Education Abroad
Accelerating her timeline, Jennifer Bourdeau started evaluating MBA programs, not only across the United States but across the globe. She enjoyed travel and realized that she might as well create an experience as she furthered her education. Jennifer landed on a year-long intensive MBA program located in Nice, France. Eleven years later, she remains based in the South of France where she is building her career and future.
“I decided to stay. I thought, ‘Okay. Let me give it a go. I will stay in France and try to find a job,’” Jennifer reflected. “I ultimately found a great job working in the travel industry, but in technology for travel.”
Financial Clarity
Jennifer Bourdeau was focused on building her professional acumen and career in France as a business consultant in product marketing, working with teams all across the globe. Throughout this period of growth, she sat down to examine her finances, which she was convinced weren’t enough.
“I took a look at my finances, and I realized that I had financial clarity. I thought, ‘Wow! I’m in a good position.’ Before that, I had always had this scarcity mindset. I didn’t have enough money. I needed to keep saving it,” Jennifer said. “I realized that I’m pretty comfortable right now and I can take some risks. And this aggressive saving that I had been doing had given me some options. One of the options was to say, ‘You know what? I’m going to take a break from the corporate world and try out something new.’”
Becoming a Full-Time Investor
At the end of June, Jennifer Bourdeau will be transitioning out of her corporate role and into a role that is solely focused on generating wealth and allowing her to make the most of her time: a full-time real estate investor.
Real estate was something that Jennifer dabbled in before leaving the United States. In 2007, she purchased a home that had significant equity in it. To ensure that she could continue owning it, unbeknownst to Jennifer, she started house hacking to pay the mortgage. Since then, her passion for real estate has only grown.
“When I moved to France, I became a passive landlord. I just rented the whole property with a property manager. I’ve done two new-build villas. We’ve also rented them seasonally. So that created quite a bit of income and a bit of work as well on our side to manage those rentals,” Jennifer shared. “I like active investing because it’s a direct reward and a direct reflection of my efforts. So every penny that is made, it’s because I did something well. Every penny that’s lost is because I did something wrong.”
Building a Team
Last year, Jennifer Bourdeau continued to diversify her real estate portfolio by investing in multifamily syndications. As she started in this new arena of investment, she realized that she needed to surround herself with individuals and operators who would help fill in the gaps in her real estate savvy.
“When I discovered passive investing, I had no team. I was so clueless. So I just consumed as much content as I could. I spent a really good amount of time upfront educating myself and learning who the players were in this space,” Jennifer said. “And from there, I started to create a little network. I discovered some investor groups. That is my team— these other investors.”
A Better Path to Success
Jennifer’s investor network is now more than one thousand people strong, with several hundred actively engaged in providing insight and best practices along the way.
“Now, my aim is more about creating wealth without creating a job. It’s been valuable to have insights and expertise and learning through sophisticated, experienced investors,” Jennifer reflected. “I just became disillusioned with this boomer’s dream where you go to college, you get a job, you buy a house, you get married, you stay dedicated to a company for so long, and then you retire at 65. I just realized there was a different way, a different path to get where I want.”
About the Author:
Leslie Chunta is a marketing consultant with nearly 15 years of experience in creating dynamic marketing programs and building brands for startups to enterprise organizations. She has worked agency- and client-side with high-growth companies that include Silicon Valley Bank, JPMorgan Chase, SailPoint, EMC, Spanning Cloud Apps, Ashcroft Capital, Netspend, and Universal Studios. www.thelabcollective.com