For the real estate investor, the grind never really stops. As we look ahead to the new year, knowing what goals to set – and how to achieve them – is paramount to your success. After all, no one wants to fall prey to the slogging cycle of failed new years’ resolutions.
That’s why actionable is the word to focus on when you’re planning for the future. Ultimately, investors need a solid foundation for setting meaningful goals for themselves and their business ventures. Without a firm foundation, you’ll find your efforts unfocused and short-lived.
How to Build a Foundation for Meaningful Goal Setting
Have a clear goal:
Whether your focus is building a successful company, investing in real estate, or building your dream retirement, understanding the goals you're chasing is critical. Without them, there's no motivation, no discipline, and no way to achieve success. At the end of the day, what do you want to accomplish? Why do you want to make it happen?
Goals work best not only when we know what they are, but when we understand why we want to achieve them.
Goals can be broken down into both short and long-term ambitions but be sure to set your main big-picture goal first so that it can inform and guide short-term plans.
Create a methodical timeline:
Researching how long it took other people to reach your goal is key. Weigh your goals against other people's. If you are just starting out, maybe a two-year timeline is a good starting point. A realistic understanding of the time it takes to achieve the goals you’re setting will prevent you from succumbing to discouragement or burn-out.
It will also prevent you from doing too much too soon, which can be the final nail in the coffin for an otherwise great investment plan. Know how you want to scale, when you want to scale, and the appropriate buffer to have in place before you take next steps.
Play to your strengths:
There's no point in trying to achieve something you're weak at. While there’s no shame in wanting to learn more and pursue higher goals, you’re going to be starting at a disadvantage if you base your wealth-building efforts in areas of inexperience. When you have the wrong mindset, you'll end up chasing a dream that will never happen. Instead, focus on skills and abilities that you do have, and build on them.
Real risk-taking and experimentation come later, when you have the portfolio to support and absorb additional risks. Stay focused on the core elements of your portfolio. The firmer your foundation, the more freedom you will have to explore other avenues for building wealth.
Be realistic:
Not setting overly ambitious goals is a good way to ensure success. Self-doubt is one of the most common obstacles to goal setting. You'll struggle if you think you're not good enough, experienced enough, or smart enough to achieve a goal. Don’t spend your time second-guessing. Instead, set small and realistic goals for yourself, and reward yourself every time you reach a new one.
If you’re chronically discouraged, you’re not likely to press on towards the finish line.
And on that note:
Build a support system:
A solid support system not only lends encouragement – they’re cheering for you from the sidelines – but they can come alongside you and help you push through rough patches. For the real estate investor, your support system can consist of communities of other investors, financial and real estate investment advisors, turnkey providers with a wealth of investment experience, and other professionals along the way.
These supports compensate for where you may be lacking, offering insight and expertise to minimize setbacks and boost your confidence as an investor.
A few things to consider:
It's a marathon, not a sprint. You don't want to put yourself in a position where you'll burn out early. Instead, set attainable goals and over-achieve.
You'll likely encounter setbacks along the way. Mistakes can happen, and it's easy to get discouraged. The key is to remember that if you're focused on your goal, your patience will pay off.
We tend to see the end result of a hard-won success story. Looking at your idols, you might think their wealth came overnight. It didn’t! And yours won’t, either. Don’t plan to get rich quick – plan to build, slowly but surely, the future you want for yourself and your family.
Look for new opportunities. If something that you don't like about your current plan isn't working, do something to improve it. This will make your life better and more fulfilling. There’s no shame in tweaking goals and adjusting your plan along the way.
Start the new year right – partner with the leading turnkey real estate investment provider around: REI Nation!
