How Badly Do You Want To Grow Your Wealth? Tidbits To Help You Succeed.

My wife and I are in our thirties now – but we were talking the other day about our twenties and what a crazy ride they were.

Our friends were doing lots of different things – some were still studying, and the rest were just out there enjoying life (travelling, partying, job hopping).  We chose to get married in our 20’s (speed of implementation I call it) and started our life journey when we were still both young and full of energy.

Best decision ever.

We started investing right away – we were both working corporate jobs that were full 40 hour weeks.  We would spend evenings and weekends learning, attending seminars and dealing with our growing real estate portfolio.

We didn’t travel much those first few years, didn’t socialize as much as we would have probably liked to and even waited until we had quite a few investment properties under our belt to purchase our own home.

See this is the time value of money – the earlier you invest it, the more it is able to grow.

There was a great article I read the other day called ‘3 Negatively Cashflowing ‘Assets’ That Devastate 20-Somethings’ Finances’.

I realize now that we didn’t have any of those in our way when we were starting out – no expensive cars, no house and we were both education debt free.

I am so glad we did it – every year we own our property we make money – simply by letting time do the work.

I speak to lots of new investors, and I wonder what is holding them back.

It’s common to hear many beginner investors focus on all of the problems they have:

i. lack of capital to get started
ii. lack of time
iii. lack of experience (fear)

How badly do you want to succeed and change your financial future? The easy answer is I am doing ok…

Not enough people are hungry for success!

I am now in the position where I eat, sleep and breathe real estate each and every day.

But this was not always the case – I too have been in the position of having to work at a corporate job each day and spend lunches and evenings on my investing goals.

I remember not having much knowledge or experience and just starting out.

It can be daunting, no doubt – but absolutely doable no matter what your life circumstances.

So here are my three tidbits of advice of starting/growing a real estate portfolio – even if you are a busy working professional or entrepreneur.

1. Wake up earlier

This is a simple concept – but a hard one no doubt (I still struggle with this as I’m not a morning person).  But listen – it is all about getting S*** done!  Even when you don’t want to.

Just one hour a day can add up to 5-7 hours a week – time you can spend on learning and implementing.  Before the kids get up, before your phone starts ringing and your email starts buzzing – time to spend on building your wealth and securing your future.

Go back to that big ‘why‘ – it’ll help you get yourself out of bed on those mornings when you would rather curl up and hit the snooze button.

2. Surround yourself with a power team – stay in control but delegate

When I was in the corporate world, my 9-5 hours (except for my lunch breaks) were a write off.  Many of you can relate to this and the long hours that are dedicated to commuting.

You can’t possibly do everything yourself when you only have so many hours in a day.

That is where building a team comes into play.

If you have a great realtor on your team, for example, he/she can even check out properties on your behalf, send you videos and photos to help you make a decision before driving out to see a property.

Having a great handyman on your team will help you delegate those calls from tenants and eliminate you having to drive out to deal with small issues that may creep up.

You get the point – when you have limited hours, you can’t possibly try to do everything.  And why should you?

Many investors make the mistake of trying to do everything.  You can’t possibly be an expert at everything – so why not let the experts help you.

3. Use some creativity

I think that no matter what your circumstances and how much time you have, becoming a real estate investor is achievable.

It just takes a bit of creativity.

Finding systems to match your lifestyle.

Multi-tasking.

Turing your car into an educational space/rolling office (bluetooth allows me to make calls and use my driving time to the max)

Carrying sticky note lists in your pocket and banging off items when you’re waiting at the dentist.

Ultimately we all have the same amount of hours in the days – that is the truth.

And we are all given 365 days in the year.

No one is privileged enough to have more time.

It comes down to how you use your time most efficiently and towards those things that matter most to you.

How badly do you want it – ask yourself that one question.

So until next time, happy Canadian Real Estate Investing.

Jose Jafferji, REIA