Originally posted by sleepie1084:
Right now I am going to college majoring in Business Administration. I don't see myself as going to college to get a degree. I see myself as going to college to learn how to run a business.



[sigh]. This is completely the wrong attitude. Colleges can teach you how to make a chemical reaction, they can teach you how to write a paper, but no college in the world can truly teach you how to run a business. That only comes from experience. Even with experience, some people just aren't that good at it... it takes equal parts natural talent, luck, and EDUCATION.

Change your outlook... if you think that you're only going to college to learn how to run a business, you wont get much out of it. If you start to think that you're going to college to get an education, you'll be much more successful. You wouldn't believe how many CEOs I've run into that can't write a complete sentence, or come up with these good ideas and don't have the slightest clue on how to implement them. To be truly successful, you have to have the total package, and that comes chiefly through education.

Originally posted by sleepie1084:
Recently however, I've been interested in real estate. She told me that I need to just focus on one thing, and stick it through and stop bouncing around. So I decided I may try to go through with the real estate thing. She also said that that is a very thick market that a lot of people are in. I understand that too. But what says that i can't be successful at that?

Nothing at all wrong with bouncing around, but the more hats you put in the ring, the less focus you can put on any one of them, and if you really want to be a millionaire, you need to be highly focused on success... running your business efficiently and growing it steadily. If you are trying to do 30 things at once, or only doing one thing for 6 months or a year at a time then jumping to something else, you'll never make it. NEVER. Pick something you like and that you feel you can grow in, and concentrate on it. Once you've made your millions, feel free to dabble around in other areas that interest you.

Originally posted by sleepie1084:
But anyway.. Is anyone into real estate? My number one goal in life is to be a millionaire.. Now I know that everyone pretty much has this goal, but I've had this goal my ENTIRE life, and it gets more and more stressful as I get older because it seems like time is running out. I want to be young and rich.

Relax... more than likely, its not gonna happen. Real money takes either a great idea, a big inheritence, or experience. You're probably not going to inherit a ton of money, and it sounds like, based on your noncommittal attitude, that you don't have a breakthrough idea, so your real bet is on experience, and experience=age. Don't think that you're going to become a millionaire at 20, and that's one more dream you won't have to have crushed. Focus on becoming a millionaire by 30... that's much more reasonable.

Originally posted by sleepie1084:
And I would love to eventually get to that status, however, my dreams and my knowledge are on 2 different playing fields, and many times I'm told to be "realistic". As tough as that may be on my self esteem, sometimes it seems as though I should take that advice.. Well, just any thoughts/ comments would be greatly appreciated, even if it is, "BE REALISTIC". Thanks. Sorry for the long post.

That's my advice... be realistic.

Now that i've had my soap box time... I have not done any work in real estate, but my step-sister has... it IS a tough market to crack because there are so few barriers to entry. It varies by state, but in Indiana, you don't even need a college degree, you just have to pass a certification course. With so many people able to get in so easily, its difficult, though certainly not impossible, to get above the crowd.

Keys to success in Residential real estate are your Rolodex and your ability to market yourself, since there's no real negotiations that go on, and making money is dependant directly on how many houses you sell and what types of houses you sell... therefore the more people you know and the better you are at getting your name and face out there, the more people that are going to come to you to sell their house.

If you REALLY want to get into real estate and make it big, go commercial. Get your *education*, then go to work for a commercial realty firm, preferrably in an analyst role. There, you will be able to directly learn how you value commercial properties and leases, and how, exactly, to make money in commercial real estate. Then you can go off and start your own firm and make millions... but NOT BEFORE you get the EXPERIENCE!!!!!

HTH

Diesel owns you