Education is something that I am passionate about – every child has the right to an education, but it doesn’t stop there. As adults we are all responsible for our own self-education however, in my experience, few people take action on this. If you’re focused on getting started in property or achieving your full potential as an entrepreneur, you’re likely looking at some of the most successful people in the business world and trying to understand how they got started and what they did to get where they are today.
Do you know how one of the world’s wealthiest men- Warren Buffett, started out in business?
He purchased his first stock at the age of 11 whilst working in his family grocery store in Omaha, he would spend his days listening to and observing what investors were saying and doing. His father pushed him to continue his education through college, to the University of Pennsylvania and transferring to Nebraska, where he graduated with a degree in business, before choosing to continue to expand his knowledge. Specifically, he learnt of the fundamentals of value investing as he studied under Benjamin Graham at Columbia Business School.
Have you ever wondered how other successful people in property got to where they are today?
How about property investors? Getting into UK property investing is really simple believe it or not, you just have to know what you’re doing. Although part of this ‘knowing what you’re doing’ would typically come from experience and finding out what works and what doesn’t, when starting out in property, people generally overlook the basics of educating yourself before anything else. Look at the above example of Warren Buffett, investing time into educating yourself is one of the most powerful things that you can do.
When you want to learn about something new, what do you usually do first? Start searching for online courses that you can throw yourself into and start as soon as you possibly can? Signing up for course after course and spending thousands in education? Whilst I’m an advocate for property education and mentoring I believe the very best thing that you can do for yourself, before anything else, is your own research.
So let’s look at how to educate yourself in property
Immerse yourself in the property industry! Read books and articles that specialise in property investment, if you’re focusing on buy to let properties, locate some books that mainly focus on them. Have a search on YouTube too, subscribe to those channels (here’s mine @Jamie York) sharing relevant content to what you’re wanting to learn, sign up to property newsletters and magazines, join some Facebook groups, speak to real people who are currently investing, read other people’s stories, and start surrounding yourself and immersing yourself in the property investment scene so that you’re able to pick-up real-life experiences that you just can’t pick up in a book! My business partner Dan and I created an online community- the Property Trading Community- of like-minded individuals wanting to surround themselves with others in the industry with similar goals- if you’re interested in joining too, send a request at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Propertywithdanandjamie, we hope to see you there!
Mix it up a bit!
Use a variety of different information sources, whether it’s books, audiobooks, videos, documentaries, newspaper and magazine articles, just putting 30 minutes aside a day to dedicate to broadening your knowledge will provide you with a strong and sturdy basis for whatever you’re looking to do – before deciding to go down the education course route.
The more streams of information that you have around you the better, and the stronger your base will be for when you take the leap into purchasing your very first investment property. You might not feel very ready to do that right now, but I can assure you that self-education helps you think beyond the limitations you might’ve set for yourself subconsciously, and is ultimately why people succeed in life, which is why you might’ve heard the saying “we are our own worst enemy”.