Episode 170 | Kevin Jennings | Military Millionaire

00:00 - 05:00

David:

What's up Military Millionaires! I'm your host, David Pere here with Alexander Felice and Mr. Kevin Jennings. And today we're going to talk to you about government contracts, government contracting land and government contracts and all things awesomeness. And I met Kevin, at the better way conference in Dallas, three weeks, four weeks ago, and we were chatting, just briefly over, he actually caught me while I was trying to do my journal in the morning. So it's kind of a, I won't say I was a jerk, but I was probably a jerk. And I was trying to like focus. And he's had all these awesome things to talk about, which were actually really interesting. But I was like, Oh, if I don't do this, I'm never gonna get this done. And anyway, he went and gave a presentation. And well, it was just enough for me to go, you know what that would be fun to have on the podcast because government contracting and that whole realm fits in really nicely with our niche, and I don't know anything about it.

Intro:

Welcome to the Military Millionaire podcast where we teach service members, veterans and their families how to build wealth through personal finance, entrepreneurship, and real estate investing. I'm your host, David Pere. And together with my co host, Alex Felice, we're here to be your no BS Guides along the most important mission, you'll ever embark on your finances.

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David:

So here we are. Kevin, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Kevin:

Yeah.

So I'm a serial entrepreneur, I guess you can call it. When I got out of college in the early 2000s. One of the first things I did was I started work construction for my dad's construction company. And he was a government contractor at the time. So that was kind of my first introduction to it. But I didn't really take it seriously. It was more like that first job out of college. And then I got introduced to the wonderful world of real estate in South Florida in 2004. And everybody was making so much money selling real estate and flipping properties. I thought that was the best thing ever. One problem is nobody ever told me what a recession was, or that was even a possibility. So I was a millionaire at 25 and bankrupt by 26. Because my time 2007-2008 came, that was it, like the run into just that fast. And so 2008, I was trying to figure out, like what to do, how to rebuild myself and how to make money. And so then my dad kind of reintroduced the whole government contracting thing to me at the time. I was thinking about getting my general contracting license here in Florida, because I used to, you know, like I said, I was flipping properties for so long and doing stuff. And people were still calling me like, Hey, man, can you help me with this? So I was alright, let me get my license, and I can start generating income like that. And then my dad and others gave me some opportunities to do some contracting work.

One of the first things I did was actually at the VA hospital, I did some demo work down there for them. And then from there, it just snowballed. And so over the last 14 years, all I've been doing is government contracting in the federal sector. And then also I transitioned about, I'd say six years ago, I transitioned to start doing stuff in the state and local governments. I started an underground utility company. So I specialize in water and sewer infrastructure rehabilitation for municipalities. So I got into that. So my whole life has been in working and has been in like government contracting at every level. And so, earlier this year, I kind of was like, you know, what, I want to do something different. I just turned 40. I want to reinvent myself and change my life a little bit. And so I was introduced to just like, how to start helping people and that's what I've been doing most recently is teaching others and things that I've learned over the last, you know, 14-15 years and government contracts. So that's me.

Alex:

The government doesn't have recessions. Is that right?

05:00 - 10:00

Kevin:

Yeah. So that was the thing like it sounds crazy, but the government doesn't that, you know, recession does not affect the government. A pandemic does not affect the government, the pandemic was probably one of the best times in my professional career. Because while people were stuck at home, the government was still operating. But they couldn't have all of their workers come to work. So they started contracting out even more of their services. Because they needed they still had the operational needed things done. They still needed supplies, they still needed, you know, everything the government still had to operate. Because if the government doesn't operate, then we have total anarchy, which is what we don't want.

Alex:

Yeah, everybody, everybody wants to hate the government. And then it's like, hey, why don't we close down and then they're like, but hang on, we need this thing to run.

Kevin:

Yeah! It sounds great until it actually happens, right? No, like, oh, yeah, we hate the government. We don't want to exist. And it's like, Alright, cool. Government doesn't exist. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, who's gonna pick up our garbage? Like? Oh, now you meet the government.

David:

That's not the part they don't like, it's the part of being told no, right. It's like parenting. No, no kid complains about the roof over their head, or the fact that they're getting food paid for or, you know, their Xbox, but they sure as hell complain about a curfew.

Alex:

Kevin, so I've sort of been on a running theme in this show. And in my life over the last, I mean, it's been growing over the last four or five years as I've watched the economy do some unprecedented things. And so the theme is, every time I have somebody on the show, excuse me, we have somebody on the show that was investing or entrepreneuring, before the 2007 or 2008 crash, I really tried to pick their brain about insights, because the gap between those who have invested before the crash, and those who invested after the crash to me is stark, night and day. And people who have only been investing after the crash, don't notice it. But I noticed it. And so what you said right out of the gate was like, nobody told me that recession could happen. And so I'm curious, you know, what your thoughts are about, like, kind of today? If you feel I mean, I know you're in a sector. You don't probably feel the same sort of risk now with the government sector. But does it feel like 2007?

Kevin:

Yeah, but it's weird. Like I've even been trying to figure it out. It's a weird, weird time. It feels like she does stuff. And for me, I see some of the same indicators, like I saw them. And so in my mind, I'm like, Yeah, this is happening all over again. It's just, it's like we have an external force. That's like not letting it really check in. And that's strange. Because I don't know if that's like, a good thing that they're not letting it really check in or if it's like a bad thing, because we're delaying the inevitable. And what honestly, what I fear is I was preaching recession in 2019. Because I was like, historically, when you look at their charts of recession, like we were due 2019, it was, we were ready for like it had to due to the calendar, it was supposed to happen. And then we kind of missed it. And then the pandemic happens, so people kind of forgot about it. But now we're at that point where it's like, okay, it still has to happen. So now I’m like if it doesn't happen in the next two or three years, by the calendar, we're due again for another one. So is that one going to be like, a big, big one. So that's what scares me. Because people think of recession, they think it's a bad thing. But in reality, like, I mean, when you look at history and look at the calendar, it has to happen. Like it's a recurrent, it's a correction of the markets. So it happens every eight to 10 years, historically, throughout the history of the government throughout the history of this country. So it kind of like it has to happen. But I'm just scared honestly, to be real with you.

David:

It's like the controlled burn theory, right? And if you never do controlled burns, because you're scared of a forest fire, you're gonna have a forest fire.

Alex:

So, do you feel confident about government contracts?

Kevin:

Yeah. And that's why I got into it. Like when I was coming out of that recession. Like I was so scared of everything I was done shot. You couldn't talk to me about anything. I didn't want to hear about anything. I was, but I'm an entrepreneur, right? So I'm like, okay, so what am I supposed to do? I'm scared to invest in anything. I'm scared of the stock market. I'm scared of the real estate market, like how am I supposed to make money? And the more and more I started researching the government contracts and really understanding it. That's what gave me that comfort level because it truly is recession proof. Like the government's always going to need things and the sad reality about our country is we don't produce anything. So we rely on things from everybody to kind of to live right And the government is no different than the United States government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the entire world.

10:00 - 15:00

Alex:

I didn’t know that.

Kevin:

Most people don't.

To me, it was like, Hey, this is a perfect match, like they're always going to be buying, they've been buying since day one. Let me just figure out what I can provide, and try to provide a quality service to them. And then I can kind of hopefully head those bets.

Alex:

You have a client, your client is a triple A rated credit client with unlimited money.

Kevin:

That's the thing. That's the way I kind of told you. I mean, you gotta look at it like that. That's the best client to have, like, Would you want any other type of client? Like, that's the best client.

David:

It's like playing a sport with the official wearing your uniform.

Kevin:

Yeah. And the more I learned about it, the more I learned about it, and I figured out how to play the game, because that's anything like anything, right? And he gave me go play, you got to figure out how to play it. And once I figured out how to play the game, and I was like, Oh, wow. And then I learned the rules. Because that's what people always say. Like, I think the two biggest things are the two biggest fears that people have when I talk about government contracts. And it's a most people are scared when they hear government anything like nobody likes the government for, like you say government if people aren't, I'm good, man, thanks, have a nice day. The ones that aren't scared by they're like, Yeah, but they don't pay and it takes too long. And I'm like, Ah, that's not true. Like they really, they want to pay. And when I simplify what it actually is like the role of the government is to protect the citizens, right. And so from an economic standpoint, their role is to provide for citizens.

So government contracting is a way that they not only do the goods and services and things that people need, but it's also how they stimulate the economy. So they take the money that we pay in taxes, and they put it back into their economy, with businesses like myself, and then they look to me to do work with other small businesses employ individuals, so now they have more taxpayers that can keep the cycle going. So in its simplest form, it's just a cyclical business, and it needs to happen. It's just figuring out where you fit into it.

Alex:

You got to learn the rules of the game.

So let me ask you, is this a Jonah Hill style War Dogs? Where you're going off and doing? Are you a gray market arms dealer? What I'm really asking is, what kind of contracts are we talking about here?

David:

He's actually in Russia right now.

Kevin:

So it's cool because like, like, I love that movie War Dogs, right? When it came out. I was like, This is amazing. Like, I probably watched it 10 or 15 times. I'm like, This is amazing, because it really is my life.

Alex:

I was right on the money. Okay. All right.

Kevin:

I'm not an arms dealer. Personally, I know arms dealers, I've helped people become arms dealers, like I know. But when you take out that part of it, everything else that happened in that movie is so very true and accurate. Like, I'm like, that is my life, like from them literally starting in the back of some guys dirty, you know, place with just a couple of years, you know, in a, in a smoke filled room, to then, you know, a year and a half, two years later, they're all in multimillion dollar masks. And I'm like, that is that's real. Like that can really happen. And, you know, everybody is only one contract away from literally changing their life. But as far as types of contracts, the government buys everything from simple supplies like toilet paper, paper towels, water, I got started selling rubber gloves and N95 masks and hand sanitizer to now I'm in construction and construction management. And I you know, do construction work on VA hospitals, Air Force bases, the Coast Guard bases, they bought IT services, you know, I mean, anything you can think of, I've been blowing people away lately on like social media, because I'll post like wild stuff that they procure, and people are like, I didn't know that exists. Like I didn't want to. The Army just paid somebody. A fee that the army pays $75,000 a month for the next four years to maintain their social media. So they're responsible for basically posting on social media and helping the army maintain and stay relevant on social media and then $75,000 a month.

Alex:

I could do that job.

David:

Why don't we have that job, Alex?

Alex:

I could do that job.

David:

Do it for 70.

Kevin:

Yeah, right. Like give them a discount. But yeah, so it's crazy because literally anything that you can think of there's a contract out there for it.

David:

I can't imagine.

Alex:

I wonder if they need a camera guy.

Kevin:

They do.

Alex:

What about drones? I got a drone license. I got a FAA license.

15:00 - 20:00

David:

The irony with this is that they have a public affairs MOS Like there's literally a job. That's what they laughed about this is like, there is some marine sitting in his office going, God, I'm bored. I wish they would just let me like, give me the Instagram account. I'll make some content. Like, just let me have some fun. And they're like, Nah, we pay you $3,000 a month. This guy though. He's worth more because he charges more.

Alex:

That's how military budgets work. We'd have budgets to work, right, boys, right? We got to spend this money.

David:

Yeah.

Alex:

What website? How do I find where the gigs are?

Kevin:

So the website is sam.gov. So you go to www.sam.gov. And what they did a few years ago was the government used to have about eight different websites that talked about all the different things that they do. So they centralize that into one website. So you go on sam.gov.

Sam.gov is where you can register.

Alex:

Uncle Sam.

Kevin:

Uncle Sam, right? That's where you can register business. That's where you can find contract opportunities. That's where you can find financial assistance. That's where you can find all the procurement data, the forecast, like they create one big centralized website and that's what it is.

Alex:

We're gonna be friends, Kevin.

Kevin:

That's cool.

Alex:

He didn't sound that excited right now.

Alex:

He knows there's an ass coming.

Alex:

Wait, didn't you say you wanted to help some people?

David:

Not you.

Alex:

Yeah.

David:

And other people.

Oh, my goodness. So this is cool. So okay, so if I'm Nick, the new guy, and I'm like, wow, contracting is awesome. And there's this website. But I don't know what I don't know. Like, what are some of the things that? Like, what would you say? Or some of the first steps? Is it? Is it finding like, do you go on sam.gov? And click around and find something and go, Oh, that looks cool. I'll do that. Or should you look at building a business? Like how do you flesh out? What would work?

Kevin:

Yeah, the first thing you want to do is build a business, right? So before you even start looking at, okay, what can I do look at building a stable business. And that's, that's what sam.gov kind of does for you.

So the first steps are, create a business within the state that you're in, get your tax ID number, get a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet, and then you're going to register and you have to get what's called a cage code. So a cage code is your, it's like your identifiers, it's how they actually look at you. So they don't use names per se, in the government, it's all codes. Kind of like, you know, when you're in service, like, and you have your different levels, your E-1, E-2, all that is similar to that. And that's how they identify people with their different cage codes. And then from there, once you're established, then you can really start looking at, okay, what do I really want to do, and I tell people all the time, whatever you're good at, just focus on that. Like, don't worry about what the next guy does, don't worry about, Oh, I heard they're buying this, focus on whatever it is that you're good at, because I guarantee you whatever you do, they need help with. And then we start there.

David:

That actually seems really simple when you break it down like that.

Kevin:

Like, honestly, it's a very, very simple process. People just over complicate it more than they need to. But at the heart of it, because you got to think it's the government.

David:

I was gonna say, wait, isn't that what the government does?

Kevin:

Like it's the government! So that was the government at the end of the day.

David:

I was like, wait a minute, I'm about to pay someone $75,000 to post on Instagram, as paperwork is gonna be messed up.

Alex:

In this situation what it sounds like you're saying is that there's ample, ample, ample opportunity here. It's just that most people won't come around and screw around with it.

Kevin:

That's the sad reality.

Alex:

That is what's happening now. You're like, there's just money to be made here. But people just won't tackle it. Because it's a pain because it's the government. It's probably not sexy.

Kevin:

It's, it's all like, it's the government. It's definitely not sexy. Especially some of the stuff that you can get into that can really make you money. Like it's sexy when you're Jonah Hill when you're a war dog. Like that's cool to walk into a club once a year. It's not cool to be the guy that sells trash bags to the government. Like that's like, you know, like Beretta sounds a whole lot better than trash bags, but they need trash bags too.

Alex:

All right.

Kevin:

So that's what makes it a lot harder, but the whole process is so simple. And honestly they need you more than you need them. And that's what I try to tell people don't look at it like, like they need you. Like they need to give their money to you. They want to because they need the services. So if people aren't there to provide the services then you really can't complain because then when they go back to their normal sources, and they go to the Big Three they go to the Northrop Grumman's and the Boeing's and, and they spend billions of dollars with them. You can't get mad. Because you didn't put yourself out there.

20:00 - 25:00

Alex:

We have a lot of people who are in this show and people in my I know my social life, and my social circles that are, you know, the word entrepreneur gets thrown around a lot. And a lot of what I see are people who like to make money. They're egomaniacs. They're loud extroverts. And they've been doing well in the up economy. But that does not necessarily make an entrepreneur that's kind of how I am. I'm not really an entrepreneur, I'm an investor who happened to be loud, and egomaniac, and the markets were up. So I look real good. But you are here to make money. And you are here to find opportunity. And you are like, I don't care if it's sexy or not. I'm here to find the opportunity where others are either not looking or unwilling. And that to me is an entrepreneur solving problems.

David:

What is unsexy about building sewer lines?

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Kevin:

Yeah.

Like I tell people like, like, crazy, right? So like the pandemic, like who like oh, it was, it was horrible. I was like, not to sound bad. But it was probably one of the better times of my business because everybody was stuck at home. So normally, people are gone from their house from nine to five, nine to six. So they're only flushing the toilet in the morning and at night. And they're only brushing their teeth in the morning and at night. So when everybody is home, they're flushing the toilet all day long. They're using water all day long. So I was busier than ever, because those systems were being used more than they had ever been used before. And a lot of them were used more than they were ever intended to be used.

David:

Definitely would not have thought about that factor. That's like, when you think about staying at home? Like I definitely think about problems, but I wouldn't have expected that to be a problem. And I'd imagine you're probably on like a city sewer. Now that you say that I'm like, oh my goodness, the people out here who live on septic. Like, that's terrible.

Kevin:

Yeah. But even if you're on septic, that's still become a government contract in a way, right. So it becomes a government environmental issue if people can't get their septic tanks emptied for multiple for a long, extended amount of time. So there's like, there's so many, there's so many layers to government contracting, and it kind of ties in every part of every person's life. They just don't realize it. And most people don't even, the light bulb doesn't go off until I actually start talking. And then they're like, oh, yeah, that makes sense now.

Alex:

Mine's going off.

David:

Alex already has an application.

Alex:

You guys are taking up my time, my work time right now.

Kevin:

Takes me like five to seven minutes to talk to somebody. And then all of a sudden, I see their eyes just open up. And I always just, it just happened. That was it right there.

Alex:

In fact, there's a good chance that we're not going to air this episode, because I don't want anybody taking my newfound secret.

Actually, just for the listeners. I would love if anybody actually, that has never, I would love to know of anybody who has never done this before. Takes his advice, goes to sam.gov, applies to some contracts, locks went up. If that happens, there's a time process. I understand that. I understand. There's a delay. If that happens, I 100% want you on this show.

David:

We also want a 10% gratuity.

Alex:

Yeah, so anybody who does this successfully, I want to interview you.

David:

20, we gotta give Kevin 10. We take 10.

Alex:

Yeah, we're gonna take 20%.

Kevin:

I would love for that to happen. And they come on, and we can come back and I can come back on and just talk to them. And yeah, because that's the other great part too, is like when people really do it, and they realize it works. And they're like, Wow, this is amazing.

It's crazy.

Alex:

It sounds amazing.

David:

And what's really cool about it is like that guy, the $75,000 which obviously sounds great. But the fact that you're locked in on a contract with the government for four years, like, doesn't sound like it gets much more secure as far as job security or gig security, like, you know, you're gonna get paid. You know, they're not going out of business. You know that like, I don't know. I mean, like, they sign the paper and they don't care enough. I'd imagine going after you unless you don't do your job. They're like, Cool, thanks. And I don't know.

25:00 - 30:00

Kevin:

That's honestly the biggest thing is just do your job, like do what they hired you to do. As long as you do that you'll never have a problem. And the great thing about government contracting is when they find someone who they like they hold on. Like, and I always bring up like those big companies. But you look at some of the big behemoths of American industry, like they've been locked in with the government for 10s of years, doing the same contracts with the same type of stuff. And it's because they provide a good service, and the government knows that. So they're like, you know, what, we're just gonna stick with you.

Alex:

Yeah, because they don't want to get caught gambling with taxpayer money.

Kevin:

That's it.

And that can be a benefit to you if you come in, and you can provide a good service. And you can help show them that because the government doesn't necessarily work on the lowest price. So they have a system that's called Best Value. So basically, the way it works on some proposals, now, they do have some that are the lowest price where they just want something real quick, and they want to receive as possible, but most of the stuff that you'll see come out from them is of the best value. So it's not necessarily the price or anything like that. It's what they deem to be the best value for the government. And as long as your prices, it's so out of whack that it just is completely off basis. If you can provide the best value, then you're the guy for the job.

David:

Well, and especially if you're solving a problem. So my background is in transportation logistics, right. And my last unit, I was the movement control center, like one of the movement chiefs for the west coast for the Marine Corps. And so we would government contract trucks and buses, depending on movements, we had our own, like government buses, and trucks, but once those were tapped out, or if they had to go a certain distance, and it was, you know, having understanding cost of transportation, it was mind boggling to me sometimes the amount of money we would spend if somebody forgot to pay forgot to schedule a truck, and we needed something like 24 hours later, like we would I mean, you're talking like $9,000 for a one day run. That's like three hours away, you know, and it's insane. And so, you know, if you're, there's all kinds of industries you can dig into this on. It's super cool.

Kevin:

Yeah, the transportation and logistics one has one right now that's really booming. And I appreciate that you have that experience of doing that. Because you can really speak to it. Because I get people all the time to ask me well, what can I do, I'm in trucking? And I'm like, they need trucking a lot. And so for you to just talk about that really hit me, because that's something that people ask me on a daily basis. And I'm like, listen, yes, they have their own trucks. Yes, they have their own buses, but they don't have enough when they have to do a major move. So one of the major moves that's happening right now is I'm moving equipment and stuff out of bases, like in Georgia, like Fort Benning and places like that. And they're getting them to the coastal cities, just in case we do have to have a conflict or anything. So I saw solicitation, and they needed 500 tanks moved from Fort Benning, to one of the bases in Texas, like they don't have enough trucks. Nobody has enough trucks to move 500 tanks all at once.

David:

And those are probably funded movements, too. So they're probably paying double.

Kevin:

Exactly.

So they're trying to put together his big movement. And so they have a solicitation out. They're not trying to figure out how we can get these 500 tanks moved effectively from Georgia to Texas. And so it's things like that. So I do appreciate your story because you understand that you get it.

David:

And then they're gonna move them all back in three months.

Kevin:

And then they will move all right back.

David:

Yeah, we had all these rules, like if it was over 300 miles, we couldn't use our trucks, we had to contract it out. And if it was over X number of people, or if it was for, like a ship movement, or whatever, or we had, in our case, I think we had enough buses to move like 1500 people. But we were often moving three or 4000 people in a day. And so, you know, if you have flights coming in, you use the government controlled buses where you can be like, Nope, you're sitting there because that plane got delayed, and you're not leaving because you're contracted. And then you're going to the actual government contracts for all the other stuff that isn't as likely to move around on schedules. And yeah, we were paying enough that there were guys in the office who were like, I think I'm gonna start a trucking company, when I get out. I'm just gonna go work for these guys.

Kevin:

You know, that's a lot of people. And that's one of the things that I love doing is helping guys out. And then when they come out, they're like, Man, can you help me get set up? Like, yeah, let's do it. Like, please. Because the knowledge and that you have, like, I wasn't in the service. So my knowledge base of government contracting is what I learned from being out here and learning and working it. But someone who was a part of the system who was in the system who understands how things work, like you said, you know, that you can only move no more than 300 miles and you have those restrictions. So if you were to come out with your own trucking company, you know exactly who to talk to him exactly what to look for. And you know exactly who to call and be like, hey, when's your next move of 400 miles? I'm your guy and that makes the best government contractor because you know the system.

David:

Yeah.

So what other, like do you see is there like a specific industry or industries that generally fare better or, I mean, obviously they buy everything, and everybody thinks buying for firearms is the way to go. But, you know, it might just be latex gloves or whatever, like, is there any kind of rule that you see as a guideline for that?

30:00 - 35:00

Kevin:

Everything is all over the board, there are industries that are hotter than others, like, IT has been hot for the past, you know, 10-15 years, and IT is going to continuously be hot as, as information and technology changes on a daily basis, the government has to stay ahead of the curve. Because I gotta tell people, you know, if the people on the bad side of the law are moving fast, the good guys have to move just as fast to keep up with them. So the government is constantly upgrading their technology to be able to, to fight things. So IT is always going to be great. Logistics is always going to be great, just like we talked about, especially as we're more involved with foreign conflict. So we were bringing in people from different countries, we're helping people out in different countries. So we're always moving stuff. So that's good.

Construction is a big one ofcourse, I have a special, you know, heart for construction, because that's my industry, but construction is always going to be big on the government's continuous building, changing infrastructure. One of the industries I think is going to be big here is coming up. I think the off the outside of the United States kind of construction stuff is gonna get big and support services. As we help rebuild a lot of different countries from conflict, I think that's going to be really big. And we have been putting a lot of money in other countries to support. So that's big, but I mean, generally, everything man.

Alex:

I’m hyped! I'm rethinking my entire life right now. But seriously, you know, I keep going back to like what you originally said, which is, you know, the sort of sentiment that we started this conversation with, which is, you know, in 2007 your financial world ended. And you're like, Well, I gotta, I'm not going to quit. But I got to do something with a lot more risk, a lot more risk mitigation in mind. And I don't have the same story. I came in 2014. But I was always I've been, I'm a risk averse guy, by nature, and I've studied economics. And I'm scared. And so I'm like, I'm always looking, I'm not the entrepreneurial type, who's like, I'm gonna, you know, just wing it, you know, I'll just take all this risk, I can't, I have to sleep at night. And, you know, I want to sleep like a baby. And so I like investing, and I like doing stuff. But I'm always thinking risk averse. So this is like a really, really good topic for the people. There are listeners to our shows, especially the young troops, the young, the young people who, you know, they don't really know what kind of investor they are yet. And it's easy to get sucked into the hustle, the hustle porn of today's sort of culture, but you know, right, you know, some people are gonna, they're gonna get bought into that they're gonna get burned. Where, but and the reality is people who are getting sucked into the culture, they're actually deep down inside, they're risk averse investors who don't want that kind of stress. And so I love this, specifically, to reach some of those people who, you know, maybe don't feel like hardcore entrepreneurs, but they do want to go find opportunity. And here's, here's a good way that sounds like a good way to make money with and solve problems and get a reliable, you know, basically the most reliable customer that's ever existed.

Kevin:

Yeah, like, that's the reason I got into it was, I was so risk averse at that time coming out. I got, like I said, I was scared to touch anything. But I'm an entrepreneur, like, I'm a hustler. I'm an investor at heart. Like, that's just who I am. So I had to find something that I could build a stable base with. And what government contractors have provided me over the past 14 years, is, I was able to build a stable, reliable company, I was able to create a true source of income for myself. But then I was able to then branch out slowly and start getting back to the things that I love, like real estate and start investing more real estate, and start to learn more about the new age. Things that are out there, start, you know, taking more risk, because I knew that, okay, my government contracting business, I know, I'm gonna make x y, z, every year doing that. So I know I'm okay. Now I can do a little bit more. And that's what I try to talk to people about, because you're right, like some of the stuff that's out here now, it looks great on paper, and it's all flashy. And when you look on Instagram, and a guy's driving a Lamborghini with a beautiful woman next to him and then goes to the beach every day, and he's eaten lunch at great places. And he says, I got this you should have to, like it does look great. But at some point, it does stop. And that's, that's the sad reality that I learned is you need something so that when it all falls down, like can you still count on one thing to at least bring you enough money to feed your family and keep the lights on. And that's what government contracting stuff for me, because it's giving me that stable base. So I love it.

35:00 - 40:00

Alex:

Yes. I love that.

David:

That’s smart.

Alex:

The only problem with that statement is that real estate only goes up. Everyone knows that. I do think, yeah, because like you said, You alluded to earlier about, like, you know, the calendar. You know, economics doesn't work on a strict calendar, but it sort of works on a predictable timeframe, you know, 8 to 12 years is kind of it. Well, we're now at 14. So, but it causes the problem that I'm starting to notice is that it causes a different sort of problem inherently, when it goes on too long, is that more and more people who are investing have never seen the ugly. And so you have more and more, sort of? More people don't know, they're like, oh, yeah, recession, it'll be a little blip. And then everything went back to normal. And they're not thinking about risk mitigation.

Kevin:

I had a conversation last night about it with somebody else. And it is scary, man. Because you got to think like you said, we're going on 14 years. So some of these people that are offered making money now they're in their mid 20s. Like they were in middle school, the last time we were in recession, like it sounds crazy to think but like they don't understand what that is. They don't. They're like, yeah, we hear you. Yeah, recession. Yeah, it'll be bad. I saw it on TV once they did it, you know, it was on the History Channel and looked crazy. But that'll never happen. And it's like, yeah, no, it will.

Alex:

In 2001, there was a crash. So just to give you some perspective, there was a 33 year old guy that I was in basic training with, who got crushed, he was in tech, and then 01 came, which is a tech bubble, just destruction. And he lost everything. And he'd had to join the army at 33. So that's how bad it got for some people. So for the 18 to 20 year olds that are listening to the show that are kind of in the boat that you just said, Kevin, where they're like, oh, yeah, it'll be bad, whatever. I'm like, Dude, you might like to imagine 10 years into the future, it being so bad that you have to go off and this is a guy who's making 250 grand a year. Well, I mean, it's what he told me, you know, everyone in the military lies, but still, you know. But those stories aren't. Those stories aren't. Those aren't anomalies. I mean, you had a similar story, you were doing extremely well. And then got crushed. So yeah, I just keep coming back as a risk averse guy. And, you know, there's people who will take more risks than me, and a lot will do better in life for me. But there's a lot of people who will take a lot of risk unnecessarily and then do worse. And so, in many ways, it's you're probably grateful that you got it out of the way at 26 and learned.

Kevin:

Yeah, yeah, I really am. It helped me. Like I said, it was the best, it was the best couple years and the worst couple years of my life all rolled into one. And I really learned a lot really from like, I'd say 24 to like 27. So learning about real estate, and watching and being a part of that climb, to then it happening and starting to fall, and then trying to figure out how to rebuild myself. Like those were the times that really shaped me into who I am today as a business person and as a man in general. So I'm grateful for it. I definitely do not want to go through it again. But like, I'm grateful for it. My goal now is to try to help as many people not have to deal with that, like, as much as I can do something like this and talk and people can, if we didn't get like you say one person, it'd be like, Yeah, I did it. And it actually worked. Like I'm like, Cool. Like, that's one less person that's gonna have to struggle. That's one less family. That's gonna have to struggle when things get bad. And that's what it's all about.

Alex:

Yeah.

David:

What, what is, oh, he's gonna kill me when he starts realizing that I picked up on his stupid question and started asking people what is something that people much smarter than us? What is something that I have not asked the people much smarter than me would ask about government contracting? Is there anything we've missed?

Kevin:

It sounds crazy. Not really, because it's really that simple.

Usually, the people that are much smarter or have a word, they're, they're usually trying to figure out a way to like, get deep into the system, right. So like, they're really trying to figure out the IT stuff. The, you know, they're looking at the artificial intelligence, the, you know, the virtual reality like they're looking at that type of stuff, and I couldn't help them with that anyway.

Alex:

Yeah, you're saying, Don't overcomplicate it, don't go try to solve the government's problems like don't go to try to reshape the government's future, just like they have problems today that take like, you're mostly talking about infrastructure problems. They're like, look, they need service and labor.

40:00 - 45:05

Kevin:

Yeah, but like they have problems today, like, granted, can you get into? You know, can you get into the research and development side of government? Of course, like if you're one of those super, super smart people, sure you get a contract, they give out contracts all the time for research, because they only have some sciences. So they need other people to help them create new problems and solve new problems.

Alex:

Yeah, but if you can do AI, you can go work for Google. My guess is I'm betting you Google pays better at that level.

Kevin:

Yeah, but like, I tell people all the time, Google is better. But Google also gets paid by the government to do it. So you could go work for Google. And they'll probably put you on a government contract.

David:

If you think about it, right, Oracle. I mean, Oracle is probably one of the, in the tech world, probably one of the biggest companies it's built. I mean, they built all of our systems in the Marine Corps, maybe not all but a very large majority of our systems in the Marine Corps. And they recently had a very successful IPO in the last year or two. So you know, I mean, that's, I guess, an example. But I don't know that I'm necessarily interested in building Oracle. So yeah. That's funny.

So okay. So Kevin, I know, I know, you got to drive to Miami here in a little bit. I know, we got to wrap up here. And I got to drive home in the rain and try not to get killed on the road. Where do people go to reach out to you and find out more information about you know, and pick your brain about learning the government contracting gig?

Kevin:

Yes. So my website is the governmentcheese.org. So they found me on the government cheese.

David:

I love that.

Kevin:

I'll tell a quick story behind this. But so the governmentcheese.org is where they can get access to me and get access to, you know, my course that I have to help people with all those types of things. And then on social media. It's Kev_j, that's my social media handle. But the government cheese is funny. Somebody else actually came up with it, right? And then when I started thinking about it, I was like, wow, that makes sense. But for them, it was like, yeah, it was the government cheese, getting the cheese. Oh, money. And I'm like, Yeah, okay, cool. But then I started to I was like, You know what, though, it really has a double meaning for me. So like, I was telling you, like, I was dead broke in 2008, coming out of recession, right. So I actually found myself on government assistance. So I was on welfare and all that to live. And so my daughter was born. And when she was born, I was on welfare. So I needed government cheese to feed my family. And then 14-15 years later, here I am getting the government's cheese. So for me, it's that double meaning, you know, but yes, the governmentcheese.org. We're here to help. That's what we do.

Alex:

Military to millionaire or military? Folk in general, get discounts on your products?

Kevin:

Yeah, so what we'll do is we'll, I'll create a discount code. And we can put that out for you guys, you know, military, to millionaires. And just, yeah, help investors. I mean, that's something I'm super into with so many different ways. Because literally one of the first clients that I had was the Veterans Administration. So when I was going there, and I'm doing all this different type of work, and I'm seeing all these vets, and I'm saying, Guys, my age are younger, and they're coming home, and they're, like, lost. And so that's something for me, it's like, Hey, how can I help? How can I help you guys? Show you the different ways because in all honesty, like you're talking about, David, we're talking about trucking, like you have way more trucking knowledge than I will ever have, as it relates to that. And it's not. And so it's my responsibility to show you like, Alright, cool, let's take that that you were taught that they showed you. And now let's help you take that to the next level here on the other side.

David:

Yeah, well, thank you for the discount code. We'll make sure we link that down in the show notes. And I love this man. Like I know, you know, ironically, it was this bad boy, which I told you, I never go anywhere without obviously writing in my journal. And I was trying to balance both that I couldn't do it. And then we talked a little bit after. But like, holy smokes, we could have had a full 45 minute conversation about this there. This is enthralling, like this is cool stuff, man. I like it.

Alex:

I'm hyped! This is awesome.

David:

Yeah.

Thanks so much for coming on the show. I mean, this is something totally different than what we normally have and I love it.

Kevin:

Thank you guys. Man. I appreciate you and thank you for everything that you're doing. So it's an amazing platform.

David:

Well, thank you. We appreciate you.

End:

Thank you for listening to another episode about my journey from military to millionaire. If you liked it, be sure to visit frommilitarytomillionaire.com/podcast to subscribe to future podcasts. While you're there. We'd love for you to rate the show, give us a review on iTunes. Now, get out there and take action.