When You Take a Break From Your Side Hustle…
As many of you have noticed, it has been a while since my last post. Several months in fact… First, let me apologize, as it certainly wasn’t my intention. Second, let me reassure you… I’m back! And I’d dare to say better than ever! To kick off our new season of all thing real estate, I think it’s important to share where I’ve been and why we’ve been radio silent for a while.
The beauty of a project like Real Estate RPH is that it rarely feels like work to me. Creating something you have a passion for just feels like what you’re supposed to do. And like all good side hustles, you make time and find a way to fit that work into your life. I often write articles, respond to questions, look for properties, read books, and manage my site well after my wife and kids have gone to bed. I work better at night and it ensures that my top priorities (my kids, my marriage, and my pharmacy career) take precedence. For quite a while the demands of my priorities were stable and I was able to keep things balanced. I was spending quality time with my family, speaking at national conferences, and had sold over $1.2 Million in real estate by the end of August. It wasn’t long after that last sale however that I had two major life changes that dramatically shifted where my time would be going.
The first was the birth of my beautiful daughter, Molly, and the second was starting a new job with Medical Mutual here in Cleveland. The focus I needed to learn a new position while simultaneously fighting the sleep deprivation gifted to all newborn parents sapped my ability to do anything but survive through the end of 2018. There were countless nights when putting the kids to bed led immediately to putting ourselves to bed right after. I simply didn’t have the time or the energy for my beloved side hustle. I thought about what I’d like to do and how I wanted to grow my business but I wasn’t able to put anything into action. My concentration was on family and learning my new pharmacist position. I knew that eventually I’d be back writing articles and taking on clients, I just didn’t expect it to take so long for things to level out.
The shift back to sanity started about 2 months ago. Molly learned how to sleep through the night! *knocks on wood – And I finally feel like I’ve got my feet under me at my new job. (I even closed on two big sales last month!) These two changes alone would have eventually guided me back to Real Estate RPH, but the real catalyst that got me planning and writing again was residency match day. As you may know, Cleveland is home to many hospitals and health systems and we have quite a number of pharmacy and medical students that match in the area for residency. It just so happens that two of those matches went to individuals who had heard of Real Estate RPH and were interested in buying local homes. Their emails came within a day of one another and that outreach was all I needed to get back into the game. Working with them has been a chance to get back to what made me start Real Estate RPH in the first place; helping pharmacists navigate the world of real estate.
Ultimately, my unscheduled break let me focus on some truly important parts of my life and I’m grateful for it. Don’t be afraid to take breaks from your own side hustle if it means taking better care of yourself in the process. Breaks allow us to come back with a clear mind and a fresh perspective. I’ve spent a good amount of time in recent weeks planning out the rest of the year and I’m very excited to share all the great things we’ve been working on. Thanks for understanding and stay tuned for an awesome slate of content, collaborations, and conversations coming your way soon!
Nate Hedrick, PharmD, Realtor
Founder, Real Estate RPH