Investing sometimes looks easy. But you need to invest and believe in yourself first.
A few years ago I remember helping Anna crunch the numbers on her first project – a pretty straight forward renovation on a town house that she had got on vendor finance.
“So what’s your profit at the end of the day?” I said.
“$22,000.”
“Yep. Better than a kick in the teeth, right?”
“Yeah, but… I don’t get it.”
“Do you want to go through the numbers again? – see how we got to $22K?”
“No, I mean I understand all the numbers. I just don’t… I just don’t believe it…
… We barely did anything.”
I see it with my students all the time. It just seems too easy.
When I sit down with students and help them crunch the numbers, look at the feasibility study, calculate our expected return – like we did with Anna – there’s often a moment where they’ll question the results… or the process, or their maths, or the fundamental principals of mathematics…
It just seems to good to be true. Like it’s money for nothing.
And sure. In some ways it is easy.
With the systems we’ve perfected in the I Love Real Estate community, you don’t need a finance or an engineering degree. You don’t even know how to swing a hammer or ride a shovel. Once you ‘get’ the system, with a bit of time and effort, you can make real money.
But it’s not nothing. It’s not money for nothing. It’s only seems like that because the world has taught you to totally devalue your time and energy.
You still have to do the work. You learn the systems. You do the research. You arrange the finance. Sometimes you even end up being the one swinging the hammer. There’s no free lunch here.
You’ve got to put in your time and energy.
The only thing that needs to change is how much you think that time and energy is worth. In Anna’s case it was $22K. Only she just didn’t believe. She didn’t think her time and energy could be worth that much.
Why?
Because she’d spend most of her adult life earning $20/hr doing office admin.
Her company had told her what her time was worth…
… and she believed them.
And look, sometimes your time is worth $20/hr to someone.
But that’s not set in stone.
Your time is worth whatever you’re willing to make it worth.
And if you learn the systems, and do the research, and become an expert in an area and all that, then your time starts to be worth more.
And it can be worth a LOT more.
And so look. I know we make this look easy.
And compared to other ways of making money, it is easy.
But you’ve still got to invest yourself.
And know what you are worth!
DB.