Goals are fuel. Goals are direction. Goals are what push us forward in life.
Here are three definitions for the word “goal.” Formally, Wikipedia defines a goal as “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” In other words, goals are the tasks people assign themselves daily.
The word “goal” gives off a positive and determined vibe. Some people may see those who set goals as “overachievers,” while others may see them as people who are more likely to succeed because they have a plan. Sometimes, goals are considered threatening or unattainable. A goal does not have to be large or unattainable to be effective. A small goal, such as doing the dishes every night this week, can still be successful.
When we give the word “goal” so much power, it makes goal setting seem like a daunting task that nobody wants to attempt. If we can all start to see goals for what they really are – simple signs of accomplishment – more people will prioritize setting goals. More people will achieve their goals both in their personal and professional lives. Creating specific business goals can help you be successful on a higher level.
What real estate goals will help you make the most money, and how can you achieve them in a successful and efficient way? Read on to discover the answer.
What Are SMART Real Estate Goals?
Businesses that set clearly defined goals are 10 times more successful than businesses that don’t. A recent study by Harvard Business University found that 83 percent of the population does not set goals, and of those that do, 92 percent fail to achieve them. Number one: why are so few people setting goals? Why aren’t more people successful in achieving their goals? Many people do not set smart goals, making it difficult to achieve what they want.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
S.M.A.R.T is an acronym you can use to guide your real estate business goal setting.
It’s much different to daydream about your hopes and aspirations than to take the time to sit down and write out legitimate goals. Take your business to new heights by setting smart real estate business goals, rather than relying on fantasies.
So let’s get into it, shall we?
Examples of SMART Real Estate Goals
When planning your SMART goals, it can be helpful to think about them in terms of different categories. It can be helpful to group together similar objectives when creating SMART goals. Investors can better evaluate a potential investment by organizing their thoughts around the SMART characteristics. Here are three main categories and examples of each to guide you as you create real estate goals and objectives for your investing business:
- The goal of a business may be to increase leads or to grow the team. One possible business goal could be to increase social media followers by 10% over a six-month period. This could be done either through word-of-mouth or by paying for online advertising. A goal for a business when it comes to investment deals could be to complete three wholesale deals in the span of one year. Where you start will depend entirely on your business.
- Personal Goals: Setting personal goals is a great way to make sure you are growing alongside your investment business. Some common personal goals people set for themselves are reading one book a month for a year, or listening to one investing podcast a week. Personal goals can help improve your skills, day-to-day responsibilities, and make new relationships.
- Investors should focus on setting SMART goals for their businesses and personal growth, as well as setting aside time for family or friends. A family goal could be to spend one day a week phone-free to spend more time with people in person. Many investors will have a goal to take holidays off with their family, or to plan a vacation. Keep these goals in mind as you develop your real estate business to ensure a successful and balanced business.
Make A Plan For Your Real Estate Goals
If you are new to real estate investing, you may not have a concrete business plan. A business plan should include a description of your company’s purpose (mission statement), plans for marketing and advertising, organizational chart (company hierarchy), and a portfolio of your products or services. This information is useful for creating SMART real estate goals because it provides a framework for thinking about what you want to achieve. If you want to make a real estate business plan, read this guide.
After you create a business plan, use it as a guide to set goals for the year. A mission statement sets out the goals for a company and its investors, while the company hierarchy can show which teams are responsible for working on specific projects. The business marketing plan and investment portfolio can help investors identify areas for growth and improvement. A business plan can help to shape and influence real estate goal setting.
Real Estate Goal Examples: Short Term Vs. Long Term
Real estate goals can vary greatly in size and scope, so don’t let anyone tell you that yours are too big or too small. The best goals are those that are in line with your comfort level and move your business forward. Goals that will help move things forward can be things like driving by a certain number of properties each month or talking to five new contacts each week. Changing your career goals can have a big impact on the path your career takes. If you want to achieve more, you may be interested in setting bigger goals. Since “larger” is a relative term, it may mean driving to more houses or even taking place over longer periods of time. The most important thing is that your goals move the needle, regardless of how big or small they are.
Specific Real Estate Goals
It is important to be as specific as possible when setting goals for your real estate business. Make sure every term in your goal is clear, and create steps that can be taken to achieve it. ” To improve your revenue this year, your goal shouldn’t just be to increase your profits. A better goal would be to increase your profits so that you can increase your marketing budget for next year. You could start by improving your lead generation strategies and making your systems more efficient. You might need the help of an employee or a mentor in order to achieve this goal. Having a physical checklist of the steps necessary to complete the goal and being able to cross them out as you accomplish them can be helpful, but it is not necessary. The Harvard Business University study found that people who wrote down their goals were 14 percent more likely to achieve them, so it makes sense to do this to improve your chances of success. When drafting each goal, be sure to ask yourself:
- What exactly am I trying to accomplish?
- Why is this goal important?
- What will be the financial impact on my business if I am successful or fail to achieve this goal?
- What resources will I need to accomplish this goal?
- Who do you think needs to be involved in accomplishing this goal?
If you can answer the above questions, your goal is specific.
Measurable Real Estate Goals
Measurable goals help you stay motivated by allowing you to track your progress. If you establish measurable goals and objectives, you can track your progress and identify areas that need improvement. If you keep track of your own progress, you will be more likely to reach deadlines and feel more enthusiastic as you approach the end goal. Your goals are more likely to be achieved if they are measurable.
If you want to save $20,000 by the end of the year, you will need to save $1,667 each month. Instead of saying you will save more money, say you will put an extra $1,000 into your savings account each week. By doing this, you can keep track of exactly how much you’re saving and can quickly make up the difference if you miss a week by accident.
Attainable Real Estate Goals
Many people make business goals that are too large and end up not being able to achieve them. A new real estate investor shouldn’t expect to make a profit on 40 properties in their first year. If you want to achieve your goals, they have to be achievable, or you’ll end up being disappointed; eventually, you will stop setting goals. You should set goals that are challenging enough to push you and make you exhausted, but also practical enough that you can accomplish them. Ask yourself:
- Am I financially ready to take on this goal?
- Do I have enough time to achieve this goal?
- What challenges do I expect to face when striving to accomplish this goal?
If you spend time preparing for every potential obstacle that could prevent you from achieving your goal and come up with a solution for each one, you will be ready to face any obstacle that comes up.
Relevant Real Estate Goals
It is important to set goals that are relevant to your business so that you can ensure that your efforts are focused on something that matters. Establishing that you want to be CEO of a commercial real estate firm someday while you’re still wholesaling properties in your local market part-time to pay the bills would not qualify as “relevant.” Creating long-term goals is important, and dreaming of a more successful future is a great way to stay motivated. Relevancy is more important than ever when it comes to helping your business succeed.
Time-Bound Real Estate Goals
Make sure to give your goals a deadline so they are less likely to be forgotten. It is one thing to say you want to improve your real estate education this year, and another to say you will attend either a networking event, REI club meeting, or industry conference two times per month for six months. If you want to stay focused, it helps to set a specific goal and target date.
What are the steps you will take today, next week, six weeks from now, and three months from now to achieve your goal? Your six-month goal will help you achieve your one-year goals by giving you a specific and achievable target to focus on in the short term. Having a short-term goal will also help you to stay motivated and on track as you work towards your longer-term goals. Your one-year goals can be seen as stepping stones to your five-year goals.
Having short-term goals that you can achieve will give you a sense of accomplishment and keep you motivated to achieve your long-term goals. Be sure to celebrate your victories and milestones along the way to maintain your enthusiasm.
Why have goals?
If you set goals that are achievable and relevant to your larger ambitions, you can maintain focus and motivation while working towards your long-term vision. Setting goals can help bring your accumulated knowledge and experience together to provide the focus you need to get the most out of your property investing journey and achieve long-term, sustainable wealth. Setting goals gives you something to strive for so that you can track your progress, feel proud of your accomplishments, and boost your confidence.
1. Set SMART Goals
For example, instead of having “I will grow my property portfolio” as a goal, it’s more powerful to say:
“I will have added at least one property to my portfolio by December 31, 2022, which I will purchase at a price of at least 10% below the fair market value.”
Be clear about why you want to achieve each SMART goal you set. If you find yourself struggling, this answer can help you get back on track and stay motivated.
Make sure you understand the goals you set so that you can realize the benefits and outcomes.
For example, if you achieve the goal stated above, it can create instant equity to fund future additions to your portfolio, potential future capital gains, and help you create long-term and sustainable wealth.
2. State each goal as a positive statement
It is important to remain positive about your goals for property investing in order to stay motivated and achieve them. For example:
Having a goal of optimizing your portfolio successfully by April 30, 2023 by:
- Reviewing rents with my tenants and or property manager
- Meeting my lender to discuss my current interest rates to see whether I can obtain a better rate or get a loan review with a mortgage broker is more likely to keep you on track than a negative statement such as, “Don’t make the stupid mistake of failing to optimize my portfolio.”
3. Write down your goals
Studies have shown that people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them. This will make you determine what you want, prompt you to take action, and stop you from considering potential obstacles in the future.
Write down your goals and put them in a place where you will see them often. This will help remind you of what you are trying to achieve and keep you motivated. If your goal is unspecific and hard to measure, breaking it down into smaller, incremental goals can help you measure your progress more easily.
For example these 4 incremental goals:
- I will spend 30 minutes per day searching for positive cash flow properties
- I will spend 30 minutes per day checking the property and suburb fundamentals
- I will make a short list of properties that meet my buying rules and criteria
- I will organize a financial health check and get finance pre-approval organized by January 31, 2023
All of the goals are measurable and can help you achieve the main goal of adding a property to your portfolio by the end of the year.
4. Create a checklist and track your progress
A checklist is essentially a to-do list that can help you keep track of what needs to be done, allows you to check off items as you complete them, and allows you to see how they contribute to your goals. Having a checklist can help you stay organized and motivated as you work towards completing a task or goal.
Your checklist should include steps that will help you achieve your goal. You need to do, think about, or learn different things in order to achieve different goals.
Each item on your list should have a completion date attached to it if possible. This will make the list more effective. The more specific your checklist is, the more helpful it will be in keeping you on track with what needs to be done before moving on to the next task.
There are many free goal-tracking apps available to help with this. It is a good idea to download one of these programs today.
5. Be prepared to change some habits
One reason that people fail to achieve their goals, is that they do not adapt their behavior to changing circumstances.
It is riskier to not have accurate analysis tools to help you work out the long-term cash flow position of a property if one of your goals is to purchase a positively geared property by December 31, 2022.
Summary
The key to success in real estate is setting goals that are practical and achievable. By creating a roadmap to success, you can increase your chances of reaching your goals and achieving long-term success. Feel free to write down your goals for a financially free future the next time you catch yourself daydreaming. It is not only important to write your goals down, but also to make sure that each goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and has a time limit. Have a plan, know what your goals are for real estate, spread your investments around, and talk to other experts for help.
