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Updated over 9 years ago, 06/16/2015
How to stay motivated?
Surround yourself with as many like minded people as you can be it online and offline. Getting out and networking with others just starting out in the business as well as those who are seasoned will help you get / stay motivated. Local meetup REIA groups in your area is a step in that direction. Ditch the naysayers and get up close with the positive thinkers and doers. Keep pushing forward; no venture no gain...
Kudos,
Mary
Not sure how to keep you motivated but I'll try. I have been in this business for 15 years and still get discouraged. I had a deal fall through last week and it still gets to me. When you do get that first deal it'll all be worth it and you'll never look back. Just keep it up. Like @Mary B. said, surround yourself by like minded people. At this point, I get as much satisfaction helping others as I do making deals.
The way I stay motivated is by doing projects. Projects don't come in the mail. I know there are education companies out there telling you that is how to find deals.
In my experience, deals chase money. I don't go hunting for deals. They come to me.
How do I do that? Even if I'm using other people's money, I'm always positioned as representing the money in the project. The key is to get good at raising the necessary capital to complete your projects.
By developing relationships with other investors who are doing the types of deals that I want to do, I get visibility of the opportunities. The marketplace is truly an all-you-can-eat buffet of opportunity. Successful investors have more opportunity presented to them than they can possibly undertake. A percentage of the cast-offs will still be good deals.
Hope that helps.
Originally posted by @Mary B.:
Surround yourself with as many like minded people as you can be it online and offline. Getting out and networking with others just starting out in the business as well as those who are seasoned will help you get / stay motivated. Local meetup REIA groups in your area is a step in that direction. Ditch the naysayers and get up close with the positive thinkers and doers. Keep pushing forward; no venture no gain...
Kudos,
Mary
Call me crazy, but I believe that you DO need a few naysayers in your circle.Some may even call these people "haters".
For me, this is the ULTIMATE motivation. (side note, if people call you "crazy" you are doing the right thing!).
I have 2 guys in my inner circle who, when I told them about my RE goals, one said "Why do you wanna do that?, no one's buying houses!"
NO ONE is buying houses? Seriously, NO ONE?? In my area, you can go to any RE broker waving a preapproval letter for 155k in their face and they will smile at you like one of those cheshire cats.
I have always been the type of person who succeeds in everything I put my mind to RE is no different thus far, to this I say thank you naysayers for the motivation.
@James Marie hey man, don't get too down about it.
Couple things:
1) RE isn't for the faint of heart, so know that out of the gate.
2) it took me 10 months to find my first deal, and I was pretty active in looking.
3) Take the time to listen to the last podcast, there is a great tip on this at the end that is simply put and says it all.
4) Really using the word "motivation" is the wrong thinking, motivation comes and goes, it's more of an emotional response of sorts. DETERMINATION is really the word you are looking for, no matter how motivated you feel or not, if you are determined - no level of motivation or lack there of will ever be your down fall.
BE DETERMINED!!!!!!! (Know your "why")
@Michael Noto
@Michael Notoundefined
We are approaching distressed property owners and sending them direct mail.
Originally posted by @James Marie:
Everyone starts off like that so don't think you're alone. It took me 4 months to close my first wholesale. I would branch out and maybe start mailing some absentee's. You could create a cheap website and drive traffic to it with SEO or PPC. Craigslist ads are free (although I question the quality of those leads.)
New investors have everything working against them: You don't have the volume of leads, you are being ultra-conservative, you aren't analyzing correctly, you are negotiating correctly, etc. I don't say these as bad things, their are just learning curves. The more calls you take and people you meet the better you will get at it!
Good luck and keep at it!
On the nitty-gritty side of things: what do you consider "a lot?" It's hard to say whether you're even sending enough letters. Also, how long have you been at it? Listen to every podcast that deals with wholesaling and you'll hear a theme - it usually takes many months, perhaps a year, and multiple mailings to the same addresses to snare that first deal. Wholesaling isn't for the faint of heart.
Now on to the most important part: WHY are you doing this? Keep that in front of you at all times. There's often a rush of adrenaline and euphoria at the start of a business venture, a rush that quickly flames out. Then what? Then you're into the grind, the daily reality, the realization that you're going to have more things go wrong than go right. If your reason why isn't strong, you'll give up.
A huge way to combat discouragement is to listen to the podcasts, read the blogs, and interact here on the forums. You made a good move by asking a question and seeking some help rather than flailing along alone. Network and meet other investors in person as well. Keep mailing. Keep moving. There's no one step that's going to be The Step. It's going to be thousands of small steps, accumulated day by day until they finally add up to something big.