Wendell’s Weekly Wins and Whiffs

👋 Welcome to Wendell’s Weekly Wins & Whiffs! The real, unvarnished breakdown of what it takes to build companies, scale a real estate portfolio, and lead with discipline. ⚒️📈 Each week, I share the operational wins that move the mission forward, the whiffs that force recalibration, and the strategic lessons earned in the trenches. No hype. No fluff. Just execution, feedback loops, and continuous improvement. 🔁 If you're committed to building durable wealth through systems, partnerships, and relentless consistency, you’re in the right place. Let’s get better — week after week. 💥

Author

Wendell Butler
March 09, 2026

🏆 Win of the Week: Proof the System Works Even When You Step Away

Last week’s win came from something that used to feel almost impossible in the early days of building a business. Stepping away for an entire week and watching things continue to move forward.

I spent the week in Maui, Hawaii and it was exactly the reset I needed. A lot of time in nature hiking through the jungle and up the volcano, swimming and paddle boarding with humpback whales, and getting some real beach time. Being that immersed in nature has a way of clearing your head and giving you perspective again.

The trip also had a few full circle moments. I got to meet up with Cam Cathcart in person, who mentored me for a bit when I was getting deeper into fix and flips. It was great to reconnect and talk shop in person instead of through calls.

Even cooler, I got to spend some time hanging out at Brandon Turner’s house. My business partner has a connection through family, so we were able to swing by. Brandon is actually the person who got me into real estate in the first place through BiggerPockets Podcast and his books, so it was surreal being there. What stood out most though was seeing him outside the stage, podcasts, and social media. Just a normal guy with his family who is transparent, down to earth, and focused on getting a little better every day.

But the biggest win of the week was what happened back home while I was gone.

The systems we have been building kept moving. Deals, operations, and communication continued forward with minimal involvement from me. I probably worked about an hour a day just checking in and making a few decisions.

That feeling is hard to explain if you have never experienced it before. For years everything relied on you touching it. This week felt like the first real glimpse of the machine starting to run.

It honestly just gets me more excited to push things further. Turn up the marketing, drive more lead flow, and continue strengthening the systems so the business grows without needing me in every corner of it.

💨 Whiff of the Week:  The Sun and the Reset

The whiff this week is pretty simple. Maui absolutely cooked me.

Between hiking volcanoes, being out on the water, and spending a lot of time at the beach, I managed to get completely fried by the sun. One of those burns where you feel it every time you move for a couple days after. Lesson learned there.

On top of that, the jet lag coming back from Hawaii has been real. Getting back onto East Coast time always takes a few days and my sleep schedule has been a little off while trying to settle back into the normal routine.

The other honest whiff has been my eating. Vacation definitely played a role, but the habits stuck around a bit once I got back. The last week or so has been pretty rough from a nutrition standpoint. Nothing catastrophic, just one of those stretches where discipline slipped and meals were more convenience than intention.

The positive side is that it is already getting corrected. I have started tightening things back up and getting back into the normal rhythm.

And honestly, from a business standpoint there were not many real whiffs this week. We actually came back and immediately got a deal under contract, which is always a great way to return from a trip.

So overall the whiff this week is mostly just physical. Sunburn, jet lag, and getting my eating back on track. Nothing major, just part of resetting after a great trip and getting back into the groove.

🎯 Tactical Tip of the Week: Design Your Business So You Can Actually Leave

One of the most underrated tests of a business is whether it can keep moving when you step away for a few days.

Most entrepreneurs say they want freedom, but they build companies that completely depend on them. Every decision flows through them. Every email requires their response. Every small issue becomes their responsibility. It works at first, but eventually the business becomes a job with more stress.

A simple way to pressure test your systems is to leave for a few days and see what breaks.

“Most entrepreneurs say they want freedom, but they build companies that completely depend on them.”

When you step away, gaps become obvious very quickly. Communication issues surface. Processes that live only in your head suddenly stall progress. Tasks that should be delegated reveal themselves.

Instead of seeing those gaps as problems, treat them as a roadmap for building leverage.

Here is the tactical shift:

• Build systems that allow progress without constant supervision
• Document recurring decisions so your team does not need you every time
• Assign clear ownership so tasks do not float between people
• Create check in points instead of constant oversight
• Measure success by forward motion, not by how busy you are

If the business stops moving when you stop working, the real problem is not workload. It is system design.

The goal is not to escape the business completely. The goal is to build something that can operate without your constant presence.

👉 Action Step
Look at one area of your business this week that would stall if you disappeared for three days. Write a simple process, assign ownership, and remove yourself as the bottleneck.

Freedom in entrepreneurship rarely comes from working less. It comes from building systems strong enough that the business keeps moving even when you step away.

🔦 From the Field: Progress Does Not Stop When You Step Away

One of the most encouraging things from this past week happened while I was actually away in Maui.

We ended up selling two of our flips while I was gone.

That was a great reminder of why we spend so much time building systems, teams, and processes behind the scenes. The goal is not to step away and hope everything pauses until you get back. The goal is for things to keep moving forward regardless.

Seeing those deals close while I was hiking volcanoes and paddle boarding with whales was honestly pretty surreal.

It also sets us up nicely for what comes next.

With those properties sold, we now have some fresh capital coming back into the business. That gives us the ability to start pushing harder on marketing and lead generation, which is where the real momentum starts to build.

In this business, deal flow is the lifeblood. When marketing is strong and leads are consistently coming in, everything else becomes easier. Acquisitions improve. Project pipelines stay full. The machine keeps running.

❝

“In real estate investing, deal flow is the lifeblood.”

Wendell Butler

So the focus now is simple. Take the capital that just came back in, reinvest it into marketing, and get the lead engine firing again.

Sometimes the best moments in business are when you realize the momentum did not stop while you were away. It kept building.

🎤 FINAL WORD

This week was a good reminder of what the whole point of building systems actually is.

For years in entrepreneurship, everything depends on you. If you stop working, the business stops moving. Every decision, every email, every problem flows through your desk. It works in the beginning, but it is not sustainable if the goal is freedom.

Last week was one of the first real glimpses of things starting to shift.

While I was hiking volcanoes, swimming with whales, and spending time in Maui, the business kept moving. Two flips sold. A new deal went under contract shortly after returning. The team handled what needed to be handled. Systems did their job.

That does not mean the work is finished. Far from it. It simply means the foundation we have been building is starting to hold weight.

Now the next step is to lean into it. Reinvest capital back into marketing, increase lead flow, and keep strengthening the machine so momentum compounds instead of constantly resetting.

The goal has never been to escape work. The goal is to build something that works.

Keep building.

Keep growing or die,