By Kathy Kennebrook (The Marketing Magic Lady)
I recently read that the definition of an Entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff and builds the plane on the way down. I would have to totally agree with this sentiment. Jumping off into “Never-never land” is almost “par for the course.”
When we first started our real estate investing business my husband used to say I would go out and make the mess (find the deal) and he would clean it up (get the inspections done and get the rehab going). But, my Friend, HANG IN THERE!
The second deal we ever did in our real estate business was a subject to deal. The seller just wanted us to take over the mortgage payments on his house so he could walk away. There was $145,000 of equity in the deal that I didn’t want to lose out on even though I had no idea what I was doing. Heck…I had no idea what taking a property subject to even was at that point. So we just wrote down on yellow legal pad paper what we had agreed to with the seller. I then went back to my local real estate club and found someone to help us do the deal. He charged us $10,000 for his help in creating the paperwork to legally do the subject to deal. Ultimately our paycheck was $51,000. So yes we built the plane on the way down and it was very profitable for us to do so.
Getting started as a Real Estate Investor requires you to at least jot down your “TO DO” list and begin making a plan as you go!
I have always been one of those people who has to jump in first and do it and then fix it later. You need to be able to tame the fear monster and jump in and get some deals done. You will want to get some education in order to do the real estate investing business, or work with someone who already has the education until you figure things out. Working with a partner or a mentor is one good way to get started. I have a mentoring program available and I have many students who have done a ton of profitable deals.
However, your own education is going to be an ongoing process and you need to do it. If you try to do deals without having any idea what you are doing, you’re going to get burned out quickly. You will not get offers accepted, you won’t know what to do if you do get an offer accepted and you may not make nearly as good a deal as you could with a little education under your belt.
Remember: Your real estate EDUCATION is a process!
There are several things you need to do in order to become a Real Estate Investor.
Sitting in front of the television watching re-runs or playing video games isn’t one of them. You will be able to find lots of reasons to put off getting started in the real estate business. My personal favorites were “my job is keeping my too busy” or “the kids need me” and “What if I mess up?” Once I started making a specific plan and put it in writing, things started to happen. I started keeping a detailed planner outlaying what I have to do the next day, the next week, the next month, etc. This helped to keep me very focused and moving ahead in a specific direction. This will make your business grow faster than you know. You will be able to track tasks, deals, and you can keep your appointment schedule organized as well. Always remain FOCUSED!
Even after all the years I have been investing in real estate, I still go to seminars and read books to learn even more ways to do great deals. Continued education is the KEY. In the beginning, I learned enough in a very short time to do a lot of profitable deals and you can too. But I wasn’t afraid to just jump in and get a deal under contract. Once you get active in the business you will run into a lot of different kinds of scenarios concerning sellers and situations. This is one of the reasons I offer a mentoring program to my students. If they get stuck on a deal or an offer, they know where they can get their questions answered. So, they know they are “building their plane” on the way down.
Please understand that continued education is a key to YOUR success.
A “Hang in there” mentality must always be maintained. You will initially make mistakes. We are human. But eventually, YOU will be very successful. So, HANG IN THERE!
For all the information you need on adding mentoring to your business so you can “build your plane” check out my website at www.marketingmagiclady.com or call my office directly at 941-792-5390. I offer an amazing six month mentoring program for my students. Many of my students have done many deals and made huge profits in their real estate business by working with me as their mentor. I look forward to working with you too!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kathy Kennebrook is the ultimate success story. She spent over 20 years in the banking industry before discovering the world of real estate. After attending some real estate seminars this 4 foot 11″ mother of two got really excited and before you know it she’d bought and sold hundreds of properties using none of her own money or credit. Kathy holds a degree in finance and has coauthored the books The Venus Approach to Real Estate Investing, Walking With the Wise Real Estate Investor, and Walking With the Wise Entrepreneur which also includes real estate experts Donald Trump, Suze Orman, Robert Kiyosaki, and Dr. Wayne Dyer. She is the nation’s leading expert at finding highly qualified, motivated sellers, buyers and lenders using many types of direct mail marketing. She is known throughout the United States and Canada as the “Marketing Magic Lady”. She has put together a simple step by step system that anyone can follow to duplicate her success. Kathy has been speaking throughout the country and across Canada for over 14 years and has shared the stage with Ron LeGrand, Donald Trump, Dr. Phil, Dan Kennedy, Mark Victor Hansen, Ted Thomas and Suze Orman to name a few.
