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My name is Justin Dossey. I want to start this article by saying I am not an active real estate investor myself. I am the CEO and owner of Call Porter and Ballpoint Marketing.
In 2017 we did $134k in revenue, 2018 we scaled to $737k in revenue, and in 2019 we are on pace to close out at over $1.4 Million. I don’t say those things to brag; I say those things to show you what’s possible.
I work with hundreds of investors around the country to not only help take their calls but to also help them scale to the point of their businesses serving them and not the opposite.
I have learned a lot about running a business and scaling to 7+ figures in the last few years. Some scaled the easy way and some scaled the incredibly difficult way.
Lesson 1
Learn to delegate non-essential tasks to someone else. You will never, I repeat NEVER be able to scale your business if you cannot figure out how to effectively delegate. I had a mentor kick my teeth in by doing a simple task audit with me.
It was a spreadsheet that listed every task imaginable in a typical business with a few columns of who did the tasks, how long it took each week to complete the tasks, and what the hourly rate of return on investment would be to complete the tasks (eg: simple data entry at $10/hr).
The results were embarrassing. During the weekly hard work I was putting in, I was essentially wasting 30+ hours. Why would I be spending my time doing a $10/hr job at 15 hours a week? Why would I waste my time doing $20/hr work or even $50/hr work? As business owners, our time is best spent on $100/hr-$1000/hr tasks.
This includes items such as designing marketing campaigns, running appointments, going to closings, strategic partnerships, additional products or services, etc. Your ROI on these tasks will greatly increase your business success and allow for exponential growth.
Lesson 2
Be ready for change. I think William Arthur Ward said it best when he said: “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
Markets change, people change, businesses change. Be ready to adapt or be ready to be left behind.
Lesson 3
Be consistent in your follow up. Full disclosure; I and my business partner, who is a very successful investor, coach investors on how to effectively build a real estate investing business.
The #1 difference between people who succeed and people who fail are the ones who consistently do their follow-ups, and do them when they say.
If a seller tells you they aren’t ready to sell but will be in 60 days, you better be calling them on day 30, 40, and 50 and ask “Mr. Seller, is that house under contract and ready to close in “X” amount of days?”
Don’t be the person who throws it on some lame automated follow-up sequence that has no personality. Make it personal. Make it stand out.
Lesson 4
Always be Marketing. Whether it’s direct mail, online PPC, retargeting, ringless voicemails, or text blasts, be consistent with it.
It’s great when you have a deal come in and you make 20-30k on it, but what happens after you close and you didn’t send out any marketing? You’re treading water until your leads come back in.
Every successful investor or business owner for that matter understands this key concept; consistent marketing creates consistent profits.
Lesson 5
Most importantly, schedule weekly downtime for yourself. You are the single, most important asset to your business.
While Gary Vaynerchuk’s “hustle” mantra is great at times, you will burn yourself out if you don’t take time for yourself. I mean, really take time for yourself. If you like sports, play sports.
If you like fishing, go fishing. If traveling is your thing, do that. Do something that makes you happy and that can also recharge you while doing so.
Remember this important saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
