And in that time, I realized that I wasnt as happy as I wanted to be running the business, that I went to my wife, year eight of the company, and I was in tears. We launched a book business. Adventurer. Welcome to the Big Exit, where we discuss startup acquisitions with the founders who lived it. The book teaches readers how to limit spending while increasing income by using techniques like house hacking: buying a multifamily property, such as a duplex, and living in one unit while renting out the other(s). It was a hard decision for Joshua to leave, but thanks to his amazing team, he was able to (even during a time of tribulation in his personal life). We had kids at that point. If you're not satisfied with your purchase, you can return your book for a full refund within 30 days. Find which one works best for you, your resources, and your goals. We needed to get this done and time was not on our side. . Today I think its a sign of necessity and strength. But yeah, what else you got? And from a bootstrap perspective, you know, bootstrapping, you have a lot less support than you do when you raise money. Our gut answer is run, because you get wet from above and front. Most people do what they can to help others out, and I wanted to share a little tip along those lines that I dont think a lot of people are familiar with. FHA Guidelines: How to Qualify for a 3.5% Down Loan . I believe the program is available for all Amazon users, so even if you arent Prime, you can partake. Dan Daugherty: All right. COVID you know, your kid gets sick. A life-long adventurer, Brandon (along with his wife and daughter) splits his time between his home in Hawaii and various other destinations around the globe. Dan Daugherty: Yeah, I mean, lets start from the very beginning. Joshua Dorkin didnt have to go to Trump University to learn a difficult lesson about real estate investing. And you are in Hawaii now, right? C X" I doubt it. The company is one that I founded almost 18 years ago and left back in November 2018 after undertaking a recapitalization via McCarthy Capital, a private equity shop out of Omaha. JFIF ,, C \"I was working a full-time job making no money as a teacher,\" Dorkin says, \" and then [I] quit that job, reliable income, to blindly create this platform for other people. Joshua Dorkin is the founder and former CEO of BiggerPockets, launched on October 22, 2004. And inevitably, you know, I really struggled through those difficult times. And what happens inevitably, and I think you and Ive seen this countless times, you know, you raise the money, and now you have bosses and those bosses are telling you how to run the business and now you dont get to run the business the way that you actually thought you were going to run the business, because you have bosses and youre not working for yourself anymore. A few months back I had the blurry thing, but without the other stuff, and of course, went to visit Dr. Google. Where previously competitors were weary of one another, we helped people learn that coopetition was a better model - one where people could compete AND cooperate for mutual benefit. Like, dont do, keep doing things that make you miserable. Dan Daugherty: And well, first off, Im so happy that your daughter is healthy now. Dan Daugherty: I just might, well, offline, lets catch up, because maybe theres something we can do together. The two of them promised me that they would take care of the company in my absense and they certainly did that and I am of course, eternally grateful. And I think the way you live your life, and your happiness is going to be determined by your outlook on that. Our friend had come over to help out and I was going to rest while she watched the girls. It's time to start doing And this book will show you exactly where to start! You know, not only are you raising money from people who now, you know, you dont want to lose anyones money, but also just in terms of mindset, you know, that theres the freedom that you think youre going to have may not necessarily be there. What's my secret? Joshua Dorkin is the founder of BiggerPockets, as well as a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcaster, publisher, educator, and co-author of How to Invest in Real Estate. Did you feel, I mean, Im sure you had lots of times where you just wanted to quit or push through. Whether it is the struggle to communicate at checkout while you and the cashier are donning masks, or the untrusting looks from everyone around you, the entire experience is less pleasurable for all of us. And I realized that I was unhappy. And I did it without freaking out or getting stressed because doing so doesnt help. But, you know, Ive written a book before with Brandon on real estate. Every purchase comes with free bonus content: How to Invest in Real Estatewill catapult you 510 years ahead of where you are now. It wasnt simple enough, and we, you know, we realized that I was doing everything, which I was, I was doing the job of, you know, 17 different people. Joshua Dorkin is the founder of BiggerPockets, as well as a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcaster, publisher, educator, and co-author of How to Invest in Real Estate. The impact of the site, the podcasts, the dozens of books, the videos cant be measured in KPIs alone, but must be measured by lives changed for the better.As a result, BiggerPockets helped transform an industry. The Hobby that Turned into a Lifestyle Business When I founded the company I was teaching full time at a special ed high school in the Los Angeles area. http://biggerpockets.com/moneyshow42Real estate is a hot topic right now, and who better to talk about the subject than BiggerPockets founder Joshua Dorkin a. For us, it manifested in my little girl becoming neck down paralized amongst other things. Not a magic formula. Instead of getting my hands dirty building product or testing some new landing page or campaign, I was overssing someone else that was. But did you, were you ever really depressed at all? Joshua Dorkin is the author of The Book on Investing In Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down (4.20 avg rating, 1854 ratings, 108 reviews, published 2. For those of you who don't know Josh, Josh is the founder of BiggerPockets.com. And, you know, so I take those moments when they come to me and I try and take bold steps when they come. 1675 Larimer St. The blur lasted a little less than 10 minutes, but after that, my eyes just felt funny. I love being an entrepreneur, but I simply prefer working at a smaller company - the sweet spot for me is probably up to 15 employees or so. Dont get me wrong - I used to stress about EVERYTHING. Why I left BiggerPockets is a little more complicated. Oct 2004 - Nov 201814 years 2 months. And in that stage, I moved to. If thats the case, figure out what you need to do to change. Josh Dorkin Bootstrapped BiggerPockets to a Big Exit October 13, 2020 00:00:00 Dan Daugherty interviews Josh Dorkin who founded BiggerPockets in his living room with $12 bucks. He started BiggerPockets to help democratize the real estate investing landscape for himself and others, aiming to make it accessible for everyone, regardless of income or education. And but yeah, thats what Ive been up to. I put on my headset and Id walk around the neighborhood and I easily got my 10,000 steps. She went through something called conversion disorder, which basically the brain kind of shuts the body down. Theres a lot of, you know, Colorado just, you know, still a lot of chaos. Shipping rates vary depending on location. What do you do when somebody is ripping the copper piping out of your vacant unit? My excitement for the company and brand never waned, but I really stopped loving going in to work, but didnt know it. I coasted through the store with the ease of a professional, choosing items that would look great together and which would stand the test of time. So give me give me the motivation and Ill get out there and do it. He started BiggerPockets to help democratize the real estate investing landscape for himself and others, aiming to make it accessible for everyone, regardless of income or education. The real estate industry is huge, and often complicated, but this book clears away the fog and uncertainty in a fun, easy-to-read manner. But I think from a mindset perspective, you really, I think, if you have a learning mindset, a mindset where Hey, I always want to learn, I always want to get better. If you dont take the time to find moments for yourself - moments to be present with the world around you, you might be missing some of the best opportunities for personal happiness. . We always wanted to be, you know, in Hawaii and Colorado. I was in tears, I was just miserable. But, you know, if anybody who tries to grasp these things, theyre so big and scary, well then break it down into little steps. Absolutely. How do we make a change, change the way we operate the business so that we, so that Googles algorithm changes become less of a significant impact on who we are and what we do? They cleared me, but my very high blood pressure of 160/100 and other symptoms had them concerned, so they stayed to make sure it went down, and before leaving, strongly recommended I go to the hospital if after a little bit things didnt get better. And so you can freak out and flip out, or you can say, all right, you know, what, they made this tweak, what could we do better? And what advice would he share with other aspiring online entrepreneurs?\r\r We don't talk about real estate investing in today's episode. As the message board gained a following, Dorkin quit his teaching job, moved to Denver (for quality of life reasons), and focused on the website full time. His vision for the site and its future brought national press attention to both Mr. Dorkin and to BiggerPockets. Just Released: Two NEW BiggerPockets Books to Help You Build Wealth Through Rental Investing . So I know how to do it, I just, I dont know, Im torn. Will I get more wet if I stay still, walk or run, and why? You know what, Im going to get a fitness watch, and Im going to walk 10,000 steps a day. Check it out below and hopefully you learn not only a little more about me, but you also pick up some tidbits about business, entrepreneurship, work-life balance, family, and important time-management habits. Why I left BiggerPockets is a little more complicated. You know, I want to learn how to be happy. Lets just do it. Weve replaced iced teas, sodas and juices with water in the last decade, and rarely, if ever will I drink alcohol. Ive used that technique, and that has helped me dramatically. How do we do this better than everybody else? So, you know, being willing and open to change and being dynamic, I think is one of the most important things. Do what you need to do to take care of your health. As a father, this is what Im excited to see happen for my kids soon, and as an entrepreneur, I cant imagine being more proud than building something amazing that can live on beyond me like BiggerPockets has done. Josh Dorkin: I thought I was having a heart attack. Where else can we dive into this? Thank you for the stories and the insights and the tips. So, without spending any more money or giving up any of your time (both of which I recommend you do in support of great charities around the world), you can be a philanthropist! But you know, from a sheer depression, man in the year before my exit, in the year and a half before my exit I had, Id never had this before, but I had three like full on panic attacks. The site became so successful that in 2013, BiggerPockets, which had been a one-man show, began hiring employees to support a bevy of new products. Joshua Dorkin is a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcaster, publisher, and educator. Save up to 80% versus print by going digital with VitalSource. How to Invest in Real Estate: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Getting Started is written by Brandon Turner; Joshua Dorkin and published by BiggerPockets. Joshua Dorkin is the founder of BiggerPockets, as well as a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcaster, publisher, and educator. I had a budget and time crunch, and was not going to be able to get what I needed on budget or in time. This was not like, something that everybodys like, Oh, this is going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Its not money, its not success, but its something that matters even more: fulfillment and family.Be sure to give Joshua a follow on Twitter at @jrdorkinCheck the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/show421 His wife and three daughters wouldnt take too kindly to sharing their space. So I read about happiness, right? And the company was profitable. Where are you spending all of your money? the health, for example, instead of like, hey, I need to lose weight. Along with a team that we put together including physical and occupational therapists, we began to see the wins rack up and by February/March of 2018 she had progressed from her wheelchair to walker to finally walking by herself. But, you know, I now have a formula on how do I get rid of them. We took power from those who made information inaccessable by opening the doors and making sure real estate investing knowledge was free.Over the years, the mission to democratize knowledge so anyone, anywhere, regardless of income, education, age, or any other demographic, could learn to build wealth, has resulted in countless lives being changed for the better.Not only have we helped individual investors around the country and work, but weve moved markets.Ive always wanted to calculate the actual economic impact of the business - Im sure the true number would blow everyones minds. I mean, nights, weekends, you name it, seven days a week. Oh, and were living on a rock in the middle of the ocean during a pandemic, which means that getting your hands on materials that arent here in Maui, is a game of patience. And then I start knocking them out, hey, I got to get, you know, Ive been eating like crap, Im, you know, 20 pounds overweight, cool. Just at the time when things were starting to go from big to bigger, Joshua had to take time off to take care of his daughters medical emergency. I move daily and if not for some nagging injuries, try to get in intensive workouts 5 days a week. Thanks. And its made it so Im a hell of a lot happier. And so thinking about the things you go through, look, we all go through good stuff and we all go through bad stuff. Dan Daugherty interviews Josh Dorkin who founded BiggerPockets in his living room with $12 bucks. And Ive given two examples of bad things Ive been through, Ive been through a lot, you know, some pretty bad things on top of that. You know, if youre not spending significant time every day learning, youre not going to grow, youre not going to get better, youre not going to be competitive with other people across your area of expertise. I didnt, you know, if there was emergencies, youd deal with it, but like, that was it, that was what that day was about. x337R0 B],s@(PH(Y Purchases from the BiggerPockets Bookstore can only ship within the United States. I get to advise Scott and the current leadership team alongside some incredible partners. What do I do? Im your host, Dan Daugherty and today I have a good friend, Josh Dorkin, who is the founder and former CEO of Bigger Pockets. And yeah, so were here. And I had a lot of time and in that time realized that, you know, after 14 years of building this company, man I love, I love, love, love Bigger Pockets, but I was kind of burnt out. I dont wish it on anyone to go through what we all went through, but it gave me the time to really think about life. Josh Dorkin started BiggerPockets.com from scratch 10 years ago and now has over 435K members. We've all felt scared about doing that big thing we've dreamed of doing. I mean, whatever it is. I hope to share that journey with you all via this blog, and perhaps through other forms like video or a podcast. I dont know, you know, I certainly have my own unique and distinct perspective, like anyone else. Dan Daugherty: You know, Ive got a lot of feedback from the listeners that said, Hey, big exits are great, but I noticed that a lot of the founders that you have interviewed have raised significant amount of money. So first phase, I call it like that hobby phase. . Many avid members of the BiggerPockets forum, listeners to the podcast, or readers of our articles may know our founder, Joshua Dorkin. Suite 675 ChatGPT disagrees (see image) What say you? Josh is also host of the BiggerPockets Podcast (80 million . You know, I was in an industry where there were entrenched interests that wanted me destroyed from the get go. Plus, he doesnt own any rental properties outright anymore, simply because BiggerPockets requires too much of his attention. So you know, whether its that or, hey, Im stressed about money, well, you know, you got to then go and break down your budget, and you got to figure out why youre stressed about money. And please share this article so more people can learn about this amazing program. vMs=+C>xZ_/>iZg>XA~! Today, I think its a sign of necessity and strength, to be self-aware enough to know. The days of building product, building community, marketing, growth hacking and being creative were replaced with days managing people. He tried to solve his problems by reading real estate how-to manuals, but they made no mention of the real-life issues landlords facelike what to do when someone cuts a three-foot hole in the kitchen floor. I mean, nights, weekends, you name it, seven days a week. Josh Dorkin: So you know, weve always wanted to come to Hawaii. This caused a shift in Joshua's reality, so. I make a list of everything thats stressing me out, all the stressors, from big to small, and then I start to knock them off. Today, BiggerPockets boasts more than 725,000 members, produces the top-rated real estate podcast on iTunes, and last year raked in $7 million in revenue through advertising, premium memberships, and partnerships with companies like credit-rating agency TransUnion. Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. Many of you already know my story, but it is always a privilege to have the opportunity to share it with other entrepreneurs in person, at events, and of course, via podcast conversations. Nearly 30 people work out of the companys RiNo office. And I ran across a blog, and they talked about they called it serendipitous mindset, where you leave your mind open and as you see these different things that happen to you serendipitously, whether its the people that you have met five years ago, just like how you and I met many, many years back. After spending an amazing day with my girls, out of the blue one of my eyes went blurry. In my case, the two things most searched are my net worth and why I left BiggerPockets. Is that true? Joshua Dorkin BiggerPockets Founder Maui, HI 28K FOLLOWERS 5 FOLLOWING 346K CONNECTIONS I am the Founder, former CEO (2004 - 2018), former podcast host, and current board member of BiggerPockets. You know, I felt like, something needed to change for me personally.