How Kendra Barnes retired from her 9-to-5 job after investing in real estate at 32

Meet Kendra Barnes, a real estate investor and founder of The Key Resource. Before becoming a full-time real estate investor, Kendra worked a 9-to-5 job as a federal staff. However, her real estate investment offered her the opportunity to quit her day job at the age of 32.

She disclosed to Side Hustle Pro that her real estate company was established to inspire, empower and educate people about the power of home ownership and real estate investment. Kendra currently owns and manages four properties, generating a six-figure rental income each year.

She believes that real estate is one of the best ways to build wealth and get out of the “rat race,” like living paycheck to paycheck or working a job you hate. She explained to Side Hustle Pro that it allows one to stop trading time for money and allows you to make your own money.

“And so, you can take what money you have and put it into this ‘investment vehicle,’ and then watch it grow for you,” she said. “So definitely it’s a way to build wealth and get out of the rat race because you’re making that passive income. The goal is then to make that passive income greater than your expenses. And at that point, that’s when you’re essentially out of the rat race.”

Starting a real estate business did not come easy for Kendra, according to her, she dove into real estate without knowing what she was doing. She notes that six years ago when she first started, there weren’t a lot of resources online.

People were not sharing information on social media as we are witnessing now. Moreover, there were not enough black investors who could inspire and guide her in the field. “So, we felt like we were kind of going blind and making mistakes as we went along,” she said. Moreover, she and her team did not have contingency plans to fall back on.

Kendra notes that she got into real estate as a random investor. According to her, a board game started it all; she recalled playing a game called Cash Flow with her husband, and after the game, they realized they were missing out by not investing in real estate. Just a few months after that realization, she bought her first rental, and “wasted over $50,000, she told Merygoldgrey podcast.

Kendra further explained that this is the reason she is passionate about helping people start out better than she did. “There’s no reason anyone else should have to make the same mistakes. Despite the mistakes, we kept going and now we are addicted to real estate! We now own 8 rental units total,” she noted.