Start With A Win

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Vulnerability in Life and in Business Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Brian Reese is the founder and CEO of VA Claims Insider, and he is one of the world's leading experts in veteran benefits. Through his company, he’s helped millions of veterans secure their financial future since 2013. A former active-duty air force officer, Brian deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. A veteran himself who personally struggled with the disability claim system, Brian started a company that coaches veterans through the claim process. Now, he has written the book, You Deserve It: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veteran Benefits You’ve Earned.

Following his last tour in Afghanistan in 2011, Brian faced many mental and physical issues upon his return home. However, he didn’t want to talk about these things which led to some very destructive tendencies. However, it was through this journey that he learned how to open up and be vulnerable. Brian challenges listeners to ask themselves these questions: Are you being the real you? And are you being honest with family and friends?

Brian’s true breakthrough was getting out of his own way by being honest about what he struggled with. Outside of his wife and children, his family and friends didn’t previously know any of his true struggles. But when he started opening up, it was as if he saw his entire life open up. Eventually, other veterans started reaching out and sharing how much they resonated with his struggles and his stories. He watched that vulnerability lead to a movement of veterans helping veterans, paving the way for VA Claims Insider.

Through VA Claims Insider, Brian’s team helps veterans get the benefits they’ve earned for their service. They partner them with an expert coach who will walk with them through the VA disability claims process from beginning to end, ensuring they are never alone and making what’s confusing very simple and easy.

Brian talks about the process of writing his book, You Deserve It: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veteran Benefits You’ve Earned, which sold 10,000 copies in its first month of release! The book details all of the federal and state benefits as well as many other discount programs available to veterans and their families.

The two round out the conversation by talking about Brian’s journey as an entrepreneur and how he carried his military experience into a growing, thriving business. And his two pieces of advice to fellow entrepreneurs? Be a self-motivated self-starter and persevere through adversity by being willing to constantly re-invent yourself.

Episode Links:

https://vaclaimsinsider.com

Free E-Book: You Deserve It: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veteran Benefits You’ve Earned:

https://www.youdeserveitfree.com/freedom1

Order your copy of Start With A Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success:

https://www.startwithawin.com/book

Connect with Adam:

https://www.buffiniandcompany.com/resources/bc/

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430

Post-Pandemic Preparation with Brian Buffini Apr 15, 2020

Show notes

Seeing the size and effectiveness of Buffini and Company now, you would never believe that Brian Buffini stumbled into real estate after a motorcycle accident when he was 19. He tells Adam on this episode of the Start With A Win podcast about that experience and how he built a business around speaking and coaching organically, solely based on the demand for his knowledge and speaking abilities at industry conferences and panels. He was already “on board” with real estate before that point, believing that it is the purest and fairest form of business, but from his first experience connecting with likeminded people at real estate conferences, he knew that this was where he was meant to be.

Brian and his team build their business around a few key beliefs, among them: build relationships for life, be a good person, treat people well, and prioritize personal growth. While the way business is done has changed temporarily because of this pandemic, the foundations remain the same. In fact, Brian says that these abrupt changes are serving as a magnifying glass in our lives, pointing out issues at home, in your business, with your finances, with your health, etc. He says that now is the time to address the changes that need to be made and commit the time and energy to work on those issues while you have the time in front of you.

When it comes to mindset during this time, Brian emphasizes the importance of keeping the right perspective of “this too shall pass” and being flexible. This is the time to reach out to your friends and business associates to check on them and maintain the relationships. This is the time to prepare through training and working on your systems to make sure you are ready to hit the ground running when we get the green light to begin business as usual. In terms of business adjustments, Brian says that those with strong foundations in the fundamentals will win this round and that it is important to utilize technology to enhance the connections with your clients. Don’t sit back and assume that you should be in “maintenance mode” until the pandemic is over. Take advantage of this time to prepare yourself and your business.

Links:

https://www.nar.realtor/coronavirus

https://news.remax.com/

Connect with Brian:

https://www.buffiniandcompany.com/

https://www.brianbuffini.com/

https://www.thebrianbuffinishow.com/

Connect with Adam:

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430

Resolutions for 2020 Jan 01, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to a new year – a new decade – of the Start with a Win podcast! You are already starting 2020 with a win by listening to the show, but hopefully you are also setting your mind to making other positive choices in the new year. There is always a lot of buzz around New Year’s Resolutions, which may be realistic or unrealistic, but Adam wants to challenge the way you think about resolutions and suggest beneficial resolutions to take on.

Be all in – Commit to being all in on every activity you undertake every day by being on time, working hard, expressing gratitude, and being emotionally intelligent. This is not an easy thing to do and you will slip up sometimes, but your personal and professional goals and relationships will see drastic improvement once you make this decision.
Ask more questions – Be curious and genuinely interested in others, not just waiting for them to stop talking so you can have your turn. You can gain so much knowledge by being hungry and humble through the practice of asking questions without judgement.
CICD (continuous integration, continuous delivery) – This is a term that was borrowed from the IT industry which means to make things better and deliver on it. No matter how good you are at something, there is always room for improvement, and resolving to do better can make all the difference.
Be a global leader in your field – For RE/MAX, this means striving to be a global real estate technology leader. View this new year as the beginning of a new chapter in your journey, filled with opportunity just waiting for you to seize it, and then put in the work it takes to reach that goal.
Start with a win – Resolve to start every day with a win, be kind to everyone and share wins with each other.

Adam also responded to an audio question submitted by Mark regarding RE/MAX’s most valuable asset. Adam and the leadership of RE/MAX are very proud to say that the people are the most valuable asset, based on the culture that Dave Liniger created when he founded the company and lived out through the 128,000+ RE/MAX agents around the world who are closing a real estate transaction every 30 seconds as a team.

Connect with Adam:

https://torresteamia.com/

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430

Creating an Attitude of Abundance with Shane Torres Dec 11, 2019

Show notes

Our guest on this episode of the Start with a Win podcast is Shane Torres, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Concepts out of Polk City, Iowa. Shane got into real estate in 2009 after beginning his career as a homebuilder and seeing his business dry up during the recession. He and his wife had to make a lot of tough decisions to take care of their family during that period, and while becoming a real estate agent was a long shot at the time, this career shift has proven to be for the best.

Having gone from the brink of bankruptcy to $20 million in production within three years, Shane has a lot of insights to share with others in the real estate industry and in business in general. He has written a book on the topic and he also operates a coaching business called “The Road to $20 Million” to help his clients find their paths and avoid some of the mistakes that cost Shane precious time and money. He finds this work extremely fulfilling, being able to help his clients obtain a life balance, understanding the importance of both revenue and having a life that will let you enjoy it. One of his key points is to set upfront expectations and communicate honestly with your clients and loved ones about this balance.

The biggest business challenges that Shane has faced and has walked his clients through are mostly related to mindset. If you adjust your mindset to reflect an attitude of abundance by being focused on your “why,” you can set and attain very high goals and set up systems to support you along the way. Shane tells his clients that it is important to work toward their goals one step at a time with consistent effort. Shane starts his days with a win by spending some time listening to podcasts and Bible studies, getting to the gym by 5:00am or 5:30am, answering a few emails, spending time with his family, and then getting his workday started. Shane ended his time with us by dropping a new classic truth bomb: Don’t stoop to stupid.

Connect with Shane:

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXSHANETORRES

https://www.instagram.com/shane.torres/

https://twitter.com/REMAXTorresTeam

https://www.amazon.com/Road-20-Million-Bankruptcy-Multi-Million/dp/0578497816

https://www.roadto20million.com/

Connect with Adam: