Successful entrepreneurs are passionate about their ideas and dedicate their life to making their dreams a reality. Steven Gray’s passion is ending homelessness through affordable housing and building an investment portfolio of real estate and technology.
You probably haven’t heard of Steven Gray, but he is helping to change lives in the Long Beach, CA area. He is the Vice President of Development for Helpful Housing, a nonprofit that focuses on low-income housing.
On top of that, Steven is an angel investor, real estate investor, and co-founder and CEO of several companies, including Happy Agent. His companies include technology, small business lending, and a nonprofit investment academy.
I was lucky enough to catch up with Steven and pick his brain on some of his experience.
Can you tell us more about the companies and investments you are involved with?
A little over three years ago I began educating myself on everything in the world of investing. So, I started in the stock market. Soon after, I began investing in real estate through online crowd-funding platforms, such as Fundrise. I also invested in several private funds, most noteworthy of which is Cardone Capital.
Most recently, I have been investing in, and operating, multi-family real estate with my business partners in California and Arizona. We now have over 500 units in our portfolio.
In 2020, I also formed Burning Bright, a technology investment company. It has a focus on the acquisition, and development, of real estate technologies, and real estate service businesses.
What is your background and how did you get started investing?
My background is in sales and marketing. I spent the first 15 years of my career in sales and marketing management roles in the security industry. I’ve worked for industry leaders such as ADT, Protection One, and Universal Services of America.
In 2016, I decided I wanted to use my business acumen to help others. I came across an opportunity to help a large, Los Angeles-based, nonprofit organization working to end homelessness. There, I was able to apply my business skills to help in the acquisition of affordable housing for their communities.
From there, I transitioned into a management role leading their community engagement department. I further developed relationships with the community and acquired much needed resources for the organization’s mission.
This experience led me down the path of real estate development. Specifically, with a focus on affordable housing for low-income families, which is now at the core of our physical portfolios.
How do you manage so many different roles and being involved with multiple companies?
My personal superpower and secret to staying ahead of multiple companies is having the discipline to beat the sun up every morning.
My daily routine begins by waking up around 4:00AM. I immediately begin working on projects that I had set up the night before. I will also study a course on sales and marketing. Or consume valuable information pertaining to development, also selected the night before.
This is followed up with a workout, and then it’s time to head to the office. I also end every day with a workout at the gym, while multi-tasking by studying and wrapping up emails.
Above all, I am committed to consistently improving my mind and body.
How did the 2020 COVID pandemic and recession affect your businesses?
While 2020 was certainly a challenging year in many ways, because of the nature of my businesses, the social effects and economic pull-back actually proved advantageous.
We were able to startup two new tech companies. Both of them are focused on developing technologies that would aid real estate professionals operating their businesses in a post-COVID remote world.
We were also able to acquire an additional 100+ units of affordable housing. Due to their government subsidized nature, they did not see the decrease in rental revenue that many open-market, non-subsidized, properties experienced in 2020.
What type of investment opportunity are you most excited to pursue in 2021?
In 2021, I’m excited to keep the momentum going with growing both my real estate investments, as well as my portfolio of real estate technologies.
People will always need a nice, safe, and affordable place to call home. Real estate professionals will always be needed. They will also need new technologies and tools to get the job done in this post-COVID economy.
Do you have any advice for people looking to get started growing their portfolio and wealth?
I have two pieces of advice for anyone interested in investing in business and real estate.
- Just get started! No matter how big or small, and regardless of the platform, just get started.
- Never stop learning. Never miss an opportunity to learn. Absolutely use every free moment to consistently be expanding your knowledge base.
Steven Gray is the VP of Development and Programs for Helpful Housing and the CEO of Happy Agent. He is the founder of the Housing For Life program, an initiative that has resulted in the housing of over 500 formerly homeless.
Burn Brighter by Focusing on Your Passions
Steven is a great example of how to invest and build businesses that mean something to you. Real estate and helping low-income families is at the root of his investing. That passion helps to drive him to do more and continue to grow every day.
Passion and dedication is essential to building multiple businesses and managing investments. Steven wakes up at 4:00AM to get a jumpstart on his work but doesn’t neglect his own health, fitness, and knowledge. His success can be attributed to consistent hard work and learning.
Steven started his investing through more traditional methods, like stocks and real estate funds. He then built up his portfolio by working with partners to invest in multi-family real estate. His latest projects have focused on tech companies within the real estate field.
Lessons Learned From Steven Gray
While everyone will have different interests and take a different path, here are some lessons learned from talking with Steven Gray.
- Start investing small with whatever is comfortable to you, such as stocks and REITs.
- Learn as much as you can to increase your knowledge. Learn from other successful people and partner with similar-minded people.
- Find your passion and then invest your time, effort, and money into it.
- Helping other people in business can be profitable and rewarding.
- Build assets that can create wealth and income streams. This can be different businesses, technology, or real estate.
- Take care of yourself physically and mentally. Stick to a routine so that you can stay healthy and fit.
As you are looking to grow your business, career, and wealth, look to use some of these lessons in your own life.
