Hey Moguls, Doug Van Buskirk here…
Do you ever feel like you’re neglecting your real estate business because of your full-time job?
If so, I want to share some of the secrets I learned on my journey out of the “Rat Race.” (In fact, I’ve offered loads of great REI info in previous awesome lessons, so make sure you check them out.)
The simple steps we’re going to talk about will help you get more of the RIGHT things done that will actually make a difference in your bottom line!
Rewind to 2012 – I was a brand new investor dreaming of breaking free from Corporate America. I worked an 8 to 5 job and had an hour commute each way to work. Let’s just say, time was scarce. But I knew I was destined for more than sitting in my gray cubicle – trying to look busy – counting down the minutes in each work day.
I HAD to figure out a way to make real estate work, or else I was pretty sure I was going to lose my mind.
Less than six months later, I had built up enough passive income to replace the income from my job –thanks to mobile home investing…
So I quit the Rat Race and proclaimed myself a full-time real estate investor.
But the lesson here is less about the real estate strategy I used, and more about how I took control of my time and my future by following a few simple rules. I’m going to share those rules with you today, with the hope that you can use them to replicate my results.
Let’s get to it!
3 Pieces to this equation:
1. Time Management – because every second is precious when you don’t have much free time.
2. Prioritization – because it’s crucial that you’re spending your limited amount of time on high-return activities.
3. Sacrifice – because there’s no such thing as something for nothing. If we want to create success, we’re going to have to cut the fat from our schedule.
No Time to Waste
Let’s start by taking a look at your day…
I like to measure everything I do against one simple question:
Is this getting me closer to where I want to go in life, business, etc.?
Put everything under the microscope. Nothing is sacred!
-
Reading the morning news.
-
Listening to the radio on the way to work.
-
Catching up on office gossip during lunch with your work friends.
-
TV or movies at night.
Those are just examples, but you get the point…
We want to find all the time wasters in our day and replace them with better activities.
Forget about the radio on the way to work. That’s a great time to be listening to a marketing podcast or business training – free or dirt cheap on iTunes. As great as a leisurely lunch is, we don’t have time for that if we want to build a business in our spare time. That’s a great time to make outbound calls or follow up with leads.
Forget Etiquette
After work, it’s tempting to go home and flip on the boob tube to decompress. Resist the urge! It’s holding you back from what you can really be. Use your after work time for visiting properties and following up with leads.
It’s worth noting that of all the successful investors and entrepreneurs I know, ZERO of them watch more than 30 to 60 minutes of TV a day. There’s just no time when you’re on the path to world domination.
I’m obligated, by etiquette, to say that you should take time to relax each day. But I rarely, if ever, took time to relax when I took the meteoric rise from clueless investor to bona fide success back in 2012. When you’re passionate enough about your future, relaxing just seems like a waste of time.
Every minute of TV, for example, is one more minute that I’m stuck going to that office job.WHOA! As soon as that thought went through my head, I was back to the grind.
I will, for what it’s worth, say that I did not have children during that time. I did have a loving spouse, though, who required frequent convincing to let me stay focused.
You’ll have to make the call for yourself on this one, though.
But we can agree that time is the most valuable resource we have. Money comes back, time never does.
Your #1 Priority
Before you read any further, I want to ask you a quick question:
What’s your number one priority when you sit down to work in your business?
Does the time you spend working on real estate reflect that?
Ok, I cheated – that was two questions. But, assuming you aren’t running a high-octane machine quite yet, there’s only two things that should take up your time:
These are your high-return activities…
Everything else is based on you bringing leads (marketing) and contracting deals (making offers).
You ideally want this taking up 80% or more of your time. Yes, it’s tempting to run numbers on potential properties and learn new strategies. But don’t do it.
Focus is key.
Since you’re working 40+ hours a week at your job, we’ve got to make CERTAIN that the hours you’re spending on your real estate business are powerful.
And finally…
The Ultimate Sacrifice
This ties in with time management. And ultimately it’s all about our commitment.
-
Are we committed to making every second count?
-
Are we committed to changing the financial future for ourselves and our families?
-
If so, what are we willing to give up?
I used to go out late all the time, still clinging to my college days – until I asked myself this:
Would I rather keep partying instead of becoming a wealthy entrepreneur who changes the future for himself and his family?
Well when you put it like that, heck no!
Would I rather have “me” time in front of the TV tonight than follow up with leads who could make me $5,000?
I know you follow me here… Time is a zero sum game.
If we want to add something that takes time, like real estate investing, we need to remove something else.
So…
Do an inventory of your life and figure out what those things are and examine everything with that same question we talked about earlier: Is this getting me closer to where I want to go?
You’ll be surprised how clearly the answers come to you.
Whatcha Think?
Was this helpful? What things in your life did you ‘remove’ to make way for more REI stuff? I wanna hear from you in the comments section below.
-
Get a handle on how you spend your time each day – A lot of it is tied up with work, which you can’t change. But every second outside of work is yours for the taking.
-
Focus on the right things in your business – When time’s at a premium – and, honestly, when isn’t it – we must get ruthless with prioritization.
-
Say goodbye to time wasters - You’ll thank yourself later.
-
Embrace the idea that a full commitment to real estate means other things get put on the back burner. Be okay with making the choice to be successful – even if your friends and loved ones aren’t making those same choices.