Have you ever needed help with something and couldn’t find the answer? Well, like the rest of you, I experienced this very problem. And 9 years ago today, I set out to create the solution to that very problem. I was a buy and hold real estate investor who had purchased a few properties out of state, and I was dealing with lots of problems thanks to poor property management. I didn’t know much about being a landlord, but assumed that as an intelligent college graduate, I could figure it out on my own. For the most part, I was right. Unfortunately, there are lots of little things in the real estate investing business that can trip you up, and the only place to really learn about them is through experience. Well, I was getting experience, and it wasn’t good. A Solution to My Woes? Realizing that going at it alone wasn’t working, I set out to the bookstore and library and rifled through book after book, hoping to find resolution. I found a ton of great information in these books, but unfortunately, the questions that I had weren’t answered. I then went online and started searching on Yahoo and Google for answers…. And I found a handful of sites that focused on real estate investing. I was ecstatic! I was finally going to get the information I was looking for, but my mood quickly changed as I began to dig in. It appeared that there was a catch to these sites. While there was some solid information, it seemed that there was a sales pitch around every corner. Growing up in New York, I’m sensitive to someone trying to pull wool over my eyes, and I wanted nothing to do with the guru scene. So, I did what any good entrepreneur would do. I created a website that would solve the problem that I faced — I created BiggerPockets.com. For the first few years of BiggerPockets, I continued to work my day job (teaching high school special education) while investing in real estate at a distance and pursuing BiggerPockets only in my spare time. However, several years ago I began to realize the tremendous value BiggerPockets was bringing to the world and decide to leave my day job for a more-than-full-time commitment here on BiggerPockets. Fast forward a little bit . . . BiggerPockets Turned 9-Years Old Today! I can’t believe that it has been 9 years since the day I opened up my site and waited for someone to show up. I think aside from my brother, I was able to convince a small handful of people to come and check it out that first day. The site was basic — a forum and a directory of resources, but there was something very different about BiggerPockets. This site wasn’t going to be about selling guru products and services. It wasn’t going to be about promoting their events. In fact, I didn’t want people using the site to market “education” at all. BiggerPockets was going to be an alternative to the status quo — I was going to create a place where people could learn about real estate without the pitch… In a world where such a thing didn’t exist, I faced an incredibly difficult uphill battle. But after sharing my vision with our small group of initial users, they began to spread the word. There was something special about my idea — and other investors wanted to tell their friends about it. A New Vision for Real Estate Investors BiggerPockets was going to be a community where investors could share knowledge, could mentor one another, could network, could do deals, and could feel comfortable — a place where they could call home and not worry that someone was always trying to pitch them on something. Well, that vision has come through in spades! Over the past 9 years, we’ve seen over 15 million unique visitors come through our virtual walls. We’ve heard from countless members about deals that they have done, about money they’ve saved, about jobs they’ve quit, about colleagues and friends they have made, and so much more — all thanks to BiggerPockets. We’ve been featured in the press in over 50 major news publications, on television and on radio. We put on the first 100% no pitch real estate investing conference last year for over 350 attendees, and there are now over 30 local “unofficial” BiggerPockets meet up groups around the country. And our 10 month old BiggerPockets Podcast is the highest rated and reviewed real estate show on iTunes. We’ve changed countless lives. We’ve been responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in commerce, if not more, and we’re only just getting started. So here’s to BiggerPockets on her 9th Birthday! She has challenged me. She has exhausted me. She has excited me. She has made me who I am today, and has done the same for so many others. Thank you BiggerPockets and Happy Birthday! 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