The vast majority of us get into multifamily investing because we are hungry for time freedom. We want the flexibility to spend time with our families or travel or go to the gym in the middle of the day if we so choose. But many of us lose sight of that original goal in the pursuit of financial freedom. Our focus on earning money translates to doing ALL of the work ourselves, and before long, we are caught in an unsustainable cycle—doing tasks like bookkeeping and writing investor reports that undervalue our time and pull us away from the work only we can do: finding deals and raising money. So, how do we calculate the value of our time and make informed decisions about what to delegate? How do we hit the reset button and return our focus to the time wealth that inspired us to pursue apartment building investing in the first place?
Mark Dolfini is the founder of Landlord Coach, a mentoring program and business course for landlords and property managers. He is also the author of The Time-Wealthy Investor, Your Real Estate Roadmap to Owning More, Working Less, and Creating the Life You Want. Mark is on a mission to help multifamily investors realize the value of their time and design an intentional business that affords them both financial freedom and time wealth.
Today, Mark joins me to discuss his early interest in the idea of owning real estate and his gradual accumulation of 92 rental properties. He shares the mistakes he made in trying to do all the work himself that led to his Jerry Maguire moment in 2008 when he lost $4.5M overnight and ended up in the hospital with double pneumonia. Mark describes the mindset shift that helped him transition from self-employed to business owner and the VIP System he designed to create a sustainable real estate venture. Listen in for Mark’s insight on the concepts of life output and time wealth—and learn how to determine what your time is worth and delegate accordingly!
Key Takeaways
Marks’s early interest in real estate
- Asked for real estate for Christmas as boy
- Bought 40 acres in AZ while in Marines
How Mark accumulated 92 rental properties
- Bought 12 while attending Purdue
- 30 when quit working as accountant ($6M)
- Made every mistake, no systems in place
- Doing all work ‘life was definition of hell’
Mark’s Jerry Maguire moment in 2008
- Drop from $65K in rent revenue to $30K
- Lost $4.5M in real estate overnight
- Worked more, developed double-pneumonia
How Mark transitioned from self-employed to business owner
- Intentional about setting up sustainable business
- Only do tasks that demo highest, best use of time
Mark’s VIP system
- Vision beyond making money
- Infrastructure = framework
- Process = rules of operation
The concept of life output
- Ability to control calendar
- Financial wealth as means to end
How to determine the value of your time
- Calculate current hourly wage (including travel)
- View as loss of $ when performing lesser tasks
Connect with Mark
Resources
The Time-Wealthy Investor: Your Real Estate Roadmap to Owning More, Working Less, and Creating the Life You Want by Mark B. Dolfini
The Judge: A Landlord’s Tale by Mark Dolfini
Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing: The Blueprint to Quitting Your Job with Real Estate—Even Without Experience or Cash by Michael Blank
Free eBook: The Secret to Raising Money to Buy Your First Apartment Building
- Download
- Text “secretbook” to 44222
Podcast Show Notes
