Young Professional... Where to start? Numbers to run beforehand?

[Jacob Ritter]

Hey, guys! I am very new to real estate investing, but I want to start out on the right foot. I am just starting out as a financial advisor and I focus on working with clients who own businesses and real estate portfolios. I want to know, personally, how to get started with owning rental properties but don't know where to start.

Areas I would interested to know more about would be:

1)business entity set up 

2)tax-advantaged strategies 

3)setting up most of my business on 'auto-pilot' so I can focus on my career but start building up a passive income source

4) what types of excel sheets or other types of software you guys use to manage your real estate and run basic evaluation as to whether or not a property can be a good investment

5) what types of things I should be looking for or aware of while starting out that you wish you had known before getting started

6) good sources of financing or places to look for when buying an investment property

If there's anything else you can think of I would really appreciate your personal input! By the way, I don't own my own personal piece of property yet, however that would be my first move and I was considering buying a condo as a starter home initially. What are your thoughts and how can I improve my REI journey from here on out? Thanks in advance!!!