Creating an Outsourcing Master Plan For Your Business

Posted on May 14, 2013 by LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog

 

Outsoursing, VA, Virtual Assistants

Feel Like You Have Too Much to Juggle?

 

 

One of the biggest mistakes most real estate investors make, it waiting too long to outsource. I know I was guilty of this.  Let’s face it: one person cannot do everything.  We need help if our businesses are to grow and thrive!  In fact I would go so far as to say “outsource or die”.

 

So what do you do if you can’t hire an employee right out of the box (which by the way most people can’t do)?  You need to look at outsourcing sooner rather than later.  Plan to start small, but make a plan now and get started.

 

Solopreneurs Are a Lonely Bunch

Successful businesses are rarely ones that are “solopreneurs” forever.  My goal with these upcoming posts is to make it easier for you to “let go” of some of the work, and to show you that it can be very affordable. Remember that you have to create a plan and just take baby steps toward your goal. You won’t get there without a plan, so make that your first step.

 

Which Comes First?

One question that I have been asked is which comes first?

Creating the work for a VA so that I can grow my business faster, or waiting to hire someone until I have grown my business and I am swamped?  Most folks with choose the second option. They will try to do it all until they feel like they are drowning. Hello; this is the “voice of experience” speaking.

I would like to propose to you that it should actually be the first option. Outsource something early on that will create leads and revenue for your business. This is probably the time to point out that it’s much easier to create these systems and procedures when you are not so busy.

 

But… I Can’t Afford It.  

Yes you can.  Continue reading →

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A Life Changing Habit; The Hour Of Power

Posted on May 7, 2013 by LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog

 

The Hour of power

I have found that creating habits and rituals in your life can actually be life changing.  The “Hour of Power” is one of those life changing habits.

Jack Canfield has written a number of books which include the “Chicken Soup For the Soul Series”.  Jack has a routine that he does each day that he calls the “Hour of Power” which is designed  to keep every area of his life in the best shape possible.

 

So what exactly is this “Hour of Power” and what does this have to do with real estate investing?

 

You can read the rest of this post here….

 

After you have finished reading this post, be sure to pick up your FREE copy of another one of my favorite books “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.

Happy Investing!

 

 

If you haven’t already subscribed, be sure to do that today so you don’t miss any of the business building tips I have coming your way. I want 2013 to be your best year ever!  And if you enjoyed this article, please share it.

 

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Numbers and Statistics Aren’t Always Sexy but Great Results Are

Posted on May 1, 2013 by LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog

direct mail marketing campaigns statistics

I have just about beaten this topic to death (or so I thought), but I still see real estate investors every week throwing in the towel after sending out two or huge mailings to what they have determined are potential motivated sellers.

First of all, let’s talk about the criteria for your list. You have to narrow it down. Not everyone is a potential motivated seller, so how do you do that?

 

First Things First

First of all, pick a niche for your list; just one. It can’t be two or three; it has to be one. You might pick absentee owners, NOD’s, foreclosures, probates or some other narrowly defined group. Let’s just say you chose absentee owners.

Narrow that down one more step by choosing only out of STATE absentee owners. If you live in a big state like CA or Texas, then use a radius of about 3 to 3 ½ hours driving time. Choose folks that live outside that parameter. If they live close to the property, they can just easily drive in and take care of the house (no pain). Remember that in order to be a motivated seller, they must have some pain. You are there to bring them “pleasure” by taking the problem (the house) off their hands.

 

Next…

There are 4 important steps to follow.

  1. Eliminate bad zip codes and areas you don’t want to work in.
  2. Pick only homes with at least 50% equity. (Remember that 70% formula? It won’t work in most cases if they don’t have at least 50% equity)
  3. Decide what price range the house should be in. You are looking for middle of the road, bread and butter homes. If the median home price is $150K in your area, I would pick homes that have an ARV of $50K to 225K or so.
  4. You don’t want high end homes unless you already have high end buyers on your list.

 

Response Rates Continue reading →

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Procrastination; The Thief of Time, Accomplishment and Dreams

Posted on April 29, 2013 by LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog

 

Procrastination

Procrastination; we are all guilty of it, and we all really wish we didn’t do it.  So what can we do to break this cycle?

I don’t believe there is a “magic button” when it comes to curing procrastination. There are however actionable steps that we can take to break out of this cycle once and for all, and I have some tips for you to put into practice today.

 

 

“Eat That Frog”

There is a great little book out there written by Brian Tracy called “Eat That Frog” that addresses this problem perfectly.  It’s a quick and easy read and I can guarantee you that if you are guilty of procrastination (like most of us are), this book can help set you free.  It’s just full of suggestions and actionable steps you can take to break free of this destructive pattern once and for all.

 

Two Tips for Overcoming Procrastination

What I love best about this book are these two particular tips he has for overcoming procrastination:

1.  First of all, you have to “Eat that Frog” the first thing in the morning. Don’t sit and stare at the frog for very long; just eat it.  Get it over with. So what is the frog? It is the biggest, most important job you have to get done that day.

2. And if you have to eat two frogs that day, eat the ugliest one first.  It seems pretty simple doesn’t it? Just get it over with.

How many times have each of us wasted most of the day because we were putting of a job we just didn’t want to start. You know, just getting started is half the battle.

 

Danger Is Lurking in This Habit. How To Get Rid of It for Good

Continue reading the rest of this post here to find out how to finally kick procrastination to the curb once and for all.

 

Here’s another related post for you:

“Good or Bad; Habits Always Deliver Results“

 

If you haven’t already subscribed, be sure to do that today so you don’t miss any of the business building tips I have coming your way. I want 2013 to be your best year ever!  And if you enjoyed this article, please share it.

 

 

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How to Change the Course of Your Business TODAY With an Accountability Partner

Posted on April 26, 2013 by LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog

 

Accountabilty Partner 

If I could pick one thing that you could do today that would make an enormous change in your business over the next 12 months it would be to get an accountability partner. I have had one for over a year and a half now, and it was hands down one of the best things I have ever done.

 

Here’s How I Found My Accountability Partner

I was actually trying to find someone to be my accountability partner when a friend of mine suggested that a mutual acquaintance was also looking for someone.  We just scheduled a time to talk on the phone via facebook messaging, and we both conducted what you might call an “interview” of the other person.

Now it might seem strange that I said we initially sent messages back and forth through facebook. But the truth of the matter is that is the only way we had connected up until that point. I knew what type of business she was in, and she knew the same basic information about me; that’s all. Our mutual friend was also someone whom we both met initially on facebook.

 

The Power of Facebook

Before I move on finding your accountability partner, I want to take just a minute to talk about building relationships on facebook since that was the actually how I found mine.

If you haven’t discovered the power of building relationships through facebook you are really missing the boat.  If you find someone’s business articles, posts and activities interesting this might be a person you need to connect with.

When I was just diving in to this whole social media experience several people sought me out and scheduled a time to talk. Over time, this lead to what has become real friendships and strong business connections. We have done guest posts on each other’s blogs, video interviews and found all sorts of other ways to connect and build our businesses. I really need to point out that this person doesn’t need to be in the exact same business as you are to build a mutually beneficial relationship. Great relationships often come from complimentary businesses.

But when it comes to your accountability partner, I believe that they should definitely be in the same type of business you are in which is real estate in my case. They don’t have to be in the same niche, but the same general business category.

 

My Accountability Partner and Why Our Relationship Works Continue reading →

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Tips to Building A Wholesaling Business – Podcast

Posted on April 23, 2013 by LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog

 

Wholesaling A to ZOne of the best strategies you can use in your real estate investing business for generating big chunks of cash is through wholesaling.But for so many folks, it can be extremely hard to wrap your brain around this strategy.

I know because I was one of those people.  I used to run this question around in my head all the time; “How in the world can you go out there and make cash offers when you don’t have the money to close on the deal?”

As a wholesaler, you can build a thriving business in most cases with little or none of your own money.  That’s right!  You can use “OPM” or other people’s money to fund your business if done correctly.  Wholesaling is the strategy where you will also learn very quickly how to make good solid offers. The reason is that if you are a wholesaler and you pay too much for a house, you won’t be able to sell it to an experienced investor.  No one will want it.

 

The Podcast

I was honored to be asked recently by “the guys” over at BiggerPockets, Josh Dorkin and Brandon Turner, to do a podcast on wholesaling.  This is a topic that a lot of people find confusing, and one that is discussed all the time on the BiggerPockets site.

While this strategy is the one that a lot of people start with it was actually one of the last strategies that I learned, and it is the one I still work in today.  In this podcast you will learn exactly how to buy houses with “OPM”, how critical it is to make good offers, and why someone would gladly pay a wholesaler for their deal. Continue reading →

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2 Awesome Free Tools for Your Business; Postlets and Screencast-o-matic

Posted on April 19, 2013 by LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog

Using Postlets and Screencast-o-matic to grow your business

 

 

I wanted let you in on a secret today; I want to tell you about two awesome FREE tools that I use in my business. I use Postlets for creating great professional looking flyers, and Screencast-o-matic for making quick screen capture videos.

Real estate investors are always looking for innovative tools their businesses, and when they are free that’s even better. Over time we can accumulate quite a toolbox of these free tools. The trick is to actually use them; not just to tuck them away in a file folder on your computer.

What I would like to challenge you to do today, is to give these two FREE resources a test drive. It won’t take much time and I can promise you will be sold on using them in your business.

 

Creating Flyers for Your Properties

You might ask, what exactly is Postlets? Postlets is a free online service that allows you to create listings for your properties that you have for sale or for rent. You can upload video for your property on this site for your Postlet, and you can also upload up to 25 photos for each property which will “magically” be turned into a slideshow.

Possibly the best thing about this site is that your flyer will be syndicated to almost a dozen other sites automatically such as:

  • Zillow/ Yahoo
  • Hot Pads
  • Oodle
  • Truilla
  • Enormo
  • Back Page
  • DotHomes
  • Vast
  • ByOwnerMLS
  • Frontdoor and others.

There are also links to post your Postlet flyer directly to Craig’s List and social media sites. You can do everything right from this dashboard. It really is quick and easy.

I shot a quick little video for you using the second tool, Screencast-o-matic. Continue reading →

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