Army Veteran's Pursuit of Balance and Wealth: Crafting a Real Estate Dynasty for Her Family's Legacy and Others

Tell us about you and your military background:

Hi. I’m Erin Helle. I graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 2009 where I swam for the Army team. I  went on to serve as an Engineer in the US Army from 2009-2017. I was deployed to Iraq as a Platoon Leader and Afghanistan as an assistant S3. I also commanded a company in the 82nd Airborne Division. During my 8-year career, I was the 16th woman to earn my Sapper tab, and the first woman to graduate from the Pre-Ranger course at Fort Bragg. I was also awarded The Steel de Fleury Medal for my leadership and service in the Engineer Regiment. I loved my time in the Army and looked forward to a long and fulfilling career. 

My career came to an abrupt end shortly after the birth of my first daughter. My husband, also an active duty officer, and I were both scheduled to deploy when our daughter was six months old. I received this news via email 3 days after returning to work after maternity leave. I knew that I could not leave my daughter and my unwillingness to deploy meant that I could no longer define myself as a good Soldier. 

I made a decision that did not feel like much of a decision at all. Since I had completed my service obligation, I submitted my request for resignation the very next day. I left the Army without much of a plan. With no desire to work 80-hour weeks, I could not find any career path that I found challenging enough but also conducive to the lifestyle I was pursuing. Furthermore, being a military spouse made pursuing many career paths significantly more challenging as we knew moving every few years would be our reality. 

Tell us about your business:

I created BC Global Investments, named for my two daughters. It was never meant to be an active business, but rather a real estate holding company. It morphed into something life-changing as I harnessed the power of real estate. The more success I achieved, the more I wanted to coach and mentor others to do the same. What started out as one-on-one coaching for small cohorts turned into conference hosting for hundreds of people. My coaching philosophy centers on encouraging people to dream big and ruthlessly pursue their goals. 

Describe how you got the business started:

The company cost next to nothing to start and has scaled over the past five years. The first year (2019) I coached about 30 people. In 2023, I hosted my biggest event yet, the Financial Freedom Summit for Active Duty, Veterans, and their families in Las Vegas on September 2-3, 2023. Over 300 people showed up and we gave them access to a network that has the power to change their lives. I am partnering with Veterans for Financial Freedom and have huge plans for an entire conference series in 2024. 

Tell us why you wanted to become an entrepreneur:

I wanted to have it all: to travel the world, continue to grow my family, and spend my time as I desired, while also growing wealth. Though it was daunting, I embarked on my journey to create the perfect balance of work and life, wealth and happiness. My net worth at the time was $120,000. Five years later, I now own almost 100 rental units, have a net worth close to $2 Million, and make over $10,000 per month passively. I created a system to allows me to live a life by design and now have the time and resources to give back to my network. 

I love the freedom of being an entrepreneur and appreciate that I am able to attend all the functions at my kid’s school, coach their sports teams, and take them to Disney at least three times per year. Entrepreneurship has its challenges, especially the first few years, but having total control over my schedule has meant everything to me. There are so many ways to run businesses and so many opportunities to make money. Once you realize this and harness the power that comes with that realization, there is no ceiling for you. 

Describe how your military background prepared you for entrepreneurship:

Being in the military taught me how to leverage the people that would ultimately help me achieve success. I learned the value of teamwork, and how to accomplish more with less by aligning with the right people. Your network truly is your net worth, and I’ve learned that over and over again as an entrepreneur. The military network is the best one out there and tapping into that resource changed everything for me. 

Tell us about some of your obstacles and challenges, and how you overcame them:

One of the biggest challenges has been balancing my ambition with the lifestyle that I want. I started my business when I was pregnant with my second daughter and have always struggled with the reality that success in one aspect of life often comes with a sacrifice somewhere else. I could spend more time with my kids, but then my business suffers. I could focus more on the business but then worry that I am neglecting my kids. 

There is no perfect balance but I’ve learned to define what having “it all” means to me without considering what society or anybody else says is right for me. Now that I know what matters, what’s important, and what makes me feel accomplished, letting go of everything else is much easier. I’ve also learned how to bring my kids into the business and love that they get to help me grow this empire that will be theirs someday! 

Describe how you’re doing today and what the future looks like:

It took me a few years to realize that real estate is not my passion. My passion is people and empowering people to achieve their goals. Real Estate is simply a means to an end, a vehicle to fund my travels and my lifestyle. My team of Realtors chose me because I can help them retire from the industry, something that is not a reality for most Realtors. I show them how to build a business they can be proud of that can allow them to build something life-changing and earn as much money as they desire. 

I advise everyone I meet the same: Set big goals and ruthlessly pursue them!

1. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, aspiring military general or CEO, have a net worth of $10 or $10 Million: figure out what is important to you and what you want out of life. 

2. Put a plan in place to make it happen, and do not let anything get in your way of achieving exactly that.

Over the course of the past five years, my company’s revenue has been steadily growing year over year. I continually buy cash-flowing assets and businesses that increase my monthly income and net worth. Furthermore, I have 13 agents who joined eXp with me as their sponsor. We are all growing lifestyle businesses that allow us to pursue the things we want in life! 

My future goals include growing my real estate team, generating more wealth through cash-flowing businesses and real estate investments, and traveling the world with my family. I continue to focus on word of mouth marketing and building my network the old fashioned way through genuine relationships and organic interaction. 

My vision for the business is to become a global leader in the investing industry, known for my expertise, integrity, and commitment to helping others achieve their dreams. I want to be the go-to choice for realtors in our network and strive to bring them value they can't find elsewhere. 

Share some advice with your fellow veteran entrepreneurs:

As a fellow veteran turned entrepreneur, I would love to share my advice for pursuing goals and businesses. 

1. Don’t wait until your plan is perfect. Figure out your destination and start navigating a route to get there. As an entrepreneur, a lot of times done is better than perfect, and starting before you’re ready is what separates many business owners from those who never get started.

2. Don’t listen to the naysayers who aren’t on the same path as you. Find other Veterans who are like-minded, those doing what you want to do, figure out a way to provide value to them, and get into their network. Surrounding yourself with the right people is the best way to achieve your goals quickly. 

3. Never stop learning. Put your pride aside and take advice anywhere you can get it. Good is the enemy of great, so don’t settle for just okay. Constantly be looking for ways to improve and become great! 

4. Realize that it is not going to be easy, but it will be worth it! There is a reason few people pursue entrepreneurship and the path less traveled can be terrifying, lonely, and heartbreaking. But if you put in the work, you will not recognize yourself or your life.