3 Years Ago Today I quit my Job...

[Jared Vidales]

3 years ago I risked everything to build something of my own.

I’m not your typical “started from the bottom guy”…no, I came from your average middle class family, I have awesome supporting parents who are still together, I got my engineering degree from one of the best engineering schools in the US, got hired onto a fortune 50 company right out of college where they interviewed 2,500 college applicants and I was one of 15 that was hired for that year, and bought me a BMW…in other words, I’ve never really struggled…but what I did struggle with was how society has conditioned us to fit inside this corporate box, experience zero risk, pay into a company 401k, buy a house with a 30-year mortgage, work your backside off for 50-years so you can live out your remaining years in a mediocre “retirement”, etc. There was a saying at this company, “Bleeding blue”, meaning you were a true corporate thoroughbred who would live and die for the company. I never got it, and not to offend anyone but personally this concept physically made me sick and gave me this level of claustrophobia within my own mind.

2015 I quit the corporate job, bought 2 houses on the same day from another investor, leveraged the heck out of it, and flipped them. I had NO idea what I was doing. I didn't even know what a title company was, earnest money, HUD's, nothing. Yes I got taken advantage of by contractors, my timeline doubled and I borrowed money from friends/family because I went significantly over budget. I took a massive risk but I didn't care because I was having the time of my life, and more importantly I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted. I learned by my mistakes, built a better process, and kept testing.

Fast forward to today, my beautiful business partner Dani Crowell and I have built an investment company where we operate out of 4 states, flipped over 300 properties, help Americas largest hedge funds and REITs trade their assets, and employee an awesome group of guys and girls that we can depend on.

Where you started from is relative. Everyone has their “why” whether poor or rich. It’s the growth, as well as the journey to that final destination that holds the most merit.