Mike and I are not just passionate about investing, we obsess over it. We love stories of people gaining financial freedom, we’ve read all the great books out there, and we’re learning every day. Whenever you meet someone that is successful, take note of their traits. That’s how we got started really, we changed our TRAITS, and all the work and success slowly followed. Here are our very own top 6 Characteristics of Highly Successful Investors!
Continuous Improvement
This is a no brainer and you’ll see this mindset on successful people from all industries. What is interesting about the real estate market, and not every knows this, it is always changing! Those who find the efficiencies in ever changing conditions will win. So even if you’re young and don’t have a lot, think about how you are evolving and keeping up with NEW opportunities in this world.
Trustworthy
Even if you are continuously improving, you won’t be able to succeed on your own. Every Steve Jobs had a Steve Wozniak. When it comes to investing, you’ll need to find your trusty Wozniak! Are you bad with financial modeling, then find someone who loves it. Bad with construction, grab a phone, make some calls. Try things out with your gut at first, then follow up with your brain later!
Network
Another foundation to almost any successful industry. As Realtors that do a lot of negotiations, we have committed to honing our networking skills. If you are a bit of an introvert, that’s fine, but at least find an outgoing partner (your Wozniak!) and recognize the value and dedication it takes to expand your network.
Tip: LinkIn Pro and Meetups are great tools!
Give Value
If you give real value to the world, the world will give back to you! Participate in the GTA community by helping others online or in person. You will find it not only rewarding, but it’s also another great way to network.
- Subscribe in Toronto-based investment & real estate communities on Reddit
- RedFlagDeals, a Canadian staple
- Participate! When on an online Forum, use a business friendly user name. Having a “history” of posting material online lets Google know that you’re a trust worthy person, so in the future, the URL’s you recommend on Reddit, RedFlagDeals, etc will actually get picked up by Google & SEO reports! Not many people realize this!
Forward-thinking
If you can predict the future based on past events, then historians would dominate the world! Even stock managers will admit that past performance is not a good predictor of future events, yet they do use history to make “predictions”! So be forward-thinking in what you want to achieve. Think in terms of the Present, Next Week, Next Month, Next 5 Years, Next 20 Years. Know what investment targets you can hit in each of those time frames and start searching!
Logical
We use emotions to sell, but when we invest, we use logic! Not one successful investor does not know how to work an Excel model, basic financial math and doesn’t pour over data. When we pull the trigger on investment, we are ALREADY SURE that it’s going to be a significant profit. This is because all the costs and possible market conditions are already modeled out. The only “unknown” we work with is how much profit we will gain through a deal!
BONUS TIP: Confidence
This is not a “fake it till you make it” kind of trait for us. Successful people are confident because of their past success. They are not afraid to pull in deals that others mind find risky. That’s because they KNOW how to manage the risks. As one of the best investors have taught us:
Thinking about investing in Real Estate? The time to start researching is NOW because the market is fearful!
We’re actually looking for potential investors/joint partners for our next couple of projects. If you’re interested, please feel free to reach out.
Till next time.
