From an $80k Product Engineer to $750k NET INCOME Running His Own Land Development Business (In 3 years) w/ Dylan Rusch

Brian Luebben (0:01)

All right, ladies and gentlemen, I have a freaking treat for you guys today. Today, we are having a conversation about all things corporate transformation, going from a corporate job down actually to a job that he preferred even more, that gave him more flexibility and freedom through his investment vehicle that he chose, which was land flipping. Now two years later, being a full time acquisition entrepreneur, full time company, and guys, income changes are as insane as the lifestyle and freedom improvements. So Dylan Rusch started as a product engineer, making about $80,000 a year was about where he capped out at for five years. Then he started Land Investing in Action Academy with that $150,000 side income. He was able to actually move down to a position back at his local high school that he enjoyed doing that gave him a lot more time with his kids. And now he is full time land flipping. After that, for doing like literally over a million dollars with $750,000 net with complete control of his time, his income and his schedule. So guys, please give a warm welcome to Mr. Dylan Rusch. Dylan, how are you feeling?

Dylan Rusch (1:10)

Feeling great, Brian. Thank you for having me on the podcast again. Last time I was on the pod was July 2024 So it seems like yesterday, but gosh, that's a long time ago now as we record here in September, 2026 So really excited to talk about my journey and just my transition into full-time entrepreneurship.

Brian Luebben (1:28)

100%.

So let's first start off with the concept about what games we're choosing to play. Because I got this advice from a mentor really, really early on, which is, the quality of your life is determined by the quality of questions that you ask into who, which translated and said differently is, what game are you choosing to play? Are you playing a $100,000 game, a $1 million game, a $10 million game? All of them take the same amount of time to play, and you're playing a game regardless, but you can decide which game you're playing. So can you talk a little bit about, how were you thinking of income and how were you thinking about business, and what game were you playing in corporate versus the differences of that to now, when you are doing your investment income on the side, versus now when you're a full-time acquisition entrepreneur? How do you think differently about each one of these games and seasons?

Dylan Rusch (2:21)

Yeah, so definitely a great question there. When I first got started, kind of looking into my personal investing as my wife and I got married, it was all about Dave Ramsey and paying off debt. Then we got into real estate and had some Airbnb's that went really well.

And as I was looking for these next capital pops, I knew that I needed those capital pops because money dries up, banks don't want to keep lending. And that's where I found land investing. And really, how you teed up that question is what you say all the time, which is you prefer massive income versus passive income. So I was going the rental route, and that was great. And we still have those rentals. They've been a huge blessing for my wife and I. But really going after that massive income, which for me has been land flipping and ultimately now land development and building out subdivisions.

You really want to start with your why and having your vivid vision. And my vivid vision wasn't 30 doors making 200 to $500 per door. It was actually multiple six figures of income by building a business with real estate on the side from a tax standpoint and all the benefits that real estate can provide.

Brian Luebben (3:27)

Yeah, 100 percent. It's just, I love that the last time we had a podcast was 2024, and you're already doing about $152,000 from Lane Investing while you were still keeping a job. And at that point, you're like, hey, I'm doing this strategy, but this strategy over here is way harder, but 10 to 100 times the ROI.

And you're like, now I'm thinking about doing that. I'm like, well, why don't you just do that? It's going to take the same amount of time, but you get 10 times to an uncapped return extra on top of what you're already doing right now. So when you're thinking about what strategies to pursue, how did you make that jump conceptually and mentally?

Dylan Rusch (4:13)

Yeah, I think the biggest thing as I'm now two, three years into my land flipping, land development journey is maybe when I first started land flipping, I wasn't ready for some of these development opportunities that came. And maybe I saw them come through and they just passed me by because I didn't have the knowledge and the expertise and the team around me that I do now. So now I basically primarily focus on minor and major subdivisions. And doing these larger deals is almost just as hard as doing those quick flips.