They both lost their jobs on the same day.

Two corporate careers. Two salaries. Gone.

Instead of immediately running back to another paycheck, Mike Deaton and his wife Ligia asked a much bigger question:

What if we built a life we actually controlled?

That question eventually led them to one of the simplest—and most overlooked—business models in real estate:

Buying vacant land below market value and reselling it for a profit.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Mike Deaton, Co-Founder of Flipping Dirt, to unpack how a former corporate executive went from more than 20 years inside companies including Motorola, Nokia, and Microsoft to building a seven-figure national land investing business.

Mike and Ligia entered entrepreneurship with no guarantee the model would work.

They gave themselves a runway.

They started small.

They learned the market.

And once they proved the process, they began scaling.

Today, Mike brings the same operational thinking he developed running large corporate organizations into entrepreneurship, keeping the business intentionally lean while using systems, automation, data, and AI to move faster.

His philosophy is simple:

Eliminate. Automate. Delegate.

In this conversation, Mike and Louis break down:

• What happened when Mike and his wife were laid off on the same day
• Why they chose entrepreneurship instead of another corporate job
• How vacant land flipping actually works
• Why buying cheap land isn’t enough
• How Mike evaluates markets and prices offers
• Why timing can matter as much as price
• How some investors buy land at a fraction of market value
• Why owner financing can open the buyer pool
• How Mike keeps his business incredibly lean
• Where AI gives land investors a speed and data advantage
• Why adding software too early can destroy margins
• The difference between automating and simply adding complexity
• Why entrepreneurs must become comfortable testing and failing
• How Mike thinks about freedom, control, and real job security

Mike also explains why land flipping is simple, but not easy.

The mechanics can be learned.

The harder part is making the right decisions:

Is this the right market?

Is my offer right?

Mike Deaton is an entrepreneur, real estate investor, and Co-Founder of Flipping Dirt.

Before entrepreneurship, Mike spent more than 20 years in corporate operations, including roles with Motorola, Nokia, and Microsoft.

After he and his wife Ligia were both laid off in 2016, they pivoted into real estate and formally launched their investing business full-time in 2017.

Today, they are active land investors and coaches helping others learn how to generate cash flow by buying and selling vacant land.

Their business is built around a simple principle:

Create more control over your income, time, and life.

Mike on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbdeaton/

Flipping Dirt:
flippingdirt.us

Instagram:
Mike & Ligia on Instagram

Flipping Dirt on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/flipping-dirt/