By Jason Roberts
“The path to success is to take massive, determined action.” ~ Anthony Robbins, Author, and Life Coach
These words have been proven true for me time and time again. Why would I reinvent the wheel when someone has already worked out the tweaks for me? I can prove to be a more profitable and successful business owner by following those before me who are more successful.
Most of us get into real estate because we are inherent entrepreneurs. We have grand ideas and want to only answer to ourselves. That can be a blessing and a curse. Because we are dreamers we can be easily overwhelmed by shiny objects and can get lost in all the options. What we need is a proven plan to ensure our success.
Ever since I was little I knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Of course, I didn’t know that was the word for it back then, I just knew that I enjoyed coming up with ideas and “bossing” the other kids around. LOL I enjoyed being a leader and someone others looked up to. As I got older and I matured I started dabbling in small businesses. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but I knew I didn’t want to work for someone else the rest of my life.
Just out of high school I took a job at a collection agency and quickly rose up in the ranks, but it wasn’t enough for me. That old feeling of wanting to branch out, do my own thing started to take over, so one day, I walked into my boss’s office and told him I quit. I was 21 one years old without any job prospect. I went home that night and after talking to a buddy of mine who was a mortgage broker and was rolling in dough, decided I could do that! One problem, I knew absolutely nothing about the mortgage industry. I mean I didn’t even own a house!!! So I did the only thing I knew to do. I started researching who the best in the best in the industry was and I found a book that offered me a “blueprint” on how to run a mortgage company. When it said I need to get a fax line, I did. When it said I need to start hiring processors, I did. When it said you need to make connections with local realtors, I did. I followed every step in that book from start to finish and turned a company that started on a folding table in my spare bedroom into a company grossing millions of dollars a year with over 50 employees. Just by following a blueprint.
Well we all know the story, 2007 comes and the mortgage crisis hits and being the type of person I am, I try to make it work. I kept at it for 3 years, trying to save my employees livelihoods, bleeding money every month until there wasn’t anything more to bleed. I hit rock bottom; lost my house, my cars, my company and had to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Suddenly I was back to that 21-year-old kid again with lots of ideas but no job prospects. This time I was smarter though. I knew that all I needed to do to get back on my feet was to find a great “Blueprint” I mean if it had worked once before, why wouldn’t it work again?
So in October or 2010, the same month my chapter 7 bankruptcy was discharged, I decided to start over again. I knew I wanted to do something in real estate so I started researching who was the best of the best out there. I wanted to learn from the best and follow their plan, step by step as I knew that their way WORKED! I found a fabulous mentor and signed up for his course and coaching. One problem, I didn’t have any money, but I did have 30 days to make my first payment. I took the leap of faith and dove in knowing that I had 30 days to make something happen so I better make it count.
By the end of 2011, I had flipped over 100 homes, making just shy of $3.6 million dollars all from following a plan. It was just like before if my coach said to send this letter out the first day, I did, if he said pull your data from here, I did. If he had said, you need to dye your hair pink and wear a tutu, I would have because he had already figured out what was working and I didn’t need to! I had found someone that had gone through and figured out what was working and what wasn’t so I didn’t have to. All I did was follow the steps and was able to go from nothing to something incredible.
That is the power of a blueprint.
About the author….
Jason Roberts and Rachel Schneider have always been fascinated by the world of real estate. In 2001, while still in their early 20’s, Jason and Rachel decided that instead of working for someone else, they would rather be in charge of their own destiny and opened a mortgage company. They eventually built that business into a multimillion dollar company, where they closed over 3000 real estate transactions. Then the market crashed and they had to find a new way to use their real estate talents. That is when they went into real estate investing and started down a new path. Implementing the real estate strategies they have honed over time they have since closed well north of 300+ real estate transactions (pre-foreclosures/short sales, wholesales, probates, etc.) Having seen pretty much everything, they decided to funnel that expertise into their true passion; sharing their knowledge with other investors. They now run a top coaching program with the nation’s leading investors, own a profitable hard money lending company, with over 2 million dollars in loans out to their coaching students at any given time, share their wealth of knowledge as co-owners of their local REIA all the while continuing to flip houses.
“REAPS is the oldest – and largest - Professional Association for the real estate investor this side of the Mississippi. We provide education and networking resources for real estate investors, those who want to be investors and anyone who provides value to our members. Our goals are to motivate and support our members and guests through education, discussion, legislative action, and networking. We host over 40 live events a year around Puget Sound and they are all open to the public. If you've never attended one of our meetings, just email our office at [email protected] and be our guest for free!"
