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The Benefits of Real-World Communities and Interactive Internet

In my last post in this 6-part blog series I told you that I’d talk about the benefits of becoming a part of communities where you’ll meet and interact with likeminded individuals. To be successful, you’re going to interact online but also in the real world!

I’ll keep this post very short, because while the benefits are many, the experience will be individual to you and your goals. The more you interact with people… strangers who over time also become friends, associates and investors… the more doors will open to you and the more income you will earn. It’s a fact.

Opportunities abound with the face-to-face approach

Let me begin here by saying that I have a lot of experience interacting online and with people face to face. When I first began as a real estate investor I didn’t have a network or group online with which to interact. I didn’t have leads or lists or systems either, but you can get involved with my community here on Cash Flow Diary and you’ll learn that I ramped up pretty quickly (and how I did it). And it all started with interacting in the real world with real people, face to face, and at first I experienced a lot of fear about it.

By nature – and most people who’ve seen me speak on stage won’t believe me – I am an introvert. That is no excuse not to talk to people. If you’re an introvert, you will be just fine. All you have to do is start talking and keep practicing your conversational skills. You can also join Toastmasters. That group propelled me into public speaking and helped me dump my fears about talking to people one on one and in groups.

These are skills you will need because you are going to want to attend as many networking events possible. I’m not just talking about real estate investor events either. You are also an entrepreneur and working your way to being a business owner if you aren’t already one. There are networking groups for all of these categories.

For real estate investing, do a quick search online to find real-world events. Up until about last year I only attended these events. Then the people who started the groups or are highly involved in the planning of the events started asking me to speak at them. That’s cool. I love educating others on the benefits of real estate investing.

Because I’m in Orange County, Calif., I like to attend events in my neck of the woods. There’s a great OC-based REI group I enjoy. But there are also groups in Los Angeles and even Sacramento that I’ve been known to attend (and at which I also speak). When attending, I stand at the back of the room and ask really good questions of the presenters. This works to get the audience members interested in what I have to say. Ultimately, a number of them find me after the event and give me their information. I’ve met sellers, buyers and investors in this way.

There are lots of events, meetings and real-world spaces you want to be so you can open new doors to great opportunities you wouldn’t find otherwise. You just have to put yourself out there! Get outside of your comfort zone and do it.

If you wonder where you can find more real-world networking groups, check www.MeetUp.com. There are groups for literally all interests. You can search for MeetUps as close to home or as far away as you wish. They are everywhere! That’s a very good thing.

Where you want to put yourself in the real world is a topic that was covered pretty well in the first blog posts in this series, so I won’t go over old ground here. However, if you want a whole lot more places where you should go to interact with like-minded people, plus sellers, buyers and investors… particularly if you are looking to raise capital for your deals, you’ll want to download the 39 Perfect Places to Find Investors right now. It doesn’t cost you a cent, so why not? (Unless you already have, of course!)

Interacting online is a must today!

Here again, I can talk to you from a very first-person experience point of view. We started with a single Facebook page… mine. And then we created one for Cash Flow Diary. Then we started hosting cool mastermind groups. Before we knew it, we had three group pages to add to our cache. Then we had a bright idea. What if we combined all the private groups into one really interesting, exceedingly helpful, tremendously informational group page and invited all the other groups to join? So that’s what we did.

We opened the Cashflow Creators private group page for members of our Cashflow Core Membership and it blows my socks off every time I log in. What’s happening is interesting. People are showing off their “shut up” checks (the first check or checks you receive as a Real Estate Investor, either in wholesaling properties or raising capital for any of your deals). But that is just the tip of the iceberg. People are DOING deals right there in the group!

If that weren’t enough, there is such a great mix of members in this investing group that the more seasoned are answering questions posed by newer investors. It’s sort of like the old-fashioned little red school house experience. There’s the teacher (a.k.a., me… the seasoned expert) who has guided and taught the older “students” and they in turn are guiding the less experienced people in the room.

As more people become members, the group is growing and big things are happening! They have tremendous excitement for what they are learning. They want to share, which is great. I see and get to answer tons of questions. It is an ongoing learning experience, and it is undeniably valuable.

Of course, ours is not the only group on Facebook; we are not the only group themed around Real Estate Investing and/or entrepreneurship topics. I’m a member of several, and I enjoy interacting with people in those groups.

Why?

Because I get to ask questions about things I want to learn more about and I get answers! In fact, I get to have back-and-forth conversations in real time frequently. That’s how social media should be. We cannot be there 24/7, but when you are a member of a group chances are pretty good that someone or many someones will be online at the same time you are. That means you can ask questions and engage with them to keep learning. At least that is the point of our group.

We get to share content and show members of our group things they should see. They in turn can share them to their bases, other pages and other groups. That’s a win-win if you ask me. Sharing of great content, images, videos and ideas is what makes the Internet such a great place where we can learn just about anything. That sort of thing gets me excited, but then I’ve been told I get excited about everything technological and having to do with entrepreneurialism and Real Estate Investing. I can’t help myself. These are the things I love.

If you want a really good list of places to be online where you can interact with other investors as well as buyers and sellers, first read the first posts in this series. Then download the 39 Perfect Places to Find Investors. You’ll be glad you did!

The long and short of this post is that being a member of different groups and networks is a good thing… online and in the real world! The benefits of speaking face to face with likeminded individuals cannot be beat.

I am not telling you to do something that I don’t myself do. It’s a fact that even today I attend several networking events a month. I attend Cashflow 101 games. I host Cashflow games. I speak at events. If that’s something you’d like to do down the road, there is one more networking group you need to join and take seriously. Again, that’s Toastmasters! I cannot stress this point enough. That group coaxed me out of my shy shell… and I was painfully shy not all that long ago. (Hard to believe, I know, but it’s true.)

In the final post in my 6-part series I’m going to tell you where you can find a few excellent free resources. These are specific to Real Estate Investing, but then that’s what I do. After all, I am a seasoned Real Estate Investor who does deals across several states and in other countries. My favorite is Belize! (That, BTW, is an example of an elevator pitch I might use when attending networking events. You should have one at the ready so when someone asks you what you do… you can be prepared in just a couple of quick sentences.)

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