Wendell’s Weekly Wins and Whiffs

👋 Welcome to Wendell’s Weekly Wins & Whiffs — your front-row seat to the entrepreneurial and real estate rollercoaster, complete with high-fives, facepalms, and everything in between. Each week, I’ll peel back the curtain on life as an active investor and business builder: the triumphs that feel like victory laps, the flops that sting like a surprise plumbing leak, and the behind-the-scenes grind of running multiple companies. From flips that soar to admin headaches that test my patience, you’ll get the real, unfiltered scoop on both deals and business operations. Why? Because building wealth isn’t just about properties — it’s about building systems, partnerships, and businesses that can stand the test of time. My goal is to share the wins, the whiffs, and the lessons learned so you can sharpen your own edge in both investing and entrepreneurship.

Author

Wendell Butler
October 23, 2025

🏆 This Week’s Win – Growth, Grit & Game Time Momentum

This week was all about building traction through people and process, and it’s showing results.

Win #1 – Our Cold Callers Are Heating Up

A little over a month ago, we brought on two new cold callers to the Tide & Timber Ventures team, and the results are already rolling in. Despite both of them working part time, they’ve already generated 8 qualified, direct to seller leads, a huge early win that shows their hustle, adaptability, and fast learning curve.

While none of the leads are under contract yet, the progress and pipeline growth are exactly what we were hoping for. We’ve been intentional about giving them all the tools and support they need to thrive, from three 15 minute team huddles each week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) where we review leads, address barriers, and give live feedback, to setting up a group chat for constant communication and collaboration.

To help them grow with structure and clarity, we also created a lead funnel scoring and mapping system. This helps us track every conversation, score each lead’s quality, and clearly identify when and where we should jump in to move a deal forward. It’s already helping us push leads closer to qualification and ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

These touchpoints and systems help them sharpen their decision making, overcome objections, and build the confidence needed to turn conversations into contracts. The momentum they’re building is real, and we’re fired up to see where the next few months take them.

Win #2 – Panthers Nation Keeps Pounding!

And on a lighter (but equally hype worthy) note, the Carolina Panthers just won their third game in a row!
Momentum isn’t just for business, it’s in the air all around us. The grind, the teamwork, the steady climb… we’re feeling it both on the field and in the field.

PANTHERS NATION, KEEP POUNDING!

💨 This Week’s Whiff – Slowing Down to Speed Back Up

This week wasn’t one of my strongest. I caught a cold, which knocked me off my rhythm and kept me from getting several important things done. At first, I was frustrated because I hate feeling like I’m not moving forward. But the unexpected downtime gave me something I didn’t realize I needed: space to think.

When Rest Becomes Reflection

Being forced to slow down made me realize I’ve been missing something huge in my life lately, something that’s been a key driver of my growth in the past: a mastermind.

At the very beginning of my real estate journey, I started a mastermind group of my own. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my career. Everyone in it was committed, hungry, and pushing each other to grow. Later, I joined the Better Life Tribe, which was another great experience until I started to outgrow it a bit. Not everyone contributed or gave it their all, and that lack of collective energy made it hard to stay inspired.

It’s now been over a year since I’ve been part of any mastermind, and to be honest, I’ve been feeling a bit stuck and even lonely in the journey. Don’t get me wrong, I have amazing people in my life: my business partners, my incredible girlfriend Catelin, my family, friends, and even my animals. But there’s still something missing — that circle of high level individuals who challenge you, hold you accountable, and help you see your blind spots.

🧠 The Lesson

I’ve realized that masterminds aren’t optional for me, they’re essential. They accelerate growth, sharpen focus, and keep you from plateauing. I’m now researching some of the best masterminds out there to join because I know how powerful that environment can be. If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them.

And honestly, this reflection reminded me why I started The Hive: Charlotte Entrepreneur Network — to bring like minded, driven people together. Watching that continue to grow feels even more meaningful now because it fills a piece of that same gap.

If you’re in the Charlotte, NC area and consider yourself entrepreneurial, be sure to join our community to stay connected and be part of something bigger:
👉 Meetup Group: https://www.meetup.com/the-hive-clt-entrepreneurs-network/
👉 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehivecltentrepreneursnetwork

Our next in person event is happening November 14, 2025, and we’d love to see you there.

🎯 Tactical Tip of the Week: Embrace AI, Don’t Fear It

There’s a lot of noise right now about AI — some people love it, others fear it — but here’s the truth: if you don’t learn to use AI effectively in your business, you’ll get left behind. It’s not here to replace you, it’s here to elevate you.

How We’re Using AI in Our Business

At Tide & Timber Ventures, we’ve started using an AI answering system for all new inbound calls that come into our CRM from potential home sellers. The AI acts like a real person, it asks qualifying questions about the property, handles random comments naturally, and gently redirects the conversation to get the info we need.

This system saves us time, filters out unqualified leads, and ensures we’re only calling back the ones that are worth our energy. The beauty is, it can also be done through texts, emails, or phone calls depending on how you want to structure your workflow.

Finding the Right Balance

That said, balance is everything. Yes, there are AIs that can even make outbound cold calls, but I personally believe a healthy balance of AI and human touch is the winning combo, especially in businesses that rely on customer service and genuine connection.

Let’s be real: how many times have you called somewhere, an AI picks up, and all you want is to talk to a real human? For me, that’s almost 100% of the time 😂.

AI is incredible when it’s used to make your business more efficient, but it should never completely replace human interaction. The companies that leverage AI smartly while keeping empathy and human connection at the core will outlast the ones that go all-in on automation and forget what real connection feels like.

💡 The Takeaway

AI isn’t the enemy, ignorance of it is. Learn it, test it, and implement it strategically in your business. Use it to remove friction and save time, not to remove the humanity that makes your business special.

Action Step:
Audit one area of your business this week where AI could save you time without sacrificing human connection — maybe lead intake, data entry, or follow-ups. Start small, stay balanced, and keep your human edge.

🔦 FROM THE FIELD: Don’t Forget to See What You’re Building

Last week, I took a day to do something I honestly don’t do very often anymore. I drove to every single project we have going on right now. From fix and flips to new builds to apartment complexes, I wanted to get eyes on everything we’re building.

I’ve been structuring my businesses to operate without relying on me being there every day because freedom and time flexibility have always been part of the goal. I want to build companies that run smoothly whether I’m onsite or not. But here’s the thing, sometimes you just have to get out there and see it all in person.

Here’s the Reality

Yes, I’ve flipped and even built properties that I’ve never once stepped foot in before selling them. It’s an amazing thing to achieve from an operational standpoint. But being out there last week, walking the sites, seeing progress firsthand, it hit differently.

It gave me a real sense of gratitude.

A little over a year ago, I just wanted one deal. I had just left my W2, was excited and nervous, stepping out fully on my own after a couple years of part time investing. Now, I’ve got 10+ active projects, and I rarely even go to them.

Standing there, looking at these homes, it reminded me that we’re not just moving money and materials, we’re building something real. These are homes that will be around for decades, where families will grow up, make memories, and build their lives. That’s powerful.

Why This Matters

In the day to day grind, it’s easy to get lost behind screens, spreadsheets, and CRM dashboards. But what we’re doing is real. The work we put in becomes part of someone else’s story.

So while it’s important to look ahead to your goals, your vision, and your next big move, don’t forget to look back at how far you’ve come and appreciate what you’ve built so far.

Because man… we’re just getting started.

🎥 Check out one of the videos I took while visiting the projects to get an update on one of them:
👉 https://www.instagram.com/p/DP9Us1hjUvI/

🎤 FINAL WORD

This week was a great reminder of what it really means to build, not just properties or businesses, but yourself in the process. We saw momentum, reflection, and a healthy dose of perspective.

From our new cold callers gaining traction and learning fast, to implementing smarter systems and bringing AI into our business to work for us (not replace us), it’s clear that growth comes from both innovation and intention. We’re not just building more, we’re building better.

Getting out to visit every single project we have going was another big reminder. It’s easy to stay behind screens and systems, but seeing what we’re creating in the real world, homes that will hold memories for families for years to come, brings it all full circle. Gratitude doesn’t slow progress, it fuels it.

And when life forces a pause, like getting sick this past week, it sometimes gives you space to see what’s been missing. For me, that realization was how much I’ve grown through masterminds and community. That’s why I’m leaning back into connecting with high level people and growing The Hive: Charlotte Entrepreneur Network.

This season isn’t just about working harder, it’s about working smarter, staying grateful, and surrounding yourself with people who make you better.

Keep building. Keep evolving. Celebrate the wins, own the lessons, and never forget why you started in the first place.

Thanks for reading,