To say my brother was in competition with me growing up would be an understatement. He always wanted my toys and, as we got older, my jobs. It didn’t matter if it was cutting lawns or delivering newspapers. If I had it, Dave wanted it.

A few months ago, he started wistfully looking at my real estate investing career, wondering why he chose to pursue a path in accounting instead. Frustrated by years of pushing papers and crafting spreadsheets, he was envious of the freedom that real estate investing has afforded me. But, he also wasn’t sure if he could afford to leave his job. So, I took him out for a beer and explained how it actually is possible to start a small real estate investment business part-time.

How to Start a Small Real Estate Investment Business in 4 Easy Steps

There is a lot to like about real estate investing, whether you are doing it part-time to start out or as your sole profession, like me. A big one is the flexibility and independence you get from being your own boss. You can set your own schedule, take on as much work as you can handle, and be in control of your financial future.

But, there are risks when purchasing residential investment properties. It’s easy to make mistakes that can cost you a lot of your investment dollars. That’s why it’s important to lay the groundwork before you get started. Here’s what you need to put into place before you quit your day job to start a small real estate investment business:

1. Get well-rounded training

Your ability to meet your goals depends on getting the best real estate investing training—but you don’t want to do this piecemeal, even if you’re trying to balance it with a 40-hour workweek. Before signing on with any training program, you need to make sure it will comprehensively cover the nuts and bolts of what you need to know. Many of the seminars and courses out there claim to teach you about real estate investing but don’t give you the complete picture. It won’t make any sense to take a course on how to sell a wholesale property if you don’t even know how to get qualified leads yet. So, set some vacation days aside to focus on learning your next moves.

2. Find a trusted mentor

You absolutely need someone you can bounce ideas off of and get advice from, a go-to guy or gal that can help you run the numbers and grow your business. But, where can you find a real estate investing mentor near you? With only your evenings after work available, you might try connecting with someone from a local investing club. But, meetings are usually only one or two days a month. At that rate, it will take you years to develop a mentor relationship. To save time, you might also consider signing up for a real estate investing coaching program—as long as their goals are aligned with yours.

3. Make a plan to get solid leads

If you’re investing in real estate part-time, you won’t have time to waste chasing down leads that turn out to be dead ends. There are a lot of ways to find distressed properties from auctions to lead lists. Other strategies involve pounding the pavement to find distressed houses or direct mail campaigns. Some even turn to social media to find leads. The trouble is that following these leads takes time and effort, something you may not have if you are doing this part-time.

So, how do you get all this in place when you have your hands full just trying to get started with a small real estate investing business? You need a network.

Hearing that piece of news from me didn’t make Dave feel much more confident about stepping away from his desk. But, I bought him another beer and told him there is an easy way to have it all: training, mentorship, and solid leads.

One-Stop-Shop For All the Tools You Need to Start A Small Real Estate Business

The number one reason why I became a HomeVestors® franchisee was that I could get the core of what I needed to start my own real estate investing business. I got a comprehensive one-week training from experienced real estate investing professionals, which meant I didn’t have to spend month after month piecing together details. Following training, I was connected with a professional mentor who held my hand through all the doubts and questions from my very first deal. And, the nationally-known and trusted “We Buy Ugly Houses®” marketing campaign makes getting those deals almost effortless.

But, the great part about being a HomeVestors® franchisee is you don’t have to jump in headfirst. Through the Associate Franchise program, you can pursue a real estate investment career at a slower pace, from your home office. And, when you’re ready to make it your full-time career, you can upgrade to the next level.

Ready to start a small real estate investment business? Contact HomeVestors® to learn more about becoming an Associate Franchisee.

Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.