Hello. I am starting to lose my drive for real estate. I've tried to build a buyers list. I failed. I though I found great deal. Unfortunately I have not. What am I doing wrong. I network, I read, I learn. Please help. Thank you.
Hello,
I understand how you feel, I have felt the same way with my journey that I have started with real estate. I have spent 8 months trying to get into the game and have had some short sale deals that I was trying to work fall through and it can be discouraging. To top if off I finally get into a deal and realize that you can never have enough due diligence and find myself learning the hard way. It is natural to want to take the path of least resistance as it is appearing to be the new American way. When I have difficulties I focus on where I want to be 10 years from now and how am I going to achieve it. My parents are great people but I do not want to work when I am 50. Heck I want to rely completely on real estate as my income by the time I am 30. Don’t be afraid to fail. Every time I fall on my face I am 5’9†closer to my goal. Corny but useful. Best of luck :)
Be patient . . . take it slow. There is no rush. You're not going to make your fortune in 5 minutes.
Do you have a plan written up? Have you plotted your course for success?
Start there and take it piece by piece. Keep reading!
You'll be fine!
Even though it might not seem this way to you now......you are actually half way to the finish line to become a successful real estate investor. So DO NOT GIVE UP!
You are working hard, networking, and educating yourself. That is awesome! That is actually the hardest part!
Now you must simply keep it up and put in the time, no matter how hard it is.
A really smart investor once told me this, and it has stuck for years:
"People get RICH in an up market.....BUT.....people can get WEALTHY in a down market. "
The challenges of the current market are great, but so are the deals!!!!! I honestly believe that the next generation of millionaires are going to be made out of our current economic meltdown, and I want to see you be one of them!
There is no question that It is going to be tough...... but keep your nose to the grindstone and much success will follow you.
Good Luck!
S Smith,
I think motivation comes from within. In my opinion, any attempt to gain motivation outside yourself is a waste of time and money.
You didn't say how long you have been working on real estate, but if it's been more than a month or two that is PLENTY of time to have found your first deal. If you find a GREAT deal, everything else will fall into place. So, my question to you is exactly what have YOU done to find a great deal. I hear this complaint often and in almost every case the newbie hasn't done anything significant to find a deal. If you really want help, please list exactly what you've done.
Good Luck,
Mike
There is no question that your initial motivation has to come from within. However, that is not always enough to keep the fire burning, and I fully understand that.
The fact that you are here, you are networking, and by the conversations we have had via PM shows me you are motivated.
My opinion is that we ALL need a kick in the butt at times to get us in the right direction. It is never a waste of money to buy a motivating book or attending a quality seminar.
The most successful people I know have coaches and mentors in their toolbox, and they do not achieve success alone.
Keep working hard, surround yourself with positive people, focus on the education.......... and good things will happen for you.
:cool:
I couldn't disagree more! I attended a large real estate investing convention a couple of years ago and one of the speakers (gurus) was a coach. He didn't claim any particular real estate experience or any particular expertise in anything I can recall. His only claim was that he coached people, helping to motivate them and help them set goals. At the end of whipping up the crowd with a lot of talk about nothing, he said that he only had 20 spots for his coaching left (for like $2K apiece). Then, he began counting 1, 2, 3, as each person got up to go plop their $2k down. The whipped up crowd of newbies rushed to the back. Ironically, when he got to 20, people kept coming and they kept charging those credit cards. I guess he was lying about the 20 spots! Imagine that!
In my opinion, that was a colossal waste of money for those newbies. If they need to spend $2K to have someone help them write down their goals and motivate them, they simply aren't going to make it!
Ironically, I have a lot of friends who are multi-millionaires. Every single successful entrepreneur that I know is a self-starter and not a single one of them has a paid mentor or coach.
Real estate is a simple business. Learn the basics and then work your butt off. That's the secret to success. In the meantime, keep a tight hand on your checkbook - there are a million people who want to help you part with your money!
Good Luck,
Mike
Speaking on the topic of mentors and coaches on your team, you will commonly get two responses from people. MikeOH will always say it is a waste of money as he just did and discourage anyone from doiin so. He knows many millionaires who have Never paid for coaching or assistance. Congrats to them. I would have to say that they are a small %.
I tend to side with Harrison on his statements, although I will say this:
Many coaches or gurus are a rip off and all they want is to take yoiur $ because they can not make money investing in RE alone. These are the con artists you must watch out for and that is where I DO agree with MIKE.
But not all are crooks and not all claim to be coaches, but can actually help and assist a new or seasoned investor advance to their goals and beyond. I do think it can be a valuable asset to your team.
BINGO! Furthermore, I would propose that anyone that is truly worthy of being a real mentor doesn't need your money - BECAUSE HE/SHE IS ALREADY SUCCESSFUL. As I've said before, I had a friend (mentor) from my local REIA that helped me when I first started. She was a successful landlord and didn't need (or ask for) my money, as opposed to most of these coaches and mentors that are failures in business but successful in scamming newbies. The difference is that it takes a thorough knowledge of the basics to succeed in business, but only a little knowledge to scam newbies. Moreover, when you hire a paid coach or mentor that isn't local, they don't have the local information that is so critical.
As always, my advice is to make FRIENDS with the successful investors in your area. Your new friends will be happy to help (mentor) you for free!
Mike
Great thread and input from everyone. This topic really hit home for me because I am currently trying to decide if I truly needed to PAY a mentor or coach. I have decided that I do not. As you guys already mentioned, it is key to surround yourself with positive and success people. I have been able to learn a lot from the internet and BP. There is plenty of info and experienced people here on BiggerPockects that will help a lot, and sure up any questions or confusion you might have. Of course learn the basics of the business and put them to work. The most learning is done on the job. Not to mention the relationships you will build buy closing and putting deals together.
Earl
Glad that you find BP to be a valuable resource Earl. Keep in mind that while having others here help answer some of your questions, it is not everything.
You would not base your decision on which stock to buy and when based on others opinions would you?
Just the same, having a resource to turn to to get the answers you need when you need them and to help hold you accountable, is not something you should overlook.
Just food for thought.
If someone is using high sales pressure tactics in order to get you to spend $2K on a boot camp, then I would assume common sense would come into play and you would not participate.
People are all wired a little differently , and making a blanket statement like, ALL money spent on motivation is a waste, seems extremely irresponsible to me.
I would agree with that Harrison.
Having the common sense to run from the crooks (better known as gurus), and receiving paid assistance from a viable and reasonable source is key. There is a huge difference between the two.
Hi S Smith,
As Joshua said You can make a fortune over night be patient. Do what you are doing now you will succeed. Good luck.
Thanks,
Ms. Smith,
If you need motivation, just think about all those autoworkers praying they have a job in a few months. Think of the risk of being employed by someone else. My employed friends say I could never do what you do, not knowing when money is coming in or afraid of disaster striking. I say you are the one who is taking the risks. You could go to work tomorrow and they could say, thanks, but your services are no longer needed. They have one income source, their job. As an investor, you have multiple streams of income. If you have a vacant rental or investment property, you still receive income from all your other investments. So you can argue that an investor is much more secure than they are. Of course they don’t believe it and that is why they work for someone else. I have friends who make very good money for companies like IBM, as I am sure many here do. They lay off people it seems like every six months. Now that is risky.
Also think about some of the more successful people here on the board. Think about someone like MikeOH who has stated he works an average of 12-16 hours a WEEK. How many of your employed friends can say that? By keeping a job you are choosing security over opportunity and freedom. Ironically enough, by choosing security you lose your chance at freedom and opportunity. I am reminded of something said in T Harv’s book (which I do not own and read from the library I might add) about saying it is fine to work but don’t let a job interfere with your ability to make what you’re worth and that is the rub, it usually does.
Think, do I want to sit in my cubicle for 40 + hours a week for life OR work the 12-16 hours a week a successful investor does. Which do you choose? Everyone makes the choice whether they know it or not. Will it take more than that in the beginning? Yes. But I know few investors who work anywhere near 40 hours a week (actually none, now that I think about it) who have been at it a while. Oh, and I have taken 7 vacations this year, not counting my travel coming up around Christmas. That is tough to do on two weeks vacation a year.
This should provide all the motivation you need. I agree that the most successful have their own motivation as others have said. They just "know" they will succeed not matter what it takes and they usually do, eventually.
As far as not getting enough action, spend less time reading about investing and more time TALKING to sellers and making offers. Everyone I have seen who says investing doesn’t work are usually fearful of making offers or talking with strangers. The worst they can do is reject your offer. Yes, it is work and worth the effort I promise you. Be happy most can’t or more realistically, won’t do the work. Paralysis of analysis and wanting to know more or read one more book stops more from investing than anything else.
Good luck. We will be rooting for you.
Mike
I hate the guys,
Who critizize,
And minimise the other guys,
Whose enterprises,
Make them rise,
Far above ,
The guys who critisise
I totally agree with Mike on the SELF MOTIVATION. You must motivate yourself from within. I am always thinking about today is Friday and someone is loosing their job and they are going to have to start over with the looking for another job.
But, here is the funny part many of them have a house and can not even conceive in investing in real estate outside of the primary residence. You are doing the right thing, but I feel like you are doing to much reading and not enough hitting the pavement.
Team up with someone like THE DEALMAKER who is doing it and let me show you how it is done. I have the motivation and the drive because AT THE END OF THE DAY no one pays me, but ME.
To many of the newbies and some older investors are trying to reinvent the wheel. If I am already doing something and it is working why not partner and make some money. No it is not going to be as much as you yourself think that it should be, but you learn, get experience and you realize that it can be done and you see the way that it was done.
Stay encouraged and remember you can be like everyone else or you can be SUCCESSFUL.
Sounds like you can use a support group for your motivation. You should try and find a network of people that have what you want.
Like you local REIA!
Mike
Mrs. Smith,
I have the following poem for the encouragement.
Don’t Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When fund are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had the stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clods of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
Ms Smith, if I might add my $0.02 to the other great posts here, it would be this:
A very fine writer named Joseph Campbell once summed up succeeding in life as "Follow your bliss."
Do you eat, sleep and dream real estate? Do you wake up early each day thinking, "Hot dog, another great day of following my passion!"?
Most succesful people here really love what they do no matter the long hours, hard work or disappointments.
But this will be true of any person succesful in his or her field be it doctor, lawyer, artist, carpenter, or whatever.
They do what they love and love what they do and the natural result is 'success'.
You'll know when you're on the right path.
Hang in there!
Take comfort in knowing you have some control of your future. Most Americans just go to an office or factory every day and hope they have a job tomorrow. No matter how hard they work they will never get ahead until they take it upon themselves to reach out and grab a hold of their future. Your chances of retiring comfortably are better with investing than barring your head in the sand and letting someone else provide your source of income.
David