Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gary Spickes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Gary, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I grew up in a modest home in South Little Rock. My dad was a commercial painter Mom worked for the state of Arkansas. We grew up in a Christian home that valued spending time together and hard work. I could remember growing up joking around saying my dad was raising farm hands because I was constantly busy doing things around the house. As a child I didn’t realize the value. But he was teaching me hard work and responsibility. Around 15 years old I wanted to go to work at a local barbecue shop where all my friends were working. But my dad wouldn’t allow it. He said if you really wanna make to make some extra money he would help me. He helped me start a lawn mowing business for my neighbors and a few family members. At the time I think the barbecue restaurant was paying $3.50 an hour and I was making $20 an hour mowing grass. So I was able to work five or six hours a week making just as much money my friend, who had to work after school three and four days a week. It was here that I realized the power of entrepreneurship. I love the fact that if I worked hard and found people I could help in service. I would be able to read the benefits. But if I just sit around and watch TV, I would also reap that benefit as well. So I found it extremely motivating. also, I found it fulfilling to see how many people truly were grateful for my service of mowing their grass. What eye as a 15-year-old kid thought was just easy. Some of the ladies that I’m older Grass would share they didn’t know what they would do without me. And it was an opportunity to serve my community.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I always wanted own my own business. I was always the kid selling candy at school or in college finding some side hustle to make an extra dollar. I just love the excitement and motivation I receive from being responsible for my own destiny.
I knew I was not gonna be the guy that could invent a microchip or developed software. That is not my area of expertise has anyone that knows me would share. So I decided that my product would be Housing. It’s a great opportunity in my opinion because everyone needs it and it’s a way to serve my community by providing affordable housing for everyone.
That being said, I was about as green and unhandy as you can get! I got the idea from watching flipped this house on A&E. I thought heck look at these guys. They flip a house that’s destroyed in 30 minutes. How hard could it be? But don’t worry, I found out just how hard it could be very very soon.
I’ve always had a sort of confidence about me. My motto in life has been. I’ll build the plane while I’m flying it. I’ve never had to have all of the information to be able to make a decision. I just get in there and figure it out. It’s just who I am. So I started my journey and by the grace of God I had YouTube. I didn’t know how to fix most things. I didn’t know how to find houses, nor what to do when I did find a house. But I went to YouTube university. And with my personality of figure it out that’s what I did. I’ve been doing this about 17 years now. I’ve grown tremendously.
I’m just a local guy that lives in your community. I serve people how I would want to be served and how I’d want my family to be served. I’m honest upfront in Direct. I don’t play games. Unfortunately YouTube has negatively affected this business since summer regards. There’s a lot of out-of-state people or new people to the business that really don’t know how to serve and get deals done. They just have the homeowner sign agreement in order to control the property then try to call someone like me that truly buys houses. When this happens many times it leaves a homeowner in a worse place than they were in to begin with which is incredibly frustrating for my perspective. I can’t tell how many times I’m running to people that have worked with out of state companies that have wasted three or four months with companies like this just to have them cancel.
I’m a guy that will share with you what I am able to do and how I’m able to help. And I stand behind what I say. Sounds pretty simple, but unfortunately isn’t as common as it used to be.
I’m able to help people that are willing to trade a little bit of equity for the with me. People that are looking for the biggest bang for their book or have plenty of time to sell their house. I very commonly suggest that they list their property on the market. But many times due to life changes such as relocation out of state, inherited property, divorce, just not knowing how to repair their house or wanting to go through the hassle. I’m able to come in, but just the way it sits and allow the homeowner to move on with their life. I tell people all the time I want this transaction to be the cleanest, easiest transaction of their life.
What I would want people to know about me and my company is that through all the years I have learned many different ways to help people. And some of the time it’s not me purchasing it. Many times I can point people in a direction of financial aid or help walk them through the process of getting a loan modification rather than going through foreclosure. Things like that I’m not always the best fit in many times I’m not. When I am the best fit, I will work with Integrity
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Rich dad, poor dad is a staple of mine. It really spoke to me about the power of working for yourself.
As of a game on Journey, the email was a good book. I really struggled with building a team and putting standard operating procedures in place (SOP). I’ve just learned that who I am is not who others are. I have a Dr. and desire to do the best that I can and be the best that I can. My core values are really about serving others and helping people and making a living and grocery money for my family while doing so. So when building a team if you didn’t share that core value, I had to learn the hard way that you just don’t have a place in my company. We are not about making a quick look we are not about taking advantage of people. If we were, we wouldn’t be in business for as long as we have. We’re here to serve our community and I’m truly believe that the more people that you help and serve the better you’ll be in business. As they go hand-in-hand.
YouTube has been a huge tool for me. And I’m not talking about videos of people falling on ice. I go on and I search a subject and I watch tons of videos on it not only tutorials but watching people that do that type of work. A few examples would be what do I do or say when someone wants to sell their house to me? How do I repair certain aspects of the house? How do I know how to get financing in lending for the project. Subject, such as these I’ve searched in this listened to and watched hours and hours of podcast and YouTube videos on.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I would say just having a heart to serve. I truly want everyone to win. I have an abundance mentality. I don’t have a competitive spirit that feels like I have to push someone down to raise me up. I feel like God is provided enough for everyone. And I treat others that way. Many times I have people that are new to the business that called me out of the blue and I talk to him on the phone for 3045 minutes just trying to help point him in the right direction. I would say being a man of faith and have an integrity is really important to me as well. I’m not perfect and I bet made mistakes for sure but at the end of the day I’m here to serve my community while making a living for my family. Just a local guy some might call a good old boy that is easy to approach in many people find that someone that they would want to work with.
I’ve created many friendships through this business, not only from my competitors, but also for my clients. Many of my Google reviews and things of that speak to how I have treated them with respect and differently than others. Many investors treat the client as if they are only a number or a house. Where my approach is more getting to know and serve the person and if I’m able to buy the house great. Some people may not like this approach as it’s not a great approach if you’re looking to take over the world and scale to 10,000 houses or something crazy. But that’s not who I am. I just want to stay in my lane and be who I am no matter what
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.garybuyshousesar.net
- Instagram: GarybuyshousesAR
- Facebook: GarybuyshousesAR
- Youtube: GarybuyshousesAR