The successful entrepreneur is always plotting ahead. They are mapping out their vision for the future while performing the necessary actions to get them there in the present. Without a vision to work towards that makes sense and aligns with your goals, your work can feel pretty aimless. Without a thoughtful and carefully plotted out vision of your next moves, you will never grasp the clarity you need to remain disciplined enough to see the vision through. Without vision, there is no purpose. Plotting your next moves starts with you.
Who do you want to be?
In the book, Your Next Five Moves, by Patrick Bet-David, there is an entire section dedicated to help you answer this question carefully. Who you want to be is something we don’t give enough thought to. Most people go through life never asking themselves this question and doing things because they have been told by others that it is the right thing to do. There is an issue with this line of thinking. Living a life according to the vision of others will subconsciously cause you to harbor resentment, anger, and regret. Knowing who you want to be starts by simply asking yourself this question and giving it some deep thought. What kind of life do you want to have? What is important to you? What kind of financial/personal goals do you have that would satisfy your needs? What kind of spouse/partner do you need to help you reach these goals? These questions are a good start to the list of some of the things you should be asking yourself so you can get to know yourself better. You can’t know your next moves until you know yourself. What are your non-negotiables? What are the things that are important to you that you need to pursue? Before you can plot your next moves, you need to have a better understanding of yourself and what’s important to you.
Processing issues
In order to be able to project forward, you must be able to process issues effectively along the way as they arise. There will be unforeseen obstacles, and you’ll have to deal with them accordingly. The ability to make sure the vision remains prominent and clear through the fog that may surround it due to different obstacles is paramount. Complex issues are a part of the journey, and having the ability to break them down and resolve them all while staying true to your vision is a skill you’ll need to develop to be successful. Emotional control and logical processing are skills that will make plotting your next moves much clearer.
Start at the end and work backwards
In order to visualize your next moves, you need to start with the end in mind and work backwards. What is the end goal? What does your journey look like? For me in my entrepreneurial journey, having a real estate empire is my end goal. This vision is ever changing and expanding. For now, the vision is to own 100 doors, and to be making 50K per month between active and passive income. This is a crystal clear goal with numbers and figures that can be reached. With that in mind, I can use where I’m at now and build the “latter” to where I want to be with my next moves. Here is a rough outline for my next moves, (some of which I have already completed) to get to this end goal.
- Form a team and establish our roles within the three components of real estate (Acquisitions, Transaction Management, and Dispositions). This step has been completed. I have two partners who are responsible for two of these roles. I am responsible for the dispositions component of the business.
- Figure out a niche and exit strategies that we plan to focus on and target to build our wholesale repertoire as well as our own portfolio. (This is something we have figured out.)
- Create an acquisitions team of callers as well as bird dogs and build a culture where the team can learn and grow from us and one another. (This is in the works. We have 5 callers and 1 bird dog currently.)
- Brand ourselves on social media to connect with more individuals who need help doing what we are successfully doing. This will create a free stream of deal flow from people we’ve worked with in the past to organically grow our business exponentially. (Currently in the works.)
- Leverage our success to show proof of concept to money lenders to fund our exponential growth through the acquisition of new properties, both single family and multifamily.
These five moves are a clear and concise path to reach our ultimate goals outlined above. It is a tangible ladder-like series of events that piggybacks off of one another and snowballs momentum. This clarity will allow me to reach my goals because I have a point of reference to look at to ensure I’m headed in the right direction and doing the right things. Being able to plot your next moves is an extremely necessary process for the success you’ve been dreaming of. Use this tool to your advantage and your goals will become attainable.