3 Things I Learned from Hosting a Real Estate Conference

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Hot off successfully hosting a real estate investing conference, here are 3 things I learned along the way, plus some big news!

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Here are the pearls I learned by hosting a real estate investing conference. Read below for the explanation!

1. Doctor and professionals are hungry for alternative income
2. See one, do one, teach one applies to everything in life
3. Collaboration and masterminds are an important key to progress

The PhREI Network Real Estate Investing Conference

Last week, I co-hosted a virtual real estate investing conference along with the minds behind Carpe Diem MD and the Prudent Plastic Surgeon. This was the culmination of months of labor and dozens of interviews with fellow investors and real estate industry professionals.  

It was a three day event, with each day hosted by either myself, Ian Cook, or Jordan Frey. We released the video content every hour during the day and hosted Zoom Q&As and breakout sessions during the evenings. When the dust cleared, we had over 1400 participants in the conference.

This is a short list of some of the content we covered during the conference:

• Residential vs. commercial real estate investing
• Short vs. long term investing
• Real estate syndications
• Self management vs. property management
• The mindset of real estate investing
• Balancing a career and side hustle

Organizing a conference is a lot of work!

We quickly learned that real estate conferences are a lot of work. We got everything together in time and the conference ran quite seamlessly. But there was a massive amount of effort on the front end that went into making the conference a success. These were some of the more time consuming elements:

• Scheduling the interviews with busy physicians and professionals
• Video editing the interviews
• Graphic design of the advertising materials
• Uploading of the materials to Kajabi and Facebook
• Answering questions and running the live sessions

I was so glad that Ian, Jordan, and I were able to divide the work up – it would have been very challenging for just one person to pull off. 

But it was an incredible learning experience that I think created a ton of value for the world.  

What I learned from the conference

I learned a lot from this conference and I’d like to share that knowledge here:

1. Doctor and professionals are hungry for alternative sources of income
2. See one, do one, teach one applies to everything in life
3. Collaboration and masterminds are an important key to progress

Alternative income

First of all, I learned that a lot of people are interested in generating alternative streams of income. This is a central goal of the Darwinian Doctor blog, so I totally get this.  

Alternative income means that there is less pressure to produce all your income from your day job.  With it, you have the freedom to potentially reduce your work hours or switch to a part time role if you so desire. You could even switch jobs to something that brings you more joy or brings society greater value. Without alternative income, you may feel captive to your job by your golden handcuffs.

As people shared their stories in the companion Facebook group, I also heard from them that alternative income means greater security. The pandemic taught many of us that having only one source of income can be dangerous.  

As physicians, we often think that our paychecks are almost guaranteed, but the pandemic taught us all that this is not the case. So I believe that for many of us, generating alternative streams of income is essential to that feeling of financial security that we expected from a career in medicine.

See one, do one, teach one

I’ve learned that “see one, do one, teach one” applies to all things in life. In residency training, this half-jokingly refers to the steep learning curve in medical training. There is of course a high level of supervision expected in this process, but it is often a common scenario where a resident will see a technique only a few times before giving it a try themselves.

There is no substitute for first hand experience, and the knowledge gains from this style of learning can be immense and frighteningly fast.

I recall this from my experience in the Burn ward at the county hospital. As patients crashed in the middle of the night, I watched a few subclavian central lines being placed before I was asked to them myself. Knowing the anatomy and the Seldinger technique was obviously helpful, but the actual experience was the most instructive part by far.  

This concept applies strongly to real estate investing. Although a lot of the investors featured in the conference have only been investing for a couple of years, their experience level is exponentially higher than most of the conference participants. This fact allows even young investors to bring immense value to others by sharing their stories. While no one claims to be an expert, their experience is valuable nonetheless.

Collaboration and masterminds

The final (and perhaps most powerful) thing I learned from the conference is that collaboration can supercharge progress.

There’s a lot of reasons why humans are amazing, but our ability to collaborate and share resources and information is perhaps our most incredible trait.

Many times during the conference, I saw people connecting and networking, with one person having exactly the resource that the other person needed. This is the power of collaboration, and a great side effect of the conference.  

In our Q&As, we had interactive sessions where Ian, Jordan, and I answered questions and interpreted the day’s sessions.

In our focused VIP Zoom sessions in the evenings, I also learned more insights into the personal stories of the VIPs and helped guide their investing journeys.  We were joined by industry leaders and real estate agents as well that added their input on best practices. I found their comments on real estate market and real estate trends particularly interesting.

Change is in the air

Although it was a ton of work, I found the first PhREI Network real estate event tremendously gratifying.  We hope to make this an annual meeting, and I’m sure it’ll get bigger and better with time.

We had no conference sponsors, but essentially made enough from the VIP upgrade fees to cover our costs. Despite the lack of income from this event, hosting the event has already led to some great changes and new opportunities.  

The PhREI Network is expanding

First of all, the PhREI Network is now the PPhREI Network! The Physician + Professional Real Estate Investor Network is all inclusive and better than ever. It’s a free Facebook group that will be a place for learning about real estate investing from both physicians and professionals alike. It’ll be a great place to hear about upcoming events, resources, and networking opportunities.  

See below to join the group!

Perhaps you’re more of a Facebook type?

Are you a physician, spouse, or professional and you’re interested in using Real Estate to gain financial freedom? Join us in our Facebook group and accelerate your journey!

The PPhREI Mastermind is underway

The second great outcome from the conference is the birth of the PPhREI Mastermind. I think the best value of a mastermind is the chance to surround yourself with like-minded individuals. 

This mastermind is therefore the opportunity to surround yourself with similarly motivated individuals who are hungry to level up their lives using real estate investing.  

These are some of the things I hope you’ll enjoy in the mastermind group:

• Encouragement from other motivated physicians and professionals
• Opportunities for networking
• Greater access to Drs. Daniel Shin, Jordan Frey, and Ian Cook
• Monthly exclusive events like live Q&As, interviews, and educational sessions

This is a paid subscription group to help pay for a great experience and also incentivize engagement.  I’ve always wanted to help host a mastermind because I recognize that they’re fantastic vehicles for personal development. As Ian, Jordan and I often say when we see a resource that is lacking: “Why not just create it ourselves?” So that’s what we did.

You’re the average of the people you surround yourself with. Time to level up!

To access the mastermind, please apply via this link: 

Conclusion

Hosting this real estate conference was a blast. I learned a lot and helped bring value to the world. What a great way to kick of 2022. Thanks to everyone who attended.

Stay tuned — there’s more great stuff to come!

— The Darwinian Doctor

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