Don't be Shy When Recruiting
“He who has a thing to sell and goes and whispers in a well, is not so apt to get the dollars as he who climbs a tree and hollers.” -Unknown
I’ve had some really great real estate deals land in my lap. It wasn’t luck, though. I climbed the tree and hollered. People know I buy rental properties, so when someone wants to unload one, my name often gets brought up in conversation. I’ve had the same success with recruiting. I am always recruiting and not shy about it. You should not be shy about the fact that you are looking and what you are looking for. Climb the tree and holler with me.
When I was first reading up on real estate, one book told me to look at, and analyze, one hundred deals before buying my first property. I had already learned in another book how to analyze a deal and decide on my criteria needed to make a purchase. My criteria at the time was this:
I wanted a value-add opportunity. I hoped to find the worst property in a great neighborhood to maximize forced appreciation through renovating the property.
I wanted it to bring in $500/month (generate $500 in profit after all expenses, including the mortgage).
I wanted a minimum of 15 percent cash-on-cash return (annual cash flow profit divided by amount of cash personally invested).
To make a long story short, I found a property for sale, looked at it, ran the numbers, and it checked the boxes I wanted to check. I looked at one property and bought it. Now, if I would have looked at one hundred, would I have found a better deal? Probably. But how long would that have taken, and what would have been the opportunity cost of waiting?
This is what we need to do with hiring. Know your criteria, and when someone checks the boxes, hire! Sure, you could interview one hundred more potential employees and maybe find someone more qualified, but what is the opportunity cost in waiting? Lastly, be careful with your criteria. I recently heard from an agent that refused to interview anyone that wasn’t licensed, had State Farm experience, and was bilingual. This agent was not located near the border either. Think about the math here… what percentage of the population is licensed, has State Farm experience and is also bilingual? I think .008% might be generous. Don’t do this to yourself. If you do you should plan for years of being a solopreneur.