Brandon
Brandon’s a born and raised Texan. He grew up just north of Houston and graduated from Sam Houston State with a degree in Business Administration. That left him with a lot of career options, but he knew one thing early on. He did know he did not want a job that required wearing a suit and tie daily. Having worked in a local restaurant to pay his way through college, it seemed logical to transition into restaurant management following his degree. That was the beginning of a long corporate career in the hospitality industry.
The restaurant world allowed Brandon the freedom to explore other parts of the country, and he chose to move to Atlanta, Georgia to begin his management career with a national chain. That job moved him to Tampa, Florida after a couple years and it was there that he married and began his family. He and his wife had two children and resided in Tampa until another promotion opportunity took them to Minneapolis, Minnesota. That company then relocated his family to Kansas City, Kansas for the next six years.
Moving to different markets allowed Brandon to continue climbing the corporate ladder. But the long hours, unrealistic corporate expectations, and many nights away from his family soon caused Brandon to consider other options. He began pursuing his interest in real estate and started a side business flipping homes and managing rental properties. Ultimately, the burn out caused him to leave the restaurant world behind and focus more on real estate investing. A desire to get back to more southern roots brought another move, this time to Daphne, Alabama, and things were going well until the real estate bubble burst in 2008.
The real estate economic downturn forced Brandon back into the restaurant world once again. But by now he’d begun dreaming of what the retirement world would look like. The water was calling, their dreams were driving their decisions, and his family took a huge leap of faith moving to Cozumel, Mexico. That decision was ultimately too much of a culture change for his family, so they returned to the states less than 2 years later. Another employment opportunity in the restaurant world took him to Denver, Colorado and from there to San Antonio, TX.
Big personal life changes while living in San Antonio ultimately caused his path to cross with Andrea. They were married in 2016 and became a blended family. Very soon into their relationship, Brandon began noticing the uniqueness and flexibility of Andrea’s career. He learned more about the strength of the company she had partnered with and thought another side business only made sense.
Brandon and Andrea have been working together ever since. He’s assumed more of a support role, as his current corporate career involves overseeing more than 100 restaurants and 3,000 employees. But Brandon envisions a day when they will be working together while living a life full of even more freedom, flexibility, travel and adventure.