Learn From The Mistakes of Others
By Paul Esajian on November 1, 2013
Most new real estate investors do not make it through their first year in the business. After a few months, reality sets in and the industry reveals its true nature. As hard as it may be to believe, you have to treat this opportunity as you would any other new business. Knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do and successful investors know this. They have taken the time to learn from the mistakes of others, essentially mitigating risk on their behalf.
Only a select few new investors will close on a deal within the first couple months of starting their business. Getting new deals takes time to formulate a marketing strategy and a plan to properly implement. Sending out one letter to a list of 100 addresses may get you a handful of calls, but odds are you will be left wondering what happened. You need to make a dedicated commitment of several mailings over several months before you can determine whether or not your initial marketing efforts were successful.
You can’t expect deals to fall in your lap after attending one investment club meeting, one mailing or one offer. Whatever your plan is to build your business, you need to be consistent and make it a commitment. Too many new investors will do something once then dismiss it if it fails. If you think of investing as a business and with a plan to have your first deal within 6 months, you will find your efforts more enjoyable and much more realistic.
Do people know you are an investor? If you don’t promote yourself and your services on social media, the internet and in your local community; how will anyone know to go to you? There has never been an easier time for advertising and self-promotion like there is now. All you need to do is put yourself out there and continue to do so every week. You never know who is going to see a post of yours for the first time or which realtor you meet that will change your business. If you are not doing anything to market yourself, you are relying solely on hope. Unfortunately, nothing gets you in trouble faster in real estate than hope.
If you know what not to do, you can work towards avoiding complications. You need to do something to enhance your business every day. Even if you are only a part time investor, you should spend a few hours working on something every day that will get you business. What new investors don’t realize is that deals will not just fall into your lap. You need to put yourself in a position to get them, either directly from you marketing efforts or indirectly from your networking. If you are not doing something to get deals, you will not last very long in the business.
Some investors are motivated by money while others are simply motivated by not failing. Whatever you use to motivate yourself, you will need it in your first year of the business. For all of the stories of failure, there are subsequent stories of success. In almost all cases, it is entirely up to you and what you are willing to do about it.