Getting a mentor would be great but I don't imagine too many people being open to giving away their knowledge and time for free to a stranger....am I right in thinking a certain element of luck is involved or is it fairly common?

I have felt like the lone stranger on these forums coming from Arkansas.

You need a constant source of inbound inquiries where you might be the only one talking to a seller.Of course, that all worked a lot better in the day when more people had equity in their properties.But, when you get a call from an older couple that has had their house paid off for 20 years, and they know it's something of a wreck and the thought of strangers traipsing through their home annoys (or embarrasses) them to no end...cha-ching!

Technology has advanced much throughout the years and cellphone technology is not a stranger to advancement.

Keep in mind that these crooks, Jim P in particular, raised funds by soliciting strangers in a false pretense, then made illegal promisses and also never recorded deeds of trust.

It's much harder to say no to a friend than a perfect stranger...  :-)

I am no stranger to taking hard tests (The longest final I ever took was about 6 hours)...On every PSI exam I've taken, I'm careful to use up as much time as I darn well please.

You now have over 10 anyways so you are good to go, however, I welcome/invite you to engage in conversations on this forum before posting any ads as it will give you more credability and allow others to get to know you. people do not usually do business with strangers, but with thse they have engaged with previously.

I'm going to email a copy of my credit report to a total stranger who spammed me.Seriously, is anyone dumb enough to fall for that?

But if you were a friend of mine wanting to get into business I would tell you this: Learn to negotiate and be comfortable speaking with strangers.