HBO did a documentary called Becoming Warren Buffett about one of the world’s wealthiest men. During that documentary, there is a meeting between Bill Gates (no slouch himself in the wealth department) and Buffett. During the meeting they were asked to write down on a piece of paper what the key was to their success. Both men wrote the same word: Focus. We’re not going to beat around the bush here – the secret to success in the real estate industry, or any industry, is finding your niche and fully focusing on it. A niche is defined as “a comfortable or suitable position in life or employment” In other words, you concentrate your efforts in a small but well-defined segment of the industry.
How to Find Your Niche
Success often doesn’t come in a nice straight line right at ya… People generally don’t just continue to grow their wealth. There are definite setbacks along the way. That’s why it’s so important to keep your focus on the goal and to be able to ride through the setbacks. Your niche is the vehicle that you ride on your way to your goal. Finding your niche and sticking with it is what’s important. It doesn’t have to be a complicated process. All you need is a little trial and error and a whole lot of hard work.
Here are 3 steps to finding your niche:
1. Find out what you do best.
What do you find yourself leaning toward?
What do you do in your spare time?
Are you good at what you do?
Evaluate yourself honestly and find out what makes you tick, what makes you stand out. Look at your personal skills and decide on an area where your skills would be the most profitable.
There are a lot of areas in real estate – short sales, residential, commercial, probate deals and more…
You can wholesale lease options, rehab only in specific neighborhoods, or maybe a Realtor who sells and buys properties. The areas of expertise in the real estate industry are endless. Again, with a little trial and error, you’ll be able to find what you are good at – if you haven’t yet.
You may even have to try a few deals in different areas before you settle on one.
2. Find out what other people think you do best.
Don’t just rely on what you think you’re good at. To ensure success, take into account what other people say about you, what they think you are good at.
Ask 10 to 15 credible people – not your parents or siblings – but your colleagues or people who know you professionally and your work ethic.
Ask them questions like, “What do you think are my strengths?” “In which areas do I excel?”
Make sure you like those areas also. If you’re good at something, but you hate it, you won’t do well.
3. Gravitate toward something that is profitable for you.
Look into what is currently going on in your niche or market and study it. Warren Buffett stays in cash until he finds something that:
A. He understands very well
or
B. Is very undervalued
Generally, you won’t know if a deal is undervalued unless you understand it very well. There isn’t any problem in waiting until you find something that makes complete sense to you.
You will eventually notice that after you have focused all your efforts on a certain niche, the revenue starts to accumulate. Other than that, when you are focused on your niche – focused on one thing at a time – you will recognize the benefits.
Running your business becomes easier.- You are not stressed out.
- You are more organized.
- You have more time for yourself and for your family since you have your priorities straight and you don’t waste time.
Those people won’t be there for you when you have to be in the day-to-day operations of your business. The people surrounding you are only there to guide you to discover your niche. At the end of the day, you have the last say.
You usually have to go through a lot of crappy deals to find the good ones. Write down the criteria that you believe would be a good deal. If an opportunity comes along that doesn’t fit your criteria – reject it.
Find Your “Why”
“Why do you do what you do?”
“Out of all the industries, why are you in real estate?”
“What drives you?”
These are just some of the questions you ask yourself in order to find your ‘why.’
Discovering your ‘why’ is important because it is what motivates you to keep doing what you love to do. When you know your ‘why,’ you won’t want to quit. You would keep pushing forward until you reach your goals.
For budding professionals, it’s easy to get caught up with the money. This also applies to other people as well. You feel pressured to make money, so money becomes your ‘why.’
News flash, a dollar sign cannot be your ‘why,’ it won’t sustain you. Money is only a resource, a tool and a channel – it is not the destination.
When everything revolves around the money, it becomes easier to quit and give up when it doesn’t show up on the first try. On the contrary, if your ‘why’ is to impact people, it’s harder to quit because it is not about you anymore.
How to be Effective
You found your niche and you’re focused. Great…
So how can you be more effective? What can you offer?
In order to be effective in what you do, apply these 3 points:
1. Write everything in detail.
Write your plans in detail and lay out everything. Remember to incorporate and consciously remember your ‘why’ as you map out your blueprint.
- What sets your niche apart from everyone else’s niche?
- What service are you providing?
- Why should people pick you?
- Do you make a difference?
2. Set realistic goals and extreme goals.
It’s really cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason. Nobody can overemphasize the fact that you need to have a goal in mind.
Set realistic and small goals you can achieve and also extreme goals. Chase them.
3. Go all in.
Put your plan into action.
Exert all your efforts maintaining focus on improving your niche. Remind yourself why you do what you do. Keep coming back to your ‘why’ and your goals. Keep them in mind and gravitate toward them.
Speak up
How did you define your why? How did you find your focused niche? Share with us below.
