Philanthropy Can Close Our Nation’s Wealth Gap and Provide a Crucial Safety Net — One That Government Cannot.
Editorial by Linda Pliagas, Publisher
As we close out another REI Wealth edition, we in the midst of a presidential election. Like the rest of Americans, I’m continually being bombarded by emails, texts, robo-calls, letters, advertisements and social media posts reminding me to vote — with pleas that I vote a certain way, all across the board.
It’s difficult to remember our own voice and values with the constant, boisterous ruckus all around us. While everyone may attempt to sway your vote, it’s important to silence the noise and take individual responsibility to learn as much as you can about the issues, and people, you are choosing.
The privilege of voting comes with responsibility. Have you done research on the bills on the ballot? Or, are you simply voting like your friends are? Be sure to take the time to research important issues that will shape our national and local lives.
My purpose for this editorial is not to attempt to sway you one way or another — everyone else will try and do that! I do, however, have a unique perspective that I would like to share, since I was raised by a government employee.
My father worked as an electrical engineer for the United States Border Patrol for many years, so I recognize the importance that government has in our lives. But truthfully, while we did “get by” with his federal salary, it certainly did not provide the comfortable lifestyle we yearned for.
In fact, even as a child I could see how frustrated my father became over the years. He yearned to provide a better home for us. He wanted to become an entrepreneur, but the safety and security of his federal position almost crippled him with complacency.
I was fortunate to discover early on that while our government is an important function in our lives, one that can indeed assist us during times of turmoil, it cannot possibly provide us with everything we need, nor want.
This is why philanthropy is so important to our American culture and life. Non-profit organizations, fueled by passionate workers and volunteers, can make a crucial difference in the lives of the most needy. They provide the safety net that government cannot — and should not.
My family has been at both ends of the Goodwill spectrum. During my dad’s brief stint as an entrepreneur, we had to rely on charity for a bit. Later, as a working adult, I donated clothes, furniture, money, and time to many worthwhile organizations.
In fact, one of the best Thanksgiving Day holidays I ever had was serving the homeless when I was 21 years old. At the time I was in college and worked part-time in an upscale restaurant. One of my regular customers was a successful lawyer who invited me to serve lunch with him on Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles. What a life-changing experience that was!
Being a part of team to ensure that others with absolutely nothing had a warm, delicious meal was one of the biggest blessings I could ever ask for. It was a defining moment in my life.
Since then, I’m reminded every Thanksgiving Day to give thanks and give back.
It is in this spirit that we host our annual “Give Thanks, Give Back” Expo, only this year it’s being produced all virtually. For the first time, our readers can now join us from wherever they may be.
Once again, we’ll have top speakers sharing the secret strategies that catapulted them to success as real estate investors. At the end of each session, our speaker will reveal their favorite charity so guests can learn about the important work they do, plus even make a direct donation — if they so choose to.
For the past ten years, our “Give Thanks, Give Back” VIRTUAL Expo has raised thousands of dollars for many worthwhile charities, including: Long Island Cares – The Harry Chapin Food Bank, The San Diego Mission, Salvation Army, Camp Home — The PTSD Foundation of America, among others.
We invite all of our readers to join us the weekend of November 21st and 22nd, beginning at 9 am PST, for an amazing weekend of learning and giving. For more information, CLICK HERE.
So, as we come near the close of another election, let’s know that regardless of the outcome, we still individually must take responsibility to create a better life for ourselves, our family, and our nation.
Until next time,
Linda Pliagas, Publisher
Till next time,
Linda Pliagas, Publisher
REI Wealth Cover Feature: Meet Brandon Cobb from Nashville’s The House Buyin Guys!
Article by Tim Houghten
How To Scale Your Real Estate Investments In A Highly Competitive Market
Are you looking for more investments and ways to grow your real estate holdings? What are some of the ways that you can maintain and scale, despite the 2020 mayhem?
Brandon Cobb’s company The House Buyin Guys has been able to successfully sustain and even grow his real estate business by double digits through the pandemic and chaos of 2020.
How has he done it?
The House Buyin Guys
Brandon Cobb and his co-founder, Vagif Seidov, have been wholesaling houses to other investors, rehabbing properties, and creating win win solutions for his investors in the Middle Tennessee Real Estate market for years.
Prior to getting into real estate Brandon sold medical devices. After losing his job in Medical Device Sales, he transitioned over to real estate. Brandon found his unique sales skills sharpened by the world of medical device sales gave him a unique edge in the real estate industry. Brandon built his company based around that sales approach, something the real estate industry lagged.
Since then, he and his partner have done over 100 deals in this space, and during our exclusive interview Brandon shared how business has been picking up through the pandemic.
He says that the local Nashville market has kept blowing up, with growing demand despite the pandemic. As of October 2020 they were still seeing new deals going under contract in one week, if not within one day.
Brandon and his team challenged themselves to complete a $51,000 renovation in just 10 days while filming every day and posting the daily walkthroughs for all to see on his Facebook. After having huge success with that renovation, they challenged themselves to do two 7 day flips simultaneously.
The two 7 day $32,000 flips were a failure because they took 9 days to actually complete but to Brandon and his team they were a huge success because they learned a lot about how to better systemize their rehab processes and become more efficient. He and his team are always pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the Real Estate space.
So how can you compete and win deals in this highly competitive market?
Tips For Winning In This Competitive Market
This has been an interesting year in real estate for investors and business owners. During crisis, many fold and lose, and few know how to use the opportunity to create new levels of wealth.
Right now, It is an extremely competitive real estate market. Since the birth of the travel roadshow real estate guru’s coming to town and pumping out 200-300 new investors in a weekend it’s become much tougher to find deals.
So, how do you still get the deals?
Here are some of Brandon’s top tips.
Do What Others Won’t
As with any business or career, standing out and blazing a trail for yourself and becoming a valuable go-to resource for your clients is all about doing what other people won’t.
You can put in the extra hard work and hours, be more responsive, and go the extra mile to make customers happy but it starts with identifying what your customer’s want that competitors are not giving them.
Brandon says one of the big challenges his clients face are tenants. Many retiring landlords are willing to sell, but buyers want the property vacant. When there is a tenant, it can leave the property in limbo. Brandon’s competitors make offers based on the house being vacated most of the time so his company started offering tenant relocation services with their offers.
In his recent feature in Forbes, he says this alone can get you a $10,000 to $15,000 discount on the price of the property and win you the deal if your willing and able to help the tenant find a place to live and cover moving expenses.
Review Your Past Deals
When was the last time you went through your past deals and evaluated what went well, what didn’t, and what you could have done better? What about which deals really made the most money? Or what happened to those properties after you exited and sold them off?
You might be surprised at what you find. Brandon certainly was. They found they missed out on a deal that would have made $107,312.
Even more surprising, was the fact that they came across deals like this 2-3 times a year and were completely missing them! So, they adjusted their strategy when they came across these special opportunities, and after acquisition, and rehab costs are now able to sell them for almost double, with around $70,000 – 100,000 in gross profit.
Select Your Customers Carefully
How selective are you being with the customers you take on?
Brandon’s construction company, HBG Construction offers rehab services to others outside his house flipping business. Savvy business owners and independent professionals learn that they can work much more efficiently, profitably, enjoyably and with less risk and stress if they are more selective in who they do business with.
At first, it may seem like a good idea to take on various jobs within your space and Brandon did just this… his company would service builders, home owners, rehabbers, basically anyone who needed work done on their house.. until it became a big headache..
Just trying to work with anybody and everybody can be a big trap. You might feel busier chasing the money, but that doesn’t mean you’ll really net more money.
Brandon suggests figuring out who your ideal customers are, and to fire everyone else. Brandon discovered that his construction company loved working with other rehabbers. Because Brandon is an investor himself, he was able to understand and pinpoint all the pain points rehabbers have when it comes to dealing with contractors.
Brandon’s construction company now works exclusively with other rehabbers on their flips and that moment when he fired all his other customers changed everything. Now, his team deals with customers whose needs they understand and serve best.
Grow Your Referral Business
Referral business Is the best business. Referrals cost the least amount of money to generate, are the easiest to handle, and are the easiest to close! Brandon’s company started their own referral program using hand written thank you cards to all their customers and occasionally following up with a phone call to ask if they know anyone that may want to sell their home.
His company uses email drip campaigns to stay In touch and hands out handsome referral checks every time someone brings in a referral. They broadcast the experience of the person responsible for the referral receiving the check which prompts others to refer business!
This method alone has allowed Brandon’s company to grow by double digits with NO INCREASE IN SPENDING.
Leverage Other People’s Time and Money
In addition to leveraging other people’s money, smart real estate pros and CEOs learn to leverage other people’s time, expertise and exposure.
There are many in your market who have built up a their own network and doing their own marketing. Work with them instead of competing against them. He specifically points to real estate agents as an example of this. While many real estate investors feel they are at odds with Realtors, you can actually help each other and negotiate win-win deals If you understand their needs.
Summary
We are in an interesting period where the real estate business and country is evolving and changing. Many will fail. For some, this year will set them on a completely new trajectory for success and wealth.
These tips can help you protect and grow your real estate investments, regardless of the mayhem happening out there.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can get added on Brandon’s list to receive off market wholesale properties in Middle TN, learn more about how you can receive passive income secured by real estate through Brandon’s company, you can contact Brandon at: [email protected].
For more tips, follow Brandon on his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/brandon.cobb.3950
3 Pieces of Advice to Overcome Limiting Beliefs in Business
Image by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pixabay
By Victoria Kennedy
Business is like yin-yang, says Rohan Attravanam, the CEO of Phodun Real Estate. The secret to more closings is to stop focusing on closings. You tend to be emotional but have to be rational and pragmatic business owner in order to succeed. Which beliefs influence success or failure in business?
Running a business is not a full-time job, it’s a lifestyle. Business owners face loads of challenges and obstacles that test not only their professional skills but also their character.
Being nimble and flexible is essential for a business to stay on top of the game, and ahead of the competition. However, constantly shifting from one idea to another and changing strategies can be counterproductive. This means entrepreneurs have to also be persistent with their initial ideas and stay in a single lane longer than they might like.Combining these two opposites might seem like an impossible task, but it isn’t. That fine line between the two is where all the successful businessmen and moguls are. Flexible, but never straying from their core principles and ideas. A fine example of how to harmonize these two is the story of Rohan Attravanam, CEO of Phodun Real Estate.
Rohan’s Story
As an young entrepreneur, Rohan started his journey by getting a high-quality education. He enrolled in one of the most prestigious universities in India – BITS Pilani, and has an MBA degree from one of the best marketing colleges in the US – Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.
Packed with knowledge, he dived into the world of business, working with A-listers like Samsung, Whirlpool, and Walmart. Rohan acquired 13 years of experience in marketing, with the last five in real estate. In January 2020, he left behind a plum job in the Bay Area, CA and started Phodun Real Estate from scratch – a company that provides quality leads to realtors, helping them find prospective homebuyers that fit their customer profile. So, here are the three pieces of advice Rohan Attravanam can give to all business owners based on his experience as a successful business owner:
Quality Leads are found, when searched in quantity
We all want better leads and better prospects. We frantically try various marketing tactics and try to optimize one over the other. But the reality is no matter which channel or medium you choose, you need to focus on generating a lot of leads.
The first step in achieving a flow of quality leads is to achieve a flow of quantity of leads. You need to generate a lot of leads and vet each of the leads against constraints as defined by your definition of quality. The more leads you have, the better the chances are that you’ll find a good quality lead. In any random 100 leads – you tend to find about 10 quality leads. When you go searching only for quality leads, they are hard to come by.Its basic economics – Quality leads are not easy to come by and so they are expensive. Everyone knows it’s a numbers game, but rarely do we step back to evaluate what numbers are needed to get to our objectives.
You start closing more when you stop focusing on closings
We as a society are hyper result oriented, goal oriented and it’s good to strive for those results. What’s lost in translation is the process that is needed to achieve those results and urge to take shortcuts to get there.You’ve heard this a thousand times – “It’s all about the journey and not the destination”. Think about how you want your career to pan out. You can easily retire on the beach – watching sunsets with your family, but the journey to get there need not be obsessed over closings. Instead obsess over process.When you obsess over the process, you are controlling the inputs – which you can. When you obsess over closings, you try to control the output – which is rarely in your hands. Obsess over client experience, understanding their problems, and earning their trust. The issues your clients face can all be documented and addressed the same way over and over again.
This helps you gain control over your process and the confidence rubs off to your clients – who’ll enjoy working with you and you’ll have more closings eventually!
People who get most approval care about it the least
Think about all the people in your life that you consider successful, wealthy and see in a place you potentially want to be one day. They have your approval. The thing is – They are not seeking your approval. They are grateful for it, but they don’t care for it.When you start needing money, fame, approval for your life to be meaningful, you are blinded by what’s possible. The minute you stop needing them and instead start providing approval to people around you is when you will see that your self esteem starts to build up. Building other’s confidence, caring about their insecurities and giving them strength gives you a new way of living life that brings you abundance and joy.Helping others live the lives of their dreams is THE FASTEST WAY to get rich, achieve fame and receive the highest approval.
Rohan Attravanam is the CEO of Phodun Real Estate, an agency that is helping realtors by giving them more and better leads with their new, special program”10-15 Live Transfers Guaranteed”. Click here to learn more: https://phodundigital.com/
Victoria Kennedy [email protected] atmanrealestate.com
Nominated as a 2020 Brand Ambassador for Inman, Victoria Kennedy is a well-respected authority in Real Estate marketing and branding. She is the CEO of Atman Real Estate, a marketing & branding agency that is committed to helping top producing Real Estate professionals become the #1 Agents in their area. She is a highly in demand speaker on all things digital marketing, and has helped many clients boost their visibility and revenue. Because of her expertise in real estate, she has been a trusted speaker and contributor to such organizations as the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inman News, and Yahoo Finance. In addition to running a successful marketing agency, she also has given talks, workshops, and has worked as a trusted consultant for Realties, Title Companies, Investors, and top producing agents. She has been featured in over 175 publications and podcasts both nationally and internationally. In addition to her marketing expertise, Victoria is a #1 selling classical-crossover singer and has sung with the likes of Andrea Bocelli, as well as toured all over Europe with her music. She is excited to share with you the power of her Closing Maximization Method and how it can exponentially grow your business. Find out more here: atmanrealestate.com
The Survivalist Project: Dutch Mendenhall’s Plan B for Middle Class America
Like any American family, Dutch Mendenhall and his wife, Vanessa, are looking toward the future. “My wife recently said to me, ‘We need a Plan B,'” Dutch said, adding. “I said, ‘What does that mean?'” The couple began to hatch a get-out-of-dodge plan in case of any impending disasters in California, where they live, or the country.
The real estate leader has been busy growing an empire through the years while educating students about increasing their investments. However, during a conversation with Vanessa, he realized that tumultuous events in the world could take away everything they had worked for in one swift move. Dutch, who grew up in Iowa, maintains that while he grew up around guns, he never owned any until this year. While survivalist culture had never been on his radar before, he installed solar panels on his home this year. He also has a generator, 200 gallons of water, and a year’s food supply in case of an emergency.
Dutch and his family believe that the world is changing and that everyone needs preparation. As a natural businessman, Dutch has begun merging this way of thinking with investments and deals. The Survival Project allows investors to buy into sustainable farms. Everything from water, food, electricity, and shelter is self-contained in the project. “We create communities that can survive. If things do hit the fan, if stuff is worse, if every apocalyptic video or movie you’ve ever seen in your life, any of that comes anywhere close to real, you’re going to want a place to go,” Dutch said. While other companies claim to offer protection from the end-of-days for exorbitant prices, Dutch’s project promises consumers an economical alternative that could also serve as a prosperous return-on-investment. “I’m building a new Plan B for middle class families, for the average American, for the average person. What I think that Plan B is, happens to be a real, sustainable escape plan,” Dutch said. “We want people to live in the now, build their wealth in the present, and have an affordable alternative for the future.”
While the wealthy in the United States have bunkers and bomb shelters scattered throughout the country in nuclear war or other impending disasters, Dutch and his company plan to charge low, monthly fees. Hence, individuals have access to autonomous communities in the case of some armageddon. “The reality is that I think the scariest things are not going to come from a bomb,” Dutch said, continuing, “but I also think that you need to create communities that are not going to be within two miles of where the bombs are going to hit if they ever do.” To Dutch, larger threats come from Communist countries like China and Russia who want to undermine the United States government and the economy. He believes that enough forces want to take away Americans’ rights, and as a proud citizen, he wants to take the actions he can to stay safe while keeping others out of harm’s way.
“No matter where you are in America, you want a place to go to be safe and thrive. You also can’t take away from your finances and your livelihoods to do that, so found an economical solution,” Dutch said. “No one has ever created an economically sensible way to do it and created something as sustainable as we have.” Dutch maintains that the Survival Project is and will always be about family, God, and country. He’s proud of his opportunity to come from a poor upbringing and rise to the top of the country’s real estate market and education sector. “I remember days when we had electricity but no gas, and I remember heating water up in the microwave so we could bathe,” he said.
Now, as a thought leader having broken through the class system, he and his company have grown and invested carefully during these uncertain times. “Twelve months ago, nobody saw COVID coming. You can sit here and say, ‘Well, they plan for pandemics,’ but did you or me as an everyday, average American ever see wearing masks in public everywhere we go, pulling our kids out of school, and everything else that goes along with it?” Now, Dutch and his team are thriving when other companies are tanking during the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re the first fund I know of that did a coronavirus amendment to the SEC in February,” he said. The team got the paperwork done quickly, which in turn guaranteed their investors money. Dutch is also fiercely protective of every investor with this company and the select group of close members called the Inner Circle. He recently had an investor come to him with an emergency whose natural withdrawal was not for another six months. “We sent him a wire this morning because that is what we needed to do for him in that case. He was in a bad situation, and all of a sudden, there was an emergency. That’s how we look at things,” he said. Dutch and his team continue to prepare for a changing world and the challenges it presents. It’s always good to have a Plan B.
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How to Find Wholesale Deals Other Don’t See
Please join us as the Ventura County Real Estsate Investors Association and the Los Angeles Real Estate Investors Club November meeting, Thursday night, November 12, 2020, 7:30 to 9:30 pm. This will be a virtual meeting and you will need to register at our website:
https://www.accelevents.com/e/NovemberMeeting
GUEST SPEAKER: Our featured speaker will be Jimmy Reed, visiting us from Fort Worth, Texas. Jimmy is an expert on wholesaling and the author of “Fast Track to Wholesaling.“ The title of Jimmy’s presentation to LAREIC is “How to Find Wholesale Deals Others Miss.”
Jimmy Reed has an extensive background in the field of Real Estate Investing having bought, sold and managed over 300 units, all by the age of thirty. Jimmy began his investment career in the late 1980’s while still working full time. As he developed a solid understanding of real estate investing, Jimmy went on to specialize in the areas of Wholesaling, Probate, Owner Financing, Notes, and Cash Flow Rentals, along with other investment strategies including International Investing.
After several years of success in Real Estate Investing (as well as teaching workshops to other investors in the Dallas/Fort Worth area), Jimmy created Wholesale programs. These “trainings” put Jimmy in some of the hottest markets in the world such as Hawaii, New York, Cozumel, Panama and even Costa Rica. Jimmy has presented live seminars to thousands of real estate investors all across the United States.
Jimmy’s newest book, “No Fear Real Estate” discusses how to remove the fear from lack of knowledge that is holding you back, and discusses how to
- Wholesale real estate via Assignments & Double Closings
- Find great deals via Probate
- Buy, Rent, and Hold for long term wealth
- Sell properties with Owner Financing
- Create Notes, and how to hold those notes or sell them
- Use other people’s money instead of your own
- Become wealthy by using IRA’s to do all your buying & selling.
All of these strategies and more provide you with the tools you need to start building your real estate portfolio and take you to a new level of achievement! And it all starts with wholesaling.
Wholesaling topics to be covered include:
• Finding deals others miss
• How to market to motivated sellers
• How to use “Bird Dogs”
• Looking for vacant houses
• Mailing out effective postcards
• Where to look in the MLS
• How to assign your deal to an investor
FREE ADMISSION: Admission to our monthly meetings is always complimentary (free!), but reservations are required.
FREE PARKING: Free parking in YOUR garage!
FREE REFRESHMENTS: Unlimited free refreshments in YOUR refrigerator.
RSVP: please RSVP at our website so that you can receive a login and password for the event:
https://www.accelevents.com/e/NovemberMeeting
VENDOR EXPO. Most importantly, don’t miss our “Vendor Expo,” 6:30 to 7:30 pm (right before the general meeting starts). We’ll have over 40 vendor tables with opportunities for you to “meet and greet” with companies that you’ll want to utilize in your real estate investing.
Got Taxes?
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
By Bruce Kellogg
Dealing With Taxes
Most people, including investors, need to deal with income taxes. Many prepare their own returns manually or using purchased software programs. Others trundle down to franchise tax preparation offices with their brown bags of pay stubs and receipts. (Hah!) Some have their own CPA or EA (Enrolled Agent) prepare their return for them. Everyone here tries to be frugal, to minimize their tax preparation expense.
What often is missing is “Tax Strategy”, which can vastly overshadow the supposed benefits of filing parsimony. For example, Tony Watson (EA), of Robert Hall & Associates, spoke at a recent investor meeting of 323 attendees regarding the features of the just-enacted CARES Act. One feature will allow certain taxpayers to go back and amend prior returns to receive a tax refund. Will the tax software company, or the franchise tax preparer, or your CPA or EA, contact you to alert you to this taxation tactic that could produce thousand$? Right. Not hardly.
Tony Watson, EA
Tony Watson is an Enrolled Agent who focuses on providing personalized financial guidance and tax preparation services to individuals and businesses. As a federally-licensed tax practitioner, Tony helps his clients make sound financial decisions, and works to ensure all eligible deductions are received when preparing taxes. Should a client need assistance with audits, collections, or appeals, Tony is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to his one-on-one client work, Tony Watson is the keynote speaker for Robert Hall & Associates. He speaks on various tax-related topics at over 200 engagements throughout California each year. His dedication to his clients and expertise in the field of taxation led him to win the Glendale Readers’ Choice Award for Best Tax Preparer in 2016, and 2019. Tony loves tax work!
Photo by olia danilevich from Pexels
Hiring a Tax Professional
Investors who view their property ownership as a business often create entities like Limited Liability Corporations (LLC’s), or partnerships or corporations of various kinds. Even with individual ownership there are good reasons to hire a tax professional. Here are several.
- Small errors that you make can result in large penalties.
- You could miss paying quarterly estimated tax payments, or underpay them, and owe additional tax. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file your return, you should file for your estimated taxes, according to Tony Watson.
- If you have employees and practice withholding of employment taxes for federal, state, and local, including Social Security and Medicare, you need to timely file and pay both the employees’ and the business’ payments.
- Filing late has penalties.
A personal illustration is the author’s son. Age 36, he owns a consulting business that grosses $210,000. He pays his accountant $3,500, and says he saves four times that compared to filing his own tax return. The savings comes from the tax strategy that the accountant provides. That’s where the high dollar benefits come from, strategy. That’s the big benefit from hiring a tax professional.
Following up
Interested readers can follow up by going to https://www.roberthalltaxes.com/contact/ and setting up a complimentary initial consultation.
Bruce Kellogg
Bruce Kellogg has been a Realtor® and investor for 38 years. He has transacted about 800 properties in 12 California counties. These include 1-4 units, 5+ apartments, offices, mixed-use buildings, land, lots, mobile homes, cabins, and churches.
Mr. Kellogg is a contributor and copy editor for two national real estate wealth-building magazines: Realty411, and REI Wealth Monthly. He is a recipient of an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, listed in Who’s Who in America – 2019.
He is available for consulting with syndication, turnkey, joint-venture, and other property purchasers and note investors nationally, and other consulting assignments. Reach him at [email protected], or (408) 489-0131.
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at How to Grow a 7-Figure Real Estate Business
Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay
By Victoria Kennedy
When you’re a successful business owner, one question comes up in nearly every conversation: “How do you do it?” If you’re killing it and seeing revenues topping 7 figures, everyone wants to know your secret.
When Aaron Ace Harris launched Key Marketing Interventions, which offers end-to-end real estate marketing and lead generation solutions, he was starting from scratch. Three years ago, he had no online presence, very few connections, and not much more than a deep desire to serve others. But, today, the tides have turned dramatically and Aaron is on a mission to share not only how he did it, but to pull the curtain back and give a behind-the-scenes look into what goes into running a 7-figure business daily.
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
5 Steps to Building a 7-Figure Business from Scratch
Of course, every entrepreneur’s journey looks a little different, but what follows are the 5 steps that Aaron swears by.Step 1: Go all-in on ONE idea.
Every business starts in the same way—as an idea. Clearly then, the first thing you need to build a business from scratch is a big idea. Now, if you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’re thinking, “great, I’ve got tons of ideas.” But the key is finding that ONE big idea that you can go all-in on.“I always shake my head when I meet an entrepreneur who brags about running 6 businesses at once,” says Aaron. “What this tells me is that this person isn’t all-in on any one business. They’re spread too thin and trying to hedge their bets.”To get to 7 figures, you need consistency, focus, and patience. This means choosing one idea and going all-in.
Step 2: Do your research.
Once you’ve found your big idea, the real work begins. It’s time to do your homework so you can figure out how to turn that idea into the revenue-generating machine of your dreams.
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s break this step down. Here’s what to research:- Study your competition
- Find the gap in the market
- Figure out who your ideal client is
- Identify the pain points of your ideal client
“When I started my real estate lead generation company, I had already learned a lot about what my ideal clients’ pain points were. I had been doing the agency thing for a few years. So I knew exactly what real estate agents needed most,” says Aaron.
Step 3: Create your way forward.
Now that you have your idea and you’re confident there are clients out there just waiting for your product or service to hit the market, it’s time to create.This phase is full of experimentation, rejection, and even what might feel like failure. But remember, according to professor and motivational speaker, Steven Redhead, “the difference between success and failure is not giving up.”If something you create doesn’t work out, take what you can learn from it and move on.
Step 4: Shout your idea to the world.
Image by Yvette W from Pixabay
You have created something you know has value and now it’s time to share your idea with the world. Sharing this big idea can come in many forms:- On social media (choose 1-2 channels where you know your ideal client hangs out)
- In online communities
- As a guest on podcasts
- As a guest blogger
- With joint ventures
- By participating in virtual summits
- By hosting webinars
- Through paid advertising (Facebook, Google, YouTube, Instagram)
Step 5: Work your systems.
Finally, the key to really building up to that 7-figure goal is not taking your foot off the gas. One of the ways to stay on top of your business and make sure you’re doing the small things that will lead to serious growth, is to build systems everywhere. When you have strong systems, you will work most efficiently. This will free you up to develop multiple revenue streams within your business, which is critical for taking your business to the next level.There’s no secret to building a 7-figure business, but these 5 steps will take you from zero to 7 figures in less time than you might think. And as Aaron Ace Harris will tell you, it takes hard work and dedication, a lot of heart, and a little luck.
Aaron Ace Harris is the CEO of Key Marketing Real Estate and is a devoted husband and father. He was able to grow his real estate marketing business to 7-figures during the pandemic. Click here to find out about his 3 Closings Guaranteed System: https://www.keymarketingint.com/optin28970799
Victoria Kennedy [email protected] atmanrealestate.com
Nominated as a 2020 Brand Ambassador for Inman, Victoria Kennedy is a well-respected authority in Real Estate marketing and branding. She is the CEO of Atman Real Estate, a marketing & branding agency that is committed to helping top producing Real Estate professionals become the #1 Agents in their area. She is a highly in demand speaker on all things digital marketing, and has helped many clients boost their visibility and revenue. Because of her expertise in real estate, she has been a trusted speaker and contributor to such organizations as the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inman News, and Yahoo Finance. In addition to running a successful marketing agency, she also has given talks, workshops, and has worked as a trusted consultant for Realties, Title Companies, Investors, and top producing agents. She has been featured in over 175 publications and podcasts both nationally and internationally. In addition to her marketing expertise, Victoria is a #1 selling classical-crossover singer and has sung with the likes of Andrea Bocelli, as well as toured all over Europe with her music. She is excited to share with you the power of her Closing Maximization Method and how it can exponentially grow your business. Find out more here: atmanrealestate.com
Giving the Land a Voice
By Bruce Kellogg
Gathering Seller Leads
The author has been a real estate agent in Silicon Valley since 1981. Back then, agents gathered buyer and seller leads by open houses, door-knocking, “floor time” in the office as a receptionist, and some direct mail. None of this was sophisticated, and all of it was tedious. Then, Landvoice came along!
Origin of Landvoice
Landvoice began in the early 1990’s as a way to help real estate agents quickly access For Sale by Owner (FSBO) inventory in their area. The first FSBO lists were created by manually assembling lists from newspaper ads and faxing them to the agents. More cities across the country were added, and the system became more automated, and moved to email delivery. In 2010, Landvoice was acquired by Jake Fackrell. At that time, Landvoice was a CD-ROM, available only for a Windows computer. Mr. Fackrell quickly moved to a cloud-based system that could run on any Web browser. Over time, Landvoice expanded by adding Expireds, Pre-Foreclosures, Neighborhood Search, Call Capture, and Old Expireds. Mr. Fackrell is still President of the company, while Bert Compton is the CEO, managing all the day-to-day activities of the business.
Aggregating Data
Landvoice aggregates data from thousands of public sources. Then they sort the data based on a variety of parameters, such as geographic location, data type (FSBO, Expired, etc.), and date. The data then goes through a system of reviews that includes both computer systems and humans. This is why their data is superior on the market. In many cases they also supplement additional data such as phone numbers or email addresses, to make it more useful to their customers. It is then delivered daily to customers through the Landvoice app based on the customers’ subscriptions.
Features and Benefits
Landvoice helps connect real estate agents, brokers, (and investors!) with motivated home sellers by providing high-quality seller leads with the most contact information in the industry. They save their customers the time and effort of searching local listings, listing websites, county records, and phone records to find potential clients. They do all the tedious, labor-intensive work every day so agents can wake up to new potential clients every morning. Landvoice provides a consistent, predictable source of sellers throughout the US and Canada. Within minutes of logging into Landvoice, a customer can see where they should focus their efforts that day. They know whom to contact and have multiple contact methods at their fingertips to begin making connections. Landvoice customers generate more than $25 million in commissions every month. The average Landvoice customer sees 2-4 new listings a month, while others add more than 20 new listings a month. Landvoice also offers team and broker accounts. Some teams list more than 140 properties in a single month using Landvoice.
Getting Involved
Visit the website www.landvoice.com to learn more. Or call 888-678-0905 to speak directly with a Landvoice success coach. They will look up a specific area, and let agents know where to focus their time, and can customize a subscription to best meet the needs and goals of each agent, team, investor, or brokerage. The success coaches have access to special, unpublished discounts to help agents list more properties.
Bruce Kellogg
Bruce Kellogg has been a Realtor® and investor for 38 years. He has transacted about 800 properties in 12 California counties. These include 1-4 units, 5+ apartments, offices, mixed-use buildings, land, lots, mobile homes, cabins, and churches.
Mr. Kellogg is a contributor and copy editor for two national real estate wealth-building magazines: Realty411, and REI Wealth Monthly. He is a recipient of an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, listed in Who’s Who in America – 2019.
He is available for consulting with syndication, turnkey, joint-venture, and other property purchasers and note investors nationally, and other consulting assignments. Reach him at [email protected], or (408) 489-0131.
