We've been chatting with several real estate investors recently who are now thinking of starting their own businesses.
It's awesome.
Some have big ideas, others just want to add another stream of income to their lives.
We're obviously big believers in adding streams of income to your life - it's 100% liberating.
And very often, when we sit down to chat about their plans, a common theme appears.
We've had multiple cases of this exact situation in the last few months...
Someone wants to start a website that will deliver some customers to them.
And without even having built the first page they're getting discouraged because they've *heard* Google changes it's search results often and how will they know FOR SURE, with 100% CERTAINTY, that the articles they're writing will rank high in Google's search results.
They focus on this so much and for so long that they end up not doing anything.
They don't build a single page, or they build a few and then stop, it's discouraging to watch.
They're so close to success and they don't know it.
Or...
We'll chat with new real estate investors who ask what will happen to their investments when interest rates rise.
When we explain that they're no guarantees on what will happen but here's a few ways to limit your risk, starter homes in good areas, cash flow etc. ... they then ask for guarantees that what we explained actually happen.
The know rates will rise at some point, which is accurate thinking, and they want to know all the details about what the future will look like - today.
And because that's impossible they get discouraged and don't do anything.
These are people who are "starting with the end in mind".
And it's hurting them.
They are looking at the end ... they're focused on the big goal ... and because of that, they're psyching themselves out.
It's holding them back - big time.
With website development, especially article based websites, you don't get Internet traffic overnight. It takes months and sometimes over a year to get traffic flowing.
You keep adding to your site, you adjust, you see what works and what doesn't work ... you get the big win by getting in the game and adjusting as you go.
But when you're done you have an asset that will deliver for you - for years, maybe decades!
With real estate investing you'll never know everything. There will be shocks, financial shocks and emotional shocks. You make money in real estate by surviving over lengths of time ... not with one quick hit.
And if you can survive the first few years you're likely creating an asset that will produce for you - for a very, very long time!
Literally the other day someone told us that they wanted to grow their investing business but would never want to start a real estate brokerage like we did.
We have news for you...
We never had the "big goal" of starting a brokerage.
That never made it to any of our lists.
We started by running one ad and seeing if we could work with a couple of investors beyond our family and friends.
Then we tweaked the ad.
We tweaked our processes.
We starting attracting more people than we could work with.
We added great people to our team.
Tweaked our processes, ran more ads.
Added more people.
Put in a few more systems.
Out of sheer ignorance, we decided that we should own our own brokerage with the amount of business we were doing ... so we started a brokerage out of two small "executive suites" offices that housed about nine people. We bought two filing cabinets and some software to track the deals.
Wrote the appropriate courses and opened up some "trust" accounts.
And bingo, we owned a brokerage.
If we had started with this big goal of owning a brokerage I really think it wouldn't have helped us any.
It may have even harmed us.
And we're believers in goal setting!!
Focus on the today, maybe focus on the next three months. But it may be detrimental to your own progress to start with the end in mind.
Aside: We're pretty sure the author, Stephen Covey, came up with this line, "starting with the end in mind". To be clear we're huge Covey fans ... but want to share our own opinions on this particular thinking.
Some very smart business owners once told us to have vague big goals five or ten years out but do all your planning in 3-month increments.
Don't worry about anything beyond that. Not what Google's doing, or what interest rates are doing.
Focus on today and every three months you may do little tweaks as necessary.
We love this quote and have no idea who said it,
"You don't have to get it right, you just have to get it going."
It's the momentum you create from getting started that is important.
Talk is cheap.
And time is your most important asset, in real estate, websites and in life.
Start something today, anything, and keep going.
You'll make some mistakes, you'll screw up, you'll piss some people off, you'll make some new friends, you'll become stronger.
Your context of what is possible will change once you begin and stick with it.
Don't let your "big goals" freak you out.
Pick a path and get going. You can change as you go.
Instead of starting with the end in mind, start with today in mind and get going!
Start with today in mind!
Until next time ... Your Life! Your Terms!
(