@Justin Jefferson These forums are a free REI education.

That will help you make educated decisions.

Offering definitive opinions about courses you haven't taken is like reviewing restaurants you've never eaten at.I think it's important to acknowledge that every land educator has contributed value to the field.

However, I would really like to be educated about the opportunity to do this, but possibly in other close neighboring cities.  2) If short-term rentals aren't a possibility, would like to invest in single or multi-family for long-term rentals.  

Hey Bigger Pockets community, I'm just starting out in Step 1 (get educated) on what I want to become a successful career in real estate investment.I also currently run an e-commerce business that is currently completely online, but would benefit from having a brick & mortar storefront, and I had an idea that maybe using the investment capital I'm looking to allocate into real estate into a commercial property my business can operate out of until I decide to sell the property in or rent it out to another business.I am obviously very naive when it comes to the complexity of any good real estate deal (especially commercial VS residential), but I'm hoping to spend as much time learning from everyone here who is on their journey as well.My main concern with the idea of buying commercial to operate my business out of it that I might struggle to rent it out afterwards and that there may likely be depreciation in the commercial real estate market over the next 5 years.I understand there is a lot of nuance depending on the local market but I'm guessing commercial is even less of a "safe" bet than finding a solid residential deal to leverage in some way.

Education via trail & error is easily the #1 worst way to go about anything today UNLESS your an explorer, inventor, revolutionizing and still all of those have a whole lot of training and education backing them. 

From my experience, success in real estate investing starts with clearly defining your goals and continuously educating yourself through podcasts, books, forums, and courses.

Education is a great goal to start with as you look to purchase your first investment property.

What are the best resources / tools to get connected/educated on this type of asset?

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!