So I’m trying to come up with a game plan  Conventional loans do require 25% down on an investment property.

Eliminate debt, establish a budget, and save.

I just was on BP's Real Estate Rookie podcast and talked about the small and mighty game plan. 

How did you establish trust with your investors when you were starting out?

You'll want to make sure that you use that new property long enough to establish that you had an investment intent and then changed that intent. 

We usually are responsible for connecting investors with teams on the ground or established local PM companies.

You don't want to be so focused on getting into the game that you leverage the start of your entire life just to do it.

I'm new to bigger pockets and more importantly I am new to the real estate game.

Have you established a team yet?  

Many online courses are self-paced, so working on it in your spare time is absolutely doable.If a career shift isn’t your goal, you can still learn the "game" through various other means.