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BlogArrowReal Estate WholesalingArrowWhy Getting Fired From My 9 to 5 Was a Blessing in Disguise for My Real Estate Business
Real Estate Wholesaling

Why Getting Fired From My 9 to 5 Was a Blessing in Disguise for My Real Estate Business

Nasar Elarabi
Expertise: Real Estate Wholesaling, Real Estate Marketing, Business Management, Personal Development, Flipping Houses
65 Articles Written
quit-job-real-estate

Before I got fired from my last job, I had to master time management. I learned this when I was working a full time job, in grad school, pursuing a real estate wholesaling career. I had to learn how to properly allocate my time, which included cutting unnecessary stuff out like music, television, partying, and associating with people who weren’t going anywhere. Your time is very limited, so you must spend it wisely. Now, while I was working a job, I was doing a deal or two every other month. I remember a full time rehabber told me that I could never find deals as good as his because he spent 40 plus hours a week looking for good deals. And I was only doing it part time. That statement is not all the way true. You can still find great deals doing this part time. However, when I got fired, it was a game changer for me.

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From 9 to 5 to Full-Time Investor

When I got fired, I had a lot of time to look for deals. I started doing multiple deals a month. I was able to get marketing out, pre-screen callers, and look at houses. I could look at houses in the daytime, evening, and at night in some cases. When I started making more offers, I started making more money. I could really outdo my competition by not only calling back, but also showing up. As dumb as it sounds, some of your competition won’t even return a call from a seller. I was able to get back with sellers extremely fast to get their houses locked up.

Related: 4 Steps for Getting Your Finances in Order BEFORE You Quit Your 9-5 to Invest

Another good thing was that I was able to connect with more cash buyers. I was now full time, so I started meeting other full time buyers. That eventually made me more money because my competition started bringing me the deals they could not sell. And I would get them sold. I got fired in September of 2012, and two months later, I put up my first five-figure month. I felt extremely empowered. That was much better than the $2,200 I took home a month after taxes at my day job. I could not maximize my marketing strategies back when I worked a 9 to 5 job. Once I started investing full time, other real estate investors would talk about how they would see me out at midnight putting up “I buy houses” signs. That made more people want to connect with me due to how serious they saw I was about it.

Another great thing was the networking opportunities. I had more time to network with other players that led to many partnerships, hard money relationships, private money relationships, and meeting more investor-friendly attorneys and real estate agents. The more my network grew, the more money I made. Please believe, there are a lot of deals being done during the 9 to 5 work day. After normal work hours, a lot of people have families, kids and other activities to attend to. So work hours are the best time to connect with other players.

Conclusion

Being full time has many advantages to up your income–the most important being the ability to evaluate your deals and other people’s deals that fall on your table. I am in no way is recommending you to go out and quit your job. Entrepreneurship is hard, and it takes time to be successful. This is just food for thought for those who are doing deals and are on the fence about quitting their job.

Related: 3 Feasible Game Plans For Quitting Your 9-5 to Invest Full Time

I recently had a friend who had a great job at a prestigious company. For years I would ask him why he worked. He had a fear of quitting his job because he had seen so many people quit only to look for another job a few months later. Now, this guy probably had about $7-10k in net cash flow coming in a month from real estate. I assured him he would not be looking for a job anytime soon. Well, he didn’t buy what I was saying at the time. About two years later, he finally quit and enjoys it more than ever. Quitting your job is a big step and might take time. We mentally become dependent on a paycheck to the point that we think we must have a “real job” no matter what. That is not the case, and you can indeed become independent with proper planning.

Have you made the jump to full time investor (or are you considering it)?

Let us know your experiences in the comments section below!

By Nasar Elarabi
Nasar El-arabi has been involved in real estate for 12 years. During those 12 years, Nasar has wholesaled houses, rehabbed properties, built new properties, created a buy and hold portfolio, and fl...
Read more
Nasar El-arabi has been involved in real estate for 12 years. During those 12 years, Nasar has wholesaled houses, rehabbed properties, built new properties, created a buy and hold portfolio, and flipped land. Nasar identified early in life he wanted to have his own business. Fortunately, because of parents who instilled an entrepreneurial spirit in him, he was able to build a seven-figure business after being terminated from his job in September of 2012. Nasar has gone on to become a successful real estate investor in Charlotte, N.C. Nasar has over 100 videos on YouTube and runs a blog at RealEstateDoru.com.
Read Less
12 Replies
    Erika Carter Residential Real Estate Broker from Chicago, IL
    Replied over 5 years ago
    I always envision the day I leave my 9-5…it will be a great day!

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    Clayton Rokosh Future real-estate investor from East Selkirk, Manitoba
    Replied over 5 years ago
    Very interesting that your friend wouldn’t quit his job, even though he had 7k-10k cashflow a month. I guess you could say, been financially free or having enough money, is subjective to the person. To me, $4000 cashflow a month is all I need to live happily, but to others, that’s nowhere near enough or it’s too much. Every person truly is different!

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    Mike Sattem Investor from La Grande, OR
    Replied over 5 years ago
    Nasar, I could not agree more. The day I decided to work as a Real Estate investor full time was truly a blessing. Now I get to stay home with my daughters every day, and do what I love, while allowing my wife to work as much or little as she wants in a job she is passionate about. Take the plunge, the waters fine 🙂

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    Michael Askew Wholesaler from Charlotte, North Carolina
    Replied over 5 years ago
    Great blog Nasar!

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    Ron Herrera Investor from Orange County, California
    Replied over 5 years ago
    I remember this story from the podcast a few months ago. Google it and give it a listen. Nasar’s honesty was helpful and quite entertaining!

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    Rachel Pervis
    Replied over 5 years ago
    This post was very encouraging. My goal is to one day become a full time investor while being an agent. I hope to leave my 9-5 and focus completely on what I enjoy doing.

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    Rehan A. PT Investor from Farmington, Michigan
    Replied about 5 years ago
    Great story Nasar. I wish one day I have faith in Mike Sattem’s take on the water depth and just take the plunge.

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    David White from Edgewood, Maryland
    Replied about 5 years ago
    Quitting my job seems like a dream at this moment. But I will work hard enough for it to be a reality.

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    Larry Russell Rental Property Investor from Whitsett, NC
    Replied about 5 years ago
    Great post! My goal is to go full-time during the second quarter of 2016.

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    Shimika S. Rental Property Investor from Macedonia, OH
    Replied about 5 years ago
    Thanks for the motivating post!

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    Jim Williams Foreclosure Specialist from Greensboro, North Carolina
    Replied about 5 years ago
    Hey everyone, It is a very real goal if you are totally commited to success. I walked out of the furniture industry after 25 years and became a full time real estate investors 2007. I was the #1 income producer in furniture retails sales in my hometown and it was the MOST exciting adventure I’ve ever embarked on. Today we buy and sell 75 houses a year via Wholealing, Rehab to Flip and Retailing. We own a Homevestors Franchise and love it! The supportsystem is what ALL investors need, don’t do it alone!

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    David Bokman Real Estate Investor/Wholesaler from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Replied about 5 years ago
    great great story!!!! I’m currently sitting in the same boat so reading this is very helpful. Thanks for sharing very motivating.

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