Issue #2432

• WEALTHY: Before you invest in a single property… (Dean Graziosi)
• HEALTHY: A marketing book with surprising health advice (Craig Ballantyne)
• WISE: Gandhi on believing in yourself

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• How to (unintentionally) tick off a customer (Suzanne Richardson)
• For your next week off… (Jason Holland)
• It’s Fun to Know… about the fake speed bump
• Add “nebbish” to your vocabulary

How to Make Fast Profits With This Easy-to-Follow System

There are some good money-making programs out there, but many take too long before you see any profits coming in.  When you need to make good money – as quickly as possible – then follow this new step-by-step program that can line your pockets with money easier and faster than any program I know of.

For all the details, click here.

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I shall have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning.”

Mahatma Gandhi

3 Keys to Real Estate Success for Beginner Investors

By Dean Graziosi  

Real estate can be your ticket to massive wealth, an early and fruitful retirement – even financial independence for the rest of your life. I’ve made millions by investing in real estate. But, as with any new venture, getting started can be tricky.

Over the past 20 years, I’ve made plenty of mistakes. By learning from my mistakes, you can sidestep some of the pitfalls and start making money much faster. And you do it by memorizing three simple words:

• Goals
• Abilities
• Resources

If every new real estate investor would take these three words, analyze them, and build a plan for each, there would be few – if any – nightmare investments.

New investors can be fearful and very careful… or confident and decisive. But it really doesn’t matter. It comes down to goals, abilities, and resources for all of them. These three words can fill the voids, fix the shortcomings, and enhance the strengths of practically any real estate deal.

Here’s how to put them to work for you…

Key to Investing Success #1: Goals

Before you enter into any real estate deal, ask yourself what your goals are. You don’t need to become an expert in the lingo, investment practices, mathematics, evaluation, negotiation, or any other specifics of the process at this point. Simply decide what you want to accomplish. What do you want to see as a result of your investments? Sure, you want to make a lot of money. But do you want to make that money as a very active and hands-on property manager? Would you prefer the kind of deals that will require very little of your time? Do you want to do your real estate investing on the side, while you continue working at your primary career?

Just jumping in without knowing what they’re after has taken down many an investor. The eager newbie takes on more than he should, and ends up having to hire out management, repair, and maintenance. He finds that his positive cash flow investment has evaporated, and he has to search for a buyer to get himself out of the predicament.

It’s critical to the success of your investment that you sit down and honestly examine why you want to invest in real estate… what you’re willing to do to succeed… and what your expectations are for income and future ROI (return on investment). This will help you determine where to look for investment property… what type of property to buy (single-family homes, multi-unit buildings with hired management, etc.)… and how much time and money you can expect to put into the project.

Once you’ve completed this self-analysis, you will have a plan.

Key to Investing Success #2: Abilities

Once you’ve set your goals, ask yourself another critical question: “What are my abilities?” This is not meant to discourage you from implementing your plan. It is merely a transition step between establishing your goals and the actual act of investing. You can’t do a good job of determining what kind of help you’ll need until you know what you can do for yourself.

Here is a checklist of the skills that are necessary:

• Gathering and analyzing market trends and information
• Locating properties, even if they aren’t currently “on the market”
• Evaluating properties for condition and possible repair or renovation
• Determining the costs of repair or renovation
• Valuation of properties with all the necessary ROI and math tools
• Negotiating with sellers or their agents
• Overseeing repairs and renovations
• Property management, maintenance, rent collection, eviction, etc.

Again, honest self-assessment is critical. Don’t puff yourself up, but don’t sell yourself short either. Be conservative in evaluating your abilities – keeping in mind that you will be able to hire or partner with other people to take care of anything you can’t (or don’t want to) do.

If you’ve never lifted a hammer to build so much as a dog house, you would want to prepare for the necessity and expense of selecting, hiring, and dealing with contractors. If you buckle under at the first hint of opposition, you would want to consider working with a real estate professional or trusted associate for the negotiation phase. If you hate math and finances, you would want to find a partner who is good at it or plan to get help from a professional.

And that brings us to the last key to investing success:

Key to Investing Success #3: Resources

You have a goal and a realistic assessment of your abilities. You know what you want to accomplish. And you know what you can and cannot do on your own. Now all you need to do is fill in the gaps. It’s all about resources – where to find them and how to use them.

When it comes to market knowledge, area demographics, and local and national market trends, it used to mean spending hours in the library. But, as with most research these days, now it’s all about the Internet. It’s still worth checking out the library, but the latest and most valuable information will be on the Web. Learn to use the search engines, bookmark useful sites, and build a research database of information.

Two websites for researching your market are homefair.com and reia.org. And I have a free online forum where investors communicate and share information at deangraziosi.com. (I highly recommend getting involved in it.)

As Michael Masterson has said many times in ETR, having a mentor is one of the best ways to speed up your success in any field. As a beginning real estate investor, you can learn the ropes and start making money much faster by enlisting the help of experts. Build your support team early on. Ideally, your team should consist of the following:

• attorney
• accountant
• real estate professional
• general handyman
• major-renovation contractor
• title company
• banker or lender

You’ll find that there are reliable and trustworthy people in all of the above areas who will be willing and ready to help you in your investment business. Start with friends, relatives, and other people you know. You can also check out craigslist.com or angieslist.com.

When you get into the nitty-gritty of real estate investing, you’ll become aware of tons of tools and techniques that can help you find great deals and make a healthy profit. In fact, you can learn plenty of strategies for investing right here in ETR. But when you’re just starting out – before you’ve made a single offer on a single property – make sure you set your goals, determine your abilities, and line up your resources. You’ll be laying the foundation for a truly successful career in real estate.

[Ed Note: Dean Graziosi is a real estate investing expert, teacher, and author who began investing at 18. His book, Be a Real Estate Millionaire is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com, and USA Today best-seller. For an ETR-reader-only special on this book, go here.

Once you've got a solid foundation with Dean's guidelines for beginners, you'll be ready to start learning the techniques that will make you rich. You can get some of the biggest secrets to churning out cash from 14 of the world's experts in wealth - including real estate specialists Dave Lindahl, Marko Rubel, and Jim Fleck. Learn how to take advantage of their proven money-making strategies right here.]

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== Highly Recommended ==

I Can’t Take It Anymore…

When you are in the know about something – like I am about generating sales online – you can see right through the smoke and mirrors. You clearly see the true money-machine the Internet could be… in the right hands. Now I’m going to show you exactly how to make money online in 3 easy steps. 

Yes, it’s that easy. And some have been hiding the real secret all this time. Check out everything for yourself by clicking here…

Reader Feedback: “Keep up the good work!”

“I just wanted to let you know how much I look forward to reading Early to Rise every morning. There’s always something interesting and informative, sometimes even inspirational. Keep up the good work!”

Dennis Nix

Nixa, MO

[Ed. Note: Want to get your name and opinions published in ETR? Let us know how reading ETR has helped you - maybe even changed your life. Send your comments to ReaderFeedback@gmail.com. Include your name and hometown... and we may print your e-mail in a future issue.]

Watch Your Mouth

By Suzanne Richardson

Don’t minimize your mistakes. Whatever you did wrong… no matter how insignificant it seems to you… it may have made a big impact on your customer.

I recently had an encounter with a business that made a MASSIVE mistake. But they insisted on calling it an “inconvenience.” To me, the mistake was no mere inconvenience. It bothers me to this day. And hearing it referred to as a trifling incident of no major consequence made me want to walk out of this company’s life for good.

So instead of being annoyed that your customer is upset, and instead of minimizing the importance of his feelings, really listen to him. Understand what he is telling you. And do whatever you can to make things right.

[Ed. Note: No company is perfect. But if you own up to your mistakes, you can keep your valued customers - and keep them happy. Of course, customer service isn't the only thing you need to think about when you're in business. Get everything you need to start and grow an Internet business - including plenty of advice from proven business builders - right here.]

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Living Rich: The Staycation

By Jason Holland 

A good vacation can recharge your batteries, and make you more effective and productive when you return to work. But there’s no reason to take a fancy trip that will cost a fortune. For a fraction of what a Mediterranean cruise or even a family road trip to Disney World would cost, there are hundreds of ways to relax and broaden your mind right in your own backyard.

“Staycationers” explore their own city, visiting tourist sites that they rarely see. Meanwhile, they stay at home instead of in a hotel, enjoying cookouts with friends and spending time with their kids.

Taking a staycation here in South Florida – where thousands of people come to vacation – is especially easy for me and my family. When the weather cools in the fall, we have a full week planned. We’ll be hitting up local attractions – Butterfly World, botanical gardens in Miami (my wife is into gardening), art museums up and down the coast – and, of course, lounging on the beach.

But you can plan a staycation no matter where you live. It’s a great way to rest and relax – without breaking the bank.

[Ed. Note: What better way to spend your vacation than learning how to make money? ETR's business-building experts can give you step-by-step instructions for building a fully functioning Internet business from the ground up. Learn how you can come back from your vacation with income for life right here.]

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Getting Past the Fat-Loss “Dip”

By Craig Ballantyne

I’ve been reading a little book called The Dip by Seth Godin. It’s all about how the biggest marketing results are often achieved after a struggle. Unfortunately, many people quit during the struggle and never achieve success.

This is very true not only of marketing but of fat loss, working out, and eating right. (You might be able to relate.)

After all, it’s not too hard to get through the morning or even the early part of the afternoon without “cheating” on your diet. But late in the afternoon, sticking to your healthy eating plan becomes an effort. And while sitting around after dinner, it’s practically impossible to resist the siren call of cookies or chips. But those who make it through WIN. They end up eating fewer calories and losing fat for the day.

Same with workouts. The warm-up is fine, and the first few sets are tough but manageable. But further into the workout, some folks want to quit… even though it is often the last set, the last rep, that gives the most results. If we didn’t experience discomfort and fatigue while exercising, we wouldn’t change our bodies.

As Godin says, “It is human nature to quit when it hurts.” And human nature is why you see more lard bodies than hard bodies.

We have to get through what he calls “the dip.” And the two worst things you can do when you are in “the dip” are to…

(a) Quit. (That’s obvious.)

(b) Jump to another program. Every time you jump, you are starting over again. Always give a program a full four-week trial period to see if it really works for you.

How do you beat the dip when the struggle is so hard? By reminding yourself of how good life will be on the other side of the dip – how good things will be once you make it through the struggle.

You can get to a point where you’ll prefer whole, natural foods over junk food. You can get to a point where you’ll look forward to your workouts, rather than finding excuses to blow them off.

But you must have the right mindset. You must stay strong. And the best way to do both is to get help from your social support network. Surrounding yourself with positive social support is the most important thing you can do in your weight-loss program.

[Ed. Note: Social support can help you stick with your diet and exercise program until you have the body you've always wanted. Meet up with other health-minded people at ETR's SpeakOut Forum right here.

And discover a proven exercise system that can help you burn fat and build muscle here.]

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It’s Fun to Know: The Fake Speed Bump

City officials in Philadelphia (and a few other cities) have been testing a novel way to slow down traffic: “speed bumps” painted on the road. Thanks to an optical illusion, they look real and drivers do slow down… at least for a few months (until they wise up). Still, it is hoped that they will continue to serve as reminders to slow down and supplement the speed limit signs.

(Source: Associated Press)

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== Highly Recommended ==

The Greatest Medical Discovery of the Century

Scientists have discovered a remarkable substance that has the power to prevent diabetes, stop heart disease before it starts, and kill cancer cells on contact. In fact, this substance has been shown to prevent and treat more than 20 major diseases in all!

However, more than 85% of the population is deficient in this disease-killer at least part of the year. And believe it or not, medical professionals and health authorities actually advise people to avoid the single greatest source of this vital substance.

Click here to learn why you probably haven’t heard about this revolutionary discovery.

Word to the Wise: Nebbish

A “nebbish” (NEB-ish) – from the Yiddish for “poor, unfortunate” – is a weak-willed, timid, or ineffectual person.

Example (as used by Maira Kalman in her children’s book Max in Hollywood, Baby): “You used to be a nebbish, a noodle, a fool / And now you’re Mr. Big Time with your own private pool.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]

Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 5:10 am and is filed under Daily Issues .