Yes, that plan will require tweaking because unexpected events pop up, but you have a plan and believe in it. Business dabblers may have somewhat of a plan, but they are still trying to finish that plan or they don’t believe in the value of that plan enough to stick with it.

So, let’s get down to the meat of planning your daily activities – the steps you will take to get to the goals you set for yourself this year.

Use Sunday afternoon or evening wisely. You don’t need much time, but if you take a half hour to look at your week and fill in your calendar with what you know you need to do, Monday gets better – automatically.

Spend a little time plotting personal appointments, administrative hours, networking hours, marketing hours, exercise and investor meetings. Living by your calendar can help you become so much more productive because you know what you should be doing instead of wondering “what’s next?”

Do a little food prep on the weekend. Know how people stick to their diets or train for a marathon? They have a plan! They schedule in time to prep food and time to train each week. They follow a menu plan – either one they create or one their nutritionist/trainer creates.

Hot tip: This is how you save money on groceries and avoid the time sinks of stopping at the store when you could be learning more about your business.

Establish your goals for the month. You could make this one of your Sunday sessions or use the quiet of a Friday afternoon. It’s good to do it right before the end of the month. Here are a few steps to planning next month:

1. Evaluate the past 30 days. What opportunities are on the horizon? What didn’t work? What did work? Where did you spend most of your time?
2. Plan the next 30 days. What are your revenue goals? How many investors meetings do you want to book? How many networking opportunities do you want to create? What’s your marketing schedule?
3. Look out 12 weeks. What’s coming up that you could do now? This is especially good for marketing. If you know there’s a big event or workshop coming up, what do you need to do in the next month to make it successful? Is there a webinar or course you want to try? Plot it on your plan.

Make your to-do list for tomorrow today. This will save you years of time. You have your calendar, but you will still have tasks and projects. Projects should be broken up into steps and put on your calendar. Tasks are those little things that require one step to complete. Send that email. Check on that deal. Mail your mom a birthday card. You know the little things that keep you up at night. Plan for them today and you’ll accomplish more of them tomorrow.

I don’t know if you find this “science” to be true, but I can tell you that when the going gets tough – you have to keep going. You’re less likely to listen to the negative talk around you and in your head if you have a plan.

So, let’s look at some strategies you can use to stay motivated with your business plan.

1. Finish the plan already. So many people start something but don’t finish it. How is your business going to grow if you don’t have benchmarks? If you can’t measure your success, it’s going to be hard to replicate your systems and add team members down the road. This may the main reason you feel stuck in a vicious cycle of not getting there.
2. Reference the plan once a month. Planning your month (see a post on this later this week) is a good way to get motivated, but you want to do this planning the month before. When you plan ahead, you can prepare for surprises, feel less rushed and stressed and take advantage of more opportunities.
3. Reference the plan and make a list of accomplishments regularly. Looking at your plan next to what you accomplished can reignite that fire in you to keep going, especially when you are in a state of limbo. You know, when you have a lot of irons in the fire, but nothing has come to fruition. This can keep you stoked.
4. Use the plan when you need a dose of creativity. Sometimes business can seem humdrum and your typical tactics for marketing or finding deals may not be working. This is a good time to reference your business plan. Maybe you have some future strategies or something you want to try in marketing on your plan. When you’re stuck, this is a good place to start.
5. Use the plan to clearly define your vision and value statement. If you struggle with telling others what you do and how you do it, revisit your plan. Be sure you have a vision and can clearly tell people “I/We do X so that X happens.” This value statement should be second nature. If it’s not, spend some time with your master business plan and develop it.

Remember, your business plan is your road map to success in any business venture. However, we have to present that plan every day to make our business happen. Be sure you are using yours for motivation.

If not, it’s time to block off a little time. You may want to block out a whole day, or if you can’t do that – at least an hour a day until you get it done. You need time to get your plan down on paper (or word processor) and really understand where you are going with your real estate investment business.

Once you emerge from the cave, you should have a detailed plan for the following five areas:

Vision for your company

This is what you want your company to look like at the end of a year, two years, five years, etc. Five years is a good timeframe because you can set longer-term goals in the first one to three to get your business to that ideal in five years.

Questions to ask on this section -

• What value does your business bring to the investor?
• What makes you different than their other investing opportunities?
• How do you plan to grow?

Marketing plans

This is how you will find partners or buyers to invest in your properties, options or deals. You need to understand where to spend your time (networking, blogging, running a social media ad campaign, mailing yellow letters, meeting with distressed sellers, etc.) and where not to spend your time and marketing dollars.

Questions to ask on this section –

• What is your marketing budget?
• Who is your target audience?
• Where does your target audience hang out? What do they read? What do they search for online?
• How will you keep track of your marketing?

Business structure

This is how you will run your business. You’ll answer questions about whether this will be a supplement to your day job or whether you will go full-time by X date. This area of planning will help you understand how much money you need to tuck away before you make the leap to full-time REI investor.

Questions to ask on this section –

• How much money do you need in the bank?
• What will you do if this does not work?
• When will you do your business if you work full-time?

Finance plan

This is what you will be discussing with your potential investors the most. They will want to know how you plan to fund your deals, who you plan to fund them with and how they get paid. They will also want to know what happens if you go out of business or if something happens to you.

• What will you do to fund your deals?
• Who will your partners be?
• How do investors get paid?
• What happens if you go out of business?
• What do you do to protect investors’ interests?

Organizational structure

This is the how, who and systems you will implement to make your business happen.

Questions to ask on this section -

• What systems do you need to implement?
• How do you need to spend your time?
• Who do you need to establish contract and referral relationships with – realtors, contractors, bird dogs, wholesalers?

This is just a brief overview of planning your master REI business plan. Now is the time to do this, not later. You’ll get these questions and find many more as you process the ones above. Stay tuned to the Investor Insights blog for more on business planning this month.

So, how do you choose which structure to use? The simple answer is that you need all three. Start with the master plan and design a getting the money plan from it. You will be presenting your business plan to potential investors, but a long document doesn’t really cut it, so you’ll need to develop a presentation. This will be a streamlined version of your master and money plans.

Today, I’ll give you an overview explanation of each plan’s structure to ponder and in the next few posts; we’ll unlock how to create these different pieces for your REI business success.

The Master Plan for Your Businessthe master plan and getting the money plan (these are typically required for loan apps) and the plan you present to potential investors.

The master plan is your road map for your business that includes your vision, your team structure and your systems. Some of the items may overlap with the “get the money” plan, but this plan is more for your organization than anyone outside it.

A traditional master plan is living, breathing document that you should update yearly because it has objectives and benchmarks for that year. In this plan you’ll outline:

• Vision and goals for the year or upcoming year to two years if you are just getting started
• Marketing plans – how you’ll build your buyer’s list
• Business structure – how you will do deals
• Finance plan – how you will fund your deals
• Organizational structure – your team – contractors, realtors, etc. and systems

Getting the Money Plan

The getting the money plan is a little more streamlined. It includes your executive summary – your overall statement of purpose and vision. It’s basically a summary of what you do and how you will do it (with investors’ help, of course). It also includes your marketing strategy, your funding strategy, your financial forecast and risks and opportunities. You’ll want this document in case an investor requests it or if you will be seeking any loans.

Your Investor Presentation

The presentation is even simpler than the money gettin’ plan – it has five basic parts:

• Alignment – presentation of the value investors will gain from this opportunity and a brief synopsis of your business
• Problem – Something compelling about the opportunity/market for investors to wrap their heads around
• Solution – How you and your opportunity solve this problem
• Differentiators – What makes this opportunity cool and why it will work
• Executive summary – The zipped up reason investors should work with you

Stay tuned for more on planning your real estate investment business this month on the Investor Insights.

I’m no insurance expert, but this guide will give you a little direction for when you talk to your broker and attorney. It’s important to check with both parties on what you need. The attorney can help you pinpoint where you have liability issues and the broker can recommend the proper products.

Life insurance. One of the reasons we’re in this business is to leave a legacy and to grow our portfolios for the future. However, if you are growing your business and don’t have a complete exit strategy to replace the money you are making now, life insurance is a necessity. It protects you and your family from less than ideal circumstances such as having to move in with family or having to sell the family home. Get with your broker to see how much you should have.

General loss coverage. This really applies to any properties you own. It protects you from loss in case of fire, storms or other accidents or natural disasters. If you are in an area with known flood issues, you’ll need to purchase flood insurance as well. See more on the types of insurance a landlord needs here.

Liability insurance. Liability coverage may be included in your other policies such as auto and homeowners, but you’ll need to play out the scenarios of when you might be liable with your broker and attorney. Then, you’ll know if you need additional coverage. Umbrella insurance is often a recommended for anything not covered by other policies.

State-specific requirements. Depending on your investments, your state may require certain coverage. Check with your state insurance board or your agent on any requirements in this area.

How much insurance do you need?

This is a great question for your insurance broker and your attorney. Sometimes an independent insurance adjuster may be helpful, especially in a property situation. He/she can give you from the field expertise on how much claims pay out and help you make an informed decision.

How often should you review your insurance?

At least once a year. It’s important to not buy it and forget it. Insurance laws, property values, and your life circumstances change over time. Be sure you are covered properly by reviewing all of your policies each year with your insurance broker and adjuster.

Stay tuned to the Investor Insights this month for more business planning tips.