Ken Williams' success tips

When To Hire Help For Your Business

As your real estate investing business starts to take off you will be faced with the decision on whether or not to get help. By help I am referring to others to assist you.

Lately I have been reading more and more news reports about crooked investors scamming millions of dollars from unsuspecting consumers (property owners/renters).

As I read each new claim I am having a hard time believing that so many set out to do dastardly deeds against the vulnerable. My observation has been that most investors who find themselves on the wrong side of the law have fallen victim to one or both of two dynamic forces which overwhelm then sucks the investor down the tubes.

* The desire to live the perceived lifestyle of a millionaire.

* Lack of organization within their business.

During the past few years we all have been bombarded with the millionaire message, especially in real estate. Nearly every marketing piece entices you to come discover the millionaire secrets to real estate investing.

The message has become so saturated that the many real estate investor seminars look more like a carnival than a learning environment. This environment can be a financially deadly trap to the person not realizing he is in business.

Before long he is doing more houses than he is capable of managing on his own, so he begins to take shortcuts to maintain his lifestyle.

The other factor I see causing so much grief is the serious lack of organization. The well meaning individual sets out to sincerely help property owners out of a bind. She begins to make promises too many. Soon her business takes off.

Like most she is unprepared for this adolescent phase of her business. Her attention is only on the front end of the business which is bringing in and closing deals. Soon, little or no attention is given to the back end of the business.

You know like record keeping, accounting, filing taxes etc. Before she knows it she is two years down this slippery slop. Then three, then four years of a sinking mess.

Only now with years of disorganization does she painfully give in to the idea of hiring help. In desperation she hires the first person through her door who seems like a nice, trust worthy person. Never mind they do not have the required skills needed to run a real estate business. Not surprisingly the investors business crumbles in a shambles when this new hire turns out to be a bigger burden than help.

The investor finds herself in a royal mess. Unfilled taxes, no accounting system, no record keeping of deals she loss control of. To add insult to injury she is being sued by 10 property owners who claim she failed to live up to her end of their deal. WOW! All because she was unorganized.

My guess is the above scenario will either sound familiar to you or scare the living goo-goo out of you. It should because this is what happens to many investors. As a result, it is an average four years, and they are out of business. Some even trying to stay out of jail.

Disorganization has been the nasty culprit for many failed real estate investors.

So, how to get organized? Start early! If you are just starting out in this business you should have as part of your plan to someday have to hire help to keep things moving in the right direction. You will need to plan on at least one assistant.

Some people mistakenly use family members in this role. Unless that family member has a sincere interest in what you are doing and you can see eye to eye, do not do it. More times than not, the family thing does not work out.

Who and when to hire? There is no one right answer here. My recommendation is to start sooner than you think. Needing to hire help is like eating. Better to take in several small meals before allowing hunger to over take you. By then you have waited too long and may over do it.

Some ideas for hiring. First let me qualify my personal opinion about hiring employees. I hate it!!!! I do not enjoy the interview process. I do not want someone who I have to motivate and stay after every day. This is what having employees can be like.

Instead I have learned to be pretty good at outsourcing. I have been down that path with employees and it was not a fit for me. . . . or them. I just do not have the patience to stay after people.

Instead today, I have become very good at outsourcing to specialized professionals. People who can answer your calls like PatLive.com Or getting an virtual admin person to handle the mundane tasks in my business. I have even set up technology systems to pay and track my bills. See guru.com doubleclick.com for ideas for virtual assistants. Check out virtual phone systems like speechphone.com, which make it appear you are all under the same roof.

Start small. Perhaps you start with a person or company to take your incoming calls. Next outsource a bookkeeping service to keep you on track financially. Be sure to complete a few deals first (two or three). Then create a budget for outsourcing. I prefer to work out of my home or where ever in the world I feel like. I have highly skilled professionals to call on for my business needs.

In my publishing business I have two awesome virtual assistants each living on opposite ends of Canada. None of us have ever met in person. I have only seen a photo of one after six months of working together. BUT let me tell you we work like a well oiled machine. They are responsive and come through every time I need them. AND I pay them monthly on an hourly basis.

My real estate business is similar. I have an assistant who is a real estate agent who lives in Virginia, I live Washington DC. We may see each other once a month. I have another field manager handling all my physical real estate business, inspecting houses, driving for dollars, meeting with people etc. and he and I met in person once.

We use a real estate management software created by investors for investors, which is web-based. I can work from anywhere. When I am in town you can find me at a Starbucks or a sidewalk cafe.

Now if you prefer to have an office and employees, more power to you. It could better suit you than it did me. In that case you will want to take your time with the interview process. Hire slow and fire fast. Before you hire your first person, be it employee or contracted assistant, be sure you write out everything that person needs to do for you.

Have a detailed task list already prepared so when you interview them you can match their experience with your needs. Also once you decide on a person or outsourced service, agree on a probationary period of 60 to 90 days. Have a detailed punch list of what must be accomplished with deadlines. Use this list as your objective measuring stick. If they fall short, cut the string. Even if you like the person. Cut it quickly! You are in business to make money and stay organized.

The warm and fuzzies have no place in the hiring game. Be objective and start getting help sooner than later. Because if you are at that four year mess I described at the beginning of this article, you will really need skilled professionals to help you out of the hole.

I know, I was once there. I had a five year mess before I hired my first employee who unsystematically helped me create a bigger mess.

Remember to hire slow and fire quick. You are in business. If it is friends you want, join a social club in your town.

Take Action!

Ken Williams
www.thewholesalewizard.com