Kyle Stern was still in high school when he first had a taste of what it’s like to own his own business. When he was just 17 years old, his dad, a successful entrepreneur in Antigo, passed away leaving Kyle and his brother his Dish Network business as well as 20 rental properties.

He sold his share of the Dish franchise to his brother, but he held on to the real estate.

Recognizing the opportunity, the senior management-entrepreneur major decided that his future career was going to be in real estate.
Stern now owns 30 properties on his own and 120 properties in partnership with his brother.

“I’m making good money from the rentals and plan to keep growing my business,” Stern said, noting that he bought 11 properties this past year. “My goal is to someday make $50,000 a month from my real estate business. So until I hit that mark, I’ll keep buying more properties. I plan to retire by age 40.”

While Stern is satisfied that he’s already well on his way to accomplishing his financial and professional goals through Stern Real Estate, he’s also proud that he’s also on track to meet his educational goals. He plans to graduate in December 2015.

While there are perks, Stern said there also are challenges to juggling a thriving business and a full load of classes. For example, if he’s negotiating a sale on a new property, a critical call may come in while he’s in a class. And since his properties are located in eastern Wisconsin and in the Twin Cities, he sometimes has to miss full days of classes to travel for meetings or closings.

“Fortunately, most of my professors understand what I’m trying to do so they are willing to work with me,” Stern said. “They know I get things done. I take both my business and school very seriously — they both are profitable and valuable in different ways so I do what I have to do in both to be successful.”