REQUIREMENT TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Wholesale Business Setup

While this list is intended to help you set up your business, it is no substitute for taking action. The best business in the world won’t work if you don’t work. You don’t have to have all the equipment in the world to play baseball, just a ball and a stick. The same applies for wholesaling. Get the basics and get your business started TODAY!

Computer

            I’m guessing since you’re reading this, you already own a computer.  If you don’t have one, this item should go to the top of your list.  You will be on the computer researching properties, running comps, doing marketing campaigns and a whole lot of other money making activities with your computer. 

            Personally, I use a Dell desktop and a Sony laptop.  I’ve never a problem with either and would recommend them to anyone.  Brand is not as important as actual usage of the computer.  You’ll be on it a lot so pick one with which you are comfortable.

Fax machine

            A fax machine is a pretty simple one.  Nothing complicated or fancy, although it does help if your fax machine doubles as a printer, scanner and fax (all in one).  You should be able to find a good one at a great price on Craigslist or Ebay.  Just so you know, I use a Canon, but Dell’s are good too.  Both companies make quality machines.

Printer

            Again, my fax, printer and scanner are all in one.  I recommend this, since multiple machines in my office get to be a distraction.  That is one thing you will want to be aware of…maintaining a distraction-free work place.  Doing this will increase your productivity and ultimately your profitability.  That’s why you’re here, right?

High-speed internet connection

            This one is kind of a no-brainer.  Have you spent any time on a dial-up or broadband connection and then switched to a high speed cable or phone line internet connection?  There is a HUGE difference in going with high speed.  I want to set you up for success and high speed internet is the best way to go.  Trust me…you will be on the internet a ton and your time is valuable. 

Digital Camera

            This is an absolute must for any serious wholesaler.  Selling property without pictures or video is tough to do, at best.  People are visual and buyers will need to see pictures (or video) of the house to know if they are interested in buying from you.  Plus, with all the properties you will be looking at, you will need pictures of each house for your own personal reference. 

            You don’t need a fancy camera.  Even a iPhone has good enough picture and video quality. You don’t need a high end SLR, just a regular $100 digital camera will work fine. 

Comping Service:

Comps, or comparable sales, are just that…comparable (or similar) sales to your subject property.  Comps are the way wholesalers determine value or FMV (fair market value) for each property.  Making offers without knowing what similar houses are selling for is like throwing darts in the dark.  You may hit the board every now and again but I want to set you up for fast success.

Now, whatever comp service you choose to go with, I highly recommend obtaining training on how to best use the service.  Some of them can be very detailed and receiving training will help you bust the learning curve and get you into the real world of making offers, then making money.

Most comp services require a subscription, AKA they cost, but a paid service is well worth it.

·         RealQuest.com (paid)

·         SiteXData.com (paid)

·         Realtor.com (free)  I don’t recommend using a free service but if you have no other choice, then it is what it is. 

Video Camera (optional but helps a lot)

            Video is huge!  Video is HUGE!  Maybe I wasn’t clear the first time…VIDEO IS HUGE!!!!!!!  The video camera you use doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to work.  And, you have to be able to download it to your computer and then upload it to the internet.

            If your phone or digital camera doesn’t take good quality video, invest the money to upgrade to one that does.

Email Marketing Service

            Aweber.com is the service I use to keep track of all my contacts and send out my wholesale email newsletters. If you are serious about investing in real estate AT ALL, you need to use an email service to send out your messages to multiple people. The reason I use Aweber is because of the simplicity factor.  I’m not a tech nerd but I do need a website to keep all my email addresses organized and send out newsletters. 

            This service does cost but the cost is well worth it.  It’s not much either.  Something like $20-30  per month. Send us a message at Insider@SmartLazyInvestor.com and we will send you a referral link to get a free month or a $30 credit.  

Click2Mail.com

            This is one of the best postcard mailing services out there.  When I first got started in the business, I had zero money to work with.  What does that mean?  That means I spent evenings hand writing addresses on postcards, licking stamps and stamping my return address on every postcard before they went out. 

            There is a better way and that way is Click2Mail.com.  With this service you can send postcards, flyers and more.  It’s a tremendous marketing tool and will free up a lot of your valuable time. 

            Set up a free account with this service and tap into their knowledge base on how to send out postcard campaigns.  Test it out with a postcard to yourself and a few friends so you can get the hang of it.  This is an important one to know and will lead to a great deal of calls, offers made and ultimately, assignment fees.

Local Sign Company

            The reason you need to find a local sign company is to save on the shipping costs of bandit signs.  Plus, when you run out or need more signs now, it’s great to have someone to call that can help you out.  Normal delivery time ordering signs online is about 2 weeks and sometimes that’s just too long to wait.

            First thing, you will need to do is order 100 blank yellow 18x24” coroplast signs.   The rate I pay is $1.10 a sign and if someone is quoting double that or more, keep searching.  You will be using a lot of these blank signs and it is important to find someone that can hook you up at a reasonable price.

Set up an account with Craigslist.org

            This one is super easy to do.  Go to Craigslist.org and click on ‘My Account’.  From there you will click on ‘Click Here to Sign Up’ and the rest is step-by-step. 

            Craigslist is one of the most valuable marketing resources on the internet and the best part is, it’s free!  If you are not familiar with this site, become familiar.  NOW!

            Not only will we be using Craigslist to buy and sell houses but it is also a great tool to gauge what is going on with the wholesale market in your town.  

Here’s your first Craigslist exercise:  Go to Craigslist and click on your state, then city.  Go to the tab ‘Search Craigslist’ on the left hand side of the page and type in the word, Wholesale.  After you do that, click the down arrow where it says ‘For Sale’.  You want to select ‘Housing’.  This will pull up all the listings for wholesale houses in your market.  I do this on a weekly basis to see what the competition in my city is doing.  Plus, it’s a great resource for wholesale deals (more on that later).

Set up an email account

            I recommend having an email account for wholesaling that is separate from your personal account.  Not only does this position present you as more of a professional, it’s just easier to avoid distractions when you are working, thus saving valuable time and making you more money.  When choosing a business email address, make it something that is clearly business-related.  BradBuysHouses@yahoo.com  or HoustonHomeBuyer@gmail.com.  Have some fun with it but make it clear who you are.

            Personally, I use Yahoo and Gmail.  Both are solid services and best of all…they are free. 

Business cards

            There are two types of business cards you will need:

1)      A professional looking card to present to Buyers and Sellers.  This card should have your name, phone number, website and company name on it.   Only order 500 of these to start. It should cost no more than $20.

2)      An obnoxious, attention-grabbing card that will attract seller leads.  Order as many as you can afford. I recommend at least a thousand.

            Business cards are used for two reasons.  The first is to present to sellers when you first meet them.  This will help your business credibility.  The second is to attract leads.  This one is the most fun.

            I leave ‘We Buy Houses’ business cards everywhere I go.  Wal-Mart, the grocery store, the gas station, the bank, in the bathroom of every restaurant I go to…yes, I turned it into a game.  I’m posting them up on bulletin boards, putting them on car windshields, leaving them at vacant properties I drive by...let your imagination and creativity go wild.

            I’ve also used the dollar bill cards that look like money but are really a We Buy Houses card.

The thing with business cards is, the more you leave in public, the better chance someone who needs to sell a house will see it.

            The message should be simple: 

• We Buy Ugly Houses
• We Pay Cash and Close Quick
• Your name
• Phone number

Straight-forward and to the point has been successful for me.  The color of the card needs to be attention-grabbing…neon green, pink or orange. 

*The important thing with business cards is to get them out there and leave them everywhere.

Dedicated office line/cell phone

You need to have a separate phone line for all your business calls.  Make sure the voice mail message is professional as this will only help your image and credibility.

Fold out Map of your city

            These maps can be obtained at your county engineer’s office.  They will only cost you a buck and will be of tremendous value.  Hang this on the wall of your office.

Map book of your city. 

This is a portable map book that has a plastic cover and separate pages for specific streets/areas of your city.  I used to use a black and white book but have since upgraded to the full color version.  You can grab this from WalMart or your local book store and it will cost you between $5 and $30.   This needs to be with you in the car every time you leave the house.

Magnum black markers

            These are humongous black markers that can be purchased online.  Google ‘Magnum Markers’ and you will have plenty of places to buy from.  We buy them in boxes of 12 from Amazon for under $25 including shipping.

Set up an LLC

            If you want to do it right, contact your attorney (if you don’t have one, this is the perfect opportunity to look for a title company) and ask them to set up an LLC for you.  It shouldn’t cost you more than a couple hundred bucks, but it is well worth it. 

            Doing business in your own name is okay but I don’t recommend it.  Plus, you always want to be aware of your image or positioning.  If you have a company name, you will come across as more professional and will probably be taken more seriously.  Also, you can set up an LLC through your Secretary of State’s website.  This is a highly recommended step, as you are laying your foundation and setting up your very own wholesaling business.  Let’s do it right!