Taking a Step Back Can Often be the Quickest Way Forward

As the world continues to battle Covid-19 and begins adjusting to the new normal, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the last decade, which has seen significant changes in my professional and personal life. This includes transitioning from a demanding career to building a real-estate investment business. This article has little to do with real estate. The purpose is to share my personal journey of taking many calculated leaps, which may inspire at least one person to think differently when confronted with a decision to make, especially in the uncertain and tumultuous times we find ourselves in now given Covid-19. 

Taking a Step Back to Take Two Steps Forward

I was blessed to earn a job and spend the majority of my working career at PwC, which arguably is one of the best consulting/accounting firms in the world. I started at the firm in 2005 as an intern and in 2010, I was promoted to manager in Corporate Tax. Though I was a top performer in Tax, I did not particularly enjoy it and I knew that taking the position would pigeonhole me in the future. I always wanted to work in Management Consulting so I shared my goals with the firm and they supported me and I ultimately landed a transfer opportunity to PwC Chicago Consulting practice. Amazing opportunity, right? Yes, but with one catch, I'd be starting as an entry level associate since I had no consulting experience whatsoever. Here I was at a crossroad; becoming a manager at the age of 25 and potentially being on a path to be a PwC partner by the age of 30 versus moving to a new country at an entry level position that would require me to prove myself all over again and possibly fail. Though I didn't know exactly what doors would open, I knew that moving to the US and getting consulting experience would be far more beneficial to my future, so I decided to take almost two ‘steps’ down and move to Chicago in 2010.

Beginning a New Journey at the Depth of the Great Recession

I was lucky to have landed a job in the US as a foreigner given the fact it was during the deepest point of the Great Recession where many people were out of work.  But what made it more difficult was what the Senior Partner who hired me said as he offered me the job; “I like you and your attitude, so I will give you a shot, and we’ll see how long you can last”... no pressure, right?

I moved to downtown Chicago in the summer of 2010 a few days before starting work. The first couple weeks of orientation on the new job were challenging for me from a mental standpoint. I was in the same room as recent college grads and we were getting the “welcome to the firm” background and learning how to use the firm’s software, which I had already been using for 5 years.  I was constantly asking myself “is this the biggest mistake I have ever made”?.. However, I told myself that I had made this decision and I needed to see it through. 

After a slow start, I finally got on a couple projects with great teams and began to really excel in my role.  In less than a year, I was promoted to Senior Associate and then I was promoted to manager 2 years after that. Things were going pretty well and I did enjoy the people and projects I was working on but if you know anything about consulting, you know that consultants typically spend a majority of their time traveling and that was no different for me. I’d been traveling weekly for 5 years straight leaving on Monday morning and returning Thursday night. In the beginning it was pretty ‘cool’ as I’d visit new cities,  stay in nice hotels, eat at fancy restaurants, fly 1st class by earning top frequent flier status, etc. But what most people don’t realize is traveling for work isn’t as glamorous as it seems. Your friends become TSA agents, taxi drivers, hotel and wait staff and you are constantly working 60-80+ hour weeks. I was tethered to my laptop/phone at all times almost like a parent is with a newborn. I got married in 2013 and my wife and I planned to have a family (we are blessed with 3 daughters now) and I knew that I didn’t want to be a road-warrior for the rest of my life.  

At that point in time I was at another major crossroad in life. I was a 2nd year manager and knew that director would be the next step in a few years, which may have put me back on the path to become a partner at the firm. This situation reminded me of how I felt in 2010; the path I was on was very lucrative but I knew that it would not be conducive to the family life I wanted. Real estate has always been a passion of mine and I began investing in single family residential properties in 2010 in Toronto. Given my career and travel demands, I hadn’t had much time to explore US real estate but had always wanted to start my own business in real estate. I questioned if I was in the position to do so and I also had questions on my employment marketability if I had a gap in my resume. After much thought and with the support of my wife, we decided that I’d leave PwC in early 2015 to explore US real estate possibilities and get a real estate ‘side’ business going. However, I always told  myself that I would return to work and find a suitable job locally in 6-12 months; I essentially had a stronger plan B (get a job) than plan A, which reflects the mindset I had back then. 

Life After Quitting the First Time 

2015 was one of the toughest years for me, mentally, emotionally and professionally. My identity was associated with my professional consulting career and no longer having that left me with a huge void, similar to what many folks experience after retirement. This, coupled with the fact that I was trying to start my own business from scratch, was challenging. I spent several months trying to figure out multifamily investing and had very little to tangibly show for it. Though unknown to me at the time, the efforts and steps taken were actually pivotal in enabling me to develop the building blocks of the company we have today. I’ll share the lessons learned in another article. Nonetheless, by the end of 2015, my plan B was successful and I had landed a new local job for a public company as internal consultant, which was as close as possible to my desired role post management consulting. 

Fast Forward to Now

Though I never bought a multifamily property myself as I intended to in 2015, this was likely a blessing in disguise as I did come across syndication and the ability to passively invest in large apartments. This was a world that was totally foreign to me at the time but I believed in the power of it and invested in a few deals as a “passive” investor (limited partner) and really began to learn the business. Though I was back in the workforce, my passion for real estate continued to grow, and I told myself the next time I leave a job, it would be for good and to build a business. After receiving great mentor-ship and meeting my now business partner, we’ve built our company, Catalyst Equity Partners, that directly owns 700+  multifamily units in Texas worth $65M+ and have raised over $20M of private equity from our trusted passive investors. 

Lessons Learned

Though I had always had a dream of starting my own business, I had no idea that it would materialize the way it has. Getting into consulting allowed me to learn a skill-set (i.e. strategy, execution, project management) that readily transfers into our business. The fact that I moved to the US and traveled to Texas for 2-3 years, opened my eyes up to the growth of this state, which is arguably one of the best for multi-family investing and which I now call home.  The key is to realize that while it’s important to have a big vision, it can only manifest itself by taking small steps, which will lead to a great journey.

#1 - “Most people worry about what they are giving up vs what they can gain”

There is no doubt that change is tough, whether it be moving to a new city, getting a new role, etc. You can always find the excuse to not do something but if you forget about what you're giving up and open up to what you can gain, your view can change. As stated above, I’ve personally used this mindset in all my decisions to date and will undoubtedly do so for all the future forks in the road.

#2 - “Your thoughts become your realities”

In 2010, I believed taking a entry level position in the US would be more beneficial to my future, and it was. In 2015, I told myself I'd get a job after exploring real estate, and I did. In 2016, I told myself I'd start building this business and position myself to do it full-time, and I was able to do so in 2018. Now, I am much more deliberate in how my thoughts impact my actions which will ultimately shape my results.

With that, I challenge you to think about ‘what you can gain’ when you’re at your next crossroad, no matter how big or small it may be! 

In future articles, I will dig deeper into real-estate investing, which is a true passion of mine and in particular, multi-family investing, in an effort to share best practices as a general partner and direct asset manager and really get 'under the hood' of this business to enable prospective investors to make good investment decisions. 

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Shane Thomas is Managing Partner and Cofounder of Catalyst Equity Partners, a Texas-based private equity firm focused on helping busy professionals earn double digit returns through investing in apartments. To learn more, visit www.catequity.com and connect with Shane on LinkedIn and Facebook.