To Work IN or ON your Business?

Question

Hello again BP Nation.  For those of you not familiar with me or my situation, I just started my 1st Flip and have had a very strong belief in doing a lot of the work myself as I feel it is important especially just starting out.  I feel that this will give you a better insight into how the whole picture (the totality of the project from start/finish) of this REI thing works.

I certainly in my short time investing/flipping this house have had some very eye opening experiences (almost killed myself! no kidding I really did, I wrote a Blog about it!) which has led me to take a deep pondering of should one work on or in their business?

So I ask you BP Nation, what was the turning point for you that led you to work on your business instead of in your business? Thanks ahead of time for stopping by to share your insight with me and for all of us to learn!  Here is to wishing everyone a successful 2017 in your REI ventures!

Tony Wooldridge · Answer

@Gabe Amedee, I don't disagree with anything that you said.  I KNOW that in order to scale I need to not do the menial work.  But my argument is to understand the process in/out, I want to be involved in a good majority of the project so in the future I will have the knowledge/know how of the process of the whole flip from top/bottom.

However, with all of that said, you are absolutely right, I know that I need to delegate some or a good majority of the major phases you mentioned above.  Nonetheless, thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts, I most certainly appreciate it.

Christopher B. · Answer

@Tony Wooldridge I'm sorry to hear about your accident and hope you're doing alright. I was in an accident last year that nearly took my life and my arm so know that situation too well. You're right, it's definitely an eye opening experience in many ways!

My intentions were to get to the point of spending more time on instead of in my business since the beginning. I just got caught-up in taking deals down and didn't progress to that point as fast as I should have. This is what happens though when you spend your time in the business, you become the bottleneck. My first project I worked 14hrs a day, 7 days a week, for 6 months. I can't physically do that anymore due to my injuries but wouldn't want to even if I could. After my accident my business really slowed down because I wasn't able to be there driving it forward everyday and this, along with a lot of the headaches that naturally come with working in the construction industry, was my catalyst. I had already mostly phased myself out of doing the physical work on my jobs at the time but everything else was still tied to me. This is what I am looking to change now. Being more involved in the beginning is a good thing imo, especially if you're not familiar with construction because it is a unique industry. That doesn't mean you have to be there installing tile but be proactive about educating yourself on the ins and outs. Even if you have a great gc or pm how can you manage them if you don't have the proper knowledge?

The question you have to answer is what are your goals and what do you enjoy doing? Do you want to wake-up everyday and go to work to build as big and successful a business as possible or would you be happy doing 4 houses per year  @ $25k +/- a house and only working 6 months? You can build a scalable business that can accomplish either. As you continue to gain knowledge and experience you will see more and more of the numerous business opportunities that are surrounding you. This, to me, is the challenge because it's tough to turn those opportunities down sometimes and is something to really think about before you begin your journey of scaling so you can focus on building the most appropriate model.

Hope that addresses your question

Tony Wooldridge · Answer

@Christopher B., I have been following your post lately and have noticed that you are looking into/debating on scaling yourself.  I would be interested on your take on this matter.  Clearly, you are much more experienced than I and in a position of having some rehabs to give you the insight I am seeking.  So if you don't mind sharing your thoughts on the matter, I would sincerely appreciate it.  Thanks!