The majority of people who want to invest in real estate fail in their attempts. Of the ones who don’t fail, few make any significant money.
The question is, why?
If you talk to successful investors you will hear things like, they weren’t serious enough about it, they didn’t work hard enough, they didn’t learn what they needed, etc.
If you talk to mentors they will say the students who didn’t do well failed themselves by not being serious enough, not working hard enough, not following the instructions and directions given them, etc.
See the pattern?
Investing in anything takes effort and knowledge. But, not all effort or knowledge is equal. Knowing how someone bought millions of dollars worth of property in the 1950’s is fine, but even if you faithfully applied the same knowledge today, you would probably fail.
So, it is not just knowledge, but the right knowledge at the right time.
The same is true for action. Yes, an investor must take action but again, it has to be the right action at the right time. Sure, sometimes a kick in the pants would be helpful to newbies and long time investors alike, but action for action sake is not all that helpful.
This is the problem faced by investors, especially new investors. They have difficulty identifying what they need to know and what they need to do, right now. They get caught up in the frenzy of learning for learning sake and doing “something” so they can say they work on their investing however many hours each week. But, over time, they don’t really gain any traction. They get frustrated. They might even give up.
For many the use of a mentor sometimes helps, at least for some period of time.
But, I think there is a better way. In fact, I know there is a better way because it has been in use for several years and has proven its value to me.
There is a definable process to every step on the real estate investing path. When someone says they want to wholesale properties for profit, they may not realize it but those words imply a process that can be broken down into definable steps.
For example, to wholesale you need buyers. To have buyers you have to compile a pool of qualified people who have the ability to close the transaction. To get that pool, you have to qualify potential candidates. To get those candidates you have to find them or get them to find you. To do that you have to market for them. To market for them you have to identify your target audience, construct your marketing message, and get it in front of them.
So, if someone says to you they want to get started wholesaling properties and asks you what they need to do, you would probably say, you need a buyer’s list. You may or may not think about all the things they have to do to get that list but rest assured they don’t have any idea.
Historically, the Field Guide has addressed that for its members. However, we are extending the tools proven in the field to solve this problem to help new and experienced investors concentrate on their investing as a business instead of a disjointed series of actions and endless searches for knowledge and strategy.
Of course it will take months to productize and make these tools ready for widespread and less supervised use but in the end it will be worth it both to us internally and to the investors who use these tools.
I will be recruiting early adopters to help with this process. Initially, they will come from the Field Guide membership but later I will be seeking some non FG members as well. If you think you have any interest in using a set of tools that apply a systematic process to real estate investing, watch this blog for an opportunity to be an early adopter and the benefits for participation.
Tags: software tools, Technology
