Five ways to make sure you have the right mind-set to achieve your property goals
Have you read about a single mum who bought her first property out of pure desperation to have a better life for her child and built up a £5 million portfolio within a couple of years? Or a middle-aged man in a lot of debt after being made redundant becoming a property millionaire within 18 months.
How can it be that these people are able to achieve what so many others struggle to do? Why is that they have they been so successful compared to many others in same situation? Have they been gifted large sums of money? Have they won the lottery? Well, the chances are, probably not. Their circumstances often provide them with no unfair advantage over anyone else in the same situation. So, what is it that differentiates these people? Although many investors say they believe property is a good investment for them, most investors have been unable to fully focus on expanding their portfolio. Why is this? How can you avoid just being average?
There are several factors that create a successful ‘investor mind-set’:
1. A strong Desire
Whether you are an aspiring top athlete, singer or property investor, desire is a crucial aspect of the ability to achieve greatness. There are some people in the world that are just born with amazing natural talents, but often, I believe that if the desire is strong enough, anything is possible. If your need is strong enough, you will find a way to change your circumstances. However, the complete reverse is also true, if you are comfortable in life with a well-paid job, it can be difficult to create a strong desire to get out of your comfort zone and take action.
Those who I have spoken to who have successfully built a large multi-million-pound property portfolio have been able to create a strong desire for success. This may have come from the need to urgently generate enough money to live day to day, from hating their 9 to 5 job or a strong desire to have a lavish lifestyle with a fancy car. Whatever their desire, it is strong and they are united in their hunger to succeed.
Therefore, the first step and what I would consider as the most important step in mapping out a route to your successful outcome is to determine what will fuel your desire. You must be able to clearly visualise and describe what success looks like for you and not let go of that vision. The stronger your emotional connection to this vision, the greater chance you have to achieve it.
2. A plan!
To fail to plan is to plan to fail.
There is nothing wrong with being an accidental landlord. In fact, it can be a great opportunity to turn one property into many. However, if you plan to use property investing as a vehicle to create your ideal lifestyle and wealth then you need to develop a plan to help you achieve your investment goals.
Your plan will need to cover:
- Where are you now? What is your current reality? (i.e. what is your current net worth, passive cashflow, your lifestyle and how much time can be allocated to areas of your life – life balance?)
- What are you your goals? What is your desired outcome? (i.e. what is your desired net worth, passive cashflow and ideal lifestyle. How much time is devoted to achieving your goals? Your goals need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound
- What actions should you take to move from your where you are now, your current reality to where you want to be, your desired reality? (i.e. set actions should be defined and to be achieved in a specific timeframe)
- How are you going to measure your success? (i.e. scaling methods)
- What resources, support and education do you need to achieve your goals? (i.e. training courses, certifications, podcasts, books, coaching and mentoring)
3. Support Network
There is no shame at all associated with getting help and support. It may have been seen as failing or being unable to succeed on your own a few years back, but today, personal trainers, life coaches and business coaches help people to achieve their goals every day. A property coach and mentor is someone who you know can encourage and support you to keep focus on your goals. Make sure your coach and mentor understands what your desire is and how you will measure success.
4. Strategy
I have found that all investors with large portfolios vigorously follow their investment strategy. Some invest for positive cashflow, others equity and. capital growth or sometimes a combination. Whatever your approach, choose it and stick to it.
Always ensure that you buy based on the numbers and never on emotion. Do the maths on each potential investment and be prepared to walk away if the deal does not match your criteria or make business sense. There is a saying in property investment, “The deal of a lifetime comes up every week”.
View finance as a tool. Property is a product and financial arrangements and the ability to leverage through equity help you to use it to maximise your advantage.
Learn from your mistakes. View them not as a cost, but as an investment in your future success. Be determined and focused to make up for mistakes with future decisions that will more than compensate for the earlier mishaps.
Work to your strengths. If you find a property sector and strategy that works for you, stick with it if your experience says what you are doing works for you. Don’t be put off by other people doing different strategies, they may work to their strengths, but that might not be right for you.
Look, listen, learn. Not all successful investors were a success when they started, but they learnt how to improve their chances of success, whilst reducing their risks.
5. Take Action!
Phases I often hear are: “I’m not sure I want to invest in the current property market”, and “interest rates are going up”. These are common phrases often used by people when are not really committed to taking action and would rather blame everything and everyone else other than themselves. A few of my favourite phases are: “Create your own luck”, “There is no time like the present” and “If you want something done, give it to a busy person”.
If there was one action that I would recommend prioritising, it would be to allocate some time (1-2 hours) each week to focus on your property investing activities. We call ours a board session as it involves a white board! It’s essential to block this time out in your diary weekly and only reschedule if you really have to. Property investing should be viewed as a business and not a hobby that you do in your spare time.
The only person who can create the life you want is YOU. There is no magic potion or massive secret. YOU are the one who can build your property portfolio to provide YOU with financial freedom, wealth and lifestyle YOU desire.