kavonjones_53podcastjan2025_53fulllongform_v2
[00:00:00] We want to make sure that everything is together, you know, because at the end of the day, uh, compensation matters to everyone with that being said, you know, there could be errors. There could be missing payments. There could be things that you may not be aware of. A lot of times in short term rentals, they're just thinking Airbnb style rentals, right?
But you can also look into renting out your property to. Traveling nurses and traveling professionals, uh, through a different network that way, put your property on one of those listings and you're going to get top dollar for that property. No one is coming to save you. No one is coming to save your thought process.
They're not going to even care about your feelings because business is going to shoot it to your straight. Everybody wants the business, but no one wants to work for
[00:01:00] podcast. We talk all things, VA benefits, real estate. Entrepreneurship and more, and I'm Kayvon Jones, civilian, patriot, entrepreneur, and host of the number one veteran podcast. Hello, and I'm Kenneth Davis, uh, CEO of Veterans to Veterans and, uh, continuously a, a veteran servant. Man, this episode is jam packed today.
We're going to cover things such as the 2025 VA pay rates. Also in the real estate section, covering VA loans and how to build wealth in 2025. And also for you. Military and veteran entrepreneurs, how to grow and establish your business in 2025. Yeah, yeah. Listen, whether if you're a veteran, veteran, family member, uh, friend, someone supports the community and even military affiliate.
Listen, at the end of the day, we're here to serve. We're here to help. And we want to be able to give you the knowledge. So today we [00:02:00] have a jam packed special.
The first question we have today is, why is it important for veterans to verify their pay rates? Listen, veterans, um, just as we know, right, uh, being in the military, uh, we have the support of DFAS and, uh, finance to be able to get everything correct for, or pay for families when, uh, we're deployed and we want to make sure that everything is together.
You know, because at the end of the day, uh, compensation matters to everyone. Um, so with that being said, you know, there could be errors. There could be missing payments. There could be things that you may not, uh, be aware of. Some veterans may get received an extra bonus, you know, um, special monthly compensation, uh, uh.
Some veterans could have had additional children. We want to know, uh, what you are [00:03:00] supposed to be compensated. A lot of times, uh, the information on, uh, just online shows you a lot of, uh, direct info, but not enough. So that's where we're here to go ahead and kind of needle that down. Absolutely not. That's definitely very important.
So, with knowing that, what steps should veterans take to verify their 2025 VA pay rates? Um, great question. Great question. So, first and foremost, uh, the pay, uh, each year, uh, you can kind of analyze, uh, what the pay structure is going to be or assumed to be, um, where Congress, again, gets together where we're going to figure out, uh, what is the cost of living adjustment.
Typically, again, it is. Associated and very closely related to social security. Um, you know, anytime that you see any adjustments of that nature, um, I don't want to get into the technicals, but anytime you see a pay raise that's possibly for social security, you're nine times out of 10 going to possibly see it for, uh, the veterans.
Okay. [00:04:00] VA. But with that being said, uh, you also need to know that that specifically. So, going on to your VA. gov account that's going to be able to provide you that info is going to be there. All right. December is the month. October is the release. Okay. December is the effective date and October is the release of information.
Always consider that. Always understand that. All right. So, if anyone tells you beforehand that they have info of, hey, this is the pay rate, tell them to find it on paper. Okay. Uh, tell them to find the regulation, the law, or the actual legislation that got pushed up to accept that. All right. So, um, anytime that is, uh, additional pay is going to be, or a compensation that's going to be affiliated with any type of benefits, it needs to be approved.
Okay. It has to go up just like any other, uh, regulation change. Now with that, what are some common mistakes veterans make when checking their pay? Great question. [00:05:00] One huge common mistake that most veterans make while checking their compensation. Um, a lot of times they, uh, are confused in relation to their effective date of pay as veterans, uh, assuming, you know, obviously you've sacrificed for the country.
A lot of times the VA is not going to recognize that sacrifice during service. So they recognize your intent to file. That's what they recognize. So make sure that recognition is in place when you're effective date of pay, that is the most number one common mistake for most veterans in regards to checking pay.
Okay. Uh, secondly, um, missing their dependents. Listen, veterans, if you have a child. or spouse, please add them to your [00:06:00] actual benefits. Okay. Um, you must be 30 percent or more to be able to receive additional pay for your dependents. However, most veterans never at their dependents. And it's totally unfortunate because that's additional pay for union family that is actually authorized.
So that's a kind of number two, the biggest, biggest, uh, uh, miss misstep there. Um, and third misstep there. Um, and this is a bonus, right? Cause it's a under layer, right? Uh, most veterans feel as though that they cannot add their eight, uh, school age child and what is the school age child you ask? Well, school age child is a child that's 18 or older.
Okay. We have children that are 18 in high school all the time. Well, let me tell you guys, please add that child to your actual dependency claim. Okay. [00:07:00] Um, there's a form 21, 6, 7, 4. You can be able to go ahead and add that child to your actual dependency. Okay. You're able to go ahead and add that school age child.
All the way up until the age of 26, even if they're married, but. We can kind of pull it back to layers over and over again. So, uh, those are kind of some of the most common mistakes, but there's others as well. But with the again, this cost of living adjustment increase, uh, listen, please, please, please take an effect how it is going to.
One, help you and your family because again, we understand that the economy is continuously moving forward and things are getting more and more expensive. No, no, absolutely not. That's great information there. And even with that, um, school age child is over 18. You know, uh, I've, I've seen a situation where, you know, a lot of our active duty service members, uh, they're a little bit overzealous sometimes when [00:08:00] they're applying for their service connection, right, right out of service.
And so they're filled out, you know, they filled out the claim and they have that pending and they're also filling out the, uh, 686 form. Right. Uh, To actually add their dependents and then that secondary form to add the school age child. However, uh, That form could actually be denied if they actually are reviewing that prior to them being awarded their benefits So, you know, that's something else that I think veterans need to be knowledgeable of and you may want to kind of say a little A few words on that we're talking about the va before back in the day.
Let's go. Let's take it back a little bit Before, you know, you could be able to, uh, fill out a form and put on a napkin of your, you know, your child's information and be able to get it approved, right? Well, no, you have to get it on the correct prescribed form, but when you put it on the correct prescribed form, [00:09:00] um, just as you alluded to, you need to make sure that you're putting in place the correct time to do so.
10 percent to 20%. You don't qualify. 30 percent on you qualify. If you are still in active duty service, you do not qualify. It is nothing to the need to be submitted with a BDD claim. If you want to know what a BDD claim is, please scroll back and check some of our videos that you can be able to get that information from.
Um, so with that, it's going to be very, very important when you submit that claim, make sure it's on the correct prescribed form as well. Because you will and can be denied. Wonderful information there. Wonderful information there. You know, Kenneth is actually going to be breaking [00:10:00] down a lot of stuff here.
And you know, the next thing we would like for you to do for us is can you break down the 2025 VA pay rates for us today? Of course. Um, listen, the pay rates are gonna be going up here and we're going to go ahead and talk about that now. All right, veterans. So here we are, VA disability compensation rates for 2025.
You've made it to the turn of the year and now it is time for your cost of living adjustment that you sacrifice for you deserve and you have earned. This is an exclusive benefit for your elements that is again that you suffer from that was deemed an injury. While sacrificing for this country. We're going to get right into it.
All right, veterans. So we're going to go ahead and go off the chart that compensation rates. However, I do want to point out something that [00:11:00] most veterans are not taking into consideration. What about zero percent? 0 percent is a very valuable percentage that most do not consider. Having a service related injury could also put you in a position to receive VA medical care.
Never forget that VA medical care that is totally free without any co pays based upon a service connected injury. So be very considerable of that. Now, we're going to also consider as well, access. To military installations, being a service connected disabled veteran, you have access to military installations to be able to, uh, to be able to go on base to shop at the commissary, BX, NEX, so on and so forth.
So taking consideration of that, cause that's a huge, huge component because why? Well. Don't forget about the tax free benefits on base and also discounts and different things of that nature. But always [00:12:00] consider it is discretionary if the base or military installation allows you. Now let's roll right into it.
So 10 percent disability that is going to get you a base rate of 175 on a monthly basis. Okay, 175. But now taking consideration. This is tax free. Okay. Tax free benefit. It is going to be direct deposit to you every single month. Again, ongoingly for the rest of your life. With that, I also want you to understand and consider, uh, this 10 percent could impact daily functioning needs.
Not so severe. However, severe enough that it does affect you and is chronic and goes ongoing. Now, 20%, 20 percent base rate is going to be 346 95. Okay. As you [00:13:00] know, monthly basis, every single month for the rest of your life. There's many, many ancillary benefits that we can talk about per. Uh, each disability rating, we won't do that disco round.
We're only focusing on the compensation rates, but again, that would be another video for another day. Uh, specifically federal state benefits are going to be offered, but we'll talk about that at a later date with that 30%. 30 percent this year, it's going to get you a base rate with no dependence at a rate of 537 537 42.
Okay. No dependence. However, now, if you have a dependent taking consideration that with a spouse, you're going to be able to receive 601 with a spouse. A child, you're going to be able to receive 579 42, okay, that is one and one. Okay. And what I mean by one and one, it means again, base rate with a [00:14:00] spouse, one spouse base rate with a child, one child.
Separate. Okay. So, um, with that, obviously, this is the beginning, the access of the dependency police taking consideration. Dependency is a option for many veterans, spouse, child, parent, taking that consideration. Veterans. All right, we'll go ahead and continue on. However, We'll provide more information in relation to all dependency information later time.
Now at a 40 percent rate for you. All right. That 40 percent rate is going to go ahead and get you, uh, with no dependence of the seven 78 here with 43 cents, no dependence spouse. It's going to go to provide you the eight 55, uh, 43 with child eight, 24, 43. Okay. But taking consideration. Uh, one and one, okay, base rate [00:15:00] with a spouse, a 55 base rate with a child, a 24.
All right. Now, moving on 50%. 50 percent is going to go ahead and provide you the 1097 with 76 cents. No dependence. Again, base rate tax free, taking that consideration. Tax free. Okay. Um, it is considered that, and we want to make sure we can go on and get into that again. We'll educate in that, that manner and they'll later date now with spouse 1195 with 76 cent with child 1157 76 cents.
All right. Moving on here. 60%, 60%. That's going to be 1385 Okay. 1385 with no dependents with spouse, [00:16:00] 1503 with child 1457. All right, that's 60 percent 70 percent here. That's going to go ahead and provide you the 1663, 1663 with spouse, 1802 with child 1748. Okay. 70 percent is very special. As you know, uh, we teach veterans benefits and educate.
However, we want to make sure that we're educating the right way. A veteran may qualify, may qualify for individual unemployability. If cannot, if you cannot maintain gain for employment. , we'll speak about that later date, later time. If you have immediate questions, don't hesitate to reach [00:17:00] out. Now, 80%. Now we're gonna go ahead and again, expound upon this.
It's gonna be 1933, all right, with no dependents with spouse. 2092 with child 2030, okay with child 20, 30, 90%, it's gonna be 2172. With no dependents with spouse, 2352 with child 2282. All right. And the hundred percentile, this is going to go ahead and get you the, with no dependents, 3831 with spouse, 4044.
With child 39, 74, as we know, 100 percent it's going to qualify you for other ancillary benefits, uh, beyond just compensation to include all the other, uh, again, uh, [00:18:00] disability percentages as well. Um, but access to a permanent and permanent in total disability. will then be able to qualify you for, um, again, a various amount of other benefits associated.
Um, again, with all the other benefit percentages as well, you may qualify for special monthly compensation, automobile allowances, housing grants, um, so on and so forth, which again, uh, we have, uh, again, we have so much information. Um, in regards to our platform where we're teaching courses are based upon all additional benefits.
Um, again, that link will be below. We can be able to go ahead and, um, again, uh, access that information as well. All right. Now, when we're talking about this, uh, we always want to consider all additional considerable benefits, right? So, when we're talking about, again, additional considerations, qualifying for dependence, including spouse, child under 18.[00:19:00]
Now, when we're talking about dependence, that we understand that a lot of blended families together. Okay, that means adoption, adopted children, okay, that means stepchildren, all right, so make sure we're taking that into consideration as well, all right, um, also, uh, dependent parents, um, I think that's a big miss that most veterans, uh, just do not take advantage of.
It is a very, again, honorable duty of a veteran or anyone, however, A veteran is able to be compensated for being able to take on a dependent. Now, also when we talk about a lot of these other issues, such as special monthly compensation, which again, we have courses on that, uh, to be able to teach and provide information on special monthly compensation, I'm not going to get too much into it, but again, Special monthly compensation, aid in attendance, so on and so forth.
It's definitely a priority of [00:20:00] benefits, uh, uh, with other local and state benefits that's offered to you. All right. And again, property taxing exemption for many states. Again, these are various states. Um, you know, obviously, we. These are legislations that sometimes may or may not be in effect, uh, but you want to check with your local office or go ahead and give us a call.
We'll definitely be able to support you and kind of walk you down that information. Um, at the end of the day, we want to make sure that we support, educate, and also thrive to share information to help one another. Absolutely, Kenneth. Wonderful, wonderful information here as we kind of close out the segment.
Let me get one last question for you. Uh, now we went down every, um, part of the compensation, literally zero to a hundred and our veterans definitely appreciate that and their families appreciate that because the details, we definitely want to know that. So with understanding all of those [00:21:00] different components, if you could kind of just leave us with, you know, just some final advice.
Uh, that you would want to give to veterans regarding their pay rates in terms of, you know, what should they know going into 2025? Um, yes, sir. Going into 2025, I want you to take into consideration that, um, these benefits are authorized for you. If there is a point in time when, uh, the benefits are going to, uh, kind of go through over all the VA, uh, understandably, uh, they're changing on a regular basis.
Take the time to get the assistance needed to get access to your serve your benefits. If you do not take that time, you may miss out on again benefits for your family that you actually sacrifice for. You went to the military to serve your [00:22:00] country. And now serving a country. Please take advantage of the exclusivity of the benefits that's offered to you.
If you don't hear anything. Please make sure you understand that this is not a welfare. It's a benefit for your service. Absolutely. Wonderful. Wonderful. Well, this wraps this first segment here of 2025 definitely appreciate if you're listening here, we want to make sure that you have the resources available, right?
So, um, if you are interested in maximizing your VA benefits, please reach out. We're here to help. You can actually book a consultation with us. Our phone number is on screen if you're watching that way. But if not, I'll go ahead and let you know. 619 786 0465 Uh, one [00:23:00] more time that is 619 area code 7 8 6 0 4 6 5 go ahead and give us a call book a free consultation and we'll be able to educate you on your benefits and assist you with your goal of maximizing your compensation as well.
If you have. Other, uh, kind of, uh, resources that you need. We have those resources available as well. If you want to do things independently, we have a whole entire course on our community that you can actually purchase. Uh, the link is in the description below. Vet for vets info.com is the website that's vets for vets info.com for that website.
Go ahead, wealth of knowledge and also a free veteran community, right? When we're, uh, talking about and having a host of resources regarding VA benefits, real estate, entrepreneurship, [00:24:00] and the myriad of other interests, active duty service members and veterans are interested in. So definitely please take part in that community.
The link is in the description. Uh, you can visit that website and also it's on screen here. So we are here for you veterans and, you know, definitely, uh, leave any type of comments for any feedbacks or questions. We would love to have them and answer those questions, uh, within the comments, but also as a new segment for, for future filming here.
So definitely let us know what you want to hear about here. For sure. For sure. Veterans listen. As a veteran, sometimes you feel lost, sometimes you feel not seen, sometimes you feel unheard. By joining the community, you have this opportunity to be able to share your stories, to be able to uplift, and also to be able to support other veterans.
You're one of many. You're not [00:25:00] alone. Join the community to get the support you need. This is not Facebook. This is a veteran community. So with that being said, join now and get the support help and camaraderie. That you deserve and that we all desire. Absolutely. Great information, man. Stay tuned. We have upcoming a wealth of more information here, getting into the VA loan segment on how to build wealth in 2025.
And in this segment, we're going to go ahead and talk about the VA home loan entitlement. This entitlement is going to be very, very powerful for building wealth and also streamlining your family system to financial success here in 2025. Really excited to unlock some of those informational jewels for you.
Here we go. That's right, Kenneth, because the VA loan is just not [00:26:00] about purchasing a home. It's really about building wealth for you and your family and really understanding that it's not just for veterans also. Our active duty service members can take advantage of the VA loan as well, and also qualifying spouses and different things of that nature.
So we're going to unlock everything that you need to know for 2025. So, Kayvon, before we get into the strategies, uh, you know, I really want you to be able to provide a, a quick refresher for our audience and, uh, veterans and family members of veterans because, uh, as you mentioned, this isn't just for veterans, all right?
Um, there's so many different, uh, access points to be able to utilize this VA home loan. And, Um, but could you please, uh, go ahead and give our, give our, uh, special audience here a, uh, a refresher here? Absolutely. We definitely want to make sure that we're understanding the core basics of the VA loan product.
So, um, as we know it is for, uh, Purchasing [00:27:00] of a home, right? So we definitely know that with a zero down payment, which is very powerful. And of course you also are able to avoid private mortgage insurance, which makes purchasing that home that much more affordable and also with the VA loan. You're accessing real competitive interest rates, okay?
Below the market interest rates for a conventional loan. And you have that solid guarantee backed by the Department of Veteran Affairs insuring your loan against default. And it really provides a very comprehensive way to purchase a home knowing that, hey, when you put an offer on there, it's going to be secure that you're going to be able to close on that product.
Most definitely, most definitely. I just, uh, there's so many different ways, right? To utilize your VA home loan entitlement, you know, obviously primary purchase, right? But not only primary purchase, uh, [00:28:00] when we're talking about that as your primary residence, which that is the ultimate right. Right. You know, deliverable for your home.
But now we all know that active duty members have access to this loan. We understand that strategies are a way to appeal back some of the successes, but could you just kind of give us an overview, just of a, just a quick reference of how this. Home loan can be used more than once or, or can it? No, absolutely.
Very good point there, right? Because if you're purchasing a home, especially as an active duty service member, you're younger in your career and you may be scared to use the VA loan because you know, you're going to make more money in the future and you're going to want to purchase a larger home for you and your family, because at that point you may not have one, but what you can do with the VA loan.
Is you can actually utilize that product more than once. And a lot of active duty service members and veterans just don't know that and know how [00:29:00] powerful that can be. And you know, something that I love talking about here on this channel is house hacking, right? And that can really be a way. Uh, to give you a gateway into house hacking, right?
And, um, understanding that, that you can go in, buy that condo townhouse or that starter home, and then be able to use that VA loan again, there's going to be some different strategies in that. Where you could actually have more than one loan at a time, or you could refinance out of that loan at a later date.
So a lot of different options for you when using that product. House hacking. Could you provide the definition of house hacking? Um. A lot of real estate agents, loan officers, title companies, escrow companies, they use all this jargon that I can't even understand. It's just kind of really, uh, uh, tricky. So if you could, I would love for you to be able to kind of, uh, [00:30:00] provide, put a definition.
Absolutely. So, you know, house hacking, I would say, is when you're purchasing an owner occupied property and you're going in there with an investor mindset, right? You're going in knowing that, hey, this is not going to be my favorite home. I plan on making this property a rental property in the future. And so, uh, I'm, I'm doing that to potentially maybe live in this house.
for a year or two and then refinance that to get another property and, and subsequently converting that to a rental, right? But there's so many strategies involved in house hacking. So the most popular one is when someone, uh, recommends you to get a multifamily property, okay? So it's going to be a two to four unit property where you're able to live in one unit and rent out the other units, right?
So that's the kind of core essence of house hacking. And at that point you're [00:31:00] utilizing those tenants in those other units. So let's say you get a fourplex, you live in one unit, you have three other units that are going to be rented out. Right. And typically if you're doing this right, the rental amount from those three units is able to pay the entire mortgage.
So you're actually able to live for free in that property. Okay. Okay. Um, so basically all in all, so. You're telling me that you are able to buy a multi use property or a fourplex per se. Absolutely. And I like how you said that Kenneth there. So yeah, you are able to buy up to a four unit property. Okay. So some people may look at that as like a small kind of apartment complex, but for the loan purposes, you can utilize that.
for your VA loan. Okay. Uh, and other things that you can do is you may be able to, depending on your area, purchase a property that is what we call a mixed use property. Uh, you see [00:32:00] that a lot in the East coast and maybe Midwest and different things where you may have a storefront at the bottom and it has an apartment or kind of condo style, a living place on top.
Right. So typically if you're using a Mixed use property the square footage of the mixed use property needs to be a little bit larger than The retail space so if it's like 51 And then 49 of the square foot can be for that mixed use space Fantastic. Fantastic. Yeah, I asked that because again, you know, um A lot of my East Coast sailors or, you know, um, tell me about the, uh, their purchasing power on there being home loan entitlement for those who are using a very, very, very small amount.
But, uh, for those, for those, uh, military members that tell me about those, uh, those properties, I always wanted to know, like, how expansive is it? Right? Um, because, you know, us West Coast. [00:33:00] Uh, you know, sailors, soldiers and airmen like it's, uh, not so readily available when you're talking about those, uh, fourplex, uh, properties and so on and so forth.
So, uh, that's why I always want to make sure we put a definition to the audience. So they know, um, but again, you know, by being able to generate that extra cash flow for rental, right? Because you're renting out the other properties, right? Absolutely. Yeah. You're able to do that. And I would say for the individuals that are on the West Coast, uh, where you may want to look, where you're able to find those mixed use or even, uh, duplex, triplex or fourplex properties are going to be usually, uh, sometimes in a downtown area of your cities, right?
Especially with those mixed use, um, depending on zoning, you may or may not have, Those kind of duplex triplex or four plexus, but definitely you may be able to find some mixed use properties, uh, down there as well. But another gem that I'm going to give you, uh, today that a lot of people don't consider when they're [00:34:00] looking in a house hacking is just.
Merely buying a larger single family home and just renting out those individual rooms. Now, of course, now with that, the qualification is going to be a little bit different, right? Because when you are doing the, uh, fourplex, You're able to get 75 percent of the rental value towards your income, right? Okay, but if you can qualify for a four or five bedroom home on your own based on your income, and let's say you qualify for it, but you're not trying to pay that much in your mortgage, right?
That's okay. You can House hack by still purchasing that property, getting some sailors or airmen or kind of wherever you're at. Right. And have them roommateing in that property. And guess what you just did. Now, when you're looking to start your family and kick them out now, you didn't lock. [00:35:00] then your future family's home in today's interest rate in today's prices.
And you just house hacked your way into a very affordable property, right? Because it may be market rate when you purchased that in 2025, but we're looking at 2030, 2035, when you start that family and you put them out. That house that you paid 500, 000 for is worth 800, 000. And guess what? You already bought it.
So you're not paying that value for it. So that's a Supreme house hack that a lot of people don't think about there. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. And again, you know, uh, I think a lot of, uh, you know, junior, junior personnel are a little afraid to purchase. Um, not knowing where that rent is coming from or that mortgage is coming from, right?
Or the tenants and where that rent is coming from. But guess what? You're actually housing other military members, so you know where the rent is coming from and when it's going to be paid. So, [00:36:00] uh, well, it should be paid, I will say. But, uh, there's always risk amongst any getting business or a deal. But this is very minimal, right?
We're talking about a space of primary residence where you will need, uh, housing anyway. Well, why not? You know, so that's an incredible, that's incredible strategy, but there's so many different things that I really, really want to uncover and unpack, um, you know, Obviously when we're building a real estate portfolio, there's going to be so, so many components of thoughts.
I want to kind of go back to what you mentioned in regards to going into a thought of purchasing a home. And our investor mindset, what does that exactly mean? Could you, could you, could you peel back that a bit? Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, a lot of times when we go and we're purchasing a house that we're going to live in, we're looking at, okay, what's the curve appeal?
Do we like the color of the cabinets? Uh, is the master [00:37:00] bedroom going to fit that California King that we have, right? Well, you were thinking about all of those different, uh, superficial things and we're not looking at it as an investment. We're just looking at, okay, what do we like, right? We're not thinking about, Hey, is this property in a desirable area now?
And, or is this going to be a future desirable area years to come, right? Has it reached this full potential already and evaluating all those things? So that's what investors are thinking about when they're purchasing a property. Uh, typically an investor is going to look at a property where they're going to look to purchase in.
A C or D class neighborhood, right? A more lower income neighborhood or a more affluent neighborhood. It's like, they don't really want to be in the middle of that, right? Because that's where you're going to make the most money. If you're able to purchase a house in a struggling area that has potential over the next five, [00:38:00] 10, 15 years, right?
Or if you're in a newer area that's, um, growing and developing, right? So if you are. familiar with your city, you know where these areas are, right? You, you know, you know, you know, for example, I'm here in Las Vegas, you know, we know that there's a lot of growth and development in the Southwest of Las Vegas, for example, right?
They built a new Raider stadium that way, and they just start growing out and they have future plans of doing a lot of different things. Right. So. I've known that for the last five years, you know, and most people have known that for at least the last five years. So it's like, Hey, that's an area that is a nice area that's up and coming.
You, you would look at that and that kind of standpoint. And then if you're looking at a area that's, you know, Hey, on the cusp of maybe doing some different things as the city grows. We'll be looking at North Las Vegas here, right? So that's the area that, [00:39:00] Hey, you know what, you may be able to get a good price right now, but it has a lot of future growth and development as the politics change, as the city gets larger and different things of that nature.
So you want to be building those types of strategies. And of course, with North Las Vegas. Hey, they put that new big VA hospital out there. So that is a good key for veterans to, to be able to kind of consider some things that way. When we are going into a purchase and again, a purchase, it changes for everyone, right?
We don't know everyone's circumstance, uh, but essentially to be able to get the biggest bang for our buck, we want to kind of go in and to it with a investor mindset, investor mindset kind of. Understanding what is going to be here in the next 5, 20 years, right? But now what if we are in a, a city that's a little bit older [00:40:00] and a little bit underdeveloped, then what do we do with a city?
That's a little bit older. Um, you want to look at the trends, right? Because if you, if it's a city, that's a little bit older, like a Chicago, different parts of New York, different things of that nature. Well, the cycle is just continue to repeat themselves. Right? So, you know, people move into downtown, then it becomes overpopulated and ran down and they go to the suburbs and they come back, right?
That cycle is going to continue to. Cycle, you know, that's really is it was going to happen there. So you want to kind of pay attention to those different trends of like, okay, and look where you see the growth happening. You know, if you see a Starbucks come in here or you see, you know, McDonald's come in, there are Home Depot coming in different areas.
Like these are large corporations that. They've done the work for you already, you know, you know, in fact, [00:41:00] when you look at certain areas, you would see before it became a bustling area, you would see like, hey, McDonald's was there five years before anybody else. A Home Depot was there five years before anybody else.
Why? Because When you get a new property, that's where you're going, right? You, you're going there and then the construction workers are going to McDonald's to get something to eat. Right? So they are literally going to be there, uh, one of the first ones. So you want to pay attention to that. And then you want to pay attention to other retailers that are coming in with shopping centers and, you know, they put a Starbucks there, you know, that's going to be a real indicative sign.
And with the city that's, uh, underdeveloped and growing, you want to pay attention to the new, uh, highways and freeways that are being developed, right? That is going to be very, very important, uh, to look at that where those new exits are, right? And you want to be, you know, a certain distance [00:42:00] from there, uh, you know, definitely get with us.
We'll give you the, the details on how that works, because that's already a lot of gems that we're kind of giving you there, but we want to make sure that. You're not only educated with that information, but you understand the reasoning, right? So that's why we have to have a real good detailed conversation behind it.
Cause it gets really into the weeds when you want to understand that. But these are sort of the different things you want to look at. You want to look at. The, uh, new retail, hey, where they're building those things, where schools are coming. Another sign other than retail is new DMVs, right? Okay, uh, looking at that as well.
If you go and do the research in a lot of the cities, the DMV, uh, when that area is growing. Um, gets there pretty early, more times than not, right? You know, at one time here in Las Vegas, we had like one DMV, then they put up one in, um, in Henderson, then it was one, you know, off of, um, in the Southwest and [00:43:00] what, no, now in the Southwest.
is a bustling area, right? And they put one in, you know, Aliante, different places. So looking at that, looking at the growth of the colleges and universities. And, you know, so there's so many different signs where that's developing. However, you want to stay updated with things because technology is changing a lot of those retail, uh, actions as well.
Right? So. Because we could do a lot of things online, some of those signs aren't going to be as noticeable as they were in other years because we are doing a lot of things virtually now, so you're going to have to look at different points and that's where you're expert real estate professionals can come in and kind of educate you and you just need to let them know like, Hey, I'm looking to keep this property longterm, but I'm not looking to live in this property longterm.
Can you make sure that I'm getting in an area that's going to get me, you know, a certain value of what we call a [00:44:00] cap rate on the rents. And you know, it's going to. Appreciate an equity, you know, at a certain rate per year, you want to look at those things and the real estate professionals will have statistics on say, Hey, this area grows at 5 percent a year versus this area grows at 10 or 12%.
Right. And there's going to be pros and cons of picking, uh, any each area, because the area where the appreciation is higher, maybe the, Rents are lower, right? So you may suffer on that end. So it's going to be very difficult in the short term to get both of those things. But so you have to understand which one is going to be more important to you.
Gotcha. So basically it sounds like trying to get the rent and the appreciation of the properties, it's not going to happen for most, for the most part, right? Um, it will over time, right over time. Um, but as a sailor first time purchase, [00:45:00] right. Um, I call Veterans for Veterans, get me to be able to get my VA home loan situated, get, get it to the, the, the vetted, uh, our vetted loan officers and so on and so forth.
Once we have gotten our pre approval, we're shopping. Now once we're shopping, we are looking for a Starbucks. We are looking for major highways. And we're always looking for construction workers at McDonald's, right? All right. So now those are the outside components of an investor mindset. Can you give me the top three inside components for your home and for the investor mindset?
Absolutely. So I would say the top three components, um, of an investor mindset when you're looking, uh, inside the exact property is one you want to look at. The age of the property. Okay. So you, uh, that is going to be paramount because that's going to determine how [00:46:00] many, um, repairs that you're going to have to do in your future repairs, whether you need to replace a water heater versus actually replace a roof or AC unit that could be a lot more expensive.
Okay. You want to look at that. You want to look at the number of bedrooms. Um, and that's going to be very important. Uh, typically you want to have at least Three or more bedrooms, uh, if you can in a property, uh, just because, you know, families and, you know, when you're looking at things, that is really the core of what they're looking at.
Three bedroom, two, two and a half bath properties. Okay. And, uh, third, what you want to look at is just, uh, really, Looking at the area of the property, I think the location, location, location is always going to be paramount there, right? So you want to, uh, survey the location and when you're surveying the location, you just don't want to look for curve appeal and the basic factors, uh, because that's going to [00:47:00] vary.
You want to actually look at. based on what your, what your mortgage is for that property. And you want to always compare that against the rental values for those properties and kind of see where it's at. So when I'm looking at location, that's what I'm looking at there. I'm looking at that as a real key factor for me, because it can be in a lower class area.
And if you're comfortable living in that area, that's. fine, right? You know, but you just have to make sure if, Hey, if my rent is going to be 3000 a month, how much can I rent this property out for? And I will, you know, be honest with the veteran community. Uh, right now you may end up with the mortgage payment that is higher than a rental value.
You know, uh, that's just how it is right now because of the interest rates are a lot higher, but you don't want to be, you know, paying 3000 and it's only worth 1500, right? You want to be somewhere in that ballpark of maybe, you know, you're [00:48:00] paying 3000 and the rental value is, you know, 2200 or 2500. If you can, you know, you want to look at that.
However, there are some other strategies that you can do to actually get. Uh, more rent for a property. And you know, that's something that sit down with us. We can definitely work with you there. Yeah, most definitely. And also, you can, uh, also join the community. And also, uh, again, when joining the community, you have access to a lot of educational components, uh, in regards to some strategies, because at the end of the day, we want to be able to make sure that we're providing them the information, but not only the information, the information that serves you.
Um, so with that said, an investor mindset, uh, again, let's take a repairs, right? We always need to consider the repairs going into the home, right? Uh, rental versus mortgage, right? A mortgage versus rental value. That is important. If you ever get orders and you have to leave [00:49:00] and now. Your mortgage is 3, 000, but you can only get 1, 500 of rent.
And while you're deployed again, I'm sure, you know, you're on deployment, so you probably can afford a little bit extra, but do you want to, why, you know? So that's one component as well. Right. Um, and then I guess, uh, lastly, location. Roku location, right? Uh, can't, can't, can't, can't lose a location, uh, inside quarks is, uh, one thing, but the locality of the area is another.
So, uh, that's phenomenal. That's phenomenal. So, veterans, listen. Hey. That right there is probably going to go ahead and, uh, increase your financial stability and wealth about 20 to 30%, if not more, uh, depending on what location you're in, so you guys can thank us later. Yeah, definitely could, could thank us later on that because, you know, all these things are, are very important and as far as the, the rental aspect of it, you know, for our community and, you know, everybody is watching this for, [00:50:00] um, Assuming that you're all going to join the community, right?
Cause I'm going to give you some real good gems right now. So if you haven't liked our subscribe, uh, definitely do that. And also join the community. You could see the information on the screen, but when you are, um, renting out the property and actually just, uh, Produced a video where we talked about this in specific for Las Vegas But I'll give this gym for all veterans because in case if you're not interested in Las Vegas You're probably not watching that video But something I talked about there is that the different ways you could actually rent out your property, you know Sometimes you can look into different short term rentals, right?
And, uh, a lot of times in short term rentals, they're just thinking Airbnb style rentals, right? But you can also look into renting out your property to traveling nurses and traveling professionals, uh, through, uh, different networks that way. And also renting out [00:51:00] to insurance companies, right? Um, if you're definitely being deployed somewhere, you're relocating and say, Hey, I don't need any of this furniture anyway.
If you leave that property fully furnished, a nurse, a traveling nurse, a traveling physician, you know, other professions that may be coming to live in that city for three, six, nine months at a time. They're looking for those executive type housing where you could actually. Put your property on one of those listings and you're going to get top dollar for that property.
And another way is again, through the insurance rentals, the insurance rental is somewhere where let's say, you know, my house had a flood, right? And now they have to do repairs on the whole entire property, tear up the roof, a lot of drywall everywhere. My family's not going to live there when they're doing that.
It may take anywhere between. One to three months, uh, to, uh, complete those repairs. So the insurance company is [00:52:00] actually going to pay for me to live somewhere. Well, guess what they're going to do? A property that may rent out for 3, 000 a month, the insurance company may be willing, and they usually are because it's already furnished and ready to go to pay seven, uh, 10, 000 a month for that property.
Right? So again, there's a lot of different creative ways that you can look at renting out your properties as well. It's going to get you a lot more of that high value, but you know, high risk, high reward, right? No, 100%. Um, and I can tell you one thing, uh, those components of being able to, you know, get more rental value for your property could be slight risky, but I can tell you one thing that's not always, uh, only your home under the VA home loan entitlement.
So, uh, when we're talking about the VA home loan entitlement and that benefit there, uh, these are some of the I mean, just astronomical ways that you can really, really, uh, forward [00:53:00] your life in a really big way, big time way. And, uh, we will definitely can uncover and unlock and basically speak with a little bit more in depth on under your personal.
Uh, circumstance. Um, you can always give us a call, join the community, uh, give us a, give us a holler. We're, we're here to serve and that's what we want to do. Um, but you know, we're talking about the highlights, right? Uh, but now we always got to, we always got to make sure that we're looking at the other side of the coin, right?
So, you know, if you can give me some of the most common mistakes amongst, uh, the use of the VA homeowner, what veterans should avoid, um, because it's I will tell you veterans, you know, the VA home loan is something so, so, so valued that a lot of financial experts and lenders kind of prey on that. So you need to know how to protect it and you need to know how to use it, but use it correctly and wisely.
That's why we always have vetted, [00:54:00] you know, VA home loan, uh, experts. So, uh, but yeah, if you can go ahead and give us the, some of the most common mistakes to avoid three of the most common mistakes to avoid would be not considering all your different housing options. So when we talked about the multifamily, we talk about mixed use properties and even looking at condos and townhomes, right?
Not considering all of those different options and then also underestimating. So whether you're looking at a new traditional home or even a condo and different things of that nature, there's going to be other types of closing costs and different things associated there that you may have not accounted for, but also.
Relocation and moving costs, right? You need to consider those things as well. Uh, so overlooking all of those different things, HOA fees, and then also, you know, I know this is very, you know, sensitive, uh, to a lot of our folks in San Diego, is The [00:55:00] Melrose and all those other different taxes and fees, and the fact that especially if you're getting a new home, it may not be taxed properly included in your mortgage.
So overlooking that and then also skipping the pre approval when you are, um. Qualifying for the home, not really, uh, taking a look at that and, and doing everything in your due diligence to really understand it, what goes into that pre approval. So those are the three things and we'll kind of unpack those things a little bit more, but wanted to just give you those, uh, different highlights here now.
This is coming from someone who have purchased multiple homes. Okay. Um, I, again, I've had some of the best, best circumstantial situations and, uh, of a purchase and I've had some of the worst, right? I've been on both sides of both ends of it. Um, but I'll tell you this, your preapproval is not what you can afford.
I will [00:56:00] repeat your preapproval is not what you can afford. It is what a lender thinks that you will be able to Afford not comfortably, you can be stretching yourself. However, that is the means of their approval. Absolutely. Because they're looking at a snapshot of where you are when you apply for that loan.
So you could have just paid off all your credit cards. You could not have an auto loan. And you know, once you purchase that home, you plan out. You plan on buying a new car, you know, you just going to do that. Right. So that's not really indicative of what you can really afford. And also maybe you might have kids going to college and different things of that nature.
They're not considering that. And you know, something that I've noticed through my professional career in real estate, that seems, [00:57:00] very basic for lenders to do that they don't do a lot of times if they don't actually associate a pre approval amount with the actual loan estimate of the payment that the, uh, active duty service member or veteran is going to pay on a monthly basis.
So they'll tell you, you qualify for a 700, 000 home, but they won't tell you that that's going to be 7, 000 a month. Right? They won't tell you that. They, they just said, Hey, you qualify for 7, 700, 000 and you start looking at 700, 000 homes and you don't know until the, you looked at the property, you went under contract, planned on buying that, that offer was accepted.
You get that loan estimate and you're like, wait, 7, 000 a month. I only planned on paying 4, 000 a month. And they're like, well, wait, huh? It's like, well, it's so basic to just say, Hey, you know, based on what the interest rates are, because they looked at the [00:58:00] interest rates when they quoted you to be approved for 700, 000.
So they know what ballpark rate they looked at in taxes and insurance. They included all that in there, even factored in some room for possible home associations, right? But they don't tell you what that mortgage payment amount is. Which is like, that's so basic, man. Tell this person that this house is going to cost X amount a month before they get all big eyed, go in there and they go and get a property.
And now they like, well, wait a minute. I didn't plan on paying this amount of month because I do plan on buying a car. I do plan on having certain amount for savings and different things of that nature. So that is going to be a very basic that you want to make sure like, Hey, I'm approved with 700, 000.
What is that mortgage payment going to look like every month? Yeah. So getting that pre approval, it is exciting. It is exciting. Uh, [00:59:00] controlled emotions throughout this process is going to be needed, right? Uh, you are going to go through a rollercoaster of emotions from the. Uh, all the way up having a preapproval.
It's their first time purchase. Hey, I got approved for 500, 000 and you live, uh, in, you know, uh, again, Texas, somewhere in Texas. That's underdeveloping. You're just, you know, that this property that you're looking at and that you're going to purchase is going to be a phenomenal purchase for you and your family.
So now we understand the actual environment that we're in, right? Um, well. What does the interest rate look like? Well, understanding this, obviously, you know, most do not take finance classes, right? Uh, when we're in high school, understanding taxes, understanding financial literacy and certain components. So the interest rate is always going to obviously impact your amount of payment, your APR and so on and so forth.
So with that understanding, with that understanding of your interest rate, you going from 5 percent to 7%, uh, that can [01:00:00] be a difference of two, 300. Uh, to 700, we don't know, depending on the purchase, uh, the purchase price of the home. So your pre approval is very, very important when you are understanding that pre approval, please Please for your sake and ours because we serve the veteran community.
We want to see you guys successful Make sure you're asking for an underwritten pre approval. They're going to tell you, don't worry about it. We're good. We're going to go ahead and get everything. Uh, we don't necessarily need it. Do not move forward unless you know you have an underwritten pre approval.
What does that exactly mean? Well, having underwritten pre approval has been through the, your actual documents, financial, financial, uh, uh, uh, outline or snapshot of has been [01:01:00] approved by not only the first line of defense of the loan officer, but also has been approved by the underwriter. That's the person that gives the say so, okay, you have a digital underwriter and you have The actual underwriter who stamps your approval for your financial success to get into your home.
That is very important. I say that because you are then going to be able to unlock your payment, your interest rate, your taxes, assumed HOA assumed, uh, supplemental taxes, possibly every question will then start to unravel. Please make you do make sure you do so. It was going to save you the stress that you should have never even went through.
And you should have been educated on through that process anyway. We are here to, as we go through the process, you're educated line [01:02:00] by line to make sure you're provided each aspect of components. So we're here to serve. Make sure you go ahead and ask for that. Definitely. Definitely. You want to ask for that.
And it just gets into understanding all of the costs, right? Associated with things. And, you know, Kenneth, I know you've purchased multiple properties, you know, to date utilizing a VA loan. Uh, so it's definitely possible to do that and of course, there's no down payment, right? But now when you purchase your first home with the VA loan, did they kind of tell you about, Hey, the closing costs to think about that.
And also, you know, having to pay. Uh, for inspections and appraisals and all of those different things. You know, those were a lot of hitting costs kind of associated with that purchase. Correct. I personally purchasing my first home when my wife and I [01:03:00] were going into this purchase, I would tell you now that I was just excited to be approved.
I didn't care of the cost. I didn't care about interest rates. I didn't care about a down payment. What are the closing costs? I didn't know what closing costs were. I had no clue what a closing cost was. Who cares? The VA zeroed down on how to pay anything. That assumption of a zero down and you're just walking to a home and you don't pay any considerable cost is is Not how it works.
So, uh, with that, listen, there's so many different hidden costs that you're going to be uncovering as a first time homebuyer closing costs, right? Um, again, rule of thumb typically about 2. 3 percent somewhere around there. Exactly. About 2 to 3 percent of the loan amount is what you want to have budgeted.
For closing costs, which is going to be some initial out of pocket costs as far as the appraisal and inspections, but also a pay in the title [01:04:00] company, paying the escrow company, any kind of lender fees. And now you, we actually have, uh, the buyer broker fees, which we have a video about that. Right. And, um, there's a lot of costs there.
You know, that can be thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of dollars, uh, that you have to pay there. However, you are not on your own. Uh, with those, right? So, uh, which, what you want to do is you want to educate yourself, uh, with your local programs. There may be different, uh, down payment assistance programs that you can utilize, especially as a first time home buyer.
However, you don't have to be a first time home buyer to qualify for all down payment, uh, assistance programs. And even though they call it down payment assistance, it's not just for the down payment. Okay? You can utilize those funds a lot of time. To pay those closing costs, right? And then another gem that I'm going to give you here today is that let's say you have, uh, some credit card debt, that if that [01:05:00] were to be paid off or auto loan, if that were to be paid off, you can qualify for a larger home, right?
So you can actually. Lump that into your closing cost. Okay, so let's say you have ten or fifteen thousand dollars in Auto loan or in credit card debt and you want that paid off that close of escrow Well, you can negotiate that into that contract to be paid off and that would allow you to subsequently qualify for More, uh, home if you're able to do so.
Right? So, so many different strategies there. And now with there being a buyer broker fee, you don't necessarily have to worry about paying that. Okay. The seller can actually pay you your, um, buyer broker commission, which is the agent that's representing you. And that will not affect. the 4 percent closing costs that the VA allows for [01:06:00] seller concessions.
Those are going to be two separate types of costs there. Right? So, uh, essentially you can go into the home with zero down, like advertise, meaning you're not paying any down payment. And you're not paying closing costs, but those other costs needs to be negotiated into the deal to be able to make that possible.
But the cost that you need to make sure that you have is that money for the inspection and appraisal, because all they're going to be upfront costs that you can essentially get reimbursed for, but you're going to have to pay that. And then you may have. to have what we call an earnest money deposit that can be anywhere between on average about 1 percent of the loan value or the actual price of the home.
Uh, and the problem is sellers charge whatever they want for that EMD, that loan. That, uh, earnest money deposit. So it should be 1%. So for example, 500, 000 home, [01:07:00] you would think it's going to be 5, 000, but they may ask for 10 or 15, but again, if you don't have that, it can be negotiable. Right. Uh, especially for a VA loan borrower, cause they know you have that ironclad stamp from the department of veteran affairs that is backing that loan and guaranteeing your ability to close.
And if you're using what can have just. Uh, alluded to it and talked about regarding making sure you're getting a conditional underwritten loan, then you're really going to be able to, uh, have a very much so an advantage when closing on that property. I do want to say. Uh, let's go ahead and uh dispel one myth the department of veterans affairs does not actually provide the loan.
They're not the lender. Okay They are just Guaranteeing your loan. What does that mean that they're guaranteeing? that If you were to default on your loan, they will again [01:08:00] be your a portion of your loan will be Backed by the government that's literally typically about 25 percent is gonna be backed by the government to be able to pay that lender Okay, so that is a huge huge component.
All right, so But that again that's generally speaking. So Uh, we want to make sure that, that, that is, uh, you know, really, really focal, uh, focused on. No, absolutely. So definitely, if you're ready to explore, uh, your options in purchasing a home, you can definitely visit us here at our link where we can provide you with a consultation all over the country where we have, uh, Real estate professionals that work with veterans and active duty service members and with that VA loan product every day.
So they're giving you the most up to date information. And if you're looking to say, Hey, you know what? I just want to educate myself more on the process. Well, [01:09:00] we have our veteran community and we have a lot of resources as well. I know here we talked about investing in real estate. Well, we have a VA loan for.
Investor Handbooking guide, so you can, uh, actually get that ebook and you can also join our community at the same time by visiting our website at vets for vets info.com. The information is in the description, and if you're watching, it's on screen as well. So definitely we're here to cover all facets, whether you're just looking to educate or if you are looking for qualified professionals in your area.
We would love to be a resource and provide you with both the education and also the educated professionals. Yeah, true. Indeed. True. Indeed. Listen, veterans, if you're ready to make your 2025 unforgettable one, if you're focused in 2025, if you want to change your life in 2025, if you want the [01:10:00] information and also the support in 2025, I suggest you go ahead and click the link now.
The time is now. So if you're ready, click the link, we will go ahead and be in the community. There is no one representing us in the community. You are speaking to us in the community. All right. So with that being said, veterans, let's start your pathway to success. Now, any components or any aspects of the benefit world, we are here to serve.
Go ahead and click that link now. And as we get into our next segment, we're going to be talking about entrepreneurial success for active duty service members and veterans for 2025.
And in this final segment, we're diving into the world of. Entrepreneurship and [01:11:00] specifically how veterans could actually leverage their military experience to build a business. Yes. Yes. Listen, listen, listen, veterans, you have the skills, you have. All the tools that it's going to take for you to be able to, uh, translate your military attributes and put them in terms and also actionable steps for the civilian sector to make sure that you are, uh, not only provided the employment that you like, but also to build the actual business that you deserve and how you do so is literally putting those skills to work.
How do you put those skills of work where we're going to go ahead and make sure that you find out now and today? No, absolutely. That's wonderful. So, you know, I've read about, you know, so many different jobs in service, right? Where, you know, obviously, literally any type of position you can have in a [01:12:00] civilian sector, you have.
In military personnel. So now I wanted to kind of know your take on how, you know, this really kind of translates from your experience of being a veteran yourself. How does your, uh, training and the different skills that you've learned in service, uh, kind of translate. Into the real world and going into entrepreneurship, you know, veterans who maybe transition out of service, uh, you know, in the nineties, uh, early two thousands, eighties, and even seventies.
Right. Um, it's just a certain. Certain piece of grit about you, you know, um, that, that grit and discipline and determination that's instilled in you, it is something that is beyond needed in the civilian sector, right? Um, and, and then why I [01:13:00] say that I don't mean, uh, grit in a negative component. Um, I mean, just the, there's the, the, the toughness that it's going to take just to get it done.
Sometimes you are put in a position where you have the least amount of support, the least amount of tools, the least amount of manpower to get the job done, but the mission still sustains first. So you figure it out, just figure it out, get her done. And that's what we do. You know, as, uh, again, uh, veterans and also active duty members, uh, you know, it's just, it's just incredible with what little you have and how much you can be able to do.
Um, but there's so many different attributes. I can go on and on and on and on. Um, but key components, when you're talking about grit, you're talking about teamwork, you're talking about [01:14:00] discipline, you're talking about, uh, just having the structure to be able to get up. In the morning, right? Um, most hate that morning wake up.
I know, I know some people that has done more before noon than most have done all day. Okay, so, uh, trust me. I, I, you see this, you see this because it is not only something that you need to do. But you didn't got so used to it that you want to do it because it's just instilled in you, but we can go on about those particular skills, but now we want to be able to provide some real actionable tools with those skills.
Right? So, um, but again, it's just some of those attributes that really help you. really makes a veteran, uh, really a considerable person for employment here in the civilian sector. No, absolutely. Uh, you know, employment and even, you know, starting your own [01:15:00] business and kind of anywhere in between, you know, something that I kind of think about is, uh, exposure to technology, right?
Because if you think about it in the military, uh, sector, you know, you're being exposed to a lot of technological. advancements before the civilian population. You know, you, you talk back to those, um, active duty service members and now veterans that were, you know, in service in the eighties and different nineties and different things.
And, you know, we didn't have cell phones then, but guess That's who had them, right? The, the military already had that technology, right? So, you know, when we're talking about working with advanced systems and artificial intelligence and a lot of those different things that we're barely kind of tapping into in a civilian sector, military personnel have had experiences with those for numerous years.
No, true. Indeed. And, uh, a lot of those access to those, uh, A lot of them are in some of the [01:16:00] fighter jets. Some of them are, and some of the helos, uh, even the satellite phone, right? The satellite phone, was it something that was really accessible or anyone even actually utilized? Right. Um, but there are certain, you know, jobs that where you get access to these things, um, but majority, right.
You know, the majority are the grunts, hitting it hard, infantry, getting, getting some of the things done that you will never even consider, right? Um, and having a, again, a theoretical, uh, winning formula and challenging yourself to make it an actual thing or a business that you have been working on for years and just.
Peeling back just continuously going and going and going. Um, and that, that's something that I think a lot of the, our military today, um, you know, instills in them. Um, but, um, also it's a lot of [01:17:00] challenges that come with that, you know, um, again, we're going to kind of transition into some of those challenges, but having those key components to be able to put into business on a day to day basis, because there's going to be days where.
You are motivating you, you don't have an NCO that's looking over, you don't have, uh, your supervisor that is going to be micromanaging you, um, you know, those small things that you do on a daily basis, uh, such as, you know, fixing your gig line, making sure your uniform is top notch, making sure your boots are shine.
Those small things are literally, uh, what's missing in a lot of the business world, right? Um, having customer success is doing the small things right at a high level every single time. If you do the small things, right, the big things are going to come. That's [01:18:00] why most veterans can transition into that world very easily.
Makes a lot of sense, right? Military service is really teaching you how to do the work and, you know, get up and do that work, even when you don't feel like it and, and entrepreneurship, there are going to be days where you do not feel like it. So you are getting conditioned for that. Better than anybody else on the planet, right?
Because our military has the best set of training programs. But now when we're talking about overcoming those challenges, right? And, you know, we're looking at transitioning into business ownership. And, you know, a lot of times, You know, our, our veterans take years to do so and definitely go at your own pace with that, you know, definitely not recommending you to rush into anything, but just want to let you know, you are qualified and you can, you know, do it, whether you need to still work that nine to five.
And, and work on your business from, uh, six to [01:19:00] 10, right after hours, you can definitely have those options, uh, to do that, to have that stepping stone. But what I want to talk to you about next, you can have as a veteran and as a successful business owner, you know, what were some of the biggest challenges you face when starting your journey into veteran entrepreneurship?
Great question. You know, there are so many challenges that you deal with a daily on a daily basis. Right. However, one challenge that no one ever, ever, ever really talks about. You are one of many in the military. However, you are one of few in your comrades, your division, your group, your, your people, okay?
Your company, your brigade, whatever you want to call it, [01:20:00] that is your team. Your unit, there is always going to be someone that's going to be, uh, again, that's going to be fighting for you. That's going to be someone you're going to have your, you know, one of your good friends in the, in that division.
You're going to have, uh, your leadership that is leading that division. And you're also going to have the overseers of that division. So there's always a hierarchy in a hierarchy, right? But it is a family and a unit, okay? Because We see these people warning you see your own family every single day, you know, but translating that to entrepreneurship and business No one ever talks about how lonely it is.
It is a lonely journey Okay you getting to the point Even making money [01:21:00] is a lonely journey. Okay, you're going to spend hours and hours and hours of your life that you may not know what the next month week day entails. However, Your plan and your vision is yours. So you're going to kind of chip away at it every single day.
Even if your friends don't understand, even if your family does not understand, even if your own veteran community does not understand. It is lonely. And you're going to need confidence to push you through on a regular basis, because there's going to be the times that you're going to want to stop because of how lonely it is.
And also because how vast the unknown is. So when you're traveling through the dark and the lonely basis in a lonely manner, you just want to get to the light. And then even when you [01:22:00] get to the light, there's still another journey beyond that. And it's a lonely one as well. But uh, I think I'm talking about that and focusing on that.
What it does is a lot of, uh, business owners or entrepreneurs or, or what have you go through that journey and they begin to stop. Because you can't do anything by yourself. However, you need the right people to keep pushing you along. So if you never learn how to travel by yourself, you're never going to find that right hand or left hand who's going to travel with you.
So that's a big, big component that I think most. Entrepreneurs don't understand until you're in it, you know, and then it's going to take some mental toughness and you guys have it. You guys have it. You guys, you have all the [01:23:00] tools to be, get there, but you got to take the journey, take the lead. You know, but those are one of the real key components that I always wanted to make sure that you really unveil and you really focus on making sure you have that mental toughness and drive to even push you through even when you don't want to because no one's going to do it for you.
And guess what? That team that you're looking for that that person or even that your family. Isn't necessarily going to understand all the time, but continue to travel that road because the light is on its way. Absolutely. No great points there for sure. And, um, you know, part of that journey is discovery, right?
You're, you know, learning different things about yourself. You're learning different things about the industry. You're learning different things about the individuals around you and how to empower them and how to. You know, get rid of some of the film that [01:24:00] aren't, you know, going to be as productive. Right.
And again, you're on that journey alone. However, you know, there are different kind of resources and, you know, mentors and different things that you may encounter on the way, which. Very hard to kind of figure out those networks, right? Obviously there's different professional conferences, uh, within your industry and, you know, different things of that nature that you definitely want to, uh, attend there.
But now what I want to ask you about is, um, you know, any type of, uh, networks or exposures, uh, that you kind of. Uh, can attribute your success to it in some degree of kind of learning throughout. Right. You know, um, some people are afraid to ask for help, you know, they're afraid to, you know, go to different nonprofit organizations or veteran, uh, organizations that, you know, offer different business courses and, you know, [01:25:00] different resources.
The SBA has some different funding options. That people may pursue and there's government grants and different things, but there also is, um, you know, VBOC, which you can kind of talk about that and they have boots to business courses and different things. And, you know, I know you may have had some exposure in affiliation, uh, with that, that may have kind of helped you answer some questions along your journey.
No, for sure. There's so many different resources. Um, I don't think we take advantage of that because I think you hit the nail on the head by not wanting to ask for help. You definitely the leaders, right? Uh, again, you're transitioning out, you were head honcho, and then you go to being just another person in the world.
Right. How do you get through the things that you get through without asking, you know, we can have all the information in the world, um, but if we don't know how to execute with it, it's never going to be able to come to [01:26:00] fruition. So having the tools is number one, asking for help. Okay. Um, and again, we're not talking about asking anyone for help.
You want to ask, uh, some, uh, credible sources, right? Uh, finding mentorship. Finding mentorship. Um, that is a big key as well. Um, you know, 'cause it, it, it steps to the process, right? You can't have a mentor and don't have a developed business, you know? Well, how do you find out to be able to get a developed business and what is even a developed business?
A business, uh, because that's, uh, honestly subjective. Well, these are the things that you need to answer, and you don't know how you're going to be able to structure your resources until you have your vision intact. So that's number one. Okay. So once you have the vision intact, going to such places as the SBA, the SBA is a huge, [01:27:00] huge, huge resource that you can be able to really unpack all information strategies and discoveries.
Um, and also learn from really some top industry personnel. These resources are there available for you because. You know, a lot of business owners think they need business funding. That is the first thing that they want to go to business funding. Well, I'm going to tell you this right here and again, this is not to position anyone of discouragement.
But I want to make sure that you understand if you don't know the basics of financial literacy, what bank is going to give you information? I don't want to give you money. If you don't have an established business that is profitable, okay, what established organization wants to give you funding? If [01:28:00] you don't have a proper structured Team in place to run our business.
And you're a solopreneur and it's nothing wrong with being that what banking industry is wanting to give you funding funding is something to use to have a scalable approach because money is. Again, you're going to need funding in regards to that, or you're going to need some type of component that is going to surge that income to be able to get that.
Okay. Um, that's a, that's a really, really big component. I want veterans, uh, and also veteran business owners and business, uh, personnel to understand making sure that. You have established foundation before requesting any type of funding because funding is not only the thing that you need. Let me ask you if, if you're asking for money or asking for funding from a lender, what have you invested?
And, and, and when we're [01:29:00] talking about funding, we're not only talking about, we're talking about capital, but what sweat equity have you invested? That is a very, very, very key component. If you haven't invested enough sweat equity to be able to get to the lenders to get to the money, then you're never going to be able to open up the doors for business funding.
So that's that's one aspect, but the SBA can be able to point you in the right direction. For business funding, mentors, because what better what better way to go ahead and carve out easier pathway by speaking with someone who's already done it a lot of times we're talking to people who have never done it and now we're talking.
Out of success because we are speaking with someone with only their capable knowledge. And it's not saying that they don't have [01:30:00] wisdom to be able to provide you, but there are just some things that some people aren't going to Understand. Okay. There, there is simply that there are just not going to understand.
So do not look for understanding. They're nothing. They'll no one is coming to save you. No one is coming to save your thought process. No one is going to even again, if you have a good mentor, they're not going to even care about your feelings because they're going to go ahead and shoot it to you straight.
Because business is going to shoot it to you straight because either you have the proper information to, uh, to make sure that your business is, is aligned, the business is going to shoot it to you or the mentors. So you're going to be successful or fail and it's hard. It's hard. Okay, so don't think it's easy.
Um, there's so many different classes courses. Um, what educational components are you taking? Do you know the basics of accounting taxes? [01:31:00] Because taxes, they're coming, I'm going to tell you right now, whether if you're making a little or a lot, Uncle Sam is going to have his hand out and say, Hey, you forgot to pay me.
Are you paying them quarterly? Are you paying them yearly? Uh, are you under a S corp? Are you under a C corp? Are you, or, uh, are you, or just a basic solopreneur? Uh, or do you have a basic LLC? Now, how are you paying yourself? Are you still putting money into your own bank account, or do you have a separate business account?
These are small components, and again, it is small for some, huge for many, but these are some of the small things that before we even get to some of the more aggressive resources, we need to understand as a community to be able to unlock more information. Everybody wants a business, but no one wants to work for it.
Amazing stuff there. And I, and I like what you hit it on, especially with the taxes, because, you know, [01:32:00] taxes and mentorship are probably the two things that you want to look into first, right? Because In year one, you're going to need to file taxes, right? So you're going to need to make sure that you are looking at everything that goes into filing the taxes as you alluded to with your business structure and why you should have it one way or another.
It's not a one size fits all thing. So, you know, when we go back to, we talk about, uh, VA benefits and different things and it's a lot of scuttlebutt talk, right? And it's the same thing when you're starting a business. You may get some advice for some, from someone else and that worked for their business and their purpose, but it may not work for you.
Right? So you want to get the information, but you also want to talk to qualified professionals on what's going to work based on your goals and, uh, the outcomes that you're looking to have because it can be different from that other person. And when you're seeking, Mentorship. Obviously, you want to seek mentorship where you can [01:33:00] add value to it, but don't be afraid to reach out to mentors who are a lot more seasoned than you because anybody in business, oftentimes we're all taught.
Hey, you need to have, you know, one third of people on your level. One third. Above you, one third below you, right? So if you're looking at someone is one third above you, they're looking for people like you to be, to mentor, you know, and you should be looking for someone to do the same. So you may be on that beginning pathway of your business and that.
Individual could be someone that's still in high school, could be a college student, could be different things, uh, that way. So if you pour into other people, the world is going to do you a favor and someone is going to pour into you as well. But you have to open yourself up for that and put yourself out there and let them know, Hey, not only can you be a resource.[01:34:00]
Um, to them, but and they could be a resource to you. It has to be that duality there. It can't just be take, take, take, and you're not adding any value to them. So you have to be very, uh, concise with showing them that, Hey, there is some value here and it's going to be a mutually beneficial relationship and you're going to be able to find the right mentors for you.
Guarantee it. Let's put some practicality to that, right? If you're a business owner and you're trying to be exposed to the masses, um, or not even exposed to the math, you're trying to be exposed your product, your service, your, uh, whatever it is, uh, to the masses. Well, how many times have you volunteered?
Have you had any type of volunteer service? Are you willing to go into a business and really, And be of [01:35:00] service to another business to be able to get the mentorship that's needed. If you're not willing to be to serve someone to be able to get the knowledge to leverage yourself, because I'm telling you right now, if those those that time that those years.
Though those those headaches can be easily avoided if someone were able to partner with you to get the information and also you can be able to leverage some of their knowledge and even finances and even access to the network. That they may have so if you're not willing to collaborate with some of the, uh, again, the 1 3rd, 1 3rd, 1 3rd, then guess what you're not willing to be successful because once you get to a certain point, there's going to be, you're going to need help.
You're going to need to hire. You're going [01:36:00] to need to hire in different departments. You're going to have a knowledge base. Of your full business structure, and if you cannot be a partnership to equip your team, and not only equip your team with the knowledge that you've gained from elsewhere, whether it's books, whether it fits, whether it fits mentorship, whether it fits the SBA.
Then it's very hard to lead an organization and or a company or a business that could be a team of 3 to 5 or more again, 3, 5, 12, 13. It's going to take that. that grit that we talk about, but also information to go ahead and continue to thrive. But all in all, I just want to make sure that everyone understands that you have to be willing to, um, open yourself up, open yourself up [01:37:00] and it's going to hurt.
Um, it's going to be times where you're just not going to be able to do it. Really manage things at times and you're going to have to take a step back and then you're going to have to take a step forward and then you're going to have to, uh, again, you know, uh, go ahead and do this balancing act because, uh, whoever told the lie of there's a kind of a, a, a, a, a foundation or sweet spot where you can balance every part of your life on an even keel.
Well, I'll tell you this, if you're running a business today, like, because it is a very, it's a, it's capable when you have put the found, laid the foundation. But if you have not laid that foundation just yet to really go ahead and strive, I, I, I urge you to reconsider your thought process. Entrepreneurship is a journey, right?
It's a journey that our veterans are uniquely equipped for. And [01:38:00] that's what we want to communicate for you going into 2025. You know, they say, uh, the average veteran takes about eight years to start their business, uh, and they want to do so right after service. And they're taking that long of a time. And what we want to do with this content here is to encourage you to start that business sooner, uh, take that, you know, leap of faith, which is not as big of a leap as you think, right?
Because again, you are equipped with the skills and there are so many resources for you to be successful. And if your goal is to have your own business, uh, you, you may be uniquely driven like us where, you know, I knew like, Hey. There's no way that my nine to five is ever going to pay me anywhere near what my value is, right?
You know, they could be paying me a hundred and fifty thousand two hundred thousand and I I just knew that whatever they're paying [01:39:00] Me is only a fraction of what I know I'm worth but also I knew I had a lot to pour into the community and Into other individuals that, Hey, my skills are going underutilized by staying here.
So, and that's what we want to encourage you to and understand that, Hey, if you're staying at that nine to five and you're not at least working towards getting out of there and, you know, taking steps at your own business, you're doing your own self and your family a disservice because what you have been called to do in your own business.
Is likely very needed and it was sent to you for a reason for you to be able to do those things. So start making those strides. There's so many resources available for you. And again, we're another resource. We do have our own community where we have information about entrepreneurship as well. And just kind of [01:40:00] talking about our experiences and other veterans and active duty service members.
Who are in that community as well, and we're just really learning from each other, you know, a lot of times where People go wrong is that you're at zero dollars, and you're looking at that hundred million dollar business and say hey I want to learn from you, and I want to get that mentorship, and it's like no slow it down You know learn from somebody that got their first 100, 000 right because In your first year, you're, that's what you're looking to do.
You're at 0. Go to that entrepreneur and say, Hey, how did you make your first a hundred thousand? They'll be able to tell you because they just did it. And that entrepreneur can go to someone that made 500, 000 or their first million dollars. Right. And it's literally that system of what we're talking about of those, that one third, right?
It's like, you could continue to pour in [01:41:00] and don't think that you're at the bottom because you haven't made a dollar yet. Guess what? You started your business, right? You went in and. You know, got your, uh, LLC, got your EIN number, you know, all those different things. There's somebody that's looking to get started that don't know how to do that.
You could pour into them, right? So wherever you are in your journey, there's somebody that could learn from you, and there's somebody that you could learn from. So, uh, always understand that. And we're positioning our community where we're going to have individuals. Part of all spectrums there that you'll be able to learn from no matter where you are on that journey.
Yeah, no true. Indeed. Uh, the journey is a journey, but i'll tell you this. Uh, just like you said, uh, Just mentioning that again, you know Celebrate your small wins. Those small wins is going to continue to continue to burn that fire. Celebrate those small [01:42:00] wins. Okay. Getting that, getting your first tag, a business tax filing, getting your first, uh, LLC, um, getting your first partnership or relationship, business relationship, successful one, right?
Uh, cause networking, that's a, that's a journey in itself. Okay. Uh, but again, learning how to network. Making friends isn't necessarily networking, making relationships and long lasting relationships. There's two different things. I have friends that, uh, that I can never use for net, uh, uh, again, uh, any of my business network.
But I have long-term relationships that again, uh, again, I can utilize and access their network to. Uh, propel a portion of my business with no, no problem because it's just a different mindset, right? Uh, again, you're talking about organic friendship and then you're talking about a, uh, again, a relationship that developed into friendship that was based [01:43:00] upon business originally.
Um, but networking, right? That's a, that's a good component. Um, also, uh, when you're, when you're, when we are talking about the community, as Mr. Jones said, we're learning from each other. We're propelling each other. We're supporting each other. And when we're doing that, we are literally spider webbing everyone's network in the community.
Do you guys realize how powerful that is for the veteran community? By sharing resources, by protecting one another from some of the roadblocks, by providing some of the support that that business owner would have literally ceased to continue their business if they didn't have that comrade in the community.
Come one, come all, we're here. Listen, we're always here to support you. We're always going to be here. So with [01:44:00] that being said. Make sure, make sure, make sure to celebrate your small wins. Absolutely, man. Wonderful show today, Kenneth. Appreciate everything that we talked about. Again, VA benefits, the real estate, and here with the entrepreneurship going into 2025.
We needed this information, right? Um, you know, we're in 2025 already when you're hearing this. So, um, you're charged up, you know, it's January, everybody's at the gym right now. Right. Everybody is, um, you know, really excited about being the best version of themselves this year, continue to think about the energy that you have now in January and how you could outlast everyone else and maintain that.
throughout the year. Understand it's all about balance. You may not want to get up and do it every day, but just focus on [01:45:00] getting 1 percent better every day. Life is a marathon. We're here to support you. Prepare to compete. We're out. Peace.
