274: 9 Must Do Strategies to Achieve Your 2019 Goals

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 274: 9 MUST DO STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE YOUR 2019 GOALS

Writing a Strategic Real Estate Investing Plan can be your blueprint to success for 2019!  But making your plan work requires commitment and integration of your plan’s strategies into your daily life!  In this podcast episode, Bill presents 9 key strategies that will help make your plan achievable through practical steps that are both easy and fun!

Intro

When I was a kid, one memory I will never forget is this one family vacation that we took.  My dad inherited a Ford pick-up truck and a 27 foot  Silver Streak trailer (don’t know if you ever saw one of those but it looks like a submarine on wheels) from my Uncle Bill (my namesake) who passed away.  My dad bought this cover that had windows and a entrance door, that goes over the pick-up and he build little beds out of plywood, with storage compartments under them where my brother and I would sit, read comic books and sleep on the journey.  My dad was a mechanical engineer who worked for NASA on the Saturn 5 project with Dr. Von Braun. So, planned every detail of this trip.  He even wired this “high tech” push button intercom system where he could talk with us in the back of the truck.

Now, this trip was amazing.  The trip occurred in the early sixties.  We started in Southern California, drove north through central California, to the gold country (where my dad was born in Sutter Creek, California) to Yosemite, Napa, cut over to the coast, the Redwoods to Oregon, Washington, to Canada, Vancouver British Columbia, east through Canada, dropping down into Montana & Wyoming, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone National Park, Colorado.  We saw some of the most beautiful places in the world.

One thing I really loved was tracking the trip.  My dad wanted every detail covered, where we will be on any given day, the trailer parks we would stay in and even the amount of gas used from point A to point B.  Even the gas stations that we would refuel at.  You see, he went to the American Automobile Club of America also known as triple and they put together what is called a “Triptik” a map booklet that you could slip through that would outline every step of your journey – even highlighting the various tourist stops and points of interest along the way.  At the time, it seemed pretty high tech to me.

But the big thrill for me was to look ahead and get excited for some key area I really wanted to see.  For example, I was especially excited to see Yellowstone Park because I wanted to see Yogi, Boo Boo and the Ranger.  I wanted to hear Yogi say, “Hey Boo Boo, let’s go rob a picnic basket.”  I think my dad had an alternative goal in getting this “Triptik” and letting us kids constantly look thru it – on a month-long trip, he never once heard the classic statement from any of us kids – “Are we there yet?” – because we would already knew the answer by looking in the “Triptik.”

It’s kinda funny because as I was putting my 2019 plan together, I thought of that Trip and that Triptik.  What a difference it makes when you have your goals all mapped out, anticipate and get excited about the next destination, and, when it’s all over, be able to rejoice in your accomplishment and, now that you’ve successfully achieved your goal, it makes it that much easier to do it again!

OK, so why I talk so extensively about setting goals and developing an annual strategic plan. It’s a great way to achieve a goal but, even more, once you’ve done it, you realize how easy it is to review it and do it again the following year – perhaps with ever better results!

So, if you’re listening to this and you haven’t yet written your plan, it’s not too late.  You can still make it happen.

Once a plan is in place, it’s important that you regularly review your plan and that as you see your successes, how it will prompt you to achieve your goals.  That’s why I’m presenting to you these 9 “tips” or “must do strategies” things that will help your plan be that much more effective.

Let’s get started!

9 Must Do Strategies to Achieve Your 2019 Goals

1. Know Your Why

• Why are you investing in real estate? But much deeper than to “make more money,” “financial security,”
• This is the key to staying focused and on task
• Your “why” should be your key motivator
  • My “Whys”
    • My Daughters’ Dream Weddings – One of my daughter’s faces when I’m walking them down thr isle in the wedding of her dreams
    • A Child’s Education – My son or daughter going to the college of their dreams
    • Kids in Haiti – The face of a homeless child on the streets of Port-au-Prince Haiti
    • Those are some of my “whys”
  • Check out our “Why” podcast:  122: The Importance of Knowing Your Why  July 28, 2017
• If you haven’t read  “The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, now is the time!
  • Listen to our interview with Jay Papasan:  125: What’s Your “One Thing?” With Jay Papasan  August 7, 2017

2. Write a Strategic Real Estate Plan, Review and Live it Daily

• What does that mean? It should be a “living” document
• I already talked about writing your plan
• It should be on your desk, in your briefcase, backpack, etc. – readily accessible
• Look at it on lunch breaks, on plane/train rides
• Write all over it. Take and make notes on it
• Look for opportunities to create systems to save time and delegate tasks
• You should have to replace it during the year because it should regularly get worn down due to excessive use
• See below links on developing your strategic plan

3. Education

• Spend at Least 30 Minutes per Day Learning Something New – making yourself better (the 6 Million Dollar Man – Steve Austin) “We have the technology to make the first bionic man… better than he was before…better, stronger, faster”
• Spend at least 1 hour per week MASTERING key Real Estate Investing principals and skills
  • Property Analysis
  • A general understanding of Economics
  • Emerging Market Analysis
  • The Art of Negotiation
  • Networking

4. Weekly Network Building – Real Estate is ALL About Relationships

• Meet One New Person a Week
  • Meetups, REI Meetings
  • BiggerPockets – set up Coffee meetingss
• Solidify your network by staying in touch – just as important as making new contacts – Connect with 5 people minimum in your Network Each Week (best to speak but can email or text, too)

5. Do Something Monthly to Improve Your Financial Position

• Reduce Debt (beyond monthly payments)
• Improve Credit Score
  • I made this a hobby. I reached 800.  I want to reach 850
• Increase Net Worth

6. Grow and Maintain a Steady Deal Flow

• Where do deals come from?
• Develop a strategy to create a steady, consistent flow of deals
• Call brokers, property managers, wholesalers, agents, other potential sources
• Make at least 10 Cold Calls per Week
• Do Direct mail
• Text campaigns
• Social media campaigns
• Craigslist, eBay, other strategies

7. Submit One LOI a Week

• I know this can be tough but if you don’t set the goal, you won’t try

8. Monetize Your Actions

• Ask, “how will that last action convert into profit or good will?”
• Not everything will be about dollars & cents but you need to at least know the consequences, as well as the benefits of every action in your plan

9. Constantly Re-Engineer

• J. Scott – Moved to Atlanta, became a flipper with his wife, then moved to DC, went into Buy ‘n Hold Mode, Now looking at multifamily
  • Listen to our interview with J. Scott:
• Track every action you take
• Analyze and track your results
• Re-tool or re-engineer to improve actions, steps and/or results
• Always look to make it better
• Each year’s plan should be superior to the previous year

Here’s some of our podcasts on putting together your plan

This is not ALL-INCLUSIVE but each is important if you are to achieve your results.  I will list a bunch of links that will help you with every step of this process and to help you plan effectively.  Make 2019 your year to really make your real estate business take off!

Well, that’s it for today!

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