WHAT’S YOUR GAME PLAN?
There is a little bit of magic that happens each year in every team sport. It’s the season-opener game. Players, coaches, and sometimes even minor rules change between seasons. So that first game of the season: everyone is fresh. Each season is like a do-over.
It’s strange, but true, that when we emerge from COVID, many people and businesses will be starting over. Economies, government regulations and business practices are all changing. The Real Estate Investing world is no different. Some of you will even ask: how can I hit a moving target? That seems near impossible! Challenging—yes, impossible—no. If you are investing for powerful reasons, then preparing for your comeback is absolutely worth it.
Our pre-season training includes learning, networking, and creating strategies. Now, as I am not an economist, learning about the “U” curve versus a “V” curve-recovery is a healthy challenge. But 20 to 30 burpees can be a challenge too—would I back down from that just because it’s hard. No—but truthfully I might take a few extra breaks at the start of the season! We are also learning and refining some simple systems like some of our paperwork: contracts, spreadsheets, checklists.
Networking is very much like breaking in new team players these days. Zoom, Facebook live, Facetime and other platforms all offer the opportunity to continue networking. We’ve even met some brand new resource people online, just this week! We also have time to take a look at who is and who isn’t working. Maybe your team just needs to research different insurance policies; however, over 5 years, $50 to $100 per month for a policy makes a big difference to your bottom line. In addition, we are asking other real estate investors how they plan to continue growing, and even thrive in the post-COVID world. There are a lot of realistic but positive investors out there—deeply committed to WHY they are investing for their futures.
Strategy is definitely the most challenging. We’ve heard rumours, but we haven’t really met the opposing teams yet. Whether it’s Real Estate Investor Lions versus the Recession Rumblebacks, or Rental Housing Provider Panthers versus the Mortgage Mayhem Mammoths—we know each team we face will have some tough players. We are asking ourselves, “who do we need to become in order to face our opponents and continue adapting?” In some cases, we are figuring out how to work with new teammates to leverage our skills and energy. We are especially lucky to have several coaches around us who offer advice, encouragement and some “tough love” to train hard during this crisis.
Ask any athlete: pre-season training is hard! And ask most coaches: most of the early season games offer a lot of learning, and strategy adjustments. And the secret sauce: your mental game is just as important at the start of the season, as it is in the Gold Medal match. So our game plan is to keep training and preparing for the new season, full of opportunities and challenges.
