Interviewing Linda Pliagas of Realty 411

This week on my Ask Christina First radio show I had the pleasure of interviewing the founder and editor of Realty 411 magazine, Linda Pliagas. Like myself, Linda works in both the real estate and small business industries. Since 2007 the magazine has provided readers with tips, strategies, and techniques on how to invest. With a degree in journalism and a passion for magazine media, Linda also became passionate about real estate after finding out how little journalism paid. At age 23, Linda's new in-laws were entrepreneurial and owned residential and commercial property in California. Her in-laws encouraged the newlyweds to invest in real estate, to buy their own homes, and to open businesses.

Linda started learning about real estate investing and she and her husband purchased their first home. Their agent, who was investor savvy, helped Linda and her husband buy their first home with no money out of pocket. In 2007 she started Realty 411 while she was an active agent who gave client advice and wanted a good way to advertise her services. She used the magazine to promote her real estate services and got her associates to advertise with her. She invested less than $1,000 and she was able to sell ads to pay for the first issue. Aside from the magazine, Linda is an active investor who hosts a podcast, and expos. Linda's passion is getting to know investors and sharing information so she has created a media company of sorts that serves the real estate community. 

Linda says she has worked on self-growth for a while and her belief in the law of attraction, and encircling herself with people who want to see her succeed, helped. Her parents lost their home when she was 15 and Linda put herself through college working as a waitress and nannying. The lessons she learned through those hardships have helped her close deals where she's grossed over $250,000 in less than 18 months. Linda's daily practice to stay on purpose includes waking at 4am, meditating, exercising, and staying in a mindset of gratitude. She says her mornings are when she reflects, reads, and makes her goals for where she wants to go in life and business. As a naturally energetic person, Linda says a little sleep and a lot of passion for her work fuel her. 

I asked Linda about her staff size and she shared that she's gone from being a one-woman media machine into now having a graphic designer, webmaster, and sales help, but that she doesn't maintain a large staff. Her magazine is available online for free and she doesn't charge for her live events because she wants to help as many people as possible. Realty 411 pays reporters to write on the best markets, how to stay away from fraud, and other articles they think will serve the public.

Linda says readers and expo attendees can expect great contacts, valuable tips, and information, and a lot of motivation when reading Realty 411 (realty411.com) or when attending an expo. You can sign up for the expos at www.realty411expo.com.