I'm totally new

[Geoffrey Brown]

I've been reading and listening to the Bigger Pockets Podcasts, and I'd like to start attending REIA meetings, but at the only one I attended, I was asked for business cards and 1) I didn't have any and 2) now that I know that I need some I don't know what to put on other than contact information.

I haven't decided where to focus my efforts. I see benefits to wholesaling, flipping, and buy-and-hold. I see a likely path as marketing to wholesale properties until I find something I can rehab until I can build a working capital fund, and later getting into buy and hold for cash flow purposes.

Does this make sense? 

[Mitch Messer]

Hey @Geoffrey Brown. My advice is don't sweat the business cards. Or the magnetic sign for your car or the fancy brochure, for that matter. All of that is an expensive distraction: If you're servicing a real market need, no one cares. Truly.

I think your plan makes perfect sense.

Focus your efforts on learning your market. Let's say you like wholesaling. Then, you need to learn where cash buyers are closing deals in your town. Find these cash buyers and then talk to them to find out what types of deals they are looking for. There's your buyers list.

Tell everyone you know you are looking for folks who are having trouble selling a home. You want all the ugly, thorny, unpleasant situations: the nasty divorce, the unpaid medical bills, the IRS tax liens, the relative who stopped paying rent, all of it. Talk to these people and figure out how you can get them what they want while getting what you want. Solving problems is a wholesaler's bread and butter.

Keep in mind that sometimes the best solution is to refer them to someone else. Maybe a good real estate agent, or bankruptcy attorney, or tax lawyer can help. Make these referrals wisely and some of these professionals will eventually become part of your success team and refer clients to you.

Wholesaling newbies want to give me their business card; True operators want to tell me about the last big problem they just solved and how beneficial it was for them, their seller, and their buyer. Which would you pay more attention to?