Tom Dunkel: Building Your Life Plan Before You Build Your Business Plan

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Tom Dunkel — managing principal of Eagle Capital Investments, co-founder of U.S. Mortgage Resolution, self-storage investor, and a guy who spent ten years in corporate mergers and acquisitions before getting fired in 2006 and never looking back.

Tom walks us through a career that started with aerospace deals and Harvard MBAs in DC, ran through a firing that turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him, and evolved into a 20-year entrepreneurial journey that has generated close to $70 million in revenue. From wholesaling to distressed mortgage debt to a $55 million self-storage portfolio, Tom and his business partner Joe have built and rebuilt multiple times — and learned hard lessons each time about niching down, building teams, and creating a business that works without you.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Why niching down is the difference between businesses that succeed and ones that fail

01:41 Tom's background — William and Mary, corporate M&A, and the aerospace industry

03:21 Building financial models and raising capital alongside Harvard and Wharton MBAs

04:27 Getting fired in 2006 and why his ships were probably burned before that anyway

05:07 Having a wife and two young kids at home when the decision was made for him

05:53 Getting his face bashed in through the Great Recession as a brand new entrepreneur

06:20 Building U.S. Mortgage Resolution into a business that generated nearly $70 million

13:22 Walking out of a dream job interview because a voice in his head said don't do it

23:42 Discovering discounted mortgage notes and how his finance background made it click

34:37 Discovering self-storage through Scott Myers and doing the work before buying anything

35:52 Buying their first storage facility in 2020 and scaling to 18 or 19 facilities

36:37 Syndicating nearly all of the storage deals and raising about $20 million from investors

38:16 Building the business intentionally so it never became a full-time job for either of them

39:33 The mindset of running everything from an iPad on the beach — even back when iPads were new

44:38 Reading The E-Myth and why Darren Hardy's advice to build your life plan first changed everything

45:47 The early days of late night phone calls and grinding before the systems were in place

49:08 Advice on raising kids while building a business — prioritize, plan, and show up

50:13 A holistic view of education — scouting, music, and sports alongside the classroom

52:12 Eagle Capital Investments and how Tom helps investors transition into passive wealth

Quotables

"The riches are in the niches."

"I got my face bashed in during the Great Recession trying to learn how to be an entrepreneur."

"There's no such thing as corporate job security. I can go figure it out on my own."

"I heard this little voice in my head saying don't do it. So I pulled my name from consideration."

"Build your life plan first. Then build your business plan to fit inside of it."

"If you're not careful, you don't build a business — you just build a job for yourself."

"Go look at your calendar and your bank statements. That's what you're really focused on."

"You've got to find the niche and go deep in it."

Links

608B Capital https://608bcapital.com

Eagle Capital Investments https://investwitheagle.com

The Wealth Builders Playbook by Tom Dunkel Available at investwitheagle.com