Re-Inventing the Wheel

I have been thinking of investing in rental real estate, and I recently posted on a contractor forum seeking input from anyone who has previously done so. The response was quite interesting.

I was quickly told about the problems I would face, such as tenants who don’t pay, destroy the property, or both. I pointed out that with the proper systems in place, such problems could largely be avoided. But this did not dissuade the critics.

I was struck by how similar this is to other things I frequently hear from painting contractors: door hangers don’t work, yellow pages don’t work, customers are cheap, nobody appreciates quality, illegals are stealing all of the work, yada, yada, yada. I call these people the nay-sayers.

And then this morning I received the following Thought of the Day from the Napoleon Hill Foundation:

A POSITIVE MIND FINDS A WAY IT CAN BE DONE. A NEGATIVE MIND LOOKS FOR ALL THE WAYS IT CAN’T BE DONE.

Certainly there are challenges in rental real estate, just as there are challenges in contracting. So? If it were easy, everyone would do it. The challenges aren’t the issue here—how we deal with those challenges is.

The nay-sayers continue to insist that painting contractors can’t make money, despite an abundance of evidence to the contrary. They see each obstacle as an impenetrable wall that halts any progress. And when someone points out evidence that contradicts their conclusions, they respond with more excuses: that may be true in large cities but not in rural areas, I don’t want to be a high pressure salesman, I won’t compromise on my quality, yada, yada, yada.

Whether it is real estate or contracting, the nay-sayers are determined to stick to their conclusions, come hell or high water. Their situation or market is completely unique, and sound business principles simply do not apply. This of course, is simply not true.

Whether they realize it or not, the nay-sayers are making an admission: they lack the skills, ambition, perseverance, or some other characteristic necessary to overcome the challenges. The crucial fact that the nay-sayers overlook is that, in most situations, others have already overcome the challenges.

A wise man learns from his mistakes. A really smart man learns from the mistakes of others. In other words, don’t try to re-invent the wheel. Learn from those who have accomplished the goals you seek. Find a mentor and listen to his advice.

This does not mean blind obedience. You must judge for yourself the prudence of each idea. But it can be a huge waste of time, money, and energy to try to discover each idea on your own. This applies to real estate, and it applies to paint contracting.