Getting started, how to get the ball rolling.

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Hello, I'm fairly new to the forums, I learned of them from one of the BP books that I just read. I'll try to keep my post as brief as possible. 

I own a trades related business and am sick of it. I own my home outright (approx 350k value) and have another approx 150k saved. I keep thinking that this isn't enough to get into investing because it don't go very far in my area (Minneapolis), but the more forums and stuff I read and the sicker I get of my job/business I realize that with the right moves I can stop doing what I'm doing and dive in with what I have to work with as I see people posting with 25k wondering how to dive in. I have become obsessed with learning all that I can by reading books etc, so I'm doing that. But I'm hoping to get some help/confidence to get myself going. I truly have the drive that it takes, a little money, I know how all about rehabbing homes, I'm hungry to succeed, I'm willing to move, live in a construction zone, live on little money, house hack or do whatever I need to do to get myself going. 

I plan to leave my area to get closer to my Mom in Illinois because she's getting older and going to need my help, so I'm going to be headed to a much much cheaper area.. The areas nearby include Peoria IL, and the Quad Cities. In both areas I could afford to buy multiple homes, put the cash down on multiple multi family properties etc. 

All of this said, aside from reading and learning more, I'm wondering what those of you with experience would do to get things doing if you were in my shoes. Would you buy a couple sf homes outright and start renting them, try to buy a multi fam (or multiple), fix and flip a few or??? 

I would sincerely appreciate any advise from those with experience. I'm sure you see these type of newby posts all the time, but please trust I am hungry and I have the drive to make it in anything I do, I just need the right education and push to make it happen. Thanks in advance.