Selling a Business, What’s next?

Question

Hello! My wife and I are planning to have our business sold in the next month or so. We have built this business up over that last 14 years. The proceeds from the sale are what we will use to begin our journey in real estate investing. What do you recommend we do in terms of learning the best way to allocate the funds for investing and in general learn what in the world we are doing and what we should do first. We are in Colorado Springs, CO. Leaning towards small multi family.

Grace Wang · Answer

@Kris Johnson hey Kris, congrats! How i would start in your position is continuing educating yourself on what types of rental strategies resonate with you. Have you read some of the book published through biggerpockets? Thats a great place to start. Diving into their podcasts is also going to help you.

Just take it step by step. As you consume all the information through books, forums, podcasts, etc, start figuring out how hands-on you’d like to be, and the type of returns you want to see. Then, look for a few markets where your goals are achievable. Your question is a bit broad, but i think this could be a good way to start narrowing down a best real estate strategy for your situation

Kris Johnson · Answer

Thank you for the replies and kind words. I have been a big fan of the podcast for about a year. In fact the broker helping do our business valuation was a guest on the podcast. Such a valuable resource. Now to grab some of the getting started books and dive in.

Sam Wilson · Answer

@Kris Johnson.  Just awesome!  Many congrats to you and your wife!

I'll advise you to not do what I did when we sold our business: Don't Panic!

Seriously, we did an extremely poor job about planning what was next for us.  And after working all my life, I was not sure what to do with myself and did not like not knowing what was next!  (Though in retrospect I'm not sure why I panicked because we had plenty of cash from the sale and savings; I think it was the general fear of unknown and unplanned).

I agree with what everyone else has already stated:  continue to learn and to network locally.  Regardless of where your REI journey takes you, that network will be extremely beneficial.

Just as importantly, I recommend taking some time with your wife to plan what you want your life to look like post-business.  Are you all wanting to becoming active, hands-on investors?  Do you want to be passive investors and focus on other things? (this is also a great time to talk with other investors to see how they spend their time and if that is something you all area wanting to do)

One of the things I love about REI is there are so many ways to be involved.

I look forward to hearing how you take these first next steps!

Jeremy Gaal · Answer

@Kris Johnson congrats on the new adventure. Multi-family is a little tough in COS these days (know a few agents/investors looking for them right now) but not impossible. Really it just comes down to having all your ducks in a row and when something comes up that meets your requirements, you need to pounce. There are also a few meetups in the Springs that could help grow your network. Beyond that, happy to help in any way I can.

Stuart Grazier · Answer

@Kris Johnson That's awesome! Congrats! I think you are right on target: buy small multifamily in Colorado Springs that you can rent out to long term tenants, or short term if the location allows for it. I'd recommend connecting with an investor friendly Realtor in the area who knows the ins and outs of the market and learn by doing - take action and buy your first property! Happy to help in any way I can.

Daniel Hillman · Answer

Congratulations on developing a successful business and selling it! I agree with everything @Grace Wang said. I think the BiggerPockets podcast is such a valuable resource. I also really liked The Book on Rental Property Investing.

I would also add that you should try to connect with other investors in the community. There is a House Hacking group that meets every other Thursday at Oscar Blues. They are really supportive and full of great people that are looking to share their knowledge. I'm also hoping to start a real estate investing book club in October for anyone that is interested. I'm hoping to get into multifamily in the next year so we will be reading the Multifamily Millionair Vol I. and II.

Selling a Business, What’s next?

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