Best/first thing to do is get educated.

Hope your education doesn't exceed your budget.

Within the last few months I really dived head first into reading and educating myself daily on real estate.

BP has free educational materials such as online courses and videos and also has it's own podcast in itunes.

You can do some initial searching here of the registry for your own education. 

I know that Equity Trust and others have Bational Convention s .Remember, Pay for Education 1st Or You Pay for it Later, But you do pay for it.My wife and I attended our NWREIA mtg and listened to several speakers over ~ 6 months we attended mtg and seminars before selecting the company.

Check out the Podcasts and check out the Ultimate Beginners Guide under the "Education" tab.

All in an effort to further my RE education, I'll get the coffee and coffee cake if thats your thing.

Get an education first and build your knowledge in the area of investing you want to be in.

I forgot to say, about the REIA that won't let me bring the baby.... one really good positive came out of it -- since I wasn't allowed to attend, the organizer was kind enough to personally take time educating me on the phone about what I was hoping to learn there anyway, so that was nice, saved me a trip too.