Episode 1- Cracking the Code of Successful Entrepreneurship: Insights from Wayne and Dallin

Crack the code of successful entrepreneurship with us as we hear from Wayne, a former college dropout turned passionate developer, and Dallin,  a young entrepreneur with a deep desire to learn and maximize his life. Their tales of resilience, passion and taking calculated risks will undoubtedly light a spark in you. We explore the power of connection and the art of navigating the world of entrepreneurship with a strategic eye.

Ever wondered what sets a successful entrepreneur apart? The answer lies in embracing the unknown and staying true to your passion. Wayne and Dallin are the perfect examples, having faced their fair share of trials and tribulations. They remind us that persistence often paves the way to victory and share how Dallin purchased two properties in Moab with no money to his name, a testament to his extraordinary commitment. We also explore the importance of creating something unique from scratch, a principle both Wayne and Dallin swear by.

The duo also attest to the vitality of relationships in the business world. They reveal how they prefer to prioritize connections over profits and why this approach has been a key factor in their success. And if you're on the hunt for investment, Wayne and Dallin have some solid advice: always be prepared, avoid desperation and, most importantly, build strategic relationships. Don't miss this episode brimming with wisdom and inspiration to build your own business empire!

Transcript

Wayne Aston: 0:29

Wayne Aston. Here with Aston Incorporated, I'm your host, and this show is designed for our serial entrepreneurs in their ruthless pursuit of personal expansion. We're going to be talking about how to build your real estate empire, start and scale a successful business here in the USA and, most importantly, discover your unique skills and talents to make your own impact on humanity.

Dallin Aston: 0:53

Okay, this is officially recording. And we are live.

Wayne Aston: 1:04

Alright guys, welcome to the podcast. This is the inaugural launch of Aston Incorporated. I'm your host, Wayne Aston. It's my co-host, Dallin Aston. What's up? Also, Aston thus.

Dallin Aston: 1:18

Aston Incorporated. We're excited guys listen,

Wayne Aston: 1:24

if the listeners out there associate or enjoy a certain of our favorite podcasters, those would include the Jocko Podcast, Ed Mylett, Andy Frisella. What are some of the other favorites?

Dallin Aston: 1:39

that we've been inspired by Dean Grasiosy, Grant Cardone, Russell Brunson a few really great ones out there.

Wayne Aston: 1:47

Let's throw a shout out to Bridger Pennington too with his Wall Street Rebels because we love that. So, guys, this podcast is a real estate one-on-one, real estate development, an entrepreneur mindset, a champion's mindset. This is a podcast about starting a business in the US of A Absolutely, and the stories and the challenges and everything that goes with that and getting behind what makes for a successful one of those things.

Dallin Aston: 2:19

I mean anyone can talk about starting a business but where does it take to To make it succeed and not be the 99% of businesses that just start and fail within five years? That's right.

Wayne Aston: 2:28

That's a big piece of this how to not be a statistic. Yeah, yeah, that's right.

Dallin Aston: 2:33

So, if you're okay, maybe we should start with kind of the origin. Why, right? I mean, let's start this off with a bang and talk about you know. I'd like to ask you you know why? Why was the journey began? And you know what's the origin up to this point, and talk to us about your why, and maybe we could transition there a little bit.

Wayne Aston: 2:52

I think that's a cool story for both of us. I'll take the lead within, kind of give a little bit about my history, what you know, where's the start of the story, what's gotten me to here? And I'd love to hear yours, because you've got some exciting stuff to share too. I've been a self employed entrepreneur or entrepreneur want to be since the age of 21. So that's my whole life. Volcationally speaking, I'm a proud college dropout.

Wayne Aston: 3:21

I thought I wanted to be an architect, so I spent four years in high school paper drafting, went on to the University of Utah and did five years in the AutoCAD program. So I've got a serious passion for architecture and building cool stuff. I feel like I'm naturally artistic and so you know I got early at early on and around age 21, I got into as a stone and tile contract or I got into construction trades and that wasn't pretty creative outlet. That was the first shot at starting and operating a business and having employees and inventory and getting into some crazy stuff with that. That went on for a decade, kind of transitioned out of construction into private finance, of all things, which led to owning a real estate brokerage. We had about 40 agents with that and all of that occurred before I realized my passion was being a real estate developer and specifically a resort developer.

Wayne Aston: 4:23

I love hospitality and so I'm really driven to the experience economy. You know, I really like designing something that my patrons, when they visit, the memories and the experiences that they enjoy are far more valuable than the souvenirs that we might sell or whatever you know product we might be able to offer. The product is the experience, and so because of that, we're getting, you know, we're getting really great. You know rates and returns and exciting, you know properties that people enjoy. So that's, that's a, that's a very quick origin. Let's hear you. Let's hear your origin story.

Dallin Aston: 5:05

Okay, great, yeah, I'll definitely dive in. I think there's a couple pieces I would love to come back and circle around to you and just ask about, and maybe I do that before I go into mine. Actually, you know, from a, from an entrepreneurial standpoint, you know we're sitting here and I'm listening to you talking about going from tile to something complete, I mean it's, it's similar in the sense that you know you're building, right, you're building, you're creating this, this thing, whether it's tile, it's real estate, it's developing resorts or whatever. But you know there's when you said I found my passion, you didn't find your passion to way later, right, I think that's super applicable to all these entrepreneurs out there.

Dallin Aston: 5:41

That I have so many people that are like hey, don you know I'm, I'm starting this business and then three months in there going on, it's just not working, it's just, oh, I'm not passionate. It's like, well, I don't think that's the problem. The problem is, you know, continuing, because you're not gonna find your passion right, right then and there right, I mean and that goes into my story as well.

Dallin Aston: 6:01

You think something you know, you just start, but but would you say that you know what's the principle that drove you through? Because I mean through tile, that's difficult. Yeah, what made you keep going? And then, once that was ended, what made you want to just start that again? That's not an easy task, and you had to start it again multiple times in order to get to where you are now, and I think a lot of people could benefit from understanding, okay, well, what drove you through that? Because I feel like a lot of people might just say, oh, it's not for me.

Wayne Aston: 6:28

Yeah, that's a really great question. That's a fair and that's kind of a that opens things up for kind of a disclaimer for anyone thinking that. They want to be an entrepreneur, because, yeah, I left out dozens of other businesses. I mean.

Wayne Aston: 6:40

I had a shit, I had a pressure washing company where we'd go in the middle of the night and pressure wash all the heavy equipment For Staker paving. Yeah, I had a window tinting company, you know where, where I had Family members coming with me and we were taking out, you know, windows and big houses. I I did multiple network marketing companies right, multiple.

Dallin Aston: 7:01

Well see this is why I ask right, this is exactly why I ask, because you're going through so much as an entrepreneur. Yeah, it's like that's the nature of an entrepreneur. Yeah, is adapting.

Wayne Aston: 7:12

There's a it starts with a knowing. There's a knowing I want to be, I want to have freedom, mm-hmm, so that to me, that's the kind of the core drive, right, I know I want to be my own boss, I'm the captain of my own yeah, soul here. Right, I'm the master of my fate and the captain of my soul, so so I want to be in control of all of that, yeah, and so I. You know, I feel like, even though I had a couple jobs early, you know, 16 I was a lifeguard in Las Vegas at the.

Dallin Aston: 7:41

Excalibur hotel. That was a lot of fun.

Wayne Aston: 7:43

Yeah, I like guarded all through high school, joined the Marine Corps when I was 17, became a machine gunner and Ended up spending five years in the Marine Corps reserves and then another five in the Army National Guard and the field artillery unit in Manti Ut.. Working different jobs and being in the military really underscored this fact that I'm certifiably unemployable. Like I'm the worst employee because, because I don't take the orders well right, but I heard fast, yeah, but I'm way more motivated if, if there's more in it for For an opportunity for me to create value for everyone else. Like yeah, I don't want to.

Wayne Aston: 8:24

I don't want to be the cog for the big corporate employer and just be a number. But if I can use my creative passion and my you know my what's, what makes me unique to provide value for as many people as possible, well then, it's an open, kind of open season. That's why it took trying so many different businesses Before it really kind of hit. You know what I was really passionate about, what I was really good at actually right, Well, yeah, that's kind of where I was getting at here.

Dallin Aston: 8:54

Is you're so focused? Is this value? It's this, yeah, your, why is not? I'm gonna go make a bunch of money.

Wayne Aston: 9:01

It wasn't always that way. That right. That changes. That's an important distinction too, because, as it and I'll admit I just I mean, we're part of this show, guys we're gonna be vulnerable, we're gonna be raw, like you're gonna get the truth.

Dallin Aston: 9:14

You're gonna hear some shit as we go along that you're like you're not gonna believe some of this stuff.

Wayne Aston: 9:20

Yeah, but if we're being honest, in the beginning I was driven by the money. Right, I did want to drive the Lamborghini like those. Those were motivation. But those, those end up in the long run not being big enough wise it doesn't mean a weather, the storm.

Dallin Aston: 9:37

It's not enough to get, it's not enough to pull it out.

Wayne Aston: 9:39

inevitable, that's right, that's right. When you, when you hit that, that collapse and or if you have multiple business, actually collapse Money in cars and houses, that's not enough because you know I've had the unique opportunity of building up a pretty respectable, you know empire for myself and losing it more than once, I call that an apocalypse event. We define chaos and apocalypse event differently. Each of us have our own definition. For me, that's a total loss. That's losing my house's cars, getting divorced, you know, when you were eight, yeah, so losing my family, in many regards, losing my way as a, as a human you know losing my kind of my, my driving.

Wayne Aston: 10:33

Why am I here? Mm-hmm. Answer to that question.

Wayne Aston: 10:37

So there's a very dark place when you get crushed and you lose everything and you end up being homeless and you, you get an opportunity to find out who you really are you know you get an opportunity to find out if you really believe in God or if you just talk about having faith right Like you're, like getting your teeth kicked in is the best way to Really believe in God or not, so you can walk through life, you know, believing that there are no miracles or everything's a miracle, right. But that's a thought consciousness that comes after decades of the the ebb and flow.

Wayne Aston: 11:16

Revolution the evolution, or yeah. So I started out, you know, young, being motivated by money and all the wrong things, and it took losing it twice, losing it twice, to get really clear about why. And so it turns out that relationships and the people that are in my orbit are the most valuable asset of my life. That's friends, that's family, it's my inner core team of business, it's my third party, strategic partners, it's my investor, constituents, and there's a shift for an entrepreneur that happens when you're able to actually genuinely put yourself into a position where you're thinking of their interests first. I'm really just a servant, I'm just a. I'm just a. I'm kind of just a steward. If I'm the fund manager, you know, for Invictus Sovereign, I'm just managing other people's money, but I'm just a steward of it.

Dallin Aston: 12:22

I don't own anything.

Wayne Aston: 12:23

It's for them, it's for their benefit, if it's the developments, it's for those guests or those investors behind that project. So you know how we define ownership. That'll be something that we're covering in these episodes too. Like how do we look at ownership? I mean, do we really own anything, right?

Dallin Aston: 12:41

So that's a deep question we get to Well, what I'm kind of getting hearing from you is it doesn't really matter what happens to you. What matters is what are you going to do about what happens to you?

Dallin Aston: 12:52

Yeah, and it's like that, that it all ties back into that mindset and your, why right? It's like you came to realize fairly quickly that money was not a strong enough why? So what is the why that will get you through to this? It's you know you have to cross a chasm. If you cross this abyss and you're not going to just cross and go through hell, the hell of jungle with a threat of dying without a strong enough? Why? Yeah, and that's what we're getting at here.

Wayne Aston: 13:20

And that's why?

Dallin Aston: 13:22

because I kind of go into mine a little bit here as well. That's a good point, because there are similar principles on a different you know, a different side of the spectrum, right, yeah, you know. And for anyone listening out there, so Wayne is my dad. So when he says, you know, when you were eight, all this happened I. So I've seen a lot of this play out over the years and so it's kind of a cool dynamic here. It's fun to be able to have this conversation and do the show together because we have, you know, similar perspectives, but very different stories.

Dallin Aston: 13:53

Right, and so when it comes to me, man, I, I went and lived in Japan for a couple of years, and when I was before then, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I, you know, thought I was going to go to college and then get just this, this job, as you know, I don't know Very similar to my dad here is. You know, I thought architecture, or creating something. I think there's something about architecture and creating what was appealing to both of us, and I think I have that ingrained as well. I was like man, there was one day I spoke to one of my professors and she was like it's just long hours and you don't get paid that much. And I was like, oh, and I was like, thank goodness I'm going to Japan for a couple of years.

Dallin Aston: 14:31

I can put that off and not think about it yet, right, but I went to Japan and something changed in me and I experienced a world that I didn't even know existed. It was like another planet. I stepped foot and when I got there, I was illiterate, I couldn't read, I couldn't understand anything. It was, it was an extraordinary experience, and I really learned what it was like to serve people and provide value for them, even with a language barrier like service and love transcends language, and that's something that I learned very powerfully. And when I got home to America, I had this, this fire within me. I was like man, I can't go be an architect. I can't, I can't go, I can't go.

Wayne Aston: 15:18

And we love our architects.

Dallin Aston: 15:20

But for architects, listening, they're some of my favorite people Absolutely.

Wayne Aston: 15:23

There's a special place in our heart for our architect.

Dallin Aston: 15:25

Well and see it's not a matter of better or worse.

Dallin Aston: 15:27

It's a matter of different For me. I was sitting there going, I can't do that. I feel like I have to go. I have to do something different and not something better per se, something different. And it led me to I went off to college and I was like you know what I just I at college, I just want to start a business, because that's in my mind. I was like, in order for me to accomplish kind of what I'm feeling, I have to create something that will serve people. Right. And I started going through and, very similar to you, it started getting a point where I was like, man starting business, I can have a lot of freedom, I can make a ton of money. That, honestly, it shifted from this. It's tempting.

Wayne Aston: 16:08

It's very tempting. You always have that voice saying right, you have the voice and it's powerful.

Dallin Aston: 16:13

And I remember I was like, okay, well, you know, and my first class at college was management principles for entrepreneurs. And I was like, oh, this is perfect, this is fantastic, Right. And I remember the first day in class he was like going to the syllabus, whatever he says, he says okay, this this semester we're going to start a business.

Dallin Aston: 16:31

It can be fake or it can be real and I was like this is my class, right? So I get in there and I start this little company. I've played the guitar for 12 years now and I started this company called the guitar hacks. I remember and I spent months and months and I and I remember there were nights where I wrote books on how to play the guitar you can still find on Google. I get still on Amazon. I remember doing all that.

Wayne Aston: 16:56

In fact it was. It was. It was an incredible thing to watch because, you know, I think 11 years old or maybe 10, is when you started to really take an interest in guitar and rather than saying, hey dad, let's go to guitar lessons, you got on Google and started Googling Metallica videos. Right, and before I knew it you were playing riffs, I was like Holy shit, you actually can play the guitar Right. So so you are officially the first self taught by Google musician I've ever met.

Wayne Aston: 17:29

I was really inspired by that, because to me that was like oh my gosh, he's got the, he's got the bug, he's got the blood, like to, yeah, he has the blood potential of an entrepreneur to go and commit self motivated Not me, not your mom, not any school teachers. Self motivation to go achieve something by whatever means that you had available. That's a core tenant of entrepreneurship that must exist.

Dallin Aston: 17:57

If you don't have that You're doomed.

Wayne Aston: 18:00

You're doomed is the kiss of death.

Dallin Aston: 18:02

It is the kiss of death.

Wayne Aston: 18:03

So there's the self motivation go what do whatever it takes to get and achieve that goal, and I did and you did that, and that was incredible. That was the first example watching you come up as a young man learning guitar and becoming very good at guitar, which led into this next business you're talking about here.

Dallin Aston: 18:23

I felt so. When we're talking about passion and the why right, I was sitting here going man, I'm so passionate about guitar, I love the guitar, and so what I did is I would. I had college. You know most kids will go out and party every night and stuff, but I was in my room reading. I would, and I would go and I would buy online training, like business training, marketing trainings, and I kid you not, I would wake up at five am, go hit the gym and I'd come back and study business, read every book I could find. I'd go on Amazon and just buy books. It became an obsession. I was like how do I, how do I do this? And then I'd go to class, come back, do homework and then I'd go back and study and watch trainings. Russell Brunson was key. I would learn about building funnels and I was okay, if I'm gonna make this guitar thing work, I'm gonna set up a funnel, you know, for all the e-commerce guys out there. You know what I'm talking about. I mean I was getting into row ads. I was getting all these key measures like, okay, what does it need to work? Facebook ads, google ads, I mean all this stuff and I recorded hours and hours of content how to play the guitar. I wrote books on how to play the guitar. I got I signed up with distributors and selling accessories through the funnel.

Dallin Aston: 19:27

Now I remember clearly and this is a pivotal turning point in the story is I remember clearly sitting there the night before I was gonna launch this funnel and I was sitting there doing the math and I'm sure every entrepreneur didn't relate to this. I was sitting there and I was like, oh man, it's the percent, right, it's the one if I can get 1% of the total market Of a million customers. The next question I'm gonna be asking is what island am I going to buy With? Right, like I'm gonna set this up and just tomorrow just wait, I'm gonna be a millionaire, you know, and I was so convinced the next day I launched it nothing For the next seven months, no sales. And I was just about ready to quit. I was like I'm not making any money. This is, I'm not even reaching anyone, I'm not doing anything right. And it was so defeating until I won a business competition at school, at the university I was attending, and won two grand. I was like what With guitar highs?

Wayne Aston: 20:22

And I was about ready to give up.

Dallin Aston: 20:24

And I won this award and I was like maybe I'm onto something here. Maybe a funnel is the actual vehicle that they're voting on, maybe it's not the guitar highs, maybe it's the strategy, maybe it's the funnel right.

Dallin Aston: 20:36

And maybe that's what works. I mean, it's worked for Russell, it's worked for all these other guys. Why can't it work for companies like this? And so, eventually, you know, I had all these thoughts in my head and I caught the attention of a business valuation firm here in Utah and they hired me on as a financial analyst.

Dallin Aston: 20:53

And the only reason I took it was because I was like man. I want to understand the background of business, like the numbers, how to make a successful business. So I took it and I was like man I'm going to learn everything I can about being a financial analyst. And I had no experience with finances, nothing. And they brought me on because he's like you can learn it, because you started the guitar hacks, because I started guitar hacks is the reason he hired me. I stayed with him for about 10 months, about a year, and by the end of it I was their head of marketing and I broke off and started my own marketing company and took on clients and my home motto was man, if a great opportunity falls in my lap and I don't know how to do it, say yes and learn later. And I remember I would be on the call with these clients, these business owners who hired me on as, and I was like I'm going to do it for free, just give me a percentage of your revenue.

Dallin Aston: 21:43

And at this point I started more and more to understand it's not about the money.

Wayne Aston: 21:46

It's about can I serve these people?

Dallin Aston: 21:47

provide the value Actually provide that. And so I told them. I was like you will not pay me unless you make money. That's what I told them. So I got a handful of clients and I remember it was crazy. I'd get on a call with them and they'd say this is what I need, this is what I'm lacking, and I'd be like, oh great, I get off the call and I'm like I have no idea how to do that.

Dallin Aston: 22:07

I have no idea what that even is, but I'd go buy a book or I'd go ask whoever I thought could have some insight and then by the next call, I had guys that had been in business for 20 years and down. You are the key of my business right now, Like you are helping me do things that I've like. This is amazing and that inspired me on a level that had never done up until that point.

Wayne Aston: 22:34

Yeah, you experienced that golden moment when someone acknowledged that you've created value they couldn't achieve themselves. So now you start to taste what it feels like to be of value to someone else and how addictive that can become. So that as that grows, that supersedes the want for money and cars and everything else. There becomes in a true entrepreneur an absolute obsession with providing value for people that they can measure as legit.

Dallin Aston: 23:08

It's not this marketing.

Wayne Aston: 23:10

Bullshit of fake, false advertising.

Dallin Aston: 23:13

I can do this and that and the other, and I don't deliver anything.

Wayne Aston: 23:17

So there's an entire episode that we've got slated on integrity. We will spend an entire 44 minutes on integrity. But let me tell you, in the entrepreneurial world, if we don't define integrity, the same we're also doomed. I mean, for me, integrity is if I say I'm gonna do something, I do exactly that thing, and if something gets in the way of it, then I'm communicating to renegotiate it. But that's not normal.

Wayne Aston: 23:47

Most providers will ghost you or they just won't communicate or they just it's incredible the level of lack of integrity you find in the workplace of major corporations who do not deliver or do what they say they will do. They make promises. They fail on those promises. So when that breaks down, a brand fails, a business fails. But if you're listening and you're serious about starting a business, if you can make sure that that piece of it is a solid core foundation, you're gonna be an integrity, no matter what. That's also a critical element that your likelihood of success is much higher.

Dallin Aston: 24:32

Absolutely, absolutely. It applies to current. If you have a multi-million dollar business, the principle is the same, right, and that's the principle is that integrity is a very important piece and it falls into everything that we're talking about here. So from there, I was involved a little bit with the marketing of Sage Creek and I started to learn more about the Moab market and, as someone obsessed with marketing, I hated everyone that was like buy my course so I can teach you about this from the course, that's another thing about integrity, right?

Wayne Aston: 25:12

I hated that.

Dallin Aston: 25:13

And I was like man, I wanna be something different for my clients. Until I started learning about. I was pretty passionate, I liked it, but I started learning about this whole real estate and this hospitality, this world of real experiences, and that was heavily influenced from going to Moab. So much for Sage Creek and I started developing this thing, where I was like man, I want to get into the travel marketing, the hospitality marketing, all that kind of thing because it's such a cool.

Dallin Aston: 25:49

I started and keep in mind we're going back to this story of people starting a business and thinking, oh man, it's just not for me. Well, I thought at the time I thought guitar hacks, was it? I was like I remember there were nights where I'd be writing my book and I'd look up and the sun was rising. I kid you not. I mean, there were nights where I didn't even sleep and I didn't even realize it because I was so in. And that's kind of the point that we're probably trying to get across here is, whatever you do, it doesn't have to be, you don't have to speak in absolutes, but whatever you do, do it with everything you have and that will open the doors. As you can see, I never thought the starting guitar hacks would result in getting this job as a financial analyst. That's totally, that's totally unrelated things that are actually related when you look back. Yeah, and then it led me to start Elevate Travel Destinations and purchase my first two properties in Moab.

Wayne Aston: 26:45

Yeah, right, and a 24 years old to be buying condos, it was 23 years old, buying your own condos, starting a portfolio of Airbnb business. That is.

Dallin Aston: 26:54

With well in mind, you with zero dollars to my name, so anyone out like when you think about the realm of possibilities, I was sitting there with my little marketing company that was, you know, making nothing, but I was providing a ton of value. At that point, I was just, you know, hey, I just want to provide, I want to provide the service, but I was sitting there and I was like man. What would be really cool, though, is if I could use my, my marketing prowess in a hospitality standpoint and buy property and just market them right and build a, build an expi, build a portfolio of properties connected throughout the world through a single experience, you know, or a single umbrella brand that just provides awesome experiences. In six months, I raised $760,000 grand. Yeah, because I had that, and I was totally focused on let's. Let's create this as a that, like there was a story of creating value experiences.

Wayne Aston: 27:46

Let's pause on what you just said, though, just so the listeners. Let's underscore so the listeners hear what you just said, because that's an incredible achievement at 23 years old and there's a few attributes that have to be talked about. When we talk about getting into whatever it takes mode, that's going all in. As you said, that's a requirement, and you'll hear gurus like Tony Robbins talk about take massive action, yeah.

Dallin Aston: 28:17

Okay.

Wayne Aston: 28:18

So what stops entrepreneurs from starting something? What stops anyone from starting something? Well, in my experience, most people stop because of the fear of the risk and the fear of the unknown, and so they never start. So most folks are going to just stop before they start. Others will take some action, hit some resistance fail and then never get up again.

Wayne Aston: 28:43

So there's that that's kind of the second level and lots, lots of folks will try and do that. They'll have one business failure, collapses and they never recover. Yeah, and so what I want the audience to know is that you know when Dallin has this idea like, hey dad, I want to, I want to start a portfolio of condos and like AirBnBs all over the world like that's cool man.

Wayne Aston: 29:09

Yeah, and you know I was careful to To be as supportive as I could without saying, yeah, let me lend you some money to do that. Right? You know you came to me with questions hey, how would you recommend I do this? Mm-hmm, I was this forthcoming and and and gave you all of the nuts and bolts I could possibly imagine to you know, to provide the likelihood of success right.

Wayne Aston: 29:37

Without me doing anything for you. So I said go talk to these lenders, go tuck now. Now You're gonna have to go raise equity, so you're gonna have to go talk to the investors. Here's how that looks. Yeah, make sure that you know you're not exposing investors to undo risk. Make sure that you're the steward right. The energy you portray when you're dealing with your investors as a steward is different than this needy energy of, hey, you know, lend me 50 grand so I can start my business.

Dallin Aston: 30:06

It's about you.

Wayne Aston: 30:07

That's a make-up, that's a weak-ass attitude like, yeah, help me, look, look so. So anyone listening also needs to know that I don't. I'm not a trust fund kid and and you you know I, your mom and I got divorced when you were eight. We were broke. Like the seven-year recovery of that means that your whole middle school and high school years I was broke. So there were no handouts, there's no rich uncle, there's no right like bank loan right, and so. So what we're talking about really in your story and it applies to my stories is Bootstrapping business from nothing yeah create something special from nothing.

Wayne Aston: 30:49

Yeah, and, and maybe nothing's unfair. Really, what do you start with? Is you start with Commitment, energy, your willingness to do whatever it takes? Yeah, your natural passion and your character and who you are, and I guess you quantify that. That's a lot, but I think I think our listeners, when we talk about resources they maybe not are thinking on those lines or thinking well, where can I get the money from?

Wayne Aston: 31:12

yeah, and it's important to know that Money's not the requirement to start the business. The money will come right as you, as you show up With all of these unique things that you have for the world and as you develop it the best you can on your own. And so Now that we've we've clarified that, give us the rest of the story. What happened like like you come to me with these questions.

Dallin Aston: 31:37

I give you some some directive and then what well, I'll tell you. I, I Crafted it. You were like you need to, you need a kind of a presentation. I'm like, okay. So so I talked to every agent I could and I went towards some properties and, like you know, god has informed us possible I put together this deck of hey, this is why Moab's so great, this is, you know some some stuff that Moab has done from a marketing standpoint. This is, you know all the stats of why Moab's so cool. And then I actually put together a portfolio of quite a few that I thought could be good properties. Yeah, remember that. Yeah, and I told the story right at the end of the day. It wasn't me just showing hey, this is, here's some numbers. It was this is a story that would Essentially say hey, investor, this is, this is what's gonna happen to you if you do this.

Dallin Aston: 32:28

Because I went, I literally had $0, my name, I was driving Uber eats to eat. I mean I to pay rent. I was, I mean literally, I had no money. I didn't have a job Because I was doing these business stuff and I was like these, these have to play out. But I was against the walls like I. You know I don't have again, I don't have all this cash stored away. I had nothing and I'm sitting here. I had my, my 2000 BMW.

Wayne Aston: 32:53

I got for three grand. Oh, yeah, right, and I heard I was the convertible. Yeah, and I was driving that around deliverable.

Dallin Aston: 32:59

That's right. I was delivering food just so I could eat, just so I could pay rent, just so I could pay for school. And you know I was. I was nowhere even near. I didn't have the earnest money to go and put these companies under contract. So I reached out to everyone I could find on. You know that I had, I had joined Facebook investor groups. I had, I had googled lenders in Utah. I had. I you know I racked my brain of Professors or connections that I had that may have capital and I I wrote up an email and I sent it. Everyone I called people and I remember the first day I spoke with a lender and he raked me across the coals and it felt like he was enjoying it and I thought it was the most intense thing.

Wayne Aston: 33:43

This foolish In your child. Well, child with no credit profile.

Dallin Aston: 33:48

Well, our cash, yeah, thinking so I'm gonna get in that right, because who are?

Wayne Aston: 33:51

you To own rental properties. Oh yeah, and that was a common on the conversation, that was a common on right.

Dallin Aston: 33:59

When they first got on the phone, that was always the thought oh, you're too young, oh you're too this, you're too this. And everyone would tell me that I'm like what? Yeah, this is crazy, this is crazy. And I remember one guy. He's like you know, you know your stuff, I have to respect you. And while I didn't end up going with him, this lender said that to me this month. Like this, this guy that he was like, yeah, I'll do you, we could do the three million. I was like what? Wow, right. And he said I have to respect you because you know your stuff. And that kind of was like a cool. I was like, oh man, I'm on the right.

Wayne Aston: 34:31

Couldn't argue that. You need the facts like that. The deal was good. He says the deal was that I was a performer, yeah, and he's like I'm gonna have to respect that Only.

Dallin Aston: 34:41

And that was inspiring. I was like, oh my goodness.

Wayne Aston: 34:44

Yeah, I'm kind of a Professional besides dad saying, hey, yeah, you're on the right track, yeah Well, I still had so much to learn.

Dallin Aston: 34:52

But that was a cool point where I was like, oh man, I got to keep going because this is good. Yeah, right, this is, this is good. And I kept going. Long story short all Finance, like institutional, fine. Everyone banks, credit unions had the same answer You're too young. And I hated that. I was like, okay, well, fine, how can I do this? Not using you? Right, and I think it's a good lesson for a lot of people wanting to start. I was like I, you know, okay, if I have zero dollars to my name and I have this awesome deal, well, what can I do? Right, instead of thinking like can't because they told me I can't. Well, I turned it Okay, what can I do? Yeah, and as I started reaching out to more and more people, whether it's the Facebook group or whether it's past, you know, professors, or connection I had one day I was sitting there, my old boss, when I was a financial Analyst.

Dallin Aston: 35:40

His wife calls me and she goes hey, I just, it's been a while, I want to see how you're doing, what are you up to? And I was like well, you know, I'm trying to do this with these properties. And she goes that's kind of cool. You want to come tell us about it? I was like sure I didn't think anything of it, right, because I wasn't sitting here trying to pitch them. You know, and I have one thing about pitching friends and family, it's just kind of it leaves a bad taste on my mind. It's icky. I don't like it. I don't like it.

Wayne Aston: 36:06

Especially if you, if you aren't in that mindset of being right right. Like when, when I can go genuinely present an investor an opportunity, because I care about their success.

Dallin Aston: 36:16

Yeah, yeah, I'll be. Yeah, it's not a pitch anymore.

Wayne Aston: 36:19

No, I'm sharing an opportunity and you clicked with that fast. That was I mean and watching how that unfolded. You really got that point of it. And that's what made it. That's what made it turn out the way it did.

Dallin Aston: 36:32

Right, right, well, and because I remember clearly I walked into their house and it was it was him and and his wife and I was sitting there. I was just telling I was just showing them the slide deck, I wasn't pitching him, I was just telling him this is what I'm doing. And at the end he looks at me like can I fund this? And I was like yeah, you know the cool. I was like yeah, I mean we can talk about.

Dallin Aston: 36:55

I've got a couple of thoughts. I literally said I was like I've got a couple people in mind, but I can totally, and I walk out. I walk out of this house and I sit in my car and I'm like I start screaming like yeah, you know, I'm so excited because he literally sits there and says I want to do this Later. He brings in you know, his, his father, and they fund the entire thing and that's what we're currently we're currently at. So I ended up buying two in Moab and we're crushing right. And you know, it's just that lesson right there has been so valuable to me.

Wayne Aston: 37:27

And how, how, is that investment performing? I mean, you've owned that since last year, since November.

Dallin Aston: 37:32

Yeah, I went there for a couple months getting it all set up, and then I'm bringing in about six to seven k a month each property.

Wayne Aston: 37:40

So so it's a good Good, I mean for an Airbnb business.

Dallin Aston: 37:45

Yeah, and county average is what? 4500, 5000 bucks a month.

Dallin Aston: 37:49

Yeah so we're doing pretty pretty good yeah and you know I can do a lot of excuse me, a lot of why it's performing so well. But I think the purpose of this specific episode is just say, hey, look, look what's possible. Yeah, you know, look like if we can instill some sort of Um, you know inspiration, to just take a step back and say, well, what actually creates Something, what actually creates success? Yeah, it's a process, yeah, and it's, and it's definitely not for the faint of heart.

Wayne Aston: 38:21

Yeah, there's not. There's not one thing. I love what Jocko says. He's like there's not one Hack right, there's not one like magic bullet there's not the, the magical coffee bean. You're gonna drink that. You're gonna be fired. Right, you're gonna do it. Red bull doesn't really give you wings like like there's a right. There's this whole combination of of training, of mindset and and processes and consistency and Pertanacity to like push through stuff to actually right, get to the end of it.

Dallin Aston: 38:53

Well, what's so cool is sorry to cut you off, but what's so cool is Once you get to a point where you're providing so much value. I'll be honest I have not taken profits for myself, even though we're bringing in so much. My priority is that relationship with my investors. And guess what? Now they're calling me saying, hey, we have more cash, can we do more? That's the value of putting relationships first. I I Said to myself, when I do this, I'm not gonna just ring it for the profits.

Wayne Aston: 39:21

I'm you know, that's not my, that's not my mo.

Dallin Aston: 39:24

In fact I you know I have other ways of you know, paying for what I mean. Obviously there are costs of living, but, you know, as much as humanly possible, you know I have. So I work at harm brothers, as you know, the vice president of business development and sales, and it allows me to, you know, do both these but treat my. You know it's a very strategic approach to this, because I'm not sitting here desperate, yeah, and desperation is the is the recipe, in my opinion, for failure yeah, when you start getting desperate, lack of preparation and a desperate energy right.

Wayne Aston: 39:53

We'll kill any attempt to raise capital.

Dallin Aston: 39:56

Yep, or start a business, and if you put your, your investors first, they're going to come back and throw money at at you, you know, and that's because they value you as the person, the orchestrator. Yeah, and that's. I've experienced that with mine.

Wayne Aston: 40:10

So, yeah, that's a good segue, probably to wrap the episode, because I can feel this is, this is moving into A deeper conversation on why, right, so without, let's wrap it, yeah, and then we'll come back here on the next episode With why we're doing what we're doing.

Dallin Aston: 40:27

Absolutely. Thanks for turning in, guys.