Business
Show Notes: On the Move with Alex – Introductory Show The Background Story to the Show Stay with me until the end of my story, and I will reveal why I coined the title “On the Move with Alex.” Earning my REIA (Real Estate Investment Advisor) Certification in May 2016 was a remarkable moment in my investment real estate career. My REIA certification would set in motion a directional and focused foundation I had been trying to achieve in helping the average person add investment real estate to their financial foundation. I know when I first started out in purchasing investment real estate I set a lousy, goosy goal of buying as many doors as I could on my own and with family members which not the smartest target in the world. Before long I had with family members and joint venture partners investing with me, and together we had purchased 12 real estate investment doors. I soon realized I was having more fun coaching my joint venture partners than I was buying doors. Plus, I began writing a book on investment real estate. Most business books are around 240 to 270 pages or just over 80,000 words. I had written over 55,000 words on my journey and had no idea how to bring my book to market. Part of my REIA training gave me insight on how to create a book proposal. Here I was, a would-be author, and I had no idea what a book proposal was and why the heck I would need one. I went from floundering with my business mantra, vision, mission and value statements to arrive at a highly focused plan to achieve my goals in investment real estate. The book proposal is much more than an outline of a book concept. It is a business plan. It describes the why: the sense of urgency; how to apply the book’s core concepts and ideas in one’s business; and the desired outcomes. The proposal also details the knowledge I was going to share, and how; understanding the audience and markets, I was going after; and how I needed to network and use social media to develop my book and business. I have been a REIN (Real Estate Investment Network) http://www.reincanada.com member for over ten years and at one of my first training weekend conferences I had heard a great presenter; Peter Kinch. Peter said two things that stuck with me for over a decade, and ultimately his words helped me create my business mantra and my book’s focus for the audience I want as part of my tribe. These two observations were: first, roughly 4% of all Canadians will ever buy real estate as an investment. Second, nearly half of that 4% only buy two or three properties as a way of supplementing their pension plan. ( 8% of Americans and Australians have investment real estate) Over the years I have loved my association, membership, and education through REIN and in the beginning, I was motivated by their awards: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. I earned my Silver award level. I had my “aha” moment when I realized that my joint venture partners loved the idea of owning investment real estate, but most were not REIN members and were not interested in awards for doors held. I knew then I had found my niche and to whom I was going to offer my service. I was going to serve first-time investment real estate investors or someone who just wanted a few doors in their financial portfolio and want a more balanced financial portfolio. My wife and I had a balanced financial portfolio; a company pension, government pensions, and RRSP (401 K); all of these funds controlled by someone else, and we had little say in how our money was invested. We wanted one financial vehicle we could control, and this brought us to investment real estate. I am focused on getting my audience to look at their lives and decided what order each door...