My New Coaching Gig

Ask Me About My New Coaching Gig

I have been a real estate entrepreneur since 2001.  Between then and now, I have invested a lot of my time and money to learn and apply the "tricks of the trade."  Along the way, I have been asked by many of my fellow entrepreneurs to evaluate deals they were considering.  Without fail, when I did that, they always told me how clear I was in teaching them what they needed to know and calling attention to the parts of the deal that they needed to consider.  They told me I should be coaching other real estate entrepreneurs.

I didn't really take all that talk seriously until a couple of years ago when I realized how much I know about buying and selling real estate compared to most of the people who are trying to be real estate entrepreneurs.  At the same time, I realized that it wasn't fair to me, my family, or my teachers, coaches, and mentors to just give away the knowledge I had paid for so dearly in time, money and experience.

But, I had no clue how to monetize all that accumulated expertise other than to keep doing succesful deals.  Also, I was worried that setting myself up as a real estate coach might look like I was trying to compete with my own coaches and mentors.  About a week ago all that changed.

About a week ago I got an email from a nationally renown real estate guru named Preston Ely.  I have bought several products from Preston and always found them to be a good value.  He gives very good information at a very reasonable price (here is a link to one of his most comprehensive courses - Real Estate Empire - reempire.com

So, when Preston sent me an email offering to help me establish my own coaching business, I was interested enough to check it out. 

I listened to his whole pitch and immediately bought what he was offering.  The short version is, he is co-branding many of his materials with me and is teaching me the same model he has used to build his own very successful coaching and real estate business.  So, I don't have to create all original materials, I can take what he has, add my own and use it all day long with his permission.

I realized that setting up my own coaching business is not really competing with my own coaches and mentors any more than my buying houses is competing with them.  There are so many deals out there, that there are plenty to go around, the same is true of coaching clients - different people need different types of coaches.  My coaches and mentors are so much more successful than I am that we can only compliment each other's businesses, we don't compete.  So, I thought I could do this, emphasizing the local nature of my services and only taking on distant students as the exception.  Also, by strictly limiting the number and caliber of students I take on, I won't be poaching from my coaches and mentors.

Preston gave me permission to compete with him as a coach and he gave me what I would need to succeed at it.

Preston's program starts with five days of "Quickstart Lessons" followed by another lesson each week.  He also provided me with several wonderful tools, including a version of his own sales page for coaching.

I promptly loaded up the site, customized it to reflect my own experience in addition to Preston's, and published the site.

Then, I sent out an email to some of my close friends and associates letting them know that I was "hanging out my shingle" (that means going into business for those who don't know the phrase) as a real estate coach.  My email gave them a link to the site (www.coaching.thomasksheppard.com).

The next day, I got a phone call from Lori.  It went something like this.

     "Hi Lori. How are you doing?"

     "Tom, I need a coach."

     "You went to my site?"

     "I sure did!  I sent in my application right away."  I immediately checked my email and found Lori's application to my program in my inbox.

I signed her up on the spot.

Okay - I actually had to scramble and really quickly download the model contract and several other things Preston provided me with, including some student bonuses like an ebook and an audio.  Then I had to modify the contract so it was from me instead of Preston and I edited the ebook so that I could legitimately be listed as a co-author with Preston.

I fired off the contract and a roles and repsonsibilities agreement in an email to Lori and by the next day, I had a signed contract in hand and payment the day after that.

When I mentioned my quick success in an online forum with others who have purchased Preston's program, they hounded me with questions about how I did it so quickly.  So, rather than pound that out in a forum posting, I decided it would be easier to just post it in my blog and let anyone who is interested come read it here.

So, here is the quick recap of how I managed to garner some overnight success as a real estate coach:

1. I spent years learning how to master my business
2. I spent years building my reputation and giving value to others
3. When Preston made the offer - I took advantage of it right away.
4. I took Immediate, Massive Action.  I immediately did everything I could with what he gave me, as soon as he gave it to me.

So, here's to overnight success!  May it endure at least twice as long as it took to achieve.

Regards,
Tom S.

Tom Sheppard is the author of "Fire Yourself: Get the Job You Want" available from XLibris Press. Tom has been successfully investing in real estate since 2001 while working part time. In 2008 he left a six-figure job as an enterprise project manager with a major national bank to manage his real estate business full-time. His goal is to help 100,000 people find peace of mind by finding quality, affordable homes. He is currently looking to expand his network of funding partners who are helping him achieve this goal. If you would like to know more about how you can Do Well By Doing Good (TM), go to www.CharlotteWealthPartners.com

Making Your Passion Pay

Making Your Passion Pay

This is part 2 of my thoughts on the importance of pursuing your passion.

In Part 1 I talked about why it is important and how to discover your passion.  Now, I want to get very practical and talk about how to make your passion pay.

For many years now I have heard some very successful people tell me that I should forget about earning a living and pursue my passion.  "The money will follow," they would tell me.

It seemed to me that was easy for them to say since they didn't have to feed and house me and my family while I pursued my passion long enough for the money to catch up to me.

So, I came up with a practical guide to following your passion until the money catches up.

1. Identify your passion - we covered this is Part 1, so I won't go over it again here.
2. Start pursuing your passion as a hobby
3. Convert your hobby into a small business
4. Build your small business over time
5. Quit Your Job and Pursue Your Passion 

The idea behind these five steps is simple, but not easy. 

#1 - see part 1 of this article
#2 Pursuing Your Passion as a Hobby: By first pursuing your passion as a hobby, you are investing a bit of time and money in learning and doing and acquiring some of the skills, knowledge, tools, and network needed to turn your passion into your life.

You show up as an enthusiast.  You go to trade conventions.  You buy the books and videos of the guiding lights in the area of your passion.  You experiment and hone your skills while keeping your investment of time and money appropriate for a hobby.  You continue to pay proper attention to your job so that your bills get paid.

Maybe you do some things in your hobby well enough that other people want to buy them.  From the trade shows, you have a good idea what is a fair price for what you do.  Go ahead and make the sale. It will help offset the costs of your hobby.

For sure you find forums where other enthusiasts are discussing your passion.  Join in the dialog and make sure you give good value as much as you can.

Lastly, make sure you put names and contact information for every other enthusiast you meet into a spreadsheet, a rolodex, a notebook, your PDA, phone or anyplace else you can keep and retreive it later.  More on this later.

#3 Convert Your Hobby Into a Small Business:  I could go on for a long time about how everyone should have their own small business and why.  Instead of doing that, I will focus on why you want to convert your hobby into a small business.

As soon as you convert your hobby into a business you can deduct the full cost of all your business related activities and supplies that you were already spending money on, and then some.

By showing the IRS that you intend to make a profit, you change things dramatically.  A hobbiest hopes to make a profit.  A business intends to make a profit.

Establish your company name, logo, and brand.  Make business cards and get someone to buid a quick website for you that may be little more than an internet billboard.

Keep going to the trade shows and forums.  Now, you may also be setting up a table at the show.  Start blogging about your passion.  Write at least 50 great blogs and set them up to go out at a rate of 1 per week for the next 50 weeks.  You don't have to write all 50 before you start posting.

If you are a terrible writer, then you can either figure out the 50 blogs and go to elance.com or guru.com and hire someone to ghost write them for you, or you can go on YouTube and make 50 video blogs on the topics of your passion.  Again, you should spread their release out over time.

And, if you can't write well and you have the kind of face that is really suited to radio, you can record your 50 topics as audios and post them for your friends and fans, again spacing them out over time.

Keep gathering those names and make sure your blog/video/audio has a way to capture new names as people find you.  Only now you also want to start reaching out to those names and letting them know that you are doing your own thing.  Let them know that if they or someone they know is interested, you are now providing this product or service.  These people may be your first customers or referrals.

#4 Build Your Small Business Over Time: The reality with nearly every business is this - if you cannot make money doing it part-time, you won't make money doing it full-time.  So, start your business part-time while still getting a steady paycheck elsewhere.

By now, you should redo your website so that it can be a storefront and let your fans become your clients.  Sell them information that they can download and get them to buy the products of your passion.

As your blog and website pick up traffic, you can also begin to leverage the power of advertising by reaching out to some of the companies that supply the materials that make your passion possible and invite them to pay for advertising on your blog or website.

Your financial goal with your small business is to build it up to the point where the income from your small business is enough to meet or exceed your ordinary operating expenses.  This is where you begin to be able to get out of the rat race.

#5 Quit Your Job and Pursue Your Passion:  When you reach the point where business is able to support itself and you, and your job is getting in the way of you making more money with your business, it is time to give serious thought to quitting your job and investing yourself full time in the business of your passion.

It is not a decision to be made lightly and you will want to consider all the money that may be on the table in terms of retirement benefits, health benefits and such, before you plan to exit your job. 

For me, I worked at it for about 5 years before I was ready to make the transition.  Then, I waited another 2 years for my retirement to fully vest so that I wouldn't leave any of that behind when I moved on.  Then, I waited until just the right moment for me and announced my retirement plans.

Although it has been a challenging ride since then, I don't regret making the move.

Tom S.

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Tom Sheppard is the author of "Fire Yourself: Get the Job You Want" from XLibris Press and has been successfully investing in real estate since 2001 while working part time. In 2008 he left a six-figure job as an enterprise project manager with a major national bank to manage his real estate business full-time. His goal is to help 100,000 people find peace of mind by finding quality, affordable homes. 

He is currently looking to expand his network of funding partners who are helping him achieve this goal. If you would like to know more about how you can Do Well By Doing Good (TM) go to www.CharlotteWealthPartners.com 

Info Renegades Are Coming to Town

One of the great things about working with JT Foxx is that I get to meet his mentors and coaches.  Two of the people that he pays to coach him are coming to Charlotte December 16-18.  I am very excited to attend their three day class (If you want know how to attend for FREE use my link NOW!).

I first met Jeff Vacek and Ken Pruess when I was in LA meeting with JT Foxx and Bruce Buffer (see the video I made with Bruce). Jeff and Ken had recently agreed to coach JT on how to develop the internet side of his business.

I was standing in the back of the room waiting for their event to begin and hoping to catch some of it between sessions with Bruce and JT.  Because I listen to my coach, JT, I was dressed in a nice suit. Several people asked me if I was one of the presenters.  I was flattered, but had to tell them "No."  When Jeff and Ken came in and saw me dressed so nicely they introduced themselves and we chatted for a few minutes.  Then, they asked me to introduce them to the crowd.

I would love to say that I rocked the house with my intro, but frankly I think it was pretty weak.  I was Soooo unprepared and caught off guard by their request.  When the come to Charlotte, I hope to get a second chance to introduce them and if I do get the chance I will do a much better job this time.

Since then, I have met with them on a number of occasions and been able to learn from them.  Here is some of what they will be teaching when they come to Charlotte later this month.

	Exactly How To Choose an Online Market That is GUARANTEED To Be Massively Profitable To Your Bank Account
	The Absolute EASIEST and Cheapest Way To Build an Online Product That Your Market Will Pay TOP Dollar For - Plus You Need ZERO Tech Skills To Make It Happen
	The TOP Online Information Model That Has Collectively Generated Multiple 7 Figures in Revenue For Us Over The Past Six Years (We Only Teach This To Our Highest-Paying Private Clients - But You'll Get The Entire Blueprint)
	How To Get The Most Successful Marketers In Your Market Literally Swarming To Promote Your Product To THEIR List - Also Known As "The Best Kept Secret" of Information Marketing A-Listers
	A Bullet-Proof Method For Building a 5-figure Monthly Info Business In Less Than a Few HoursPer Week
	The #1 SECRET For Building an Online Business That Feeds You Consistently Every Single Month - You'll Wish You Had Learned This LONG Ago

And much more!!

When these guys say they will teach you everything you need to know, they aren't kidding.  This three day class will give you everything you need to start or improve your online business.  The class usually costs $2,997.  However, they are letting me reach out to folks who know me to give you the chance to attend for FREE.  But, you have to act NOW.  The event in nearly sold out and when that happens, I can't give away any more freebies. 

How FREE is FREE?  Well, you do have to pay a $100 fee up front to reserve your seat.  BUT YOU GET  IT BACK - when you show up.  Seriously!

If you use MY LINK NOW!  You can sign up for a $3k class with just a $100 commitment, that comes back to you when you show up.

If you think that is a trick, it isn't.  It costs them money to host an event like this.  It costs them for every chair in the room and for every cup of water at the back of the room.  I know, I have booked events like this myself and the hotels charge for everything they provide.  And, that isn't counting the materials that Jeff and Ken provide - which also cost them money.  So, if they have the hotel set up a chair for you, it cost them.  If they bring materials for you, it cost them.  But they are happy to do it if you will just show up and make it worth their time.

I have enjoyed their materials and am using them to build my own business.  They really work and they really tell you everything you need to know.  At times, when Jeff is going step by step over something I am familiar with already I find myself wanting to say "Yeah Jeff, lets just skip ahead to the parts I don't know"  and then he throws in something I didn't know.  Something other people wouldn't think to tell you.

For instance?  "You can use service A for free or you can use service B for $19.95 per month.  When you are getting started, you may want to use service A.  Then, when the money starts coming in, you can move over to service B.  And you will want to do that then because..."  you get the idea.

And Ken and Jeff really have a commitment to giving their students everything they deserve and more.  When Jeff taught us at Mega Partnering in Chicago last October JT cut him off before he could show us his last four slides.  He kept trying to get JT to let him show us those last four slides the rest of the event.  And that was after he had already given us more than an hour of really great content.

If you have a limited budget for training but want to expand your knowledge of how to leverage the internet, this event is for YOU!  How much cheaper can you get training than FREE!  And, if you live in Charlotte like I do, you don't even have to get a hotel room.  How GREAT is that?!

However, there are only a handful of spots available.  That means if you want to attend the event and only pay the $100 deposit instead of the normal $3000.00 training fee, then you literally need to sign up immediately or else it will be sold out. CLICK HERE

I know that this post has seemed more like a sales pitch than an article, but the reality is that I am super-excited that Ken and Jeff are coming here and I want everyone I know who can take advantage of this to do so.  It is going to be well worth your time and effort, and if you use MY LINK, you can attend for FREE.

As always, I will put in a plug for myself here in my column.  If you want to be added to my regular mailing list and get updates on events like this and other valuable information I reserve for my closest friends, then you can use the sign up below.

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 Your Success is Our Business (TM)

Tom Sheppard has been successfully investing in real estate since 2001 while working part time. In 2008 he left a six-figure job as an enterprise project manager with a major national bank to manage his real estate business full-time. His goal is to help 100,000 people find peace of mind by finding quality, affordable homes. Why pay retail when you can buy a home at below market prices? www.buybelowmarket.com. He is currently looking to expand his network of funding partners who are helping him achieve this goal. If you would like to know more about how you can do well by doing good, contact Tom at TSheppard@CharlotteWealthPartners.com

Easy Money: Why Buy Real Estate?

Real Estate is the Best Investment

Real estate has been the basis for the wealth of more millionaires than any other form of investment. This is true because real estate is probably the best of all possible investments.

You can make money and have a tax loss, legally with real estate. If your annual depreciation amount exceeds the amount of income you have from the property, it will result in a reduction of your taxable income, even though you actually made money.

Banks will lend you money to buy real estate, sometimes more than 100% of the present value of the real estate. See how many bankers will lend you $100,000 to buy $100,000 worth of stocks.

A good real estate investment will give you dividends and appreciation (growth), not just one or the other as most stock brokers will try to convince you to settle for when buying stocks. Rent payments can be the equivalent of dividends for the smart investor and in spite of the recent downturn in real estate values, the historical average appreciation of real estate exceeds the historical average gains in the stock market.

The value of real estate does not disappear overnight like it can with stocks and bonds. At worst case, if you own it, you can always go live in it. Try that with a stock certificate!

Like they say in buying stocks, the secret to making money is to buy low and sell high. In real estate, we say that money is made in real estate when it is bought, not when it is sold. If you buy low and ensure you have a positive cash flow, it is pretty hard to miss in real estate.

It is a simple formula, but a challenging one to execute. Most professional real estate investors spend a lot of time understanding their markets. They see a lot of houses for sale that they won't make offers on. They know how to tell the winning deal from a loser, because of their experience and training.

Unfortunately, the amateur investor often gets taken in real estate, just as they do in the stock market. Anyone who hopes to consistently make money in real estate investing has to be prepared to pay their dues by getting the right education, getting a good mentor, and then following directions to do deals the right way instead of trying to make it all up on their own, or improvise their own approach to the market.

Because real estate is a capital intensive field, it is easy to loose a lot of money investing foolishly. There are three ways people can profitably get involved in and benefit from real estate investing.

1) Become a private lender. Find an experienced, successful and reputable real estate investor in your area and ask him if he could use a private lender. Use your IRA, move the money in your old 401K into an IRA, or use excess cash you have parked in CDs or less profitable investments. Make it available to this investor to use. Don't try to tell him or her how to find houses or which houses to buy, but require that you get four things every time your money is used:

• A promissory note for the amount loaned, personally guaranteed by the investor


• A deed of trust on the property with your loan in the first lien position


• Lenders title insurance with you (0r your IRA) as the named beneficiary


• Hazard insurance with you (or your IRA) as a named beneficiary/lender

As I mentioned, don't try to tell the investor where or what to buy. But, do feel free to ask why she or he bought the house they did. Learn all you can from the investor and don't begrudge her or him their profits. You are getting paid to learn from them by getting a nice interest rate return on your money.

2) Become an equity partner with an experienced, successful real estate investor. Seek out this investor and tell him or her that you have a sizable chunk of money (this better be at least $500K) and you want to get into the real estate investing business. You commit to providing the capital in exchange for a 50% share of the profits on each deal you do with them.

Again, be sure to pick the brain of the investor as you do each deal so that you can learn how the investor picks the winners, how s/he acquires the property and profits from the deal. Once again you are getting paid to learn.

3) Become a professional (part-time or full-time) real estate investor. First, you will need to set aside about $30K to $50K and invest it wisely in the best real estate investing training you can find (if you ask me, I will provide a confidential list of the best I have seen and some to avoid). As soon as you complete the very first course, apply it, apply it, and then apply it some more - before you attend or sign up for any additional training. Do not sign up for any additional training until after you have worked solid for six months trying to do everything the first course taught you to do. I will make an exception for a coaching program and a mentoring program that can help you apply what you have learned. You probably should sign up for those right away and work them for everything they will give you during that six month startup period.

After you have successfully used your training to buy and profit from three to six deals, then it is safe to go back in the water to sign up for additional courses.

In another post I will discuss the perils of real estate training and how it can distract you from making money.

Of the three ways I mention above to make money in real estate investing, the first two require the least amount of time and effort. The third, even if you do it only part-time, requires a tremendous amount of work, dedication, persistence and applied knowledge. The rewards are greater and so are the risks. Decide for yourself which approach suits you.

If you would like more information on:

1. How to be a private lender see the Investors page of www.BuyAHouseBelowMarket.com.


2. How to become an equity partner, contact me directly at tsheppard@adbproperties.com


3. How to become a successful real estate investor, keep reading these blogs or contact me directly at tsheppard@adbproperties.com

Tom ~

Why Buy Retail?

www.BuyAHouseBelowMarket.com

Easy Money: The 10 Second Formula to Get Rich

The Simple 10 Second Formula to Get Rich

Last time, I promised to provide you a simple 10-second formula for getting rich, and here it is (drum roll please)...

Buy low and sell high.

Honestly it really is just that simple. Unfortunately although it is simple, it is not easy. If it were easy, everyone would be filthy rich.


Whether you are dealing in real estate, cars, services, stocks, or what ever, the formula for wealth is the same. Buy it at a low price and sell it at a higher price. It is because of this simple truth that many say that money is made in real estate when it is bought.


If you buy real estate the right way, you will make money on it if the values go up, down, or sideways. If you are buying a home to live in, the calculation is a little different, but it still holds true.


There are four universal keys to buying right that apply to home buyers and investors. They have slightly different applications for each, but the keys are the same. The first universal key is to avoid falling in love with the home before you buy. The second is to avoid paying too much, always buy below market value. The third universal key is to avoid overleveraging (don't borrow too much). The fourth is to avoid paying too much for your loan.


In this post, I will break this down for those who are buying a home where they want to live. In another post I will do this for investors.


I. Don't fall in love with the house. When buying a home, don't get your heart set on just one house. Pick out two or three that would all be great for you. Then, if you cannot get one, you have two fall back positions. This is one secret why investors get great deals and retail buyers often don't. Investors don't fall in love with the house. They have three more just like it waiting in the wings.


II. Don't overpay for the house. Never offer retail value. Never make an offer that is more than 91% of the retail value of the home (savvy investors offer much less). Even if the market is hot. If you buy the home at retail value you stand an 80% chance that two years later the home will not be worth what you paid for it. This is one of the problems plagueing the housing market today. Many folks bought high and are having to sell low.


III. Don't over borrow. I cannot count the times I have heard people talk about stretching to make a mortgage payment because it would pay off in the future. Many of those folks are facing foreclosure today. Never borrow more than 80% of the purchase price of your new home, including any fees financed. As soon as you pass the magic threshold of 80% your mortgage payment shoots up. This is because of private mortgage insurance (PMI) that is tacked on as well as a higher interest rate, it can also increase your insurance premiums in some cases. This double and triple witching occurs when you cross the 80% mark.


IV. Don't over pay for the loan. Make sure your all-in payments are never more than 30% of your gross monthly income. If it is more than that, you can be four car tires away from foreclosure. Pay attention to your credit score and learn how to keep it high. A good credit rating will get you lower interest rates that will make a huge difference in the monthly payments you make - and that high credit score may even help you get the job you want.


Summary for Home Buyers

The 20% safety cushion on your loan, added to the 10% discount on the price you pay gives you 30% of the home value to protect yourself against declining home values, or discounts you might have to take if you need to sell fast.


That same 30% cushion means that when you walk in the door of your new home you have 30% of its value in equity. With a $100,000 home, that means you just increased your net worth by $30,000 by buying right.


Now, if the housing market goes down or sideways, you can still do fine. And, if it goes up, you can make a killing when you sell high, because you bought low.


At http://www.buyahousebelowmarket.com/, we sell beautiful homes at below market prices. These are not fixer-uppers (once in a while we have those, but we let you know that up front). We carefully examine the market and figure out what is the retail value of each home we sell. Then we deliberately discount the price at least 10% below retail, sometimes more.


Further, our team will teach you what you need to know to get the lowest loan rate and best terms you can so that you won't overborrow.


Tom ~

Why Pay Retail?

http://www.buyahousebelowmarket.com/