Episode #3: Behind REtipster Who Is Seth Williams?
Episode Release Date: 2/17/2025
Links & Resources
📜Summary
In this conversation, Travis King interviews Seth Williams, a successful land investor, blogger and educator, who shares his journey from a traditional banking job to becoming a full-time investor and content creator. Seth discusses the impact of his early experiences, particularly his appearance on Bigger Pockets, and how it shaped his career. He delves into the challenges of land investing, the importance of education, and the evolution of his blog, REtipster. The conversation also touches on the launch of his podcast and the unexpected success of his Storytime podcast for kids, highlighting the balance between family life and entrepreneurship. In this conversation, Seth Williams and Travis King discuss the rapid passage of time in parenting, the importance of documenting family moments, and the evolution of Seth's real estate ventures. They explore the transition from land investing to self-storage, the significance of partnerships, and the intricacies of financing and feasibility studies. The discussion also touches on operational insights, revenue projections, and the balance between family life and business. Finally, they emphasize the value of in-person networking and the impact of their work on others.
💣Value Bombs
💣Growth can't occur without stepping out of your comfort zone
💣The transition from a day job to full-time investing requires careful planning
💣Continuous learning and adaptation are key to long-term success.
📝Show Notes
Seth's blog gained popularity with a podcast appearance on Bigger Pockets.
The importance of stepping out of your comfort zone for growth.
Education in real estate can be valuable, despite initial skepticism.
Consistency in content creation leads to eventual success.
Seth's blog started as a way to document lessons learned in land investing.
The transition from a day job to full-time investing requires careful planning.
Family life and entrepreneurship can coexist with the right mindset.
Investing in education can save time and prevent costly mistakes.
The land investing niche offers unique opportunities for motivated sellers.
Parenting has distinct chapters that come with unique challenges.
Documenting family moments creates lasting memories.
Partnerships can amplify success in business ventures.
Self-storage investments require a different mindset than land investing.
Feasibility studies are crucial for informed decision-making.
Operational costs in self-storage are relatively fixed after setup.
Time freedom allows for more family engagement and spontaneity.
In-person networking provides insights that online interactions cannot.
Building a business requires balancing risk and opportunity.
Continuous learning and adaptation are key to long-term success.
🗨️Quotes
Travis King: "The first time I heard of flipping land and lots, in volume, as a business model was when I heard you on Bigger Pockets, Seth."
Seth Williams: "Once I started putting this stuff on the internet about what I knew about land, I also discovered Bigger Pockets very quickly thereafter because they were a huge presence in the real estate space."
Travis King : "Good thing you said yes, man, because not just for your own growth and your own brand, but the people you help, the people that have found land from as a result of you."
Seth Williams: "Even today, I still feel this weird sense of guilt when I ask for money for anything, which is ridiculous."
Travis King: "You need to ask for money because when you give things away, unfortunately, it attracts non-action takers."
Seth Williams: "My first real serious job out of college was in the banking industry. I worked for a small company that we did, SBA 504 Loans."
Seth Williams: "I had discovered a guy, Pat Flynn, at smartpassiveincome.com, and has nothing to do with the real estate, but I just saw what he was doing for what he was teaching."
Seth Williams: "That was in early 2016 is when I officially pulled the plug on that. I probably could have done it sooner, but I was just scared."
Travis King: "I would be in the office trying to work on my computer, and he would waddle in there with a lightsaber and be like, Dad, let's play swords."
Seth Williams: "This was 2009. That's when I sent out my first mail campaign."
Seth Williams: "There's an outside party that goes and evaluates the market and how much existing supply there is of self-storage the demand for it and the pricing."
Seth Williams: "That does change things. Yeah, in my situation, they're looking at the point in time when I've finished construction, but nobody's moved it yet."
Seth Williams: "The annual net income would be about $100,000 on this thing. Once it is completely built out, phase two, it's more like $150, $170,000 per year."
Travis King: "For me, the big change was going full-time was just now being able to make these decisions."
Seth Williams: "I don't know anybody who's been through your courses and your coaching that hasn't been like, whoa, I learned a ton from that."
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Travis King Bio
Travis King: From Blue-Collar Beginnings to Financial Freedom
Travis King grew up in rural Montana in a hardworking, blue-collar family. Despite barely graduating high school and briefly attending college without direction, Travis embarked on a career as a contractor, working tirelessly across the western United States. Even while grinding through 12-hour days, six or seven days a week, his entrepreneurial spirit never faded. From flipping cars, campers, and mobile homes to mystery shopping, Travis pursued side hustles to scratch the entrepreneurial itch, but none moved the needle in his life until he found his breakthrough.
While listening to a Bigger Pockets podcast episode about land flipping, Travis was captivated by the idea of investing in land, which offered less hassle and greater profitability compared to traditional real estate. Though initially stuck in "paralysis by analysis," his wife, Becca, gave him the nudge he needed, saying, “Stop talking about it and do it I support you".
That support ignited the momentum to jump into land flipping. But Travis quickly realized the business lacked scalability. Overwhelmed by spreadsheets and leads from direct mail campaigns, he saw that manual processes weren’t enough to handle the avalanche of opportunities coming his way. Recognizing the need for a streamlined approach, Travis and Becca began focusing on building efficient systems and processes to scale their business effectively.
Through determination, innovation, and leveraging modern tools, they transformed their land flipping venture into a scalable success. Eventually, their efforts paid off so well that it cost them money for Travis to stay at his job. Honoring his long-held dream, he quit his job and became a full-time entrepreneur. Today, Travis and his wife, Becca King, are co-founders of four thriving businesses: a land investing company, an educational company, a funding company, and a software company. While Travis is the visionary with a high school education (and a knack for big ideas), Becca brings balance to the partnership as the COO of all their businesses, leveraging her M.B.A and academic expertise to keep operations running smoothly. Together, they complement each other perfectly Travis dreaming up the future and Becca ensuring the foundation is rock-solid.
The Kings live in sunny Arizona with their four active boys and have been happily married since 2006. As proud Christians, they credit their faith as the cornerstone of their success and purpose.
Travis is also the author of the best-selling book The Land Investors Playbook: A Powerful Gameplan to Scale to 7-Figures and Beyond, where he shares the strategies that helped him achieve financial freedom. Their work has empowered countless others to transform their lives, and their story is a testament to the power of teamwork, perseverance, and faith in a brighter future. When Travis isn’t running businesses or coaching others, he enjoys being a hands-on dad, embarking on family adventures, and living out his faith. Together, Travis and Becca prove that with determination, a clear vision, and the right partnership, success truly knows no limits!
