Joe Fairless' Journey From Madison Avenue To An $85 Million Real Estate Portfolio

In keeping with last weeks' real estate theme, Episode 25 of Ambition Today finds us across the table from Joe Fairless, Real Estate Investor and Host of the Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever Show. 

Ambition Today Kevin Siskar Joe Fairless

In keeping with last weeks' real estate theme, Episode 25 of Ambition Today finds us across the table from Joe Fairless, Real Estate Investor and Host of the Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever Show.  Joe set his roots in advertising after a bit of soul-searching during his undergrad years at Texas Tech.  Fighting complacency, he left Madison Ave. for the allure of real estate investing and entrepreneurship, and was met with incredible success, with due credit to his persistence and work ethic.

Owing his early sense of drive to his start in landscaping, Joe Fairless has always had an entrepreneurial mindset.  After leaving his teenage lawn-mowing business, J&J Landscaping, Joe tried to cling to his high school football career by attending a junior college near his home town of Dallas.  After transferring, he went on to graduate with a degree in advertising and quickly rose through the ranks of executive marketing, while investing in real estate as a side project and finding passion in that venture.  Joe applied his trademark tenacity to his newfound love of investing and now controls approximately $85 million worth of rental property.  Kevin digs into the factors behind Joe's success, and much more:

  • The seemingly hidden on-ramp of landscaping as a teenage job to eventually invest in real estate.

  • Exploring passions during college to find what interests you.

  • Applying lessons from the corporate world to an entrepreneurial startup.

  • Leaving a comfortable job to pursue your real dreams.

  • How to break into the shark-infested waters of commercial real estate.

  • The 75/25 rule of listening/asking when approaching mentors.

  • Acknowledging your strengths.

  • Acknowledging your weaknesses and surrounding yourself with people who help make up for them.

  • The grit of making your ambition come to life.

 

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"As a thought leader, how does ambition play a role in your life?"

Quote Of The Episode:
"Don't get caught up trying to be everywhere at once, find the platform that makes sense for your skill sets and what you enjoy doing. Then own it."  - Joe Fairless

“Be different before being incrementally better.” - Joe Fairless

 

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Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

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Taking Action

September 27th is National Voter Registration Day in the United States. As such, I could list off a bunch of facts about the electoral college, the popular vote, democracy, or the current political system in order to convince you that the system is worth your time. But I'm not going to do that.

September 27th is National Voter Registration Day in the United States. As such, I could list off a bunch of information about the current political landscape, the Electoral College, or democracy in general just to convince you that the system is worth your time. But I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to even talk about the candidates. I just want to talk about taking action.

Yes, all the systems, processes, and entities above could be stronger. But something being broken doesn't mean it is hopeless.

I watch entrepreneurs beat the odds day after day to improve and fix the broken systems, industries, and entities in the world. They do so using only the scarce tools and resources provided to them. So, why is that they can do what others can't? It's simple. It's because they take action. They take action instinctively, again and again, day after day, without hesitation. 

A handful of people who we call entrepreneurs take action and change the world over time. So imagine if everyone seized each day and took action without hesitation in their own lives. I am not going to ask you to register to vote. Nor am I here to tell you that need to vote on November 4th. Instead I am going to ask you to take action, in order to solve the problems in the world that you see. If there are tools at your disposal, don't squander opportunity and watch them waste away. Use the opportunities in your life to make the world better.  

In other news, here are some tools I happened to find on the cyber; I mean Internet:  

  • TurboVote: Sign up to receive election reminders, get registered to vote, & apply for your absentee ballot.
  • Vote.org: Everything you need to vote.
  • VotePlz: Get ready to vote.
  • And many more

See what I did there? 😉. Hope it helps! 

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Ambition Today: Adam Besvinick Teaches The Art of Hustle and How To Break Into Your Dream Role

Venture Capitalist Adam Besvinick explains the value of pure hustle in pursuing his dreams of breaking into the Startup and Venture Capital industry. Recently named to the Forbes 30 Under 30, Adam has invested in several startup companies as Principal at Deep Fork Capital. 

Adam Besvinick, Principal VENTURE CAPITALIST aT Deep Fork Capital

Adam Besvinick, Principal VENTURE CAPITALIST aT Deep Fork Capital

Venture Capitalist Adam Besvinick explains the value of pure hustle in pursuing his dreams of breaking into the Startup and Venture Capital industry. Recently named to the Forbes 30 Under 30, Adam has invested in several startup companies as Principal at Deep Fork Capital. 

In episode 14 we explore where Adam came from and how that connects to where he is now. Adam started blogging on VentureMinded.Me years ago and created his own track record through taking ownership of his brand. He has always strived to be continually helpful and add value to others. Through that hustle he previously worked his way into a role at Lowercase Capital to learn from Chris Sacca. Afterword Adam was one of the early employees at Gumroad while going to Harvard Business School.  Now Adam is Principal at Deep Fork Capital and has invested in several companies across the country, with a focus on New York City and Silicon Valley. We go over what he looks for in great startups, how he used self-marketing to break into venture capital, and also cover: 

  • The influences of growing up around entrepreneurship.

  • The value of experiencing life abroad.

  • How to demonstrate your expertise in a given field.

  • Why self-marketing is important.

  • How Twitter can create real world connections.

  • How constantly being helpful to others, leads to opportunity.

  • His experience at Duke and Harvard.

  • The differences between Silicon Valley and New York City.

  • How being an Investor in New York City is beneficial.

  • What Adam looks for in startups today.

  • Exploring some of the Deep Fork Capital portfolio companies.

 

Ambition Today Question of the Day:

How important is networking?

 

Links from this episode: 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next?  Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS and on Stitcher for Android

Listen to this episode now: 

Ambition Today Podcast Sponsors:

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Founder Institute New York

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