blog article

Intro 

Construction Secrets 

Our series of online real estate development courses, 

REAL ESTATE: DECIDING FASTER

BUILDING DESIGN: SMARTER CHOICES

CONSTRUCTION: INSIDER SECRETS

will be opening for registration at www.SaveOnBuilding.com soon and we are excited to offer you this preview snippet from: 

REAL ESTATE: DECIDING FASTER

Week 1: Goal Setting, Dare to Dream.

This course is a step by step guide for Business Owner’s who dream of building or remodeling their commercial building in an effort to start or grow their business.  It’s a full-length online course that will walk you through every single step needed for developing a commercial property.

You can preregister for the course by emailing us at rebecca@calbertdesign.com.  When the course goes live, you will be among the first to join us on our journey.  We’re educating business owners on the processes involved in commercial property development. 

Most real estate development books look at the property development process from a high 30,000 ft overview perspective.  They assume that you are an investor looking to get rich quick.  That you are developing a large commercial development with a group of investors.  Investors develop a property with the intention of renting out the spaces and/or selling the development within five years of being completed.  They want to cash out quickly and find another property to “flip”. 

Our course takes a different view. 

Our course is for the Business Owner who wants to build a “brick and mortar” location to operate their own business.  They plan to buy and hold.  They select their location.  Invest in the property.  Build a new or remodel an existing building.  And then operate a business on that property for the life of the business. 

As a Business Owner, you know what your business needs are.  But you need a road map showing you how to get from looking at properties online with a realtor to moving into a newly built facility. 

Our course takes a deep dive into the nitty-gritty of each decision you’ll be required to make.  We explain the pros and cons of each decision thoroughly.  This way, you will feel confident that you are making the right choice for you and your business. 

So to begin with, let’s deep dive into goal setting. 

Goal Setting, Dare to Dream 

So, in this course section, we’re going to cover the goal setting and business planning of your future building development project. 

Now, this section is extremely important.  Just like when you build a house on a weak foundation, it doesn’t matter how awesome that house is.  If the foundation is bad, the building is going to fall over, it’s going to collapse. 

And the same is true in business.  You can have the coolest building design with the most high-end finishes and furniture in it.  The best of everything.  But if the foundation of your business plan has issues, it doesn’t matter how good the building is, the business is going to fail. 

So it’s important to get your business plan, your dreams, and your goals for future growth clarified before you begin the property development process. 

Don’t Go it Alone. 

Don’t be a lone wolf, isolated, and without feedback from others.  You will get stuck in the process and overwhelmed by the amount of work ahead of you and quit on your goals. 

Have an accountability partner.  Seek out a mentor who has already built or remodeled a commercial building.  Buy a franchise.  Or, hire an experienced Architect to walk you through the steps. 

If you don’t have someone that you personally know already, you can find other business owners in all phases of this process within our private Facebook Group that is included in your course registration. 

It’s an active group of participants who are all in some way connected with our process.  Either by being a client of ours, signing up for this course, or purchasing our accompanying workbook. 

No matter where you find them, look for someone who’s been there, done that.  Someone who will be willing to share their process and solutions with you. 

Set Goals 

Don’t take your goals for granted, write them down. 

What do you want to accomplish? 

What kind of business are you building? 

Are you interested in a rustic church renovation, a converted warehouse in an urban setting, or a new building in an affluent suburb? 

Collect your thoughts and write down what makes you want one style and location over another. 

Are you choosing style and location based on personal preferences, or based on what you think will best serve and appeal to your clients? 

Reflect on the reasons why you are opening this business at this location.  There’s usually a reason deeper than, “I want to make money”, or “I want to offer better care to children than I’ve witnessed elsewhere.”  Usually, there’s a deep-seated reason laying in the depths of your psyche for why.  And when you find your why, and dare to dream, goal setting comes much easier to accomplish.

I’ll give you a personal example of a why for instance: 

My Mother became a childcare caregiver when I was in High School.  She had been a secretary her whole life and had raised five kids of her own. 

So imagine your youngest is in high school, you’re a couple of years away from being an empty-nester.  What would cause someone in that position to decide that now’s a good time to open her own in-home childcare? 

She was just two years away from the freedom most parents are ready to embrace when their children become grown. So why, when her youngest of five kids were nearly grown, did she decide to start taking care of children in her home? 

Well, the reason was very deep in her psyche.  A reason that pulled on her heartstrings so strongly that she could not deny the urge to start caring for children. 

You see, at the time one of my brothers had just gotten divorced. 

As a result of that divorce, my brother’s new ex-wife was awarded custody of their daughter.  And my mother found herself in a situation where, for no fault of her own or of anyone’s really, her first and only grandchild suddenly became unavailable to visit her regularly. 

The only time that Mom could now see her granddaughter was when my brother had had a daughter every other weekend.  And, my brother being young and missing his daughter, didn’t always want to bring her by the house to see Grandma. 

To know that her granddaughter was living only ten miles away and that they were no longer able to see each other on a regular basis broke her heart. 

So she decided to fill the void with the instinctual desire to care for children by opening her own in-home childcare. 

Doing this filled her idle time with meaning and helped her to feel closer to the Granddaughter by caring for children that were similar ages and development milestones. 

As a result, she became a better Grandparent. 

Being around children every day reminded her of fun activities that were developmentally appropriate for a child her granddaughter’s age.  And this resulted in always had fun activities waiting for when she was able to spend time with her granddaughter. 

More happy memories were created when they did spend time together because the time spent became better quality time. 

The fulfillment she got from the fun and loving memories with her grandchildren will last a lifetime. 

Now that’s a why! 

Conclusion

Now, as you try to dig deep into your own why there’s a secret to doing it.  Ask yourself the same question 5-6 times.  That will help you get to the root of why you want to open or expand your business.  This mental exercise will give you clarity as to the reason you feel pulled into this purpose. 

Go ahead and ask yourself.  No one’s listening in or judging your answers.  Your reasons are for you and you alone to know. 

Knowing your why will help you persevere through the tough times of the project.  This will ground you when you get discouraged or frustrated.  You can revisit your answers and remind yourself that it will all be worth the hassle once the building is built and your business is open.   Your goal will be set, because you dared to dream.

To see how we can help you accomplish your construction dreams, get in touch with Calbert Design Group today.