Redefining Real Estate Investing by Flipping the Age Script with Ryleigh Eckles

Transcript

[Mattias]
Welcome to the REI Agent, a holistic approach to life through real estate. I’m Mattias, an agent and investor.

[Erica]
And I’m Erica, a licensed therapist.

[Mattias]
Join us as we interview guests that also strive to live bold and fulfilled lives through business and real estate investing.

[Erica]
Tune in every week for interviews with real estate agents and investors.

[Mattias]
Ready to level up?

[Erica]
Let’s do it.

[Mattias]
Welcome back to the REI Agent. I am fired up. I think, yeah, I don’t know.

I think that people will probably start laughing at me as many of my friends do when they give me feedback on some of the podcasts that I do because they can see my excitement level rise as I talk. But I just had a really awesome conversation with Riley Echols. Riley is 18.

She flipped her first house at 16 and is just hitting the ground running. She is super motivated and really into this whole real estate investing space. She got her license, a real estate license here recently as well.

And it just really excites me because of raising kids and how you want them to be involved or you want them to… Well, let me back step. I think that one of the things that I always think in the back of my head is, how will what I am doing affect and impact my kids?

And I think some people have the mindset if they build up wealth, if they build up generational wealth, that they want to gift their kids and make them not have to work, make them have a luxurious life and give them the things that they could never have. And I very much don’t have that mindset. I think that there are…

I want my kids to learn to A, appreciate things, appreciate everything you have and appreciate simple things. Enjoy the sunset. It doesn’t have to be a rich, wealthy thing that they have to be able to enjoy, right?

I want my kids to have a work ethic. I want them to feel fulfillment ultimately because I think that it is a fundamental part of happiness is to feel achieved, to go out and have hardship to some certain degree and to overcome it. I think I am a big believer that I’ve talked about this a lot, I’m sure, but just kind of how we have to almost self-impose hardship since our society is so designed to remove it, like to have everything kind of easy and comfortable.

And I think that to be happy and to be non-anxious often requires us to overcome things and to challenge ourselves and to exercise is a great example of that. We have to artificially impose ourselves into some, or artificially impose hardship through exercise. Like we have to go for, even walking, like we have to actually make ourselves do it because it doesn’t happen otherwise or running or lifting weights, high intensity interval training.

All that stuff is things that we kind of have to do to ourselves because our natural environment doesn’t require it anymore. And I think that is a very fundamental part of being healthy, but also a fundamental part of being mentally healthy. And I think it really boosts your happiness and takes away stress and anxiety.

So really believe in that. I think that in the same regard, one of the big key indicators of true authentic happiness and optimism is one of the big things for that is the state of flow. So getting into a state where you just are so absorbed in what you’re doing that nothing else can matter, nothing else can distract you from it.

For me, that could be like getting really into a song. If I’m playing and singing music, that can really get me into that state of flow. And I think that’s something that, again, our whole society, our cell phones, everything is kind of taking us out of that.

And so I think having, raising kids that are inspired, that are really passionate about something is super exciting to see. And to see somebody so young get so inspired and take action on things that a lot of others would be fearful of, a lot of people are fearful of, even that are much older than them. So really, really fun conversation.

I think ongoing thoughts about how to set your kids up for success is gonna be a reoccurring theme in this podcast. I hope Riley is an inspiration. I’m sure she will be to many, many kids for years to come that may not believe they can do something because they’re too young, may think that they can’t do it because they’re a woman or a girl.

I mean, I know that a lot of different things like that come into people’s heads, and she is a testament to that not being true. And she went and just did it. She put in a lot of time and effort to learn, to network, and she’ll get into that, but she ultimately set herself up to be able to do a deal by herself at 16.

So super cool episode today, guys. Check out Riley Eccles. Welcome back to the REI Agent.

I’m here with Riley Eccles. Did I say that right?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yep.

[Mattias]
Yes, I’m one for one this time. Riley, thanks so much for joining. I’m super excited about talking to you right now because it’s always fun to have somebody kind of in the same world as I am.

You are a licensed agent, but you’re also an investor. But you’re more of an investor than a licensed agent, you told me. That’s just kind of helping your business.

But more than that, it’s just super exciting to hear somebody that is into this in your age. So let’s start there. How old are you?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
I am 18 years old.

[Mattias]
Yeah, and when was your first deal that you did?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
I did my first deal at 16, but I got started in real estate about probably 10 years old. I’ve just been surrounded by it my whole life because of my dad.

[Mattias]
Okay, well let’s get into that. Like what got you into it? What’s your dad do?

Why are you a prodigy flipping the house at 16?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
So my dad, he owns a real estate company, a business, and he had a W-2 on the side. So I guess we’ll start back at the beginning. So I was a little kid.

I was going around helping my dad pick up sticks in the yard or painting houses because he used to do all the work himself before he hired it out. And I just kind of started to love it when my parents divorced because my dad was trying to figure out, well, how do I balance being a single dad and then also running a business? So he kind of got lucky because he combined the two out of necessity, but he got lucky because I started to like it a lot.

And I’ve been going to masterminds and I’ve been going to local groups. I’ve been reading books, listening to podcasts. And it kind of got started when I was listening to a podcast to a mastermind group that we go to, a national one.

And so I went there and started learning. And that’s when I kind of got the courage to split my house at 16.

[Mattias]
Okay, okay. First of all, yeah, lucky is right because I would love, I would love a kid to pick this kind of stuff up and show interest in it. We try to get them involved too.

Like we have them usually come along for the shovel snow, that kind of stuff. It’s just, I’m hoping that A, at least they see the hard work that goes into it and not just the benefits, so.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, I have people come up to me all the time saying, well, how did you do it? How did you do it? So finally we, the local group kind of asks us to speak on stage at our local.

So a couple hundred investors or whatever. And the presentation was titled how to get your kids involved in real estate. So that was one of our presentations that we had to do.

[Mattias]
It’s perfect, I love it.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
And I did that about maybe 14 years old. So just a couple of years before I did that flip.

[Mattias]
Okay, okay. So let’s, I wanna hear a little bit more about what your dad does. So he was kind of like a, he owned property to rent long-term.

He was buy and hold kind of for his time. Then that’s what you were helping with is buy and hold properties.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, for a while we did buy and hold and then we started getting into flipping.

[Mattias]
Okay.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
And then we did a little bit of wholesaling. Actually, wholesaling’s illegal in my state. But we did that maybe a couple times.

But flipping and buying and hold, that’s mostly what we, what our specialty is.

[Mattias]
Okay. Yeah, that’s cool. And so I would imagine you’re also like if there’s a property that makes sense to keep, you’re doing the BRRRR strategy where you’re flipping it but keeping it and refinancing it and renting it out.

Oh, cool. That’s so fun. Okay, so you were, started kind of getting involved with this at 10.

When did he start investing? Like was he doing this your whole life?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, so he actually closed on his first property, I think, when I was born.

[Mattias]
Okay.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Like the week or something that I was born. So he kind of took our whole family around and we had dinners at these properties. Like he was swinging the hammer by him.

Like he was doing all the work by himself, so.

[Mattias]
Yeah, that’s a whole different game. I don’t do, I manage people. But we have a similar story where we found our first flip when a week before my wife was scheduled for a C-section for our second child.

So we, yeah, I had to convince her that that was the best thing to do, to go under contract on this new scary thing that we’ve never done before. But hopefully this means that my kids are gonna get involved. I’m excited.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Well, I’m like, I feel like having a kid and also purchasing a property is not easy.

[Mattias]
Yeah, well, and the way I describe it too is that I think that often people are wanting to nest at that stage. They’re wanting to kind of get all the house ready to like be secure and kind of batten down the hatches and we’re gonna get through this period of time. It’s gonna be harder.

We’re gonna, I’m having to lose sleep, all that kind of stuff. And so to take on something new like that is definitely, it’s not for everybody.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, definitely not.

[Mattias]
Okay, so you were surrounded by, you know, your whole life and then at 10, you kind of started going out and helping and getting more interested in, is what you were saying?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, so at 10 years old, my parents, they divorced and that’s when, like I said, I had to get involved just out of necessity.

[Mattias]
Sure.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
And so kind of the kickstart of it was we were in the car and he was listening to a podcast and he’d always been listening to like Bigger Pockets and that’s when he found our national mastermind group.

[Mattias]
Okay.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
And the guy on there was the host of it at the time was really goofy guy. He had just such a great personality and I really connected with him. And that’s when I was like, I kind of want to meet this guy.

And my dad had been going to these groups, this national group, or he hadn’t been going to them at the time, but this was going to be his first time going.

[Mattias]
Okay.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
And I was like, can I come? And he’s like, I don’t think kids come to this kind of stuff. Like you go to these real estate groups and you’re like, there’s no kids here.

Like, why would they be interested in this? So I was just intrigued by the fact that people are making millions of dollars doing this. And I just wanted to learn more.

And my dad was like, well, I’ll tell you what, you make a video for this guy. And if I happen to see him, this is like an event for hundreds and hundreds of investors, realtors, whatever. And he’s like, I don’t think I’m going to see this guy, but whatever, I’ll make a video.

So I’m making this video for this guy. And I’m like, hey, I want to be a flipper just like you. I want to be in real estate just like you.

And my dad goes to the event. And on the first day, on the first break, the host starts walking down his aisle. And he’s like, this is it.

I got to stop him. So he stopped the guy and he showed him my video. And the guy was like, what?

I can’t believe like this, because I was 11, I think. And he’s like, I don’t know how an 11-year-old is watching my stuff, but good on her. So he sends me a video back.

I’m all excited. And then he shows my video on stage. And so all these adults are looking at my video.

And they’re just like, what? This is crazy.

[Mattias]
I’m sure they were loving it.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
I know.

[Mattias]
And so then the next day- Wait, hold on, hold on though. Is it Brandon Turner that you’re talking about or who?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
No, no, this is in bigger pockets. This is a seven-figure flipping.

[Mattias]
Okay.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
And the host at the time was Justin Williams. And so yeah, Justin shows my video on stage. And then he said that he was going to invite my dad and I back out to California is where they were hosting it.

And that’s where he lives. And we got to go to Disney and we got to meet his family and surf with them. And then he surprised me by saying that he was going to give me free tickets to the event that year.

[Mattias]
Wow. Okay. This is the formula guys.

This is how you get your kids involved. I mean, although you showed the initiative before the Disney tickets happened.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mattias]
You earned it. That’s amazing. What a cool story.

I know.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
It’s kind of surreal like looking back on it now but that’s kind of what happened. Like how I got really involved in it.

[Mattias]
I think that’s one of the really cool things about real estate investing that the whole world I think that whole world of the real estate investing. I feel like people are really ready for people to get excited and want to pass on the knowledge. It’s something that there’s not really I think the real estate investing world is very abundant.

I feel like people feel that abundance more than other areas. Like I would say it’s more than real estate sales. I think that one tends to feel more scarce and fierce and competition oriented where I think the real estate investing side is a lot more abundant.

And I think people are just kind of excited with open arms ready for you to, I just can’t believe that you’re that young and interested in it. It’s so cool. So let’s, okay.

So let’s fast forward a little bit. So you, your dad has now gotten you looped into different masterminds and local national of you’re being fired up by these often very motivating speakers and things like that. So then you decide you’re gonna do your first flip.

Can you talk us through that a little bit?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, so let’s see. I fast forward a few years, I’m networking with people. I’m like connected with so many people around the country in my local area.

And I, let’s see. Oh, so I went to one of the events and I spoke on stage the year before at the national group. And it was how to get your kids involved in real estate.

So one of the parents had brought their kid and their kid had listened to my speech. And then it’s one of the, the parent is one of the people on the crew of that runs the event. And he brought his little kid.

I think he might’ve been 12 or 10, just a little few years younger than me at the time. And that kid had done his like first flip or rental buy and hold. And he was showing the process of how his kid was doing it.

And he was calling up these people. And he was, of course the dad was helping him a little bit, but like it was just getting the kid involved that it was like, oh my gosh, I can do this. Like, I know I can do this by myself.

I have enough knowledge. I have enough, you know, I can do it. So after that speech, cause he had spoke a year after me saying how he did it.

I started calling up all these wholesalers I knew. I started talking to contractors I knew, started to figure out, okay, how do I raise money for this? Cause you don’t, as most of your people may know, you don’t need to use your own money.

You can raise, you can raise money. You can use private money lenders. So I talked to a contractor that was there and he said, yeah, of course I can help you do this.

I was talking to, I think I got home and I was talking to these wholesalers. Cause that was like one of the ways I figured out how to find free leads, just talking to wholesalers. And so our local REIA had a list on Facebook and I didn’t even have Facebook at the time.

I had to download it. And I was contacting all these wholesalers. And of course I got like a bit of like F-U texts and whatever, because I don’t know.

But then I finally found one of somebody who had a deal 30 minutes from my house. And I was like, okay, let’s go look at this house. Looked at the property.

The guy didn’t know that I was 16 years old. And then found it was a good deal. I was like, okay.

So I negotiated down like $5,000 and then sealed the deal. I found private money and I had that contractor who said he was gonna help me and the deal started.

[Mattias]
Okay, so I’m thinking through some of the logistics of this. I don’t, I would imagine to get a traditional mortgage, which I know you didn’t, would require your parents A, like for your income isn’t there, et cetera. But, so there wasn’t anything that your dad had to sign or anything as well?

Did they, was there?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
No, so he did have to co-sign because I’m not old enough.

[Mattias]
Okay, I was wondering.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
But with the private money lender, it is somebody that I already knew by networking. So he, it was basically him putting trust into me.

[Mattias]
Okay.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
So I, yeah. So we kind of called over the phone and made a deal with that.

[Mattias]
Okay, sure. Wow.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
So, and he funded 100% of the purchase and rehab.

[Mattias]
Wow.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
That’s why I was not able, that’s why I didn’t have to put any of my own money into it because I didn’t have any money.

[Mattias]
Sure, yeah.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
But I just, I feel like people just skip over the fact that networking is very important. Like I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I wasn’t networking years and years before because I had these contacts.

[Mattias]
And you know, they’re going to have more trust in you because they’ve seen you like show up and you’re engaged and involved. You’re not like, yeah.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
I’m not this random kid that came up and said, hey, I want some money.

[Mattias]
I guess you’re going to have an extra hurdle to get past for sure. So, I mean, you really earned that right by putting in that time and showing that interest and that’s so cool. Do you have by chance any of the speeches you’ve given on YouTube or anything that people could find for like how to get your kids invested?

I mean, I’m talking, asking for a friend.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
I could give those to you if I looked because one of them, yeah, I might be able to because there was a Facebook Live on it so I’m not entirely sure. But yes, I can try to find something for you.

[Mattias]
I mean, I feel like that would be really cool for a lot of people to see. I think a lot of people listening to this would be really excited about that idea of how to foster that. I mean, I think with a lot of people, sometimes you see wealth really destroy families and so I think that’s maybe something that’s been always in the back of my head as building up a rental portfolio that hopefully will have lasting value for a long time.

You kind of in the back of your head think about how is this gonna impact your kids and how can you set them up for success. And obviously, I’m not gonna push my kids to do exactly what I do. They can find their own path.

But I mean, if they would love to, if they would get into it, it would be amazing. And having them do something like that would be, yeah, just a dream, so cool. So then 16 did that first deal.

Have you been doing deals since then?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
So that’s what a lot of people ask me. The company that my dad runs is dad and daughter buy houses. So he wasn’t trying to like groom competition per se.

I was just doing that deal because I just wanna prove to myself, well, I can do this because this other kid pushed me. So I’ve been going to these groups and it was like 21 and plus going to these groups. So it wasn’t like I had peers around me kind of pushing me.

But when he spoke on stage, it was like the push that I needed because I was like, oh, I got this, not competition, but I need to do better. So yeah, I just did that. And the profit I used on that, I bought my first car with.

And then I also, it was just gonna last me through high school. So I don’t know, just because I didn’t have a job, I wanted to go into this. So I wanted to kind of set myself up.

And then my dad and I are now working together. It’s our business. So we do deals is what I’m trying to say.

It’s not like I’m gonna be doing my own stuff.

[Mattias]
Yeah, that’s cool. No, that makes a ton of sense. And honestly, you could easily be that to a lot of other kids.

Like, wait, she did it, right? You’re gonna be that inspiration or the whatever competition. It’s all good if it motivates you.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, after I spoke on stage about all that, and then I flipped that house, more and more people, more and more kids started speaking on stage at the event, the national group, and more kids started getting involved. And then it sparked, I don’t know if you wanna talk about this yet, but it sparked the TV show, Kids Who Flip, which I am going to be starring in.

[Mattias]
So cool, yeah, let’s talk about it. Has that started filming already, or what’s?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, so we just got done filming a couple months ago, and they’re just waiting to see who picks it up. So I’m not trying to, I can’t say too much about it, but what I can say is that you should definitely have your kids be watching it. Should definitely, adults can learn from it too.

[Mattias]
Yeah.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
It’s gonna be exciting. So it’s just stuff that’s unheard of.

[Mattias]
Yeah, it’s like just a, so many adults are terrified of that process, of honestly, like, you know, most people that buy a house for the first time in general, even if it’s turnkey, they’re gonna be nervous and scared to do so. So that’s like a nice, shocking title.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah.

[Mattias]
Get interest, that’s gonna be a hit. I love it, that’s so cool.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, I’m excited.

[Mattias]
I’m definitely gonna get, yeah, my kids. So I have a child turning eight on the Super Bowl, so that will, I’m excited to see what she thinks about it.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
I know, I’m really posting when it comes out or anything. We did get months that it could have been, that it could be coming out, but they’re not sure right now. It’s most likely gonna come out this year.

I just don’t know when, because they’re trying, like I said, they’re trying to make sure it goes out so that the most eyeballs can see it.

[Mattias]
Sure, absolutely. Yeah, that’s so cool. Have you done any YouTube stuff as well, or?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, I did YouTube stuff when I was younger, doing walkthroughs of our houses, but we’ve kind of slowed down on that because the editing process is kind of daunting, so.

[Mattias]
It’s a whole thing in itself.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, yeah, it’s another, it’s like when you run a podcast, because you actually can attest to this, like you have a podcast, it’s like another job.

[Mattias]
Yeah.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Is what I’ve heard.

[Mattias]
Yeah, and we’ve definitely been doing some of the outsourcing to make it sustainable for everything else we do, but yeah, it is. I mean, there’s work editing, there’s work publishing, there’s work, yeah, getting all the social media stuff out, so totally, and that’s absolutely true for YouTube as well.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Oh, yeah.

[Mattias]
Yeah, okay, so now let’s talk about you getting your real estate license.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, so I started studying when I was 17 because I wanted to kind of help within our business, so like I said, like I told you, I didn’t get my license to do retail, but if something falls in my lap, I’m not gonna not do it because it’s also learning because retail and working with investors are kind of two different, they’re very different. I just, I agree, like, so.

[Mattias]
Two different worlds.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, yeah, so I got my license in September and that’s when I turned 18, but I had to get it in Iowa because, so I, for those who don’t know, my market is Omaha, Nebraska and I live here, but we are like on the border where Iowa and Nebraska meet, so Council Bluffs is like 30 minutes away.

[Mattias]
Got it.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
And I had to get my Iowa license first because Nebraska, for those who don’t know, 19 is an adult, so I’m 18 right now, just turned 18 in September and I couldn’t get my license in my own state. So I was able to sit in and do the test when I was 17, but I wasn’t actually allowed to apply until, and do the application process until I was 18 exact, so.

[Mattias]
I’m so blown away by you. Like, you’re like, the day it happens.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yes. It’s like when you get your driver’s license, you’re like, I need to get it the day.

[Mattias]
Oh, that’s amazing, yeah. I mean, I guess, so for a lot of people that wouldn’t be the case. They wouldn’t be eager to start a new job or whatever, but as a high school student or freshly out, and so just, yeah, to you to equate that to getting your driver’s license is very telling to who you are because that’s like this new sense of freedom you have, right?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yes, yes.

[Mattias]
It kind of is, right? I mean, you get to go to the property without having to go through somebody else if it’s on the market. Yeah, so when you do turn 19, are you gonna have the same kind of thing ready to go so that you have your license in your own state?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, I think reciprocity. I, well, actually, I don’t know. I’ve been hearing different things, but I’m, yeah, I’m gonna try to get my Nebraska right when I turn 19.

[Mattias]
Okay, and what do you mean by, like, you might be able to get it without having to do another exam or?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yes, yeah, yeah. My broker told me that you don’t have to, but then I was talking to another agent, and they said it’s not a thing anymore or something. I don’t even remember, but whatever it takes, I’m gonna do it.

It doesn’t matter.

[Mattias]
You’ll be ready.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Reciprocity or not, I’m gonna do it, yeah. Yep, yep.

[Mattias]
So cool. So you now are, like, full-time with this business with your dad, right? I mean, this is what you do.

Yeah, okay, so cool. So what are your goals with that business? What are you all trying to accomplish a year, or how do you kind of plan?

Is it whenever something comes across your lap?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, so this is gonna be a big year for us. We’re actually starting to get into new construction, which is very different, because we have not done new construction before, but the market is changing, so I feel like we have to adapt to it. There’s a lot of people need these lower-priced houses like first-time homebuyers, so we’re just trying to kind of fill the need for that, the housing.

[Mattias]
So you’re trying to build something that’s affordable for people.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yes, but for us to still be able to make a little bit of money from it, so that we’re not going broke, obviously, but we’re trying to figure out some layouts and places that need it, so.

[Mattias]
Yeah, that’s really cool. I mean, it is such a need, and even, you know, there’s, of course, the whole trickle-down kind of effect if you do create housing supply in a certain price range, it does free up, often, housing in a cheaper place, but yeah, that affordable niche is a really hard one, and it’s a good one to fill, because there’s always gonna be a demand, for sure. And so that would be for sale, not for rent, right?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
For sale, did you say?

[Mattias]
You’re gonna sell those, not rent them?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yep.

[Mattias]
Okay.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yep, and we had kind of gotten the idea, because in our national mastermind, I go back to this, because being in a group really helps, and I know a lot of people don’t like to put in the money to be in a group, but it’s worth its price, I feel. But the couple people we know in the group, they are doing this kind of thing in different states, and so we’re trying to, like, copy that, That model? Yeah, yeah, the model.

But we get our own.

[Mattias]
Yeah, no, that’s brilliant. I mean, you know, if it’s working, it’s a great thing to go off of. And again, that’s like such a good example of how the investing space can be really collaborative and abundant, and people are eager to help.

If you were in the same market, maybe not as much.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah.

[Mattias]
Maybe not quite as much.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
They all have that abundance mindset, until they have the scarcity mindset when you come over to.

[Mattias]
Yeah, yeah, if you’re gonna build the exact same product right beside them for $5,000 cheaper, that might be a problem. But yeah, it’s great. I mean, I agree with you completely.

I mean, being in a group really opens doors. It helps you think in new ways, and it gives you new ideas. It gives you people to talk to if you encounter a problem, to see if they’ve ever encountered that problem.

I mean, you can get recommendations for insurance for mortgages for all sorts of different things, and it just really does help, and I think that’s true on the sales side and the investing side.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, and our group especially has accountability groups, so it’s easy for us to kind of stay accountable, because we have those people around us.

[Mattias]
So Riley, are you actually in your own kind of group for accountability, or are you in it with your dad?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
I typically do my own group. I used to do with him, but it’s like a weekly thing, and I was paired up with another girl that’s my age. So she’s also on the TV show, and she also does stuff.

So we kind of keep each other accountable. Like, we’re like really good friends outside of everything, because we’re both the same age. We like the same stuff, obviously.

Our passion is in real estate, so it’s not easy for me to find people like that, because who around me is into all this entrepreneurship kind of stuff at my age. I don’t know.

[Mattias]
No, totally. I mean, I have the same kind of, there’s definitely people that I can talk to about certain things and people I can’t, and it’s much more common at my age.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah.

[Mattias]
So that’s awesome. So I mean, yeah, so you’re like tracking goals kind of thing. You’re setting what you want for the year, pulling it down the quarter.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, doing smart goals.

[Mattias]
Yeah, cool. Yeah, so cool. I mean, what a great habit to have, I mean, at your age.

Like I, yeah, so cool.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, even if you’re not in accountability groups, I would say find that person that helps you keep accountable.

[Mattias]
Yeah.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Because you don’t need a whole group, but it’s just kind of easy to have that person with you.

[Mattias]
Yeah, because if you don’t do these things, really life happens to you. You just kind of, a lot of people just go through life and it just happens to them. And this is a way for you to set forth your dream, like find your dream, go after it, and really make it a reality.

And learning how to do that at 19, I mean, the sky’s the limit. It’s awesome at 18. Sorry, yeah.

I even earlier.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
I know, I wish.

[Mattias]
You probably started earlier, yeah, right? You probably started tracking that stuff earlier. That’s just so cool.

But what are your, I mean, do you have like big aspirations for the future? Like, I mean, what, you’re gonna be financially set a lot earlier than a lot of other people.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
That is the goal to be financially stable. I want to be able to travel. I feel like everybody has that same goal, but I just, I don’t know.

I just want to travel. One of the kind of weird things that nobody really knows is that I’m really into fitness, into the gym. So I kind of want to open my own gym.

That’s like a thing that nobody really knows, actually.

[Mattias]
That’s cool.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
But putting it out there, I want to open up my own gym. Maybe have a few. Don’t know where, don’t know when.

That’s just been a goal of mine because I love fitness and I love real estate. So how do you combine the two? There you go.

[Mattias]
Yeah, I mean, and that’s often one of the people’s goals as well, is something health-related, right? To kind of live a balanced life. So that’s really cool.

Have you heard of Alex Hermizzi? Have you read any of his books?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Alex who?

[Mattias]
Alex, I think the last name’s Hermizzi. He’s a influencer guy. He is like business guru.

Really, really smart, really good books. But he started off with gyms. He created a product that could get gyms more profitable, basically, and sold it to them.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Oh, cool.

[Mattias]
But he would, yeah. I mean, he’s great. 100 million dollar leads and 100 million dollar, what’s the other one?

Shoot, I can’t remember. Look up 100 million dollar leads and you’ll find him. And that’d be one of the books.

But he’s prolific on social media, YouTube, all that stuff.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Oh, cool, that’s awesome.

[Mattias]
So speaking of which, I wanted to talk to you about books. You have one that you think is really good for people to read or one that you’re really enjoying?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
So I actually, I brought it with me. So I chose Rich Dad Poor Dad for teens and not just the original, but for teens because my story kinda stems off of from me being a younger person getting into the industry. So I think, so the reason why I brought this book with me is because this is like one of the books that got me started a little bit.

My dad gave it to me and he’s like, here, read this. And I was like, okay. So I was.

[Mattias]
What age were you when you read that the first time?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Probably 10 or 11.

[Mattias]
Not even a teen yet.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mattias]
You wanted to have it done by the time he became a teen.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yes, exactly, exactly. So I was prepared, just like the licensing, just like everything. No, but I brought that book because I feel like people who are listening to this, even if you’re not just starting, at least maybe get your kids involved.

It is hard because kids are very impressionable at a younger age and then when they become teens, they’re kind of like, oh, I don’t really care about that. So it’s hard to kind of get them involved if they’re a little bit older, but it’s not impossible. I’m just saying you gotta make those impressions at a younger age because they’re still sucking up everything like a sponge, like they want to learn and they want to be curious about everything.

[Mattias]
Yeah, I love it. And I told you this off camera, but I was working at a high school and kind of in a behavior role and trying to give good, solid kind of fundamental skills to the people I was working with. And I had already read “‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” and I found the teen version of it and read it again with the students and tried to teach them.

There was actually a workbook that came along with it. As I was reading, I was like, this is way better than the original. Maybe I’m not mature enough to be considered an adult, but I way prefer the teen version of it.

So yeah, I don’t know. I mean, did you have any kind of incentives to read that book or you just were motivated to do it? Was there any kind of rewards for finishing it or anything like that that your dad put in place?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
No, he was just like, you want to get involved? You should start reading some books that help you out, I guess. I mean, I think I had some interest and that’s why he gave it to me.

He didn’t force me into anything. He just gave me the book to be like, you’re interested, read this. If I didn’t read it, then it was like, well, she’s not interested enough.

He doesn’t want to push me, or not push me. He doesn’t want to force me, but he does want to set, like we were talking about, set me up for a better future that he thinks that I would have.

[Mattias]
Yeah, totally. That’s probably a perfect line to walk that he was fostering your interest and helping develop it, but not pushing you in a direction because I think that’s often something, especially a teen, would respond negatively towards. So that’s really cool.

Kudos to him for all that.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, my dad is my biggest, he’s my mentor. He’s my biggest inspiration for all of this because without him, I don’t know if I would have found real estate by myself.

[Mattias]
Yeah. Yeah, that’s awesome. If people want to follow you for any reason or also to see when the show is released, what’s the best place for them to do so?

[Ryleigh Eckles]
So my personal account for real estate is @riley.real.estate on Facebook and Instagram. And then for my dad and my business, it’s Urban Firebird, @urban_firebird, or Urban Firebird Home Solutions on Facebook.

[Mattias]
Okay.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
And then also on YouTube as well, if you wanted to see my old walkthrough videos.

[Mattias]
I do.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
And then I’ll send you those, the presentation.

[Mattias]
Yeah.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
After we’re off the call.

[Mattias]
Yeah, that’d be great. I really look forward to it. It’s been a lot of fun talking to you.

You’re an inspiration.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Yeah, thank you for inviting me.

[Mattias]
I think there’s gonna be a lot of people inspired by you. So, I mean, keep up the good work and put your story out there because it’s such a cool one.

[Ryleigh Eckles]
Thank you.

[Erica]
Thanks for listening to the REI Agent.

[Mattias]
If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe to catch new shows every week.

[Erica]
Visit REIAgent.com for more content.

[Mattias]
Until next time, keep building the life you want.

[Erica]
All content in the show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.