No matter what kind of business you have it is essential to have a business plan. Your business plan shows how you plan to generate profits and your projected income over a specific period. If you are seeking a loan from a traditional lender for a new business your business plan will determine whether or not the bank wishes to invest in what you have to offer. Real estate investing needs a business plan just as much as a retail store or any other brick and mortar business.
Reaching into the Community
We do not use this term to mean you go into the community where you are interested in securing investment property in order to find buyers or renters. When you go into the community with a real estate investment business you want to reach into the community in order to find out what is available and what kinds of profits other investors are making from their trust deed investments. Your business plan should identify the market in which you are interested in investing and how that marketability compares to your overall business marketing plan.
Marketing Plan
Just because you choose real estate investing instead of another type of business does not mean there is no need to market your product. There are several reasons you still need to identify your target audience:
If your plan is to flip properties you will need buyers.
If you plan to buy properties to rent you will need to know who is interested in your particular market.
Those in your target audience can help you assess effective pricing for sales or rentals.
You have the ability to see whether there are other properties becoming available within the scope of your expertise.
Your marketing plan is an essential part of your business plan, and even if you don’t need it for a traditional lender, it will help you focus on what you need to do in order to grow your business to the profitability you desire.
Fee Structure and Assessment of Pricing
You also want to analyze your fee structure and assess how you plan to price your services. While these issues may not always present themselves directly in a trust deed investment, you will want to be able to identify your cost basis so you know whether you are making a profit or not. In addition, a trust deed is not always an investment on the part of the investor but rather the investor may be on the borrowing end of the trust deed. In this case the pricing assessment ensures the investor he will be able to make good on the payments on the trust deed.
A business plan is an essential part of any business and should never be overlooked. Before you begin investing develop a business plan so you are not going into the business blind but with an open mind and set of instructions. You need to know the steps to follow, and your business plan can help you follow those steps in order to reach financial stability and freedom.