Tresa Todd of Women’s Real Estate Investors Network: The Mindset Shift That Turns Financial Devastation Into Multi-Generational Wealth

As a part of my series about strong women leaders of the Real Estate industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tresa Todd.

Tresa Todd is the founder of the Women’s Real Estate Investors Network (WREIN), the largest learning and networking community for women real estate investors in the nation. She is a real estate investor, powerhouse motivational speaker, host of the Without Fear of Her Future podcast and bestselling author of Without Fear Of Her Future: A Women’s Guide To Real Estate Investing. Tresa is the leading expert on becoming financially confident, building multi-generational wealth, and designing a life you love.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the Real Estate industry?

Over eight years ago, before I became involved in real estate investing, my three sons Tanner, Justin and Kelton began investing together. In just two years as new investors, they had done over 100 real estate deals and been mentored by some of the most prominent real estate investors in the nation. Even though I had no intention of getting into real estate myself, I was happy to cheer them on.

Then one day after reviewing my plan for retirement, my son Kelton gave me a stark reality check. As we discussed my retirement plans, he informed me that neither my 401K nor my savings were enough to support the lifestyle I imagined in retirement. I was devastated by this news.

He encouraged me to join them in their real estate investing business. At first, I was hesitant about this. I had only worked in the medical industry throughout my career and I was pretty comfortable with that path. As I considered it further and saw their success, I began to consider it an option.

At the time, I was living in Tyler, Texas and joining their business would mean moving to Dallas and leaving behind all that I had known for the past 25+ years. I decided I would spend a week with them in Dallas to see what it was all about before making any decisions. I prayed over it, asking God for the wisdom to discern if this was the right path for me.

Next, I visited them and observed their work to gain a better understanding of everything that went into real estate investing. A few days into my trip, I knew in my heart that it was for me.

I decided to step out of my comfort zone and leave behind my stable and familiar job in the medical industry. I put my home up for sale and said some tough goodbyes to my friends, coworkers and my ministry.

When I got to Dallas, it wasn’t easy. It took over 40 days but I eventually got my first real estate investing deal. I heard a lot of “no’s” and was hit with a lot of challenges along the way. Once I was able to get my first successful deal solidified, however, my commitment to this new endeavor was stronger than ever.

From there, the rest is history. After doing many more real estate investing deals, I launched the Women’s Real Estate Investors Network to help more women learn how to do it too so they could, like me, design and build their dream life.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

This most ironic story dates back to when I held my very first women only event to teach the basics of real estate investing. My biggest fear was that nobody would show up. I figured, maybe there wasn’t a women only real estate investing event because there wasn’t a demand for one. To my surprise, 40 women attended my first event that night. I couldn’t believe it. Our masterclass has now been attended by more than 300K women in the past few years. You’d be surprised at how far you can go when you dream big. The biggest lesson here is that sometimes you just have to be brave and show up.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

One of the ongoing projects we’re working on is continuing to level up our mentorship program. As we’ve gotten feedback from the women we serve, we realized we wanted to be able to support them in a way that was even more beneficial to their success.

A big way we are setting out to accomplish this project is by building out a customer success team that is solely dedicated to the progression of the women in our program. In doing so, we’ll offer the women in our network an even more personalized experience that will help them succeed in achieving their real estate investing goals. We intend that this high-touch process will help the women feel more empowered and confident in their individual investing journeys.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

The impact that we’re making on people’s lives is what makes my company stand out the most. It goes far beyond my wildest dreams. I could’ve never imagined that we’d be able to help thousands of women change their lives in such big ways.

Throughout the years that we’ve been in business, I’ve received countless messages from the women who have attended our masterclass and who have joined our mentorship program, detailing the astounding changes they’ve been able to make in their lives. It’s a blessing to see the community of women we’ve built who are overcoming doubt and living without fear of their future.

These incredible women have been able to reach milestones they once thought were impossible. From sending their kids to college to paying off credit card debt to going on their dream vacations and funding their retirement. It’s truly a joy to be able to witness the transformations these women have had!

One story that comes to mind is from Wendy, a woman in our mentorship program from Maine. Wendy was a stay-at-home mom and homeschooled her kids for many years. She and her husband always wanted to invest in real estate but felt they lacked the knowledge to know where to start. One day she was on Facebook when she saw an ad for our masterclass and said that she felt God prompting her to sign up.

She shared that when she joined our masterclass, she truly resonated with what we taught and shared. As a result of the mentorship, she gained specialized knowledge and confidence to take action. Ever since her results have been incredible.

In 2022 alone, Wendy completed 6 flips. As she prepares to close on two more flips, she will be making nearly $39K and $26K on those deals. Looking ahead to her future, she also plans to shift gears a little and focus less on flipping while adding more buy-and-hold properties to her portfolio for a more passive investment strategy.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’ve got to thank my sons Kelton, Justin and Tanner — they were the catalysts for me changing my life and achieving the success that I have today… As I shared earlier, the three of them convinced me to join them in their real estate investing business and I am so grateful that they did. As a result of joining them and learning from their expertise, I was able to get started on the right path and eventually established the WREIN. Not only have they impacted my life, but thanks to them, so many women have been able to learn specialized knowledge about real estate — all because they convinced me to get started.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. The Real Estate industry, like the Veterinarian, Nursing and Public Relations fields, is a women dominated industry. Yet despite this, less than 20 percent of senior positions in Real Estate companies are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what do you think is the cause of this imbalance?

While the real estate industry is dominated by women, the real estate investing industry is a completely different story. It’s heavily male-dominated.

As a result of organizations such as Women’s Real Estate Investors Network and others that empower women, we are starting to see a shift in the industry. More and more women are getting involved and we’re seeing so many women take control and start learning how to build their legacy through real estate investing without fear of their future.

What 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support greater gender balance going forward?

A.) On an individual level, you can self-reflect to see where your own biases are around women in the industry. Make sure you advocate for other women in your field.

B.) Companies like the WREIN are looking to do just that! Our organization exists to help level the playing field and bring more women into real estate investing by supporting them in building their legacy and obtaining financial freedom. We’re already on this mission and will continue to do what we can to support greater gender balance in this industry.

C.) Society can play a key role in supporting women who are making strides in this industry. When you see a woman who is going above and beyond, achieving huge accomplishments one of the best things you can do is to cheer them on. A little encouragement and support can be all someone needs to keep going.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

For one, it’s a bigger challenge for women to balance family and work. Most of the time, women are faced with greater expectations of being the main caregiver for their children. More often than not, women also take on more responsibilities around the home. This is an obstacle for women that men don’t typically face at the same level.

Additionally, another challenge that I see women face is the assumption that they are successful because of their partner. For women who achieve great success, particularly in real estate investing, many people assume their husband, brother, father, or another male partner is the reason for their success, which isn’t true. These types of assumptions aren’t as common when it comes to men being successful in real estate investing.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Real Estate industry?

I am most excited to see the growing number of women investing in real estate. Additionally, the second thing that excites me is the fact that no matter what state the economy is in, you have a fabulous opportunity to create wealth. Thirdly, more millionaires are created through real estate investing than anything else — I love that this industry helps people to become financially secure and build a legacy for themselves and their families.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

One concern about this industry, like with any industry, is the chance that you might run into unethical people. This is inevitable in business and it’s something that you should always be mindful of whether you work in real estate, banking, consumer goods, healthcare or any other field. The people that you work with matter and you should always pay close attention to the company you surround yourself with.

Another potential concern is unpredictability. In real estate investing, you have to be prepared that no two days will be the same. Get comfortable with the unpredictability and it will pay off so much in the long run.

Lastly, another concern is that people will allow fear to get in the way of their decision-making. The thought of stepping out on faith and pursuing your dream of investing in real estate can be terrifying not only because we face our internal fears but with the popularity of social media, news media and other readily accessible resources that are packed with doom and gloom. I don’t want someone to ever let this type of fear and concern get in the way of the path that God has for them.

If I could implement 3 ways to improve the industry it would be to get more women invested in real estate, make the barrier to entry more attainable and lastly, to get people who may think “that sounds great, but this would be impossible for me,” to start to realize that they too can do the hard things and achieve big goals.

What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive?

Your team will thrive when they feel supported and respected. Be grateful that the people you lead choose to be on your team and that they want to support your mission too. People can work anywhere but the fact that they choose to stand alongside you and work toward a common goal with you says a lot. As a leader, you should continue to dream up ways to inspire your team while also allowing them room for advancement in their professional careers.

Ok, here is the main question of our interview. You are a “Real Estate Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 5 non intuitive things one should know to succeed in the Real Estate industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each?

1. Get a mentor. Mentors have been a huge part of my success and I believe that everyone who wants to reach new heights in their work should have someone whose been there before them to guide, coach and cheer them on their path. All of the greatest people in business and athletics rely on mentors to reach their goals. I wouldn’t be where I am today without mentorship.
2. Be consistent. The truth is, most people don’t succeed because they give up. Being consistent and continuing to show up, be brave and do the hard things is one of the best ways you can set yourself up for success in what you do. A lot of successful people have achieved great accomplishments, not because of talent alone but because they chose to keep working hard and not give up.
3. “Everything is figureoutable.” As Marie Forleo explained in her book, you can learn to think more creatively when facing setbacks. There will certainly be obstacles that seem impossible to overcome in this industry, but with the right mindset, you’ll soon realize that even the most complicated situations can be overcome. If you find yourself in a bind, challenge yourself to find creative ways to solve it — you’ll probably be amazed at the ideas you can come up with.
4. Other people’s opinions of you don’t matter. People will inevitably have things to say when you step out of your comfort zone and do the hard things. Stay focused on pouring into yourself and ignore naysayers’ opinions. Protecting your peace is so important. There will be opinions about what you do, but remember that their opinions are just that, and you should take them with a grain of salt.
5. You can do hard things. When you’re first getting started, you may feel overwhelmed with a lot of new and challenging things you’ve never done before… Whether that’s working with contractors on a flip, figuring out how to market your short-term rental property or finding tenants for your buy and hold or whatever it may be… you’ll surely face big and small challenges along the way. Keep in mind that if you are persistent and believe in yourself, you absolutely can accomplish the hard things.

Because of your position, you are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

This is two-fold for me. First and foremost, I would like to inspire more women to pursue a relationship with God. Second, I dream of inspiring more women to achieve financial freedom so that they can use that freedom to make an impact in areas they feel called to. When you have the financial resources to be able to help and pour into others and missions you care about, it’s so fulfilling. I want every woman to be able to experience that.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can find me online on our website or by connecting with me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. If you want to learn more about investing in real estate, you can look into joining my masterclass, subscribe to my podcast, Without Fear of Her Future or read my best-selling book, Without Fear Of Her Future: A Women’s Guide To Real Estate Investing.

Thank you for your time, and your excellent insights!

About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.

Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate. While brokering properties for clients, he was investing in his own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he earned a number of prestigious industry awards and became a young multi-millionaire. Jason purchased a California real estate brokerage firm that was later acquired by Coldwell Banker. He combined his dedication and business talents to become a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and media personality. Over the years he developed his Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ where his innovative firm educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his popular “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.

While running his successful real estate and media businesses, Jason also believes that giving back to the community plays an important role in building strong personal relationships. He established The Jason Hartman Foundation in 2005 to provide financial literacy education to young adults providing the all-important real world skills not taught in school which are the key to the financial stability and success of future generations. We’re in a global monetary crisis caused by decades of misguided policies and the cycle of financial dependence has to be broken, literacy and self-reliance are a good start. Visit JasonHartman.com for free materials and resources.