Investors are always on-the-go. Real estate investing, it seems, is an industry that proves to be an engine of wealth, but don’t mistake it as easy money. Starting a part-time real estate career is a time-consuming process that can be challenging to manage.
Unless you’re ready to dive in headfirst, you’ll likely want to keep your day job while you learn the real estate investment ropes. Is it possible to have a healthy balance between the world of real estate investment and a 9-5 career? Are there even enough hours in a day?
Here are some tips for how to start a real estate career part-time while maintaining a full-time job.
1. Develop a Routine
It’s true that some people don’t respond well to the “daily grind,” but humans are predisposed to be creatures of habit. We seek out patterns and tend to stick to them.
To have a healthy balance between a full-time work-life while starting a real estate career part-time, work out a routine and stick to it. Create a schedule for yourself and designate your time responsibly and with diligence.
Here’s the tricky part, though. There are many rehab costs that you probably didn’t think about. Among them: your mental health. To help lessen the burden of surprises, leave an open time-slot specifically for addressing emergencies, and remain flexible toward chaos.
By expecting the unexpected, you can save yourself added stress by allotting time to appropriately deal with last-minute upheavals.
Even better, if there are no surprises and everything runs smoothly, you can use that time to reward yourself with some much-needed R&R.
2. Practice Self-Discipline
When it comes down to it, you can’t have a proper routine without self-discipline, and this could be the most challenging part of this list. If discipline were a simple conquest, weight loss, healthy habits, and personal relationships would be a breeze.
But, as the saying goes, you reap what you sow; we earn results equivalent to how hard we are willing to work.
According to a 2013 study by Wilhelm Hoffman, those who have high self-control consider themselves happier than people without. Those with self-discipline are not impulsive. Instead, they approach decisions with logic and make rational informed decisions.
Self-discipline is a learned behavior, and such things take time. Start by removing temptations or distractions, and remove clutter from your life. Later on, this blog discusses ways to train your brain to be productive and get into a goal-achieving mindset.
3. Reward Yourself
After setting a routine and removing distractions, try setting daily goals and mini-milestones for yourself, and make a point to reward yourself when you achieve them.
For example, aim to wake up for work without hitting the snooze. Once you’ve got that down, reward your effort with a treat such as an extra-fancy coffee during your commute or a weekend movie. It doesn’t take much.
Launching yourself into a disciplined lifestyle that’s akin to boot camp could set you up for the disappointment that teeters on the edge of abandoning the idea altogether. Instead, encourage yourself to do well, don’t punish yourself by executing discipline in a cold turkey manner.
Allow a few breaks here and there, and be sure to acknowledge your successes whether large and small. This reward system helps you practice your self-control in a healthy way, and you’ll be less likely to resort to your old ways.
4. Don’t Forget to Live
Over 10-million Americans work more than sixty hours a week, and a huge portion of these people take their job home with them, on vacation, or to social events. While, yes, it is beneficial to work hard whenever possible, this comes at a hefty price for some Americans.
Overworking can lead to an unhealthy lack of sleep, increase your chances of heart disease and stress-related disabilities, and you could lose valuable and irreplaceable time with your family.
The irony in all this is that overworking results in underperformance. So, just keep that in mind when you are considering whether you should burn the late-night oil for the fifth time this week.
Especially when you’re just starting your part-time real estate career, it can be tempting to over-do it on the hours. Just remember not to make a habit of it and leave time for life in between work.
5. Master the Art of Delegation
It may be tough, but sometimes you just need to ask for help. If there is a situation that is best handled by professionals, then find a professional to do it. Don’t make yourself crazy trying to solve an impossible problem, just ask for a hand every once in a while.
If you aren’t the type of person to leave your responsibilities in the hands of others, start with baby steps.
Think of it this way: you’ll be giving yourself a little breathing room while actively increasing your professional network. Which, as any real estate investor knows, is well worth any level of effort.
Especially if your real estate career is part-time, you’ll need to let others help complete your projects so you can maintain your full-time job and regular life.
6. Research Is Your Friend
It’s no easy task to make well-informed investment decisions, and sometimes, you just have to accept the risk. To help ease the situation, properly investigate factors that could affect your investment, and you’ll gain provide insight into your potential outcomes, which, therefore, could provide stability and a little reassurance.
Before you purchase your investment property, pull some property comps. Thoroughly understanding such things as your property’s comparative market analysis (CMA) reports can lead to overall higher profitability, and that’s the whole point, right?
There are plenty of investors who have successfully balanced their careers alongside part-time investments, and some even make the leap into full-time investing as their sole means of income.
While it is feasible to become your own boss, this warrants thoughtful consideration, and often a whole new mindset along with it.
Find a healthy balance of work-life and investments. We will help you get there and will stay by your side so you can move forward with confidence.
7. Increase Your Profit and Your Efficiency With New Western
There are only 24 hours in a day? Says who? While available time can become quite a formidable foe, it helps to start off your investment with confidence. Our investment properties have been pre-screened to provide an opportunity for high ARV, and since our properties aren’t even made public on the MLS, you’ll have exclusive access to deep discounts before anyone else!
There a no subscription costs or finder’s fees — just deals sent straight to your inbox. Contact us today to meet with an agent and discuss your investment goals.
