From Unemployed to Financially Secure

It was 2010, and Corporate America was laying off people at an increasing rate. It was an awful feeling knowing rumbling of layoffs were coming. My current employer would be no different. A co-worker who just got laid off explained to me that he had to meet his boss at the airport. Apparently, it was easiest to fly to each market, lay the people off, then then jump on the next plane ride out. No additional expenses, like hotel stays, cars, just the savageness of the termination, I guess. It was around lunch time, when I got the call to meet my boss at the airport. I understood what it was about and asked that it be done over the phone. He declined and asked that I still meet him at the airport. I was mentally prepared for that morning meeting, but it was more the repercussion of not having an income during a tough economic time that terrified me.

I met my boss at 8am, where it was quick. I was handed a severance package and I was on my way home. I thought of nothing else, but how I would pay for our family’s life without an income. All I knew up until this point was a steady reliable W2 job. I was a college graduate now victim to corporate restructure and I felt like a failure. I spent the next 6 months looking for employment, competing with a large swath of America in what would be called the “Great Recession”. I finally landed back in corporate America, returning to consumer products. It was a rough 6 months, but I learned some of best life lessons.

• The moment you stop working a W2 or 1099; your pay stops as well.

• You’re not truly in control of your destiny, someone else.

• Freedom is the real goal, not more money. Understanding the difference is key.

I spent the rest of 2011 working within my career, but thinking about what I would have done different, if I were laid off again. I needed an additional income stream. One that wouldn’t take to much time, interfere with my job, and would could be done remotely. I just wanted financial security knowing what it was like to loss your primary income. I read several magazine, articles, learned about franchising.

I realized that the answer was always there. You see, my mom was a residential real estate agent, who always spoke about the path to wealth. She often spoke of real estate investing, but I found at that time, where I thought I wasn’t listening, I actually was taking in the lessons. She laid the foundation for what would be next. I decided to re-embark on this enterprise and attempted to invest in homes, where I eventually decided that I would focus on apartments.

Why Apartments?

Its very simple. I realized that apartment investing could give me what I was looking for at that moment – security. The properties pay for themselves, rental income continues even when you don’t participate, and the residual income becomes your extra income. Today I hold about 200 doors, as active or general partner. But I think more importantly, I found that financial freedom, that security I was looking for in 2010.