Being a Real Estate Investor vs. Being a Real Estate Investing Business

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One of the biggest things I am learning right now is to change my mindset from being “just a” real estate investor (who does a deal at a time) to being a Full-time Real Estate Investing Business and Company.

What does this mean?

Well, for so many of us, we seem to be in the mindset of “I’m a real estate investor” without keeping our focus on our entire business as a whole.  Better put;  we get our leads piddling in (because we do not have a serious marketing campaign working full time-all the time), we get a lead or two (but we act like they are deals) – we work and focus only on these “deals”, then when they either come through – or probably more like it, fall through, we go back to kicking up our marketing, get a couple of leads… and the cycle begins again.  Can anyone say feast or famine? Or more like famine, since deals need to close in order to receive money.  And even then  – we might be waiting months before we receive any money.

Now don’t go jumping off a bridge with no hope.  I don’t mean to sound like a big buzz kill.  Really I don’t!  What I am getting at it that there is a better way!   And it begins with a mind-shift.  We need to stop thinking of ourselves as “A” real estate investor and rather think like a Business.   Do you have a full blown marketing campaign?  Do you have an Aquistions team – that is, many sources feeding you leads?  Do you have private money lined up?  Are you getting paid on every deal at least 3-4 different ways?  Do we know our exit on each deal and are prepared for it?  All of these things need to be in motion and working everyday.  Just like any business!  Maybe we should think like a store front business!  Would a clothing store, a bagel shop or an accounting firm just be sitting around hoping that a customer walks in the door, and only then decide to put their merchandise out, or price it, or wait till it sells out before they order more, or not do any advertising, or make plans now for their future inventory or sales?   Heck no!  At least not the successful ones!   Hhhmm… could this be why many small businesses go out of business…because they are not run like a business? (Say that ten times fast!)

Some of the few things that are the most important aspects of running my Distressed Property Investing Business every day are:

1. Marketing, Marketing, Marketing and then More Marketing. This is one of the most important aspects of being a successful real estate investor.   There are many ways to get our information out to the public.  Buying Lists, sending direct marketing pieces to farm areas, ads in local papers, bandit signs, telling every single person you know and meet on the street that your an investor, handing out biz cards, ads on bus benches, and on and on.   Most important – get your marketing out everyday in some form or another. 

2.  AQUISTIONS TEAM.   Simply put, have many people working to bring leads into you.  Bird dogs, wholesalers, real estate agents, mortgage brokers (are there any left?).  These folks can be trained to learn what your criteria is for the homes you like to buy.  They bring you good solid deals – they get paid, you buy – everyone happy!

3.  Getting paid on every deal 3-4 times.  Huh?  Now this sounds delicious doesn’t it?  What this means is that we real estate investors need to structure every deal so that we can paid at least 2,3,4 times per deal.  This resolves the age old problem of feast or famine!  Why are you waiting for deals to close before you get paid?  Some of the best things I have learned in the last several months is that I need to wholesale every deal (even if I wholesale it to myself) and I need to get paid for construction mangement .  This already has paid us twice before we have even cashed out of the house!  Yippie!

4.  Have a business plan. This simply means – what is your investing strategy?  Do you know what it is?  Decide what it is and stick to it and become the best at it.  Stop jumping from strategy to strategy every time a new guru blows into town!  What’s my strategy?   I’m in the Distressed Property Investing Business.  I wholesale, retail and hold SFR.   My sources right now are wholesales, foreclosures, REO’s and taking house over subject to’s.

5.  Raise Private Money – This is a whole workshop in itself.  However raising private money continually is one of the most important things we need to do as investors.  Without it, I can forget about being any kind of investor.   I have a Private Money marketing campaign going on, however we can also just tell everyone we know that we are in the Distressed Property Investing Business and are always looking for money to do our deals!

6.  Everyday do it over and over again…

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.