🗞️ News&Moves 🏠

Boom now, bust later—but America still wins.

At the Wood Industry Conference (WIC 2025), Brian Beaulieu shared a story about two economies.

He predicted steady growth until 2029, then a sharp correction in 2030.

His message?

Prepare, don’t panic.

Real estate is a now-play—before 10% mortgage rates rewrite the rules.

Stocks may wobble, but bonds and gold offer shelter.

And despite looming headwinds, his long-term bet is clear: the U.S. remains the global powerhouse.

“Be bold for 2035–2037,” he said.

Because even with trouble ahead, America’s economy keeps moving.

Everyone else sees dead malls—someone just saw a $1.7B comeback play.

As institutional investors flee aging malls, one real estate firm is doing the opposite—buying them up fast.

With $1.7 billion already spent and more on the way, the plan is bold.

They want to grow fast.

They blend cash and shares for better deals.

Also, they turn neglected retail into income sources.

Foot traffic is rebounding, vacancies are shrinking, and returns are quietly rising.

While the market still clings to the “mall is dead” story, this contrarian move is proving otherwise.

For some properties, they’re the only buyer—and that alone is turning into a serious edge.

🚨 The Fed Pulse 🚨

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is shifting focus to controlling inflation.

This comes as the U.S. economy may face supply shocks.

At a Fed research conference, Powell said, "We might face more frequent and lasting supply shocks."

He pointed out that President Trump's tariffs raise costs for businesses using foreign parts.

These supply shocks present a complex challenge, simultaneously increasing prices while hampering growth.

The Fed is finishing a five-year review of its policy framework.

It is looking at some important updates.

Two major changes are being looked at: changing the language about "shortfalls" in employment and updating the average-inflation targeting method.

This method let inflation go above 2% for a short time.

This strategic shift aligns with current economic indicators showing a resilient economy with strong retail activity and industrial production approaching pre-COVID levels.

The Fed's benchmark rate is now 4.25%-4.5%.

Powell says they have room to cut rates if a recession hits.

They are also focused on long-term stability during what seems to be a slow recovery.

This isn’t a ‘get rich quick’ story. It’s a ‘get rich smart’ story.

Sometimes the most powerful lessons in real estate don't come from the biggest deals or the flashiest operators. They come from everyday entrepreneurs who spot opportunity where others see chaos. This past Thursday, I had a guest on a call and we discussed exactly this.

His name's Shoaib "Sho" Kabani, and what he's accomplished with a mismanaged small bay warehouse in Port Charlotte, Florida, is exactly the kind of story that gets me fired up on a Sunday morning. Sho used to think those forgotten properties couldn't pencil out too—right up until he 2x’d his equity in under a year.

If you're on the edge of diving into small-bay industrial, his playbook is the perfect blueprint for anyone eyeing their first (or next) small-bay industrial deal.

From Consulting to E-Commerce to... Real Estate?

Like many people in real estate, Sho started his career doing something completely different.

"I started my career as a management consultant," he told me. "I loved that, traveled a lot, was living in Dubai for a bit, but realized that I didn't want to work in this corporate environment my entire life."

After leaving consulting, he jumped into e-commerce businesses for a few years. But there was a problem—e-commerce was cutthroat.

"E-commerce is really cutthroat. You're fighting for a lot of eyeballs... marketing gets more and more expensive every year," he explained during our conversation.

So he did what smart operators do—he pivoted toward long-term wealth creation.

Sho started as LP putting capital into hotels (one near Disney World), a 12-property self-storage portfolio in the Northeast, and a Texas multifamily deal. By early 2022, he decided to roll up his sleeves and go in on the deal himself as GP. All in—closing on three storage facilities in a single quarter while expecting his first child.

Let that sink in.

No systems. No real team. Just grit and spreadsheets. He cold-called sellers, underwrote deals, negotiated directly, and learned by fire. "That quarter was one of the most stressful quarters of my life," he confessed. He admits he was "too precise," trying to control every detail. But the lesson?

"You need to move fast to get into a good deal — and move fast in stabilizing that deal."

The Pivot: Self-Storage Was Good. But Small-Bay Industrial Was Better.

Sho didn't go looking for flex industrial.

It kind of found him.

Two of his early storage deals came with larger units and business tenants — plumbers, gutter guys, tradesmen who needed small spaces with a roll-up door and a bathroom. And guess what? Those units leased faster than storage. And at higher rates.

One unit went from $5 gross to $12 NNN. Sho didn't even know what NNN meant at the time. "At that time I'm like, I don't even know what NNN was," he laughed. "I just saw $12 on Crexi and LoopNet and I was like, okay, I'm gonna rent this for $12 a square foot."

That's when he got into a storage mastermind and met my partner, Shea Lewis. They started talking — storage, flex, pricing, CapEx, leasing strategy. Sho soaked it up.

The Deal: 7253 Gasparilla Rd, Port Charlotte, FL

Sho's first flex deal came through a broker connection from Shea. It wasn't listed on LoopNet. It was a pocket listing — a tired little flex warehouse owned by an 80-year-old landlord with no leases, no books, and zero systems.

12 units. ~13,000 SF. All handshake agreements.

Banks wouldn't touch it.

"The issue for banks is like, there's no record, right? How can they prove that any money was coming in because the bank accounts don't match up?" Sho explained. But this is precisely where the opportunity was hiding.

With seller financing on the table, Sho was able to move fast and lock up the deal at $1.15M, based on $144K gross income and $89K NOI — roughly a 7 cap at the time.

He stepped in, rolled up his sleeves, and started the value-add.

The Execution: Sweat Equity and Smart Moves

📍 CapEx: ~$80K

📍 Rents Before: ~$11 gross

📍 Target Rents: $12.50–$13 NNN (with $5.50 in CAMs)

📍 Leasing: 9 of 12 units leased in under 9 months

📍 TIs: $0 — tenants handle it themselves

📍 Projected Exit: $2.2M–$2.3M at full stabilization (7.5 cap)

Sho learned a few things quickly:

Tenants in this asset class are sticky. They don't want polish — they want functionality.

Some were slow to leave, so his 6-month stabilization plan turned into 10.

But once units turned over, demand was real, and tenants were lining up — even building out their own offices just to secure occupancy permits.

"It's not like retail or office, where you get TI requests and months of free rent. These tenants want to get to work. That's it."

The cherry on top? Because it was seller-financed, that helped him get into the deal light.

The Lessons That Matter

✅ Small-Bay is Sticky

High upfront work, but minimal day-to-day operations once leased.

✅ Flex is Underbuilt

Supply is tight, especially in markets where insurance and zoning create barriers.

✅ Mentorship Speeds Everything Up

Sho leaned on experienced players, asked the right questions, and executed with clarity.

The Part Spreadsheets Miss

When I asked him about his dreams for the future, his answer wasn't about deal size or net worth:

"I have a daughter, she's 15 months about to be 16 months. And she's turned into my best friend. What I hope to be able to do is take her to these properties, show her them. I'm envisioning years down the line where she's playing on the properties that I own."

What's Next for Sho?

He's still running his e-comm business part-time, but real estate is the focus now:

📍 Short-term: Refi the seller note, get the property cash-flowing.

📍 Mid-term: Ground-up small-bay developments where dirt economics work

📍 Long-term: A regional flex portfolio.

If You're Ready to Level Up...

If Sho's story resonated with you — if you're in the spot he was in a year ago, and you're looking to get into your first deal — get in the right room.

The Industrial IQ Bootcamp is going down June 21–22 in Chicago. It's for small-bay industrial operators who want to learn how deals like this get done — and walk away with the systems, tools, and insider knowledge to do it themselves.

We've got a few spots left. If you're serious and want to apply, you can do that here. No pressure. If it's not the right fit, no hard feelings. But if you're looking for a breakthrough… this might be it.

The blueprint is repeatable:

📍 Hunt mismanaged small bay industrial in tight rental markets

📍 Structure you debt and equity to maximize cash flow

📍 Get rents to market and covert to NNN

That's the story, ladies and gentlemen.

Until next Sunday.

Be well,

Saul

P.S. Questions or feedback? Hit reply—I read every email and care about your success.

This Week’s Highlight: I saw a lot of deals this week. But the one that really hit? My son Marty walking across the graduation stage.