Patrick Donley (@JPatrickDonley) sits down with The Wedding Venue Guy, Alex Nelson, to talk about how he got started in the wedding venue business. You’ll learn what the process of starting the business was like, how he selected the site, what the finances of the project look like, how he markets the space, how Twitter has jumpstarted his consulting business, and much more!Alex goes by the Wedding Venue Guy on Twitter and has built a $3M venue. He also consults with investors looking to enter the space and is looking to partner with others on more venues across the country. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:00:00 - Intro.01:45 - How Alex first got started in the wedding venue industry.06:52 - What other real estate asset classes he considered.07:36 - Why planning his own wedding provided inspiration for his new venture.09:21 - How they figured out what to do as they went along with the project.10:18 - What the finances of the project looked like.11:42 - What the process of starting the venue was like.12:19 - How Alex went about finding the land for the venue.15:00 - What some of the challenges were that delayed the project.18:17 - What kind of early marketing they did.27:42 - How Alex managed the process while having a young family and two remote jobs.29:03 - Why he is hoping to create a wedding venue holding company.30:46 - What some of the features are that make the venue stand out.33:50 - How much alcohol sales add to the bottom line.39:17 - How Alex and his wife are managing the business.44:41 - How he got involved in the venue advisory business.50:28 - Why he’s looking to acquire a golf course for more event space.49:12 - What an average day looks like for Alex.54:04 - How Twitter has fueled interest and growth for the consulting business.55:01 - What some of the downsides of running a wedding event space are.*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.BOOKS AND RESOURCESThe Everything Guide to House Hacking by Robert Leonard.Related episode: Listen to REI192: Building an Empire w/ Nick Huber or watch the video.Related episode: Listen to MI288: Experiencing Unique Stays w/ Ben Wolff or watch the video.Related episode: Listen to MI285: The Art of Tax Optimization w/ Mitchell Baldridge or watch the video.Kevin Kelly on 1000 True Fans.NEW TO THE SHOW?Check out our Millennial Investing Starter Packs.Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here.Try Robert’s favorite tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance.Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services.Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets.Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts.Help us understand our audience better so we can create a more intentional user experience by answering this survey!P.S The Investor’s Podcast Network is excited to launch a subreddit devoted to our fans in discussing financial markets, stock picks, questions for our hosts, and much more! Join our subreddit r/TheInvestorsPodcast today!SPONSORSGet a FREE audiobook from Audible.Learn how Principal Financial can help you find the right benefits and retirement plan for your team today.Get a customized solution for all of your KPIs in one efficient system with one source of truth. Download NetSuite’s popular KPI Checklist, designed to give you consistently excellent performance for free.Invest in the same paintings available to billionaires, at a more accessible price point with Masterworks.Be confident that you’ll be small businessing at your best with support designed to help you reach your goals. Book an appointment with a TD Small Business Specialist today.Shape and flex your home loans how you want with Athena. Join the thousands of Aussies taking control of their mortgage today.Enjoy an all-in-one personal finance app that gives you a comprehensive view of all your accounts, inves