Business
For this episode, I welcome Reed Goossens, who is a real estate investor, best-selling author, entrepreneur, and host of the popular podcast, Investing in the US. In 2012, Reed quit his job in Australia and moved halfway across the globe to the United States to change his life and chase a dream. With limited funds, no investing experience, and no credit, Reed went from purchasing a small duplex to growing his own real estate investment firm, Wildhorn Capital. Reed first shares his background story from living all across Europe as both a structural engineering expert and a tourist to later moving to New York and falling in love with it to never want to leave. He once worked as a deckhand in a luxury yacht in Europe where he got to experience a glimpse into the crazy world of the ‘filthy rich’. We move on to discussing how Reed got into real estate intending to escape the corporate world and embark on backpacking travel adventures. Reed explains how reading Rich Dad Poor Dad changed his perspective on entrepreneurship and developed his interest in real estate. He continued educating himself on real estate and within a month of living in New York, he attended the first Real Estate Investor Association (REIA) meeting. Reed describes the Australian real estate market as a high appreciation market where you don’t buy for cash flowing investments. Reed explains how he bought his first property at $30,000 which set up his path to many other deals. Reed had the clear goal of cash flow and started by buying a small duplex but ended up flipping it before getting into the scale side of it as a way to produce passive income. We discuss how Reed moved from buying duplexes and triplexes into buying larger apartments. A friend of Reed challenged him to get a mentor and fundraise for capital, which he did. He did this by beginning to build a personal brand and he found that he began to face the challenge of imposter syndrome. He overcame this by creating a podcast that served as a foundation to educate people, and in turn, this built up his confidence. Reed also shares how he build a brand around his own story and transparency, vulnerability, being down-to-earth, and approachable, which ultimately helped him get to deals and grow his business. We discuss the importance of building a personal brand that’s not about striving to get millions of following but being a key person of interest to grow your real estate business. Reed explains in detail how his brand story and podcast helped him meet people, gain trust, establish credibility in the industry, and be able to grow his real estate business to where it is now. We eventually jump into the topic of syndication, which is the act of pulling people’s money together and buying a large deal that one individual couldn’t buy on their own. Reed explains syndication with an analogy I believe is the best I’ve ever heard. He then goes ahead to explain how he started syndicating deals with his mentor but broke out on his own in 2016. He is now doing exclusively apartments in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. Reed explains how they keep it lean when it comes to scaling up, plus how they have mastered the art of doing what they say they’re going to do. Reed shares how he handles being a remote investor and the challenges he faces. Lastly, we talk about the possible future of the real estate industry. He describes multifamily as a golden child of commercial assets right now in growing cities. It is important to understand the keys in your industry to perform even during a crisis or an election year. Don’t miss this episode of Just Start Real Estate that is filled with gold nuggets from super-successful entrepreneur, Reed Goossens! Notable Quotes: “Anytime anybody has an abundance of anything, it’s hard to appreciate it.” Mike Simmons “Australia is a high appreciation market- high demand, low supply.” Reed Goossens “I’m not going to get to deal #10 without doing that first deal.” Reed Goossens “You have to get really clear on what your goals are and for me it was cash flow.” Reed Goossens “Self-education is great, but you come to a point where you need a coach in your corner.” Reed Goossens “People want to know your story - that’s what’s really important and then they invest in you. The deals are actually secondary.” Reed Goossens “Looking back, if I didn’t do the podcast or the branding stuff, I’m sure I wouldn’t be in the place I am today.” Reed Goossens “Underwriting is determining the value of what you should buy it for and understanding the numbers of the deal.” Mike Simmons “Scaling sometimes is where people fall apart because they either go too fast and are reckless, or they hire the wrong people.” Mike Simmons “Being able to perform, close on a deal, and do what you say you’re going to do is super valuable.” Reed Goossens “You can do this business from the moon if you want to.” Reed Goossens “Multifamily is the golden child right now compared to other commercial asset classes.” Reed Goossens “There are opportunities in every market. It’s just knowing where you are in that cycle is really the key.” Mike Simmons Links: Rich Dad Poor Dad Key Person of Influence Reed's Website Reed's LinkedIn Return on Investments Just Start Real Estate JSRE on Facebook Mike on Facebook Mike on Instagram Mike on LinkedIn Mike on Twitter Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months