August was about turning ideas into systems.

 

In my “July progress report“, I focused heavily on building relationships. This month, I spent more time following up, studying the people I had already connected with, and becoming more intentional about where I put my energy.

 

Building Better Relationships

I prepared follow-up messages for people working in reentry, criminal justice, education, entrepreneurship, and second chances. With outside assistance, those messages and updates were delivered on my behalf.

I also helped develop a better system for tracking conversations and future follow-ups.

I’m learning that networking is not about contacting as many people as possible. It is about building a smaller number of relationships that actually grow over time.

 

Turning the Business Idea Into a Plan

 

One of the most useful steps this month came through “Inmates to Entrepreneurs“, the organization Ali is part of.

Ali provided business-planning worksheets that forced me to think beyond simply saying I want to build a real estate company.

I had to think about customers, marketing, expenses, revenue, operations, and what the business would actually need to survive.

After completing the worksheets, I worked with outside support to have them organized and returned to Ali.

The vision is still big, but August pushed me closer to turning that vision into an actual business model.

 

Getting Serious About Real Estate

 

I also set a measurable first-year goal:

Wholesale 36 properties.

That means averaging three deals a month.

It is aggressive, but setting the number forced me to ask what systems would need to exist for that to happen.

I began studying real estate markets around Elkton, Maryland, including nearby areas across state lines within about a 45-minute drive.

I also began outlining an investor database that would track what buyers are actually looking for—location, price, property type, condition, financing, and closing speed.

My goal is to know the buyers before I find the deal.

 

Reading With a Purpose

I continued studying reentry and criminal justice research, including work by Dr. Faye Taxman and research involving COMPAS, risk prediction, artificial intelligence, and bias.

I also continued working on book reports and reflections, including my report on “The Second Chance Club“.

The question I keep asking is simple:

What can I use?

Reading is valuable, but only if it changes how I think or what I do.

 

Preparing to Teach

I continued developing material for another financial literacy class.

I also worked on an investing exercise designed to show how starting early can dramatically affect long-term wealth through compound growth.

I have already taught approximately 40 incarcerated men, and my larger goal remains 400.

Teaching is becoming part of my own preparation because it forces me to understand ideas well enough to explain them clearly.

 

Becoming More Strategic

One of the biggest lessons this month was realizing that preparation does not mean doing everything right now.

Some relationships will make more sense closer to release, especially with real estate professionals.

For now, I can focus more heavily on learning, building systems, strengthening the relationships already developing, and preparing myself to take advantage of opportunities later.

 

I also continued documenting more than just the victories. My journal entry on “depression while incarcerated” was part of that.

If I am going to document this journey, I want to show the difficult parts too.

 

What August Proved

 

August was not about one major breakthrough.

It was about structure.

I completed business-planning work.

I strengthened my follow-up system.

I studied my future real estate market.

I set a measurable first-year goal.

I continued preparing to teach and studying reentry.

Most importantly, I became more intentional about where my time and energy should go.

The vision has not gotten smaller.

The plan is getting sharper.

 

Xavier Lee of Elkton, MD

“Mizz Debbie’s Boy”