It’s not so much about sharpening your tools as adding more tools to your toolbox. The more tools you have in your toolbox, the more capa - ble you are of navigating a mar - ket, creating opportunities, being a resource to customers, and closing deals others miss. Opportunity zone investments are a great example. Some inves - tors overlooked this strategy when it became law because it appeared overly cumbersome. 1031 exchang - es are well known and far easier to execute. What most ignored is that O-Zone investing allows investors to switch asset classes. Unlike a 1031 exchange that is reserved for like- kind investments, O-zone investing allows an investor to move from assets like appreciated stocks into real estate. Know anyone with huge gains in stocks or cryptocurrency looking to diversify? A hyperlocal professional pays attention and consistently adds to their real estate toolbox. TIME If you’ve been up late watching TV, you may have run across the get- rich-quick gurus telling you that real estate investing is easy. Something you can do in your spare time. HGTV completes a flip in under an hour, with commercials. How hard can it be? Real estate is a business. If it were really that easy, everyone would do it. Marketing for deals, negotiating, closing, managing rehabs, creating teams, and selling all take time. Be honest about how much time you can dedicate to the business. Some strategies require less time while others are very time-consuming. If you have a demanding job, your work probably won’t appreciate you taking seller calls you’ve generat - ed off bandit signs. Not responding
to leads is a huge waste of time and money as well as poor customer ser - vice. If you can’t answer the call, find a partner or hire a virtual assistant to manage and qualify incoming leads. Delegating pieces of the business that aren’t your strengths is also just good business. Leverage bird dogs and students for door-knocking and maybe hire a design student to build your website and design direct mail. Outsource to marketing companies that can help you with outbound direct mail campaigns and refine your inbound digital ad campaigns targeting your ideal prospects. Outsourcing or partnering on the things you are not good at allows you to spend time focused on high-val - ue activities you’re best at. Always be looking at tools and technology that integrate and automate to help you grow. Chances are you already use technology that integrates with other tools you pay for; you just nev -
er spent the time to learn what you already have.
TALENT Talent is another layer to under- standing your chocolate and one of the most overlooked. I grew up in the business fixing houses with my dad. I left for New York City to be a profes - sional actor at 19, only to return to the family business a decade later. A creative in real estate? Yes, and some of the skills I learned as a cre - ative New Yorker transferred beauti - fully into the real estate business. Peter Fortunado has a great say - ing: “Use what you have to get what you need to get what you want.” What unique knowledge or skillset can you leverage in the real estate business that helps you differentiate yourself from everyone else in the market? Have a sales background? From being a waiter to selling cars,
80 | think realty magazine :: april 2021
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