Ted Silva Shares His Underdog Success Formula Powered by Quicksilva Closing Anywhere, Anytime®

Kevin Harrington
Hi, I’m Kevin Harrington, an original Shark from the hit television show Shark Tank and you’re listening to the underdog podcast.

Pamela Bardhi
Welcome to the underdog podcast. Today I have an incredible guest here with me Ted Silva tell how are you, my friend?

Ted Silva
Fantastic.

Pamela Bardhi
The good thing was that I was gonna meet with you today and hear your story because I’ve known you went to Harvard. Yeah. Right, and so we were in the real estate development program together. So I stayed in touch over the years, which was amazing. And you always impressed me so much, just like how humble you were. Meanwhile, you were doing all these crazy, amazing things in your world. And I was like, such a rock star and comes from such humble beginnings. It’s like coolest guy. So I’m honored to have you here today. First and foremost and now, I mean, I’ve heard a little bit of your story as we’ve met and talked and all that stuff. But what inspired you on your journey to where you are today, Ted?

Ted Silva
Well, I think the title of your podcast the underdog does describe it. Because I definitely come from being an underdog. A lot of people are born into it. My parents are immigrants. They grew up in an immigrant family in a multi-family house. Parents working all the time. So it wasn’t like, I have like the lap of luxury grown up but I learned hard work. I saw hard work, I saw the hard work. You know back then she was a long time ago. My parents would buy they my dad would like take his extra, my mom to have extra money and buy multi family house for investments. But it wasn’t like hire contractors how that none of us like you do it yourself. So it was like my parents were there painting.

Yeah, I’m on the floor, playing with my toys while they’re painting the rooms. Okay. Then as I got older, what you did you know, how you couldn’t afford to hire people? Yeah, at least we couldn’t. So it’s all done ourselves. My parents did it all. And then as I got older, I was the guy with the paint brush painting the trends. Roll the walls, you’re gonna mean that as I got older, you know, I’m cleaning out the basements of tenants with trash. I’m saying what stuff and you know, I got my license I’m going there. And my my after school job was working on my on properties. Whether it was cleaning yard clean the basement painting a front hallway painting an apartment.

That’s all I did on weekends, and you know, an after school? Yeah, I would always say to me, you know, Ted, some people own stores. This is our business. It’s like, okay, good. I never understood why am I doing all this work? Well, my friends are playing football here. Watch the TV playing video games. This is our business what we do. And it was a great lesson because it taught me hard work from a young age, that took that hard work ethic with me throughout the years that even when I had jobs. One of my first jobs delivering pizzas.

Pamela Bardhi
So familiar.

Ted Silva
My boss,Louis would tell me 10 Best every person we have and I say that humbly. Because when there were no deliveries, I was waiting for delivery to come through. And it’s still in the MB and made, I wouldn’t just sit there twiddling my thumbs. I go to a schooler and I would literally organize all of his bottles of sodas and waters and stuff, okay, with the labels facing forward nice and neat. Because I’d like to see everything nice and neat and go in there a tad, no one else does this. It’s this work ethic inside of me. And like I just did it and I get paid extra to do it. He never told me to do it. You didn’t tip me to do it.

I just saw it did. I’m sitting here, I have 2015 20 minutes to kill before the next delivery comes out, so I’ll just look around and say that the cooler will look a lot better if every bottle label face forward. So I would do that kind of stuff in I believe that work ethic at a young age hiram I’m like 16 and a half of my license. My first job outside of eating basements and yards and painting and stuff and doing that. And then I took that forward. Every job I had was the best job I could that when I got into my current businesses. I took that work ethic, and just like did the best I could. And again, it’s being the underdog had to work harder and work smarter in 2003, can’t believe it’s been almost 20 years.

When I had this job. I was working at an investment company. We’re in a headset taking a bunch of phone calls, making a bunch of phone calls. Studying to take all these licenses to be a broker and it was a summertime I had to study for my series seven to be a stockbroker and even care about being a stockbroker. It wasn’t my passion at all, It was I didn’t know what my passion was yet. But I knew it wasn’t that, it was a paycheck, it was a good paycheck. Had a brother, the company making great money, so I knew what kind of money was ahead of me if I stayed with the company. So I spent a few weeks in the summer studying my series seven to be a stockbroker, and just wasn’t happy.

I wasn’t happy at all, like, so now what I want to do, but I had to do because it was my job. And I had to take this test because my job required just wasn’t happy. If you can relate with that. I’ve been there, I know what it’s like. So I started doing some things likecsoul searching and reading in my notebook. Really, what do I do? What do I like doing? Okay and I had this idea, like, you know what, I realized I like real estate, I love real estate. Because in my free time, I wasn’t reading about stocks. I was reading about real estate, you know, I was going back then the local paper was the Boston Globe and I’d go to like boston.com.

And I’d look at houses for sale, not just houses, investment properties for sale, multifuel for sale. That was my interest, so I started looking in there, what’s for sale. I spent my weekends going to open houses looking at houses for sale. So that’s what I would do well, I had this investment job that I was getting paid great money for going for my series seven to be a stockbroker. Okay, that was not what my passion was. My free time was spent on real estate. Like I said, Go on a website, looking at houses for sale. That one’s got three families, they want X amount of money. This is the rent roll does the expenses. Does it make money? What if I go in there to do what my parents taught me and fix it up a little bit.

You don’t say give it a paint job, seeing the floors, putting new kitchen cabinets, new countertop, rehabbed the bathroom, can I get more money? So that kind of stuff was what I was doing, so I had this epiphany one day just came out of nowhere, like Ted get into real estate. I had a law degree that I wasn’t using, like I said, as an investment company, so you know what? Be a real estate lawyer that opened the door from being in my mind to start looking down that path and exploring to say, May I be a real estate lawyer? So I took some time. I told the story. Oh, yeah.

Pamela Bardhi
I’m gonna ask you so many questions. Keep rolling.

Ted Silva
So I got this job at a real estate law firm. Right where I want to be. It was in Davis square Somerville, I got this job. I’m a real estate lawyer. I don’t love like the first week there and my buddy called me. How do you like it? I’m like, I love this job, I love it, I had never done it before. Okay, but I loved it, he was paying me less than I was making at my investment company where I was working. He was pay me less, but it didn’t matter. I love it so much that I would have paid him to work there. That’s how much I loved it, I started he was a small operation. A one man lawyer.

He had one paralegal one secretary, they hired me and I’m gung ho I go in there. The files he has like they didn’t close for like months because they had title issues, did he pay it? Did someone sit down and do the work but he didn’t have someone to do the work because he wasn’t a real estate specialists. So I got in there, did the work on closed right away, that the bank called my boss and said, You gotta keep that guy, right. And the banks are sending us more deals all of a sudden, like now, you know. He went from doing a couple real estate deals a month to a lot of them because like he had me in the banks want to work, I was getting it done.

I was getting it done, I say that humbly. Okay, but I just loved it. Like I go in there. My weekend, Saturday and Sunday, I had my office, I went to a store called BJs or cigarettes like a Costco called BJs. I bought a folding table. I put it on the wall, my office and I set up like stations. I was a one man operation, but it’s like you know, pre closing, closing post closing you know what I mean? Title issues, I started making my own business without realizing I was creating my own business. What I got lucky, which I’m very lucky for. Is that I had to learn it and do it all from scratch. Every single aspect of a real estate law firm real estate title company.

I had to do from scratch because I didn’t walk into a firm every did it all okay, I was the firm within a firm Okay, well, one man law firm. That is me doing the real estate side to learn it all do it all, I got really good at it. I’m not being bragging about it being healthy, I got good. We started cranking them out, okay. He was doing a couple of months they don’t do a 30 a month on drive around new closings is crazy and then never forget this. I have a registered trademark that only I can use in the whole country is that we close any word anytime, guaranteed. And let me tell you how that started, I had a closing with a new mom. She was home with a baby her husband worked all day.

I want to fool with her because back then, you know 2003 to do a closing a refinance or purchase. You went to the lawyer’s office between the hours of nine to four nine to five okay. Wherever they were, you had to go find parking, take time off for work. Take a day off of work, call in sick to work, whatever you have to do to go there and sign the paperwork. It was an event. A big event took a lot of your time. Okay, so I told the new mom, I said, What if I come to your house after work inside when your husband gets home? That way not to leave with the baby. She’s like, you’ll do though. Like, Yeah, cuz no one else did that at the time.

And no one gave me the idea, I was just like, convenience, customer service. Okay, I’ll go to your house. If I go there, she’s so happy. She signs her husband gets home, he signs I leave and like, I was really cool and I go back and I sit at work. I process the paperwork, I think nothing of it. About a week later, I had a dentist in Arlington mass, same thing. Husband and wife work together. He was dentists, she was the office manager. They worked all day in a small dental practice, but it’s time consuming, trying to make time. I said you could take a lunch break. So what if I come during your lunch break? That you’ll come here? Yeah, I’ll go to your office during your lunch break.

You could sign everything but like, wow, okay, great I go there. They sign this so appreciative in the light bulb went off for the first time I come back and tell my boss, I got it. If we traveled to the customer will get more business. My old boss was a great guy, but he was your old school lawyer. And I’m not trying to put anyone down okay, but he looked at me and said Ted, a traveling lawyer. If you travel, you will cheat in a profession. That’s how we said it to me, me going to people’s homes during their lunch break after hours, cheapens the legal profession.

Again, I come from a very humble beginning that me going to someone’s home to have them sign paperwork at the kitchen table. Or in the dental practice on their desk or on a lunch break is not beneath me at all. I will travel anywhere in anytime. That’s all due for the customer. There was no such thing as like come to my office so nine to four that cheapens profession and I’m not putting the guy down. Great guy very successful, okay. But where I come from, that was not cheap in my profession at all. That’s called customer service. So I trademark clothes anywhere anytime I opened the lofts utensil the LLC, in took off. I sent a letter to every single Realtor in town, like a typewritten letter, nothing fancy, no letterhead, nothing to say.

My name is Ted soba. I’m a new real estate lawyer in town. I would appreciate your business with a business card. Just something very simple like that. That meal to every realtor in town call started coming in. I remember the first big decision I had to make was I was so busy, I had to hire someone afraid to hire someone. Okay, I come from immigrant parents. All right, very conservative. Don’t take too much risk. My dad say Ted, don’t hire anyone. If you hire someone you’re gonna work in to pay their salary. Okay, so I had that going against me okay, because like, you know, like I grew up in a family with huge businesses and legal practices. Because I’m just starting off like all I have my work ethic, but starting the business, like, what do I do here?

Okay, I heard that paralegal being we took off. I hired a lawyer and we took off again, busier and busier and busier. Okay. It fast forward, I ended up beating, you know, pm and Harvard because I needed help. Like, I’m not I started a business without meaning to start a business. Okay, I went into it with a passion, okay, cuz I really loved it. It took off, so I reached out for help and went to Harvard program for people like me that have businesses that need a little bit of help. So this program was called OPM, its owners, presence manager, people who own businesses or they run businesses, okay. That want little bit of help from Harvard mines and that’s what I did. And that was phenomenal. I went there.

They taught me so much stuff you listen to the pockets might know how to read PNLs in Excel spreadsheets, honestly, I’m humble. I can admit, I didn’t. All I know is that every month I had the money coming in, at the end of the year my CPA would tell me this is how much money you made last year. Ted i that’s honestly, you could laugh. That’s the same way, that’s what it came down to like, oh, April, okay, I mean, x last year, great. I pay my taxes high, you know, once a year, how they do all right. And then you get to a point you realize, you need monthly p & l, so you got to know how much you made last month.

You can keep a pulse on the business, or you profit you’re not profitable. Where are you losing money, you making money, so now, it’s completely different now it’s like a month to month basis. I know and then each month, how we did so that, you know. It’s not like once a year, it’s once a month I know why we did so I can make tweaks here and there. Do I need to hire more people? You know, like what do I need? So I’ve said a lot. Alright, that’s 10 in nutshell, all right, the company changed because I started hiring. I probably had like 20 employees and I realized the offset 10 Silver LLC sounds like a one person operation. Which it was I started one person operation. Okay, so I changed the name to quicksilver title, LLC, and Silver Law.

So we started quick Silver Silver Law, and it grew from there because now we’re national, we do closings in all 50 states. And how that happen again, just like people started telling me hey, Ted, I have a client in Ohio that buying a house you help them? I’m not gonna say no. Okay, I figure it out. How do I do title work in Ohio? Bam. Ted, I got a client with a second home in Florida. Can you help them? Sure, I didn’t know what I was doing. But I figured it out. I got licensed in Florida, it would be closer to Florida. So this all started happening this thing you know, we’re doing it all over the country.

Pamela Bardhi
Oh, may the East Center rock star. So I’m gonna reel it back a loser because it’s amazing, so as a kid. What did you want to be when you grew up?

Ted Silva
Great question. The first time that question was asked to me was in fifth grade. My dad was a realtor, like a lot of kids, you know, I want to be like my dad. So when asked would you want to be when you get older? You know, people were saying fire man, police man, you know, typical fifth graders stuff. I said, I want to be a real estate agent like we did. And that’s what I said, so that was my first time someone asked me to the fifth grade. That was my honest answer. Okay and Senior High School. I got licensed, become a realtor, you got to be 18 and take the test. You can be any age take the course. So I took the course when I was 17.

The week I turned 18. I turned 18 on April 12. It’s the middle of April. Okay. In Massachusetts there’s a school vacation week is always in the middle of April. We do around that time, haven’t we school vacation week that turned 18 All right. Senior High School. My friends with the Florida that took a road trip to Florida. A car full of boys a car full of girls out to Florida to someone’s grandma’s house to spend vacation down there. You know, senior year high school, okay, I stayed behind to take my real estate test. And I remember I woke up went did a test. I got my results few weeks and I pass that test. So my job through college where you know, a lot of people were doing part time jobs at the mall. Whatever they would do when okay.

My part time job through college in law school was at a real estate office. So that’s a desk job wearing a shirt and I didn’t know what a shirt and tie. Okay, I don’t know how anyone took me seriously, but they did it. I was making my first summer again being humbled, I mean first summer, I mean, I think 7000 bucks, okay. Now, at 18 years old, a lot of my going into your freshman year of college, okay to have like seven or eight grand cash in the bank. Because I’ll tell you that I might not forget. It was like, oh my goodness it was amazing. Because I never would have made that kind of money delivering pizzas for the summer or work at the mall for the summer. Okay, but I think I rented apartments.

I may have sold a condo that summer, so it paid off immediately. So that’s what I went through when I got older and then follow my dad’s footsteps. And then it changed when I saw the OJ Simpson trial. Again, now I’m dating myself at age. Okay, so you know what, I want to be criminal defense lawyer. I want to be one of the big shots in Hollywood. You know, defend the big clients, okay. Got that was all glamour, I thought it was all, fantastic stuff. So I want to be criminal defense lawyer tells me to go to law school. My first summer after my first year of law school, I got an internship at a local courthouse.

And that’s when I got exposure for the first time ever to the criminal justice system and I realized immediately. That’s not all glamour, it was honestly, it’s pretty sad. It’s drugs, It’s alcohol in domestic violence. That was the majority of the cases in the criminal justice system. I was exposed to this summer. I’m like, I can’t do this. This is not what I want to do. So you’re gonna mean, so I went from being a real estate agent, like my dad to be the criminal defense lawyer. I got exposure to it as an intern, the courthouse, not for me.

Pamela Bardhi
That answer Yeah. Well, it’s interesting to see how it shifts throughout the years. But no matter what, where you started with, which was the real estate. How much your early childhood plays a role because they say like. In the first seven years of life is your data state. That’s why kids are so creative and amazing and all of that and they’re so like, they don’t care what goes on in the world. They just you know, they absorb and they’re creative and all that well they pick up so much during that time. It’s true, so it’s interesting during that time you were saying that your parents you remember your dad like painting and doing all of these things like and now it almost is followed you.

Ted Silva
it went full circle because I tried to criminal wasn’t for me. I gone to the finance world wasn’t for me. And what was really for me was what I grew up with was real estate. That’s what was ingrained inside of me was a real estate and you’re right so when full circle I got back into real estate. I now net to do anything else, and I’m very blessed, because people say all the time if you love what you do. We never worked a day in your life and do I love what I do.

I love what I do and I mean it, do I love real estate, I love real estate. People who know me personally know that when it comes to real estate topics, I could talk and talk and talk all day all night. So much fun, you’re gonna be talking about investment properties and multi families. That’s where I really love talking. It’s so much fun, so much fun. Yeah.

Pamela Bardhi
I really, it’s fun, it’s fun, Saturday share the same passion for real estate and entrepreneurship and all of that. But you mentioned that your parents were immigrants as well. So it’s the same for me, I grew up and I was delivering pizzas as well. And I would also do the same thing you did, which I would fix the CANS like I would always find something to do. Even though I was waiting for a delivery to come in the phone. I do this, I do that. So it’s very, very interesting. Our beginnings are very parallel, like, and almost exactly the same, which is crazy. And I think there’s something to be said about this hustle and I always say this. I’m like, there’s certain things you can’t learn in school.

Like you just kept. There’s this element of hustle and work ethic that immigrant children have watching their parents. That was my thing. Like when I get asked, what’s my biggest motivation? How can I not be somebody or want to be somebody successful. When my parents dropped everything to come here and build a life with no family. Not speak English, no job security, none of that, like they’re up against the grain. And then here, they are coming here trying to build a better life for us. Right and it’s like that level of motivation is a whole other level. And so going back to you and your motivation in your early years. What was your biggest motivation at that time.

Ted Silva
Watching the OS where it came from inside and you say people you can’t, you can’t, this doesn’t come from school. This comes from within that hustle that you have inside of you. So the motivation of course, I’ve seen my parents, you know. My dad’s first word he learned when he came to America, he tells me all the time, the only word he knew in English was job. That’s it. He landed up in Cambridge, Mass living in a multi family house with an apartment with my mother and you know. His wife and my older brother was with him and he walked to the factories in the front door with one word into an English job.

And he ended up getting the job at a factory and so is that an automation absolutely as a motivation, okay? That you don’t know the language, you land a job in this new country. We don’t even know the language. And you work your tail off, do multiple jobs. You have to get ahead that uh, luckily, very luckily, my dad got into real estate. Which is why I love it so much, because he got into real estate. He helped a lot of Portuguese immigrants. Also at the time they were coming to Cebu Cambridge area, help them buy homes, sell homes. Okay, so that’s what I grew up with.

Our topics at the dinner table weren’t about sports. And my greatest sports how I did it, I stick in sports, okay, for my good real estate. Very good. That’s what we talked about. We talked about real estate. So even like my dad’s days off, like my dad’s days off. It was spent doing stuff around real estate, you know what I mean? Like, let’s go do this, let’s go do that. I got a refrigerator delivered today. It’s cool and it’ll meet the delivery person near me like, whatever it was, it was real estate related. So I think seeing that is what’s inspired me.

Pamela Bardhi
That’s amazing. Well, it’s just this new element of hustle like that just can’t, you know, and your humble beginnings. It’s like you’re not afraid to be like, I’m not beneath No, you know, which is like a big thing. I mean, because it can be a big ego thing and like the attorney world, you know. So just like all of these things that have shaped us it’s such a young age, It’s incredible.

Ted Silva
The ego you’ve talked about, yeah, it’s what my old boss stopped him from starting a company that took off was that he wouldn’t travel to people’s houses. Because it was beneath the legal profession.

Pamela Bardhi
Serious ego. I mean, it’s just ego, anything to me. Anyone in any business, it’s like you almost stop your growth stunted. Right that in there, because you decided I’m too good for them.

Ted Silva
Yeah, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes 100%or whatever it takes. You got to be willing to do it. Right. Yeah.

Pamela Bardhi
Then what I love is like you are out there hustling, you’re grinding, you’re doing the pizzas. And then you got to do the real estate world and you were like. You were just hustling and you were hungry all the time. Which I found incredible. And so after high school, so what we finish trajectory of your college into like your early career. Because you spoke about it and then you, because there’s pivots in there that are super important that. There’s always people listening that are always interested in that side of things and how you pivoted into where you’re at. So walk me through that a little bit. After high school, like, you know, how did you decide to get into finance?

Ted Silva
Like I mentioned in high school, I went to college and decide I want to be a criminal offense lawyer, you know. And I realized it wasn’t for me, so it was kind of lost. What do I do? So I had an older brother work in the finance field. He’s like, come here, you know, we did law degree move up pretty quick, so I had a lot degree as a non practicing lawyer. Because I didn’t know what I want to do. That’s the truth and I didn’t know what I want to do. So I figured know what, I’ll get a high paying job and a great career, and that’s what I’ll do. But it wasn’t satisfying just chasing a paycheck, chasing money didn’t satisfy me. Maybe that’s for other people.

Not for me, following this is what satisfied me when I realized I want to be a real estate lawyer. Okay and I want to help a lot of people when I realized that is when my life changed for me. Because it wasn’t chasing money, It wasn’t chasing prestige. It was just doing chasing what I want to do, where my passion is in. So when I got into that field, I fell in love immediately. I mean, it honestly that job I got the law firm job I got out he paid me less I was making in the finance company. But it didn’t matter, It didn’t matter, I loved it. I’m so glad, I said yes, that job in my ego didn’t get in the way saying oh, sorry. Enough pay to it, so enough pay wasn’t about that at all.

It was a learning experience for me. You know what in the fact that he didn’t want to travel the customers. It helped me because it was my like, drivers say. You know what, start watch the TED summit and trademark. We close Anywhere, anytime. You’re just go for it. Truth is like, whoever wants to bowl on Sunday night Eminem sign? Yeah, you get one chance. That song was big. When I made that decision to go from the finance company, to my own practice gate. Very hard decision for me very hard. Okay, on a career path.

I passed series, seven tests they wanted me to take and yet it says one of your take. So it’s no more testing to do, I was on a career path. I knew the kind of money they were going to pay for a savior. Okay, this is you know, you’re on a conveyor belt of corporate America. And you’re doing a check on the box and going the right way. So I knew where I was heading, and we’re doing pretty good. But that song was big and I remember where I was driving. When I heard that Radio One chance and like, I’m taking that one chance.

Pamela Bardhi
Eminem, you were listening to Eminem? Me too. And so I’m idea.

Ted Silva
And that song was on the radio. That decision was made in like, Oh, two. Okay, so 20 years ago, okay and I guarantee if you look right now. When that song came out, it was right around the time. So that goes playing on the radio, and I’m like, you get one chance. You know, take the opportunity, like, took that chance, took the opportunity. Best thing I did and fast forward 20 years. It’s like Quicksilver is doing great, civilized, doing great. And we have this real estate thing going on too. Which I’m having a blast doing two at the same time. I’m still doing it 20 years later, because a passion, I tell people all the time. It’s like, why ever stop doing this?

I don’t think so, I really don’t, it’s fun for me. If you haven’t fun, why would you stop doing it, I mean, it’s like, it’s not like, work for me, you know. And I’m so lucky to be, maybe we can’t say that. Okay, I know that I know that, I spoke with someone on the phone this morning coming here. That doesn’t like their job, I hear it every day. People don’t want a job. But when you find a job you love. Oh, my goodness It’s amazing. It’s such a great feeling, so it’s fun. So will I be doing this until a very old man, most likely. I don’t see myself ever stopping doing this because there’s nothing else I want to do, It’s fun, I love that.

Pamela Bardhi
Well, there’s so many things in what you do. Like you had a very high paying job in finance. And you decided to go another route and pivot. Now I know there’s people listening who are not happy where they’re at right now. So first, how did you come to the realization that you just hated it? And then how did you get a mental you have guts? What was like the turning point for you to say, I’m done. I’m moving elsewhere.

Because having that awareness and then also being brave enough and courageous enough to make the shifts like again. You’re going from Golden handcuffs to something. So how did you make that transition? Cuz I’m sure there’s a lot of people listening right now. That are kind of on the edge about what they want to do and know that their calling is this way but are stuck where they’re at?

Ted Silva
It’s a very tough question, because there is no one answer. There is a lot of soul searching in journaling is taking the time to sit down by yourself. Talk to a lot of people and see what happens and see what kind of answers you get. Like I talked to a lot of people. I love talking to people when I have to make a big decision in my life. Honestly, I will ask so many People that are opinions. It doesn’t mean I listen to every opinion. If I did, it wouldn’t make it but I do it as part of my research. Okay, so I ask a lot of people that like, hey, what do you think if I leave finance and go into real estate. One guy told me is like, you know, take those, you can always go back.

Whoa, that was like an epiphany like, wow, you’re right. Yeah, I could always go back, I didn’t think of that. It wasn’t like my thinking. By asking other people their opinions. One person gave that advice. Good point, I could always go back and the cool thing happened. I gave my boss notice at the finance company. He actually told me 10, you can always come back. You don’t say, so the advice that this one guy told me, my boss actually ended up telling me that. When I actually finally gave them notice, probably six months or a year later. I finally have the courage to make the leap. It’s hard for a lot of people journaling.

Pamela Bardhi
I use that said soul searching. So I want to know what it means for you.

Ted Silva
I love journaling.

Pamela Bardhi
I tell you, Tony Robbins. Business is a spiritual game.

Ted Silva
Yes. A lot of writing in a journal like questions like. What I want to do just basic questions, answering the questions in the journal. If I make this decision, what do I do, you know, making tea bars, I mean, think about all the stuff. I think this writing it out to get into pen to paper. Getting it out of your head, in on a piece of paper and writing this stuff out.

Pros and Cons really helped. Like I remember being at this finance company. In writing down the SOFIA, I can do real estate, I can do law, I can do rentals, I can do this. It’d be like, I can do this, but I was like it alright, it’s all down. Taken out of my head, like, fast forward, you know, like, it’s like all happening. You don’t say and so I’m a big believer in that kind of stuff. I definitely am

Pamela Bardhi
Writing it all down, right and asking yourself truly what where do you want to be and what you want to do?

Ted Silva
Yes, in asking people for advice, but don’t listen to everyone’s advice. Like honestly, don’t. Just because someone says don’t just do it okay. But like, take with a grain of salt. And just hear what people tell you like, maybe try this. Maybe try that and see what they say, but it worked for me. Will it work for you? I know, I hope so, I really hope it does work for you. But it worked for me. And I was a guy that was like I got when I first started a job in finance. I loved it, great paying job career path was exciting. It was new learning a lot, but after about I don’t know. A year and a half or be in there.

I lost that excitement, I wasn’t happy anymore. This isn’t what I want to do at all. It’s not what I want to do at all. And I can tell you when I did the soul searching the journaling, asking people getting advice. They’ve gone to real estate, It’s been a lot longer than a year and a half and they still haven’t lost the excitement for it. Okay, and I mean that like it’s true. Finance lasted a year and a half for lost the excitement. This has been going on since 02 03. So almost 20 years now.

Okay. It’s still the same excitement I have today. As did back then. It’s actually more fun now. Because more experienced now so I make better decisions now. So it’s more fun now, if that makes any sense, I mean am I gonna stop doing this game? I don’t think so. No, I don’t want to so I see it again. Humbly, it’s not ragged, I consider myself very fortunate lucky. I do a med but I want this for you, too.

Pamela Bardhi
I do. Amen. Well, the thing is that you followed your intuition. You were matching, you were telling me the story, which stuck with me where you were praying about what you wanted? That story was powerful. Do you want to share that story. I love that.

Ted Silva
It’s a true story. So I came, you’re funny.

Pamela Bardhi
Because it’s so badly true.

Ted Silva
I started getting these thoughts that I’m working for this company, I start getting these thoughts that I’m gonna be a real estate lawyer. Okay, so I started researching what your real estate lawyers do. What does the job entail? I had no idea. And it was later, I can tell the story.

Pamela Bardhi
It’s a great story. I don’t know, It’s because you’re talking about intuition and the universe. And like all of this, and this is like, this was your alignment. I feel like this was your confirmation moments.

Ted Silva
It was Labor Day weekend. I was living in downtown Boston on Newbury Street right in the Back Bay. And I spent the entire weekend trying to study for that series seven exam, okay to become a stockbroker. So, not happy, I drained an entire weekend of brain power into these books to study this series seven. It’s summertime, I’m a summer baby, I love summertime. Okay, It’s my favorite time of year, I love being on the beach. So I was taken away from what I really love. Which is my summertime to like study, not what I wanted to be doing. So I wasn’t happy with my job, to say the least, so I’m driving home. And yeah, I stopped by a local church in the Back Bay. There was no church going on. But it’s a great place to sit and be quiet.

I was quiet, I have a notebook I’m writing. What do I do? Just give me some guidance, what do I do? So I leave this church? It’s Labor Day, It’s a Monday night and it’s hot out. It’s summertime so summertime in Boston. And I’m going down Commonwealth Ave in the Back Bay, trying to find a parking spot. Now if anyone knows the Back Bay of Boston, finding street parking is very difficult. Nope. Very difficult. You have to park in a garage or whatever. But I’m going down you know, going down, calm F windows are down. It’s warm out, trying to find a parking spot. And this guy goes, Hey, need a parking spot? Yeah, he goes, comes over. He hops in the backseat of my Honda Accord, didn’t ask pops in the backseat and goes. Take me to my car a few blocks down.

When I pulled out you pull in just the truth. Okay, so I’m driving out calm a nice guy you knows to give me his parking spot. I guess what do you do? Oh, because I’m a real estate lawyer. So you’ve got to be kidding me. I’m blown away, I was just in a church trying to get some guidance and this and that. And he’s telling me I’ll give his talk to my boss and be with job. This job’s great. You’ll love it, so I connected with the guy after that. It gave me his parking spot. We got to his parking spot and he pulled out like he said he would. He wasn’t a serial killer. Thank god.

Okay. He was really just a real estate lawyer just doing his thing. I had called him, I called his boss. Honestly, is Boston wanted anything to do with me, I had zero experience, I was working at a finance company, I had a law degree. Yes, but I knew nothing about real estate. Look, his boss didn’t even hire me, didn’t even interview me. But got the ball rolling, I had enough people guidance. Tell me, Ted is supposed to be a real estate lawyer. That’s what he’s supposed to be doing in payments, right? This guy, I don’t even know his name. And if you’re listening to this podcast, please reach out. Okay. Don’t remember your name.

I know you live in Peabody mass at the time. Okay, you told me you had a jetski in a boat in a New Year’s Payton’s glamorous lifestyle. You had and how much he loved being a real estate lawyer that you inspired me. So what did I do? A few months later, I said I’m gonna take a week off from work from this finance company to try to find a job as a real estate lawyer. And I want to be in Davis square Somerville. Because that’s where I already owned, I think one or two investment properties in that area there, I knew some rule. When I was brought up my first few years of my life and Oh, kindergarten I was in Somerville. My grandparents were from everyone hopefully from that area there.

Okay, my dad had sold real estate in that city, okay, I’ll make that I want to be in simple maths. But I wanted to be in Davis square two. I want to be very specific. So I took a week off of work to go job hunting, I told a friend of mine, yeah, I want to get a job as a real estate lawyer and diva square summer okay, just nonchalant. He goes to get a job as a real estate lawyer. Don’t limit yourself to one neighborhood, go get the experience somewhere else and you can always find a job later on there. Good point. It actually made sense. The limit is I’m only gonna work in this one neighborhood so I had a big neighborhood. Okay, he was right, don’t limit yourself to one neighborhood.

So it’s Sunday I start flooding the market with a resume I’m like faxing and emailing. All right my resume out there to like these as I see it in like law school websites hiring lawyers gay but they don’t tell you where they are. This says like, you know, seeking a real estate lawyer facts your resume. Fax my resume blindly. A guy with no experience. I have a resume with finance, no real estate experience. So I’m not like candidates like you know, in high demand kind of no experience at all. Most people want experience. I found that most ads even said like minimum two years experience. But how do you get two years experience? You know, if you’re a new entry level, how do you get this?

Okay, immediately they weren’t minimum three years experience. I’m like, How do I get this job? I couldn’t get the job. So anyway, I started faxing email resume, okay. And I got a call from this lawyer that was well known in Boston back then. As a personal injury lawyer, but his ad said real estate, so he’d abuse me the guy loves me. We hit it off there at the interview. Okay, great interview and he made me a job offer that was double the pay and what I was making the finance company. So I asked the guy said do you do real estate, he was no no I just do personal dreams like buy a cup of your answers real estate. Very slick man.

I put everything in my hands so the calls come in like okay like that’s what he did. He didn’t mean he wanted the phone calls coming in. So if you don’t refer so for four or people know like if you need a lawyer call so and so okay. Even though again, I wasn’t chasing money at all, I had done that before I went to an investment company to chase the money. So I knew that wasn’t right for me, so I get another call real estate lawyer talk this guy on the phone and I get. I have no clue where they’re located. Okay, the guy call me number. Hi I’m so and so I’m respond to your Radek eight resume by robot, I guess we located Davis square Somerville pm.

I jumped through the phone. I’m like, you’ve got to be kidding me. That’s right where I want to be. He hasn’t come in, I want to meet you. And the reason why he called me was because I put my resume. Ted so what and yes, I had no experience ago. I have a passion for real estate, I told the truth. I have a passion for real estate. And I learned later on his secretary Dineen told them. This guy’s got a passion, you have to meet him for this stuff. Because they didn’t want real estate. They didn’t like real estate, okay. But they had to do it because they had a couple of files in the office. Like I said, No one’s working on, but don’t want to real estate.

He meets me, we hit it off, he makes me a job offer, he’s paid me less than what I’m making the finance company. I didn’t care, he could have said. Ted, you pay me to work here, I would have said yes. All right, honestly and I mean, after a week, my buddy called me up, I retold the story. How do you like it? I’m like, I love it. I worked seven days a week, I’ll work on Saturday and Sundays, you know. To the point where like, I’m by my own folding tables. I’m setting up my own shop, my own business in the office. Okay, luckily, I’ve been size office. Alright, I’m setting it all up and I learned how to do real estate. As a title company, as a lawyer from the ground up from the ground up doing it all.

Which is why after only six months, I was able to go on my own. And again, I didn’t go my own to say goodbye to my boss. I went on my own because he didn’t want to travel with the customers. He didn’t want to invest in tech, I knew we needed a great copier. Because a lot of paper in real estate, he didn’t want to buy a new copier. His fax machine was old fashioned, it was like the coil paper. And it doesn’t work in real estate you need like real paper or laser ink printers. Okay, you need good stuff because people sign legal documents. He didn’t want to spend 500 bucks on a fax machine that I needed badly. Like, I need a fax machine.

There’s a laser printer one he told me and I’m gonna mention his name because I liked the guy. I don’t want to bash him. Okay, Ted, you just want to spend my money? No, I’m trying to buy a fax machine. I’m not trying to spend your money . We need this technology for real estate. It was like that kind of difference that I was like you know what, I got so first thing I did I bought that. I mean I know when money coming in, I bought the environmental effects, I knew I need the fire and all of that. So I got that kick butt copier that can make those copies really good, I knew I needed that kind of stuff. It wasn’t like I was spending money on motorcycles boats.

I was buying equipment I needed to make the business more efficient which is why my team that worked for me. Now knows when it comes to spending money on the office I’ll buy the best of the best. Because I know we need the best of the best they tell me all the time. Okay man Thanks so much for like buying us the bag we got like three copies that cost the price of a car each one okay. But you know what we need that I don’t want people standing there all day trying to print a copy of package. We need the ones that cost the price of a Toyota Corolla okay. Seriously with them? Do they cost what I need that kind of stuff? I need I have a generator.

A gas generator cost me $200,000 and again, I’m saying this for you. But why did they do that? Because if we get shut down because of a snowstorm or a power outage, trees fall all the time. Why is fall all the time? What am I going to do tell people Sorry, I have no power. You can’t buy your house that you’re trying to move into tomorrow. Or is it Christmas weekend? I know you want to move in, sorry you can’t move in, I lost power okay. No, I can’t say that, I will never say that. As a matter of fact I think we had a storm recently this past fall, I think we had a storm where we lost power for one week at my building but guess what?

My massive $200,000 generator that’s a natural gas pump to the streets. That will never run out of gas pumping power the whole week. We had heat the whole week, we had computers a whole week, we didn’t miss one minute of work. I always had the power going on. But why don’t do that kind of stuff cuz I know you need that kind of stuff. You imagine I look at it like this, I represent banks. Can you imagine going to a bank, I need to borrow withdraw some money. Oh sorry we lost power. Call a comeback we get power again you imagine a bank saying that to you? So I can’t say that to you.

I can’t if you want to buy you a home or you want to cash me or refinance to do whatever with that money. Okay, I need to be in business and give it to you and that’s what we do a quick solar. Which is where my trademark is we close anywhere anytime guaranteed. We do close anywhere anytime guaranteed, we will close anywhere anytime guaranteed. Pay very close. Eye closing snow storms. Okay literally, I’ve closed loans. This is the truth okay.

There are no emergencies where they say only necessary whatever it is. Whatever the word is that you can think of right now. Personnel on the roads, okay, I’m on the road with a big SUV that are in people’s homes. Okay? My brother Mark has a power in his truck. And he literally would plow people’s driveways to get into their house to close the paper. Sign the paperwork, okay? Anywhere, anytime, doesn’t matter on the web.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that. Well, like 10 Look what I love that you’re done. You started from a simple passion, and now it’s grown in 50 states. What would be your biggest tips for entrepreneurs looking to scale their business? Because again, you mentioned you came from humble beginnings. And so just like you, like my parents were like, don’t hire anybody, do it yourself. But that’s the kind of burnout that you’re gonna get though. As an entrepreneur, you’re only gonna get so far you’re gonna plateau until you start hiring out outsourcing and elevating. I would say, outsource, elevate, outsource, elevate them, elevate them and outsource them all the time. So how did you scale on your end? Because you mentioned the Harvard program helped you a lot. But some tips for an entrepreneur that would be interested in hearing that part.

Ted Silva
I mean, it just honestly, comes down to word of mouth. So you have to do a really, really, really good job, I always say. I’ve always said this to my team, I can bring the business in. But you gotta keep it in. Okay, I’ve always set up that way, so no matter how nice of a guy I am. That I can tell you no till I’m blue in the face. Oh, send me your business. Send quick, so your business will close, your loans will help you buy your house. Well, I’ll be right to finance your house, okay? I can say that it’s all blue in the face. You might say you know what, give him a shot. But if my team on the inside doesn’t do a good job, it’s useless.

You’ll never use me again and you’ll tell other people. They dropped the ball, don’t use it. Okay, so we have to do a fantastic job. The best job from start to finish with every single aspect of the file from start to finish. And that’s how we get the repeat business and that’s why many banks have said. We want you to be our exclusive closing attorney for this bank. Okay and that’s happened many times because they want to use it, because we make them look good. Because at the end of the day, we’re the last face that the bank will see is Quicksilver. So you go to the bank for the closing? They got all the paperwork going?

What do they do? They send Quiksilver sign the paperwork. If I dropped the ball, I make them look bad. Okay? No second chances, okay? We have to do a great job, okay. Which is why that’s what we do. So I believe any entrepreneur, like, you just have to put your heart and soul into it okay. And do the best job you can. There was no pizzas coming out of the oven to be delivered. You fix those soda cans and make them perfect. If you have that mentality, right?

They make everything perfect for the customer then a lot of hope for you, I believe that but if you just don’t care. Do a sloppy job and good luck to you. I mean, it’s not that’s not where I come from. Okay, like I said, But I learned it from making the sodas in water balls all perfectly lined up with the labels facing out. I took that mentality. Wherever you want to call that OCD. You’re going to be whatever you want to call you’re not seriously.

Pamela Bardhi
Going above and beyond.

Ted Silva
Taken taking it okay to the business. I have today and doing the same thing to make it perfect. So everyone has said White Glove treatment, the red carpet treatment. Does everyone feel special? Like wow, this is a great job, I think is what happens. They tell the bank Quixel did a great job, they tell the realtor Hey, that lawyer did a great job. The real deal will tell their clients they had a closing last week quick. So did a great job use Quicksilver again. And word of mouth spreads that way and everyone finds out and that’s how it’s happened for me.

That’s why I ended up going national, because I didn’t advertise in these other states. People will tell him, US Quicksilver he was Quicksilver us Quicksilver and we just got right, let’s get licensed. So Stacey figure it out and we got licensed in those states. We figured it out and we try to do closings in those states. And that’s how we became national. So it all hadn’t done a great job.

Pamela Bardhi
Yeah. And you also like started hiring the right people? Oh, yes. Systems in place, that 100% Invest the ways you invested in yourself. 100% was huge, right? It’s that education to go out and learn because the thing is, like, more than you’re born with this idea of grow up in the immigrant childhood just like me. It was like, Oh, you’re gonna be paying someone else’s salary if you hire them. Like, it’s like the scarcity mindset. Yes used to like that there’s not enough abundance to go around, like all this stuff. And like, that’s something I had to work through.

Yeah and it sounds like something that you work through as well. So not being afraid of the universe has got your back. We’re bringing the right people, they’ll take care of it and take you to a whole other level. You know, which is super cool. So is the systems and people that are taking it, where it is now, which is incredible.

Ted Silva
Yes. But you’re able to people though, it’s like, it’s not an AI business. It’s a we business. Like I said, yeah, I can bring it in. They keep it in. I’ve always said that. Okay, so it’s like we all of us work well together to make sure the business comes in. So like, which is why when I get positive feedback sent to me to my email address. I forged a team that everyone’s seen, thank you, everyone, look at the feedback we got. So they can see that all of us do it together, I know it’s not just Meet Ted. Great job, a very happy Great, thank you very much. It’s my team, a team. Look at this email. I got printer. It’s we’re not.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that. Yeah. And what would be one of your best tips for anyone who’s looking for a real estate lawyer out there like. Just like a consumer who’s listening. I could be thinking like, what’s something I should know in real estate law with one great question.

Ted Silva
You want a real estate lawyer that only does real estate law because we’ve done it long enough. And we’ve seen it enough times where when you get a lawyer does not specialize in real estate, they’re in court. For a divorce case, they’re in court for criminal cases not available all the time. They don’t understand. You know, the new ones, It’s very, it’s not rocket science, okay? It’s not rocket science. What do you do it every day? Okay, it’s natural, It’s what we do. So we know, it’s like, this is how real estate works. And how it evolves and how you get to the closing table. Okay, but when you don’t do it every day, it is rocket science. Because like, you’re trying to figure it out, it becomes very difficult.

Alright, so you want someone that does real estate, full time, real estate law full time? It’s all they do and you want someone that has a team behind them to support them? Because if you don’t, that’s going to happen if they find themselves like a one man operation, and how do I know this? I used to be the woman operation working for the lawyer. Okay? If not, they’re closing that day. All right, and when you’re closing the conflict, three hours. So what are your five those three hours? Okay, she wants someone that does it full time exclusively. Not just full time exclusively just real estate law, okay, but has a team also.

So that when you do call your questions answered. Because as a homebuyer, you wouldn’t have a question this morning. Couple hours from now we have another question. It’s gonna pop up right? Hey, do I need this, hey, what about that, so you want someone. I could respond to those questions that you have. So very important to have a team not just again, nothing against solo practitioners. Okay, but they have less free time available, so we find you want a team and someone who’s exclusively real estate law, I love that. You agree I totally so you know Yeah, yeah, no. You dealt with lawyers that just don’t do it exclusively in like

Pamela Bardhi
Well that’s the thing and then there’s also in real estate contracts is also very specific things that should be included in it. The real estate attorneys will make sure you have the riders on your purchase and sale agreements and like all these different things. So that way everything is all in one place. Which is incredible, so you need that team, you need that support and then not only that. But this guy can close it anywhere anytime.

Ted Silva
There’s no ticket work for me. Literally we work around your schedule. So it’s a great you can be at work and meet before work after work during the lunch break during any break. I’ve done so many of those, so yeah, it’s true because like when I first started off. I remember you know people taking days off from work to do closings. Okay like then I was like basic, I can do come to your home and maybe for lunch breakfast whatever Okay, and do it that way. And my dad being the you know being the very conservative realtor that used to be he was like No Ted you want everyone the same table as Registry of Deeds.

So I took his advice and then my aunt sold the house and again. Dad no knock against you dad but it’s not realized. I’m like things are different and not the way my dad used to do my almost selling a house and buying a house. In the same day, I told my dad never to give me power of attorney and I’ll call it when it’s done on record. Okay you go no no haven’t go to the Registry of Deeds in Cambridge in meet with the people table, so we spent hours. It was like hours the first closing they sold when didn’t have to be there okay. I can a power of attorney okay.

They were there to do what sign a deed and that was okay. And then they had them wait for the other lawyer to show to get by the house. Okay, I’m like, oh my goodness, when that day was over I said never again. I’m doing it, I’m doing things we close anywhere anytime. Because it’s much more time efficient and better for the customer. I pour on Uncle they’ll probably the 70s at the time spent five hours at the Registry of Deeds. We didn’t have to be there for even a minute, I could have done it all in literally call the eight reps you sold.

An hour later Hey, congrats you bought done because, you know, literally it would have been that easy. Because actually they bought cash. So there was no bank documents assigned literally, except the deed and say thank you. That was it. Okay, but I listened to my dad. I was very good son, cylinder. Good son. This is the My dad did it his way and I’m like, can’t do that anymore. So trust me nowadays. 2022 You are not going to miss a beat unless you want to buy or sell your home with Quicksilver anywhere anytime. Guaranteed.

What Would Ted Older Self Tell His Younger Self

Pamela Bardhi
Love it said you’re a rock star. I love it. Well, this is one of my favorite questions. And the last question okay. What would your older self tell your younger self based on what you know now?

Ted Silva
Oh, wow. I didn’t know this question before he got here. No. No, my younger self. Yeah, PM? I don’t know. Boy, does everyone have to answer this question

Pamela Bardhi
Somewhat? Do they really? Yeah, it could be a piece of advice. It could be business. It could be personal, me anything.

Ted Silva
That’s gonna be personal the best thing that I do with my wife, which I love dearly, the best thing we do, we do date night, once a week. And I learned that after a couple of years of marriage. Someone mentioned, you actually do a date night. We have kids free time together is rare. So the best thing that we do for our marriage. Which is the advice I give to anyone who’s married one night. A week date night, because my wife and I, sometimes it’s just fluff. Which are we eating a nice dinner, just talking about nothing. Okay? Other times, we’re like, strategize this week. We’re doing this actually, we’re doing that, or whatever it is. Okay. I don’t know.

But that one night a week, we’re just the two of us having dinner has honestly been one of the best things for a marriage. So I think the advice I would give to my younger self would have been to do this right away. All right, I waited a few years of marriage before doing this. We’ll just have figured it out after a few years. Okay. Someone gave me advice about doing it once a month. And I love it so much. I’m like, once a week, literally. So that’s the advice I would give to my younger self and to anyone else. Out there that’s like married or in a relationship with something really like once a week. Nice dinner.

Doesn’t break the bank, literally I must say break the bank and a very expensive if you can’t afford an expensive dinner, don’t do an expensive dinner, okay? You go for like ramen noodles you want to do okay, you go for you go to McDonald’s, you want to okay. But take the time to one night a week, the two of you just to tuck in. Eat something to enjoy each other. And you’ll see what comes out of it. Okay, you never know who’s out of it. That’s up to you to figure out or plan whatever it is that night. So that’s my advice.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that. Yeah.

Ted Silva
Thank you so much off the topic advice on marriage. Which I never thought I’d get marriage advice. Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone. Thanks

Pamela Bardhi
You for being here today from

Ted Silva
One underdog to another.

Pamela Bardhi
Right? Yes. Thank you so much. I’m just so inspired by you just like where you’ve taken things. Your humble beginnings to where your skill that now like your goal has always been your passion to help people. And also real estate because not only you’re a real estate lawyer. But you also invest in multifamily. So you’ve built different revenue streams and all this stuff. Which is the stuff I preach all the time, right and like build different revenue streams that this one. So I’m just inspired by you so much for following intuition and all of that. And now you’ve got to let everyone know where to reach you and your awesomeness.

Ted Silva
Sure you’re gonna start calls a Quicksilver 617-666-9977. Or go to our website. myquicksilver.com. or 617-666-9977

Pamela Bardhi
I love it. Thank you. So once again Ted You are amazing, so that’s it for today’s episode of underdog. Catch us next week, always dropping on Thursdays. And remember, if you’re interested in real estate, or want to learn how to create more money and magic in your life, check out meetwithpamela.com and let’s chat sending you so so much love