Clayton Hepler didn’t just start a land investing business, he rebuilt his life around it. Like many real estate investors, he began with house flipping, rentals, and wholesaling. Early wins included scaling a flip operation to 75 houses in a year and growing a rental portfolio to over 65 units. On paper, it looked like a dream.
But behind the scenes, capital expenses from aging buildings, a risky Airbnb investment in Colorado, and his wife’s sudden job loss triggered a financial reckoning. He realized: the math didn’t work. The income wasn’t covering expenses, and the business was unsustainable.
That turning point sparked a critical decision, to build a leaner, more scalable, and less stressful business.
That business was land.
In this episode of the DealMachine REI Podcast, Clayton Hepler shares how he scaled a multi-million dollar land investing business using the 4 Ps framework. Want to hear the full interview? Watch the full episode below:
In his words, “Land was the blue ocean of real estate.”
Unlike flipping houses or managing tenants, land deals offered:
“One land deal this month netted us $750,000 in profit. That’s just not possible with most house deals.”
With land, his return on ad spend (ROAS) skyrocketed. He could drop $1,000 into marketing and extract $10,000, $100,000, or more depending on the deal structure.
Clayton’s land investing success is driven by four pillars:
“Everything starts with lead flow,” Clayton emphasizes.
If you don’t have a consistent pipeline of seller conversations, no systems or hires can help you.
Tools like DealMachine helped him:
He advises new investors to spend 80–90% of their early time in lead generation and conversion.
Where most investors analyze success months after a deal closes, Clayton installed tight feedback loops:
This allowed his team to pivot faster, coach more effectively, and cut what wasn’t working without waiting months to adjust.
“What might take someone else six months to improve, we can fix in six days.”
Using Dan Martell’s “Buy Back Your Time” concept, Clayton built his hiring ladder:
“As soon as you understand your business model, bring on an admin.”
He compares the cost to a car payment, $600 to $1,200/month, but one that buys back 40+ hours per week.
Early on, Clayton worked 80-hour weeks under constant financial pressure. That forced him to focus on bottom-line profit, not vanity revenue.
He implemented strategies from Profit First for Real Estate Investors:
“Scaling revenue is optional. Scaling profit is essential.”
Clayton’s company uses flexible exit strategies depending on each parcel:
These strategies allow his team to match deals to market demand and cash flow goals.
Because land doesn’t require in-person walkthroughs or repairs, Clayton’s team:
“We’re not stuck in one market. We can go wide without losing control.”
Clayton’s team tracks core KPIs like:
This real-time dashboard allows the team to adjust based on what the numbers show—not guesswork.
Clayton believes in building businesses that can adapt to change, not get disrupted by it.
“We are paid in proportion to our ability to allocate people, capital, and resources as CEOs.”
With systems, hires, and automations in place, your business becomes:
Behind the 7-figure numbers are consistent habits:
Clayton’s role now focuses on:
His team handles the rest.
Yes. With flexible exits, national scalability, and high margins, land investing remains one of the most profitable real estate niches this year.
Once you understand your process and lead flow, hire an EA or admin to reclaim 40+ hours/week and focus on closing deals.
Land offers more exits, less maintenance, lower overhead, and higher returns per deal than most house flips.
Platforms like DealMachine streamline lead lists, skip tracing, and outreach, saving investors time and money.
Yes. Clayton’s team runs a national land business using virtual tools, data, and local partners without ever visiting most properties.
Clayton Hepler’s journey shows how land investing can become a highly scalable, profitable, and flexible business when built around the right systems.
This is how you build a business that lasts.