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Only 2%

Last month Pine Financial Group hosted the Minnesota Real Estate Investor Success Summit 2020, it was a great event and we had our best attendance to date with over 215 registrants. I had the opportunity to be the master of ceremonies for the event, which is always fun because deep down I think I’m a comedian. Ask my wife and she will tell you that there is nothing I love a comedian more than a new audience. I really enjoy the opportunity to be in front of a crowd and provide the tools to grow your business. At the Success Summit, I was especially taken aback and offered all attendees the opportunity to schedule a call with me to help offer guidance or feedback on their current strategy or goals. Over 10 years investing in real estate, I have been fortunate to participate in thousands of deals as a lender, developer, landlord, agent, flipper, etc. I fully acknowledge and respect that I may not have been the most established investor in the room that day, but I was the only one with a microphone who offered this opportunity. This is where the 2% comes in, only four people accepted the offer. This could be evidence of my poor ability to “sell” the service, or I suspect it is more an indication of the difference between 2% and 98% of people who attend real estate investment events.

The guys at the office often give me a hard time by my “go to” saying about the events we organize, “why are you here today?” Sure we laughed a bit, but I mean it, self-identified investors are giving up their evenings, weekends, spare time, and often money to attend classes, seminars, and webinars. on this elusive topic of real estate investing. For this reason, I ask the question, “Why are you here today?”

So what does it take to be at 2% vs. 98%? One of the many things I love about real estate investing is that almost anyone can do it. It depends on your skills and resources, or your ability to tap into the skills and resources of others, but what is non-negotiable is desire. That desire is created by an individual’s vision, often referred to as “The Big Why” and the beauty of this is that it is different for everyone. One person’s goal in attending an event might simply be to buy a home to live in, while others may be on their way to syndicating $ 100 million in multi-family investments. Most are somewhere in the middle looking to supplement or replace their current income through investing. The ability to execute the individual plan goes back to the “why”, people turn to the why are “for my family”, “leave my job”, “be rich”. Let’s analyze the response of the family, because to attend all these events, the attendee must spend time away from their family. If the goal of investing in real estate is to help your family –

Is it to generate additional income to cover an event, like college or a wedding?

  • Is it to provide income that allows a family to have a nicer home, better schools?

  • Is it to supplement income so a spouse can stay home or reduce hours to spend time with family?

  • Is it to replace income so that you are more available to be with your family?

Once the true why is established, it is reverse engineered into what it will take to achieve the goal, how many investments, rentals, wholesale deals, etc. This is a relatively simple process; However, in all my time with real estate investors, I have found that lack of vision is what leads to aimlessly attending event after event, hoping to achieve the topic that was last presented until the next one appears. shiny object.

The four phone calls I had with the takers had a common theme, they just needed to hear it from someone else. It’s amazing how an objective opinion from a third party can lead a plan into the future so quickly. Two were trying to figure out how to get into small multi-family properties of 20-50 units, but both needed to take some very specific (though not obvious) steps to make it happen. The other two only needed to structure a small rental portfolio to provide enough monthly cash flow to allow them to retire a little more comfortably.

2020 is on its way, before spending another night or weekend away from loved ones or paying to attend a “life changing” event, I challenge all of us to slow down and identify “why we are here today “.

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