The final cost will depend on which brokerage you join..But, to answer your question again. 

The first step is to join a local real estate investor club to meet like minded people and to build your buyers list.

If you can prove a 12% return or better,  you should have no problem finding people with money that are interested in joining you.I would also like to know how you intend to manage these out-of-state as a military member?

@Bernadeau C.PenFed Credit Union, all you need to join is a 660 credit score and a $5 savings account with them.

A few months ago we joined Bigger Pockets and we have been running all over making connections here and through a few other sites online.

Main reason I joined.

I'm being proactive by joining this community and I appreciate the insight and advice :-) 

If you join Pro, then you have unlimited use of the calculators. 

@Zachery Ryan Pippins I would recommend continuing your education with reading books, and join the free webinars that BP continually posts.  

Scaling up to me leads to success.I am in your same position,and I joined one of the big education REI groups.Starting out FB adds,Craigslist adds and bandit signs can help you scale up.Eventually building a team that includes an acquisition manager to bring in qualify and accept leads for your business.I have a CRM and access to send post cards or yellow letters to different situations.I have targeted pre foreclosures,out of town owners,etc.Always have a sign in your current projects too,people are curious some of my best referrals have been through my own projects neighbors.You have to do some research to see what works in your local market.Keep up with what is working and what is not.KPI.Scale up at your pace,you are successful!