it at that. I can go into it, but yeah, I’m not a morning person.

Michelle: I can relate, we are not morning people here either.

Megan: But practicing…

Michelle: Sometimes devotion to something, you know, really makes a difference and it permeates throughout your day, you know, and it really affects the quality of your day. And when you stop doing it, you notice, you know, how different it is, and you’re like, “Okay, it’s worth the effort. It’s worth doing it.”

Megan: Yeah. Yeah. I noticed a lot of things kinda came together all at one time, but right after that coaching is when I decided, you know, “I’m gonna start doing these things, these habits every day.” And when I was getting up early, practicing my gratitude, saying my prayers, and getting a workout in, like you said, it permeates through your whole day. It changed my attitude, it changed my energy level. And I think that that’s a big part of the success too, because it’s easier for me to keep my mind focused to get those systems, just get things working the way that they should be without it always being, like, in response mode. It’s just doing those daily things and respond when I need to.

Michelle: Yeah, absolutely. Now, if somebody was listening to us or watching us and they were considering coaching, what would you say? What has been your experience? Would you recommend it?

Megan: I absolutely would, of course. You know, the coaching was always on the table as an option, and it took us over a year to finally say, “I think we need this.” And to be honest with you, the biggest hurdle for it was spending that money, but we spent that much money making mistakes along the way that we could have avoided in the first place. And, I mean, that was a lesson learned. So, to me, I would just say, “I’ve learned that lesson for you. Just invest in yourself and having a mentor and somebody to help you because it will pay you back. It will pay you back probably sooner than you think. So, just do it. Do it well from the beginning.”

Michelle: Yeah. Now, if anyone is listening and watching this, you know, if you are interested in learning a little bit more about our Land Profit Coaching program, you can always go to landconsultation.com, landconsultation.com and schedule a call with our team and see, you know, if it’s a fit. It’s not a fit for everyone, you know? It was a fit for Megan and for Tina, and they’re seeing, you know, amazing results. Now, one last thing, Megan, that I always ask everyone. If anyone would be interested in, you know, getting in contact with you or learning more about what you’re doing, you know, where can people contact you?

Megan: Facebook, obviously. That’s a big one. But yeah, you can email me. It’s lastingfreedomllc@gmail.com.

Michelle: Wonderful. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Megan, for, you know, spending the last 32 minutes of your life with me here. And I know that you have little children and that they’re probably waiting for you. And thank you so much. It has been an honor. I am so excited. We keep watching your trajectory, we keep watching you, and just celebrating your successes. I love waking up, you know, to your posts inside of the Land Profit Generator group.

So, thank you so, so very much for being so inspirational to other, you know, women and men that are considering and that are working this land flipping business right now, because you’re really showing what is possible. So, I am so very grateful. It was an honor having you here with me today. And I think, at some point, I might have to even do a redo and have you and Tina as well, both of you, because I’d love to hear about, you know, her perspective as well. So, thank you so much.

Megan: Okay. Well, thanks, Michelle. It was an honor to be on here, so I really appreciate it.

Michelle: Yeah, thank you.