3 Tips for Small Business Owners | Success Path Education

By Christina El Moussa

Tarek and I have been talking a lot lately about financial success and what it means to us. For us, being successful has meant starting a real estate business with no money, building our brand, and showing others how to do the same (both through our TV show and our Success Path Education workshops). While we’ve been busy with baby Brayden and keeping up with our little girl Taylor growing up (so fast!), we’ve never had to slow down our business because we’ve had each other every step of the way.

Not only that, though, we’ve also been able to follow a path to success by taking all the necessary steps that every small business owner should take. Take a minute to read through these steps and see where you are on your way to financial success and building your business.

Define Your Business Model and Write a Business Plan

This might not seem necessary if you’re just getting started in real estate investing, but I really do think it’s a key step in establishing and growing your business. Unlike a lot of other businesses, starting a fix-and-flip business doesn’t really require a “launch.”

You can actually get started just by buying a house, fixing it, and selling it. However, without a business plan, you’re not going to be able to function as efficiently as you want. With defined goals and strategies, you’ll have a road map to follow. Believe me, that’s especially helpful when you start to take on more work and things start to feel really overwhelming.

Create Your Daily and Weekly Work Schedule

No matter what industry you’re in, if you’re a small business owner, you definitely need to sit down and create a work schedule for yourself. If you don’t, you might find yourself working way into the night and then getting up really early in the morning to do it all over again. It’s important, even as you’re just getting started, to put some structure into your work and give yourself a decent work-life balance.

Tarek and I had to do this when we first started flipping houses, and we’ve had to revise it with our growing family, too. That’s the wonderful thing about being your own boss – you get to set the schedule, and it can be more flexible. That said, if you let work overflow into family time too much, you’re going to feel resentful and exhausted. So set that schedule, and keep that balance.

Identify Your Definition of Success

So, I started this post off talking about how Tarek and I define financial success for ourselves. Your definition is probably going to be different from ours, and that’s just fine. What’s important is that you know what it is and that you have a clear idea of how you’re going to get there.

The first step to getting there is to identify your definition of success and write it down. This might even turn into your mission statement for your real estate business, and it can help you stay on track and focused as you get through your first flips and learn how to grow your business. Like your schedule, though, you might find that your definition changes with time, so talk with your spouse and/or business partner(s) about it every now and then to make sure you’re all on the same page.

If you’re thinking about starting a family real estate business with no money like Tarek and I did, you really just need to follow a few simple steps and work consistently for a little while. You might be surprised at how quickly you reach your definition of financial success.

Sources:

http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/5-critical-steps-every-entrepreneur-should-take.html

https://www.sba.gov/blogs/starting-business-10-steps-every-entrepreneur-needs-know

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Christina El Moussa

Tarek and Christina El Moussa have over a decade of professional real estate experience and have been featured in national print publications, online media outlets, and a popular real estate reality TV show. Christina is known for her exceptional design and aesthetic talent.