Weighing if You Should Scale
The 3 questions you need to ask yourself before you scale your business are, 1) Is the business scalable? 2) If so, what part of it is scalable? 3) Are you even interested in the scalable part? Once you have these answered, you can determine the best expansion plan and where you best fit into it.
What Do You Want?
Start by defining what you truly want to get out of your business. For example, if you value a flexible schedule and freedom, then you must implement growth strategies that allow for those considerations. Next, assess your own personality so you can create a team that complements you. There are many online sources where you can do different “personality assessment” tests such as the DISC test. These show you what you’re good at and where you could use some work. Are you a visionary or an integrator? A Visionary is typically the person who conceived the company or the person who had and continues to have ideas about how to expand the business. Visionaries focus on the big picture, culture, client relationships. An Integrator is the person who creates order. They are organized, detailed and enjoy solving conflicts, removing obstacles and getting the company to the next level. You may not truly want to be an
Always Be a Student
With so much noise in the investment learning space, you may tend to go for what others say you should have instead of what you want, which is why it is critical to know yourself. If your highest value is flexibility and not working in an office, then your growth plans should prioritize this as well. Try a virtual business structure if the office is not your thing. Brian Iregbu, a Houston, Texas investor currently about 5 deals per month. He has 8 team members including 3 lead managers, 3 acquisitions managers, 1 disposition manager and 1 administration. He notes that there is a difference between handling qualified leads and prospecting. Knowing at what point should you hire a lead manager for prospecting depends heavily on your short-mid and long-term business goals. For Brian, he felt that the second they started getting leads that were too busy to touch for 24 hours, they needed to hire another team member. You should not attempt to scale if you do not have your processed refined. Onboarding new employees is a significant time and money commitment, and It costs more to
Track Your Metrics
When getting into real estate, a beginner will often ask “How long did it take you to get your first deal?” The answer to that question for someone other than yourself is irrelevant to how long it will take you. What if you don’t get the answer you want, are you going to quit? The answer is “Until YOU get a deal.” You work toward a deal, adjust by tracking your metrics. You must track your numbers, or you will not know what works and what doesn’t. Understand budgeting and how to allocate your money first. You can put a huge chunk of your budget into marketing, but if you do not know how track those marketing dollars, you are wasting money. For Brian’s team, the RVM, SMS, cold calling and PPC advertising methods have been the best return. As effective marketing strategies ebb and flow, you must be prepared to pivot to other strategies. At the same time, don’t try too many different strategies. You must be ready and willing to pivot when the time comes…and it will come.
Having trouble starting to systematize? Try this simple solution, write down all the tasks that need to be accomplished each day. Then spend one hour each day writing out the exact steps in each of those tasks. Refine and edit as things change.
