Travis, welcome to another episode of the balance growth Show. I'm your host, Travis Parry, today we get to be in studio with Dr B. You know more more known as Jairo Borja, we're so grateful to have you on here. Today. We're going to talk, and I'm just going to really quickly introduce you here. Dr B is a sought after speaker, author and consultant. He runs the Bucha Consulting Group, and which is designed to assist entrepreneurs and working professionals to network strategically, build quality relationships and close more deals.

Dr B is also an educated consultant, assisting with program evaluation and curriculum review of programs that assist entrepreneurs advance to the next level. He is also a real estate investor and a part owner of 52 unit apartment complex in southern pines, North Carolina. Dr B is involved in 120 key hotel in key Charles, Louisiana, and a 48 unit in Hickory, North Carolina. Welcome to the show, my friend. And thank you for elaborating in your expertise and just being here to help us out have better growth as we balance life.
Thank you, man. Thank you. Dr, parry Travis, thank you so much for having me in the show. I'm excited to be here. As you can tell, I'm like, I'm like Hulk Hogan in WrestleMania three brother.

I love it well. So it's so fun to get to know people from all different walks of life and industries. And you've got, you've got some fingers in various industries, and you've got some things going on. So let's, let's kind of pack, unpack this a little bit. How did you get to this space? How? How did you get to this point really being an entrepreneur,

yeah. So I'll start very early, you know, born and raised in Queens, New York, you know, mom and dad are both Colombian, first generation Hispanic, you know, you know, first first generation college graduate in my household, and of course, leading by example to my younger brothers and eventually stepsisters. I come from the world of financial services, so I worked at Bear Stearns, which became Chase, you know, during the, you know, recession, and then after that, I worked at higher ed for a large bulk of my career. So I worked in financial services. I worked in advising, and I worked in career services towards the end of my, I guess, career, yeah, so, and in my, my last role, I was the Director of Business Development for Career Services. So I would help find jobs for the students and graduates. So that's how I was able to build my network. So I would, I would connect with a lot of recruiters and a lot of entrepreneurs hop to hire their students for internships or career opportunities. Then I decided to pursue my my doctorate, because my original plan was nothing, what you see today, right? Well, my original original was a wrestler, that that, but that ship sailed.
Nice, yeah?

But then, but then I, you know, once I, once I completed my doctorate, I was like, You know what? It was time for me to take that next step. I felt that, you know, where I was at, what I was doing was fine, but I felt that I was I had a calling, I had a higher purpose, and it wasn't just what I was at. So my original plan was to get my doctorate and teach full time. But, you know, as I was involving in the doctoral program like you know what I think I could give back better if I was an entrepreneur. So I started doing the side hustle. In 2018 started doing workshops around networking and and social media a little bit before became cool LinkedIn. And then in 2019 I legalized my business, I registered it, and it's 2019 was a crazy year. 20 January or one, I registered it. March. I got my doctorate. I finished. I got the seal from the CAO chief academic officer. You're a doctor. Congratulations. And then I resigned in May with no plan, no nothing savings. And that's it, right? And then I got I walked in August, I was one of the last to have a ceremony before COVID. And then, yeah. And then I started my business, you know, almost full time at that point, right? And then I wrote my first book, networking way to success in the summer of that year as well. So 2019 was a very interesting year,

I bet, yeah, for so many of us, the next year was Yeah, was just kind of that build up, but, but 2019 was kind of a it was a crazy year politically as well. There was a lot of stuff going on, but a very accomplished year for you. Sounds like, congratulations on all that. So you wrote your first book, and you know, obviously you're big into networking. Relationships are key for you. You have a new book coming out. Talk to us a little bit about what that book is about and what, what was the problem you were trying to solve there? Yeah.

So fast forward, six years later, because we could, we could just keep going and going, right? So six years later, I wrote this baby deal maker, how to easily raise. Unlimited capital for your deals was released, you know, last month or month or month and a half month and change became better. Thank you. So the whole premise behind this book basically discusses the strategies and ups and downs or trial tribulations of me getting to that 52 unit you mentioned in my bio, right? So wasn't easy. I always wanted to dabble in real estate to some capacity. I tried on my own in 2016 didn't work out. Then, fast forward, two years ago, I tried to do, you know, buy a property or have a portfolio with a now former colleague who that didn't work out. And eventually I talked about the story my book, and I said, after what happened in Madeira Beach, where we were supposed to close may 31, of last year, didn't work out. And then I said, You know what, I had two choices. Either I was gonna, like, take my ball and go home, or I'm gonna pivot. I'm gonna, you know, find a way to be a real estate investor somehow.

So I went with the latter, and then I, you know, wound up partnering with the folks in my mastermind specifically. And then that's how I became a general partner in that 52 unit, helping raise money for that deal. In exchange, I got equity, meaning ownership into that deal. So, yeah, so the book talks about different strategies of how to raise money when it comes to networking, when it comes to finding a mentor, being in the right rooms. So I felt that was the problem I wanted to solve. A lot of folks, they struggle with how to find money, you know, and so my the book kind of helps solve that problem. And the second half of the book basically discusses different strategies to how to tap into like the SBA, home equity, CDFI, cash value, life insurance, 401, K, self directed, Ira, etc. So it talks about ways of tapping into money in order to raise money.
So,
you know, that is a struggle that a lot of business owners face is just kind of tapping into the to the right sources, right? Because if we, if we're not careful, it's cash flow is what kills businesses. You know, we talk about lack of sales, but it's, it really is this cash flow. Cash flow is king. So if you have the right amount of equity and and liquidity available to you. You you can, you can weather any storm, you know. So I'm sure that business owners are are going to see a lot of value from that. So let's talk about what's kind of the main like, talk to us about the framework. Like, how does one who's trying to grow a business really dig into, you know, this, this framework that you provide talk to us kind of like, where, where we should be looking at, what are the main points of what you're talking about in the book?

Yeah, so I discussed in the book, you know, different types of frameworks in regards to being in the right rooms. I talk about as an example, even as something as simple as, like, networking and joining specific groups, like a BNI, or the tip, you know, making sure you're putting yourself out. There's a thought leader. I talk about the importance of having, I don't get into super details, but I get into the importance of that, that funnel, you know, making sure you're whether it's being putting yourself out. There's a thought leader, whether it's a webinar or seminar, having, you know, putting yourself out there's a thought leader in a specific topic I talk about that I took about the role, or the importance of a mentor as well. So, you know, I suppose, you know, as an example I discussed in the book, hey, prior to this, I was struggling. I lost money, but then, you know, but then I went to someone who basically, kind of already done that, been there, done that, right? So the framework is simple, just find someone who's already did it and copy them so that this way you don't have to lose $16,000 like I did, basically. So I talk about the importance of finding mentors or finding your tribe when it comes to that, right? So it's important to find your tribe or find your community as well.

You know, I talked to like as an example, right before this call, I spoke to a few other like minded real estate investors. That motivates me, and we motivate each other, so they're going to help me with some deals, and vice versa. And then from there, you know, we're all part of the same community, so we'll kind of motivate each other there. So yeah. So my framework, it talks about that a lot. It talks about the importance of finding a mentor, finding someone who's been there, done that. And this way you're just, I don't wanna say copy paste, but, but something like that, where they've already been there, done that, and then, and this way you'll just, you know, you want to save time, want to save money, you want to save energy, right? So I talk all about that in the in the book. So, so that's what I talk about.

What would you say is the most important aspect of your framework? What is the one thing that if, if we could say, Hey, here's, here's the thing that would help everything else just work so amazingly well as you're trying to grow and scale. And, and find the money. Because networking, you know, you and I, we could look at networking is so many different things, like you mentioned, BNI, I run a networking group that, you know, and like a mastermind, yeah, I run a mastermind group for, for couples and, and it's, it's a totally different type of way to network. But if you were say, here's the one thing, here's the thing that really is the most important aspect of everything you teach, let's dive into that. What would you say that was,
I love this question, because I knew it was coming. The number one important thing for everything, for all of this to work, is mindset. Well, two things, my one, A, 1b mindset, you have to believe it, and if you believe it, you're going to achieve it, right? So it's all about mindset. And the second thing is, for me, at least for me, understanding your why, right?

That's all part of the process. So My why is my two daughters, Emily and Emma, right? So without them, none of this is possible, right? So why do I, why do I hustle? Why don't I do speaking gigs? Why do I trying to upstart or have a mastermind? What do I do? Why do I raise capital? Why do I have all these nonprofit clients? And it's, it's for me to put myself in a position to one day, I don't wanna say retire early, retire, retirement in a loose term, but at least be able to not worry about money, and then being able to help them or support them where I can, whether it's financially, emotionally, spiritually, whatever it is. So one A, 1b mindset, understanding why?

Let's break that down. Mindset. I mean, you're a doctor, you've done a fair amount of work. Let's, let's let's break this down a little bit. What talk to me about mindset, and you know, what's the right mindset to come into networking? Because I think you're right. I think one of the biggest issues for most people is like, just knowing what is the purpose of coming into this and how can they be in the right psychological frame of reference and being and so that they can get, you know, the most out of their efforts. But let's talk about it. Explain that a little bit more.

Yeah, so when it comes to mindset, it's a lot about understanding, like, what your goals are, you know, ultimately what your organization and then ultimately, understanding your goals at an event, right? So a lot of folks at an event, they think that every event is like, I'll be an eyelid tip where we're going to exchange cards. No, every good event is different, right? A gal is a lot different from a speed networking. A speed network is different from a, you know, traditional event, a virtual event is different from a person. So just understanding, you know, the the event itself, right? And then little tips like, what I do is, when I'm at an event, when I want to connect with the panel, I try to connect with them in advance, or at least know who their names are, so that at the end of the seminar, at least connect with them. Afterwards.

Say, Hey, you know, great talk on blah, blah, blah, you know, let's connect. And you'd be surprised. 99% of the time they will, they will connect you, connect with you after that. Then a couple other things, so mindset, so knowing the type of event. Number two, knowing the knowing that specific strategy. Number three, being able to, being able to have a system, right? So I could, you could have all the business cards and all the fancy stuff in the world. But if you don't have a system, you're, they're gonna fall through the cracks, right? So you have to have a follow up system. You're gonna have to, you know, leverage, whether it's a CRM or something like it, where you'll be able to get alert to say, Hey, call Dr parry, right? Call Travis. So having a system in place, and then having the actual elevator pitch, right? So everyone has a different version of it.

I kind of coach that as well. So I coach like, hey, so I'm making one up, right? So as an example, Hi, my name is Dr Howard Borja, and I help folks make double digit returns or or double earn money in five years, backed by real estate. And I do that through, through syndication, you know, I, you know, so that you don't have to deal with tenants, toilets and trash, so that I, you know, you could get you can sit back, relax and let us do all the work. Why us? Why me? Because I'm backed by Mike Healy. He has over 25 years of experience in multifamily hotels, and I have over now six years managing a business, and, of course, two years in real estate, and I invite you to, you know, a cup of coffee. Boom, done. I just did that on the fly, by the by the way, so something like that. So it's important to have the elevator pitch kind of tight, and then and having some type of call to action.

And then a lot of folks get stuck with the, how do you carry a two to five minute conversation. So this is the framework. This I did, I did share in the book, in both books, right? I talk about the form a method, right? So, f family, you know, siblings married this and that married divorce siblings, right? Yeah, finding the commonality there occupation, right? Which could be like, hey, working in a similar industry. You're, you're an investor in Airbnb, I'm an investor in multifamily. There's that commonality there, occupation, uh, recreation. You know, I like No, I like to walk. You like to walk or run? I like to run. So finding that commonality and recreation, motivation, that's a little tricky, but understanding your why, my why could be my family and kids, you're also finding that commonality there. Education.

You have your PhD, I have my DBA, so there's a commonality there and an achievement, right? So you have a podcast or a mastermind, I have one that's, you know, off the ground in beta, but you know, it'll, it'll roll out more in the next month or so. So finding that commonality there, right? And then, so by doing that at the end of the conversation, when you go to CRM, you can say, Hey, Dr Travis, a Yankee fan or a Met fan, and you know, and then you bring it up during the next meeting. So for my method, elevator pitch, mindset and knowing and knowing what type of event you'll you will succeed, you should be able to succeed.

So what would you say is knowing the type of event they're they're just like, there are so many of it, like we talked about the BNI, there's masterminds, there's, I've been a part of so many networking things over the years, and quite honestly, many of them were, were quite a waste of time, because I think people are coming In with the wrong mindset they're coming in with, Hey, here's my elevator pitch, right? And I want you to send me something before I send you. Like, it's a very scarce mindset, so maybe walk through like, what how does your mindset different from others coming into those events? Like, what are what are you thinking? And then what should others be thinking as they come into these events

I see, and I great question. I coach this with my team, and I coach with my clients, and now on the show, right? So I think it's important for everyone to think about a servant leadership mindset, or servant mindset, right? So come in there and say, hey, my goal was to meet 10 people, all right? And coming in with a servant mindset. So what does that mean? So not, not instead of you asking for referrals or asking for the sale, how else can I help? Right? Because at the end of the day, it's a two way street when it comes to that, right? And then number two, so that you don't waste time, or they don't waste time, I would say, you know, think about this exercise going back to like marketing one on one, like understanding who your ideal avatar is or buyer persona. So once you have that clarity, as far as who, who they are, where they live, how much they make, what they do, where, how do they consume their news, right? Once you understand that, then you would go to organizations that your ideal avatar is at, right. And then that makes sense, right? And then this way you'll be able to connect with those individuals and vice versa, and help them vice versa. So again, having clarity, as far as your avatar, knowing where they hang out, going to events, where they hang out, and then at the end, having that servant leadership mindset, all those four things, the three things I mentioned, whatever it was, I think it'll help you in the long term, for sure.

Well, yeah. I mean, I think the anybody that's done their work in networking know that it's a long term game, right? You might get some short term wins, but the people that show up to the BNI, they'll be there for a few weeks, get some referrals, and they'll leave and they'll never come back, and they miss out on like, long term relationships. So I love, I love this idea, this servant leadership as you lead with that. And then, you know, once you have the mindset and you've got a pitch, talk to us like, what, what are the couple ways that that you would suggest, like, this is a good pitch, because there's, there's elevator pitches, like, I cringe. Like, oh my gosh, that's so bad. And I don't want to be that guy. And we all know, we all know
one of those guys in the group, right? Yeah.

So can you connect, can you connect that servant leadership with your elevator pitch? Like, I think that's where the disconnect shows up in in my brain is like, Oh, you're wanting to be this, you know, awesome networker, but you're also showing up with your elevator pitch, where it's all about you. So how do you, how do you fix that?

Yeah, so basically that second sentence, like, I help people make double digit returns, you know, and or double their money back, you know, in five years, back by real estate. So you're always, you know, that's how I open my line with, so it's all about adjusting your elevator pitch to that. And then what you want to do afterwards, that third, that third line. And I can send this to you if you want to have a framework for it, so you can share with your audience. It's all about, you know, the challenges that folks may have. And then why are you the solution? Right? So why you know? It could be, you know. It could be that you know you've been burned in the past, or, in my case, Oh, you don't want to deal with the tenants anymore in toilet and trash. So, so then the challenges is, hey, you're working day to day.

You don't want to you're working all day. You don't want to deal with phone calls at all time to the day. So let me you. Help you alleviate that by investing passively in real estate and let me, or let my team, take care of all the day to day stuff, so that you could sit back, relax, collect your principle and interest while we do all the work. Right? So, and then, why us? Basically, it's, it's all because of the the mike Ely and leaning on his 25 plus years of experience, plus my years of experience as entrepreneurs. And combining those two experiences, it's a it's a win, win, right? So I, you know, I invite to, I invite you guys to, to connect. So that's how I would do it. So I will also that. I'll do that. I'll do that for you. I will send that so that everyone can kind of marry the serving leadership approach with the with the elevator pitch.

So that's how you do it. I love it, yeah, because it keeps it keeps you congruent with who you are and how you show up to help others.
You know somebody, Hey, I, I take your money, right?
I do this. And this is, yeah, this is how I do it, but it's, this is how this helps you, right? This is what I do that helps you. It's all about them. Nowadays. You know, most of the networking that I do is on LinkedIn. Most of networking I do is on podcasts. This is why I love doing podcasts. I love meeting new people. I love seeing what's working.

I love I never got my MBA. It's always been on my list. I did the PhD instead, and did a master's in psychology. But I feel like because of my experience with podcasting, I get to meet cool people like you all the time, and I get the best takeaways of your books, and I find it fascinating. So if you could give us two or three things to say, Hey, this is where you start. Doesn't matter where you are, this is where you would start. You know, you talked about mindset. You talked about, you know, having, you know, a elevator pitch. You also talked about a good system. But where would you start? What would be the 123, things you'd say, here's where I begin, if I could start all over again, or some takeaways that people could learn from right now, that they could put into practice and try.
I love it. It's great question.

So if I could go back all over again, I probably would would have not just jumped into the deep in the water. What I probably would have done is I probably would have gotten a couple of clientele to equal my salary, then once they equal my salad, then make the jump, instead of just jumping that would, that would have been one and number two, as I mentioned earlier, I probably would have found, found the mentor a lot sooner, like I found Mike, Healy, Amy Maury, like in the real estate world, and then Chris Williams, shout out to him and I, and I found, you know, a couple of others, you know, a couple of years later. But I probably would have went back and whether it's informal or formal, informal, I probably would have found a mentor a lot sooner, who's been there, done that, who's already, already has the playbook, and I just got to follow the playbook as soon as instead of just me figuring it out, it took me five years, six years, to kind of figure it out, right.

I'm just now six years, six I figured it out, but, you know, but I probably would have went back and yeah, and find a mentor a lot sooner and and then follow their playbook so that I don't have to lose 16 grand that I talk about in the book, being able to lose out on deals, which I talk in the book as well. So that's probably what my biggest takeaway is, look, if you're in the early stages, I would say, Find a mentor. Find someone who's who's doing already, what you're doing at a higher level, and basically follow the playbook. Why? Why recreate, right? Recreate the wheel. If you could just, you know, follow someone else's playbook. So that's my advice. I know it's, I know it's, I know it's a, you know it is what it is. So there you
go. No, I think there's a lot this.

I mean, I pay for coaches, and a lot of people like you pay a lot for coaching. I have I paid a lot for academic learning, but I found mentors along the way that would help me through that whole entire process. In fact, most people don't get that type of learning until they get to a PhD. Some at a master's level, but most at a PhD level, learning, where they have a mentor assigned and walk them through and and they really are there to make sure that they succeed. Well, you know, having a coach and a mentor is is nothing different in a business sense, that you're trying to gain what they have in a very short time, but they've learned this over decades of experience. So I love talking to authors, because now I can see into your life a little bit. It quite honestly, saves me 10 years of trying to figure out the networking deal, like, how do I figure this out? How do I make this better? How can I be and a better, you know, a servant leader through this process and learn from you.

So I'm with you. Man, I I think that's probably the best advice we can give anyone, is just learn from others, not try to recreate. One thing I will ask on that is, how do you how do you use and and utilize that source of a mentor and a coach and others? Without copying, because there's a fine line there. Maybe talk to us a little bit about that.

Yeah, I wouldn't say copy. I mean copies of stretch, but I would say, you know, take a look at their framework, see what has worked. And then I would say, just as best you can make it work for you, right? I don't want to say remix, like I can use it, but I would say something along those lines, right? I want to say copy, word for word, copy for copy, as they say. But that's, that's what I mean by that. So as an example, you know, I'll use, I keep using Mike, but let's say he's Mike, right? So Mike, Healy, is big into multi family. He's been there, done that, right? So, you know, using his framework to to go from, you know, finding the deals to finding the money, to closing the deal, right? So, you know, the good part about real estate, not every deal, every deal is not the same, right? So, so that's something, that's another thing you have to keep in mind, right?

So not every deal or every business transaction is the same. So just, I would say, using their principle, using their ideologies, but at the end, you know, owning that, right? So, and the good part about having a mentor or a coach is that they'll help. They'll walk you through it, as opposed to just going on YouTube or trying to guess it on your own. So that's, that's what I mean by that. So if that makes sense,
love it. Well, we've, we've spent some great time talking and deep, diving into your framework and the things that are most important, and being able to to have great deals, connect with others. Network.

I really appreciate you, Dr B being on the show. If others are wanting to follow you, take your advice and learn from what you've been able to do with networking for years and years. How can they go and get get access to your book?
Yeah, they could go to my either website, Borja capital.com or Borja consultantgroup.com and they can pick up a copy of my book and learn of some of my other services, or you could follow the DR B show available wherever you get your podcast and YouTube. So I'm looking forward to connecting your audience.

Thank you. Thanks for being here. Thanks for your time, guys. If you've loved this as much as I have. Please, like, share, subscribe, do all the things, but definitely connect with Dr B and and continue having these conversations, because you never know. One relationship could change your life, could change your business. And really appreciate having you on the show today. Dr B, thank you, Travis, thank you so much. Appreciate it absolutely. So next time guys, remember live life on purpose together.