Go From Employee To Entrepreneur In 12 Easy Steps

By Than Merrill

Investing in real estate has become synonymous with a lot of attractive benefits. For starters, it may coincide with a lucrative career. There are not many industries that offer the wealth building potential real estate investing has to offer. However, not everyone is in it for the money. There is an entire population looking to take advantage of the freedom real estate investing provides. It is entirely possible to make your own schedule, and even work for yourself – on your own terms. It is essentially a path to becoming your own boss. What more could you want?

Those looking to make the transition from employee to entrepreneur are typically of the belief that there are two steps: quitting and starting a company. I can assure you, however, that it is a bit more complex than that. While anyone can do it, you must mind due diligence. Neglecting to take the appropriate path is ill advised. There are a number of things you must take into account, each of which could influence your bottom line for the duration of your career. Take it from me; know what you are doing before you consider becoming an entrepreneur.

If you are looking to fire your boss and become an entrepreneur, look no further. Below are the 12 steps you should focus on if you are to become self-employed: 

Good Investors Know How To Put Plans Into Action

By Paul Esajian

Planning is, without question, the backbone of real estate success. Whether it is a business plan or a subsequent marketing strategy, investors should never rush in without knowing what they are doing. 

There is, however, something that is as equally as important as planning, if not complimentary: taking action. Your plans must lead to taking action. Declaring that you are going to do something isn’t enough. Far too many investors have great ideas that never come to fruition. It is those that are willing to take the next step that separate themselves from the pack. Whether you are paralyzed by fear or aren’t exactly sure where to start, there are things you can do to get the ball rolling. Here are four easy steps that will put your plans into action, and help your business grow:

1. Start immediately: People have a tendency to wait for “the best time” to get started on new projects. We have all heard of the person who waits to start their diet on a Monday, or to make a big life change after the New Year. Truth be told, there is never a perfect time to take action. By waiting until everything lines up perfectly in your business, all you are doing is procrastinating. The best way to take action is to start as soon as your plan is mapped out. Typically, the quicker you act,  the more likely you will take sustainable action. The longer you wait, the more holes you start to find – either with your plan or the idea itself. Just like there is never a perfect time to act, there is no such thing as a perfect plan. Every person you talk to will tell you why you can’t do something, or should at least do things a different way. As long as you are comfortable with your plan and have researched it properly, get started right away. The quicker you start, the more likely you will be successful.

2. Create a roadmap: Along your with your commitment to get started, you need to create a plan of attack. Start by asking yourself as many questions as possible. Who do you need to have on your team? What is your ultimate goal? When are you going to act? What do you need to be successful?

There are always going to be roadblocks. Knowing any potential issues before you start will help if you encounter them down the road. Write down everyone you need to assemble on your team, what their roles will be, and how much you plan on spending. It is important that leave no stone overturned before you get going. You want to put your head down and go as soon as you get started.

3. Set a firm schedule: After you have an idea of what you want to do and who you need to do it, you are ready to put the wheels in motion. You need to set firm dates and timelines for every action you want to take. This will help whether you are trying to get your first deal or setting up a new direct mail campaign. By knowing that you need to email 100 new people on Tuesday, you can adjust the rest of your schedule accordingly. Set the times and days that you want to devote to a plan and go from there.

4. Regroup: You need to assess where you are on a daily basis. Before you go to bed at night, think about what you did that day to accomplish your goals. If you followed your schedule, you should be happy with your progress. As great as this is, there is always tomorrow. Take a look at what you did well and which areas you may need to improve on. In taking stock of where you are and what you need to do, you give yourself the best chance at realizing success. Write down everything that you need to get done at night so that when you wake up you can hit the ground running. Every day in the real estate world is a new battle that can present problems. There will be days when things don’t go your way, but tomorrow is always a new day.

The biggest difference between successful investors and those that struggle are the actions they take. Successful investors are willing to put themselves out there and do the things that others either don’t want to or can’t do. Turning plans into actions doesn’t take any special education or knowledge of the market, but it is necessary nonetheless. This is something anyone can do, as long as they have a plan and are willing to follow through with it.

Flipping Houses: How to Handle Luxury Properties

By JD Esajian

Someone must have forgotten to tell America’s wealthy that we’re in the middle of a housing crisis,because in this bear market, luxury properties are selling well.To the upper class, buying a house is like picking up a new set of golf clubs, and that’s good news for house flippers. Although we typically recommend sticking to affordable properties when flipping houses, it might be time to upgrade the merchandise if you’re struggling to pay the bills.  But before you go and spend your life savings on that abandoned mansion, there are a few things about flipping luxury properties you need to know.

1)    A Wal-Mart faucet has no place in a designer sink. If you plan on flipping luxury properties, be prepared to pull out all the stops. That means investing in high-end appliances, top-shelf paint, boutique lights and the best of everything else. To keep the interior of the home consistent, you might have to add six figures to your renovation budget. It’s going to hurt to spend all that money, but on the bright side, you’ll recoup the costs at closing.

2)    To furnish or not to furnish. Don’t be surprised if the previous owners left a set of furniture behind when they moved. Rich people do that sometimes. However, don’t use those leftover dining tables and couches in the home unless you’re willing to fully furnish it. Luxury buyers expect their new houses to be fully furnished or completely empty. If you don’t have the budget to furnish the entire real estate investment, just strip it out and sell what you can at auction.

3)    Forget about fixer-uppers. When you’re buying a house for the “one percenters,” you should avoid any properties marked “as is.” Water damage or structural issues aren’t going to fly with the rich, and the repair bills will be so large that you’ll eat up your entire budget just trying to pass inspection. When you find a very expensive home in that sort of condition – even if it’s in a great location – just walk away.

Flipping houses for the rich and famous isn’t easy. Something about putting top-end appliances into a home you’ll never be able to afford for yourself just eats at the soul. But this year, if you’re in a position to give it a shot, flipping these homes can be a worthwhile pursuit. If you can find a way to handle the high overhead and the increased workload, you’ll be able to turn out property after luxury property for a very healthy income this year.

Real Estate Content Marketing Trends For 2016

By JD Esajian

How can real estate professionals win the important content marketing battle coming up in 2016?

Inman News recently revealed how one real estate broker is experiencing an exponential increase in business without giving into the advertising giants of the industry. At the same time, this business has acknowledged that they receive about 10,000 visitors a month, all thanks to their own content marketing strategy.

It should go without saying, but content marketing definitely works for generating real estate leads, and could make all the difference in net earnings in 2016. However, there is no question that what works is changing. So what has been working for hot brands? What are experts warning against now? What trends should real estate marketers be prepared for over the coming months?

Hold That Holiday Mail!

Inc. Magazine has sided against holiday emails this year. Whatever their reason, data from AWeber shows that December 25th and January 1st are two of the busiest days of the year for email blasts. Ironically, these days also have the lowest open rates, at just 30% to 40%. HubSpot suggests the greatest engagement rates will be achieved around January fourth or fifth, when workers get back in front of their screens after the holidays. So think before you send out your next email. There is a chance it won’t get read until earlier next year.

What Worked & Changed in 2015

According to Inc., the three main game changers for content marketing in 2015 were:

1. Improving timing of publishing and sending messages (as seen above)
2. Getting more personal with content
3. Better blending social and content together

Inc. also notes that content creation and publishing hit a new high in 2015, as more marketers pushed to increase volume. Fortunately, data shows that investing just an additional six hours a week can produce more traffic, and that doesn’t mean you personally have to be the one doing it.

Content Marketing Tactics & Strategies for 2016 and Beyond

7 evolving trends, and what to do about them:

1. Tailored Content: As the competition gets better at tailoring content to individuals, real estate marketers need to keep up. Specifically, this may mean building more smaller and better targeted lists, versus lumping all contacts together.

2. Going Offline: Inc. predicts that one of the most notable trends ahead will be content that leads consumers offline to real experiences. This is a major trend already seen going both ways, including major retailers such as Apple and Amazon. Those real estate pros and brands that get ahead of this curve in providing more real human interaction will have a great lead in today’s market.

3. More Data Becomes Available: More data and tools for extracting data are becoming available to real estate marketers. More insight helps to hone in on more of what is really going to produce the desired results. For example; a new report from Real Legal Marketing reveals that while long form content has emerged as the leader for gaining backlinks to blogs, (which can boost Google placement), there is no relation between content that attracts a lot of links and content that is more likely to be shared. In fact, the opposite could be true. The verdict is that real estate marketers are going to need both long pieces of content and short ones if they want to both increase Google rankings, and actually drive in more real customers.

4. What Gets Measured Gets Improved: Entrepreneur Magazine is calling for marketers and business owners to get better at tracking their results. All the tools in the world are no good, unless they are used. Use analytics to decipher what is really creating the best results, and not.

5. Content Gets More Expensive: There are lots of people trying to hire marketing help for virtually nothing. That isn’t working. A few years ago, it may have been possible to pick up great content creators for $5 or $15 an hour. Now the best have become a hot commodity. By all means, shop around for good deals. However, some will need to realize they have to start with less, but higher quality content if they want to earn enough to stick around to produce more and keep growing. Focus on quality over quantity. Focus on good, unique content, and lock up good help at affordable rates while you can.

6. Marketing Goes Tribal: As bestselling marketing author Seth Godin has been predicting for a while, we are going to see consumers become more tribal. Meaning that they’ll trend to the brands they have the best connection with, and brands will win by better serving smaller groups better, than trying to blast watered down marketing to the general masses. As we see more marketing noise in 2016, big real estate giants advertising on TV, new well-funded apps coming online, and big players consolidating smaller ones, it is essential that real estate pros focus on building loyalty and stronger connections with their best customers.

7. New Networks: With so many attempts being made at creating new social networks, 2016 could certainly be the year we see another really take off. This doesn’t mean a platform that will replace Facebook or LinkedIn, but another channel that helps connect individuals and brands. Choose to be an early adopter this time! Don’t wait for the competition to test it and master it first. Dominate, leverage it, and connect what you do there with your other content.

Chinese invest billions in Dallas-area real estate

By: Steve Brown

Developers who are redoing downtown Dallas’ landmark Statler Hotel have spent time in China courting investors.

“I’ve already made three trips to China,” said Frank Zaccanelli, a partner with Centurion American Development Group. “They are very interested in what’s going on in Dallas.”

Centurion American, which also has suburban home and commercial projects in the works in North Texas, isn’t the only local real estate firm with an appetite for Chinese investment.

Chinese money has funded recent downtown Dallas tower sales.

And capital from China is finding its way into everything from local apartments to single-family homes.

Last year Chinese investors pumped more than $3 billion into U.S. commercial real estate investment, according to data from the commercial property firm JLL.

And they bought more than $28 billion in American residential properties — more than twice what any other foreign buyer acquired, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Asian investors accounted for almost a third of Texas home sales to foreign buyers, behind only Latin Americans, who accounted for more than 40 percent, the Realtors said.

Chinese buyers are hot for Dallas-area apartments, too.

“We’ve closed $550 million in transactions in the last 90 days,” said Chris Colombe, managing director with the apartment broker ARA. “Probably a third of those deals had equity coming from China.”

Chinese investors are the top foreign buyers and funders of U.S. hotel acquisitions this year. And they are one of the top offshore players in the office market, according to data from the Urban Land Institute.

Traditionally, Asian buyers have liked West Coast markets, but with prices for property there skyrocketing and fewer chances to buy, Chinese and other foreign buyers are scouting Dallas for deals.

“There are fewer opportunities in the gateway markets they are familiar with,” said Walter Bialas, market research director with JLL. “There is a North Texas story that is real compelling today, and it’s put us on their radar.”

Indeed, most Chinese investors probably haven’t heard of Plano. But they know Toyota.

And downtown Dallas’ skyscrapers are bargain-basement-priced compared with towers in California or New York.

Bialas said the increase in Chinese property purchases in the U.S. is due to a growing need for capital preservation and the opportunity to participate in one of the best real estate markets this country has seen in generations.

“They want to make money,” he said. “And their property hold periods are longer than a lot of the quick flippers we see.”

Foreign investment in Dallas real estate comes in waves and different flavors.

When I started writing about the local property market in 1980, the big story was Canadian buyers and developers.

Soon the emphasis shifted to Japanese investors.

Germans and other Europeans were next to make headlines here.

But for the coming year or two, don’t be surprised if Chinese money winds up in North Texas property purchases.