Fear, what to do when fear is holding you back in real estate

Many investors never acquire any level of comfort with investing in real estate. They wander from strategy to strategy, read, learn and attend every event they can and then? Nothing. They do nothing and cannot overcome their sense of fear.

Here are some steps to overcome your fears and to get you on the fast track towards success.

1. Start with goals – Write down your goals daily, what it takes to achieve them and start completing those tasks. Do this everyday and you will be amazed how organized, efficient and effective you become.

2. Pick one strategy and master it – I see it all the time; beginning investors put a half hearted effort into 10 different strategies and end up doing nothing. Instead, pick one and become a master at it. I cannot stress this enough!

3. Document your strategy in a detailed business plan – When investors tell me their strategy, I am always intrigued and ask how they are going to do it, and if they have a business plan. Almost none of them do. Even if yours is a 1 page business plan, at least you have some kind of documented strategy; that said, you should be as detailed as possible. In this business plan you need to have goals, strategy, criteria, exit strategies, market research, how you’re going to find deals, your marketing plan, how you are going to execute deals, your team and your systems. My first plan was a page and a half. I revised it to 3 pages, then 13 pages; now it is almost 40 pages.

4. Build your team and systems – Build your team and formally formulate your systems so you can duplicate your successes on different deals.

5. Find an expert mentor in your strategy – Have a mentor and expert in your strategy advise you on your business plan and deals. You can even partner with them until you overcome your fear.

6. Do – At this point you have no excuse but to DO and achieve success. If you have not found success at this point, start over at #1.

Photo: vincepal

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