Smart Property Investment Through SMART Goals

"Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage, but simply because they have never organised their energies around a goal." Elbert Hubbard, American philanthropist.

January is a time for New Year's resolutions and goal setting. Everyone who has made and not kept a resolution knows it is far easier to set a goal than to achieve it! Regardless of whether we are talking about losing weight, or gaining property for your investment portfolio, the principles are the same.

By the end of this article you will know the eight key strategies to successful goal setting and achieving. First, though, let's look at the one key reason why people fail.

"By this time next year we will be millionaires!"

You can say: "By this time next year I will be making £5,000 a month from my investment properties and will have left my day job." You can sit back and reflect on what this will feel like and how it will have changed your life. You can tell your friends and business associates your plan as well. After all, if you tell everyone you are going to do it, then you have to do it - right?

Not necessarily. You might do it, but your success won't be because you told everyone (although this does play a part and I will expand on this point shortly). The way to realise your goals is to take action!

If you do not take action, you will fail. If you do take action and you follow the strategies I am about to share with you, you have an excellent chance of success.

SMART organisation

It is always wise, before taking any action, to consider the possibilities, outcomes and consequences. So we need to start by ensuring that our goals are ‘SMART'. A SMART goal is: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Ensuring your goals are SMART is the first step to success.

Specific

Make your goal as specific as possible and always express it in positive terms. A specific and positive goal might be: "It is my goal to make a minimum of £2,000 per month from property investment within six months. This will enable me to support myself while I continue to develop my portfolio."

(A non-specific and negative example might be: "I hate my day job and want to make loads of money from property investment so I can walk out.")

Measurable

Find a way to evaluate and measure your success as you progress. How many investment properties do you need to make £2,000 a month? This would likely mean investing in seven to ten properties in the six month timescale. So, you could measure your success by moving towards your goal to invest in at least one new investment property per month.

Achievable

What do you need to achieve this target of buying at least one new investment property per month? You need to work out the capital you will need for deposits and fees and decide if that is achievable.

Axis clients enjoy the benefit of us sourcing workable and valuable deals as part of the service we offer. However, if you are going it alone, you also need to consider how many properties you would need to source and view to meet your target.

Realistic

So, having considered these points, is your goal still realistic? Do you have or can you get the working capital you need? Can you manage taking on between one and two new investment properties a month? Do you need to redefine your goal?

Timely

Here's the part which can make everything fall into place. Is your goal timely? If you are unsure you could manage between seven and ten investment properties in six months (for whatever reason), you could lengthen the timescale to make it more realistic to you.

Your goal could then become to make a minimum of £2,000 per month from property investment within twelve months. Or two years. Or whatever timescale makes your goal a SMART goal.

The magic seven

Creating a SMART goal is the first and most important of the eight success strategies. So, now you have a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely goal it is time to move on to the next part.

1. Align your goals with your attitude to life and personal character. If your goal, no matter how SMART, does not fit with your beliefs and personal character, you will have difficulty achieving it. Can you see, hear and feel yourself as a successful property investor? Does the thought excite you?

2. Share your goal with a few, select, key people. This isn't essential, but sharing a SMART goal with the right people can provide support, inspiration and motivation. Perhaps you might attend a property investment workshop, webinar, or seminar and network with other like-minded people?

3. Assemble everything you need before you need it. This is the preparation part and good preparation always reduces the amount of work required. Again, you might take in an investment workshop, or book a strategy session to ensure you know and have everything you need to progress further. Also, if you are seeking finance, ensure you can obtain it before you sign on the dotted line.

4. Overcome potential challenges. Ensure overconfidence and/or poor planning don't create obstacles down the line. You can do this with three steps. First, create a complete, measurable and timely (SMART!) action plan which includes all the necessary steps you need to take. Secondly, incorporate your required actions into your daily schedule. Thirdly, remember to re-evaluate your progress as you go along. You may need to make adjustments as your SMART goal takes shape, so anticipate this possibility and be flexible.

5. Complete at least one action per day. Consistent daily actions, no matter how small they might seem, have two benefits. First, they are regular steps of action and secondly, they get you into the right mindset.

6. Establish a support system. Becoming an Axis client handles this in one step, as we provide end-to-end support as standard. Attending or joining property investment networking groups and exhibitions are also great ways to do this.

7. Reward yourself. The biggest reward is, of course, achieving your SMART goal. However, if you have a longer term goal, you would do well to give yourself incremental rewards as you go along. For example, you could decide to treat yourself to a holiday when you have hit a particular target.

If you would like some help defining your SMART goals and strategies, you could start with our Smart Guide Freedom Plan Questionnaire. It is free and an excellent resource to get you thinking on the right track to SMART strategy property investment success.

To find out more about our currently available star property investments in the UK, or to simply have a chat about your portfolio requirements and the strategies we offer, call our UK portfolio manager, Russell Bonner, on the UK hotline 0333 444 0034 or email him at russell@axiscontact.com today.

Live with Abundance

Rod Thomas sig