How Williams Denis Built an $8M Real Estate Wholesaling Business

Williams Denis (00:00)
Here’s the game in a nutshell. Any game. Whoever is the person that can just withstand and continue to get up and move forward every day, you win. You win. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, it might not be ten million dollars your first year.

That’s not realistic, first of all. Second of all, you will win. I look back now at a decade and I look back and I’m like, man, where are all the people that started with me? Where are they at? They quit. They got something else. They gave up. That’s it. So I won by default.

Quentin Edmonds (02:07)
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the *Real Estate Pros* podcast.

I am your host, Q Edmonds. Super excited today. Excited about my guest. Excited about his mindset, the way he thinks, how he how he’s grown his business. And listen, I was kind of trying to pin him down. Like, man, what is it that you do? And this guy was like, Listen, I get the deals nobody wants, and I make a boat boatload of money. And so I’m like, okay, this is gonna be fun. And so I’m excited again for us to peek through his lens and get to know a little bit better, Mr. Willy Denis. Mr. Willy, how you doing today, sir?

Williams Denis (02:38)
doing sir I appreciate that Q

Quentin Edmonds (02:40)
Yeah, man. Absolutely. Well, listen, man, I appreciate you being here, sir. I think time is our most precious commodity. And so I value the fact that you gave us some of your time. And so, Willy, man, I’m the type, sir. I like to dive right in. So I would love for you to tell the people what’s your main focus these days. If you don’t mind, give us a little origin story, man. How you got into the spaces that you’re in, and then tell us what markets you’re operating in. So, Willy, sir, you got the floor, man.

Williams Denis (03:05)
Thank you. yeah, it’s great to be here. So out of South Florida, originally from Miami. I live in Palm Beach now. But I got started in wholesaling in twenty seventeen. I got started door knocking in the hood. That was a lot of fun. And yeah, I split my first five deals with my first mentor. That’s how I got in. didn’t really think about it. I’d been fired from my last job. So that’s exactly I shotgunned right into it. So piece of advice for anybody there starting right off, don’t think too much, just do.

There’s no such thing as knowing everything. There’s no such thing as getting your ducks in a row. There are no ducks. There is no row. By the time that you’ve gotten your ducks in a row, I’ve shot about a hundred of them. I probably missed like ninety, but I got ten and I’m on the way back home. So that’s the way that a winner needs to think, and that’s the way that you need to get started. So for me, I since twenty seventeen, I started in wholesaling. I grew out a very large wholesale operation doing eight million dollars a year at our peak. About nine hundred transactions, give or take, to

Till date. but somewhere along the line around twenty nineteen, I started doing what is today known as curative deals, right? It’s a big hot topic now. All these deals that nobody wants, right? The dead leads, dead deals. I I’ve been doing that since twenty nineteen and buying deeds to those properties, fixing those issues and then taking them out to market, either keeping them or flipping them or whatever, but making very, sizable rips. it is not uncommon for me to do a six figure deal at all.

And that’s in what I always and what people are always fascinated about is because I’m from Miami, because that’s my marketplace, they’re like, dude, but your market is so competitive. How are you getting so many deals? And I’m like, exactly. That should make you notice that I must be doing something differently in order to get these. Cause it’s one thing to get a big deal in an okay market, is a whole another thing to get it in a city like Miami Dade County.

Quentin Edmonds (04:50)
Mm-hmm. Love it, man. Bro, thank you, man. Thank you for taking me through the journey of what you do, kind of how you got there a little bit. Yeah. I’m always curious about the journey. and so I often say, Willy, that destiny has no wasted moments, right? We’re borrowing from every leg of the journey, from the failure, from the success. So I would love to know, sir, for you particularly as you,

900 units, eight million, I think what probably was the best, one of the better years. What has you what has the journey revealed to you about yourself? Has it made you more disciplined? Has you increased your tenacity? Has it made you more humble? Like what does the journey reveal to you about you?

Williams Denis (06:17)
Great question. the journeys revealed much more than the destination. I can tell you that. so humility for one, ego has no place, right? Ego is good to an extent. You don’t know everything, you never will, and don’t ever get comfortable because that’s where dreams go to die.

And I think I think people have a very, skewed perception, with Instagram and Instacart and Insta everything nowadays, where they might see a guy like me nine and a half year, let’s call it a decade, right? A decade deep into his journey and craft. And by the way, I only did one thing. I never, crypto and Amazon stores and this. No, It was one thing, one thing which is

residential real estate largely. And they think that person doesn’t hit plateaus. They think that person doesn’t have hard days till this day, right? they think that person doesn’t get comfortable, right? People think like, well, you’re making a million dollars a year. How could you be comfortable? It’s very easy to get comfortable. It’s actually easy I would argue it’s easier to get comfortable at a million dollars a year because I have everything I ever want. Mm-hmm and I don’t have to worry about it. Right. So how do I chase how do I go to three? How do I go to five? How do I go more?

Right. So it can’t be about the money. So I think the most important thing is

How I thought I saw my career going and how it actually went, I probably wouldn’t have kind of started if I knew the journey. Because it made no sense. I had two business divorces, at my peak of my career, I lost everything, had to remake it back up. and then the best, was really yet to come. So yeah, I got sober throughout the pro. I stopped drinking throughout the whole process. So, it’s been it’s been a wild journey. It’s been it’s been a fun.

on journey, but I honestly feel I feel more invigorated today than I did probably in twenty seventeen. Just yeah.

Quentin Edmonds (08:03)
man, I’m sorry.

Williams Denis (08:04)
That answers the question.

Quentin Edmonds (08:06)
I wish I could have kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to mess up your train to do it. You was flowing, man.

Williams Denis (08:11)
You’re good, you’re good.

Quentin Edmonds (08:12)
And I love it, man. I instant when you talked about insta, like I literally wrote down the word insta, right? We like things instantly. Like we’ve kind of gotten to that kind of mindset. And you and I both one of the people we heavily lean on as God. Like we talked about, right? And if we look at his

story of creation, he didn’t do anything instantly. Like he did things in six days, and he’s God. So he could have done everything all at one time. Like, boom, everything comes into place. But he did one thing at a time one day, then another thing at another time, another day. And instead, on the seventh day, he rested. So that lets me know that he is a God of process. And so I think for us, that is important for us to understand that there’s a process.

We gotta fall in love with the journey. We can’t have anything instant. There’s no learning in the instant. There’s the learning in the journey. There’s the fortification in the journey. And so I just had to bring that out, man. I don’t know if you want to comment or respond to that, but that just made me think that you was talking. That’s what I thought of.

Williams Denis (09:07)
Yeah, look, sometimes I have fallen I couldn’t tell you how many times, right? And I fall some falls were like a little slip and fall. Some falls were like from a hundred story building. some were out of a plane without a parachute. just context. But dude, what?

It’s gonna be okay. That’s what I would tell my younger self. That’s what I tell myself today from yesterday. yes, it’s obviously easier said than done. Anyone who’s watching this is gonna be like, yeah, it’s easy for him to say that now, right? He’s this, he’s that, he’s done this, he’s done that, he’s in shape. he’s got the business. he’s got the team. Listen, dude, it wasn’t always the case. there was once upon a time where I was fat.

There was once upon a time where I was out of control. There was once upon a time where I had no team. There was once upon a time where I was broke as a joke. what I mean? the way that I got out of there is through unsexy, repetitive, mundane shit. And again, excuse my French. That’s just the reality. I like to kick it straight. if you’re not willing, I’m 35 now. I turn 36 next year.

Quentin Edmonds (10:09)
No.

Williams Denis (10:09)
If you’re not willing to literally give up and sacrifice your

Quentin Edmonds (10:14)
Yeah.

Williams Denis (10:14)
twenties, let’s just say, which I did for the game, don’t get in the game. Yeah. Don’t get in the game. Because inevitably I will say that you’re gonna run into a guy like me and I’m gonna run you over. Not in a bad way. Not in a bad way. Yeah. It’s just that’s life. When people say the word commitment to me, I’m like, You better watch that. Yeah, you better watch that. Yeah.

There’s there you better really mean that. and I’m not the best. I’m just saying that is my level of commitment. I either go at something a thousand percent or I don’t touch it at all.

Quentin Edmonds (10:45)
Yeah, I love it, man. One of my mentors said consistency beats intensity any day. So when you’re talking about the mundane, when you fall in love with the mundane, that consistency, it looks boring at times. But the consistency beats intensity. Because here’s the thing: when you’re consistent, you have momentum. Sometimes when you’re intense, you’re trying to build momentum. But like you said, I’m gonna run you over. When I got that momentum already building, and you just trying to be intense, but I got momentum, boom.

Williams Denis (11:12)
Yeah, man. Look, again, there people really, and Tony Robbins always says, people overestimate what they could do in a year and underestimate what they could do in five. That is a that is a true statement. I look back and I’m like, man, five years ago it was 2021. We were about to my life was about to change. Like if I could t transform back to September of twenty one, my life was about to change forever because we were about to have an eight million dollar year.

And keep 30 something rent. I mean, it was literally like everything I had looked forward to was about to happen. And that was five years ago. Five years ago before that, I was a nobody. I wasn’t even in this space. I was a loot, I was absolutely broke. And I was a lost kid. what I mean? So like things can happen. You have no idea where you can be versus where you are right now. The issue is a lot of people talk about what they want and what they think that they want.

Until that price tag is attached to that thing, and they’re like, wait, hold up, hold up. And I’m not talking about price about money. No, Talking about the price of sacrifice. I’m talking about the price of commitment. I’m talking about the price of consistency, right? That Ferrari looks sexy. Do you have to do some Ferrari shit to get it? Come on, bro. It’s a little bit different. It’s a little bit different. The six-pack looks great, dude. Everybody looks great with a six-pack. Bro, I can tell you getting a six-pack was harder for me.

Than being a millionaire. That that’s actually a statistic. That is a fact. There’s less people with a six pack than it is. why? Because you can’t buy it. You can’t

Quentin Edmonds (12:39)
Yeah.

Williams Denis (12:40)
buy it. You gotta earn it. And again, the deals, it’s the same thing. When I was up in Chicago last weekend speaking in front of a bunch of people, told people, I said, guys, for those of you that think that I make this look easy, because somebody said it, I was like, I don’t make it look easy. If I’ve done 900 deals, that’s because I’ve messed up 9,000.

Yeah. Just remember that. Yeah. and I’ve been willing to look like an idiot throughout my entire career and look like a fool doing it because I didn’t care. I wanted the result.

Quentin Edmonds (13:10)
Mm-hmm.

No,

Williams Denis (13:11)
wanna keep going off tangent, so go ahead.

Quentin Edmonds (13:13)
bro. No, you good. You’re not on the tangent. So listen, one of my favorite books is *Atomic Habits* by James Clear, right? One of my favorite

Williams Denis (13:19)
Great book. Great book. Nominal book.

Quentin Edmonds (13:21)
So, of course, we talk about hat habit stacking, right? So building systems that really help you be successful. And so I would love to know, man, what are some operational things? Let’s say one maybe operational thing you put in place.

let’s say the last year or two that has really helped you gain momentum and be successful.

Williams Denis (14:19)
yeah, probably more further back than a year or two, but look, man, you what you what you track, you can improve, right? So if you’re not tracking your KPIs, if you if you want to speak to business, right? And live too, life KPIs. Really, but if you if you don’t have KPIs, which you keep performance indicators, it’s a fancy Latin way to say things that you’re tracking in your business. For example, how much is it costing me? How much does it cost me?

To generate a lead in our business? That is such a simple question, right? And you’d be surprised how 99% of operators or owners in this space don’t know it. Yeah. They don’t know. And they just throw a number out there. Is that a hundred bucks a lead? Is it 200 bucks a lead? Is it 300 bucks a lead? Do you even know? Right. And second question, is that good or bad? Right? So KPIs are very important. how much is it costing me to get somebody on the phone? How much

How many of those people on the phone is it is it taking for me to generate a deal? And how many of those deals, contracts, deeds, whatever, is it taking me to make money? And how long does that delta take from the beginning of that process to the end of that process? Cause that is gonna determine how fast you grow and or if you die. Right. And it’s also gonna determine, hey, how much money do I put into this? What should I stop? Like my COO and I had a had a very long call yesterday about

different marketing channels that we’ve been testing. Now we’re like at the 120 day market. I’m like, all right, look, we got the data. Let’s make some decisions and let’s better it. And we did a couple tweaks. We set them and we said, Hey, all right, we’ll talk about this again in the next 90 days. Right. So KPIs is what I would say, right? Systems, processes. Guys, look, to get to a million bucks, you can hustle your way there. I did it 100%. That you can brute force your way to a million bucks, no issue.

To get past the million dollars is people, systems, and process.

Quentin Edmonds (16:06)
It is. There it is. The three P’s, man. So what’s next for you, really? Like what’s the next real goal? What are you looking to solve at scale next?

Williams Denis (16:14)
Commercial. So I’ve gotten into the commercial world. I have some commercial development projects in South Florida. And, just a bigger game, man. A bigger game. My single family business thankfully runs virtually without me, right? My COO does a great job. And now it’s just I’ve opened up the funnel. My personal time, I’m dedicating it to bigger projects, bigger opportunities. And I’m really I’m really focused on from 35 to 40. it it’s funny, I was telling my fiance yesterday.

I said, I’m coming up on 10 years in the game. And I only say that to say if the game had four quarters, right, then this is my first quarter. Right. So 25 to 35. That because I got started at 25. And again, by the way, guys, if you’re 20, to 30, right? Use some common sense. So 25 to 35. So my next quarter right now, I’m like, shit, I just started my second quarter of the game, 35 to 45.

Third quarter, 45 to 55, to 65, right? I’ll never retire because I just can’t keep myself still. But with that being said, dude, imagine, and I’ve done it myself. Imagine how many of us run around and say, my God, the world’s ending. I’m like, dude, you’re in the fourth quarter of the game. You’d never watch a sporting event and be like, game’s over. First quarter. Come on, man. How

Quentin Edmonds (17:26)
Yeah.

Williams Denis (17:27)
many comebacks have we seen? So again, I

It gives me perspective, and I hope that it gives the viewers perspective. Dude, if this is your first day, welcome. Congratulations. First of all, you joined a club that most people will never join. And you’re a nutcase, probably, to be here, right? and welcome, man. It’s gonna be a very trying journey. It’ll be very difficult, but that’s all right, man. what I mean? And if you’re 10 years or 20 years into the game.

Congratulations. You’re also in a club that most people will never be in. You’ve worked for yourself for an extended period of time, but you still got a lot of time left in the game. it’s perspective.

Quentin Edmonds (18:06)
Yeah, Love it, man. Like this is so good. I love asking everyone that comes on this specific question. I’m love asking you. relationship about relationships, right? Like, what is your philosophy? What is your strategy on building healthy relationships? who are some people in your corner that has encouraged you? And

I’m pretty sure there are some people that you encourage. There are some groups that you encourage and have influence on. So talk to me a little bit about relationships and how important they are within business.

Williams Denis (18:33)
Relationship capital is the most important type of capital that there is. Everybody focuses, particularly in our space, right? Because we’re in real estate. So we’re in the money business, right? It’s always, I’m raising capital, hard money, private money, whatever. Look, man, capital’s important, but money can be rented. Relationships can’t, so I I’ve built up relationships over the last decade that

I can call upon today. But here’s the key about relationships, ladies and gentlemen. The key to relationships is like a bank account. You will deposit into those relationships for an extended undefined period of time. One day, one day, the hope is you can call upon said interest-bearing bank account, and you can, hey, I need da-da-da-da-da-da. Yep.

And that bank account will not be overdrawn because you don’t want to take out from an overdrawn bank account. And if you haven’t deposited, there’s nothing for you to withdraw, right? So you want to build relationships in that same fashion. I call upon relationships today. And again, I never, I’m not saying hold it over somebody’s head, but people answer the phone and they’re like, when this dude calls me, there’s money. This dude’s helped me with this, and that. This dude was unselfish with this relationship, that relationship, the person he introduced me to.

the value that he gives, the content that he does, the speaking engagement that he does, the donation, the philanthropic, the whatever, all that stuff. The connecting me with nothing, expected. Just connecting two people, right? So that is very important. and when you need it, that’s when you call upon those relationships. So I will always encourage people, I see a lot of because now I’m in a position of influence, let’s say.

A lot of people approach me, and again, I’m very blunt as I was just in Chicago then. Guys, do not approach me to pick my brain. If you ask if you say that to me, I will literally walk away. Don’t take it personally. it you should pick your nose. Don’t pick your brain, man. Don’t pick anybody’s brain. what I mean? You should lead with value. The first guy that I that I was mentored by, he didn’t know who I was. what I said to him? I said, I will split my first five deals with you 50

You teach me the game, I’ll put up the money for marketing, and you will get 50% half of my deals for the first five. No question. What was his downside? Zero. What was his upside? Everything. That dude went on to make 70 grand with me over the next hundred days or so. It’s not a bad gig, right? But had I approached that guy and said, hey man, could I just take you to coffee for 15 minutes? Could you teach me this business? Come on, bro. That’s disrespectful. That’s disrespectful.

And it’s disrespectful to that person and to yourself because you actually believe crazy to me how many people actually believe that I can teach them how to make millions of dollars for free or without any involvement of their own. That doesn’t make any sense.

Quentin Edmonds (21:22)
Yeah.

Williams Denis (21:23)
You gotta nurture the relationships is what I’m trying to say if I’m saying anything.

Quentin Edmonds (21:26)
yeah. So well said, man.

Williams Denis (21:28)
Yeah.

Quentin Edmonds (21:29)
Before we talk about giving people your information how to get in contact with you, I just want to kind of make sure there’s nothing left that you want to give. In a sense, maybe you might have came in with something on your mind like, I want to make sure this message lands. I just kind of want to open the field up because I’ve been asking you questions, but is there anything, any message that you particularly personally want to give that you feel like people may need to know?

Williams Denis (21:51)
Look, I I’ve been in this game for a long time now. I love this game. this game has given me a lot. Okay. I’ve also given it a lot. And, I’ve earned my position. but I love this game. And I would say to anybody thinking about and this game meaning wholesaling, right? Real estate and all that kind of stuff. Anybody thinking about getting into this game, man, dude, treat it as something that can literally change your life forever because it did for me.

And it changed my life forever. I would not be a tenth of the man that I am today if it wasn’t for this game and the learning lessons and the players that I met along the way and all the hardships and the good times and the bad times and all that stuff. And that’s all it is, man. It’s just I was willing to give indefinitely to this game and the game rewarded me back. So I would advise that anybody looking in getting into this game or already in the game and you’re not seeing the results you want.

Do it that way, man. It worked out well for me. Give to the game, man, what you want the game to give back to you without any expectations. And I promise you, will get what you want.

Quentin Edmonds (22:56)
Yes, sir. Well, listen, man, 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, man?

Williams Denis (23:05)
@Willynumbers is the best way. Willy’s with the y, @Willynumbers on Instagram or all those platforms. That’s my handle on everything. Instagram, I would say, is my heaviest, along with YouTube. I’m sure yeah. And then we have a Skool community Reverse Flip. I there there’s a free one and then there’s a paid one. It’s very simple.

Quentin Edmonds (23:23)
Yep. Willy, man. So three things. sincerely. One, thank you for your time. is our most precious commodity. I know how the podcast works, right? You got a host, you got a guest. But no, seriously, man, I value your time. Thank you so much, man, for giving us some of the things. secondly, man, yes, secondly, man, thank you for your story, brother. Thank you for your gift of your authenticity, the gift of your integrity. I would even say the gift of your vulnerability. I believe when we share our stories, we sprinkle seeds, man. And I believe I believe you sprinkle some real seeds.

Never know when it’s going to fruit. Never know when it’s gonna grow, but it’s there. lastly, brother, thank you for your mindset, man. Thank you for the way you think and bringing that mindset to this platform. Appreciate coming on. Absolutely,

Williams Denis (24:01)
Got

beaten up a lot along the way, Q. So mindset, the mindset is like my brain damage just in manifestation.

Quentin Edmonds (24:09)
Well, listen, man. I thank you for the growth mindset. I listen, one of my favorite books, not sure if you heard of it, is by Dr. Caroline Leaf. It’s called *Switch On Your Brain*. she’s a neuroscientist, and she literally tells us teaches us how to do neuroplasticity every day. And so, man, we can rewire this brain. And I know, even though you’ve taken some beatings, I can see the rewired brain and the way that it functioned and add, and just add value to us. So, man, I appreciate you, brother.

Williams Denis (24:35)
Yeah, listen, you sorry, whoever, like the person, here’s the here’s the game. Here’s the game in a nutshell. Any game. Whoever is the person that can just withstand and continue to get up and move forward every day, you win. You win. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, it might not be ten million dollars your first year.

That’s not realistic, first of all. Second of all, you will win. I look back now at a decade and I look back and I’m like, man, where are all the people that started with me? Where are they at? They quit. They got something else. They gave up. That’s it. So I won by default. Now, of course, I worked hard too, but I won by default just by being here longer than that guy. That guy said, aw! that hurts. I said, I don’t feel it. Give me some mo.

That’s what I want. You gotta keep moving forward. You gotta keep moving forward. That’s the person who wins. Look, the strategy’s great. And that’s like my mission right now in life. The strategy’s great. The technical is great. which marketing channel? what do I do? Listen, man, that’s all cute and it’s important, but it’s not as important as the game that I’m giving you right now. I promise you. I promise you, because by default, you will win. Because if you don’t have this type of mindset and you have all the tools.

you’ll ruin it. I’m telling you. Because inevitably there’s gonna be a day and there’s gonna be a lot of them where you’re gonna get smacked in the mouth in this game and in any game. The question is, what do you do with it? What do you do with

Quentin Edmonds (26:04)
Listen, y’all heard Willy. His information is in the show notes. Get in contact, get connected with him so you can get connected and stay connected to this mindset. So please look in the show notes, get in contact with him. Definitely make sure you’re subscribed here. Because I promise you, we’re going to continue to bring up amazing people, just like the Willy Denis So, sir, I say thank you again, man. Appreciate you, sir. Everyone else, y’all have an incredible day.