Rocking the Real Estate Life with Candice Bakx-Friesen

In episode of the Mom Owned and Operated podcast, Rita Suzanne and Candice Bakx-Friesen discuss raising a family, running a business and remembering yourself.

Candice is passionate about helping people reach their financial dreams. She is a highly motivated woman who has a passion for helping others succeed in life and business. She is a mother of 4, top performing realtor, entrepreneur, money coach, and speaker.

Candice has been a real estate investor since 2001. Candice’s candid approach to business and affinity for getting past the fluff and getting to the root of each challenge for her clients so that they get a lot done, has led to her becoming a highly sought after coach within the finance and real estate industries.

She also provides sales coaching to fellow real estate agents but her passion lies in the finance industry. She coaches / trains / mentors on money topics, anything from basic budgeting to real estate investing.

Candice has had many opportunities to speak in front of large crowds and enjoys teaching others and helping people reach their financial dreams.

You can find Candice on her website, on Instagram, and on Facebook. 

Listen to more interviews by visiting momownedandoperated.com and apply to work with Rita at ritasuzanne.com/apply/

Rita Suzanne
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Transcript

Rita Suzanne  00:07

Hi, this is Rita Suzanne. And this is mom owned and operated today. I have my friend Candice, with me, Candice, please tell us all about you, your business and your family. And thank you so much for joining us

Candice Bakx-Friesen  00:39

today. Thank you. I'm a mom and entrepreneur in Canada. So I'm in Manitoba, Canada, right in the middle of Canada. And we live on an acreage so Country Girl, about boat an hour outside of our main city, which is in Winnipeg. And yeah, I've got four kids, the oldest one has a disability. So that kind of makes things interesting day to day to deal with. And I think it's, you know, raising kids having a business, having a husband, all of these things, you know, it's day to day life is always changing, right? So I think that that's the key thing, when when you're starting a business or having a family is just to be able to roll with the punches and whatever life throws at you. So

Rita Suzanne  01:24

yes, definitely. And how old is your youngest one?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  01:28

My youngest is eight and my oldest is 17. So

Rita Suzanne  01:32

no. So you have though a wide range, and, and all these different challenges, and then you do real estate? And do you have other businesses that you run as well? Or?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  01:43

Yeah, yeah. So my, my husband has an agriculture business. And I have, I also do money coaching for people. So I help them figure out their finances. And we do real estate investing. So there's some management, they're never property manager, but there's things to always kind of be looking at there. And some of the coaching is not just money coaching, but also helping people purchase investment properties.

Rita Suzanne  02:10

I love that because I think real estate is that as we were talking about before it is so it's just going crazy right now, and you know, finding properties are really hard. But I think it you know, one way to build wealth that a lot of people don't really realize is a way for them to do that. So I love that you're doing that. So with all of these things that you have going on, how are you able to manage all of those and then take care of your children, especially when you have you know, one that just requires a little bit more attention.

Candice Bakx-Friesen  02:47

I think a lot of it is the team that you build around you. So no person that successful is self made. You know, you hear that that saying, but it's really not true. Even if it's just your business that you're growing, none of us have built our business by ourselves, either. There's been people who have helped us they've supported us, they've said, Hey, how about you think about doing this in your business? Or yeah, I'd love to buy your product from you. So it's the team that I surround myself with, and that I've grown around to me and you know, that can start with a bookkeeper who's helping you manage the book, work part of your business, very part time or contract help. It can be somebody who's helping with cleaning your home, it can be someone who's watching your kids. All of those kinds of people around me, I've got a team of people helping in different ways. So again, you know, before I had my fourth child, I was also doing our property management. And then at some point, you're like, No, no, can't do this all. So delegating has been huge to be able to keep growing in different ways, and branching out our business into different areas. Right. And as you mentioned, you know, with real estate, there's so many sub fields and some sub businesses that you can create. So we do staging for our listings, and now we've the last year or so we've branched off, and we do staging for other realtors as well, right. So, you know, it's not always just growing multiple businesses. But sometimes you can find these areas that are related fields to what you're already doing, and create kind of a separate business based on something you're already building. Yeah, I love that.

Rita Suzanne  04:33

I think that a lot of times we people, though, they start out with like, let me do all the things right. And so do you recommend that maybe they focus in on the one thing, get that stable and then add the extra pieces to it later?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  04:50

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And some of these things you won't really necessarily know until you start a business. So you might start a business doing let's just say A for example, real estate. So I started as a realtor, I'm doing that for a few years now. Social media has become so big Well, it wasn't when I started 15 years ago, right? And maybe I just really love social media, and I don't want to do real estate anymore. Well, I already have social media as part of my business. So maybe I completely branch off and I start running a social media company, you don't know, right? And I think that's the thing that I find with entrepreneurs time and time again, is, you know, you don't necessarily you start in one path, and you you have to start in that path in order for life to kind of lead you in another direction. That's true.

Rita Suzanne  05:36

So when you started doing the money coaching, was it related to maybe your client's needs of, you know, able to helping them able to get financing? Or like, what led you down that path? Or do you just love that? That money?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  05:54

A little bit of both, actually. So I was like, this nerdy kid. And so I grew up with parents that were entrepreneurs and grandparents on both sides. So it was kind of all around me. But you know, you're sitting there as a 12 year old kid, and you see successful people around you, but you're like, Okay, well, how am I going to do this? That was what was going through my head. So you start to try and figure out, you know, what your parents are up to, and you you're been surrounded by it, and you hear all the different discussions, but I was like, Maybe I should start learning about money. So it was like this nerdy kid who was picking up personal finance books when I was 12. Trying to figure out the money piece. But then, yeah, it kind of all comes full circle. And I think a big tip for your listeners, too, is to really listen to what people say your gifts are. And it's so easy to just be like, oh, yeah, okay, you know, when people are complimenting that you're really good at something. But yeah, that was what was happening with real estate, you know, we were done the transaction. And then suddenly there was this, this awkward silence, and people would say, okay, can this like you seem to know about money? Can I ask you some money, questions? And then so then again, when you listen to this, and you hear the feedback, then you say, You know what, there's obviously a need, let's help more people in different ways.

Rita Suzanne  07:08

So and they were asking you more along the lines of for investment purposes, and how to make, you know, more, my guess wise decisions with growing their money?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  07:20

Yeah, and you know, money, there's, there's so many different facets to it. Right? So one person would said, Kim, I'm getting an inheritance. And I'm really scared, like, I want to make the right decision, you know, so do I pay off debt? Do I invest? What do I do with this money? Sometimes it is, yeah, I want to buy rental property, but I'm scared. You know, that's a lot of money. How do I do this, I've got a stranger living in my house. Now. So working through that. And it could also be somebody who's done really well in life, but then you get to retirement. It's like, okay, now I got to spend the money, and I'm really scared to spend the money. So everybody has different money, challenges, whether you've struggled in life, whether you've done well, and now you're scared of losing what you've earned. Right? And so there's all kinds of different challenges and fears around money.

Rita Suzanne  08:10

Yeah. And I love that you're able to incorporate that into your business, because it's so needed. I think that, like you're saying, like, a lot of people are afraid of money, they're afraid sometimes to get too much money or to lose the money that they have. And then it becomes a cycle that just continues to perpetuate itself. Right. And so, you know, our Do you have any tips that people can use in order to like, just get started? What do you tell them to do? Maybe just keep track of what's coming in? And what's going out? And like, what do you think just for starters?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  08:49

Yeah, that's, that's where people really look at it. You know, people hate the word budget. So if you call it a money plan, right, where's the money coming in? Where's it going out, but the thing that people don't recognize is that money is a very emotional thing. So again, we've talked about fear, there's also you know, maybe I'm having a bad day and how I deal with my bad day, or how I deal with my bad marriage, or whatever it is, that's a struggle in my life, maybe dealing with my daughter who's got a disability, you know, I'm gonna go spend money because it makes me feel better, temporarily. But it's not about the clothes that I'm buying. It's about something in my life, that's a struggle or something emotionally that I'm trying to deal with. Right? Yeah. So there's, there's trying to uncover the why behind the spending is actually key. So oftentimes, you know, I compared a lot with weight gain or weight loss as well, because it's sort of the same thing. You know, a lot of times it's not really the food. It's the emotional eating. It's the emotion behind, right. Yeah.

Rita Suzanne  09:55

Yeah. So do you have any resources since you've built like so Are many successful businesses while doing all of this and raising your children. Do you have any resources that you can share with the audience to help them? Get going?

10:11

Yeah, yeah, for sure. So I've got a couple's and communication and money course. And so the whole sort of thought behind that is that, again, people get in a relationship, they don't always talk about the money piece. And then a few years into the relationship, Nellie, suddenly we have to talk about the money piece, or things are going really bad in the relationship. And it's usually about money. So just being able to have kind of an independent person to facilitate those really those conversations, and to make sure people are having the money conversations. And then I've got Yeah, premarital coaching. So before you get married, have the conversations again. So that's a five week program, one on one coaching, going to seven weeks to financial freedom, which is really kind of going over the basics of all the different stages in life and things to look at investing, budgeting, all the things. So yeah, we've got a ton of different options. I'm writing a book, but it's not quite ready yet. But there's a ton of money books, there's a lot of resources out there. It's like anything, you know, you'd really need to decide this is it, you know, I'm making a decision to master my money, right.

Rita Suzanne  11:24

But are there any specific books that you've listened to? You brought them up? That you've listened to or read that has really inspired you? Or things that, you know, kind of have stood out to you lately?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  11:38

I think, yeah, I think there's a lot of really good ones. And I think it depends where you're coming at it from as well. So a very basic book, like the Automatic Millionaire, the I think it's called the barber next door is another one. There's so many really good books out there. And I think it's really just connecting also with, with the author and where coming from. So some people like Dave Ramsey, some people don't like him. But you have to connect with the personality, I think behind it. Some people like in Canada, there's I think she's Canadian. No, Suze Orman, I think she's from the States, she would be another one that I think people sometimes really resonate with. So they're, like I said, there's a ton of books out there. A lot of the ones that I've focused on are more entrepreneur. Related, right? Because that's where my background is. And there's a ton of real estate investing books out there, too. So yeah, again, it's just a matter of seeing what works. Yeah. And some of it is taking in the information. Books are great, if you're very self motivated, a course is better if you are struggling with getting stuff done. So a lot of people say, you know, I've been trying to do this for 15 years, I'm not doing it, I need to push, right. And that's what the course will usually have, you know, that accountability to help you take those action steps.

Rita Suzanne  13:04

So, yeah, I know, when I buy a course, or even when I create a course, I like to create like little mini courses. And I like to take the really specific courses that are about specific things, right. And then while I'm doing it, I like to implement at the same time, because I love a lot of times, what I find is that people will start to do it. And then like, they'll, they maybe even just watch the whole course but they don't implement they they think they're going to and then they don't. And so for me, if I don't have time to implement, I'm gonna gonna sit down, I'm not gonna first of all, I'm not going to probably buy the course. And then second of all, I'm not gonna sit down because I want to, I want to actually make it you know, I want to do the thing Well, while it's fresh in my mind, and actually implement the things and I think that's what a lot of people don't do when they buy a course they it's almost as if they're listening to an audiobook. Oh, that's a great idea, right? They're making notes, but they're not actually doing the thing. And one of my guests she recommended, and I'm sure you've heard of it, but she recommended and I hadn't listened to it yet. And I listened to it a couple of weeks ago, and I was just a lot in love with it. And it was we should all be millionaires by Rachael Rogers.

Candice Bakx-Friesen  14:29

Yeah, like her. I haven't read the book yet. But yeah,

Rita Suzanne  14:33

yeah, I was I it's not that I was hesitant. I just thought, I don't know. You know, I just didn't I didn't get around to it. It just wasn't on my list. But then after she recommended it, I said I'm gonna go check it out. And I went and listened to it and it was really it's really full of a lot of really good advice and especially about you know, your money mindset and and things like that. So I think that that's a good read for people who are listen. And another book that I recently read that just kind of like changed my whole mindset, not mindset, but maybe I guess a little. It's called $100 million offers, and it's by some guy, Alex something. But the reason why it was so instrumental for me was because, you know, as someone who's done branding and web design all this time, I always talk about like finding your target audience and stuff. But for myself, I never would commit or like niche down to one specific target audience, it was more broad, like female entrepreneurs. But then after listening to that book, I realized that niching down, like, even though I've heard it so many 1000s of times, it was the way that he said it. And the way that he put it, that it finally sunk in for me, and I was like, oh, okay, yeah.

Candice Bakx-Friesen  16:10

That's what I mean, right? Like, sometimes it has to be the right timing in your life. Yeah, it does. People have to have that moment. Like, okay, I lost my mom. And now I realize, wait a minute, I'm getting older, I need to figure this stuff out. Because mom just passed away. It could be anything, right? So it's a life event. Or it can also be a personality thing. So sometimes, you know, you could hear things three times, but somebody says it a certain way, and it just clicks.

Rita Suzanne  16:38

So funny. It made me think of like my first ex husband, he's just he used to get so mad, because he would tell me something. And let's say it was something about my car. And then I that I would ask the mechanic, and then all of a sudden, because the mechanic said it, I would listen, and he would get so mad. Well, why couldn't you just listen to me? I'm like, You're not a mechanic. But okay, let's, let's pivot back around to you a little bit more, because I love you know, I love talking about business. And you know, we always just talk briefly about family. But let's talk about what you're doing for yourself. Because you have so many, you know, balls up in the air, how are you able to do things for you? Like, what are you doing to remember yourself?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  17:30

I think that a cool not to bring up COVID. But, you know, COVID was something that I think really made people recognize what's important to them. And so when COVID hit then not only was I like, I wonder if I'm going to be working now, because is the real estate market and going to be affected are my tenants going to be paying me so in the States, there was a lot of landlords that had issues with that in Canada, thankfully, knock on wood, everything was okay. And I guess the type of clientele that I had to was okay, and our market was not too affected where we're at rental properties, but, but it was also like, Oh, my goodness, I'm not going to be able to go for coffee with people. And that might sound trivial to some people. But that's a huge one for me that that's self care for me is being able to connect with people have coffee, chill, go to different places, amongst everything else that I'm doing. And so I think that that's, that's important, you know, if something, if you had to take something out of your life, and it would leave a big hole, that's probably something that matters a lot to you know, different again, then people I don't work out at the gym, but people who work out at the gym, and suddenly they couldn't. That's a massive hole in your day and in your life, and it changes everything because going to the gym, makes you feel better helps you with mental health, all those kinds of things. So I think it's really looking at that and what's important in your life, and making sure that you're incorporating that regularly into your life.

Rita Suzanne  19:01

Yeah, no matter what it is, I think that that's the most important thing, you know, because when COVID first hit, that's when I started having issues with my second ex husband and my sister passed and you know, all of a sudden, I isolated myself really excessively, you know, and then I had two more kids and that you know, and so now I'm, you know, now here I am a single mom with four kids and, and I was starting all over and so I am kind of introverted, but I love being around people. And so that's why I started this podcast to was so that I could start to network again, without worrying about who's going to watch my kids so that I can go out and then plus I just really wanted to know like, how are other moms able to do this so effectively, because from what I see, I am not doing this right. You know And I think that we all feel like that, like, we all feel like, you know, like, how come everybody else is so good at this and I'm, I'm so you know, I'm not performing as well, you know, so. But what I had to realize for myself was that I needed to simplify, right? Instead of trying to do 20 things, I needed to just really just focus on two. And so I really transitioned and transformed my business. But I'm also like, transforming my life so that I don't have these, this so much pressure, so much feeling of so much pressure. And, and one thing that I learned from another guest was like, when she started her business, she and instantly had support. A lot of times, I think a lot of us we wait until we can afford, or until it's the right time, or until like we feel overwhelmed. Yeah, and we get support. And like for her she started right away. And I thought, that's really,

Candice Bakx-Friesen  21:04

that's really smart. Really, yes, yeah. And it feels like it's taking a chance. Like, I'm starting a business, and I'm also paying out wages or something. Right, right. But yeah, and also like, Well, part of starting my own business is I gotta prove myself, well, you and the business are separate, right? But so many people, the businesses them, and that's why if a business ends up failing, then people feel like I am a failure. No, you're not your business did not work out, you are still an amazing human being right? So, but we tie these two things together. So if I'm going to start a business, I gotta prove that works. I'm going to have to prove that I can do this with all the kids and, and the DA, right. But one of the things that we do, I think that really helps is that from day one, this family has been a team. So when my son suddenly needs to be picked up unexpectedly, I pick him up. But the same works with my job. So if I suddenly have to run out, then hey, guys, sorry, but I was going to be making dinner for the guests that are coming over and for hours, I need to suddenly run into a house. So everybody's got to pitch in. And that's not like Oh, Mom, it's like, okay, we're all pitching. So I feel that running our little family as a team has been so so important. And when we all pitch in to help one of the kids, they are like, thank you so much everybody for helping and it's the same it goes both ways. So where I need we help.

Rita Suzanne  22:36

How do you incorporate that into your family? Because a lot of times the kids, they don't really understand how to be involved as a team, right? They they really have, especially teens or preteens. They just care about their needs. They don't really care about anybody else's stuff. So tell us like, how do you do? How, like, is there anything that you're doing specifically that you can share? Or do you think it's just like, that's how we've done it? And that's just what they know.

Candice Bakx-Friesen  23:06

That's what they know. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, our life has always been, I don't want to say chaotic, but unpredictable, because of my job. Right? So because being a realtor is very unpredictable. I could think I'm coming home at six o'clock, I end up not coming home till 10. Because that's just how the business is. But that unpredictability has made our kids have to adapt, and they don't know any different. So again, when COVID hit, it wasn't like, Oh, my goodness, what is this? Now? It was like, Okay, guys, there's a new thing that we're gonna have to adapt to. And it's called COVID. We don't really know what it is, other than people are getting sick. We don't know what it's going to mean. But we'll just roll with the punches, right? Well, we'll do what we need to do to adapt to what it is. So when they had to start schooling from home, they weren't thrilled. But they were like, Okay, this is what it is, right? So just really looking at, you know, not always how is this going to be bad for you as a kid, but or bad for me as an adult, but life happens, we have to continually adjust to whatever is going to be happening. And I think that's such an important life lesson anyway, that when the kids leave the house, hopefully, sooner than later, and they're not here for another 20 years, but But eventually, when they leave, it's like, I hope that they're well prepared. Right? And that that's a life skill that maybe they will lose their job and they will be like, Okay, there's obviously something else I'm supposed to be doing. I'm meant to do something else. What is it? Let's move on, let's adjust, right. But so often I think in life, we get so stuck when something happens. And the woe is me, and Oh no, what am I going to do now? And that can you know, go for months and months, sometimes years, right? Yeah. Can we see that again with COVID and words been really hard adjustment for some people.

Rita Suzanne  25:03

Yeah. And I think like, you know, just talking to your kids, it helps too, because with my kids since, you know, it's integrating the two families and in trying to do all of these things, there's a lot of conversations about why things are this way, or why they're that way. Because my sister, she didn't work from home, and I have that luxury of working from home. So I think that it has created some stability, but also taken away some of the freedoms that maybe the girls were used to, because they were on their own so much. And so they feel like, well, it's different. Like, that's not how would you, you know, so we there's a lot of conversations going on. And they understand, you know, why, and then the boys understand, you know, some of the challenges is that the girls have been through it. So I think that that helps without it being like, oh, let's give everybody this one special treatment for this or that I tried to, really, I mean, in my kids, they are technically cousins, but they call each other siblings, like, that's how close they are. And, you know, so I think that that has helped, you know, create that bond for them. And, you know, I'm super grateful for that. So let, let me ask you a question that I like to ask, as well is, if a mom came to you, and she wanted to start home business, do you have any advice that you would give her? As far as like, how to start it, how to be prepared? Like what what would your advice be?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  26:43

I think the biggest thing is that everybody looks at social media and says, look at them, they have it all together. I don't think I can do this, because I don't have it all together, right. And nobody sees the chaos behind the scenes, right? So I'm not guiding you through my house where it's a little bit messy right now, because we've got four kids, right? You're just going to see the pretty pictures that I you know, edit and put on social media, right? So the biggest thing is to really, I think, have those blinders on of just like, hey, what do I want? What are my goals, what's our focus what's important to us as a family, and to go forward based on that, and really hard not to look at what everybody else is doing. And the other thing is, I think having a plan and walking through and working through as a couple if this makes sense is very important. Because if you're not on the same page, you could have a really successful business, if your husband is jealous, if he just hates that you have this business. If it's just not making sense for your family, if he was raised with a stay at home mom, and you are not a stay at home mom, he might really resent that. So ultimately, the relationship still has to come first. Right? And if it doesn't make sense, something's gotta give and maybe it's the business. Right? So I think it's just really, really important to think that through and have those conversations about what is life going to be like, now? Are we okay with these changes? Right? There big life decisions. And, and it's gotta make sense.

Rita Suzanne  28:24

Yeah, definitely. And I think that, you know, one thing that we already touched on because and I love that you you said this and, and about the blinders, because I tell all my clients that because a lot of times people are comparing themselves to others or looking at what another person is offering. And then they try to emulate that. And maybe that's just not a good fit for your target audience and, or for you, you know, so for two years, I offered the VIP days, the dedicated days, and at first, they were really great for me, but then when my life change, and I have, you know, different requirements and needs from my family, it became a burden to me because I was trying so hard to fit this amount of work into eight hours, but it became overwhelming. And then I had to stop them because I could no longer do them and feel good about it. And so I just transitioned changed my home business. And so I think that that's something to keep in mind. Like just because something is shiny and fancy doesn't mean that you have to do it and I don't even know what my competition does what they offer anything like I have no clue. I don't even know who they are to. Because to be honest with you, I only care what I do and what I'm offering and I'm gonna do my best to provide the best service that I can. And you know, and just because they provide something doesn't mean that I have to or you know Don't vice versa. So yeah, I think that that's really important is keeping your eyes on your own paper. No cheating, no looking around none of that stuff. So where can we find you online? Where can everybody connect with you? And do you have any? Any special offers or freebies or whatever?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  30:22

Yeah, yeah. So investor smarts.ca is the best. So investor smarts.ca. And, yeah, I've got a free 20 minute call. And again, finances is it's really an open book of where you want to go with it, right? There's so many different conversations that people have on those calls. So don't be shy, whatever you're struggling with, just reach out and be happy to have a talk and help you offer some advice and help you kind of think through some things. And then again, we've got, you know, one on one to a whole bunch of different offerings, depending on what you're looking at, for for courses. And yeah, check out the page. There's some blogs on there. I've got a podcast and different things. So

Rita Suzanne  31:05

and I was a guest on your podcast, you. And yes, and where are you on social media?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  31:14

Social media is just my name. So Candace backs, BK X, recent canvasbacks,

Rita Suzanne  31:20

and on Instagram and Facebook anywhere else?

Candice Bakx-Friesen  31:24

Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn as well. Perfect.

Rita Suzanne  31:27

All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a pleasure. Thank you.