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Updated about 7 years ago, 11/07/2017
WHO ARE YOU? What do you do besides real estate?
Hello BP nation!
My question for BP nation is what is your day job? Although we would love to be, most of us are not yet full time investors.
As I grow older and try to figure out the direction of my career, I love hearing the stories of other successful real estate investors and how they got there. I am currently...struggling... at my day job (100% commission insurance salesman) and dream of finding a job I can enjoy while I slowly grow my real estate portfolio.
So BP... What is your day job and what does your life look like trying to work it while you grow your investing career?
Ready...GO!
@Brandon Turner I would love your input on this! Did you work a day job before you jumped into real estate? I follow you on social media and I feel like we are very similar!
Insurance agency owner. Love the flexibility this job provides along with renewal build up. As you probably know insurance is a long term game. I love what I do and helping small business owners with their insurance... but if real estate investments ever made me more than my insurance business I would have to seriously consider selling my insurance agency...
@Scott Trench Also would love your input! I know you work at BP. Would you be recommending a young guy (23) who is cash poor to work a day job to jump start his career?
@Travis Tannahill Owning an agency is where it's at. I know exactly how much the principal at my small town agency makes and it's shocking. My problem is unlike you, Travis, I hate insurance. I've only been doing it now for about 5 months but don't see myself ever enjoying it. I struggle daily wondering if I keep pushing through it hoping to learn to enjoy it, or find a new job. Ahhh the decisions.
I'm an engineer at my day job. I enjoy the challenge and getting to use the degree I worked so hard for. That being said I'm much more passionate about real estate and will likely to back to school in a few years for my MBA
@Kyle Grimm I started out in life insurance... literally almost starved to death selling $20/mo life policies to millennials. I then tried selling life insurance for a P&C firm... I saw how much the principal was making and how unprofessional he was and I thought I could do it better than him. I quit that job cause of the before mentioned reasoned. Only thing was I had a 3 year non compete. I went and sold radio for a few years (DON'T EVER TRY THAT!)... I reached out to a family friend who owned an agency and was about retirement age and struck a deal to buy him out. And here we are! I guess what Im trying to say is its all a journey... wake up and do your best everyday... Insurance is a massive industry if you don't like one aspect of it maybe trying finding a different area you like or a different niche??? I personally hate selling home and auto's... so I don't really focus on it. You'll find your way and meet as many people as you can along the way who will help you reach what you want to do in life. Best of luck!
It's allows me the flexibility to be an entrepreneur and have multiple business ventures... thats the biggest perk IMO.
@Travis Tannahill I am currently experiencing that "starving to death" period. It is definitely a long build up process but if you stick it out, I'm sure it is very rewarding. I hope things continue to go well for you! Thanks for all your input, Travis!
@John Gach make the plunge!
So @Caleb Heimsoth will you plan on ever being full time in real estate?
I'm flattered you'd like my opinion! The short answer for me is that I presume a start from an office type job earning median income or greater for the journey toward early financial freedom. The reason for this is simple - it seems to be the silent majority of the BiggerPockets userbase, and it was my own path. Before BP my day job had nothing to do with real estate.
I'm not sorry that I started with a job in finance that paid a median wage. It allowed me to easily get a loan on my first property. That would not have been easy had I started with a sales gig. However, I did change careers and move into a Startup (BiggerPockets!) after about a year. The sales portion of my income did not help me qualify for financing until about 2 years in, nor did my rental income. That was definitely a challenge in getting financing, but luckily Josh paid me enough of a base salary to buy my first place haha.
I think that the key is to find a career that offers potential for scale, and once you find it, stay consistent as you accelerate toward early financial freedom. Lenders like consistency and getting great financing is to me, as a part-time, on the side real estate investor, very important.
Of course, that all fades away in the face of the prospects of exponential growth. If you think you can make half a million or more with a new gig, that could be a shot worth taking.
So basically my path started with something steady to get the ball rolling, then I took a bit of a risk with part salary, part commissions. Then, I've been buying and creating assets with hard work and frugality for several years, which has produced more consistent income.
Remember, BP users are often an exception to the rule in real estate. Many folks do not become wealthy because they invest in real estate, in fact, probably most of the landlords that I've met that are not on BiggerPockets are very wealthy because they worked hard in their careers and invested in real estate on the side for years. Another way of saying this is that many of the big landlords and real estate players that I meet have built awesome busiensses or had great careers and have a big pile of money to invest. THEN, they invest that intelligently in real estate. That, or they invest consistently over a career and have a huge portfolio -- this is what I am trying to achieve, with the caveat that I want to forever retain the option to leave any career and live off the real estate income happily should that be my preference.
I work at BiggerPockets and while I invest consistently in real estate, I believe that I will create most of my value professionally through my career here, as will be the case for most of the middle and upper-middle class employed users of BiggerPockets. Real Estate is not my full-time job and I will have failed if I am ever forced to turn to it full-time. Real Estate is a tool to help me produce income and build wealth capable of supporting a wonderful lifestyle on part-time efforts at most.
@Kyle Grimm sounds like you have a background in construction, why not start there? W2 income helps tremendously for conventional financing assuming you haven't exhausted all of your options there already.
If construction sounds like a bad idea, tell us what you like to do. The way I see it you have two options, find a job you are qualified for and hate (but pays you well) and build your REI portfolio as quickly as possible.
Or find a job that you really enjoy (but probably won't pay as well) and build you REI portfolio as quickly as possible. If your end goal is to be a full-time investor map out your options and take the one that gets you there first.
@Kyle Grimm I think doing full time RE would be a lot of fun. If I ever do that it's probably be in my 30s (I'm almost 23). From what I project I will probably hit that "snowball" point in my late 20s
Currently my W2 full time job is a master automotive technician for a local Honda dealer. Have been doing it since 2002. I am currently 34 years and have been longing to leave this horrendous industry.
I bust my *** everyday to make a better paycheck, and only succeed at making others more wealthy. Like you, my position is 100% commission in the automotive world = no work no pay, lots of work lots of pay. But in the winter months I literally stand around and watch videos, read books, or sleep. In the spring and summer months I am so busy I cannot even eat lunch for 5 minutes.
The reason I have been seeking to invest into real estate is to remove myself from this constant stress. I need stable income for my family. And to gain my life back, to enjoy time with my daughters.
I wish you the best of luck on your endeavors to be finically free!
No reason to be flattered @Scott Trench, you're a smart guy! It's easy for me to think everyone here on BP is living the dream full time investing career. But I have to stop and realize that you're right. The silent majority do work a full time job. Having a w2 salary with stability would be huge at this time of my life. I am 100% commission in a job that takes years to build any sort of traction. If in 10 years from now I would like to be full time in real estate, I need to ask myself if it makes more sense to have stable w2 income now that makes my financial picture look better for a bank and allows me to save more.
I think you have the perfect model right now earning a living at BP, which not only gives you the steady income to invest with on the side, but also surrounds you with like minded people where I am sure you are constantly learning. - let me know if you guys are hiring ;)
"Real Estate is a tool to help me produce income and build wealth capable of supporting a wonderful lifestyle on part-time efforts at most." Love this Scott! Thanks so much for your input! So much to think about!
Kyle Grimm
Hey Kyle. I'm a Federal Agent with the Department of Homeland Security. I have worked in federal law enforcement for 8 years and for three different agencies.
I work on average 55 hours a week and I travel a lot. In fact as I write this I am in a hotel in Minneapolis and I just returned from Casablanca, Morocco on Saturday.
I have been using a property manager since I started since I am so busy and my work often has me in places all over the world.
I own a small painting business that focuses on exterior painting and staining projects. I started the business as a means to help ensure my leap to being a "full-time" landlord was a success.
Prior to that I worked in factories for 15 years. In 2014, at 28 rental units I gave up punching a time clock forever. I now have 64 rental units...so it was a good move!
I work for a German company that manufactures equipment and consumables for hospitals, research facilities, labs, etc. I'm the Engineering Manager for their U.S. facility. Here in the states we produce medical consumables using plastic injection molding. Its a great company and I absolutely love working there. But I also love investing in real estate and I'm trying to learn as much as I can here at BP. I want to build my portfolio to include single and multi family rental properties. Anyway, I really like the challenges of my work AND investing. I don't think I'll ever quit either.
I am a custom home builder. I moved back to work in the family business about 4 years ago. Family also had about 10 rent houses and I run that business also. We recently closed on our 30th house and are actively looking for small multi family deals in our area now.
I own a IT services business so it's actually relaxing to work on properties. Being the boss helps with flexibility. I was an architecture student many years ago and still have the bug so I now I like to buy quality properties. would like to build new someday.
I'm a real estate agent and property manager as well as investor. But, I started off by working in a foster care agency after college. I have also waited tables and delivered pizzas through college and for a long time afterward.
- Dawn Brenengen
- Podcast Guest on Show #101
I'm just starting in real estate, but for the past 21 years, I've worked in research to improve substance use treatment. For much of that time, I've been a project manager. I'm currently a project director as well.
Nothing. Real Estate is my life.
(But before that, I sold quilting supplies.)
Great topic. I work in finance IT for an investment bank (yes one of those that got bailed out 10 years ago) and have been there for 17 years and 25 years total in IT. It pays well relatively speaking but it is eating away my soul on a daily basis so now I have 7 doors all in the Raleigh NC area, all cash purchases in the last couple of years. Also own a condo in Tokyo Japan. Hope to retire early in an year or two (I am 48 now).
