If you’ve ever asked yourself how to start investing in real estate, for starters, you need to get around people doing what you’re wanting to do. One way to go about this is to get a job, and I’m going to tell you how to get one at a real estate private equity company. I’m also going to share with you what I look for when hiring, and when you’re at that point you can know who to hire for your own company. Before we do though, I want to preface the conversation and go into a DM I got on Twitter. This person said, “I want to learn from you for 1 to 3 years then hopefully start something similar on my own business someday.” Right off the bat I can tell that this person is competent, because they understand the concept of mentorship and learning from those doing what you want to do. However, I then asked, “Why would I invest 1 to 3 good years in someone who then would start a business to be my competitor?” I ended up rejecting the person because something threw me off, and when I shared this on Twitter people blew up saying things like “You gotta give back, Nick!” or “Are you afraid of the competition?”
I’m not afraid of the competition, and in all honesty, that’s not what it’s not about. In fact, we announced last month that we were hiring and building our acquisitions team, and have 50 plus competent video applications. We ended up interviewing 3 people, hired 2, and in a month, one of them earned $30,000+ in commission while the other quit. The learner quit, the earner survived. For all those Twitter warriors out there, I don’t have the scarcity mindset–it’s not the competition that bugs me. I know that my employees will do bigger and better things. There’s nothing more fulfilling than being a stepping stone that sets somebody up for long-term success as a business owner. Again, it’s not about the money, having a scarcity mindset, or being selfish. What worries me is the time. The only finite resource in this world is not money, not storage units, but it’s time, and when it comes to a 1 to 3 year timeline, that is something nobody gets back.
It requires a ton of time to train and teach an employee to become an asset in the company. In fact, employees are liabilities in the beginning because they don’t know how to give value yet. That’s why it consumes a lot of time and costs you a lot of money hiring people. I went into a deep dive into this topic, thinking about our recent hires. There are a lot of learners. Selling though, that is extremely hard work because you not only are trying to acquire a store facility, but you got to sell yourself, and that’s all we do! We are always selling. Even buying is selling, and it all comes down to trust. I am here to add value, prove to you that we both will benefit from a deal. The people who are excited about learning are terrible. They want to sit back, talk about it, strategize, all without getting hands on experience and actually doing the hard work.
With that being said, the way to get hired at a real estate investment group, or wherever for that matter in a specialized field is to reach out and say “I am hungry, I want to make money, I am a salesperson.” Hire somebody who is an earner, not a learner, because learners just talk. It may sound harsh, but it’s up to you if you turn your company into an educational program. I’m not saying we don’t teach our employees, but what I’m saying is you’ve got to be selective and find the earners. That’s the reason why you hire them, is it not? They are working to earn and learning is a happy byproduct. Good employers, good business owners, we will always end up teaching and valuing those we hire, but if you want the learners, take them. I’m looking for the earners.
Three Key Takeaways:
- Get around like minded people. You need to get around people who are doing what you want to do. Association is everything when developing skills and mindsets.
- Don’t be afraid of competition, because that’s not what it’s about. If you’re going to invest your time in training and teaching an individual or employee make sure it is a mutual partnership–that they want to give to you as much as you want to give to them.
- Be an earner, not a learner. Learning is a natural byproduct of being a go-getter. Work to earn and be a valuable asset and employee to the person who hired you.
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Shoutout to Shepherd
- Shepherd has been helping companies hire talented and experienced individuals from overseas since 2009.
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