Part 1 talking money with Dylan Kaufman
- B.J. Yoder: Young Money
- June 15, 2023
- 472
Young Money columnist BJ Yoder has interviewed local business people for his next few columns. Up first is part one of his conversation with Dylan Kaufman. Kaufman has lived in the area for most of his life, finding success in basketball through the high school and collegiate level. After that, he entered the commercial lending sector of banking and has enjoyed working in that ever since. He enjoys investing in general but likes real estate the most. Currently, he lives in Millersburg and works at Westfield Bank in Wooster as a commercial loan officer.
I knew I wanted to interview Dylan Kaufman about money in general because of everything he has done in the real estate sector, especially with his massive undertaking of remodeling the American Hall. Located at 20 E. Jackson St. in Millersburg, he’s creating a wedding venue that will open later this year. Being best friends, I wanted to interview him to get an insight into his views on money and wealth. This will be a two-part series because there was so much in this interview.
Where did your appetite for risk come from?
“Honestly, I don’t know where it came from. I have been fortunate to invest and buy assets in a favorable market. That won’t always be the case, and I have been saving up money in preparation for tougher times soon.”
What did you learn from college that helped you make calculated decisions?
“I think most knowledge comes through real life experiences. I am very thankful for Excel classes in college as that has helped me analyze every deal. I run everything through an Excel sheet for cashflows and pro formas.”
I then asked him what he didn’t learn from college, and he said the same thing: Once you’re in the trenches, you learn so much more than sitting at a desk learning from someone who might only have classroom experience as well.
Going through everything with American Hall, what’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned?
“Patience. I have learned that projects take a long time and to be patient through the process. If you try to rush anything, it might make you take a few steps back in the long term.”
You’re in Crypto, real estate, stocks, et cetera. What investment do you have the most faith in?
“I would have the most faith in good ol’ dirt — shout-out to Kaufman Realty.” If you look back, he can’t be wrong, especially in Holmes County. Real estate has been an unbelievable asset in the long run.
Has your risk appetite changed since you’ve been married? I told him Jackie, his wife, is the saver and he is the spender and asked how he has navigated that.
“Let’s skip this one in case Jackie reads it. Jackie is the saver, and I am the spender — I would slightly disagree with this. We are both good savers. Growing up, when my parents would give us boys money at an arcade or gift shop, I would typically pocket it and watch my brothers play the games. I would take that money home and put it in the piggy bank. Now I would say I put my dollars away for investments rather than frivolous purchases.”
You’re not anti-Dave Ramsey but close. What resource/person do you learn the most from?
“I am not anti-Dave Ramsey because he has a great message for some people. However, I would say to get started investing, the “Bigger Pockets” podcast got me interested. I stopped listening a few years ago, though, and have more recently gained knowledge from experiences and other people/mentors locally.”
When did you make a switch about your money? Or when did you start thinking about creating wealth?
“I would say the biggest influence for me on creating wealth would have been from the book, “Tax Free Wealth,” by Tom Wheelwright. Robert Kiyosaki, author of the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” books, also was a great resource from reading his books to listening to his podcast to open my eyes on the value of real estate. A lot of these authors and speakers are all in on their method/ways of investing — I don’t blame them because they want to sell their material — but they are great tools to take some knowledge and apply it how you see fit in your own life. Everyone is at a different stage, and people just need to find what works best for them.”
What a great first part of the interview. In the next article, we will finish this up, but I would say so far — and I hope you agree with me — Dylan is wise beyond his years with money.
Holmes County native BJ Yoder is an insurance agent by day and a finance enthusiast by night. This column is for informational purposes only. He can be emailed at benjamin.john.yoder@gmail.com.