How EOS Helps Real Estate Investors Build Better Businesses with Kevin Taylor

Kevin Taylor (00:00)
Process, this is one of those really hard for a lot of companies, helping them get really, really, really strong on their process component. This is what creates the consistency and scalability inside their business.

And then traction, which is the book is named after, traction is really installing, again, bringing that vision down to the ground, executing on it with discipline and accountability. As we like to say, vision without traction is just hallucination. And so once we can get them ⁓ traction ⁓ on that business, that makes the vision come alive.

Michelle Kesil (02:03)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros Podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil Today, I’m joined by someone I’m looking forward to chatting with, Kevin Taylor of Nolk Investments, who is an investor in Dallas as well as a coach for entrepreneurs. So, excited to have you here today, Kevin.

Kevin Taylor (02:25)
Yeah, happy to be here.

Michelle Kesil (02:26)
Great, let’s dive in. First off, for those new to your world, can you share what your main focus is these days?

Kevin Taylor (02:33)
Yeah, my main focus is now as a ⁓ business coach, I’ve invested in real estate for a little over about 25 years, but now I coach businesses and helping them win at the game of business. So coach on a system called EOS, which stands for the Entrepreneurial Operating System.

Michelle Kesil (02:48)
awesome and what made you get into coaching.

Kevin Taylor (02:53)
Yeah. So, uh, was probably about a decade ago, a little, more than a decade now. Uh, I was introduced, uh, to one of the books I have behind me on the, if you’re watching the video, uh, is a book called Traction. And, um, we had me and a couple of guys that just started a bank probably five years prior to that. And when I was introduced to the book after reading the first chapter, I saw that there was a lot of things that that book answered that we needed. Um, um,

Well, I guess the book had answers to a lot of the questions that we had when we were running our bank. And it had a lot of systems that were really simple, just not easy to do. So we started implementing the system again called EOS inside our bank. ⁓ And it started having great, great success in doing so. And I started handing those books out to my clients who were also entrepreneurs. And after about a decade of handing out books to…

clients, friends, prospects. When I was in banking, I decided to become what we call it an EOS implementer, which is a business coach ⁓ for these companies, helping them really run on a system that helps them get everything they want from their business.

Michelle Kesil (04:02)
Awesome, and what type of clients do you work with?

Kevin Taylor (04:05)
So clients that I work with are entrepreneurial. So most of the clients that I work with are owned businesses anywhere from 10 to 250 employees. That’s kind of the center of the fairway for us. Now I work with the leadership teams of these companies. So I would say the leadership teams need to be five things or this system ain’t gonna work for them. They need to be growth oriented. They need to be open-minded.

willing to be open and honest, willing to be vulnerable with themselves and those around them and more afraid of the status quo than change. Because, ⁓ yeah, the system doesn’t work if they’re not vulnerable, if they’re not willing to ⁓ look at doing things a different way than they’ve currently been doing them.

Michelle Kesil (04:43)
And what do feel have been some of the main keys that have allowed your business to grow and run successfully?

Kevin Taylor (04:51)
Yeah, well, running it on a ⁓ system that everyone inside a company needs to have a clear vision of where they’re going, how they’re going to get there, be able to execute on that vision with real discipline and accountability. And then again, as it worked with the leadership teams, ⁓ I also have a leadership team to make sure that we’re operating as a healthy, cohesive bunch of people who really enjoy working together. Because sometimes even the best leadership teams are sometimes unhealthy.

And ⁓ that’s what attributes a lot of success to running really well run businesses.

Michelle Kesil (06:22)
And as a real estate investor, how has that aspect of your career influenced the current coaching that you’re doing?

Kevin Taylor (06:35)
Yeah. So one of the things that I coach my clients with is something that’s called an accountability chart. And so a little bit different from an org chart where accountability chart lists what we have functions and what the roles or responsibilities for each of those functions are. And so let’s just take the real estate portfolio that we have, for example, small wife and I mainly run the real estate portfolio. I’m more of the visionary type. And so I’m one of the roles of my job is to go out.

find the real estate that we’re gonna purchase. ⁓ Typically if it has a renovation that needs to be done, I’m managing that aspect of it. I’m also, you know, renovating, finding any tenants. These are typically properties that we keep. So finding the tenants in that. And after we get the purchase of property, renovate it, ⁓ put a tenant in there.

I back away and my wife handles the rest of the stuff. So she’s working with the tenants after they’ve been put in there. She’s making sure rents are paid on time. She’s handling all the communication because we know where our zone of genius is. She is so much better at the communication aspect, back and forth with tenants than I am. I’m really good at visualizing what the property, the highest ambitions for the property.

getting it renovated and then finding a good tenant and then she takes over from there. just knowing the roles ⁓ of responsibilities, making sure that we’re staying in our lane and we’re working within our zone of genius.

Michelle Kesil (08:03)
And are you continuing to be involved in real estate and growing your portfolio?

Kevin Taylor (08:10)
Yeah. So we’ve had, we had just under two dozen properties. And then we’ve sold about half of those, half of those properties. we’re in, we’re in Dallas and a lot of those properties that we purchased were during kind of the 2020 COVID aspect where it took a little six month window where, where there was a dip. And I should say another really good thing is we had systems and stuff in place. And so when that dip happened in the Dallas Fort Worth area,

it was something that we were able to see really quick because we had looked at hundreds of properties. when everything, we had a system that every time we look at a property, we had put it in our template. And when there was a dip ⁓ in the market, we saw that the three categories that we look at all turned green. And so it allowed us to buy that property really quick. Now, when we’re looking at it, we saw that… ⁓

And we kind of missed the peak here in selling some of those properties. So ⁓ we looked at our portfolio, took out the ones that we wanted to sell, have sold the majority of those and ⁓ looking to expand our real estate portfolio more on something that’s a little different, but will be kind of the development of land that we have out in East Texas. We’re looking at doing the experience ⁓ short-term rentals.

Airbnb type style, VRBO type style, short-term rentals in East Texas.

Michelle Kesil (09:36)
Yeah, amazing. And so what aspects of the business ⁓ in the coaching, the real estate, everything that you’re doing, like what else are you focusing on scaling or solving next?

Kevin Taylor (09:49)
Yeah, mainly from the business standpoint, I’m looking at scaling my business through working with, like I said, owner-managed businesses, entrepreneurial-type businesses, in what we call the Texas Triangle. So I’m in Dallas, Texas Triangle is Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and then back up to Dallas, Austin’s in there as well.

And so I’m working on building my portfolio of business inside the Texas Triangle, working with entrepreneurs, helping them win at the game of business. That’s what I enjoy doing.

Michelle Kesil (10:18)
Yeah, and what is the process that you walk the entrepreneurs through?

Kevin Taylor (10:55)
Yeah, the process. the, anyone who’s interested in learning more to see if this EOS system I’ve been talking about is right for them. I always offer them a free kind of 90 minute session. So I meet with their leadership team. And during that session, I walk them through, you know, the six key components of this EOS system. I’ll go over real quick. You know, vision is the first one. This is again, getting everyone on the same page with where you’re going, how you’re gonna get there.

Making sure they’re strong in the people component, explaining what the people component is and what strong looks like. And so that’s getting right people in the right seats. You got to have both. You can’t run a great business unless you have great people. And then ⁓ working with them on the data component, showing them what it looks like to be strong in the data component, which is using facts, figures, objective information to make your decisions instead of the feelings, emotions, and egos I often see entrepreneurs ⁓ use to make those decisions.

And I tell them, you know, when they’re strong on the vision people and data component of your business, all the impurities and perfections, problems, challenges, all those rise to the top, but so do opportunities. We just call those issues. So I show them how to solve for any issues that’s holding them back, solve it at the root, make it go away forever.

Process, this is one of those really hard for a lot of companies, helping them get really, really, really strong on their process component. This is what creates the consistency and scalability inside their business.

And then traction, which is the book is named after, traction is really installing, again, bringing that vision down to the ground, executing on it with discipline and accountability. As we like to say, vision without traction is just hallucination. And so once we can get them ⁓ traction ⁓ on that business, that makes the vision come alive.

And so that’s what I love doing is helping companies and entrepreneurs. ⁓

get strong in those six key components of their business.

Michelle Kesil (12:46)
Are there any types of businesses that you don’t work with?

Kevin Taylor (12:50)
Now the majority of the companies I would say we’re kind of industry agnostic. I have not run across some that are ones that we don’t. I’m looking at my list of clients. So I’ve got everything from therapists to a restaurant to general contractors to a gun range to a couple of wealth managers, a couple of private equity companies, manufacturing company, a security company. So there’s a lot of different companies that I work with. know real estate. I’ve got some friends of mine that are using another

implement or they started running on this process before I was coaching them. ⁓ But one is that the own kind of a brokerage of real estate, ⁓ the real estate broker, so the residential real estate brokers, they run their system or run their business on EOS along with a couple of developers as well.

Michelle Kesil (13:38)
What are some of the biggest challenges that your clients struggle with that you help them overcome?

Kevin Taylor (13:45)
Yeah, one of the biggest challenges is people. ⁓ This is what’s really hard is when they know that they have a people issue inside their company. had a conversation with actually one of my clients earlier today where they’ve actually had this people issue inside their company ⁓ for gosh, probably four years now. And

It’s something that they know that they need to make a change. They’re just afraid to make that change because they, they are the story they’re telling themselves is if this person goes, there’s a lot of work to, to recreate it. And so, ⁓ they’ve just kind of been struggling through that, but I’m, coaching them on how to make that people change what it’s going to look like, ⁓ after that, that person is not there anymore and helping them find a replacement and a way out to do that. I see this.

so often I can think of at least ⁓ four or five of my clients that have gone through a tough people issue that once they’re on the other side of that tough people issue, they look back and they’re like, I don’t know why we didn’t do this sooner. And, but at the moment, at the time, it’s just, it’s really, really hard. ⁓ Another, another one of those components that they struggle on too is the process part and getting their processes documented, simplified, and then making sure everyone follows those.

That’s one of the hardest things for them to implement inside their company as well as making sure they’ve got clean, documented, simplified and great processes for everyone.

Michelle Kesil (15:15)
Yeah, absolutely. And where do you see your business going? are the goals that you have for yourself or for your clients?

Kevin Taylor (15:27)
Yeah, where I see myself going is one of my 10 year target is, and so I do this with my clients too. It’s like, we set a 10 year target, a three year picture, one year goal. My 10 year target is to be one of the most sought after business coaches in the Texas triangle. So again, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. And one of the measurables that I have on there is to get all my clients from a referral and a referral from every client. And the longer

I do this, the more referrals come in from clients and that’s what just makes it fun.

Michelle Kesil (16:01)
Yeah, absolutely. And what are some of like the common strategies that you implement with people?

Kevin Taylor (16:53)
Well, the government is, so I take all of my clients first through, and again, I’m working with the leadership team of the companies. And so the leadership teams are typically anywhere from three to maybe seven people. And we spent a full day working together. And the first full day that we’re working together, we call our focus day. you know,

spending a full day working on things like an accountability chart. Like we put structure first, people second. What is the structure that this company needs to look like six to 12 months from now? So we do a lot of work on making sure the company is structured the right way. What are the key functions? What are the roles in each of those? Then we fill the seats with the people. Hopefully it’s the people that are inside that room, because that’s the leadership team that I’m working with. And then work with them on setting.

their priorities. And so we call these ROCs. So ROCs are just 90 day action items, 90 day priorities. Things that you need to get done, most important things at the company level and then at the individual level ⁓ that need to happen. ⁓ We’re taking a first crack at the scorecard, making sure ⁓ they’ve got weekly measurables that they’re keeping track of every single week. ⁓ So they know what a good week looks like.

So we’re taking them through a lot of these things, teaching them the weekly meeting pulse, what a great, what we call a level 10 meeting, what a great meeting looks like. So we spent a full day going through all of those things, also take them through a concept called hitting the ceiling. So I always tell companies, if you haven’t hit a ceiling yet, at some time you will. And when you hit a ceiling inside your company, you’re going to do…

one of three things. either going to break through that, you’re going to plateau, or you’re going to fail. And so I’m walking them through the five leadership abilities on what needs to happen to break through that ceiling when that happens. After that, spend, ⁓ you know, we take a break. It’s kind of a space-based learning program. We take a 30-day break, get back together for vision building. And so there’s vision building day one, another 30-day break, vision building day two, where we’re getting really clear, again, not as a…

one-on-one, me and the owner, it’s me and the leadership team working together to make sure we’re all on the same page with things, we call there eight questions, things like, you what are your core values? What’s the core focus? That 10-year target I mentioned earlier. You know, what’s your marketing strategy? Three-year picture, one-year plan. What are your 90-day priorities? Are the rocks? And then what’s on the issues list? You know, what are the short-term issues? What are the long-term issues? How do we solve those? So…

It’s a space-based learning program. Most of my clients, ⁓ when I’m taking them through that program, it takes them about two years to really just get it and be hitting on all cylinders, getting really strong ⁓ in each of those six key components of their business.

Michelle Kesil (19:40)
Yeah, amazing. And

how does someone work with you? it like you said, two years is that the typical ⁓ program?

Kevin Taylor (19:48)
Yeah, that’s the typical program. And we’re a little different than a lot of people out there. Cause, you know, know when someone hears that they’re like, Oh man, a two year commitment is a long commitment. And when I work and I go over this, when I meet with the leadership team for that free kind of 90 minute session, as I tell them, you know, I walk them through the process, walk them after I walk them through what it looks like to be a hundred percent strong in each of the six key components, walk them through the process, why it takes two years. I tell them like,

There’s no contracts, there’s no ⁓ retainers that I get as their coach. So the only commitment that I want from you is a long-term mental commitment that you’re gonna stay at this for two years. ⁓ We actually offer a guarantee ⁓ that if you don’t get any value, like once we spend a full day together, if there’s not any value that’s received from that full day session, you just simply don’t pay me.

we want to make sure we’re delivering value before we ask for anything ⁓ in return. So, yeah, so they should know. always tell them after I do, and the reason we do this 90 minute ⁓ session for free at the beginning is because it’s a two-way interview. I mean, I tell them, this is just the easiest, best way for me to transfer information, for us to get on the same page and then ultimately see if there’s a fit here. Because if there’s not a fit, there’s no reason to move forward. But at the end of…

End of that session, I tell them they should have the answer to two things. One is, is this system right for you? And the second question, am I the right person to coach you through that? If those are not both yeses, then it doesn’t make sense to move forward.

Michelle Kesil (21:21)
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for sharing.

Kevin Taylor (21:23)
Absolutely.

Michelle Kesil (21:24)
Before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect and learn more, where can people find you?

Kevin Taylor (21:31)
Yeah, easiest way to shoot me an email. My email is [email protected]. I’m also fairly active on LinkedIn. I’m drawing a blank on what my LinkedIn handle is. I’m not sure if we can put it in the show notes. But if you just Google, if you just Google Kevin Taylor EOS Implementer, it pops up really quick.

Michelle Kesil (21:45)
Okay, perfect. Appreciate your time and your story. Thank you for being here.

Kevin Taylor (21:48)
Yeah, thank you. Appreciate it.

Michelle Kesil (21:50)
And for the listeners tuning in, if you got value, make sure to subscribe. We have more conversations with operators like Kevin who are building real businesses. See you on the next episode.