The Paper Source Note Symposium Day 2

We were back at it again today.  After the conference yesterday, I managed to do a fair amount of networking and met some really great investors.  I am looking forward to doing some transactions with them in the future.

By far, the highlight of Day 2 for me was being able to meet the creators of www.notemba.com, and the podcast “The Note MBA.”  Chad and Rob are great guys, and both down to earth.  I originally found their podcast by going down a rabbit hole one day listening to podcasts about my favorite topic, location independent lifestyles.  Both these guys got into note investing for the freedom it affords them, and they are living proof you can truly invest in notes from anywhere.  Late in the day, they did a podcast live from the event, and I was able to participate in it.  Once I get a link to the show, I will add it to the notes.  Let’s jump in…

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The Paper Source Note Symposium 2017- Day 1

 

Most of you know a big focus area for me is “passive” income, and creating multiple streams of income.  One of the areas I am focusing on is note investing.  Note investing is also referred to as investing in paper, as you are not buying the building or business (or dozens of other assets for that matter).  You are buying the underlying promissory note that financed the asset.

This was my first year attending the Paper Source Note Symposium in Las Vegas, Nevada.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is an annual note broker/investor conference.  It is a 3 day event jammed pack with industry experts sharing their knowledge.  One of the best features of the conference is the fact there are no sales pitches.  When you add in the ability to network with serious investors, you have the making of a world-class conference.  I will be uploading my notes from each day here on the blog.  As I delve deeper into the note industry, I will use these notes as an outline for future blog posts.  Let’s get started.

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Lately I have begun teaching a real estate investing 101 class to real estate agents.  I have been testing the curriculum so I can build an online course around the subject that will be available to the public.  I started the program geared towards agents for a few reasons.  Mainly, I did so to help agents create multiple streams of income for themselves, as well as I figured I would get some pretty solid feedback in building out the course since they already have experience around real estate.

As I continue to refine the information, and flesh out the program, 3 key takeaways keep popping up.  So let’s jump in and get started on each one.

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Legal Disclaimer:  As you know, I am a real estate agent and investor.  I am not an accountant, an attorney, or a financial planner or advisor.  That means you must trust but verify.  That also means I am not giving specific investing advice, nor telling you to do that with your clients.  What I am telling you is you can share these ideas with clients, sphere, etc and guide them to seek out the proper guidance from their accountants, etc.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way…

As we prepare for the market to shift, we have to be cognizant of finding new sources of business to help un not just survive but thrive.  One of the best ways to do this is with repeat clients.  Logically, it makes sense.  The average client is going to buy a home from you every 5-9 years depending on their personal situation, the market, etc.  So one way to make sure your clients aren’t “average” is by working with investors.  Solid investors can buy one house a year from you.  Those that really see the value in building wealth through real estate can potentially buy multiple homes a year from you.

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Today we are wrapping up The Success Triangle with the final pillar:  Consistency.  If you are just joining us, make sure you read Part 1 on Focus here, and Part 2 on Tenacity, here.  The reason we are saving consistency for last, is because without it, the other two pillars don’t really matter.

Consistency is what gets you across the finish line, plain and simple.  It is the grind, that everyone likes to pretend they are willing to commit to, but only the truly success actually will commit.  How many times do you see on social media someone talking about their ability to hustle?  They talk about it as it is a badge of honor, and it actually is, to those that do the work instead of talk the talk.  In today’s culture it has become trendy to talk about hustling and grinding, never quitting.  But the reality is, most quit before they even start.

Do you know why?

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Persistence.  Determination.  Fortitude.  The second part of the success triangle is all about tenacity.  In the first post on the success triangle, we discussed the importance of focus.  Focus is the base of the triangle.  Without it, we can not build lasting success.  Once focus is established, we need to make sure we don’t suffer from a lack of tenacity.  Tenacity is the ability to get kicked in the teeth, and move forward.  Tenacity kicks in when everyone else quits.  When the roadblocks come, and they will, being tenacious will be the one factor that allows you to move forward.  So the question becomes:  Are you born with tenacity, or is it developed over time?

Nature Vs. Nurture

Most people believe tenacity is something you are born with.  They feel as though either you have that “let’s get this done, no matter what” attitude or you don’t.  The majority feel tenacity is not something that can be developed.  There is a word that describes this sort of thinking:  EXCUSES.  

I know, I know.  I am not supposed to pick on other people’s opinions.  Everyone is entitled to believe what they want.  However, I think this is part of the problem.  It is easy to say that you’re either born with tenacity or you’re not.  That way, when things go wrong, it becomes excusable to quit.  Most people with sympathize with this sort of thinking and will even console you when things don’t go your way.  They will help come up with all the reasons why it’s not your fault, and it wasn’t meant to be.  I call bullshit.

Pick any two-year old.  Any one of them.  Pick one from every street in the country.  Pick one from every street in any country.  Put them all together in a group.  What one trait do they all have in common?

Yep… TENACITY.

You see, most toddlers have not been told “no” enough to believe something isn’t allowed or isn’t possible.  Most of the time, when you tell them “no,” they fight it, either by asking why, or trying a different tactic to get the same result.  Yet, as they grow older, and adults continue to tell them “no,” they begin to conform.

Conformity is the deathblow to tenacity.

Once you begin to conform, you forget how to question things.  You forget how to try different tactics.  In part because your support system, the people you love, are the one telling you to conform in one way or another.  In part because it’s easier to conform than to continue questioning, continue looking for other ways to get the result you want.

Tenacity is just like a muscle.  The more you use it, the stronger your source becomes.  However, the sooner you stop using it, the sooner you lose the ability to reach down in your gut and push forward.  Remember, it is always easier to quit…and the more you develop the habit of quitting, the easier it becomes.  So the answer to the nature vs nurture question is we are all born tenacious.  What most of us nurture is the behavior of quitting.

 

The Immigrant Factor

Most of us have come across a fair amount of immigrants in our lives.  Some of us are the sons and daughters of immigrants.  What is the one thing that the majority of immigrants have in common?

An undying resolve to get ahead, move forward, and create a better life for themselves and their families.

I myself and the son of immigrants.  Growing up, I was surrounded by many other immigrant families.  One thing that was always drilled into me and my friends was this sense of fortitude.  This belief that you can overcome anything.  As an adult, I realize this was in part because many immigrants have always had to fight for what they wanted.  They couldn’t afford to take “no” for an answer, just like the toddlers.  When something didn’t work, they had to dig deep for the strength and resolve to find another solution.  “No” is not in their vocabulary.

The funny thing is the harder these immigrants fought, the stronger their ability to be tenacious became.  Like I said earlier, it’s just like a muscle that needs development.

Today some of the most successful people on earth are immigrants, and those born as first generation Americans.

Why?

Because they understand as long as you don’t quit, as long as you push forward, as long as you always get up to fight another day, you will be successful.

Tenacity is the second pillar of the success triangle.  If you are struggling with your ability to be tenacious, take a day off, and go somewhere peaceful.  Think back to when you were a child, and think back to all the two-year olds you have ever encountered.  Bring that feeling of certainty back to life within you and make a promise to yourself to never, ever, quit.  Visualize what life would look like for you if you never gave up when the bad stuff happens.  If instead of making excuses and playing the victim, you created alternative solutions.  You would empower everyone around you to do the same.  You will become a better version of you.

With the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio winding down, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss what I call The Success Triangle.   Every athlete who has won a gold medal, has become a student of The Success Triangle whether they realize it or not.  In the specific example in the photo above, you have two athletes competing for the gold.  One athlete is focused on what the competition is doing, while the other is focused on his goal…winning the gold.  Who do you think came out ahead?  We will get to the exact finishes at the end of this post, and the differences between the two may stun you.

Now, you may not be a world-class athlete, and neither am I.  However The Success Triangle is not just for athletes.  In fact, it specifically speaks to entrepreneurs and business owners, just like you and I.  The Success Triangle has, you guessed it, three main pillars: Focus, Tenacity, and Flexibility.  Today we are going to begin with Focus, as this is the base of the triangle, and without it, the other two pillars don’t matter.

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I  just finished reading Grant Cardone’s The 10x Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure, and let me tell you…it is a game changer!  Today we are going to cover 5 key takeaways from The 10x Rule, however, every chapter has an abundance of advice.  You can apply the philosophies, hard rules and strategies laid out in the book to any business or profession.  For our purposes, we will focus on how the information applies to our real estate businesses.

First, let’s go through a little background on Grant Cardone, for those of you who are unfamiliar with him.

I first learned about Grant Cardone when I signed up for his sales training at Cardone University.  I learned many specific techniques on improving my sales skills, which furthered my interest in learning more about him.  Cardone is a world-renowned sales training expert.  He runs multiple businesses, and is the best-selling author of 5 books, including Sell To Survive, The Closer’s Survival Guide, If You’re Not First, You’re Last, The 10X Rule, and Sell or be Sold.  He was the star of a reality tv show called the “Turnaround King,” in which he helped struggling businesses get back to profitability.  While all of his accomplishments are extremely impressive, I saved the best for last…he has built up a $375 Million real estate portfolio, with a goal of having a BILLION dollar portfolio before he’s done!

Now that you have a better understanding of the author, let’s get to the 5 key takeaways I pulled from the book.

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Do you own a business…or do you just own a job?  I will give you a hint, if your commission checks still have your personal name on them, you most likely own a job.

[This would be a good time to add a legal disclaimer about this post:  I am not an attorney, accountant, or tax consultant.  This article is not meant to give advice in any capacity and is strictly for educational and entertainment purposes.]  Phew!  Now that we got that part out of the way, back to the post…

See, too many of us real estate professionals out there are under the illusion we own a business, when in reality, we just own a very high paying (hopefully) job.

Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting in on Bob Kilinski’s Master Business Agent Program: Running Your Business Like a Business.  Bob is a partner is the South East Region of Keller Williams Real Estate, and has been teaching agents how to turn their real estate practice into a real estate business for a long time.  The class was definitely eye-opening for me, and my guess is, for most of the top agents in attendance as well.  I am going to give you a breakdown of the ten business identifiers check list Bob gave us at the beginning of the class.  For today’s post, we are going to focus on the first one in the list, which is “Are you incorporated?”  Here is a brief overview of the list:

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If you want to explode your ability to convert internet leads, we need to talk about texting.  Using text messaging to convert internet leads is one of the easiest, fastest, and most effective strategies today.

MIT completed a study showing you are 100 times more likely to convert a lead that is responded to in the first 5 minutes, than you do if you waited 30 minutes.  The National Association of Realtors 2014 profile of Home Buyers and Sellers showed 68% of consumers will sign with the first professional they have a conversation with in person.

What do these two stats tell us?

We need to be the first to respond to an internet lead’s inquiry, and we have to be able to convert that lead to an in person appointment.

We have 3 main methods of reaching out to that lead in an effort to convert to an in-house, or in office appointment:

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