I Wanna Talk About Me... You, Toby Keith and Real Estate

In case you needed a throwback to 90's music videos...

90's country star Toby Keith said it best when he sang:

"I like talking about you, you, you, you usually, but occasionally
I wanna talk about me
I wanna talk about meeeeeeee"

And while the accompanying music video is a reminder of why 90's fashion should stay in the last millennium, the overall sentiment of the song has some value. So today, in my first ever BP blog post, I wanna talk about me! (Don't worry, I'll bring it all back around to you at the end).

I'm in my late 20's and currently live in Las Vegas, NV. I was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii. If it sounds vaguely familiar, it might be because it's also Robert Kiyosaki's home town and a central part of his "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" book. Like 99% of you reading this, his book changed my outlook on personal finance and what I wanted for my future.

Prior to reading RD,PD, I got my degree in aerospace engineering and got started with a career in the aviation industry. I have a steady, well paying job (thankfully still employed through the COVID-19 chaos) and a solid path for career progression, if I so choose. Prior to COVID-19, I traveled internationally for work often and it's fairly normal for me to spend 3-4 months overseas at a time. I love traveling but this isn't travel on my terms; I don't choose the timeline, the destination, where I stay or what I get to experience.

And while I get satisfaction and a sense of purpose from my current job, I hate trading my time for money and I know for a fact that I can't work a corporate job for the next 30 years and be happy. Sound familiar? If you're at all like me, you can relate and want out of the rat race.

So what's next?...

Well as I write this, the COVID-19 Pandemic is wreaking havoc on economies across the globe. I predict that Las Vegas will be extremely hard hit by the drop in tourism. The safe, conservative, comfortable move would be to count my blessings that I have a stable, salaried job that is continuing to pay me despite the downturn. But that's not what's next for me. I'll write more in depth about it in a separate blog, but the COVID-19 crisis might just be what I needed to motivate me to make my move. Let me explain.

In early 2017 I decided to start making plans to exit my current job. I researched side hustle opportunities and found two that I was interested in; Amazon E-commerce and Real Estate. I researched both and found that I was passionate about real estate but three things prevented me from moving forward:

1. 1. My work travel schedule meant I would need to learn long distance real estate investing.
2. 2. I was at the start of my career and didn't have much in savings. Purchasing real estate investments as a newbie didn't seem like a smart idea when I didn't have a cash reserve as a safety net.
3. 3. The real estate market was HOT! Cash flowing properties in A-/B areas of Las Vegas were non-existent and in such a strong sellers market, deals were rare.

With these considerations in mind I went forward with Amazon E-commerce. I could run my business from anywhere in the world and the start up capital required was minimal (or so the Amazon gurus said...)

A picture of my first Amazon product. It failed costing me $15k...

The Amazon journey was arduous and provided a lot of learning opportunities. I'll write about it in depth in a separate blog post but the eventual outcome was that I built a successful Amazon business that generates $30k in revenue a month but it doesn't have the same potential to build long term wealth that real estate does. I also learned I'm not passionate about Amazon E-commerce. Grit and tenacity have motivated me thus far but without a true passion for building my business, I know that growth will be slow or non-existent.

Now fast forwarding to today, COVID-19 has changed the game and reduced or removed the barriers I previously mentioned.

1. 1. I don't anticipate the need to travel for work for at least the next 3 months. I don't think it's a coincidence that that's the 90 days I need to do a case study of the "90 Days of Intention Journal".  Also, with "work from home" I have a lot more flexibility with my time.
2. 2. I've saved up a cash reserve and am also starting the process to sell my Amazon business. This isn't enough to allow me to make cash purchases of investment properties but does allow me a marketing budget for wholesaling and/or a down payment for a bank financed/hard money loan.
3. 3. Fear, panic and uncertainty are running wild due to the economic shutdown. YES, it is scary but uncertainty facilitates opportunity and I see this as my opportunity to make a move.

Okay, so what's the plan?

My all time favorite country star, George Strait crooned:

"Baby, write this down, take a little note to remind you in case you didn't know,
So use it as a bookmark, stick it on your 'frigerator door,
Hang it in a picture frame up above the mantel where you'll see it for sure"

While he was talking about a love letter, it still kind of applies to real estate.  I'm going to take George's advice and write down my real estate journey for the world to see.  My plan is to wholesale properties here in Las Vegas and blog about my experiences.

This entry is the first of "The Foundation".  I plan to cover my Vision, Goals and Action Plan as part of this series.  In the next series I'll be documenting my experiences with the "90 Days of Intention" journal.  The intent is to capture my struggles, fears, questions and eventually successes as I get my start.

Why Blog?

I've never written a blog in my life.  But my motivations are a bit selfish yet ultimately altruistic.  Let me explain.  

1. I'm finding that blogging my experiences is increasing my accountability exponentially.  I know that no one is reading (yet... and if you've made it this far, thank you!)  But because I have to write a blog post about what I've done, I better have done something!  I'm also encouraging my close friends who are interested in real estate to check out my blog.  Shout out to Kelly and Karl!

2. The best way to learn something is to have to teach it.  And while I'm not necessarily teaching wholesaling to anyone, I am explaining my thought process and goals.  Having to blog about it helps me to structure my thought and ultimately gain clarity on the way forward.

3. Now the altruistic part.  I hope that by documenting my journey, I'll be able to help others on their own path.  Everyone is on their own journey but why not share my struggles to help others avoid the same mistakes?

See, I told you I'd bring it back to you at the end!

Ready, Set, GO!

Alright, enough talking.  Time to put on some George Strait and get to work.  I invite you to join me on the adventure.  The next topic is my Vision and the process I used to create it.  Thanks for reading!

See you on the flip side!

Justin