We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lacedrick Brantley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lacedrick thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

The truth is, nothing about my journey was “overnight.”
People see the $100K months now, the students winning, the brand growing — but they don’t see the late nights, the failed campaigns, the months I questioned everything.

After I made my first few wholesale deals, I knew this business could work… but it wasn’t predictable. I’d go weeks without a deal, then hit one and feel like I was back in the game. That rollercoaster almost made me quit — twice.

But then I asked myself a question: “How do I stop chasing deals and make the deals chase me?”
That one question led me down a rabbit hole that changed everything: marketing.

I became obsessed with learning digital marketing, especially paid advertising. I studied Facebook ads like my life depended on it — because it did. I watched trainings, ran test campaigns with my last dollars, failed, tweaked, failed again… until finally, things clicked.

Once I learned how to generate motivated seller leads on demand using ads, everything changed. No more cold calling 8 hours a day, no more waiting around — I had a system.

I built landing pages, automated follow-ups, created processes for my team, and started thinking like a real CEO. That was the middle phase that no one talks about. The unsexy part. The systems, SOPs, tracking KPIs, hiring VAs, learning how to lead — that’s what scaled the business.

From there, we went from $11K in a year… to $38K… then $272K… then half a million. Now we’re doing consistent $100K+ months. But it was brick by brick. Failure after failure. Lesson after lesson.

And the truth is — I’m still learning. Still evolving. But the key to scaling wasn’t luck. It was building systems that don’t rely on motivation. It was understanding marketing and automation. It was shifting from hustler to operator.

So to anyone reading this thinking success just “happens” — understand: it’s built. Piece by piece, strategy by strategy, decision by decision.

That’s the part most people skip. But that’s the part that builds legacy.

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.

For those who don’t know me — my name is Lacedrick Brantley. I’m a real estate investor, entrepreneur, and coach who helps everyday people break into real estate wholesaling and scale to consistent 5- and 6-figure months using digital marketing and sales systems.

But I didn’t come from money, connections, or business school. I came from flipping burgers and working $1,000/month fast food jobs. I knew I wanted more, but I had no idea how to get there — until I discovered wholesaling real estate back in 2020. That one concept changed my life.

Wholesaling is where you flip contracts instead of houses — and you can do it with no license, no credit, and very little money. But what most people miss is the system behind it. That’s where I come in.

Over the years, I went from inconsistent hustle to building a process-driven business. In 2023, I built a proven marketing system using Facebook ads to bring in motivated seller leads on autopilot. Once I mastered that, I scaled my real estate business to $500,000 in revenue, and now I average over $120,000/month — all from flipping contracts and running a streamlined, digital-first real estate operation.

Today, I coach aspiring and active wholesalers through my programs and community. I’ve helped over 4,000 students get results, with many going on to build 6- and even 7-figure businesses. Whether you’re brand new or stuck trying to scale, I provide the blueprint, the accountability, and the support to get you from where you are to where you want to be.

Here’s what sets me apart:

I don’t teach theory. I’m actively in the trenches, running real campaigns, closing real deals, and testing what works — and I bring those exact strategies to my students.

I combine real estate, digital marketing, and high-level sales psychology to help clients attract better leads, close more deals, and build systems that scale.

I’m not just about money. I’m about mindset, faith, and freedom. My brand is built on helping people unlock the version of themselves they were created to be — not just in business, but in life.

What I’m most proud of is seeing people who once doubted themselves now closing deals, quitting jobs, providing for their families, and stepping into purpose. I don’t just build businesses — I build confidence, clarity, and legacy.

If you’re reading this and wondering if this is possible for you — I promise it is. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need the right strategy and someone who’s been where you are.

I’m here to help with both.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of the biggest tests of my resilience came in 2022 — and it was the moment that changed everything for me.

At the time, I had been wholesaling on and off, trying to build momentum while still working regular jobs. I had just made $38,000 that year — the most money I had ever made with the least amount of effort — and I was finally starting to believe I could turn this into something real.

But then it happened.

I had a deal come across my desk — a lead I had spoken to, built rapport with, and sat on… for too long. I wasn’t consistent with follow-up. I wasn’t organized. I was moving like a hustler, not a CEO.

A week later, someone I knew personally locked up that same deal and made $150,000 on it.

That hit me in the gut. Not just because of the money — but because I realized I was the only thing standing in the way of my success. My inconsistency. My lack of systems. My hesitation.

Most people would’ve let that moment break them. I let it build me.

That loss became my turning point. I went all in. I started learning marketing, studying systems, building processes, and treating this business like a business. I didn’t make excuses — I made adjustments.

By the end of 2023, I had done $272,000. And in January 2024, I walked away from my job, flipped a house, and made $65,000 on that one deal — because I took action, even without having everything figured out.

Now, I teach others how to do the same — not just how to win when things are easy, but how to stay locked in when it’s hard, when it hurts, when it looks like it’s not working.

That’s resilience.
And that’s what built everything I have today.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was this: “Working harder automatically means you’ll get further.”

That mindset came from my early years — working fast food jobs, being the first one in and the last one to leave. I was always leading teams, putting in the hours, and doing everything “right.” But no matter how hard I worked, the money didn’t reflect the effort. I was making $1,000 a month while carrying entire shifts on my back.

When I got into entrepreneurship, I brought that same mentality with me: hustle harder, grind longer, outwork everyone.

But that only got me so far.

I remember being deep in the wholesale game — cold calling, manually following up, trying to juggle every lead, every seller, every deal myself. I was working 12-hour days, but still stuck. That’s when I realized: I didn’t need to hustle harder… I needed to build smarter.

I had to unlearn the idea that hard work alone was enough. I had to stop being the bottleneck. That’s when I leaned into systems, automation, paid marketing, and delegation. I stopped chasing leads and built a machine that brought leads to me. I stopped doing everything manually and started moving like a business owner.

That shift changed everything. It took me from a hustler making a few deals… to a CEO running a multiple 6-figure business and helping others do the same.

The truth is — hard work is the entry fee. But systems, strategy, and mindset are what take you to the next level.

That lesson was hard to unlearn… but it’s the reason I’m here today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thecertifiedclosers.com/optin
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lacedrickbrantley/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Lacedrick-Brantley-61575563267588/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LacedrickBrantley

Image Credits

Nuke Vantage – Takes all my photos and videos