Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about…

•         Introduction [00:00:00]
•         The Last Week When He Lost His Mother [00:03:02]
•         Did He Have a Mentor and a Broker Who Was Able to Guide Him? [00:05:09]
•         What was the Catalyst for Him Staying in and Continuing His Growth? [00:06:48]
•         The Story Behind His First Investment Property [00:09:30]
•         Why He Has Only Bought Properties in Omaha? [00:13:49]
•         A Story About the Power of Building Relationships [00:21:20]

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

In this episode from the series of Casanova’s appearance as a guest on other podcasts, Casanova and host Leigh Brown talk about the power of relationships, family, and overcoming adversity to live life by your own design.

First and foremost, Cass considers himself a relationship builder. Born and raised in inner city Chicago by a single mom, and a grandma, who stepped in to help lead the way of being a father figure. Despite growing up with lack of resources, he always had big dreams. Casanova had to face adversity head on from very early on in his life. At the age of eight, two of his best friends drowned and he was supposed to be right there with them. When he was 15, I was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma cancer. He had to go through two years of chemo, and experience everything that comes with being a cancer survivor.

He was struck with adversity again when he lost his mom, his job and his house within a matter of weeks. However, within that next nine months, brand new to real estate, he did 46 deals, $8 million in volume, and got the rookie of the year in Omaha. The loss of his mother made him realize that nothing in life is promised and you can’t take things for granted. Talking about his early journey and real estate, he says that he really had to dig deep every day and figure it out. His ability to build relationships and familiarity with social media helped him tremendously. In the meanwhile, he also worked on gaining knowledge on the subject.

 Talking about the catalyst for him staying in and continuing his growth, he says that “the real estate has always been my what and my how, it’s not been my why.” He also understood that understood that the value is in the people. He adds that you have to go out there, you have to find what makes you come alive. He always tried to spread as much excitement and contagious energy as possible, further adding “I felt like when I gave that, somehow the law of reciprocity always gave me back, one more business, but two, it gave me back more opportunity.”

What inspired him to pursue real estate was a YouTube video by Jay Morrison, where he said that you should be the Lord of your land. When he first got his license, his goal was never to be the number one realtor in the world. He wanted to get the license so that he could buy his own investment properties and ultimately create a life by his design. On the subject of why all of his investments are in Omaha, Cass adds that as he had been able to build a lot of relationships with people in Omaha, he didn’t necessarily need to go outside.

Narrating a story where he was able to get a property for $8000 from a lady, while she had other offers around $25,000. he says that it all came down to him being honest, and excited about the property. Leigh adds that this is the difference between a professional realtor and somebody who has less than honorable intentions. If you build the relationship first, then you get to make the ask. Cass says that at the end of the day, it’s about that network. It’s about so many other tangible benefits. Leigh adds that the way that you conduct business is a direct reflection of your why.

Cass further says that it is all about who knows you, who’s willing to put their stamp of approval on your name. These ideas can be cast that across any business, because we’re all in some sort of sales. If you build the relationships the right way, that even if you get out of that particular sale of that particular item, you can cross over to something else and still know that you have your database and you have your relationship.

Talking about the social media platforms, Cass says that LinkedIn, is definitely a hidden gem, especially for anybody, who’s a business-minded person, whether you’re in sales or own a business, as your next big client or your next big relationship is right there.

Key Quotes:

•         “I grew up with lack of resources, but my mind was always the one thing that I think never diminished. I always had big dreams, always had big goals…”
•         “[Losing my mother] it all propelled me to know that nothing’s promised so you can’t take anything for granted and you got to go out there, you got to get it…”
•         “I tried to get my hand on whatever knowledge that I could. So then when I found a buyer or seller anybody to say, Casanova, we want to do business with you that I didn’t look like a complete dumb ass. …”
•         “Why did real estate work for me? because I understood that the value is in the people…”
•         “One of the quotes that I live by is the moment I stop having fun with it. I’ll be done with it…”
•         “I understood that again, if I wasn’t going to go out there and build my own dreams, essentially, I was going to build somebody else’s…”
•         “I think I’ve just been lucky that I haven’t had to go outside of my market yet, but I’m definitely not opposed to going outside, especially because I know that there’s a lot of growth going on in a lot of other areas that are not particularly the Midwest…”
•         “In real estate, a lot of the times where realtors go wrong at, they’re so transactional…”
•         “[Real estate] is a contact sport. It’s all about the relationships, and if you build off of that, I think that you’ll be successful as anybody in your market or anybody around the country, but it’s all about the relationships and the people…”
•         “You’re always marketing yourself because you are your brand. Do you allow people to know who you are? Because if they can see who you are and connect with who you are, you’re going to find success and the money will find you…” – Leigh Brown
•         “My mom used to always say, nothing beats failure but a try…”

Links/Resources:

•         https://www.leighbrown.com/
•         The 10x House Flip – House Flipping Case Study – Casanova Brooks – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4MDFocxlwM

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