In November 2017 one of my daughters went through a terrible trauma that was initiated by a surgery - something called conversion disorder. +TYKqXLfsid| 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 Well, what do you need to do to change it? So the operating manual was how do I go from unhappy to happy. Joshua Dorkin is the founder and former CEO of BiggerPockets, launched on October 22, 2004. And please share this article so more people can learn about this amazing program. Ill argue that all of that stuff is bullshit. As you know, Im like a scrawny dude. So I hired a consultant and he came in and we looked over the business. So Ive got a book journal where Ive literally broken my life down into segments, physical fitness, health, I separate them, physical fitness and health, business and work, wife and love, my kids and you know, some people may put faith in there, whatever it is. He convinced a slew of real estate players, such as veteran house-flippers and rental-property investors, to contribute their know-how to BiggerPockets educational blog; added a marketplace for lenders and others to pitch their services; and installed analytic tools such as a calculator that crunches everything from local property taxes to vacancy rates to determine whether that split-level ranch will make for a profitable rental investment. And yeah, so were here. Do I hire? I had time to wonder, time to wander, and time to contemplate my life and my happiness. For returns, refunds, or the status of your order, you can contact. 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). 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. October 22, 2022 Almost a lifetime ago - 18 years today - I officially marked the founding of BiggerPockets Starting a hobby website while working as a full time teacher was one thing. So hired a guy named Brandon Turner, he, some of you listening may know him, hes still the co-host of the Bigger Pockets podcast. You know, I want to learn how to be happy. &i(y`ryG|29#4#Gj9F){(B;y@OJO,4f7Q$t8*>]SvC,:: Fr9BoQhF8E \lNr)#@ 4S9> HZ)9zve'qQE!Q@Q@Q@Q@Q@Q@JLQ_\h? 5o5IJStAmaMb ; +xWjoI:_g#r3/\)T Moi_9}/?i)me 6Oki!h(pf_ x_V{(n5[Y%{c-Iy,Y^a3{W ?5?m,|W"S*B'D]>V^1_7=|V~ Thinker. 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 daughter's medical emergency. Julie was in California and I was home alone with the girls. Overnighted packages might take a week or so if youre lucky, standard mail might take weeks, and trying to get a package from the mainland - well, hold on - that might be 2-3 months. Today, BiggerPockets is the premier real estate investing website online with . and what what happen if things went wrong. I realized that like, thats not healthy, you know, its healthy to be balanced, its healthy to spend time with downtime and so, you know, tried to create operating manuals around that, you know, eventually that became like, my Wednesdays, you know, in the year, call it year and a half leading to the exit, my Wednesdays, I didnt go into work. 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. Youre operationalizing your life and that has allowed you to kind of be more open. 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. many things and create so many threats, and theres got to be a better way. But I just got caught up in the details, I got caught up in every little detail. And in that time, I realized that I wasnt as happy as I wanted to be running the business. The blur lasted a little less than 10 minutes, but after that, my eyes just felt funny. But, yeah, no, its been a very, very long journey. Josh Dorkin and Brandon Turner longtime hosts of the world's #1 real estate podcast, The BiggerPockets Podcast - give you an insider's look at . She drove me and dropped me at the door of the ER and I spent the next 4+ hours getting tested. We had kids at that point. 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. ). 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. "I would get calls from my buddies who would literally call me. FHA Guidelines: How to Qualify for a 3.5% Down Loan . This keynote speech goes deep into what really matters most. And you know, continue to love Bigger Pockets and love how its impacting peoples lives. Thanks. Dan Daugherty: Welcome to this episode of The Big exit. Joshua Dorkin is the founder of BiggerPockets, as well as a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcaster, publisher, and educator. Horrifyingly scary, where I was in my, in the office and I broke down and just I was in tears. But time and life experience has taught me that doing so only makes my health, relationships, and happiness far worse. You know, I got a standing desk instead of a sitting desk, you know, then I started to add one on one meetings, you know, when I had one on one meetings, instead of doing it at a restaurant or coffee, or sitting down in the office, they would be walking meetings. The company is one that I founded almost 18 years ago and left back in November 2018. I learned that the sudden eye blur thing could be a sign of a stroke, but I believed it needed to come along with other symptoms. So first phase, I call it like that hobby phase. 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). Of course, it took many more months of work and ultimately several years for her to get back to 100%, but with time, energy, an amazing team, and unlimited love, she has since fully recovered from the incident. We were all about trying to help people build wealth, learn how to build wealth through real estate investing. Josh Dorkin and Brandon Turner - longtime hosts of the world's number-one real estate podcast, The BiggerPockets Podcast - give you an insider's look at the many different niches and strategies that exist. But you know, we were living off the business and it was very scary to go and take on debt because Im very conservative financially, fiscally. It was a lot to manage and with it came all the headaches that come with growth. 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 daughter's medical emergency. We grew the community. But Joshua Dorkin is creating an online empire. %PDF-1.6 % After about six months since transitioning out of the role of CEO of BiggerPockets to advisor, I thought it was time to kick off my own personal platform, this site. So that hire, I really believe the business went from hobby to kind of this you know, call it Mom and Pop, you know, sole operator business and then it became a company and very quickly I had to learn how to deal with employees, how to scale and spent the next number of years doing that with Brandon as kind of my copilot. So I want the opposite. But I look at the cycle as a multi stage cycle. That was all I was allowed to do on Wednesday. Josh tells his story of wanting to quit, having 3 nervous breakdowns, and eventually selling to a private equity company. Dan Daugherty: That is, as you know, I have two little ones of my own and that is, that changes everything, and Im glad that you priorities that over anything else. Im your host, Dan Daugherty and today I have a good friend, Josh Dorkin, who is the founder and former CEO of Bigger Pockets. Dan Daugherty: Yeah, theres no shortage of chaos in the startup world and those that cannot adapt to change will inevitably fail and close shop. I spent countless hours caring for her full time - feeding, moving, and working with her to accomplish tiny wins like the movement of a single finger or opening an eye. Almost everyone that builds a business wants some kind of growth, but as much as I loved seeing my brainchild thrive and grow, I was having less and less fun doing 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. I kind of just glazed over it and just put my head down into work, so I didnt feel depressed anymore. Im on the board. Zf|Gy}dN1,2,qY\ s#sK~?>#W]CYq~Z6btV37 g)v3[# kG:_jJ/0Cr[-I\7{\t_LkL,K'4'Mm+"Pd60|q!?jO7S9h,P-WwS/. Josh Dorkin: Absolutely. But I, you know, theres so many books out there. As I sat there trying to relax, things didnt improve and I knew I needed to go in. Josh Dorkin and Brandon Turnerlongtime hosts of the world's #1 real estate podcast, The BiggerPockets Podcastgive you an insider's look at the many different niches and strategies that exist. When I founded the company I was teaching full time at a special ed high school in the Los Angeles area. You know, part of my job and one of the things that I pressed upon my staff was, 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. What you may not know is Joshua's journey in founding, building, scaling, and finally leaving BiggerPockets. Find which one works best for you, your resources . There were books, but like, you know, the books were pretty general, they didnt really say, what do you do when your tenant is stealing electricity from the building next door? Author. While teaching, I began to build a directory of resources and a forum which were the roots of todays community and platform. doesn't own much property. All you need to do is go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and youll have the option to select a non-profit of your choice to give to. Yesterday that reality came a little too close for comfort for me. Once I realized this, I instantly knew what I had to do. Adventurer. What's my secret? And that goes into to do lists. Is it all the material stuff? [j:^h%m-dm0 \G/#f?IXv\I:$W2i|IO]K}3R+_D_P{_zZ`uu I\bY]_|[ J'|#W} t_g%=5+nnsN@ W ~xSf&+|r i44u{]Im|0S>gX}^jK9$m0BR8Y]?\fry5l |E~x7~'&xa PE""X WHr;.7=1k Purchases from the BiggerPockets Bookstore can only ship within the United States. Joshua Dorkin Public figure Father. The couple also has a son named Wilder. Is that true? For locals, by locals. Find which one works best for you, your resources, and your goals. Mind you, in order to survive in business, the pivot is one of your most powerful tools. 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. Today, BiggerPockets is a thriving community of over 500,000 experienced and aspiring real estate investors with a wealth of content around buying, managing, and selling investment properties. Joshua Dorkin Dec 2015 Mar 2021. I got through it, thank goodness, and, again, it was another one of those moments for us where were like, you know, what are we doing? It's time to start doing And this book will show you exactly where to start! And I realized that I was unhappy. Joshua Dorkin is the founder of BiggerPockets, as well as a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcaster, publisher, and educator. I move daily and if not for some nagging injuries, try to get in intensive workouts 5 days a week. It was excruciatingly slow and frustrating, but we never let up. The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. . In the early 2000s, Dorkin bought rental property in St. Louis andafter adding up what he could charge for rent and subtracting his expected expensespredicted hed make a tidy profit. All that really matters is our families, our health, and our happiness. Have you had additional clarity from just taking a step back? Horrifying, scary. \\ + endstream endobj 99 0 obj <>stream And but yeah, thats what Ive been up to. hbbd`b`ab`gb`\ '11d; Z endstream endobj startxref 0 %%EOF 101 0 obj <>stream And so, back in 04 I was living in Los Angeles, I was teaching special ED high school. And I was helping other people get rich, and I was broke.\"\r\r Dorkin spent the next 8 years working mostly as a one-man operation as he tried to monetize a fledgling website.\r\r \"We were struggling and scrapping by on every AdSense check that we could collect,\" Dorkin says. After coming up short, Joshua decided to take matters into his own hands and start his own website. I eat well - seriously cutting back on sugars, eating lots of fruits and vegetables. Quotes "I believe 100% in putting all my eggs in one basket. Yeah. For those of you who don't know Josh, Josh is the founder of BiggerPockets.com. I remember you and I met, it must have been like, what, when did you found bigger pockets? It is big enough that youre not doing everything, but small enough that you can still get your hands dirty when you want. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. The company, by the way, is the largest real estate investing media company and community out there. But, you know, getting to exit, getting close to the finish line, so to speak is an absolutely incredible feeling and I wish it upon, you know, all the entrepreneurs out there. 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. Standard economy shipping is always FREE, but you can upgrade if you'd like to receive your book faster. But he came in and was instrumental to advancing the business. Its fantastic. I thought I was having a heart attack. Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi. I felt trapped. Right? \"The business really wasn't making serious money for probably getting close to a decade.\"\r\r The story has a happy ending. Here youll have a chance to follow me via this blog and to explore the ideas, products, services, books and many other things that influence me. And come 2007, I went through this very difficult personal time, one of my kids had a medical trauma that led to some really scary stuff, a paralysis in a nine year old. You know, what are you doing and deal with that situation. If you're not satisfied with your purchase, you can return your book for a full refund within 30 days. Host and Producer on The Undeniably Curious Podca, Host on BiggerPockets Real Estate Po, BiggerPockets Video Podcast, and Money with Friends, and Guest on BiggerPockets Business Podcast. Dan Daugherty: You know, this is, as you were talking, all of the significant life changing moments that occurred not just in your life, but just in our own individual lives, tends to be even if its really, really bad, or really, really good, it tends to be a catalyst for something even bigger, and not all the time, but even from listening to you, it sounds like different things that happened within your life, almost had a purpose or a reason that got you to where you are today. Today, BiggerPockets has grown to more than 870,000 members. And, you know, so I take those moments when they come to me and I try and take bold steps when they come. But COVID hit, and we got sick in March and it was, you know, it was tough and I was very, very, very sick. And, you know, were in a position where we have an opportunity to do something like this, like, do it. You know, I felt like, something needed to change for me personally. But, you know, Ive written a book before with Brandon on real estate. Do what you need to do to find your happiness. 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! A thought experiment My daughter posed the following question: It is raining outside at a constant rate. And Im. Josh Dorkin: Absolutely. I wasnt, however, happy with what I had spent my time doing. You got to deal with them. Of course I was happy to have an amazing loving family and a successful business. Is that a good statement to say? When I started Bigger Pockets it was, I was teaching special ed. Fear of change or of taking risks by changing course has sunk far too many businesses. . I had purchased a few rental properties and needed some help dealing with all the questions I had, but couldnt find a place where I could get answers without having to deal with solicitations and promotions of these self-proclaimed gurus who dominated the scene at the time. Of course, this was an extremely difficult transition for me, but I believe that several years later, I have become a highly valued board member that contributes immensely to the business and Im hopeful that I can find other opportunities to do the same for other companies. JOSH DORKIN: But it gave me the time to really think about life. Doing so otherwise would leave me a nervous wreck. He later transitioned to building a team, starting with the BiggerPocket Podcasts very own host, Brandon Turner.This later snowballed into more hirings, with the BiggerPockets growing faster and faster, and being able to scale larger and larger. Brandon Turner & Joshua Dorkin. We engaged an investment bank, initiated a process, and ultimately found ourselves at a successful deal with our aforementioned partners. Because, man 2020, nobody feels good anymore, man, we dont feel good anymore. 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. Thirteen years ago, Joshua Dorkin's friends teased him about starting a website that seemed to have no future.\r\r \"I would get calls from my buddies who would literally call me on my cell phone [and say] 'Hey Josh, we just walked past a penny on the ground. And so within the business itself, you know, hey, I mean, you used to work at Google, you know, as a media company, Google would change your, Google changes their algorithms all the time, as an example, right? And you know, the kids can go out and do physical stuff. the health, for example, instead of like, hey, I need to lose weight. Yeah. . He was the longtime co-host of The BiggerPockets Podcast, and he's the author of seven books that have sold more than a million copies combined. Separating the job from the company took a lot of time for me to do, but the realization set me on a path to where I am today. It was time for me to step down, bring in partners, and move on from the day to day running BiggerPockets. Host Joshua Dorkin is an entrepreneur, most notably the Founder & former CEO of BiggerPockets. I was happy to have three amazing children, food on the table, and a safe place to live. And so I think for a very long time I ran my life, you know, moment to moment and its through conversations with folks like Brandon, you know, lots of, Ive got some good friends who think real deeply, to reading a lot, reading a lot, listening to some, you know, thought leaders in various spaces, you know, my transformation really, I think began from the moment of that I went to my wife, year eight of the company, and I was in tears. And, you know, my goal was to figure out how do I get myself, how do I change things? I still get a lot of my great information from the community and the network. Denver, Colorado, United States. I mean, we were able to do that in Colorado, but you know, youre on a trail youre, you know, running across people without masks, you know, its just the, you know, the whole debate, were not going to get into it, but either way, it you know, it presented an opportunity for us to find some kind of, to find some peace and to find a place where everybody just could feel good. As Founder and CEO of BiggerPockets, I created the vision and strategy for the business and bootstrapped the company until . 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. I doubt it. And that had to stop too. I mean, whatever it is. 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. And I think the way you live your life, and your happiness is going to be determined by your outlook on that. Welcome to the Big Exit, where we discuss startup acquisitions with the founders who lived it. This terrifying situation broke us, but didnt defeat us. Well, then you need to figure out a system how to stop being responsive to your email and be proactive, because youre not running your business, your email is running you, right? In all three cases, my wife was able to kind of talk me down and calm me and you know, but it was like, you know, stress, right, stress and I think we humans just internalize so. something that I used to think gave me hustle street cred, but today I realize was just a formula for burnout. I mean, nights, weekends, you name it, seven days a week. But that's OK. Sarahbeth Maney is a Washington, D.C.-based photojournalist and a photography fellow for The New York Times. You know, I was in an industry where there were entrenched interests that wanted me destroyed from the get go. 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. And so, for example, one of the core values of Bigger Pockets is family above all else. Now I take it as it comes, pivot as needed, use a little logic and thinking to get me through the problems, and go about my day - using my energy and brain power for the things that really matter instead of suffering through perseverating about everything all the time. Originally from the Bay Area in California, she studied photojournalism at San . 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. Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection. As always, I charged on despite my body and subconscious screaming as loud as possible to stop. |8{'t o`7p\2K`0rS%O|>. Z|\ ~kqCi\hPmskwJLP5|/(X.T Be there for your families. But yeah, just finding different ways to tweak the way youre doing things, right, if what youre doing personally with your family, and Ive also done that. Josh talks about what he did to get to a place of happiness and how big changes in his life became catalysts that helped him, his family, and the business grow. This caused a shift in Joshua's reality, so he dropped everything. My strategy was to first pick out the easy items like toilet, vanity, towel bars and hooks, followed by choosing flooring, and finally finding a pre-fab shower that we could just drop in. I mean, nights, weekends, you name it, seven days a week. 1065 episodes totalling 1002 hours, 17 minutes. 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. Dan Daugherty: Ah, I love that. BiggerPockets founder Joshua Dorkin and Brandon Turner from the BiggerPockets Real Estate Investing podcast. Many avid members of the BiggerPockets forum, listeners to the podcast, or readers of our articles may know our founder, Joshua Dorkin. And particularly, I think the most stressful part was, I was by myself, to your point. Instead, Joshua and I focus on the harsh realities of growing an digital empire.\r\r Enjoy!\r\r \u0026nbsp;\r\r You can find more information in the show notes at http://podcast.affordanything.com/episode99 k cG-t} His vision for the site and its future brought national press attention to both Mr. Dorkin and to BiggerPockets. I was making money. As you can see in the image below, every time you shop while using the smile subdomain, Amazon will show you your charity of choice (in this case, you can see that we support Childrens Hospital Colorado Foundation). You know, we started producing video, we created podcasts, we created books, you know, we wanted to be where the listeners and viewers were versus thinking, hey, theyre going to come to us. Our gut answer is run, because you get wet from above and front. Like, I mean, you wouldnt know the difference between her and any other kid. This ultimately led to me having several panic attacks which really should have been a sign to step back. I began to feel hopeful and knew at some point wed all be able to move on - no matter the outcome. COVID you know, your kid gets sick. . Where am I good in each of these things? You know, we cant ignore SEO, we cant ignore these things. I learned to stop being a cadet and start being a general.', 'life is too short to be stuck in a job you hate. . 4.6 208 Ratings; $11.99; Listen $11.99; Listen . But its fantastic. And not difficult. And after about two years, I quit my job teaching and I went full time. You know, theres just the, I mean, its everywhere, right? Joshua Dorkin is a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcaster, publisher, and educator. And so, you know, its a serious decision to raise money or not to raise money. Right? Mr. Dorkin's vision for BiggerPockets helped to propel it into becoming one of the top real estate destinations online. Everything came back clear and they released me. Wednesday was about thinking, networking and not doing. 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. You know, like any entrepreneurial story, lots of ups, lots of downs. Shopping these days is just a little less fun. The content-rich chapters and corresponding stories of real estate investors give you guidance from the top real estate pros. But just know that theres guys out there like me and Dan and, you know, countless other people whove tried it, whove been through it. I taught myself how to code a number of years before back in college, and just started to run with it. It's time to stop just thinking, talking, or dreaming about the future real estate investing can give you. But instead of sitting in my office talking on the phone, every phone call that I had was a walking call. He started BiggerPockets to help democratize the real estate investing landscape for himself and others, aiming to make it . But, you know, I think the key was just persevering through those in order to come out at the end. Well, the reality is, we are all running out of time. And the company was profitable. A few months back I had the blurry thing, but without the other stuff, and of course, went to visit Dr. Google.