SPEAKER_00 0:00

So I would say 90% of the time when I meet somebody, like I will hire them for myself personally before I will refer them out. Like I need to know what kind of work you do.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

All right. Welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter, where we tell the stories of Northern Colorado's best networkers and the connections that they make to help their businesses grow. And today we have a special guest, Tilly Purt from Desperado Reality. Welcome to the show, Tilly. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Awesome. Well, this is summertime. Uh a lot of people are coming and going, moving, and and uh I'm sure I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to come here. But we talk about connections that matter. Uh the connection of where somebody lives is a big and to who they lease their property from is a big uh it's a big relationship. So tell us a little bit more about what you do.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Um, so I am the managing broker for Desperado Realty. I'm licensed in Colorado and Wyoming. Um and I love people. Hence the reason I got kind of away from the real estate and more into the property management. Um prior to that, I was in corporate retail management for an exceptionally long time. And I think you have to have a little bit of a screw loose in order to be in retail, and it just converts right over to property management. Like for the longest time, my favorite day was Black Friday. I know. Um but there's always something happening, you know, and I I love to put out fires, I love to help people, um, and I really, really enjoy the aspect of keeping the most money in my investor's pocket as possible. And I enjoy um making a safe place for my tenants to be. Um it's it's quirky and there's not a lot of people that enjoy doing it, but I'm I'm wildly passionate about it.

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Yeah, and uh I met you at a networking group, and um you were you that's one of the main focuses you do to grow your business. I see you networking in a lot of different places. Uh how'd you get started as that as a main avenue for growing desperado?

SPEAKER_00 2:21

You know, honestly, when I was younger, um my dad's probably one of my biggest heroes. And he always used to tell me it's not what you know, it's who you know. And he's he's right. Like I to date, I still can't go anywhere like globally without him knowing someone. And it's been such a resource for me. The more people that I know, the more um resources I have available for people. For example, um, and I haven't launched it yet, but like there's a financial advisor, Chad file, that I work with that is amazing. He's absolutely wonderful. And I love when I get tenants that um are really trying to kind of figure out like how do I buy something someday, or how do I do this, or you know what? Go talk to Chad. Like I have this person go talk to him, he's amazing. Or the lenders that I work with, they're awesome. Um another great vendor I work with is Lewis Cartrell. He owns Gardza Plumbing, and literally I texted him yesterday morning at 6 a.m. Like it's a Sunday, and I'm like, dude, I got a hot water heater down. He had it fixed, replaced before noon. Like that's that's awesome. Like it's just it's awesome. But I do I network a lot.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Well, yeah, I mean, especially as things come arise, having different solutions for uh house issues, tenant issues, uh it's huge. But I also love that you say is like you really listen to their goals. Um if their goal is home ownership, then you actually put resources around them that could to get them to go there. And uh one of the things that people tune in this show is like, how do I how do I build trust quickly? And I would imagine that if I had a leasing experience that was like sign here, form this, form this, and then I come and work with you, and you're like, okay, well, what are your goals? And it's to buy your house and to do go through this transition. Right. Um, how did you meet, how did you and his name is Chad, right? How did you meet Chad? And then how did you guys develop that um that relationship?

SPEAKER_00 4:36

So I'm a very so trust is a big thing to me. Like me reaching out to people to take care of owners that I work for, it's it's huge. So I would say 90% of the time when I meet somebody, like I will hire them for myself personally before I will refer them out. Like I need to know what kind of work you do. Um, Chatham at a networking event, um, and just salt of the earth guy. Like walk through some stuff with me and my husband about kind of our financial plans and things we should look at and pitfalls. And it cost nothing. Right. Like for his advice, and that's the way he he keeps it. Like, yes, there are there are things you can buy into and things that you can do, but he's he genuinely wants to help people accomplish their goals. And after getting to know him and understanding that, I was like, I need to stack your cards. I need a stack. Just give me a whole stack, Chad. Um, and I meet with him in another networking group on Mondays, every Monday, and it just kind of starts the week off and it's cool.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

It's a good touch point. Well, when people are moving, there's just a lot of life transitions, new schools, new uh places where you go and do and things, and a lot of people don't know each other yet. So having a reliable referral source or somebody they can go to to get those recommendations is huge. How have you built your vendor list, so to say, uh from when you started your business to where you are now?

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Um very trial and error. Okay. A lot of error. Um, I'm very I'm very action-focused. I'm very results driven. So like I I run into the fire before I grab the fire extinguisher. Um so it was, it it truly was like trying people out and like, and I made a lot of mistakes.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Well, I hear that a lot of is especially with contractors, it's finding somebody reliable. Sometimes they're reliable for a season, and then they're not reliable for a season. But if you need uh something handled tomorrow, then you need to have, you know, a roster.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

And it's it's crazy how the world turns and people come back around. I uh manage properties in another town that was just outside of my wheelhouse. I don't know what I was thinking. I do know what I was thinking. I really wanted to help the owners, but um, there was a vendor that I worked with out there, and he fell off the wagon, like completely off the wagon, and ended up in a sober living facility in Fort Collins and calling me after everything happened, and I was like, How do you still have my number, dude? Right, yeah. Um, but I got him hooked up with a handyman that's amazing, and now he's clean and sober and has a job and he's doing great things. Um, but had I not I don't want to say put my head in my sand in the sand, but had I not made the mistake of managing those properties out there, I never would have met him and I never would have had the opportunity to give the help to my handyman that I did. I mean, he's just he's a good kid, he's just had some problems.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

Sure. Well, it sounds like you got him in the right direction. No, yeah, exactly. Fingers crossed. Well, and as I've seen your business grow, Tilly, um people are wanting to get in the room with you, all right? Like uh these movers or cleaners or anybody else who's real estate agents, people who are uh trying to focus on helping people with that same level of transition. And um, how has that transition been from where you're hustling and you're working a lot to make these connections where all of a sudden now people are like, oh, you have a property manager? Like, I want to meet her and and have them be more attracted to um the level of business that you have now.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

Um it's a little intimidating, honestly. Well, they're like, Oh, you're a property manager, I can work for you. And I'm like, Whoa, right. I don't I don't know and like and trust you yet. Whoa. Um but I appreciate the vendors that are kind of like slow growing. Like, we'd really like to have your business, but I'm not gonna like hammer down your door. Um I met a woman by the name of Jalen with White Castle Roofing, and I'm not picking on roofers, but they're like realtors, like you throw a quarter and there's like 500 of us, especially in Colorado. Yeah, yeah. And um I met her at an event and she was super down to earth and super honest, and I had her do an estimate for me along with another kid that was really hyper to get my business. And like I really wanted him to win it, but she did. Yeah, like there was a little too over-the-top sales-y stuff there. Um but she came in clean, the bid was good, had answers to all the questions I had. Um so it's yeah, it's a it's a little intimidating when people find out, like, oh, you're a property manager, I want to do business with you. I'm like, whoa, whoa.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

I'm not that big yet.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

Yeah, but I think they just see it as a pipeline opportunity. But to your point, like take some time to build some rapport, build some trust, build a relationship because the same way that you're referring out uh because of somebody you've built a relationship with, you want to have that same people that potentially you're giving business to or giving referrals for. So unpack that a little bit. Like, um, what is a a strong approach since you've seen the overly aggressive approach or there um if if I'm a business owner that it's wanting to make connections with someone like you, how would you advise me to approach you, to start the relationship, to get my foot in the door?

SPEAKER_00 10:35

Be real.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Like if and I don't know if it's my background or being kind of a farm kid, like I just cut through the crap and be a real person. You know, like be who you are genuinely. And if we jive, we jive. If we don't, we don't. Let it go.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Um but it but I I really put a lot of value on honesty and integrity. And if I'm gonna slap my name on your name, like there there better be a lot of integrity there.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

Well, until you one thing I've admired about you too is not only do you networking, which is something I believe in, but you're a hustler, you're a doer. Uh you you're you take action and get stuff out there. I think um I first called you, you sent me a piece of mail or something that uh because I'm a real estate investor and you just said, hey, I would love to do that. But um I guess how do you marry the two between uh your traditional sales techniques, marketing techniques, and then the relationship building mechanism of the networking?

SPEAKER_00 11:36

That is an excellent question. And I remember the exact day that you called me. I remember exactly where I was in my garage. Um because I did. I sent out mailers, handwritten envelopes to anybody in Larimer and Weld County that owned more than two properties.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Um, and I've discovered with me like if I can, if I can get you in person, if I can talk to you so that we can start to build that relationship, um, it'll be a lot better. But there's another gentleman recently, and I'm trying to win more of his business. Um, but I sent him a mailer and he called me and we chatted for a while on the phone, and he's probably one of the few owners I haven't met face to face. Um because it takes like again with the integrity and the the honesty, and it takes certain people to own rental properties to understand that yes, it is an investment, but it's not just an investment, it's people. Yeah. Like this is somebody's home. This is where they live, this is their safe place. And if you don't want to take care of that, then we're not a good fit. And um I have fired owners.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Um, I have convinced owners to completely sell all of their properties because it was not a good fit for them.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Um but I think it's just getting to know the people and and who they are and what they value and where they're going.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

I um I watched my dad build his business for 40 years from nothing into a multimillion dollar company. Like he's cool. But he always was he always had the mindset of the buck stops here. Like if there is a problem, we are going to fix it, and we're gonna fix it with integrity and as fast as possible. And he did. And people remembered that and still do. It's it's just at the end of the day, money is money, but people are people.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Yeah. Well, when you're in the people business, uh and you know, I'm thinking about relationships, uh, retention of your owners, right? The investors that keep you as their property manager, but also the tenants. And uh vacancy is super expensive, uh, you know, uh for for the owners, for the renters having places open, but um, building those relationships and the rapport for long for the long term is a different approach than just trying to get in another deal and moving on to the next deal. So, what do you do to foster the relationships on both sides?

SPEAKER_00 14:24

I think it goes back again to that honesty aspect. Like I had recently, and I'm not gonna divulge names, I had a young couple that he had some criminal history. She was part of it, but he was the one that got in trouble for it. They were super honest with me about where they were at, what they were doing. Um, and I'm kind of familiar with how some of the government programs work with that. Um and they laid everything out, and I reached out to the owner and I was like, hey, here's the deal. This is where they're at. And he was he was very honest. He goes, We all have a history. He was like, as long as they're gonna move in and pay rent and you know, they're gonna do what they say they're gonna do, I don't care what they did in the past. Um I've also noticed that through networking and the connections with people, um I get mad at myself if I actually have to market a property because I've I've like I have so many different connections, um, different places, like people, ten possible tenants, like I want to rent from you. Like I only want to rent from you. I'm like, okay, I'll let you know when it's vacant. Yeah. Um so it's it's building that rapport, and yeah, so like when I have to actually market something, I'm like because then as soon as it hits online, you know, it it's syndicated on so many different sites, and then my email's blowing up, and then my phone's blowing up, and then I'm like, yeah, stop. I want to know who you are as a person, and then it takes a while. So I don't know if that answered your question. Sorry, I went off on a tangent.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

No, I think that's great. Um, what's the vision for Desperado? I mean, where do you see it growing in the next five to ten years?

SPEAKER_00 16:13

Um, this year our goal is to onboard four more agents. Cool. Um, I want to hit a hundred doors by December, and I still want to keep the real estate portion of what I do rolling too.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

Yeah. So really cool. And so who uh, you know, part of this podcast is you'd be able to ask for connections. And so when you hit big goals, um, sometimes we don't know how we can get there on our own, but then you start to meet somebody else and it it brings it to life because there's somebody else who's taken others the similar journey. So what um either whether it's vendors or other uh partners are you looking to network with that's gonna help you at those goals?

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Um I'm pretty open to anybody.

SPEAKER_02 16:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Um, because there's always somebody that knows somebody else that may know somebody else. I mean, I'm shocked that I didn't meet you prior to said envelope. Yeah like really shocked.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 17:13

Um I can't narrow that down.

SPEAKER_02 17:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

Like I I just enjoy meeting people and you never you never know who's gonna take you to the next level.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Like we all put our pants on one leg at a time, and it doesn't matter if you make $50 million a year or $40 a year. Yeah. Like we're all people and we all have different connections in different ways.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

Yeah. Well, I think people watching this podcast, if one, if they're an investor and they want somebody that's really have a more relational approach representing them, then um, you know, hope they reach out to you. But also if you're an agent that believes in that same thing as well, then be part of this thing that's growing. And um, you know, especially in northern Colorado where it's big but small. It's it's big enough where um, you know, there's still a lot to go around, but it, you know, you gotta everybody knows each other, everybody knows and builds the relationship. So uh Tully, thanks so much for coming on the show. And uh uh one for who you where who you are and uh in northern Colorado, and um uh how can people get a hold of you if they're interested in in reaching out?

SPEAKER_00 18:26

Oddly enough, my cell phone is probably the best. Yeah, that's right. Give it up. Yeah. Um 970-219-1633. Um, I'm a terrible phone talker. They don't like being on the phone, so text me. Okay. Which sounds awful, but I think it's because I'm on the phone so much that it I'm a little hard of hearing in this ear. Um, but yeah, my cell phone's probably the quickest and the fastest. Or if you Google Desperado or Tilly, like here I am.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

There you go. All right. Well, if you're looking for a good experience in Northern Colorado, reach out to Tilly. And uh Tilly, thanks so much again for coming on the show.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Thanks for everything, Andrew. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

Hey all, thanks for watching. I love networking and building relationships with other Northern Colorado business leaders. So if you want to come meet some of these podcast guests, meet me, or meet some other amazing entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado, I would love to have you attend one of our next events. Uh, go in the podcast description. There's the ways so you can see our upcoming schedule. And maybe you could be a future podcast guest as well. Thanks.