growth phase, he is a testament to what happens when investors

take the action necessary to get them to where they want to be.
This focus on action is important for two reasons. First, it
takes action to find and buy properties and manage a portfolio.
Second, real estate investing is about the creation of long-term
wealth, but it’s not meant to be a 40-plus-hours-a-week job.
There will be weeks when it takes long hours to close a deal or
solve a problem. But a good deal of the action an investor takes
involves setting up the systems and relationships that reduce the
stress involved with making sure that business runs well. That
kind of action leaves more time to enjoy the rest of your life.
Two notes of caution:
1. When it comes to success and the long hours associated
with hard work, you can’t have one without the other; and
2. Hard work is rarely exciting.
These two points really hit home on the record-keeping front.
In this area, hard work often involves the near-constant
replication of some pretty mundane tasks. You really do have to
pick the right bank account (Tip #18), identify every deposit (Tip
# 20), keep your records in meticulous order (Tip #23) and so on,
and so on. Do it, do it, do it. As Brian’s story shows, the results
are worth it, worth it, worth it.

What you know is important. But what you don’t know can
really hurt you. Brian Persaud learned that the hard way. A
university-student-turned-real-estate-investor, Brian figures his
first investments included a lot of the same mistakes other novice
investors make. With that experience safely tucked under his
belt, he’s not looking back.
A couple of years ago, Brian had a few major real estate deals
go up in smoke. The experience burned. It also taught him he