I worked as a firefighter so I got the building construction from that background and then the transaction and numbers I got with working within/alongside investors that were in the business doing the stuff I wanted to do.

Either you learn to be good at it, or partner(your business partner, not someone who works on commission/salary/fees) with someone who is good at it. 

Quote from @Caleb Brown: I would focus on being an agent first and building that business.

My business still needs to sustain itself.  

Therefore, you don't need to use a 1031 exchange; you can take as long as you wish to find and then buy another property.The only exception is if there is debt on a property, in which case there will be some UBIT (Unrelated Business Income Tax) implications.

The local who lives there but commutes 30-60 min to another community because they can’t find a job to support their family in their town.That same local knows that a 4plex would be great on that lot that’s been vacant for 20 years and that there are at least 4 families who could benefit greatly from that development.That local knows that Ryan’s plumbing and Katie’s electrical companies that service 75% of the town really needs a new flex space to use as a shop, storage, and parking for their business so that they aren’t working out of their garage and can hire a couple of locals to work with them at the office and in the field.Development is different in our small towns but if locals aren’t the ones doing it, and developers aren’t coming, what happens to our kids futures?

I still read a ton of business and real estate books going on 5 years doing this.

They are known as the Winthrop Factors-The purpose for which the property was initially acquiredThe purpose for which the property was subsequently heldThe extent of improvements made to the propertyThe number and frequency of sales over timeThe extent to which the property has been disposed ofThe nature of the taxpayer’s business, including other activities and assetsThe amount of advertising/promotion, either directly or through a third partyThe listing of the property for sale through a brokerThe purpose of the held property at time of sale; the classification as an investor or dealer is determined on a property-by-property basis.To me intentionally buying a property to renovate it to resell it for profit, twice in the same year, and opened an entity to do it in ....is going to be ordinary income and not capital gains. 

I was recently let go so I decided to start my own business.

It is the cost of doing business.