Mastering the Inner Game: Ben Reinberg’s $500M Real Estate Empire Built on Mindset & Relationships

Speaker 0

In this episode, we get the chance to chat with Ben Reinberg of Alliance CGC, a, commercial real estate company. Ben is clearly a humble guy. I tried over and over to pull out more and more of his accomplishments, and I think, you know, he he just he's so humble and just wants to give back, and he and he just he's not all about bragging. So that that's clear. But the fact is you should listen to this guy. He's been able to build a five hundred million dollar real estate portfolio, in a lot of different real estate niches. Specifically, we talk a lot about the medical office space in commercial real estate, but also, about his book that's coming out. And as the time that this airs, as of the airing of this show, his book will be just about out, if not already released. I love the the focus in this discussion on inner work and how, you know, Ben opens up about doing therapy and meditate at least meditation and reflection, many, many years ago before it was before it was considered cool, to be honest with you. You know, he's been at this commercial real estate game for over thirty years. I think he's, fifty five years old and has just built a a massive real estate empire, but so much of this discussion focuses on the inner work and the inner person and, listening and empathy and the importance of people and relationships. He gives a a really fascinating way that his company has approached, navigating, and managing and working with its employees. I think he has about seventy five employees currently. But just the focus on people and understanding those people's strengths and working with the his employees and viewing them as as more than just a number. I really I really enjoy that aspect of this conversation. Another key nugget, and then I'll let you let you listen for yourself, Was the focus that we had on pivoting? How how to know when to pivot? Whether to focus more on external market conditions, whether to focus more on your internal, how you're feeling about what you're doing, and how to actually to pivot when you decide it's time to pivot in your, in your real estate career, in your entrepreneurial ventures, or in your life in general. So this is definitely one I'm gonna listen to for sure. There's a ton of ton of awesome practical knowledge as well as inspiration. I hope you enjoy it. 

Speaker 1

From adversity to abundance, hosted by entrepreneur and seasoned real estate investor, Jamie Bateman, is the ultimate guide for active and passive investors seeking clarity, mental fitness, and the confidence to make inspired decisions in the world of real estate. With a decade plus of investing experience across various niches and a background as a combat veteran, former army officer, and multimillion dollar mortgage note company owner, Jamie brings a wealth of knowledge and inspiring stories to each episode. Through weekly episodes featuring insightful interviews with industry leaders and solo explorations of mindset and strategy, listeners will uncover actionable advice and tips to overcome challenges and build lasting financial success. Whether you're a seasoned investor or just starting, from adversity to abundance is your road map to turning obstacles into opportunities and achieving financial freedom. 

Speaker 0

Welcome, everybody, to another episode of the From Adversity to Abundance podcast. I am your host, Jamie Bateman, and I'm pumped today to have with us Ben Rhineberg. Ben is the founder and CEO of Alliance CGC. Ben, how are you doing today? 

Speaker 2

I'm good, Jamie. Thank you so much for, having me on your show. I look forward to, having a great conversation and and adding a lot of knowledge to your audience. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. I know that's gonna happen for sure. You've been in the the real estate investing game for thirty thirty plus years, and, you've seen a lot of ups and downs. And I know from both a a professional standpoint and a personal standpoint, you've you've experienced a lot of different, you know, market conditions and market cycles and and personal adversity and personal abundance. Before we jump back into your your backstory, talk to the listener for a minute about the abundance that you're living in now and what you have going on today. Who are you today, and what are you up to? 

Speaker 2

Well, when I started back in my early twenties, I wasn't the same man I am now. And so I wanna know that I have just like you above. If you're younger and you're listening to it, you're above. Even if you're my age or a little bit younger, you're always above. The work doesn't stop. And I try to tell that to people. It's like, even though I've been wildly successful, the work doesn't stop. I continue with personal development. I work on myself, my communication. I work on my writing. Communication equals wealth. I say that frequently. It's because it's something I constantly work on as Mhmm. And, also, I work on, my emotions, managing them. Yeah. And I do all those different things on top of, you know, developing my continued expertise in commercial real estate technology, you name, as our industry and business grows in commercial real estate. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

And so when I started my career, I started with a blue suit and shoe leather, leather shoes, and raising equity and finding deals was a local and regional business in commercial real estate. There wasn't this thing called the Internet. Mhmm. We all use microfiche and encyclopedias and shaking people's hands and doing deals on the back of a napkin, and your word was your bond, and that's how it worked when I was younger. And I really miss those days and enjoyed that side of the business. It it's our business is a really relationship driven business, which I love about it. And it gives me an advantage because, Jamie, I like to pick up the phone. And a lot of people in this day, I like to text and email, and I think that's wonderful. But I'm more of a phone person when people get to know me. And with that being said, I was able to buy assets, raise equity, create success at a very young age with a lot of hard work and shoe leather and persistence and and resilience. Not not not everything goes as planned. Yeah. I built millions of square feet of office industrial. Twenty years ago on my three decade career, I pivoted into medical office, one of the leaders in medical office. And so I'm good at pivoting and listening to the market, listening to our investors, and understanding what the character of capital in the marketplace needs. And so, I've changed. I've changed, and how I build abundance is I work on myself. I, I'm vulnerable. I have and coaches just like everyone else for different aspects of my life. Right. I'm an avid reader. I'm an avid listener. I listen to people whether whatever ages. And one of the I have to create abundance, Jamie, is I seek the truth in what other people are saying. And so when someone's talking and maybe I have an opinion on a deal or a situation in industry or a niche Sure. And someone else has a a wily or vastly different opinion, I listen to it, and I seek the truth. And a lot of it goes to that abundance is really understanding that we all come from a different focal point, a different land, different background. We have different relationships, different knowledge, different age educational throughout our life. No. I love that. 

Speaker 0

I I've heard the, I think it's from one of the Greek philosophers. I'm not sure who it was, but, talking about how every man is my superior in in some way. Right? So you can absolutely learn from everyone and, like, you I like how you've framed it as seeking the truth from in every conversation, every person you're listening to. So before we get back into your backstory, though, can you get a little more specific with Yeah. 

Speaker 2

I will I will definitely. So how I how I create abundance Yeah. And what great timing is my new book's coming out because it's all about how to create a hard asset empire. And Yeah. Book you know, it's interesting. Someone asked me, like, why do you need to write a book? Why write the book? Mhmm. And what was going on for years I'm not talking about years. I'm talking about decades. I kept hearing people wanted me to look at their investment portfolio, or they're looking at a real estate deal. Can you help me? Give me some advice. I was giving a lot of advice to help people. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

And there was also a lot of people of, how do I get into real estate? How do I invest in real estate? How do I invest in Alliance and what you do passively, which a lot of people wanna do? Yeah. And I started looking at it. I said, you know, a lot of people don't know how to generate wealth, and it's not really taught in in the world. Sure. And even a lot of people don't know how to invest in medical office, some of the things we do. And even doctors, we started talking to. So I started seeing this, and I said, well, how can I create abundance? How do can I create opportunities? And a year ago, we said, well, we're gonna write this book, and it's gonna be called Hard Assets and Hard Money for Hard Times. That way you can use it anytime, any point in the world as well as any economic cycle, whether there's uncertainty in the world like we have right now. We talk about in the book, you know, why is it why are you able to utilize it throughout the test of time? And it's a crisis ready strategy that we include in the book. It's a personalized road map I put in the book. I make it real simple. So it could be a ten year old all the way up to adult. Mhmm. No matter what income class you're at, whether you're broke to being a billionaire, everyone's gonna use this. And I create a blueprint within the book from my proven tactics of being in the business and being in business for decades of experience. But I went outside my experience shaming. I said, you know what? I'm gonna ask billionaires and colleagues of mine and other associates of what is their opinion of the blueprint. What am I missing? What can we enhance? And we did. And then we put it on steroids. And it's really been a labor of love for me because I to build abundance for your audience, the 

Speaker 0

listeners 

Speaker 2

that I wanna put together something that they can build and feel comfortable building Sure. And can generate, retain, defend, and compound their wealth. That's 

Speaker 0

Love that. 

Speaker 2

That's the bottom line with the book. That's how you're gonna build abundance. Yeah. Now I did all this, and I'm sharing it with everyone because I want you to build abundance and have that comfort level that you can get to. 

Speaker 0

I can tell, you know, just, yeah, I can tell you're a humble guy and a practical guy wanting to give back in practical ways so that our listener has an action step and a blueprint like you've said. And we are all about adding practical value, and we want our listeners to be able to understand different asset classes that different strategies within real estate, whether commercial or residential, because there are so many different ways to to make money in real estate. Why should, I'm gonna pull it out of you. What are a couple, you know, few accomplishments? Why should the listener buy your book? Not not about what's in the book, but why should they listen to you and go buy your book? 

Speaker 2

Well, the one thing about it is it's visually engaging, and it's it's actionable. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

Like, I just didn't write a book to tell my story. Sure. Okay? That would be ego side of me. Right. I did it so it's actionable for for the readers to have, and it's accessible to all. Mhmm. So and it's one of these true companion guides when you read it and you see how actionable it is that you'll put on your bookshelf. Six months will go on. You'll review your blueprint just like I do. Yeah. And say, okay. What are my capstones? What are my keystones? It's like building a fortress. That's how I show it and represent a script like in commercial real estate. And I show and I say, okay. What are your walls, your foundation? You know? Yeah. What's inside the castle? 

Speaker 0

What's inside the 

Speaker 2

building you're building? And it's gonna change, and it changes over time. You age. Risk thresholds change as well. And so it's one of those books. It's gonna be a true companion guide. You'll be able to use it forever through a test of time. So so Yeah. The reason why, you need this book, if you're out there listening, is it's a crisis ready strategy. And I did that on purpose because there's a lot of different economic town downturns I've been through. We have heavy inflation going on right now. You see it. We've been through bank collapses, you and I, Jamie. We have seen that. Yeah. We've been market crashes. Okay. We've seen o o seven, o eight, o nine Right. In the early nineties. We've seen all these different types of recession, deep recession. We saw COVID. Right. And it's a it's one of these books that helps you mitigate all these twists and turns you're gonna see in the economy of life. It also is that personal road map. 

Speaker 0

Okay. 

Speaker 2

Yeah. So the blueprint is really it's not a theory. It's proven tactics with me and and folks. 

Speaker 0

They do 

Speaker 2

it step by step to really tailor your goals and risk tolerance, etcetera. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. We obviously with your long career in real estate with lots of ups and downs, we're not gonna cover your entire all of your wins and all of your losses, of course. And and I love that we're able to, you know, pull both on this episode, during this episode, as well as from the book, pull from your experience and and, gain you know, learn from your lessons so that we can avoid different pitfalls, etcetera. Let's dive in. It's from adversity to abundance. You've already alluded to the fact that we're not we're never done. You haven't arrived. You know, Ben Reidenberg has not arrived. You're always working on yourself. You've already you talked a lot about that. You're still a work in progress just like the rest of us. However, you know, I think you've probably improved in a lot of ways, and you're now living in in an abundance mindset and abundant state versus maybe back, when you were experiencing more financial adversity in particular. So if you could focus, pick one time, whether it's o seven, o eight, o nine, or or a different time, where this really pertains to your story personally and how you were impacted, maybe maybe others around you were impacted. So not so much just from a professional standpoint, but, personally, how did you navigate, specific adversity in your in your past? 

Speaker 2

Well, I think it the it's a it's when I started was something that really comes to my mind. I was a CPA, wasn't happy. I'm an entrepreneur. And there's a lot of lessons in entrepreneurship in real estate that are different. And when I was younger and I was on audit for a billionaire for a CPA firm I was working for before I got into commercial real estate. I've always been a principal in commercial real estate, never broke, or I wouldn't run into the deep water. And the adversity where it started was the billionaire said to me, he's like, you're not much of an accountant. You need to be doing something else. I was twenty two years old at the time. I was young. I was green. I was naive. Mhmm. And I had to figure out life. I didn't come from money. Mhmm. And I started looking at it, and the word entrepreneur wasn't really prevalent when I was younger. Okay. Great. 

Speaker 0

Now it's a sexy buzzword. Right? 

Speaker 2

So then I started looking at it while I was younger, and and I've been through this recently. I said, why entrepreneurship and real estate similar? Because I'm both. We're very entrepreneurial. And it and when I was younger, I had to realize, like, know what I stand for. Mhmm. I had to realize know what I stand for and be an example of it. That was the first thing I realized. And then I also realized I gotta build a foundation, which is part of my book. Mhmm. And now I gotta now I gotta build a team of a players, which is what I did. And then the other key had I got through adversity was is to execute and deliver on what I'm gonna say and go out there and do it. Mhmm. And your word means something. And and then, also, just like I got into medical office, which was another adversity. I mean, I could list a thousand of them. Yeah. I was gonna buy skyscrapers. I thought I was gonna be the next Sam Zell coming from Chicago. That's where my career was headed. Mhmm. And then all of a sudden, the Internet kicked in. The marketplace changed. And I realized, okay. You know what? Well, the human body is never going out of style. If we're gonna get stay in office sector, let's get to medical office. And I doubled down and became an expert. And that was because of adversity because the market changed on me for office space. Okay. 

Speaker 0

And I 

Speaker 2

said, you know, TIs are increasing, leasing commissions are increasing, and the margins are are thinning. 

Speaker 0

Sure. 

Speaker 2

There's huge adversity. And so Yeah. I was able to measure often and pivot, which is one of the things you have to do as an entrepreneur, and you have to do it real estate. Always and and lastly, like we talked about, is I am always learning and growing. I am always growing as a person. And to work at my company Alliance, you have to be growth minded because we're constantly evolving and changing, especially with AI Sure. Technology. So with people out there listening to adversity Yeah. Is you're always gonna be faced with some sort of challenge, and your perception's gonna think maybe it's worse than it is. But, you know, I say tough times don't last, tough people do. And someone told me a long time ago, and this is one of the best things I've ever said to me was, this shall pass. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. Yeah. 

Speaker 2

If you're live right now, if you're listening to this and there's adversity or challenge going on in your life Mhmm. Keep pushing forward, Keeping persistent, resilient. You know? Make those extra calls, whether you're looking for a job to you're in a career in real estate and you're calling people. Keep calling. Keep pushing forward. And I'm no different either. I mean, every day, I go through ups and downs. Yeah. And I pull up a warrior persona within myself. Love that. Come on, Ben. We gotta go. We gotta go. And and don't take things for granted. 

Speaker 0

That's really good. So but so does when you're twenty two, did you just, you know, he said you're the billionaire said you're not much of an accountant. Did you throw in the towel as an accountant the next day? Did you transition over a period of time? How did that transition from, I guess, I'm assuming w two CPA to, to entrepreneur and real estate investor. How did that happen? 

Speaker 2

Well, I'll I'll tell you, Jamie. It's it's interesting. I said to myself, I said, I need to change. I need to do something different. Not coming from money. No one's gonna hand me to build the empire. I gotta do it myself. Mhmm. And I'm gonna do whatever it takes, work twenty four seven. And I was watching an infomercial, and one of my dear friends and she actually wrote the four of my book, which is interesting because Mhmm. See how life comes around. Her name's Sharon Lecter. 

Speaker 0

Oh, okay. Yeah. 

Speaker 2

Sharon is a good friend and someone that I admire dearly and love her to death. Mhmm. And, she coauthored Rich Dad Poor Dad. And I was twenty two. I read that book. I at the time, you couldn't order on the Internet. It was an infomercial, so I ordered it. Like, ten days later, the book came and finally came in the mail and 

Speaker 0

Right. 

Speaker 2

Read it. I read it once, and then I took a day off from the accounting firm because I was so enamored with it and wanted to really involve a business plan in my mind on paper. I read it again. And I said, I go, this is who I wanna become. This is what I can do. I know I can do this. And so I just went for it. In my first deal, I did a ninety five thousand square foot industrial building in the suburbs of Chicago. Wow. And you wanna talk about adversity? I had negotiate a credit for a roof and some HVAC, with two tight and some of the largest home builders in the United States at the time. They were probably twenty or thirty years older than me. Had to step in and and negotiate that, which I successfully did. Close the deal. Wanna add more to adversity? First week, I lose forty five percent of the income in the building. Value drops like a rock. I have investors. I've raised millions of dollars from four 

Speaker 0

was that what like, how many tenants was that that left? Or was 

Speaker 2

it two tenant deal, and one of the tenants leaves in the industrial building. Wow. I end up backfilling it with two additional tenants. I take a two tenant building, make it a three tenant building, sell it for about three x multiple, great return about three and a half, four years later, and that's what launched me. So the bottom line is I don't believe in the word can't, won't, shouldn't. I don't believe in the word contractions. I must have missed that when I was in grade school. That was because it's one thing that I don't believe in because when adversity stares you in the face, and it goes every day in commercial real there's always something. We have so many properties around the country. There's something that's gonna happen every day. And how do you deal with it? How do you manage your emotions? And so when we talk about hard assets and hard times for and for hard money, we talk about your mindset. We talk about because every day I show up to work. Okay? And I am a workaholic. I'm a very hard worker, strong worker. It hasn't left me yet. And so with that in mind, I know you have to keep pushing forward. So when something happens, adversity Yeah. And makes a great leader for everyone out there listening. If you're gonna have your own company or you're gonna be on a leadership team in a company, a real estate or whatever industry, is how you manage your emotions is everything because it comes off you to other people. Mhmm. Yeah. Also shows you strength in tough times, in battle. And so my advice to everyone is really learn how to be aware of your emotions, your feelings, how you're feeling at a certain time, and identify it and own it. And and just say, you know, it's okay, and this shall pass. Things will happen. It shall pass. And so I love that. And so it's it's really, the book is something special to me because not only am I teaching people how to build a hard asset empire Yeah. But I'm also showing how to emotionally deal with it as you grow. 

Speaker 0

No. No. That's really good. And and entrepreneurship, whether in real estate or not, is is a is a I mean, that's all you're doing all day long is handling problems and and challenges, and and I'm and I'm at, managing your emotions. You mentioned it more than once. How do you, practically, how how have you been able to do that? Not necessarily just in the moment, but how have you been able to build up the skill set to manage your emotions when inevitably they they come and go? Do you use therapy or breath work, 

Speaker 2

or what 

Speaker 0

what do you do? 

Speaker 2

Let's give it some context. I mean, when I was younger and I was born in nineteen seventy 

Speaker 0

Yeah. 

Speaker 2

And, you know, no one taught this stuff. They didn't teach it to school. Like No. You know? And so I latched on to some good mentors and some people that, were icons in my business. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

And I got into meditation. Okay. And I started meditating. I started journaling, and I started realizing where I was going wrong. You know, when I was in my twenties, I was like, you know, I didn't trust anyone, and I felt that what was against me. And I worked hard, and I said I'm just gonna conquer, and that's it. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

And the empathy was gone at that point. And and I learned, and I realized that I had to start loving myself. I had to start changing, and I had to start communicating better and not getting set over the little things. And so I started meditating years ago and started working on myself and personal development Mhmm. And going through my past and seeing what my root experiences were. Mhmm. And I worked on it. And I went some dark times and dark days to Mhmm. Be honest with myself and see what I've gone through and realize where my challenges are. And and that's what started to create abundance is the moment I owned who I was. And I knew, Jamie, that if I could show up as the best version of myself and work on myself Right. I'll attract the people I want in my life. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. I love that. 

Speaker 2

And that's where it happened. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. And the truth is you really can't control the outcome of of any commercial real estate deal or anything else, whether it's in real estate or not. You can't control any real circumstances outside of yourself, but it is very liberating to realize you actually do have quite a bit of control of your inner world and your inner game and, you know, it's it's never perfect, of course, but I appreciate you sharing and being vulnerable like that because we you know, a commercial real estate titan twenty, thirty years ago typically wouldn't be talking like this. Right? 

Speaker 2

Oh, and you know what's interesting about this conversation? I want everyone to hear this too is, like, you know, people see how you conduct yourself when you're leading. And so managing emotions, everything. But what's interesting about my progress is that I wasn't always like this. I had to you know? And you also have to realize three years ago, I didn't have a personal brand. Mhmm. Like, my leadership team said, you know, it's time to build a personal brand. I said, what's that? And I'm on LinkedIn. Jeff Winer's from Chicago, and I said, well, he's got a great platform. I'm gonna ride that one, and it's been great ever since. But Mhmm. You know, I was on Instagram or Facebook or TikTok or YouTube, and I got on. And it's been great because it's allowed me to improve my communication skills. So you never stop learning. It's never stop growing. 

Speaker 0

But Sure. 

Speaker 2

Going out there listening is, would if you ask yourself, would you rather show up to the office or in life or on a date or with your significant other or your kids if you have kids out there like I do. Would you rather show up and be present and be happy Mhmm. Or get frustrated because maybe a deal didn't work out? Maybe you had a bad day. Maybe investor got pissy with you. Maybe you had a bad podcast with someone. 

Speaker 0

Right. 

Speaker 2

Right. Whatever it is. Whatever it is in life, life happens. But you know what? Everyone goes through situations, and you never know what the man and woman sing across from you, the pain they're going through. 

Speaker 0

Sure. 

Speaker 2

So go it goes back to when you can seek the truth and what other people Yeah. Yeah. It has a powerful impact. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. So, before we get to some of the questions I've got here prepared, you mentioned a few times about pivot pivoting, and I know you've seen a lot of market cycles, ups and downs, and and just, you know, changes in different, economic conditions, etcetera. How does, say, a a real estate investor and and there there's no one size fits all answer. Okay? We know that. But how does a real estate investor know when to just just grind it out and stay focused and continue on the exact same path he or she has set themselves on, or how do they know when to pivot? And how do they pivot? Is it a is it a one eighty, or do you just kinda tweak things? Or how do you approach that from a a mental standpoint? Sure. 

Speaker 2

Well, one thing that's an important lesson I learned decades ago is you get rewarded for focus. That's the bottom line in this conversation that, with your question is that Yeah. If you stay focused and you're resilient and persistent, you will accomplish what you want in that certain niche. So if you're in a certain niche and when I was getting started in medical office, you know, they were saying that, you know, Obamacare and and Obama was gonna change medical and medical office is gonna be greatly impact. And I said, well, the human body is not going to last all. And with all us having families and kids and and parents and everything else Yeah. People have to go to the doctor. And that was a pivot I made. And so what I did was, for me to pivot is I do enough homework, I talk to enough people, I understand marketplace, and I pivot into into a niche just like we did a year ago. I was in Japan on vacation. And I took a step back and I said, what's going on in multifamily? There's billions of hours of loans coming due. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

I have colleagues of mine that have been wildly successful. I have other people I've seen come into the business where they have five year notes coming due Mhmm. And it's gonna be an issue. It's a perfect time for us getting bought. So we opened up a multifamily division in twenty twenty four, and we're taking advantage of the marketplace. 

Speaker 0

Okay. 

Speaker 2

That was that was a pivot. We got it hard money lending because, lenders were lacked liquidity, so we said, okay. Let's pivot into that. So Sure. I'm a good listener. I listen to markets in order to pivot. Now if you're in a niche and you don't like it Yeah. Or you're not comfortable with it, that's a good time to look at PIVING. But Mhmm. Find something that makes sense with you. Because a lot of people say to me, Jamie Mhmm. Like, how do I get into commercial real estate? Okay. Obviously, on our website coming out soon, we'll be offering courses where anything in real estate, you'll be able to design your own course. You wanna learn about leases, you wanna learn about industrial leases, you wanna learn how to buy multifamily, whatever it is, you'll be able to download it and create your own course. 

Speaker 0

That's 

Speaker 2

cool. So it's a really neat thing that we're doing for the public. But, also, as it comes to pivoting for you out there listening, is that if you're in something you don't like or you're not comfortable with, there's two things you gotta answer. Number one is, do I need to educate myself more on a niche to become more comfortable, which is what I've done on niches. Mhmm. Who do you surround yourself with? The first thing you wanna do before you pivot is look at yourself internally. Mhmm. You, is it is it, something that's holding you back with your behavior? Is it a a skill set that you're lacking? And so you pivot when the market isn't gonna respond to a niche. But in commercial real estate or any type of real estate, it's not going away. People need a house to live or apartment to live in. People need industrial. Industrial. People need medical office. People need self storage. The hotels, motels, resorts, whatever. The list goes on and on. So pick your niche if you're in real estate that you wanna get into or whatever industry you're in. Sure. And and see if it's viable. What I like about real estate, especially some of the commercial real estate niches we're in, is their recession and, pandemic type, resilient type real estate. Mhmm. And so I don't have to worry as much about pivoting. Now there's niches in in your niches out there, so to speak, that you might say, hey. I wanna pivot. I'll give you an example for everyone to listen. So when I got started, there's there's this little company called DaVita. It was one of the largest dialysis companies in the world in Fresenius. Mhmm. And I pro and I went to DaVita's headquarters, and they said, okay. Here's where you start buying and developing dialysis. Now dialysis is changing because die even DaVita now, they're coming out with technology where you can do it in the home. Well, that was a niche, and we said, okay. Well, we're not gonna buy as much dialysis as we did. We gotta be very conscientious. Mhmm. So what are we doing? We're getting into orthopedic. We're getting into neurology. So there's different niches we're getting into. Yeah. And so keep your eyes open. Look at yourself. Right. Look at your team of people around you. Look at your inner circle, who you're surrounding yourself with. Right. These will give you the signals of how you put it into something else. 

Speaker 0

That's really good. And, I mean, yeah, so much there to unpack, but, you know, it doesn't a pivot doesn't mean you're you're pulling a one eighty and just quitting and throwing in the the towel. You're still using a lot of your skill set and your passion, like you talked about, what do you what do you enjoy doing, you know, what your interests are, and and potentially learning a new something ancillary, something just a slight turn and building off of your successes and failures from the past. It's it's not necessarily just starting over. So I love that. What's, I've got I've got some more rapid fire questions here, Ben, if you're ready for that. 

Speaker 2

Go ahead. What is one thing this 

Speaker 0

this one trips people up a little bit. What is one thing that people misunderstand about you? 

Speaker 2

Oh god. That's a good question. I think what people misunderstand is that it happened overnight. Mhmm. They see the success. Yeah. They see the conversations. They hear the pedigree and the education from the business. Yeah. And they see the leadership and the mentorship. And people think it's kinda like my new TV show. It's my book. Like, everyone said, oh, well, that happened overnight. No. The book book took thirty years to 

Speaker 0

Right. 

Speaker 2

Yeah. And then it took a year to put on paper. Mhmm. So I think I misunderstood that Yeah. That, 

Speaker 0

You're an overnight success. 

Speaker 2

I'm an overnight success. No. It's it's a grind. It's a grind. 

Speaker 0

You mentioned a couple of, you know, key, examples of adversity you've dealt with. What's one of your biggest failures, and what did you learn from that experience? 

Speaker 2

One of my biggest failures was, I had a deal where we were buying a a three hundred thousand square foot office campus. I talk about this in the book, so I might as well talk about it now. And deep recession happened. And we had a large tenant in one of these buildings in this office campus, and they decided not to renew their lease. So we had about a floor and a half floor plate gone out of the building, And it hurt our debt service coverage. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

And so loans coming due, it was a bank. Lender lender didn't wanna renew. We ended started to work out. And it worked out okay in the end. Mhmm. But the lessons that came out of it was don't sign loans with recourse Mhmm. Yeah. Which is a huge lesson. 

Speaker 0

Right. And for those unfamiliar, the generally workout is just working out new terms. Your loan was coming due, so you had to pay it off. So you were able to work out some kind of new terms like a loan. 

Speaker 2

Or work out extension and say, hey. Let us lease up the space, and then we'll refinance. Take that, etcetera. So 

Speaker 0

You're referring to personal guarantee. Right? You 

Speaker 2

Yeah. Personal personal guarantee. Personal guarantee on a loan. And so I recommend not guaranteeing loan. Right. Well, I'm young, and I'm getting started, Ben. How can I do that? Now Sure. You might have to do that for a couple deals, maybe not. Right. Right. One of the things I do suggest is don't take on as much leverage. Mhmm. So for example, if you're like, well, I'm worried because I gotta raise more equity. That's okay. If you have a good deal, it's okay to raise equity and spread the wealth with more investors. Yeah. But I will tell you something is that if you get a a fifty or a fifty five percent loan to value loan or piece of commercial real estate Yeah. It helps you with the ability to hold, which is the key of the business, not about location. And you have the ability to do a nonrecourse note and build in more equity. That's okay. And and and there was and I had a friend of mine who was over at my house in Chicago when I lived in Chicago, and he said to me, he said, no more. I said, no more. He goes, no more signing on loans anymore. Like like, you've seen what happens in deeper sessions with these lenders, and he was right because when you sign with Recourse, I talk about this in the book, they're not looking to hold you over a cliff. Mhmm. They'll threaten you over a cliff Yeah. And scare the shit out of you. Right. But do that because they want you to stay vested in the deal, which is and if you have investors, you're gonna do it anyways because you're good fiduciary. You have been 

Speaker 0

You have aligned interests and 

Speaker 2

Aligned interest. And and it's one of the selling points I have of why recourse doesn't mean anything because I have investors, and I've been in this long time, and I'm not taking on a lot of leverage. So Yeah. Lesson learned is don't overleverage your properties. Mhmm. And and that was something because in that deal, not only did we have a seventy percent LTV loan, we also had a fifteen to twenty percent mezz piece on on it. So we're close to ninety percent leverage going in. So god forbid, we have a market turn. Yeah. Right. It was a huge deal too. Big numbers. And Just so it was less and low. 

Speaker 0

Very slim margins there. 

Speaker 2

Don't ever don't ever overleverage your properties Yeah. Or anything in life, whether you're buying a business or whatever. 

Speaker 0

Got it. If you could go back and give your eighteen year old self some advice, what would that be? 

Speaker 2

I get asked this question a lot, and and the answer I don't think ever changes is if I knew what I knew now, I would work on myself. I would talk to that young man and say, get involved in personal development, work on yourself, learn how to get your emotions, improve your communication, improve your listening skills Yeah. And really be present with everyone you're in in life. And Love that. 

Speaker 0

If you were given you personally were given ten million dollars tomorrow, what would you do with it? 

Speaker 2

I would invest it. I would invest just like I do now. I would invest it, and I would invest in Alliance's deals because I see how I see our track record. That's what I would do. 

Speaker 0

What is a challenge that you are facing with Alliance today? That eventually, I'm gonna have 

Speaker 2

to step out of this company, and we're grooming someone to do that. And that's a hard pill for me to swallow because this is my life, and it's something that I I built. Right. Eventually, someone else is gonna have to grab the reins. I'm not getting younger, and I wanna do other things in life. And so Sure. For me, that's a that's a challenge is delegating, giving up the reins of certain decisions 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

Letting other people lead in different parts of my skill set. And so it's been going on a long time, and that's always a challenge for me. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. Make makes sense. How about a controversial or unconventional strategy that you have employed in your in your career in the last thirty plus years? 

Speaker 2

I I think one of the strategies for me was, is getting nonrecourse financing from banks. Mhmm. I don't know anyone else that does it but me. I'm one of the few. And that was really unconventional. Mhmm. And so I would go and find out who was representing legally these banks, have conversations, and figure out a strategy to get nonrecourse. That was very unconventional. It still is. I mean Mhmm. A lot of them are pissed that I do it, but you know what? It's too bad. It's it's it's it's it's the only way I finance a deal now. 

Speaker 0

I love that. And you're just persistent and creative and figured out a way to to get it done without just accepting the initial terms that we're giving you. The only 

Speaker 2

thing I'll throw out there that we did uncommentally, especially at Alliance, is we got into human behavior for for my higher leadership team. 

Speaker 0

Okay. 

Speaker 2

We're the chief people officer, and we do a playbook on every single employee at Alliance. That's why people wanna work here is because we help our employees on our leadership team design the life that they wanna live. So every week, they fill out a playbook. We see what they want. It's interesting because to teach everyone about this is that there's common elements in my company. So everyone that works at Alliance, the common theme when you look at all the playbooks across the board 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

They're into health and wellness just like that. Yeah. Number two is in their careers, they wanna be mentored and coaches coach, which what we do and I do a lot of, and we bring in people to help as well. Mhmm. And number three is investments. They wanna learn about investments. We're investment company, so they're in the right place. 

Speaker 0

Right. 

Speaker 2

So what's interesting about the playbook and and the software and all the things we use and a lot of companies are gonna start using it, and I sit on the board. I'm a big investor in the software company that we utilize is because we want people in their genius, their design genius of where they wanna go. And so Yeah. What happens is the company aligns with everyone's values, and then we incorporate rules to support what you want. That's really cool. And it allowed us to get our arms around this remote hybrid workforce. 

Speaker 0

Oh, right. 

Speaker 2

Yeah. With it. And Sure. It was a way of really catapulting of 

Speaker 0

Interesting. 

Speaker 2

Yeah. I love that. Building that strong community within Alliance. Right. 

Speaker 0

And it's just investing people and and listening to to people. What's the name of that software? 

Speaker 2

It's called Designing Genius, and large there's a lot of large companies that are using it. We use it for Alliance. Nice. It's a wonderful piece of software because it allows you to keep account now what's interesting is leaders in their departments will hold their employees accountable. So, for example, if you said to me, Jamie, well, I wanna work out four days a week, and I wanna make this amount of calls. Let's say you're in acquisitions or whatever. Yeah. We're able to find out what the root problem is. So, for example, if you didn't make two hundred and fifty calls in a week and that was your KPI Yeah. We can look at and find out why. What might be you're not sleeping well at night? Mhmm. And then we'll go a little bit deeper. What's going on? Mhmm. Well, I'm going on Instagram at at one in the morning while Right. Out there because then you're tired the next day. 

Speaker 0

Sure. 

Speaker 2

We talk we talk about where's the blue light by your bed. So we go deep Okay. With our employees. Yeah. 

Speaker 0

And what 

Speaker 2

ends up happening in in that example, I had an acquisition guy where he went through that. We tweaked it, and I said, get rid of the blue light. Get it, like, thirty yards, three feet away from your bed. I don't care if it's another room. I don't even know where he lives, apartment, whatever he lives in. Mhmm. Yeah. I said, change that up. And then I said and then what I suggest is, you know, stop looking at Instagram, and and we tweaked a few things. Mhmm. That week, he slapped his KPIs. It was just a tweak. Now that was a road where, you know, if we didn't do that in the past and he's going down a road and he goes three or four weeks and he doesn't have KPIs, he's out of the lines. He doesn't have a job. So the fact that we can identify something Yeah. And help someone even if they have the skill set, it's just a human behavior tweak. Yeah. Well, that's really cool. Difference in what we that's very unconventional. Yeah. No. 

Speaker 0

I have not heard that on on the show. Yeah. That's really, really cool. And and I know clearly that your employees are more than just numbers, but approximately how many people work for Alliance? 

Speaker 2

We have over seventy five five people in the in the company and working capacities around the country. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. You've you've hit on so many different really key points. There's been been a lot here. For you personally, how has financial abundance made your life better? 

Speaker 2

It's allowed me to provide a life for my family that I didn't have. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

That's one thing. I'm still the same person, though. Still the kid from Chicago that had a dream and and wanted to, build wealth and Mhmm. Teach people and and help people Yeah. Have a good heart. And that's what I'm grateful for. You know, there's one stat in Alliance I think is so important as we look at how many kids throughout the last three decades have we put through college. So that's really important. That's a cool stat. Yeah. And so, you know, people say, well, that's easy for you because you've been successful. Well, yeah, I had to earn it just like you will and everyone else does. Mhmm. But, it's allowed me the financial abundance. It's allowed me to help people. Mhmm. It's allowed me to give the time to, help people, inspire people, and and that to me is what really it's been about for me. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. Love it. Besides your book, what's one or two other books you could recommend for our listener? 

Speaker 2

Well, I look in my I look in my office, and, there's a great book. Hold on. I'll pull it up. There's a great book called, how to be the love you seek by doctor Nicole LaPera. And it's a great book that one of my mentors gave me because it talks about not only how do you love yourself, but how do you break cycles and find peace and you heal really. 

Speaker 0

A friend of mine just told me about this book a couple 

Speaker 2

weeks ago. It's a it's a great book. I've read it. Read it. It's a great book. There's there's a lot of good books I've read. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure. But that's that's a really good one. So 

Speaker 2

This one really had an impact on me. She's That's awesome. As doctor Nicole LaPera. I I checked that out. I was blown away. It's a great read, and the book that you kinda have to what's interesting about this book is, you know, you read a business book and you read and you learn, and and you might forget about Right. What you learn because you're not applying it all the time. 

Speaker 0

Right. 

Speaker 2

What's great about this book is you look at it and you read it, and then you kinda sit back and you start reflecting. Mhmm. And and so it takes a while to get through the book because you're constantly reflecting. And so I think this book, Jamie, probably took me at least four or five months to read. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. Like, a 

Speaker 2

lot of reflecting. Sure. You know? I'd read, like, a chapter. I'd read, like, half a chapter, and I reflect, and then the next Yeah. Get into it. It Right. It took a while. It it made me think. And so I really enjoyed it, and I I definitely recommend. 

Speaker 0

She's a 

Speaker 2

wildly talented woman. 

Speaker 0

Really good suggestion. Ben, what is one question that you'd you wish I had asked that I have not asked yet? 

Speaker 2

Why do people invest passively, and why do they invest with Alliance? 

Speaker 0

There you go. Let's go for it. What's the answer? 

Speaker 2

Well, why people invest passively, and I say this too, is, you know, when I invest in medical properties or, like, our medical fund that I invest on, big investor, is, you know, I look at it, and why invest passively is I wanna focus on my expertise if I'm a cardiologist. Mhmm. Right. Gastroenterologist or if I'm a lawyer or whatever. Sure. You get rewarded for focus. So when you invest with Alliance and you invest passively, you're leveraging into two hundred plus years of leadership team experience outside me. And so you have a lot of experience. A lot of people have dealt with challenges. A lot of people that'll pay you returns, and it's seamless investing. And so that's why people do it. And the tax benefits are great. It's why I love investing in what we do. Mhmm. And, you know, I say for everyone out there, if you have capital and you're looking to build a hard asset empire, don't do it yourself. Leverage you know, you wanna invest with smart money, which is what Alliance is. Mhmm. But you also wanna leverage your time. And a lot of people don't understand time, and we did an exercise in our company that I'll share with everyone because you could do it for yourself. And this is a great lesson that taught me a lot about myself and taught my employees. So we had everyone in one room years ago, and we talked about time. We said, if seventy seven at the time was the lifespan. Okay? 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

And I'm fifty five years old now, so we'll take a live example. You take seventy seven minus fifty five. We got twenty two years left of my life to live times fifty two weeks. That's the amount of weeks we have. Mhmm. So if we look at that, we're saying, okay. I got eleven hundred and forty four weeks left in my life. So, Jamie, am I gonna be sensitive about the podcast I go on, the people I surround myself, the the restaurants I go to, the trips I take, the conversations I have with my parents, how often go see them? Because if they're if they're older than me Right. They have less time. So now I gotta say, you know what? How much time do I have with them? So when you really understand time Yeah. Changes your decision. Right. Right. So even if you're in your twenties and you're listening to this, value your time. Every day counts. Every week counts. So if I got eleven hundred weeks left in my life, you're gonna understand why I'm making certain decisions. 

Speaker 0

Sure. 

Speaker 2

So Yeah. Time is everything. And so it's a good lesson for everyone to think about. Yeah. We take it for we take it for granted. 

Speaker 0

Absolutely. Where can our listeners find you online then? 

Speaker 2

Well, there's a couple of places. If you go to ben reinberg dot com, okay, and you go to ben reinberg dot com slash book, you could preorder my book and start building your hard asset empire. It'll be out in a few weeks as well. Mhmm. We have a hard we'll have a hard copy, paperback. We're working on the audiobook that'll be coming out and an ebook as well. So we're gonna touch all the spectrums for people that you can utilize for the rest of your life. That's one way to find me personally. You can watch my TV show. It's gonna be on the Watch You TV network coming out. We're on season two. It's a spin off of my podcast, Ben Reinberg. I own it. First season was leverage, all different types of leverage. We talk about not just debt, about relationships, everything else. We Mhmm. Bring on thirteen people from all over the world in studio, or on location. Season two was obsessed. In order to be wildly successful, you have to be obsessed. And so we filmed thirteen episodes that we'll be launching this spring, and you could see some of it on YouTube right now. That's one way to find me. And then, also, if you're interested in investing in passively in commercial real estate and great assets, go to Alliance CGC dot com. That's Alliance CGC dot com. And those are all Fantastic. You could follow me on social media. You go Ben Reimberg dot com. I'm on all the platforms. 

Speaker 0

Love it. Ben, this is I I say this occasionally, but this is one I'm definitely gonna listen to myself. I I'll be honest. I don't listen to every every one of my episodes. This this is definitely one I'm gonna replay at least once, probably more than once, and probably do some reflecting like you referred to. This has been fantastic, and and I know you just talked about the importance or the the value of time, and we appreciate your your time. So thanks for coming on. 

Speaker 2

Thanks for having me, Jamie. Really appreciate it. 

Speaker 0

Absolutely. And to the listener, thank you for your most spending your most valuable resource with us. Like Ben Reinberg said, that is your time. Thanks, everyone. Take care. 

Speaker 1

Thank you for joining us on From Adversity to Abundance. We hope today's episode has equipped you with valuable insights and practical advice to elevate your real estate journey. For more inspiring stories and resources, visit us at w w w dot adversity to abundance dot com. If this episode has inspired you, please share it with a friend who could also benefit from our conversation. Together, let's turn adversity into abundance. Until next time, keep building your mental fitness and your real estate empire.