[Ep. 153] Real Estate Investing & Becoming a Leader with Scott McGillivray | Jessica Moorhouse (2024)

It’s not every day you get to talk to someone you’ve binge-watched on TV before. And man has I binged (okay, now it sounds like I’m a stalker). It’s just that I’m such a huge HGTV fan and have 100% watched every single episode of Scott McGillivray’s Income Property.

As I mentioned at the end of the episode, I loved that show so much that I even bookmarked a webpage application to be on the show. But I never applied. Partially because I was way too much of a scaredy-cat, and partially because I didn’t own a house to transform into an income property (that’s probably the main reason actually).

Although that dream may have gone by the wayside, the dream of one day talking to the one and only host of Income Property, and now Buyers Bootcamp, Scott McGillivray certainly came true! And who better to talk to on the podcast about becoming a real estate investor in Canada.

I know I’ve mentioned a few times on the podcast how I’ve always had dreams of owning a few properties to rent out so I could have some passive income to fall back on in retirement. Well, I’m on my way slowly toward owning my first property (my townhouse). Though that’s not really an income property as I currently live in it. Still, it’s a step in the right direction. As for adding on actual income properties, or trying my hand at flipping properties, I, unfortunately, have to wait a few more years.

Since I’ve only been self-employed a year, my mortgage broker informed me I would need at least 3 years of self-employment records on hand when applying for another mortgage. So, I’ve just got a few more years ahead of me, but I’m hoping that in the meantime I can grow my income so my husband and I won’t have as hard of a time getting a good mortgage rate.

But enough about me, let’s talk about Scott because he’s amazing! Not only did he buy his first income property in his 20s as a university student, but he was also able to grow his real estate portfolio exponentially in just a few years after that. And fast forward to now, he’s one of the most popular faces on HGTV.

If you wondering how that all happened, it wasn’t luck. It was a ton of hard work and finding people to say “Yes” when everyone around him was saying “No.” That’s the message I think I love the most from this episode. The message is that the only way to succeed is just not to give up.

As Scott mentioned, we’re trained to be workers in university, not leaders. Which is a big reason I believe that so many of us have trouble fitting in because we’re meant to be leaders or entrepreneurs. That’s definitely my experience, so it was pretty cool hearing Scott’s take on that. Scott also mentioned three key steps for success that I wanted to reiterate here. They can be used for real estate investing specifically or achieving any type of goal really.

3 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

1. Gather Information

This means taking the time to gather information for yourself so you have the tools and information to move forward. It could mean reading books or articles about the subject, watching informational shows like those on HGTV, or going to events or conferences.

2. Education

Once you’ve gathered the information you need, it’s time to educate yourself. You can do this by doing case studies, finding a mentor or instructor, or shadowing someone who is an expert in that field.

3. Implementation

Last but not least, you need to take action. As Scott mentioned, this is the step that most people fail at because they expect instant results or don’t fully see it through. You need to try, then try again. And if it’s not working and you keep failing, you need to go back to the first two steps to see what you’re getting wrong, then pivot.

Check Out Scott’s Books

• How to Add Value to Your Home (this is the book I bought!)
• Cashflow for Life
• The Investors Toolkit

Follow Scott on Social

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