My Poor Dad always told me to do the hard work first, and then do the easy stuff. Well, that only got me so far. In every job or business I've had, I've worked my butt off, but had very little to show for it. The speakers at last year's Conference told me, "Do the smart work first, and pay someone to do the hard work."   

At last year's Conference, I had access to not only one Rich Dad, but dozens. I also got to hang out with other investors who were on my own level. At the Conference, I got access to more information than I dreamed of, including lots of incredible free tips from the pros like: Ron LeGrand, Robyn Thompson, Scott Rister, Donna Bauer, Roger Dawson, Minh Pham, Lou Brown, Rob Bostick, and more. And I made connections and friendships with other are investors. Those connections have been VERY important to helping me go from having one rental that I got with equity from a HELOC, to doing 6 deals over the last few months with none of my own money!

At the Conference, I connected with several of your other Viper Contest winners, and count them not just as colleagues, but as friends. Folks like; Marcus Lackey, Shawn Scarlata, and Scott Gunn. Those friendships started with last year's Conference. And those friendships have been a source of coaching, support, competition (in a good way), and camaraderie. There's nothing like having a circle of friends who are positive thinkers, who know the business, and who are getting deals done. Nothing encouraged me more, or pushed me harder to compete, than seeing Marcus' business just TAKE OFF after the Conference. I figured if Marcus Lackey could do that, then surely I could! (No offense Marcus). I never dreamed I'd get so much out of that Conference, but it really was THE pivotal thing in me going from being a "wanna-be" investor to a full-time, successful investor. I now have employees doing work for me!

Last year, I signed up for a mentorship with one of your club sponsors, Minh Pham. Minh has taught me a tremendous amount about negotiating with the seller and how to set up systems to automate my business. Then, I took Frazier O'Leary's Prospecting 101 class and kicked my marketing into high gear. Next, I took your first "$5,000 in 45 Days" class, and I felt that I had everything I needed to get my first deal done. With you guys as my "Rich Dads" I felt like I had the best partners in the world by my side. Within a few months I got my first deal done, and netted over $25,000 in profits. The day I got my first deal check was on the Friday of last year's National Real Estate Investors' Conference. Minh Pham and I had to leave the day session of the National Conference to pick up checks for over $25,000! I came back that night clear that this business was THE PLACE where I would make all my financial goals come true. And being at the National Conference was the perfect environment for me to start that next phase of my business. I took Robyn Thompson and Rob Bostick's Rehab Bus Tour at the Conference, and I bought several of the speakers' courses. I left the Conference with tons of free tips and a virtual blueprint for how to make my investing business EXPLODE. Courses on negotiating, finding motivated sellers, buying properties for pennies on the dollar through short sales with banks, etc.

And most importantly, the connections and friendships I developed while at the Conference were tremendous.

So since Day One of last year's conference, here's what I've done....

Charles County Sub-to: $20,000

PG county Sub-to: $20,000

PG County Sub-to: $25,000

AA County Sub-to/Rehab: $100,000

AA County Rehab: $60,000

Since last year's National Real Estate Investors Conference, I have done 5 deals worth over $230,000, and in the past 12 months, since really taking on becoming a successful investor, I will have made over $160,000 in profits from deals, which is Four times what I've ever made in a year before.

Along with my partner Minh Pham, I recruited a pool of private investors with over $2,000,000 to fund our deals, as well as I found a "Secret" DC area hard money lender who lends at 2 points and 11% who has over $10 Million to lend on deals, AND a 50% money partner for deals over $1 Million dollars. I can now do ANY deal that comes along! I quit my full time jobs in 2004 and left my part-time practice as of June 2005. My wife also quit her full time job so she could be a full-time, home schooling mom.

Oh yeah, I also took 5 vacations this year, including: renting a villa in Playa del Carmen, Mexico with 16 friends for a week; a week in NYC with my family; a cruise in the Mediterranean with my whole family; 2 weeks in upstate New York on a lake in the mountains; and a week with my family in Ohio.

Also, I've just launched an exciting new company, Community Homebuyers, LLC. My partners are Minh Pham and Frazier O'Leary. We're building a company and have an excellent staff to help us get deals done! So far we have 7 people working for us; 3 on commission, 1 full-time salaried employee, and 3 part-time employees.

All in all, in my first year as an investor: I quit my job, my wife quit her job, and we brought in over $280,000 in deals. This year, I am personally making $196,000 in profits from those deals which is 5 times what I've ever made before in a single year (Yeah, I've been some what of a slacker in the past ; ) And I've got 4 months to go with a new big company behind me!

Real Estate Investing has made it possible for me to have my life go the way I want it to go, and make the future bright for my family. It also opens up time for me to do volunteer work. I'm the chairman of the board of a private non-profit that has brought acupuncture-based treatment for drug addiction to residents of Prince George's County. Next, I want to launch a non-profit called Rehabbers for Rehabilitation. I personally donate 10% of net profits to the treatment of drug addiction, and I want to challenge all the other rehabbers in the DC Metro area to join me in this new venture!

And the best part is, I now have the cash to take my family on great vacations, renovate my house so my kids have their very own play room and home schooling center, and earn more money than my wife, finally! Now she calls me the "Man with the Money and the Honey!"  And my kids think of me as a "Rich Dad." Now THAT feels great!