I did learn valuable lessons, yes. Not that lesson, though. That's a lesson that you might need to unlearn. It will hold you back from trying anything on your own cognizance.

I learned a lot about contracts. I learned a lot about tenant laws. I learned a lot about insurance. I learned that if you have a cleaner employed in the houses you rent, then you have a legal right to enter the property to "inspect their work". I learned a lot about different types of people.

I did not learn any way, shape or form, that "having connections to government" would have made my efforts any easier.