Mentorship, Motivation, and Real Estate Mastery with Domenick Epps

[00:00:00] Do you want to succeed in real estate? There's not a one-size-fits-all strategy and the path is never a straight line. Join host Paul Neal, a serial entrepreneur as he learns from top producing real estate agents and investors from all backgrounds and experiences. You'll discover that the one thing they all have in common is they've leveraged their creativity and life skills to build super successful careers in the real estate industry and here's your chance to get an insider's

[00:00:30] view on what it really takes to win in real estate.

[00:00:36] Hey, hey welcome listeners today. I have the distinct honor and privilege of having Dominic Epps on the show today. He is the principal broker of Victory Allegiance Realty and has been killing this thing in real estate. Been licensed since 2014. Been an investor since longer than that and I'm excited to hear about what Dominic has been doing and how he's been making this industry just work and crush it.

[00:00:59] Dominic, welcome to the show today man. What's going on man? Glad to be here man. I will glad to have you so man I want to start off and get into a little about your background because you have a real interesting background we're talking a little about your musical origins there.

[00:01:16] Yeah Paul so I started out man in the actually in the 11th grade me and my friends we started a rap group and we call ourselves trying to trying to get signed to a record company.

[00:01:30] And we wasn't successful right so and the 12th grade as a senior I decided to do something different and become an entrepreneur and start my own record company and that's pretty much man how my business venture started at a young age.

[00:01:45] Wow that's really cool so you probably I don't know your age but you may be missed you miss the YouTube opportunity right to get yourself well known.

[00:01:55] Yeah I think about that too I remember growing up you know the things that musicians and bands had to go through to get known and you know tour for 10 years to try to get a record label and all that.

[00:02:12] Yeah man I used to catch Greyhound buses I used to pack my book bag with CDs this generation knows nothing about CDs of course but I had CDs I had a walk in and I would catch a 3999 Greyhound bus from Virginia called one to Chicago to New York New Jersey to California I used to travel trying to promote my brand.

[00:02:36] Wow that is super cool man I tell you that's I applaud you at a young age pursuing your dream and then you took a little bit of a turn it sounds like you decided you want to start a record company yourself.

[00:02:48] So the entrepreneurial flame was lit early and it sounds like you've just been pouring gas on it since then man.

[00:02:55] Yeah man I mean you know I had my biggest why was trying to get my mom out the projects you know so that's one of the reasons why I went hard on my mom single mother for boys.

[00:03:06] I'm growing up in a tough environment so that was the goal man was to be successful to be able to get her out and you know unfortunately I wasn't able to do it with music but I wasn't able to do it real estate so yeah.

[00:03:20] Hey you know what god never plumper promises a straight path man.

[00:03:25] So but you know it's cool what you just said I want to get real estate but I don't want to get off this too soon I mean you were driven by a why that really fueled your your your action and passion right yeah yeah that's right absolutely.

[00:03:42] I find that that's the most successful entrepreneurs that you have to be driven by something you can't take.

[00:03:47] You can't take this thing called a dream and going out on your own lightly and be successful yeah one of the things that I you know teach not just agents but we have a mental organization as well and one of the things I teach the kids is that you know I didn't grow with a civil spoon I had a plastic spoon my mom made sure we washed and kept that plastic spoon and draw right so you have to find something that works for you

[00:04:10] and make sure you keep it can't toss it yeah yeah and appreciate what you have right yeah absolutely absolutely while you're pursuing that next thing I had I had a guy on Jonathan Melvin a few months back and he made the comment about you know as his his career in real estate and business has progressed over the years that you don't stop what you're doing to reach the next level you keep doing what you're doing but you you you you appreciate it but you reach for that.

[00:04:39] Next thing and so yeah Jonathan is certainly he's been the game long for a long time and it's been doing some good things yeah yeah no doubt good man good man so let's talk about you let's talk about so you you've been in real estate even license since 2014 but bring us up to speed on your sort of your journey into real estate you know why'd you get in how'd you get in and and what's happened since then yeah so I was very interested in journey man in regards to really state though to kind of give you the short version so we had this Christian recording company.

[00:05:08] And we were broke we didn't have any money so we were doing a chicken dinner fundraiser in the small church and but neighborhood I grew up here I grew up in a neighborhood called Saratoga and South Virginia.

[00:05:20] And so we were doing this chicken dinner fundraiser I had this elaborate idea that we were going to sell 400 dinners and at $8 a piece so that's $3200 we're going to be able to make in going to the studio.

[00:05:33] Well 400 dinners requires 800 pieces of chicken and we only had two small fried patties right so so immediately became chaotic we had orders from different places from QBC workers lived in T workers planners crafts food

[00:05:52] and we had all of these orders but we didn't have the ability to deliver these orders out and so it was very chaotic when I say chaotic I mean people were saying some things and doing some things because they was upset right and so I stood by this door and I'm watching those that were on my team those that were assisting that kept bickering back in short and and a missed of that I heard the Lord impressed upon me real money real estate

[00:06:21] and I heard those those four words real money real estate so I was so indulged into the music industry that you know I just knew I was going to be successful one day you know one day this is going to break for me and so I didn't pursue real estate I kind of heard the word shut it to the side and just kept doing my thing

[00:06:41] and then a year later that same word revisited to me real money real estate and I found the obeyed I can say to give you the short version of my family obeyed and I you know I reached out to an agent that was a system in my real estate investment and I said hey man I can become an agent and he you know he's my mentor to this day my guy Tony black he gave me the steps he said hey you know you go to the school.

[00:07:08] I was working on a five really it was a 4.30 to like 8.30 to work 4.30 in the morning as a Pepsi salesman and so I did my I went to mostly real estate school online and I will wake up an hour early before I had to go to work do my classes online and also do it on my phone during my lunch break

[00:07:29] and within 2 months I got my license and then after 2 months I went 4 times 6 months after that so yeah.

[00:07:38] So wow okay quite the journey so you weren't just sitting around like waiting for something to show up and knock you in the head and say go do this you're in the game man you're pursuing your dream.

[00:07:51] Yeah yeah I mean you know for one I'm a man of faith so I believe you know whatever God tells you to do that he's going to provide you just got to do your part faith without works is dead right.

[00:08:01] So so for me it was a matter of just make sure that you put your all into it and I had to get permission from a white though you know I did run a virus I hate listen.

[00:08:11] You know I pray about it I'm serious about going for time because part time output is going to give you part time input right so you know you're only going to get back what you put in and so I knew that being part time I wasn't going to have any closings and I didn't have any closings so my wife stated she said well okay I'm okay with you going for a time but you need to have at least one closing before you leave.

[00:08:36] And so I gave my supervisor this three month notice so I can be able to train somebody new to take over my position and I just started playing sees man I just started grinding hit the ground real hard.

[00:08:48] And I finally have my first closing and I love the company officially on September the 12th 2014.

[00:08:57] Wow okay I was going to ask you if your wife was on board with that because I know that you know yeah you know this idea that you know we hear we hear from God and I appreciate your faith I'm very faithful to it I think sometimes we struggle is like was that me or what it was right right right.

[00:09:14] And then you're like okay a year later you're like you're hearing it again and then you go to your wife but she was receptive to this idea.

[00:09:21] And then you're like okay I'm going to ask you what it was but the reality is faith got to be tested in order to be true right so she was on board and I put my notice in three months early I stuck to the date I left on that date.

[00:09:36] And that was after I left that was probably the most challenging year that we had because you know closings wasn't coming right away.

[00:09:45] And so I had started using we did have real property but I was using money from the tenants to try to cover as many households expenses as possible.

[00:09:55] And so we received a notice of full closure on our primary house and even notice a full closure on our rental property.

[00:10:04] I never forget my wife said something to me that was that really changed it for me because even though I was four time in real estate as far as I had the ability to be four time I wasn't really four time you know I was still doing a whole bunch of things.

[00:10:18] And so while we were facing for closure while we were reaching out to other organizations to give us assistance because our life was about to get cut off she said to me that I needed to be focused.

[00:10:31] And that's when I started a hashtag on social media you will not outwork me and I just went I just went all in all in and of course we didn't lose our properties.

[00:10:44] And then here that it was six figures and then it's been up and up every since man so been it's been a blessing.

[00:10:52] And the valley where you know I talk about this idea of like you say faith must be tested be true and it is so that is so true with this idea of.

[00:11:02] It seems like everybody that's successful and sometimes that was multiple times along the way at different degrees but you reach this point where.

[00:11:10] That you're at the decision point right the pressure point it's like yeah do I go forward and pursue you know what what I believe I'm meant to be doing or do I turn back and go the other way.

[00:11:21] And what what got I mean your wife kicked you over the edge it sounds like I mean the fact that you guys are in this thing together and she's like look.

[00:11:31] I mean yeah I mean the reality is Paul to reality she gave me all to make them she gave me all to make it was either you tighten up or I'm leaving yeah you know that that was that was the real and and I needed that though I really needed that because it made me focus man and I started studying you know as well.

[00:11:50] You know as my mentor puts it become obsessed so I became obsessed with real estate I was in every seminar workshop that I could be watching every YouTube video Mike fairy Kevin wall you name it.

[00:12:03] I know you name it man and you know I started my niche was for sale by owners okay so yeah yeah what do I more into that but yeah.

[00:12:16] So I was going to ask so all right so you went all in all in was a was obviously a major mental shift and you decided to to sort of immerse yourself in the industry in the training what about the actual like day to day activities what did you do differently there than you were doing before.

[00:12:36] All right so I had to have a conversation with myself which was my work hours were I was slacking in my work hours meaning at first I would wake up 9 o'clock right maybe start my day around 10 to 30 and when I had this come to Jesus moment I said hey I had to be a Pepsi at 4 30 in the morning.

[00:13:00] So why would I get Pepsi you know better hours and I'm giving myself so I challenge myself get up every morning at 4 30 I would do role play at 5 a.m. So I had you know it was 4 I got up at 4 I had a prayer call at 4 30 I had role play at 5 a.m. And I started making live calls at 6 30 a.m.

[00:13:23] So 6 30 a.m. I was calling for sale but I'm sure they appreciated that call right so here's the interesting thing man is that I started to study the individuals you know the clients I wanted to work with right and one of the things that I learned was in the luxury market was that those clients were up at that time that wasn't sleeping in so I had to have a few that said you know hey man you know I'm not going to be able to do that.

[00:13:53] I was crazy for calling me this early but the ones that really worked and kicked off on me they respected my hunger.

[00:13:59] And so I had great conversation 6 30 morning.

[00:14:03] Yeah yeah so got a couple of made out of listings that way so it was it was well worth it very fruitful yeah well I mean you know there's something to be said for I mean there's this truth and all that that you said and but you know it strikes me is that a lot of people don't realize

[00:14:19] and particularly a lot of real estate agents because when they're new into the world like I've owned businesses my whole life and always been self employed and so you're in control that schedule.

[00:14:29] But a lot of people see HD TV or they see somebody like you who's super successful.

[00:14:33] They don't ask what you did to get there and so they think I'm going to have this freedom in this lifestyle and this income but they totally divorce themselves from the discipline and the in the boundaries that you put up to get you there.

[00:14:46] Absolutely absolutely so when I have agents do I have people that think about getting into real estate you know I have a way of finding out if they're serious and I tell them hey listen if you're serious here's a link join me at 5 a.m.

[00:15:01] And that's one way to just separate those who are about it and those who just talk.

[00:15:06] Yeah yeah I love it what a litmus test man that's really cool.

[00:15:10] That's it so I was just thinking about a lot of my experiences over the years of hiring and recruiting different people and that that would have been a good test I think.

[00:15:20] Yeah save me a lot of grief I imagine over the years but yeah yeah so all right so so you got things cranked up ever since that turn around you committed to yourself you committed your wife you committed to treating your business as serious as you're achieving your job if not more.

[00:15:39] Yeah and then you've now you had success as a proof of that so is there and you mentioned for sale by owner the luxury market I mean where are you now in terms of your niche or specific areas if there is one that you like to focus on.

[00:15:51] So right now I'm training agents right so you know I went from being that that's individual agent within my second year because I started reading Gary Keller you know me not a real estate agent right.

[00:16:05] And so in my second year I started a team. So I started a team I got you know I didn't really have the money to afford an assistant but you know as Vincuini puts it you know you you can not afford not to have one right so I I had an assistant and then I brought on a showing agent and so that allowed me to really I focused on two niche one which was my why I focused on first time home.

[00:16:34] I was the first time home buyers and so I would assist with budgeting credit repair in that market and while I was helping that market which takes about six to 12 months for someone to close because you are helping them get to that place I was calling for sale by owners so I was having listings so I'm having a lot of listings on the market but also helping for sale you know first time home buyers.

[00:16:58] Eventually started getting some pretty strong client base you know just by marketing never pay for marketing never pay for any type of marketing never pay for Zillow any of that has been very organically a lot of calls and a lot of knock on the doors.

[00:17:18] Good old fashioned shoe leather huh. Yeah I love it.

[00:17:22] That's right. That's right. Yeah. So all right well let me ask you this then because it's been quite the quite the journey and I know what originally was driving you was you wanted to get your get your mom out of the project and get back to her now today what drives you now that you've achieved success.

[00:17:40] Yeah now is now is my family is my wife and children so you know I that's a great question to ask because after my mom it was you know paying off my wife student loans to relieve her of that debt right and then my next one was retiring my wife so she doesn't have to work again.

[00:17:58] And so I was able to do that and now it's just being able to you know have my children to you know have a legacy right so that's really what I'm focused on now is being able to leave them amazing inheritance while being able to impact as many families as possible so just training others to do what I've been doing for years teaching about a door as well.

[00:18:22] Wow that's pretty cool pretty amazing I mean that's that's the definition to me you're like the classic entrepreneur I mean a lot of times business owners and entrepreneurs can get a bad rap because you know the world says that you know we're just out to like you know make money and you know take advantage of people but I find the opposite is true I find most entrepreneurs like you using your your wealth in your success to uplift others and to give back and influence and mentor and help bring them up with you right.

[00:18:52] Absolutely yeah why tip I tip my head off to you for sure so give get tell me this we're we're wrapping up it's hard to believe that we're we're almost at a time but what's all would be the one or two key pieces of advice that you like to pass along about being successful business or just maybe life in general.

[00:19:13] Yes so one of the main pieces one you have to know why you're doing it and money cannot be a motivation.

[00:19:22] Money cannot if money is your motivation then to me I think that's kind of aiming for low hanging fruit right and so you have to have a stronger why something as that money cannot buy right and then and from there you just have to be determined.

[00:19:39] And stay motivated.

[00:19:42] Because it's easy special with social media you can look at what other people are doing right and some people can kind of get you know the press looking at the success of others.

[00:19:52] For me these success of others motivated me so I will look at a might fairy lifestyle with a superstar I will look at all these other ages and what they were doing and being able to accomplish and I would say hey that's what I'm aiming for right so I would always try.

[00:20:07] I was studying those that were doing crazy numbers i'm talking 300 400 transactions and that's what I wanted to aim for and so I would say always have a big goal have a big lie and a big goal and that's it.

[00:20:22] Well you keep it simple man keep gas in the tank right and dream.

[00:20:27] Yep that's it well we have a big god and you know there's no limits I think most of us are the problem there right.

[00:20:33] Yeah that's right he never said he had limits but we tend to think we do yeah yeah.

[00:20:40] Well awesome well hey how can Dominic some of listening is can get up with you either they're interested in maybe making that 5 a.m. phone call and maybe be a part of an awesome team like yours or maybe a client that's interested in buying or selling some real estate.

[00:20:55] Absolutely so I am all over social media Dominic ups and just put in my name D.O.M.E.N.I.C.K.E.P.P.S. on Instagram I'm one the number one Dominic ups and yeah it can catch me on social media right and looking forward to help out as many people.

[00:21:15] Awesome Dominic this has been a lot of fun man I appreciate your time coming on the show buddy.

[00:21:19] Yes sir I appreciate you.

[00:21:20] Yeah absolutely.

[00:21:21] Thanks for listening to the top producer show and make sure you check out our show notes and be sure to subscribe to stay on the cutting edge of what's working now in real estate as you

[00:21:33] advance your success far into the future.