.png)
The 5 Questions Podcast
Join us as we unlock real estate and business insights, one question at a time.
The 5 Questions Podcast
How a Pro Hockey Mindset Built 2,200+ Real Estate Deals and a VA Empire | Bob Lachance
In this no-fluff interview, we sit down with Bob Lachance — former pro hockey player turned real-estate powerhouse — and dig into how he went from fix-&-flip rookie to closing 2,200+ deals, building a high-performance team, and leveraging managed virtual assistants for massive ROI.
You’ll get actionable systems you can implement today, including:
- His path from fix-&-flip → short sales → lending → staffing
- How to build a team that works hard and works together
- Why hiring ex-athletes (resilience + execution) gives a competitive edge
- Why managed VAs beat one-off freelancers when it comes to ROI
- Direct mail strategies that still convert in 2025
- Networking with real estate agents to unlock off-market deals
- How to avoid “shiny object syndrome” so you protect your brand
- Why you only add new strategies after you’ve perfected your core
Whether you’re just starting in real estate or you’re ready to scale — this conversation is blunt, practical and packed with the kind of systems most people talk about but few actually execute.
Connect with Bob:
Lot of people don't want to work. Welcome to the Five Questions Podcast, where we unlock real estate and business insights one question at a time. Welcome to the Five Questions Podcast. I am your host, Mario Lamar. Our guest on today's show is the founder and CEO of Rafa Global, the leading virtual assistant staffing company for real estate professionals. From an eight-year career as a professional hockey player to closing over 2,200 real estate transactions and building multiple successful businesses, this journey is nothing short of inspiring. Welcome, Bob Lachance. Bob, welcome to the show today.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks, right? I mean, I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00:Bob, the concept of the question, real simple. I asked you five questions either about real estate or business, and we get straight to the point. Are you ready? All right, I'm ready. Let's do it. Okay. First question I have for you. Um, how did you transition from being a professional hockey player to becoming one of the top real estate investors, closing over 2,200 deals? This is no small things here.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think it was uh getting hit in the head with a puck too much, probably. That's what happened. So now I started back in 2004. Um give this short answer, you know, I went through a lot. And and some of the takeaways I just want to tell all your listeners is where you start in real estate is 100% not where you end. So I started in 04 uh as a fix and flipper, and then I jumped into uh what are called short sales. We're negotiating debt down to where it's a uh buyable property, and then I jumped into lending money, and then while I was flipping properties, wholesaling, rehabbing, lending, um, and also coaching, I started my first virtual assistant staffing company back in 2014 because there's a huge need in the industry of, you know, whether you're an agent, whether you're an investor, um, you know, we are very, very busy in our daily lives. And if we're looking to scale or become more efficient, we need help. And I was always looking for that type of help, um, whether it's a product or a service. And then I kind of find I found that um avenue in 2013. I didn't know what a virtual assistant was, and this was someone who's working remotely. And then 2014, light bulb went on, started my first company, and then fast forward to today. Um, not only do I have a successful investment company, um, I'm also a real estate agent, and uh I have a staffing company as well.
SPEAKER_00:2013 is uh a while ago, and virtual assistant was not known back then. It's uh you you started you know from the beginning, like uh now it's very popular. But uh, how was it when you started the uh virtual assistant company? Like how where did you find your people?
SPEAKER_01:It was a lot tougher because um obviously COVID hit, and and now once COVID hit, everyone's like, Oh, remote work, I understand. So before prior to that, um we actually I had a business partner back then, back in 2014, and he was going back and forth to the Philippines, and that's where all of our virtual assistants are out of. Uh, Philippine uh people are absolutely incredible, they help build your business, they're very loyal. Um, you know, your business is their business, they look at it, which is absolutely incredible. So started back in 2014, and uh, you know, I tested it for a year, not only my own business and you know, all the training, all the implementation, and how that looks like. So yeah, yeah. While back.
SPEAKER_00:That's great. Um, everybody needs uh a virtual assistant these days. So uh second question I have for you is you've scaled massively without burning out. Uh, you mentioned, you know, that there's a lot of if you want to scale, there's a lot of actions you need to take in a day. Uh and you did it without burning out. What systems strategies have been the real game changers in your business?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I used to door knock when I first started real estate. I door knocked, and that's a good way of burning out, right? So what I did is I first door knocked, and then I found a door knocker that took my spot, and then I jumped into a different role. But to answer your question right now, if you start looking about game changing, you have to build the right team and you need individuals that are willing to work because today's day and age, um, especially here, you know, in North America, unfortunately, I don't know what happened since COVID, but a lot of people don't want to work. And I'm, you know, I grew up blue-collar and you know, I had a paper root growing up. I worked for my father growing up. You know, it's just a real different culture that we are in. So I'd say it's building a team and building a culture of hard work um and setting goals to attain it together, not the lone wolf. I think it's more, you know, today's day and age is is getting the right people on your team to work together to reach a common goal.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and and uh I like I like what you you said that you have to build the right team. Uh that that is key if you want to success, if you want to be success, uh a success story. Um, and how you choose your your your players or your your the people that you work with um is key. And so maybe just to further the question, how do you choose the people that you agree to work with?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so my real estate company here, um we so we also have a podcast called Pucks to Properties where we interview ex-players that are now in real estate. So it's pretty cool. We use the platform to get other people, hire other people for my real estate company. I played men's league with a guy. Um, I haven't seen no joke in like 10 years. And he sends me a message off LinkedIn and he sent me a text because I had his all of his information 10 years ago. He said, Hey, you know, I'm in between uh I'm in between roles, I'm not happy with my job. Are you guys open? You know, you guys hiring? I'm like, didn't even think about it. I'm like, all right, come on in. So we interviewed him. We're like, this guy's perfect for a role that we have open. So we look for um ex-athletes because they're um they're used to getting no's in this world and also getting back up and and dusting off and keep going.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that that's yeah, resilience, I guess, uh would be a uh a good word to use. Um knowing how to get up after a fall, or like you said, nose. Uh, you're gonna get a lot in real estate. And so that is key to uh to pushing further, and you want to be surrounded with with people like that.
SPEAKER_01:Which which is okay to your point. It's okay. We are always gonna get no's and our kids are gonna get no's. Like you always get no's during during the path, but it's how you actually, you know, you hear the the word failing forward, right? It's how you get up and keep moving forward. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Third question I have for you, Bob. Uh, why do you believe that every real estate professional should be using virtual assistants right now? And how can they maximize their ROI or their investment into a virtual assistant?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think I think outsourcing is extremely important. You know, no matter where you are, uh the cost of living keeps going up, right? So a lot of times local talent gets too expensive, you know. So for instance, if you're looking for someone with a four-year college degree, they may want, you know, 50, 60, 70, 80,000 as a starting salary. Well, if you outsource some of those same tasks that you would do, you could get it for$10,$11 an hour rather than you know,$20,000,$30,$40 an hour. So I think that's just from an economic standpoint, it's very important for all of us because a lot of us are small businesses, right? A lot of us as you grow when you first start, you're definitely a small business, but when you end, you may be a bigger business. But when you're, you know, when you're kind of um in the middle of the road, you always have to look at what how many res what kind of resources that you have for your own business, which means money and time, and then you can look at someone to outsource it. So in the Philippines, we hire everyone who has a has a four-year college degree. So I know if you get a four-year college degree here uh in North America, you're gonna be paying a pretty penny.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's for sure. Uh, so you have standards and uh who you decide to work with for your staffing company, uh, virtual assistants. And so we should have standards too in who we choose to pick. Uh, for example, there's many virtual assistant companies nowadays, not everyone hires uh qualified people, right? You know, right.
SPEAKER_01:And in a lot of a lot of companies out there, they'll just go find someone. They don't manage them, they just find someone for you. So that's how I think you have to look at for us, we manage them too as well. So we're we're your partner along the way, side by side. We find the virtual assistant, we train them, and then we work with you along the way with you know client service managers, etc.
SPEAKER_00:So you know the standards of the North American uh culture, and then you make sure that the product you offer to investors, to real estate people, as a certain standard of uh, you know, the the virtual assistant. So so that's that's a big plus compared to probably a competition. Yeah, for sure. Uh fourth question I have for you, Bob. Uh, with the market shifting now, uh, what uh maybe the talking about lead generation strategies, uh, what lead generation strategies are delivering the best results uh in 2025?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you know, you look at direct mail, direct mail is always an incredible. Um, it's a little more expensive, but the return on investment is really high. Um, networking, no matter where you are, it's building relationships with other individuals in your industry, right? So, as an example, um, if you're if you're a a rehabber and you fix and flip properties, um, one of the great ways is to build your list of real estate agents because there's a lot of sellers that only understand that selling to real estate agents is the only way to go. So you focus your effort on building your network of real estate agents on that side of it, as an example. So the networking side, because one thing I've realized over the years are some homeowners just do not want to sit there and have people walk through the house, but they do have real estate agent friends. And if that real estate agent friend has you as a buyer, you're a cash buyer, they'll go to you and they'll just turn around right away where they don't have to have 900 people walking through their house. So I think networking is huge, direct mail, direct to seller, uh, very, very, very, very useful today.
SPEAKER_00:This is uh, you know, I I teach about networking, and this is uh one key point that I I agree 100% with you. Uh the the relationships that you build around you, there's no price for that. And that's probably where you make the most of your money. Yes, there's there's gonna be, you know, like you said, uh marketing and emails and all that, but you have to pay for that. Uh networking most of the time, it's just it takes your time, it it's it's free, right? Now, the way you network is that's where you have to maximize the real the relationships that this podcast gave me, the partnerships that I got into with guests, right? Learning what other people are doing and then seeing how we can fit together, uh, brought me so many opportunities. And so this is something that maybe our listeners can take with them from our conversation. Here is take the time to not only pitch your deals or your offer, learn about the the person you have in front of you and what they do and what their needs are, and then you can probably find some fits in maybe partnerships, you know, in the future. So this is uh I agree with you, it's it's key to to success.
SPEAKER_01:I I'll give you I'll give you a little book too. So that I'm reading right now. So I I listen to uh I download everything in Audible. It's a book called Never Eat Alone. Yeah, it's uh Keith Farazi, it's about networking. So check it out. I mean, I you're you're big in networking, so that that may be one that uh you may like. It's called Never Eat Alone. Never eat alone.
SPEAKER_00:I'm gonna write it down right now. Never eat alone, uh, a book about networking. Yep, Keith Farazi is the last name. Farazi. Yep. Okay, that I noted that, so I'm gonna go ahead and find that book. Well, Bob, it's our fifth and last question for today, but uh nonetheless, I want to ask you this. You've seen thousands of transactions, over 2,200 transactions in real estate. What are the biggest mistakes new investors make? And how can uh maybe our audience listening here avoid those mistakes?
SPEAKER_01:Well, a couple of I mean, one of them is is you know, you've been around for a long time too, as well. It's the shiny object syndrome, yeah, right? They say, Oh my, you know, I want to get into single family properties, I want to buy and hold, I want to fix and flip. But oh, well, I just I just heard a podcast on uh multifamily investing, and they'll jump in, they'll try to jump into multi-family investing, multifamily investing rather than getting to understand you know the industry that you are interested in. It's bouncing around. So the takeaway is stay extremely, extremely focused on what you do. So when I started, you know, I I was a fix and flip guy, and then I turned and then I changed into short sales, but then I stayed in short sales for years upon years upon years, and then I got into something else. But you do have a base, you need a base of something because if you jump around, you're never gonna make money.
SPEAKER_00:No, and and also building a name for yourself, right? And each each uh strategies in real estate, whether it's fix or flip, or like you said, multifamily or wholesaling, uh, you build a name for yourself. So if you jump around from one strategy to the other, yeah, you might still get some business, but you'll never be known as the professional in fix and flip, or deprofessional in wholesaling. And that's where people go to you because they know you're you're the guy.
SPEAKER_01:Yep. Yeah, it's brand, it's branding, it's staying true to your brand. Um, but you could always add, that's the thing. You you you nailed it. As soon as you have that one brand, you could always add on to you know, it's like a tool in your tool belt, right? If you're great at fix and flip, but then you want to get in a wholesaling, or you want your real estate brokerage license or real estate agent license, become a broker, it still goes off of that core. So that's you're exactly right.
SPEAKER_00:Bob, uh, before we leave each other, I want to go back to your staffing company. As uh we mentioned, you know, every real estate investor needs a virtual assistant these days. Uh, can you tell us maybe the name of your agency, uh, maybe where they can find it, and how how does it the process work so uh people can take advantage of this?
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. It's uh reva Global, R E V A Global.com. We're on Instagram, we're on you know, all those who aren't uh LinkedIn, Facebook, et cetera. So you can find us there. If you're interested in learning more about us, um, you could set up a strategy session too. We have so much information on our website, which is revaglobal.com. But like I said, if you want to set up a strategy session with one of our team members, just uh there's a form right up front that says click on strategy session, and we'll go through you know whatever you're looking for if you have any questions, et cetera. So um, yeah, just check us out there.
SPEAKER_00:Perfect. Uh Bob, thank you so much for spending the time with us today. Uh, taking the time to share your knowledge. Uh, I hope that our listeners will take a piece of your advice on their journey, and uh hopefully we'll talk uh soon again. All right, thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Thanks for tuning in to the Five Questions podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, like, and hit the notification bell on our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode. Stay tuned for more insights and tips to transform your real estate and business games. See you next time.