As I work to build my digital cashflow streams through affiliate marketing niche websites, I find myself trying to learn each aspect of how it all comes together. I am a big believer in self-education. I want to soak up everything I can and understand it all.  My mindset has previously been: how can I expect associates and employees to do something I have not done myself? As I reflect on that mindset writing this article, I realize how limiting that is for me as a business owner. 
 
In this example, I was trying to write some keyword content in the health space. We needed about a thousand words filled with good material all focused on a specific growth strategy we have targeted. I got about 500 words down, sent it to my team members for review and asked them to tell me what they think the article’s title should be that would best summarize the content.  Each of them came back with something different than what the article was supposed to be about. And each of them was exactly right. I had written 500 words of crap – not focused and simply grabbing at key words wherever I could possibly plug them in. 
 
I am grateful I only spent a few hours writing before getting that feedback and coming to this realization. I could have wasted time not only writing non-performing SEO content but then posting it and waiting for it to perform to a level that it was incapable of.
 
The question to ask yourself is NOT – “CAN I do it?”  As entrepreneurs – we can all figure out a way to get it done. Come hell or high water – an entrepreneur’s relentless stubbornness to accomplish a task they set out to do can be both a gift and a curse.
 
The question to ask yourself IS – “SHOULD I do it?” Should you be doing the task yourself or should you plug in a team member or contractor to do it? Based on my lack of SEO content creation skill, the answer is simple. It highlighted a gap in my ownership mentality that I am grateful to have received so early on.
 
My focus is, ultimately, on setting up the business and its team members to succeed.  That success depends on my ability to establish the strategic vision and execute with my team – measuring KPIs and steering as we go. My income stream and cashflow performance depend on it. For this content creation project, the solution is simple and cheap. I have a content group that can knock out the work for less than $100 allowing me to simply plug and play while I focus on other tasks such as analyzing current performance and outlining our next moves to make.
 
If you find yourself in a similar situation (doing something because you want to learn – not because it is best for the business), I’d suggest you reflect on your strategic goals and make the choice that best suits your business. You CAN do anything. Of all that you can do, there are a few things you SHOULD do.  BE STRATEGIC. Failure to do so may lead to significant amounts of wasted time and capital.  ​

​Selecting a real estate niche to focus on can be a daunting task, to say the least. The sheer volume of real estate niches to participate is simply overwhelming.  From buy/hold to rehab/flip; from notes, to rentals, to AirBnB; from single family to commercial (multi family, self-storage, office, mobile home parks, etc.) - the list and combinations of ways to get involved in real estate seems endless. 
 
I share the story of how my interest in real estate went from a hobby to a necessity HERE.  Suffice it to say that my reasons for investing in real estate and business are very personal to me as the platforms have helped to bring a level of financial stability to my family during a very tragic time in our lives. From certain events that occurred in 2016, I have developed (and continue to actively build) a rather unique portfolio of investments in a variety of asset classes. While some of my real estate investments are active (flip/rehab and note investing), others are passively made through syndications (multi-family, mobile home parks and self storage).  
 
Some people have very passionate positions related to only focusing on one niche at a time.  While I agree there is value in that, I ultimately believe a selection of niches to get involved in are best chosen when one gets educated, establishes clear goals taking into account their "why" and assesses their unique skill sets accompanied with their time available.

 ​Learning a new subject, for me, is a process and takes a lot of time. I am very analytical in nature. Ultimately, I learn best by experiencing (seeing, touching, feeling, etc.) as well as reading and studying. I enjoy receiving feedback and personal growth (both on my own and in a team environment). To just read, I cannot comprehensively grasp various concepts. In real estate and business, failure to get adequately educated can be a rather expensive misstep.  I have spent a little over a year reading books, listening to podcasts, attending classes and investing in myself.  Without a multi-faceted approach to education, I would feel less than adequate as I set out to put my money (or my family's) to work. 
 
I started my education, like many, by reading Rich Dad Poor Dad. From there, I played board games, read articles, attended meetups and listened to podcast interviews. From there, my web of resources continually grew. For example, I listened to a podcast interview, dug into the guest’s website and content and found three other resources.  Every week I was finding new content.  To this day, my network of tools and resources seems to grow by the week from reading/listening and then digging around the internet for other guest content. 
 
As a side note, who you get your educational resources or mentorship input from is an important step. After some bad choices, my decisions are now based on input from people I trust who have used or worked with the same people offering training or mentorship.  I am no longer the guinea pig.  There are many guru’s out there teaching lessons that may be applicable in some circumstances and not in others.  Ultimately, you have to make educated decisions on who to listen to or what deals to invest in. I would suggest that you achieve some level of alignment with any of those parties by ensuring their interests and yours are consistent and fair to you. If they can win (big or small) while you lose alone (big or small), that is not alignment and not a mentor or resource worth investing your time or money with. 

​Ultimately, the selection of where to focus your money and energy needs to be fully aligned with your WHY.  If it is not, it will be nearly impossible to maintain momentum or push past obstacles when the going gets tough.
 
For me, I have a goal of financial independence through multiple streams of income. Ultimately, my WHY is to provide stability and peace of mind to my family allowing us to live a life of fulfillment. I lose sleep thinking about having all of my eggs in one basket (W2 income job, single property, single region, single business, etc.). Other people are perfectly content having diversification in a single niche (multiple assets in one zip code or city).  Neither method is right or wrong.  Both are right based on one’s WHY.
 
My company missions contain specific language related to diversification of income streams and capital preservation. My vision boards and sticky notes remind me daily that I MUST FOCUS on ensuring that I develop and maintain these multiple streams of income.
 
With the income streams in mind (driven by my WHY), I segment that into my household’s goals and that of my mom’s retirement.  This segmentation may be unique to my situation, but the principles of each segment apply to anyone.
 
 
Segment 1 – my household/personal financial goals
 
For my household, in addition to a W2 income job where I have a small equity interest and fiduciary responsibility, I have chosen to focus on generating additional monthly cashflow through real estate and digital business investing.  To accomplish this strategic scope of work, JBG Capital was born.  In real estate, I create mortgage notes in target zip codes where rental rates and rehabbed property values merge to form a unique opportunity for renters who want to be home buyers. This is conducted through a partnership, NoteFlow. We will get more into my reasons for creating mortgage notes (acting as the BANK rather than the landlord) as well as the power of a partnership in another post.
​
As a side note to this post - In the digital arena, I buy existing web-based businesses (affiliate, AdSense and e-commerce) where I can make slight tweaks to existing operations to realize immediate increases to the bottom line. Again, we will get more into my thoughts on each monetary model in another non-real estate specific post.
 
Each of my cashflow focuses requires my active participation currently. However, the long-term vision is to set up each cashflow funnel to operate with its own management, then becoming passive for me and allowing me to spend my time doing things I find more fulfilling.
 
 
Segment 2 – my mom’s financial investment goals
 
As the stock markets fluctuated, we found ourselves worried about the potential of my mom’s monthly income being negatively impacted during a down turn. Rather than sit on the sideline waiting for that day to come, we decided to act by forming M56 Capital.
 
In order to achieve diversification to a level we felt most comfortable, we have chosen to get 65% of our capital into passive real estate syndications and 35% in balanced market holdings. 
 
Our family’s objective with this investment split is to have the syndications produce repeatable income protected by physical assets and spread across multiple asset classes and geographic locations throughout the country. 

​When reviewing a deal, we are most concerned with the OPERATOR/SYNDICATOR and then the business plan they plan to execute. Further, from a very high level, we look for:

• a stated and proven commitment to capital preservation.
• general partners each participating with same cash investment as limited partner.
• annualized preferred cash on cash returns of 8% or greater
• 22% annualized cash-on-cash return (including profits from sale) 
• 18% Internal Rate of Return or greater.
• equity splits of 70%/30% (70 percentile to preferred investor).
• Monthly or quarterly distributions (for the retirement income).
• the target timeline of initial investment amount returns are 3-5 years. 

​Based on the business plan and opportunity presented, the investment return is more of a rule of thumb – not a requirement.  

The next things to consider when choosing a real estate niche is understanding what your skillsets are and how much time you have to spend. Time spent means not only project execution in a niche but the education to learn how your niche works, as well.
 
One usually has a good idea of where they may be strong or weak on specific tasks.  If not, it will be exposed through experience as you get involved in a niche of interest. 
 
Single family investing
 
Through my experience on personal rehab/flip as well as renting, I had a difficult time babysitting the progress of each project or tenants. With a W2 income job, I struggled to find the time to manage each project (contractors, inspections, etc.) as well as adequately service my rental when something came up.  A better contractor and outsourcing property management are both ideal solutions to each of my issues but I was unable to effectively pivot for various reasons on each example.
 
As a solution to filling voids where I lacked proper skill or time, I was able to plug in an aligned business partner by forming Noteflow.  Through a relationship I had developed over 6+ months, I decided to partner with an experienced full-time investor that could offset the areas I wasn’t able to cover well.  I enjoyed and was better at sourcing capital (private and institutional). I also enjoy the regulatory and compliance related matters of our business model when inserting consumers into home mortgages. This is something my partner can do but is able to leave to me so she can focus on other areas where I either do not have time or am not good at.
 
Commercial Syndication investing
 
I believe in the power of multiple doors and the economies of scale one can achieve through proper business planning and execution. I don’t like the idea of not collecting income on an asset just because one guy moves out or one industry’s growth bubble bursts.  With time, I plan to get actively involved in the commercial syndication arena.  At this time, with my stated mission, available time and other fiduciary obligations, I have decided to align myself and my family’s capital with trusted business partners known as syndicators or operators.
 
Not being an expert in any of these specific asset classes, I find myself learning a massive amount and networking considerably as I look to find partners that align with our goals and values. Next week’s post will cover the methods I use to determine which deal as well as commercial syndication/operator to invest in.  That is a whole other animal (and a critical topic, for that matter).

As stated previously, I believe in the power of diversification. Not only in niche or business types but geographically as well.  To meet our diversification goal, M56 Capital currently has invested passively in:

• Multifamily assets in various Texas cities
• Self-storage assets in a fund covering 13 states
• Mobile home parks in various southeastern states

We intend to further diversify geographically in each of these commercial asset classes based on deal and operator specifics.

If you can get a solid foundation based on education to build from, you are focused on your “WHY” and you have clarity on your unique skillsets as well as time availability, your choice to pick one niche or multiple is well justified and can be successfully executed. ​