We recently connected with Eliott Elias and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Eliott, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.
Serving people who were born in a hostile or underserved community is huge for me. It aligns perfectly with what I do, every contractor or person that works for me is or has been struggling with finding employment and people who trust them to truly let them flourish. I invest in Killeen Texas, and some parts are not the greatest. I want to buy so many homes out there that people have no choice but to buy or rent a home from me. And when they do they will be getting a high end product. I am big on OWNING real estate, I am working on buying each of my contractors real estate and having them pay me monthly for ownership. Truly trying to shift the mindset that you can never own a home
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 graduated with a civil engineering degree and took me 7 years to graduate, I failed out of university and ended up graduating at UT Tyler in Houston. I worked as a Civil engineer in Austin for 6 months and realized it wasn’t for me, I can’t be told what to do all day, I need to carve my own path. I didn’t care about the income instability or making money, I just wanted to be happy. I have since, in 6 months bought 6 properties and closed numerous wholesale and client deals. My goal is to own 100 properties, got a long way to go. What sets me apart is being willing to be relentless with everything i do, i need to hear no 12 times before I back off a deal. I challenge traditional real estate professionals every single day and try to extract the most i can from any situation. A big part of my business is solving problems, i deal with a lot of sellers that are in unfortunate situations, wether it’s being behind on their taxes, mortgage, unlivable conditions. I try to always come up with a win/win. There was a particular gentleman I visited to purchase his house, i walked in and realized he was living in horrific conditions, my mindset switched from buying his house to trying to get him out to something safe asap. I took my recently renovated home off the market for rent and let him stay there. I never ended up buying his house.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I really had to pivot mindset when I switched from W-2 to self employment. All you have to do is show up when you work for someone, when you’re on your own it’s really up to you to dictate if you are going to be fed this month. I shifted from padding myself on the back for waking up to go to work to being relentless in everything I do everyday. Every decision I make will impact if i can pay rent and that shift of mindset has truly changed the way I look at things. Business is cold, and it’s not easy being a genuine caring person in real estae, especially as an investor. Being cold as well was not a easy thing to do
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Most effective is being honest. Many people try to sell too much and fluff things to make a sale, I am brutally honest and tell you how it is, even if it’s hard to hear. It wasn’t always that way. You may lose out on a few deals but you will gain so much more respect once you show people you are a ethical business person. Being able to effectively share my vision is also key, there is a quote that says people don’t have to believe what you’re saying, they just have to believe that you believe what you’re saying
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @eliottelias
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliottelias/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly4UxNZC56Y