Building a wholesale business

Building a wholesale business

Wholesaler · Farmington, MI · Member since 2014 · 323 posts · 34 votes

Hey all!

I got prompted by BP to share my past success and I figured I would share my current situation - I typically like to be more under the radar and let actions speak, but that doesn't work well in a forum setting!

I started investing a little over a year ago and quickly acquired 4 properties to use as buy and holds. In an effort to find more properties that I didn't need to compete with homeowners for (MLS..), I started reaching out to members in my area that had been doing direct mailing. BP was integral in me meeting my now partner, Mike Simmons (Ep. 50 of BP Podcast).

The way it started was just me reaching out via a direct message asking if I could buy him coffee (I did this with several investors in the area). I met him out near his location and had a great conversation about what he was doing and his future plans. Part of those plans was increasing his marketing and potentially bringing on someone to handle calls with that expansion. I took the proactive route and called him back the next day to offer my services free.

Mike was much more generous than that and actually brought me on with a paid position where I was responsible for the acquisition side of the business. I would take on the calls, make the follow ups, visits, and getting the property under contract. I have a sales background, so this came pretty naturally to me. We had success rather quickly.

After several months of this structure, we sat down together to plan more for the future and scale of our business. I ended up taking on more responsibility during those months (helping sell, increase buyers, networking) and we decided to become equal partners. This allowed for more capital to remain in the business (didn't have to pay me on every deal anymore), and allowed us to both focus on ways we could grow our wholesaling business. 

To date, we have averaged $36,000 in monthly revenue. Our goal is to get to $1,000,000 in the next 12 months. Our business has become much more systematized and our lead generation continues to grow and we are finding new ways of bringing us interested sellers. It feels good to be able to solve multiple problems along the way - helping sellers out of their properties and helping investors get off market deals that generate them income (flip or rents). We are focusing on the Metro Detroit market (Redford, Troy, Royal Oak, Ferndale, Warren, Roseville to name some) for the properties, but do work with investors all over. 

It is funny to think that a simple message on this website was something that helped kick this thing off. 

"Action is the foundation key to all success" - Pablo Picasso

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Flip and Buy/Hold Investor · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2013 · 245 posts · 105 votes
11y

@Mike Cowper nice job Mike.  Always great to hear success stories in the area. 

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  • Flip and Buy/Hold Investor · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2013 · 245 posts · 105 votes
    11y

    @Mike Cowper nice job Mike.  Always great to hear success stories in the area. 

  • Real Estate Agent · Bloomfield Hills, MI · Member since 2014 · 117 posts · 30 votes
    11y

    Hi Mike,

    Thanks for sharing your experience here. I, as well, have met multiple people here on BP and created opportunities here on BP. Add me to your mailing list, most of my clients are investors...

    Have a great week and kudos to you for taking action and growing your business!

  • Investor · Watertown, NY · Member since 2015 · 225 posts · 88 votes
    11y

    Thanks for sharing! Daily motivation keeps the spirits high and the fears low! I'd love to hear about some difficult situations and how you navigated them. What you believe makes you a successful negotiator, how you continue to improve yourself and your business. Sorry if I'm overloading you, I just enjoy learning from people who aren't afraid to change their lives!

  • Rental Property Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2012 · 181 posts · 51 votes
    11y

    @Mike Cowper Thanks for sharing your story! It's great to hear about people's success and surely will motivate aspiring investors!

    Steve

  • Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2014 · 31 posts · 8 votes
    11y

    Awesome! Thanks for sharing Mike!

  • Wholesaler · Farmington, MI · Member since 2014 · 323 posts · 34 votes
    11y

    Thank you @Steve Baldwin, @Bill Bodziak, @Jon W.!

    @Justin Fernandez - I think successful negotiation is trying to truly find a win-win scenario and be open with sellers. I don't try to hide the fact we are going to make money, they understand it is a business. Most of the sellers I deal with have something other than money as the primary concern - if money if the only factor, I typically refer to an agent that I trust in the area. This is still a win-win for us as our business helps a seller, we get business for someone we know and like, and we get good will.

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