Joshua, along with his wife and three daughters, make their home in Denver, Colorado, and spend any time they can traveling, exploring, and adventuring. Josh Dorkin: No, thanks, man, I appreciate it. And lets dive in. I was already working 40 hours a week at least on Bigger Pockets in those first two years. Accept the New Rules of Life or Suffer in Misery. From a life experience, it sounds like youre doing the same thing. Lets just do it. I created this site in 2004 to create a place where investors could learn, network, market and make deals in a safe online environment. Is that true? In my case, the two things most searched are my net worth and why I left BiggerPockets. 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. So there you go. 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. Right? But time and life experience has taught me that doing so only makes my health, relationships, and happiness far worse. . You know, how do I make it so I could either scale this, get to an exit or just, you know, sell it and quit and be done and find something else. 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. A few months back I had the blurry thing, but without the other stuff, and of course, went to visit Dr. Google. For those of you who don't know Josh, Josh is the founder of BiggerPockets.com. The list of accomplishments goes on and on, but with this growth came the need to hire, and that we did. Highly recommended!" Nat Borchers, retired pro athlete, 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. The podcast has almost 250 episodes and the blog features more than 8,100 articles.\r\r In today's episode, I have a heart-to-heart with BiggerPockets founder Joshua Dorkin about the blood, sweat and tears that's required to start a successful online business. 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. And particularly, I think the most stressful part was, I was by myself, to your point. You know, thats, surprisingly a significant boost to your health. Is this going to be, is this the prelude to a book? . Dan Daugherty: Yeah, I mean, lets start from the very beginning. And in that time, I realized that I wasnt as happy as I wanted to be running the business. Cool. And so once you start tackling them, its amazing how your load gets lighter and lighter and lighter. They really wanted to take me, but without Julie around, I worried about the girls, and passed the initial neurological tests, so I decided to play it by ear. &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~ Is it all the material stuff? . You know, I was in an industry where there were entrenched interests that wanted me destroyed from the get go. When I founded the company I was teaching full time at a special ed high school in the Los Angeles area. 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? And you know, the kids can go out and do physical stuff. I really enjoyed the conversation. Knowing I was in for a long visit to Home Depot yesterday, I made sure I had my list together and set out to pick up all the materials I needed to renovate our guest bathroom. I doubt it. 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. The couple also has a son named Wilder. Will I get more wet if I stay still, walk or run, and why? His wife and three daughters wouldnt take too kindly to sharing their space. Twitter View on Twitter. I hope to share that journey with you all via this blog, and perhaps through other forms like video or a podcast. 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. Verified account Protected Tweets @; Suggested users I had time to wonder, time to wander, and time to contemplate my life and my happiness. Dan Daugherty: All right. In my case, the two things most searched are my net worth and why I left BiggerPockets. 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. All that really matters is our families, our health, and our happiness. 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. 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! 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. I want to, I listened to experts on it. Ill argue that all of that stuff is bullshit. 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. They live in Grays Harbor, Wash. After spending an amazing day with my girls, out of the blue one of my eyes went blurry. 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. Josh Dorkin: Yeah, yeah, I think for me, the book, The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, was one of the most impactful in just, you know, helping me kind of break things down. 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. 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 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. vMs=+C>xZ_/>iZg>XA~! Josh Dorkin and Brandon Turnerlongtime hosts of the world's #1 real estate podcast, . For returns, refunds, or the status of your order, you can contact. And you know, continue to love Bigger Pockets and love how its impacting peoples lives. 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. Its, instead of drinking soda and orange juice, and, you know, coffees and energy drinks, Im just going to drink water, because water is healthy, water cleanses you, water does this, you know, thats not that big a step. You know, I want to learn how to be happy. I was making money. 27 quotes from Joshua Dorkin: 'Today I get 100 times more done with 100 times less effort. It was time for me to step down, bring in partners, and move on from the day to day running BiggerPockets. I kind of just glazed over it and just put my head down into work, so I didnt feel depressed anymore. Thank you so much, Josh, I want to have you on again. Oct 2004 - Nov 201814 years 2 months. Im on the board. And my quick advice on that is this, this has absolutely worked for me over and again, it may not work for you, but its definitely worked for me. You know, you can work remote, you can do everything remote these days. Joshua Dorkin Dec 2015 Mar 2021. I recommend it to everyone. And in that stage, I moved to. Well, what do you need to do to change it? You know, well be doing great getting, you know, x million views per month on, you know, through search, and all of a sudden, Google will make an algorithm change, and thatll drop 20% or 30%. Joshua Dorkin is the founder of BiggerPockets, as well as a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcaster, publisher, and educator. 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 . This caused a shift in Joshuas reality, so he dropped everything. Joshua Dorkin Public figure Father. So I know how to do it, I just, I dont know, Im torn. 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. 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? The political upheaval, the COVID chaos. 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. He was wrong. But cool, you know, and you move from drinks to water, you start losing weight. In November 2017 one of my daughters went through a terrible trauma that was initiated by a surgery - something called conversion disorder. 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). 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. Keep in mind that full time in this case means 80-100 hours a week, with no days off, no vacations, no respit. Quotes "I believe 100% in putting all my eggs in one basket. So, I thought there had to be a better way. Josh Dorkin: So it must have been 07 maybe that that we connected and you and I were talking about, you know, you were thinking about buying different companies, and we were just chatting about that, and that didnt go well for me. Is it all the hustle and grind? It is always interesting to see what kind of things come up when you search for yourself online. Save up to 80% versus print by going digital with VitalSource. How do I hire? On Pivoting and Maintaining Control of Everything, Finding That Moment of Time Each Day to Live and Be Present, The Evolution of Business: From Bootstrap to Semi-Retired (Video), How to Support Your Favorite Charities (for Free) Every Time You Shop on Amazon, 50% change youre shopping there once a week, The Return . Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi. I need to move more, cool. 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. You know, I didnt know if I needed to take an ambulance to the hospital. Welcome to the Big Exit, where we discuss startup acquisitions with the founders who lived it. Sitting alone in my hospital bed, all I could think about was my girls, Julie, and the rest of my family . Host Joshua Dorkin is an entrepreneur, most notably the Founder & former CEO of BiggerPockets. 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. Denver, Colorado, United States. Of course I was happy to have an amazing loving family and a successful business. I built at my own pace and designed a business with a mission and values that were important to me. First, for those who arent sure how to do the math, in order to determine someones net worth, you need to take into consideration all assets and liabilities and put together a balance sheet.. Originally from the Bay Area in California, she studied photojournalism at San . But Im not currently on it. Why I left BiggerPockets is a little more complicated. I was, I went to college, you know, all these things, and bought property thousands of miles away, which would normally be a challenge, but I didnt really do my homework. That was all I was allowed to do on Wednesday. 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. We had kids at that point. Find which one works best for you, your resources . %PDF-1.6 % 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. 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. But this was awesome Josh, thank you so much for your time. 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. It became more than a website - it became a brand and an ideal. Once I realized this, I instantly knew what I had to do. And, you know, the issue I had with those, which led me to founding Bigger Pockets was I, you know, I didnt like the idea of getting caught up in this funnel where, you know, its like, hey, come to our free course, and the free course is just an ad for a free boot camp, you know, some kind of boot camp, which is an ad for a course, which is an ad for, you know, training, and, you know, by the time youre done, and you look up, youve just spent $50, $75,000, to train with some, you know, self-anointed guru and, you know, youve got nothing to show for it a lot, you know, high failure rates and things like that. 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? And my idea, you know, was one where, you know, VCs and angels thought it didnt have a chance. Weve cut down on meat, and work hard to avoid the tempting desserts and snacks I used to be addicted to. 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. Horrifyingly scary, where I was in my, in the office and I broke down and just I was in tears. 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. Heres your host, Dan Daugherty. Do I hire? Join us today to talk about real estate investing and specifically how to get started. Theres a lot of, you know, Colorado just, you know, still a lot of chaos. I immediately stepped back from the day to day at work and handed charge to my number two at the time, Scott Trench in coordination with Brandon. (Where the hell have you been Josh?!? COVID you know, your kid gets sick. I learned to stop being a cadet and start being a general.', 'life is too short to be stuck in a job you hate. Is it impressing other people? It is my mission to continue to better all of these until my time comes - hopefully when Im much older, but I wont allow myself to let the other nonsense get in the way of that mission. Today I think its a sign of necessity and strength. 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).Youll hear how Joshua was cranking out 100 hour weeks, working 7 straight days, for the first 6 years of BiggerPockets existence. . And lifes too short, man. But Ive definitely drafted an outline. Every purchase comes with free bonus content: How to Invest in Real Estatewill catapult you 510 years ahead of where you are now. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. Today, BiggerPockets has grown to more than 870,000 members. . I choose to deal with them as they come using logic and working through like I would any game or problem. And I had just swarms of competitors coming out of the woodwork trying to take me down and so there was threat everywhere, right, theres threat everywhere. Like you cant find that and all that was out there were communities, forums, but they were all kind of tied to or in cahoots with I call them the gurus, the get rich quick crowd. 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/. Joshua Dorkin Oct 2016 Mar 2021. 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, 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. Its unlikely. 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. Brett Jurgens Talks About Building and Selling Notion to Comcast. hb```b``"Y@9YY0sp(AnD$x}9QZuI>'vM`VyU'7>hAUf+-U]Y&-:+5+!Ab` 2:;4:J s `NzxSSgp80/ulk8 so9e1TX @6{c4# ] endstream endobj 96 0 obj <> endobj 97 0 obj <>>>/Rotate 0/Type/Page>> endobj 98 0 obj <>stream Fast forward to yesterday, I had some of those symptoms. But Ive broken kind of everything in my life down in these terms. They suspected some kind of migraine, and cleared me of all the really scary stuff. Life is short, you know, you dont know what can happen tomorrow. Stop making excuses and focus on those things as your priority because in an instant it can all be over. But, you know, Ive written a book before with Brandon on real estate. 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. I began to feel hopeful and knew at some point wed all be able to move on - no matter the outcome. Dan Daugherty: And well, first off, Im so happy that your daughter is healthy now. And I had to step away, I had to step away from the company, in order to take care of my family. \"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. We came to Hawaii, weve been here since July. As I sat there trying to relax, things didnt improve and I knew I needed to go in. You know, I couldnt breathe. BiggerPockets founder Joshua Dorkin and Brandon Turner from the BiggerPockets Real Estate Investing podcast. It was a blast, but by year 12, 13, 14 my job changed. Genealogy profile for Joshua Dorkin Joshua Dorkin (1843 - 1914) - Genealogy Genealogy for Joshua Dorkin (1843 - 1914) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. I was in tears, I was just miserable. be helpful, you know, seek out advisors in your field and you know, work towards it. . "I would get calls from my buddies who would literally call me. Dorkin failed to account for costly evictions, irresponsible tenants, inattentive property managers, and unforeseen repairs, such as mending a three-foot-wide hole cut through a kitchen floor. Josh Dorkin: Absolutely. Just Released: Two NEW BiggerPockets Books to Help You Build Wealth Through Rental Investing . 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. So, the operating manual was, how do I go from unhappy to happy, and that was, it became not just like a. question, but it became a significant force within my life, whether its about you know, journaling about it, contemplating it, talking about it out loud, and making decisions around it. And so we spent weeks going through the business, realize that we had, you know, created a product that was a little overly bloated, there was you know, wed built too much, too many features. Nearly 30 people work out of the companys RiNo office. You know, these little things allowed me to continue to work, do my job and stay healthy at the exact same time. 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 Youre operationalizing your life and that has allowed you to kind of be more open. And please share this article so more people can learn about this amazing program. I mean, nights, weekends, you name it, seven days a week. And so I, you know, on the side, nights and weekends, while teaching, for the first two years, just started building this platform. Joshua Dorkin, Brandon Turner. This was not like, something that everybodys like, Oh, this is going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Thats why two of the biggest names in the real estate world teamed up to write the most comprehensive manual ever written on getting started in the lucrative business of real estate investing. I wasnt, however, happy with what I had spent my time doing. Whether its in business, you know, I want to be a better CEO, I want to learn how to become a CEO, so I went and read lots of books on it. Weve climbed mountains, traveled, explored and journeyed, surfed, skied and have never stopped seeking out a full and rich life. Plus, he doesn't own any rental properties outright anymore, simply because BiggerPockets requires too much of his attention. All rights reserved. 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). Sarahbeth Maney is a Washington, D.C.-based photojournalist and a photography fellow for The New York Times. I felt trapped. I still get a lot of my great information from the community and the network. ). Dan Daugherty: Thats right. You know, I felt like, something needed to change for me personally. Came to be ready to quit and like told my wife, hey, Im ready to sell the business. I didnt take calls. Explorer. They have got a new book coming out this Thursday called How To Invest In Real Estate. And everybodys at each others throats and stressed and tense. C X" And the platform itself, your business, whatever it is, is not going to be able to blossom. [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 Denver, CO 80202. Josh Dorkin: Absolutely. You know, theres just the, I mean, its everywhere, right? serendipitous mindset, but you also need to understand who you are. Shopping these days is just a little less fun. And you are in Hawaii now, right? But yeah, I mean, there were down periods, dark periods. And the company was profitable. I mean, you know, super, super stressful periods. Instead, it dives into dozens of unique, life-changing quests and is packed with more than forty real-life stories of how real estate investors are finding success in todays economy. Dan Daugherty: I just might, well, offline, lets catch up, because maybe theres something we can do together. 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. On October 28, 2015, the couple released a book named "The Book on Managing Rental Properties." Children In May 2016, they welcomed a daughter, named Rosie. And so yeah, that becomes stressful. This keynote speech goes deep into what really matters most. And, you know, between Brandon and Scott Trench, who was my second in command at the business at the time, and my management team, you know, I tasked those guys and gals to run the business and I had to focus on my family. 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. And I had spent so long not taking vacations, not taking days off, I worked eight years without a single day off, which is incredibly stupid. Brandon Turner is an author, entrepreneur, and active real estate investor with more than 1,000 rental units under his belt. In the early years, that was mostly strangers, as most of my friends thought I was nuts, but the coolest part is that today, many of those strangers are my closest friends.Finally, if youre dreaming about starting some crazy idea - whether it be a small business, a startup, a real estate investment, or anything else, I encourage you to take a chance.Life is too short to life without taking some risks.And no one wants to live a life full of regrets.Besides, youll never know if that hobby or idea can become a success if you never give it any real effort. And so thinking about the things you go through, look, we all go through good stuff and we all go through bad stuff. 95 0 obj <> endobj 100 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[95 7]/Info 94 0 R/Length 36/Prev 376417/Root 96 0 R/Size 102/Type/XRef/W[1 2 0]>>stream Weve replaced iced teas, sodas and juices with water in the last decade, and rarely, if ever will I drink alcohol. But then I, you know, just went balls to the wall, so to speak, and, you know, was doing 80 to 100 hours, trying to build this thing out. We engaged an investment bank, initiated a process, and ultimately found ourselves at a successful deal with our aforementioned partners. Days and weeks of not knowing what was to come with my daughter eventually led to glimmers of hope that wed see a recovery. Im 43 and I know Im not a kid anymore. He started BiggerPockets to help democratize the real estate investing landscape for himself and others, aiming to make it . Where are you spending all of your money? One final question. And I mean, even when Brandon was hired, it sounds like you were able to take a step back, look at a much bigger strategic view from a business perspective that accelerated growth. Yeah. And after about two years, I quit my job teaching and I went full time. But yeah, what else you got? If thats the case, figure out what you need to do to change and the big challenge I think most people have is thats so big and tenuous, like, what do I do? 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. You know, like any entrepreneurial story, lots of ups, lots of downs. I thought I was having a heart attack. I could still make things out, but barely. But did you, were you ever really depressed at all? Josh tells his story of wanting to quit, having 3 nervous breakdowns, and eventually selling to a private equity company.