Today we’d like to introduce you to Patricia Kaniowski.
Patricia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Sydney, Australia on 3/13/1984. My parents are from Poland and Polish is my first language. I started Ballroom Dancing at the age of ten and fell in love with it. My life growing up was school and then straight to dance. I competed and became one of the top Australian dancers from the age of 13, representing the country at World Championships and finishing 2nd place at the International Dancesport Championship held in England when I was 13.
As soon as graduated from High-school, I was asked to join the touring company ‘Burn The Floor’ and did my first USA tour at 17 years old. After six months of touring, I was asked to continue the tour to Japan, but my heart missed competing and I knew I had to get back to the Ballroom. That’s where I decided to move to London to find a Dance partner and continue training.
In 2004, my coaches partnered me up with an American Amateur finalist and I moved to Houston, TX. I continued training, teaching and performing both Internationally and Nationally. In 2008, that partnership dissolved, I moved to Boston, MA to dance with a Professional partner. Our career was very successful and we placed 7th at the Blackpool Dancesport festival (the most prestige competition in the world) in the Rising Star Category, and in 2010 made the quarter final in the Open Professional Latin Championships at the International Dancesport Championships.
I retired from competing in 2012 and decided to move to Los Angeles, CA. I became the Dance Captain of a Dance company called ‘Ballroom with a Twist’, and continued performing all around the U.S. for the next five years.
In 2013, a friend dragged me along to a business conference about Real Estate. I always had a passion for education and learning and had previously dabbled in the stock market with some investments, so decided to go along to the three days seminar. After the 3rd day, my friend and I decided to sign up for the Educational Program and started our journey in Real Estate. At the time, we sold what we could to afford the program, but decided it was all or nothing, we had to succeed! Over the next few months, whenever we were not on stage performing around the country, we would be on our computers studying, building our business. Some days we would study 18 hours and implement the systems we were being taught. In 2014, we purchased our first house to remodel (flip). It was a new and exciting venture that came with many unknowns and a tremendous amount of fear. After four months, we completed the rehab and sold the property and it was a success!
Six years later, I have now successfully rehabbed 39 homes, primarily in The Valley, mostly in the specific higher-end price range of homes, ranging between $1-$6mil. I fell in love with every aspect of the business, from the acquisitions process, the construction and design, the negotiation process and so on.
I’ve always been very self-motivated and love to learn. I am very disciplined and love setting goals, reading, working on personal development and am not afraid of hard work!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
In both career paths (Dance – 20 years and Real Estate – 7 years) there have been countless numbers of roadblocks and setbacks along the way. As I’ve matured and grown, I’ve realized that this is part of life. We are all on a journey and the most important thing is to believe in yourself and to not give up on your dreams!
In Real Estate in particular, my business scaled very quickly, and in 2018, I had purchased 15 homes that year (2 were out of state in FL) and at one point, had eight large construction projects going on at the same time. I was not prepared both with the resources and teams not being in place to handle that amount of work and also financially. It’s very expensive having to pay eight loan payments on high-end homes each month. I thought I would have to throw the towel in and lose what I had worked so hard for. Fortunately, my business partner and I have very resilient personalities and we were relentless in not giving up and getting through it.
It has not been an easy journey, but one that is so satisfying and rewarding. To now be thriving, and to have the ability to give back, not only financially to support non-profit foundations that we care about, but to be able to go on retreats and visit orphanages in Mexico, bring the children Christmas gifts, play with them and see the smile on their faces, has been priceless. I now also get to help other people who are just starting in the business of Real Estate Investing and it’s honestly overall an incredible feeling.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Legacy Homevestments LLC story. Tell us more about the business.
I own a Real Estate Investment Company which purchases homes in cash, renovates them and then sells them. Its just my business partner and I in the business, but we work with a team of people. (Agents, contractors, Engineers, etc.)
My specific roles in the business include, evaluating the opportunities that are presented to me by Agents to see if the numbers work for us to move on a house and purchase it, I manage the construction process and work closely with the General Contractor to make sure they stick with the schedule, I design the home both with the floor plan and finish material such as picking the tile, cabinets, paint colors, etc., I manage the construction budgets, (and of course all the fun business stuff such as finances, marketing, administration, etc.)
The most thing I’m proud of as a company is our product. Each home we remodel is done with pride and integrity. My construction projects are quite large (average 300-400k) and full guts. We ensure that the home we are remodeling is completely like brand new, so the homeowner that buys the property gets to know they are purchasing a beautiful home that they can enjoy creating wonderful new memories in.
What sets me apart from others is that I am a woman in a very male dominant field! I remember in the past walking at an open house and the home was extremely run down. There were about ten male investors and developers, and here comes this little girl which looked like she didn’t belong. (I ended up winning against 18 other offers and purchasing the home). I have gained so much confidence and knowledge that comes with experience that we have been able to form a very strong team of people. I love who I get to work with daily. There is a playful banter and a light-hearted aspect I bring to an industry, that at times could be very stressful. I feel that the right mindset and attitude, attract the right opportunities, people and energy into your business and to your life.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck. I believe the saying, luck is when hard work meets opportunity! I feel that if you have a passion about something, it doesn’t feel like work. I work out at 5am every day of the week and start my mornings focusing on myself before my day starts. I write out goals, workout, meditate, read and take care of my body and mind before my workday. I find it keeps me balanced and gives me more energy and focus throughout the day.
There are days where I work till 9pm, however it’s the lifestyle I chose. I love working hard and also playing hard. I have the ability to take off for a week or two at any time to visit family in Australia or go on vacation with friends.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.legacyhomevestments.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricia.kaniowski/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricia.kaniowski
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