No one becomes a successful real estate investor overnight.
It involves hard work, time, and experience to get to the point that you’re doing multiple deals a month without being involved in every aspect of the business.
It’s no secret that when you first start out, you’re most likely going to be doing it all yourself.
As your business grows, you can allocate certain areas of the business to other team members. Eventually, your focus shifts from growing your business to making it more efficient and building long-term wealth.
There’s basically 3 stages that a real estate investor goes through.
- The Brand New Real Estate Investor (0-1 deal a month)
- The Active Real Estate Investor (2-4 deals a month)
- The Expert Real Estate Investor (5 or more deals a month)
The Brand New Real Estate Investor
When you’re first starting out in the real estate investing industry, you don’t yet have a team and are most likely figuring it out as you go.
Many investors start out while they still have their normal 9-5 job and are investing on the side as they have time.
Other aspects of a new investor include:
- Little education on the ins-and-outs of real estate investing
- No team
- No systems in place
- Lacks confidence when meeting sellers
- Doesn’t have a network of vendors, lenders, or other real estate investors
- Inefficient marketing
All of the above come with time. As you get a deal or two under your belt, you’ll start building on all of these and that’s where the shift to an active real estate investor comes in.
It’s hard to have systems in place or a team when you don’t know what you need. As you meet with more sellers and close more deals, you’ll quickly figure out ways to become more efficient.
Hiring your first team member is a big step!
You don’t necessarily know what type of team member you need to hire though until you start doing deals. Many investors start with a virtual assistant to keep the admin responsibilities out of your hands so that you can focus on more important matters.
With anything new, confidence comes with experience. To give yourself a boost, try to learn as much as you can about the industry so that you can “talk the talk” without stumbling over the first hard question you get from a seller.
For marketing, you need to get leads coming in!
Direct mail is probably the best for this but you’ll want to have targeted lists you’re sending to. It’d be worth listening to one of our Expert Interview Shows over direct mail to learn how to do this the right way.
The Active Real Estate Investor
For the active investor, you’re starting to fine tune what works for you in your market and you’re able to start growing your business.
You’ve got a few deals a month and are starting to build your team and systems so that your business is able to grow without everything being on your shoulders.
A few aspects of the Active Real Estate Investor include:
- Getting more comfortable with meeting sellers. Can answer most questions asked and can calculate an offer within 5-10 minutes
- At least 1 team member
- Expanding their network and building relationships in the industry
- Easier access to funding
- More refined marketing strategy
This is when you’re working on efficiency and relationships. It’s a lonely industry but having solid relationships with others inside the real estate investing realm can be nothing but a good thing.
You never know where your next lead will come from and you never know who will give you a piece of advice that enables your growth to skyrocket.
For your business operations, your team is able to run important aspects of the business and it’s becoming a machine. You’ve figured out various programs and systems that make your job easier and allow for more automation, which in turn, helps your business grow.
With marketing, you’ve tried out multiple lists and have a schedule for sending out marketing materials to a trusted list that brings in a good number of leads (compared to other lists). Ideally, you’re also retargeting with social media to hit sellers visiting your website.
As you get more deals closed, lenders will be more willing to lend because of your history that shows you’re responsible with their money.
The Expert Real Estate Investor
Once you’ve achieved the level of closing 5+ deals a month, your business operations should be smooth with multiple members on your team. You’ve met your original goals and are setting the bar even higher for the upcoming years.
Your team is doing so well that you don’t have to be at the office very often and you’re actually able to “enjoy life” and relax a little.
Vacations are possible at the drop of a dime, without having to be working all the time.
Most experts we know still end up working a few hours a week but largely, your business can be on auto-pilot. It’s also the perfect time to expand to multiple markets and grow your business exponentially.
Aspects of an expert real estate investor include:
- Long-term relationships have been established
- Your business can essentially run with or without you in the office
- You have an acquisitions manager meeting with sellers
- You’re bringing in at least 5 deals a month
- You’re utilizing multiple exit strategies to build both short-term and long-term profit
- Your marketing strategy is constantly bringing in new leads
- Funding is easily obtained (or funded in cash)
Once you’ve reached this level of success, you have the knowledge, experience, and time to help others who are just getting into the industry.
Real estate investing is a hard business to learn without some type of mentoring or coaching. Most investors who reach this level have had some sort of mentor and it only makes sense to share your expertise with someone still figuring it out.
It’s good karma.
The evolution of a real estate investor is fascinating because there’s an opportunity for massive success.
That’s why most people get into it. They know that with hard work and experience, you can be your own boss and achieve financial freedom.
It’s not an easy path to get from the brand new investor to the expert level, but it’s all about the effort you put in.
If you’re at the beginning stages and are looking for a coaching program, The Investor Machine is a step-by-step mentoring program. It’s step-by-step coaching that explains what you need in order to succeed. From the systems and tools to the know-how, it’s an extensive program geared to get you doing deals!
It’s for people serious about getting started and who are ready to put in the work. If you want to learn more, Visit Here.
