Welcome To The Real Estate Underground Show #106!
In today's episode, we're joined by Reed Goossens, a successful syndicator and the author of "10,000 Miles to the American Dream." As an engineer turned real estate investor, Reed brings a unique perspective to the industry. With over 9 years of professional engineering experience, including contributing to the infrastructure development of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, Reed made the leap into full-time real estate investing and development.
In this enlightening episode, Reed discusses:
To learn more about Reed and his investment business or podcast, visit reedgoossens.com.
Don't miss this episode for valuable insights from a seasoned professional in the real estate industry!
Resources:
Additional Resources:
Welcome To The Real Estate Underground Show #106!
In today's episode, we're joined by Reed Goossens, a successful syndicator and the author of "10,000 Miles to the American Dream." As an engineer turned real estate investor, Reed brings a unique perspective to the industry. With over 9 years of professional engineering experience, including contributing to the infrastructure development of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, Reed made the leap into full-time real estate investing and development.
In this enlightening episode, Reed discusses:
To learn more about Reed and his investment business or podcast, visit reedgoossens.com.
Don't miss this episode for valuable insights from a seasoned professional in the real estate industry!
Resources:
Additional Resources:
Ed Mathews:
So the big question is this how do real estate investors who don't have a ton of free time, don't have access to off-market deals and didn't start life on third base, how do we conservatively grow our real estate business to support our families, finally leap the corporate rat race and build a legacy? That is the question. In this podcast we'll give you the answers. I'm Ed Mathews and this is Real Estate Underground.
Greetings and salutations, real estate undergrounders. This is Ed Mathews with the Real Estate Underground. Thank you so much for joining us today. I am really excited because I have been stalking this guy through his books for quite some time now. I actually picked up this gentleman's book 10, 000 Miles to the American Dream, and I was absolutely fascinated by it. And and so I started stalking him and members of our team started stalking him and he's graciously agreed to join us on the podcast today. So Reed Goossens, welcome to the show. And thank you for meeting today.
Reed Goossens:
Absolute pleasure, my friend. It's great to finally connect. I know we've been our schedules have been both busy, but it's great. Carve out some time to, to jump on the podcast and say, good day.
Ed Mathews:
Indeed. We are we are absolutely both very busy people. Yeah, I'm glad, I appreciate you carving out some time. You know, and you know, one of the things that intrigued me is your background is somewhat similar to mine. I come from a technology background, although I'm not an engineer and, you know, you obviously are an engineer by trade. You know, one of the things that I'm always fascinated by with. People that are wired the way, you know, people like you and I are wired is we want to know everything before we do anything. And you know, I'm curious about, you know, obviously you're a very successful syndicator. You've obviously you've written 2 books, although I haven't read the 2nd 1. But I will, you know, I'm just curious, you know, as a syndicator, as an operator, you know, how do you approach this business and you know, how do you get enough information to be able to make a good decision on the things that you invest in?
Reed Goossens:
Very good question. A very open-ended question. I think, yeah, a lot of the people that I speak to on my podcast as well are ex-engineers and have that analytic. Mindset, but sometimes that analytical mindset can be a bit of a hindrance for us to move forward, right? Move the puck down the ice as you Americans like to say, but at the end of the day, this business is an age of being an engineer. And I've worked in many offices with some very smart people who are like, I don't want to say they were dumb smart, but like they're so smart, but they won't get out of their own way to go and do more with their money or. Yes, I had that analytical mindset, but I remember being in some offices and being like that ugly duckling I'm like, definitely not the smartest person here talking about sheer diagrams and stress elements on a structural thing and building model. I'm like, I'm more like, you know, let's go out and talk about how do we put them in the ground? Let's be practical. And but there is always that inherent inside of us to be fearful of, well, not all the traffic lights are green. So I can't make, I can't go forward and there comes that blind sense of, I need to go into the darkness. I don't know what all the things are going to be, you know, all the answers to all the questions, but I know enough to make that step. And I think that's trusting your ability to bet on yourself because at the end of the day, if you don't bet on yourself, you're still going to be continually continuing in the same path that you always were, which is giving you. Probably that sense of ah, there's more to give here. So for me, it was like, I remember being in those engineering firms and, you know, just pull it by going, oh, this is just not for me. And like trying to get my structural P N G and my, you know, my license. And it was just like, I just. Don't see myself doing this. And it got to the point after eight years and I was like, I'm done. I need to figure out how to pivot. And there was a lot of real chats that came along with that. I'm sure a lot of your listeners out there who are engineers get to that point ah, I can't see 50 feet down the hill. And so I'm not going to move. I'm not going to do anything. It's that's not the answer. You're still like, what's the old saying? When it's foggy out and you're driving on a highway, you don't stop. You just go slower. And you, that's, you know, that's how we, we all have to learn to bet on ourselves and know that there's going to come that point where you've got to take the leap of faith.
Ed Mathews:
Yeah. You know, it's interesting. You talk about, and I sense, you know, and I always pick up on, you know, that bias towards action, right. And the running joke in, in, in my end of the world was. You know, the more letters after your name, PhD, MBA, whatever the less likely you were to ever make a decision. So the, you know, it's interesting. You know, given your bias towards action and your entrepreneurial spirit and obviously your intellect, you could probably do a lot of different things. What drew you to real estate?
Reed Goossens:
Good question. You know, when I remember back to the time when I was sitting in that cubicle going, what the hell I want to do with my life, I just you know, I didn't know the word entrepreneurship. You mentioned that a couple of times. It's just a sexy word for small business, right? Let's be honest. But this is back in 2010 and I was 24, 25 at the time. And it was just like, I know I need to do more with my life. And I just happened to stumble upon the book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which helped me lay out. There is more out there. And so you have to, how do you get your money working for you? Coincidentally, my dad. Even though he was just a high, not just a high school teacher. He was a high school teacher. So pretty average income, but had done relatively well buying a few houses in Australia and had grown in wealth. And I was like, well, and also I build things. So I'm like, well, it should be real estate, right? Like it was like, you know, all the point, all the arrows were pointing to real estate. It wasn't like go and get, you know, a stock portfolio or. Go and start a gym business that I had nothing, I had no idea about. So it was something that I was just like, just keep following the yellow brick road. And all the things led towards real estate. So that's really the simple answer. It was no, nothing more complex than that. Yeah.
Ed Mathews:
And so over time, I mean, you've acquired what? 4, 000 plus units, right?
Reed Goossens:
Yep. So 4, 500 units in total, you know, we've sold some, we bought, you know, we bought some more, but that's been, you know, I think to date, the total portfolio over the last 10 years has been over 800 million. It's a big number. Yeah. I don't even, well, yeah, like sitting here today, I don't feel like a hundred million dollars rich. You know what I mean? Like I work for my investors.
Ed Mathews:
At one point it becomes monopoly money. Right.
Reed Goossens:
Right. And it's just okay, wow. I'd gonna maybe hit a billion in the next couple of years. That's insane. Yeah. But also the people I compare myself to have already surpassed the billion mark and not that I'm comparing and I've got to run my own race. But yeah, like 10 years ago, when I moved to this country, I didn't have a job. I door knocked until I found one. I was chasing a girl. And 10 years later, here I am, or longer 11 years later here, I'm talking about on a podcast. So the whole thing here is guys, if you're listening, it's not to boast and talk about these big, fancy numbers. It's just to be like, Hey, if he can do it, why can't I do it? And I came here with limited knowledge and, you know, as I say, mad act took action and make it happen.
Ed Mathews:
All for the love of a young lady.
Reed Goossens:
All for the, well, two loves. One was the young lad, the young lady. The second love was actually to live in New York city. I'd backpack through New York city. I was like, I'm going to live in this city. This thing's a breathing, living beast that I've just got to experience at some point in my life. And yeah, we'll have the opportunity to move out here and back to that question of pushing yourself. Like I remember getting on the plane and going, well, what's the worst case scenario here? Well, if I go for three months and don't find a job, I'll just have to move back to Australia. And that's. You know, I'll go back to an engineering job. That was the worst case, but what happens if I stayed in my engineering job in Australia, never got on that plane? Well, I wouldn't be here talking to you today. So the fear of regret really pushed me to be more and challenge yourself. And I think that's, you know, that's a muscle we all have to learn to work on as true.
Ed Mathews:
Yeah. You know, it's interesting. It's, you know, it's it's Tony Robbins says, you know, people change for one of really two basic reasons, right? It's. Either pain or pleasure, right? It's and whatever is more real in your own mind and the story that you tell yourself is how you act, right? And so the pleasure of coming to America, the pleasure of building a business and, you know, creating a platform to support your family for, you know, potentially generations. Right. You know, became far more attractive than the pain of having to tuck your tail back, hop on a plane and go home.
Reed Goossens:
That's right. No, trust me. I say, oh, that was the worst thing that could happen. But there would have been a lot of like soul searching and yeah, tail between the legs and going, this didn't work, sorry. And like raising the white flag. But the point is I still weighed up that option. Right. And I was like, well, that's not. That's not that bad. Let's jump if that makes sense.
Ed Mathews:
Yeah, totally. And you know, it's interesting that you know, I'm always interested in, you know, what made people, what makes people tick in their own mind, right? So I, you know, similar experience to you. I was standing in I had the blessing to, to work for some really amazing entrepreneurs or small business people you know, in my Silicon Valley days. And, you know, there was this, the last company I worked for a company called DocuSign Keith Kroc, who is one of the absolute Pantheon legends of that world, you know, is up and he's, and he is you know, doing his annual talk, I refer to it as the laser light show, cause I swear he lifts off the ground and there's lasers that shoot out of his back, but cause he's one of the most charismatic people I've ever met in my entire life. But the you know, I'm standing there and I'm thinking I should be more excited about. This conversation, you know, this talk than I am and think it's time. I got to go, right? Same thing. And you know, I I'm a big fan of, you know, the story of Cortez where he burns the boats and found that his men were far more motivated now that they had no way to go home and do that, but you know, I was more like you, what's the worst thing that could happen? I'll go get another job. Right. And you know, now I'm very happy to say, you know, I got a phone call from an old boss of mine a few months ago, he's like any chance. I'm like no. Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate the call, but my friend, but no, thank you. I'm never going back to that.
Reed Goossens:
And that's the universe challenging you a little bit, right?
Ed Mathews:
A little bit. Right. Yeah, you know, it was a time we were, you know, struggling a little bit, so it did cause me pause, but, and I'm sure you've gone through those situations as well, where, you know, it didn't go quite according to plan and, and somehow you persevered, right?
Reed Goossens:
Yeah, there's going to be those days. And there's that squiggly line of entrepreneurship. It's not just straightened up to the right. It's, you know, you're right. But that's why entrepreneurship is. So when you start in this business or any business that you start, it's important to have other like minded people around you because it is lonely. It's a lonely journey that you're going to go on. And hopefully you've married someone or you've got a partner who supports you, but there's a lot larger percentage than zero getting on a bus and seeing these crappy buildings in places you'd never live. You know, like what the hell does that mean? So it even starts with like your spouse and who do they support you? But that's why it's so important to find your tribe and your group. So you can, you know, you don't feel lonely in the pursuit when things get hard because they will get hard. Having mentors, having, you know, meet up groups, doing whatever it is to surround yourself with other people saying, I mean, I've been that exact same situation and this is how I got through it, you know, let's chat.
Ed Mathews:
So let's talk about let's talk about that a little bit. So team, you know, obviously you don't go from standing in New York city with a backpack on to, you know, 4, 500 units without, you know, some sort of help, right? And you know, I'm curious about how you've constructed your team what it looks like today and you know, how do you manage your business? So we'll talk about systems as well, but I want to talk about team first.
Reed Goossens:
Yeah. So the team today actually consists of about seven people, six people. We have five full time five full-time employees. We are not in the same. We are across the country and we're because we buy assets in markets. We have, I have strategic members of the team in those markets who work for me full-time. Got it. They are boots on the ground. I spent many years getting on flights, not being able to do that work, right. And juggle the full-time job and be like remote on a Friday. Flying out on a Thursday night to go and sit to San Antonio to see the deal. And being on phone calls yeah, the camera's off for a reason, you know? So now I have someone who lives in central Texas, who literally does all covers three hour radius and can see every deal that I ever want to see. And that changed, you know, when my wife was like. You need to be able to, you know, you've made some money reinvested in the business and reinvested in people. And that was being the biggest thing to run. I don't know if you know, Brandon Turner from Bigger Pockets, but he came on the show on my show and he was talking about like the tricycle, right? You sit on the tricycle and you're peddling and then you might upgrade it to a mountain. It's still a bike, but you're still pedaling. If you get off the bike, ain't moving, right? You might then bring on a partner. Who's also maybe working a full-time job and yeah, but is in it for the, and it's a tandem, but if you both get off the bike, doesn't move. But if one gets off the bike and still move, then there's the next analogy is like the car. All right. So you've got a dashboard, you can start measuring things, but you've got a couple of passengers. The next one up to that could be a train or an airplane. You know, then you go faster and faster, but it's all about how. You grow and find those seats around you to help keep moving the vehicle forward. And that's been a really powerful thing. It costs me money, like multiple six figures, but I need to realize that I can't do it all and it's burning me out if I try to do it all. So today my, I've, I just employed another guy. Who's my head of equity sales. We spent a ton of market money on Facebook advertising, building the brand, building the podcast. But what we found was we generated like something like 1500 leads. So all coming in and dying on the vine because I was too busy running the day-like operations. I needed someone to follow up with them. I've never been, I'm in sales, but I've never been a sales guy if that makes sense. Sure. I needed to go find someone who could make. The calls and follow up and do the sale and the closing, you know, to make our ship run quicker, you know, go quicker. So that's an example of I don't know if this is going to work. I hope it works. I've got, I'm going to spend six figures on you. You better raise money. You know what I mean? So there's always going to be, and it goes back to that. We were talking about earlier, the unknown. I have to make that commitment. I don't know if this is going to work in six months time, but I'm going to make the bet. At least I scratched that itch and know that, okay, it's six months time. We could be even bigger than what we are today. And that's. That that all that and all really intrigues me. I'm like, well, this could be a, you know, planting the seed and back to you, Tony Robbins. I think it's either Tony Robbins or someone says you want to be hiring six months in advance of when you really need the person. Right. And that's that, that's where the team looks like today, but let's not beat around the bush. There was many years working full time job, doing it all, you know, trying to get the podcast, underwriting deals, getting on planes, trying to have a life with my fiance and wife. Now. Having a personal life, like literally pulling your hair out. And it's not, it ain't for the fainthearted. So you understand why people go, I don't want to do that. I'm just going to stick in my cubicle and that's my engineering job and I'm fine with that. That's cool. No, no judgment. But for me, it was, I dear regret, and I want to give it a crack. In my late twenties and thirties and then, you know, see what happens thereafter.
Ed Mathews:
Yeah. And frankly, you know, it's interesting. So my, you, you talking about, you know, having a partner who understands this, you know, it was one of the things that my wife, even to this day, we talk about, I mean, I've been full time now for five years and congratulations. Thank you. And married for 27. And that's still working out too. She still likes me, which is nice. The the, you know, the thing is that, you know, my, my wife, Patricia looks at a W2 job as security. And I look at that as a risk, right? Because. You know, you're employed by the, at the whim of someone in some corner office somewhere, unless you are the person in the corner office, at which point then you have a board of directors to answer to. And they're, they can be whimsical as well. The, you know, the fact is that the only way to be you know, sure of your success is you know, I'm a big fan of eating what you're, you know, killing what you have to eat. Right. And team is a big part of that. And that book over your shoulder, who not how is a phenomenal book to learn how to do that. Right. Because you know, the fact is that there is a, you know, you will burn out, I guarantee it. And you know, I was one of those guys. I'm sure you were as well that you don't, you probably don't need eight hours of sleep and you know, between.
Reed Goossens:
I like it. Let me say to the listeners, prioritizing sleep is the number one thing in my day. So I'll let you keep going, but just.
Ed Mathews:
Same, but I learned that late in life. Right. You know, there were my unfair share of very late nights, you know, doing a whole bunch of things that we were doing, you know, traveling and slinging software and services, but the you know, the fact is that you will burn out guaranteed a hundred percent. There is no, no one is bulletproof. Right. And you know, having it. Team and also systems, which we'll get into in a second is the really the only way I know how to grow a business. Right. Because, you know, first off you mentioned it and I say the same thing. I, if I walk into a room and I'm the smartest person in the room, we are in a lot of trouble because that's not a good thing. Right. And you know, you hire people that are great at what they do, you know, you figure out what their superpowers are and apply them, but you know, I look at hiring people as a return on investment, much if I'm buying a piece of software or a building or anything, right. If I'm giving you a dollar. I need a 1. 25 plus back, right? To make it worth, you know, make it worth the investment. And preferably I'd like 2. 50. That would be wonderful. But you know, it all started, it has to start somewhere. But you know, the fact is it's a return on investment. So yes, I bet it cost you, I bet it cost you six figures. I know it did. And hopefully you made multiple six figures because that person's really good at their job.
Reed Goossens:
No that's right. And to your point, it is an investment. And even for the listeners who are like, I don't have six figures. Let's break it down even earlier. When I was still working full-time, I realized I couldn't underwrite enough deals. I couldn't plus keep the full-time job going. So two things I did one structural engineer, I went and got a job, the highest paying corporate job. Plus I had visa issues. I wasn't on a green card as with a development company here in Los Angeles. So I use my skills to go and upsize and then be learning from them. Plus doing my deals on the side. The second thing I did was hire online analyst. I developed out my own spreadsheets about how I like to analyze deals. And I encourage everyone to do that regardless of where you are in the business. And that's free analyzing businesses or fix and flipping or not big multifamily, but have your own spreadsheet. Teach someone for 15, 20 bucks an hour. You can then go and do four to six deals a week, which is four to six deals more than what I was looking at. Right. And that is a very small cost that will make sure that you go, well, hey, I'm worth more 20 or 15 bucks an hour. And my time is more precious doing other things, even when I'm working full time. And that was a real, that I still remember to this day going, Oh, 20 bucks an hour. That's coming straight out of the paycheck, you know, and having to justify it to my girlfriend slash wife at the time was like, this will help me run faster. It's only a small step, but it's an example of what now leads to when I can make a decision on a six-figure person today.
Ed Mathews:
So let's talk about systems. You mentioned the spreadsheet and sharing that, you know, how, what is your perspective on systematizing your business and how do you go about doing that?
Reed Goossens:
Oh I just, at a pain point in my life, I set up a. For my podcast, we're speaking on a podcast. I have a system or had a system where it was, you know, record, drop, edit, comes in, he does it all puts everything from show notes to titles. And then I have a VA who uploads it all. I just changed to a new system and it required me then uploading stuff to a form and filling out a bunch of stuff. And I was like, this is not going to work cause it's too much for me, you know, like just a little thing like that, that I've already spent the last five years building, I was like one of the questions was, what's you talk about in the episode? And it was like, listen to the goddamn episode. That's why I'm hiring you to edit my podcast. But it is an example of making systems in businesses is the thing that I'm doing. And now being as a CEO , my job is to create, help encourage the team to create a system where there is inefficiency. And two, make sure I've got the right person in the right seat. And if I don't have those things happening, then my business isn't going anywhere. And the other thing I'll say is that I've built all the systems for myself in the business. I've done the asset management, the underwriting the deal finding, the construction management, the dealing with the property manager, dealing with the lenders, dealing with investors. I've done it all. And you have to, as a solo entrepreneur, to then go out and delegate and then go out and create those systems to make you more efficient. And there's going to be things that you're never gonna, still requires a human or, you know, or a body. It's not just. a piece of software, but if you're always constantly, you know, the old saying work on the business, not in the business. And that is my job today is to make sure I am systemizing or at least encouraging my team to think about how they make things more efficient because we ain't doing it, you know, the stress that comes along with managing large properties you know, you want to make sure that you're doing it in the most efficient way possible.
Ed Mathews:
Right on. Yeah. You know, it's, and it's. It's so important highest and best use is something that we talk about constantly here. And you know, it is, you shouldn't be doing 20 an hour work, not to diminish it, but if you are, the value you bring to the table is 500 an hour work. And you know, it comes down to, you know, something as simple as looking back at your day and saying, okay, how much time did I spend on 500 an hour work versus, you know, 20 an hour work. And sometimes it has to be me for whatever reason. But I look at things the same way. If from a process perspective, if I have to fill out a form process is broken, I guarantee you, I'm not going to be the guy that's going to fill out that form, you know, on a daily basis. It's just not the way I'm wired. I got too many other things going on. And you know, I look for technology, enabling technologies, processes, and human beings to take me out of as much of the day to day as humanly possible.
Reed Goossens:
One thing I'll add to that is. Cause I am a little bit of a nerd in regards to breaking it and putting it back together. I also have a way that I want it to done, be done, like particularly when you bring on a new person. And I remember my first VA that I hired, he was failing at the task, not because he was bad at the task, but because I was bad at giving the instruction. And I remember that to this day and going, Oh my gosh, this guy, like he's useless. I need to fire him. Wait, you're the, this, he's failing because you didn't explain. Things like loom where I write an email waste my time getting on loom quickly recording it sharing my screen. This is what I want. Boom. It's now documented and I can put it somewhere and he doesn't have do you have any questions? No questions, right? We have a success. Yes, that is because you put and I say that because I had to train myself also to be a better leader and to explain it in a way that my team can, again, is a very low paid VA, but even to this day when I'm talking about my asset manager or my head of, you know, finance or, you know, things that, that are high, higher paying stuff, I still have to come from that. Am I explaining this in a way that is, or am I communicating in a way that you understand where I want this puck to go? And I want your input on that to say, can we make this, what I'm saying is absolute trollop or is it, do you agree? And we, this is the most efficient way to move this thing forward. And sometimes we'll have a discussion about it and, you know, we'll move on and we'll build a system and off it goes.
Ed Mathews:
Yeah, you know, it's interesting to build on that. I was interviewing a gentleman, I actually met him on Twitter. His name's Nick Huber. He runs several companies and is quite successful. A sweaty startup, I believe is a moniker. But, you know, one of the things he said about systems, which really resonated with me was that, you know, you don't, you're not going to always be able to hire a players, right? And so you've got to basically set up systems and processes. So that a normal person, an average person can come in and succeed, right? Yep, that's right. That simple. So that is correct.
So let's move on to the final four. So these are the four loaded questions I ask everybody. You mentioned mentors earlier and obviously, you know, I think in order to get to the level that you've gotten to you, you know, you've had to have had people that throw an arm around you for one reason or another. And so I'm curious about the best advice you ever got and who gave it to you.
Reed Goossens:
I have to give it to my dad. I always give it to my dad. It's a fool and their money are easily parted. Don't be a fool. And that just goes back to education. Yes, I've had many mentors. I think mentors are the number one thing. We didn't even get into betting on yourself and paying for my first mentor. I remember that anguish going through my mind, but you're worth it. And that's we as individuals need to not be that fool. And the second step is that you are worth investing in mentorship. And, you know, coaching to make you better because we're not just born with all this experience. Kobe Bryant wasn't the best at what he does without having certain coaches around him. And that, that applies to business as well today.
Ed Mathews:
Okay. Next question. So I'm always interested in leaders like yourself, you know, Leaders tend to be readers, obviously. Just looking at the background of your of your room there. The, I'm curious about a couple of things, you know, first and foremost, how do you consume information? Is it physical books? Is it audio books? Is it podcasts, webinars, conferences, whatever? And then I'm also really curious about who you're paying attention to these days, who you're learning from.
Reed Goossens:
So I go to all the things, I do the podcast, I do the conferences, I do the reading, specifically around reading. I read physical books. My name is Reid and my. I was in a remedial reading class growing up today. I'm not so glad to force myself to read. So before I go to bed every night, I'm reading a physical book, not audio book. It doesn't count. I don't care what you say but I'm reading a physical book. It helps me relax. It's not the phone. It helps me also go to sleep. So that's what I definitely do. Always listen to podcasts In terms of who I'm following right now, I'm following The Rate Guy JP Conklin, I think his name is. He's out of, he's outta Charlotte. He is the head of Pence and Pence Being. The group that does a lot of rate caps for larger multifamily or larger commercial real estate. He's a very interesting gentleman that I follow religiously now, as we're going through just what the Fed is doing, his opinion on it, that's really important. I also listened to The Economist The Economist magazine is now in, in form. In terms of real estate. I, you know, I've not that I've figured it out, but like I've, I now I'm my own mastermind that I created and I'm around other people who are as big or bigger than I am, which is really important. And then obviously going to conferences, you know, probably twice or three times a year, trying to speak on stage and meet other people who are like minded like myself. So the whole gambit and making sure that I'm keeping up to date with the current issues that affecting. Business in my life.
Ed Mathews:
Yeah. I mean, you've got to use your hockey analogy. You know, you've got to skate where the puck's going, not where it is. Right. That's right. So if you had to start over some guy in Connecticut with a magic wand waves is one and says, all right, Reed, you can take back all your knowledge, but you don't get anything else. What would you do differently?
Reed Goossens:
The ignorant answer or the obnoxious answer is I wouldn't do anything differently. And I think the answer is the same. When I first landed in the U S literally within two weeks. I was at my first RIA event, R E I A, Real Estate Investment Association. I didn't have that in Australia, but I had a small networking event in Australia that happened to be my local city that I was going to really regularly. And I was getting a ton of information. I implore, I encourage everyone to go to your local RIA wherever you are. And as an Australian moving to the U. S., the tapestry and the networking that you guys had even back in 2011, 2012. Well, it was on steroids compared to where I come from in Australia. So don't take that for granted. It is at your fingertips. We're living in 2023. It's so much easier to find people who do what we do. And from there, I encourage people to go to at least six events, live events. And I bet you, you will start meeting people that will help you change your life and get you on the path that you want to go down. I 100 percent bet. So if I did it again, exactly the same thing. It was in a different business. I would do exactly the same thing. Find out where everyone goes to, whether it be online or in person, where I'm interested in it to learn about a particular business. And that's what I would do.
Ed Mathews:
I love that. Yeah. You know, it's interesting. I, you know, you run across these people that were, you know, I'm sure you get approached as well. You know, how do you get into this business? How do you get started? You know, the questions are always, well, you know, what's stopping you? And you know, it's either, I don't know where to find the deals. I don't know where to find the money or, you know, I just don't have time or all of the above. And. You know, going to a REIA, I had this conversation with a gentleman right about two years ago, and I threw an arm around him and I turned him around to the crowd and I said, in this crowd, there are people who are selling properties right now, and there are multiple millionaires who spend their days investing in brand new investors just like you. Go introduce yourself, right? It's, there's no easy way. You have to go shake hands and be, you know, become friends. Right. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. So Reid, when you're not talking about real estate, what do you like to do?
Reed Goossens:
Drafting and rugby. I see the rugby ball behind me. A massive Wallabies fan. The World Cup's coming up here in September four years ago, which I can't believe I was in Japan for my first ever rugby World Cup. I'm not gonna France this year, but my other big thing is. Keeping fit. I love surfing and I love going, you know, going to the gym and keeping if I don't work out once a day, I'm going stir crazy. So those are the things that I love. I just have a 10-month-old is our first kid. So it's been a big break. Thank you very much. It's the hardest. I think I say starting a business is extremely effing hard, having a baby is even harder.
Ed Mathews:
Boy or girl.
Reed Goossens:
Little girl.
Ed Mathews:
So good for you. I'm a, I am a girl, dad, myself. Your life, you think it's hard now. Your life will finally change 90 different times between now and 18 and beyond. And, but the first big one that's coming up is when she learns how to walk. And I don't mean walk as in pat. I mean, stand up sprint, right? Yeah.
Reed Goossens:
And she's already like dad no, she don't think dad, but I hold her arms and she's already walking along. I'm like, Oh, here we go.
Ed Mathews:
Pull up my friend that's about to get interested. Exactly. Right. Exactly. So Reed, I've really enjoyed the conversation and it's a pleasure to finally meet in person and or at least virtually here. And so if people wanna learn more about you, your investment business, your podcast or anything else, you know, what is the best way to, to get ahold of you?
Reed Goossens:
E easiest way is go to my personal website. It's reid goons.com. That's R-E-E-D-G-O-O-S-S. E and S dot com. A lot of O's, a lot of S's, a lot of E's in there. I understand that. Listen to back that slowly. If you're back to that slowly, if you're writing it down and that's the easiest way to reach out. If you're ever coming through Los Angeles and you want to meet up for a coffee and talk shop info at reedgoossens. com, give me a couple of weeks heads notice, and we'll hopefully be in town and we can hook up and and talk a bit of real estate.
Ed Mathews:
Fantastic. Well, I'm going to take you up on that. Cause my dad lives in San Clemente and I got to go see him. It's been a while.
Reed Goossens:
I love surfing in San Clemente. Some of the best surfing in California.
Ed Mathews:
So one of the biggest. Surfing schools in the world. Right, right down there. Yeah, exactly. All right. Well, Hey Reed, thank you so much. Once again, thank you for your time and your experience and your expertise. And I wish you well, and I'm looking forward to hearing about the next chapter.
Reed Goossens:
Awesome.