What’s it like to be a jack of all trades? I wouldn’t know, and you shouldn’t either. Often as entrepreneurs, investors, and small business owners, we feel like we need to do it all: be everything to everyone, a jack of all trades, if you will. We believe that if we simply educate ourselves enough, we will be able to do everything related to our real estate investing on our own.
Let me be clear, here: There’s nothing wrong with knowledge. Knowledge after all, is power. However, to become the most successful version of yourself, you need to accept that sometimes you need help.
Knowing What to Do and Knowing How to Do It Are Different
When I am tempted to spread my resources too thin by dabbling in different activities, I instantly think back to training for my first triathlon. A triathlon consists of 3 activities: swimming, biking, and running, performed in that order. When I first started training, I had just completed my first marathon and I knew I could complete the 10k run portion of the Olympic-distance triathlon I had chosen.
However, swimming in open water for almost a mile and biking 26 miles was completely foreign to me. Yes, I knew how to swim and was proficient at riding a road bike. But did this mean I knew how to clip into the pedals of a bike? Was I aware that you had better wear a wetsuit when swimming in Lake Michigan? I certainly was not. Although I knew that although I knew what to do in order to complete a triathlon (swim, bike, and run), I did not know exactly how to make that completed race happen.
I sought help from people in my community who had completed many triathlons: people who were training for Ironman races, who had experience and knowledge to share with me. With their assistance and insight, I successfully trained for that triathlon and completed the race. Without them, I could never have put all the pieces together. I would have frozen, just for starters!
When you are new to real estate or looking to take things to the next level, doing the same kind of research and prep work will enable you to get where you want to go much quicker. Follow these three steps to become a master investor, not a jack of all trades and master of none.
1| Seek Out People Who Know What You Don’t
You need advice and guidance from people who know more than you, especially in areas that might be weaknesses for you. Surround yourself with people who can help in areas that aren’t your expertise. Are you great at finding deals or knowledgeable on how to get the best funding, but don’t know how to repair the roof of a house to save your life? That’s okay. You don’t need to be the best at all things real estate to be successful. Truth be told, you shouldn’t be. You want to zone in on your niche, then build a successful team around you to fill in the blanks. Stick with what you know, then go to your local Real Estate Investment Association (REIA) and find people who know what you don’t to work with you.
2| Never Stop Getting Better At What You Do Know
Being knowledgeable about a certain topic doesn’t mean you should stop learning. When training for my triathlon, I didn’t stop running because I knew I could complete that portion. That would have been silly. Instead, I worked harder during the run portions of my training. I challenged my body and mind to get better at this while learning the other activities. In real estate, and in life, you can’t settle for staying in place or you will eventually slip downward. Fail in this, and you’ll no longer be the expert at all.
3| Surround Yourself with People Who Are Better Than You
There is a reason the expression “you become like the 5 people you surround yourself with, so choose carefully” is so popular: It’s true. Being around athletes who were juggling a family while putting in hours of training in running, biking, and swimming challenged me constantly. I wanted to emulate their nutrition, their tricks for transition, and their mindset. I was nowhere near their level, but I knew that even if I never reached their level of success I’d be much further along as a person and an athlete by training with them than if I had tried to train alone.
As you are building your real estate team, you want to also be sure you are finding a mentor or a group of people who know more about real estate than you do. If your niche is fix-and-flip, for example, I promise you there is someone who knows more about that than you do. Find this person and learn from them. Imitate what they’re doing to create success with their portfolio. You’ll be sure to find more success yourself by learning from others who are successful.
The Results Are Obvious and Everywhere in Our Industry
I see these effects first hand as I work daily in property management. The investors who are most successful focus on the acquisition of properties or maybe just whatever their 9-5 job is and leave the operations of the business to someone else. Investors who are going to REIAs and constantly connecting with people with more experience in the industry implement strategic changes when necessary. You must do the same. Seek out knowledge. Build a team of people with similar goals but different strengths and you won’t worry about trying to do it all anymore.
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