Transcription
Hello and welcome to Samuel Leeds Success Stories. I'm your host, Patricia Massuda, and today we are sitting with Simon Dolman.
Hi.
Welcome, Simon.
Well, thank you very much.
Thank you for being here. Um, so if it's okay, just for the viewers, just to give a little bit of um an overview of your experience in property in a nutshell, um, what do you, what, what do you have right now in your portfolio?
Um, so we've got seven Rent to SA across Northampton, Milton Keynes, and now Dartford, recently Dartford. Um, working on a lease option in Northampton and also working on a hotel deal at the moment as well.
Oh my lanta. How long have you been in the academy?
Uh, since August 2024.
Okay. So, just almost. Yeah. Okay. Wonderful. Okay. So, let's, let's talk a little bit about sort of how you got here. Um, so, where did you grow up then?
Uh, Northampton.
Northampton. Okay. Wonderful. Northampton's really pretty. I've been there a few times. Um, so, it's really nice. And so, um, were you, you know, already interested in property? How did you get intro? Like, were your parents in property? How did that work?
They, they've got a couple of properties, but they've never really been sort of in property as, as such. If you, you know, you'd say you'd buy to, to um, renovate and sell on or anything like that. They've not really ever done anything like that. But um, I've always had a massive interest in property. We've always done, you know, I've always helped out with decorating and and stuff within when we've moved house or whatever. Um, but I think when I started networking for, uh, my other business, our other business, the landscaping, I started to meet a lot of people in construction and housing and and property. Um, and property networking was a great source of referrals and things for our landscaping business.
Um, and I saw that and I'd probably been doing that a good sort of eight or nine, 10 years.
Doing landscaping?
Yeah. Landscaping and then the networking that went with it.
Right. Um, and I originally went networking to property networking for the landscaping to get work from the developers or from the the landlords that were that were there. Um, and then decided just to, you know, take the step into property myself.
Um, so what did you do before landscaping? I, I'm always curious how people just start their own businesses like.
Yeah. So, um, uh, before I was in commercial vehicle sales, so sold, um, for two companies. One was HGV's and then one was vans.
Mmm. So sales is always kind of part of your DNA then. Right. Okay. Great. Great. Were you good at it?
I think so.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [laughter] Yeah.
And so then you've been doing sales and you thought I want to own my own business and I like landscaping, so that's where I'm going to go.
Yeah. So, um, my dad, well, my parents had had a landscaping business since 1988.
Oh, wow.
And I got to the stage, I didn't want to work for anybody else. Um, so my brother was at a similar stage. So, we actually set up ourselves. Um, and then a couple of years later, we merged with our parents. Um, and then all ran, you know, as it together.
Ah, that's nice. Family business. And you have another business with a family?
Yes. Self storage. Yeah.
Self storage?
Which is good. That's a relatively new venture as well, but um, seems to be going well. We've got about 50, 50 containers now. Um, and we usually got two or three empty at one point, but, but other than that, yeah, going really well.
Yeah. And are you looking at scaling both of those businesses?
Yeah. So, the, I think the, uh, containers certainly sort of that's fairly, you know, it's a regular income, is very, very much needed. There's a lot of people that either have things to store cars, or um, they're moving house, or they're builders that want to store kit or things like that. The landscaping is steady this time of year. Obviously, um, the winter months are quite quiet. So, where that, where the storage sort of brings in the income constantly, the landscaping is more, you know, the summer's fantastic, the winter's not so much. So, it just, you know, equals out a bit.
And, and self storage, that business must be pretty passive.
Yes. Yeah. Once you've, once you've done, obviously put the foundation down, not foundation, but made sure everything is in place and where you need it, it is fairly, um, you know, electric gate, cameras, so you've got fairly, it's a fairly hands-off. Yeah.
Yeah. Cool. And then property. So, how did you even find Samuel Leeds? How did that come onto your radar?
It was my wife actually. So, she, I think she found him on either TikTok or or YouTube or something like that and and knew I was interested in in doing something. Um, and she said, "Right, we're going to go to a crash course."
So we booked on one in London.
It all starts at the crash course.
Yes. Yeah.
How was it?
Um, yeah, really good. Yeah. Yeah. We went, uh, obviously it was for a day, but we made a day and an evening of it. So we went out for dinner afterwards. But, um, yeah, we had a, a really good time. It was quite, the thing I liked about it compared to other sort of property things I've seen and and been to was that Sammy was very much involved. Um, his enthusiasm, he was just there. He was ringing people, you know, calling, um, landlords, agents, showing people exactly what they needed to do. Um, and that made a big difference. So, um, after lunch, I signed up for the [laughter] uh, the deal selling. It was the, the four-day deal selling course. Yeah.
Okay. Perfect. And, you know, Samuel does that. He'll just hop on his computer. He just did that at, uh, on the Sunday night mastermind. He was talking to somebody and he just shares his screen. He hops onto Rightmove and he starts looking at properties in the area that the person was asking about. And just like that, like he can just, you know, really suss out the information very quickly. That's why we have things like Deal Glance now, right?
Um, okay. So then how was the, the, the four-day course? Which, which one was it? Dealing.
Uh, deal setting. Yeah.
Okay. And what were your expectations going in? And then what were your impressions afterwards?
Um, I was really excited. You know, it's, um, I've, like the idea of being able to sort of immerse myself in it, if that makes sense, and just really get involved. Um, and obviously it started, you know, Samuel came out and, and it went from there. It was really good. Met some really good people. Friends with, I'm still friends with now. Um, and the, the community around it all is just, it's quite incredible. Yeah.
Oh, well, that's great. Did you sell any deals?
Um, I didn't. Um, I'd got a, a service accommodation deal from that week. Not.
I hear that all the time. Yeah.
So, that was my first. So, it was through somebody I, I already knew, but I just told everybody what I was doing. Yeah. Um, and sort of, so by, so that was August. I think that was the 8th of August or the 4th to the 8th, something like that. And by September, first week in September, I took my first Rent to SA on.
Amazing.
Wow. And what was that like? Did you, did you kind of know what you were doing setting up an SA? Because you just did the deal selling course. So, yes.
What do you know about SAs?
So, yes and no. I, I, I'd done a bit of research, but not full. But the mentors and everything helped me. Sort of, um, get everything in place and, and push through. And it was, I was quite lucky in the fact that it was a deal that it had already been running as an SA. I'd already got some figures and showed what it, you know, what it had done and it was all staged and almost ready to go. And in fact, I took it on and I think within a week, we'd got somebody there that stayed for three or four months.
Come on. So yeah.
Oh my gosh.
Why would the landlord, if they already had it set up in SA, why would they hand it over to you?
I think they were just moving into different things. Um, they just didn't want, they didn't want single units here, there, and everywhere. They wanted, you know, blocks perhaps and, and that was, you know, that was what they wanted to do. So, yeah, exactly.
Um, great. So you picked up your first Rent to SA. Do you still have it now?
Yes.
Great. How many SAs do you have in total now?
Uh, seven.
Seven. Okay. What are you cash flowing from your SAs?
Um, so we turn over about, I think, 13 and a half a month.
Oh wow. Um, okay.
Yeah. So profit about three and a half, four, something like that.
Okay, great. And, um, do you deal sell as well on the side?
I haven't. It's something I'd like to sort of move into. Um, but I'm, I feel that, um, with what I'm doing now and I'm just bringing in the management side of it. So I'm starting to manage for other people as well, SAs for other people. Um, that's my, you know, way forward at the moment. If something, you know, comes across to me that I, I'm not in the position to take on or or anything and it is a good deal. So, I feel that, you know, it has to be a good deal for you in order for you to to sell it. Yeah. Um, then I will look at that. But nothing, you know, it's not that's not arisen yet. So,
Um, so then you're going to look at bringing in clients and and managing their properties.
Yes. Yeah.
Great. And you specialize in sort of the Milton Keynes, Northampton area.
Yeah. So Milton Keynes, Northampton, and Kettering. And then we've just, I've just done a JV and taken a Rent to SA in Dartford. So that's the, so having we staged it on Tuesday, having photos done on Saturday. Wow. So.
Wow. Isn't that incredible?
Yeah.
So what, what's your end goal? Like, what, where, at what point are you like, okay, that's that's enough.
Um, I've not thought about that yet, to be honest. [laughter] I've, um, too early, right? Yeah. And I, I enjoy it. So, as long as I enjoy it, and as long as, um, it continues the way it is, then, you know, I've not set a sort of end goal.
Yeah.
Um, I just, you know, it's just great fun.
And so this lease option,
Mhm.
hotel.
Yeah.
What's that? How did that happen?
Yeah. So there's, there's two. So the lease option is a, is a house in Northampton. Um, it got brought to me from an agent I know. Mmm. Um, basically the, the owner lives abroad. Um, didn't know whether they wanted to sell or to rent. They'd previously had bad tenants, which really put them off, I think. Um, so I kind of, you know, broached the subject, is this a possibility? You know, would they look at this? It's a quite a nice house. Um, you know, offer them a certain amount and pay them in five years' time and then pay them a monthly rent. Um, the property hasn't got a mortgage, so they didn't need to worry about that.
Yeah.
Um, but they just wanted a bit of income. And when I showed them what I've done, you know, the properties I've got, I've got a website, so I can direct people to the website to see the kind of, you know, the spec and everything of the properties to make sure, you know, and they're really pleased. Um, so that's going through legals at the moment.
Um, and then, yeah, a hotel that I'm working on with a JV partner. Um, it's been a little while. We've been working on it a little while. I feel we're, we're close to to breaking through. Um, but yeah, um, someone basically has been in, been in the hotel trade for some time and wants to retire. Um, so there's an opportunity there. We've just got a, we've offered a couple of different options to them. Um, so we'll see what they come back with.
Great. Love a lease option. Um, okay, wonderful. And so I read that, um, your daughter is also one of your investors.
Yes. Yeah. So she put some money in for one of our Rent to SA in Kettering. Yeah. She's quite interested in it.
Yeah.
Um, so I thought, what, what better way than to get her involved. So, um, she comes along and she helps when she, she can. So, um, and she works within the conveyancing industry. So she's got an understanding of, of that.
Yeah. Um, so she's a paralegal within the conveyancing.
That's so good. And so then you can combine your forces and actually, if you scale large enough, and you can just pass it over to her and then you can focus on the bigger deals.
She can take care of running the, the management of those properties and continue to scale that part of it. That's great. So you're truly an entrepreneur. Did you know that you were going to be have your hands in different businesses at a young age or like, when did you discover that this is what you were good at?
I think I've always, even at school, I'd be taking a bag full of cans of Coke and chocolate bars and and things. Yeah. [laughter] Always. And, yeah, perhaps shouldn't say, but cigarettes maybe.
Oh my god.
I've never smoked myself, but, um, yeah, you know, and, yeah, so I could always, I've always been able to to sell and to turn my hands to things that, you know, seem to make a, make a profit. Um, and I think one, one of the main things is people. You got to be a people person. Yeah.
Um, and you've got to, there's got to be a win-win as well. Win-win situation for everyone involved. Um, it doesn't matter what you do, you've got to make sure that everybody is is winning. Yeah.
Yeah. It's so true. I think I, so I've heard this selling candy at the schools, um, from many people in the UK who are in the academy, and I think Samuel did it too, right?
Yes.
Yeah. And I, I've never heard of this in Canada.
Um, which is crazy, but, you know, when I was in high school, I, um, I used to organize parties. I remember I would, I went to the local ski chalet, rented out their party room when I think I was 16.
Yeah.
And I sold tickets. So, this is back in the 80s, I think, right? Or maybe early 90s. Sold tickets. Um, you know, had one of my friends working the door. Had pop in the, you know, in the restaurant area and, and my brother DJed and, uh, I made a lot of money. It's crazy, isn't it? Like when you're at such a young age and you're just thinking, how can I turn a profit, right? How can I take something and make money from it?
And give value at the same time?
I think with the thing with the school, sort of the sweets and the chocolate and, and things. The school had a tuck shop, but they wouldn't sell anything that the children actually wanted.
Oh, no. [laughter] So they sell Nutri-Grain bars and, and the healthy stuff, which is fine. It's probably the, the right way to do it, but people didn't want that, right?
So, um, so yeah.
You gave them what the people wanted.
Exactly. [laughter] Yeah.
Okay, great. All right. So then you're going to, um, do some of these bigger hotel deals. Um, can I ask you about your inner circle?
Yes. Yeah, of course.
Yeah. So, I was really excited when you came to me with, um, David Harrison and, um, Charlie Langley and you're like, "We want to start an inner circle in Milton Keynes." And I'm like, "That feels really close to Northampton." Um, but you proved me wrong. You were like, "No, you guys are having, you know, a great inner circle in Milton Keynes." I went to your launch. Um, how has that experience been being, being a leader, right?
Yeah, it's been really good actually. Um, I think giving back, you know, even if it's just in small parts, is really good. Um, and we've, we've, I think averaged, I think the launch we had 40 odd people and then between 25 and 35 at each event since. Um, I think the main thing, get a good speaker. Um, and people will come. And we tend to meet a bit early so we can, people can have a drink and talk beforehand, and then afterwards, we're there until the place closes. So, great. And it's, uh, yeah, it's proven really good.
You're at this one in?
Yes, that's it. Milton Keynes. Yeah, that's nice. And you've organized your year-end event as well at Moratti's Pizzeria, so that's going to be a lot of fun too. I wish I could go to all of these.
Yeah. No, it should be good. It's a, it's a, it's a lovely restaurant as well.
That's good.
They, they do some good cocktails as well. So, you know, if anyone wants to come along and,
Nice.
and, uh, drink those, that's fine.
That's great. Um, [snorts] so what are the things that you've learned being a leader in the inner circle? Did you think it was what it ended up being?
Um, yeah, I think, I think, you know, very similar. I mean, there was a, you know, when we inquired and this is, you know, this is what we need to do, this is what is expected, and it's very similar to that. Um, you know, and everyone's got their own job role. Um, you work as a team, but you also work on your own to make sure that everything gets done so that when we get there, there's no sort of nothing missing, no stressing about, and yeah, so it's been, been really good.
Yeah. And I think between specifically between the three of you guys, you're all hustling your asses off for property too, right? So, you're supporting each other. You're keeping each other accountable and, um, and and that's what I really like to see as well, that you're not just inner circle leaders there to network and have a good social time, that you guys are working hard as well on your businesses.
Uh, which is great because that's what, that's what we want to show as an example, right? Um, of leadership. Perfect. So, you've been in the academy for almost a year and a half. What are your favorite things that Samuel's come out with over this time?
Um, I, I think the, one of the, the main things I've enjoyed is the inner circle. I know we've just spoken about it, but I've really enjoyed going around to as many as I can. I've not got to too many yet, but I'm planning on trying to get round and I've spoken at, at one, um, which was really quite good fun.
Which one did you speak at?
Um, up in, now I'm going to forget. [laughter] It was with Max and Freya.
Oh, Chester.
Chester. That's it.
Yeah. Chester's a really pretty town, isn't it?
It is lovely. Yeah. I went up, um, it was funny because I went up beforehand and I went into the gym because I'm a member of Nuffield.
Oh, you know I'm going tomorrow to the spa nearby.
And there's a Nuffield gym. Yeah. Um, in five minutes away from the golf course where they have the, uh, the inner circle. And I'd gone into the gym. I'd gone in for a sauna, steam room, and I sat in the sauna and there's a lady there and I got talking, um, and she, we, are you here? I said, I'm here to speak at an event about property. She goes, "Oh, I've got an empty property." And we started talking and to be fair, nothing's come of it, but she was looking for someone to insure it because she's been away from it for a little while. So I put her in touch with, um, a broker that we use to see if that could help, but it was actually in Milton Keynes as well. So it was really, really strange.
That's the universe working, man.
And I went, and because Max and Freya, both of them go to that gym, um, and I said, uh, you've been in the sauna recently? Because I said that's where you need to be networking.
[laughter] [gasps]
Yeah, they're too, they're working out on their bodies and looking at the mirror and it's like, you got to do some deals in the sauna with the ladies. [laughter]
Oh, that's great. And, you know, like you said, there's opportunities everywhere, right? Like it's incredible. Anybody who you speak to, you just have no idea. Like, you know, John Simpson talks about how he had met this older gentleman in Aldi, um, and just help him, helping him get get his groceries and get him out of Aldi, and from that he's now 10 properties, no money in from that one interaction. And, yeah, it's incredible. Um, how do you get out there and meet new people then?
Yeah, I mean, I, I try to get to as many networking events as possible. Um, and I actually think the, the events that are sort of targeting non-property professionals are the are the best ones to be at because you've perhaps got, um, you know, some landlords there that have got a business, but they're not really into property. They've just got properties. You can speak to them. Um, there's no one else there looking for the same thing as you. Um, and I've found a lot of, a lot of my inquiries and, and my SAs have come via networking from, from elsewhere. Um,
How do, how does one find networking events? Do you just Google?
Yeah, so I mean, you can Google it. Um, I mean, I'm a member of BNI. Um, so within that, I know Samuel was as well. So, um, that's been really good. So I'm a member for the landscaping, but opportunities arise because people know what you do. You talk to people, tell people, make sure they know what you do. And then they'll say, or someone will say, "Oh, I'm going to another networking, um, group next week, or I'm going to an event on Friday. Do you want to come with me?" And then you kind of, you build it from there. There are places online that you can go and, um, just put networking in Northampton, for instance, and, and it will come up. Um, but I've found the non-property networking, um, sort of events to be really, really good.
Non-property. I love that because then you're meeting a group of people. Everybody's got properties on the side, right? So you're going to find, um, somebody who's going to need your services.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah. Yeah. And that's exactly what I've found. So, I've found landlords that, you know, they've got a successful business, and they've used that money to then buy property, right? But they don't necessarily, they're not that interested in the property. They just know that that's the way, you know, to amass money by putting it into property. Um, so, yeah, so then you have a conversation about, you know, management or where you want to take it on as a, as a Rent to SA or whatever, and that's how it's, yeah, come about.
Give me, let's hear your pitch for Rent to SA.
[Sighs] To be honest, I don't, I know this sounds silly, I don't go in and and pitch.
Uhhuh.
I, I kind of say what I do.
Oh.
Um, without sort of saying, "I want your property," you know. And I never know who's got property or who hasn't at that stage. It's more of a, "This is what I do. This is how I help landlords. This is how I can help landlords like, and this is the benefits to them." Um, so I go more like that. Um, and that I found that to be really quite helpful. You kind of, you know, I always find, you know, if you're looking for an investor, for instance, you, you don't say, "Will you invest in this?" You say, "Do you mind just having a look at this? What do you think?"
Right.
And then if they are interested, they will tell you. And, and there's no, you know, they don't feel awkward if they turn it down because you're not actually offering them anything.
Yes.
So if they're interested, they'll say, "Actually, I might be interested in that." Um, it's just, it's a nicer way to do it.
It is a nicer way, too. And like you said, there's no pressure of like, you know, do you want to buy it? Especially if you know them personally. It takes that awkwardness out of the conversation and it's up to them if they want it or not, right? And they know that it's, it's there for looking for an opportunity for somebody.
Um, okay. So, I, we assume everybody knows what Rent to Rent is, but if you can just give us an explanation and why it would benefit a landlord.
Yeah, of course. Yeah. So, uh, a Rent to Rent basically is you find a property that works for, in my, in this instance, service accommodation. Um, so in an area with strong demand. Look for somewhere with hotels because if there's a hotel there, then they've already done their market research. You know, they, they know that that area works. They wouldn't spend all that money on a hotel if it didn't work in that area.
Um, so then benefits for a landlord. Um, they are guests, you know, our, our guests are guests, so they can, they can't overstay their welcome. If they've paid four nights, four nights is when they stay. So, they can be, you know, I've never had to do it, but you can remove them, or physically do. I guess someone else do.
Yeah.
Um, but, um, I don't think anybody wants to have a knock at the door from you, but you, but you can. You know, it's a lot safer than your ASBOs because if someone stops paying, um, they stop paying, and it goes, it goes to court. Um, and then they say they've got to pay, but they don't pay. Yeah. You know, that can go on for months, for a long time. Maybe even years.
Yeah. It goes on for a long time. And it's all legal. They're protected.
Yeah. And, and nine times out of 10, the council haven't got anywhere to put them.
Mhm.
So they say, "We'll wait until you're evicted, then we'll find you somewhere."
Yeah.
So, and it's really, it's hard, I think, on landlords when they're in that situation.
Yeah.
Because if they've only got, say, one or two properties that, you know, they think, well, I'm going to have that as a pension. A bit of, you know, a bit of money coming in each month, but at the end of the day, that's probably not a lot of money coming in each month, depending on what it is. Mhm.
Um, it doesn't take many months to actually for it not to work.
Yeah.
You know, um, people stop paying and there's still, they're not going to not allow you to pay the mortgage.
Mhm.
You know, they're going to pursue you for the mortgage, um, whether they pay you the rent or not.
Yeah. What are the benefits to doing Rent to Rent and what are some possible pitfalls?
Um, so the benefits as I see you, the property is kept in tip-top condition. People have got to want to stay there. Um, so you have to make sure that the maintenance is up to date. Um, we have cleaners in. So if, if we're on a longer-term booking, um, if people, we have mid-stay cleans, so people go in, cleaners go in, they make sure that everything is as it should be. Mmm. Um, they check everything, you know, they go through, make sure all the plates and, and everything are there. So if anything's broken, it's replaced. The property needs to be, you know, looking good. It needs to be painted regularly. Make sure it's, it's a nice place for people to stay because you're competing against hotels, although you give more than hotels because you've got somewhere they can watch television together if there's a group of people there working, or, you know, they can cook their own meal. Um, they haven't got to share hotel rooms or, I'm in room 326, or I'm in 121, or what. So you're not miles away. Um, and I think people, you know, from what I've spoken to contractors, they get fed up of having to eat out every night. It sounds great, doesn't it, to go and eat out every night, but I would hate it for some people.
Okay.
But, um, but in reality, when you're working somewhere for three, four, five weeks,
Yeah.
you want somewhere that you can almost call home.
Yeah. Um, and that's, that's what it does. I mean, I suppose the pitfalls, you know, things that can happen, um, we've not had it happen, touch wood, um, is parties and things like that. But having said that, we don't allow one-night bookings.
Yeah.
Um, last minute bookings generally, we don't allow. Um, and also we make sure that we have documents to say who the person is. We have a deposit. Um, and the likes of Airbnb also have an insurance that if anything does happen, yeah, um, will pay sort of towards the damage.
Yeah.
Um, but I think there's a lot, you know, there's, there's not as many cons as there are pros with it.
Yeah, that's true. I had some big, um, service accommodations and I've seen my fair share of parties, but you charge accordingly and it's all part of the business, right?
Yeah. I mean, there's some people out there that target hen nights and stag nights and they know that that's going to be a party. You know, you know that, um, and you allow for it, and then you have the appropriate furniture in place, right? You know that, that, you know that things are going to get broken, so you allow for that and you make sure that, you know, whereas with what we deal with more with contractors or, you know, people working in the area.
Yeah.
You don't really get any of that. I heard contractors are such great guests because if something is fix is like, is broken. If like a, a door handle is a little bit loose, they'll just fix it. They won't even call you. They'll be like, "It's fine."
Only last week, we had a, um, the boiler in one of the properties was losing pressure.
Uhhuh.
The person that was staying there was a plumber.
Oh, amazing.
So, [laughter] so between getting our plumber out, yeah, and them losing pressure, he'd been in and and topped it up so that they still had heating and everything. So, you know, so and they're really, they want a nice comfy bed, somewhere they can eat, somewhere they can, um, have a couple of drinks, watch television in the evening, and then they're out to work again at 7, 8 o'clock in the morning. So, then they're not there during the day. Um, yeah, it works really well. I'm curious to know, um, having multiple businesses and a family, how, how much percentage of your time is spent where? Like, how much time do you spend on property, landscaping, and storage and family?
So, um, I suppose business-wise, the landscaping takes up the most time. Um, it's a very, you physically have to be there. Okay. Um, I am hands-on to a certain extent, not so much now. Um, but you've still got, and there's still jobs I enjoy doing. So I quite like, you know, going to do them. So that probably takes up majority of of my week, working week. Uh, the, the storage side, my brother deals with a lot of it. Um, so I just come in with some of the, you know, some of the bits that need doing. Um, but that's fairly, once you've done some of that, once, you don't need to do it again. Mhm. So, that's not too bad. And then the property, my wife helps me with it as well. Um, with, you know, if I can't reply to guests or, or whatever, she's got it on on her phone. Um, if she's able to, she can. Um, so that, you know, and then obviously family time. So,
Um,
which,
I, I do, you know, I'm, I'm very lucky that, um, I've got a very supportive wife and family.
Um, because she allows me to do what I need to do to build for the for the family, right?
Um, so I'm quite, quite often networking, you know, three or four times a week perhaps in the evenings. Not always. Not, you know, um, I'll come down to Heathrow for the, the dinner.
Mhm.
And I'm probably one of the last people to leave because I feel that that is where you build the connections and, and everything. And, um, so yeah, so quite often I'm, I'm out a couple of times a week, but then, you know, weekends I try to, um, put aside for for family life and, and doing, you know, bits with the children and, and getting out and about.
If you had, you know, like, if you reached your financial freedom goals, um, not if, when, when you reach your financial freedom goals, um, what does life look like for you at that point? What would you be doing with your time?
Um, I think spending more time with my family, so wife, children, um, going away more. Uh, we've got five.
Oh my gosh. What?
Yeah. Four. Four girls and a boy.
Oh my gosh.
Okay. Yeah. Now I know why you work so hard. Okay. [laughter]
Yeah. [gasps]
Wow. Five kids. Okay. Okay.
Um, so yes, more time with a wife and kids. Okay.
Yeah. Um, going away more. We love sort of traveling.
Where do you travel to right now?
Um, so all sorts, really. We've been, um, Montenegro. Went to, not last year. I, that's a really nice country. Um, Italy. We did a week or so in Italy traveling from the north to the south.
Oh, wow. Oh, that's so nice.
Yeah. Um, trying to think where else we've been recently. We've been, um, like Fuerteventura, Tenerife. Um,
Yeah.
You like the hot, sunny places. [snorts]
Yeah. I mean, I, I used to when I was younger, didn't like the heat.
No.
But now,
Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's definitely, I much prefer to for it to be hot.
Oh, yeah.
I need a beach in my life as soon as I get a visa in my hands, I'm on the first plane out to any beach.
[laughter]
Ah, that's so nice. And, you know what Samuel says? Property is a vehicle, right? So it's a vehicle to get to where we want to be, what we want to do with our lives, how we want to spend our time, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
Perfect. Are your kids interested in property as well?
Um, so obviously the eldest is, um, the, the sort of, the three in the middle are an age, they're not really interested in much. [laughter]
How old are they?
Um, 9, uh, 12 and 13.
Okay. Um, so, and then, um, our youngest is four.
Oh.
So, but he really enjoys getting stuck in with a hammer.
So, um, so I think he'll, I think he'll follow me around and,
Your mini-me.
Yeah. Yeah. [laughter] Yeah.
Oh, that's so nice. They must be so proud of you. Um, did you tell them that you're going to be, that you're getting filmed today for an interview? Oh, that's going to be good. You're going to have to make some popcorn the night it comes out, right? And enjoy it with your family. Um, that's wonderful. Do you have any, you know, inspirational words for our viewers of, you know, maybe mindset or how to get into property?
Yeah. I think for a long time, I was worried about what other people thought.
Ah.
Um, and I got to the stage where, you know, what people think about me is their, what their problem. It's, it's not mine, in a nice way.
Yeah.
You know, um, and I think a lot of people put things off because they worry about what people think. And I think you've just got to do it. Tell people, you know, what you're doing. Um, just get on with it and just meet as many people as you can. Help as many people as you can because the more people you help, it just, it comes back in in strange ways.
It's 100% true. You're right. That's a, that's exactly what Samuel says, too. He's like, just give value. Don't try to sell a deal, you know, don't try to get a Rent to Rent. Just give loads of value. Yeah. Wonderful. Great advice. Well, thank you very much, Simon. If somebody wanted to reach out to you, how would they do that?
Um, so Instagram is probably the best way. Simon Dolman Property.
At Simon Dolman Property. Perfect.
So that's that'll probably be the best way.
Excellent. And if they wanted to come to your inner circle in Milton Keynes, and they could reach out for a guest pass.
Yeah, come and come along. Yeah, reach out for a guest pass. I'll get them booked on and, um, our next meeting is in the new year now. But, uh, but yeah.
Who do you have booked in to speak?
I'm not sure actually. I'm not sure who we've got yet. Um, but we're hoping to get someone to talk about some lease options.
Yes.
That's what we want to talk about. Scott Lions, Damen Cheeseman. There's loads of people doing lease options. Wonderful. Well, thank you very much, Simon. Um, that was a great interview. So, if you would like to see more of these kinds of interviews with amazing people like my good friend Simon, then please do like, subscribe, and comment and share, and more of these, um, videos will get in front of more eyes and we can keep giving you lots of value. See you next Sunday. Thanks very much, Simon.
Thank you.