Starting and growing a successful real estate wholesaling business takes grit. In this post, we'll share Trevor's journey to financial freedom through real estate investing, including the challenges he faced and how he overcame them.
Trevor's Not-So-Great Sales Job
After college, Trevor started working a sales job. At first, it was great - he enjoyed the work and was making decent money. But then things took a turn for the worse.
The company changed the commission structure, slashing earnings potential. On top of that, they started overworking employees by:
- Making them work evenings and weekends
- Extending workdays to 10+ hours
- Loading them up with 200+ accounts each
Trevor was miserable. The job was negatively impacting his mental health, relationships, and general well-being. He knew he had to make a change before it was too late.
Taking a Leap of Faith into Real Estate Wholesaling
A friend suggested Trevor look into wholesale real estate. The idea resonated with him. He could take control of his income and schedule while helping others.
While wholesaling wasn't a slam-dunk business idea, Trevor decided to take a chance. He had no experience, but he took a 14-day real estate wholesaling challenge and committed to making it work.
Trevor's First Deal
On just the second step of the challenge, which was creating an online presence, he made his first deal. With just a simple website, Trevor was able to find a distressed property and wholesaled it for a $8,500 profit!
This small win validated that he could make real estate work. Trevor decided to go all in on growing his new business.
Learning the Ropes at a Conference
Shortly after getting started, Trevor attended a real estate conference. It cost him and his wife $2,500 to attend, which was a significant investment when they had only closed one deal so far.
But it was at that conference that everything clicked for Trevor. He learned:
- The entire wholesaling process end-to-end
- How other successful investors structured and grew their businesses
- About tools that could help him scale, like DealMachine and Carrot websites
With this new knowledge, Trevor knew he could turn his budding business into a real success.
The Grind of the Early Days
In the first few years of business, Trevor was in full grind mode. As he puts it:
"In those early days, zero dollars to one hundred thousand dollars, you've got to be on the hamster wheel. You've got to hustle."
Trevor was motivated to push through the tough early days for two big reasons:
- He hated his sales job. Trevor never wanted to go back to that life. The pain of his old job fueled him to hustle non-stop.
- He wanted to prove the naysayers wrong. Friends, family, and colleagues doubted him. Trevor wanted to show them he could succeed in real estate.
Between those motivations and the momentum from his first deals, the hard work didn't bother Trevor too much. He was laying the foundation for a better future.
Scaling the Business with Systems
As his business grew, Trevor started earning between $200k to $300k per year. But the hustle was wearing him down. He realized he couldn't scale much further on hustle alone - he needed systems.
The key to scaling your business as a real estate investor is a team and systems.
Here are a few systems and tools Trevor put in place to take his business to the next level:
- Evergreen marketing: Trevor shifted some of his effort from quick-payoff marketing tactics like driving for dollars to evergreen tactics like ranking his website on Google. This way, he could get seller leads even when he wasn't hustling.
- Google My Business profile: He claimed his Google My Business listing to build online credibility and reviews. According to Trevor, hitting 15+ reviews can really impact local SEO.
- Reviews: Trevor started proactively asking for reviews on Google, Facebook, and his website. Reviews built trust and gave him a competitive edge.
- Team: Trevor hired team members for tasks like driving for dollars that he didn't enjoy. This freed up his time for higher-leverage activities.
Life Today: A Business Trevor is Proud Of
Today, Trevor has done over 400 deals and has a full team operating his business. Real estate wholesaling gave him the life he wanted - flexibility, good income, and fulfillment from helping others.
Trevor couldn't have gotten here without pushing through the difficult early days. It took grit to build something successful. But now he is grateful for the challenges that got him to where he is today.
So if you're just starting in real estate, keep pushing forward. Be patient with yourself, but don't quit. If Trevor can succeed in this business, you can too. The rewards are worth the effort.
“Every time I have pain or fail, it helps me grow. I'm getting stronger. I'm learning things. It's actually good for me. It's done for me. Not to me.” - Trevor Mach
