ļ»æRobert Abasolo
Jared:
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Hello everybody and welcome to the Kajabi Edge Podcast, where we talk to real entrepreneurs to give you an edge on Kajabi. Iām your host Jared Lohman, Vice President of Customer Experience, and today Iām joined by my friend Rob Abasolo, owner of Robuilt. Howās it going today Rob?
Robert:
Whatās up man? Iām touched, Iām honored that you call me your friend and you know Iām just happy to be here.
Jared:
Nice! Well I am honored to have you on here for a number of reasons. I wrote down like...you are a man of many talents, tiny house builder, Airbnb investor, YouTube content creator, Short Term Rental Coach and Expert. Tell us a little bit more like in kind of an elevator pitch form, if you can manage to compress all of that into an elevator pitch. What is it that you do?
Robert:
I will do my best. Iām so bad at keeping things concise. But effectively about a year ago I decided that I wanted to quit my job, you know my 9 to 5 job, and you know it took me a while to work up to that. And then back in March in 2021...I think February I actually did quit my 9 to 5 and it was really a tough decision for me but that was kind of the moment that I decided to go all in on YouTube and become a full time YouTube Creator and so Iāve been doing YouTube now for about 18 months, I started it January 2020.
So you know as I was becoming successful thatās really where this bug of like...quitting my job and doing that full time is really implanted in me. And so yeah March quit my job, became a full time YouTube Creator, teaching people all over the world you know...how to start a short term rental business, how to become an Airbnb host, how to build tiny houses, unique spaces, glamping sites and all that kind of stuff.
And then as recently in the last 4 or 5 months I became a Kajabi coach or a Kajabi hero I guess and released a couple of programs. And now you know I teach for a living as well, whether itās on YouTube or you know on Kajabi. Iām always teaching people how to build something, some kind of cash flow to help them escape their 9 to 5 job.
Jared:
That is awesome! There are so many cool aspects about this story like number 1: You became a content creator like...arguably to some degree like after the wave if you will, to some degree like...I think thereās at least - If I were thinking about doing something like this today, like you started this at a time to where content is...thereās excessive content, thereās more content than any individual can consume. So is there anything or any thoughts that you can like...what went through your mind like how could you speak to that like in terms of making that decision to do this during these times?
Robert:
100% man! I mean a lot of people would say that the glory days of teaching online, and courses, and programs were you know back in the early 2000 and I don't really agree with that, I mean...I think if you got something to say, if you got something to teach and you know people will listen, if itās really like a quality education that youāre trying to provide.
Same thing with YouTube, you know so many people use the over saturation argument to really you know not get started because theyāre just nervous theyāre never gonna make it. And unfortunately the reality is that might be true. I mean you know there are a lot of people online that are constantly creating content but that shouldnāt matter. I mean you could make the same argument for Airbnb.
There are a million Airbnb hosts out there you know...do I really want to start a new Airbnb? Well I donāt really get scared of the competition, I just want to go in and do my thing and thatās really kind of how I approach YouTube. I really did it for me, I never expected anything out of YouTube you know. I honestly started a YouTube channel and it was actually a DIY channel when I first started and I told my wife I was like āMan! If I could get like... Dewalt, or Ryobi or Milwaukee to just send me free power tools, I would have been super super like...I would have counted myself lucky right?ā
And so that was really my mentality, I just wanted to make enough money on ad revenue to buy Chipotle burrito every week and get some power tools. And I did it for me, you know. My ultimate goal when I started YouTube was to get 1,000 subscribers and you know it took me 6 months to do that, and I was like so happy and so grateful that I did that. To me it was a dream come true and I told myself when I hit a 1,000 subscribers āHereās to 5k! You know itāll take me a few years to get to that, and Iām so excited to kind of continue this journey.ā
And then a week later I hit 5,000 subscribers, and then about a week or two after that I hit 25k subscribers. So you know itās not always gonna happen that way, I think today if I started a brand new channel I canāt say I could do that again. You know I think thereās a lot of luck involved with it but when you match up luck with hard work you know great things happen.
Jared:
Yes, I love that! I think the quote that I attached to is luck is when opportunity meets preparation. Itās the combination of those two.
Robert:
100%
Jared:
Iād love to kind of just get into your mindset a little bit more like quitting your job, thatās a big deal. What happened in between there like... the step between saying āI quit and Iām gonna be a YouTuberā like...I donāt want to ask like did you have a million dollars sitting behind the scenes that you had to count on? Did you have a fallback plan like, what was like... how did you kind of overcome the risk associated with this?
Robert:
For sure man! Well you know I started my Airbnb business about 4 years ago and you know I never really spent any of the money at all that I was making from that Airbnb business. I kept dumping it back into my business and you know I was dumping all my profits to buy another house, to buy another house, acquire another house, until you know that profit effectively more from like $1K to $2K a month to $25K a month. And so after I just counted that up I was like āWell thatās more than I make at my job so I donāt understand why you know...why Iām so scared to do this.ā
But you know about...letās say I started my channel in January of 2020 and then around July of 2020, I decided to start a consultation business where I just consulted people one on one on how to start an Airbnb and you know a glamp site and all that kind of stuff. And I was charging you know a really really hefty hourly rate to do that. And it started out with like 1 to 2 a week and then it morphed into 3 to 4 a week, and then it morphed into me to being booked a month in advance.
So you know I was working round the clock right? I was working my 9 to 5, at 5 pm I would then go and do 3 or 4 consultations every night - every single day of the week, and my throat really really hurt. And I think I just had this moment where I counted up all my chips and I was like āWell 3 to 4 consultations a week is about 10% of the time that I put in that work, and itās about 4X the amount of money that I make at work. And Iāve got this Airbnb business that is making me like $25K a month. Like...why am I putting myself through this stress of working in 9 to 5? I make so much more money doing all these other stuff.ā
And mind you, like my wife and I together at our full time jobs we were making about $185K a year, not a small amount of money right? I mean that it is what most people were like...that was our goal. If I could ever get to $200K with my wife...weāre gonna be so set, itās gonna be so great, like we were gonna be able to go out and eat sushi, and we're gonna travel anywhere we wanted, and it really was that. But then you added the whole consultation and the Airbnb side of that, and I really just started to realize that I had no more time.
And so while I was making a lot more than 185K doing all of that together, I was also realizing I had zero time like there wasnāt a single moment of my day that I had a moment to relax. And so making a lot of money effectively was a lot less sexier than I thought because I had no time to hang out with my wife and my kid, and now I have two kids.
And so thereās just kind of a moment in November of 2020 or December of 2020 where I was like āMan why am I doing this? You know thereās no reason to do this.ā And my wife was like, āWell just quit!ā And I was like āWell...I mean you quit!ā You know and I was just sort of defensive because I had spoken to a lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of millionaires honestly at that time like 3 or 4 in a span of a week, just randomly-just being a YouTuber connecting with different people.
And they also had the same thing they were like āRob I watched your channel, I know how much you make cause you talk about it. Why do you still have a job?ā And I was like āI don't know healthcare I guess?ā And really it was just kind of one of those things where you know...I really sat down and I was like āI think theyāre right like why am I still doing this?ā
We moved here to Tennessee shortly after you know...we left our house in LA. We bought a cottage here in Gatlinburg that was on 50 acres and I was just so busy everyday - going to bed at like you know 1 or 2 am just working. And I just told my wife I was like āI think itās time.ā And she was like āYeah, duh! It was time months ago.ā And I was like āAlright fine! Iām gonna do it, Iām gonna do it!ā And she was like āYeah, do it then!ā
And you know it was really like one of those things where she was so on board with me quitting so early on and I just really had to talk myself into it. So in retrospect I waited too long. I wish I had started earlier. But you know what? Iām glad that it worked out exactly the way it did because I was able to leave that career behind and you know 5x, 6x my income just from doing that cause I got all my time back.
Jared:
Yes, I love it! Isnāt it funny how the situation as to where everyone else in the world sees the thing and it takes you...youāre the last person to see the thing about you, that you...the decision that you need to make or whatever it is. But Iād love to kind of figure out like where Kajabi came into the picture for you on this journey. Youāre doing coaching like...how are you using the platform?
Robert:
Yeah, for sure man! Well you know I think when I was doing consultations you know like I said I was charging a pretty decent hourly rate and I was just like āMan, this is so great! Like if I do 4 of these a day.ā And you know I was kind of counting it all up and what I realized is that itās impossible to scale when youāre selling your time, your hourly time for like a finite dollar amount right? Cause you only have a certain amount of time.
So, letās just say that you know I started the consultation business and letās say that I would have worked myself up to like $1K an hour, just to like... put it out there. Even at a full time rate you know if Iām working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, thereās only a certain amount that I can make doing that. Thereās only a certain amount I can make if I was charging 2K or 3K. So you can't really ever scale when youāre just selling slots of your time.
And so thatās kind of where a few people had reached out to me, a few of my consults, they were like āMan! Why don't you like... put together a course?ā And I was like āNo. Who would want to hear that from me?ā And they were like āWell, I mean we just paid you like a lot of money for an hourly rate, so I would.ā And I was like āOkay!ā You know so it was kind of one of my coaching clients, one of my consultation clients that really put the bug in my head and I was like āOkay, thatās an interesting thing!ā And I was like āLet me think about that.ā
And that was back in August of 2020. And so that was it! So I was like āOkay, fine. Sounds good!ā You know if I could make a program, a course and charge like $300 and sell it to a thousand people like that would be really cool right? And so thatās where my journey started was like...alright what do I have to do?
And so, I started studying the-not the psychology but like the structure of courses and I was watching Graham Cochrane quite a bit online and Iām sure you guys are familiar with him. And you know really just kind of understanding the...I don't know - the world of course making. And I actually came from an advertising and marketing background, so itās not like it was new stuff to me in terms of the lingo and the lexicon involved with creating courses. But it was very new in that...the idea of funnels, and like you know lead magnets, and conversion rates, and webinars. That was all like crazy, crazy hard for me.
So anyways the bug was kind of implanted in me in August, then in October I said āLetās do it!ā Like I put a date in my calendar, I went out to one of my Airbnbs with my editor. We shot for 3 or 4 days in a row and that was it. So he edited it for like the next 3 months, and in April...like I said it was probably more than 6 months. But then in April I finally released my very first program that was called the Robuilt Glamp Camp and that was you know a 1 week launch, where basically I was selling a program thatās like a 6 weeks experience, that was like 6 coaching calls, and you know 6 guest speakers, and 6 vendors and then 80 videos of Glamping Content.
And that was a really, really you know crazy moment for me because that was the moment where I really had to make some big decisions, this was April. I quit my job in March and I told myself like... you know I told my wife like I was āOkay worst comes to worst, I can consult, I'm booked a month out so I can quit my job and we can just live on the consultation money.ā My wife was like āGreat!ā And I was like āBut I think, Iām relatively certain here that if I release a program I think weāre gonna make like $50K just on that.ā
And that would get us through for a relatively you know...good amount of time. I was like āIf we could make like 30K to 50K and I can make a month or two off, I donāt have to work so hard and I could really just focus on the family and growing my businesses and stuff. And my wife was like āYeah, I know. Just do that.ā And I was like āOkay, great!ā
And so I actually launched that program and it ended up being about 10 times more successful than I had allotted for. And I really didnāt know how to process that. I think that was kind of the moment for me where I was like...okay, things are real, that was you know...that crushed every monetary goal Iāve ever made and people like what I have to say, you know people loved the program. I actually taught so many people how to do it and thereās so many people in the world right now starting glampsites.
And I felt really validated because I could then go from speaking to one person for an hour at a time to speaking to 250 people at a time. And instead of answering the same question every single day, exactly the same 4 times a day you know like...instead of doing that and driving myself crazy and legitimately hurting my throat, I was like āOh okay, I could just answer the question one time like in an all inclusive program.ā
So that program ended. You know itās closed right now. I don't really sell it anymore, I will at some other point when I decide to relaunch it. But that was kind of like okay, we made great money, Iāve kinda learned the idea - the world of courses and like teaching people. I was having a positive effect, I felt really good about that. That allowed me to take a little bit of time off from the grind sort of. And thatās where I could really focus on YouTube because I wasnāt so much worried about money, I was just like āOkay letās just have some fun.ā
Fast forward to today and I just closed cart on a different program. It's called Host Camp and itās a little bit more designed to teach Airbnb Host, how to start an Airbnb business. And from start to finish itās 80 plus videos, it will end up being probably like 14 hours of video content and all that kind of stuff. And that surpassed my first program by a lot, I think I got like a hundred more students just on that.
So for me Iām just kind of really at the beginning of this, you know Iām really happy to be here, Iām really happy that people [inaudible 14:54] like what I have to say and you know I really feel like more than just YouTube. I mean YouTube is really awesome because I feel like I can reach you know a lot of people like...I have 300k, 400K people tuning in every single month. I have 117K subscribers. So I definitely get to impact people kind of in a larger capacity from YouTube.
The really cool thing with programs and with courses and everything on Kajabi specifically is that, now I get to really sharpen the pencils a bit and I get to whittle down that audience to 200 to 300 people at a time or I guess 200 to 400 people at a time. And I get to actually show people in excruciating detail how to do what I do. You know YouTube I can only really put out a 10 to 20 minute video, no one is really gonna watch that. You know I mean...sorry no one is really gonna watch longer than that if I get into excruciating details like...should you get a propane tank? Should you get a propane BBQ grill? Should you do charcoal? Like that kind of stuff is boring.
But the people that signed up for my programs are craving that kind of information. So I can be as long winded and as educational as I want with the program. And itās really gonna impact people in a positive way. Itās been really interesting to teach people on a big platform like Youtube, and then really kind of finesse and craft, and curate a program for a much smaller group of people that can literallyā¦ thatās literally going to change their lives. You know not just because of me but just because they can go out and actually live their dreams, and achieve their dreams and I can help them like... if I can help them in any way do that, that to me is more gratifying than any amount of money that I can make in the program.
Jared:
Well you briefly touched on kind of some of the new terminology and some of the I guess things that were unfamiliar to you when you are jumping into this phase. What was the hurdle that you had to overcome to get this up and running?
Robert:
Okay. Let me just say this okay. Entering the world of programs and courses and everything like that, itās not necessarily an easy thing like I said I had a head start right? So I was in advertising so itās not like concepts had to be like really dumbed down for me. I understand the general concept of a funnel and you know automations, and email campaigns and that kind of stuff...open rates, you know clickthrough rates.
But like putting together a course and curating the outline, and uploading stuff, and interfaces, that is extremely difficult. However, and you all didnāt pay me to say this. So this is really just me speaking truthfully here. The Kajabi platform saved my butt like time and time again when I was launching my first program. Because literally like the actual interface, was so freaking easy and like self explanatory. And when I had questions the live chat agent like that...I would hit up the live chat agents at like 3 am, kind of like tinker around and like get my website up and running.
And actually I launched my 1st program for under $4K. Like I paid a designer $4,000 to help me with my homepage, and like my logo, and like some of the you know images and everything like that. So from a cost perspective, you know when you factor in Kajabi and the design fees and everything. You know I probably spent like $6k to have like... a multi-six figure launch. And so a lot of that was a huge relief to me that I could just...I knew that I could contact like a support agent at 2 or 3 in the morning.
So all to say you all did not coach me to say that. This is not an official endorsement but I really do truly believe that I was like very happy. Like when whenever anyone's like...you know what program do you use? Blah..blah..itās got to be Kajabi. Like now I work with a course agency and they were trying to pull me away from Kajabi to do some other one that Iāve never heard of and I was like āAh, ah. No chance!ā
I was like...I know Kajabi like at the back of my hand. Itās awesome, itās easy, the analytics there, are there. Iām not gonna learn another program and theyāre like āAlright fine!ā So I actually forced them to learn Kajabi and then they were kind of like āHey, actually youāre right this is like pretty nice!ā and I was like āYeah! Duh thatās why I like it, you know.ā
So all to say some of the difficulties was really just kind of understanding and kind of getting through automations, and like templates, and if this then what, and different sequences. Like if someone adds an offer to the cart but then abandons cart, you can then send out an email 8 hours later thatās like āHey! You left this in your cart, buy it now for you know 10% less or whatever.ā Like...itās like these little tricks and stuff that I had to like learn kind of like just by doing it.
I had a couple of little flabs here and there but a lot of it was just because I put together a really huge launch in less than a week you know. I had been editing it for a long time but then I just picked the day, and then the week before I launched I was Like āAlright time to get started!ā And thatās when I sent out my first email and l started doing kind of like warming up my email lists and everything like that.
So I talked to a couple of people in the industry and theyāre like āYup! You definitely should have done that like a month before, warm up your audience.ā You definitely donāt want to start a course launch the week before and I was like āI donāt know what Iām doing.ā But you know it worked and so I think that just goes to show that if you have something to teach that people want to learn. You know you can make a lot of mistakes, thatās probably gonna be okay.
I mean even having done it the second time, I felt like I was coming in as the vet, the pro right and the expert. And I still made so many little mistakes that I wish I would have changed you know in retrospect, but I still had a massive successful launch and itās still okay because people will just...they still like my content and what I have to teach. So you know... I don't know when I will really ever consider myself an expert in this but I feel like Iām pretty good at it. And it really didn't take but 2 or 3 weeks to really kind of figure out what I was doing.
Jared:
I love the highlight a little bit of that too because... first of all what month was it that you did your first launch?
Robert:
April.
Jared:
April 2021. It is...for reference point this is now September 2021. I think we just got some recent news of your new hero status. Care to share a little bit about that?
Robert:
Yeah, yeah! So I got an email from Kajabi like a day or two ago that I hit the $1M mark on Kajabi. So I think looking at my total revenue Iām at like $1.136M in like 6 or 7 months, so thatās life changing money to me right? And whatās really cool is you know, take it or leave it, but I kind of...Iāve done a series on this on my channel, Iām not necessarily happier because I have more money like itās awesome! But really what gives me great joy and gratitude is that I see it more than the numbers, I just see the amount of people that are super stoked and who say that their lives are changed from it.
And so the fact that I actually get paid to like change lives in a small way, like that to me is about as cool as it gets. So I got that email and I was like āHey, this is kind of cool!ā Like I can say I made you know a $1M and like...this is just you know 5 months after I quit a $185K steady paycheck you know.
So itās kind of one of those things that Iām just super grateful, Iām super grateful! And I donāt know what the next Kajabi milestone is but I really feel like Iāve hit my goals and Iām happy. And Iām like āOkay! Now what? What else can I do?ā Can I keep teaching people? Was there another program that can be equally impactful for people? And so Iām just super you know excited and little giddy itās like whatās next? You know this is my 1st year doing this like...what else do I have on the horizon? Like how else can I help shape peopleās like you know real estate careers?
Jared:
Thatās absolutely amazing! I think almost 100% positive for...youāre the first million tier here that weāve had on the show. So huge congratulations to you from us!
Robert:
Wow, cool.Thatās awesome!
Jared:
Absolutely amazing! Iād love to learn a little bit more about like...I guess what advice do you have for others who are considering like taking this leap and making that jump into the world of entrepreneurship?
Robert:
Yeah, totally. When you say taking a leap do you mean like the leap into you know pursuing a dream or the leap into teaching on a bigger platform?
Jared:
I think it's all of the above in this case because like you know we have...across the board we have people who are, like kind of in your case to where you know you had some...you already had some business sense, you already have your idea, you have something that you built. But we also have people who are... you know just given the time frame like I think we are in a unique point of history to where - you know thereās a lot of people that are just reconsidering like does the 9 to 5 make sense - so I probably hurt you by...I didn't help you by narrowing it down. Iāve broadened it for you.
Robert:
No, itās all good. I mean look, that's all good. I mean I can answer both. But I would say honestly the biggest advice and this is really the biggest advice in real estate is just like - you have to get started right? And so I think if youāre really thinking about pursuing something and that's a little scary to you, then you at a certain point just... you have to sort of outline and kind of just note-take on what you are trying to do, you know, like the concept of you know quitting your job.
What I did a hundred times before I quit my job was I mapped out the good, better, best scenario on what I would make if I quit my job. You know, I was like alright if I quit my job today, hereās what I predict that Iāll make this year. And the cool thing is that you know - the good, better, best scenarios, I squashed all those by you know 2 or 3 hecks on all of those. And itās just because I sat down and I wrote down my goals.
So this is kind of something thatās new to me which is like...you know Iāve been taking therapy and not for any particular reason other than people say itās like a good thing, itās healthy and Iām like āOkay letās do it.ā Iām busy, I have a very busy lifestyle. Just because Iām happy now doesnāt mean it's a sustainable kind of thing. So I decided āHey Iāll try this Better Help thingā which is like an online therapy thing, theyāre not a sponsor of this or anything.
But I started taking that and I was telling my therapist I was like āYeah you know, kind of crazy like this has been a good year for me, all of the things that I have mapped out had happened and I donāt really know what to do now.ā And sheās like āI think you need to set goals.ā Like go and write down your goals like what you wanna do in the next year. And really just start plotting out like an outline of what you want for yourself.
And so that is kind of something that Iāve really been working on quite a bit now and so I would give this similar advice to anyone thatās on this path which is write down what it is you want out of life, and start working, start writing a plan on how you want to get there. That really does apply even from a Kajabi kind of course program level too. Like if you like well...I would love to teach a course on real estate, or a course on flipping, or a course on whatever right?
The easiest thing you can do to get started is like start outlining what that course is. And I think for me I just thought it was so silly that a guy told me I should start a course cause I was likeā¦āWhat? Pffft! How can I speak for 8 hours?ā And so I just started mapping it out. I was like āAlright. If I was gonna teach somebody how to Airbnb from start to finish how would I do that?ā So alright Module 1: Getting started. Module 2: Marketing Analysis. Module 4: Set-up, 5: How to Furnish. And after I had laid it all out I was just like āHoly moly! I know so much more about Airbnb than I ever anticipated. I had no idea.ā
And so just by the simple act of writing out like a plan of how I would put this program together. That to me was all I needed to say āOh okay, actually I am kind of credible cause I know how to do all this stuff.ā And so I think writing down your thoughts is a much more clear way to run towards your goal than just letting them stew in your mind. And itās the same thing with quitting my job right? You know I was like...can I make enough money? And Iām over here trying to do complicated Math in my head. And I was like let me write this down.
I started writing down my income sources and I was like āOh! This is fine,ā you know. And so I think for anyone thatās looking to get in the entrepreneurial world of you know, quitting job, starting a course whatever, try to formulate your thoughts on paper. If it seems like simple youāll go āOh! I donāt need to do this, it's pretty simple.ā No, just do it! Because I think youāll start finding a lot more clarity and really start to kind of... I don't know, clear up the voice in your head on what youāre really trying to kinda get out there.
Now I will say, I was a copywriter in advertising so Iām a little bit more of a writer probably than a lot of people. But even then I think getting stuff on paper is really motivating because you know...I think you can actually read and say āOkay, I think I can do this!ā And then youās figure it out, you know. I had no idea what I was doing when I started my programs but you know it worked out because I was like āIām gonna figure it out.ā
Iām definitely the kind of person that likes to jump out of the airplane and assemble the parachute on the way down. And thatās what Iāve done at every step of my entrepreneurial journey. You know as an entrepreneur you really have to be willing to take a bet on yourself and Iāve done that at every point in my life and it always works out.
Jared:
Thatās awesome! And itās free to do, completely free to do.
Robert:
Itās completely free.
Jared:
Even if you donāt have a piece of paper you can find some place to carve it, draw a line in the sand or write it out. Well Iād like to kind of diverge a little bit from our normal...I guess structure if you will because weāre celebrating something that is kind of special to us here at Kajabi. Even special to me as someone of Hispanic heritage, weāre celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Which is something that I think you also...it also represents a little bit of your journey. So Iād love to hear like how has your heritage made an impact kind of on your entrepreneurial journey?
Robert:
Yeah, man! So I'm a 1st generation Mexican American. My parents immigrated here from Mexico and my dad was a doctor in Mexico, and my mom had a great job in Mexico too. And you know, 35..36..37 somewhere in there years ago, they decided to move to America. My dad was not able to carry his license over to America and he applied to you know...get his M.D. here and everything like that, but he didnāt know English. It was an expensive test to take and he was making minimum wage at the time. I think I donāt know $5 an hour or something.
So it really hurt me growing up that my father was always the smartest man in the room but was making you know minimum wage, when I knew that he was a doctor right? And he would be a Medical Assistant here, and an Xray Tech here. Just every year there were new regulations that would kind of require more certificates and more certifications in all that kind of licenses and all that stuff. It was just tough for him because he was learning English and he was really just trying to like put food on the table much less save enough money to take courses and classes in English right?
And so they were kind of doing real estate on the side and they would flip houses here and there. And I got to witness a lot of the different successes that they had. Some of the hardships that they had with it too and everything. And it was just really hard for them to scale up and become successful real estate investors because they had their jobs, you know, they didnāt have a lot of money to risk. Because if they risk everything and they lost it, you know, back to Mexico probably right?
So I think from our early age, I just really wanted to make them proud and say...okay you know I know they werenāt able to maybe become the real estate investors that they had hoped that they could become but they did a great job raising me, and they did a great job doing what they did with what they had. And so early on I was just like āAlright Iām gonna do this Iām gonna make them proud.ā
And everything I do really is for my parents. I mean they moved here and they gave up everything to provide me a pretty good life right? And to provide my sisters a really good life and Iām eternally grateful for that, because I just recognized how hard it was for them growing up because I lived it you know. Itās not like we were poor or anything but we certainly were not rich. But you know there were a lot of times when I was a kid when I wanted something and my dad was like āIām sorry son, like we don't have money for that.ā
And so just growing up as a kid I was just like āMan! I wanna give my parents the life that they wanted to give me.ā And so at the core of everything that I do, I mean ultimately I just wanna take care of them you know. I think itās my goal to buy my dad a truck and to buy my mom a house and you know be like āHey, I want you all to not worry about money anymore, like Iām taking care of you.ā And thanks to like - my programs and stuff like... I feel like Iām there, you know, like I feel like at this point my dad is about to retire and I told him I was like āI think you can retire dad like I got you, donāt worry about it.ā You know, thereās obviously a little bit of pride there he was like āNo, no, no, no donāt do that.ā Iām like āNo, I literally do this for you, you know, I love you and Iām so thankful for everything youāve done for me.ā
And so pretty soon you know my dadās gonna retire and Iāll get to help provide him with an income because of...you know everything they did for me and I think thatās ultimately what drives me. You know I have a wife and kids too, I know Iāll be providing for them. You know they live with me. But like getting to extend, even pass my own direct personal family and take care of my parents, that's like super important to me.
Jared:
I love that. Such a cool, cool history. Such a cool story and also a really great segue and to kind of back into how we you know... normally start kind of concluding this is just like...what all these changed for you? How is your life different like...since making this journey like had you not had taken these steps like...what would have happened? Or rather no letās just focus on in what actually has changed for you?
Robert:
Well a lot of things. I mean man, I donāt know itās like I get goose bumps really just thinking about this right now because itās like...I just started you know in January 2020. So itās been like a year and a half, like 20 months or something, since I started a YouTube channel. And it wasnāt very good. It was kind of dinky, I shot it on my iPhone and then it turned into something, right? It turned it into 1K subscribers and then 5K, 25K, 50K, 100K, you know 120K, and so like that to me is cool.
That to me really is a dream come true. And you know I donāt have a job anymore which is kind of weird. I mean I always say Iām unemployed but someone recently was like āNo, Rob youāre self employed that's something to be proud of.ā And I was like...I guess that's true you know. Iām at the point now financially where I donāt have to worry about, you know, how Iām gonna pay for my daughter's college. I donāt have to worry about that anymore right?
I donāt have to worry about what happens if I you know...I lose my job. Like this is my job right? And so this whole life of mine is just...it really is surreal because I just feel like Iām watching like...I feel like Iām watching myself do all these in kind of a surreal moment. Like thereās never a dull moment in my life, every single day Iām zooming and connecting with you know... my heroes on YouTube, or with other heroes that have reached out and Iām like āOh my gosh! I canāt believe Iām doing this right now,ā you know.
And itās all because I decided to take a chance and you know hit record, and publish it to my YouTube channel like...thatās something that really shaped a lot of what was to come. And so at this point you know Iāve had a lot of really cool opportunities between going on to podcasts like Dream Podcast, like BiggerPockets. For example, I was on PBS like PBS created a mini doc on me, I just shot a pilot. You know thereās just so many things that are happening and itās all because I was like, you know, willing to put myself out there. And I think thatās something that any entrepreneur really needs to understand is like opportunity is not gonna come and find you. You have to go and find the opportunity. You have to be there when the opportunity shows up. Otherwise it will show up for someone else.
And Iām always putting myself out there. Iām not really resting on my laurels here. Iām not settling. Everyday Iām pursuing everything. Probably a little bit to a detriment, I really donāt say no to a lot of things mostly because I understand that saying yes to things opens up new doors. And Iām just immensely proud of myself, you know. I think this is the first time Iāve probably said that but Iām proud of myself. And I just think you know if this is like the best year of my life right now then Iām really excited for 2022.
Jared:
Well Rob this has been absolutely inspiring, a pleasure. For anyone out there whoās interested in kind of seeing some of your work, anyone who isnāt familiar with it like whatās the best way to kind of get in touch with you?
Robert:
For sure man! Yeah check out the Robuilt YouTube channel itās R-O-U...What am I saying? Itās R-O-B-U-I-L-T like Rob built it. And then you can also follow me on Instagram @robuilt, and Iām on Tik Tok now Robuilto cause someone stole my username. So Robuilt with an āoā at the end. Ah yeah so Youtube is the main place if you wanna learn about Airbnb, tiny houses and real estate, you know my financial journey, my financial freedom, and quitting your 9 to 5, and weirdness, and wackiness, and goofiness and fun editing. The YouTube channel is gonna be the best place to do that.
Jared:
Right on! Well we will get those all in the show notes as well. For everyone listening, thank you so much as always for tuning in. Especially for this kind of our first ever episode where weāve touched on heritage which is something I think weāre really proud of. So thanks again for watching. Leave us a review, write us and let us know what we can be doing to make these episodes even more inspiring than they already are, which you know...This one I would say is probably one of the most inspiring yet.
Robert:
Nice, man! I appreciate that.
Jared:
Thank you Rob once again for joining us.
Robert:
Of course! Happy to be here.
Jared:
Alright! Until next time, we will see you all next week on the Kajabi Edge Podcast.
