Episode #68: Turning the Tables: Matt Bowles Interviewed on Real Estate, Hip Hop, Minimalism, Entrepreneurship and Travel Adventures

Episode Summary

In this wine-induced episode, the tables are turned and Maverick Show host Matt Bowles gets interviewed by Sean Tierney. Matt opens up about his personal journey, telling stories from back to high school when he became a hip hop DJ and then built a mobile DJ company as his first business. He then pivoted and talks about how all of his academic background and professional work experience up until the age of 30 was in the non-profit advocacy space. He tells the story of the life-altering moment when he got fired from his office job at 30 years old, and on that day, decided to completely pivot again and start his own business. He explains his process of recruiting the right business partners and then building Maverick Investor Group as a location-independent real estate investment company. He also shares his experience being a full-time digital nomad with no base and living in over 50 different countries since 2013. He reflects on the most important sustainability pillars for maintaining an itinerant lifestyle for so long and shares his passion for minimalist packing. He explains how he travels the world for years with carry-on luggage only, including a podcasting studio, an espresso maker, and a Hugo Boss suit. Sean also pulls out some of Matt’s top travel adventures and, at the end of the interview, Sean tells Matt what is true super-power is! FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT www.TheMaverickShow.com

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About the Guest

Matt Bowles

Matt Bowles co-founded Maverick Investor Group in 2007 to help individual real estate investors buy performing rental property in the best U.S. real estate markets, regardless of where they live. He has been featured in major national media and was named one of the “Top 50 Real Estate Opinion Makers and Market Leaders”. Matt and his co-founders at Maverick have helped individual real estate investors buy over $100 million in residential investment property across 15 States. As a location-independent business owner, Matt runs his company (and hosts the Maverick Show podcast!) from epic locations around the world and has lived in over 60 different countries since 2013. He is a sought-after speaker at events and conferences around the world relating to real estate investing, entrepreneurship, long-term world travel and the digital nomad lifestyle.

What You'll Learn

How to build a remote-first business in a space that is not traditionally virtual.
How to become location-independent and transition into the nomad lifestyle
How to sustain a long-term lifestyle of itinerant world travel for over 5 years

Links From the Episode

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. If you click through any links and make a purchase, you should assume that Maverick will receive financial compensation (at no additional cost to you). We greatly appreciate you using our affiliate links because it helps to support the show and cover production costs of the podcast.

SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION WITH MAVERICK INVESTOR GROUP ABOUT BUYING CASH-FLOWING RENTAL PROPERTIES

CHECK OUT ALL OF MATT’S NOMAD RESOURCES

LEARN MORE ABOUT REMOTE YEAR (THE WORK-TRAVEL PROGRAM THAT MATT AND SEAN DID
(Get a $100 Discount on Remote Year)

WATCH MATT’S FREE VIDEO TRAINING ON MINIMALIST PACKING

OTHER MAVERICK SHOW INTERVIEW MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NOMAD CRUISE

MATT’S RECOMMENDED WINE

Douro Valley Portuguese red wine

CLOTHING BRANDS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

TOP 3 BOOKS THAT MATT RECOMMEND

TOOLS THAT MATT RECOMMEND

TOP 5 HIP HOP ARTISTS THAT MATT RECOMMEND

PLACE WHERE MATT AND HIS TEAM WENT SKIING FOR THEIR RETREAT

Zermatt Matterhorn Ski Paradise

PLACE WHERE MATT AND SEAN FIRST MET

Lisbon, Portugal

OTHER PLACES MENTIONED

CHECK FLIGHT PRICES TO ANY OF THESE LOCATIONS

CONTACT MATT

Time Stamped Show Notes

[5:03] Being a Full-Time Itinerant Nomad with No Base Since 2013

Living in Over 50 Countries in 6 Years
How Matt Became a Nomad
Traveling with a relationship partner
The importance of community and nurturing a social sustainability pillar
The value Matt gets from international work-travel programs

[10:39] Getting Fired from His Job and Starting his Own Business

Matt’s academic background and work experience
Matt’s office job in the non-profit advocacy
Getting fired unexpectedly and using it as a major life transition
Deciding to start a business with no business background

[13:51] Matt’s Real Estate Investing Experience

Investing in real estate while working at his office job
Helping his friends buy real estate
Understanding the real estate brokerage business model
Reading books every day on how to start a business
Reading “The 4 Hour Work Week” the day it came out
Choosing to build a business with a location independent business structure
Recruiting two business partners with complementary skill sets

[17:17] Building Maverick Investor Group with a Location-Independent Infrastructure

The framework and tactics Maverick Investor Group used to be totally virtual
Maverick’s internal communication and project management structure

[20:15] Maverick’s annual in-person retreats

Organizing Epic leadership-team retreats
Executive leadership meetings while riding trains through the Swiss Alps
Taking the Maverick leadership team to ski Zermatt, Switzerland
Matt’s reflections on skiing the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise

[23:22] Matt’s Reflections and Advice Around Major Life Transitions

Reflections on dramatic events forcing life transitions
The optimal way to transition into starting your own business
Why a mediocre, moderately-fulfilling job is the most dangerous

[25:40] Matt’s Travel Adventures

Finding amazing nomad friends with whom to have epic travel adventures
Attending Diner en Blanc (clandestine pop-up elegant white party) in Paris
Misadventures on a road trip in Corsica ☺
Wine tasting in Bordeaux and Burgundy
Matt and Sean share their experiences on the Nomad Cruise

[40:50] Matt’s Minimalist Packing Strategy

How Matt travels the world with carry-on luggage only without sacrificing fashion and style
How Matt packs a podcast studio, espresso maker and a suit in his carry-on
Matt’s initial misadventures with over-packing in Argentina ☺

[52:47] People Confusing Matt and Sean on the Nomad Cruise

[54:14] Matt’s Advice to Aspiring Nomads

Advice in the form of a Hip Hop Lyric
The importance of putting in the work
The importance of self-auditing and designing your unique path
Surrounding yourself with people that are doing what you want to do
Constantly consuming content from people that are doing what you want to do
Convincing yourself it is possible
Identifying obstacles and challenges and then strategizing on how to overcome them

[1:01:01] The Lightning Round-Ish Part ☺