We are so excited to share Rich’s story with you! He is an incredibly successful real estate investor. And he’s only 20 years old! Rich is so dedicated to his business, and we know that he can achieve anything that he desires. We are proud to know Rich, and we know that you can gain tremendous value from reading his story!
Q: How long have you been a real estate investor?
A: I really hit the ground a little over a year ago, but I got involved a year and a half ago.
Q: How did you become a real estate investor?
A: My dad always told me to get into real estate because there’s great money to be made. So, I went searching for the right opportunity and found Nouveau Riche.
Q: What was your background before becoming a real estate investor?
A: I worked full time at my parents’ cell phone shop and managed the store. I realized I wasn’t going to be in control even if I took it over because there’s still a corporate structure that needs to be followed. That wasn’t what I wanted.
Q: You are so dedicated to investing. You’ve really engrossed yourself fully in it. Even to the point of moving across the country. Why are you so passionate about investing?
A: It’s the true way to build wealth. I want to start young. It’s great that at this age that I’m doing it. I can be financially free in 10 years. It gives me the ability to work from home and run my business totally virtually.
Q: How do you run your real estate business virtually?
A: In my business, I am always working with a lot of banks. I can call banks and build business relationships from home. Instead of going to networking events and commuting, I gather realtor information through a listing service, put that information into Excel spreadsheets, and I do cold calling all day. I call 50-100 people per day. It’s all about persistence. I leave a lot of voicemails and send a lot of emails. I’m building a business, and it does take time. But, all I need is my phone and the Internet. I have even thought about moving back home [to Chicago]. I think about moving because I miss friends and family. The great thing is that I could still work this market [Phoenix] in Chicago.
Q: What has becoming a full-time investor done for your life?
A: I can wake up when I want, and I completely have my own schedule; I’m becoming financially independent at such a young age, and it’s just awesome.
Q: What strategy do you focus on in real estate investing?
A: I am buying and reselling short sale properties for profits. I make anywhere between 10-30% of the value of the home by doing the deal.
Q: Do you find your young age to be a burden in the investing world? Is it harder for people to want to do business with you or take you seriously?
A: Oh my God, yes! I think I’ve kind of overcome that objection from people now, though. A year and a half ago, I got involved. It took 6 months to get me off my feet. But, it took another 6 months to construct a pipeline of deals. Everyone told me to come back to them after I had some deals close. And now I have 20 agents on my team and 100 short sales in escrow. I’ve overcome those objections. Right now, age doesn’t matter. If you are a young, beginning investor, the age objection is something you’re going to have to deal with. That’s another reason why I like to work virtually. People can’t see how old I am.
Q: It’s clear that your age isn’t as much of an objection as it used to be. How did you overcome that objection initially, and get your first deal done?
A: I overcame that objection by referring to a business partner. My partner is older than me and had more experience than me when I was starting. I was always able to refer to a third party. This showed others that I had a team in place. In the beginning this helped because I could ride on my partner’s background and success. If you overcome objections, you win! And that’s what I did.
Q: What do you wish you knew before you did your first deal?
A: That you must close deals with the right entity structured. I paid too much in taxes on my first deal.
Q: Tell me about your latest deal.
A: I just bought a short sale for $35K and re-sold it this week for $48K. I should be getting paid about $10K in the next few days.
Q: How many deals have you done?
A: I think as of right now, 10 or 15 deals. I usually do one a month. I just closed a deal last week actually. I got paid on Friday.
Q: Did you go to a traditional university or college?
A: No. The closest I came to that was taking the community college application test online. I would never run back. It wasn’t for me. I was always into being an entrepreneur and running my own business. I started off working for my parents’ cell phone shop and managing their store. I saw how good it was to have control, because it was a family business. I’ve seen the vacations that my parents had. My dad was basically able to retire at 40 and could just hang out. Unfortunately, they were tied a bit to corporate and had to meet quota, because they were an authorized retailer. That was a little bit of a burden for them. Then the economy went down, and they got in trouble, and that ‘s what made me turn full-time [to real estate investing.]
Q: Do you feel that the education you received in real estate has prepared you adequately for the business world?
A: Yes, definitely. It’s continuing all the time. I don’t think a Bachelor’s Degree could have prepared me for what I’m doing at all. It’s a totally different mindset. You have to have a certain mindset to even enter this type of field. The first 6 months I had some debt and was collecting unemployment. It took me 6 months to make my first paycheck, and now I get paid every month. I wanted to build this business even though I had to take a pay cut, because it is so worth it. It was a risk, and I made it.
Q: How can other people get the mindset they need to become an entrepreneur?
A: They can get it through being around other people who are walking testimonials, and explaining to them the true benefits [of entrepreneurialism], and to set them in the right direction. It’s a shift, and I have friends that I want to get involved. And none of them are interested. They all congratulate me, but they don’t want to be on board. They are not physically taking the action that they need to. I cannot baby sit people. Some people will do it, and some people won’t. Taking advantage of the opportunity is all about what you really, really want. I walked in to the first Nouveau Riche meeting, and saw these successful guys, and I really wanted it. So I took physical action.
Q: What is your advice to young people who want to start their own business?
A: Make sure you have a mentor. I would not have been able to continue to move forward at different points in my career if I didn’t have someone to refer to. You need an organization, and don’t give up! Follow the dream, and keep going no matter what business it is. Remember, it takes time.
Q: Who is your mentor?
A: My mentor is Justin Kain. He assisted me 100% in getting me involved, and advising me how to do certain things that I didn’t know. I’m sure I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him and Kristina. They are a great team, and I thank them so much. They’re great people.
Q: Are there any books that you have read that were crucial to your success?
A: The 4 Hour Work Week definitely taught me how to work smarter. It teaches about the value of time.
Q: What’s the most challenging thing that has ever happened in your investing career?
A: Overcoming objections from other business associates about working with me since I was so new to the business.
Q: What is the most creative solution that you have come up with to make a deal go through?
A: Well, there are creative ways we negotiated better short sale discounts when the bank wanted way too much for a property, and we’ve also made a contact who lends us cash to buy our homes and he gets his fee out of our profit for doing the deal.
Q: Who has inspired you?
Other people who do specifically what I do, because I get to see how much success they’re having doing what I do. A local investment group in Phoenix made over $10 million last year doing short sales. I mean, come on! I might be smaller, but I do hope to achieve that, and continue to grow my business. I’ll be right there too!
For more information on Rich and his business, please visit http://www.endurablesolutions.com/
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I’ve known Richie since he was a young boy. He was always a go getter. I’m very
proud of him.