Amy Sylvis, principal at Sylvis Capital, joins host Ash Patel on the Best Ever Show. In this episode, Amy discusses the 800 units she’s recently closed in Dallas, how she broke onto the CRE scene, and the power of networking. She also dives into her process for creating consistent content for social media and her strategy for raising capital on LinkedIn.
Repeat Guest: JF2721: How This New Multifamily Investor Closed 4 Deals in First 6 Months ft. Amy Sylvis
Amy Sylvis | Real Estate Background
- Sylvis Capital
- Portfolio:
- 1400+ doors and 208,000 SQ FT flex industrial
- Based in: Los Angeles, CA
- Say hi to her at:
- Best Ever Book: The Creature From Jekyll Island
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Transcript
Ash Patel (00:04.654)
Hello, best ever listeners. Welcome to the best real estate investing advice ever show. I'm Ash Patel and I'm with today's guest, Amy Sylvis. Amy is joining us from Los Angeles, California. She is the principal of Sylvis Capital. They partner with busy professionals to invest in real estate and generate passive income. Amy's portfolio consists of over 1400 doors and 200,000 square feet of flex industrial.
Amy, thank you for joining us and how are you today?
Amy Sylvis (00:35.565)
Ash, what a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me. It's good to see you again.
Ash Patel (00:38.962)
Great to see you again and best ever listeners. Amy is a returning guest on the best ever podcast. If you Google Joe Fairless and Amy Sylvis, her previous episode will pop up again. Amy, thank you for joining us. What's new since the last time?
Amy Sylvis (00:54.601)
Oh gosh, closed a few other deals under my belt. So just enjoying that. And then of course, I also teach folks how to raise capital on LinkedIn. I've been enjoying being a teacher. So both of those things have kept me busy and it's been really exciting.
Ash Patel (01:10.494)
You closed, tell me what deals you closed.
Amy Sylvis (01:13.845)
Yes, so we closed about 800 approximately units in Dallas last year, which has been fantastic. Found some great, some of them were distressed assets, some of them were just regular market. But yeah, really, really excited about the value add properties there. And we've got them up and running. Renovations are already going.
Ash Patel (01:36.182)
Dallas has taken a bit of a hit, the whole Sun Belt has, right? When you deal with your investors, are they new to multifamily or are they seasoned and a little bit skeptical?
Amy Sylvis (01:47.685)
Let's say a combination of both, a combination of both. Some of them that are new to multifamily are also skeptical, right? So yeah, we definitely see the gamut and it really is an education play, right? Helping folks understand what's really going on as opposed to what the media is saying. Sometimes the media is right, sometimes it's not right. And sometimes what we do fits investors goals and sometimes it doesn't. So it really is about having that conversation and educating as well.
Ash Patel (02:16.018)
Amy, what was it about these deals that stood out enough for you to want to invest in?
Amy Sylvis (02:22.501)
Well, I think one of them, it was from a pretty prominent name that I think most people would recognize that was distressed. And we were able to purchase it below market value, below replacement value, and it was direct to sellers. So we weren't competing against a bunch of other syndicators, a bunch of other folks that were looking to buy. So I think the seller was really eager to, at least for the time, keep their name out of the out of the press as having some trouble.
So I think that was very advantageous. Obviously still a very strong market in Dallas with, you know, in a great sub market with a great business plan. And the others, yeah, just, you know, very strong schools, very strong area. And again, an opportunity to serve our residents and do a value add play that the market was asking for.
Ash Patel (03:14.826)
What is the value add play on these properties?
Amy Sylvis (03:18.469)
So all three of them going from, you know, just kind of, there are early 2000s, late 90s build. So taking kind of old outdated units and bringing them up to a more of a class, I would say a minus type finish that residents are not only able to afford, but are demanding in the area.
Ash Patel (03:43.298)
There's a lot of capital raising going on for deals that are a bit distressed. I'm sure you're getting hit up on those. Do those appeal to you at all?
Amy Sylvis (03:54.425)
It really depends on the deal itself and on the business plan, right? I know some areas, gosh, insurance has tripled. Maybe eviction courts are still clogged. So letting go of residents who maybe haven't paid their rent in six months is tough. So I really look at it on a deal by deal basis based on the, obviously, the operator state and local laws and the business plan. So I know that's kind of a cop out answer maybe.
I'm definitely interested and I entertain them, but I am pretty conservative in terms of what fits my risk tolerance.
Ash Patel (04:30.634)
Yeah, Amy, if there was an operator that had maybe one or two bad deals, but several other deals are healthy, are they toxic or will you still look at their deals?
Amy Sylvis (04:43.253)
Yeah, I'm always open to looking and building a relationship. I think, yeah, I think some of these market forces have been beyond some people's control. So I understand how that could possibly make a deal turn south. I'm thinking of DeKalb County in Atlanta, Georgia. The courts, you still can't evict residents. They probably won't be able to for another six months.
Maybe did the operator, should the operator have seen that? Should the operator have known? I own in that area, right? So I'm not throwing anyone under the bus. We're in a similar situation, but it just brings to mind what could be foreseen and what really is completely out of our control. So if I assess the deals that they've done and I see that some of the issues that they've had really couldn't have been anticipated, then yeah, I might consider it. But on the flip side, there absolutely are some people that paid too much money, took way too much risk, weren't experienced enough, you know, all the classic things that would scare me away because I don't know if I trust their judgment.
Ash Patel (05:44.974)
And we talked about this in the last time we had this interview. You are a rising star that came out of seemingly nowhere. How long have you been in this space?
Amy Sylvis (05:56.033)
Ash, I was a passive investor for, gosh, since 2012. So I took about a good 10 years of passively investing. Anyone who knows my story, I had some health hiccups in the way on that journey that kind of slowed me down and got in my way. But as my health improved, I've now been on the GP side, on the active side for close to five years now.
Ash Patel (06:17.966)
Okay, and what was it that just put you on people's radar in the last year or two?
Amy Sylvis (06:25.989)
That's a great question. I probably, I post daily on LinkedIn. I love to network. I feel very strongly about relationships. So not a week goes by that I'm not attending a virtual networking event. I love to go on podcasts and I love to encourage and help other people on LinkedIn and social media as well. So I think I get my name out there that way as well.
Ash Patel (06:48.074)
Was that the case five years ago or was that something more recent?
Amy Sylvis (06:52.609)
More recent, I started, I would say, around two and a half years ago, posting daily on LinkedIn. I think many people have heard of the great Yona Weiss and know his incredible challenges that he does on LinkedIn a few times a year. So I got, I was introduced to him and the challenge and just really enjoyed the educational aspect and the value add aspect of posting on LinkedIn. So two and a half years ago, joined that challenge and haven't stopped posting since.
Ash Patel (07:21.902)
Can we dive into the steps that you took to become essentially a household name in real estate?
Amy Sylvis (07:30.218)
Oh, goodness. I don't know if I agree with that, but I appreciate you saying that. You know, for me, I think many people have heard about the book called The Go Giver by Bob Berg and John David Mann, but that really is my mentality. I believe very strongly that whether it's, you know, in one-on-one conversations, whether it's in a networking room or whether it's on LinkedIn, I believe that my purpose is to be able to give to folks and that the receiving end will take care of itself and will come back.
So it's in that spirit that I provide education, encouragement, support, all of these things daily on LinkedIn. So just having that mindset and that consistency, I think has helped people find out who I am and understand what I'm all about and continue to follow me because I do add value to them, hopefully daily.
Ash Patel (08:22.914)
What does your regiment look like for posting, interacting with people, attending meetups, flying away to conferences?
Amy Sylvis (08:33.241)
Well, the flying away to conferences, full disclosure, I haven't done all that much. I'm pretty open. I live with cystic fibrosis. It is a lung condition. Thankfully, I received a miracle drug about four years ago, so my health is incredible now. I'm so grateful. But as you can imagine, COVID and lung conditions didn't really mesh all that well. So I had to find a way to be able to connect with people virtually without exposing myself to the pandemic for several years.
So, the schedule really is I sit down every Sunday and I write a week's worth of content. So I write on Sunday, I post Monday through the next Sunday. And that has really helped me come up with ample content, add value and create a consistent routine there. And then LinkedIn allows me to schedule those posts to go live. And then around the time when the posts go live, I make sure to engage on other people's content. Again, it's that go-giver mentality of encouraging, adding value, continuing the conversation on the platform, and then of course, respond to people that take the time to comment on my material. So that's really the LinkedIn schedule.
Ash Patel (09:47.094)
What about other social media sites?
Amy Sylvis (09:50.809)
I'm starting to become a little bit more active on Facebook. I may have a little bit of a mental block, but the platform just doesn't seem as, maybe as fortuitous, especially for my main purpose of raising capital. I think there's still some value to be had, but what I love about LinkedIn is I have, I can achieve kind of these dual purposes of raising capital, but also connecting with the really strong, other real estate investors or syndicators on the platform.
So I dabble a little bit here and there. Yona's gotten me to get on Twitter. Twitter's a little bit of the Wild West. People aren't as professional, I would say. But LinkedIn really, for me and my goals, has been where I want to focus my time and where I've been able to get the best results.
Ash Patel (10:41.41)
How often do you post on Twitter?
Amy Sylvis (10:44.469)
Not very often. I would say maybe once a week at best. It is, yeah, I am not showing up the way I should.
Ash Patel (10:50.998)
Wait a minute, posting once a week and people are giving you a hard time? What are they saying?
Amy Sylvis (10:57.157)
I don't know if people are necessarily giving a hard time, but I think there is an atmosphere of anonymity for some people, right? So people disagree. There really isn't a kind of a professional back and forth for some. It can just be a way to anonymously hide behind a keyboard and say some things. So I haven't had a ton of terrible experiences, but I think there is an added sense of professionalism and desire to have professional engagements on LinkedIn because we all see everyone's education history, work history, often bosses or former colleagues are on the site and everything is very public.
So I think that lack of anonymity just provides a bit more. And yeah, I guess, I guess the word I'm looking for is a bit more professionalism.
Ash Patel (11:47.07)
I'm going to start posting more on Twitter. That seems right up my alley. I want to engage with people and do some back and forths. And I don't want to troll, but I don't mind the engagement with some colorful language. That's from Jersey. That's my thing. Let's do it. Facebook.
Amy Sylvis (11:50.277)
Ha ha ha! Yeah, yeah.
Amy Sylvis (12:02.957)
There you go. Well, you've posted on LinkedIn lately. I really love following your content. I've been very impressed with how you've shown up in the past few weeks.
Ash Patel (12:12.05)
I think a lot of this was inspired by you. It's not I think, it was. You and I had a conversation a few months ago and it was almost like, oh my God, Amy's doing all this. What's our excuse for not posting ever? So that was inspirational. Thank you for that. And the group of people that you were speaking with also were inspired. So thank you again.
Amy Sylvis (12:32.7)
Of course.
Ash Patel (12:41.718)
But now let's go back to Facebook for a second. Facebook, in my opinion, is where people get to know you, right? LinkedIn, they're going to see your accomplishments, a curated manner of your accomplishments. Facebook, I think they get to know, like, and trust you. So the content, in my opinion, has to be a little bit different. It's gotta be you. And this might be controversial, but you with your family, your friends, going out, having fun. What are your thoughts?
Amy Sylvis (13:16.001)
Yeah, well, I would argue that you could do that on LinkedIn as well. I would absolutely argue. And in fact, when I teach my course, I teach people to talk about what they're doing. I mean, maybe not, you know, drunk at the bar and I had too many beers, that type of thing on LinkedIn. But yeah, sharing what you're doing, even if it's on vacation personally, birth announcements, things like that, that is absolutely acceptable and works very well on LinkedIn.
But I agree. I think Facebook is, you know, can be used in a bit more of a yeah, maybe a bit more personal, but I don't know if the audience is necessarily there that's interested, that has A, the capital, that B has the interest or mindset to want to invest or do deals. Doesn't mean that there aren't people, but for me, it's all about optimizing time and fishing where the fish are.
Ash Patel (14:04.302)
Agree with you. However, if somebody wants to invest with you, I'm assuming they're looking at your Facebook profile. I mean, they're looking at everything, right? So for me, my thought is putting that stuff on Facebook gets, allows people to really get to know who you are in whatever curated manner you're putting yourself out there. But now with LinkedIn, you mentioned putting pictures of vacation.
Doesn't every picture of you on vacation have to be followed with an inspirational quote? Right? Because it seems like nobody's, I don't see people doing that, right? Just, hey, on vacation, fourth drink today, let's go. Uh, it's always on vacation. Real estate has helped me achieve this goal. Like a little too curated.
Amy Sylvis (14:55.945)
Yeah, possibly. Well, and here's the great thing, Ash, is what makes you feel connected to people may not be the same as what some investors make you feel connected. I get calls weekly of people that have never interacted with my content on LinkedIn, never said anything to me. We get on a call and they say, I feel like I know you. This is a really weird experience to me because I've been following you for so long. I feel like I know exactly who you are. And we've had many, many conversations.
But to your point, perhaps that those are the type of people that can feel connected through the, yeah, the things that I happen to share on LinkedIn. And maybe I'd attract a whole other set of people with a different strategy on Facebook. I think who decides to invest is, you know, not homogenous, right? You and I can both, our strategies can both work and both be successful.
Ash Patel (15:49.334)
How often do you have an ask on LinkedIn versus just posting? And what I mean by that is, okay, anybody who's wanting to invest in multifamily, please reach out to me versus just putting out content.
Amy Sylvis (16:04.053)
Yeah, that's a really astute question. I take a little less of a direct path, where I lead with value, I lead with education, I lead with speaking to my target avatar in terms of addressing their pain points or their goals, their hopes, their wishes, those types of things. If I have a 506C deal on occasion, I will share that.
But I have found directly asking people or saying, hey, if you want to invest, raise your hand, let's go, typically doesn't work. This isn't a $50 widget, right? This is a 50,000 or a $100,000 investment usually. And it takes a lot more time, to your point, building relationships, helping people understand who you are over time than just, yeah, one post saying, hey, let's go.
Ash Patel (16:54.858)
What subtle asks have you put out there? And it doesn't have to be who wants to invest in this deal, but for example, who wants to talk more about investing in multifamily pros and cons? How often do you do that, if at all?
Amy Sylvis (17:11.965)
So, I speak a lot more about emotion and pain points. So multifamily investing is just the vehicle. And I think a lot of us who are analytical over in the trenches like to talk about the facts and figures about the deals, the numbers, you know, all of that, rather than helping people understand the destination. So it would kind of be like an airline talking about, and they do, about, you know, the seats and the comfort and this and this, as opposed to talking about the amazing destination of going to Hawaii, the amazing destination of going to the Bahamas or something like that.
I focus on that destination and how the vehicle of real estate investing can get them there. So I do have lead magnets, I do offer informational webinars, but again, this is just part of the sales funnel to help people kind of get to know and understand what we do and how we can help them. And after those several touch points, then usually through my CRM, or through one-on-one conversations or follow-up from webinars, that's when it's, hey, raise your hand if you're interested. But the point of the sales funnel where investors are on LinkedIn, I haven't quite earned that and we don't really have that deep of a relationship for me to make that very bold ask. Investors typically aren't ready at that stage.
Ash Patel (18:28.874)
So it's an entire process that you go through to cultivate these relationships.
Amy Sylvis (18:32.993)
Absolutely, absolutely has to be.
Ash Patel (18:35.67)
Did you learn all of this from trial and error or did you have a coach or a teacher that broke it down for you?
Amy Sylvis (18:43.973)
Trial and error. I have a sales background myself. I was in sales and marketing for a bit. It wasn't the only thing that I did. But the, you know, learning from Jonah Weiss about how to post, what to post, you know, what works with the algorithm. I would say he was definitely a prominent mentor there. But in terms of bringing people and creating this sales funnel and bringing them through just knowing that I exist all the way to like and trust and then funding and a deal, it was trial and error. So, took quite a while, I'm not gonna lie. It's not an easy process to figure out.
Ash Patel (19:15.562)
Is there a best time to post?
Amy Sylvis (19:18.597)
Typically between seven and nine a.m. your local time. And I get a lot of questions about that because, hey Amy, I'm on the East Coast, you're on the West Coast, how is the best time to post at different times depending upon your time zone? Well, LinkedIn understands the type of people that view your content when they're online, how often they engage, the algorithm is so sophisticated. But typically in the morning between seven and nine is when you're going to get the most traction and the most eyeballs are on the website.
Ash Patel (19:48.674)
So does LinkedIn assume that if you're posting at 2 a.m., it's probably not an educational post?
Amy Sylvis (19:55.603)
Only if Ash is posting. Get out of here.
Ash Patel (19:58.043)
That's probably why I don't get any traction.
Amy, do your posts change if you're posting during the week or posting on a weekend?
Amy Sylvis (20:22.049)
Hmm. The timing does. I definitely post a little bit later in the day on the weekends. Some people don't even post on the weekends. I would say it's a bit more of a throwaway, but for me it's a consistency thing. But no, what I choose to post doesn't change. The one caveat I would say is if I have a big announcement, like I just launched a podcast yesterday, I'm not going to post that on a Saturday or Sunday, simply because I know the most amount of eyeballs are around during the week.
So if I have an important, timely, specifically action-oriented post, then I'll make sure it's during the week. But in terms of other content, no. As long as I'm adding value, I will make sure that I post anytime during the week.
Ash Patel (21:05.442)
Do you track the metrics on each of your posts?
Amy Sylvis (21:09.429)
I do, very much so, yes.
Ash Patel (21:11.946)
And on the weekends, I'm assuming it's just much lower. The response, the impressions.
Amy Sylvis (21:18.105)
Uh, impressions not necessarily, believe it or not, but the typically engagement is, typically engagement is. So I would say the posts that I've had that have the highest amount of views definitely aren't on the weekend, but I don't see a significant drop-off on the weekend because I think I'm reaching a different audience that may not also be engaging during the week and LinkedIn pushes the content out to those folks.
Ash Patel (21:45.294)
All right. I'm thinking if you're on LinkedIn on the weekend, you're bored or you're working when you don't want to, and you just need like a mental break. You're trying to screw off a little bit. I would think your posts have to be way more engaging and entertaining and eye catching because the person's mentality is different than if they're at work Monday through Friday, wanting to screw off a little bit.
Amy Sylvis (22:09.709)
Yeah, possibly, but you think of, especially my target avatar who's working, maybe doesn't even have time to get on LinkedIn. Maybe if they're screwing off, it is Instagram or Facebook or TikTok or something like that. So maybe they're catching up with what's going on the weekend. I see a lot of weekend warriors who aren't necessarily working, but maybe they're thinking about their side hustle.
They finally have the mental space to think about what's above and beyond just their grind, their W2 grind, what do they wanna do after that. So I think there are definitely different avatars in terms of what folks are looking to do and who's present. But I also, I challenge all of us to think about how often do you find yourself on your phone opening an app without even realizing it?
I don't know, maybe I'm the only wild phone addict, but, you know, just, oh, it's my routine. I check my email, I check my messages, and oh, all of a sudden I'm on Instagram or LinkedIn. Those people definitely exist. They're passively scrolling without even realizing it. We can still reach those folks, even if they're, you know, passively participating on the app.
Ash Patel (23:21.51)
Amy, how often are you posting on LinkedIn? Sorry, let's start over. Amy, how often are you posting on Instagram or TikTok?
Amy Sylvis (23:29.645)
Mm, never on TikTok. Instagram, I have a private account. It is not public. So that's where I share my goofy stuff and my 14-year-old boy humor, just to my friends and family on Instagram.
Ash Patel (23:45.258)
I just got on actually my analyst that works with me. I just got on him because his Instagram account was private. And I'm like, Hey, listen, man, like at some point you want to grow into this where you're raising capital doing deals. Why would you have your account private? So let me pose the same question to you. Don't you want people to know, like, and trust you and get to know more about you? Why would it be private?
Amy Sylvis (24:10.117)
I think I am so public on LinkedIn and on social media. I'm so public with my podcasts, going on other people's podcasts. There is something nice about having a cozy corner where people who I've known for decades, we can just exchange silly memes and talk about things. So it's not that I have anything to hide, but yeah, I don't necessarily think that my target avatar is hanging out on Instagram as much as they are on LinkedIn.
Ash Patel (24:38.866)
I think it's a missed opportunity keeping that private. No, no, I'm pushing back. But like, look, if I wanna invest money with you, I wanna, and look, we do this all the time, right? If we invest with people, we'll find everything we can about them, including all social medias. So I think it's just a benefit, even if it is a different persona than what you're on LinkedIn with. I wanna see that.
Amy Sylvis (24:40.885)
Okay, okay, fair enough. That's fine, you're allowed to.
Ash Patel (25:08.026)
I would reconsider that, right? Because you are very public, but it'd be fun to get the different sides of you.
Amy Sylvis (25:16.877)
Yeah, well, and I would submit to you that I don't know if I'm necessarily that different. I mean, people who have followed me on LinkedIn for a while know that I will never miss an opportunity to harass Brian Briscoe and his Utah football team, right? They've never won a Rose Bowl. I will die on that hill. I love teasing him. There is a playful nature on LinkedIn for sure. Dan Freidenberg, we're always telling your mom jokes on LinkedIn. So, you know, I definitely, there's a lot of my persona that can be found in the comments and on posts in that way too. But your point is well taken.
Ash Patel (25:50.138)
Yeah, however, on Instagram, you can have just pictures of you and your friends with three words, right? On LinkedIn, it's got to be a little bit more. It's got to be more curated.
Amy Sylvis (26:01.785)
Maybe.
Ash Patel (26:03.986)
Okay, I look I'm pushing. I would consider it and see what you think, right? And why not TikTok? It's hopping. Everybody's on TikTok apparently.
Amy Sylvis (26:14.261)
It is, right? Yeah, the data, again, I'm very data driven. There are only 24 hours in a day. Each of these platforms have different algorithms to them. I would rather be a master at one, particularly in one where everyone, where someone has, or where people there have the highest net worth, the highest investable income.
I would rather get to know one platform deeply, rather than spread myself thin, not necessarily hit the algorithm as well. I don't know that TikTok isn't necessarily my target audience. That may evolve over time though. I am always looking at data. I'm always looking at metrics. And if that changes, then yeah, maybe I'll be doing some ridiculous dance to some song on TikTok talking about investing in my multifamily deal.
Ash Patel (27:00.162)
The one that we didn't cover is YouTube videos and YouTube shorts.
Amy Sylvis (27:04.165)
Ah, yes, yes. So just launched my podcast yesterday and that comes with a YouTube channel. So starting off there, but absolutely. I think cultivating and growing that with education, with more information there is definitely a great opportunity that I'll hand that to you. I think I've missed out on that and I'm going to start playing catch up there.
Ash Patel (27:26.966)
Good. Now for people that are skeptical thinking, oh, really? Like you raise money on LinkedIn. Can you share any metric to show people what can be done on LinkedIn?
Amy Sylvis (27:38.337)
Yes, yes. So to date and again, I've been raising capital for just short of two, two and a half years. I've raised over four and a half million dollars from complete strangers off of LinkedIn. People that I've never met, obviously this is compliant, right? We've developed the relationship. I'm not soliciting, you know, for a 506B or anything like that. So I'm proud of that. To me, it has been a very efficient, effective way to help and serve people on the platform.
Deal flow has been pretty slow over the past few years. I am intentionally very conservative because I don't want to end up handing deals back. I think that number would be quite a bit larger if I had more deal flow, but yeah, I think that's a substantial number that I am looking to grow and I teach other people how to do as well.
Ash Patel (28:26.878)
Amy, when you started consistently posting on LinkedIn, was that your ultimate goal was to raise capital?
Amy Sylvis (28:32.809)
No, at that time I was a market researcher, a deal finder, and an underwriter. So that was how I got into multifamily and that was my role. I was just excited to share with my network. Passive income has transformed my life and was a goal I had for a long time. So I was just thrilled to be able to share with anyone who was interested in looking or listening, whether it was investing alongside me or doing their own real estate, what was possible. So that was really my goal. It ended up being a great way to raise capital.
Ash Patel (29:04.978)
Amy, what is one thing on your to-do list that you keep procrastinating?
Amy Sylvis (29:10.677)
Ooh, with real estate or otherwise.
Ash Patel (29:14.574)
Somewhat business related. I don't want like getting groceries, right? Somewhat business growth.
Amy Sylvis (29:15.897)
Somewhat physically.
Amy Sylvis (29:23.013)
Mm, that's a good question. I wanna speak on stage at the Best Ever Conference. That is a B-Hag for me. I think that would be, yep.
Ash Patel (29:30.806)
And so you are speaking on stage.
Amy Sylvis (29:35.637)
I have never have at the best ever. It's what I want to do. So that's, yeah, that's a goal of mine. If I understood your question. I misunderstood.
Ash Patel (29:40.186)
Oh no no, I don't want a goal. I want, sorry, I want something that's on your to-do list and it's something that you're not looking forward to doing so you keep procrastinating. No, that's okay.
Amy Sylvis (29:49.997)
Oh, got it. I'm sorry. Thank you for clarifying.
Amy Sylvis (29:56.321)
I keep procrastinating. I'm a pretty good executor, Osh. I'm not gonna lie.
Ash Patel (30:02.079)
You're the opposite of me. Good job.
Amy Sylvis (30:04.465)
Well, it's an alert transferable skills from having a wild health journey. I need to dive deeper and you and I have had this conversation, so I don't mind saying it. I need to dive deeper into TribbleNet. I own Afflex Industrial Property. I love it. It's been an incredible experience. I need to dive deeper into understanding how to source more of those, who to partner with, how to invest more myself.
I really think it's going to sound like I'm a brown-noser, but I think what your mantra of investing beyond multifamily is really powerful. It feels like the future of my business, maybe not the sole asset class, but definitely an area that I want to grow. And I think I've made some excuses in my mind about having time, about kind of the longer runway of pivoting or learning more about another asset, maybe joining a mastermind, but it is definitely something on my to-do list that I've procrastinated.
Ash Patel (31:00.19)
And Amy, what is the biggest mistake that you see people make on social media? One that makes you cringe.
Amy Sylvis (31:06.517)
Ah, yeah, I think the very strong pitch, whether it's posting or even more importantly, trying to reach out to people over direct message and kind of cold pitching without developing a relationship. It's brutal.
Ash Patel (31:20.886)
Yeah, the messaging has gotten out of hand. That's horrendous. The copy and pasting. Look, I read every one of my messages. I had an hour phone call with somebody today because the way that they approached the message, and I knew that they did some background research on me, and I wasn't gonna be wasting my time, and they were very respectful of my time.
Amy Sylvis (31:24.382)
Yes. Yeah, it is.
It is.
Ash Patel (31:49.406)
So I was happy to jump on a crazy call for an hour. But I can't imagine these people that say, hey, I'm raising for this fund. Here's my calendar link. Does that work?
Amy Sylvis (32:04.206)
I don't think it ever has. Unless possibly, yeah, unless possibly the person that they're pitching to has been following them for a year on social media, has gotten to know them, maybe participated in some of their educational webinars, then maybe, but I think in general, a good rule of thumb is absolutely not. That just is, yeah, it just does not work.
Ash Patel (32:04.618)
Yeah, it just pisses people off.
Yeah, you guys that are listening man, stop doing that because you're clogging up people's inboxes and is there a way to ban people on LinkedIn? I don't think I've done that yet. Block them? Yeah, we're gonna go through my inbox and start blocking a bunch of people. So Amy, what made you develop a course and what is the course about?
Amy Sylvis (32:33.69)
You can block folks, absolutely. You can definitely block them. Yeah, yeah. Watch out.
Amy Sylvis (32:47.957)
Um, I've been hearing from a lot of folks that they have been told specifically, whether by gurus or masterminds or things like that, you know, go to my conference, go to a conference, spend thousands of dollars booking your flight, lots of time, book the hotel and go raise capital from other people at these conferences where there are often other people that are trying to do the same thing. Everyone's trying to raise capital from each other.
It's a heartbreaking thing to hear because when you're new in the industry, or even if you have experience, you may not know better. You're kind of trying to, you don't really have qualified leads. You're not really sure what's going on. It's just so inefficient. And again, with the mentality of being a go-giver, uh, wanting to have a way to add value to folks, I believe there's more than enough on LinkedIn for all of us. So if I teach other people what I've taken a long time to learn, add value to them, compress two and a half, two, two and a half years into 12 weeks. I think there's a lot of value there and my students have told me the same.
Ash Patel (33:47.394)
Do you deal, look, I've mentored people for a long time and for years I've always said, you gotta put yourself out there, you gotta post, you gotta post. And you get a lot of pushback from people, oh, I don't do that, I don't post, I don't take selfies, I don't take videos. Do you deal with people like that? And if so, how do you overcome that hurdle?
Amy Sylvis (34:07.077)
Absolutely. Well, I think the first thing to overcome is empathy, right? It can be intimidating. You know, we've all had various experiences on social media. Maybe you've had a bad experience. Maybe you feel too vulnerable. Maybe you see other people being really corny and sales, overly salesy and it's gross. So I think first acknowledging where people are coming from, understanding what their specific fear is, and then giving them tools and tactics that actually can work that resonate with their goals and what they want to do.
Ash Patel (34:35.565)
All right, that's a much better approach because I and I wrote down the word empathy. I take the opposite approach. I'll get after them. I'll curse at them and tell them that their competition is eating their lunch. And I don't know if that works or not, but I like your approach. You know, so then and actually what I do tell people is put out a post, put out a video and it's going to suck and do another one. And that's going to suck, too. Right. But guess what? In a couple of days, no one will remember.
Amy Sylvis (34:49.699)
Maybe.
I'm gonna go to bed.
Ash Patel (35:05.878)
What about people that need help with content, right? For you and I, because we've been doing it for a long time, it might come a little bit easier, but I can see people agonizing over, what do I write? How many people are gonna see this? Is it gonna make me look bad? Do you help them with that? And is that something you can train? Or do you just do it for them? What do you do?
Amy Sylvis (35:27.709)
Yeah, train. Yeah, I'm definitely a believer of give a man or a woman the ability to fish or teach them how to fish as opposed to fish for them or whatever the expression is. I butchered that. But yeah, I think it really all starts with the intention not to sound too hippie dippy, but is the goal to educate, is the goal to help solve a problem. So thinking about a target avatar, which is the first thing that we do, we really nail down who is it that you want to speak to.
And then speaking to what these folks need. Are they terrified of being laid off? Okay, well maybe we can talk about how real estate could help with that. Are they not spending enough time with their kids and they need to stop trading their time for money? Or maybe they have no idea what the heck a real estate syndication is. They've always wanted to invest in real estate, but they didn't know all, I would say that in quotes, it could take as 50 grand as opposed to maybe several million that some folks think is necessary.
So, I try to give folks the tools about speaking to their target avatar, having that empathy again for what their target avatar is looking to do, and that generally gets the wheels turning in terms of content creation.
Ash Patel (36:35.102)
How do you give them tough love? Cause you have these people that go through courses, they pay a lot of money. They don't take any action. Do you just chalk it up? Okay. They're, they're never going to take action or like me, do you take it personally and like go after them and try to get them to move.
Amy Sylvis (36:53.337)
Totally. Yeah, well, I often find, and I'd be curious if you agree, that there's something going on, right? There's a fear, maybe there's a time management issue. There's usually some sort of block. So having a one-on-one conversation and really digging into, you know, hey, I'm not here to call you out. I'm, you know, I'm invested in your success. You spent money, you're spending time, let's get this return on investment that you want to get. Let's break down what's going on. And usually it isn't necessarily about content creation or it's not about, you know, something like that. There's something going on, usually an emotion that's going on in the background. So we address that and that usually helps.
Ash Patel (37:33.506)
You're right. The times where I've called people on the phone or scheduled time with them or had them come over my house, it's always something usually a fear. It's you know, I don't understand this, but I didn't want to speak up in class and mostly from women, which I wish. Look, there's a great book called Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. It should be required reading for any parent of a daughter or any young woman or any woman in business or in the workspace.
Workforce but like in my mastermind I've got a couple women that always wait to the end to present their deals and they put them in the chat Instead of raising their hands not even raising their hands. The guys will just interject and say hey, I got a deal the couple women will wait till the very end put it in the chat and I Call them out every time right? Okay from now on like I don't want you last you got it.
You got it pushed like these other guys are but yes, sometimes you can break through the fears, the insecurities, but there's still those people, you don't know what it is, but they'll never take action. And it took me a very long time to learn that. Man, they'll show up to the classes, they just won't take action. Have you realized that?
Amy Sylvis (38:53.509)
Absolutely. And oftentimes it's some subconscious stuff, because they may not even realize why, right? I imagine you're a big mindset guy, but it's wild to learn that so much of what controls our actions, we think we're aware of them, but there's this whole programming going on in the background that we may not even be aware of. So sometimes it takes deeper work that may or may not be a part of what you and I do in terms of teaching and maybe a longer process. But yeah, sometimes it is not necessarily our fault, but I'll try anything to help.
Ash Patel (39:24.238)
Yeah. And then I've also, I learned this much later, is that people think they're benefiting by joining a mastermind, going to a conference, going to a meetup, but not taking action. They just feel better, right? They feel like they're leveling up by going to these things. And any of the best ever listeners that are listening out there, listen, man, if you go to a conference, have a plan, figure out what you want to get out of it before you go.
Right. Don't go through the motions. And then when you get back, figure out the plan of how you're going to catch up with all the people that you met, but this going to meetups and joining webinars and masterminds and not taking action, that's gotta stop.
Amy Sylvis (40:09.701)
It's a huge missed opportunity. And I think for people that are financially minded, which I'm guessing there are a lot of people that are listening, understanding what your time is worth and making sure you get an ROI on that time. So whether you're, you know, let's just say whatever your salary is, you figure out that your time is worth $500 an hour. Well, if you're gonna go do something with that time, how are you gonna make that $500 back with a business connection, with an idea, with a deal, you know, anything like that or multiple of what you're worth on an hourly basis. So I agree, taking action is imperative.
Ash Patel (40:40.774)
Yeah. Amy, absolutely phenomenal talking to you for these last 45 minutes. It's always a great time when we interact and you are truly, in fact, a go-giver from the very first time that you offered to give a group of people all of your secrets. So thank you for your time today. Please tell the best ever listeners how they can get a hold of you, how they can find out about your course and obviously find you on LinkedIn. Right.
Amy Sylvis (41:09.005)
I was just gonna say, yes, you can absolutely find me on LinkedIn, very accessible, send me a message, send me a connection request. My course is at capi So that is always going on. And then sylvuscapital.com is where we talk about our real estate syndications and what we do on that side of the business as well. Thank you, Ash, this is amazing.
Ash Patel (41:31.838)
You're awesome. Hey best ever listeners. Thank you so much for joining us get on LinkedIn and start posting Listen, if you enjoy this podcast leave us a five-star review share this episode with someone you think can benefit from it. Also follow subscribe and have a best ever day.
And one last thing anybody going to the best ever conference. Are you going? Good, I'll be there as well. Please use the code connect for the biggest discount that you can get It is coming up here in just about a month
In my opinion, it is the best networking of any real estate conference out there. Amy, I will see you out there and thank you so much for your time. Cheers.
