Spencer Hoogveld dreamed of playing for the National Basketball Association one day. However, that dream was dashed in high school when all of his friends began to grow taller - and Hoogveld did not.
At 5-foot-8, the young man knew he had to pivot quickly, find a new dream to chase.
While Hoogveld's passion didn't lead him to a nationally known basketball court in front of thousands of screaming fans, it is one that allows him to leave his mark on Jefferson City.
With his ultimate goal being to "flip generational poverty," Spencer Hoogveld is using real estate to help his family and others reach "financial freedom."
Obtaining financial freedom
When Hoogveld entered the real estate industry six years ago, he couldn't afford the expensive rental properties. Instead, he set his eyes on dilapidated houses on the east side of Jefferson City that he could renovate and rent to low-income individuals.
Growing up in a single-parent household, Hoogveld said, he understands how difficult it can be to achieve one's financial goals. His family lived in Section 8 housing for a period, and Hoogveld's mother worked several jobs to make ends meet and help her children enjoy activities like taekwondo.
"I want to be able to say, 'I'm no different than you,'" Hoogveld said. "I didn't come from a lot of money or a lot of affluence and opportunities, and you can do the same thing. You just have to work hard, and you have to take action."
Hoogveld has already witnessed his properties help others.
When a former tenant moved out several years ago, Hoogveld wrote a landlord reference for the man. A couple of years ago, the man called Hoogveld to tell him he had bought a home, gotten a better job and started a family.
"He said that really went a long way for him, and I never even thought about that," Hoogveld said. "When he told me that, wow, that really hits home and means a lot that even just simply living in a rental property for a year could change your life."
Rise and grind
After Hoogveld's basketball dream died, real estate wasn't anywhere on his radar.
"(In high school), I shifted my attention from basketball but I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I was going to go 150 percent no matter what I did," Hoogveld said.
While attending Helias Catholic High School and later Jefferson City High School, Hoogveld stayed focused on his dream, even though he didn't know what it was at the time. He picked up shifts at a local fast-food restaurant and eventually began working at Menards, where he worked for five years.
"During that time, I just put my nose down and I just grinded," the 2013 JCHS graduate recalled. "I wasn't looking to have parties and fun. I needed to save."
Those years of hard work ultimately led him down the real estate path, fueling a passion that remains today.
Taking out a first-time homebuyer's loan, Hoogveld purchased his first real estate property - a duplex on Pine Street - at age 20. He lived in part of the duplex and rented the other half to a tenant for about a year.
"I didn't really know where it was going to take me, and honestly I was kind of nervous because it was a big step at 20 years old," he said. "At the time, I didn't have a lot of money. It was just a whole nervous thing, but once I got into it, I started to learn."
A year later, Hoogveld knew he had found his new dream.
Now with 22 units spread across eight multi-family properties, Hoogveld operates his own property management company - Smart Move Property Management, LLC.
"I just fell in love with the whole process of being able to take an older building or a building that's in not-so-good shape and just creating a beautiful space for tenants to live in," he said.
Taking the historic touches in a home and "giving it new life" is part of the reason Hoogveld was attracted to the east side of Jefferson City.
Since there are several neglected buildings on that side of town, he said, there is also room for growth.
Providing comfortable and safe living spaces in Jefferson City will attract more people and small businesses to the community, he hopes.
"I really love that aspect of it and the creativity part of it and just being able to see people move in and have a home - it's just a really rewarding feeling," he said.
Reaching that rewarding feeling isn't a walk in the park, though.
Hoogveld said he is continuously problem-solving and building resiliency in his mind to keep pushing forward.
"I think that was the hardest part for me because they sell you a false dream with real estate investment or really anything great in life - it's easy," he said. "You have to put the time in and fill the foundation and lay the bricks to really enjoy what you built."
Doing that requires a thirst for knowledge. Every project brings a new experience and a new lesson learned, Hoogveld said.
"If you continue that, you're going to have unlimited success because you're never satisfied with just being complacent with where you're at," he said.
In fact, Hoogveld said his first duplex is his favorite project because he learned the most from it.
Having learned the ins and outs of home improvement at Menards, Hoogveld thought he could do most improvements himself, but he quickly learned he was in over his head.
Hoogveld organized a team of professionals with specific skill sets - an electrician, plumber, lawyer, accountant, etc. - to help him renovate and rent properties.
He later learned how to demolish a property after that first duplex caught fire one night.
"There's a lot of bumps in the roads, a lot of problems you run into, but that process has been so rewarding," Hoogveld said. "I'll go through something and I'll learn about it so I know next time I come against something like that, how do I navigate around it?"
Hoogveld said he is proud of what he has achieved and how he has helped others.
But Hoogveld is not finished.
"I don't let the foot off the gas," he said. "I still have goals and I'm not where I want to be, so don't stop and celebrate yet. I just got to keep moving forward."