I am often asked questions like “what are the top 5 things I should do to set my business up for quick success” or “tell me the 10 steps for making fast money with real estate”. Everyone thinks that there is an exact formula or a 10 step program that you can follow and magically get rich quick or at least put your business on the fast track to success.
I have said it many times before; there is no easy button or shortcut to success in this business or any other business for that matter.
But, there are certain things you should focus on in the beginning. These same steps will be the ones that will drive your real estate investing business over time.
Find Deeply Discounted Properties
Real estate investing at its core is a simple premise; you need to find deeply discounted properties and find a way to make money on them. That’s all.
Your exit strategy will determine the exact manner in which you make your money.
Buy and hold landlords will enter the “get rich slow plan”. These folks are buying today betting on the future value of this particular property. You should be making some money every month in the way of positive cash flow, and there will be tax benefits that you will get along the way. But your big payout will come at the end when you sell the property. If you made a wise purchase the day you bought the property, you should expect to make a nice profit due to appreciation when you sell.
Now if you are a wholesaler or a rehabber, you will receive any profit to be made as one big chunk of cash much sooner in this process. What you won’t get are the tax breaks with buy and hold strategies and appreciation over time. You will be always selling at today’s value.
So that’s it in a nutshell. The first step is to find deeply discounted properties to buy. So how do you do that?
What Are the Main Activities I Should Concentrate On?
That is an easy question to answer. Marketing!
You should concentrate on one thing; getting your phone to ring so that you can locate those deeply discounted properties. That’s it. It’s especially important that you understand this if you are still working a 9 to 5 job.
In this case you will most likely have limited resources at your disposal to work with in your “side hustle” or new business. You will have less time, less energy after working all day, and in most cases a limited marketing budget for the activities you need to be doing to get your phone to ring.
Where Do I Begin?
I have a “Getting Started” section that is a perfect place to begin. Also, be sure to check out all of the “marketing” posts here on this blog.
Next week: Getting your phone to ring.
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.
Tiffany – I am in the process of getting some systems set up and I will have a course out this fall. You should spend time reading everything you can before you go down that path of paid coaching. Start here with my blog. There is so much to learn before you ever buy a property. With that being said, you will have to take action at some point. First get some “free information” though.
Sharon
Do you coach one-on-one for wholesaling properties? I’m a college student wanting to get into the business and I need some help.
Amen Terry! That is the key. Unfortunately, a lot of times you pay too much for those first few properties.
Sharom
Finding that property at a discounted price is the key to getting started. If you can do that, you are on the road to success.
Even in the worst case scenario, as long as you bought the property at the right price, you can always put it back on the market and be no worse off than you were before.