My concern has been scaling.

The scale might not allow enough margin for the necessary due diligence trips, with the additional question mark of how much time you have to devote to keeping an eye on them.I focus on working with passive investors and passively investing, myself.

So, for any highly successful person that might be reading this, what resources did you use to scale up to the next level?

His claim was that he could not scale.

My business operates in San Francisco, and office rents are far in excess of what we can afford.We recently stumbled upon Workshop Cafe (https://www.workshopcafe.com/) where my team and I currently work.The business functions as co-working office space and coffee shop, allowing customers like my business to rent seats at $3 per hour.This is awesome for the following reasons:I can take calls without worrying about loud people or coffee shop music (a common Starbucks problem in SF).We only pay for the space when we use it.Workshop cafe has two locations and has proven they can be profitable with little scale (unlike larger competitors like WeWork).BP Community1) Have you seen any other innovate co-working business models?

I would advise you to start with a small budget and then scale up.

@Nathan Killebrew what your pops is telling you is only one of several reality checks BRRR investors with aspirations to truly scale encounter. 

I’m probably looking for something on the lower end of the scale since my use is minimal.

I've come to the conclusion the best route forward is to scale up and go straight to commercial properties (4+ units).

What happens if you then decide to scale up and rent out the side you initially lived in?