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3 Pieces of Advice to Overcome Limiting Beliefs in Business

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By Victoria Kennedy

Business is like yin-yang, says Rohan Attravanam, the CEO of Phodun Real Estate. The secret to more closings is to stop focusing on closings. You tend to be emotional but have to be rational and pragmatic business owner in order to succeed. Which beliefs influence success or failure in business?

Running a business is not a full-time job, it’s a lifestyle. Business owners face loads of challenges and obstacles that test not only their professional skills but also their character.
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Being nimble and flexible is essential for a business to stay on top of the game, and ahead of the competition. However, constantly shifting from one idea to another and changing strategies can be counterproductive. This means entrepreneurs have to also be persistent with their initial ideas and stay in a single lane longer than they might like.
Combining these two opposites might seem like an impossible task, but it isn’t. That fine line between the two is where all the successful businessmen and moguls are. Flexible, but never straying from their core principles and ideas. A fine example of how to harmonize these two is the story of Rohan Attravanam, CEO of Phodun Real Estate.

Rohan’s Story

As an young entrepreneur, Rohan started his journey by getting a high-quality education. He enrolled in one of the most prestigious universities in India – BITS Pilani, and has an MBA degree from one of the best marketing colleges in the US – Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.
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Packed with knowledge, he dived into the world of business, working with A-listers like Samsung, Whirlpool, and Walmart. Rohan acquired 13 years of experience in marketing, with the last five in real estate. In January 2020, he left behind a plum job in the Bay Area, CA and started Phodun Real Estate from scratch – a company that provides quality leads to realtors, helping them find prospective homebuyers that fit their customer profile. So, here are the three pieces of advice Rohan Attravanam can give to all business owners based on his experience as a successful business owner:

Quality Leads are found, when searched in quantity

We all want better leads and better prospects. We frantically try various marketing tactics and try to optimize one over the other. But the reality is no matter which channel or medium you choose, you need to focus on generating a lot of leads.

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The first step in achieving a flow of quality leads is to achieve a flow of quantity of leads. You need to generate a lot of leads and vet each of the leads against constraints as defined by your definition of quality. The more leads you have, the better the chances are that you’ll find a good quality lead. In any random 100 leads – you tend to find about 10 quality leads. When you go searching only for quality leads, they are hard to come by.
Its basic economics – Quality leads are not easy to come by and so they are expensive. Everyone knows it’s a numbers game, but rarely do we step back to evaluate what numbers are needed to get to our objectives.

You start closing more when you stop focusing on closings

We as a society are hyper result oriented, goal oriented and it’s good to strive for those results. What’s lost in translation is the process that is needed to achieve those results and urge to take shortcuts to get there.
You’ve heard this a thousand times – “It’s all about the journey and not the destination”. Think about how you want your career to pan out. You can easily retire on the beach – watching sunsets with your family, but the journey to get there need not be obsessed over closings. Instead obsess over process.
When you obsess over the process, you are controlling the inputs – which you can. When you obsess over closings, you try to control the output – which is rarely in your hands. Obsess over client experience, understanding their problems, and earning their trust. The issues your clients face can all be documented and addressed the same way over and over again.
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This helps you gain control over your process and the confidence rubs off to your clients – who’ll enjoy working with you and you’ll have more closings eventually!

People who get most approval care about it the least

Think about all the people in your life that you consider successful, wealthy and see in a place you potentially want to be one day. They have your approval. The thing is – They are not seeking your approval. They are grateful for it, but they don’t care for it.
When you start needing money, fame, approval for your life to be meaningful, you are blinded by what’s possible. The minute you stop needing them and instead start providing approval to people around you is when you will see that your self esteem starts to build up. Building other’s confidence, caring about their insecurities and giving them strength gives you a new way of living life that brings you abundance and joy.
Helping others live the lives of their dreams is THE FASTEST WAY to get rich, achieve fame and receive the highest approval.
Rohan Attravanam is the CEO of Phodun Real Estate, an agency that is helping realtors by giving them more and better leads with their new, special program”10-15 Live Transfers Guaranteed”. Click here to learn more: https://phodundigital.com/
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Victoria Kennedy [email protected] atmanrealestate.com

Nominated as a 2020 Brand Ambassador for Inman, Victoria Kennedy is a well-respected authority in Real Estate marketing and branding. She is the CEO of Atman Real Estate, a marketing & branding agency that is committed to helping top producing Real Estate professionals become the #1 Agents in their area. She is a highly in demand speaker on all things digital marketing, and has helped many clients boost their visibility and revenue. Because of her expertise in real estate, she has been a trusted speaker and contributor to such organizations as the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inman News, and Yahoo Finance. In addition to running a successful marketing agency, she also has given talks, workshops, and has worked as a trusted consultant for Realties, Title Companies, Investors, and top producing agents. She has been featured in over 175 publications and podcasts both nationally and internationally. In addition to her marketing expertise, Victoria is a #1 selling classical-crossover singer and has sung with the likes of Andrea Bocelli, as well as toured all over Europe with her music. She is excited to share with you the power of her Closing Maximization Method and how it can exponentially grow your business. Find out more here: atmanrealestate.com

10 Habits of Successful Real Estate Investors

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By Russell Barneson

If you’re an aspiring real estate investor, building good habits will be the core foundation to your success.

From the moment you rise to the time you go to bed, outlining your day will make you more efficient and more effective at your job. Here is a game plan to implementing habits to develop to put you on your path to achieve your real estate investment goals.

Having a Schedule

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Having a daily routine of planned activities will help you get into a rhythm. Waking up at the same time, going to the gym daily and even planning your meals are great for building structure.
Setting a schedule will help you clear your mind, giving you laser focus.
The side benefit of such a structure is you will not be worrying about whether you forgot to do something. There are many scheduling, CRM and organization tools you can install on your phone and computer, making it easier than ever to stay organized. These tools will send you reminder messages so you don’t miss an important meeting or appointment.

Find a Niche

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There is an ocean of property types and investment strategies out there.
The world is a complicated place, finding a niche helps simplify life.
Pick one type of property or strategy to invest in; this will give you an identity and make you an expert in the niche you choose. For example, if you work in rehabbing single family homes in a certain area, over time you will become an expert in this industry and will know what to look for in regards to the local market.
Developing strong relationships with property brokers, contractors and lenders will be beneficial to your success.
For example, a great relationship with a property broker may result in access to insider pocket listings unavailable on the MLS. Go with what you know! Try to stay away from projects outside your niche as this can become time consuming and bring on unnecessary risk.

Settings Goals

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Great real estate investors set short and long term goals. For instance, a long term goal might be turning over 1 fix and flip every month or earning $200K profit per year. A short term goal might be going to the gym every 2 days for a month. Humans thrive with goals, having a target to aim for will help you orientate yourself towards a brighter future and help you avoid complacency.

Persevere Through Down Markets

Real estate markets, like all markets, are cyclical. Like a surfer, learn to ride the highs as well as the lows.
Position yourself to withstand an unexpected downturn in the real estate market as it is inevitable.
And don’t be discouraged if you have a few bad years, stay positive and find ways to persevere.

Go to School

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Getting higher education is a valuable tool. Becoming more knowledgeable could open up various job opportunities throughout the real estate industry.
People with degrees often get promoted and have higher incomes than those without.
According to APLU.org, high school grads earn 62% of what a college graduate earns.

Diversify

Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1. – Warren Buffet
The number one rule of investing is preservation of capital. The easiest way to achieve this is through diversification. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket and consider partnerships if necessary to diversify into multiple projects. This will balance out your portfolio in the case one of your assets is underperforming.

Patience

Patience is a virtue. Real estate markets have been around for eons and will always be cyclical.
What is valuable today is worthless tomorrow. Avoid buying at the top of the market, and try getting into up-and-coming neighborhoods, or buying when you think a recession is at the bottom.
Therefore, don’t chase deals. Have cash reserves ready for a drop in the market, in order to capitalize on bargain deals.

Work Smarter not Harder

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Know your priorities and limitations. Be efficient and do one thing well, outsource the tasks you struggle with. Don’t scoff at the idea of getting some outside help. When blocked on something ask for feedback. Not a web developer? Don’t try to build everything yourself. Trim the fat and focus on your money makers.

Create Passive Income

Creating passive income helps you leverage your time and is one of the most powerful income generating strategies in the world. If you have a solid rental business setup and organized, you will have a lot more time to focus on developing other businesses or living a more fulfilling life.

Hire the Right Team

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An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. – Niels Bohr
Paying employees a little more than competitors can be beneficial in the long run. Hiring competent people to make difficult decisions on your behalf will not only benefit your business but also give you more time to do the things you love. Additionally, turnover in any business can be costly due to the training time for new employees, so it’s best to find great employees and stick with them.

About the Author

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Russell Barneson runs Sales & Marketing at Crescent Lenders and is a real estate investor and operator of his own vacation rental business. He is passionate about the topic of real estate investing and helps real estate investors from across the USA obtain private money financing. Having the experience of running and operating a real estate business himself, as well as helping other investors get capital for their projects, gives him unique insights. Russell is a sports fanatic and in his spare time he loves to travel, surf, play sports, and have the occasional beer. For more information, visit: https://www.cresentlenders.com

Are You Destined for Greatness?

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By Sam Sadat

The most common nemesis of both new and seasoned real estate investors is inaction! Many use the excuse of no money as their number one reason for procrastination. In fact, the number one reason for failure in life is the FEAR OF ACTION. Many people are simply too afraid to try. Think of this, anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. STEP UP! Unless you try, you won’t make mistakes, and until make mistakes, you will never grow and prosper. Nothing great has ever been accomplished with contemplation alone.

The greatest source of unhappiness in life is unproductivity. Playing it safe in your comfort zone will bring you nothing but mediocrity. I know it’s scary to step into the unknown, but that’s where all your opportunities are. Make a commitment to explore and embrace the unknown is 2020 and I can guarantee that you will be more successful and a lot happier by 2021.

The mistake most people make is thinking that they can solve their problems with the same mind that created them. The only way to overcome your challenges in life is by changing your mind. You must learn new things and look at your problems from a different perspective. In other words, you need to tackle your difficulties with a new level of consciousness, which is the only way to produce sensible solutions.

To maintain your sanity and joy in life, accept life as it is and not as what you think it should be. Insisting that the world owes you a favor or people must change to accommodate your needs is a hallmark of folly, immaturity, and ignorance. Until you are happy with who you are and what you have, you will not soar to great heights. By acknowledging and taking responsibility for your conditions in life, you will remove a massive burden off your shoulders and pave the way for a bright future.

Learning to accept things as they are requires your trust in the process of life. Let events unfold as they may while you observe them with a sense of awe. Your job is to say yes to whatever life gives you, to celebrate happy times, and to learn from adversity. So, never regret yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow. Here’s a good tip: never stop questioning, exploring, and growing. That’s all you need to enhance the quality of your life. Like a river, life flows……..so stay in the middle of the current to gain proper balance and perspective. All the action is in middle of the stream, not the riverbanks.

Knowledge may be power, but its application will bring you joy and prosperity. If you want to know whether you know a subject well, try to explain it to a child. If you can’t do that, then you don’t understand it well enough. Until you learn and assimilate a subject well, you’ll never be able to apply it successfully and until you can apply your knowledge, you will not achieve greatness.

Never fear to act, as life rewards the brave.

Best regards,
Sam Sadat

Sam Sadat

Over the past 28 years, Sam Sadat has been involved in more than 2,000 real estate transactions as a principal, partner, lender or broker. During this time, he’s helped thousands of aspiring investors learn the real estate business the right way and apply their knowledge confidently to prosper greatly. He started his own company, Aim Financial, which in a few short years, became a top producing brokerage firm in Los Angeles. He also started Global Financial Network, LLC which is an NMLS licensed private lending firm specializing in financing of “fix and flip” or “buy and hold” investment properties in Southern California. Also, he hosts his own radio show, The Free and Clear Hour, on KHOW in Denver, CO and created the VIP Mentorship Programs that are affordable, practical and powerful.

Wife’s Life of a Real Estate Investor

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By Rachell Reed

So, your husband wants to be a real estate investor?…. well, I understand.

True Story…

My husband Jimmy Reed decided he needed a change. We were not yet married but had been together a long time…a long time! I knew him well enough that when he needed a change, he would get one. If one didn’t come his way He would make his own way.  He’s a go-getter and he does not settle.  Low and behold an infomercial… a Real estate infomercial… “Looks easy enough”. The most famous words ever spoken by anyone whoever thought about real estate investing.

It did look easy I thought “sure why not” we can do this! Well, I soon learned that I didn’t have the temperament to talk to people.  Sometimes they can be quite nasty.  If they yelled at me over an offer I would yell back. That’s just not good business no matter how ya look at it…

Jimmy jumped all in.  Right up his alley so to speak. So his new part time career began. He went to a seminar. He was hooked!

It took a year for him to do his first deal.  A whole year.  Lesser men would’ve quit but not him. It took off from there. He started “buying” properties and flipping them. Back in the day flipping had nothing to do with rehabbing. It was contracting a property and selling it before you had to go to closing (buying it).  So where does my life come into play in all of this??…

The busier he got the busier I got. He couldn’t do all of it on his own. I was working in retail clothing. Remember, those days shopping actually meant going out and trying clothes on not just ordering online and having your clothes delivered by FedEx…

I needed a change too at this time.  I was tired of working that hard and seeing others benefit from all my hard work. So, Him needing help came at a good time for me.

So where did he need my help? Organization!  I’m a bit obsessive about being organized. It makes life so much easier. It definitely makes business a lot easier, especially if you are self-employed. I didn’t like the interaction with the sellers but I am very good with paperwork and getting organized.  Seeing what needs to be done and doing it.

These days I handle all of the paperwork.  The computer work. The accounting. Dealing with all the monies. From rent to invoices to mortgages… and everything in between.  What I do not handle are tenants because quite frankly tenants can be big babies and I gave up my babysitting job when I was a teenager!

Our business relationship works very well. We try not to step on each other toes but sometimes that does happen. We are very clear on whom does what and we try not to cross each other boundaries but it does happen ever so often. We gently remind the other that’s a no-no.  Ok that’s not always true…sometimes there’s a lot of very loud talking and then we calm down and act like adults and work it out. Things are much easier that way.  It’s been a lot of fun these 30 plus years. It’s a lot of hard work. It can be a lot of fun too. Real estate enabled us to do things we never would’ve been able to do.  We’ve traveled and traveled and traveled some more… we’ve been able to help others and give back which is a whole lotta fun. 

Real estate has been good to us. It will be good to you too as long as you understand it’s a part time job or even a full time career. It is not a get rich quick program but a real life hard working job that you need to work at to be successful. If you get to work with someone you love…even better.

 

Rachell Reed

Rachell Reed has been involved in many aspects of business, church ministry, design and motherhood.

She is a wife, mother of two, and is Self-employed with her husband Jimmy in their Real Estate companies which cover areas such as a Rental business, a Buy & Sell company, Real Estate Club, Real Estate Training Company, International real estate projects, and much more.

After 30 years of rehabbing Flips & Rentals, a lot of her creativity became more about taking old things and giving them new life, which birthed her refurbish & design company.

She has a love of all things outdoors… from hiking to scuba diving.

In her down time she likes to read and write. She also has a blog. Rachell has been involved in ministry for 20+ years, as a Speaker/Teacher and Leader of women’s ministries. She has written bible studies and encouragements.

Today you will find her working on her latest project, a book of daily devotionals. Her absolute passion is creating something beautiful from something ugly and that is why she loves sharing…    “My Beautifully Messy Life”.

 

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

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BY: MICHAEL POGGI, PRESIDENT OF THE MILLIONAIRES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT GROUP

The Millionaires Real Estate Investment Group is a private investment group made up of 10,000 members and 2500 active investors. The focus of the Millionaires Real Estate Investment group is to invest in several areas of Real Estate and Businesses ranging from purchasing apartment buildings, building new construction homes, purchasing vacant land in fast growing areas as well as investing in businesses.

I have had decades of experience in Real Estate Investing. Throughout the years, I have had several ups and downs. I will share with you some of the tips that have allowed me to be successful in Real Estate and Businesses. I would like to save you from some of the mistakes that I have made and thus allow you to succeed early on in your career.

Take control over your Mind and Your Attitude – We all know that there are many things in life that you cannot control, but you can control your mind and your attitude. External forces have very little to do with success. Those who program themselves for success find a way to succeed even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Live life to the Fullest – Living life to the fullest is a lot like shooting the rapids in a rubber raft. Once you have made the commitment it’s difficult to change your mind, turn around and paddle upstream to placid waters. But it’s the excitement and adventure that make it all worthwhile. If you never make the attempt, you may never know the depths of despair, but neither will you experience the exhilaration of success.

I strive to live my life personally and professionally to the fullest. I do not allow mistakes or challenges to stop progress, when a challenge arises; I determine a solution and move forward. Do not let challenges stand in the way of your progress in beginning Real Estate or continuing in Real Estate, if you do you will be cutting yourself off from the huge success that you could achieve.

Leverage Your Money to Get Deals Done- Do not wait until you have all of the money for a deal in order to make that deal happen. There are so many ways to structure a deal. You can partner with someone else that has the money, and you do all of the work, Or you can put in half of the money and the partner puts in half of the money, or you can put down a down payment and let the seller hold the note etc.. Do not let lack of money stop you from getting deals done.

Don’t be Afraid to Change Directions When Necessary -It is imperative that we are not afraid to change directions when conditions change. I have been a Real Estate Investor for many years, and have seen the ups and downs of the market. I have always watched the market conditions to determine what strategies make sense.

It is not wise to hold on to a strategy when the numbers and the market conditions no longer align. Sometimes it is tempting to jump into a real estate investing strategy that no longer yields great returns due to the market when in reality the time for that strategy has already passed. For example, at the top of the market is not the best time to purchase rental properties.

There are strategies that fit every type of market. Our team researches and determines the best strategies to invest in and changes directions when market conditions deem necessary.

Grow Your Wealth Tax Free By Investing in Real Estate using a Self-Directed IRA- One strategy that has allowed me to gain tremendous wealth has been investing in Real Estate using a Self -Directed IRA.

An IRA, An Individual Retirement Account is a personal savings plan that allows you to set aside funds for your retirement. Investments made within these plans grow in either a tax-deferred or tax-free environment.

A tax-deferred account is one that is funded with pre-tax dollars which means in most cases that you get a deduction for your contributions. When distributions are taken from the account those funds are taxed. Traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE plans are referred to as tax-deferred accounts.

By contrast a tax-free account is one that is funded with after tax dollars, which means that you do not receive a deduction for contributions. When distributions are taken, there are no taxes incurred in a tax-free account. The Roth IRA and the Coverdell Education Plan are referred to as tax-free accounts.

The Self-directed IRA is a well-kept secret. You might not be aware that it is possible to invest in non-traditional investments such as real estate, mortgages, tax liens, mobile homes and other investments in an IRA. A truly self-directed IRA will enable you to use your investment knowledge and expertise to prepare for your retirement. A self-directed IRA allows one to make their own investment decisions from a wide range of acceptable investments.

I was able to grow my wealth from $500.00 to $1,200,000 by investing in Real Estate using a Self-Directed IRA. Imagine the difference this strategy will make in your life by allowing you to grow your wealth tax-free. You can learn additional strategies that have allowed me to be a successful Real Estate Investor in my book “Build Wealth Tax Free Profit Formula” that is featured on Amazon.

I have taught and mentored thousands of students over the years at my educational seminars and webinars. Please email our office to be added to our database to receive invitations to these events. We often partner on real estate and business projects when the numbers make sense whether it is your project or our projects.

Feel free to contact our office for additional information about the Millionaires Real Estate Investment Group. We look forward to getting to know you and finding out more about you and your business and how we can possibly work together moving forward. [email protected] 954-306-3586

Michael Poggi

Michael Poggi is a nationally recognized public speaker, established author, and professional investor, with nearly two decades of experience. Michael speaks on advanced wealth strategies and how to invest in Real Estate and Businesses the right way .He presents topics such as: house flipping, purchasing apartment buildings, and building new construction homes, development projects, purchasing vacant lots in fast growing areas and buying businesses in your IRA or your old 401K plan. He teaches people how to make their IRA self-directed in the true sense, so you can use it for real estate. He also teaches people and mentors students on how to make their IRA cash flow monthly tax-free as well as how to invest properly.

In addition, Michael is the president and founder of The Millionaires Investment Group, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. There are 10,000 members of the Millionaires Investment Group and 2500 Active Investors. The Millionaires Investment Group holds a meeting on a monthly basis to network and partner on real estate ventures, and businesses. Michael’s company specializes in many aspects of commercial real estate, vacant land, development projects, new construction home projects and businesses. The group attracts top notch speakers from all around the country, who are featured monthly to provide additional education.

Michael is often a featured guest on the Money Talk radio show. His company, Build Wealth with Land, LLC, is one of the largest land providers in the U.S., providing hundreds of vacant lots to investors and builders yearly. Michael has bought and sold over 1000 vacant lots and houses in the last 10 years, tax free.

The 10 Deadly Mistakes That Will Kill Your Dream

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By Kathy Kennebrook (The Marketing Magic Lady)

I am frequently asked, “If you had it to do over again what would you do differently?” Well, I’d like to answer that question for you. There are several things you can do to help your business grow and several things you can do to kill the dream before it ever has a chance to become a reality. Let’s talk about the “ten deadly mistakes” that can kill your dream.

1. Listening to people who make less money than you do. There are a lot of folks out there who don’t understand this business at all, yet they will want to give you advice faster than anyone else. They basically want to keep you where they are, which is broke. Surround yourself with people who can guide you in a positive way and a forward direction. Get involved with your local real estate club or a mentoring program like Ron LeGrand provides for you. Read all you can on the subject of Real Estate Investing and educate yourself to move forward with your business. Don’t let a “naysayer” kill your dream.

2. Lack of Focus. If you’re anything like I was when I first got started in real estate, then you know how to find something else you’d rather do, or something that seems like it’s more important at the moment. I found very quickly that I had to do the work in order to succeed in the real estate business. The more of the initial “work” I did, the faster my business grew. What I mean by the work is finding motivated sellers, learning how to structure deals and then figuring out my exit strategy. The other part of the work was to very quickly find ways to automate these systems, and get someone else doing the work for me so I could deal only with the sellers. This took concentration and the ability to learn to avoid distractions, like the telephone for example. I very quickly learned to return all calls two or three times a day instead of taking every call that came in. I also had to learn how to focus on specific types of real estate deals at the beginning of my business instead of being pulled in all directions and not accomplishing anything at all. You must stay focused in order to become successful in any business you pursue.

3. Getting Beyond the “Get Rich Quick” Mentality– Anyone who thinks this is a “get rich quick” kind of business is in for a rude awakening. It takes time, discipline and ongoing education to be very successful at real estate. Isn’t worth it to take some time now to learn the business and start doing deals that make you thousands of dollars so you can vacation and spend time with your family a little later? There are so many “get rich quick” schemes out there that just don’t work. Real estate will work for you over and over if you give it the time and discipline it well deserves.

4. Wasting Time With Unmotivated Sellers– I cover this extensively in my Marketing Magic System. Don’t waste valuable time dealing with people who want to sell a property. Deal only with those who NEED to sell. And don’t waste a lot of time on the phone with them. Automate your system to develop ways to get sellers to give you the information you need to determine if there is a deal to be made before you ever have a conversation with them. If a seller is not motivated enough to accept your offer-be it price or terms, find another seller who is. Time is money in this business. I would suggest however, that there are times you will want to follow up with a semi-motivated seller and there are great ways to do this without taking up a lot of your time. I also cover this extensively in my system. Also, don’t waste your time looking at properties before you have made an offer to the seller. I never look at houses anymore without having a very good idea what my seller will accept. I just make the offer “subject to inspection” which gives me an out if the property isn’t what the seller and I agreed to. Usually the deal is made before I ever see a property.

5. Building a Huge Rental Base Before Taking Care of Today’s Cash flow Needs. I could absolutely write a book on this subject. When I first started in the business, I started keeping every single property. All of a sudden I had 55 properties in inventory and no money to pay the bills. I actually started thinking the real estate business just didn’t work. Thank goodness I was proved wrong, but not before learning a very valuable lesson. I have my mentor Ron LeGrand to thank for that. We started liquidating some of those properties to get cash coming in and then developed a plan for how many houses we would retail and how many we would keep each month based on what our personal needs were. If you are just starting out, believe me when I tell that you wholesaling properties is a really good way to build cash flow quickly. If you want to keep some properties, you can do that. Just make sure you develop a plan of action that will work for you and your personal finances. Make sure you have enough cash coming in to meet your personal needs and build a nest egg of extra cash.

6. Fear of Making Offers.  This is another subject I could talk a lot about from personal experience. I remember targeting motivated sellers, having them contact me and then leaving the information on my desk because I was afraid to contact them. Once I figured out that they are just people too, it became a lot easier. If you already have the information about their situation and their property in front of you because you have built a system to do that, you already know most of what you need to know. The rest of the deal lies in your ability to pick up the phone and talk to the seller. Fear of sellers is probably one of the most serious problems you will encounter as a real estate investor, because without the sellers, there are no deals. The biggest problem that I see with students is the fear of rejection from the seller. So what? Either they sell to you or they don’t. If they don’t, then simply move onto a seller who is willing to work with you.

7. Making Excuses like “I don’t know enough yet to make deals”. I am one of those people who just has to jump in first and do it and then fix it later. However, in the real estate business, this just isn’t a really good idea. You do need to get some education in order to do this business, or work with someone who already has the education. Working with a partner or a mentor like Ron LeGrand is one good way to get started. 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. Even after all the years I have been doing this business, I still go to seminars and read books to learn even more ways to do great deals.  In the beginning, I learned enough in a very short time to do a lot of profitable deals and you can too. 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 ongoing support to all my students as does Ron. If they get stuck on a deal or an offer, they know where they can get their questions answered.

8. Procrastination. 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 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” and “the kids need me.” Once I started making a specific plan and put it in writing, things started to happen. I have always been a list maker and working the real estate business involved making several more lists. So I started keeping a detailed planner outlaying what I have to do the next day, the next week, the next month, etc. This helps 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. There is nothing I know that will keep things in prospective better than a specific plan of action.

9. Lack of Communication Skills. One of the major obstacles I hear my students having trouble with is their lack of communication skills. There are a lot of reasons this happens. One is simply because the student is from another country or part of the country and has an accent that makes it difficult to understand them, or they don’t have a total grasp on the English language. To these folks I say, find someone else to do the talking for you until your communication skills improve. A Realtor or a partner can certainly help you with this problem and you should have a Realtor as a part of your “Dream Team” regardless of your communication level. As a matter of fact, if you have automated your business the way I teach you to, you can buy houses without ever seeing them or talking to a seller. Many of my offers are made in writing without ever seeing the property and then the details are handled by the closing agent. In fact, I deal with a lot of Spanish speaking sellers and I don’t speak a word of Spanish. I simply developed a system to handle these sellers.

10. Fear of Failure- Let me be the one to tell you that the only person who can truly kill your dreams is YOU. The decision is simply yours to make. I know this sounds cliché, but do you really want to go through your whole life wondering if you could have done it? The only way to realize your dreams is to “fail forward”. You may make some mistakes along the way but you will quickly learn what not to do the next time. I would much rather know that when I reach retirement, I will be able to do what I want to do, go where I want to go and not have to depend on anyone to provide for my old age. The easiest decision to make is to do nothing at all, but you get no reward that way. Half of the excitement of my life these days that makes me get up in the morning is finding and doing the next deal because it’s a thrill for me. It definitely isn’t a job anymore. I can also choose to just take the day off and do what I want to do. Only you have the ability to set yourself free to do live your life in whatever way you want to, and real estate is definitely the avenue to accomplish this goal!!

Be sure and check out my website at www.marketingmagiclady.com for all the information you need on finding motivated sellers and lenders for your real estate investing business. While you are there be sure and sign up for my FREE monthly newsletter and get $149.00 in real estate investing tools absolutely FREE!!

 

Kathy Kennebrook

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 co-authored 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 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, Dr. Phil, Dan Kennedy, Mark Victor Hansen, Ted Thomas and Suze Orman to name a few.

Kathy is going to share with you how she generates a seven figure income by mailing a handful of letters throughout the year to highly selected targets by knowing exactly what to send them, who to send them to and exactly how to deliver her message. She will teach you the secrets of pre-screening and automating your marketing and follow up systems to put your entire Real Estate business on auto-pilot.