The Resilient Investor: Ericka De Paula’s Journey

Ericka de Paula (00:00)
I think what keeps me running smooth, you know, is being able to help other people. I think from all the failures that I’ve had, I’ve learned so much and I’m still here. I didn’t die, you know, I’m, I’m still growing. In fact, I feel that my failures were probably the best part because now I’m, I’m able to see and go, okay, Hey, we, want to avoid this because this is what’s going to

Quentin (01:56)
welcome to the investor fuel podcast. I’m your host Q Edmonds. And today I am joined by someone, of course, you know, I say it all the time, somebody that you want to get great value from, right? I’ve been talking to her and I’m going to steal something from one of her friends. She probably wasn’t ready for me to say this, but today I got a bad ass investor. ⁓ Who knows what she’s doing? Who love helping people.

Ericka de Paula (02:17)
It.

Thank

Quentin (02:25)
I love getting creative, thinking about creative ways to make sure that people can live their American dream, right? So they don’t feel like they’re backers against the wall, that they don’t feel like they’re without hope. And so, you know, she may talk about some property management, she may talk about some flip and flips, but I love to just, for you to hear it from her mouth, the different things that she’s involved in. So today, I would love to introduce you to Ms. Ericka De Paula. my Lord, now I’m blanking on that last name, De Paula.

Ericka de Paula (02:33)
you

You

Quentin (02:54)
De Paula, my Lord, help me with my speech.

Ms. Ericka De Paula, Ms. Ericka, your last name for me. Thank you, Ms. De Paula. I’m sorry, my dear people. I love putting respect on people’s names. So don’t know why I was getting so tongue-tied, but I’m so glad to have you with us today. How you feeling today?

Ericka de Paula (03:01)
to Paula. You’re welcome.

I’m feeling great. so happy to be here. Thank you so much for taking the time to, you know, want to chat with me.

Quentin (03:20)
Absolutely, Ms. Paula. Listen, I know our listeners are really going to take a lot away from what you have to say today. I love your encouragement. I love your perspective. I love the way you inspire. And so listen, I just want to dive in for people. Of course, they may not be familiar with you and what you do. I want you to tell us a short version of what it is your main focus is these days. And also tell us what markets you’re operating in.

Ericka de Paula (03:47)
Okay, so I’ll start with the markets. I’m currently marketing. My market is in Tampa. I do have some properties over in the Cocoa Beach, Melbourne area that I’m currently offloading so that I can fully be present here in Tampa. I have a wealth of knowledge in all areas of real estate. I started with fix and flip. You did substantially well.

flipping houses, made over $800,000, took all of that money, put it into, I’m gonna do short-term rentals. Ended up not doing so great with that and basically having to start over, restart, pay off debt. I currently work in Ybor City for a big developer and we do, I do property management specifically towards operations. I love it, it’s a lot of fun.

And then I decided, you know what, I’m going to start my own coaching program so I can help other people who want to learn how to fix and flip, ⁓ do it successfully. And with all of the programs that I’ve learned specifically with AI, I want to be able to pass that knowledge on so that they’re able to do, you know, ⁓ running their cops, analyzing the markets, finding distress properties, all of that from their computer. You know, with, you know, 20.

minutes or less doing the whole thing, probably closer to five minutes if I’m being honest, once you’ve gotten familiar with the different apps. And a lot of them are free. A lot of this stuff is free.

It’s just you don’t know where to find it. You don’t know how to use it. You don’t know which one’s the best one to do. So I’ve been playing a lot with all of them, educating myself so that I can bring this knowledge to other people and they can start flipping homes.

especially if they’re corporate. I came from the corporate world. I worked at SpaceX for eight years and then I transferred over to the government side. And then when I made my first $100,000, I quit and went into real estate full time. yeah, just out here, learned a whole new, I was great in aerospace and I had to learn a whole new realm. And with all the different creative strategies that I have in my tool belt.

I’m really able to help a lot of people who are in a jam.

Quentin (06:43)
I love it. I love it, Miss Ericka. I love it. I love it the way you talk about, you’re so vulnerable about, listen, I was very successful with the flipping flip. Very successful. Then, hey, okay, I’m going to try doing this short-term rental. that didn’t work out. But you know what? I still pull my back up. And now what I want to do is coach people up so that you can not have some of the, you know, avoid some of the mistakes that I’ve made. Like, I love that perspective. And that’s, it’s not easy in this climate, right? To sometimes pull yourself up.

Ericka de Paula (07:06)
Mm-hmm.

cramps.

Quentin (07:11)
to move yourself forward, to change your perspective about what you’re doing. And so I love it, and I would love to know, pick your brain, what helps you kind of stay balanced now? What keeps you at a smooth running level right now in what you do?

Ericka de Paula (07:27)
I think what keeps me running smooth, you know, is being able to help other people. I think from all the failures that I’ve had, I’ve learned so much and I’m still here. I didn’t die, you know, I’m, I’m still growing. In fact, I feel that my failures were probably the best part because now I’m, I’m able to see and go, okay, Hey, we, want to avoid this because this is what’s going to

But if I meet somebody who happens to be in that situation, I’ve been there and here’s what you can do. You know, cause so many people get tied down. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know, you know, I’m never going to get out of this. My home’s going into foreclosure. What, what do I do with? And there, there are a lot of different things that you can do, but people just don’t know about it. And then they get stuck and they freeze and they hide and their shame and embarrassment. You don’t need any of that.

Because in a year’s time, who’s gonna care? Nobody. You’re gonna get through it. So, you know, I look at it like, if I can go through everything that I’ve been through and still come out on top and be like, all right, let me take this failure and, you know, and here’s how I can bless other people. Here’s how I can help them because I’ve been there, you know, and I’ve been shunned from one of my favorite, you know, one of my favorite mentors. So it was very,

You know, that was hard. And then everybody else that I talked to is like, hey, I’m proud of you. Wow. You’re, you’re, you’re still going. And I didn’t quit. I didn’t give up. you know, were there times that I wanted to absolutely, but I knew, you know, in, in a year I’ll be in a different space. So what can I do now to get out of it? And it was just pivot, pivot, pivot. Wasn’t it exhausting? There were days where it was absolutely exhausting.

Quentin (08:44)
Yeah.

Ericka de Paula (09:08)
But now I find it almost freeing because I’m meeting so many other people who have been in the situation. They’re in it now with no way out and what can I do? And I’m like, you don’t need to worry about this because if I can’t help you, I know somebody who can. And all part about the network. I feel very blessed for everything that I’ve experienced in my life.

And that’s kind of helped me just keep moving forward. I have, you I’m getting paid to learn how to do commercial real estate. And I’m really good at it, you know? So yeah, kind of just finding different niches. So it’s definitely been an exhausting but fulfilling journey.

Quentin (09:40)
you

Yeah.

Absolutely, absolutely. No, I thank you for sharing. I thank you for being vulnerable. You know, I didn’t want to harp too hard on just the bad stuff, but I think it’s so important

for people to understand that sometimes you’re going to have to pivot. Like things sometimes doesn’t, you know, just work as smoothly as you want them to. Right. And I think most of us watching, I think we know that, but I think it’s also good sometimes to hear from somebody else for you to know, hey, you’re not the only one.

Ericka de Paula (10:51)
Mm-hmm.

Quentin (10:52)
You know, you’re not the

only one. You’re not the only one going through. So I thank you for sharing those times. I thank you for your vulnerability. mean, of course, this is the stuff sometimes people are not talking about, you know, and this is kind of what separates people from kind of being in it long term and people who kind of just throw up their hands and give up, you know? And so I really appreciate you just being vulnerable. So let me ask you this. What are you most focused on solving right now?

Ericka de Paula (11:03)
Great.

Bram.

Quentin (11:19)
What’s your next real goal?

Ericka de Paula (11:21)
Well, my next real goal is, I got a couple, I like to be an overachiever. So, definitely my coaching business because I want to be able to help those individuals who are new and scared. And they’re scared about getting into the situation that I was in. What if the house doesn’t sell? That’s okay. We have other ways, other solutions that can help you move through this. what if I lose money?

Quentin (11:25)
I love it. I love it. Yes, ma’am.

Ericka de Paula (11:45)
I can help you lose less money. Well, what if I can’t do it? And when I first got into flipping houses, I mean, I’ve paid a substantial amount of money to learn how to do this. My first year, I spent $120,000 and I went on this bus tour and they had us out and first house we look at, we get back on the bus and they say, all right, put the bid together. And I nail it. I’m like, ugh.

I’m gonna be so good at this. So the second house we go to, I’m way off on my rehab budget. I’m like, oh, okay, that’s all right. Third house, way off. Fourth house, way off. Fifth house, way off. And I get back on the bus and I go to the back and I’m sitting there by myself. And I’m like, oh my God, I need to get my, I’m gonna lose my money. I’m gonna lose, and I paid to go to that when I paid $30,000. I am gonna lose my money. I need to get my money back.

And I, you know, and sitting back there talking to myself and I said, well, how are going to lose it? I said, well, I don’t, I don’t do the work. Okay. Are you, are you going to do the work? Yeah, I’m going to do the work. So I stayed and it was terrifying. And then I paid another $25,000 for a one-on-one coaching session, three days, eight hours, best money I ever spent, you know, got us going through the process of.

buying and getting comfortable and familiar within two months. Now I had my first property under contract, and then the third month, my second property under contract. So just going through the whole thing, it was really incredible to be able to do that. And then I started earning my money back in my first year. I spent 120,000 in education and I made 180. So I was up.

Quentin (13:14)
Hmm.

Ericka de Paula (13:30)
⁓ My friends were making money. It was really good. And I was also grieving my partner had passed away.

Yeah, so I did all of that, grieving very hard, losing my entire family, to then being successful and helping other people become successful. And I thought, if I can do it, you can do it. And that’s how I look at it.

Quentin (13:54)
I love it. I’m gonna start calling you the queen of the pivot. You gotta bounce back inside of you that no matter what, it just seemed like you’re gonna bounce back and you’re gonna figure it out. I absolutely, I love hearing that. I love hearing that from the flip, the short-term rentals, to the coaching, to you pouring this money into educating yourself.

Ericka de Paula (13:57)
Hahaha!

Quentin (14:21)
Like, but you’re bounced back. And I think you, of all people, know this. Like, the next move you make, you either compound things or create chaos, depending on how you play it out. And I think, you you have, you have lived that, right? Like, you have been front-seat to that, right? Just listening to your journey and your story. But what I love, and you hinted to this, and so, you know, you got people, they’re listening, they’re early in their journeys, they’re looking to level up, they’re looking to make moves. But you hint into…

Ericka de Paula (14:29)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Yes.

Quentin (14:48)
about relationships. So when it comes to building relationships or growing your network, what’s made the biggest difference for you? Because, you know, we talked a little bit behind the back scenes and people don’t know it, but you’ve built some relationships with people that have really, in a sense, kind of senses you and sustains you. like, tell me about relationship building. How is that important to you?

Ericka de Paula (15:51)
Yeah, so ⁓ originally I was going to a lot of classes, networking, meeting folks within those classes, and it was all education, education, education, education. And then a friend of mine invited me to come to this business builder. And I thought, okay, great, they’re gonna teach me how to run a business. Cool, that’s what I want. Name of the company is Life and Air. And…

They don’t really care about teaching. Not that they don’t care about teaching about business, but they care more about helping you build the life that you want. And I didn’t know what that looked like. My life was just work, work, work, work, work, build, build, build, build, build, you know, all this stress and I got to do this. And so, so many things that I was paralyzed. I couldn’t, it was like, I had so many options that I didn’t know which one to choose because they were all so great. And so then it, you know, nothing happened.

And I started, you know, every quarter we meet every in person, every month we meet on a zoom, we talk about what’s going on. Every quarter we meet in person and we have 45 minutes to discuss what’s going on for us. And we have a little questionnaire that we fill out and everyone here is talking about their life and, you know, build your business around your life. And I’m like, you guys are crazy. Like business is life.

And to really, you know, take that back and start living life now, because life is short. You know, my partner, she was 44 years old. Like, how does that happen? And now to be here and be 44 and think, oh, my God, you know, I’ve got a few months left. Yes, you know, if the situation was reversed.

What am going to do at that time? And really focusing on getting deep and learning about myself and, you know, in journaling. And I thought journaling was just this like woo-ha kind of stuff. But seeing a guy in my group who literally everything he’s written is common to pass. And he’ll share his letter that he wrote to himself a year ago. And he’s like, I did this and this and this. I’m like, this. So I started writing stuff down because I’m like,

Wow, you guys are doing it, it’s working. Let me do it. Like, I’ll do it. So to be able to call these people, you know, as I was telling you, I called my friend Shannon last night. like, hey, I don’t know what to do about this. And it’s not about, well, you need to do this. It’s all about helping you build like your inner voice and know yourself and your worth to make the decision that’s best for you. Cause nobody else can make that but you.

Quentin (17:58)
Yeah.

Ericka de Paula (18:22)
And, I grew up with all my decisions being made for me. You know, I was an incredible soccer player. I played with the women’s Brazilian national team. My dad was my coach. He was a phenomenal coach. And he would tell me, you got to go here. You got to go here. You got to move here. So everything I did, as long as you told me what to do, I could do it. But now I’m having to do it myself and make these decisions. And so they really helped me, you know, get deep with myself.

know who I am, what do I want? And once I started uncovering stuff, was like, I don’t want to be working 24 seven. Like that’s, that’s not rewarding. I want to be snorkeling in the keys with our kids. Like, like that’s my favorite where, you know, where my stepdaughter and I were snorkeling. There’s a, this big sea turtle that comes up. She taps me she’s like, look, so we’re following the sea turtle. Like I never dreamed that that would be something that I would be doing.

You know, and now here I am where it’s like, it’s not just about business. And yes, I get to help people. You know, I look at things as how can I be of service? How can I help you homeowner get what you need? You know, how can I help somebody who’s wanting to get into flipping houses or real estate just in general? And they’re terrified, you know, and I’ve shared my story and I’ve had people come back and tell me you were inspiring. I went and got my, my general contractor’s license. Thank you.

That’s amazing. So yeah, just building those relationships. Whenever I’m out, I talk to people. What do you do? know, like truly listening to individuals and hearing their story and what they have to say. you know, that’s allowed me to grow my network and, you know, organically and meet new people and help others.

Quentin (20:06)
I love it, Ms. Ericka. I am 44 as well. And when you listening to your story, it’s just it like, yeah, yeah, it just really hit. So listen, I’m gonna go on the limb. Let me know if you heard this before, but I think you should start a coaching business. Have you ever thought about that? Because it sounds like to me that you may be able to coach some people to success.

Ericka de Paula (20:15)
Yeah.

Ha ha!

Quentin (20:28)
It sounds like that to me. So listen, if the thought never came to your mind, you should really think about it, okay?

Ericka de Paula (20:33)
You know

what? I’ll write about it. I’ll write about it in my journal.

Because I’m sure as soon as I put it down on paper, it’s going to happen.

Quentin (20:40)
There you go. I’m actually glad you said that because journaling is a powerful thing. And what I’ve learned, because I journal and I write myself, I’ve learned that when it’s psychology about writing something down, is that we don’t do anything without our mind telling our bodies to do it first. Unless something is dysfunctional or something.

Ericka de Paula (20:47)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Quentin (21:02)
you know, is going on medically. Like your mind, it starts there and it tells your body what to do. And so when we faithfully write things down, we are conditioning our minds to tell our bodies, this is what we’re going to do. And so that’s why the writing of journey and practice is so important because even when you don’t realize it, realize that every day you are chronologically writing things down and telling your mind.

Ericka de Paula (21:09)
Great.

Quentin (21:29)
No, this is what we’re going to do. And before you know it, your body is making, it’s moving towards what you have changed your mind to do. So yeah, that journaling is powerful.

Ericka de Paula (21:37)
100%. And to see it,

yeah, to see it happening, you know, after every retreat, I write a new vision, because they’re very big on what’s your vision. And my vision went from like this much to like, and every quarter, I’m going through and I’m like, all right, I did that. I didn’t really like that. So I’m to get rid of that. But hey, I like this. Oh, I heard about this.

I want to put this down. And, you know, a lot of the things stay the same, but some of the stuff changes. And then I write myself, you know, a letter that I get in a year. So I get to read and go, okay, well, what did I write? You know, what did I have to say? What did I accomplish from what I had written? And it’s always, you know, it’s a beautiful thing to read that. our coaches, they, you know, I mail, I mail her my letter and then she gets it back to me. And, you know, joining Life and Air was one of the best investments I ever made.

and the group of people that I have behind me, I love it. To be so vulnerable with folks and we’re in a room and there’s probably 30 or 40 of us and we’re sharing our deepest, most vulnerable things in our lives. some of us will be sobbing and it’s like, wow, I really got something from you and I got something from you.

Quentin (22:53)
next week.

Ericka de Paula (22:55)
So yeah, I think that has been the best group that I’ve been a part of, know, versus just my Rias and stuff like that.

Quentin (23:03)
Yeah, absolutely, Ms. Ericka, I thank you so much. Listen, before we wrap, if someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, maybe collaborate with you, how can they reach out to you now?

Ericka de Paula (23:07)
Yeah.

⁓ I guess, see, I don’t even have my website up yet. you know, send me an email at ⁓ Ericka at red key 38.com. E R I C K a red key 38.com or you can call me shoot me a tax 321-390-4138. You know, would love to help you. If you have any kind of situation, trying to figure out a real estate problem. you know, I’m happy to help.

Quentin (23:37)
Absolutely. Well, there she is everyone, Ms. De Paula. Listen, thank you so much. I appreciate your time, your story, your perspective. Like, I appreciate what you’re doing in this space and we need more people like you that’s doing it the right way. So again, thank you so much.

Ericka de Paula (23:42)
Thank you too.

Thank you. You enjoy the rest of your day.

Quentin (23:54)
Absolutely.

You as well. And listen, for all those that’s tuning in, if you got value from this, please make sure you are subscribed. You do not want to miss out on these conversations. So until the next time, y’all have a great.

Ericka de Paula (24:06)
Great.