A 24-year-old construction worker recently posted in the Salary subreddit. He shares his journey of earning $110k-$115k per year at a new home sales job before getting fired. Although it’s painful to get fired, this story actually has a happy ending.
The Redditor used his extra time to start a real estate business. He secured 9 homes in escrow within the first month, with a net payout of $70k in 20 days of work. He is a 100% commission brokerage and is aiming to hit $300k this year.
You can learn a lot of lessons from people’s success, especially people who get fired and go on to start successful companies. These are some of the most valuable insights.
A Broken Routine Forces a Level Up
The construction worker turned business owner received many congratulatory comments for his post. He explained how itwas a weird feeling to be laid off since it broke his routine.
A layoff will break your routine since work normally takes up to 40 hours per week. You now need new activities to fill in the time, and that can include side hustles and business opportunities.
Another commenter said that they were also laid off and ended up doing great things because of it. The commenter referred to it as “forced leveling up.”
The Redditor Has a Great Opportunity to Save Money
The Redditor has a busy schedule, as he gets out of the door at 8 am and returns home at around 8-9 pm. He does a lot of home showings to get more buyers. He’s young and doesn’t have the commitments of a parent quite yet, so he has a tremendous opportunity to save. Commenters pointed this out, and the 24-year-old was in full agreement.
Normally, it’s good to invest at least 10% of your paycheck. However, the Redditor has a good chance of investing 20%-30% of his paycheck since he lives below his means. The Redditor also seems to live in a LCOL area, since most of the homes in his area only go for about $400k.
If the Redditor earns $300k/yr and saves 20% of that, he can save $60k per year ($5k/mo). Using these numbers, we can see the power of compounded returns over 40 years. If the Redditor maintains an annualized 8% annualized return over that stretch, he will have a $15.5 million portfolio by the time he turns 64.
He’ll grow his portfolio even more if he can generate a higher annualized return or if he grows the business.
Anticipating the Ebbs and Flows of Real Estate
The Redditor is off to a phenomenal start, as he has a net payout of $70k over 20 days of work. This pay rate of $3,500 per day suggests a $1.28 million annual income. However, the Redditor is only aiming for $300k for this year.
He understands that real estate is a volatile market that ebbs and flows. Some months are better for selling real estate than others, with the spring and summer usually being the busiest times of the year.
One of the commenters suggested that the Redditor set aside some money for when the market reverses course. That’s a good preventive measure, and a high-yield savings account can help. Overall, the 24-year-old is carving out a nice career for himself that was only possible because he got laid off.
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