Are you a RE Investor or RE Entrepreneur?
Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2014 · 130 posts · 77 votes
Do you call yourself a real estate investor or a real estate entrepreneur? If you consider yourself both, do you prefer using one term over the other?
I'm just curious about what BP members call themselves on their business cards and/or what they say when they meet new people who may or may not know a thing about real estate. (In other words, people who have no idea what a wholesaler is or a note buyer, etc.)
OK this is my take.
Entrepreneurs are business makers, looking to fill a need in the market, learning and implementing small business skills and "growing" a business by scaling and hiring. Leadership and Motivation is important for the entrepreneur. Shyness and uncertainty does not bode well for the entrepreneur. Find a need in the market place and fill it. May the nay sayers be damned. Risk takers, business builders, need fillers.
A Real Estate Investor is like a stock investor, looking at yeilds, ARV, IRR, Cap rates, rental market conditions, etc.
Flippers are focused on the needle in the hay stack. The cheaper the better, the more desperate the better. If you asked the average flipper what a financial calculator looked like, and what the "PV button" was for, I doubt very much the answer would be clear.
God bless the entrepreneur, they tend to find a way to get the job done, whatever it is.
BTW, here is my Credo for the REI.
-------------------------------
Our Credo as Real Estate Investors:
I am a Real Estate Investor.
Of all of the occupations I have tried, researched, pondered, and read about over the years, there is none which compares to mine. My work is fun. I take ugly houses and make them beautiful. I help people out of difficult situations.
I am a Real Estate Investor. I am my own boss. I often work in my pajamas from the comfort of my home. I have no employees to baby sit, no perishable inventory to move, no franchise fees to pay, and no store to maintain. Still, I am in the top 5% of all income earners.
I am a Real Estate Investor. I now enjoy freedoms I’ve never had before. I am the master of my day. I choose who to work with. I choose my hours, and I decide if I will work 20 hours or 40 hours this week. I can also choose to take the day off, without obtaining anyone’s permission. I can take a month-long vacation. I can sleep in, or take a power nap after lunch if I want. I can review my notes and return my calls while lounging in my jacuzzi. I no longer have to commute during rush hour.
I have the freedom to spend lots of time with my wife and children. I do not have the stress and pressure of needing to close my next deal by the end of the week, by the end of this month, or even by the end of this year.
I live in one of the nicest neighborhoods, in one of the most beautiful states, in the best country that has ever existed on this Earth.
I am a Real Estate Investor. There are many who ‘want’ to be like me; many who are ‘studying’ to be like me; and many more who would be like me, but are just waiting for ‘this opportunity to appear’ or ‘that circumstance to change’… At the end of the day, very few actually are like me.
I have been very fortunate and blessed. I am finally living my dream. I love doing what I do, and I would not trade places with anyone, nor trade my life experiences for anyone else’s.
I am driven by the belief that life is short, and we need to ‘make a difference’ in the short time that we’re here, because after all is said and done, it’s really not about ‘us.’
I am a Real Estate Investor.
Almost all are entrepreneurs but they can't spell it, so investor is easier to spell and it's easily understood, sounds like you have money when you say you're an investor. Most are actually real estate operators, they make themselves a job in real estate, but that doesn't sound very cool, so, gurus gave anyone dealing in real estate the title of "investor" is that cool or what?
Me, while I actually invested money in real estate, I was more of an entrepreneur in the area of real estate, along with other industries.
Let's not complicate the issue with facts or acceptable business definitions, if someone listened to a guru seminar and got into wholesaling, contracting to buy (but not being able to buy) let them call themselves "investors" no one outside the real estate community will ever know. :)
I prefer the term "real estate entrepreneur" because for me it is an expansive term, which can include property investing, preservation, management, etc.
My company offers property preservation and management services, however, I'm striving to become a real estate investor (wholesaler) instead of a want to be. :-)
Me, while I actually invested money in real estate, I was more of an entrepreneur in the area of real estate, along with other industries.
Let's not complicate the issue with facts or acceptable business definitions, if someone listened to a guru seminar and got into wholesaling, contracting to buy (but not being able to buy) let them call themselves "investors" no one outside the real estate community will ever know. :)
And there you went and mispelled it.
LOL! I don't think so, entrepreneur passed spell check, LOL
Like they say, last year I couldn't spell entrepreneur, now I are one. :)
Like they say, last year I couldn't spell entrepreneur, now I are one. :)
got'cha! But your two quick on the edit!
got'cha! But your two quick on the edit!
Fer the record Bob, I didn't edit my first post, I thought you did get me and I made a statement about making a mistake, sent it in, then checked, I wasn't wrong and edited my second post, not my first.
And, it's "But you're too quick" not your two, but I'm thinking that may have been intentional, maybe not, I don't know. LOL :)
And, it's "But you're too quick" not your two, but I'm thinking that may have been intentional, maybe not, I don't know. LOL :)
I think you may be on to me.....or are you? http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/spelling-and-word-lists/misspelled.html I did get a belly laugh out of your first line. ;-)
OK this is my take.
Entrepreneurs are business makers, looking to fill a need in the market, learning and implementing small business skills and "growing" a business by scaling and hiring. Leadership and Motivation is important for the entrepreneur. Shyness and uncertainty does not bode well for the entrepreneur. Find a need in the market place and fill it. May the nay sayers be damned. Risk takers, business builders, need fillers.
A Real Estate Investor is like a stock investor, looking at yeilds, ARV, IRR, Cap rates, rental market conditions, etc.
Flippers are focused on the needle in the hay stack. The cheaper the better, the more desperate the better. If you asked the average flipper what a financial calculator looked like, and what the "PV button" was for, I doubt very much the answer would be clear.
God bless the entrepreneur, they tend to find a way to get the job done, whatever it is.
BTW, here is my Credo for the REI.
-------------------------------
Our Credo as Real Estate Investors:
I am a Real Estate Investor.
Of all of the occupations I have tried, researched, pondered, and read about over the years, there is none which compares to mine. My work is fun. I take ugly houses and make them beautiful. I help people out of difficult situations.
I am a Real Estate Investor. I am my own boss. I often work in my pajamas from the comfort of my home. I have no employees to baby sit, no perishable inventory to move, no franchise fees to pay, and no store to maintain. Still, I am in the top 5% of all income earners.
I am a Real Estate Investor. I now enjoy freedoms I’ve never had before. I am the master of my day. I choose who to work with. I choose my hours, and I decide if I will work 20 hours or 40 hours this week. I can also choose to take the day off, without obtaining anyone’s permission. I can take a month-long vacation. I can sleep in, or take a power nap after lunch if I want. I can review my notes and return my calls while lounging in my jacuzzi. I no longer have to commute during rush hour.
I have the freedom to spend lots of time with my wife and children. I do not have the stress and pressure of needing to close my next deal by the end of the week, by the end of this month, or even by the end of this year.
I live in one of the nicest neighborhoods, in one of the most beautiful states, in the best country that has ever existed on this Earth.
I am a Real Estate Investor. There are many who ‘want’ to be like me; many who are ‘studying’ to be like me; and many more who would be like me, but are just waiting for ‘this opportunity to appear’ or ‘that circumstance to change’… At the end of the day, very few actually are like me.
I have been very fortunate and blessed. I am finally living my dream. I love doing what I do, and I would not trade places with anyone, nor trade my life experiences for anyone else’s.
I am driven by the belief that life is short, and we need to ‘make a difference’ in the short time that we’re here, because after all is said and done, it’s really not about ‘us.’
I am a Real Estate Investor.
I always introduce myself as a real estate investor even though I'm still in my infancy. It just rolls off the tongue better and opens up the doors to a multitude of real estate avenues rather than putting a specific label (wholesaler, rehabber, etc.).
@Brian Gibbons I have no idea what the PV button on a financial calculator is for...enlighten me! Also, there is no good word that comes to mind after reading that credo. I absolutely love it! I wish I could fit it onto a business card. Did you come up with that? And can I use that on say, my website?
I consider myself a real estate investor. That being I work a full time job in an unrelated field and invest in real estate with my income.
I see myself on a smaller scale, but that doesn't mean that I lack ambition. I see myself owning thousands of units. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to own apartment complexes and wanted to start in commercial real estate investing, but had difficulty getting financing, so I started with multi-family residential. I bought one 4-plex, and am trying to buy another right now. I am pushing hard to "Buy a Million".
I see myself reaching the stage of Receive a Million from the book The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, where basically I will be earning over $1,000,000 a year from my real estate investing. I honestly won't stop until I get to that point.
I don't have any title on my business card (just name, email and phone) and when I'm asked what I do, I generally say, "Real estate stuff."
Most people don't care about the details, and those who do will ask...for them, the title doesn't matter, and once I tell them what I do, they'll categorize me whichever way they want...
RE Investor
Many outside of the field would see the term entrepreneur as being someone who is working their way to success, where an investor has a sense of being established.
I have "dealmaker" on my card, not that I carry any around. I used to give them out at RE Networking events, but now I make people write my number down if they want it. My LinkedIn profile actually says "Self Unemployed Beer Drinking expert". IMO nobody in this business cares what you call yourself. This aint corporate America where you have to play politics and be fake to get someone else to give you a promotion...
If you are using your card as a marketing tool, it should reflect what you are after- "housebuyer" "Notebuyer" "Private Lender", etc. but other than that, I dont know that it matters at all. Go to a REIA and see who has the shiniest cards, the wealthy guys will have a crappy *** black on white card that barely has his info, the broke guy fresh out of his corporate job will have a pretty, shiny one with an impressive title (that doesn't mean anything).
You're question is kinda funny: "what [you] say when they meet new people who may or may not know a thing about real estate." I'm with J.Scott "Real Estate Stuff" or something equally as bland. Nobody's going to have a clue what you do anyway. Most will think you are a realtor, no matter what you tell them. I guess its a little more mainstream these days with the TV shows- I do drop "I buy and sell houses for a living" sometimes, which gets "oh, you're a flipper?" some, but I'd still think 70-80% of the randoms I talk to think I'm an agent even after I tell them I'm not.
Bill, I love your take on wholesaling. It cracks me up when the people that cant buy a property want me to send prequal letters and such...I had one ask me over and over for POF (after it was under contract and not specified) on a 5 day close, I was like "Um, people that cant close dont do 5 day contracts with no contingencies..."
I prefer referring to myself as a real estate investor
Darrell, sounds like you're doing very well and have reached a stage where you're very well known and established in your area. You've developed a way to pre-screen new contacts where the burden is on them to make the initial effort. Sounds like that works for you.
I do agree with you about the shiniest cards at the local REIA. Big hat, no cattle, as they say.
Thank you to everyone who commented on this discussion thread!
Ultimately, I identify myself as an entrepreneur. Why? I think about creating systems and structure.
I think about what businesses I can start, and how I can organize them to facilitate it. I want to be CEO and work on my business, instead of working in it.
Investor......
If someone came up to me on the street and said they were an entrepreneur (any kind).....my first thought would probably be, "How much do your parents charge you for their basement?"
It just sounds like someone trying to be bigger than they probably are. That theyre just not there yet.
Just my opinion.....
Disclaimer: One of my favorite REI books is "Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur"
I like "real estate speculator" with a side of educated hypothesis.
@Brian Gibbons I enjoyed that post very much. I'm going to print that and keep it handy so I can continue to look at that. Very motivating -
I always keep things like that (along with my goals) to inspire me to keep moving forward. I will start reading that on a daily basis so as to engrain into my mind that "I am a real estate investor"
Thanks!
I consider myself a real estate investor because I find opportunities and take them. I don't find the sell first. I find the deal first.
I feel that I have a RID that's a Real estate Investing Degree. I got it from BPU. For those of you who don't know where that is it's Bigger Pockets University.
Awesome credo @Brian Gibbons -- that's going up somewhere!
Darrell, sounds like you're doing very well and have reached a stage where you're very well known and established in your area. You've developed a way to pre-screen new contacts where the burden is on them to make the initial effort. Sounds like that works for you.
I do agree with you about the shiniest cards at the local REIA. Big hat, no cattle, as they say.
Thank you to everyone who commented on this discussion thread!
Ha, I dont know that I'd go that far. Been at it a while, but took a pretty solid kick in the nuts a few years back and just now getting things going on any kind of scale. Only did 3 last year and prob looking at 10 for this one. Do have a few years in and well over a hundred deals under my belt, though.
Its not so much a "hey I made it, kiss my feet" attitude so much as experience in what works for my business model. Again, if you are using that stuff for marketing, great, target what you want to market to, but if you're trying to impress people in (or out of) this business with titles I think you'll find no one really cares.
@Brian Gibbons - absolutely AWESOME Credo. Thanks a ton for posting that. I too am going to save that in my iNotes and look at it regularly. Thanks again.