Procrastination: The Bane Of Every Investor
By JD Esajian on October 20, 2014
There is a very fine line between successful investors and those that wonder why they are struggling. In a business that virtually anyone can do, it is often the little things that separate the two. It may not be who you know or even how well you know the business, but how willing you are to do something. If you don’t put the work in, even when you don’t see results, you will quickly find yourself out of the business. However, if you commit to a plan and follow through with it, regardless of the outcome, eventually you will start to see the results. Once this happens it will have a snowball effect on the rest of your business. Whatever you do, do no procrastinate. A proactive approach to the real estate industry is the only way to get ahead.
The biggest reason why most people stop dieting is because they don’t see the results fast enough. Breaking into a new business or trying to transform your existing one won’t happen overnight. Just like dieting, you need to have patience with what you are doing and not give up if the results don’t come immediately. If you were to lose just a pound a week for two months you would be down eight pounds. This may not seem like much, but two months from now when you are at the same weight you would be happy with losing that amount. The same concept should be applied to your investing business. Instead of looking for instant gratification, you need to set your goals at a designated point in the future and not give up until that date arrives.
If you can commit to marketing, networking, blogging or educating yourself for the next sixty days, you will see the results when you are done. Doing anything for a week or two won’t give you a fair idea of whether or not something works. What typically happens is that people try things for a little while and then they get sidetracked, board or lazy. Eventually, what they sought out to do is nothing more than an afterthought. The investing business is one of the best businesses you can be involved in, but it is also very difficult and not for everyone. You need to be a self-motivator, as there will not be anybody looking over your shoulder telling you what to do. If you want to play around on social media or review your fantasy football roster for hours on end there is nobody to stop you. In the end, what you put into your business is what you will get out.
In addition to setting firm dates, the best way to avoid procrastination is to make a list of daily goals and set a daily schedule. Your goals should be realistic with where you are in the business and what you want out of it. If you are not at the volume you want, you should try to meet with one new realtor every day for two weeks or learn one new area of the business in the next week. Before you go to sleep every night, make a “to do” list for the next day. Correlate your goals with how you are going to achieve them. The more defined your day is, the more efficient your will be and the less likely you will get off track. If you treat your business as if you were on the clock, you will end up getting much more work done.
The biggest thing that separates successful investors from everyone else is their willingness to do things. Nobody is an expert in the business when they start, or has a full pipeline of leads when they enter the business. They may get a fortunate break along the way, but they put themselves in that position. This means getting out and going to networking meetings even if you feel uncomfortable about the business. This means attending local investment clubs and meeting new people. Subsequently, it means spending a few minutes a day writing a blog post or emailing fellow investors you see on Craigslist. There are plenty of different ways to get business, but you have to go out and get it. If you constantly put things off until tomorrow or if you look for the perfect time to start, you won’t get much accomplished. There is no perfect time. However, the sooner you get things done, the quicker you gain experience.
It is easy to stop when things don’t go your way or there are bumps in the road. If you procrastinate and wait until things are easy, you will never know the success you could have. Part of running a business is seeing what works and what doesn’t. If you don’t take the step of trying a different type of marketing or getting in your car and going by a new real estate office, you can’t expect your business to change. There will be plenty of awkward moments and uncomfortable times, but this is just part of the business. You can’t procrastinate and hope things change – you need to make it happen.
You will learn more from doing than anything you read about. Even if you fail or face an uncomfortable situation, you will get something out if it and know what not to do in the future. You can wait around forever and take the easy road, but you will never know what your business could be. As the expression says, don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.