2018 year in review
What a year it's been!
I did a ton of new stuff and I'm excited to share some of it. Funny enough, most of my big accomplishments this year were NOT directly real estate related. Most big progress was this website, podcasts, and networking. I did buy 3 houses this year but I'm going to share a lot more4 podcasts appearances
This was a big year for me in terms of exposure. I had no website last year and never had been a podcast guest, this year I got on 4 podcasts I really liked! Here they are in chronological order:
Do you even blog
Thank you Pete McPherson for my big break!
@brokeisachoice wins my award for “Most Intense Podcast Guest of the Year.”
<3
— Pete McPherson – DYEB (@doyouevenblog) December 12, 2018
Pete runs a GREAT blog and podcast to teach new bloggers and podcasters how to succeed (#doublemeta). I was fortunate to hear an episode where he said he was looking for new guests. I hit him up immediately and pitched him to give me a shot.
It worked! From there someone reached out to me and offered to redesign my website (and now it looks fantastic!). Due to that I got on the BP podcast, and then Pete and I shared a bedroom at Fincon (sexytime!)
Compound wins baby!
Biggerpockets
This was a big deal for me, a very big deal. I have been listening to this podcast for ~4 years, I post on their website daily, I write for them, I moderate the forums. I’ve met some of my closest real world friends on that site.
I am a BP FANBOY and I’m thankful they let me be a part of their very famous podcast.
I went on this podcast and somewhere in there they asked me a question about how to overcome fear and my reply was “Suck it up buttercup”. Now this is not any particular catch phrase of mine normally. However, since this writing people have been saying it to me nonstop, which is hilarious.
From Military to Millionaire
David Pere runs this site, we met at Fincon18 and really hit it off. I don’t really advertise my veteran status much or use it to solicit my brand, but when we spoke it came out in conversation and he knew I would be a good fit for his show.
Our episode turned out great, I got a lot of positive response from it and I’m thankful for the opportunity.
Millenial Real Estate Investor
Once I did the BP show, everyone wanted to get a piece of me! I recorded this in late November and I must say, it might be the most FUN show I did this year. Those guys just let me rant at them for over an hour and there are few things I enjoy more than that!
3 houses purchased and $900/monthly added to cashflow
My goal for 2018 was to purchase 3 rentals and I did it! As usual, I probably should have set my goals higher! Truthfully though this was not easy, so I’m glad I hit my goal because really it was a stretch for me. All 3 were purchased long distance (I still haven’t seen any of them!)
I went OBSESSIVE on books
Reading has started to have a massive impact on my life. the biggest return on investment around, and the number one reason I'm going to out compete people year after year. Education compounds like I never could have imagined
I practiced quite a bit of photography
(2024 EDIT: I moved my blog to a new host and lost a lot of photos. Also, after 6 years photography has become a much larger part of my life and most of my work goes on www.lifeandlens.media)
My blog BLEW up
Ok maybe it didn’t blow up” but it grew much more than I thought. Both in credibility, and connectivity to other people. I started my blog in late December 2017 and it wasn’t because I’m a great writer or that I wanted to monetize my brand, rather I just wanted to share the things I’ve learned about finance, real estate, and success. I didn’t have any intention for it other than get some thoughts out and I knew if I sunk even a little effort in it would grow, BOY WAS I RIGHT?
Now I don’t track my analytics much, I don’t think many people view the site. I don’t market it much, I don’t do any ads or emails (actually I just started this), it’s just up there for people to see if they stumble upon it. Even with this approach, I’ve had a massive positive response from it.
So I’m trying to step up my game a little bit for next year: I hope to add some video content, I’m working on email capture and dissemination (valuable, not annoying), and hoping to include people a lot closer on books.
Looking forward to blog year #2!
I went to my first conference
I had no idea how much I was really missing until I went. Learned a ton, did some high level networking, and it’s amazing how different people treat you just by COMMITTING to your growth. Spend $400 and fly across the country as a self investment, just to meet people who have committed similar efforts.
I was so sold on this even that I immediately bought my tickets to Fincon19 in D.C. next September and I’ve already bought my tickets to The Best Ever Conference in Denver coming up in February. I have a few more on my radar to attend as well.
Where I fell short
I was going to write a long chapter on this, but decided against it. It’s not that I don’t have failures by any means. Quite the opposite, I have enough failures that listing them out would be an endless task. Plus, what’s the point? Everyone knows what the biggest failure we all make is wasted time and I do no less than the next person.
I’ve written lots of lessons I’ve learned this year and spoken about many of my mistakes. Learning and improving is valuable, but I don’t believe that dwelling on our imperfection is a good use of time.
So, we are moving forward baby!
What to expect in 2019
I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions, but I am a fan of goal setting. This year while I feel as ambitious as ever and I know what it feels like for my time investments to pay off. That’s a powerful incentive. It’s one thing to believe that hard work pays off, but a different one to experience it. So instead of goals, I’m focused on activities that produce returns.
1. I’m going to work on things that I know high returns on investment, albeit abstract. For instance reading more, working on creating value with this blog, networking nationally, going to seminars, more podcast appearances, etc.
2. I still need to buy 2 more single family homes to reach my mortgage cap. I want to finish this goal because it gives me a really solid protected downside and risk mitigation for the long term.
3. Really work towards buying a mid-sized multifamily apartment
4. Enjoy my life as much as possible!