There Are Riches in the Niches
In the wake of Hurricane Florence in 2018, Gabi and Paul Brennesholtz emerged from a KW MAPS BOLD® training in North Carolina with a revelation: They shared a previously unspoken dream of traveling the country by RV. As real estate coaches, neither of them was tied to an office, which meant they had the freedom to work from anywhere. With nothing holding them back, they bought an RV and took to the road.
Experienced real estate agents, Gabi and Paul already had active investments in residential real estate, but commercial property wasn’t on their radar. Yet as they crisscrossed the U.S., they got curious about the ROI on RV parks. The couple started digging into the details, interviewing park owners, managers, and fellow guests. That’s when they came across 4 Paws Kingdom Campground & Dog Retreat — one of only a few dog-centric RV parks in the country. The property was for sale and happened to be located in their home state.
As animal lovers, 4 Paws captured their hearts, but as a niche business, they had reason to be cautious about investing.
“When you get into a niche, there’s risk involved. The customers that you have might be extremely enthusiastic, but you might have fewer of them,” Gabi explains. “The flip side of that can also be that the profit margins can be unbelievably high — because if there are fewer economies out there [for the product], you end up attracting all of the folks that are looking just for that product.”
The couple did their due diligence on 4 Paws and were struck by the findings: If the pro forma was accurate, the numbers had the potential to transform their lives. But banks weren’t exactly lining up to lend them money. Twelve bank rejections later, a thirteenth lender said yes. Gabi and Paul finally secured the funds they needed to purchase the campground. And they had it right: That one investment changed everything.
“The flip side of that can also be that the profit margins can be unbelievably high …”
“Twelve bank rejections later, a thirteenth lender said yes […] they had it right: That one investment changed everything.”
“What we realized […] was just how much the park could do for the social injustices that we love to solve, and we ended up coming back to all things dogs.”
Finding Your FU Number
The financial performance of 4 Paws, coupled with their in-depth research into the field, ultimately led Gabi and Paul to additional underwriting investments in RV parks across the U.S. It also initiated a major shift in Gabi’s wealth-building philosophy.
At the time of the campground purchase, the pair had a classic financial strategy in play — one that centered on a 30-year career path and building their net worth. However, Gabi was learning that while net worth looks good on paper, it’s actually cash flow — the amount of money moving in and out of your hands — that reflects what you have available right now to make different choices.
Gabi and Paul had the freedom to choose where to work. Now they needed to define what Gabi affectionately calls their “Freedom Unlimited” or “FU” number — the amount of cash flow that would fund freedom in other areas of their lives.
With more than 13,000 hours of coaching under her belt, Gabi has now spent more than a decade supporting business owners in building scalable businesses and long-term wealth. She says identifying your “FU” number is a critical step in the wealth-building process, but it usually doesn’t happen overnight.
When defining cash flow targets, most of us start with a “borrowed” number that sounds like a good goal — say $100k. With thoughtful reassessment (and coaching) over time, that target becomes more personal, evolving into a specific number informed by a range of individual goals — from business and lifestyle plans to impact and legacy objectives.
For Gabi and Paul, impact proved especially important. While living onsite and learning firsthand how to run 4 Paws, Gabi and Paul saw the benefit the park offered to guests and the broader community. Meanwhile, the park’s profitability and its effect on their cash flow allowed them to support related causes, including animal welfare, euthanasia prevention, and rescue and foster programs.
“What we realized once we acquired the park was just how much the park could do for the social injustices that we love to solve, and we ended up coming back to all things dogs,” Gabi says.
Patterning Success
An immigrant to the U.S. from Germany, Gabi grew up in a household of musicians. After moving to the States and before becoming a real estate agent, Gabi trained as a jazz musician and music educator. As she came to learn, the practice of music and real estate have more in common than you might think.
Musicians are trained to think in patterns — notes, licks, and phrases — and to practice them over and over again, Gabi explains. When you’re learning new music, you can’t move on until you get each pattern right. You have to get comfortable with making mistakes, starting back at the beginning, and trying again until the patterns flow together into a seamless performance.
When she was handed a copy of The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (MREA), Gabi discovered the same principle was true in real estate. All she had to do was study and practice the “patterns” — KW’s models and systems — to develop competency as an agent. Gabi puts it this way: With dedication over time, poor performance becomes average, average becomes good, and good becomes great, whether you’re practicing music or real estate.
For Gabi, the steps for converting initial conversations into closed transactions made sense. The MREA was the sheet music. All that was required was learning and practice.
Now the Director of Coaches with KW MAPS and an active investor in a multi-million-dollar real estate portfolio, Gabi sees the real estate industry as key to funding the ability to make an impact in your own life and the lives of others. The dogs at 4 Paws would no doubt agree.
“Gabi sees the real estate industry as key to funding the ability to make an impact in your own life and the lives of others.”
Next up on Front and Center, KW® agent and former Wall Street trader Gregory Tran shares why dismantling his team and staying true to his strengths helped him become the No. 1 solo agent in his Market Center.
