1. Name: To begin with, decide on your company name. Make sure it is available from your Secretary of State and you probably want the same name as your website address so check to see if the URL is available through a site such as GoDaddy.com.
2. Email address: Along with your company name, set up your company email address.
3. Mailing address: Get a company mailing address. I suggest you use a mailbox store where you can actually get a street address. Do not use a PO Box as that does not look official. Never use your home address for your business, especially if you have tenants.
4. Phone number: You’ll need a company phone number. If you’re concerned about expense, get a family plan through your cell service provider and have one line that is just for business. It’s important to know when a business call is coming in so you know how to answer the phone.
5. Website: To be seen as professional and to improve your credibility, you’ll want to have a website. In the beginning, again being cost conscious, you can set-up a free site through WordPress.com. At some point, you’ll want to invest in a professional site that can be modified to your business specifics. Our websites show our properties and interact with our clients. We also have a back end to our sites where we can add and remove properties and save all client communications.
6. Business Cards: Once you have a name, physical address, email address, phone number and company website, you will want to have business cards printed. Vistaprint.com offers 250 business cards free; all you pay is shipping.
7. LLC: Before you own too many properties, as soon as possible actually, you should have an attorney set up your LLC. You won’t save money getting it online. Your LLC needs articles of incorporation that spell out what you do and how your business will function. Have a real estate attorney set it up keeping in mind the tax benefits real estate offers so you will be able to claim them come tax time. You will not be set up to receive these benefits if you do it yourself online. And, it’s not a good idea to have the properties deeded into your own name so you need an LLC.
8. Marketing: The next step will be to set up your marketing. You can set everything up properly and have an official company but, without customers, you’ll never have a business!
What are reasonable beginning goals? I hope you will have purchased your first property within 90 days. A good goal, especially if you have a job to pay your bills, and I hope you do, is 3 properties the first year. No two deals are the same so,with 3 under your belt, you will have a whole lot of knowledge that you don’t have today.
The important thing for you now is to start moving and to keep moving. Are you ready to begin?
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