My Origin Story in Rental Property Investing
I got my first “real job” at age 23. For no particular reason, this job was in the corporate office of a retailer. I spent the next 15 years working in the corporate offices of various retailers, again for no particular reason other than that’s where I started.
So in a sense, my whole career was an accident, a product of happenstance. I didn’t set out to have a career in retail, it kinda just happened, one inexorable step after another. I suspect most people’s careers have some degree of this kind of serendipity, this non-intentionality. Once you get started in a career or industry, it’s difficult to leave because your accumulated knowledge has market value. I never left retail because I didn’t hate it enough to purposefully take myself off the well-worn track that would lead me to the next promotion, the next company, the next raise.
In truth, I didn’t hate it at all. I liked using my brain to solve tough business problems, and create novel solutions. I worked with some great people who remain friends. I was able to lead teams and (I hope) positively influence younger professionals. Most of the companies who employed me worked hard to do right by their people. I’m grateful for the mentors who helped me, the opportunities I was given, and for the career I had. I ended my career at the VP level, making a nice six-figure salary. You could do a lot worse, right?
But by the end of 15 years in retail, I was burnt out. I was tired of “the game”, of molding myself into the perfect corporate manager in order to climb the ladder, of navigating through and around other people in order to get anything done, of pretending to care more than I really did. And increasingly, I was questioning what the point of it all was. Getting things accomplished inside these companies was excruciatingly difficult at times – but even if all my endeavors succeeded, was I satisfied spending the vast majority of my waking hours trying to help big companies eke out a bit more profit selling clothes that people didn’t really need? It all started to seem…empty.
I wanted more time. I wanted more control of my future, both financially and otherwise. I wanted less stress, and less corporate bullshit. In short, I wanted OUT.
So in the last year of my career, I shifted my approach dramatically. Instead of focusing solely on maximizing my success and standing at work, I took my foot off the gas a bit – and instead spent as much time as possible figuring out the details of my exit plan. I am a methodical planner by nature, so it took me a while: I did the research; I modeled the numbers; I networked with experts. After a few months, my plan was in place.
Then, I executed to the plan. I sold the NYC condo I had lived in for 12 years, became a renter, and used the equity to acquire 16 cash-flowing rental properties in the Memphis area. Using this rental income, and embracing my personal definition of “enough”, I was able to quit my corporate career in retail. I don’t miss it. I’m now living a very different kind of life: slower, more free, more relaxing. Waking up without an alarm, with nobody to report to but myself, is an amazing feeling…and it doesn’t get old. My retail career may have been a product of happenstance, but everything now is on purpose. I’ve reclaimed control of my life, my time, and my choices.
Throughout my career, the part I enjoyed most was coaching and mentoring others to succeed. I want to keep doing that — I’m still passionate about coaching, but now I’m focused on helping other people become real estate investors, so that they can taste the same freedom and independence that I’ve achieved. That’s what Rental Income Advisors is all about.
Through my private rental property coaching, I’ve helped dozens of clients buy hundreds of rental properties. I love helping others begin their own real estate investing journey, and showing them how to use rental properties as a wealth-building tool and a means to create more freedom and choice in their own lives.
You can do what I did. I can help you get there.
If you’d like to chat about my coaching, schedule a free initial consultation — there’s no charge, and no commitment.
