Overcoming fear in starting a home based business is a fundamental first step in being successful. When I started in my home based business, the biggest decision was not whether it was a proven system, that was important.But really it was the fear of failure.I tried to dig around as to what was behind that fear. I don’t think it was solely a fear of being scammed. I’ve tried so many things over the years, I recognize when something is authentic now. It was more the fear of putting money into something I might not see results from. It was a fear of another thing not working.Fundamentally, I had to develop very strongly my belief in myself, that I could be successful.The system, the business itself was secondary to that. The fear of failure ran deep though, so it takes regular personal development to overcome the fear of starting a new home business.Here’s how you can build your own wall against fear when starting a home based business.Do your homework, what we call your ‘due diligence’. Make sure you identify a profitable business model, then you cannot fail. How so?Well, if you know that you are a disciplined person, that you are prepared to work hard at mastering the basics, who can focus, who is teachable, then if the business model is sound, it will work for you.What varies is the speed at which you achieve results. That’s dependent on your current skill set and how much time and money you invest in your home business, such as for tools and system, personal development, advertising etc. Once you believe that you can succeed in your home based business, the fear disappears and you can just get on with doing the hard graft. But too many people give up too early, then blame the tool or the system.It can take time sometimes to get results in a home based business. Believe in it, believe in your success, visualize it, give it a timescale, feel it, celebrate your progress along the way.So I want to encourage and empower you to feel the fear and do it anyway.Believe in yourself and you’ll be fearless moving forward. The fear is grounded in not doing the work – so do the work, create consistency in your daily and weekly activities, find ways to see the momentum growing to reinforce that things are working, that you are succeeding. There is nothing to fear but fear itself!

Long before the Internet was around many people sought to find a home based business opportunity that could give them a new life and the freedom to work from home. They looked into all different areas from selling Tupperware at their monthly home gatherings to teaching piano in their front room. The type of home based business opportunity wasn’t important, the key was to do something from home that had the potential to make them financially free in a few years.The Reason Why They FailedThe problem with this logic was that the business model that they had was never going to accomplish their goals within the time frame. You would have to sell a lot of Tupperware or teach 24/7 to even get close so they started to look at other areas and one that became increasingly popular was something called MLM or multi level marketing. With this home based business opportunity they would not only make money on what they did themselves but also on the efforts of the people they sold to. This is called leveraging other peoples time or OPT and is one half of the magic key to success in any industry on the planet.Home Based Business Opportunity-Part 1: OPTThe first part to running a successful home based business opportunity is to leverage other peoples time. It’s just not practically possible to be successful by yourself, you need to build up a team of people that work with you to the mutual benefit of all. Now this differs from simply having employees because with employees you’re not really leveraging OPT at all, you’re just paying them for their time which is completely different. A better example of OPT in regular business would be a salesman on commission; you don’t pay them anything unless they sell something and then you simply take a percentage of what they make.Now the way this translates to a home based business opportunity is that the salesmen in this case are just ordinary people like you and I. The problem was that they just couldn’t make any consistent sales and the thing that ended up happening was that everyone started trying to convince their friends and family to buy their products and this lead to an overall bad reputation for anyone in the MLM business; they were seen as get rich quick mentality and avoided like the plague, so what’s changed?The Internet Gives New HopeThe Internet is the thing that’s changed everything and it’s now the best way to succeed with any home based business opportunity. Now I’m not saying that some people didn’t make a success of MLM but I would suggest that it was those with the sales backgrounds that did. The Internet however has brought with it the opportunity for everyday folk just like you and me to become financially free through OPT and OPM.Home Based Business Opportunity-Part 2: OPMWe’ve looked at how you can use OPT to help your business progress but the problem is that you need to also use OPM to be successful and this just wasn’t happening in the MLM industry because most people really didn’t know how to sell at all. But the Internet has allowed us to become an expert salesman through the power of online systems and online sales funnels. Now what I mean by this is that most things in life are some form of sales funnel; your local supermarket is a perfect example. Have you ever wondered why all the items you buy on a daily basis are right at the back, think about it. They want you to walk through their entire store every day to up-sell and cross-sell you other products.Now you can leverage the Internet yourself to be your very own sales funnel. In this scenario you will have many different web pages that are ultimately leading someone to what they came for but also cross-selling and up-selling as they go. The real power of the Internet though is that once you set up your sales funnel then it’s there for all time and doesn’t really cost you much money to upkeep; it just keeps funneling people through the system and popping them out at the other end ready to buy. So now the second key to the magic formula is complete; the Internet is providing you with OPM. The great thing about this model is that you can make sales and money and ultimately become financially free whilst you sleep.

Before I started my multi-million dollar, real estate investing syndication business a half decade ago, I was part of corporate America. In fact, I was the number #2 sales person for Research in Motion. I developed and oversaw strategic alliances with some of the top consulting firms in the world including Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte Consulting and EDS.

Now, I am very grateful to RIM for giving me the amazing opportunity to work under two of the world’s most prominent self-made technology billionaire CEOs. However, I grew tired of wearing the “suit.” I didn’t want to continue spending 60 to 80 hours a week working. I wanted the ability to start a business that would meet the following 19 criteria.

19 Reasons to Start a Real Estate Investing Syndication Business Now

1. Spend just a few hours a day or week at work. With just 10 hours of effort into his first deal, my client, Robert Beagle closed his first real estate syndication deal and made over $61,000 in profits as a syndicator!

2. Be your own boss. This means you’re working to make yourself rich – not someone else.

3. Wake up when you want to. Remember, you are your own boss. No one can tell you (except maybe your spouse) that you can’t sleep until noon.

4. Not have to travel every week. I’ve transacted more than $14 million dollars in deals across 5 markets in North America without any airport hassles.

5. The ability to run almost everything from a laptop and phone. Within 5 weeks, my client Michelle Agar syndicated her first group of 5 investment properties in Edmonton, Alberta, earning her $269,000 in profits!

6. Earn an exponential income. When you syndicate your investing business, you generate a GREATER FREQUENCY of profit. Why? Because, syndicating your real estate investing business will enable you to systematize your business so deal making becomes a recurring cycle. This means you will have a repeatable business model that grows geometrically.

7. Dress how you want. Since real estate investing syndication allows you to work from your home office, you can work in your pajamas if you wanted to!

8. Live a virtually tax-deductible life. Having a real estate investment business will give you the greatest personal, business and real estate tax advantages.

9. Do what you want, whenever you want. Again, you are the boss!

10. Never be held down to a time schedule. You can work as hard as you want for as long or as little as you want.

11. No need to write up an extensive business plan. Thanks to real estate investing syndication, Tom Cooke and Claudette Diaz now have $330,000 in private money at their disposal. They generated $19,026 in profits from the first deal they completed within their first 27 days of becoming syndicators. They have built a buyer’s list of over 500 investors, and set up a syndication business in another city they’ve never visited before!

12. Have an abundance of customers wherever your business goes. For example, if you joined my real estate investing syndication network, you’d connect with a pre-existing network of more investors in 7 countries on 5 continents who want to help investors like you joint venture on investing deals on an ongoing basis.

13. Your business won’t be tied to economic cycles. Many real estate investors are now saying that the real estate investing market is dead. Why? Because they can’t find deals. They aren’t attracting buyers. They can’t get their hands on enough available cash to fund deals. Banks are not loaning money to them. However, if you change your business model to one of real estate syndication, then you’ll get direct access to all the cash you’ll need. You’ll attract buyers and close more deals – no matter the economy.

14. Produce MORE WEALTH in a short period of time. Remember, my business syndicated over 3 million dollars in profits in just 93 days.

15. Get personally involved with little risk. When you syndicate your business, you become a major player in the market without risking any of your own capital. You, as the real estate syndicator, put the deal together and receive a significant share of the profits (between 20% and 50%) without having to invest your own money. This allows you to concentrate on multiple deals at one time.

16. Get started without any previous industry experience. My client portfolio includes teenage college students, a retired track & field coach, accountants, medical doctors, attorneys, a professional opera singer, sales executives, marketing executives, engineers and regular hard-working moms and dads who came aboard with full-time jobs. Do you think they had previous experience syndicating real estate? No.

17. There is NO office politics. You don’t have to worry about anyone else, but you!

18. Have more family time. When you syndicate your business, you get more done in less time. And, you generate profits faster. This means you have more time and freedom to spend with your family, doing the things you absolutely love to do.

19. Ultimately, build a business that is focused on helping people while you rapidly build a 6-, 7- and 8-figure investment empire. We’ve proven that it can happen.

So, don’t you think that it’s time to start a real estate investing syndication business, and make money quickly during this “Perfect Real Estate Storm” of opportunity?

Don’t Let Your Home Equity “Rust” Away! Use Your Home Equity To Invest In Real Estate! Equity Wasted & Unused Is Leaving Money At The Table! One mistake many make is that because they don’t have cash to invest, in real estate or any other investment, they won’t be able to invest properly in their future.

By Sean Martin

Many Canadians who have owned a home for a number of years have seen the value of their home rise at the same time that they have been chipping away at their mortgage. The result of this is many Canadians who may be cash poor, but equity rich. One mistake many make is that because they don’t have cash to invest (in real estate, especially after recent changes in Canada upping the minimum down payment for a rental to 20%), they won’t be able to purchase a property. However, if you own a home and have equity in it you may be pleased to find out that you can access funds to invest.

You just need to utilize the power of leverage better. So how do you do that? You already have!

When you purchased your home, you more than likely had a deposit of 5%-10% and had a mortgage for the balance. You used “OPM”, Other People’s Money, and started to build value in that investment. Keep in mind, your investment did not appreciate based on just what was borrowed, but on the value of your home (i.e.: $ 5000.00 down on a $ 100 000.00 home you are going to realize roughly 5% appreciation on that $ 100 000.00, not just the down payment.) That’s leverage. And you get to live there.

Realize the gains which you are being kept from realizing in your present situation.

Access the Equity In Your Property…

This is the first step to use your home equity to invest in. If you own your own home and owe less than 80% of the value on your current mortgage, you have access to additional funds by refinancing. Although you can get a regular mortgage, many investors opt for a HELOC mortgage which allows them to re-borrow and principal they pay down on their mortgage. This is an important feature for investors, especially as they grow their portfolio, as eventually with 5 or 10 rentals, they are able to pay down their mortgage very aggressively using the positive cash flow from their properties. It’s a snowball effect: the more cash flow, the more you can pay down your mortgage, the more you can pull out of the equity, the more property you can buy, earning more cash flow… and so on.

Once you have a mortgage or HELOC, here are some of the ways you can use it to invest in:

Use it to Borrow / Leverage 100% of the Value of Any Rental Purchase

- Using your HELOC, you can borrow the 20 – 25% down payment for the rental, and get 75% – 80% financing (if qualified) for a standard mortgage on the rental property itself. There are some properties that when financed strategically (rate is no longer the most important variable) properly will give positive cash flow even when you borrow the entire value. Those properties you may want to leap on!
Stay liquid for the unforeseen:

- As you grow your portfolio, liquidity becomes more and more important. The more property you own, the more risk you are at for a number of issues to come up at once (i.e. vacancies for 2 properties, new roof needed for another, renovations needed on another). Having a HELOC with available equity will ensure that if you do have a “cash call”, you will be better equipped to handle it.

But I Don’t Want To Be A Landlord but I Still Want to Invest in Real Estate…

You can use your funds that you have borrowed inexpensively ( HELOC 3.25%-4% or a variable rate at 2.10%) and lend the funds to others through second mortgages. Yes, you can become the bank. Most people think of mortgage Brokers as someone to arrange a mortgage for a purchase. A mortgage Broker can also arrange for you to lend your funds to other individuals. Often this is facilitated through a second mortgage which you hold on a property. To do this alone can be intimidating and there is risk, but the reward is an interest rate of 12%-14%. Often a lawyer or accountant can also help find avenues to invest like this as well. To ensure the safety of your money, consider using an experienced Broker with access to an mortgage investment network specializing in 2nd mortgage loans. These Brokers will have their own underwriters and the proper tools in place to protect investors (you) should defaults occur. One channel I work with diversifies your funds into 3-4-5 different 2nd mortgages, syndicated with other investors like yourself. This offers protection from investing in 1 bad 2nd mortgage. Your exposure to risk is reduced in this manner. At the same time, should default occur they are in a position to pay the arrears on any 1st mortgage holder and purchase the property outright. This allows for sale to recoup what could have been potential losses. Should this type of action occur, your interest payments continue until the matter is resolved and your funds made available again for investing once again.

TFSA / SELF DIRECTED RSP…

If you are in a position where you have a self-directed RSP with your bank or financial institution can you use these funds to invest in mortgages?

Most institutions will still not allow you to use the funds in your “Self-Directed” RSP to invest as your wish. Again, an experienced mortgage Broker can offer advice and show you how to continue to shelter your profits within a RSP, but invest in these products. There are financial institutions that will allow these profitable investments and a mortgage Broker can show you the options.

A TFSA again has limiting rules with most banks and financial institutions. An experienced mortgage Broker will be able to guide you to help

Things to think about:

- When you borrow for investment purposes, you are able to write off the interest portion of the payments. Make sure you speak with an accountant to ensure this works for your situation.
- Investing the funds from a TFSA, RRSP or RESP protect you from paying taxes on the income.

- Even if you have a self-directed RRSP you financial institution will have policies prohibiting you from investing in second mortgage products. Ask me where to relocate your funds to maximize profits.

- Release the equity in your house to invest, but divert it through your RRSP or TFSA 1st, especially if you have unused allocations from previous years available. Again, this should be done with the assistance of your accountant to ensure that it is done correctly for you and to keep the CRA happy. Always keep the CRA happy.

- Most HELOC’s offered right now are Prime +.5%, or 3.5% today. Fixed rate refinance mortgages are available for as low as 2.54% and variable rate mortgages as low as 2.05%.

- HELOC’s usually have interest only payments available to better your cash flow, while standard fixed rate/variable rate mortgages do not.

- Make sure your HELOC is re-advance able! Not all are.