What I learned from reading Copy This!: How I turned Dyslexia, ADHD, and 100 square feet into a company called Kinkos by Paul Orfalea.
Paul says to me, hey, do you want to come out with me?
I need some local information about rental rates.
He grabbed me because I was a student and could give him some feedback about the student perspective on renting near UCSB.
So I'm driving with him, and Paul is just a terrible driver.
There are two sets of realtors trying to follow us.
Suddenly, he sees this black cat about 300 yards ahead of us.
He screeches on the brakes, pulls a U turn, and goes the other way.
He will not let a black cat cross his path.
Then we're driving along, and he sees Pardell Road, the site of the original kinkos, which he sold to his partner.
Because of that, he won't drive down Par Dell Road anymore.
We screech up in front of these apartment buildings.
I follow Paul as he runs inside.
In each one, he turns on a faucet, lets it run for a minute.
He watches it and then asks me, how much rent do you think I could get for this place?
Id say something, and hed say, nah.
And then hed give me a number.
25% above my estimate.
We saw eight properties in what had to be under an hour.
The realtors are running behind us.
We get back in the car.