Episode 32: Isabelle Guarino | Building a Legacy With Impact

Wow, guys. From the moment that I met this next guest, I was blown away. And you're gonna see why because this conversation was absolutely fire. Isabelle Guarino is a two time best selling author named as one of the top influencers in senior housing. She's been featured on Bigger Pockets, The Wealthy Way podcast, and Sales Disrupters. She's CEO of the Residential Assisted Living Academy, sharing the message of doing good and doing well with, hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and investors across the country. She's been named the future leader of assisted living and she's the nation's top coach and trainer for all things RAL. Please meet my friend, Isabelle Guarino. Hello, and welcome to the Power Up Your Life podcast powered by GoBundant Swimming. I'm Mandy McAllister, and I'm batting solo for my girl, Kelly Resendez, who is speaking with John Maxwell this week. How stinking exciting. I could not be more excited to welcome my best, Isabelle Guarino. I am obsessed with you, homegirl. How are you? I'm good. I'm so excited to be here. Thanks for having me on. Well, thank you so much for for joining us. I I know our audience is just gonna squeeze so much juice about out of your brilliance. So why don't we start from the beginning? Tell me about your journey and and what got you to where you're at now.

Yeah. You know, I kinda grew up in an entrepreneurial family. My dad had always been a real estate investor and an entrepreneur, and he was like, don't go to college. Go live life. Go do whatever. You know? Like, that is a waste of your time. But I had a full free ride, basically. So I'm like, I have to go. Like, this would be silly not to.

So went to college. When I left, I I'm like, okay. Now I'll take you up on that travel component. But I need to make a little money while I do this. So I became a flight attendant and started working, with US Airways, which is now American Airlines. And, you know, a a couple years into that, I felt really like I'm not using my brain. I'm not using my skills. I'm just having the same small talk conversations over and over again. Exactly. And so I was ready for something more impactful, more meaningful, and that made more money.

And so I started looking for other opportunities, and my dad had started, you know, shifting his real estate investing into residential assisted living. And I'm like, what's going on over there? So started kinda paying attention to more of what he was doing, became his assistant, his, you know, director of ops, eventually, you know, the CEO of the company. And when he passed in 2021, I got to take that over and and kind of full throttle, you know, really run everything, from in that business. So it's been quite the journey, but I'm all in on assisted living now.

Oh, I man, what an incredible story. I didn't realize that your dad had done it before you, and you got to run side by side with him. What that and how meaningful that you got to take over the reins when after his passing. I'm so sorry to hear of that loss. No. Thank you.

I I feel like, you know, one thing that many members of GoBundance go through is is this transition from, you know, w two or going the right path of of getting the degrees and doing all of that stuff into this lane of taking a risk on yourself and doing the entrepreneurial thing or the investor thing.

Talk to me a little bit about the mind shift changes and the the identity changes that you went through and had to deal with going from that flight attendant stuff into what who you are now. You know, I think because

of the family I grew up in where, you know, that was my dad's path was being an entrepreneur. It wasn't the same as a family where your parents are working corporate, and so they ingrained in you that that is safety. I never thought corporate was safety because he didn't teach us that. He taught us if you want safety, you gotta control everything on your own. You have to be your own boss.

So kind of feeling that growing up, it almost felt weird for me to go into corporate. It was like, wait. I'm doing something I'm not supposed to do, work for the man, and then have this job. So when it was, you know, kind of that time to start looking for something else, it made so much sense to, you know, go more into that entrepreneurial route or at least small business route, helping someone else.

I think something I always thought was, I don't necessarily have this huge vision on on my life and my purpose and what I wanna do. I thought I was gonna marry someone who had a vision, and I was gonna be able to be their number two and bring it to life. And that didn't necessarily happen for me. It ended up being my dad's vision that he was the one to spout those ideas, and I got to say, okay. Well, if we did this, it would cost this, or we'd have to bring on these people, and I got to bring his vision to life.

So I think that there's sometimes ways that you can maybe leave corporate America and not always go do something on your own. Maybe you're supporting someone who's doing something, and it still gives you a little safety, right, in that sense. But now it's a 100% on me. So now it it it has taken that shift to really being like, hey. If you don't put in the work, it doesn't get done. It it it's all on you.

Yeah. You eat what you kill. You know? Yep. I I think that that level of pressure and and, you know, while being a mom, you know, you're how old is your babe? He's so sweet. A year and a half now. Oh, girl. You are in it. That is constant suicide mission mode for that kiddo. I love it.

But when it comes to, you know, being all in on it as in being an entrepreneur, in being a CEO, and a leader of your company. Right? You know, you've also got this, like, biological urge to be there for kiddo. Right? Talk to me a little bit about how you deal with with that balance or throwing balance out the window because that's something that, you know, female entrepreneurs, it's a different flavor, that mom guilt. Talk to me about that. I would say

balance is almost impossible to achieve if you want to go this hard in business. You know, right now, we're sitting at about, 10,000,000 a year. And if we wanna double that, I can't I can't do this part time. I can't I can't give it half energy. I have to be all in. And sometimes that looks like traveling. You know? Almost thirty three weeks out of the year, I'm gone on a trip. I'm at an event. I'm promoting and marketing for our brands in our company, and that's a lot of time away from baby.

So I'm very blessed that I have systems in place. We've got a full time nanny who's really hands on with them. He absolutely adores her, and that's been a beautiful thing to be able to trust someone so much in that way and know that they have my child's and my best interest at heart. And his dad, I'm very lucky, is extremely hands on as well. He's also an entrepreneur, but when he comes home, he's all in on, you know, Hendrick's time.

But for me, I think that it is more of an emotional thing than anything else. You know, you feel guilt when you are gone and when you're doing these things. But, also, I know that if I don't put in this effort and I don't put in this time, I can't build that life for him that I really want and and bring us as a family to the next level. So you there's really no balance. I think systems are the key. I think having, you know, support around you is everything.

And then I think guilt is something that moms live with every day. Even if you're a stay at home mom, you probably have guilt about, well, I wanna bring in money to the family, and I wanna help support. And so you can't escape it. It's just it's going to be there. You have to learn to live with it. Because I have had that conversation with friends and sisters in law who are stay at home moms. The grass is greener. You know? No matter where you're looking, you think you should be doing something different or more. It's just how we're how we're wired.

But I also think a little, like, brain shift that helped me was this idea of I'm teaching kiddo that mama's dreams are worth it. Yeah. Because if I've

seen one thing in the world, kids aren't gonna do what you tell them to do. They're gonna do what you show them. And if you are showing him that mom is worth chasing her dreams, mom is worth building this $100,000,000 company, then that's exactly what he's gonna do when he grows up. So good on you for all of that. Thank you. You know, I think it's one of those things where

when you have those systems in place, when it is my time to be with him, I'm 100% present because I've had so much time to, okay, be at work and do what I need to do. So when it's time to be mom time, I don't have my computer. I don't have my phone. Like, that is a way, and I am with him, and it's super intentional time.

And that to me is actually probably more meaningful than being there with my phone half of the day and half paying attention to him for a long period of time. I'd rather have a short period where we are all in together with each other.

And so I I think you just have to really choose your time, but be intentional with it. Be where you are in that moment.

It's totally that reframe. And the what makes memories? You know? When these kids are in their twenties, what are they gonna remember about being a little? You know? They're gonna remember that mom played Legos. Oh my god. Did mom play Legos? You know? And if she had to travel, she had to travel. So Yeah. I I love everything about that, and and that's part of the reason why I stalked you down to be my friend.

Yeah. So, I also really resonate with this idea that you have at the core of your company, this, doing good while doing well. I think that there's, you know, some money stories in people's heads and, you know, candidly, assisted living gets a bad rap. Yes. You know? So when it comes to, you know, showing up to do good for people and make people's lives better, not just your residents, but the families of those residents, and really doing well in the process. You know, talk to me about your heart there. That that's so important.

You know, really, I think that with real estate investing, there's a million ways we can make money. Right? We we can we can slice this however we want, and that is the beautiful thing about investing in real estate.

But what we do with residential assisted living is take a single family home and house somewhere between six and sixteen seniors in this property with twenty four seven care, medication management, three meals a day. So it's not that big facility where the ratios are 30 seniors to one caregiver. You know, in our homes, it's a four to one or five to one ratio. So you're actually providing a better job for that caregiver who can actually now do the job. They can, you know, perform and love on those seniors and and do what they signed up to do.

You're giving the senior the care that they so deserve. You're giving the family the peace of mind that their loved one gets attention. Right? Right? They're not calling their call button and not being attended to for four hours, which is what's happening in the large facilities.

So this is really not a home like situation. It's a home. So, yes, you can make a ton of money in this, but, also, you can actually feel good about what you're doing because of the the nasty things that are happening in this industry. That's not what we're doing. We're like the antithesis of that.

And so it really is that do good, do well where you make great cash flow, like, 10 k a month on one home. Right? That's pretty average in our industry, but you're providing an amazing job. You're loving on those seniors, and you're giving, you know, the adult children exactly what they're paying for, exactly what they're asking. So it really is like a heart check with the paycheck.

I I love that. I I think that the the reframe there too is there are absolutely ways to go make money and live a very comfortable life and build a legacy and not be ick factor about it. I feel like so they're in real estate. We can agree. I'm sure. Like, I I meet a lot of people that have that heavy ick factor. And multifamily real estate that I plan is really rife with it, you know? So to to recognize that it's it's a choice. That how do I want to show up as a human and lead this company? And you can do stuff heart first, and you can do stuff to make it a win, not just for you, but for your clients and for the family. I love everything about that.

I I do think that, you know, you've made this transition from, you know, yes, corporate, but into being kind of the number two and now being in the front of the pack. Right? The the decision making and the responsibility factor when you make those changes. When you're in corporate, you just call somebody else up with the same job to to kind of workshop whatever issue you're having. And when you're the number two, you got somebody else to to go workshop stuff with.

You know, now that you are the leader of this organization, that you are taking it into the next level, you know, talk to me about how you deal with making decisions when there's nobody, when you're kinda operating in your your own little silo.

Great question. You know, I think the power of a strong network who's also at your same level or has been there, done that is so key. And that's why being a part of a group like GoBundance is, like, 10 out of 10. Like, everyone needs to have their network, their community of people who can help them and they can go to with real issues, not just how you doing, I'm doing good. Like, no. How you doing? Like, things are on fire. I had to fire someone or, you know, we lost money last month or this didn't work or whatever is going on. You have to have a community you can be real with.

So whether that's, you know, a mastermind, a network, whatever it is, I have joined, you know, quite a few masterminds over the year and and really found places where I have those people in my core network who I can network with and I can be honest with. So I think groups, honestly, therapy. Therapy is everything. If you are an executive and you're not in therapy, it's a problem. Okay? Because you need someone to talk to, and it should not be your partner at home.

And that's the only person that you can go dump on and vent to because they need a break, and they need to see you and your human side, not just your work side. It's not fair to only give them this and have them be, you know, that voice for you. They can be one of the voices, but they can't be the only, you know, help for you. So therapy, masterminds, network, I'm all for it. You've gotta have someone to go to.

Love it. Yes. Spouses of entrepreneurs, they're a different breed. You know? And I think that we have to be cognizant of taking the load off of them and show up as our best selves for them to to grow that relationship too. Because that's that's what we're all about. Right? Trying to become better every day in everything that we're doing. And, you know, the romantic relationship is a big part of that too.

Yeah. So I'm curious about, you know, whenever you are making these decisions, though, there's it's murky sometimes. Like, you could do this or you could do that, and you could go a thousand different directions in whatever growth mindedness that you are. When you're lacking clarity or you don't know what step to take next, like, what are some things that you do to to find clarity to move forward?

You know, I do think that I will lean on that support, but, also, I'm a big fan of failing fast. If I have a gut reaction that, like, this is the way we need to go, I would rather go all in, make that decision, and fail, and then say, okay. Great. Let's pivot. Let's let's find out what was wrong. Let's get that feedback. Let's move forward in another direction.

I do not mind failing. And I actually think you have to get comfy with failing because you're gonna fail a million times in business. And if you let it get you down and now you're depressed and now you're self doubting and saying, do do I know what I'm doing? Am I, you know, crazy? Is this wrong or whatever? That does not help anyone. It doesn't help you. It doesn't help your team. It doesn't help your customers.

So you have to know failures will come, but you have to fail fast. When it happens and you realize, oop, that was wrong, pivot. Pivot and figure out how do we save this, what direction do we need to go, get that feedback, listen, and implement. And the faster you can do that, the faster you don't let doubt creep in.

Because when you just sit and and sit in that failure, you will let it creep in. And you will all of a sudden be, like, thinking all these things that you never thought before, and and now you're like, I'm not even worthy of this. I don't know what I'm doing. And now you're stuck in analysis paralysis instead of saying, whoop, big mistake. Okay. Pivot. What do we do? And go.

And I think that you just have to kinda run with speed, especially these days. The world just moves too fast. And if you're not keeping up, you're getting left behind.

I totally agree with that. I I think that there's, very interesting fine lines and approaches. Right? So and this side of of approaching that you're, you know, moving quickly and tearing stuff up and and failing forward. There there is so much data and and data points that suggest that is absolutely a cool way to to go find tremendous wealth and success.

The ugly stepsister to that is shiny penny syndrome. Yep. Right? So talk to me for someone who has this, let's go tear stuff up and go fast and just be willing to fail and fail forward. You can start to see stuff and and just take on little bites of things.

Talk to me about how someone with that, let's just go tear things up quickly, will deal with how would you coach someone in your organization to deal with the shiny penny syndrome if that's their approach?

Yeah. I am super heavy on, like, what is the focus? What is the mission, what is the why. And you should never do anything that's kind of, like, outside of that, basically. Like, I get it. People wanna build their portfolio and do 20 different things. And and if that's you, that's you. But I am, like, very heavy on stick with the mission.

And, actually, we use, like, the tip the tipping point method, which is you know, we've all we've all had seen that that cup of water where you you think it's full to the brim, and you put in one more drop, and it stays. It doesn't boil over, and you do another and another and another, and you're shocked at how many drops it actually can hold until it tips over. What you're not doing is pouring orange juice into that cup of water. You're doing another drop of water to see when you get to that method.

So I think that when you're doing something very close to what you're doing, but maybe a degree off, a degree off, a degree off, I think that is a lot better than going totally another direction, orange juice in the water. Like, no. No. No. No. Stick with the water, and just keep doing those very small adjustments until you're finding what is that thing that that the product wants, the service wants, the clients want, whatever it is.

I I love that. Another analogy in that same vein is you never know the snowflake that causes the avalanche. Right? But you just gotta keep adding the snowflakes and doing things. And I I love that idea of just you gotta make sure it's in the same vein. So if you've done the visioning, if you've done what is my North Star so that I can be running in that direction. And even if it's a pivot slightly off of the course that I thought but still in the direction of my North Star, that will end up getting me there. Yes. I love everything about that.

Yeah. Entrepreneurs in general are unconventional in their thinking. Right? I am curious. What is something that is unconventional about your strategies or beliefs that a lot of people would completely disagree with that that you are just so certain of?

You know, I would say something that a lot of people maybe disagree with us on that we have kind of really based a lot of our core business on is I pretty much 90% of the people on my team are friends and family. I really don't hire anyone outside of friends and family. It's very few and far between. And even if they are, they become a friend, right, over time or become family over time.

And so I'm I'm really heavy on that. I know it's very unpopular. But in my opinion, if I'm not hiring friends and family, who am I hiring? Enemies and strangers? Like, I wanna work with people that I like, that I know, that I trust.

And I think it's actually benefited me because they a lot of times, friends and family will work way harder for your dreams and your vision than a stranger off the street. And so I have found that it could be a little toxic at time. Things do go wrong. Like, you cannot avoid those things. There is cons to it.

But to me, the pros are so much better because I get to wake up every day and talk to my best friends about work, talk to my siblings about work, talk to my uncles, cousins, you know, my dad at a time at work. That is really fun to me. I I've been able to connect with people in a new way, and I wouldn't have that if it was just people I didn't necessarily care about, and I'm just hiring from LinkedIn or whatever.

I love that. I I think that brings that opens the door for a need for open communication and boundaries in a different way. Because if something went wrong and now you're at Thanksgiving dinner, nobody's gonna throw the turkey. You know? Yep. So very, very important stuff.

Isabelle, this this is so incredible. Let me tell you a couple of notes that I've taken. I I love this idea of the tipping point that if you're if you're going to go all in on something and find some tremendous, like, win, that hockey stick growth, you've got to be putting in the reps in the right direction. You pick one direction and then be willing to to make those shifts.

I love also the idea of systems because through systems come freedom. I I truly believe that, especially when it comes to family. Because when you can go all in with that kiddo, like that's what creates those memories and allows you to to go show him that mama is worth her dreams. So incredibly beautiful.

You give so much and you've you've taught hundreds of thousands of people how to get into residential assisted living and do good while doing well. You know, tell me this, what is something what is an introduction or a resource that would change the ballgame for you so that I can maybe help you or one of our listeners?

Oh, you know, I am always looking for amazing people who want to learn about this topic and just getting in front of them. So, you know, any rooms, any podcasts, any people that I can connect with that can spread this message even larger? Because I think that we all have aging loved ones. And if not, we will all one day be an a sing a senior citizen and need this care and assistance.

So the more that we can spread the message, not just as a real estate investment, but as an option. Like, you do not have to go to a big box facility when it's the end of your time. There are different options, and maybe a smaller care home in a neighborhood is the better option for you and your family members.

So I just wanna spread that message. So if there's anyone, you know, out there who wants to learn more or, you know, any any rooms I should be in, that is where I wanna be.

That's great. So I know you do these Ariel Academy events. You tell me just super briefly about that. Yeah. So we do three day fast track trainings in Phoenix, Arizona

every, like, six to eight weeks where we're really showing you a to z how to start, own, and operate your own care home. And and they're incredible, life changing. I truly believe we just did one last weekend, and they're so much fun.

And people leave really with the tools that they need to go out and make this type of investment work because it's a lot more complicated than than other types of, single family investing for sure.

Well, we will put a link to that in the show notes. What is the best way for people to get ahold of you?

Ral101.com. You can schedule a call, check out a book, boot camp, whatever you want. Ral101.com.

Incredible. Isabelle, thank you for this. Thanks for joining the Power Up Your Life podcast powered by GoBundance Women. Don't forget to subscribe and like.

If anybody needs to know about residential assisted living or how to go all in on your business when you are a mama of a little, absolutely share this with them because we wanna make sure we're powering up your life. We will see you next week. Isabelle, thank you for joining us. Thank you.