I've been putting off writing this blog post. Truthfully, this final part of the series is the most open ended and most difficult for me to crytalize. I don't feel like my own processes have been perfected; I am constantly making mistakes from deal to deal. What can I share when there exists mountains of real estate knowledge that I haven't even begun to tap. But... maybe that's what I should write about. The neverending journey, the constant education and the highs and lows that come with investing. At this point, you've gotten your feet wet. After your first deal, what things should you think about and consider?

Are you a believer?

At the end of the day, the most important question is whether this investment strategy works for your purposes. Is the effort vs return trade-off what you expected and will continuing this process help you achieve your investment goals? Do you enjoy the journey and/or have the grit to grind out however many deals needed?

For many, it is easy to rinse and repeat the same investment strategy and gradually build up a respectable portfolio. But often times, the next logical step is how to scale faster. Everyone is familiar with Aesop's The Tortoise and the Hare. The classic lesson of slow and steady wins the race. But truthfully, I'm not the most patient person. Is it possible to take the best traits from both the tortoise and hare?

I've spent the last year thinking about scaling and increasing cash flow; the BRRRR process is easy but it feels so slow. With finite personal funds, you are limited in the number of deals you can do. By observing other investors, I've found that the key is acquiring more capital; whether that be raising capital from friends, family or other investors. In this way, I see the first year of investing as a proof of concept. I've found that your experience serves as a badge, allowing easier and cheaper access to private capital. However, before you rush off to use other people's money, make sure to identify and fix any problems in your processes.

Fool me twice, shame on me

With every completed deal, I try to identify what went well and what went poorly. Where are the opportunities for improvement? What can I do next time to help me scale? And more importantly, why did I make that mistake?

No deal goes perfectly and there is always opportunity for improvement somewhere in your process. Of course, there might be some projection but our (my and Kat's) past deals are riddled with mistakes. Many are our fault. Sometimes we were too hasty, too aggressive with our numbers, too eager to rush into our next deal, but other mistakes some would argue were out of our control.

For example, rehabs going over budget or timelines must be the contractors fault. Missing an eviction court date and having to restart the process, blame the property manager. It's easy to look at these incidents and think they're completely out of your control. To borrow a rather cliche metaphor, as investors, we are captains of our investing vessel. Our team makes up the crew and at the end of the day, the responsibility and decisions bubble up to us.

As the owner of a business, you need to constantly be aware of issues before they turn into larger problems. In the prior examples, we could have recognized that our contractor was juggling too many projects and acted accordingly. We could have actively reminded our property manager that the eviction date was coming up. There were plenty of opportunities for us to correct course but we were either too busy or disorganized to recognize them. I look at these occurances as opportunities. What do I need to do next time? What signs do I need to look out for? By accepting my mistakes and improving my mindset, I can hopefully prevent larger future issues and smooth the path for doing more deals.

Unfortunately, there are times where the way you want to operate is fundamentally different than your teammate's. We've personally experienced this with various property managers where their processes work for their business, but in our view are inefficient, or worse, just don't work. In these cases, you should strongly consider moving on and working with someone aligned with your mindset and processes.

Find the giants

I've found that real estate investors have huge egos, some more understandable than others. It's all about who has the largest portfolio, the best cash flow, who's done the most deals. It's easy to trap yourself in the mindset that you are more accomplished than others. You surround yourself with people who are less impressive, to feel that you are somehow "better" at investing compared to everyone in your circle. Rather, look to surround yourself with people who are where you want to be.

In my experience, this makes me stay inspired and focused, constantly thinking about and reevaluating my goals. These mentors have gone through the difficulties of building their business and have made mistakes you won't even think to catch. By listening to what they have to say and observing their actions, you can accelerate your own growth. As the metaphor goes, you can see farther by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Finally, as a quick note, Kat and I are huge advocates for finding an accountability partner. Someone who will regularly check in on you and help you keep your commitment to investing. This person doesn't need to be a giant but arguably are more instrumental in your personal development.

Conclusion

I hope that this series was helpful and not only provided a rough roadmap for getting started with real estate but also my investing mindset. I want to emphasize that these are my personal thoughts about real estate investing. Many of these questions and thoughts were personal ones that I carried with me through my investing journey. I tried to shape my strategies and deals around my investment goals and constantly adjusted and readjusted my course. I accepted that mistakes will happen and I resolved to learn and grow from them. Investing is a journey and there will be ups and downs. Embrace that and trust the process. Trust the numbers.

For next steps, try to start growing your network. Reach out and find a mentor, connect with peers and be an accountability partner. Finally, reach out the Kat and me and schedule a time to connect. I'd love to talk and see if I can help you in any way.

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