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I am a big fan of mentors. I constantly have to think about putting my ego aside and learning from the best. My most recent example of this was when my husband and I embarked on our real estate journey. We knew we had no idea about real estate. So we found a mastermind run by someone we trusted and jumped right into the information.
I didn’t always get an answer as quickly as I sometimes wanted. So we just started doing things the best way we knew how and started taking massive action. It wasn’t long before we put a house under contract, and it was going to be the property we cut our teeth on, as I like to say.
It didn’t look bad, but I made a big mistake. I wouldn’t know until my deal was torn apart in front of my colleagues during a live group coaching call.
Related: Looking for a Mentor? The 7 best places to start.
The $32,000 Real Estate Mistake
The mentor asked me about the deal and drew it on the screen. He performed compositions on his part and we seemed to have done a good job there. However, when I started talking about how many repairs the house would have and what I should do, his eyes widened. This house was no intermediate rehab. This house was a full gut project.
At that point, I had gotten the house from $124,900 to $107,000 after back and forth negotiations. The owner had never seen the house and thought it was ready to rent.
It was not rent ready at all and we had to take it down a lot. The deal almost fell through. But in the end they understood where we were coming from and took our first offer of $75,000.
Get my investment back
We had paid $25,000 for the annual dues for the real estate mastermind, and it had already saved me $32,000.
It’s easy to see the money go out and think you can figure it out on your own. The truth is you can. However, I believe that life is short and that the best shortcut to success is to use OPE – other people’s experiences.
According to The furry fool, the average real estate investor earns between $70,000 and $124,000 annually. Learning to earn this amount from real estate can be life-changing. Most real estate investors keep their other sources of income. Real estate can often be a passive or semi-passive source of income that can provide healthy returns.
Related: 5 Reasons You Need a Business Mentor
Continue to build my real estate business as a woman
As a woman, being in the real estate world can be a little daunting. Usually when I come to my mastermind talk or go to real estate meetings, a majority of the men are there. Some women may see this as a drawback or worry that men won’t take them seriously. That’s not how I see things.
I believe men and women will respect you if you continue to show what you can versus what you can talk about. Talking is cheap. By taking action and making things happen, any wise person will realize that you can operate in the real estate space or any other business area.
Don’t let obstacles stop you
With the mastermind group and mentors to help me, I can be confident enough to move forward and speak to even the biggest names in the business. What you don’t know yet, you can learn with enough time in the business, reading books, listening to podcasts and more.
Even if a mentor isn’t within your budget, YouTube and podcasts only add up to the cost of your time and attention. You can progress at your own pace until it is within budget.
Related: You Need a Mentor. Here’s where to find one for free
