Archive for the ‘ Power Team ’ Category

How to Get Started Using Social Media to Market Your Real Estate Investing Business

Last night we had a great time presenting to the Renegade Detroit Real Estate Investor Club.  Our topic included a discussion on how we got started in real estate investing and how we started leveraging social media in our real estate investing business.  We have been using this blog along with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TubeMogul, BiggerPockets, and many other social media platforms over the past 4 months in an effort to create relationships with many individuals. 

The good news is our efforts are paying off tremendously.  It’s almost amazing to us how many connections we have made with great individuals.  This has helped our real estate investing business in so many ways, and I can honestly say that engulfing ourselves in the social media scene has been the single biggest reason why we have been successful over the last four months.

As promised in our discussion last night, we have put together 12 simple steps that you can take to get started promoting your business with social media.  You don’t have to do all of these, but the more you do, the more you will get back…

So here goes…

  1. Signup for Facebook & Twitter - This is the single biggest thing you can and should do.  Everyone, and I do mean everyone is on Facebook and Twitter, and this represents an excellent opportunity for you to connect with all kinds of people.  So go there now and signup…
  2. Read Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk – This is the book that really showed us how to get involved with social media.  Gary lays out exactly how to get started in the social media scene to promote your business.  We followed his model and it has worked great!
  3. Start a Blog - As Gary tells, your blog is the center of your social media universe.  It is where you really brand yourself and/or your business and provide great content for your followers.  Just go to WordPress.com and signup.  It’s really easy, and literally within minutes of signing up you can have your first blog post published.
  4. Choose a Domain Name – We chose DriveToFreedom.com as our domain name mainly because most of our video blogs would be shot on the road, and our ultimate goal was (and still is) financial freedom.  Put some thought into your name and heck, you can even use your own name to create your personal brand.  When you figure it out, go to GoDaddy.com and register your domain…it’ll cost you about $10…
  5. Signup on Other Social Media Sites – Here’s our favorites 
  6. Create a Facebook Business Page - On Facebook you should really have two areas where you work – your personal profile and your business page.  To create a business page click on the “Home” button at the top of the Facebook page, and then on the lefts side of the screen you can click the link labeled “Ads and Pages” (you may have to click the “more” link to see it).  Once you click on this link you will then have to click on the “Pages” link on the left side of the screen.  From here you can click the “Create Page” button and follow the instructions.  One note, when you get 25 people to like your page you can go to www.facebook.com/username and create a vanity name.  For instance, our business pages are www.facebook.com/MichiganTurnkey and www.facebook.com/KTProp.
  7. Join Other Facebook Business Pages – Once you get your own page setup, start checking out other business pages relevant to your topic.  This is a great way to make connections and start interacting with other businesses.
  8. Link Your Blog to Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media Sites - Most social media sites give you the option to automatically share content on the other social media sites.  For instance,  you can set up your blog to automatically send all of your posts to Facebook and Twitter when you post.  Or you can have your Facebook posts automatically post on twitter and your blog.  There are many different ways you can set this up, but you should sit down and map things out before you do it.  However I will caution that you should only go one way with the links.  For instance you don’t want to have your Facebook posts automatically post to Twitter and also have your Twitter posts automatically post to Facebook…this can create a loop and your posts will show up multiple times on both sites.
  9. Start Posting Blog Content – When you start posting content you need to keep a few things in mind. 
    • Be Consistent – keep your content on a schedule whether it’s daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly
    • Before you start posting, brainstorm at least 15 topics that you can post about.  If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas for posts start looking at other blogs to get ideas
    • Keep in mind that what you put out there is a permanent record of your thoughts and ideas
  10. Start Leaving Comments on Other Blogs – One of the best ways to make great connections is by following other blogs.  When you leave a comment on a blog your reply along with your name and website are etched in stone.  Therefore it is key to focus on providing insightful responses, because there is a good chance that if someone sees your response and they like it, they will check out your blog.
  11. Get Involved in the Conversation – No matter what platform you are on you need to get involved in the conversation.  You should always be sincere with your comments, and make the effort to really think about what you are saying.  Remember you words will be etched in stone and you normally cannot take them back, so don’t goof.
  12. JUST HAVE FUN!!! – Remember, these sights are SOCIAL media sites.  Don’t be boring and don’t be afraid to have fun.  People want to see your personality, so don’t be afraid to let yourself shine.

So that’s it, there are of course hundreds of other tips we could talk about, but this list should get you off and running.  For any questions you have, go ahead and catch up with us on Facebook and we’ll be happy to discuss how you’re using social media to promote your business.  Hopefully you can teach us a few tricks too!

2010
11/03
CATEGORY
Marketing
Networkding
Power Team
Social Media Networking
2 comments

Drive to Freedom at the Renegade Detroit Investor Club Meeting Tueseday November 2, 2010

When we started out blogging about the things we were doing to grow our real estate investing business, one of our main strategies was to build up networks with individuals and groups.  Social media has allowed us to do this at a very high rate of speed, and in the past four months since we’ve started this blog we’ve seen our network grow dramatically.  This one single strategy has been hugely beneficial to our real estate investing business.

As we have gone through our journey engaging with others on the various social media outlets, we began to see the same people popping up everywhere.  It became immediately apparent who the “players” were in the Detroit market because we were hearing about what they were doing every day.  As we looked to different groups to begin networking with, we found that many of the “players” all belonged to one specific real estate investment club – The Renegade Detroit Real Estate Investor Club.  We began to attend their meetings, and in the short time we’ve been attending we’ve really figured out why this group is so popular.  Unlike a lot of REIA’s they don’t bring in speakers that try to sell you on something each month.  On the contrary they bring in people who are out there doing deals and doing the things necessary to make their real estate investing business move forward. 

That’s why we were elated when asked to speak at the next club meeting.  So, on Tuesday November 2nd we are going to speak at the Renegade Detroit Investor Club meeting.  We’re going to share with everyone exactly how we got started, and the approach we’ve taken towards social media.  We hope you can make it.

The meeting starts with a social hour at 6pm at the Peking House in Royal Oak and will include dinner.  Dinner is $10 for first timers and $25 for returning investors.

We hope to see all of you come out.

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2010
10/28
CATEGORY
Networkding
Power Team
Social Media Networking
Uncategorized
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Getting Started in Real Estate Investing – Step 6 – Find a Mentor

Today we are going to continue our series on Getting Started in Real Estate Investing.  In previous posts, we talked about:

Today in Step 6 we are going to talk about building finding a mentor.  Without a doubt, one of the biggest things that prevents people from moving forward to invest in real estate is fear.  Fear holds us in check seeking out more information to “make sure” that we are doing things right.  Now, fear does serve a purpose because we don’t want to be foolish and do something we would regret, but there is certainly a point when fear can start to hinder you.  You have to get your arms wrapped around the concept of learning by failure. 

Take a look back at everything you have learned in life.  You learned to walk by falling down, you learned to ride your bike by falling down.  Falling down is inevitable, and it is the natural way for us to learn.  In fact, if you think back about your failures in life, you will find that those were some of the best lessons you ever learned.  Of course nobody likes to fail, and there is a way you can give yourself a safety net.  When you were growing up your parents probably acted as your safety net more than once guiding you and preventing you from falling down too hard.  When you started a new job, your boss probably wated over you to make sure you didn’t screw things up.

Well, real estate investing is the same way, except most of us don’t have parents or bosses that are there to guide us.  So, we must seek out different individuals.  We call them mentors, and it is in your best interest to find one and speak with them regularly about your dealings in real estate.

So how do we do this?  Well, there are plenty of folks out there willing to have you pay them to be their mentor.  This is a plausible solution, but I would not recommend it, because if you work at it, you can find a mentor that will work with you for free.

You see, mentors aren’t just sitting out there waiting for grasshoppers to come along for them to instruct.  You really must approach it differently.  You have to network.  Go to REIA meetings and talk to people.  Join the real estate conversation on Facebook & Twitter.  After getting involved, you very quickly start to see who the people are that you NEED to be developing relationships with.  Start talking to them and building relationships with them.  Add to the conversation.  Focus on adding your value with well thought out questions or responses. 

You see, it’s really all about building relationships with the right individuals.  And when the time comes, you should ask them to sit down with you to review a deal, or a business plan, or whatever.  In most cases they will gladly do so, but you MUST build the relationship first.  It’s really that simple…focus on relationships, and the mentors will appear.

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2010
10/08
CATEGORY
Getting Started in Real Estate Investing
Power Team
regular
Video
1 comment

Getting Started in Real Estate Investing – Step 5 – Build Your Power Team

Today we are going to continue our series on Getting Started in Real Estate Investing.  In previous posts, we talked about:

Today in Step 5 we are going to talk about building your power team.  If you’re just starting out in real estate investing, you should wrap your arms around the fact that you cannot do everything yourself.  I know a lot of people, myself included, struggle with this.  When starting out, you probably want to know every detail of what you’re doing and you’re eager to learn the business.

However, there aren’t enough hours in the day for you to learn about everything or do everything that you need to do.  Rather than fight this fact, you need to embrace it.  I know personally it took me a long time to figure this out.  I was always the guy that spent time figuring things out and doing things myself.   However, eventually I realized that I spent so much time learning and doing that I could only do so much.  There are only so many hours in a day.  So, I needed help, and you do to.  The good thing is that there are many people out there that are looking to help you.  They will be charging you money for their services, but look at it this way.  If you can do one deal, and make $10,000 doing everything yourself, and it takes you 6 months to complete the deal that’s great.  However, in that same timeframe, if you could do 10 deals but you only made $5,000 per deal because you paid for help, doesn’t it make more sense to pay for some help.  You will net $50,000 in that same time, doing the same amount of work.

You see, the key to doing more deals is building a team of individuals or companies that you can go to at a moments notice and know that they are going to be able to answer questions, provide services, or just simply help you get out of a jam.  Below are a list of individuals or companies you should have on your team:

  • Other Investors
  • Mentors
  • Title Agents
  • Mortgage Brokers
  • Bankers
  • Hard Money Lenders
  • Attorneys
  • Contractors
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Property Managers
  • Home Inspectors
  • Accountants
  • Bookkeepers

As the list indicates, it is normally a good idea to have more than one team member for each category.  For example, if you have one contractor on your team, and you go to them to look at a rehab that you’re going to do and they’re tied up on another job, you’re going to be stuck without a contractor.  Or, if you’re looking for money, many times one banker or hard-money-lender will be limited by the programs they have to offer.  However, each lender has different programs available, and the more relationships you have, the more options you will have available to you.  Like they say, it’s not who you are, it’s who you know.

So how do we build a power team?  First off, please do not go to the yellow pages or Google and start searching for team members.  This is probably the worst thing you can do because you have no idea whether the person or company you find is reputable.  The best way for you to find team members is simply through networking.  Every team member you find should come through a referral by someone you know.  This is important for a few reasons.  First of all, the person you got the referral from has likely done quite a bit of business with the person they are referring you to.  This is invaluable because they have already completed the screening process from you.  If the person wasn’t worth their salt, they wouldn’t refer you to them.  Secondly, when you go to this person, and you tell them you were referred by another investor, it helps give you credibility because you are associated with this other investor. 

Now, if you’re still struggling, I can tell you by far the best way to network on a daily basis is to get on Facebook and join the conversation on real estate investing.  Awhile back we dedicated another post to Facebook that you can find here, so I won’t go into details on the things you can do on Facebook to build your team.  However, I will mention one thing – focus on the quality of the conversations you have with the people you meet.  This is not a numbers game, it’s about building relationships.  Remember, Facebook is a social network, and people expect to have excellent conversations on there.  Do this, and you will build relationships that will enable you to build your power team very quickly.  This one single resource has helped us build a great power team in literally less than a month’s timeframe.

So get our there and start building your team!

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2010
09/27
CATEGORY
Getting Started in Real Estate Investing
Networkding
Power Team
regular
Social Media Networking
Time Management
Video
2 comments

Day 46 – Facebook Helps Us Build Our Power Team

Today is Day 46 in our drive to $60,000 in 60 days through real estate investing.  As you saw from the video, Facebook, and social media in general, is proving to be an excellent resource for our business.  Not only are we finding potential buyers for our properties, but we are making excellent connections with many people in the real estate business every single day.  The amazing thing to us is that we’ve only been using it for a couple of months, but we’ve already reaped many benefits from getting into the social media scene.

As we discussed in the video we were able to find what we think will be an excellent member of our power team, and all of this came about through one connection we made on Facebook.  Thank you Drew Sygit!

So for today, our point is really simple.  To build your power team you need to network.  You should always be building your power team and so you should always be networking.  You should always be working with others in the industry to develop contacts and make new connections.  Our experience has shown that the best members of our team have come through referrals from other members on our team or other people in the industry.  This really makes sense because more times than when you are given a referral, the person doing the referring normally has had a good relationship with the person they are referring you to.  They have tested the waters, so you really are in a much better position to find someone this way rather than looking in the yellow pages or on google.

So it’s really that simple.  Network, Network, Netwok…both in person and online through social media and you’ll be surprised how fast you can grow your power team!

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2010
08/12
CATEGORY
Networkding
Power Team
regular
Social Media Networking
Video
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Day 38 – The Power Team Tackles Wells & Septics

 

Today is Day 38 in our drive to $60,000 in 60 days through real estate investing. Today we are going to learn all about water wells & septic tanks. I know, you’re thinking what the heck does this have to do with real estate investing?  Well, (no pun intended) it has everything to do with real estate investing…at least today it does!

Let’s back up a minute. As we mentioned yesterday, we had a showing on 2846 Cherry, and the buyer seems pretty interested.  The good thing is that it seems like they are interested in a full price offer if we are willing to help them finance the deal.  However, they have voiced a concern about the well and septic system and want to know that both are in good working order.

Now, I have to say I don’t know the first thing about well or septic systems.  As far as I’m concerned, if you turn on the faucet and water comes out, then the well is working, or if you flush the toilet and it goes down, the septic is good.  This is what I know.  The trouble is, there are no faucets or toilets in the house that we can test.  Hmmm…what to do now.

Well, obviously we need to talk to some folks who know more about well and septic systems than we do.  So we got to work.  We called the previous owner, a plumber, and my good friend who has been a contractor for 15 years. 

As it turns out the previous owner has used the water quite bit and believes the well is in good working order.  They said we could hook up a hose to the well tank in the basement to get a water sample, so we are going to head out there tonight to get a sample and have it tested by the Oakland County Health Department.  So check the box on the well for now.

Now for the septic system…after speaking several people on the subject I was directed to speak with a septic company.  It actually took calling 3 different companies, but I found one in Hartland, MI that does inspections, and they can come out tomorrow to inspect the system.  

Now, the here’s the moral of the story…many times in real estate investing you find questions that you have no clue about.  The truth is I know 100% more about well and septic systems today than I did yesterday, but quite frankly I still don’t know that much about them.  However, that doesn’t really matter.  What does matter is that we were able to consult with members of our power team to find the answer.  I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to be able to find answers quickly to questions you do not know about.  In this instance, this one question could be the difference between making and not making a deal.  Only time will tell, but we are glad that we have resources available to help us answer the question at hand.

So go out and build your power team…below is a list of individuals that you should have on your team.  You may ask how to find them…we normally try to find people through referrals.  This is much better than going to the yellow pages because normally when you are referred by someone, they have already worked with that individual or company and have had a positive experience. 

  • Property Manager
  • Title Company
  • Mortgage Broker
  • Hard Money Lender
  • Banker
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Insurance Agent
  • Accountant
  • Real Estate Attorney
  • Contractor
  • Tradesmen (plumbers, electricians, painters, etc.)
  • Home Inspector

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2010
08/04
CATEGORY
Networkding
Power Team
regular
Video
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