1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,080 Hey everybody, hello and welcome to Spotlight Vancouver, Washington. 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:11,480 I'm your host, Doug Varenas, and I wanted to kick off basically the first episode of 3 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:18,160 this podcast, this video podcast, with kind of just an introduction about myself and what 4 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:24,600 this podcast is going to be all about because I think I'm in my third iteration of this 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:26,920 YouTube channel and this journey. 6 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:31,560 And so if you have a growth mindset like I do, you know that sometimes you're going 7 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:36,320 to go through some tweaks and modifications before you get it the way you want it and 8 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,920 who's to say this won't be one of them. 9 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:45,360 But what I started out doing on YouTube was sort of as a real estate agent was a relocation 10 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:46,520 channel. 11 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:51,400 And so it was also geared towards Vancouver where I live, Vancouver, Washington. 12 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:59,040 And it started out as touring houses, providing information on the market and providing tips 13 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:00,320 and tricks. 14 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:05,320 And so a lot of my content has been real estate related, obviously with an emphasis on like 15 00:01:05,320 --> 00:01:06,720 providing information. 16 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:11,720 So it's me talking to the camera, kind of like I'm doing now, but in a more sort of condensed 17 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:18,480 format where I'm either touring a house, which I really love to do, or providing information 18 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:23,120 that I think the audience is going to find useful and it would be like the five steps 19 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:29,520 to getting the house of your dreams or, you know, three hacks and getting your offer accepted, 20 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:30,520 something like that. 21 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:35,680 And I really enjoyed doing that content because I do hope that people found some value in 22 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:40,760 that and I do think there is a lot of value in that kind of content and who's to say I 23 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,640 probably will continue to produce that sort of content. 24 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,480 But what I basically got really burnt out. 25 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:54,320 And I felt like I was talking to people and not with people and I wanted to have the responses 26 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,000 and the information be a little more nuanced. 27 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:04,240 And I've always wanted to do kind of a longer form channel and have interviews sort of be 28 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:06,360 the backbone of that. 29 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:11,320 And so, you know, if I was going to do some content on a certain aspect of real estate, 30 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:16,280 I would want to talk to, you know, a real expert in that specific area and then we could 31 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:22,280 have sort of a back and forth and the audience can get like a much more thorough answer and 32 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,640 a more nuanced answer. 33 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:26,880 And that just wasn't possible with the short form. 34 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:32,600 I mean, if you're doing like Instagram, Reels or TikTok, YouTube, you can do that a little 35 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:33,600 better. 36 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,000 But I felt the conversation was one way. 37 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:42,360 And so my goal with this podcast is to talk to people in the community who are doing cool 38 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:50,440 stuff in Vancouver and to kind of get their background story, learn how they came to be 39 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,560 who they are and the cool things they're doing in the community. 40 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,520 And a lot of these guests will be probably entrepreneurs. 41 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,280 A lot of them will be in the real estate agency, but I don't want to limit it to that. 42 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,880 In fact, I'm consciously trying to get people from all over the community who are doing 43 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:06,880 cool stuff. 44 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,760 I have some guests lined up that I'm excited about. 45 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,640 And it's an opportunity to have a conversation. 46 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:17,880 And I think that the audience really wants more nuance. 47 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,800 They want a lengthier explanation. 48 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:25,800 They want to engage with somebody for longer than 30 seconds. 49 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,560 So it's sort of in a way kind of the anti-TikTok podcast. 50 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:36,720 And so I'm looking forward to expanding the audience and the guests to include entrepreneurs, 51 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:40,120 artists, people in the medical field. 52 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:46,400 People who've retired early, financial experts, real estate experts, and really focus on what 53 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,280 makes Vancouver an awesome place to be. 54 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:55,040 And so that is my mindset going into this new iteration of my YouTube channel. 55 00:03:55,040 --> 00:04:00,640 And what I'm hoping to provide to the audience is some inspiration, some practical tips, 56 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,840 because I really think the audience are people who maybe they want to own businesses or they 57 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:06,200 want to start something. 58 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:11,800 They want to create something, and maybe they don't know where to start or they want to 59 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,240 build those connections with people in their community. 60 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:20,240 So I'm also hoping that my audience will reach out to the people I have on the show, as well 61 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,920 as myself to get some more information. 62 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:29,080 And hopefully I want to inspire people to make Vancouver even more incredible and a 63 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:30,680 greater place to live. 64 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,080 And a lot of that I think is through entrepreneurship. 65 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,520 And that can look different ways for different people. 66 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:41,560 I could be kind of a standard business where you're buying and selling things. 67 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:43,720 It could be getting into investing. 68 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:45,320 It could be producing art. 69 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:50,880 It could be helping disabled children find employment, more adults. 70 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,440 So the possibilities are endless. 71 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:59,040 And so I'm looking forward to connecting and communicating what's going on in the city 72 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:02,320 of Vancouver, because I do believe it's an incredible place. 73 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:07,840 And I've lived here for the past, what's it going on nine years now? 74 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:11,000 And I've been in the Pacific Northwest since 2004. 75 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,880 Oh, yeah, that's gonna be about 12 years. 76 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,880 If I look at the simple math, right? 77 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,880 So it's been quite a while since I've come to the area. 78 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:28,080 And a little bit about myself, again, my name's Doug, and I am a real estate agent licensed 79 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,120 in Washington and Oregon. 80 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:37,480 And I grew up in the Southern California area, specifically the San Fernando Valley, and 81 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:44,040 even more specifically the town or the city of Recita, which is famous for being the home 82 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,400 of the original karate kid. 83 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:50,400 There's also a lot of references and songs and movies and stuff to it. 84 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:54,560 And I believe when these references are made, they're made in a sort of like, it's a really 85 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:58,080 kind of a bland, generic kind of hoof place. 86 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,480 And that's the kind of context that it's usually brought up in. 87 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:02,680 I don't think that's the case. 88 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:04,600 I do think it's an interesting place. 89 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:09,680 And where I grew up was incredibly diverse, and my classmates were from all over the world. 90 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,320 And, you know, my high school, they spoke like 100 different languages. 91 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:15,200 It was pretty incredible. 92 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,080 And so I'm lucky to be from there. 93 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,960 But at the same time, I always felt like this wasn't the place I wanted to be. 94 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:22,880 You know, it's really hot. 95 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:25,080 It's sort of a concrete jungle. 96 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,240 The movie industry is really huge there. 97 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:33,760 So it's kind of got this, I don't know, fake vibe to it. 98 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,600 You know, people are wanting to like, you know, they're actors. 99 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,120 You know, a lot of them are aspiring actors. 100 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:44,320 And so, you know, you get the impression that a lot of people are kind of acting. 101 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:45,640 And that's just my opinion. 102 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:50,360 Like, it's interesting because I haven't been back to that area in so long, but I think 103 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:54,520 it's just a real fascinating place. 104 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,280 Like the food, the restaurant scene is incredible. 105 00:06:57,280 --> 00:06:59,200 The art scene is incredible. 106 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:00,480 I think it's a great place to visit. 107 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:02,440 I just never felt at home there. 108 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:04,320 So but I grew up there. 109 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:08,640 And when it was time for me to go to college, because, you know, that's what you had to 110 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:09,640 do back then. 111 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:16,680 I elected to go to Humboldt State University, now known as Cal Poly Humboldt, I believe. 112 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:22,680 It is in the extreme northern part of California on the coast by Eureka, the university's in 113 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:23,800 the town of Arcada. 114 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:28,440 And so that's where I spent my undergraduate, cool place, beautiful area. 115 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:29,440 Had a great time there. 116 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:33,440 Can't say I remember a lot of it, but I had fun. 117 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,200 And I was a geography major. 118 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,720 And so if you know anything about being a geography major, you know that it's there's not a lot 119 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:42,680 of employment options. 120 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:48,920 But the crazy thing is I was in the last class that did pen and ink cartography. 121 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:53,200 So it was on like a light table and you'd have different size pens to represent different 122 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:54,760 meanings on the map. 123 00:07:54,760 --> 00:08:00,160 And at the same time, they were offering like a GIS, a computer mapping certificate. 124 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,240 And this is what it was like brand new. 125 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,520 It was pretty exciting. 126 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:06,240 But I guess I just didn't get it. 127 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,680 I was probably also kind of pretty lazy at the time. 128 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,440 Like I was getting ready to graduate and I'm like, I don't want to do I don't know about 129 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,440 this computer thing and this cartography, computer cartography GIS. 130 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:17,400 I don't know what's going to happen. 131 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:18,840 So I didn't do it. 132 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:21,720 So you know, it's part of life is like you just, I don't know. 133 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,840 It's not something I really regret, but it's an interesting kind of footnote because that 134 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,800 is a great field to be in. 135 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:30,000 And it's it's all over the place. 136 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,680 Like interactive maps are everywhere. 137 00:08:32,680 --> 00:08:34,240 And so it's an incredible industry. 138 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,440 Coming to the end of my college career, I needed a job. 139 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:41,600 There wasn't besides the computer cartography, which I neglected, there wasn't a lot of options. 140 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:49,000 And so I saw a flyer in the career center about teaching English in Japan. 141 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:50,440 And I had been to Europe. 142 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:53,240 I backpacked Europe after high school by myself. 143 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:58,120 I had a plan to go with a friend and for some reasons I won't get into like it just didn't 144 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,040 happen and I was determined to go. 145 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:05,520 And so I went by myself for it ended up being the month, I think it was five weeks. 146 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,680 And you know, I was a 17 year old kid going around Europe. 147 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:14,840 So it was quite the experience and I really got the bug for international travel then. 148 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:19,480 So when it came time to look for a job, I'm like, I can go to Japan. 149 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:24,920 It's a great way to, to kind of scratch that traveling itch. 150 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:25,920 And I also get paid. 151 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,680 It was more money than I ever made at the time. 152 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:32,120 And so I went to Japan as an English teacher. 153 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:33,920 I wore a suit every day. 154 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:38,400 I lived in Nagoya city, Japan in IHC prefecture. 155 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:39,960 Nobody probably knows where that is. 156 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:43,960 And I tell people that it is the Detroit of Japan. 157 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:47,980 So kind of a gritty auto business centric place. 158 00:09:47,980 --> 00:09:53,600 It has a reputation for producing sort of some gruff language, gruff, you know, it has 159 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:57,680 kind of a granular vibe to it. 160 00:09:57,680 --> 00:09:59,120 Like it's kind of a gritty place. 161 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:00,120 I didn't find it that way. 162 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:01,520 I really liked it. 163 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:07,880 And because there was less tourists there, you kind of got put in to contact with more 164 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:08,880 locals. 165 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:12,400 You know, nobody spoke English there in Japan outside of Tokyo. 166 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,280 It's hard to find anyone who speaks English. 167 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:16,280 There are people. 168 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,080 Yeah, so in Nagoya, I didn't know any Japanese at the time. 169 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,320 I was really into studying the language. 170 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,240 I worked at an English conversation school. 171 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:25,760 I studied a lot. 172 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:30,280 I went to volunteer schools taught by former school teachers. 173 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:32,200 And so I had some good education. 174 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:33,480 I learned Japanese. 175 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:35,880 I would study a lot and I practiced at night. 176 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:41,440 I, you know, I went out every night and I immersed myself in the sort of the drinking 177 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:42,720 culture there. 178 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:47,040 And I would study literally, I would have times where it would just be like six, eight 179 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:52,400 hours and then I would go out and I would kind of use what I learned to when I went 180 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:53,400 out. 181 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:54,800 I would, that's how I kind of remembered it. 182 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:58,080 I would study it and then I would use it. 183 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,600 And I recommend that as a foreign language learning concept. 184 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,600 So I lived, I ended up, I thought it was going to be a year, maybe two years. 185 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:07,520 And then it just kind of kept going and going. 186 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:09,600 And I, I got different jobs. 187 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:17,680 I got a job with a agency that sent me out to auto manufacturing plants to teach their 188 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:24,240 workers English because they were going to be transferred to Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, 189 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:27,880 you know, these auto, you know, a lot of them were in the South or in the sort of Rust Belt 190 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:31,520 areas where they had a lot of auto manufacturing and they were sending their workers there 191 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:36,640 to teach us workers about, you know, the manufacturing process and they were collaborating. 192 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,400 And so they needed to have like a basic understanding of English. 193 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:44,840 So I taught conversational English at these big auto manufacturing plants, Toyota and 194 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:49,080 Denso and Mitsubishi, a lot of big names. 195 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:54,040 And I got to know these workers and they were delightful because they were just the entry 196 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:59,360 level workers, you know, they're their everyday person in Japan. 197 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:03,240 And I got an idea of what it was like for like the common man in Japan. 198 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:09,360 So it was a great insight, a very rich peak behind the curtain into the culture. 199 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:11,320 And I really enjoyed that. 200 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:16,680 But as you know, the longer I went on, my Japanese got really good. 201 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:21,320 Conversationally could, you know, I was pretty fluent, let's say. 202 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,600 But I just, it's hard. 203 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:25,360 Living in a foreign country is hard. 204 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:30,240 No matter what country it is, it's not easy and it kind of wears on you over time. 205 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:35,480 And I found that was happening to me, the longer I lived in Japan, you know, the kind 206 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:37,640 of less I fit in in a way. 207 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:38,760 Like I wanted to fit in. 208 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,480 I wanted to be part of the culture and part of the country. 209 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:46,960 And you know, people were incredibly kind and understanding and I met a lot of people 210 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:48,720 there and I had a lot of Japanese friends. 211 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:55,280 I made it a point not to hang out with English speakers who didn't try to immerse themselves 212 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:56,640 in the culture. 213 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:58,960 So but it was, it was frustrating. 214 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:03,760 But you know, the best of times it can be, it can be quite a load to live in a foreign 215 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:04,760 country. 216 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:06,920 And so I got pretty tired of living in Japan. 217 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:10,480 I found myself becoming a little embittered about the whole process. 218 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,720 And so I kind of just woke up one day and was like, it's time, you know, I think it's 219 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:15,840 time to leave. 220 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:23,560 So I packed up my stuff and shipped it back to the US and I moved back to Los Angeles. 221 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:27,240 I had no plan of what to do at all. 222 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,320 I had some fits and starts in Japan. 223 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:33,920 I actually went to grad school in Japan for geography again. 224 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:37,600 It was, it's really random how I got that opportunity. 225 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:39,360 And you're probably saying yourself, oh, that's cool. 226 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:40,760 That's wow, that's amazing. 227 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:45,640 And but the end of the day, it was sort of, it helped my Japanese, but I wasn't again 228 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:49,760 doing any of the stuff that was going to get me paid. 229 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:57,720 I have a degree from Nagoya University in a master's degree in geography, but again, 230 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:03,400 the career opportunities weren't jumping out at me. 231 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:09,400 No one was, you know, no one was going out of their way to hire me. 232 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:12,920 So I didn't really have a plan. 233 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:14,480 And so I went back to the US. 234 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,400 I was living with my parents for that for like a year. 235 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:18,400 I was miserable. 236 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,040 I was trying to figure out what to do. 237 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,080 I didn't have a lot of direction. 238 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:23,720 I didn't have a lot of focus. 239 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:29,800 I just, I just needed a place to kind of chill out and, and just get my thoughts together. 240 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,560 And at this point, my parents were getting ready to retire. 241 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:34,200 My father was getting ready to retire. 242 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,840 My mom wasn't working anymore. 243 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,400 And they were talking about moving up to Oregon, retiring up in Oregon. 244 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:45,680 We had always done our yearly camping trip up in central Oregon, like in the Bend area, 245 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,560 La Pines, Sun River area before it was cool. 246 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:54,160 And so my folks were looking at places up there and they finally found a home in Roseburg 247 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,440 in Southern Oregon and they purchased a home there. 248 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,440 And so I was asked or I volunteered. 249 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:01,440 I don't remember. 250 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:06,760 I, I went up there to, I needed a change and I wanted to be, I had experienced living in 251 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,080 the Pacific Northwest and I wanted to be back up there. 252 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:14,320 I had spent so much time away from my parents that I kind of wanted to be close to them, 253 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:15,320 but not too close. 254 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,840 And so I took care of their retirement home while they were kind of preparing things and 255 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:21,680 going through that transition. 256 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:26,480 And I would basically go back and forth up into Portland because I wanted to be, again, 257 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,280 like I said, I wanted to be close to my parents, but not too close. 258 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:31,280 And Portland seemed really cool. 259 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:32,920 There was a great kind of scene there. 260 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:34,280 It was exciting. 261 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:35,720 I had never lived there once. 262 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:37,480 I had never been there. 263 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:39,440 I just kind of heard it was cool. 264 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,320 I actually saw they had a max and because I lived in Japan, I really liked trains. 265 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:45,720 I thought the public transportation was amazing. 266 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:50,920 And the fact that Portland had a max train kind of sold me on it. 267 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:52,040 And so I went back and forth. 268 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,800 I stayed at the youth hostel in Portland when I came up and I would just try to get jobs. 269 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:59,120 I would apply random places. 270 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:01,240 Finally I got a job at a Trader Joe's. 271 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:06,360 I had some grocery experience in college and so I hounded the people at Trader Joe's until 272 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:07,560 they gave me a job. 273 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,440 That's the short story is I just kept calling them and calling them and calling them, asking 274 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,560 them if they had a position until they are finally like, please stop. 275 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:15,800 Please stop calling us. 276 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:19,120 You can have the job, please. 277 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:25,200 So I worked at Trader Joe's and I didn't want this to be my career and I kind of got 278 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:27,320 stuck there. 279 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:31,520 And I decided eventually I just wanted a career. 280 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:35,040 I wanted something that was meaningful and not that there's anything wrong with working 281 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:40,920 at Trader Joe's, but it didn't have a lot of meaning to me as far as changing the world 282 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:43,800 or providing some service to people. 283 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:45,240 I've since kind of changed on that. 284 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,160 I think anything can be a valuable service. 285 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:54,280 It doesn't have to be something that's really altruistic, like helping the sick or needy. 286 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:58,960 It certainly can be those things, but I think everybody's role is of value. 287 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:03,560 But anyway, at the time I'm like, I need to, I think maybe I'll try nursing. 288 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:09,480 And so I went to nursing school for a term and I just found, well, before I even went 289 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:11,320 to nursing school, I had to do the prerequisites. 290 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:12,920 So I went to Clark College. 291 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:14,000 I did some prerequisites. 292 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,720 I did really well, which gave me a lot of confidence. 293 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:18,480 I'm like, I can learn things. 294 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,480 I'm a good student and I got all A's. 295 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,720 I got into Clark College, did the first term, hated it. 296 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:28,720 It just wasn't for me. 297 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,800 I'm not a super A personality type. 298 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,280 And honestly, I just wasn't ready for the demands. 299 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:37,920 They wanted me to be responsible for my learning. 300 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,080 And I was, to be honest, I was a lazy learner at the time. 301 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:42,640 And so I was miserable. 302 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:44,200 And I was like, I can't do this. 303 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:46,560 So I quit and I felt, I was really low. 304 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:47,560 I felt bad. 305 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:49,240 I was back at Trader Joe's. 306 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,440 You know, I told everyone I was going to nursing school and then I just bailed on it. 307 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,320 So people were like, okay, yeah, you're back. 308 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:55,320 You tried that. 309 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:57,640 Of course it didn't work out. 310 00:17:57,640 --> 00:17:59,360 And so I think another year went by. 311 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:02,680 Anyway, I was searching online because I wanted to use those prerequisites. 312 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,720 I didn't want to just have them kind of throw them away or not use them. 313 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:11,840 And so I found occupational therapy, which sounded like the perfect field for me. 314 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:14,440 If you don't know what occupational therapy is, you're not alone. 315 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:22,200 It is kind of, it's, it's a branch of healthcare that focuses on, it's a holistic form of care 316 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,360 that's very like patient driven. 317 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:29,520 And it basically is, is uses task analysis to help somebody who's experienced like an 318 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:34,480 injury or illness get back to the functional life skills they need to do or want to do. 319 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,760 So, you know, I kind of, I work with people who had strokes, you know, get back to like 320 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:44,080 feeding themselves and gardening and, you know, just being able to do transfers out of their 321 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:45,240 bed. 322 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:52,240 And then so getting back to the occupational therapy is I went to occupational therapy 323 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:56,240 school of Pacific University and I became an occupational therapist. 324 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:57,840 And so I wasn't working at Trader Joe's. 325 00:18:57,840 --> 00:18:59,160 I was an occupational therapist. 326 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:05,000 I worked at the school district with children with disabilities, a lot of autism, ADHD, 327 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:06,920 you know, specific learning disabilities. 328 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:11,960 And so, you know, I've been doing that for quite a long time. 329 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:17,600 But again, I think I'm just wired to not to do something for like maybe a decade. 330 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:19,200 And then I get kind of bored. 331 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,080 I want to do something different. 332 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:22,080 I like exploring. 333 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:23,600 I like doing different things. 334 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:28,240 And so I just got to the point where I just was kind of burnt out as well and wanted to 335 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:30,640 try something new. 336 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:34,240 And I had been, I owned my home. 337 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:38,640 I didn't have a great experience with my real estate agent buying that home. 338 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,920 And before I owned that home, I had a condo. 339 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:46,640 And so I had rented that condo out for quite a while. 340 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:51,480 So I had a rental property and I owned a home. 341 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:57,440 I eventually sold that rental property and my girlfriend and that, but now wife, we bought 342 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,960 an investment home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 343 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:06,080 And during the pandemic, we had purchased several more homes. 344 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:08,960 So we had purchased like four homes total. 345 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:10,560 We were lucky enough to be able to do that. 346 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,280 And so I had always been interested in real estate. 347 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:18,840 I had been participating in buying and selling properties for investment. 348 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:24,840 My parents have also always been, they wouldn't call themselves investors, but they are sort 349 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:30,760 of buying the worst house in the best neighborhood people and they will spend the time and energy 350 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:32,160 to fix it up themselves. 351 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:33,280 They're big DIYers. 352 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:36,760 And so they had been doing that since I was before I was born. 353 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:40,480 And they had kind of continued to do that and they would fix up a home and they would 354 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,400 purchase a new one, sell the old one. 355 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:44,400 They weren't landlords. 356 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:49,480 They didn't like buying those properties for rental purposes, but they would definitely 357 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,840 build a lot of equity and buy another home, buy a modest home. 358 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:57,280 So it wasn't like they were splurging out to buy something crazy big or expensive. 359 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:02,000 They would just buy the next home, pocket some of that equity and do it again. 360 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,400 And they did this like two or three times. 361 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:10,000 And so I'd always been exposed to that DIY aesthetic and kind of real estate as an investment. 362 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:16,280 And so I decided to, because I had these kind of lukewarm experiences with realtors in the 363 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,680 past, I'm like, I think I could do better. 364 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:26,120 I could provide a service that, you know, provide the aspects of the real estate transaction 365 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:31,320 that I wish I had when I was buying real estate that I just weren't provided to me. 366 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:35,840 So there's a lot of great agents out there and there's a lot of not great agents. 367 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:40,000 And so I just happened to come upon some of the real kind of average to below average 368 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:44,760 agents and I'm like, I could do better and I can provide a service to the community. 369 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,480 And so I got my real estate license. 370 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:54,480 I have been working in real estate for the last couple of years, helping people buy and 371 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:55,960 sell homes. 372 00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:00,360 And I've also, my wife and I have been building up our investment portfolio. 373 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:07,680 I am a big fan of financial freedom and personal finance is a real passion of mine. 374 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,160 And so it's something I've always been good at. 375 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:14,120 My dad will tell you the story of how I was, you know, six years old. 376 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:15,480 I might have been younger. 377 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:20,760 And I wanted this cool MX bike, a diamond back BMX bike. 378 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:26,200 And it was like $300, which might as well been a million dollars at that time. 379 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:32,680 And he said, if you can save up your money, your allowance money, because I got an allowance 380 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:37,960 at that time, I will buy the rest of the, I will match your half. 381 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:39,360 So I had to come up with 150 bucks. 382 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:44,000 I got paid like $3 a week making leaps and stuff. 383 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:50,000 And so I saved, I don't know how I did it, but I saved up that money really quickly. 384 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:55,800 And my dad tells me he was so shocked, like he had to scramble to get the other half because 385 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:57,480 my parents didn't have a lot of money. 386 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,200 They were, you know, we didn't grow up with a ton of money. 387 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:04,440 We always comfortable and had what we needed, but they is because they kind of scrimped 388 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:05,720 and saved. 389 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,640 And he had to scrimp to get that other half of my diamond back bike because I got it. 390 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:11,520 And it was a sweet bike. 391 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:17,080 So I've always been a good saver, and then I learned how to kind of invest later in life. 392 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:21,880 And so I'm kind of on this journey of financial freedom, investing and helping other people 393 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,800 buy and sell homes, which I'm really excited about. 394 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,920 So getting back to the podcast, that's a little bit about me and kind of in a nutshell, a little 395 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:31,480 bit about my background. 396 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,920 And so again, I want to welcome you to this podcast. 397 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:40,400 And I'm so appreciative that you're listening right now and just want to let you know that 398 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:46,040 I'm really looking forward to speaking to people in the community and to get those different 399 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:51,480 perspectives and get those stories, get that inspiration and that practical information 400 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:56,040 that people in our community have people of Vancouver, Washington, because I think there's 401 00:23:56,040 --> 00:24:01,080 such a resource and such an inspiration for people who want to get started either investing 402 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,440 or starting their own business or just creating something new. 403 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:11,480 So I want to welcome you to Spotlight Vancouver, Washington, and welcome you along for the ride. 404 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,640 If you happen to be someone who you think would be a good fit for this show, feel free 405 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,240 to reach out to me. 406 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,680 My contact information will be in the description. 407 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:21,640 I would love to hear from you. 408 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:25,000 And even if you think like, oh, I don't, you know, I have nothing to offer, you might be 409 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:29,060 wrong and you probably are wrong and you probably do have quite a bit to offer the community. 410 00:24:29,060 --> 00:24:34,920 So feel free to reach out or if you know anybody who would be a good fit for this podcast, 411 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:36,640 feel free to reach out to. 412 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:37,840 And again, thank you so much. 413 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:38,840 I'm pumped. 414 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:45,080 I'm looking forward to speaking to everybody out there and just connecting with the audience, 415 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:48,680 connecting with my guests and just having fun while doing it. 416 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:53,840 It's been fun to have this intro and I will see you again soon, everybody. 417 00:24:53,840 --> 00:25:08,240 Take care.