Jeff Herter: Why Writing Goals in a Notebook Still Beats Every App

Jeff Herter, a portfolio manager and real estate developer based in Rye, New Hampshire, shares how old-school habits and disciplined thinking drive long-term results.

How do you keep track of your goals?

New Hampshire, USA, Jun 05, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — “I write them in a notebook,” Herter says. In an era of productivity apps and cloud-based systems, he uses pen and paper. The act of writing forces clarity. It slows down thinking. It creates a physical record that does not disappear behind a notification badge.

Herter has spent more than fifteen years investing in and operating multifamily properties across the United States. Before that, he co-founded a derivatives trading firm and launched a hedge fund. The consistent thread is discipline. Writing goals down is one part of that system.

What made you shift from trading to real estate?

After graduating from Boston University with a degree in accounting, Herter co-founded Cygnus Atratus LLC, a relative-value derivatives trading firm. He describes his early career as “trying to establish myself as a derivatives trader through hard work, studying and visualization.”

By 2009, he had founded JJH Investments and shifted focus to real estate. The move was deliberate. Real estate offered tangible assets, long-term value creation, and less day-to-day volatility than the trading floor. He now focuses on finding value-add multifamily and adaptive reuse development opportunities.

What does your investment approach look like?

Herter describes his method as rooted in “experience, conservative with regards to risk and analytical mind.” He looks for properties where operational improvements, better management, or repositioning can unlock value. The goal is not speculation. It is disciplined execution over time.

At Guin Financial, where he served as Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, Herter held oversight responsibility for over $350 million in assets under management. He has successfully identified, acquired, managed, constructed, and sold value-add multifamily properties for returns in excess of 15 percent per year.

What keeps you motivated?

“The ability to do work that you are passionate about and it challenges you,” Herter says. That combination of passion and challenge has defined his career. It pushed him through the intensity of derivatives trading. It drives his current work in real estate development and portfolio management.

He also mentors small business owners through SCORE, a nonprofit that provides free business counseling. The work connects him to entrepreneurs navigating early-stage challenges, many of which he faced himself.

What do you tell small business owners about growth?

Herter encourages business owners to focus on strategic, long-term growth rather than short-term gains. That means understanding fundamentals, managing risk carefully, and building systems designed to create lasting results. It means resisting the pressure to chase every opportunity and instead focusing on what aligns with long-term goals.

He emphasizes personal accountability. Markets change. Regulations shift. But the fundamentals of disciplined decision-making remain constant.

What advice would you give someone starting out in real estate?

Start small. Learn the fundamentals. Understand what drives value in a property beyond the purchase price. Study market dynamics, financing structures, and operational metrics. Be conservative with risk, especially early on.

Herter also emphasizes the importance of analytical thinking. Real estate investing is not just about deals. It is about data, trends, and the ability to see where others overlook value. Combine that with discipline, and the long-term results follow.

If you do nothing else

1. Write your goals in a notebook. Make them specific and revisit them regularly.

2. Focus on long-term growth over short-term wins.

3. Learn the fundamentals of your industry before scaling.

4. Be conservative with risk, especially in the early stages.

5. Build systems that support disciplined decision-making.

6. Study what drives value, not just what drives activity.

7. Mentor or learn from others who have walked the path before you.

If this Q&A resonated with you, share it with someone who is building something for the long term.

About Jeff Herter

Jeff Herter is a portfolio manager and real estate developer based in Rye, New Hampshire. He is the founder of JJH Investments and a principal at Providence Real Properties, LLC. Herter has more than fifteen years of experience investing in and operating multifamily properties across the United States. He previously co-founded a derivatives trading firm and served as Chief Investment Officer at Guin Financial, where he oversaw more than $350 million in assets under management. He is a SCORE mentor to small business owners and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Accounting from Boston University.