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Navigating the Fork in My Real Estate Road (Happy 11th Birthday, BiggerPockets!)

Joshua Dorkin
2 min read
Navigating the Fork in My Real Estate Road (Happy 11th Birthday, BiggerPockets!)

There comes a point in every person’s life where they stand at a fork in the road — a moment that defines their destiny.

For me, that fork came in 2004.

Was I going to keep making mistakes or could I do something to stem the tide?

I jumped into the real estate investing business with both feet, but like countless others, I didn’t have the tools at my disposal to make great decisions. My out-of-state rental properties were causing headaches that I wouldn’t wish upon my greatest enemies, and I didn’t know where to turn.

I tried looking for help online and found nothing but vague promises of salesmen telling me I could “get rich quick” if I just paid for some crazy course or boot camp. Of course, being a New Yorker, my “BS-o-meter” is pretty well-tuned. I didn’t want hype, hope, or promises. I needed answers from real investors who had been where I was going.

It was that fork in the road that led me to start BiggerPockets 11 years ago today. 

Where We’ve Been

Birthdays tend to make us reflect upon our lives and especially the year we’ve just completed. When I sit down today to look at how far BiggerPockets has come, I’m both blown away and humbled. Here are just a few facts:

  • Over 30 million people have come through BiggerPockets since its inception.
  • We currently have 382,458 members from nearly every country on earth.
  • The BiggerPockets Podcast has been downloaded over 9,000,000 times.
  • The Forums now have 1,559,373 posts, with thousands of new posts each day, making them some of the largest and most active forums on the internet.
  • And so much more!

Related: Maximize Your Membership: How I Made $4,200 in 2 Days Using BiggerPockets

Where We’re Going

What’s even more exciting is that much of this growth has happened in just the last 12 months! BiggerPockets is experiencing exponential growth in a way I could have never imagined, and I’m excited to see where this growth takes us in the coming years.

We have some pretty big, exciting things in store for the BiggerPockets community over the next year, from new tools to new books to new networking opportunities (and maybe even another conference, but you didn’t hear that from me). I believe the next year will be the most transformative year for BiggerPockets, and in turn, for our members.

While I don’t want to reveal too much right now, look for some major changes to BiggerPockets’ look and feel in the coming months. We’re thrilled with the update and can’t wait to unveil our sleek new design, improved user experience, and much more. For a (slightly cryptic) first look, check out the image below!

Pasted image at 2015_10_22 09_51 AM

Related: 11 Smart Ways to Use BiggerPockets to Become a Better Entrepreneur

Special Thanks

I want to end this post by thanking everyone who has made this possible:

  • To the team here at BiggerPockets (19 people strong now!)
  • To the moderators who volunteer their time policing the Forums
  • To the volunteer writers on the BiggerPockets Blog and the Member Blogs
  • To the Pro members who help keep the lights on here at BiggerPockets
  • To those who simply read, post, and consume information throughout BiggerPockets
  • To those who spread the word about BiggerPockets to their family members, friends, and colleagues
  • To the thousands of social media fans on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and more
  • And to my wife, who keeps my head screwed on straight through it all.

Without you all, BiggerPockets would be nothing but a dream inside my head as I struggled to invest in real estate. Instead, it’s a vibrant, expanding community of individuals who care about each other’s success and want to help one another reach their goals.

There is simply nothing else like it on earth, and I’m proud to be a part of such an adventure.

Happy 11th Birthday, BiggerPockets! 

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.