Leslie Anne Morris began her Smoky Mountain investing journey while earning her MBA at the University of Southern California and working in Los Angeles as a commercial banker. For over twenty years, Leslie helped high-profile clients like SpaceX and closed a $50 million private equity deal. She applies the same underwriting strategy to building her growing real estate portfolio. And today, she is sharing her playbook to motivate others to do the same while creating truly passive income in short-term rentals. 

From the minute she closed on her first investment cabin in 2019, she knew she had made the right choice. The cash flow allowed her to rapidly scale her portfolio to double digits and a value of $7 million in less than three years. Besides that, Leslie fell in love with Tennessee and moved there in 2020. She quickly founded two sister companies; a property acquisition company, Invest in the Smoky Mountains, and Josh’s Cabins Management, a full-service property management company. Her one-stop shop allows out-of-state investors an opportunity to create passive income by offering concierge-style service to guests without the hassle of self-management. 

She travels extensively throughout the United States as a highly sought-after motivational speaker focusing on the incredibly lucrative short-term rental asset class. Recognizing the lack of women real estate investors, Leslie has made it her mission to be a driving force to empower women to begin real estate investing. She aims to empower 1,000 women to become millionaires by investing in short-term rentals. She has been featured on ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS networks. In addition, she is a popular guest on highly rated real estate podcasts and most recently was highlighted by the Tennessee Department of Tourism Board. In 2023, Leslie co-authored the best-selling book Hospitable Hosts 2. 

In this episode, Karen and Leslie discuss:

• Success Story of Leslie
• Commit to Get Leads
  • Create awareness around your short term rentals, get media attention, and be willing to share on social media. 
• Consult to Sell
  • Form a strong team. Your agent, lender, and property manager will help you to get the right property for what you are looking to do. 
• Connect to Build and Grow
  • You can be passive in full service short-term rentals if you find the right property manager who knows the market, knows marketing, and knows how to take care of the property. 
• Success Thinking, Activities and Vision
  • Surrounding yourself with positive things and constantly having a focus around mindset makes a big difference.
• Sweet Spot of Success