Introduced as having grown Milestone Windows from one truck to over $3 million in revenue, Gene Miles explains the focus, relationships and installation standards behind the business. He started at 46 with two sample windows and committed to one trade.

The conversation gets practical about choosing a niche, keeping overhead lean, earning referrals and delivering a clean, careful installation in an occupied home. Gene explains how he helps customers compare window options and why the person doing the installation matters as much as the product. He also talks about CRM tools, missed calls, adding salespeople and his goals for Milestone Windows.

In this episode: choosing one trade; getting the first supplier; the referral standard; hiring installers; evaluating window quotes; and building systems for the next stage.

Connect with Gene / Milestone Windows: https://milestonewindows.com/

Host: Josue Llanas | Pick Up The Phone Podcast

Music: “The Fury” by Scott Buckley, released under CC BY 4.0.

Track: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/the-fury/

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Composer: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Changes: 280–370 second intro excerpt and 362–370 second outro excerpt; EQ, volume automation, speech ducking and fades. Additional original transition impacts. No endorsement implied.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PlsGzvwtqhg

Brian Buhr built and sold businesses in medical-device sales before turning his attention to real estate and private lending. He joins Josue Llanas to discuss the difference between a successful exit and getting your time back, then shares the details he wants to understand before considering a loan.

Brian talks through borrower liquidity, a costly property-survey problem and the bank payoff he made to recover control of collateral assignments. The conversation closes with protecting your time, mortgage and insurance operations, and practical uses for AI in borrower communication and loan-document collection.

Listen for the questions behind Brian’s underwriting approach: Who is the borrower? Do they have cash to work through a problem? Is the paperwork accurate? Who has control when something goes wrong?

Guest: Brian Buhr

Host: Josue Llanas

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/ndOMk_Z27Dw

CHAPTERS

00:00 Brian Buhr cinematic introduction

01:30 Meet Brian Buhr

02:54 Building businesses in medical-device sales

04:42 Selling for time and navigating an exit

08:19 The first million and life after a sale

12:14 Moving into real estate and private lending

21:04 Borrower liquidity before the property

23:24 A Texas City renovation under pressure

25:44 Reporting and what investors need to see

30:59 Collateral assignments and a bank payoff

33:30 The house and pool survey problem

38:19 Trust and document verification

39:04 Protecting time and choosing deals

46:14 Staying in your lane

49:14 Capital matching and partial notes

56:34 Insurance and mortgage operations

59:14 AI for letters and repetitive loan documents

1:08:16 Connecting with Brian and closing thoughts

Follow Pick Up The Phone Podcast for more conversations with business owners and real estate operators.

MUSIC

“Emergent” by Scott Buckley, released under CC BY 4.0.

https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/emergent/

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Excerpted, equalized, faded, ducked under dialogue and synchronized to video.

#PrivateLending #RealEstateInvesting #PickUpThePhonePodcast

6,300+ apartment units owned and operated. 21 successful exits. Nearly three decades in Houston multifamily. Trey Stone is still buying in a market that has sidelined many syndicators. What has kept him in the game?

In this episode of Pick Up The Phone Podcast, Josue Llanas sits down with the CEO of Track Record Assets to talk about the deals he passed on, the market cycles he survived, and the numbers he needs to see before he buys. Trey shares his account of going from roughly $10 million in net worth to negative $50 million during the 2008 financial crisis and explains how that experience reshaped his approach to risk.

They discuss a 560-unit Houston apartment turnaround, debt and downside underwriting, the operational work that grows NOI, why Trey believes today's distressed multifamily market presents an opening, and how an aspiring investor can earn trust before asking for a fee.

The key question: when others are still chasing a deal, what tells an experienced operator to walk away?

Follow Trey: @thetreystone

Track Record Assets: https://www.trackrecordassets.com/

Subscribe to Pick Up The Phone Podcast for more honest conversations with real estate operators.

#TreyStone #MultifamilyInvesting #RealEstateInvesting

Track Record Assets reports the 6,300+ units and 21 exits as career figures; they do not represent units Trey currently owns. This conversation reflects his experiences and opinions and is not a verified performance claim or individualized investment advice.