Should You Quit Your 9-5 Job to Become a Full-Time Real Estate Investor?

Does everyone who owns real estate actually quit their 9-to-5 job and become full-time investors? Today, let’s talk about how many people actually go all-in.

Who Is the Average Investor?

Now, understand this: The average investor owns three to five properties, so they don’t own a lot of them. Most people get into real estate because they want it for down the road; they want it for the future. That’s what they’re planning on.

Realize that when you buy real estate, you don’t just buy it and then all of a sudden quit your job so that you can sit on the beach and hang out and let the cash flow come in. It doesn’t happen that way. It doesn’t happen right away.

It’s something that has to happen over time. And the only way that you can do that is by having some structures and procedures in place.

Where Do You Want to Go in Life?

More importantly than anything is having goals and making sure that you set those goals up to get you to where you want to go.

See, most people quit their job because they want to have a pathway to freedom that they think a job is not giving them. The challenge we have as investors is sometimes we do first, and then we think.

So, we buy a deal, and then we realize that maybe that deal was not aligned with our goals. And now we have a property that is not something we should have ever bought, because we never thought it through first.

You’ve got to think it through. You’ve got to make sure that whatever you’re buying aligns with your goals—before you even think of quitting your job. You’ve got to make sure that this is something that will get you closer to your goal, not take you further away.

In the famous book Rich Dad Poor Dad, he talked about “minding your business.” What he meant by that was that you focus on your income-producing job, and then you focus on your asset-producing business. This means you work your 9-to-5 job during the day, and then in your off-time on your nights and weekends, that is when you mind your business and create your asset column to build up your portfolio.

You never, ever quit your income-producing job unless you have enough revenue coming in from your assets, from minding your own business, to be able to support the lifestyle that you want to have.

Remember this: This is not a movie. This is not a book. This is your life. Never put yourself in a bad position, because you think it’s the right thing to do And you didn’t plan it out.

Don’t just decide you’re going to quit your 9-to-5 job when you don’t have enough income coming in from your assets. Always make sure you’re strategically planning it out.

Do You Have a Strategic Plan in Place?

Remember, owning real estate is just numbers. It’s a mathematical equation. The numbers will tell you whether or not it works.

When you decide that you’re going to quit your job, make sure that your assets are overtaking your income. And you may be able to make enough money from your assets but you don’t need to quit your job. You may enjoy what you’re doing.

I’m an airline pilot. I have enough portfolio money coming in from my assets that I don’t need to quit my job. I can keep flying, because the revenue I have coming in from my rental properties will support my lifestyle.

Now, you look at your job a little bit differently. You’re not angry. You’re not upset. Maybe you’re not bent out of shape. And you are your own boss, and you’re able to have the freedom that you want to have, because you built your assets and you minded your own business.

So, again, don’t think of just quitting your job right away and doing something drastic, because you heard someone else do it or you read a book on it. Make sure you plan it out. Make sure you think it through, and make sure that everything that you’re doing is strategically set up.

Don’t make decisions on emotions. Make decisions based on your plan that gets you to your goal.

So, we just talked about whether or not you should quit your job. And again, remember, there is no right or wrong reason or answer on how to do it. It’s whatever matches you and whatever helps you get to where you want to go with your goals.

What do you think? Are you aiming to quit your job? Or do you have different goals?

I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.