Today my business is
FIVE YEARS OLD!!
I almost missed the
date – can’t believe I missed an excuse to have a little celebratory party!
But what with the Covid
pandemic, a party would have been limited on numbers anyway, so I’ would only have
been able to invite the staff in the business: the director, the secretary, the
acquisitions manager, the project manager, the finance controller, and the
lettings agent…
…Me then, just me!
It would have been a
VIP party of one!
But anyway, today my
business is 5!!
And although I was a
landlord for several years before that, five years ago I decided to make a
proper business of it and start buying property within a limited company.
So in celebration, I
have put together 5 key things I have learned about running a property business…
here we go!
1.
IT IS HARD!
Don’t let anyone lie
to you.
It takes way longer
to build a property business than you were led to believe. It is also much more
stressful, hands-on and costs a lot more than you ever thought it would!
But… if it were
easy, everyone would do it, wouldn’t they?
I remember being in
the property training room, learning all about this stuff five years ago. There
were about 60 people there who had put four days of their time and money into that
course… and five years later, only about a quarter of those people have stayed
the distance, built a portfolio, and actually successfully progressed in property.
It’s hard… and that’s
why most people don’t carry it on!
Me on the train home from my first property mentoring session...look how fresh-faced, stress-free and unworried I am! 😄😅
2.
NOBODY CARES ABOUT
YOUR BUSINESS AS MUCH AS YOU
A harsh reality, but
even the people you employ or subcontract in are (mostly!) only in it for the
money. They don’t share your vision, your dreams, your plans for success, or
even how you envisage certain tasks done!
So if you outsource,
delegate or supervise anything, you had better be watching that those other
people are doing exactly what you need them to.
The buck stops with
you, and every event that happens is your responsibility. The bottom line and all
end results are your fault, so you’d better make sure things get done and get
done right – delegate, not abdicate!
My face when something's gone wrong again, as oft happens, if we're all honest!
(But on the other
hand…)
3.
OUTSOURCE ANYTHING
YOU’RE NOT GOOD AT
Remember at school, when
the teachers told you to practice at anything you weren’t good at, so that you
could ‘get better’ at it?
What utter nonsense
of an idea that is!
When I was a child
helping my mum redecorate our bathroom, (1980s child-labour-style!) I inadvertently
stuck a wallpaper scraper in my forehead (Look for the scar above my eyebrow
when you next see me!)
This alerted me at
an early age that perhaps DIY skills were not my forte.
And no matter how
much I have practiced manual and DIY skills over the decades, I have never
gotten any better, and it is a brave adult that leaves me unsupervised with
power tools!
I fully accept that
I am no good at manual skilled things, and what’s more, I don’t really enjoy
doing them.
So what’s the
solution? Get someone else to do them. Someone who is far better at it than
you, makes a great job of it and likely loves doing it too – outsource! (but oversee,
remember!)
Attempting to garden... see why I need adult supervision?!?
4.
PROPERTY IS NOT
PASSIVE
Well, it might be,
if you’re super rich and can afford to choose to throw money at agents to deal
with everything, fair play to you!
But for the majority
of people, they have to get involved with their property portfolios at some
point for certain things.
For example, although
my rental portfolio mainly runs smoothly most of the time, this week I have visited
three of my properties for a gas safety check, a property tenancy inspection, an
insulation upgrade in a loft, and to check a new tenant into a room in shared
accommodation.
Luckily I quite
enjoy this range of tasks… and for all three days of this ‘work’, I was back
home by noon.
5.
PROPERTY CAN GIVE
YOU TIME FREEDOM…WHICH IS AWESOME!
I have worked hard enough
in the last five years to no longer have to work hard.
In the humblest way
I can state this, my property income means I don’t need to work if I don’t want
to.
I don’t need to
exchange time for money, like in a normal job.
That is a powerful
turn of events in anyone’s life.
If I’m ill, or if I
do nothing, all my bills and outgoings are covered.
I’m not accountable
to anyone else, and nobody is cross if I call in sick or don’t feel like doing
anything productive on a particular day.
And that time
freedom is a fabulous thing!
Thus, having a smooth-running
portfolio means I have freedom of choice. Freedom to choose what I do with my
time on a daily basis. Freedom to choose who to work with – or not!
I do get bored
easily though, so when you see me doing ‘work’ things, it’s because I choose
to, not because I have to. I feel very lucky!
There you go, my five
big key things to share with you!
And yes it’s been
hard, and there have been stresses and tantrums and worries, and financial
concerns and sleepless nights, and early times when I thought it was all going wrong
and doubted myself.
So five years in, we’re
still going strong.
I’m still nowhere
near where I want to be, but I keep going and believe that one day I’ll get
there, and try my best to enjoy it as I go.
So as a bonus item, here’s
my final thoughts:
Life happens as a
result of my decisions, choices and actions.
And I choose to continue
to build my portfolio, to create the income to provide the lifestyle I’ve got
in mind.
Does this involve
Presley Property Ltd being so successful that it enables me to afford my dream
house, with my dream study-library-office?
Where a large Elvis mannequin
model adorned with a custom-made rhinestone jumpsuit overlooks my red leather Chesterfield
sofa, on which I sit to decide and mull over my future projects?
What do you think?!?
