Information Agent;
As founder of Information Agent, Inc. I have been an active member of my community (Chico and Butte County) in creating entry level jobs for people often unemployable elsewhere. Since its inception in the year 2000 Information Agent has provided approximately 500 entry level jobs for the local community. In every case I have provided paid, on the job training in skills such as; data management, professional telephone representation, marketing, database management, Internet skills, shipping room skills and shipping room management. As of July 1, 2018 Information Agent has the approximate equivalent of 10 full time jobs with the average hourly earnings of about $18.00 an hour, well above the required minimum wage that most entry level jobs in the local community pay.
Real Estate Investor Entrepreneur and Job Creator
While I held 3 investment properties in the year 2000 that number today stands at approximately 34. During the last 14 years I have had additional purchases and sales on approximately 10 other properties. I have managed this entire portfolio on my own with no outside property management firm! Each year I have added several hundred thousand dollars directly to my local community by hiring local qualified plumbers, electricians, contractors, roofers, maintenance men and women, landscape maintenance professionals, etc. I have built quality lasting relationships with all, all whom would express clearly the benefits to their own lives and those of their families from the regularly provided work.
Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of this self-managed portfolio is financial. When the real estate market collapsed in 2008 I was left with a portfolio with an upside down negative equity of approximately $2,000,000 as well as a large monthly negative cash flow. Many advisors professional and otherwise advised simply walking away from the portfolio and leaving the institutional lenders “holding the bag”. I choose not to do this. As far as I was (and am) concerned I had and have a moral obligation to honor the agreements I signed when I borrowed money to purchase and refinance the portfolio. While every other multiple rental property owner I know of left the banks stuck for millions of dollars in losses I simply hunkered down at my other full time job, Information Agent Inc. and made every payment, every time, on time, for the last 6 years of the real estate crisis. Never did I fail to perform as I obliged myself to. Today I begin to feel the rewards. The equity position has gone from approximately negative $2,000,000 to a net positive of approximately $2,000,000. I have maintained my honor, my credit, and my dignity.
Charitable acts and donations
Over the last 15 years I have been a regular financial contributor on a monthly basis to a handful of charities including The Southern Poverty Law Center, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, etc. I and my family have also supported the daily education and feeding of two different children through the Charity ChildFund, a small boy in Mexico, and a young girl in Bangladesh. For the last several years I have directly provided local money to elementary schools here in Chico to sponsor an entire class for a field trip. Many parents can’t afford to send their kids on these field trips despite the nominal cost and school budgets are crushed. It has been particularly gratifying to receive letters from the local schools expressing gratitude and expressions of how it helped. For the last ten years another important contribution to my community has been sending employees and deserving and needing members of the community to “Tony Robbins Three day Unleash the Power Within and Firewalk”. This 50 hour plus seminar teaches the participants how to better deal with the stresses and inevitable difficulties that life can sometimes present. Randomly picking and paying for a few participants each year has not only enhanced the individual’s lives (and subsequently the lives of their families) but has also lead to many lifetime friendships. This year I added the local Boys and Girls club to local community cause that I support.
I have formed several private mastermind groups over the years where I and other like individuals have “think tanked” on how to make our community a better place, how to enhance the lives of our families, and how to contribute and grow. Multiple times through these self-created associations large food donations have been made to the local women’s shelter as well as directly to families in need within the local community.
My family
I am blessed with an incredible wife, Anke, a citizen of Germany, who has made my life heaven on earth. We were married on March 15, 2006 in Hawaii. Our daughter, Lucille was born July 3, 2006. I have a son, Alex, who attends Washington Medical University in St. Louis, MO, and I “inherited” a daughter, Anne, when I met my wife Anke. Anne is a scientist with a specialty in Biology. She is currently working in her field in the greater Los Angeles area.
