I sent this out on a blog thing I do, and I had someone tell me I should put it up here, and after seeing the post from tbodley I thought that maybe I should put it up and maybe it will help those trying to get started. I edited it down a bit and removed any links and stuff.
I put it here under “Beginners”, cause we’ve all been beginners…
I think all of us are in the same boat, or were at some point. We have a J.O.B. that we loathe and we want to start our own business for ourselves, but, HOW do we start a business if you work during the day?!
Don’t worry, and stop making excuses. It CAN be done, and IS done all of the time!
When I started Leasing to Buy many years ago, I’ll admit that I was fortunate in the sense that I worked from home during the day trading options and stocks, but I still did a little part time stint at nights to help make extra money. BUT, I did all of the work for Leasing to Buy at NIGHT, because this was back in the day of “long distance calls” and I was having to call sellers at night and I didn’t want to use MY phone at home due to the long distance charges, so I called from work at night. I don’t think Craigslist was even around then, so all I had to go on were stacks of pages I printed out from FSBO ads! I’d spend two hours a night COLD CALLING. YUK! Now, fast forward 8 years and here YOU are trying to start a business. But…you work full time…so…you can’t POSSIBLY start a business can you?
Are you kidding me?! Think of what you have at your disposal!
Cell phones with unlimited calling! E-mails sent to your phone! Sellers marketing that you don’t even call, you just e-mail! (Or in my case direct mail to) You can even use a virtual assistant in India and now have people oversees work for you while you sleep!
So let me ask you again? Do you think you can start a business while you work a full time job?
You bet! If you can’t answer the calls during the day, fine! Call them when you get off work. Most calls actually come in to you after 5:00, so no big deal. Return e-mails once a day in the evening. Not a big deal!
But the secret is to START and take some action to get things rolling. Do NOT use the excuse that you work full time so you are just stuck in that rut forever! Take charge and start making your plans to do something this week to breaking out of the 9-5 mold, and when you start turning a couple of houses each month, then quit your job if you want, but nobody is going to make it happen for you but you.
Ain’t that the truth. I been dreaming for years about getting off the slavemill I mean treadmill better known as the 9 to 5 J.O.B. I work too. That’s why I set up Google voicemail account in case people need to contact me when I’m not available.
I am a little different. I have a job that I love. I always believe that if you don’t like your job do something else. NEVER do a job you don’t love. I was doing ok in my job, moving up pretty steadily but once I started buying houses I started moving up at work wicked fast. My first year I got 2 raises and a promotion. Just last month I got a promotion to run 3 corporate divisions. People work for 3 reasons, #1 for money, #2 for social position, #3 to get the job done. When I stopped working for money I could concentrate on the other 2 which made me much more successful at my job.
That is awesome to love your job. I think the only job I could enjoy is one I created. I hated many many years ago working for a company.
I’m trying to gear my kids towards entrepreneurism…I tell them “Can you believe, if you work for someone else, they tell you when you can eat lunch?! They tell you if you can or can’t go on vacation! Some people only get 2 weeks ALL YEAR to go on vacation!” They look at me in horror! HA!
Good post. I’ve been researching REI for about a year now. I got sick of the analysis paralysis. That and I wasn’t really a “motivated” investor until now because I have a job that I enjoy, but doesn’t pay well enough, bills that are giving me ulcers (maybe), and a credit score that was on it’s way up before we moved and is now plummeting. I’m ordering business cards, I’m scheduled to visit a REIA meet up, and I’ve posted an ad on craiglist looking for investors. I’m still a little nervous, but I feel better now that I’ve started to actually take action.
The first deal is going to be stressful. After you do a couple, you should start to feel comfortable. Kinda like having kids. The first one rocks your world, but after that you know what to expect for the next one.
RE investing can give you that paralysis partly because there is sooo much info out there AND there are sooo many ways to get involved. I chose LO’s because of a few reasons, but I liked the fact LO’s have essentially zero risk and I saw it as a great way to learn much more about RE while I earned money. But, maybe it’s short sales or something else for you. I always suggest listing the 4 or 5 areas that interest you, and list pros and cons, and see what you feel comfortable with, and pursue that with absolute focus. The bottom line is, you have a LOT of info out there about RE…then you have to narrow down THAT info to try to find the area you like…then…there is a LOT of info on THAT subject…so then you have to filter the BS and hoopla and pick out the nuggets of truth and useful info…THEN you have to take some action…THEN you have to realize that you will NEVER have all the answers, and part of making it is going with the flow…
See how easy it is!!! HA!
:shocked scared again. Just kidding. I’m completely dedicated to it now. I’m most interested in assigning contracts right now. I’m trying to understand exactly how LOs work, but every time I read something it’s like my brain gets all scrambled. The fact that my job doesn’t give me many hours is a good thing as far as REI goes because I have more time to find houses and market myself. Eventually I want to get into full on rehabbing because I’m a girl that likes manual labor and design. It’s too much risk for me and my husband now, though, so he’s very comfortable with assigning contracts… Is assigning contracts and wholesaling the same thing?
Yes, although there can always be some slight variations depending on how people tweak it.
I found my niche with LO’s but specifically with assigning them, so that is the only thing I do.
I honestly believe it’s the best way to start RE, and the best way to learn your area without risking money.
LO’s aren’t complicated at ALL, so don’t let all the info you read scramble your brain.
As a matter of fact, take a piece of paper, and do a flow chart of LO’s, starting with a seller on one side, the buyer on the other side, and you in the middle. Now, draw lines to show the flow of things from the contracts between you and the seller, then over to the buyer (assignment) and now draw a line from the buyer down to credit repair, then establish credit, then finance.
you have just explained and drawn out the basics of lease options.
I did even more research into LO and now I’m hooked. I had to go on The Naked Investor and look at the real deals for it to really click in my head. I learn by examples I guess. It seems to be the easiest way to get a big buyer’s list.
One thing I am slightly confused on is this: when you assign the contract you aren’t really out of the deal? From what I’ve seen, when you find a tenant/buyer you can raise the rent a little so that you still get cash flow, an option fee at the beginning, and possibly more money if they exercise the option to buy and you negotiated a higher selling price. Is it possible to just assign over the LO without having to stick around for the year or however long they have to exercise the option? Can you just take the option fee and run? I know it’s a better investment to stay in the deal til the end, but I was just wondering if I have it right.
You are right. You can “assign and run” if you will. I actually approached it from the angle of helping people, so I put everything in place to help people prepare and then finance. I only get paid on the front, but by having all the pieces in place, it really builds a solid company and one that builds trust in the sellers and buyers, which makes it easier to do the volume of properties.
NI is a great place to learn, and MC has the best manual in my opinion that breaks it down to the basics.
He’s hideous to look at, but a really good guy…HA! I’m on NI quite a bit as Pilot as well.
Feel free to PM me with any questions or put them up at NI and you’ll get a lot of good support.