Nuts and Bolts of First Deal?

[Stewart Olney]

This is what I get stuck on, and why I haven't gotten started making offers yet:

A large portion of real estate investing education about starting out that I have seen has been about what kind of REI to start in, (Eg. wholesaling, flipping, buy and hold etc.) or how to get started in your specific niche. (How to market for wholesaling, basics of land lording etc.) What I haven't seen is how you should prepare for your first deal. Should you have a LLC already set up? Put together a team first (realtor, lawyer, CPA, mortgage broker, etc.)? Have investors and partners lined up? Related - Is it a good idea to have investors/partners/funding lined up before you make your first offer? Should you have a business plan?

Or is it okay to go out, make a deal, and then figure out the rest as you go along?

I struggle because I want to go and make deals, but I can see so many risks if I don't have that foundation in place first. Yet, if I want to get started, I have to get out there an start making offers. Basically, am I better off focusing on building a foundation of a business through networking and planning before I start making offers and finally have that 1st deal?