Real Deal REInvestor Network

The Question: I need to find core team members. How do I find experts and get them involved with my pre-funding stage startup while they are still working their day jobs? Once I find them, what can I offer them?
 – Martin, AZ

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council, an advocacy group founded by serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber that works to take action against youth unemployment by teaching young people how to build successful companies. The council’s members include Generation Y entrepreneurs and experts in a variety of fields.

 1. Start an advisory board “The best way to get experts involved in your business is to build out an advisory board that’s compensated with shares or options in your business. Many industry leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs will join advisory boards and make introductions, offer advice, and promote your business if they have an ownership stake and are interested and passionate about what you are creating.”
– Matt Mickiewicz (@sitepointmatt), 99designs 2.

2. Be social “Go to MeetUp.com groups, network on Twitter (search hash tags that apply to your work), search for Facebook Fan Pages & Groups where the experts you want hang out. You just have to be genuine — if your project is solid, well-developed, and you’re passionate, you’ll attract the team naturally. Offer them a creative outlet and leadership experience; be upfront about hours needed. Just be authentic!”
– Tammy Tibbetts (@tammytibbetts), She’s the First

3. Put the computer down and look outside “My current partner and I connected at a conference. But it wasn’t at that conference that we formed our business relationship. It was over time. Over lunches, some afternoon beers, some business ideas, and even just talking about life. It was at this point that I knew I could work with him on any project and be happy with where we are at. Partners on a ‘need right now’ basis have never worked for me.”
– Greg Rollett (@gregrollett), Radically Ambitious

4. Build your street cred “You need to figure out a way to make working with you seem less risky. You say that you’re looking for experts, but YOU need to be an expert, too. Focus on building your credibility as a thought leader. Blogging about your industry is a good place to start. Also, get involved in communities where people in your industry are interacting with each other. Start talking and see who talks back.”
 – Ryan Paugh (@ryanpaugh), Brazen Careerist

5. Compensate them when you get funding “It’s time you start joining meaningful networks in your new industry. Find sub-groups on LinkedIn, join associations, and ask friends for referrals. If you don’t have cash to offer for compensation, you’ll have to offer equity. Another option is to offer these experts deferred payments, which you’ll pay immediately upon funding.”
 – Tina Wells (@fashiontw), Buzz Marketing Group

6. Show them you have a concrete plan “You are going to have to work out an equity or compensation plan. The more concrete the numbers and percentages, the better. This will allow people to see the big picture. Have a clear vision of the future and a specific game plan to make it a reality.”
– Nick Friedman (@NickFriedman1), College Hunks Hauling Junk

7. Pay on performance “If you believe in your idea and can’t pay them as employees, then treat them like partners and pay them performance-based equity compensation. Once they achieve certain milestones with certain time periods they will receive x shares in your company.”
 – Lucas Sommer (@audimated), Audimated

8. Passionate people get better access “If you really believe in what you’re doing 100% and have a plan of attack, it’s hard to ignore passion. Start by reaching out to experts and commenting on their blogs. Then go to industry conferences and introduce yourself to them afterward. Experts are busy so you have to do more than just send an email. Be persistent but not annoying.
 – Adam Gilbert (http://www.twitter.com/mybodytutor), My Body Tutor

Article from BNET

From Entrepreneur online

Consider these six tips from small-business owners and experts before deciding on a website name.
By Jane Porter | March 31, 2011

Navigating the world of domain names can be a daunting task if you're not up to speed on how to get one. With countless caveats and hosting companies out there, it's easy to be overwhelmed or worse, make a mistake that could ultimately cripple your business. Consider these do's and don'ts from small-business owners and experts to help secure your company's domain name.

Do: Include a location or keywords in your domain name, if you can. If your business focuses on a geographic region, try to put the location into the name of your domain, says Jean Bedord, a Silicon Valley-based search consultant and author of the book I've Got a Domain Name--Now What??? When Mikalai Krivenko needed a domain for his painting business in Hoboken, N.J., in 2009, his son Yuriy, a Jersey City, N.J.-based search-optimization specialist, suggested he put "Hoboken" in the name. For $11, Krivenko bought hobokenpainter.com, which shows up at the top of keyword searches that include "Hoboken" and "painter."

Whether it's location, or what your company does, Krivenko advises: "Put the most important keyword for your industry in the domain name."

 Do: Register yourself as the owner of the domain name. Some business owners make the mistake of not checking to ensure whoever registers their domain name does so under the business owner's name. It's very important to be sure you are the domain owner and administrative contact, says Bedord. "It's just like a piece of property. If you don't own the property, you can't sell an existing business," she says. It's an obvious, yet common, mistake made by business owners.

Three years after Graham Hunt, 44, started his real estate firm Valencia Property in Spain in 2000, the two-person web design team he hired to build his site split and he had to choose between them. Hunt soon discovered the partner he didn't choose had registered himself as the owner and administrative contact for the domain name, so Hunt didn't own his own website. It took three years and he ended up paying the disgruntled partner nearly $6,000 in sales commission fees to get back ownership of the domain, which originally cost just $15.

Do: Remember to renew your domain name registration. When Nick Hoffmann, 32, missed the renewal of his networking company's domain name inetguru.com in 2000, it was a crippling business blow. The name got bought by someone else and without email access through the site, Hoffmann lost contact with clients. Eventually, he folded the company. Now working as chief operating officer for an aftermarket marketplace for domains, Hoffmann suggests buying a registration for five or 10 years upfront, or setting up an annual auto-renew payment. Just make sure the credit card on file doesn't expire, another common mistake that might lead to losing a domain name. "The whole aftermarket industry is based on names that drop off," he says. "It happens every day."

Don't: Use dashes, abbreviations or numbers in your domain name. Instead, come up with a catchy name that's easy to remember and captures your business. Fan Bi, co-founder of Blank Label, a Boston-based online custom dress shirt company learned that lesson when settling on a domain in 2008. At the time, blanklabel.com was out of his price range at $15,000. Bi chose blank-label.com for a much cheaper $250. But as the business grew, he realized the hyphenated name was far from the best choice. "You get much more word-of-mouth if it's a name you can easily say without having to spell out," Bi says. Last year, after months of negotiation with the domain owner, he was able to purchase blanklabel.com for $6,000. Just three months after the change, website traffic shot up 25%. Don't: Waste money on extensions other than .com. When you register your domain name, you'll be bombarded with offers to purchase other versions like .net and .co. For most small businesses, that's not needed. Investing in other extensions becomes important when patenting something or protecting a trademark, says Bedord. If you think a competitor might want the .net version of your domain name, for example, consider taking it first. "The reality is you have to pay for every one of those," Bedord says. "The value is really in the .com."

Don't: Buy a domain without checking into its past. Even available domains can be exposed to legal trouble if the name is too similar to another company's trademark. Nearly a year after launching New York-based LEEDTeacher in 2009, Zachary Rose learned the domain LEEDTeacher.com infringed on the registered trademark of a massive nonprofit. Rose, now 29, received a cease-and-desist letter demanding he change the name of his green jobs training firm, and shut down the website. He ultimately paid $2,000 in lawyer fees, renamed the company Green Education Services and switched the domain to GreenEDU.com. * Related: Protecting Your Business with a Trademark Aside from consulting a lawyer, check www.whois.net, which lists registered domain names, for other possible legal landmines, suggests Rose. The site also includes expired domains up for grabs, and you can learn what problems a name comes with. For example, if a previous domain owner violated a Google term and was banned from Google searches, you'll want to know before investing in the name, Rose says.

I am subcribed to an online newsletter from SmartBriefs and they have some very awesome articles so I wanted to share one from today. Even though geared to the job environment, the information applies to anyone.  For those folks that are not introverts,  I hope this article serves to give you a glimpse of who they are  and also helps you see differently the person that is completely opposite of you.   Take the time to get to know them... you might be surprised!!

Jennifer Kahnweiler, Ph.D., is the author of The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength and the founder of AboutYOU, a career and leadership consulting company. Smartbrief recently asked Kahnweiler questions about the challenges and advantages of being an introvert. An edited version of her responses follows.

Why do introverts often get overlooked in the workplace? According to my research—a two-and-a-half-year national study— introverts are routinely ignored, overlooked and misunderstood at work. The good news?

When introverts confront their key challenges, they can learn to manage them. The top three:
1. Project overload. Introverts tend to have difficulty saying no and find it equally hard to ask for help or direction. As a result, they frequently feel overloaded with projects and deadlines—hurting their on-the-job performance.
2. Underselling. Introverts typically stay mum about their accomplishments—seeming to abide by the old Southern adage, “Don’t brag on yourself.” Yet today careers are made or broken by what others know about a person’s skills and potential. Introverts, therefore, regularly miss out simply because they don’t sell themselves.
3. Failure to “play the game.” Introverts inherently retreat from office politics. Sure, politics can be nasty, but much of the game is natural and necessary, particularly for building relationships up and down an organization. Introverts, with their desire to be low-key, often fail to sniff out important politicking opportunities and wind up watching their extroverted colleagues get ahead.

 What are some ways that an introvert can leverage his or her disposition?  Entertainer Victor Borge said, “A smile is the shortest distance between two people.” As an introvert, you can overcome perceptions of being standoffish or too serious by smiling, laughing, and letting your humor come out. Also, ask great questions (being an introvert, you already know how to listen and learn from the answers), use your depth to help engage and connect with people, and show your smarts by contributing earlier in meetings and conference calls.

How can social networks help an introverted person? Social networking Web sites let your fingers do the talking—allowing you to communicate with people how you want to, when you want to. You can prepare for first-time meetings, send helpful “news you can use” items, and warm up cold leads—all in a low-key, yet friendly way. You can also create an online “brand” that has a wide reach.

So as I have mentioned.. my time with the current company I work with is coming to an end after almost 6 years and I have been reaching out to special folks to say my farewell and to exchange contact information.  One of those being the person that hired me (John).. I was thinking today, how much I missed his leadership and what an amazing person he is.. after working with John for almost two years, he transferred to Europe. Today,  one of the managers mentioned that he heard from Steve Farber. Steve is an author of a book called "Radical Leap" and the book is about EXTREME leadership and in the story he describes a leader who is very similar to who John is as a leader. As things happen, we had the pleasure of meeting and  introducing Steve Farber to a group of elite university students  we mentored as well as the having Steve visit us here at the office and conduct a round table about leadership and our experiene with John as he left a deep impression on many of us.

Well, Steve is writing a new book and I definitely enjoyed his writings, and interacting with him while doing round tables with the students and meeting with us here so I also wanted to share his site and his book with the leadership of the challenge and with the challengers.. its an easy read with so many golden nuggets.  Here is the link to his blog and books: Steve Farber

I have had the pleasure of working with wonderful leaders although what made John so special was his unique interest in you and his sincerity and his energy which was 2nd to none... now, I can tell you he was tough and that was ok--because you knew he cared and you had his support.  He challenged each member of the team to get out of their comfort zone and to be better--always doing the right thing and in the best interest of the team.  He was big on team.. so as I recall my experience with John, an Extreme Leader,I also want to share with everyone..as I do believe a leader does not necessarily have to have the title or be related to business.. it can be anyone under many circumstances. What kind of leader do you want to be?

Here is a bit more from Steve on Extreme Leadership!

Choose to be Extreme : LEAP
Pursue the OS!M (Oh Shit! Moment)
Cultivate Love
Generate Energy
Inspire    Audacity
Provide    Proof

Choose to be Extreme
Here's the problem: many people who call themselves leaders are only posing. They're wearing the label or accepting the title without putting their skin in the game. So I'm asking you -- assuming that you really do aspire to lead -- to approach the act of leadership as you'd approach an extreme sport: learn to love the fear and exhilaration that naturally comes with the territory. And that takes a personal commitment and a significant, personal choice. As my friend and colleague, Terry Pearce, said in an article in the San Francisco Examiner: "There are many people who think they want to be matadors, only to find themselves in the ring with two thousand pounds of bull bearing down on them, and then discover that what they really wanted was to wear tight pants and hear the crowd roar."

If, however, you do make the choice to leap into the ring, it's because of your love of the challenge, the adventure, and that love is what makes the fear of the "sport" worthwhile. Not only do you accept the fear as part of the experience, the fear -- in large part -- creates and defines the experience. Extreme would not be extreme without fear. And fear would not be worth it without the love of the game.

The same is true of Extreme Leadership: it is the dynamic interplay of fear and love-two of the most powerful forces in the human experience. And in my estimation, those who actively and intentionally use the experience of fear and love everyday in their attempts to change things for the better -- in whatever arena -- are Extreme Leaders.
Read on if you're ready to make that choice … more

This blog comes from Zen Habits one of my favorite sites for motivation and connecting with inner self. As we get caught up in the everyday noise of business and family life it is always good to take time for yourself and reflection as well as recharge the batteries. Sites as this one help accomplish that.  Today's blog topic is about something you and I face everyday.. how do you handle criticism?

This blog posting is by Leo Babauta

Conventional people are roused to fury by departure from convention, largely because they regard such departure as a criticism of themselves.’ ~Bertrand Russell

If you’re going to do anything interesting in the world, criticism is an unavoidable fact. You’ll be criticized, because you’ll make mistakes, because some will be jealous, because people have opinions about anything interesting, because people want to help you, because some want to drag down those doing anything different.

The trick to navigating the icebergs of criticism is to figure out which are helpful, and steer clear of those that aren’t. And above all, do it with grace.

Criticism on Zen Habits Once Zen Habits started to take off — I had 26K subscribers at the end of my first year in 2007 — I received all kinds of criticism. Many of them were from new readers, who were mostly incredibly positive and encouraging, but who sometimes would leave scathing comments on a post. I learned a tactic that worked extremely well. If a comment was mean, I’d take a minute to calm myself down, and then ask, “Does this person have a point (despite their rude tone)?” Then I would respond and thank the commenter for his criticism. I’d acknowledge their point without being defensive. I’d respond with my reasoning, if I felt I had a point, or if the critic was right I would agree and let them know I was going to change things. Either way, I was grateful for their criticism.

This had a startling effect: the commenter would often respond very positively. Thanking the commenter and acknowledging their point is disarming. People who leave rude comments don’t expect you to listen to them, much less be grateful and empathetic. I had many of my critics become friends after doing that — I’ve never seen a tactic have better results. I’d also get criticism from other sites. My usual response has been to ask myself (again, after calming down), “Does this person have a point?” If they do, I’ll see what I can do to change. If not, I’ll move on. I’ve learned that criticism is a fact of the game. I can respond with anger, or let it stop me from doing things, or I can let it help me. Or accept that it’s there and move on. I choose the last two.

How Not To Handle Criticism
Criticism can bring you down if you let it. People get discouraged when faced with criticism, and just give up. That can be understandable, but why let the words of someone having a bad day (or month) stop you from doing something great? What would have happened if Shakespeare had stopped writing the first time an audience member jeered one of his lines? Or if Gandhi had given up just because the Brits weren’t happy with his ways?

Often people will instead respond to criticism with anger. They’ll lash out, attack, become defensive and aggressive. If you haven’t read this now-infamous comment thread for a review of an indie book, I highly recommend it. The review is fine, but the comments left by the author of the book are simply incredible. She’s a train wreck that you can’t look away from. This is how not to respond to criticism. It was the worst way to react. If you’re angry, you do not tell people to fuck off. You do not attack them, blame them for your mistakes, deny that you made any mistakes, and feed fuel to the fire by compounding your mistakes with more mistakes. It would be so much better just to stay silent.

Do Amazing Things
Don’t let criticism stop you from doing anything. If someone tells you that your writing sucks, keep doing it. Make it better. Study people who do it well and rip them off, then make it your own and let your voice infuse what you do. Be great by being honest, by seeking the truth and telling that truth when no one else will.

Create amazing things.
Contribute to the world, make the version of the world you want to see. Go out and do something different. Don’t do things just because everyone else does it. Here’s a secret: If you find yourself swimming along with all the other fishes, swim the other way. They don’t know where they’re going either.

Do something amazing, and share it with the world. Criticism can be necessary, but often it is just dragging down the people trying to do amazing things. Don’t let it stop you.

How to Handle It Gracefully
Calm yourself down before responding. Always. Responding to a critic in anger is never, ever, ever a good idea. In case I didn’t make that clear: don’t ever ever ever respond in anger. Ask yourself why the criticism was made. Is the person trying to help, to make things better, to help you avoid making mistakes, to suggest positive improvements? Is the person just in a cranky rude mood, having a bad day? Is the person just mean, or jealous? Is there good reason for the criticism? Regardless of the motivation, ask yourself if there is validity in the criticism. Sometimes there really is, but instead of letting that get you down, let it help you improve. Admit that you’re not perfect at what you do (though you are perfect), and that not everything you do is exactly right, and that you want to improve. I, for one, certainly make mistakes all the time and have a lot I can improve. Thank the person offering the criticism. Sometimes they’re coming from a place of wanting to help you. That takes courage, and is a very generous thing. Be grateful for that. Even when they’re not trying to be helpful, they’ve taken the time to respond to you — and trust me, getting a response is better than absolute silence. Provoking a reaction means you’ve done something interesting — and for that, you should be thankful. Either way, thanking the critic will help lead to a positive exchange. Respond rationally and calmly. Instead of being defensive, be honest. Share your reasons, acknowledge the other person’s points if there’s any validity, and come to a rational conclusion rather than jealously guarding your way of doing things. Or stay silent. If you can’t respond with grace, then just don’t respond. Silence is a much better response than anger or defensiveness or quitting. Carry on. You’ve responded gracefully, now get back to doing your amazing things.

5 Keys to Identify Areas Ripe for Flips Flipping properties has become a very attractive strategy for beginners and experienced investors. If bought right, rehabbed right and sold fast you can really achieve a high annualized return. It definitely requires a lot more expertise and is more risky than many other strategies but done right can lead to big profits.

Here are 5 keys to identify areas ripe for flips.
1. High end blue collar areas – High end blue collar areas are ideal for finding prospects to flip. Warzones will not work and the nicer suburbs will have too much competition from owner occupants who are willing to outbid you and pay retail. These areas represent the largest portion of the population, thus you have the most houses to choose from and the most buyers.
 2. Big discount for distressed sales vs retail sales prices – Identify areas with a big difference between retail sales and distressed sales like REOs. You will find in suburbs that the discount for a foreclosure is not too high and the numbers usually don’t work. Certain areas though there is a huge gap in price between REOs and retail sales, this is your goldmine. For example, we have located 3 flips in a neighborhood where purchase is in the 30s and retail sold comps are 80-120K. That leaves plenty of room for big profits after rehab.
3. Number of sold comps vs for sale comps are close to even – This is very important, you may be getting a big discount but you may have 20 for sale properties in the neighborhood and only 5 sold comps. This means way more supply then demand, your flip could take forever and you may have to drop your price a lot to sell. Make sure there are close to as many sold comps and for sale comps. If more sold comps, even better.
4. Mostly home owners – Make sure the area is mostly home owners. Some renters are fine, but too many renters and the area could take a turn for the worse. Buyers will sense this and may not pull the trigger on an offer.
5. Pride of ownership – The owners in the neighborhood must take care of their property. Beat up houses scare people away, nice houses and recent improvement show pride and attract buyers.

These keys are very important to finding flips. It is highly recommended to do some research and find these areas to target then take massive action. You can easily set up a mailer campaign to foreclosures and other lists in these zip codes, use bandit signs, buy REOs, buy at the auctions, etc. This is all very targeted marketing, which will lead to much better results than doing this everywhere. Now, good real estate agents can help you identify these areas. You can also research yourself by analyzing sales from public records, use zillow and drive the neighborhoods yourself. The deals are out there. Identify these flip goldmines and you may be the next expert flipper in your city.

Sharing Article by
 Ryan Moeller.

Far too often we get caught up in the endless cycle of competition. If we’re not ahead , many times we become stale and depressed. Our obsession with comparing ourselves to others, has left us feeling dejected and alone. If someone else succeeds, we secretly wish it was us rather than them. I know I’ve felt this way plenty of times. But why? Comparing yourself to others is a worthless cause. While competition can provide for some solid motivation every now and then, the truth is your only competition is you. It’s taken me a while to realize this, and in some regards I’m still learning, but you must focus on only the things you can control. Over the past few years I’ve worked on taming my ego and have seen tremendous results as in the process. Instead of wasting my time comparing myself to others , I’ve learned to focus on only what I can change, me. That’s not to say I don’t keep up with other personal development blogs or care whats going on in the world. But rather I’ve simply dropped my obsession with knowing what others are doing. To provide value you must focus on creating not comparing... 

Check out the rest of the blog at A boundless World
I have had the same sentiments since I was a young adult and can say that my toughest competitor is me!  --Georgina

"Don’t be afraid of competition but rather embrace it. This doesn’t mean to compare yourself to others but rather use others success as motivation."

Coach John Wooden of Westwood (A Messenger on Call)
from the book Pyramid of Success.

Coach John Wooden of Westwood has a message for all.  Industriousness and enthusiasm, the conerstones of his call. Focused on freindship and loyality, he stresses cooperation and mastery of intentness of initiative through self-controlled participation.

Not to forget alertness and condition in developing team spirit's skill of
maturing competitive greatness, poise and confidence to fulfull.

Inspired by sincerity of ambition and an honest desire to be "as He,"
men and women can achieve their best through responsible adaptability.

Reliability on the resourcefulness possessed in integrity's might is the victory of the good fight of faith, through patience's insight.

So the message of life, Coach Wooden's call-- SUCCESS is a reward to anyone who gives his all.

     Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be
     understood -- Marie Curie

     Yes, this is me and I am walking on  real broken
     glass!   This exercise is  about conquering fears
     although for me it really also emphasized the  
     power  of coaching.   It gets easier each time and 
     with  the right  instructions and guidance you can
    walk  across the  glass and have absolutely no cuts!  Yes, it really does  get  easier  and with time I am sure  you can  do it  on your own as well.  I also know that as  you grow and move to the next level there is always a benefit  to having a mentor/coach.   This is why I am so excited  about the MMM Challenge.  I know that the guidance of those that have already walked the path has no price tag.  The opportunity created by Rick and Danny when they put this together is amazing and the icing on the cake was that it really was for free.  So it is not something to pass by or take lightly and so with challenge #2 -- I am definitley putting aside being modest and talking about me (if you knew me a couple of years ago you would know --this is not something I would do). 

Today I will write about a few of my strongest core competencies.  One which  is a necesity in the Real Estate environment is being a Team Player.  My first career is the foundation of who I am-- I was an Emergency Room Nurse and there was no way of being an ER Nurse if you could not be a team player because peoples life's depended on you and how you worked with the  rest of the team.  There is no other job where being a team player is so critical -- I learned that well and used that througout my career in Sales.  At the same time you needed to know how to and when to take Initiative--sometimes in a split second, you needed to take the lead while the rest of the team assembled or the MD showed up!  Being an assistant in sales there are decisions made and  interactions  in the  absence of the the sales director or field sales representative.  The key is knowing the business, the product, and the person(s) whom you work with.   I loved being a nurse and I am grateful that career was the foundation to who I am as a professional and person.  I am a healer at heart,  and always will be.  When I look at  Real Estate, I see how I am  able to extend that healing and helpful  hand to people who really need it.  I also as a nurse learned to be an Educator .  I currently work with homeowners facing foreclosure and what I  enjoy the most is when I am educating the homeowner on  their options and I see their relief because they  felt there was no solution to their problem and they are desperate to keep their home.  Their smile and the thank you are the biggest gifts.

I am Passionate and want  to do more and to do  that means having the life style that will allow me to do it .  The vehicle is  REI and the MMM  Challenge and why I am here and can only see myself as  one of the 36! 

With Love & Light,
Lady G

Every morning part of my routine is to check my facebook pages and post inspirational quotes, videos, or informative articles so this morning I found this video and I am sharing with my fellow challengers to inspire and motivate you as I have been.

As I watched it,  I thought about how I felt when I did not get "the call" during the first MMM Challenge and of course I was disappointed although I do truly believe things happen for a reason so what I did not do was let go of my dream, I feel it, and I believe it, and I do know that I will do this  via the MMM Challenge or via another path. It will be and if there is anything I can give you today, it is to tell you to dream big! Feel it, Believe , Achieve it!

With Love & Light!  Lady G   @Tom, I like the alias you gave me :-)