Kathleen Elkins

Short for buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat, the BRRRR approach can help investors scale quickly — if they avoid a few costly mistakes, that is.

One investor calls multi-family properties "triple-headed monsters" because of the three major financial benefits that come with the investment.

"For the foreseeable future, we're all in on Buffalo," said investors who scaled their portfolio to 24 units in less than a year.

Business Insider spoke with three everyday investors who successfully executed 1031 exchanges and have stronger property portfolios as a result.

Real estate investors share their "software stack," which costs them $20 a month and has allowed them to scale quickly without sacrificing much time.

"The beautiful thing about Amazon and why it allowed us to succeed is that it really lowers the barrier to entry and reduces overall risk."

Alex Yale says one tip for entrepreneurs trying to make it in e-commerce is to source domestically.

"I'd rather future proof my skills than add complexity to my investments," says Millennial Money founder Grant Sabatier.

Geoff Carr/ FlickrNursing - like teaching and waitressing - is among the occupations that economists call “pink-collared jobs,” or professions long dominated