Today I want to share with you something that I did very poorly when I started in real estate. If you want to be a real estate investor, you need to think of yourself as a real estate investor, and you need to tell people that you are a real estate investor. I don't care if you have another full-time job--if you're investing in real estate, you're a real estate investor.

This business cannot and should not be done in secrecy. When I started, I was embarrassed to tell friends and family about my business because I was worried that I would look stupid if I didn't do well or if I decided real estate wasn't for me. But connections are essential to this business, and if no one knows that you're investing in real estate, you have significantly handicapped your ability to do deals.

Once I started telling people about my business, opportunities started opening up for me. I realized that acquaintances were excited about what I was doing, and they were even sending work my way! These are leads that I never would have gotten had I stayed quiet about my business.

Tell everyone you know that you are looking to buy real estate. You never know who will know someone who knows someone with something to sell!