You can have the perfect location, a well appointed, gorgeous home and guests lining up around the block to stay there, but without a great cleaner, you’ve got nothing.
Sure, a lot of people just starting out will try their hand at cleaning themselves and yet, it can be a tedious task over time and if you decide to leave town or want to scale your business, you will definitely need someone to tag in, so this is an important skill for all.
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Today I have an exciting interview, with my new friend Shane Staats, a Crypto investor and consultant in Boulder, Colorado. A friend of mine who recently got into day trading Cryptocurrency, put us together and we spent a good 45mins geeking out in preparation for sharing with all of you. Whether you are interested in educating yourself to invest on your own, or paying for a more hands off approach, we’ve got something for you. Read ahead!
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When I quit my finance job in 2010, I wasn’t planning on an early retirement. I simply realized that an increasing number on my bank account didn’t provide me with enough fulfillment to justify spending nine hours a day in an office building.
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As a long time Airbnb host and world traveler, I’ve stayed in my fair share of vacation rentals. Second only to the incredible (and free!) pet sitting opportunities, Airbnbs are my favorite places to stay! I love them because they let me: A. See how the locals live, B. (Usually) meet locals and get insider tips and tricks for the area. C. Cook at home; and most importantly, D. Gain insight on areas I can improve my rentals back home.
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Today I am excited to do a Q&A session with my friend, Anita, writer of the blog: www.ThePowerOfThrift.com, who managed to retire at the ripe old age of 33. We met because I reached out to her after I read about her on the Mr. Money Mustache blog.
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Hey Guys,
As many of you know, my father passed away on Sept 2nd and I have had no choice but to take some extended breaks from my work, which has left a large gap in my regular blogging schedule. My apologies for this.
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Since it may not be obvious, I wanted to draw attention to the Media tab on my site. Yes, it's got all sorts of other goodies! Some other great podcasts and a few blog features too. I like to point this out because each podcast has a different focus so it directs the conversation in a different way. They run the gambit from Real Estate Investing, Airbnb, Early Retirement, Financial Independence and I've got some coming up on travel too.
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How do you define success? For me, all I’ve ever wanted was enough money to cover my expenses so I could live in a comfy home, drive a well-oiled machine, travel, and occasionally eat out without stressing about the price. For all intents and purposes, I’ve reached this platform so why reach higher? Sure one can always upgrade their homes, cars, experiences, and meals but is it really that much sweeter?
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The other day (or back in March when I started this post), I was enjoying breakfast with some new friends at a riverside hostel in Central Guatemala. After the basic introductions, one of the women turns to me and says, “I want to learn to travel like you do”. I thought it was a good idea for a blog, so I’ll share some tips here:
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Who doesn’t want to travel for free or damn well close to it? I know I do. I love travel hacking and although I travel for nearly nothing, I’m definitely not an expert in all the flashy terms and tricks, but I know some basics that are easy, repeatable and not time-consuming. Here are the ways I maximized those free dollas! Holla!
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Guest communication can be one of the most time-consuming parts of being an Airbnb or Homeaway/VRBO Host. If you become a manager of more than a few properties you may want to consider using a receptionist service and yet, for those full-timers who want to maximize their profits, here’s an easy loophole: Saved Replies!
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So your client already has an Airbnb listing, great! But it doesn’t mean that its ready to go. Even with experienced Airbnb renters you will find little missing pieces to tweak. In fact, in the example I am using today, my new client has been hosting on Airbnb for over 2 years and this is his second property and yet, when I looked at the pricing for June, which is one of Boulder’s highest months, and still months away, it was bargain basement level. A shocker. Gotta edit that right away!
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Congrats! You have your first interested Co-Host client, so now what? You need to schedule a call to learn about their home and their needs/desires. Here is a compilation of questions that I have refined with my experience working with a large variety of clients. In my experience, if you can stay on task, this call should be about 1 hour.
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Lately, a lot of people have been asking for tips on how to build their own Co-Hosting empire. I am happy to share a short list of ways to find some clients. Here goes:
1. Register with Airbnb - Airbnb is the #1 tool I use for renting homes, so if you want a business like mine, you need to create an account. If you don’t have one already, use this link for $30 credit towards your first stay: https://www.airbnb.com/r/zmcintyre1?s=8&i=
(Airbnb used to have a service where you can list yourself as a Co-Host so that people in your area can find you. At the time of writing I could not find it, so they may be revamping the program, and yet, keep an eye out as it may come back. To be clear, they still offer the Co-Host option to link yourself to someone else's listing but I do not see a way of advertising yourself.)
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I don’t know about you, but this business of setting and defining goals has felt like a moving, elusive target. Although, I think that I am in a unique position to be overlapping into two very different groups that influence my thoughts on the subject. On the one side, I have friends like Mr. Money Mustache, a colorado based fellow who has a popular blog on Early Retirement, frugality and finding your freedom; and then I also have successful entrepreneurial friends who are young and driven, looking to scale and grow their empires to unlimited proportions. I find myself somewhere in the middle.
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Today I had a fun chat with Dave Lukas, the curator of the Misfit Entrepreneur podcast, to see if I would be a good fit for his podcast (turns out that I am because we scheduled one - stay tuned!) and we got to talking about the theme of his show that I really resonate with - essentially the idea that all Entrepreneurs are Misfits or in maybe more likeable terms - different. We are out of the box thinkers and people who see the world at a unique angle or viewpoint and find inspiration in that space between.
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Hmm, when I imagined this blog, I didn’t expect to have such a heavy message and yet I am realizing how impacted I have been by my mother’s passing and the experience that went along with it. I apologize if that is triggering for anyone and yet, I see this as my healing space, my platform, so I will allow it to flow as needed.
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My love for homes goes back as far as I can remember. Although many would not label me as such, I seem myself as an introvert. I love deep conversation, small group interactions, watching/analyzing before interacting, and I am a homebody. I love the warmth and comfort of homes. I have always seen them as a sanctuary, a place to rest, recharge, and be with yourself. When I was a child, we moved a lot. Although it was mostly within the small island of Maui, I frequently changed schools, which forced me to get out, make friends and push my comfort zone edges. Even though I hated the uprooting process of moving and gathering all our belongings, packing and transporting; I loved the resettling, decorating and nesting process. Every space was a blank canvas with endless possibilities.
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A few years ago, I had a blog on a different website. Inspired by my favorite at the time, Mr. Money Mustache, and the world around me, I wrote about Early Retirement, reorganizing your priorities, reclaiming freedom, entrepreneurship, spirituality and more. I completely fell in love with the experience. I remember being out on a walk, talking to a friend or going about my day and all of a sudden a story/blog post would start playing out in my head. I would be forming and shaping the words and couldn’t wait to sit down to capture it’s essence. It was pure inspiration working through me and it felt like such a healthy pastime.
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