Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:01 Unlock more to life with Adrian Penoza real estate investing podcast, where we broadcast interviews with successful real cross north America, to empower you on your journey, to unlocking more to life with real estate and investing. Now, now here's your host, Adrian. Penoza
Speaker 1 00:00:26 All right. We are live for episode number three of the more to life real estate investing network podcast. And I have a super special guest for our third episode. We have here with us, someone who I really, really resonate with. I really love what he's done in the real estate investment world. And he is a 9 1 1 advocate and a full time police officer we've come pretty much from the same background. Obviously me being a police officer for the past 21 years, and we share a very similar mission to help our community experience the true financial freedom that we can get from building generational wealth by investing in real estate. Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure and honor to introduce you to our third guest, Mr. David Knight from the first responder's wealth network. How you doing Dave?
Speaker 2 00:01:22 Hey man. Thanks Adrian. I'm excited to be on, got your own show and uh, I appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 1 00:01:29 Yeah. Awesome. So Dave, we've known each other for probably the better part of what five years.
Speaker 2 00:01:35 Yeah. About five years or so. It's, uh, we connected, you know, you helped me get my first property in Hamilton actually, so, but yeah, same background kind of resonated with each other, hit it off and uh, still, still good friends, uh, to this day and
Speaker 1 00:01:52 Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's definitely closer over the
Speaker 2 00:01:55 Years. Yeah. Couple beers here and there and uh, that's what'll happen
Speaker 1 00:01:59 <laugh> yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I remember that call about five years ago that you just came outta the blue and you know, I guess, uh, our, well, my previous career, your full-time career now still kind of connected us and we had that, uh, connection way back when, when you were starting to look at Hamilton as a place to invest. So definitely lots to talk about today, given, uh, where you started, where you've, uh, gone to and done so much in the past five years. So if you're good, why don't we get right into it?
Speaker 2 00:02:31 Yeah, let's, let's roll.
Speaker 1 00:02:33 All right. So I remember five years ago, I've been on, I, I actually was interviewed on your podcast, um, when you started off, how many years ago now?
Speaker 2 00:02:43 Oh, I think I've had my podcast for almost three years now. And so it's been, uh, it's crazy time flies, but yeah.
Speaker 1 00:02:51 Yeah, for sure. So I've seen you grow your portfolio, Dave, obviously since we first connected and it's amazing how you've expanded it while working, and here's the thing, a fulltime job. Right. And, and yeah, we'll, we'll get into how you manage, you know, a full-time police career and almost a full-time real estate investing career and your podcast, so on and so forth. So let me ask you, let, let's just get right to the point. How do you manage almost two full time, uh, careers on the go at once? How do you segue that?
Speaker 2 00:03:27 Um, well, first off I have a real desire to get to a certain point. So, you know, I'm, I'm on a real mission to get to a certain level that I don't feel I'm at now and it's encouraging it's, uh, it's motivating and I feel like there's a real purpose behind it. So that's what drives me to even do it. Cause I am doing a lot, a hundred percent there's, you know, a lot of people at work think I'm crazy, but you know, there's, there's, there's a purpose behind it. How, how I do it.
Speaker 1 00:03:57 How many years ago do you figure?
Speaker 2 00:03:59 Yeah. So I'll give you kind of the whole background, uh, just to kind of summarize. So when I was in college and university, I always did painting residential painting on the side. So I was able to save some money and I worked a lot. I I've always just kind of worked. I've been just that, that type of guy. And so towards the end of university, about 2009, eight, 2009, I was able to get a down payment on a new build. So that was a townhouse brain Haven build in, uh, Burlington by the time that was getting ready to close. I, I was able to, to close on it, but I, my cash flow wasn't good. I was barely able to, you know, probably pay the bills. I had no furniture. So I decided to live at home for another couple years and rent it out.
Speaker 2 00:04:42 So right from the get go, I kind of started out as a, you know, quote unquote landlord, I guess, without knowing anything about, you know, real estate. And obviously what, what, I know what I know now. So I rented out, I moved in over, over time. I had friends come in and rent out the room and I was house hacking a bit just to kind of continually help. And, you know, there's a lot more detail behind all that stuff, but basically over time, depreciation of the property increased and I learned and evolved that I could tap into that equity to purchase a another property. And that just blew my mind because I felt like I could barely afford my own house at the time, let alone buy another one. Right. So I think just that evolution of slowly learning and growing, um, and accumulating multiple properties, uh, that that's kind of how it started and then, you know, dedicating myself into the education side of things and really learning and evolving that way is really when things started opening up opportunities, but also my mindset of what's what's available and what's possible.
Speaker 1 00:05:49 Okay, awesome. So end of the day you refinanced one property mm-hmm <affirmative> and kept the ball rolling with respect to that home equity line of credit.
Speaker 2 00:06:00 Yes. So I
Speaker 1 00:06:01 Very similar with my story. Like I mentioned, when in episode number one, when we started, you know, we didn't have any money in the bank either, but we did have equity in our, in our principal residence and, and we leveraged that <affirmative> so yeah, very similar to my story as well.
Speaker 2 00:06:16 Yeah. And you know what you're doing and now what I'm doing, although a lot of people are doing, obviously the bird strategy, even though I'm flipping stuff, it's the same tactic of just learning how you can force that appreciation versus waiting for your house or your property to naturally appreciate over time. So I think that was a game changer. Just learning how to do that, that, that really changed a lot, a lot of things to speed up the process.
Speaker 1 00:06:42 For sure. For sure. Yeah. So let me ask you straight out, what made you want to do this? What made you want to start growing a massive portfolio and it, it, was it just for yourself or were you thinking of the 9 1, 1 community that, you know, your colleagues or like what made you want to start in the first place?
Speaker 2 00:07:01 So I don't think when I first realized the opportunity that was available through real estate was just seeing what other people have already done. You know, seeing people grow large portfolios, passive cash flow, active income, you know, financial freedom, quote, unquote, whatever the way you wanna, you know, define that is different for everybody. But, uh, for me, it was the ability to see people living on their own terms, you know, being able to do what they want when they want not have to work shift work, not have to work overnights, not have to answer to anyone, pick your own vacation time. And I'm not, you know, I don't have to pick against 20 other people on any, you know, I, I can do what I want when I want. And that's what really drove me at the beginning. And it really wasn't, like I said, the 9 1, 1 wealth network wasn't really there or in my mind at that point, it was just being motivated by the idea that I can achieve a lot more than what I'm doing now and not having to stay in the constant grind of shift work and which I'm still doing by the way.
Speaker 2 00:08:05 But yeah, that's the next one? What do you mean, Dave? You're still doing that. Yeah, but the, the exit is there. Right. So, but just the point that there is more opportunity if you're willing to go and, and learn a new skill essentially, and go execute on that new skill. So I guess that's, that's what started it for me was just the opportunity that was there to have that financial freedom. And that's, that's the driving force mm-hmm <affirmative>. And then as that evolved, um, that's kind of when the 9 1, 1 wealth network, uh, evolved as well, where I started the podcast, like we talked mentioned earlier, and that was essentially just, I just wanted to connect with more people. I wanted to just share the information. It was just a strict, you know, hobby for me for, for a couple years, to be honest. And, you know, I learned so much by interviewing people, connecting with different people around us and Canada, doing different areas of real estate that I had never been exposed to.
Speaker 2 00:09:01 Like I can't have that type of conversation with people in my workplace, you know? Right. Some people, some people are investing, but I want to talk to people at high levels. You know, I wanna learn from people who are doing, who are 10 years ahead of where I want to be, not people who, you know, have a rental property or two, you know, that's and I think that's what, you know, evolved me, but then also helped me give back to my own community. And then I kind of created a new purpose and, and fire under my ass of just really wanting to share this because I'm so passionate about it. Not everyone is, but at least I can share the information. So if you resonate with that, you know, join the community or, you know, get learning or talk to someone who's doing it, uh, listen to podcast like this. And, uh, hopefully it just starts your journey in a new direction that maybe you were never exposed to.
Speaker 1 00:09:48 Absolutely. You're starting. And I, I like that story where you say, you know, I didn't even have furniture in the house and <laugh> and so on and so forth that really, really starting right from the bottom. Everybody listening, every novice investor that may listen to this episode probably has reservations to get started. So let's put it right out there. Were you scared
Speaker 2 00:10:10 When you absolutely
Speaker 1 00:10:11 Started and you bought your first one or your second one, were you scared? What, what were some of your fears if you had any,
Speaker 2 00:10:18 You know, being uncomfortable, I've always, I've learned to enjoy the feeling of being uncomfortable, cuz if you're comfortable, then that means you're not growing. Right. And I didn't even realize that was a thing when I first started. So, so to go back then, was I scared? Absolutely. I was freaked out. I had always been told that real estate was a good investment. You know, growing up real estate is, you know, time is proven and shown how, how great real estate can be to many people. And most amount of millionaires are, you know, done through real estate. They say so was I scared? Absolutely. But I think it's slowly evolved into learning the process and then becoming more confident and tactful and uh, intentional with everything that, that you're doing and relying on the experience now after X amount of years, but also continuing to learn and evolve through people to help you along the way.
Speaker 2 00:11:14 So, but was I scared at the beginning? Oh, hell yeah. I mean, that's a lot of money, man. You know, much, you know, we get, yeah. How, how much a year, you know, and take home pay. And you want me to put that or double that on a down payment or essentially borrow multiple times that from other people now to do an investment. I mean, that's, that's a lot of responsibility, but uh, that's why there's systems and procedures in places as you know, that you learn about. And uh, so you get a little bit more, uh, comfortable without being complacent.
Speaker 1 00:11:44 And I think it's important to put it out there because you know, I personally talk to so many novice investors who are looking to get involved in a bur project or just real estate investing in general. And that one major objection that always comes up is I just, you know, I'm really nervous. I'm really scared I'm pulling the trigger and this and that. And it's important to hear that everybody's nervous and scared to pull the trigger on their first one, but correct me if I'm wrong, fast, forward, years down the road, now you're probably buying properties like it's, you know, for lack of a better expression, like buying chocolate bars, right? Like that, correct me if I'm wrong. That that gut nervous feeling is no longer the way it used to be. Right. You you've grown into that comfort zone now, is that accurate?
Speaker 2 00:12:29 Totally. I think at the very beginning it was a very emotional process, you know, and I think as any investor would probably say the same thing as you start getting more experience and buying more properties and you know, the inter the transactions happen more and more, you almost eliminate the emotional side of things and just look at the analytical side of things. And if that's your driving force, then it becomes a lot more, you know, easier. And like you say, you know, it's a good example of like chocolate bars. It's, you know, you're not gonna probably try new things every single time. You're gonna get used to what you like, what, you know, what you're familiar with. You start to, to see the same thing occurring, the opportunities there, and you, you buy similar projects, you know, like I've seen what you've been doing, you've been crushing it. And I would suggest that you're looking for a very similar style or similar opportunities. You're not trying this strategy. And on this strategy, you find what you like and, and you stick with it. Right. Rinse and repeat. Absolutely. So. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 00:13:29 Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:13:30 But I try and stay away the chocolate bars there. Adrian. So
Speaker 1 00:13:32 <laugh>,
Speaker 2 00:13:33 <laugh> maybe protein bars now. Yes.
Speaker 1 00:13:35 The protein bars. Yeah, for
Speaker 2 00:13:36 Sure. Well, I, I try yeah.
Speaker 1 00:13:39 Share with us your portfolio. Where are you now with your portfolio? How many doors do you have? I know you're doing stuff in the us as well as Canada. Tell us about your portfolio.
Speaker 2 00:13:50 Uh, so I sold off a few of my properties, uh, a couple years ago. Um, and I've been continuing to flip properties because of what my goal in exit strategy is with what I'm doing. You know, I don't wanna say too much here in case my employer's watching, but right. You know, at the end of the day, I, I said, I'm very transparent of my goal is financial freedom. And I don't think anyone can take that away or knock anyone for, for having that as a goal. So my purpose is to grow my pot to a certain level where I can live off passive income versus, uh, the active, um, side of things. So in order to fast track that at this stage, and I've evolved a lot in the last, I would say 15 months, but it's flipping properties and that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 00:14:38 So to answer your question right now, I have my primary residence and I have a student rental and well still, I also have, uh, five other projects on the go right now that are currently active, two single family flips and three multifamily conversions. So that's, that's my portfolio. And then in addition to that, I invest passively in the us on some projects. Uh, I also do some lending and then I also invest in, you know, other little things, but essentially for my passive stuff is in the us that you talked about, uh, that's passively as an LP in an apartment. So that was my first exposure to the us. Um, moving forward, definitely learning and looking at more active stuff on my end in the us, I was just down in Phoenix, uh, but a month ago or so, where we ended up doing the trip and kind up getting engaged there, you saw, so I'm learning the market, I'm learning the market. Uh, and eventually that's gonna be my next move.
Speaker 1 00:15:36 Awesome. Awesome. Mm-hmm <affirmative> so in your career, you've done several flips. You got five projects on the goal right now. So mm-hmm, <affirmative> five plus how many homes do you think you've flipped in the last well, since you started investing in real estate?
Speaker 2 00:15:53 Not
Speaker 1 00:15:54 Long ago,
Speaker 2 00:15:55 Right? Yeah. To be honest, to be honest, Adrian, this is all kind of ramped up in the last, I would say 15 months, you know, I was always, I was always doing one or two a year or sorry. I would only have about one project on the go for the last couple years. And then now I have five. So it's, it's a slow evolution of like, I'm not a full-time investor, like you obviously, right? So this is all my passive stuff. And again, just learning, growing, and now with experience, I have, I have my power team. I have a solid team behind me that I can rely on. I have my education behind me. And now I have some experience where you eventually get that confidence level of, okay, I can do this. You know, there's nothing holding me back other than myself. So as soon as you get to that point, you have to make a decision. You know, you say, okay, am I gonna continue down this road? Or am I gonna get going to continue down this road and really ramp things up? And that's the road I decided to go down, which is why I'm at, where I'm at. Like I said, in the last, maybe couple years versus continuing down the path of working and just doing a project a year for the next 25 years. Right. Or building my portfolio for the long term. So, right. I'm not sure if I answered your question there, but no, you did. Okay.
Speaker 1 00:17:08 I'll sum it up. So, Dave, you, you said something that was, that was kind of cool. You said, you know, I don't do this full time like you do, but I wanna qualify that. Yes, you, like, you got a lot on the go given the fact that you have a power team, but you don't have like an assistant and you don't have all these other things and what's most important. And I keep coming back to, this is, you know, you work full time and, you know, um, above and beyond that, you run a very, uh, a very popular podcast above and beyond that you have five flips. If you even want to call them that five flips on the go above and beyond that, obviously you're engaged to be married. Now you have responsibilities with that. And, and obviously taking care of, you know, your personal home and all that for one guy just to manage all of that, obviously you must find, you must have a very regimented schedule and use your time wisely.
Speaker 1 00:18:11 Given you're probably not sitting at home watching TV, you know, 24 7, so to speak you're you got a lot on the go. And I, I commend you for having all that on the go all the, while being a full-time police officer. Mm-hmm, <affirmative>, it's amazing. In my opinion, you obviously have a very strong work ethic. And, um, you know, I, I would take pride in that as opposed to the people that'll say, well, you know, where am I gonna find the time to be an investor? I, I have a full time job and, and children and this and that. And like you said, you know, you're living life or your goal is to live life completely on your terms. Mm that's amazing. In my opinion. So congratulations on that for sure.
Speaker 2 00:18:52 Thanks. It's uh, it's, it's about having a, an understanding fiance who also is on the same page as you very supportive and has the same mission as you. Um, we're both first responders, she's a paramedic, you know, I'm a police officer. So we, we get the day to day and we don't, there's, there's nothing wrong with whatever route you want to go, but we both have a very similar mission of being at a certain point in our life that we're financially free, sooner. Right. So we're willing to work towards that. And I mean, I'm not doing anything special, there's a lot of people doing the same thing. It's just, it's, it's, it's having that, that I guess that drive that you're willing to just do a little bit more and the hardest part is at the beginning, and I'm sure you'd agree with this too, Adrian. And like, you know, the learning process never ends, but that first couple years of really getting your feet wet and getting a few projects under your belt is really the hardest part. And then after that, you know, become more comfortable and then the opportunity, the door is just kind of open. Yeah. And, uh, so, but yeah, it's, uh, it's, it's, it's a lot to juggle, but, uh, we're, you know, there's a, there's a purpose behind
Speaker 1 00:20:02 It. You're growing. Yeah. For sure. Like you said, absolutely like a complete, complete turnaround within the last, you know, let's just run it off to two years at what the volume you're looking at now, which is incredible in my opinion. All right. Awesome. So let's get into, um, your podcast, a lot of respect for the podcast. Um, obviously first responders, wealth network. It's amazing. And I think, well, why don't you tell us, what was your, why when you started that podcast and who do you try to help out or target within that podcast?
Speaker 2 00:20:38 Mm-hmm <affirmative> so, first off my podcast is first responders wealth network, and we've been going for about three years now. What was my, why? I just, like I said, I, I have a passion, not so much about the real estate, which I love the real estate, but it's the passion behind the opportunity that it brings. And I know what it had done in my life even three years ago, not even compared to now of what it's provided me and seeing what was done to other people and that this type of conversation was never, you know, we don't talk about finances as you know, at work. Like no one talks about anything, everyone, you know, even ask about the pension and everyone, no one really has any idea what's going on there. They just get your, your annualized returns when you hear stuff in the news and whatever.
Speaker 2 00:21:23 Right. But no one pays attention to that. So it's really not in our, like, ecosystem of, of the workplace. So just realizing that no one was really out there sharing the information. I said, Hey, why don't I, you know, communicate this with my own community while I can learn and grow at the same time. And people who resonate with that can come join me on this journey of financial freedom. Right. And essentially that's that's that, that was where it started. And then getting the feedback of people who had the same interests as me. I mean, that's, that's amazing. So starting to grow that community, now I have a Facebook group I actually just started. So if you're first responder and you want to dive into that just first responder's wealth network, and it's great to connect with people who understand the job, you know, in first responders in Canada and the us.
Speaker 2 00:22:12 So let's fire, police, paramedics, all that stuff. Not a lot of people can resonate and understand that. So that type of world who wants to level up and learn, um, that's, that's kind of what I'm here for. And it's not just me. And that's the one thing that I try and preach too, is, you know, I know what I know, and I know what I've done, and I've learned a lot, I've paid a lot in education, but at the same time, nothing Trump's experience and yeah. A track record. Right. So I bring those people to the community to help share that information. So it's not just me.
Speaker 1 00:22:44 Awesome. Yeah. Can you share, and I'm sure you must have several mm-hmm <affirmative>, but can you share a recent or historical story of a first responder you've helped get started in real estate investing either a, you know, somebody that listened to your podcast, somebody from work or somebody that just reached out to you through one of your, one of your avenues that you've helped mm-hmm <affirmative> get involved in the game.
Speaker 2 00:23:13 I mean, there's a few that I could, you know, jump off the top of my head, but
Speaker 1 00:23:16 You don't need to know names or anything like that.
Speaker 2 00:23:18 No, no, no, no. Of course I think, uh, first off, just getting messages back on a most simple level of just, Hey man, I listen to your podcast, you know, I, I opted into your, your online bootcamp, your training, and it completely changed my perspective. I was not aware of that. I don't talk about this at home. And I'm now on a different trajectory. Like those type of messages come to me all the time and it blows me away. And that's what fires me up. I'm like, yes. Okay. This is actually, you know, this is worth it. And, and, and that's what kind of gets me going, but a specific example, you know, some people, so I just started, this is my second round of, of coaching. So I have some students now, uh, my second class now, and the people who have gone through are on different levels, usually who I cater to is people who are just starting out.
Speaker 2 00:24:06 Okay. Right. There's obviously different levels to this game. And my goal here is to get you started on a good path, get your foundations, get your first property or two and roll, you know, and, and build on that experience if you choose to. So one example would be, uh, there's a couple that actually had quite a bit of debt and they had to consolidate some of that debt. It was a process that I was not even familiar with, but I helped walk them through. This is one on one coaching now mm-hmm <affirmative>. And they were able to consolidate that, get their credit in a better position, get some private capital, some B lending. And they've just, they closed on their first rental property. And now they're looking for their second, so that never would've happened in their world. You know, if they didn't seek help.
Speaker 2 00:24:50 And I'm not saying I'm like a miracle worker, it's just getting people to assist you. You know? So there's, there's that. And there's a lot of people just getting their first properties and getting messages saying, man, this changed my life. And my wife and I are super excited to move forward. And it's one of those delayed gratification things that sometimes aren't instant, but people who get it realize that it's a long term gain. So it's put putting people on the right path and there, there there's a number of them, but that's one real proud one that I, I, I really like
Speaker 1 00:25:21 Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. I, I can definitely relate to that. Obviously, you know, being in that space as well, we get a lot of calls and join ventures that, uh, you know, our company gets involved in and, and really helping these people get their first property and get started through the power of real estate investing, whether it's, you know, you offer obviously something else that, uh, we forgot to mention at the start, but you obviously have a bootcamp. And you know, now you're into coaching and getting people started, which is again, amazing given the fact you have all this stuff on the go
Speaker 2 00:25:57 <laugh>. And
Speaker 1 00:25:58 I know on top of that, you know, as if you're not busy enough with everything else and you're five flips you have on the go, you also do, you know, coaching one-on-one coaching and getting people started, which is again incredible. Awesome. And, and, and you know what, Dave, at the end of the day, I was on the job, a police officer for 21 years. And, you know, I know the mentality of police officers and, you know, a lot of them are stuck in their ways and they're very stubborn and, and, you know, giving them the ability like yourself to see you and what you've done. And you're still on the job. I have a lot of respect for them and obviously respect for you, giving them opening that door. Mm-hmm <affirmative> is what I'm trying to get at opening that door for them to get started and create wealth.
Speaker 1 00:26:43 And, you know, not everybody has to leave policing early like myself, but even if it's just creating a bit of wealth down the road for your children, you know, by having one or two income properties and you helping them to facilitate that is, is amazing in itself. So awesome work fell like really awesome. I wanna talk a little bit about, and obviously you don't have children yet, but you got tons on the go. I wanna talk a little bit about your work life balance. You know, mm-hmm, <affirmative> given you have the police, you have five flips on the go, you do one on one coaching bootcamp, you run your own podcast and there's probably other things you do that take up your time. Uh, I know you spend a lot of time at the cottage in the winter, in the summer. You go up there in the winter too.
Speaker 2 00:27:32 Um, once in a while. Yeah. Uh, it's like it's a four season deal. So, um, once in a
Speaker 1 00:27:39 While you spend a lot of time on social. Well, I follow you on social media. So I see a lot of time you're there in the summer, which is yeah. Nice to get away. Obviously, given how busy you are, but work life balance. Um, despite all the success you've had in real estate investing thus far. Let me ask you a question and maybe you don't want to get into this, given your employer, maybe watching, but that's, that's cool. If you don't want to, why haven't you made the full 100% shift from the police department to full-time real estate investing, kind of following maybe what I've done, leaving the police and going over. Is it just it's in the works or it's just premature right now. How do you feel about that?
Speaker 2 00:28:22 I'm scared to answer that. <laugh>
Speaker 1 00:28:25 You know what let's forget
Speaker 2 00:28:26 About that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's fine.
Speaker 1 00:28:28 Obviously everything you got on the go it's if I can read in between the lines, it's probably in the works. Yeah. Whenever that day may come, it'll come.
Speaker 2 00:28:37 Yeah. I, I, I just think, I feel like I want to be, for whatever reason, you're always gonna be, you know, a little bit shy, pulling the plug, you know, in any situation, I'm sure you were there too, no matter what level you're at, but I wanna be at a conservative level. So when I do decide to leave, I'm not leaving a job for a job. Right. I, I wanna leave a job for financial freedom essentially. So my goal and I, I think I mentioned it earlier is just, I want to be at a certain level where my passive income surpasses my active income. So as soon as I can do that, you know, then I can really devote my time to not only building my company or first responders, wealth network. I really feel I can give a lot more value and help more people doing, focusing on that versus trying to juggle both, which I feel like I'm doing a little bit of that now, but on a whole nother level.
Speaker 2 00:29:33 So I, it is in the works, you know, I'm very open. I do not wanna work 25, 30 years and there's nothing wrong again with people who want to, it's just that I have a little bit more, that entrepreneurial side of me, you know, I used to own a painting business before and being my own boss. I've had a taste of that. I've had some employees, you know, it's just, it's in the works. I'm just, uh, want to be at a certain point, uh, before I, I pull the trigger completely. And like I said, man, like, I feel like I've really evolved in the last couple years where I was three years ago, even where I started the podcast. Right. Yeah. So for sure, I don't know. I'm, I'm, I'm a little gun shy, but it will happen. Eventually.
Speaker 1 00:30:13 I remember Dave, you know, thinking back to when I finally pulled the trigger and left the police department, it probably, I thought about it before I actually did it for maybe two and a half years where really where, you know, even my wife and I would discuss it and you know, she was pushing me actually to leave. Uh, cause I was, I was burnt out, you know, but anyhow, yeah, two and a half years of, okay, I'm gonna do it next month. Okay. Mm-hmm <affirmative> next month. Okay. Next month, two and a half years of contemplating. And I don't regret staying as long as I did cuz it was a career that I loved and you know, mm-hmm <affirmative>, I, I was actually pretty good at it, but yeah, it was about two and a half years of yes, no, yes, no, but you're gonna know when it's the right time. Mm-hmm <affirmative> and I can't stress that enough cuz I knew when it went two and a half years later when I finally did it, it was like, yeah, I'm a hundred percent ready now let's go. Yeah. And um, and you'll know that when that day comes as well. For sure.
Speaker 2 00:31:11 Yeah. I, I just don't, I just don't feel like I'm there yet. Uh I'm I'm almost there. Um, you're getting close. Yeah. I'm getting a little itchy now that you see, I, I do have a date in mind, so I do have a goal. It's just, um, you know, it's one of those things too, where, I mean, we can just bounce this off, but you know, again, you hit a fork in the road and you gotta make, make a decision of where am I gonna put my focus. Right. You know, am I gonna, am I gonna focus on climbing the ladder of rank or pushing overtime or whatever, or designate those hours and focus and energy into another route. And the other route gives a way higher return in time and financial, you know, uh, advancement. So, you know, it's just one of those things where you get to a point too, where you're probably the same way do I go to staff Sergeant, you know, do I go to the next level or do I put my focus on this? Cuz last thing I wanna do is being applying to positions or you know, going in a different unit and they're expecting a certain level of, of, you know, focus and
Speaker 1 00:32:14 Work,
Speaker 2 00:32:15 Whatever commitment. And I'm not saying I don't, you know, when you're at the workplace, you're a hundred percent focused, but at the same time you don't want to have anything on the back of your mind. So I've just made that decision to, you know, stay on the road, do what I'm doing and focus, focus on my goal and eventually I'll get there.
Speaker 1 00:32:31 Awesome. So,
Speaker 2 00:32:32 Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:32:32 Awesome. So tons on the go. We haven't really answered this question yet and I know most people are probably wondering how do you organize your time? Like obviously I'm not gonna rhyme off all the things you got going on again. Yeah. There's tons of them. How do you organize and keep track and, and delegate your time. So you can manage all this, all this stuff going on right now. How do you do that?
Speaker 2 00:33:01 Um,
Speaker 1 00:33:02 A good calendar, uh, a
Speaker 2 00:33:03 Good your
Speaker 1 00:33:05 Fiances, your, your, your
Speaker 2 00:33:06 Assistant or what, you know what I wish, I wish my fiance was my assistant. She, uh, she's got her own stuff going on. Actually. I don't know if you know this, but she's, uh, going through her real estate license right now. So she's, she's actually got her. She's actually got her level two, uh, test, uh, tomorrow, tomorrow or the next day anyway. So how do I focus? I live off my calendar, man. Um, I literally need to book and schedule everything, uh, right. And I, and I also have some VA, some virtual assistants that do some of the, the minor tasks for me. So I have it all categorized as you know, my podcast, that's all done with VAs, right. I, I schedule all my interviews. I try and, you know, chunk them into certain times. So that's taken care of for several months, uh, all my coaching, I have, uh, a schedule link that they all use that I designate certain days that they can pick, you know, it's, uh, you know, I have my bookkeeper, who's dedicated to all my financial stuff.
Speaker 2 00:34:07 Excuse me. So it's just scheduling and getting organized. You're never, I never feel like I'm a hundred percent organized. Like I feel like I'm always running around a little bit with my head cut off sometimes, but talking to any business owner or people who are growing, they always feel like that. So yeah, I feel a little bit more comfort in that, but I don't think there's ever like a perfect, you know, perfect organization and it's just always trying to improve and be more efficient as you, as you go and grow. But definitely my days are, you know, there's not very many days where I just put the feet back up and
Speaker 1 00:34:41 Yeah, I was gonna say
Speaker 2 00:34:42 Chill out.
Speaker 1 00:34:44 I doubt that happens unless, you know, you take the weekend or whatnot and you go to obviously
Speaker 2 00:34:49 No,
Speaker 1 00:34:50 But, uh, yeah, your day to day, it doesn't seem like you're the type of guy to, you know, open a bag of trips and watch TV all day. So
Speaker 2 00:34:56 To speak. Yeah. Once in a once, once in a while, the, uh,
Speaker 2 00:35:00 I find, I find I get a little squirrly, uh, even when I go on vacation, like I love going tropical areas and stuff, but like after a few days, I'm like my, my thumbs are starting to twist and I'm like wondering, you know, I'd rather be on some calls and I enjoy it, man. You know, it's like, you, it's like, it's a game, it's a big hunger. It's like a sport. Yes. You know, you, you eventually get competitive in it and it's not about the money it's about winning, you know, it's like getting to the next level and just trying to improve yourself all the time. And along with that comes, um, reward, I guess.
Speaker 1 00:35:32 So. Yeah, for sure. Awesome. So no, no real, real, huge secret. Other than you really, really follow a regimented calendar, you have some VAs helping you out. You have your power team helping you out, but overall there's no real deep, deep, dark secret other than really prioritizing your time and really using your calendar at a high level.
Speaker 2 00:35:56 Yeah. I think prioritizing is huge eliminating the distractions. I mean, as far as like the calendar stuff and timing, I mean, you gotta prioritize and I everything's down to a time and a date and, and a time limit. Right. You know, and then as far as my team, you know, they're very, self-sufficient, I'm very fortunate to have my team. They do all my projects actually. So whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, relying on one, one company, you know, I'm talking about construction. I mean, yeah. But, uh, you know, it's just, um, yeah, it's dedicating and eliminating all the distractions of just staying focused. So I'm not, you know, meeting up with people to have beers just for, for the hell of it anymore. I, I pick and choose my time and with who I choose my time with.
Speaker 1 00:36:43 Awesome.
Speaker 2 00:36:44 Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:36:44 All right. So we're getting towards the end here, Dave, tons of information. I can't, I can't pride you enough for the growth you've, you've exhibited in the past five years, right from, I was probably one of your first calls when you bought your first investment property in Hamilton. And seeing that to where you are today is, is outstanding. Best three tips you can give to the people out there, whether they're 9 1, 1 community or not, who wanna start investing in real estate, but have doubts and are scared and are nervous and, and on and on and on what are the best three tips you can think of to tell this person to get started and how to, what are the three best tips?
Speaker 2 00:37:32 I, I think first you have to make a commitment to yourself and say like, why you want to do it? Like, what, what, like, what is your purpose? Because like at the beginning I was saying, you first start and you don't know why you're doing it. You're just doing it now. That's not a way to really succeed. You know, you have to have a reason and a purpose behind it. So why are you investing? So I think, you know, the first one would definitely mentally commit with a purpose. And then once you find that purpose, figure out a route and educate yourself within that, that, that area. So first commit and then two, educate yourself, get a mentor, get some education, whether it be online training, like pay for help, like fast track that learning curve. Uh, that is a huge thing for me. If I wanna get from a to B, I pay someone to help me get from a to B if I, I'm not trying to get from a to Z, I just want to get one step at a time.
Speaker 2 00:38:30 And eventually over time that'll be, that'll be gross. So that's two and then three, you just gotta actually do it. You gotta go out and just apply what it is you're learning. I mean, you know, you can learn all day and listen to all the podcasts and the YouTube channels and blah, blah, blah. But if you're not doing anything with it, it's just entertainment. You know, you're just wasting time and feeling good because you're getting all this info, you know? Right. So I think those are two things mentally commit, educate yourself, get a mentor and then just continually take, take action steps.
Speaker 1 00:39:00 Couldn't agree more, uh, you could sit on the fence all day, but sooner or later, you gotta get to that other side and, and take that first step. And like Dave said, I mean, at the end of the day, if you have a professional like Dave, for example, or myself on, in your corner to help you, it, it does. And like Dave said, pay, you know, if you have to pay for the help, it really, really can expedite where you want to go. So, um, great advice, Dave, I think we'll conclude by, we have a lightning round here with three questions that we're gonna ask every guest at the end of it. Um, first question, Dave, what is your, why, what is your why and what do you want to do with it?
Speaker 2 00:39:46 Um, well my, why is freedom, financial freedom be in control of your life? Not having to rely on any one, anything like that, and then constantly improving that, that that's my why. And I would definitely say that's the driving factor behind a lot of things too. So
Speaker 1 00:40:06 For sure. Um, question number two, when you picture more to life mm-hmm <affirmative>, when you picture more to life with Dave Knight, what do you see? What's more to life for Dave
Speaker 2 00:40:19 <laugh> again, I'm going back. It sounds selfish, but it is just creating more for yourself and getting over the hump that wanting more is okay. I think maybe this isn't lightning around, but, uh, <laugh>, I'm dragging this on, but basically I feel like we're always taught, especially in our community, Adrian, you you'd realize this, that, you know, pulling in, in a nice car, you know, talking about nice things going on an expensive trip. It's almost looked down upon like you almost get like shamed for it. Yeah. And realizing, getting over that hurdle that it's okay to want those things. I'm not saying it's all financial, but it's like the wanting financial freedom. It's okay to want that go out and get it. You know, it doesn't have to take a, a 30 year career and a pension and a limited budget to live on. Now, if you like that, that's perfectly fine. But if you want more it's okay. So I think, uh, more to life is just going and getting it it's, uh, going and, and trying to GRA grab it and, and achieve it so more to life than just punching in, punching out shift work and a pension, and then more to life is helping other people learn about it too.
Speaker 1 00:41:27 Awesome. Yeah. I can't, uh, you almost echoed my, uh, episode number one when, when I ask myself the same question for, for myself, but, um, and last question, Dave, if you could give one piece of advice to the people listening to this episode, mm-hmm, <affirmative> one piece of advice. What would that be?
Speaker 2 00:41:49 Just get started, get in the game and take investing seriously. I think if you approach it as a business, versus just like a dabble, I wanna invest on the side kind of thing. Uh, I'm not saying you gotta quit your job, but just focus on it with intention. And I think you'll go a lot further than just kinda fluffing it off on the side,
Speaker 1 00:42:13 Get in the game and focus.
Speaker 2 00:42:16 Yeah. Focus a hundred percent. Yeah. Because really real estate and all the numbers and learning, it's gonna evolve into everything else. Like all, all other areas of investing and money and economics and you know, all that stuff. It's just, it's all interconnected. So if you start learning and diving deep, the whole world changes for you.
Speaker 1 00:42:34 I find. Awesome. Yeah. Well, Dave, it's, uh, it's been amazing talking to you. I, I, I was looking forward to the episode and I knew we would get into some really good stuff and some good advice for everybody. But, uh, for everybody listening, I, I, I can't stress enough. Here's a, here's a prime example of somebody that started with nothing didn't even have furniture in the house. And here's a guy now that, you know, and here's a guy now that has five flips on the go invests. Um, you know, in the United States does coaching full-time police officer boot camps, yada yada like incredible and, and really, really has done so much in, in, in the course of five years. So check out Dave Knight, he's all over social media, check out 9 1, 1 wealth network.com. He'll help you start your journey, obviously offering coaching and, and boot camps and stuff like that. But, um, yeah, if you, not only if you, whether you're in the 9 1, 1 community or not, I'm sure Dave would definitely take time to talk to you and see how maybe he can help you any last closing remarks. Dave.
Speaker 2 00:43:42 No. If anyone wants to connect with me on, you know, just go to 9 1, 1 wealth network.com or, uh, you know, social media, uh, Instagram, Dave nighter, just ER, at the end of my name. And uh, yeah, just, uh, and Adrian, thanks for having me on, you know, you were an inspiration for me too at the beginning when I, when I first started this, you know, journey in the last few years, because I saw where you were and where you'd come and just seeing you evolve and doing what your thing. So, you know, right back. Got you, man.
Speaker 1 00:44:10 Yeah. Thanks. And, and, you know, I think when we first met, I was still on the job obviously, cuz it was about five years ago or so. Um, and I was still on the job pretty much where you are now. Um, mm-hmm, <affirmative>, you know, I had a lot on the go and I was getting close to maybe making that decision and whatnot, but things were going well for us. So I, I can totally relate. And really one of the major reasons why I wanted you on the show was really to tell your story and, and show your growth. And it's, it's almost a carbon copy of mine, so to speak and I can do it. Dave Knight can do it. That means whoever's watching this. You can do it too. Trust
Speaker 2 00:44:49 Me, Dave. I, if Dave and I can do it, you can do it
Speaker 1 00:44:52 <laugh> yeah, for sure. Well, you and me both, but yeah. All right, Dave, well, thanks again for so much, uh, your time and your expertise and your knowledge and uh, yeah, everybody out there. If you want to connect with Dave, by all means, he's waiting for, uh, he's waiting for your, your reach out. So have a great one, Dave, awesome talking to you and we'll chat soon.
Speaker 2 00:45:13 Take care, man. Thank you.
