6 Life Lessons Real Estate Entrepreneurs Learn From Investing
Something amazing happens when you realize your purpose. Something happens when you realize you don’t have to conform to having a 9-5 that you can tolerate to be successful. When you figure out what your life’s vision is, and when you dare to go after it, your life changes. Investing in real estate could be the key to getting you out of your hum-drum job that you’re just doing to pay the bills. Getting involved in the crazy roller coaster of real estate could be just the thing you need to bring out the creative, passionate, excited, go-getter that’s been asleep all this time.
We recently did a podcast about how real estate investing can help you find your life’s purpose. We discussed how goal setting is one of the most important things a real estate entrepreneur can do to set themselves up for success. To explore this further, we’ve put together a list of some of the most significant skills a young real estate entrepreneur can learn from investing.
Table of Contents
Practice Self Discipline
Maybe your goal is to be a millionaire before you’re 50. Or maybe you just want some extra fun money to travel. Whatever your financial goals are, you’ll need the self-discipline to reach them. In real estate, there are a few things you can do to master the art of delayed gratification and self-discipline. For example, on your list of things to do, start with the task that you want to do the least. By getting this task out of the way, you free your brain space for other tasks and will be more productive. In real estate, time is money. Always assume you’ll have less time than you do to finish a project.
By getting big, important tasks done and out of the way, you’ll be ahead of the game when you hit a roadblock. Young real estate entrepreneurs that can master this skill early in their career set themselves up for success.
Be Patient and Persistent
There is an art to knowing when to wait for something and when to go after it. Real estate will teach you, mostly by trial and error, how and when to tell the difference. Some people get “analysis paralysis;” they spend so much time thinking and analyzing the pros and cons of a deal that they never make a move. Other young entrepreneurs don’t take enough time to weigh the risks and rewards and jump into something without thinking it all the way through. Real estate teaches you to be patient with your current job and to not jump ship with hopes of becoming an overnight millionaire through investing.
You learn to be patient with occasional vacancies in your investment property, and that filling your house with just any tenant because you’re anxious for the rent check is almost always a bad idea. Renovations take time, property acquisition takes time and building your real estate portfolio takes time. And while there is a time to be patient, there are also times when you need to be persistent. There will be times when you need to make the 5th phone call when the other four have gone ignored. Many investors give up way too early in the beginning, and most of the time it is right before they make a deal. You’re going to mess up. You’re going to lose out on a great deal because of a rookie mistake. What is more important than the mistake is the way you react to it.
Real estate uses tough love sometimes to teach the valuable skills of patience and perseverance.
Be Self Motivated and Self Reliant
When it comes to real estate investing, nobody is going to check in on you to check your progress. You don’t have to report to anyone about how many properties you’ve visited or what deals you’re working on. If success is important to you in real estate, and in life, you have to make it happen. You have to be motivated by your own goals to move forward and work hard. You also have to solve your own problems. The victim mentality doesn’t work in this industry. If something is wrong, fix it. Complaining about it only wastes time, time your competitors are using to their advantage.
Take Baby Steps
Don’t be afraid to start small. Risk management is a huge part of investing, and balance is key. With any start-up business, taking a smaller risk, in the beginning, will help you understand the business without risking it all. There are many important lessons to be learned at the beginning of any new venture, and real estate is no different.
Build A Solid Team
Many go into investing because they like the idea of not having to work for anyone. However, real estate investing is all about working with people. Learning the real estate game is not something you can do solo. Building a solid real estate team means learning from others, and utilizing their strengths. This can help propel you to success much faster than if you attempt to do everything on your own.
Step Out Of The Comfort Zone
Just like in life, people in the real estate industry who think they know it all have a hard time learning and growing. As a real estate entrepreneur, it’s important to be willing to listen to the real estate investment advice from those who know more than you do. Real growth happens outside of our comfort zones, so we have to be willing to risk our pride and get out there and do what makes us scared. Nobody ever made it big in real estate by playing it safe and laying low. Whether it’s making the tough phone calls, negotiating hard even if it makes you want to crawl in a hole, or learning a new DIY technique for flipping houses, doing the hard stuff is what, over time, gets you to the top.
One of the most life-changing realizations you can make is understanding that you don’t have to do a job you hate just because everyone else is doing it. Real estate investing doesn’t just pay the bills. It brings out the parts of you that have laid dormant for a while. It teaches you the life lessons you need to pursue your dreams and do what you were made to do.
