It is the New Year - it's time to reflect and think of goals that we want to achieve over the next year. There is a sense of satisfaction when we achieve our objectives and cross the finish line. Good goals should always excel our performance.
They should also answer the following questions:
1) What are we really trying to achieve?
2) What is the final output that satisfies our hunger?
3) What will make us not simply happy but ecstatic about the outcome?
We should always be able to measure our goals to ensure we are on track. This will also enable us to identify gaps within our progress and allow us to re-calibrate if needed. We should always use the S.M.A.R.T. (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timely) goals. The objective is evident when you use the SMART guideline. It helps you and those around you understand the purpose immediately. Here is our example from last year, “in 2020, we want to purchase 2 duplex conversion properties in Hamilton, ON <$500k that cash flow $500/each”. If you notice, the goal is specific and clear. It has timelines, and we can measure based on the financials that were provided. This type of goal allows us to start working on the details.
From here, we can reverse engineer our goals. We should always work backwards [think of them as mini steps to our final destination]. First, we need to determine the inputs required to achieve our goals – this is what we will track throughout the journey. The inputs will help us get to the finish line. The biggest mistake we can make is stop our brainstorming at the goal itself and not dive into and/or track the details of the goal. Its important to go 3-5 layers deep at times to really get an understanding on what moves the needle on our vision. We can then determine our true tracking mechanisms to ensure we hit our target.
If you have read our book you will remember that we talked about getting market exposure [Book Link Below]. Below is a simple flow chart of our thought process. We went much deeper with this but wanted to show an illustration of what the goal “Market Exposure” meant to us at the beginning of 2020.
It all starts with ideas – “Market Exposure”. We then start brainstorming:
Start Social Media
Write Blogs
Create a Website
Write a Book
Most people stop here – they have brilliant ideas but sell themselves short by not going deeper. How will you execute on this plan? This is something that we need to think about as well. In addition, people often do not challenge themselves in the short term. They use the less risky conservative approach. Its almost as if they are scared to fail by putting in audacious goals. Our goals are always out of our comfort zone. Its what helps us grow as individuals and professionals within our industry.
The other issue that we often see is not following through with the "vision". You should be absolutely obsessed and relentless about taking this to the finish line. Now this one is coming with a caveat. You should be flexible when it comes to the execution. This is where a lot of people fail. If something is not working, we should find a better way – we should adapt to our new environment. We should not keep pressuring an implementation strategy that is just not working. At this point we are just grinding gears - wasting time, money, and energy.
I will give you an example, if your vision for the year is to get fit [probably one of the top 3 goals – during New Years resolution]. You should be absolutely obsessed with this – make it your priority. Now if you originally thought that you will go to the gym in the morning and its not “working out” – do not keep going in the morning or even worse quit. There is no benefit in this. Instead, we must get creative and adjust. Perhaps taking a virtual fitness course during the day works better? What about a personal gym at home? We can cycle/walk/run in our park every night. There are many different things that we can do to change how we approach our end goal. This is what we mean by adaptability during the execution stages. Do not lose sight of your vision – keep going.
This applies to business as well. When we set out to purchase 2 investment properties this year, we did not quite know if it would be possible. We were cautiously optimistic. At the same time, we were planning on doubling the # of tenants in just 12 months [our plan was to start buying bigger buildings]. We also thought we would get our financing the same way we have done in the past, but we soon found out that we had to change that strategy – so we adapted.
At the beginning of the year, we wanted to get into purpose build 6-8 plexes however due to market conditions we had to change our strategy once again. We had to be creative in our approach – we did not want to risk our "vision" [that is not something that we compromise] – but we did adapt to current conditions. At the end of the year [2020] we ended up purchasing 2 investment properties – we kept our vision intact but changed the strategies numerous times along the way. We hope this short blog helps you with your goal setting for the new year and your journey in 2021.
If you’re interested in finding out more information on how you can invest with us on our next deal – reach out to us directly at 289-242-6294 or steeltowntitovs@gmail.com
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Have you seen our book "The Novice Investor"? https://tinyurl.com/y3gbtw3a
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LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
The information provided in this blog is for entertainment purposes only and is not intended to be a source of advice with respect to the material presented. The information contained in this blog do not represent legal or financial advice and should never be used without first consulting with a financial professional to determine what is in your best interest to meet your individual needs.
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