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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, Micah Johnson interviews Aaron Hopson, who shares his journey of investing in small markets and the importance of community involvement. Aaron discusses his transition from a firefighter paramedic to a successful real estate investor, emphasizing the significance of mentorship, caring for the community, and the snowball effect of real estate investments. He also highlights the various business ventures he has pursued, including laundromats and coaching, and how they align with his mission to improve his community.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Aaron Hopson (00:00)
when I first started this thing, my goal was to have 10 doors, ⁓ like before my son graduated high school and, ⁓ man, he’s 22 and he’s married now and, and, man, we’re at 150. I’m like, I don’t know what happened, but in the last couple of years, things just really started to take off for us. ⁓ and opportunities just like, just kind of fell in our lap or like we would make a phone call or.You know, ask around and next thing you know, yeah, well, I got this guy, he’s got a, you know, a 10, 10 unit complex he wants to sell.
Micah Johnson (02:02)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Micah Johnson. And today I’m joined by Aaron Hopson, who’s been making serious moves in how to invest in the smaller marketplaces. I’m excited for today. Aaron, welcome in, man. How you doing?Aaron Hopson (02:18)
Doing great, man. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.Micah Johnson (02:20)
Absolutely.Absolutely. I think our listeners, especially the ones that aren’t in the big market places that aren’t in the hotspots that you typically hear about when you’re looking at real estate can hear how you have literally taken a small market and created an incredible life in it and more ways than just one being successful in real estate. So let’s dive in for people who may not know you yet. What’s your main focus right now and what markets are you operating in?
Aaron Hopson (02:48)
Yeah, so I think, I mean, right now, obviously, real estate, that’s the big one for us. ⁓ We’re sitting at about 150 doors, 150 units here in this small town, small community, about 20,000 people, Northwest Ohio. ⁓ That’s our biggest thing. That’s our biggest focus is continuing to grow that vehicle. But we’ve also expanded off that. We’ve got a couple of laundromats in this area. We have a dry cleaner. There’s a small gym that we own and operate.And then we also have a coaching business where we’re coaching men, women in marriages, just trying to make sure that they’re healthy. And I do a little bit of business consulting too, to help other people just kind of do what we’re doing or try to get into this industry. I would say for, basically for the biggest vehicle or the biggest thing that we do is definitely the real estate.
Micah Johnson (03:38)
Man, okay, and I’m excited to back up a little bit here for folks to hear this part about how you got into real estate. this is one of my favorite story types. I grew up in a smaller town, not many things, and can see and understand exactly what you’re talking about clearly because there is a lot of opportunity everywhere if you know how to look for it. But there’s a particular heart that goes along with investing in your town and in small communities. So.How did you get into real estate? What ultimately led you there and what really drove that for you?
Aaron Hopson (04:11)
Yeah, I mean,so before I was doing real estate and all the other things that we’re involved with, I spent 15 years as a firefighter paramedic for the community. served my community as a full-time firefighter medic and was an officer. I was promoted to lieutenant a couple years in. But ⁓ before all that, I was an entrepreneur. I had a lawn care and landscaping company here in the community and I didn’t know how to do business very well. So that didn’t go great. And I kind of struggled financially.
And I just remember trying to just grind it out. was working a lot of hours and doing a lot of just, just trying to trade my time for money. And I remember my dad telling me, um, I think he was concerned about me. He’s concerned about me just working so much. And he said, son, one of these days, you’re going to have to find a way for your money to work for you rather than you working for your money. And at the time when he told me, I didn’t, I didn’t understand that. I didn’t know really what that meant, but when I got into the fire service, um, I was kind of, uh,
Things were okay. Life was getting a little better. I had a good, you know, good income, good job, good, good benefits and everything. But ⁓ as a medic for our community, because we’re dual trained, ⁓ I was going into some of these properties where I saw, you know, just how some people were living and, just some of the properties. just didn’t, ⁓ just didn’t like what I was seeing. And some of it is, is generational. Some of it’s people based, you know, but, ⁓ you know, it’s just, they don’t know what they’re doing or they, know, just the conditions that they’re in, but
A lot of it, what I was seeing was like bad landlords. I talk about like seeing like exposed wiring, ⁓ man, like garden hoses used for plumbing. And it just, I just didn’t like what I was seeing and how people who own these properties were basically not taking care of them. And people were living there and it was just about money to them. And so it kind of broke my heart a little bit. so at the same time, I kind of remember what my dad told me. And I thought, man, I could, if I could get into this, if I could,
Maybe if I started owning properties, I could fix them up. I could make them better. I could give people nicer places to live in my community, the place that I grew up, the place that I’m serving. so there was a little bit of that like, hey, I to find a way to make my money work for me in this vehicle of real estate. But at the same time, man, my heart was like trying to do something for my community and the people that I was serving to just try to get people nicer places to live.
Micah Johnson (07:23)
Right. And what I love about that and what I love about real estate does for people, because your entrepreneur bug got lit back up at just the right time where you get to a place where you’re doing something that, yes, it 100 % pays your financial paycheck. It does that and it does it really well. But more importantly, it pays the emotional paycheck.Cause what I’ve learned through my life, you can do a lot of things for a lot of money and still hate it and not have a good life. Cause it’s just sucking the life out of you. It’s not paying that other side. And you can 100 % find that alignment in life where the two meet, where the heart behind it kicks in, the why as it were, lines up with your ability now to understand like it’s great to make a lot of money. And if I can make a lot of money and serve people.
okay, that’s my cake and I get to eat it too. Because oftentimes that’s pitted against each other. Like you can’t actually serve by doing that. And real estate is one of those that defies those odds completely. Because when you do that, what’s awesome about, what I love about your story is, man, you’re going in a lot of houses. It’s not like a random selection that you’re getting to go to. My buddy ran a hospital for a while and was, he would always talk about the ER and how many paramedics are coming in and out and all the things he’s going through. So it’s just like,
Whoa, this is, it’s a, you ain’t just sitting there when you’re on your shift. There’s a lot of things going and you’re going in and out and in and out. And you just start to notice that, right? Where it’s like, wait a second. These are real problems. There’s this and there’s that. And then that entrepreneur in you lights up and it’s like, okay. And dad’s lesson finally makes sense. See, that’s beautiful, man. Right thing at the right time is beautiful.
Aaron Hopson (08:46)
Yeah. yeah.Yeah.
It is. Yeah. Yeah. It was awesome. I remember there’s a couple of books that I’ve read in my life that have kind of changed my thought process or that I’ve really bought into. I remember kind of at that time reading Rich Dad Poor Dad and going, ⁓ man, I just didn’t know what I didn’t know. And this all just came together, man. And it just, I think the timing of it was perfect. ⁓ And then the snowball effect of now I’ve started doing this. Now it starts to grow.
You know, and so now I can do more things. So it’s been incredible.
Micah Johnson (09:38)
Well,you described it upfront and the things you already own. And for folks that may live in a small town and investing in small towns, you like this idea of really helping your community. One thing to think about that’s unique to this is asset classes. In bigger cities, investors, you can focus on one thing. You don’t really have to change. But in your smaller one, and with the way that you’re already thinking about service,
Aaron Hopson (09:54)
Easy.Micah Johnson (10:03)
it starts to adjust because now these other, like you’re talking about, you got two laundry mats, you have a dry cleaner, you have, you start picking up these solid financial opportunities that are built into the community. So they start to work too. What was it that really started to open your eyes there and then dig in on that beginning phase where you’re connecting with somebody. Cause you said it earlier, get connected with somebody that’s doing it and can start showing you those. So.Who was that that did that for you and how have your eyes opened over time as to just what you can do, right? Cause it’s, each one was a new belief. You don’t start out, everybody doesn’t think they can start doing a dry cleaner deal, right? But you grow into it.
Aaron Hopson (11:18)
Yeah, I think there’s⁓ something to said about like, I think we all need mentors. I think we need people who can speak into our lives or people that we can go to and ask questions with. ⁓ My brother-in-law was actively involved in real estate deals. So I would always ask him questions, you know? ⁓ And then there was a couple other people in the community that I knew had quite a few units before I got started. so I just, hey, can I…
Can I buy you a cup of coffee? Can I take you out to lunch? I just want to pick your brain because I want to know the good, the bad and the ugly before I make this commitment. But you don’t know everything and they’re not going to tell you everything. There’s so much on the job training or you learn as you go. ⁓ And some of those lessons you learn hard, you know, but you never forget them. And so I would say like for anybody who’s trying to get into it, like
Reach out into whatever circles you have or the community that you’re involved with and find those people that are already doing what you want to do or they’re where you’re kind of wanting to go. And just reach out and I mean a cup of coffee, a lunch just to get some information from them to kind of know what you’re doing before you get into or have an idea. know, like you’re not going to know everything like I said, but at least get like a 60,000 foot view of what it’s like to be a landlord. And so I did that.
⁓ And then as for the other businesses that we kind of transitioned into or were kind of allowed to get into that space was kind of the same thing. I just saw different opportunities. I think once you learn real estate or once you get in there and you start seeing opportunities like in the real estate world, I think for me, it opened up my eyes to other opportunities, other business ventures that again, ⁓
you know, it’s like a semi passive thing. I can oversee it. I don’t have to be in it, you know, eight hours a day or 80 hours a week or anything like that. ⁓ and so the, you know, the laundromats made sense because well, I own real estate and a lot of those, ⁓ apartments or duplexes or they, they might have washer dryer hookups, but most people who are renting, they don’t have washers and dryers that they’re moving. They’re not moving a lot of appliances, moving their furniture. And so I was like, well,
they’re going doing their laundry somewhere. And so I kind of felt, hey, this could be an opportunity to kind of double dip and help again, our opportunity to help. do some free laundry events at our laundromats, like for the community. So, and you know, the dry cleaner was another one of those that’s kind of paired off of the, the laundromat business. It’s like, I’m in the laundry business. And we have this opportunity to buy this dry cleaner. It’s the only one around. It’s been here since 1950.
So it’s a legacy business and they were going to close the doors and people in the community were kind of upset about it. And I thought, Hey, let me, let me see if I can help. Let me see if I can jump in and, you know, put, some people to work and put it all together and see, see what happens, you know? And so we kind of jump into that. And so I have my daughter-in-law, she manages the store for me. And then I just have conversations with her on how to lead people and you know, how to run a business. so.
These opportunities, these doors just kind of started opening in different directions. You kind of know what to look for.
Micah Johnson (14:31)
Yeah.Right, right. And you keep getting confidence. And that’s one of the keys to real estate. And like you said, finding that mentor, one thing I love about real estate is the folks that are successful at it, they will talk to you about it. They will explain to you, they’ll show you, hey man, this is something I did wrong up front, pay attention to this, this is something you may never thought about before. And all of that is so pivotal to your success, right? Real estate, when everybody, if you’re thinking about it, this is a long-term play.
Aaron Hopson (14:46)
Yes.Micah Johnson (15:02)
This is something you get into and stay into for a long time. Don’t feel like learning how to do it is wasted time. There’s always a deal. There’s always going to be a deal. And there’s always going to be that deal that got away, no matter when you start. So just deal with it, right? Like that’s just the case, but don’t rush those phases because when you do it that way, that’s what leads to the ability that you have. It leads to a successful deal.It leads to solid relationships. And that’s when the snowball effect goes, when all of a sudden it’s like, oh, I can do this. Here we go. And then you do it again and you do it again. And then that leads to, I can do that over there too. And it lines up with my whole mission. And again, that’s what I love about the smaller community investing is one, the story behind it is it’s just great. Cause there is that you serve your community that you care about this thing. You’ve been here a long time and you get to now have that just
pride in what you do, the pride of ownership in a way, and you get to expose it because you’re that way, you get to make your town better. I love that. It’s so powerful. And then now expand it through different asset classes where again, you’re accomplishing your personal financial goals. You’re pulling off the life you want. It looks like what you hoped it would look like and you worked your way to that and you weren’t limited.
because of some belief that, I’m not in one of those bigger markets and I’m not, it won’t just be this, it won’t be that. It’s like, everybody, always starts with one. You may buy a package deal upfront, okay, give me an exception, but it always starts with a first deal. And then it goes from there. Nobody got to a thousand without buying one first. What’s that old quote? You know, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. You’ve got to at least take that step and
Aaron Hopson (17:14)
Mm-hmm.That’s right.
Micah Johnson (17:33)
keep moving with it. And real estate’s big enough where you’ll identify with the parts you like. You’ll find that way you like to do it, because not everybody’s story has to look exactly like yours, but you can still go out there to counter the idea that you need to own a lot. The number one buyer of homes nationwide, this is a national statistic that actually matters, investor world, these are your mom and pops.These are three to fives. That’s who owns the most houses nationwide. It’s not institutional. It’s not big companies. It’s the mom and pop. And they’re in places just like you’re talking about. Cause they don’t care about hot markets. They live by, your neighbor’s house or by my neighbor’s house. That’s how they do it. They started there and moved out and that’s what it’s really about. you’ve, now you’re connected to the big story and that gets me hyped up. I get pretty jazzed.
Aaron Hopson (18:24)
Yeah,yeah, I love it man. think one of the things you said is like the mentor thing and That you there are people that are in this industry. They’ll talk to you about it I mean, that’s the biggest thing I was having a conversation with another guy several months ago and I’ve said this many times if If you get to somebody who’s successful and you start asking them questions and they’re freely giving you that knowledge and they’re sharing with you all the ins and outs I typically have found that that person
They did it the honest, like just the hardworking good, you know, they did it the right way. When you come across somebody who’s afraid to tell you, like, or they’re kind of like, they don’t want to share their secrets. Sometimes what I have found out is like that person probably didn’t do it the honest way. They, they stepped on a lot of heads to get to where they’re at. Like they, you know what I mean? And so they, they don’t even expose themselves by telling you some, some things that are kind of like they don’t, they want to keep hidden. And so I like to surround myself with people who are honest.
Micah Johnson (19:20)
Exactly.Right? Well, they have the, win, you lose mentality. It’s the one where if this is a game we’re playing, someone has to lose. that you’re right. There are those people out there. There’s so many more that aren’t. And that’s what I love about it. And you just gotta go put yourself in the way of it. you go on your Facebook, look up groups that are local to you, go to the meetup, just go out. Like that’s if you don’t know where to get started.
Aaron Hopson (19:26)
Yes.Micah Johnson (19:52)
If you really don’t, just ask one of your friends. You know anybody that does real estate, right? Somebody knows somebody that does real estate. Somebody. That’s just the way it works. And to keep on going, like tap into that. And if you’ve dealt with people that have treated you that the opposite way, keep asking more. That’s the secret. Don’t stop asking. You’re doing the action that’s going to create all of your success. Just keep doing it. Cause that’s what’s required from there on out, right? You had to buy another door.Aaron Hopson (20:10)
Mm-hmm.Micah Johnson (20:22)
and then another one and you’re still doing it, you’re still building it. So that skill upfront of just asking, it compounds. And again, real estate is the ultimate compounding game, the ultimate snowball effect if you stay in it.Aaron Hopson (20:33)
Mm-hmm.Yeah, for sure. For sure. I mean, we’ve, when I first started this thing, my goal was to have 10 doors, ⁓ like before my son graduated high school and, ⁓ man, he’s 22 and he’s married now and, and, man, we’re at 150. I’m like, I don’t know what happened, but in the last couple of years, things just really started to take off for us. ⁓ and opportunities just like, just kind of fell in our lap or like we would make a phone call or.
You know, ask around and next thing you know, yeah, well, I got this guy, he’s got a, you know, a 10, 10 unit complex he wants to sell.
Like, okay. So, you know, let’s, let’s explore that option, but it’s just like you said, it’s a snowball effect and it really starts to take off if you stay in it long enough and you just keep going. Um, and just don’t, don’t quit, don’t give up.
Micah Johnson (21:23)
And like you were saying a second ago, doing it the right way, especially real estate in a small town, smaller places, your reputation is known quickly and you wanna get cut out of deals fast, act up. Act up and see what happens. it’s so, it forces that accountability and challenges that part. Well, not really challenge it, but it’ll establish that where you’re coming from part, right? Again, the ones that don’t care do it poorly.Aaron Hopson (21:31)
Mm-hmm.Yeah, thank you very much.
Micah Johnson (21:52)
The secret to anything is actually caring, especially in real estate. If you just actually care about the person living in your home and the home itself, if you just actually care, it unlocks it all. It makes it what you always wanted it to be.Aaron Hopson (22:05)
Mm-hmm.Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I love what you were saying about the, uh, you know, the small town vision versus the big town, you know, these massive markets. And I think that’s kind of the biggest thing it’s on my heart is like just helping other people or encouraging, inspiring others that, and you don’t have to live in a major metropolitan area to, to, do this. Like all of these opportunities are in, are in your backyard, you know, 20,000 person community to a hundred thousand person community or
whatever, mean, there’s duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, small apartment complexes, laundromats, car washes, all of these things are in every small town community across the country. It’s just like going out and going for a drive and looking around and then finding who owns these things and then making some connections and going from there.
Micah Johnson (22:44)
Right?Right?
And referral business roars in a small town. Like when it’s, when you start getting that reputation and it’s just part of that where call Aaron. you got that call Aaron. Call Aaron. Just do that. That’s who did it. And it does. it’s, there’s a level of pride in my opinion for my, my folks that I know that do this in their small town where
Aaron Hopson (23:09)
Yeah. Yeah.Micah Johnson (23:21)
Yes, you’re successful business owner. Yes, you’re doing all those things, but the way you’re affecting your community in a way that you can’t do in the big markets, that’s just, it’s never gonna happen there, is so cool. It’s so, I think it’s what’s pure about real estate to me, like in its biggest way. So, Aaron, I’ve loved our conversation today. For those that are listening that would like to learn more possibly about what to expect, find you, see what you got going on. What’s the best way for them to…to reach out or get ahold of you.
Aaron Hopson (23:52)
Man, we’ve got an amazingbusiness called Wellspring Legacy Group. It’s our coaching and consulting business and it ties into our real estate, the laundromats, but it also just ties into life. Like I mentioned earlier, like the real estate has been this vehicle that has allowed us to have a gym and, you know, do these workouts and have this cool little studio that we can help people physically. But it’s also allowed us to create this organization called Wellspring Legacy Group where we get to help coach people in their life.
Micah Johnson (24:04)
Gotcha.Aaron Hopson (24:21)
and just help them through everyday issues and especially married couples. So I would say my email address, it’s as [email protected] or you can go to our website, www.Wellspringlegacygroup.com. Check us out. You can reach out. ⁓ And I’m gonna make myself available to anyone who has questions and maybe just if I can encourage somebody or inspire somebody, then that’s what it’s all about for me.Micah Johnson (24:47)
Excellent, man. Thank you for sharing. And for those of you listening or watching, you can find those links in the show notes. We’ll make sure you know how to a hold of Aaron. Aaron, man, I appreciate your time today, your story, your perspective. I think we need more folks out there doing it like you’re doing it and just that right way, building something real. And so for those of you again, tuning in, if you got value from today’s episode, please like this episode, share it with somebody you think could get value from it too. And don’t forget, subscribe to our podcast. We appreciate everybody that does.Aaron Hopson (25:02)
Thank you.Micah Johnson (25:17)
We’ve got more conversations coming up with operators just like Aaron, who are out there building a real business, having a real effect on their communities. So thanks for joining us. We’ll see you on the next episode.
