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From Designing a Home to Designing Her Future with STRs: The Story of Chris Cash

In this episode, Chris Cash (who branched out from her career as an interior designer and real estate agent, to become a short-term rental business owner) shares her story. She walks us through how she got started, her experiences so far (including the highs and lows) as well as how she’s already giving back to her local real estate community by helping them build their knowledge of the short-term rental space. She offers advice for anyone considering working in the short-term rental industry…and drops some incredible tips for staging a property, too!

Key Highlights

[00:01:37] Introduction to the guest, Chris Cash, and where her STR business is located

[00:02:32] Why Chris chose South Haven for her STR business

[00:04:06] How Chris decided to get into STR business

[00:11:28] How Chris decided to become a business educator for agents

[00:13:38] Chris’s designing her short-term rentals

[00:17:53] What Chris found to be the most stressful when setting up her property and how she navigated that

[00:20:35] The Lightning Round:

  1. What is your favorite place to vacation? The Caribbean
  2. What’s one place you’ve never been to that you would like to go to? London
  3. What is one thing that you know now that you wished you knew when you were starting out in short-term rentals? Ask for more help
  4. What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given? Don’t be afraid of failure
  5. What is one thing and or person that you are grateful for today? My neighbor, Mark

[00:27:15] What Chris did to win over her neighbor, Mark

[00:31:24] Chris’s advice to someone starting out on short-term rentals

Notable Quotes

●     When purchasing properties, we need to have an investor’s brain, have data in front of us, and drive our decision-making through data analysis.

●     I was shocked to learn less than 5% of the real estate agents across the country invest in real estate themselves, which I find very sad.

●     During that two years of heavy COVID, I fell into analysis paralysis of the markets like crazy, and eventually, I just had to pull the trigger.

●     To be a business leader, you must analyze a situation and make swift decisions to drive your business forward.

●     Any investment, any business startup, is a risk, and you’re allowed to be scared, but don’t let it paralyze you.

●     If you come from a place of contribution, it comes back to you. I believe in karma. I’m not a competitive person; I just feel like if you come from giving, you will get back and return.

●     Don’t be afraid of failure; just always fail forward. No failure is a failure; it’s just a learning stepping stone to the next.

Connect with Chris:

Instagram

Airbnb property

Let’s Connect!

My Facebook group (Female Short-Term Rental Investors) https://www.facebook.com/groups/911671659592801)

My personal website (https://staceystjohn.com/)

My Free Masterclass: How I Went From A W2 to An STR Dream Life in 5 Simple Steps: https://staceystjohn.com/strwebinar/

The Short-Term Rental Society (https://www.strconnections.com/)