Conversations Turn to Opportunity

Networking is key to success in any given field. It is essential to talk with other people and to learn from their wisdom. Doing this will help you improve and who knows, you may even have something to share with them to improve their lives. Networking is a significant part of real estate investing as this business is impossible to do alone. I believe one of the best ways to network is to bring it up in everyday conversation because you never know who might be a real estate investor themselves or who may be a potential private investor.

Bringing up real estate in every day conversations has great potential. You can talk with anyone you meet ranging from your coworker or even someone in a grocery store. I would like to share a personal experience and the results that came from this conversation.

I had heard on multiple different real estate podcasts about the power of networking through daily conversations and I thought I should give it a try. Being a college student, I am around people pretty much all of the time and am constantly exposed to advertisements for student rentals. I began to take notice of these flyers and would take a picture of them so I could find out who owned the property. This way I could potentially find the owner and meet with them if I wanted to. One place where I kept seeing this flyers was outside of bathroom in one of the busiest places on campus: the dinning hall.

One day before lunch I saw a man hanging up a flyer and I noticed it was for a rental. I stopped and asked the guy if he owned the property. He did and was very excited to tell me about it. He owned a small business with his daughter and renovated homes in the area for rentals. I told him that I was very interested in real estate investing and how I was looking at starting my portfolio some time in college. The man gave me some really great advice and even told me that I was welcome to come work with him during his next renovation on a property so I could learn the ropes. He gave me a business card and that was the conversation.

By stopping and taking the time to talk with this individual, I got a potential mentor and even a paying job in the future where I can get hands on experience with real estate. In any conversation like this it is important to follow up with the person. Later that same evening, I texted the man with my name and expressed my gratitude for the conversation. This goes a long way and it shows your interest.

I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and have a conversation with someone about real estate. You never know, it might land you your next deal! Get out there, you’ve got this!