By Minh Pham, Mentor/Investor/Author, www.GuaranteeProfits.com

Manage Cashflow

Undercapitalization Brings About Ultimate Business Failure:

Inadequate start-up funding leads to many small real estate investing business failures. Having too little money as your real estate investing business struggles to get off the ground can quickly lead to disaster. Many real estate investing business owners overlook the time gap separating the ribbon-cutting ceremony from the first quarterly flow of profits. Having only enough cash on hand for a few months rent and marketing costs will leave you vulnerable to unforeseen difficulties. It would also be a smart move to get investors (friends, family members, and others you might know) who would like to invest in your business for marketing and start up costs. Good friends will certainly invest in you, if you are confident, focused and have a detailed ROI-yield business plan to succeed.

Although, getting into debt is your own choice, I may not recommend this to all real estate investors getting started who lack funds, but pulling money out of your home (i.e., home equity line of credit, if you have any) is another good way to invest into your own business. I have known several investors who have planned properly, using this strategy to ‘tough out’ their early start-up months/year with very nice ROI-yield and profitability.

Last, the “plastic” we all have access to is the most common way a lot of investors do it, but be careful with these bank-credit cards because interest rates on these babies can be fairly high (depending upon your credit status and standing) and some cards don’t have a big enough limit to readily fund your business needs in the first few months to a year.

Operating a real estate investing business would be considerably easier if enthusiasm, hard work and dedication were the sole requirements for success. But the fate of every enterprise ultimately depends on the numbers. An accurate, easily understood and timely accounting system therefore is an absolute must. Otherwise, accurate records will be impossible to keep – one of the worst mistakes a small real estate investing business owner can make.

Managing Your Time

Focus On The Right Priorities. One of the universal challenges for investors is managing the competing demands on your time. One common time trap is focusing on the things you’d like to do and procrastinating about the activities that may be essential to your success but aren’t in your comfort zone.

“Time-Block” Your Way for Enhanced Time Efficiency. One of the easiest and most effective ways of ensuring the proper use of your time is to block out each week’s calendar to concentrate on critical activities.

Start with the list of your essential tasks which you plan each week. Be sure that you schedule the time for all of the vital tasks – those you don’t enjoy as well as those you like doing – before turning to the enjoyable activities.

By blocking out time this way, you can impose that extra bit of discipline needed to increase the likelihood that essential activities take place. For example, you could set aside 10 to 11 a.m. each morning to call clients and 11 to 12 p.m. to contact prospects. Or you could reserve lunch every Friday to meet with a key referral source.

Organizing a Dream Team

Develop a Proactive & Organized Business Style

Another leading cause of small real estate investing business failure is poor management. The small real estate investing business owner must also be capable of gathering and maintaining an effective team (good Attorneys, CPAs, Mortgage Brokers, Private Lenders, Contractors, Marketing Specialists, Realtors, Home Inspectors, etc).

To help assemble the right people for your team, take the time to completely spell out the talents, skills, abilities, energy-levels and passions:

1. Their experience and education levels;

2. Their roles best played in their respective organizations;

3. Their training, certifications and specialties;

4. How can they help you and vice versa.

Get Help!!

Pride Goes Before the Fall:

Most small real estate investing business owners take pride in their independence and problem-handling skills. But even the most skilled entrepreneur may need the assistance of a professional from time to time – often when it can least be afforded. Fortunately, however, professional advice need not be expensive. Real estate investing clubs and trade associations, chambers of commerce and the local library, just to name a few, are all strategic sources of modestly priced – or even free – expertise.

Don’t let a misplaced sense of pride prevent you from discovering the correct solutions to your real estate investing business problems.

Determine how much help you need and try to get it as early as possible.

A mentor is highly recommended since the majority of successful investors take on a mentor early in their real estate career to achieve success sooner and to avoid costly mistakes.

Key Factors: Momentum & Confidence

When doing a first deal as a beginning investor, the key factor is momentum and confidence. If you expect to hit a homerun on the first deal that will make you $100,000 net profit, you may be waiting a long time. Getting through deals that put money in your pocket then evaluating where you want to go from there is more important than getting rich from your first deal. In fact, this could be a pitfall, versus a windfall, if you were to hit a big deal on the get-go. Then you’d expect it to always be like this, and is isn’t, across the board of application and realization in real estate investing and deal transactions.

The key is to get started and “get going”, not to wait forever until that “giant deal of a lifetime” comes your way.

youth pre-selected to promote the growth of red blood cells, enhancing the body's immune food. Such as the liver, red dates, eggs, kelp, beans, brown rice, and so on. Weak physique of girls, can be properly used for nourishing Medicinal Diet Sibu, such as angelica, Chinese wolfberry, Shude, and so on.

　　 adolescent against cyclical menstruation, within the glands, sebaceous gland, sweat gland function increased, the problem of increasingly mature, Touxie, black spot, acne, oily dermatitis, and so have appeared. At this point the women to fresh multi-Yang Gan, liver, eggs, lean meat, red dates, Chinese yam, lentils, etc., should avoid full-cream milk, fat, high-fat. Food seasonings to light more timely add iron, calcium, and more fresh vegetables and nuts, fresh and dried small shrimps and bone type, Xiajiang, such as food. Iodine appropriate eating seafood such as kelp, seaweed, fish.

　　 pregnancy-feeding period eat more fruits and vegetables and whole grains food, fast food and less refined food. Fresh and soybean products, milk, fish, duck, shrimp, eggs, liver, lean meat, jujube, such as dried fruits. Do not pay attention to pregnant women and more fresh longan meat, Jiyong fennel, pepper, cinnamon, pepper, garlic and other seasonings heat of digoxin. Bogey all types of wine to drink, including glutinous rice liqueur. Postpartum should by carnivorous, eggs, fish, eat more foods containing vitamin, to promote lactation.

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　　 middle-aged period of less saturated fatty acids in food, more exercise, adhere to low-fat, low cholesterol, low-carbohydrate food choices, such as elections to eat lean meat, discard Quan Zhinai commodities. Dinner to be thin, with special attention to increasing vegetable and fruit intake.

　　 menopause to add high-quality protein, vitamins and trace elements necessary, to the attention of jujube, longan, red beans, rice, lotus seeds for-food meal products. The swelling of menopausal women, to restrict the staple food, adequate drinking green tea, swelling to buck. The obesity of menopausal women, to choose fresh eggplant, spinach, lean meat, fish, beans and vegetable oil.

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　　 normal elderly women, take iron, calcium more, the election should be fresh amaranth, tomatoes, oranges and milk, soybeans, eggs, carrots, Suanmiao, persimmon and all kinds of stem preserved. To avoid senile plaque, to be more fresh soybeans, walnuts, wheat germ teeth, lettuce, cauliflower, sesame seeds, carrots, corn, onion, and so on. These foods can increase the vitality of the human body cell, antiaging, Fanglao, fitness.

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Yeah! Finally I have a new picture.

Now I am going to use this picture for now. I might end up taking another picture and put it in my profile. My last picture it didn't show me smiling. And I am a happy and fun-loving guy. But from my last picture,you couldn't tell. This picture is not great. But I think it is better than the last one I had here on Active Rain. But any advice on what kind of picture I should take on my profile? Me holding a baby? Me kissing a baby? Me holding a puppy? Me kissing a puppy? Me kissing Sanaa Lathan/Eve Mendes/Alicia Keys and/or Beyonce? Talk about having a fivesome. Is that even possible? ( Sorry readers. Please don't get the wrong idea. )

Or should I include a picture of my family? I am trying to do anything to help drive traffic to my blogs. So if you have any advice on what kind of picture I should put on here,I would really appreciate it.

To receive your free list of "Houses for sale in Washington,DC",please give me a call at your earliest convenience. I can be reached at (202) 378-0283 (Direct) or (301) 560-6700 x1154 (Office). I can also be reached online at www.buyandsellnewhomes.com. Thank you very much. Looking forward to working with you and helping you make your home purchase or sale a stress free and very happy one. Have a great day. Lanre Folayan-Real Estate Professional with Exit Premier Realty. "Buy a home in Washington DC"

Home equity - falls below 50%

Just what we needed. More bad news when most homeowners are struggling to keep up paying on their mortgages. Now this. For the first time on record since 1945,homeowners percentage of equity in their homes has fallen below 50%. After saying just this,I don't even know if I should even say more. But maybe reading this,some homeowners might want to put their homes on the market hoping to at least get something out of the selling their home before it is too late. And with spring approaching soon and more home buyers looking to buy a home,this would be a great time for home owners to put their house on the market who have been hesitant to sell but was not sure whether they should or not. Homeowners will make up on the buying side what they are not going to get on the selling side.

In the second quarter of 2008,homeowners percentage of equity slipped to lower than 49.6%. It declined even further to 47.9% - the third straight quarter it was under 50%. This marks the first time that debt have exceeded equity since the Fed starting tracking data in 1945. This of course is terrible news for the hardworking american citizens who have worked so hard to own a piece of the American Dream.

The total value of equity also fell for the third straight quarter to $9.65 trillion from a downwardly revised $9.93 trillion in the third quarter. Economists expect this figure to drop even further as declining home prices eat into the value of most Americans best investment. What's disturbing about all of this?Moody's Economy.com which is a trusted independent provider of economic analysis,data, and forecasting and credit risk services estimates that 8.8 million homeowners, or about 10.3% of homes,will have zero or negative equity by the end of the month. While around 13.8 million households or 15.9% will be "upside down"if prices fall 20% from the peak. This is not good news at all. We just have to pray that it gets better soon. We'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out.

To receive a free list of "Houses for sale in Washington DC",please give me a call at your earliest convenience. I can be reache at (202) 378-0283 (Direct) or (301) 560-6700 x1154. I can also be reached online on my websites www.buyandsellnewhomes.com and www.freelistofhomesforsale.com Thank you very much. Looking forward to working with you and helping you make your home purchase a stress free and very happy one. Lanre Folayan - Real Estate Professional - Exit Premier Realty. "Buy and sale a home in Washington,DC"

I just finished reading a post by Mrs.Tamara Inzunza Realtor -Alexandria,VA about your business plan which prompted me to review mine and see what I need to do to make it better. ( I track my business plan/goals every week ). Anyway,I was looking in my fast trac when I ran across this poem. It is by Edgar Guest. I really liked it. Sometimes things are not going our way and we need something to lift our spirits and motivate us. So I thought that I share this poem with you. I hope you all enjoy reading this.

EQUIPMENT

Figure it out for yourself,my lad

You've all that the greatest men have had,

Two arms,two hands, two legs, two legs.

And a brain to use if you would be wise.

With this equipment they all began,

Do start from the top and say "I can".

Look them over,the wise and the great,

They take their food from a common plate,

And similiar knives and forks they use,

With similar laces they tie their shoes,

The world considers them brave and smart,

But you've all they had when they made their start.

You can truimph and come to skill.

You can be great if you only will.

You're well equipped for what fight you choose,

You have arms and legs and a brain to use,

And the man who has risen great deeds to do,

Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face,

You are the one who must choose his place,

You must say where you want to go,

How much you will study, the truth to know,

God has equipped you for life,but He.

Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within,

The man must furnish the will to win.

So figure it out for yourself,my lad,

You were born with all that the great have had.

With your equipment they all began.

Get Hold of yourself,and say: "I can."

EDGAR GUEST

To receive your free list of "Houses for sale in Washington,DC"please give me a call at your earliest convenience. I can be reached at (202) 378-0283 (Direct) or (301) 560-6700 x1154 (Office). I can also be reached online at www.buyandsellnewhomes.com/ Thank you very much. Looking forward to working with you and helping you make your home purchase or sale a stress free and very happy one. Have a great day. Lanre Folayan -Real Estate Professional with Exit Premier Realty. Buy a home in Washington DC