Mike Hambright has been investing for a little over 10 years and operates FlipNerd.com where he educates real estate investors. After losing his corporate job due to downsizing and with a newborn son, Mike decided to dive into real estate investing. “I didn’t want to work really hard for somebody else anymore,” said Mike. He got into the business right before the market crash in 2008 (despite everyone’s advice not to), and he and his wife found great success in the downturn. When he first began, Mike was a little naive to the market. He had no interest in networking because he saw others as competition, but after a year of building his business he realized the value of networking and building relationships with others in your market. After doing a deal with another investor, he had the realization of, “why wouldn’t I want to be around more people like me?” Mike discusses with Danny how he formed his relationship with his bank in the beginning. While at first the lenders were hesitant, once he showed them his past deals and the transformations they went through it was much easier to get their support. He also mentions his “rehab live” method, where he takes people through the house at 3 different points: beginning, middle, and end. This is to really showcase the transformation that takes place in his rehabs and talk about the work he was doing, and through this he established many relationships and really built up his network. Mike also stresses the importance of laying your business’ foundation before anything else. Without systems and processes, your business will not be able to grow like it could. He mentions that while you may have gotten into the business for freedom, it’s going to take work to get there. After coaching other investors for almost 9 years, Mike says that those who have trouble finding success are the people not willing to put in the hours and work, and realize that the business is so much more than the glamour that you may see on tv.
