How a Meetup Group can Grow Your Real Estate Business

 

I would like to introduce you all to a local Real Estate Investors Association ( REIA) that I am very proud to be a part of. Deal Seekers is an amazing community of like minded people who are interested in real estate investing at all levels - from beginners who are just learning the ropes to pros who have been at it for over a decade. This group is an opportunity for colleagues to get together and talk about what's happening in real estate locally, share success stories and learning opportunities, and generally learn more about the industry from others, while making great connections and having fun talking about our favorite subject - real estate investing!

But that's just the beginning. This is an environment that fosters deal making and the primary focus of this group is to find deals, connect to investment partners and seize upon opportunities. Members are encouraged to bring deals to the table for peer review and partnerships.

Two years ago, I was looking for other investors in the Fresno area to connect with but wasn't having much luck. I had been to a few meetups but didn't attend often enough to ever make any lasting connections with anyone.

I was using the BiggerPockets website which is real estate centric social media platform for investors. It's a great starting point for anyone interested in real estate and connecting with other investors or resources. You can ask questions and get answers from lots of different investors and other pros.

Bigger Pockets also have lots of blogs with a ton of info - so needless to say - I really like the site. I have made some blog posts on it myself, but haven't been consistent with them. I set up the alerts to let me know whenever Fresno was mentioned and before long I was seeing that there was actually a lot of investors in the area so I started reaching out to them and asking if they would be interested in getting together over some coffee for some informal chat about real estate and what they are doing to grow their business. I got a lot of positive responses to it so I started a meetup page and invited others to join us. Our first meetup had 24 attendees - now two years later, we have over 600 members.

Organizing a meetup group like this takes a lot of preparation and research. I suppose technically it doesn't have too - but I like to go the extra mile for my meetup group. We put together name tags for all the members and I always provide light snacks and water. We provide pens and notepads for people to notes in case they forget to bring their own. I like to have subjects to talk about and I try to provide actionable information that investors can put to work right away. I find speakers to bring in as guests from time to time to bring more variety and exposure to the group.

We break each session into three separate parts:

 

1. "Meet & Greet" - this is the first part of the meetup where members get a chance to get to know the other members , shake hands, trade business cards, and generally get to know each other.

2. "Weekly discussion" - Here is where I will give a talk or discussion about a particular topic - most of the time , I am doing the speaking and many times, I open it up to the floor to have open dialog about the subject matter. Other times I have guest speakers come in to talk about a compelling topic.

3. "Anaylize a Deal" - This is the part of the meetup where we take an existing property either on the market or off market, like a pocket listing and we start to break down the numbers and determine if its a good deal or not. We look at resale value , repair costs, location, income potential and exit strategies. We try to determine the best use for this investment and how to make it more profitable. Not all deals make sense - that's why we do it - to practice anaylizing cash flow teach others how to do it through repetition. Members are always encouraged to bring in deals for us to break down.

 

Luckily, I have a couple really great assistants that help me to keep things on track and running smooth. Despite the challenges, organizing a group like this has many advantages. Over the last two years, I have surrounded myself with some very high caliber people. I now have access to hard money and private money, contractors, wholesalers, lenders, builders, and investors - all valuable members of the community who have critical roles to play in taking a project from start to finish. It's not just me - members of our group all have this same access and this is a place where you can line up your power team. As partnerships form, you can volunteer for an unassigned role - and as the pieces lock into place, you can be part of an investment team ready to move forward on real projects.

 

Members of Fresno Deal Seekers get to hear lectures from experienced industry leaders as they share their expertise along each step of the process - from forming LLC's, to analyzing properties , to obtaining hard money financing - and not only get informed, but learn how to incorporate that into actual investment strategies for real world results. How many times have you left an investment meetup feeling like the information was good - but no real direction on how to implement it? This is a frustration felt by many investors who just want the opportunity to not only learn but to put that knowledge into action. I've worked to structure the weekly meetings to keep the momentum going so that members can stay on track and motivated - and to provide plenty of opportunities to network with other investors and get exposure to more deals. That's why we get together every week - I feel like the more often we get together, the more we will learn about each other and start to trust one another and build rapport.

For the year of 2017, our goal was to build strategic partnerships within the group to increase our purchasing power and use the leverage of crowdfunding to get a project off the ground. To find the project, each week we analyzed new deals currently available for sale, ran the numbers, and talked about the different angles of attack and possible ways to approach it. I'm proud to say that we have accomplished that goal and started a new investment company called Kinetic Potential. We are formed up of members in the meetup group and are working closely on a project right now. We are probably about 3-4 weeks out on it and when we complete it, we will be looking for another project to work on together.
 

If you are interested in Real Estate and would like to learn more then I would suggest that you start going to local REIA groups where you can make great connections and find important resources. Most cities have a local meetup group already - but if not, then it's a great opportunity to start one up. There are plenty of resources online to help you learn how to to set one up and once you do, you just get together each week. It can be as casual or structured as you like. As a group leader, I have had many unexpected benefits -
such as being invited to other real estate conferences and more speaking opportunities as I have been asked to speak at other meetup groups. Other benefits include being invited to speak on television, and getting invited to black tie dinners where I got a chance to meet other hard hitting investors. I have done more business and met more influential people in the last two years than in my entire 17 years of investing on my own. So what are you waiting for? Become a leader in your community and help bring others together to make great deals. If you're a deal seeker - come join the club!

 

 

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Please be sure to check out my others articles on real estate, investing , and crytocurrency ( and some other random dog stuff)

https://steemit.com/realestate/@jorlauski/house-flip-yard-getting-cleared

https://steemit.com/crytocurrency/@jorlauski/bitcoin-biggest-threat-to-us-financial-system

https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@jorlauski/new-crypto-backed-by-reits

https://steemit.com/realestate/@jorlauski/48gr5e-house-flip-is-a-disaster