How One of the Largest Real Estate Communities was Built? with Joshua Dorkin Founder of BiggerPockets.com

Josh Dorkin started BiggerPockets.com from scratch 10 years ago and now has over 435K members. They have grown to be one of the largest and most reputable real estate community on the Internet with a forum that has over 900,000 posts! and they hold the #1 real estate podcast on iTunes. They attract more than 1k new members a day and help change people’s lives to gain their own financial freedom through real estate!

 

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:00] Pre-interview banter: Things you’ll hear on this episode.
• [6:10] Jeremy’s introduction of Joshua Dorkin and the BiggerPockets.com story.
• [7:33] What Joshua wanted to be when he grew up.
• [8:37] Things Joshua learned from his mother, a successful business woman.
• [12:04] Why Joshua hated business school in college but discovered a passion for marketing.
• [13:34] We all struggle and have to find our way via the journey.
• [17:29] Dealing with the haters when BiggerPockets began.
• [20:39] The most difficult parts of saying what he knew to be true even though he’d receive backlash.
• [23:30] The most popular show on BiggerPockets: Investing With No Money.
• [27:00] How Josh started out as a real estate investor.
• [30:30] How Josh saw the real estate bubble in CA before it popped.
• [34:00] Why Josh didn’t trust the real estate investing training he found, and how he began building BiggerPockets in response.
• [36:39] Josh’s story regarding acting with Jerry Seinfeld on Saturday Night Live.
• [37:47] The first version of BiggerPockets, and why building an online community is impossibly hard.
• [42:46] Pushing forward after 4 years of not being successful, and how Joshua counsels people who are at that same point and considering quitting.
• [45:37] Making the decision to transition from hobby to full time business.
• [48:00] Keeping the content free always, building a paid community as an added value.
• [49:25] Success stories and benefits that have come from the BiggerPockets community.
• [50:34] An average day for Joshua when he first started full time with BiggerPockets.
• [52:49] The changes Joshuah made when he realized he was overworking and burning out.
• [53:51] How Joshua came up with the mantra, “Life wasn’t meant to be lived in a cubicle.”
• [57:00] Hiring his first person: one of his best decisions.
• [58:35] The roles Joshua took on once he began hiring people.
• [1:00:00] Becoming a student of business and starting a podcast.
• [1:01:53] How do you know when to stop or not stop in your business?
• [1:05:00] The lowest points in Joshua’s business journey.
• [1:08:30] The role Joshua’s wife played in helping him get his life under control.
• [1:09:54] The proudest moments Joshua has had in his journey.
• [1:11:40] The world wide impact BiggerPockets is having.
• [1:13:15] The free book from BiggerPockets.

In this episode…

The Real Estate Investing arena is fraught with dangers in the form of fraudulent schemes run by “experts” who line their pockets with other people’s money and give half-proven or untried systems in return. It can be a very difficult space to be in if you care about doing things ethically, honestly, and with integrity.

Joshua Dorkin felt all of that when he first began making money in real estate. His first purchase was a California condominium that gave him a pretty good return, so he began looking into what it might take to become proficient at real estate investing. What he found discouraged him and he realized, there’s no “safe” place to go for trusted advice and reliable resources.

In concept, that’s where BiggerPockets was born. When Josh first created the site he used it as a community/forum for people in the acting industry (he was an actor at the time) but quickly transitioned it into a real estate investing themed site and community. It’s now THE biggest site in the industry and is the hub for a podcast, forums, resources, a publishing house, and more.

In this conversation of Inspired Insider Dr. Jeremy Weisz asks Joshua to share his journey, from his humble beginnings as the son of an entrepreneurial single mom, to business school (which he hated), to the pursuit of an acting career in California, and finally, into the realm of real estate investing and the birth of BiggerPockets.

Joshua Dorkin is a humble guy, but confident and encouraged at the difference his efforts have made in the real estate investment space. He’s one of those guys who latches on like a pit bull once he knows what he wants to accomplish and never lets go until he’s done it. BiggerPockets is a testament to that sort of work and determination.

Be sure to listen to this inspiring interview to find out how you can get connected with Joshua and the community over at www.BiggerPockets.com.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• www.BiggerPockets.com
• www.BiggerPockets.com/podcast
• Get the book Josh mentioned: www.BiggerPockets.com/UBG