Interview with Drs. Letizia Alto and Kenji Asakura

On this week’s episode of the PNC podcast, a dynamic physician couple explains how they used their passion for real estate investing to create a popular course that teaches what they've learned. 

 

After hearing about their experiences with real estate, and the success of their online courses, I was really pleased when they agreed to come on the podcast. So, today we'll be learning about real estate AND how to create a popular course like theirs.

Our Sponsor

We're proud to have the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA Program, offered by the Haslam College of Business, as the sponsor of this podcast.

The UT PEMBA is the longest-running, and most highly respected physician-only MBA in the country, with over 650 graduates. And, unlike other programs, which typically run 1 – 1/2 to 2 years, this program only takes a year to complete. Recently, Economist Magazine ranked the business school #1 in the world for the Most Relevant Executive MBA.

While in the program, you'll participate in a company project, thereby contributing to your organization. As a result, the University of Tennessee PEMBA students bring exceptional value to their organizations.

Graduates have taken leadership positions at major healthcare organizations. And they've become entrepreneurs and business owners.

By joining the University of Tennessee physician executive MBA, you will develop the business and management skills needed to find a career that you really love. To find out more, contact Dr. Kate Atchley’s office by calling (865) 974-6526 or go to nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

Dr. Leti Alto is a board-certified family medicine physician. After finishing medical school at the University of Vermont, Leti completed her residency at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, followed by a hospitalist fellowship. She has been a hospitalist since 2011. She also started a company, ModusOne Health, with her husband and served as Chief Medical Officer from 2015-2016, before pursuing her current real estate and online training businesses. 

Dr. Kenji Asakura completed medical school at Johns Hopkins University. After medical school, he started a nutraceutical company, completed an internship at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company, then returned to UW to repeat his internship and internal medicine residency. He started ModusOne Health with his wife, before pursuing his current passions.

Risk-free Real Estate Investments

Leti and Kenji knew they wanted to achieve financial freedom through multiple income streams after reading Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad (this is an affiliate link) together. They saw two paths to achieve that: start an incredibly successful business and exit with a big payoff, or invest in real estate. Pretty quickly, they chose to pursue the latter.

And they quickly discovered two primary benefits to investing in real estate:

Cashflow

Most investors begin with single-family homes or small multi-family properties. Then, you can use the cash flow, and equity in smaller projects to invest in larger residential or commercial properties. And you create a new income stream every time you lease your property.

Tax Savings

Using depreciation and other deductions inherent in real estate, investors can offset income from other sources, drastically reducing them in some cases. The advantages multiply when you become a real estate professional. But you must meet certain income and FTE requirements that the IRS demands to achieve that.

Next Step: Create a Popular Course About Real Estate

When Leti and Kenji first started investing in real estate, they offered advice to people who wanted to replicate what they had achieved. Later, they decided to start a blog, SemiRetiredMD.com, to expand their reach and make the information available to a larger audience of colleagues.

Monetizing their blog later offered another income column to support their financial freedom. And it also allowed them to build a following.

As long as the passion is there to help people… you're going to still help them regardless of whether the material is perfect or not.

– Dr. Kenji Asakura

From the blog, they decided to use what they were teaching to create a popular course based on their real estate expertise, Zero to Freedom through Cash-Flowing Rentals [This is an affiliate link – if you purchase using the link, I receive a commission.] In this 10-week course, Leti and Kenji:

  • teach students how to invest in real estate,
  • explain how to become a real estate professional,
  • provide important tax information, and,
  • introduce students to professional connections to make investing easier.

On the episode, Leti and Kenji also discuss how they created their course, and the software platform they use to support it.

Thanks for listening today. I appreciate your interest and support. Next week, join me here on the PNC Podcast as I am interviewed on my own podcast. I brought in a special guest host to interview me about a fantastic new online resource for “Seeking Clinicians.” What is a seeking clinician, anyway? Well… you'll have to tune in next week to the PNC Podcast to find out! See you then.

Special Offer

After coming on the podcast, and teaching us how to create a popular course, Zero to Freedom through Cash-Flowing Rentals, Leti and Kenji have offered me the opportunity to share it with you as an affiliate partner. That means that if you join the program using any of the links on this page, I will receive a commission.

I believe that real estate is an excellent way to diversify your income, and can allow you to pursue other unconventional jobs and side gigs that we talk about on the podcast. If fact, becoming a part-time real estate professional can really help to create more freedom in your life.

So give the course a look by going to nonclinicalphysicians.com/rentals. [This is an affiliate link – if you purchase using the link, I receive a commission.] As an added BONUS, if you join the course, I will provide you a FREE 30-minute strategy session to talk about your career, a side hustle, or anything else related to the podcast!

There is currently a waiting list. The doors will open on June 1. Then you'll be given some prep work to do (the pre-course module) before the real action begins a few weeks later. But you MUST get in at the beginning to take part in all of the prep.

The other thing that is cool is that all the enrolled members work together at roughly the same pace, and Leti and Kenji make certain that each lesson is thoroughly understood and implemented effectively before moving on. That's why they only open the course at specific times each year.

If that sounds intriguing, then read much more about it at nonclinicalphysicians.com/rentals.

Download This Episode:

Right Click Here and “Save As” to download this podcast episode to your computer.

The Nonclinical Career Academy Membership Program is Now Live!

I've created 15 courses and placed them all in an exclusive, low-cost membership program. The program provides an introduction to dozens of nontraditional careers, with in-depth lessons on several of them. It even includes my full MSL Course. There is a money-back guarantee, so there is no risk to signing up. And I'll add more courses each and every month, addressing:

  • Nontraditional Careers: Locum tenens, Telemedicine, Cash-only Practice
  • Hospital and Health System Jobs
  • Pharma Careers
  • Home-based jobs
  • Preparing for an interview, and writing a resume
  • And more…

Thanks to our sponsor…

Thanks to the UT Physician Executive MBA program for sponsoring the show. It’s an outstanding, highly rated, MBA program designed for working physicians. It is just what you need to prepare for that fulfilling, well-paying career. You can find out more at nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, share it on Twitter and Facebook, and leave a review on iTunes.

Podcast Editing & Production Services are provided by Oscar Hamilton

Disclaimers:

Many of the links that I refer you to, and that you’ll find in the show notes, are affiliate links. That means that I receive a payment from the seller if you purchase the affiliate item using my link. Doing so has no effect on the price you are charged. And I only promote products and services that I believe are of high quality and will be useful to you, that I have personally used or am very familiar with.

The opinions expressed here are mine and my guest’s. While the information provided on the podcast is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed here will lead to success in your career, life or business.

The information presented on this blog and related podcast is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical, legal, tax, or emotional advice. If you take action on the information provided on the blog or podcast, it is at your own risk. Always consult an attorney, accountant, career counselor, or other professional before making any major decisions about your career.