business cards for buy and hold investor

[Trevor Hawn]

I'm just getting started real estate investing here in Atlanta and interested in finding good deals on multifamily and SFH relatively nearby to buy and hold.

I'm attending my first REI networking meeting tonight and realized I don't have any business cards. I've been in sales for 15 years so I'm familiar with the importance of branding yourself at networking events like these and business cards play a big role in that.

Its my understanding that lots of wholesalers display "We buy houses for Cash" or something similar on their business cards. I'm curious what everyone's thoughts are on a good slogan or message would be on a business card a buy and hold investor.

Thanks!

Trevor Hawn

[Doug W.]

Hey @Trevor Hawn. How did the meeting go?

The reason I am responding the the thread is to say from experience that I think you should be careful about how much time you put into worrying about what your business card says. I, like you, come from a background in sales so I can also understand the branding perspective. When you meet other investors at REIA meetings or when you checking out a property or even on a site like BP they are going to remember you based on if you perform or not. If you don't waste people's time and you act on a deal when the deal is right the other investors who you need in your network will make sure that they have your contact info handy. And the same goes the other way around.

I've seen, and have collected, cards that run the gamut from just a B&W with name/number/email to ones with crazy bright colors and WAY too much info on them (two-sided!). And that's in both REI and my former life in sales.

I wasted a lot of time years ago when I first tried getting into REI worrying about my website and post cards and business cards and signs and so I spent no time on actually meeting people and shaking hands and really putting myself out there. Eventually most the marketing materials ended up in the trash. In my 2.0 REI adventure I'm keeping it simple and to the point -- I've attended 2 REI meetings in the past two weeks and drove by 4 properties in the same time frame (I went inside one of them this morning thanks to a wholesaler I met at an REI meeting last week). Oh..... and I don't have any business cards right now. :)

I'm not shooting down cards and marketing your brand or yourself. In fact, I started to put together a Wordpress hosted website in my spare time over the past weekend and the next time I drive by a Staples or Office Depot I'm going to grab some business card stock so that I can print some simple cards at home. That way I can have a couple dozen that say "Rehabber" and some that say "I buy houses" and some that say nothing but my contact info. When I get to a point where I need more like 50+ I'll order them online but in the mean time I'm trying to spend my time focusing on the stuff that is going to make me money.

Best of luck to you.