Dr. Jeannette Birnbach, General Partner of Blue Ring Investors, has been running a successful practice for last 24 years in the Pacific Northwest. She has long been intrigued by the idea of real estate and started her journey by purchasing single family homes in multiple markets. Soon she realized the power of passive syndication for large properties and amassed a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio while continuing to work in her clinic. Now, Jeannette works as a general partner, guiding other healthcare practitioners to earn profit from real estate investing.
Dr. Jeannette Birnbach sat with the CEOViews team for an interaction to share detailed insights into her entrepreneurial journey.
CEOViews: Kindly take us through your entrepreneurial journey! How did it all begin?
Jeannette Birnbach: After I graduated from Chiropractic College in the late
1990s, there was never a doubt about becoming an entrepreneur and creating an oce I would be proud of. I worked hard and was blessed with success.
Success for me has always been about how many people I can help. Everyone has so much to oer, and when we do we speed up our evolution towards a better world. In 2010 I was looking for a way to invest and create generational wealth to pass on to my daughter, and I found it in real estate investing. My education started all over again in this new field as I explored owning rental properties, passive investing, and finally active multi-family investing where I focus now with my partner Sanjay in Blue Ring Investors.
CEOViews: What are the challenges that business Leaders worldwide face in common? What is your way of responding to challenges?
Jeannette Birnbach: One of the biggest challenges I see for business leaders is energy management, which is dierent from time management. I am refer- ring to mental, emotional, and physical energy, and it’s a little more abstract than time management. Energy management means getting adequate sleep, taking care of your health, doing things that help you grow and applying that energy toward your work. There is an app on my watch that reminds me to breath – this shows how much the busy world is aecting us!
CEOViews: What are the qualities according to you that are imperative to be a successful leader/business leader?
Jeannette Birnbach: There are so many qualities that a leader might be called upon to manifest. As I look back over my career, the main success qualities for me have been radical responsibility, curiosity, integrity, and loyalty to the team of people I surround myself with. I try to team up with people who exemplify qualities that are weaker for me.
Success for me has always been about how many people I can help. Everyone has so much to offer, and when we do we speed up our evolution towards a better world.
CEOViews: What has been your most outstanding achievement in your entrepreneurial career so far?
Jeannette Birnbach: I feel most proud when I learn something new or conquer a fear. I used to be terrified of public speaking, so when I overcame that to the point where I could do public speaking in front of large crowds, it was a huge achievement. When I was growing up, the idea of owning an apartment complex was unthinkable, I didn’t know anyone who was doing that. Each time we close a new building I tell my parents, and they still say “I can’t believe you are doing this!”
CEOViews: How does it feel to lead a successful venture like Blue Ring Investors LLC? What has the learning been like? Jeannette Birnbach: One of the best things about being a partner in Blue Ring Investors is the continual growth and learning. Each property purchase is dierent – dierent market, dierent group of investors, dierent methods of bringing the property up to its potential. When everything is going well, it’s like riding the biggest wave and enjoying every second. If you are in the multifamily space for even 10 minutes you will hear someone explain that it’s a team sport, which means you are always working with other people and learning from them as well as sharing what you know.
CEOViews: What does it take out of a leader to bring together seasoned investors to engage in high-performing deals that execute business transformations? If you could also share some of your own experiences! Jeannette Birnbach: Many of our investors are colleagues and friends that I have known for decades, while others I meet at real estate conventions or local meet ups. The goal is to match the investor up with the right investment that meets their criteria for returns, timing, type of business structure and so on. We become like a family so it’s important that everyone is happy. I love it when an investor says to me: “This is great! I wish I had started sooner!”
CEOViews: How according to you has Blue Ring Investors shaped the real estate funding landscape? What are the future prospects we can expect or envision in the field?
Jeannette Birnbach: I am proud of the personal touch that Blue Ring Investors brings to our investors. We get the right team together, buy a property none of us could aord alone, and then bring it up to its potential which benefits tenants and investors alike. This is the formula for syndication. We intend to get better and better at it.
CEOViews: What trends do you see in the industry you are dealing with– 1 year, 5 years, and 20 years from now?
Jeannette Birnbach: 2023 has been a challenging economic year already with inflation, rising interest rates and bank failures. But amid all this and on the heels of a pandemic, the multifamily sector continues it track record of resilience. JPMorgan Chase and other financial giants believe that multifamily could be the star performer in commercial real estate in 2023.
Rental housing demand increases when mortgage rates increase, and rents tend to follow inflation, so we are full steam ahead in acquiring properties that make financial and investment sense. With large businesses like Bed, Bath & Beyond closing their stores, the retail real estate sector will see dramatic changes, but the fact that people always need a place to live remains steady. Real estate trends will always be influenced by jobs and population movements, so we will continue to monitor these cultural shifts and find our properties in the path of progress.
CEOViews: What are your thoughts and advice for budding entrepreneurs and emerging business leaders?
Jeannette Birnbach: At any stage of your career, I recommend taking care of your health, including brain health. If you’re forgetting why you walked into a room it’s time to take break. It’s easy for entrepreneurs to work around the clock and let important things fall into the background. At the end of the day with a few exceptions, you should still have energy if you’ve managed it well.
