Week 12: Real Estate Investing as a career.

Vacation week. We had a nice week in Door County at the cottage and had some time to reflect on how business and life is going.

Life: I listen to a lot of business and real estate gurus on podcasts, Youtube, and audiobooks. Many of them recommend that I/we be more empathetic (understand where people come from and their perspective). I reflect as often as I can and realize that I most often feel slighted when people don't understand my perspective. I've tried to think about this more and more. This doesn't mean you have to agree with them, it means you have to understand that they have it hard too. They are also trying to be their best versions of themselves. This is something I'm trying to practice more when I ask why people do certain things I don't agree with. I just try to remember they are trying to do the best they can do at that point in time.

Biz: Everyone seems to be talking about an economic downturn of some sort. I'm a firm believer that you can't time the market so I'm not going to roll the dice on figuring that out. What I'm thinking more and more about is how can I weather the next storm if things don't go as planned or as well as I'm hoping. What happens if occupancy goes down to 50%, for example? Then what? My plan is a sizable cash position and taking future construction slowly at each facility to grow the business "organically" as they say. I'd love to pound out 6 buildings in Hudson immediately but I know it's not the smart strategy as we possibly teeter on the edge of an economic downturn.

When I think about timing the market and an economic downturn, I feel like I have to push those fears aside and press on. I'm just trying to make sure the numbers work better than ever to be sure that we can survive with less than ideal occupancy. If I wait for the next downturn and wait for the economy to be in the clear, I'll have likely missed my opportunity anyway. So rather than wait, I'm pressing on cautiously.

Professional Development: I ordered and received the book "Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod. I'm looking forward to reading that over the next couple weeks. Since quitting my day job, I've noticed that mornings are harder to organize with kids and home life being so close to my/our work. I'm hoping this can help me organize my mornings, and my life, to a certain extent. I am beginning to feel like I've read every book about business and real estate. Not literally, but it feels like every new book I read is like another book I've read. If anyone has a 'can't miss' book for me, please let me know. And let me know if I would be better off with the hard copy vs. the audiobook. Some books don't lend themselves to being very good audiobooks (hence the reason I purchased the hard copy of "Miracle Morning").

Hobbies: I'm currently training to race the Chequamegon 40 mountain bike race in September. My goal is 2:30. It's probably not possible but that's what I'm gunning for. I'll leave it at that.

I started an Instagram page called Grand_Garages. It has been a fun outlet allowing me to explore for garages, barns, and warehouses and cool stuff that go in them. It allows me to satisfy my inner gearhead while not boring those that don't care. Check it out if you think this might be your thing.

I'm looking forward to the O'Reily Summer Nationals at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. It's my favorite carshow. I enter the autocross event which is just a total blast. Think of it as a short race course set up in a parking lot using cones. Typically the races last between 30-45 seconds. It's an opportunity to flog your car and get humiliated by much slower cars! I have an extra ticket each day if anyone wants to drop by. Hit me up if you do.