Building Relationships and Finding Success in Real Estate with Zack Davis

Zack Davis (00:00)
I just really try to live. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t come up short sometimes or make mistakes, whether that’s with business, loved ones, wife, whoever. But I try to be happy every day. I try to wake up and restart and just stay on the journey. So I guess my longest long-winded message would be, you’ve got this. Keep loving the world. Keep going.

Quentin (01:54)
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I am your host, Q Edmonds, and I’m excited to be here today. I have another fantastic guy. This guy is a guy after my own heart because when talking to him, one of the things that he synthesized is that one of his strengths is building relationships. He see people just not as transactional, but as real human beings. And y’all have been following me. You know what? That’s how I get down. I love.

talking to people about what they do. And I love talking to human transaction, the human experience. And so I’m so excited. And of course, they’re going to tell you what he do in real estate. Very proficient. So we’re going to get some real estate knowledge, but we’re going to talk about how we supposed to interact with people at the same time too. And so I’m so excited to introduce you all to Mr. Zack Davis. Mr. Zack, how you doing today,

Zack Davis (02:40)
Yes,

I’m doing great and I appreciate the opportunity. It’s been nice getting to learn more about you and I’m excited for the experience.

Quentin (02:52)
Absolutely, man. I’m excited that you’re here, brother. And listen, sir, I’m going to type. I like to dive right in. So I would love for you to tell the people what your main focus is these days, what you’re up to. If you don’t mind, Zack, give us a little bit of an origin story, kind of how you got into the space that you’re in. Like, we love the hero’s journey, man. And man, tell them what part of the world you’re in. People love to know geographically where you are, because they’re like, hey, he’s pretty close. We might do something together. So again, get what you do.

Zack Davis (03:18)
Yeah, that’s 100 % true.

Quentin (03:22)
Your origin story and where you are. Mr. Zack, sir, you have the floor, man.

Zack Davis (03:26)
Yes, sir. So I’m based out of Oklahoma City. I’ve done deals across the nation, but Oklahoma is where I’m from. It’s where I specialize in because, like you said,

I focus on developing relationships and I love getting in front of these people. So it’s my bread and butter is here in the Oklahoma city market. It’s very good to me. As far as what I do on a daily basis, I operate on and off market. So I’m a licensed real estate agent. I’ve been doing real estate for nine years this year. ⁓ So I do a lot on market, but I do a lot off market as well. So I work with an investment company called local guide buys houses. I’ve been with them for over seven years as well. And basically I just monitor.

the deal however I can, whatever serves the client the best, whether that’s on market, off market. I specialize in wholesale, flips, rentals, various strategies that way. So I’m pretty blessed in that. And as far as where I come from, I’m born and raised in Oklahoma.

I was working at a shoe store, managing a shoe store fresh out of college. Didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I had a great friend of mine named Tezar Bertha that I grew up with. He’s in the real estate space. Some of your listeners may know who he is. And he started real estate in New Home Construction, reached out to me. He was actually walking by my shoe store and he stopped to me and said, hey man, I’m doing this. You should try it. Because we both knew that we had to find something.

So I took the risk. I trained and went and got interviewed, made the cut on new home construction. I did that for about almost two years

and really got my feet under me. So I feel like that was a big cheat code for myself is that I was able to basically have an open house every day. So I was getting so many no’s. I was having to overcome objections. I was having to build relationships. People come in not wanting to talk to you and being unable to break down those barriers.

and to find success working in an old neighborhood that they were trying to sell out, but no one had been in there in a while. So I was able to develop marketing, whether that was speaking at ⁓ Chamber of Commerce events, donating school clothes.

being involved in the community in Piedmont, Oklahoma, where I was at at the time, and ended up selling out that community and then got a really nice community in an area called Deer Creek in Oklahoma City, which is almost Edmond. And it’s a very popular school district. And that’s where I think I really took off. That’s where I made my first six figures. That’s where I could have just settled down and been done. But as soon as I got comfortable, Tez and Kevin, they came up to me again and they said, hey, I know we’re all comfortable. We’re doing great.

But we were going to start this thing called wholesaling and we think you should come with us. So in July of 2019, I bought a house, quit my job, which was the first real job I ever had making six figures, changing my life, quit that, and then started hustling. I went on my first wholesale appointment. It was totally different from new construction being a hoarder house compared to a brand new house. Got it under contract.

Quentin (06:59)
Mm.

Zack Davis (07:23)
Went to a restaurant afterwards to have breakfast with Kevin and Tez and we sold it to a buyer that we knew who I still do deals with to this day. I saw that it was possible. In that July timeframe, I also got licensed. So I started listing homes and things like that and kind of just took off from there. It’s kind of crazy to think that it’s been seven years since then, but, you know, new construction for about two years and this other seven has been, you know, in the entrepreneurial space and

I’ve done a lot on and off market. Like I said, I try to close them whatever is best for the client. And it’s been an amazing journey. There’s tons of details, that’s in a nutshell what I’ve been on. And it’s been a beautiful journey.

Quentin (08:07)
Man, it sounds like a beautiful journey. Thank you for walking me through it, man. As you was talking, I was actively listening, writing some things down, man. And I’m going to reiterate some things back to you. And once you see where I’m going, you’ll see why. But I specialize operating on on and off market deals, wholesale, flip, rental. ⁓ You was managing a shoe store, Said you was managing a shoe store.

Zack Davis (08:19)
Please.

Quentin (08:35)
Your man broke by and was like, hey man, it got to be more than this. I’ll put your brains together. And, um, you’ve been with the company for seven years, um, new home construction for two years. Um, overcame a lot of obstacles in 2019. You started wholesaling. Did I get some of that stuff? Right. All right. Okay. And so I say that back to you because I always say destiny has no wasted moments, right? Meaning no matter what we’ve been through in life, we’ve been borrowing from the journey.

Zack Davis (08:52)
Yes, sir.

Quentin (09:04)
And this has got us to the point where we are now with our mindset, with why we do the things we do, with the success that we have. So Zack, I would love to know throughout your journey, from the shoe store, managing the shoe store, the way you are now, what have you learned about yourself? What has this journey unveiled about you? Has it unveiled discipline, innovation, humility? what has this journey taught you about you?

Zack Davis (09:29)
yeah, I mean probably all of those things, but discipline for sure because you know, you don’t have a boss. So you’re, having to figure out your journey every day. You’re not just clocking in somewhere. Even new home sales, you had a time clock, but developing a schedule. I still remember the early conversations with my mentors and business partners where

It’d be like, all right, map out your morning. How are you going to tackle every day? What are you going to do? And that’s why you see stuff like this in my office, yellow notepads. And I would say discipline. I would say

Quentin (09:52)
Yeah.

Zack Davis (10:36)
confidence. Because even when the pipeline not drives up, but gets slimmer than normal, even if I’m in a moment of…

anxiety. I just take a step back and realize that if you look at it on a grand scheme, you know, you’re almost 10 years in and you’ve never failed in that extent. Obviously I’ve had a lot of failures and lessons, but confidence in the skill set and just how many reps I’ve had, it just builds a lot of confidence as well. Talking to customers, building relationships. So I’ve been, I would say the most important thing though,

It’s just being able to explore myself and.

A lot of people don’t get that opportunity when they’re maxed out at 50, 60 hours a week at a job, barely scraping by and

have all these demands. I have the blessing to be on a podcast with you in the middle of a Tuesday, or I just have the opportunity to live a little more. And that’s been a blessing. ⁓

building a home with my wife, figuring out things that I like to do, taking risks, just doing things out of my comfort zone. It’s been amazing and the biggest vehicle for that has been real estate on an income level and a time management level.

Quentin (11:52)
Man, bro, thank you, man. Thank you for the reflective answer, the self-aware answer. You know, because I tell people, I mean, I’m so, I mean, I’m so just loving your journey, man, how this thing unfold, how you was able to quit your job. Like you said, building a life with you and your wife. I tell people all the time at the heart of any entrepreneur, at the heart of their business is them. And so sometimes you got to look back and reflect.

on how you got to where you are. And I love how you talked about here on a Tuesday morning. mean, on a Tuesday, it’s not Tuesday morning, but on a Tuesday, doing a podcast, like sometimes you got to reflect back and look where we came from. And that way kind of reinforces your mindset. Like, okay, one, let’s be grateful for where we are. And for two, listen, I don’t overcame a lot. I can move forward. Like whatever the next thing is, whenever the next goal is, I can go forward and I can crush that too. So I love, I love your perspective, man. And speaking of, yeah.

Zack Davis (12:34)
Yes.

Yeah, that support helps a

lot.

Quentin (12:48)
Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely, And so speaking of goals, what is the next real goal for you? Like, what are you looking to solve a scale next, man?

Zack Davis (12:57)
Yeah, so at end of last year, I made a switch to start acquiring more. I’ve acquired properties over the years that I’ve been working with, you know, all these investors and things, but not at scale. so December of last year, I flipped a switch and was like, you know, it’s it’s time ⁓ you’re in a position to where. You have the you have the ability, so I started doing that. ⁓ I’ve got.

A few flips under construction. I’ve got one or two on the market currently. I’ve been dabbling in the rent to own space. The long-term rentals ⁓ actually have a rent to own that has been rented out for a year and a half and we’re closing on it this week for a homeowner that’s able to get qualified and close on it. So that’s really my goal. Keep building this portfolio because even though it may not be instant gratification because

It’s not an income game when you’re building a portfolio necessarily. I know that in the long term, I’ll be happy that I built this network of properties that I own, whether it’s businesses, residential, commercial, whatever it may be. And I know that my future self will be grateful that I made those sacrifices.

Quentin (14:14)
I love the way you talking brother. Don’t sow in seeds right now for your future self. mean, that’s, listen, I don’t know about you, but if I had that mindset back in my 20s, like sowing seeds my future self, I wish I had that cognitive kind of mindset. But right now it’s like, yeah, I’m gonna sow seeds for my future self now. And so I love that concept. I love that language that you’re using. I wanna ask you a question, cause it seems like some people have been very pivotal.

Digital on your journey. And you are a person that loves to build this. So I’m to say this word and when I hear it, I would love to hear your perspective. Relationship. When you hear that word relationship, Zack, what comes to mind for you,

Zack Davis (15:42)
So I’ll take it back to something I was talking about with a family member today that I had on my podcast. We were talking about my grandfather and the way I hear people talk about him, no matter how much or little they knew of him, it’s always congruent with doing what he says, ⁓ being a respectful man, like being there for others, things like that. I really pride myself on reputation. Not that I’m worried about what people think about me because even in

my younger days, people would be like, oh, he must be a a-hole or something, because he doesn’t talk to so many people. And it’s like, well, I just really don’t care about what people think, but I love those around me. so that’s what I focus on the most, is treating people right, no matter how small or large our interaction is, how close or unclose we are. I just try to treat everybody with the same level of respect. Real estate has taught me a lot about that, because I’ve been in $10,000 hoarder houses, $2 million listings.

And being able to treat people the same level, ⁓ not treat them the same, but treat them with the same level of respect has been a superpower. So I just believe in treating people right. ⁓ And even though sometimes it catches me off guard when they reciprocate it so well to me, I’m grateful for all the blessings that I have and all the good people around me, like whether it’s support in my life, business support, or just helping me. ⁓

with things through my life that they’re good at. I have friends that specialize in other things and they’re always there to help me because I’ve helped them. ⁓ I really appreciate that because I’ve been asked before, what’s your legacy gonna be? And I said, I think my legacy is gonna be how I treat the world. I want people to remember me as someone that gave them all they had while taking care of himself. So I just try to focus on that balance, try to be purposeful.

Quentin (17:27)
Mm.

Zack Davis (17:39)
And just, man, golden rule, treat people how you wanna be treated and keep going.

Quentin (17:45)
man, you reap what you sow. That’s one of the sins I’ve been saying for a long time. And I really believe that there’s an old proverb that I quote as well. It says, if you refresh others, you in return will be refreshed. So like when you make sure other people are good, it’s a way that it comes back to you. And you just said it so eloquently, like sometimes it catches you off guard, but you’re going to continue to have somebody come back and refresh you because your mindset is always to refresh others.

Zack Davis (18:06)
Yeah.

Quentin (18:13)
And so, for you to want that to be your legacy, you know, and I really believe if you keep doing what you’re saying you’re doing, your grandkids going to speak of you just like people speak of your granddad. You know, and so, man, keep doing what you’re doing, man. And I appreciate, again, your thoughtfulness, the way you answer questions, the language that you use. I greatly, greatly appreciate it, man.

Zack Davis (18:36)
Yes,

Yes,

Quentin (18:40)
Zack, let me ask you, sir, is there any topic that I have not brought up that you would like to talk about? Or is there any words of inspiration, education, motivation? I don’t know if you may have came here with something on your mind like, hey, I want to make sure viewers know this. I just want to open up the floor if there’s any message that you feel like you want to make sure people get.

Zack Davis (19:01)
Yeah, well didn’t come in with a message on my mind, but now that you ask, I would just say you only have one life, so take the risks that you see fit. Believe in yourself. You never know what you’re capable of.

Don’t feel bad about being a giver. Give with love and don’t expect anything back. And then I feel like that’s when you’re rewarded the most. ⁓ But if I can do it, anybody can do it. Managing that shoe store, all this responsibility, but only making 20,000 a year, and they’ll keep you there forever. ⁓ But took a risk, bet on myself, came with a lot of hard times.

A lot of times that people had to help me get through it, but it’s been a blessing and I’ll never look back. coming up on 10 years in real estate here pretty soon is, that’s something that’s been heavy on my mind of just gratitude. Just knowing that you found a career. Cause I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was a college athlete working a crappy job, not knowing what to do and took some risks, had people that believed in me.

and just put in the work. I’m not the type of person to, know, when, when the pipeline gets dry or things get hard, I don’t make up an excuse. I just keep doing the reps and, ⁓ I just believe in that. And, you know, my podcast is called keep going podcast. And the reason it is, is because I believe that, you know, you have to keep going. And I don’t mean when I celebrate people, when I say keep going, I don’t mean to not celebrate your win.

but just take it and continue to be positive, continue to build on that. And I’ve been doing that podcast for almost two years. We’re at about 140 episodes. I’ve interviewed such a range of people from business, life, rodeo, tactical shooting, chefs, coffee shop owner, all these things. And the congruent theme has been love, taking risk.

and enjoying this journey we have, because not everyone’s promised everything. I’ve experienced loss that put life into perspective for me.

I just really try to live. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t come up short sometimes or make mistakes, whether that’s with business, loved ones, wife, whoever. But I try to be happy every day. I try to wake up and restart and just stay on the journey. So I guess my longest long-winded message would be, you’ve got this. Keep loving the world. Keep going.

Quentin (21:35)
Keep Going podcast, man. I think that’s a fitting name. I think the way you just broke it down is so eloquent. One of my favorite books is Atomic Habit. And it talks about, yeah, it talks about being 1 % better every day. And so when you say keep going, that would have pissed my mind so hard. And it’s just be 1 % better, like one step at a time. know, having grace on myself or being able to reflect, but not getting stagnant, 1 % better. So just keep going. Tough times, rough times, even successful times.

Zack Davis (21:44)
Yeah, that’s a great one.

Quentin (22:05)
Because sometimes successful times, you can get real comfortable. But even successful times, keep going, 1 % better. And so I love it, man. I love your messaging. I appreciate you so much. If someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, collaborate with you, learn more about what you’re doing, how can they get in contact with you,

Zack Davis (22:22)
Yeah, so on Instagram it’s ZDSellsOKC, so ZD-S-E-L-L-S-OKC. I’m pretty active on there. You can see my business post and also my podcast posts. I’m in the Oklahoma City market, but I do deals in other states and I have a lot of connections in other states from meeting people like you. So reach out in my DMs. We can definitely get deals done. If I can’t get it done with me, I know who can.

in whatever type of strategy it is. have a great amount of connections and it all came from building relationships and just being a real human. ⁓ As far as my podcast, it’s on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Keep Going Podcast, Zack Davis. I love it and it’s changed my life and I’m extremely vulnerable and honest on that and the guest star as well and it’s a…

It’s a beautiful space. It really is. I used to not talk about it as much, even though I’ve been doing it for a while, but it truly is something special and I really enjoy it. ⁓ But I’m on Instagram, Facebook. The investment company I’m with is Local Guy Buys Houses. I’m a realtor here in Oklahoma with Copper Creek Real Estate, one of the best brokerages in the state. And yeah, that’s me.

Quentin (23:42)
my friend. ⁓ Man, let me say three things to you sincerely. I mean, you didn’t hit the word vulnerability. So a lot of people don’t. That’s not the word I bring up. And people normally don’t bring that word up. So I got to say three things to you sincerely. One, thank you for your time. You could have been anywhere in the world, but you’re here with us. Thank you for your story. I say this, Zack, very often. Thank you for the gift of your vulnerability. I say that to people because it truly is a gift. And you brought up the word vulnerable, know, vulnerable, word.

Zack Davis (23:51)
Hmm.

Quentin (24:11)
vulnerability is like a war time because you’re literally telling people where they can attack you at. So it’s like you’re being so upfront that you’re saying like, this is where if you wanted to, you could try, try to damage my reputation, try to say things about me. But because I’m vulnerable and I use it as my superpower, you can’t, you can’t hurt me, but it does tell people, you know, just the real of where you are. And so, man, thank you for the gift of your vulnerability. I greatly appreciate it. And lastly, man, thank you for your mindset.

Zack Davis (24:13)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Quentin (24:41)
the way you think. Thank you for bringing that mindset to this platform. I greatly appreciate you coming on today.

Zack Davis (24:49)
Yes, sir. Thank you. And it was

a pleasure, I really appreciate your mentality. I don’t know you very well, but I was instantly more happy after our few minutes of talking. So I appreciate you, and I look forward to more collaboration.

Quentin (25:04)
Absolutely, that means a lot, man. It really does. So listen, y’all heard Mr. Zack. Look in his show notes, get in contact with him. Definitely, please go check out the Keep Going podcast. everything, his information is in the show notes. Check him out. Definitely make sure you’re subscribed here because I promise you, we’re going to continue to bring up amazing people just like Mr. Zack. So sir, I say thank you again. And everyone else, listen, y’all have a fantastic day.

Zack Davis (25:17)
Appreciate that.