But i want to get my foot in the door and have a feel for it, doing most the work(within my Skill) by myself.

There is a lot of leg work, time and skill to pull these off.

I am really big on staying in my skill set- I do not mind coming up with ideas- but that is what I am best at- so I pass them into my system and find others to make the ideas click along...

A chance to use some of the military skills in the real world - Congratulations James!

As I am sure you are already aware, this community is a fantastic place to learn and develop your REI skills!

I have basically been doing the same thing as you Kevin, reading books, blogs, and forum posts, and I figured until I can build negotiating skills I would start out by Bird-Dogging my way into REI (J Lamar Ferren).

However I have looked at a few properties in the area and my Mom (5'2" middle aged woman) did home nursing care in the area taught at the skills center on Clifford Brown.

I am skilled and experienced, and have close family that I will pay under the table to utilize their incredible skills.I've got 3 college degrees, a great job thats steady that I plan to keep, I'm stubborn, and have an impeccable skill known as researching and studying.

My business would not be nearly as far along if I did not have a partner that has complimentary skills, a strong work ethic, a desire to succeed, and a great relationship.

It will get easier and it will get fun when you become skilled.