After his job was threatened by the aftermath of 9/11, Steve Rozenberg, co-founder of Empire Industries, LLC realized that obtaining financial freedom through investing in property is a much surer way of building wealth than working for someone else.

“I’m an airline pilot by trade,” said Steve. “I fly for a commercial airline, and so after 9/11 hit, I was on the verge of being out of a job. That’s when I realized that I needed to do something else to earn money because that secure job didn’t look quite as secure as I’d thought.”

“So what I did, is I started learning everything I could about real estate. I started trying to understand it. I read a book a week on real estate and I devoured as much information as I could so I could figure out this new society…this new language that I was engulfed in.”

“Then I started buying some houses. I sold a few houses, then ended up buying an apartment complex. I sold the apartment complex and started buying a bunch of low income property, which is probably my biggest mistake.”

Steve met Pete in 2005 and the two began flipping houses together before switching to a buy and hold strategy. Then, after buying twenty low income houses within a year and a half, the two realized they’d made a mistake.

“We realized why we shouldn’t have done that. All of a sudden we had a huge waterfall of problems attacking us from all angles; so we did what any normal male would do, we turned around and bought another 15 properties to try to fix the problem, which really just ended up being like gasoline on the fire for us. It just ended up making our problems ten times worse!”

The solution they created for their problem became Empire Industries, LLC.

“So to solve the problem we’d gotten ourselves into, we had to create a management company of our own, just to manage our own properties.”

“This is how the management company got started. We started it out of necessity, from the result of making our own mistakes of buying the wrong properties, but also figuring solutions out for that.”

INVESTOR SOLUTION

Today, Empire Industries, LLC is the fastest growing single family management company in Texas. They manage about 750 properties in Houston and Dallas, and have a client base that spans the globe. Investors from California to Japan use Empire Industries for their property management needs.

“We’re the number one referred management company by REALTORS®” said Steve. “We give referral fees to our agents and we make them look good. At the end of the day, what an investor wants is a property that is going to make them money and not give them a headache.”

“Empire Industries is a full- service property management company. Our services run the gamut, from helping people find properties to managing their investments; we do it all from an investor’s perspective. Because we’re active investors ourselves, we’re looking at the market from that mindset. We are in the business of helping investors find properties that match their goals.”

“Often, beginning investors fail to see results because they don’t have policies, procedures and structures in place…they run it off of emotions, not a business model.”

“What I always tell people is that when it comes to owning a rental property, you own a business. Whether you have one or fifty properties, you run a business. Fair housing, discrimination…all of these laws that dictate what you do as a landlord say that you’re a business and the only one that does not realize they’re a business is the owner.”

Investors choose Empire Industries, LLC because they’re more than a property management company. As active investors, the founders are in “the heat of battle of owning properties.”

“We look at it from an investor’s perspective,” said Steve, “As a partner, not as just a customer/client relationship. This means our goal is to help them be successful and to reach their financial goals, whatever those goals may be.”

INVESTOR EDUCATION

From hundreds of free videos to free ebooks, investors have access to a huge resource of information…for free…from the team at Empire Industries, LLC.

Ask any savvy investor and they’ll tell you…learning as much as possible about investing in property is key to achieving success.

“Most importantly, have a plan,” said Steve. “If you don’t have a plan and you don’t have goals you need to talk to someone like myself and figure out what your goals are so that when you’re trying to find a deal you can know what that deal is, based on your goals.”

Steve Rozenberg owns a property management company based in Houston Texas. It is currently the fastest growing PM company across Texas. Because of his extensive knowledge and background being an international airline pilot flying Boeing aircraft such as the 737,757,767 and the famous Dreamliner 787 he has been able to take that knowledge of systems, structure and checklists to help create a company that while being an airline pilot went from 0 – 600 properties in under 4 years without buying a single rent roll, all through learning and mastering marketing and sale techniques. This knowledge won his company a National Award of Best Marketing in North America by ActionCOACH Business Excellence Award earning a 1435% return on their marketing dollars. Steve’s company Empire Industries has since partnered with the owner of ActionCOACH to help grow their company across the US. Steve is still currently an international airline pilot and is also stepping on stages as keynote speaking in areas such as motivation and drive, marketing, systemization and checklist mindset and methodology across the United States as well as other international cities.

CEO | REAL ESTATE WORLDWIDE

In this Exclusive Interview, the Real Estate Mogul & Serial Entrepreneur Discusses Markets, Goals, Family, and his REI career.

Interview by Linda Pliagas

Recently our team had the opportunity to interview one of the most well-known and respected real estate entrepreneurs in the industry, Kent Clothier. We discussed everything from his most recent Find and Flip Summit to discovering who some of his greatest mentors are.

In this memorable interview, Kent also shares some touching personal photos and discussed how real estate investing can give individual investors the freedom needed to fully enjoy family life.

Realty411: Kent, you recently wrapped up the Find and Flip Summit with Grant Cardone. What was that all about?

KENT: The Find & Flip Summit was all about showing investors how to take the “next step” towards financial freedom. We had an amazing group of speakers and trainers from around the country coming – myself, Grant Cardone, Sean Terry, Pat Precourt, Justin Colby, Elena Cardone, Chris Clothier, Brett Tanner, and Frank McKinney are just a few of the big names joining us this year.

In fact, at last count, this outstanding lineup has bought and sold over 8,000 properties, sold over $1 Billion in 2017 alone, and manages or owns rental portfolios valued at over $1.3 Billion.

It truly was an incredible event showcasing the best-of-the-best, and it created massive impact to the hundreds of attendees who attended.

Realty411: What are some markets that your team is most interested in acquiring properties in?

KENT:Memphis, Phoenix, San Diego, Oklahoma City, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, and Little Rock are just a few of the markets that we are currently really focused on.

Realty411: Can you give our readers some advice on how they can get their investment career to the next level?

KENT: Pay close attention to who you are learning from. Do they have the scars? Do they have the experience and wisdom you desire? Are they living the life that you desire or are they just really good at marketing?

Your mentors should have bullet-proof systems, processes, online trainings, and lead-generation systems. We have worked really hard over the years at REWW and Memphis Invest to truly demonstrate what it takes at every level of the game and to be leaders in the market for anyone to follow.

Realty411: Who are some of your mentors or people who have impacted your way of thinking?

KENT:I have had mentors my entire life that have helped guide my career. My father played a critical role in early business and leadership development. He pushed my brothers and me harder than most people would think is normal, but it paid off. Outside of him, there have been a ton. Specifically, Sal Ricciardi, Roland Frasier, Frank Kern, my uncle – John Bloodworth.

Realty411: As a real estate entrepreneur, you are diversified by having an array of products such as 1-800-SELLNOW, Find Motivated Sellers Now, Find Cash Buyers NOW and Find Private Lenders NOW. Do you believe in diversifying in different markets as well for your real estate portfolio?

KENT:I do. I own properties or notes in Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, and California. To your point, I have business interests in many facets of real estate, digital marketing, online training, software as a service, an investment fund.

My partners and I are always looking for ways to expand our reach and add to our portfolio of companies and properties.

Realty411: Kent, what are some of your goals for 2018 and beyond?

Kent: I am very excited about 2018 and our road map. We have great outlook and game plan to continue to expand our reach through our Boardroom Mastermind program and our REWW Academy program.

We feel there is a real void in the market right now and an area that is undeserved.

That area is the “tweener” investor or agent. What I mean is: There is a huge swath of people that know how to do the transactions and are making some money, but it’s not even close to being a business. Equally, there are a lot of people out there that have a great circle of influence – like a Meetup group or REIA – but have no idea how to turn it into a business.

No one is talking to these people and certainly not providing them with real leverage points to help them turn the corner and FINALLY get what they want….financial freedom. We can do that for them.

We have a highly-acclaimed online training academy (REWW Academy) that we have spent an enormous amount of money to develop over the last two years with a team of Ph.Ds. We used a proven learning ISD format (just like they do with college courses) and brought in the best experts to teach these classes.

So now, here we are with this massive asset that literally anyone in the country can leverage and point their team members, new hires, local network, local meetup, or local REIA club right to it to get trained by the best in the business.

They can buy it for their own purposes or sell it as a service to their group and get paid a commission by us. Bottom line, it’s “plug and play” and is a complete “white glove” business in a box for them.

The same is true of our Boardroom Mastermind This has quickly become the premier real estate investing mastermind in the country with almost 200 members from around the country.

Again, it’s an easy place for people to get their teams trained by the best, rub shoulders with the brightest and most successful investor network in the country, and help to grow and monetize their own network if they desire.

In closing, I’d like to point out that we have invested in a lot of infrastructure, so others won’t have to. They simply need to step into our world and let us show them how to make it their own.

Realty411: How did you and your family turn your real estate passion into an empire? When did you decide to leave your previous occupations and focus only on real estate?

KENT:We all came into the business in the early 2000s in different cities and for different reasons. I was in South Florida, Chris was in Denver, and my father was in Memphis. It wasn’t until the mid 2000s that we really began to understand that we were doing something unique with our business model, our marketing, and our customer service. At that point, we turned the corner and went all in and decided we are going to become leaders in this industry because, quite frankly, there was just a sea of mediocrity out there, and we couldn’t stand it.

Realty411: What are some of your favorite ways to unwind and rejuvenate?

KENT:I love to hang with my wife and kids. Love to go to the beach here in San Diego, go paddle boarding, or just travel the world.

Realty411: Real estate is a relationship-based business, what are some ways investors can create rapport to enhance their careers?

KENT: Decide what your core values really are and only communicate from that place. What do you stand for? What do you stand against? Why are you doing what you’re doing? Why does your business matter? What impact are you trying to create in the market?

You see, people want to belong. We are all looking for our tribe and want to surround ourselves with people that inspire us or make us feel better about life. So, being clear on who you are first and then being very “out there’ with that information, allows people to quickly connect with you.

It also allows you to cut through all the noise and confusion and just surround yourself with people that are going to build you up, make you better, and make this business more successful. It will also allow you to easily run off the naysayers and time vampires. They won’t want anything to do with you. Best part, either way – you win.

Realty411: You’ve stepped back from speaking at many events, how can our readers learn from you if they cannot attend a live event?

Kent: We are not hard to find. We have hundreds of YouTube videos, Facebook posts, blog posts, articles, and a big social media presence. Go look up “Kent Clothier” or “Real Estate Worldwide” and you’ll find a ton of stuff out there.

But in the end, there’s nothing like one of our live events and getting that “raw-and-uncut” information straight from the horse’s mouth. Do whatever it takes to get there, but I’ll make it worth your time. Guaranteed. 🙂

Photographs courtesy of Kent Clothier. For Kent one of the best parts of being a real estate investor is the freedom to spend time with family. In these photos Seema, his wife, along with their daughters enjoy quality time with Kent.