CoStar is a provider of verified analytics and data to the commercial real estate industry.

"These markets experience a seasonal slowdown yet still offer, “relatively high Effective Gross Yield (EGY) potential for investors, giving them an opportunity to "buy low and rent high,” notes Alex Villacorta, Executive Vice President of Analytics at HouseCanary who led the team that compiled the report.House Canary’s Investor Opportunity Rankings show the following EGY for those five markets; Cleveland: 13.0%, Detroit:10.8%, Columbus:10.9%, Indianapolis: 12.1% and Pittsburgh:12.3%"https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenparis/2017/12/26/2018s-hot-rental-property-markets-in-cold-climates-for-investment-consideration-in-q1/#1956721b5811

Do you really like dealing with people or are you more analytical? 

Do you prefer to be more passive or active, more in control or less, hands on with a hammer or not, good with people and negotiating or not, good staring at numbers for hours or not, etc. etc.”Personally, I do not use business cards and that is because I have yet to find myself in a situation where I would need to pass out a business card and if I do, I still have my W-2 job that is still very much a part of me and actually a job I treasure as it has helped shape me into the person I am today.Should someone need to get a hold of me, I can give them my W-2 business card, or simply swap numbers right there as I hate carrying additional paper on me and in this digital age, you will find that more and more people are using hard copy documentation, less and less.It just seems to me to be an unnecessary expense.I suppose it would matter if you were a wholesaler or into a niche that required it, but for me as a buy and hold, I go cheap and I stick to phones.My market also dictates to some extent what I choose to invest in.I do not have a website and/or business cards because living in Denver and primarily dealing with Gen X and/or Gen Y (Millennials), none of these groups, and especially the later, care to be carry around your business card.Anyway that’s just me on the whole business card deal.As far as investment strategy, I “ABSOLUTELY” love the way these gentlemen have explained it above.Personally, I love control.I thrive on it and have always wanted to be my own boss.It is for this reason that I actually self-manage all my rentals and plan on doing so for as long as I can.I am also very analytical, organized and a little of a thinker, constantly building systems and tools to make life easier.Because of that, I find that self-managing is something I do fairly easily.It didn’t always used to be like that.It is a skill I have developed and continue to develop over time.I also find that I want to scale quicker so for me the focus is multi-families not single families.Additionally, I prefer smaller not large multi families.So 12 maybe 16 unit max as I am also looking to provide a certain kind of home that the larger type multi families I feel will not be able to get me there.Anyway, great thread and thanks for all the input as it helps the rest of us learn too.Oh, just like Brian, I could never be a wholesaler.My passion is in the active, control, with some hands on DIY, staring at systems kinda thing.Cheers!

Would you also consider the application of Analytics, Artificial intelligence, ... etc as emerging technology?

I'm in a similar position to you (I'm a healthcare professional, graduated with a nice chunk of student loans, and have a decent income and am now looking to invest).Choosing whether to invest or pay down student loans involves two competing thoughts: an analytical one and an emotional one. 

I don't feel the meeting was analytical enough for me, and I think a newer agent may be able to get more creative with my financing and property search. 

Daniel H Hauer you would be able to really know what a websites conversion rate is unless u dip into the analytics... which anyone just search would have access to.

CoStar, the commercial MLS, has very advanced analytics and data that helps agents/brokers value different property types. 

I also would love to take some sort of police training to learn that authoritative, (without being condescending) detached, analytical style of discussion that effective cops use.