Regan Rodriguez Routine for Success of the 5th Avenue Capital

Pamela Bardhi: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Underdog Podcast. Today I have an incredible guest here with me, Reagan. How are you, my friend?

Reagan Rodriguez: I, am doing better than I deserve. How about yourself?

Pamela Bardhi: Absolutely fabulous. Oh, my goodness. We were talking about so much magic right before this interview. And I’m so, so excited to hear all about your story and really how you got to where you got to theurist. Reagan.

What did Reagan want to be when you were young

So one of the things that I love to do is just like reel it all the way back. Like, it’s like because this originated at some point is. usually you can trace that back to childhood. And so question for you. What did you want to be when you grew up as a kid?

Reagan Rodriguez: You want me to answer that? What was the person I wanted to be when I grew up? Well, I really like routine. I like structure, maybe six, seven years old. I always thought if I could work on an assembly line. at a big plant, I would love that. because I could do the same thing over and over. And, then I realized, well, there are white collar type jobs that are very mechanical, right. And I think that I, there are certain types of sales that can be that way. that there’s a mechanics to it and you can wake up, begin early, and do that automatic routine, if you will.

 I think what you think of that typical entrepreneur. I’m a person that really values structure and routine. I guess I’m kind of smiling because people would probably refer to me as boring. I have a friend that would say, don’t say that about you. That’s not nice. Well, I don’t look at boring as a negative, it’s a positive. Because think about it. Why do people fail in life in anything, in any category. because they don’t want to keep doing that practice. There are people out there that like sports, which, by the way, I don’t. But those that do, I’ve heard say, I don’t like practice, I like the game day. Well, that’s hard for me to relate. I’d prefer the practice, I prefer the drills than the actual game.

You grew up in South Texas, near Mexico on the border

So next question. Go for it.

Pamela Bardhi: I love that Rgan. And so where, where did you grow up?

Reagan Rodriguez: Oh, my goodness. Well, originally in South Texas, like near Mexico on the border. So, very similar to where I live now. In Miami, everyone speaks in Spanish that was my first language as well. I like living here in Miami, though, now.

Pamela Bardhi: Amazing. And walk me through kind of like from like, childhood to high school to college. like your journey, like, in life. And who inspired you? Who or what inspired you most during those years? I’m taking you back. I know.

Reagan Rodriguez: Yeah, I’m going to go back to. I realized at an early age that having structure, having routine. It’s very interesting that you and I were connected to Frank Agin. because Frank Agan is also a very routine person. I think what I found that worked for me is exactly that. if I can do the same thing every morning and do it in almost a strict way. then that helps me manage how this world that we live in is not always in our control. Right. 

Interesting. I had, a former intern that emailed me this morning. We’ve kept in touch, although he worked with me years ago. and he was telling me every reason of why things aren’t going well right now in his life. And I mentioned to him to not focus on the things he can’t control. So, of course he emailed me back. he said, well, what can I really control in this world? I said, I’m so glad you asked that. 

There’s really only two things we can control. Our work ethic and our attitude. Before you email me back and say. but you don’t know what’s happening in my life. if you wake up early tomorrow and even if you have nowhere to go. put it in your calendar that you’re going to go to the Starbucks. Because in life you’re not always. There’s going to be things that are going to come up. So find something in your life that you know that no matter what happens. you can control your work ethic and your attitude.

Pamela Bardhi: Absolutely. I love that ring.

What has inspired me is, is my routine and doing that

And like I was mentioning, I’m so curious to know.  what has, who or what has inspired you the most in your career, in your life, all of that. Either one.

Reagan Rodriguez: Yeah. I don’t know if you’re going to like my answer. because it’s the same one. What has inspired me is, is my routine and doing that. another thing that inspires me is It might seem like little things.  but things that I’m very strict about. Okay. So I’m going to give you an example here. And it may seem small, it may seem little, but you have.

 And this is what worked. I have a briefcase  And I walk. I think I showed you before we got in where I live. So I walked to work to my Office I have to take coming out of my building. a right this may seem facility. This is what works. When I take a right, I hold this with my right hand. When I then, take a left, I go like this and switch it to the left hand. Okay.

That is inspiring for me. It seems little, but it is so big no matter what’s happening in my life. But that little thing the other day somebody was. somebody that I kind of helped mentor was telling me that he began his day. But he said as soon as email started coming in. he said I had a lot of fires I had to put out. He said, do you ever have times that it’s the beginning of the morning? No, because I began my morning by doing things that those things can’t happen.

Pamela Bardhi: I love that.

Reagan Rodriguez: On that note, I remember about eight, nine years ago. I had a friend of mine that called me and he was kind of disouraged. and he was going through lots of stuff with other businesses of his and lawsuits. a lot of things that the average person would be like, gosh, this is not good. And he said, well, what can I do at this point? it seemed like everything was coming apart.

And he had no. I said, here’s what I want you to do. it seems like what you’re telling me is nothing in your life seems like there’s any control in it. He says, exactly. I said, I want you to get one drawer of yours. where your socks are and I want you to put them very neatly. And when you got home that evening and everything’s out of control, open up that. when you see your socks, you say, this little thing is the only thing I, ah, have control in my life.

Pamela Bardhi: That’s beautiful, Reg. Well, it’s also too that incorporating in that routine. like you said, gives you the control over your life. So you’re basically, you can then control your actions. So if you have a routine where you know. you can stop things before they come up. like those fires you were mentioning, right? Like if you start your morning and start off with the intention. there will be no fires today, today is going to go awesome. give yourself those affirmations that actually comes to life.

Reagan Rodriguez: So the other thing I told this guy said, don’t. do not ever, ever tell anybody else in an email. or verbally that your day began with putting out fires. He said, why? I go, well, let me ask you a question. How excited are you about this with somebody if you knew that their Day begins with putting out fires. I said, do you want to buy from them? Do you want to know? We don’t want to know that. So if you do have fires that you have to put out in the morning. shut your mouth about it. 

Pamela Bardhi: it’s also that you attract more of that chaos too.

Reagan Rodriguez: Right.

Pamela Bardhi: So, like, what you put your invention into is what you’re going to manifest actively. So if you’re manifesting, you know, if you’re talking about chaos. you’re going to manifest more chaos. If you’re talking about order, it’s like you’re setting your mind to that one thing. and you can control that one thing. You get power over your mind again through that action. I love that.

And Reagan, I’d love to dive into the career side of what you’built

And Reagan, I’d love to dive into the career side of what you’built. Where you are is incredible, and the work that you’re doing is absolutely incredible. So you can give us, like, an overview of kind of like how you got to where you got to. I know earlier we were talking about you were in the mergers and acquisition side of things. which is amazing. And then how you really got into the line of work that you’re at now. and some challenges along the way that you’ve had. how you pivoted and all that good stuff.

Reagan Rodriguez: Things are based on relationships, especially in our industry. Sometimes people network a little too much and have way too many cards in their Rolodex. if you will. And what I have noticed is having a handful of maybe three to five contacts. that you nurture and get together with them, is a lot more than having umpteen contacts. The other thing is you talked about failures. Those failures are kind of meant there for a reason. If I was to ask you how you’ve even gotten from real estate. to even the modulars that you’re doing, to even the kind of micro smart cities you’re doing. there was another one. I think you were referred to it as Bridgewater. Am I correct? That’s a development you’re doing? Yes.

Pamela Bardhi: That’s the city. Yes.

Reagan Rodriguez: Think about that. That happened through something else that then another relationship came here. And you probably couldn’t have put that down as your vision. You probably had a bigger vision where your funnel was bigger, if you will. And as a result, things slid from here to here. Am I accurate on that? Just a wild guess.

Pamela Bardhi: Yeah, it was one. there was every stepping stone of the journey had to happen in order for me to get to this, so. You’re absolutely right. So many, I say failures. I follow the blons. So many lessons had to happen to get me to that point of, being here. Right?

Reagan Rodriguez: Yes. So I made mistakes along the way, and some of those were part of the plan. And from there, I realized I just related better with people either here on the east coast versus on the other side. I really networked a lot of Naples where they. They say there’s a lot of money. yet things would gravitate towards referrals. that I would get either in Palm beach or here in Miami. That’s another important part.

Find a niche that is so small only you can fit in it

Pamela, I know we were talking about this, that what is your people group? So we’re talking about how you and I met through Frank Agin. Frank Agin has a specific people group, and it is a niche. So that’s the best advice I could give to people. If you’re listening to this, if you’re watching this. is that you want to find a niche that is so small, only you can fit in it. 

And have you noticed, when you first start off in business. or even people that are not very successful in business. they don’t like those words. So if they came to you or I and say, what advice can you give me? And I say, find a niche that is so small only you can fit in it. They say, no, I’m going to go after everybody. Well, think about this. Just in the niche of, my hobby business, of the modular. Of wory don’and. You have things you do with shipping containers. What a niche. look at how Frank Gagan connected you and I through the niche.

Pamela Bardhi: It’s so true, because I remember when I was younger, too. and I got into business, I was like, I want to do all the things. And everyone’s like, whoa, slow. So you’re absolutely right that the riches are in the niches.

Reagan Rodriguez: And I.

Pamela Bardhi: That’s, like, one of my quotes I’ve heard and I’m in love with. You’re welcome to. But, like, it’s so. so true that the more nich that you are. the more that your people can find you. Like, it’s about defining your unique value proposition. What do you bring to this earth that absolutely nobody can.

Reagan Rodriguez: Right.

Pamela Bardhi: For me, I’ve discovered through a whole hell of a journey that I’ve had. that it’s building conscious communities.  I’m meant to do here in this lifetime. But I had to go through all of these Steps. All of these lessonsash failures, if you will, to get to that point.

Reagan Rodriguez: Right.

Pamela Bardhi: To understand that this is my mission and this is my passion. and this is my purpose.

The W stands for work; the K stands for knowledge

So for you, Reagan, how has it manifested in your world to get to your niche?

Reagan Rodriguez: If you have a piece of paper, you can write this down. This is a good exercise for you. You can write a W at the top. Then below that write a K. Below that write, an R, a P and then an S. That’s my acronym. I call it wkrps. I shared that was someone not long ago. and this person said, wow, rean that sounds like a radio station. I said, you’re exactly right. That’s why I have that acronym to remind me WKRPS’s. 

So the W stands for work. So out of all those WKR p, out of those five, the work is the least important. But let’s not deceive ourselves and think that we can do it without work. I know that we know people that have worked their fingers to the bone and they’re broke. Right? And you and I know people that maybe don’t work as hard and are wealthier. Again, you do still have to work. but it’s the least important. Let’s get to number two, the K. Knowledge. 

That’s actually the second least important part. I know that one you’re not going to argue with me about because we know people that have PhDs. They’re so broke they can’t afford to pay attention. We know people that don’t, and they’re very. So knowledge is the second least important.

Develop a system for talking to the right people. Once you have that, then all you have to do is a little bit of work

So now we’re getting to your question. The most important is the rp. What does RP stand for? The right people. Who are the right. Who is that audience that you’re going to speak to? And then the S is system. Develop a system for talking to the right people. Once you have that, then all you have to do is a little bit of work, which is the W. Have enough knowledge to know what you’re talking about. But, let your focus be on the right people and a system on meeting more of the right people. to do a little bit of work based on a little bit of knowledge you have.

Pamela Bardhi: I love that. And then the S at the bottom.

Reagan Rodriguez: I already talked about that. That was the system. you want to develop a system of finding the right people.

Pamela Bardhi: I love that. That’s awesome.

Reagan Rodriguez: K is knowledge. RP is right people. Then S a system. You want to develop a system for meeting the right people. That’s why I said develop the system and then you do a little bit of work. Enough knowledge for the right people.

Pamela Bardhi: I love that. That is amazing. I absolutely love that, Reagan.

You have a big focus on renewable energy in your projects

Oh my goodness. And I would love to hear about the futurist work too that you worked on. working on. would love to hear more about that as well.

Reagan Rodriguez: I’ll mention maybe the last three, four projects we’ve done. We did a solar project in Uganda. from there the president of Uganda referred, me to the president of Tanzania. I know in America we call it Tanzania. It’s actually pronounced Tanzania. we did an ethanol plant there. And then that referral led to a waste to energy project we’re doing in South Africa. So we’re taking trash and converting that into energy.

Pamela Bardhi: I have a big focus on renewable energy in my projects. So not as, not as big, but we’re doing some micro stuff. which that’s super cool.

Reagan says he sticks to a routine when talking about business

And so for you to get to this point, Reagan, from the acquisition side to the work that you’re doing now. what were some of the biggest lessons that you learned throughout that spam in business? Personal too.

Reagan Rodriguez: I don’t know if you’re going to like my answer. because it’s the same answer as before that I stick to a routine. I don’t let whatever noise or things in the background get in the way of that routine. Speaking of even a focus when you’re having, even if it’s a cup of coffee with a friend. that once your advice or help on something. they did say they wanted to meet with you for a reason. you probably get those kind of requests also from people that are friends. even if it may not be business related. but they do want your advice on something. Well, when that conversation steers away, we’re losing focus. 

Whether I had that happen the other day I was at a coffee shop. where I ran into somebody that knew me that said. could I have a few minutes with you? I just want to run this situation by you. And then from there, I think seven minutes into the conversation. it got steered towards somebody else that we knew that was related to gossip. And he said, don’t you think this, this, this. I think we’re losing focus. Let’s get back on what you said. because this person didn’t have a job, got his resume out there. wanted me to maybe refer people to him and said, what advice can you give me? Let’ let’s get back on that focus.

Stay focused on what you’re trying to accomplish with your speech

So what is it that you’re wanting to accomplish? And, stay focused on that with your speech. You said, that earlier today about the words that we use and how powerful they are. Right. Our words are our seeds. Sure. I’m careful about planting good seeds in my life. I don’t want to crap crop to come up.

Pamela Bardhi: Well, you’re very intentional and I love that. And I love your level of focus and determination and that one thing. it’s like, let’s not veer off. Let’s stay focused and focused on the mission. And that routine actually enhances that focus for you. which I think is absolutely incredible. I love that.

Reagan Rodriguez: I like that you said that.

Were you ever labeled as ADD or adhd

So, Pam, because I know that you’re an entrepreneur like me. and you get a lot of ideas and were you ever labeled? I’m go going to call it labeled as ADD or adhd. As a child recently, I used that word SPE up. I was at a coffee shop and a person next door heard me say I was labeled. And this young person said, it’s obvious your generation type. I said, what’s that? he goes, because you called it labeled, it’s diagnosed, not labeled. 

And I said, no, no, no, no. Because those that know me best. just like you said, know me to be very focused. I was at one point labeled that way. So some psychologists would say, well, that just means that you’re hyper focused. or I’m not listening to those labels. So I don’t call myself that. And I do stop. I don’t bite my tongue when someone says in a conversation, oh, sorry, it’s my add. well, then don’t say that.

Pamela Bardhi: Planting the wrong seeds.

Reagan Rodriguez: That’s right. So instead, say, instead of saying that, you could just replace it by saying, I am focused. I’m working on being focused.

Pamela Bardhi: Absolutely. And that intentionality too. I think that’s what enables you to be ahead of the curve as well. Rean.

What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs

And speaking of that, A lot of entrepreneurs that listen to this podcast that are actually listening right now. so I’m curious, in your perspective. what are some of the most important things that entrepreneurs should be thinking about in business and real estate. wherever you feel is the most important message about the future. what they should be working towards? Just pieces of advice, whatever you think would be most helpful. to any entrepreneur listening or aspiring entrepreneur.

Reagan Rodriguez: That is a hard question for me to answer right now in this particular moment. Yet the answer is, in different seasons in our life, that answer is different. Yep, we know what the answer is. If we, like you said, we’re intentional about what we do. we’re intentional about our Relationships with people, the people that work. Not everybody can be your friend. 

And remember, that’s why I don’t network just anywhere. We know the answers, we may just not want to do it. And then sometimes we think, well, what, what is the right answer? I think that was really the question. What if deep down inside you don’t want to do that thing? Then that’s probably what you need to be doing.

Pamela Bardhi: It’s like your subconscious mind already knows.

Reagan Rodriguez: Yeah, and we’re young. Sometimes we want to get feedback from other people. And we have what I call that mentor myth. If you were to be really, really honest, Pam. how many times have you sat down with that person that you wanted advice. but maybe you weren’t completely forthright on the way you asked the question. Well, you’re not really getting the answer you want. So if you’re not willing to be that transparent with, that mentor. Okay, good. You know that about yourself now. You’re going to be your own coach.

Pamela Bardhi: So it’s so true. The answers really lie within.

What would your older self tell your younger self based on what you know now

And this one, Reagan, is my favorite question. so I’m curious to see what you’re going to answer. This one. I saved the best for last always. What would your older self tell your younger self based on what you know now? Word of advice, Business, personal, Whatever comes to mind.

Reagan Rodriguez: I just did that the other day. I felt I’m 50 years old and I felt like I was acting like a 50 year old. And I said to myself, it’s time to get back to acting like you were 23. And the point is, I acted more mature when I was 23 than I do when I was 50. I didn’t say I had more energy. but I, in a way now do because I remind myself. remember what you were like when you were 23 or 25.  recently sat down with, great guy that is a professor at University of Miami of psychology. 

And he said as soon as we sat down. the very first thing he said to me is. what I’ve learned in life is how immature we can be the older we get. And I said, Absolutely, 100% agree. I said, Sometimes when you’re in your 20s, you’re in college, you can be more serious. Now, some people maybe are different. Some people say that they  liked partying, going out. it wasn’t, until they were, I don’t know, older that they got. 

but what would I tell myself that get back to the basics. and continue to act like you were when you were in your early tw Love That I love. I get the more you tell yourself that you feel you need rest. and the more you say, well, I’m seeing wise, I need a balance. So, yeah, I think that, I made the best decisions. and had the best work ethic when I was in my early twenties. So keep being. You were when you were in your twenties. That would.

Pamela Bardhi: Tenacious.

Pamela Bardhi: Tenacious. Yep. And like, and I go get her with the work ethic. I love that. I love that rig.

Regan Rodriguez is working on infrastructure projects in Uganda and London

And in your world in the next, like, few months. what projects are you working on? Like, what what’s coming up in your world?

Reagan Rodriguez: I have a, infrastructure project I’m doing in Uganda to expand the roads. And then from that, just three weeks after that got sealed, if you will. I got a referral from another part of Uganda that’s a construction company. also landed a contract to work on the roads. So those are two that we’re doing. I am thinking of, I’ve got another project that’s very innovative. That’s, that’s in London in the UK and that is what I’ve got right now for 2025.

Pamela Bardhi: That’s incredible. And for all everyone who’s been listening ono this podcast that has been following along. where would be the best place to connect with you?

Reagan Rodriguez: What? Or where.

Pamela Bardhi: What is a social media website?

Reagan Rodriguez: Probably LinkedIn. Yeah. Very simple. I’m the only Regan Rodriguez futurist. So if you put in my name comma, futurist, you’ll see me today.

Pamela Bardhi: It was such a pleasure to hear your story, your level of focus. everything that you’re working on now. Reagan, I’ve been absolutely incredible, super grateful for you and your time today. Thank you so much for being here.

Reagan Rodriguez: Absolutely, you’re quite welcome.

Pamela Bardhi: 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 meetwith Pamela com and let’s chat. Sending you so, so much love.