Self-Learning to Network

The last month or so I have been looking more and more into investing in apartments. However, I did not attend local MeetUps or other groups dedicated to apartment investing until this week. I self-educated as much as possible through books, podcasts, YouTube video and articles. I did this to prepare for the meetings and it paid off.

The reason I learned as much as possible before attending these apartment investing meetings was so I can understand what was being discussed. I have led single family investment groups in the past and caught myself speaking over many of the attendees. It was not done intentionally but because I had been doing it for so long I was doing it unconsciously. I have also seen other instructors and speakers do the same thing. 

Before you attend another meeting on a subject that is new to you do some self-learning. Learn the common acronyms, basic calculations and prepare questions that you can’t answer yourself. This will help you keep up with the presentation and actually learn something new while attending. You can also keep up with conversations while networking before and/or after the meeting.

During the meeting you will understand the basics and be able to ask questions that might benefit even the more experienced investors in the room. This could create instant credibility among the attendees and lead to great conversations after the meeting. Even after disclosing you are a new investor the veteran investors will respect that you have learned so much in a short time.

The point of attending these networking events is to learn more about the topic, possibly meet some mentors, meet people you can grow with and maybe even future partners or collaborators. Keep in mind that all this learning won’t go far without execution. Therefore, take action!!