West Michigan Chef with bigger dreams

[Christopher Montgomery]

Hey there everyone, 

My name is Chris, I'm new to the BP community, joined after searching for my next book, which just happened to be  "The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No, and Low, Money Down." I'm 30 years old, I've been in the food industry for 15 years, mostly in BOH as a Chef and a few years in FOH as a bartender. After my first son was born, i decided I needed to get out of the 90+ hour work week with no weekends or holidays off. Long story short, three years later, I am now the GM overseeing a food service program in Holland, a 45 minute commute from where i live in Rockford. 

Spending 1.5 hours a day driving, i listen to a lot of audio books. Wanting to better my financial situation by being better with my money, I started listening to books on finance. I started with........as many of you may have guessed, with "Rich Dad, Poor Dad." From there I went to "The Richest Man in Babylon." After finishing that I looked at my amazon suggestions and found "The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No, and Low, Money Down," I felt like i found my calling. Since, I've been listening to the BP podcasts, searching listings and driving around my area looking for deals. I'd consider myself one of those that knows a little bit about a lot of things. I've been doing home repairs my whole life, but know when to call in the professionals and am not ashamed to do so. 

I want to jump into the game, but i feel like I still have a lot more learning to do, and don't know where to start. I'd love to connect with some people in my area that might be willing to lend some advice. I have a lot of connections in the West Michigan area including possible private lenders, contractors and real estate agents. I'd love to be able to get to the point where I can leave the food industry behind and get into real estate full time, but i know i have a ways to go. I'm not afraid of hard work, good with my hands and i'm always looking to learn. I am willing to take some risk, but my income pays the bills.....including the mortgage. Any advice?