*The article is shared by a self-made millionaire of Korean origin, currently living and working in the US.
In 2015, if asked what I would do in the next 7 years, I would answer as a dentist. I was 23 years old then and had just been accepted into a dental school. But before the first semester started, a fierce fear struck me: How to pay for tuition? My family immigrated to the US from Korea in 2002. I don’t really want to be a dentist but according to my parents, that’s the way for me to achieve the “American dream”.
To cover the expensive tuition, I plan to build a passive income stream. Once, I returned to Korea to visit friends and stayed at an Airbnb property. I was shocked to learn that the owner is not only my age but also manages many similar residences.
He told me that he used arbitrage, where he rented a place and then re-rented it on Airbnb for a higher price. That’s when I got the idea to do the same thing when I returned to America.
After researching, calculating, I decided to try this way. The only problem is that I don’t have much money. The amount I need is $8,000, including the first month’s rent ($2,000), a $2,000 deposit and $4,000 for furniture.
My credit card limit is $5,000 and I’ve used most of it to buy things. Then I borrowed more money from you to pay rent, security deposit and tuition.
For the first 8 months, everything went well. But then I received a letter from the rental office, saying that they had seen on Airbnb the room I was renting and that it was a breach of contract. I didn’t know it was against the rules. They warned me that if I didn’t stop, I would be kicked out of the house.
After this, I think I need to be more creative to make money. So I reached out to a few homeowners and convinced them to join my business model. Luckily, I “hit the lottery” with an apartment and made about $12,000 in sales per month. Subtracting expenses, I pocket from $5,000 to $8,000 from passive income. This is when I knew I could make more money from this form.
And I feel like I don’t need to be a dentist in the future. I asked the school to take a year off and focus on a business project. Of course, I don’t tell my parents about this because they will definitely object. Finally, after a while, I decided to drop out of dental school altogether.
My strategy that day was to find properties near the hotel because demand would be higher than usual. In addition, I also rent some apartments near the sea. Over time, my business grew very well.
However, in 2019, I had to close all 20 properties in Los Angeles due to a change in Airbnb’s rental regulations here. Then I went to Glendale (California) and approached corporate offices in large apartment complexes.
I convinced them to let me rent out the available rooms on Airbnb and they agreed. After Glendale, I moved to other markets in Southern California like Burbank, California and then Beverly Hills. I have built a reputation in the industry: Manage over 40 properties and have a good relationship with landlords. They even introduced me to places in need of cooperation.
Currently, I manage over 100 properties in Southern California as well as in Miami, Philadelphia and Dallas. Because of the close relationship with realtors, I have shifted to renting luxury houses instead of small apartments as before. With this form, although the risk is higher, the profit is also greater.
In each city, I have a team of 2-4 housekeepers and a manager who, depending on the number of accommodations, cost about $3,000/month to hire. I also spend about $2,500 monthly on a customer service team of 4 in the Philippines.
We are currently generating revenue of USD 600,000/month, which is expected to reach USD 10 million by the end of the year. In the next 3 months, my prediction is total revenue of about 1 million USD/month. I also became a millionaire, thanks to this business model, not from becoming a dentist as my parents wanted.
Now, they’re happy that I didn’t go to dental school and instead pursued a career that interests me. Also, thanks to this job, I have time flexibility as well as financial freedom. Thanks to that, I can spend more time with them than when I do a normal job.
Source: BI