None of my Business S7:E4- Jeremy Ames

I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Jeremy Ames who is the Co-founder of Guidant Financial.

What I enjoyed about Jeremy’s conversation the most was hearing how he stumbled upon a hole in the existing real estate market. He and his partner recognized there was an underexplored niche that was laden with opportunity. They learned that people could use their qualified retirement plans and use them to OWN property. So they embarked on an adventure that would change their lives.

Jeremy started this business with one of his best friends. This is something that sounds great on paper but isn’t always easy to achieve? Also working with a spouse can come with its own challenges. Jeremy has been able to do both of these successfully.

Part of a partnership is being able to work through the hard stuff. Do your best to keep talking, identify problems and work through it. Jeremy talks about how important it is to work toward continually improving themselves. It is something he believes is a crucial component to have before making a hire, or agreeing to become a partner, and especially a spouse.

Once they realized they had something, it was time to market it to the right people. The timing was ripe to take advantage of Google Ad words and things got too busy within 30 days. They were right! This was an untapped market and Jeremy and his partner were there laying the foundation for their new business. They did their research, technology was changing to access information in an easier fashion, and real estate investing became more “in style”. They also made a complicated process simpler.

After their initial success, this grew fast. Too fast. Jeremy told me they built a house for 4 people but 60 moved in. They needed to learn how to handle the new growth of their business, gain control and scale it in a sustained manner. Which they did. Then 2008 hit.

They weathered that storm and it was incredibly challanging. The business decline didn’t hit Jeremy the hardest. It was the people that he had to lay off. They had waited too long to react to what was happening in the economic climate and had to let many of their team go. What was learned during that time was invaluable. They became leaner and smarter coming out of the other side.

We go on to talk about the growth and the changes and the growth that occurred after that time. Guidant has grown to have multiple offices, in multiple states and an office overseas. Many thanks to Jeremy for coming in and sharing his story- it’s incredibly inspirational. Find Jeremy in the links below.