Young Rookie Real Estate Investor

[Chase Ezell]

My name is Chase Ezell and I am 28 years old. I am a full time paramedic and side hustler out of Birmingham, AL. I currently own and operate an exterior cleaning business as well as working my full time day job. I am and have been for a long time, extremely drawn towards being a full time entrepreneur. My goals in a nutshell is to create long term wealth for my family, create jobs, and make a difference in people's lives. I am extremely motivated in being successful and real estate investing crossed my mind one day at work. The more I educate myself, the more I find that it is right up my alley. 

The reason for this post is to hopefully gain more knowledge and advice on where I should go from here. I own my home free and clear and wanting to use the equity to start my real estate investment journey. Buying and flipping sounds like a good starting point for me. I am skilled in most all trades and very self sufficient, so a lot of the home improvements will be done myself. Is using a HELOC a good way to purchase my first property? Is buying and flipping the right way to start? 

Please give me any advice that you may have to give! Thanks!