Why Struggle & Resilience Breeds Success: Real Estate Investor Doing 100+ Deals Per Year featuring Glenn Schworm

In this episode of the Collective Genius Podcast, I sit down with my good friend and longtime CG member, Glenn Schworm. Glenn’s journey from humble beginnings to leading two thriving businesses—one in real estate flipping and the other in education—is filled with hard lessons, major wins, and brutally honest setbacks.

 

We dive into what it really takes to scale a business, what happens when things go sideways, and why some of the most important growth happens in the toughest seasons. Glenn opens up about early bankruptcies, rebuilding after failure, and what finally helped him turn things around when scaling remotely nearly broke him. If you’re navigating challenges in your business right now—or thinking about taking the leap—this conversation is going to hit home.

 

Episode Highlights

[0:00] – Introduction

[3:00] – The value of real community in Collective Genius and how it’s shaped Glenn’s journey

[5:14] – Glenn’s first dream: becoming a business owner as a teenager running wiring jobs

[13:11] – His first big win—a $7,000 deal—and the marketing disaster that followed

[14:45] – The reality of buying rental properties off late-night infomercials in the ’80s

[22:23] – How Glenn and Amber got started flipping homes together

[25:01] – Flipping a house in 30 days and making $36,000 during the 2008 crash

[28:00] – Why Glenn teaches that success comes through struggle and resilience

[34:46] – The real motivation behind his education company—and why he stuck with it

[36:34] – Moving to Florida and the operational chaos that came with running things remotely

[40:01] – Investing in the right people: how a team member refused to be let go—and saved the business

[45:08] – The financial holes in the business: bad hires, unchecked marketing spend, and accounting red flags

[47:14] – A turnaround story: how leadership, coaching, and commitment rebuilt profitability

 

5 Key Takeaways

1. Failure is not optional—it’s essential. Glenn emphasizes that real success comes through repeated failure and the willingness to get back up, again and again.

2. Leadership is about betting on people. His business turnaround hinged on empowering the right team member who believed in the vision even when things got rough.

3. Scaling remotely is hard—but possible. It took years of trial, error, and loss before his remote flipping business found its footing again.

4. Passion matters more than the paycheck. Glenn’s drive in the education space comes from a deep love of helping others—not just making money.

5. You don’t have to be a great operator to succeed—but you do need one. Knowing his own weaknesses helped Glenn find and invest in someone who could run the day-to-day better than he could.

 

Links & Resources

• The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber

• Collective Genius Mastermind

• Learn more about Glenn and Amber’s flipping and education business: glennandamber.com

 

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