Real estate investors Bryce and Julianne share how they left academia to build freedom and success through creative real estate.

You'll discover:

• Their motivations, challenges, and experiences as they moved away from a traditional career path
• How they overcame market challenges and competition
• The importance of adaptability and understanding market dynamics.
• Why mentorship made all the difference
• Advice for anyone wondering if real estate is still worth it

From Grad School to Real Estate Freedom

Are advanced degrees the only path to financial security? Bryce and Julianne thought so—until they realized academia wasn’t giving them the freedom, flexibility, or lifestyle they truly wanted. In this powerful interview, you'll hear how this brilliant couple transitioned from chemistry and physics labs to flipping houses and building wealth through creative real estate investing. With guidance from Freedom Mentor, they mastered the business of people and paperwork and built a life they love.

Meet Bryce & Julianne

Phil: Welcome everybody to this exciting interview with two of my most favorite people who have ever come through this program—Bryce and Julianne. I've gotten to know them over many years. They were very successful in this program. Bryce and Julianne, welcome to this experience with Brian and me as we walk through your journey.

Bryce: Thank you. Yeah, glad to be here.

Phil: We appreciate y’all being here as well. Let’s get the introductions underway.

Early Days: Starting the Journey Together

Phil: So Bryce, you and Julianne—were you together when you first investigated Freedom Mentor?

Julianne: We were.

Bryce: Yes, we were married.

Julianne: Yeah, very much so—but it was still very early. We had been married maybe two years at that point.

Bryce: We had started grad school together. We were both in the sciences—chemistry and physics—and we were working on our degrees. Eventually, we began exploring different avenues for investing and stumbled upon your program.

Academic Aspirations: The Path Before Real Estate

Phil: So you're in graduate school, that's so interesting. You're pursuing your academic careers. Take us back to before real estate: what were you hoping those graduate degrees were going to do for you?

Bryce: I grew up in a very traditional family. Nobody on my immediate side ran their own business. My role models growing up—like my dad—followed a traditional track. He was a blue-collar employee, and that was the path I thought everyone took. So I was strong in school, very academic, very focused.

Julianne: We both were just doing the “one step, next step” thing. That was kind of the route to take if you were good at science, which we both were. So we were just doing what was expected, but it wasn’t quite the lifestyle we were really after. For me, it was like, “Okay, this is how I become not poor. This is how I become stable.” Getting an advanced degree felt like the way to do something different, because nobody else in my family had done that. So I went to graduate school. And then came the realization: oh... it’s really not. It’s just a job where you work for someone else.

What Drew Them to Real Estate Investing

Brian: So what was it that attracted you all to start looking? Bryce, you mentioned investment, was there something that pushed you both toward exploring that path?

Bryce: When I was younger, I was always trying to figure out ways to make money, different clever ways to maybe gain an edge here or there. I just wanted to make my own money to get my own things, and that was always a draw for me. It was about how I could make money on the side, too. We wanted to build a foundation for ourselves, not just something to live on, but something we could thrive off of. And we knew that with our graduate income—because we were in the sciences our schooling was paid for, which was a pretty incredible deal. So we had a little bit of extra residual income that we could save and eventually invest in something.

We didn’t know what that “something” was going to be, maybe stocks or something else. But we stumbled upon different things, and eventually came across your program. I think it was through your YouTube channel. I went through all the videos and thought, “This guy’s the real deal.” And I looked into other people too, but you just seemed authentic and real. You weren’t super salesy or pushy, and I appreciated that. It all just jived—with the program and with you as a person. So I went to Julianne and said, “I think this is the direction we need to go.” We started watching your videos together and agreed it was a good fit.

Julianne: We needed to figure out how to actually have a little bit more control over our financial future.

Shifting Paths: From Academia to Real Estate

Phil: As you progressed into real estate, did it feel like you were leaving behind all the work you had done in your graduate studies? Or did you feel like, “I’m glad I did that, I’m glad I learned, but now I need to make money and have some flexibility in my life”?

Julianne: I think it was a bit of both, at least for me. We had spent all this time, had dreams and ideas and expectations of what we thought life was going to be like. So much energy had gone into that direction. In the moment, there was definitely a feeling of, “Wow, we’ve put so much into this.” But this other path with Freedom Mentor really felt like it was going to get us where we were trying to go. Now that it’s been several years, I think it feels less like a loss. Even if I had continued down that academic path, life probably still would have looked different than what we had imagined back in high school or undergrad.

The Value of Mentorship: Why They Didn’t Go It Alone

Brian: You mentioned you’d read some books and done plenty of research. Did you ever consider pursuing real estate on your own, without getting more guidance or training?

Bryce: I read a lot of blogs and came across different people who were successful in real estate. One thing I noticed they all had in common was that they had a mentor. It really would’ve taken so much longer to learn the lessons we learned in such a short, compressed time. If you can get your business up and running in five years and be profitable, that’s pretty good. But through a program like Freedom Mentor, being able to do it in one, two, maybe three years—and have a tremendous skill set by that point to go out and help a lot of people—that’s huge. Looking back, it was definitely the right decision.

Julianne: The more we dug into it, the more we realized it was like a giant spider web of information. We could’ve tried to do it ourselves—sift through everything and figure out which direction to take—or have a mentor who actually knows what they’re doing. They could say, “Nope, don’t go that way. You’re okay.” So there's that aspect as well. The deeper you dig, the more you realize it’s bigger than you thought.

Bryce: I think for a lot of people, it’s important to have an accountability partner, a group of like-minded people to help keep that fuel going.

Navigating a Big Market: Challenges and Advantages

Phil: One of the things you all have is that you're in a bigger market—a large metro area. How has that impacted your investing experience?

Bryce: I guess it’s the types of properties we were coming across. They were typically in areas that weren’t war zones, but they had that feel, lots of slumlords and rundown conditions. We didn’t always feel comfortable going to those places. We were always a little hesitant to move forward on them.

Julianne: We even had to climb through broken windows sometimes.

Phil: Yeah, it felt like you were investing in the hood, and that was a little uncomfortable at times.

Bryce: Exactly. So we did a lot of wholesaling early on. Eventually, we started shifting a little bit outside the city, gradually moving from the center out to more suburban markets. Where we’re situated now is kind of optimal. We’re in between: close enough to the city to get to deals quickly via the highway, but also positioned in the suburbs. And if we go a little further out, we hit rural areas where there's less competition, which is helpful. Not that competition is something to shy away from. In some cases, competition can actually be a benefit. You might stand out.

Why People and Paperwork Matter More Than Market

If you’re part of Freedom Mentor, you not only learn how to run the business, you’re surrounded by good people, and you learn to do the business right. You learn that it is really a business of people and paperwork at the end of the day. If you focus on helping people, you can stand out from the competition. Sometimes sellers have already dealt with four or five other investors, and when you follow up, they finally pick up the phone. They’re tired of all the others, and you’re like a breath of fresh air. So yeah, competition can work in your favor. But it’s also nice being in a more suburban area where there’s less of it.

Also, the type of seller in suburban or rural areas tends to be easier to work with than someone who owns a high-rise condo in the center of the city. They tend to be are often more affluent, more knowledgeable, and have other resources they can tap into. So yes, the market definitely plays a role.

Turning Competition into an Advantage

Julianne: Bryce touched on how competition has actually started working in our favor. When we were first starting out, we were like, “Ugh, there are so many competitors, they’re getting to everything before us.” But now we’ve learned to be more patient. We’ve also learned our competitors’ patterns, so we can kind of predict what they’re going to do. Bryce will be talking to someone on the phone or meeting them in person, and he’ll say, “Okay, you’re meeting with so-and-so. Here’s what they’re going to do.”

Then he’ll tell the seller, “Just call me last. I know you’ve got all these meetings planned, but call me again at the end.” And so many times, they come back and say, “They did exactly what you said.” It’s like he’s psychic—he just knows. And it’s worked in our favor. Sometimes sellers even come back to us after choosing a competitor because they realize, “We actually like you guys better. You seem reliable. That other person disappeared.” It’s become almost comical and in our favor sometimes.

Lessons Learned: Advice to Their Younger Selves

Brian: Looking back, as we take you down memory lane, if you had it to do again, what would you do differently? Is there anything you might look at and say, “I wish we’d done this or that”? What advice would you give to your younger self?

Bryce: It’s so easy to get caught up in the drama of someone else’s life. In this business, we deal with all kinds of people—some are really cool, and others... well, they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed and need someone to vent to. And sometimes, I just happen to be that person for the day. I hadn’t really dealt with that before getting into real estate.

So I had to learn that an emergency on someone else’s end doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an emergency on mine. I don’t have to feel like I need to put out fires immediately just because someone else is in crisis. It’s not always my responsibility. I had to learn to be empathetic, but also ride that balance of being there to help, to listen, but not to deal with all the fires someone has going— and I don’t have to take it personally when someone’s venting. That’s been a big lesson.

Lifestyle Impact: What Real Estate Has Made Possible

Phil: What has real estate afforded you from a lifestyle perspective? What have you been able to do or experience as a result?

Bryce: We’ve been able to really focus on ourselves—personally, physically, mentally, spiritually. Having the financial piece taken care of—just being able to pay your own bills—is one thing. But having extra income, disposable income, to go on trips and enjoy life—that’s wonderful. And when you reach the level where you’ve got a substantial amount of cash on the side, you can use it to invest, prepare for your future, and handle emergencies. A lot of stress and anxiety comes from not knowing what’s just around the corner. But if you have capital to deal with problems, money can often solve those problems. When emergencies come up, you can handle them without hesitation.

Words of Wisdom: Advice for Aspiring Real Estate Investors

Phil: What advice would you give to someone looking to get started in real estate, someone considering Freedom Mentor and entering a business you’ve now been in for 10 years?

Bryce: There’s a lot information out there, especially online about the “next big thing.” Whether it’s crypto, Bitcoin, or whatever else, there’s always something shiny grabbing your attention.

But looking back, like I mentioned before, real estate is such a timeless business. Everybody needs shelter. Everyone needs a place to live. There will always be people going through unexpected life events, and the house—because it carries a lot of zeros on the end—often becomes the vehicle that helps them move from point A to point B. It’s a conduit for transition. And it can be a complicated one. Being a seasoned real estate investor who’s truly invested in helping people can make all the difference. You can help bridge that gap.

It’s important to come into any endeavor, especially one worth having, with the understanding that it requires work. Hard work. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. Those often come with strings attached. Real estate is a business that, if you put time and energy into it, focus, work hard, and stay consistent—it’s going to work. There’s just too much support through Freedom Mentor to fail, really. If you’re truly invested and working consistently.

Is Now the Right Time? Market Timing and Opportunity

Brian: Obviously, you two have remained consistent and continue to do deals. What would you tell someone who’s looking at Freedom Mentor or considering real estate, but wondering, “Is the timing right?” Is there still opportunity? Have I missed the boat now that the market’s changed and rates are higher?

Julianne: Rates and the market don’t really matter that much because you’re mostly dealing with people. People need places to live, and things are going to happen in their lives that create room for a deal. They’ll happily let you make money if you solve their problem. So if you’re working to solve people’s problems through houses, then the market and interest rates don’t really matter.

Bryce: And you guys focus so much on creative real estate, there are just so many ways to look at a deal and so many different ways to structure things to help someone solve their problem. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s really a diagnosis. They’re coming to you as the expert. They’re coming to you with an illness, and you’re the doctor—the house doctor. You say, “Okay, let’s look at your symptoms. Let’s evaluate how you got from where you were to here. Where are you going? And here’s how we can solve it.”

Phil: Thank you for sharing parts of your journey. I learned some things today that I didn’t know, and I found it all so fascinating. But most importantly, I appreciate the type of investors you are—and who you’ve become. You’re helping others in the community, making deals happen, creating great opportunities, and building a great lifestyle for yourselves and your family.

Your Path to Freedom Starts Here

Bryce and Julianne are thoughtful, committed investors who used real estate to build freedom, flexibility, and a better life. As Bryce shared, this business is about people and paperwork—and mastering both takes guidance. If you're ready to take control of your future, Freedom Mentor is here to help with expert guidance every step of the way.

Every Successful Real Estate Investor Has a Mentor

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