THE IMPORTANCE OF TEEAM BUILDING

[Jason Malabute]

As an entrepreneur, the scariest feeling is the fear of not knowing, or not knowing enough. It could be any kind of unknown. It could be the feeling of not knowing whether you should talk to a lawyer or not. It could be the feeling of not knowing whether that repair cost will come up just as expected or more! Or, it could be the fear of not knowing if the deal, which you have projected on paper, will turn out just as good. Different scenarios, same fear!

But here’s what I have learnt about dealing with the fear of the unknown: Have a team, and reach out!

Every other person in your team should know something that you don’t. So, you should have a team that is more knowledgeable about certain areas of your business than you are. This way, you can easily reach out to them whenever you find yourself in a difficult situation.

A real-life example of this, which I recently experienced, is when I didn’t know whether I should reach out to a lawyer about the 506B law or not.

So, I reached out to my mentor instead and asked him about his experience with the 506B. Guess what? He quickly recommended me his own lawyer, and saved me all the time and worry!

A similar situation unfolded when I had to replace a water heater in one of my properties. I didn’t know the prices of these things and I definitely didn’t want to overpay. Eventually, I reached out to my property manager and he was able to connect me with a few local water heater vendors. Again, the problem got solved and I saved thousands of dollars!

Lastly, I happened to find myself in a similar situation this very morning. I was a little concerned about my target properties, regarding the kind of neighborhood I want to invest in (B and C+ Class). However, the internet could not provide me with accurate information about the neighborhood. It has its limitations! So, I discussed it further with my property manager and a few investors in my network, to absorb that local knowledge that you can’t find on the internet. It worked out well and I easily figured out which of the targeted leads weren’t favorable for me!

I guess I wouldn’t have had known it if I hadn’t reached out to my team because Indianapolis has quite a complex “Block by Block” structure, and only the locals know it the best.

Consequently, I have learnt a lot about dealing with the feeling of the unknown from the aforementioned experiences. Undoubtedly, a good team is your way out of ‘the unknown’ and into the ‘known’ in real estate. It’s all about teamwork here, and trying to figure out this business all by yourself would be preposterous!