My focus is on providing either turnkey-style space for those interested in temporary, infrequent use or long-term leasing for business folks who require conference room space (or perhaps event space).

He's great".I recently went to a conference (that fortunately was free) where a really famous name in the flip space talked for an hour about how important relationships and authenticity are in the real estate business.

Look into Spokane's REIA chapter for networking opportunities and consider attending real estate conferences in the region.

I spoke to a few other brokers at the BP conference in Cancun about the same thing and they agreed. 

I am also a frequent flyer at conferences like VRMA, IMN, etc.

- Depends on a variety of factors Also, as a real estate investor, can I write off 100% of the education travel for real estate, such as the Bigger Pockets Cancun conference?

@Jorge Newbery I believe they are having a conference call today about this site.

Dominic, I've found that participating on BiggerPockets forums, appearing on podcasts, and speaking at conferences have built trust with first-time passive investors when those forum posts, podcast discussions, and conference presentations show my experience, track record, and market knowledge to those reading, listening, or attending.This doesn't mean "selling from the stage", but instead, sharing actionable, useful information that I've gleaned from my many years of experience and from my own research. 

A contact of mine has been thriving with STR investments in suburban Chicago, targeting guests visiting for conferences.

Our website was just OK, our email campaigns were hit and miss, our conference presence was fairly minimal.