Hello, as the title suggests my name is Mary Derman, a newcomer to bigger pockets. I created an account for this site as I'm sure many people have, to expand my networking and create new relationships. By doing these two things my hope is that I will further expand my business as well as meet like minded individuals who equally have a drive to create and/or find smart advantageous opportunities. So who exactly is Mary Derman and where did she come from?
From 2006-2015 I spent most of my time as an educator. While teaching I always took on leadership roles that required me to do a little extra more. Such roles included being on committee chairs or being a grade level team leader. While I've always had a passion for teaching and still do, my passion for business and real estate were equally strong if not stronger and these passions were always driving me to do more/be more. In 2013 I decided to become a licensed realtor. I realized the real estate market was gaining strength from the '08 crash, and real estate had always been a field that intrigued me. I started off small in residential sales mainly focusing on sourcing tenants for rentals and traditional real estate transactions. At the same time I was teaching and learning how to be a licensed realtor I decided to partner with my sister and go into the restaurant industry back in 2014. Going from the public sector to the private sector was very eye-opening. Creating relationships with vendors, customers, and employees was vastly different from the relationships a teacher would have with administration, parents and students. I quickly realized I was in a "man's world" and more often than not I would not be taken seriously. I knew I had to work twice as hard and know twice as much if I was to be taken seriously within this field.
During the summer of 2015 I made the decision to leave my teaching job and focus solely on my sister and I's restaurant as well as I started expanding my own real estate business. It was during this time that I started networking with other successful entrepreneurs, seeking mentors, and further educated myself about being a business owner. I learned that real wealth is in investing, not just in a specific industry but in people as well. As I started to attend more seminars and classes specific to real estate, a flame was ignited inside me that couldn't be extinguished, it was like unlocking Pandora's box. I now knew that I had more control over my financial success as well as my personal overall happiness like never before.
Being an entrepreneur is by no means glamorous! It's work! Most people looking in from the outside think you have stacks of cash and spend your days shopping for high end clothes. The truth is that you are the first one awake and the last one to sleep. You work 7 days a week and there is no such thing as a holiday. With that said, I am 100% in control! The harder I work the more of a return I see. I am paving my pathway to success. Maybe one day I will be spending my time blowing stacks of cash on luxury items, but in the meantime you can find me behind a grill at my restaurant, in front of a computer analyzing profitable deals for myself and clients, or on site walking a construction project for a redevelopment project.
