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5 Things Real People Regret About Working in the Real Estate Business

Working in the real estate business made me learn the in and outs of selling property, investing, and buying. Now that I think of how things were in real estate when I was getting started, I realized there were things that I could have done better. Had I done these things in the beginning, I’m 100% sure my house flipping would have progressed much faster. Hopefully, these tips will find people that are struggling with some of them and are not even aware of it.

1. Taking Too Long to Take Actions

Taking too long to get something started is something that a lot of people have trouble with. Not that I became an expert before I got started, but I think I could have progressed much faster had I dealt with the self-doubt and started taking action earlier. I continuously hear people talking about analysis paralysis and needing more information before they finally ‘take the plunge’.

We all just need to get one more course or learn about that other technique that we just heard about. Procrastination is putting things aside to work on them in the future. The problem with that is most people wait too long. If we could add another tool to our toolbox so that we could cover every conceivable situation, we’ll be good to go. Unfortunately, you will never be prepared to handle every situation. That’s just a fact of life. It’s time to face it. When I got started, I learned about the basics, which reminds me of the book title. Everything I really need to know, I learned in Kindergarten. Looking back, the basics were really all I used as I started taking action and putting myself out there, getting out of my comfort zone, growing, learning, finally making it happen.

It turns out I really didn’t need to learn the ins and outs of ‘subject to’ or ‘section 8’ or ‘tax strategies for real estate investors. Unfortunately, I wasn’t even making any money yet and I was already trying to figure out how to save on taxes) or investing in things that mattered.

2. Feeling Too Comfortable

Procrastination is the root of all evil. If we don’t do something we’re not used to, we can’t fail. We won’t make a mistake while we’re trying to learn that new aspect of investing. As soon as I would read something new on a forum, I’d think, Ok, I need to find out more about that. That’s something I need to know. It wasn’t something I needed to know. It was a way to avoid having to take action. Of course, I needed to educate myself to a certain level, but that level doesn’t need to be an expert level.

I don’t think people can get to the expert level until they take action and learn from the school of hard knocks. I’m immediately thinking of situations where new investors confuse the heck out of sellers with their 5 different purchase options that involve crazy tactics that were concocted by someone that had not even tried it before.

3. Not Marketing Correctly

I wish I had truly focused on just getting my message in front of the people that needed it. I started by marketing to motivated sellers for deals. You see, I was spending a lot of time staying in my comfort zone, making. My partner would always see me designing and ordering new refrigerator magnets and pens with my message on them and would ask what I was doing. It wasn’t like motivated sellers were going to magically come knocking at my door and go straight into my office to dig through boxes to find my message. That would truly make things a lot easier. Marketing brings business but marketing yourself correctly can bring steady business for years to come.

4. Not Having a Detailed Plan

Not having a plan was a huge mistake. What I should have been doing was writing up a marketing plan that focused on the marketing that got the phone ringing immediately. A plan that I could start implementing that would keep my marketing consistent. It’s very obvious that ordering more pens is the easier the choices, but what were we trying to do? We weren’t trying to market for marketing’s sake. Not having a detailed plan really took its toll on me. Not having a plan led me to roam and waste time.

5. Not Investing in Others

Investing in my peers and teaching them how important planning and real estate were a regret. I wish I hadn’t been such a hermit in the beginning. I’d been to local real estate investment association meetings on several occasions but didn’t talk to a single person other than my partner. Now, I know better. This one actually took me a while to truly figure out. I just wanted to be the lone wolf figuring out how to outsmart my competition. That’s not what we would call an ‘abundance mentality.

You’d think everyone would just want to keep what they are doing to themselves, but most are really willing to share if you take the time to really build a relationship. You’ve got to give in order to receive. Investing to teach others and or investing in yourself is crucial in the real estate business.