On November 28, 2018, InspireHer is excited to welcome three stellar speakers for our Women Building Women in Real Estate panel. We caught up with Route 3116 Investments owner Kathy Flett, who has over 12 years of experience in the industry as both a real estate investor and educator.
How did you first get started in your industry?
It was my older son's paper route - and it became a family job, which is what happens when you have kids. At that time, the price of housing was climbing quickly and I had this idea: maybe we should buy a property for each of them, we’ll rent it out and self-manage it, and… then that would be our parting gift to them when they moved out. We caught the bug and kept shopping for more rentals. Then 14 years later, we haven’t looked back. Though, we never did give them anything (laughs).
Can you tell us a bit about your experience?
You don't go to school for this. It's all learn as you go and learn as you grow. The biggest challenge was having to be the expert in all things before having the opportunity to learn. My husband and I do this together, where I look after the day to day and he's the glorified handyman. You have to keep humble because you're going to make mistakes, and understand that you’re going to make mistakes. But you learn from them and you don't let them knock you down.
What do you think has been a core factor in the success you've achieved?
A tenacious attitude to just “get 'er done” and not be afraid to learn new things. I don't have to be right all the time. I just have to figure out how to do it.
What's a principle or life motto you strive to live by?
Treat others the way I want to be treated.
If you could send a message to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could go back 15 years? Take it more seriously. One of the biggest mistakes I ever made when we first started out, because I didn't know what I was doing and had no one to teach me, I didn't take it as seriously as I should have. I almost treated it more as a hobby rather than as a business. I firmly believe that if I would have taken the time to treat this as more of a business, we actually would be further ahead than we are right now.
What are you most looking forward to with this upcoming InspireHer event?
I am most looking forward to learning from the other ladies on the panel! I am super excited to hear what their answers are and what they do. And networking with some other people! As an investor, you feel like your own island. So the opportunity to get out there and meet people also in the industry is overwhelming.
Is there anything else you feel we should know about you before the event?
I do have a six-week crash course that I host for people if they want to start this [type of business] up, so they don’t have to go through the torment I did to get started.
We are so excited to have Kathy as a speaker. Meet her in person at our Women Building Women in Real Estate event!