We recently connected with Nicholas Thiele Sr. and have shared our conversation below.
Nicholas , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose
I’d say I found my purpose through my struggle.
From 2014 as a struggling handyman , with his wife working a 9-5 job, in a home purchased with an inheritance. To , 2024, a full-time entrepreneur, real estate investor, four licensed businesses with multiple different services, a 7-figure rental portfolio , 10-man construction team , management of eighty doors and teaching a monthly educational course on real estate rehab. It has been an exciting decade.
Through my adversity and desire, coming from almost nowhere , without resources nor support and no basic worldly knowledge, I found myself and my purpose.
I NEVER want anyone to come from me or cross my path to ever be lonely or go hungry with no one there. I never want anyone to think they are not capable of building themselves up to greatness.
It took a long road to get to it but my purpose is to create. It is to create my family with the means, compassion, and the desire to follow their own passions; to love others, to be more , do more and not settle. It is to create any opportunity for the next person that needs it; to share my knowledge , my skillset and love. I know what it is to be counted out, to not have the means, to not have the support, to not believe I can or even want to do anything, to not have the family to not have the love.
So, I live that every day. I will continue to live that and be happy because I live in my purpose and no matter what happens , no matter the hardship or obstacles. I will continue to do this for those who come after me.
On my bucket list I want to buy a home, rehab it, and give it away; just to give someone a leg up . Some people never stop getting their ass kicked in this life. Sometimes making a difference is so small. It is just one little choice or an opportunity that changes a person’s life. It can change their world.
Strive for perfection but be tough enough to fail and keep trying.
I want to protect the people around me. I want my village to be safe and the people in it happy.
Life is about happiness, and I want people to enjoy it.
I may want to do more than I am capable of, but I am working to be capable of doing more.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I grew up in a single mother household with no father, siblings, or extended family. The only family I had was my mom, grandma and two aunts. I was surrounded by women and with no male guidance and all I wanted was a dad in my life. Sixteen was the end of my boring childhood. I had access to a car. I began smoking, drinking and being out all night. My life became days and nights of relations with women, no direction, no cares about a future just the now. I worked just enough to barely fuel even that lifestyle. While working one of my part time jobs I got into an entanglement with one of the older ladies who worked there and produced a small human being…what a wakeup call.
From the second I found out my son Nicholas Jr. was going to be here I knew I was going to be the best father in the world. It was like a mental , emotional, and physical light switch being flipped. It was like I was holding this switch down my entire life; like I knew it was there, but it had no purpose in my loser life.
When that switch flipped ; I went from no drive, no desire , no direction to a well-oiled machine ready to do whatever it takes to get ahead.
I instantly got another job and 7-9 months of her pregnancy I worked two jobs to save money. I did not know ANYTHING. I did not know how to get a better job or make better money. All I knew was how to kind of fill out applications. I worked day and night.
The relationship between my son’s mother and I was non-existent. We had no relationship before him. We did not know each other at all . I remember thinking “How am I going to be in his life 100% of the time” and the only thing I could think of was marriage. Initially I offered and she agreed. About a month into that her brother, a pastor talked her out of it, thankfully! I had no idea who she was nor who I would have become if that were the path I took . Things deescalated from there; and it became a long ,hard, battle to be a part of my son’s life.
She was not allowing me to be a part of the pregnancy nor his life almost completely after he was born. My heart was shattered. I took all the money I had and went to the courthouse to start the process of child support. I figured at least the court system would allow me a way to be a part of his life if I were on child support. I had no rights to him. I could not let that happen. I went and filled out tons and tons of paperwork at the courthouse. I filled everything out wrong didn’t even know until later in the process.
Shortly after this process started, my grandmother passed away . This was the biggest heartache of my life. I did not really have a large amount of people to love, and she loved me back without conditions. She left me an inheritance and I immediately took those funds and hired an attorney , to pursue 50/50 legal and physical custody.
During this brief period of time going from having and doing nothing to the worst and best times I had ever experienced. I learned I had to take control of my life and make things happen instead of sitting down and letting things happen to me.
While the worst of this was going on, before my son was born, I met a woman who was going through a tough time in life herself and we bonded over the chaos. We were able to form a friendship that consisted of laughter and fun to take us away from our madness. She ended up being my rock through many tough times and I am blessed that she is still that , coming up on a decade of marriage this year, 2024.
I went from having and doing nothing to buying my grandma’s home from my family to creating a home as a husband and father for my own .
Before the light switch flipped, I had no purpose. I had no direction and really had no hope.
I had now been blessed with everything I had ever desired, and I was damn sure going to do everything I could to keep it and grow to become a man that make my sons proud .
As soon as Nicholas Jr. was born, I hit the gas, I enrolled in trade school for electrical mechanics and started a business “Nick’s All Around Improvements, LLC”. Before that I had never worked with a tool in my life. I do not know if I had ever held a drill. I completed the program , graduated with honors and perfect attendance. The class started with fifteen , four graduated . I sat in front of the class and did what I was there to do. It may not have been a great school, nor the best environment, which did not matter. I was there for the knowledge and certificate . I was now living for a purpose, and nothing was going to stop me.
Another positive part of this journey was I realized I loved working with my hands and producing results myself. So, I started a handyman business. I had a passion for developing my business. I had a road I did not even know existed for me. It grew to allowing me to quit my job , then to needing an additional employee. It allowed my wife to quit her job of years to work side by side in the field with me. Slowly during projects , I learned about real estate. It was instantly my niche to grow and develop. I networked to real estate-based jobs and projects with just my wife , one employee and myself and we slowly grew. Fast forward to today , we have a 10-person team that does up to ten construction projects at any given time.
The birth of my second son , Charles, in 2018 pushed us to develop our next business venture , property management for my current investors “Nexis Properties, LLC” , to give my wife the opportunity to manage more time with the kids not in the field .
Jump to present day; she manages approximately eighty doors from only word of mouth clients , we never marketed her services. We own a 7-figure rental portfolio. We have completed over three hundred plus full interior remodels on investment projects all over Missouri. We have most recently begun removing our construction company from being hired out to focusing on purchasing all personal investments for resell, using our company to complete the renovations and private funds to purchase the homes.
In my newest endeavor which I am immensely proud of ” The Rehabber’s Experience” ; I am taking the knowledge I have gained over the years; to create a relatable educational class, teaching people a detailed understanding of the rehab process, geared towards real estate investors but with the ease of flow to any contractor, agent, DIY’er, and so on. It is a once a month real estate investment rehab class that provides unique one of a kind experience and educates real estate investors about the construction side of their investment.
Also I am focused on stabilizing my investment strategy.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My technical understand in residential electrical trade , my communication skills and my determination to succeed.
I recommend networking heavy , if you don’t know what you are doing put yourself in the room with the people who look like they are doing what you want to do and find out all you can. Immerse yourself in your interest to gain understanding, skill and allies.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I get overwhelmed I look myself in the mirror and I try to be honest with myself about the way things are and what I can do to affect it. It is important to have an honest relationship with yourself and sometimes you have to get in your own face.
My advice would be ;Focus on the things you can control not the things you can’t. You don’t need to be knowledgeable about ALL things. Network with people who are knowledgeable about the things you want to be involved in and strive to be the best in your area of interest. Put key people in place and develop a team of people who are knowledgeable in the areas you want to grow your business.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicks_all_around_improvements/?fbclid=IwAR0uKZ9DfB6AeFvhGTWiKrNafBqiTsWAAEXiwrmh6hupR4FE4cGtNIy7Sn8
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicksaaimprovements
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Nicksallaroundimprovements
- Other: This is my first month being active on Instagram and Youtube . I hired a social media team about a week ago to start adding social business content.
