kylebryant04
New Contributor
Even if no one reads this thread, I wanted to chronicle my path to entrepreneurial success...or failure. I'm quitting my job next month (in THIS economy?!) to pursue my business (mostly) full time. I've got a few months of savings built up, so if the business turns into a ball of flaming fail, I have a few months' runway to "get a job." I'm a property tax attorney by trade, so there will usually be a demand from folks who want to lower their property taxes.
Here is my business: I buy undervalued, unwanted, and unused vacant land and sell it again online to folks who can't get traditional "mortgage" financing from banks to buy recreational real estate. My goal is to make buying real estate as simple as buying something on Amazon. I have a website set up with my available inventory, and buying a piece of land is as simple as clicking "buy now" and entering your credit card info. We take care of all the paperwork, recording, closing, etc.
How do we buy? Direct mail marketing targeted to folks who have owned vacant real estate for a long time, but have never developed it or used it. We use county ownership data (public record) aggregated by databases to collect potential leads. Then we use Excel and Mail Merge to send thousands of offers at a time.
How do we sell? We have several marketing channels, including Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, Paid internet traffic, paid listing sites, and a growing email subscriber list.
What value do we add? We provide quick, hassle free purchases for folks who don't use their property. They get our letter, send back a signed agreement, and if we want the property, they have cash in hand quickly. Then we use creative marketing (drone video, aerial photos, minor improvements, etc.) to bring that property to the people most likely to want to use it (recreational weekend folks, hunters, "preppers," investors, etc). We also provide financing opportunities outside of the traditional bank-lender headache. Very little extra paperwork. Plus, all of our paperwork is handled instantly online. The transaction process can happen in a matter of minutes from your computer. We believe buying real estate should be that easy!
How are we doing? This business is approaching the one-year mark, and I have bought and sold 14 properties (with 3-5 more acquisitions in the next month). There was a 5-month "desert" spell where I didn't make any sales and wanted to quit. But I had already had my "FTE" at my job, so there was no turning back. The main bottleneck to scaling the business is systems and lead flow (i.e. sending mail). We are increasing our monthly mailings to 3,000+ and are developing scalable systems to automate tasks where possible. Right now it's just me and one part-time assistant, but we may need to hire an intake manager as things grow. Right now we are barely profitable each month, but our income from promissory notes is growing steadily and will cover the business overhead costs in a matter of a month or two.
What is my goal? First and foremost, we want to provide an opportunity for ordinary folks to own rural or recreational real estate, and to be able to purchase it in a smooth, pain-free process. Buying real estate should be as easy as the online shopping cart. Monetarily speaking, initially, my goal is to reach $10,000 per month in recurring note income in the next 2 years, and $100,000 per month in recurring note income in the next 5 years. I believe we can do it.
I'm here to chronicle that long haul---hopefully it's a long haul and not a short one. Either way, and regardless if anyone cares, I'm putting it down here! Would love to answer any questions about the business, as I currently eat, sleep, and breath the business most days. Aside from my wife and young son, this business gets my full attention. Thanks for any feedback!
p.s. don't know if self-promoting is allowed, but if anyone wants to see my website to test it out, just let me know and I'll post a link
Here is my business: I buy undervalued, unwanted, and unused vacant land and sell it again online to folks who can't get traditional "mortgage" financing from banks to buy recreational real estate. My goal is to make buying real estate as simple as buying something on Amazon. I have a website set up with my available inventory, and buying a piece of land is as simple as clicking "buy now" and entering your credit card info. We take care of all the paperwork, recording, closing, etc.
How do we buy? Direct mail marketing targeted to folks who have owned vacant real estate for a long time, but have never developed it or used it. We use county ownership data (public record) aggregated by databases to collect potential leads. Then we use Excel and Mail Merge to send thousands of offers at a time.
How do we sell? We have several marketing channels, including Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, Paid internet traffic, paid listing sites, and a growing email subscriber list.
What value do we add? We provide quick, hassle free purchases for folks who don't use their property. They get our letter, send back a signed agreement, and if we want the property, they have cash in hand quickly. Then we use creative marketing (drone video, aerial photos, minor improvements, etc.) to bring that property to the people most likely to want to use it (recreational weekend folks, hunters, "preppers," investors, etc). We also provide financing opportunities outside of the traditional bank-lender headache. Very little extra paperwork. Plus, all of our paperwork is handled instantly online. The transaction process can happen in a matter of minutes from your computer. We believe buying real estate should be that easy!
How are we doing? This business is approaching the one-year mark, and I have bought and sold 14 properties (with 3-5 more acquisitions in the next month). There was a 5-month "desert" spell where I didn't make any sales and wanted to quit. But I had already had my "FTE" at my job, so there was no turning back. The main bottleneck to scaling the business is systems and lead flow (i.e. sending mail). We are increasing our monthly mailings to 3,000+ and are developing scalable systems to automate tasks where possible. Right now it's just me and one part-time assistant, but we may need to hire an intake manager as things grow. Right now we are barely profitable each month, but our income from promissory notes is growing steadily and will cover the business overhead costs in a matter of a month or two.
What is my goal? First and foremost, we want to provide an opportunity for ordinary folks to own rural or recreational real estate, and to be able to purchase it in a smooth, pain-free process. Buying real estate should be as easy as the online shopping cart. Monetarily speaking, initially, my goal is to reach $10,000 per month in recurring note income in the next 2 years, and $100,000 per month in recurring note income in the next 5 years. I believe we can do it.
I'm here to chronicle that long haul---hopefully it's a long haul and not a short one. Either way, and regardless if anyone cares, I'm putting it down here! Would love to answer any questions about the business, as I currently eat, sleep, and breath the business most days. Aside from my wife and young son, this business gets my full attention. Thanks for any feedback!
p.s. don't know if self-promoting is allowed, but if anyone wants to see my website to test it out, just let me know and I'll post a link
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