Hear how getting fired at 30 sparked a radical career pivot and the values that shaped Matt’s life without a home base. 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!
Turning the Tables: Matt Bowles Interviewed on Real Estate, Hip Hop, Minimalism, Entrepreneurship and Travel Adventures (Ep 68)
Episode Summary
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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
SUBSCRIBE TO MAVERICK SHOW’S TO MONDAY MINUTE EMAIL NEWSLETTER
WATCH MATT’S FREE VIDEO TRAINING ON MINIMALIST PACKING
OTHER MAVERICK SHOW INTERVIEW MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- 21: Increasing Sales 70% in a Year While Working Remotely from 18 Countries and Closing Deals in a Moroccan Bowling Alley with Sean Tierney
- 39: Intrapreneurship, Charity Makeovers and The Key to Closing Sales with Sean Tierney
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NOMAD CRUISE
MATT’S RECOMMENDED WINE
CLOTHING BRANDS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
TOP 3 BOOKS THAT MATT RECOMMENDS
- The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris
- The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey
- The E-myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
TOOLS THAT MATT RECOMMENDS
TOP 5 HIP-HOP ARTISTS THAT MATT RECOMMENDS
PLACE WHERE MATT AND HIS TEAM WENT SKIING FOR THEIR RETREAT
PLACE WHERE MATT AND SEAN FIRST MET
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Barcelona
- Brazil
- Corsica
- İstanbul
- Cairo, Egypt
- Bordeaux Wine Region (France)
- Burgundy Wine Region (France)
- Los Angeles
- Morocco
- Paris
CONNECT AND FOLLOW
Time Stamped Show Notes
**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.
[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 ☺
- Matt’s Top 3 recommended books
- Matt’s tips on self-auditing and entrepreneurial team building
- Matt’s Top 2 app recommendations
- Matt’s top wine recommendation
- Matt’s train ride experience in the Portuguese wine country
- Matt’s Mobile DJ business experience in high school and college
- Matt’s Misadventures DJing a country-music prom
- Matt’s Top 5 hip hop MC’s of all time
[1:21:27] Sean Identifies Matt’s Super Power
[1:22:35] Contact Matt
- Listen to The Maverick Show
- Watch Matt’s Minimalist Packing Video
- Learn How to Buy Turnkey Rental Properties Through Maverick Investor Group
- Follow Matt on Instagram
[1:24:52] Matt’s Final Piece of Advice for Aspiring Nomads
