Ep: 70: Interview with Mahsheed Barghisavar: Connecting with the Right Investors

Mahsheed Barghisavar is the owner of Mahsheed Real Estate, LLC in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since 2006, she’s garnered over $100 million in sales—ranking in the top 3% of agents in Las Vegas.

Today on Stay Paid, Mahsheed joins Luke and Josh to talk about how connecting with the right people now can mean big returns for your business for years to come.

 Key Points:

• Great risk can lead to great reward.
• Look for ways to connect with the people you see every day.
• The right investors will want to work with you again and again.

Q: Introduce yourself to our audience.

I kind of fell into real estate. After I graduated from college, I moved to Vegas to work with my dad’s business, because it was the only thing I could do where I’d basically feel like I was self-employed. I just wanted freedom and the ability to make easy money. A few years into it, I saw it was not really the best idea to work in the family business. But I did learn a lot. My dad really instilled in me the confidence to deal with anybody, no matter who they are. I was only 21 or 22 years old at the time.

Around 2006, the real estate market in Vegas was booming, so we started buying and flipping properties. Then, I got my license. But I didn’t want to work with my family anymore, since that business was in decline. So, I left the business, and I started focusing only on real estate.

2008 brought the Great Recession, as well as a broker who tried to steal my commissions. I had no money and a pending lawsuit against me. I thought, “What did I get myself into?” But that’s how I learned everything that I know now. That forced me to go down the right path.

Q: When did you realize you needed to be your own boss?

It was always just the way I am. After I got my first job at 15, I started to have so many sales jobs, and I got fired from every one of them. The only job I didn’t get fired from was as an independent contractor for Christian Dior fragrances. I had no boss there. After four years, I had to resign. I realized I needed the freedom to be me and be creative.

Q: How did you get through the lawsuit?

I actually had three lawsuits at one time, because two were from my dad’s businesses. So, not only did I lose everything and become bankrupt, it was just one thing after another. That’s when I started going down this spiritual path. That’s when I started believing in the universe, or God, or whatever you want to call it. I saw Joel Osteen on TV, and he just made sense. That night, I got his book, read the whole thing, and then got more and more spiritual books.

That did something for me. I thought, “OK, well, if you do the right thing, plant the right seeds, have faith, be a good person, and keep your focus, doors will open.” I miraculously got through it. I found angelic attorneys that had my back for, like, half the money.

Q: How did you start building your business?

It was a slow, gradual build. I had to take little risks, and those were little gut feelings. I was listening to myself. And when I was forced to leave my house, I had this idea to rent a luxury high-rise, with barely any money. I only had money from a home I owned, where the tenant was paying me rent while it was in foreclosure. I knew somebody who owned a unit in the luxury high-rise, so I made a deal with him and rented the place out. I had no furniture. I just had a feeling.

I would start talking to people in the building. I would take other people’s listings, and I’d put them on Craigslist for rent. I’d go into a nearby office building and talk to the girls there. I’d make commissions off the deals, and then I’d pay my rent from there.

Then I saw there was this property manager who had all these units in the building. So, I made a deal with her that I’d show and lease the units. There was always some kind of opportunity that would pop up. I felt like these people were living angels who would help me.

There was this guy who was an all-cash investor and bought 70-something properties from me. The second I met him in 2009, my life changed. When you’re on the right path, those people appear.

Q: How did your business spread from those investments?

This one investor kept me so busy that I would attract other investors. In Vegas between 2009 and 2014, almost 70% of buyers were investors. The Recession hit us hard. But I’d meet with these investors in the building I lived in. I felt like I was so focused that they would just keep appearing.

Q: How do you make sure people don’t forget you?

For 13 years, I didn’t even need a CRM system. Then I realized I need to be better about nurturing my customers. But a majority of my clients became my friends, so it was actually really easy for me to keep in touch with them. Ultimately, I realized I needed a CRM system if I wanted to take my business to the next level.

Q: What are some of the things you’re doing to generate leads?

Any idea that comes to me, I do it. I’m sending out mailers. I’m spending money on SEO and PPC (pay-per-click) ads now. I have my website set up to capture luxury listings. And then, I continue putting myself out there. I’m part of a Mastermind group, and I’m going to economic events in Las Vegas—just a lot of beneficial things to be around the right people.

Q: What would your advice be for building out a team?

I think that’s something I’m still learning. In 2016, I had a team of three girls with me for a year. That was my second-best year. When it ended, one of the things I learned is that my employees need to share similar values. We need to be on the same page, as far as what’s right and what’s wrong. Their ambition level is also super important to me. If they don’t have that positive mind-set, I can’t deal with it.

Q: What routine has driven success for you?

For me, I need to feel good in order to be able to do good. I have to wake up early and go to the gym. After that, I’m ready to conduct business. And, at some point in the day, I have to read a little bit or listen to an audiobook. I always have to be learning something. Whether it’s business or spiritual content, I need something to keep me going.

Q: What would you tell the younger version of yourself?

I wish I would’ve invested more during the Recession. I wouldn’t even need to be a real estate broker right now. I wish I’d thought of more ways to buy more properties at that time. Homes that are $375,000 now were $150,000 at that time. That would’ve made me a multimillionaire.

Action Items:

• Do the thing that you’ve been thinking about doing. Whether it’s posting on social media, creating a video, or making a cold call, get out there and do it.
• Befriend someone who you see every day, and find a way to turn that relationship into referrals and more business.

Connect with Mahsheed:

Instagram: @mahsheedb

Website: https://www.vegasluxuryhomesandhighrises.com

Resources:

Spring Open House Kit