Believe it or not, our guest on the Catapulting Commissions show today retired at the age of just 27 off passive income. Rachel Richards is the author of two best-selling books, Money Honey and Passive Income, Aggressive Retirement. She’s helped thousands of people create a lifestyle on their own terms and empowered them to take control of their financial future. Today, she’s going to talk about investing, saving, and building wealth without the burnout.

In 2017, Rachel had a grand total of $0 in passive income. That year, she and her husband invested in their first rental property. Later that year, Rachel wrote and published her first book. From those two initial streams of income, they grew their investments to almost 40 rental units and Rachel has two best-selling books today.

Rachel defines passive income as money earned with little to no ongoing effort. That being said, she reminds us that it's no get-rich-quick scheme. It does take time or money to create. Once your passive income surpasses your living expenses, though, it can become very hands-off.

She shares the journey she took to get to where she is now. Initially, she knew her pathway was through real estate. What she didn’t expect was how fast it would take off. A few things allowed for her and her husband to scale their investments quickly: Rachel graduated from school debt-free by working at CutCo and her husband did the same through Military Veteran benefits. It’s about being frugal and cutting costs, she says, she didn’t receive any inheritance or outside help--just evaluating and living within her means allowed her to save. Early on, she saved 50% of her income, only taking a few years to save a decent amount of money. After purchasing their first rental property, Rachel received her real estate license, allowing her to deplete her savings into investments of new properties and immediately get a return from her commission. It didn’t take long to save up for their next property.

Rachel’s advice to someone who is looking to start leveraging and investing their money starts with a question “If you’re going to save money quickly, what do you do?” Most people respond by decreasing their expenses. But, there’s only so far that can go. There are two sides to increasing your savings: decrease your expenses and increase your income. There is no cap on how much money you can make. Don’t let that lifestyle creep happen--manage your money so you can live within your means.

It’s impossible to ignore the success Rachel has had with her best-selling books. When you’re a self-published author, reviews and launches play a big role. Rachel built her following by simply adding value to communities she was in by offering financial advice in the comments of posts. Eventually, she became the “finance guru.” By the time she wrote her book, a huge group of people were ready to dive in. She involved those communities in big creative decisions. Because they followed the entire journey from start to end, they were emotionally invested in it. To sustain that momentum, Rachel created email lists from the get-go by including a free download with her book, allowing her to have a direct line of contact with her readers. Beyond that, she created a Facebook group for readers to discuss and ask questions. When she was able to focus full-time on this project, she was able to get in front of new audience members through the media.

There are a few sales skills that Rachel learned while working at CutCo that apply to her current successes. She learned that rejection isn’t personal and has nothing to do with you--it’s a numbers game. In sales, you can predict and be the master of your own income. A client’s rejection is just a step closer to the next sale. She also learned that confidence is key. Without that, you can’t ask for the sale with any genuine drive. Imposter syndrome can sneak in--why me? Why would someone listen to what I have to say? In the end, if you can make a positive impact on a single person, it’s worth it.

What You’ll Learn

In today’s episode, Rachel shares with us her incredible journey from $0 of passive income to retiring at 27 fully on passive income. She dives into strategy, mentality, and tactical skills we can use to save, invest and leverage our money to maximize our quality of life.

LINKS

Follow Rachel on social media!

Facebook: Money Honey Rachel

Instagram: @moneyhoneyrachel

Download Rachel's passive income starter kit at www.moneyhoneyrachel.com/bonus

39 - Passive Income and Building Wealth w/ Rachel Richards 38:47 Share

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39 - Passive Income and Building Wealth w/ Rachel Richards