Happy New Year. Welcome to a place you have never been before: the year 2020. The first month of each year is the month of January. While most certainly know that, perhaps you do not that the name of the first month of the year comes from the Greek God, Janus. One of the things that is distinctive about Janus is that he had two faces: one face looking forward and one face looking backward.
January is that kind of time for many of us including real estate and note investors. On the one hand, we find ourselves looking back as we gather information for tax returns, complete our profit and loss statements, and the like. Yet, January is also a time of looking ahead as we set goals, strategies, and the like for the new year.
In the beginning days of this new year, I encourage you to take some time to look back not just as your finances and records, but at what you did in your investing business last year. What worked and what did not work? What should you consider continuing or expanding? What can you do better in 2020 than in 2019? At the same time, take time to look ahead. After giving some thought and evaluation to 2019, begin to prepare goals and strategies for the year 2020. Write the goals down as that tends to make them more real and concrete. Set a reminder in your appointment book or device to evaluate the goals on a regular basis. I try to re-visit my goals on a monthly basis. Make sure that your goals are specific and ambitious, yet are also reachable. Spend some time trying to set steps to reach these goals. As one wise person once said, “Fail to plan, then plan to fail”. Goals, steps, and strategies give us a way forward.
In the midst of looking back and looking ahead, take some time also to evaluate yourself. What skills do you need to develop or sharpen to be a better real estate and note investor in 2020. Your business cannot be better if you are not better yourself. Who or where can you improve and grow?
Best wishes in your real estate pursuits as you embark on 2020. May it be a great year.- RLW