Next Monday at Washington REIA Network we will give you all the tips you need to be successful networking as a real estate investor.  More importantly, these soft skills will translate into any other business as well.

But, for the moment – let’s focus on real estate investors.  Most of us were drawn to this business so we could scratch our entrepreneurial itch.  We wanted a business that depended on us working hard, but allowed us to have a more flexible life.  The problem is, once you cut ties to the corporate world and end your “job” –  you lose a lot of opportunity to meet with people “at work” on a consistent basis.

For most people the first day as a full time real estate investor is fantastic and frightening at the same time.  You wake up without an alarm clock, take your time to read the paper or catch up on news, but pretty soon you realize you need to get busy.  So you fire up some emails, check some listings, do some research etc.

Pretty soon you realize it’s 2PM and you haven’t talked to a single person.

Becoming a real estate investor today is hard work.  But it isn’t limited to just real estate investing.  Becoming a surgeon requires hard work and years of training.  Becoming a nurse requires training, as does a school teacher.  If you want to make $72,000 or more as an occupational therapist, you better be prepared to go through a few years of school and training.

What do all these careers have in common?  Hard work.

The only difference is, most people think that flipping houses is easy.  Buy a house, paint some walls, sell the house and make $100k. Sounds simple, right?  Day one in this business will tell you it’s definitely not that simple.

Now more than ever I see deals getting done behind the scenes. For years, this wholesale market has been active.  Nothing is illegal about wholesaling, but these transactions are not publicly displayed on the MLS.

Experienced investors know that if we want to sell a property to the retail market – then we list it and broadcast the details to the MLS.  If it’s priced well, it will sell.  We pointed out that a properly priced home will sell quickly – even in Cleveland. If you missed it, the article is posted at http://www.dcprivateinvestor.com/2012/06/07/sold-day/

Now, let’s go back to day one as an investor.  It’s 2pm and you realize you haven’t talked to a single person.  What you quickly realize is that all that online training and webinar watching will only get you so far.  Eventually, you have to talk to other people and get some business done.

If you have found that all that time behind a computer has left you a little awkward in a social situation – join us on Monday night at WREIA.  Our speaker is going to give you the “10 Commandments of Networking” for 2012.  Think of Monday night as a guide for the the new etiquette of meeting and growing a network of professional business people.

So, Monday night ends and you are ready to start meeting new people – now what?  Let me give you eight other opportunities to meet other investors around the Metro DC area. None of these events will cost you a dime.

Than Merrill, the TV star from Flip This House has a company called Fortune Builders.  The Fortune Builders team is in the Washington DC area over the next couple of weeks and will be giving free presentations and introducing people to their training.

We have all been to these types of events.  2 or 3 hours, lots of good info, and then a pitch to attend another round of training for a fee.  Nobody twists your arm, but if you want to go on and learn more about the topic the opportunity is there.

Now, I have had dinner with Than, JD and other guys that are part of the Fortune Builders team.  These are good guys, and they truly want you to succeed.  The Fortune Builders training is excellent, and they back it up with experience of their own.  They are actually out in the real world buying and selling properties just like us.

People from all levels of experience attend these free classes – and let me tell you – they are terrific opportunities to meet new people who have a shared common interest.

They have different times and dates and the events are scattered all over the DC area from Arlington to Herndon to Greenbelt and Bethesda.

We posted the times and locations at http://www.dcprivateinvestor.com/2012/06/12/merrills-fortune-builders-washington-dc-area/

If you just want to sign up to attend, click here or visit http://www.dcinvesting.com/fortunebuilders/

It is soooooo important to continue to meet new people in our business.  I cannot emphasize that point strongly enough.

I hope you are participating in our Two Week Challenge and meeting your three new people.  Will you let me know how it is going?  Drop me an email or give me a call.

1. Learn Power Networking at WREIA on Monday night.
2. Join other investors around the DC area over the next two weeks.
3. Rinse and Repeat

Let me know how I can help you,

John Peterson