14 year old looking to build capital
Yonkers, NY · Member since 2017 · 506 posts · 95 votes
@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.
@Account Closed there's good debt & bad debt, read rich dad poor dad for a little insight on this but if you have debt that people are paying for (tenants) then that is good debt, also to start a business a lot of time you have to go a little into debt to make it work and get marketing. Fortunately I've worked hard since I was 16 and able to get a job and have been able to pay for all my marketing and expenses up front to land me my first couple of deals. If you start piling up money now, debt shouldn't be an issue but if you wait till you start your business you may have to take out debt. There's a lot of other views on this topic but I firmly believe if you can go into debt and can be sure someone will be paying for it, it's a winning situation.
@Account Closed Getting an education or not isn't something you should decide on at 14. A good education is never a negative, and opens a lot of doors. Remember too, weigh the advice that people are giving you, and get counsel from your parents as to what you are doing, and who you are meeting with. Though it's good you are ambitious at 14, it's important to have someone that knows you and whom you trust to guide you.
@Account Closed I am not sure it is appropriate for you to be messaging adults or meeting up with adults at the age of 14. This seems to mirror what your parents have rightfully told you.
Most states require someone to be 16 to hold a job. It is unlikely you can sign a contract under the age of 18, without your parents involved. These age limits are in place for your own protection. At 14 you think you know everything, but you actually only know enough to get yourself in trouble.
It is no problem if you want to read books and get educated on investing, but starting real estate investing today is not realistic. You can start earning money and save up for investing in the future. Once you are old enough, seek a part time job in real estate. Consider mowing lawns or running errands for a property management company. Work for someone successful and ask them to mentor you.
I think too many kids watch Shark Tank and think they will be the 15 year old CEO of a company. Finish being a kid before you try to be an adult. A couple years isn't going to make any difference.
Michael, I think it's a great thing you being so interested in entrepreneurship. I was eager to learn at your age but had nowhere to start. Good thing now you have the internet to learn basic ways on making money to invest in the future. My advice to you would be to save save and save some more! Just like some of the comments say to do side jobs to be able to gain capital. I know a kid who started at age 12 mowing lawns and saved for 3 yrs. This summer he was able to use part of his money for a down-payment on a house which his parents helped him get since he is not legal age. Everything he's doing is coming from his hard work. He has then started to flip his home. Not quite sure if he will re-sale or buy and hold.
I would encourage you to do some side hustle to gain income. Listen to Gary V or Grant Cardone for more motivation. Patrick Bet David is also a good entrepreneur. If I were your age I'd see what I could buy and sell at the school (lots of customers) if possible like candy! Good luck kid!
I think everyone needs to remember that this young man is asking for advice. It is not a good idea to use that to rehash our own regrets in life, or to self-justify our choices by encouraging him to do the same things we did. Not when the things we did have bad impacts far more often than good impacts.
I am specifically talking about the people arguing that this young man should not go to college (or even finish high school!!! WTF?)
This may have worked out for you. But if it did, you are very, very, very much the exception to the rule. And the world of the future is going to be different from the world of the past, and it is unlikely to value education LESS.
Michael, the people telling you that you don't need to go to college (or even high school) are the exact same people who will tell you smoking is good for you, because their great uncle smoked a pack a day and lived to be 90.
Sure, it happens. But as a real estate investor, you should be all about the numbers. And what do the numbers tell us?
They tell us that the average wage of those with less than a high school diploma is $493 a week, with more than 8% unemployment.
That the average wage of those with a high school diploma is $678 a week, with 5% unemployment. You think someone wanting to invest in real estate can find something to do with $185 extra dollars a wee?
The average wage for some college, but no degree is $738 a week.
For an associate's degree $798.
For a bachelor's degree $1,137 a week.
There is no, "But, but, but, he's an ENTREPRENEUR exception to any of the above.
People advising you to forgo education are giving you lousy advice, either to make themselves feel better about their own choices, or as a result of their own regrets.
It is LOUSY advice. Don't listen to it.
Strange, but I haven't seen anyone suggesting to learn a foreign language. Regardless of where we live or how we invest, we'll probably be dealing with people from other countries. Many of whom may not know English well. Some basic knowledge in another language will go a long way. Of course, the language should be chosen based on what other languages are spoken in your area. Spanish, Chinese even Russian.
@Michael Kantar you've already taken the first step here and that is thinking of your future and acting on it. I would highly suggest you focus on swimming since you are obviously talented in that area. I also believe that will open doors along the way since it shows your determination and drive are there. If your grades are solid, you could easily get a full ride to college and that is an accomplishment also.
I won't have the military conversation with you because I feel like that is something only parents should bring up with someone your age. As for real estate at 14, it will be a challenge for you. There will be people out there who just won't take you seriously at your age and that's okay. Just remember not to let these hurdles discourage you from this. I would look at what jobs are available to you, pick one and keep reading and studying real estate. If you already have this determination at 14, you'll easily be successful in life in whatever path you choose to take. You're awesome, Michael! Keep up the drive!
It's great that you thinking about this at 14, so when you 18 you will have a head start on the completion. I would suggest getting regular job and look to become an assistant or help out an agent or investor in your area.
From there I would look into making money online because there is no age restriction and there is plenty on money to made doing various thing. I f you would like some detailed info about that send me a message.
Lean all you can learn real estate, credit, taxes, and finance in the mean time. Save all your money don't spend money on things that you truly don't want. Find a way to buy assets that pay for the things you want. After years of doing these things you should be in a pretty good position to invest in real estate and have the knowledge to go along with it.
Not sure if it's been mentioned but there are people who make a living buying things/getting free things off Craig's List and flipping them for more money on Craig's List, sites like offer-up, etc.
When I was 14, I wish the Internet was then what it is now.
Affiliate marketing is also another great way of making money online.
Don't be discouraged by your age. I remember reading about a girl on here who was your age and her mom was a realtor. Her mom wanted to buy a property and it was only 10K (this was during the housing crisis). The daughter tells her mom she wants to go in on it and the mom is shocked to learn the girl has around 5K saved from babysitting.
They didn't have to put a lot of money into the property (it wasn't as bad as one would think a 10K property would be) but I remember the rental return was great.
Point is, save your money and find someone (a parent or relative would be best) you can partner with. And if you'd prefer to make money and buy property when you're 18, that's a great route as well.
thanks everyone I will check this all out! Thanks for all of the help, I really appreciate it! Also, I will think about that college situation down more, I have some time to think about it and I will see how that goes!
Get a Job dude. Make School a priority over that job. Your 14 don't rule out things like the military or college. Your way to young to rule anything out plus your limiting yourself. Not saying you have to go to college or the military. Just don't rule them out. Keep hustling.
ok @Scot Sorenson I will keep an open mind on these subjects and thoroughly think it out, and when the time comes based off of my situation and what I know and need I will make my decision! I will definitely not count those options out, I will definitely check them out some more!
David Dachtera why wouldn't rich people want to use their own money? Wouldn't there be interest and other costs?
That's why you need to study it.
Consider how the banks get money to lend out...
Lend out depositor funds? Nope - they can't do that.
So what do they do? They borrow money from "the fed". For every depositor dollar, they can borrow between $7 and $10, depending on their ratio of performing assets. "The fed" charges them about 0.25%. They lend that out to borrowers on home loans, equity credit lines and credits cards (in order of ascending interest rates) for between 3% and 29.9% or more.
The process is called "arbitrage": lending out borrowed money at interest rates higher than your lender is charging you. It's why bankers are the wealthiest people on the planet.
Would you NOT want to take their example?
If you can borrow from private lenders for between 12% and 20% or so and produce returns (to you) of 40% or more on THEIR money, why would you not do that? It means you're profiting as much from THEIR money as they are from lending it to you - with "NO OUT OF POCKET"!
Perhaps you've heard of "the cost of doing business". Everything has a cost.
First thing you'll need to learn is the difference between a consumer and an entrepreneur.
The consumer says, "How much money will it cost me?"
The entrepreneur says, "How much money will it make me, or how much loss will it mitigate?"
Aaron Hunt thanks! Do you think I should get a business degree or something else? From what you were saying it seems like you think I shouldn't. But I think I should get a business related degree, what do you think?
My suggestion would be focusing more towards science/health or computers/technology. Business degree routes tend to be a hit or miss. Remember you don't need a business degree to "do business". A lot of business is based on what opportunities you create for yourself by the networking you do and the connections you make. However, you'll still always have large big-name employers that won't let people move up without an MBA behind their name.
All being said, emotional quotient is FAR superior to intellectual quotient. At your age, I would find a weekend/summer sales or marketing job above all else. Doesn't have to be anything crazy. Push yourself to learn how to read people and situations quickly, and become good at persuasion. These are difficult life-skills that can't be taught with formal education, but only with on the job growth.
I personally can't say for sure based on your experiences if you will enjoy engineering or medicine, etc. However, these are the safer/more secure routes overall (at least as of now). This is really based on what you are interested in. Do something that you will enjoy waking up to do every morning and money will follow.
In theory, I always wanted to be in business/management, and "run a company". I currently am in a leadership role and manage 70+ highly educated individuals in my respective field, however, I quickly realized it's more of a headache than its worth. Sure I learned an important skillset including healthcare management, and public speaking, but more importantly I learned things I like and don't like. I could probably make a lot more money right now if I was NOT managing others - but I learned by process of trial & error, which I suspect you will be doing for many years as well.
As for the drop shipping business, this was back during the time when HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays were battling each other to see who would come out on top. I was helping to liquidate stock for some major stores during the holiday season by drop-shipping on eBay. It was a great temporary job back then, but I was pretty young and honestly didn't realize I had to pay taxes on all the money I was making so the IRS actually sent a letter to my parents house...and you can imagine how that conversation went.