Yonkers, NY · Member since 2017 · 506 posts · 95 votes
Hi everyone, my name is Michael I'm 14 years old and I live in westchester county in New York. I want to start some sort of llc or other corporations so I can sign contracts and invest in real estate before I'm 18, what do you guys think about this? Also, I need to get capital to be able to do this so I was thinking of some things to do, here are some of them:
Buy and sell things online for profit
Maybe get a brokerage to invest in forex for me(some other type of investing like that)
Do bird dogging (don't have money to market though)
What do you guys think of these strategies? Also, do you guys have anything else I can possible do to raise funds? I am very motivated and trying to get started in real estate investing! Thanks!
@Account Closed - Love your ambition, Michael. At 14, you are thinking the right way. Your age shouldn't stop you from going after what you want.
1. First, consume as much information on real estate as you can. Podcasts, forums, books, etc. At your age, people will question your ability to know anything. Be as educated as you can.
2. Network. Uber to a real estate events if you have to. Surround yourself with bosses who get things done. This will help elevate your game and get you into deals.
3. Volunteer your time to a realtor or flipper or someone with lots of deal flow. Real experience is the best reference to have. Reading can only get you so far. Work for free if you have to. It will pay off in the long run.
Do these things and your world will open up. You will find yourself in opportunities and ways to make money. Over time, someone will take a chance on you. Chase your dreams buddy. I'm rooting for you.
Julius John this is a good point, but everywhere I go would be with my parents. Also, my parents would not let me meet people or other stuff like that all by myself.
Don't ever let any one talk down to you or make you feel insignificant just because you are young either. You've got about 1000% more drive than I had at age 14 and I applaud you for that. With that being said, absorb everything, make good connections, offer your assistance in anyway you can to mentors and investors without anything in return, save, learn, network, but never get discouraged because someone laughs at you or thinks you're too young. You never know, you might be that persons boss someday.
I was pretty ambitious at your age too, and although I did decide to go to college you absolutely don't need it if you want to hustle.
Problem is, hustling comes with no guarantee, whereas for me, going to school was the best risk adjusted strategy for me getting a return on my time and effort; so my recommendation would be to treat school like your job and find ways to make extra money on the side to save up.
I started umpiring little league at 13, lifeguarding at 16 and working my way up to bigger and better jobs along the way and started investing in stocks when I turned 18(which was a good time to do so). If you are familiar with the cash flow quadrant, I believe that everyone that wants to be wealthy must at some point take the plunge to moving from the left to the right side of the quadrant, I just don't think it is smart to do it at such as young age before you have developed a significant amount of capital and knowledge. Stay motivated, listen to as many podcasts and highly recommended books as you can so you're prepared once you are 18 and if you can find ways to add value for a profit to other peoples business then go for it. Something as simple as helping an owner of an airbnb turnover their units after school and assisting in their management could go a long way. Anyway, best of luck.
Nice work @Account Closed Great to see starting at a young age!
I personally would avoid Forex / stock trading and would recommend starting your own business. Get any job you can just to save up a little money and use that to get going! You could start retail arbitrage (buying stuff in store to sell at a mark up online) and then use that money to start a private labelling FBA business (the best E Commerce business model, in my opinion). Learn how to market and there is no reason why you couldn't have a couple hundred grand in a few years.
If that doesn't interest you learn how to sell and start a social media marketing agency. I've met REALLY young guys crushing it with that. Old people will pay young people because they know they don't know jack s*** about SM!
At the end of the day get your hustle on in one way or another and realise there is an abundance of opportunity out there... too many kids under 20 making BANK haha.
Also keep learning and partner up with people who are like minded and you may see you reach your goals faster.
Carl Pickens yeah I searched up right after I posted that. Things can get weird and funky with some people. I will watch out for that and will definitely go everywhere with an adult I trust like my parents or older brother.
Bill Goodland that's what I am planning to do for now because starting to invest before 18 is way too risky right now. I will learn and do those other businesses that I mentioned to create capital for myself. Also, over this summer I will be a lifeguard as well. Anyways, I will also wait for the next stock market crash to get into investing in stocks long term because right now the stock market is on its second longest bull run in history, the market is just waiting to crash.
@Account Closed I don’t know why this thread brings up so much emotion in me. I think it is partly because with my ambition I have always been the youngest to succeed in different areas of my life where I have put forth effort. I have experienced firsthand what agism feels like when people have discredited me because of my age.
There are a lot of people that will tell you that you can’t do something. I have been told that several times. And then I do! When they say you can’t do something, what they really mean is that they can’t do it.
Fear based people will use whatever they can to discourage others because of their fear - such as dropping the names of serial killers trying to make you afraid. Be wise. Be careful. And be determined.
I have 4 kids (3,8,10, and 12) the older 3 kids all have jobs outside the home. My 12-year-old babysits, my 10-year-old has a garbage business where he takes out the garbages and returns them for an elderly woman in our neighborhood and he also does acting, my eight-year-old is also an actress and has made over $15,000 so far this year.
Don’t let anybody tell you what you can or can’t do. Just figure out a way to do it if it is important to you.
Another thought that may help you with your preparation in real estate could be to get the name of a trusted handyman from neighbors or friends and reach out to that handyman and ask him if you can be his apprentice. This could teach you valuable skills that could be helpful for you as you either work on your own properties, on rentals, or manage contractors.
Dan Wickland what is an FBA business? I already do social media myself as well for real estate, how would I do the marketing? For myself, for other people other people, or for both?
James Jones what will I Market to get buyers? Should it be simply be a service that I would provide for these people? Or I would Market something else?
Love your ambition. You seem like an intelligent kid. I assume that if you have any earned income at all that you have set up a Roth IRA so you can start saving? If not, please look into it. Your parents can assist you with this often by setting it up at the same bank as you have your checking account at or online with places like TD Ameritrade or many other sites. You are never to young to learn to handle money. As your money grows, you may eventually want to transfer your Roth IRA to a custodian so you can self direct your Roth IRA so you can invest money from your Roth IRA into real estate deals and put the profits that you generate back into your IRA. It would be ideal if you could do a self directed Roth IRA from the onset but sometimes the fees that custodians charge are not cost effective until you build up more money into your account.
Find some Real Estate Investment Meetings in your area and see if your parents would accompany you.
James Jones what will I Market to get buyers? Should it be simply be a service that I would provide for these people? Or I would Market something else?
Get on YouTube.com look up Sean Terry’s flip to freedom watch every video you can for free once you do that you should have your answers
@Account Closed I encourage you not to invest in an IRA right now. It will make it difficult for you to get your money out without penalties. I know that you can have a self-directed IRA but at the beginning it creates more hassle than it's worth.
Sandy Uhlmann what is a Roth IRA? What about a self directed Roth IRA? I would love to learn about this it seems like a good idea! Would it be used for only income from jobs or can I just put random money in there?
Carl Pickens yeah I searched up right after I posted that. Things can get weird and funky with some people. I will watch out for that and will definitely go everywhere with an adult I trust like my parents or older brother.
To be honest, at 14 your old enough to be exploring the world without an adult.