Sharpening The Saw - How To Keep Improving Your Commercial Real

Posted by Nick Niesen on November 8th, 2010

It is absolutely pertinent for every person involved in commercial real estate to be constantly improving their education!

A real estate insider is only as good as his or her information, and this information must be up to date, accurate and relevant to the business of interest. The business of interest could be a certain type of property, such as apartments or raw land, a certain area, such as a specific city or state, or even specific types of deals, such as distressed properties that are offered well below market rate. Whatever the area of interest, the real estate insider must understand his or her market better than anyone else, and constantly keep up with the dynamics of commercial real estate.

In addition to understanding the market defined by his or her area of interest, national and local trends should constantly be monitored, such as mortgage rates, real estate laws, weather anomalies such as hurricanes, and other such influences that affect real estate that are found in the macro environment.

In order to remain sharp and in the know in commercial real estate, there are many things that you can do to continue your commercial real estate education. We must admit that your education does not stop at any point in time with commercial real estate.

The commercial real estate insider must always be growing, learning, finding new tid-bits of information, expanding and improving his or her real estate activities, and fine tuning his or her business model. Success will be found on the largest of scales when this strategy is adopted into a sound business model.

To not continue your education is sure death in this industry! There will be someone right under you to take your place and your opportunities if you choose not to always go the extra mile and be as informed as possible!

Let's look at the many ways you can continue to educate yourself so that your commercial real estate endeavors are maximized to the fullest!

Reading is probably one of the key ways to improve your education. Trade journals, newspapers, magazines and books are great sources of information. By reading, you can identify trends, be cautious of future changes, learn from others' strategies and business models, as well as strengthen your basis for ideas in order to strengthen your own commercial real estate business. You never know how another person's idea or experience can spark a great idea for your own business out of nowhere! You may adopt some strategies and tools for yourself that you didn't even know existed, or perhaps modify them to better fit your business model.

Make a morning of it, and spend some time reading your monthly magazine subscriptions and trade journals! Choose a real estate book every week or so, and dedicate yourself to reading a little every day. Not only will it increase your education, but it can be fun as well.

Another great way to increase your education is to attend meetings where there are speakers and discussions on anything that influences your area of interest. This may include real estate seminars, zoning and planning meetings at your local Chamber of Commerce, classes regarding finance and contract writing, or other areas where you may find your knowledge and capabilities weak. Attend investor meetings in your city.

There will be a wealth of information found here that you will not find published in any book or magazine. Experience and insider tips can be found nestled in these seminars and meetings that can give you a whole new advantage on opportunities!

Refer to online sources as well, such as newsletters and blogs, where you can find more insider tips and teachings. Do be aware, however, that not all information is valid, so you may be learning things on what not to do, which can be just as valuable as learning what to do.

On more of a personal note, in order to keep up with the dynamic ways of commercial real estate, it is important to treat your body well by keeping a physical and active lifestyle, to support such a fun and rigorous profession.

Another element of sharpening the saw is to visualize your goals, and where it is you ultimately want to be, so all your education is leading you down the correct path that will get you the most out of life!

Share the wealth by teaching others your special knowledge, and give them an opportunity that you were given to be involved in such a great business.

All these things mentioned can greatly increase your success as a real estate insider, as well as transform your life into that which you have always dreamed. Implement just a few of these ideas, and you will yield positive results exponentially through your increased knowledge and abilities. Always be ahead of the game, and the game will reward you handsomely!