For instance, I have considered trying to take up an analyst role at a REIT another RE company that ideally looks at large apartment complexes so that I can see how those deals come together on a large scale.

Any time you involve additional partners into an investment there can be many more complications, but on the flip side you have the ability to scale much faster and leverage more resources.

Economies of scale.

Just open another carpet manufacturing business.

I'm using "customer" to define Investors and Custom Design Build Home Buyers.I realize this falls into Marketing and I also think its critical to scaling the business.

@Jonathan Bombaci What manufacturer of modular homes were you looking at?

I was thinking of taking a loan out on the equity of one house to fund a tear down of the old house and possibly putting a new manufactured home on the property.

So you need 1) hustle and/or systems and/or network to find a "deal," however you define that (based on education and networking within your market), 2) knowledge and the ability to sell yourself as a buyer to the seller to lock it up, and then 3) hustle and/or systems and/or network to find a buyer.In essence, you will have to bust your butt to find a good deal and bring it to an investor who is reliable to close, otherwise you will may be out of your deposit and can tarnish a relationship and potentially your reputation (granted, likely on a limited scale).

As I recall Jpn simply moved manufacturing to the US. 

Interested in scaling How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?