Sometimes I find that I am making money in my business, but not having any fun. Can you relate to that at all? Is being a real estate investor full-time, having an office, having a team, not all they said it was going to be in the brochure or in the self-study course? This can be a real problem, a problem that is likely much more prevalent than we are led to believe.
At masterminds, many attendees publicly claim that business is great, and everything is awesome, but then in confidence, they will say “Man, it's horrible. I just want to quit. I have no time freedom.”
People talk about leaving the rat race and getting to chart their own course, but being a real estate investor, depending on how you go about it, can feel like being on a hamster wheel, too. For me, I got to about deal 50 or 60, and I was ready to quit.
Instead, I made a list of all my deals and wrote down two things about each: profit and enjoyment. Then, I analyzed my list. Which deals were the most profitable? Which deals had I actually enjoyed doing? This was really eye opening for two reasons. Number one, I noticed that my deals were not all as profitable as I thought they were. There were some huge gaps between expectations and reality. Number two was even more surprising — I realized I had one group of clients that consistently yielded the best results…Seniors.
Why were Seniors the easiest group of homeowners for me to work with? After some thought, I realized it was because my grandmother helped raise me. I genuinely enjoy being around Seniors. At my childhood birthday parties I would have my grandma and a bunch of other old ladies, her friends, there. Being around and working with a demographic you relate to will make any aspect of your life a lot more fun, including real estate. Seniors may not be the niche for you, but if you look through your deals, I bet you will be able to identify some deals that you or your office did that you enjoyed working on.
Remember and apply the 80/20 rule: 20% of your activity gets you 80% of your results. Is it that way in your motivated seller business? Conversely, are 20% of your motivated sellers causing 80% of the headaches, and, if so, how can they be replaced with a different strategy or group? Making money is a wonderful and admirable goal, but so is having fun. Find the people that you want to work with. Find the niche that you want to be in. Find the folks that you really want to help, educate, and advocate for. This will add purpose to your business, reduce stress, and maybe even generate a bit more motivation and profit.
There are many niches available in the real estate business. Perhaps you enjoy a specific type of exit strategy. Maybe you like working with a certain demographic such as millennials, veterans, or first-time homebuyers. There is not one right answer. The important idea to remember is that it is possible to have fun while conducting business and making money. In fact, if you are not having fun, then you are just going to burn out which is the fast track to failure. The money is in staying the course for the long-haul. Overtime you gain the experience needed to specialize, innovate, improve, and find new ways to make money.