Any "business people" out there?

I have worked with nearly a hundred mentoring students over the years. Many of them go on to become full time investors who are successful in making a very good living by using the techniques that I have taught them. Unfortunately, many of them don’t ever go on to do much with what they have learned. This has been very frustrating to me over the years.

I have analyzed very carefully what my successful students do that makes them succeed at this business. Interestingly enough, it usually boils down to one issue. Those who succeed at this business do so because they treat their real estate investing as a BUSINESS.

99.99% of the students I have worked with start out by working a job and doing real estate on the side. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with this, and it is a necessity to keep money coming in until their business becomes successful enough to support them. I have also worked with many people who grow their business large enough to not only support themselves but make more than enough to provide a good living, yet choose to continue working their job. Again, there is nothing wrong with this, as long as they treat their real estate investing as a BUSINESS.

The point here is that I have seen a TON of people who hate their job and want to quit, which is why they begin to get involved in real estate investing. The problem is that these people still think as an EMPLOYEE. They are used to going to work, putting in their hours, and getting their regular paycheck for the hours that they worked. Being a BUSINESS OWNER works NOTHING like this!

I have often compared getting started in this business (or any business for that matter) to a space shuttle launch. As the shuttle engines ignite, there is very little movement. A TON of energy is expended just to move the shuttle a few inches off the ground. However, what happens as time goes by? More and more speed is picked up and less and less energy is needed to propel the shuttle.

Pretty soon, the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters can be dropped. Eventually, the shuttle can even shut off its main engines and yet it is speeding along many times faster than the speed of sound! This is the way this business works. You have to put a lot of effort into starting the business, but you can get to the point where it is on “autopilot”, cruising along and making you money!

You must have the mindset of a BUSINESS OWNER to be successful in this business. Thinking like an employee will do nothing but bring on disappointment. There is more to this business than the “technical” aspect of simply signing up a deal. It must be run as a business and not a mere “hobby”.