Holding down a 9 to 5 job while getting started on your path to real estate investing is the reality for most investors. Many side hustle gurus will sell you the dream of kicking back on the beach while the money rolls in. But the reality is, at least in the beginning, that investing in real estate part time requires a lot of hustle to get off the ground!
So, how do you do it successfully? How can you balance the demands of your day job with real estate investing? Here are three things to think about.
Support
The majority of new real estate investors won’t have all the knowledge, skills, and experience required for success. In addition, holding down a 9 to 5 job means you will be short on time to even try and do everything yourself. Having a team of people and companies who have what you lack will help to make your investment projects a success.
For example, realtors and wholesalers can help you find properties, lenders and investing partners can contribute funds, contractors have the expertise for renovations, and property management companies can manage leasing and maintenance. It is extremely valuable to become involved in local REIA’s in your area and, getting a seasoned investor as an expert mentor will help you be more efficient with your time and resources.
Systems
In addition to needing a team, you also need systems. A strategy. A Plan. A big mistake many new investors make is thinking that having a team around them will bring success. Each team member has their own interests, a realtor wants to earn a commission from a sale, lenders want to have their money paid back with interest, and a property management company will take a percentage of your revenue. None of them will make any money (or stick around) if you don’t have a system for making money. Thinking through your investing strategy, and putting in an effective system, will engage your team and bring success. Having this clarity will also help you to manage the limited time you have available, after your work commitments, and to be as productive and effective as possible.
Scalability
Whether or not you have a goal to quit your 9 to 5 job one day, you will need to find a way to scale your operations. Having two investment properties should not be twice as much work as one property. As a BRRRR investor, getting to the final R (Repeat) is only viable if you have the support and systems to manage existing investment properties while adding new projects. If you plan to stick to your 9 to 5 job indefinitely, or at least until you have replaced the income from that job, you will need to grow your real estate investing business with the same 24 hours a day you had when you started.
Think about how you can build the support and the systems to scale your real estate investing business.