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From TikToker to Castle Owner with Brandon Robert
Brandon Robert, a young social media influencer with 11 million followers on TikTok, shares his unconventional path to real estate investing on “The Short Term Show” with Avery. He talks about how he started investing at a young age, transitioned from social media fame into property investing, and debunks the misconception that a traditional 9-to-5 is necessary for success in real estate.
Avery: Hey guys, welcome back to the Short Term Show. I have another youngin’ on here for you guys today. I’ve really been wanting to get this guy on here for a while because he started investing very young, and he had a very unconventional profession, and I think it’s really important for people to understand that just because you don’t have a regular traditional W-2 9-to-5, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get into real estate investing. And just because you’re young, also, doesn’t mean you can’t get into real estate investing.
So without further ado, I’d like to introduce Brandon Robert. Hey Brandon, how’s it going?
Brandon: Hey! I’m doing great.
Avery: How are you? I am doing awesome. So start off by telling us a little bit about yourself.
Brandon: Yes, so I’m a social media influencer with 11 million followers, mainly on TikTok. And I also invest in real estate. I have three rental properties that I short-term rent. Thanks to you helping me with my first one, which was awesome, and yeah.
Avery: Okay, let’s start at the beginning because I remember, and I sound like a total grandma right now, but I remember you when you first came to us, and we were getting your financing set up. I asked you what you did for a living, and you said, “Oh, I’m TikTok famous,” and I thought, “Okay.” So I went to the lender, and I said, “Can this guy do this?” And she said, “Yeah, he can.” So I think a lot of people will have that reaction when people say things like, “Oh, I’m TikTok famous,” or “I’m an influencer for a living,” but it’s a legitimate job now.
So let’s dig into that first. You don’t have a traditional 9-to-5. You’re making your money on social media. How did that start?
Brandon: Yeah, so I was in… I never did well in school, so college was really not an option for me. It just wasn’t for me, and I was always into media, but it seemed like doing things like television and stuff wasn’t really as profitable as I wanted it to be. So I was like, “Alright, the social media thing seems like it’s happening, and it’s the new thing.” This was in 2016, I was around 16 when this was happening.
I was like, “You know what? Let’s give it a shot. I see people are making money on this.” I felt like if they could do it, I could too. So I kind of just started posting videos and slowly started gaining followers. And the more followers you have, obviously, the more profitable you become. The brands and stuff come because you become the brand.