Categories: Podcast

121 – The Best Real Estate Investing Conference In The Bay Area with J Martin

Synopsis

Besides traveling the world as a nomad, J Martin is also the host of the best Real Estate investing conference in the Bay Area. In this episode, J will share his top tips for what you should do to get the most out of your conference experience.

Key points

A Homeless, Unemployed Felon

J started the show by introducing himself as a homeless, unemployed felon. These words carry a negative connotation but for J, it is his lifestyle and identity. He described himself as homeless because he enjoys traveling around the world full time for the past few years; he doesn’t have a permanent residence. In fact, he is doing the podcast all the way from Mexico City. He is also unemployed because he has an AirBnB business that he operates with the help of his virtual assistants in the Philippines. Lastly, he identifies as a felon who broke the law in the past. He does this because he wants to be a testimony that anyone can come back from failure and be successful.

Getting A Boost Through Networking

One of the main themes of this episode is to show how networking with other people in the industry can immensely change the way you do business. Like in J’s case, he did a lot of networking-related activities that helped him get into what he wanted to do as far as making his business as hands-off as possible. All thanks to the meetups he had attended in the past and the meetups he organized himself. He also went to mega conferences on AirBnB and started meeting with a lot of folks. These networking activities helped him grow. It gave him enough confidence to finally quit his job and continue with his business while traveling.

More On How Networking Changed His Life

J emphasized how meeting with other people changed his life and brought value to him both professionally and personally. He told stories of people who became his mentors. Some people encouraged him to start a fundraiser, help orphanages and US veterans with housing, and many other things; things that enriched his life, and not just his business. There are also relationships that started because someone wanted his help and expertise on something, and J says, the relationship kind of snowballed overtime in friendship, great trips together, doing charities, as well as doing business together with both in real estate and tech startups. Indeed, networking has been very substantial in his growth as an investor and as a person.

How To Be Effective In Networking With Others

Connecting with other people can be quite difficult. But for J, it’s as simple as basically putting yourself out there. Putting yourself out there involves attending meetups and doing them yourself, talking with other people and getting them together. It also means being open about your successes as well as your failures. Basically, it means first being visible to people and open to connect with them. Another thing that J discovered is that you don’t have to know everything about real estate and have all the answers. You just need to spend time with people and help them in any way you can with the things that you know and build relationships from there. Networking is first about relationship and trust before it is about business, and you do business with people you trust.

For Newcomers In February’s SFB Summit

J is holding a conference called the SFB Summit happening in February of 2020. This conference has gained significant attendance in the previous years, and for those who will be attending for the first time, J offers advice on how to frame your mind to get the most out of the conference. Especially for beginners, J’s advice to approach the conference asking yourself questions like what investing style would you want to do? What fits your lifestyle? What fits with your financial goals? Do you even know what your financial goals are? These questions are foundational since there are a ton of different ways to invest in real estate, each has its pros and cons depending on each person’s preferences and lifestyle.

Once this is taken care of and you know what you want to focus on, J’s advice is to take in as many action points as you can to start on your focus strategy. In summary, listen to all kinds of investment strategies as presented in the conference, select your path, ask questions in the breakout sessions, watch out for action points, and network with people who are already doing what you want you to want to do.