Growing Your Real Estate Investing Business by Networking

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One of the best ways to get your feet wet if you are a beginning investor or wholesaler is to get out and start networking with other like-minded individuals in your market.

When I was first getting started in my wholesaling career, I was a networking Ninja.  My first year I made it my mission to get out and meet as many players in my market as I possibly could, and to introduce myself and let everyone know who I was and what I was trying to do.  Some weeks I was going to real estate investor meetings five days out of seven.   I was there like clockwork, handing out my business cards and getting to know who the movers and shakers were.

Even though I was scared to death at first, I forced myself to get out of my comfort zone and start plugging myself into the investor pipeline.  I took somewhat of a  “fake it ’til you make it” approach, and even though I didn’t really have a lot of experience under my belt, I decided that I was going to jump in and rub elbows with the big boys anyway.   I read in a book somewhere that you become who you hang around, and so I made the decision that I was going to start hanging around like-minded, successful individuals.

Looking back, I am very thankful that I forced myself to take action.  Many of those investors who I met when I was just starting out are still friends and colleagues of mine who I am now doing business with as a result.

If you’re a new investor and still sitting on the fence, I’d like to encourage you to take a step (even if it’s a small one) out of your comfort zone, and get on out there and start networking.

Find out when the next REIA meeting is in your neck of the woods and make it a goal to attend and make contact with a few investors.  I know that it is intimidating at first, but once you decide to take that first step, I promise you that the next one will be much easier.

Photo Credit: photodreamz_

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