107: Designing Your Game Plan for Financial Success with Devon Kennard

What happens to professional athletes once their sports careers end? Can they all live off of their career proceeds, or is there a post-professional sports career plan in place?

On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, former NFL player Devon Kennard sits down with Jonathan to talk about his new career in real estate following a successful stint on the football field. Devon is a real estate investor, author, lender, and speaker. Today, he owns at least 20 single-family and smaller multifamily properties in addition to 40+ syndication investments. His company, 42 Solutions, is a private lending institution based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jonathan and Devon dig into how Devon leveraged his brand as a professional athlete to open doors, form relationships, and create success beyond athletics. Early in his football career, Devon recognized the impact of finances on every aspect of life. While playing in the NFL, he looked for a way to invest his money that could bring success long after his football career ended, which led him to real estate. Devon explains to Jonathan why he purchased his first property in Beech Grove, Indiana, what he finds appealing about turnkey properties, his decision to pursue real estate while his fellow NFL players put money in the stock market, and how he decides on neighborhoods to invest in. You’ll also hear how Devon Kennard became an investor in syndications, what led him to start his company, 42 Solutions, and the story behind his new book It All Adds Up.

Devon Kennard knew that an NFL career could be shortlived, but that didn’t stop him from pursuing success on and off the field. His transition into real estate investing offers a perspective new and experienced investors alike can learn from.

In this episode, you will hear:

The question that completely changed Devon Kennard’s perspective on creating a successful life
How Devon leveraged his brand as an athlete to open doors and create success beyond athletics
Life beyond the NFL, focusing on more than one thing in life and putting your best foot forward
The impact of finances on every aspect of your life
What Devon would tell brand-new investors who want to get started in real estate
His first investment property in Beech Grove, Indiana--a turnkey property from a turnkey provider
Why he stuck with turnkey properties in the Midwest as he continued investing
The decision Devon made to stick with real estate while other NFL players were putting money in the stock market
The criteria he used to choose the neighborhoods he invested in
The reason Devon sought out a financial advisor who concentrates on alternative investments and what scared him about syndications
Where he’s going to put his money next, and why Devon likes markets where he can scale
The protection a diversified portfolio offers and the lack of control over the risk profile in a syndication
Knowing when to trust someone and looking to others who can vouch for them
Devon’s company, 42 Solutions, what it does, and his ultimate goal with it
His new book, It All Adds Up, and how it’s helping people design their game plans for financial success

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

If you enjoyed this episode, we've created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at http://www.trustgreene.com/podcast/zen/107 to download it.