“I suspect there are times in our lives when we get this urge, this inner voice that suggests it is time to make a change in our life. I know I have certainly experienced it on a number of occasions, and quite honestly not always acted upon it, especially if it was big and a little scary. The urge I received in 2011, albeit big and scary, was so strong that it was one that I could not ignore.”
“I had been working for a US-based public company, the global leader in the distribution of communication and electrical wire and cables for over 26 years, the last 21 of which as President of the Canadian operation. For many years I would espouse to people that I had the greatest gig. While I was part of a multi-billion dollar global organization flush with cash, I was very independently directing the Canadian operation as if it was an entrepreneurial environment that I considered the best of both worlds.
“That autonomy and approach began to change in the latter years of my tenure. The North American and Global business model began to be in vogue, let’s follow the “ MacDonald’s” approach, look and feel the same in every country. In addition, it felt like the majority of our major decisions were primarily influenced by the quarterly stock price, and the employees were no longer nearly as important. The “fun” was gone.
“It was at that point the inner voice became very loud “this is not in alignment with who you are”. It’s time to leave, and unfortunately, regardless of role, when you leave on your own accord, you don’t get much of a severance package.
“The big question was what was I going to do to replace that income, as it was not my desire to take another “job”.”
He had already started investing in real estate with Rock Star, so at this point, he decided to ramp up his position in real estate as he transitioned to his next career.
“When I left my job, we had accumulated 9 properties, mostly rent-to-owns. With the guidance from my Rock Star coach, we decided to expand the portfolio to include student rentals and long-term rentals. The primary purpose was to spread the risk and my coach felt it was the best approach to realizing both my short and long-term cash flow and equity goals.”
In the next few years, this investor had achieved a good mix of all 3 property types, was realizing the majority of his financial goals, had gone through some successful rent-to-own buyouts, and was beginning to work with property management.
“Up to that point I had considered myself a real estate investor, looking for my new career. I began to realize, this in fact could be the primary element of my new career. I reset my financial goals for real estate, and most importantly reset my mindset around my role. I was no longer a part-time real estate investor; I was in the business of providing quality and affordable “homes” for students, renters, and those en route to homeownership through the rent-to-own program. My new career was my career, with a change in mindset and focus.
“As a result, my journey has been so much more fun and rewarding. My primary intention of providing every tenant, short-term or long, with the opportunity to create a wonderful “home” experience, has changed virtually everything about how I approach the business. From the selecting of tenants to the house preparation prior to move in, to the ongoing service and maintenance they receive, and so on. I also believe it has contributed greatly to our success in realizing the majority of our financial goals.”
“Living “YOUR LIFE on YOUR TERMS” isn’t just a nice tagline, Trust me!”
