Launching a Note Business

Launching your career in the Note Business real estate is no easy task. My heart bleeds for new note brokers who have worked so hard to get the proper education and think they are ready, but then what? The lucky few have some real estate, business and sales experience, but far too many will struggle on their own unsure of where to turn or how to start. I thought long and hard to come up with my best advice to new note professionals on how to launch their note businesses powerfully and came up with a few thoughts with some common themes.

1. Be true to yourself. In doing this, you will attract the kinds of note holders and investors you want to work with, and they will admire and respect the heck out of you. This is one of the most important things you can do in your note business and your life in general. It will help you keep balance. It will help you keep perspective. It will help you be successful on your terms.

2. Take time for you. This business can be very rewarding, but it can just as easily suck the life out of you. You have to make time for yourself — put it on your calendar and respect that appointment as you would any other appointment. Whatever helps you come back to center, do that — read; fish; spend time with your family and friends; hike; travel — do something that gets you AWAY mentally or physically or both.

3. Build routine into your day. When you have a conventional job, you go to work and have a set of tasks that you need to get done within a certain amount of time. When you are a note broker, you don’t have that same structure inherent in a job, so you must create that for yourself. Come up with a daily routine that works for you, and stick with it. It’s easy to lose focus and motivation if, when you wake up, you don’t know what you need to get done.

4. Treat your note business like a REAL business. YOU are your business, and you have to treat yourself that way. I’m not saying that you can’t have fun, you totally should. But you need to remember that this is your job, your career and your business.  You alone make it survive and grow or perish and fail.

5. Learn as much and as often as you can. No one can learn everything, but everyone can learn a lot about a few areas. Find out what you, your note holders and investors are passionate about, and never stop learning and growing in these areas. Love technology? Always be striving to learn more about it. Love negotiating? Take some classes, read some books and role play. Always keep your mind open to learning more.

6. Share what you know and learn. Knowledge is wasted if it isn’t shared. Some of the smartest and successful people I know are also the most generous with their knowledge. If you learn about something that may help someone else out, tell them — show them how to do it — help them grow. This is a huge part of my success; key people have shared with me and I in turn share as much as I can as well.

7. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to be successful. Yes, you have to spend some money, but you don’t have to go into debt to get started and be wildly successful. Find a couple key programs and services that will work for you and that you’ll use consistently and then implement them. Consistency is key if anything is going to work. But you can find some amazing tools that won’t cost more than a few Diet Pepsi’s each month.

8. Appreciate (love) your note holders. Your note holders will make or break you, so learn to appreciate (love) them in ways that they feel it. This is a personal business, so get to know them on a personal level and connect with them. When your note holders become your friends, they will also become your advocates. And advocates will tell everyone they know about you and how great you are.

Remember success demands action, keep on marketing, it’s going to work!  TWITA! (That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!)

Jeff Armstrong of Armstrong Capital has been a note investor and broker specializing in the performing seller financed note industry since 1991. For more updated and current information on how he can help you with your note business, your note investments or to request a quote on a note you currently have visit www.armstrongcapital.com to email him and subscribe to his weekly Note-Able Newsletter.