Michael LaVan

Michael LaVan considers himself a self motivated guy who owns a few different businesses of things that caught his interest. He started off as a Real Estate Agent, then turned investor for his own company called Homes By LV, from there he figured he would cut the middle man and then started his own contracting company called HLV Contractors. His goal was to hit every phase of real estate.

Outside of that, he also own AnJ Vending which is a Vending Machine Company he started for his daughters, and just began operating For The Win Publishing, which is his publishing company for his 2 books just released. He turned his passion of Real Estate and turned it into a successful empire of different businesses.

Where did the idea for Homes by LV come from?

The Idea of Homes By LV LLC came from me honestly already having 2 years into the Real Estate business as being a agent and I knew investing was something I wanted to get into so I figured why not put my expertise to work and get some properties on the market.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My typical day is to wake up and pray first and foremost. I then get my daughter ready for her school day and once she gets on the school bus I hit the ground running. Reach out to my contractors to make sure all is going well on the jobsite we are assigned to then I may have to show some clients some homes or check up on my investment properties that are being worked on. After all that is done and I pick up my daughter from school, I usually get some family time in until about 930 or so and once everyone is asleep I will get on the computer to look for more homes for myself or my clients while listening to a podcast or educational YouTube videos.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Honestly bringing my ideas to life is a collective thing. When I purchase an investment I know where my skills lack so I may have my wife do the interior design and layout, my contractors do the labor and then I do my part and list and sell the home. I know the general look that will make a buyer happy and I allow everyone else to use their expertise to bring it to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

One thing that excites me is watching the process of taking a run down house and making it to a beautiful home. I love when clients walk into the property and just give the wow factor from the renovations that we have done. And getting a nice offer on the house isn’t so bad either, LOL.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

One habit of mines that makes me more productive is delegating certain tasks to other people. When I first started I was running all over the place trying to do it all myself but then I realized its more productive to have many people do 1 job than 1 person do many jobs. It gave me more time to take on new task and help keep growing the business.

What advice would you give your younger self?

The advice I would give my younger self is work now play later. I would of found ways to learn the investing business younger and get into the real estate game earlier so that now I could be many more steps ahead than where I am now. Sometimes us as people we figure things out later which is ok but we all wished we focused more on certain things earlier.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Take risks. A lot of people overthink things and be too cautious. I personally don’t live like that. If my heart says its a good idea to do something and invest my money in a certain thing I do it. I don’t like to go back and fourth and overthink because by the time I decide its a good idea the opportunity may be gone.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Continue to learn whatever business that you are inspired to conquer. I continuously study Real Estate from the successful people who are in the business. I watch podcast and read books learning things that can help grow my business. I also try to reach out to certain people who are more experienced than me and invite them for a sit down so I can learn the business and pick their brain on their experiences.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

One strategy that has helped grow my business is social media interaction. I post a lot of my closings and projects on there and it has given me the ability to interact with my following and they can see the results that I provide. It also helps me get new leads and clients who see that I can really provide amazing service for their needs.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

One failure I had was not budging a project correctly. When I first got into the business I didn’t know the process of correctly pricing materials and labor costs while also taking into effect the market of what a home could sell for. You don’t want to overspend on your renovation and then can’t get it back when you look to sell the home. How I overcame that was I held the property a little longer as a rental and when the market value of the home went up I then put it up for sale so that I could make a profit on it.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

One business Idea I will give away is become a property manager. It will help you learn the simple things of Real Estate if you manage property for established investors. When something breaks down for one of your clients you will get a first hand experience on the costs to fix it based on labor and material. Learn how to manage a project from beginning to end and learn the everyday hustle it takes to successfully complete one.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Best $100 I recently spent was on a course on another side business I just started. It was a course on self publishing a book which I did called “I Got The Keys”. This book is a Step by Step Guide for First Time Homebuyers and the course taught me the ins and outs on how to continuously make money from the book. That $100 can make me money for a lifetime as people will consistently need the info from the book when looking to buy a home.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

The software that helps me be productive is my email. Emailing is just a way to stay in contact with people throughout the day and also communicate anything that I’m looking to do with my peers. I can schedule a house showing with a client in my email as well as put offers in on properties for my investments. So email is definitely something that keeps me productive on a daily basis.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

I recommend you read a book called ” I Got The Keys” by Michael LaVan…No I’m just kidding lol. But I recommend Rich Dad Poor Dad. That book taught me a lot on Real Estate Investing and just how to properly handle your time and money.

What is your favorite quote?

“Begin with The End In Mind”.

Key Learnings:

• Take risks and believe in your decisions. You can never be wrong when you learn something from a bad decision.
• Continue to learn. Once you are in a certain business field keep researching and educating yourself on that particular business. The more you know the more you grow
• Find ways to expand your brand. Use whatever you are doing today to find ways to open other doors in the same field. Your brand as a whole can offer many different services for people which will increase your value.