I want to get bigger but am struggling... what's next?

Congratulations!  You made the decision to jump all in to this wonderful business known as real estate investing.  You found a great deal that's going to make you a ton of money, you are ready to get started, then reality sets in... where do I go from here?

Maybe you have done a few deals and made some money.  Maybe it was a train wreck of an experience and you're thinking about quitting, or wandering "How can I do this without giving up all of my time"?  Or it could be the complete opposite.  Maybe it has gone very well overall and you know that this is the only thing you ever want to do for the rest of your life!  You know you found your niche but you simply don't have enough time in a day or the resources to make it happen big enough or fast enough.  This is a very unique problem that many intermediate investors face.

In my real estate journey this is exactly where I am, and I believe many of you are as well.  I have done a handful of deals, I am starting to make some money, and have deals coming in left and right.  The problem is there is only 1 of me and the pockets are only so deep.  I have a waiting list of people wanting to move in, I have houses that need fixed, I'm busy everyday with meetings, maintenance, book keeping, and trying to grow the business.  Basically I'm to big to handle it all myself but not big enough to justify hiring employees.  I know the business aspect inside and out, I have some basic skills in construction, but still need to hire professionals to get a good completed product.

I have designed the business plan, worked my tail off building a referral list, and putting systems in place.  I don't want to give up everything because I'm impatient, but at the same time I don't want to leave deals undone because I'm greedy.  I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.  So the question remains... Do I partner or not?

Most people think about a partner as someone with money and lots of experience doing deals.  The problem with many of those types of people is, why would they give you their money when they could just do another deal for them self without splitting the profits?  So is there another way?  I believe the answer is yes!

Many people are fascinated with the idea of real estate investing but are too afraid to take the plunge and risk it all.  Others don't have the money or want the responsibility of dealing with all the things that come with being a landlord.  Many of those people are the skilled tradesman that we higher on every project to complete the work.  They talk to us and constantly say "Someday I would like to do what you are doing".  What if they could do what you do now, and it takes your business to the next level?  What if you picked a handful of these skilled tradesman and offer them a small percentage of not your business, but just the profits of the projects that they work on?  It would solve a couple of problems that plague most investors that I talk to.  It SHOULD get you good quality work from your contractor because he now has a vested interest in the project.  It would lesson your out of pocket expense for labor because they are sharing in the profits instead of invoicing you for the work.  It would also build relationships that put you to the top of the list when trying to get your work done.  It doesn't require them to take the plunge all in but rather allows them to do real estate part time while doing their job.  They can chose to do our projects on nights and weekends or to fill in the gaps of their slow times in the week.  It frees up our time of having to search for contractors every new project and typically the need to babysit contractors making sure they do it the way we want, because if a good system is in place for your business, it would be the same process every time.  

I believe this is a great middle ground to growing the business.  It allows me the investor to maintain control of the project and negotiate the terms of how much I am willing to give up to get the work done rather than me trying to QUALIFY for the loan and risking the asset or my credit.  In the long run it also introduces you to exponential new circles of people that might be interested in investing in your company or sending referrals.  I would love any feedback from anyone that has experience with this.  For those of you that are in my situation this is just something to think about to expand your possibilities.  Good luck to you all and happy investing!