Quit My Job and Plan to Wholesale
Flipper/Rehabber · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2018 · 265 posts · 387 votes
Hi All! I had to share. Against all conventional advice and wisdom, I've just quit my job. My fiance's job brings enough for us to cover are needed expenses and I have about a year's worth of savings built up on top of that. I have not done any deals yet but am planning to get into wholesaling ASAP. Just wanted to share. I'm going all in!
What was your job?
Im always so confused by these, at what point did your job prevent you from doing a deal? Was it not possible to do both?
I guess depending on what the job was then maybe that plays into it some...but curious of the thought process on this..
@Melanie Hartmann Thank you for your input! I have an investor carrot site but haven't focused on it as much other than setting it up with the basics. I was more so focused on offline marketing. You're doing amazing for your first couple of days! Keep at it!
Offline marketing is for making 1 deal right now with a ton of effort and no system in place for continuous lead generation.
This is the mistake most investors make.
A ton of work to get a deal right now. All that work is ONLY for that. THAT one deal. That work is not automatically continuously giving you more leads. So that is simply a WASTE of time and effort.
Now consider doing SEO, Setting up a killer website etc. etc. You do the work once, and you will continuously generate deals.
You need to step back and look at your business infrastructure and catch all the flaws and correct them. If you are not doing this you are winging it. And you will simply not get anywhere. Work smart, work calculated and efficient. ROI should not only be about money, but also work and fruits of said work's labor!
Forget offline marketing. Seriously forget it! I am not sayingyou can not make deals that way.. I am saying you do not WANT to make deals that way. You do not WANT THAT to be your lead source because you will NEVER beat a copetitor that does it the better way.
And I said it once,I said it before.. to make it, you should not be the top dog.. you should strive to be the ONLY dog! Crush your competitors no friggin mercy! I don't care how bad that sounds. There is no second place here. You are ranking 1 on Google or you simply Do not exist to sellers! Period!
@Melanie Hartmann Thank you for your input! I have an investor carrot site but haven't focused on it as much other than setting it up with the basics. I was more so focused on offline marketing. You're doing amazing for your first couple of days! Keep at it!
Offline marketing is for making 1 deal right now with a ton of effort and no system in place for continuous lead generation.
THis is the mistake most investors make.
A ton of work to get a deal right ow. All that work is ONLY for that. THAT one deal. That work is not automatically continuously giving you more leads. So that is simply a WASTE of time and effort.
Now consider doing SEO, Setting up a killer website etc. etc. You do the work once, and you will continuously generate deals.
You need to step back and look at your business infrastructure and catch all the flaws and correct them. If you are not doing this you are winging it. Ad you will simply not get anywhere. Work smart, work calculated and efficient. ROI should not only be about money, but also work and fruits of said work's labor!
Forget offline marketing. Seriously forget it! I am not sayingyou can not make deals that way.. I am saying you do not WANT to make deals that way. You do not WANT THAT to be your lead source because you will NEVER beat a copetitor that does it the better way.
And I said it once,I said it before.. to make it, you should not be the top dog.. you should strive to be the ONLY dog! Crush your competitors no friggin mercy! I don't care how bad that sounds. There is no second place here. You are ranking 1 on Google or you simply Do not exist to sellers! Period!
Thank you! I'll take heed to your advice.
Nephtalie
@Melanie Hartmann Thank you for your input! I have an investor carrot site but haven't focused on it as much other than setting it up with the basics. I was more so focused on offline marketing. You're doing amazing for your first couple of days! Keep at it!
Offline marketing is for making 1 deal right now with a ton of effort and no system in place for continuous lead generation.
THis is the mistake most investors make.
A ton of work to get a deal right ow. All that work is ONLY for that. THAT one deal. That work is not automatically continuously giving you more leads. So that is simply a WASTE of time and effort.
Now consider doing SEO, Setting up a killer website etc. etc. You do the work once, and you will continuously generate deals.
You need to step back and look at your business infrastructure and catch all the flaws and correct them. If you are not doing this you are winging it. Ad you will simply not get anywhere. Work smart, work calculated and efficient. ROI should not only be about money, but also work and fruits of said work's labor!
Forget offline marketing. Seriously forget it! I am not sayingyou can not make deals that way.. I am saying you do not WANT to make deals that way. You do not WANT THAT to be your lead source because you will NEVER beat a copetitor that does it the better way.
And I said it once,I said it before.. to make it, you should not be the top dog.. you should strive to be the ONLY dog! Crush your competitors no friggin mercy! I don't care how bad that sounds. There is no second place here. You are ranking 1 on Google or you simply Do not exist to sellers! Period!
Thank you! I'll take heed to your advice.
Nephtalie
take it seriously... obsessively ad things will happen. I promise you this!
@Melanie Hartmann Thank you for your input! I have an investor carrot site but haven't focused on it as much other than setting it up with the basics. I was more so focused on offline marketing. You're doing amazing for your first couple of days! Keep at it!
Offline marketing is for making 1 deal right now with a ton of effort and no system in place for continuous lead generation.
THis is the mistake most investors make.
A ton of work to get a deal right ow. All that work is ONLY for that. THAT one deal. That work is not automatically continuously giving you more leads. So that is simply a WASTE of time and effort.
Now consider doing SEO, Setting up a killer website etc. etc. You do the work once, and you will continuously generate deals.
You need to step back and look at your business infrastructure and catch all the flaws and correct them. If you are not doing this you are winging it. Ad you will simply not get anywhere. Work smart, work calculated and efficient. ROI should not only be about money, but also work and fruits of said work's labor!
Forget offline marketing. Seriously forget it! I am not sayingyou can not make deals that way.. I am saying you do not WANT to make deals that way. You do not WANT THAT to be your lead source because you will NEVER beat a copetitor that does it the better way.
And I said it once,I said it before.. to make it, you should not be the top dog.. you should strive to be the ONLY dog! Crush your competitors no friggin mercy! I don't care how bad that sounds. There is no second place here. You are ranking 1 on Google or you simply Do not exist to sellers! Period!
Thank you! I'll take heed to your advice.
Nephtalie
take it seriously... obsessively ad things will happen. I promise you this!
I will. I appreciate your advice!
@Melanie Hartmann Thank you for your input! I have an investor carrot site but haven't focused on it as much other than setting it up with the basics. I was more so focused on offline marketing. You're doing amazing for your first couple of days! Keep at it!
Offline marketing is for making 1 deal right now with a ton of effort and no system in place for continuous lead generation.
THis is the mistake most investors make.
A ton of work to get a deal right ow. All that work is ONLY for that. THAT one deal. That work is not automatically continuously giving you more leads. So that is simply a WASTE of time and effort.
Now consider doing SEO, Setting up a killer website etc. etc. You do the work once, and you will continuously generate deals.
You need to step back and look at your business infrastructure and catch all the flaws and correct them. If you are not doing this you are winging it. Ad you will simply not get anywhere. Work smart, work calculated and efficient. ROI should not only be about money, but also work and fruits of said work's labor!
Forget offline marketing. Seriously forget it! I am not sayingyou can not make deals that way.. I am saying you do not WANT to make deals that way. You do not WANT THAT to be your lead source because you will NEVER beat a copetitor that does it the better way.
And I said it once,I said it before.. to make it, you should not be the top dog.. you should strive to be the ONLY dog! Crush your competitors no friggin mercy! I don't care how bad that sounds. There is no second place here. You are ranking 1 on Google or you simply Do not exist to sellers! Period!
Thank you! I'll take heed to your advice.
Nephtalie
take it seriously... obsessively ad things will happen. I promise you this!
I will. I appreciate your advice!
This post is just general thoughts for everyone:
Having had no real knowledge of what goes in to an online presence not even two weeks ago, it was very overwhelming. I started with just getting the basics - sites, social media up, etc. Now I go back and add to it, tweak things, create backlinks, add in credibility (still far from complete in this), etc. etc.
Investorcarrot has so many simple and easy to use/do activities. Just discovered yesterday you can add a "Like Us" Facebook widget for your business's FB page in about 5 minutes - from first learning how to doing it. What? So cool! These investorcarrot sites are amazing and completely worth it!
Whether it was the appropriate action to take or not, I purchased wholesaling contract packages from a local, investor-friendly attorney for Maryland and D.C. I've spent a fair chunk of change to get started, about $1500-$2000 thus far (keeping all receipts for tax purposes), with the LLC and associated documents of that taking up almost half of that expense. It's not necessary to spend that much but I will say having done so has helped to expedite things substantially.
For example, do I LOVE my logo? No, but I like it. Is it better than what I could make on my own with the programs I currently have access to? Yes. Will I get a better/different one later on, most likely. I spent just under $20 for 2 logos from Fiverr - good enough for now and a HUGE time-saver.
Some things are ok to be "cheap" on to start with, such as a logo - Fiverr or make your own. Investorcarrot is not one. I have the most expensive plan - why? Because I need it and it is already helping my young business grow like crazy. The leads I'll be bringing in will easily justify the expense. - seriously funny how once I put my business info on my BP signature the "naysayers" have significantly died down. "Oh, she serious... My bad." (At least that's what I imagine them thinking. That, or "She's seriously crazy!" Either way, they're correct and it makes me smile).
Wholesaling:
Now from there take each point and work backwards.
The reason I refuse to give you a recipe is because you will inherently just follow tasks without thinking. That is the sure way to end up where 90% of the wholesalers end up at.
Nowhere.
You need to think. Be smart. Think outside the box.
OK now.. go backwards,
What is the best way to get discounted properties?
What does all this? A ranking website. SO: Get a website, Lear SEO, Rank it high and this will happen...
This is the #1 thing you should have no matter what you do in REI. Wholesaling Flipping, BRRRRRRRR, you need a continuous flow of leads coming in.
Then go to step 2, and work again backwards.
Now to the following step till you have it all laid out. Now you have a complete list of tasks and steps in front of you that you now should convert into actionable steps.
Do not rely on others her eon the forums to magically give you the magic guide how to.
It
Doesn't
Help
Trust me I have been there and no one by far has worked as hard as I have to make it.. NO ONE, no ot you , not you and not you. Don't care what you all think, I have done the unthinkable obsessively maniac beat mode to get here.
How do I know no one did as much as I did? I ranked my site # 1 in 3 to 4 months... I thik that is a record.
So believe me I tried and now I have the magic guide .. how I did it... ad this guide will not help you... unless you are doing what @Melanie Hartmann is doing, and what I did. Relentlessly making it work.
That is seriously the best thing you can do.
Do the research get the education get what you need and just make it happen.
It is practically unheard of to have your site rank #1 that quickly. There are so many things you have to do to get there. I'm learning new ways every single day. It's literally blowing my mind wide open. I'm getting my business verified by Google now. It'll be my first piece of mail to my business's address. :)
I read recently that less than 6% of sites even rank on google's first page within their first year. Most sites at the top are closer to 3 years old. So, Jerryll, you rock! And because of you, I'm rocking too!
It's crazy because Google actually supplies all of the tools you need to get there for FREE. You just have to implement them and work on them often. It is incredibly time consuming to learn and implement though for someone who has never done this before. You gotta do what you gotta do though. If you want something bad enough you work at and on it every single day. Get better!
I'm no stranger to busting my ***. I've had to do that repeatedly to get to where I was and the job I'm leaving. However, all that busting butt to get to where I just left, it was not enough of a "pay-off" for me, as far as my emotional health and freedom. Also, the money was not any sort of compensation for what I was expected to endure on a daily basis. Once I figured out what my take-home pay was, I just shook my head. $70K sounds like a lot to someone who grew up incredibly poor on the verge of being evicted from our apartment on a monthly basis but I was only bringing home about $35K to spend/invest how I wanted. Growing up, I had to keep any birthday money I received and get a part-time job as soon as I could because my mother was incredibly irresponsible with money. If I didn't want to be on the streets... well, I worked and went without so I wouldn't be homeless and on the streets. So I could help pay the rent that my mother couldn't manage to do. We don't have a great relationship these days - haven't spoken to her in a year now because she continued to want me to take care of her and I just couldn't anymore. I did not bust my *** just so I could keep taking care of her. I busted my *** so I wouldn't be like her as an adult and I could take care of own my family, like she couldn't do. I wanted to ensure that my children did not have to go through all of what I went through growing up. (Though, I do hope they still find GRIT somewhere and don't become lazy adults, haha)
So far, yes this work is incredibly time consuming, but it's not tiresome or exhausting. It's seriously a walk in the mother-f*ing park compared to what I've endured for the past 15-20 years of my young life. It ain't no thang. I wake up in the middle of the night, I work on my business. I'm doing dishes/laundry - I'm watching videos about working my business. Even if I'm supposed to be "relaxing" and hanging out with my family, I'm working on my business. I can't even begin to think about truly relaxing until I've gotten that first check. How can I say what I'm doing is actually working until I close that first deal. When that happens, I'll allow myself a true breather. Well to be honest, I have allowed myself about 4-5 hours of "breathing" since I've started this venture about 10 days ago. I've even had my oldest child expedite his learning in cooking and helping to take care of his younger sister so I can focus more on this business. And he's actually loving it (most of the time, haha).
You do what you do. Don't let anyone tell you you can't. Engage in self-love. I've even begun listening to motivational speeches on YouTube these past couple of days while I'm doing chores - as part of a mental break and to keep me on my toes. I'm loving every damn second of it. I know what I want. It's not inspired by greed or materialistic things. I want freedom. I want to work for myself. I want to give back to those who came from where I did, once I make it big. I have GRIT. I persevere. Anything in life that I have TRULY wanted, I've gotten. I did what it took and I GOT IT. This I will get too because I want it. I'm pushing myself and getting out of my comfort zone to do it, because I want this and I will have it. Plain and simple.
Writing these posts do not directly help my business but it helps me and my mindset. It helps process my thoughts and motivate myself to keep going. Even replies/posts I've written but then completely deleted without posting. They have helped too. Odds and statistics do not scare me. They motivate me. I've beaten so many that have been thrown my way, you wouldn't even believe. Again, those are just numbers. They do not define a person. I am not a bunch of numbers. I am me. I am Melanie Lauren Hartmann. I will do what needs to be done to get where I need to be. Always have, and always will. (So to the naysayers who have said in so many words, "Just because you are you doesn't mean you will be successful." No, my dears. That's EXACTLY what that means).
@Melanie Hartmann you spelled "Lose" wrong on your site, just one O. May turn folks off.
@Melanie Hartmann you spelled "Lose" wrong on your site, just one O. May turn folks off.
It's been corrected. Thank you for bringing that to my attention! (I'll have to fire my secretary now... haha)
Thank you Richard! House hacking is GREAT strategy. I wish I had gone that route and gotten a duplex when I bought the house we live in. I was only just beginning to learn then - and I needed assistance from the government/county to purchase my home and they would not allow for properties that you could house-hack. Silly, really... especially for a first time home-owner. But alas, when we move, I may look into a duplex.
Thank you for the other tidbits. Haha, I'm very much learning how to flex my "ignoring muscles" - something we used to teach the wee ones I used to work with. Listening to motivational speeches is helping with that a ton. To the naysayers, yes, I know a dream and a hope won't get you there. Hard work, grit, and determination is the name of the game. You still have to check your own limiting beliefs and get out of your own way. The speeches really do help with that.
So far with minimal marketing, I've got 17 buyers on my list now. I've got some mailers going to more potential cash buyers early to mid-September. I've also ordered some other marketing materials like business cards (I LOVE them!), pens with the logo, #s and 2 main websites, and some car decals/bumper stickers. I know they say car decals are not helpful - but it's a one time expense and if I get one deal out of it and/or more exposure of my brand/websites, it was more than worth it. I know they also say not to mail to potential cash buyers - but again, it wasn't that expensive to do and I might get some genuine buyers. Again, if I get ONE genuine buyer that can close a deal with me, that will be more than worth it.
Next steps are to work "the Craigslist" and direct mail potential motivated sellers and continue SEOing the heck out of my websites and get my business ranked on Google. Then I can be like @Jerryll Noorden, the SEO master! And yes, I turned SEO into a verb, deal with it :P
Haha, love it! It's scary but it's also incredibly liberating. Today would have been day two back at work after summer break. I think it's finally starting to sink in that I'm working for myself now and it's pretty freaking awesome! I'm so much more relaxed about life in general. It's a beautiful thing. Read your profile, and I completely get it. I'm thriving over here. Every second I get, I'm back at it. Middle of the night, watching TV (which I'm not doing much of these days), first thing in the morning, last thing at night. This kind of thing is my drug. I haven't worked toward something challenging like this in years. It's my life line and completely feeds my soul. I still can't believe the money that can be made. I almost don't believe it myself - but I have to otherwise I will not succeed.
And sure thing! Feel free to head over to the website in my signature here on BP to sign-up to be on my preferred buyers list. You can specify preferred areas there, etc. and that way I won't loose track of you!
If you have any kind of real responsibility at your job and people breathing down your neck, doing this part-time while you still have a day job, is doable but it's not easy. In my opinion doing it part-time is with another job pulling you in several different directions is much much more difficult than doing focusing just on real estate full-time. Don't give up though, people do it and are doing it. It takes determination and hard f*ing work but it is doable.
Haha, love it! It's scary but it's also incredibly liberating. Today would have been day two back at work after summer break. I think it's finally starting to sink in that I'm working for myself now and it's pretty freaking awesome! I'm so much more relaxed about life in general. It's a beautiful thing. Read your profile, and I completely get it. I'm thriving over here. Every second I get, I'm back at it. Middle of the night, watching TV (which I'm not doing much of these days), first thing in the morning, last thing at night. This kind of thing is my drug. I haven't worked toward something challenging like this in years. It's my life line and completely feeds my soul. I still can't believe the money that can be made. I almost don't believe it myself - but I have to otherwise I will not succeed.
And sure thing! Feel free to head over to my site and sign up to be on the preferred buyers list (if you haven't already). You can specify preferred areas there, and that way I won't loose track of you!
Haha, love it! It's scary but it's also incredibly liberating. Today would have been day two back at work after summer break. I think it's finally starting to sink in that I'm working for myself now and it's pretty freaking awesome! I'm so much more relaxed about life in general. It's a beautiful thing. Read your profile, and I completely get it. I'm thriving over here. Every second I get, I'm back at it. Middle of the night, watching TV (which I'm not doing much of these days), first thing in the morning, last thing at night. This kind of thing is my drug. I haven't worked toward something challenging like this in years. It's my life line and completely feeds my soul. I still can't believe the money that can be made. I almost don't believe it myself - but I have to otherwise I will not succeed.
And sure thing! Feel free to head over to my site and sign up to be on the preferred buyers list (if you haven't already). You can specify preferred areas there, and that way I won't loose track of you!
This thread has literally gone viral (by BP standards) Congrats! Keep it up!
Thank you Richard! House hacking is GREAT strategy. I wish I had gone that route and gotten a duplex when I bought the house we live in. I was only just beginning to learn then - and I needed assistance from the government/county to purchase my home and they would not allow for properties that you could house-hack. Silly, really... especially for a first time home-owner. But alas, when we move, I may look into a duplex.
Thank you for the other tidbits. Haha, I'm very much learning how to flex my "ignoring muscles" - something we used to teach the wee ones I used to work with. Listening to motivational speeches is helping with that a ton. To the naysayers, yes, I know a dream and a hope won't get you there. Hard work, grit, and determination is the name of the game. You still have to check your own limiting beliefs and get out of your own way. The speeches really do help with that.
So far with minimal marketing, I've got 17 buyers on my list now. I've got some mailers going to more potential cash buyers early to mid-September. I've also ordered some other marketing materials like business cards (I LOVE them!), pens with the logo, #s and 2 main websites, and some car decals/bumper stickers. I know they say car decals are not helpful - but it's a one time expense and if I get one deal out of it and/or more exposure of my brand/websites, it was more than worth it. I know they also say not to mail to potential cash buyers - but again, it wasn't that expensive to do and I might get some genuine buyers. Again, if I get ONE genuine buyer that can close a deal with me, that will be more than worth it.
Next steps are to work "the Craigslist" and direct mail potential motivated sellers and continue SEOing the heck out of my websites and get my business ranked on Google. Then I can be like @Jerryll Noorden, the SEO master! And yes, I turned SEO into a verb, deal with it :P
Lol! That's wonderful you have hit the ground running. In any venture in life you can always accomplish whatever you want as long as you continue to fight through the road blocks. Focus on productivity and results. I will check out your site.
Next steps are to work "the Craigslist" and direct mail potential motivated sellers and continue SEOing the heck out of my websites and get my business ranked on Google. Then I can be like @Jerryll Noorden, the SEO master! And yes, I turned SEO into a verb, deal with it :P
There can only be 1!