Firstly, let me say that I apologize if this gets long winded. I have a few issues but will break them up into separate posts to help make things easier. Since I haven't closed a deal, I figured this was the best place to post. I am just looking for feedback, ideas, or personal experiences that might help me get things moving forward a little better.

I decided about half a year ago to get into REI. The "why" is that I want an additional source of income, to build something that I can look at and be proud of, and to eventually have enough income to step away from my job. I work as a paramedic in Little Rock, Arkansas and I love my job, but the pay isn't going to set me up for long term goals I have.

After much time on the forums here "lurking" I decided that wholesaling would be my initial strategy. I had a little savings, and had some extra monthly income that I could put a little into marketing. This monthly budgeted for marketing isn't much. My past experiences in Internet Marketing and the lack of competition in my area was what I felt would be my competitive edge. It can be a low cost form of advertising (PPC), and I am pretty confident that I can build a solid infrastructure targeting highly converting keywords for my area. This does take time however.

I did my research from the big guys websites and got a list of keywords. I built a site around those keywords. I set up PPC. When I hit to GO button in Adwords, I got a call to my business line in 3 hours. Great start right? It was a motivated lead.

So Issue #1 - Mentor

I attended a few local REI type meetups. I have yet to go to a REIA meeting and know that I must attend the next one. This led me to a local mentor (the only one I have really seen locally) who really was the only name in the game as far as online advertising goes. I signed up for his program which was a monthly fee and half of the profits from wholesale deals. He had some basic educational material and some forms to assist with getting things going. I've never wanted someone to hold my hand when I am experiencing something new, but someone who motivates and adds value has always helped. I've learned a bit from him, but have never really taken anything away that I haven't seen on here. I feel like I might have gotten better advice on some things having listed them in the deal analysis area of this forum! He is a great guy, and I feel like he has good intentions. Here are some qualms I have,

1.) A few times I have called about a lead and one of his other "students" have already contacted him about it. So it generally is like... okay, so I guess I have to ignore this one.

2.) I feel that a few deals were passed up because they didn't meet his minimum requirements. I understand that he has goals he wants to make on each deal so that it feels they are worth his time. Personally if I could walk away with $500 or $1k it would be well worth it to me. The experience of going through the steps and seeing things in action would be extremely beneficial to me. Also based on my current financial situation, that amount of income would be a great assistance.

3.) Bear with me on this one; I feel at the mercy of my mentor, because I don't have a buyers list. Okay, I KNOW from all I have read that it is a great idea to have a buyers list. Not mandatory, since if you have a good deal, buyers will find you. However, with the structure of mentor ship, the property would be marketed to his buyers. I have grown to realize that this leaves me at the mercy of my mentor. Never has there been a "you should start finding buyers and building a list." It's the fact that he hasn't mentioned this step after months or pushed the point that leads me to wonder about his overall intentions. I want someone to teach me to be successful mutually. I hope the point of this comes across correctly.

4.) I am not sure that having a mentor ship with my biggest competitor in my direct area is the best idea. So far it hasn't lead to anything. Many of the motivated buyers just wouldn't go low enough for the deal to work. I have seen a response to my online marketing by his team to be more competitive and therefore more costly for me. There was even an idea that I had not long ago that I discussed with him that (maybe not intentionally) was targeted by his marketing. Sometimes, I am suspicious of his overall intentions for not only myself but the other members. I don't think he would do anything that is overly dishonest, but might have some underlying intentions with working with his direct competitors.

So my questions is, what should I do in this situation? I haven't been able to successfully find another mentor and I just don't feel like I am getting enough from the current guy. Maybe my expectations are a little high. I am more than willing to put in time and work to make things successful. I have presented 20 + leads with about 5 being very motivated. Sadly there just wasn't the wholesaler profit involved to close the deals. I probably should utilize the resources here on BP more to get assistance.

My Plan of Action on This Point

1.) Attend the next local REIA meeting. Unfortunately they only do them every other month. The next one is in November. I have tried to reach out to some of the members, but most say "come to the next meeting." I have worked very successfully in sales and am good at networking with people. Now it is just taking action on this point.

2.) Start utilizing the BP community more. I am getting about 10 leads a weak simply through online marketing. Usually about 1 of those is fairly motivated. If there is not direction with my mentor I will post them here and see what people think. I will ask questions and get more involved with other conversations on the forum.

3.) Buyers list. I have about 6 resources (most from BP) on finding buyers. I am going to take action and start building a list. I have created a website that is specific as to the geographical area we serve and will possible to a little PPC for specific keywords if I can get them dirt cheap. Time permitting, I will focus on some natural results for the site as well. I will call around to title companies this week until I find one that will provide me with a list of cash buyers for the last 6 months. I will contact these buyers and let them know who I am and what I can offer. I am a big fan of the reverse wholesaling method (yeah even though I haven't incorporated it) but more importantly not shotgun blasting your list with every property.

4.) Network. I have a local commercial realtor who we started communicating but he never responded to my last. I will reach out to him again, and see what I can do. I would like to find other people in the area who I can network with.

That about sums the first part of this up. Looking forward to your replies and criticism.