This post is designed to get you off the ground running as a multifamily investor. This means providing you with a solid foundation for building a credible multifamily business moving forward. One that you can continue to develop and grow. And the best part? This can all be done in 5 steps for under $500!
What will it take? I like to quote the Jake and Gino team here “Education x Action = results”
Let’s talk briefly about education. Your multifamily education is something you should take very seriously and understand that it will be ongoing for the rest of your career. Here are some suggestions for where you can get quality education for cheap or free –
Books, podcasts, mentorship programs, accountability pods, meetups and other networking events, webinars, Youtube, Udemy, and more.
During and throughout your multifamily education, you should simultaneously and strategically be working toward your goals. It is extremely important for you to begin with a solid foundation that affords you the ability to scale quickly. The good news? That foundation framework is simple!
STEP ONE: Create a company name and logo
When creating a company name, I urge you not to spend too much time in this area. Too many people get stuck here, trying to develop a catchy, multifaceted name, when in the end, your company name won’t matter that much. What will matter most is what your company stands for. Your vision, image, brand, and the content you offer your audience. So do your best, but if you are stuck in this area, just go with your actual name as your brand for the time being.
Once you have chosen a name or decided to use your personal brand, head over to Fiverr.com and find someone to design your logo. When using Fiverr, or other similar websites, I recommend only using top-rated sellers with 5-star ratings and at least a few hundred reviews. I typically stick with 1k reviews and over whenever possible.
Your logo should cost under $50 and you should be happy with the design in the end. Make sure you can envision the logo on business cards, letterheads, email signatures, social media posts, and more before settling on the final version. I have a couple of versions of my logo for the various mediums on which I will use it.
*Pro-tip: When talking with the various sellers on Fiverr, make sure you work with someone that will build a brand color palette for you. This is essential for building consistency and a professional look for your business. Once you have this color palette, you can provide it to any and all future designers you work with to design everything from social media posts to business cards, maintaining a consistent and clean look for your brand. This goes a long way.
As you are working on your logo, it’s a good idea to get professional headshots/photos taken care of. Don’t get overwhelmed, there is no need to hire a photographer. Today’s phone cameras are all you need. Set up a tripod or have someone take the pictures of you. Wear clothes that demonstrate the image you wish to portray – Suit? Tie? Golf shirt? Your choice but I recommend presenting yourself as true to your genuine personality as possible.
*Pro-tip – make sure there is adequate lighting in the photos.
Next, send your photos to be edited by someone on Fiverr.com by searching “photo editing”. Depending on how many you have, the cost should be around $30-50. Tell whoever you hire to provide you with 2 copies of each photo – one with a white background and another with no background.
You will use these photos for your website, email signature, bio, one-pager, social media, and much more. So take about 10-20 that you can use for the next year or so.
STEP TWO: Build a website
This is a bit more of an undertaking and could technically be done later, but I recommend getting it done early and adding to it as you grow. People will be searching the internet for your name and if you are to be taken seriously, you will need a website ASAP.
Trust me, I am not endorsed by Fiverr but I do love their services, and again I recommend hiring someone from their website. I can provide you with the website developer I use, or you can search for one on your own. Just know that for a basic, yet professional WordPress website with images, original design, and a few pages, it should cost around $300. *Make sure you provide your color palette to the seller you choose to work with.
What to put on your website?
Honestly, the easiest way to get a quality website up and running quickly would be to imitate the structure and design of your competitors and/or idols. Spend an hour searching through their websites. Then, when you begin conversations with a web designer, provide that person a list of websites you would like to model your own website after. Add your own flair to your website and make sure you are not copying word for word, and make sure you generate some original content for your website. Don’t forget to provide them with your color palette as well.
Websites are a great way to demonstrate credibility and lead generation. You must provide a “call to action”, such as – “sign up for my newsletter or free book”, or anything of value that you can give away. The objective is to gather people’s email addresses which will serve as your investor database.
STEP THREE: Upgrade your email
As you are working on your website, I recommend creating a business email account and possibly a custom email for your business. Gmail offers a basic plan that will give you everything you need for $6 a month at the time of this blog post.
Once this is created, head back over to Fiverr to create a professional-looking email signature. The cost should be around $10. *Make sure you provide your color palette to the seller you choose to work with.
STEP FOUR: Create a one-pager
This one-pager is something you will be providing to real estate brokers, potential partners, property managers, and even potential investors so you’re going to need this as soon as possible if you want to get started quickly.
Here’s what I recommend you put in your one-pager –
- Your logo
- A section titled – “Why Multifamily?”
- A section highlighting your target market with some basic data on the market and why you are investing there.
- Your business plan/investment strategy –
- What year builds do you seek? (built between x-x years)
- What class properties you look for and in what class neighborhoods.
- The number of units you look for.
- Your general plan for acquiring, repositioning, and exiting.
- Your team with bios. If you don’t have an official team at this point but I highly recommend including some credible people in this section to boost your one-pager’s viability. You can label these team members as your “advisors”. These people should be willing to help guide you through your journey and provide you with professional advice. In essence; truly be your “advisors”. Don’t get stuck here, reach out to me for assistance in building a team if needed.
- Your contact information.
I use Canva.com to create my one-pager. You can get free and editable, one-pager templates from my website if you sign up for my mailing list.
STEP FIVE: Social media
Focus on 2 or 3 of your favorite social media platforms and create accounts for your business, or begin using your personal accounts. Intend on posting at least 1-3 times a week. Make sure all (or most) of your posts are created using your brand colors and design. You may want to hire a VA to help you with your social media posts. You can find a great virtual assistant on Upwork.com. I currently do my own social media posts but will contract them out to a reliable VA at some point.
*Pro-tip – Your posts should be geared toward providing your audience with engaging content that educates, informs, and inspires. It is also important to sprinkle in some posts that discuss who you are as a person, your beliefs, core values, vision, and goals. This will help people learn who you are without ever meeting you.
Bam! in only 5 steps, a few weeks time, and under $500, you have laid the groundwork for a sold multifamily investing company and are ready to be seen as an authority in the space! Don’t skip these steps, they are essential for your success as a multifamily investor. If you have any questions or doubts, shoot me an email and I will help.
Now the real work starts… Go get some deals done!
One Love,
Nico
