18 years ago Rich Dad Poor Dad changed my Life

[Nathan Mills]

As a 16 year old (1999) I read “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. This set a foundation for how to think and I would ever circumvent the pre designated terms of life that the industrial revolution and its subsequent employment/retirement model it had set in place. I chose to get a technical education instead of paying for a standard 4 year collage education. By 2001 the traditional collage education had already started to show signs of becoming less valuable. I planned to use the money from working on cars to fund my first asset acquisition/construction. Before that became a reality I was given an opportunity to start a real estate sales company in the Dominican Republic. I quickly blew threw my savings and soon racked up $15,000 in dept and a ego destroying experience of failure. Not just any failure but the kind thats only possible in a developing country where there is no safety net and no $7/hour jobs as the poorest would gladly work for $40 a month. Many days without food or running water. The stress of not knowing how my next meal was coming from would help fuel my next 11 years of foundation setting work.

After 2 years of struggling in the D.R. and $15,000 in defaulted debt I headed back to the North Carolina. I took the first job I could find, which was mowing lawns for my uncle who had a small rental property portfolio. I was reinvigorated with the prospects of getting out of the oppressive thumb of the rat race. I quickly made myself as valuable as possible, creating efficiencies in the portfolio and taking over the responsibility of management, soaking up all the property management knowledge I could find. I lived as inexpensively as I could and after 24 months of hustling I purchased my first property. A triplex that cash flowed $100 a month. I could taste freedom. I managed that property and did every repair myself.

Now 11 years later I share a 6 million dollar portfolio with my best friend

 that generates $50,000 a month in rents. So whats next?

I finally have some extra bandwidth to create the tools I wish I had when I got started. The whole time I was building my portfolio I was looking for efficiencies in the management and how to help roommates live more deliberately. Recently I teamed up with a group that focuses on the tenant experience and creating simple tools. Together we build Roof.io which is the software I wish I had had when I got started. It’s saves me time and stress with regards to collecting rent and keeping track of my lease info. It’s also the kind of software that I feel good about making my tenants use. It’s simple, beautiful and packed with tools for roommates life.

Now my goal is to help people who are interested in rental property understand how accessible it can be and how much wealth can be generated from the magic of leveraging appreciating assets. With a good team, tools, and tenacity anything is possible. Like so many others, my life has been vastly altered by “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and I wish to continue the tradition of sharing the stoke, mindset, and tools for growing wealth.

- Nathan Mills

[Matthew Gangi]

Thanks a lot for sharing this. One thing that really stresses me out is that I didn't go to college, unable to afford it. I am in the technical field and I always am stressing about not getting the funds to start investing due to not having a degree.