After picking up the pieces from that day I lost my only investor, and had to let go of a deal, I decided to change my tactics on finding my investments (click here for previous blog). I had to start looking outside the box.
When one solution doesn’t work, try again or try another way.
Doubting the program
Blackcard’s strategy is to call investors and go through a 4 line script.
1-I know you probably aren’t interested…
2-But who do you know that would be interested in making 8 to 12% on their money, secured by a first lien in real estate, in a six to 9 month frame?
3-Ballpark, how much money are you working with?
4-assuming this is for you, how quickly could you have the money ready to go.
SI personally do not want to read a script when talking to local people so I blend it up. Lets’ not forget these lines where written in 2014.
Since Covid, phone calls are almost a thing of the past. Emails and Online zoom calls are now in.
I was questioning the script, and the tactic Blackcard has me to find investors.
Without hesitation I googled and YouTubed a few things.
Learning outside the box.
During my search I found many answers to my questions in one specific YouTube channel.
The host of Raw Startup is to the point in his videos and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for answers.
Although not a North American channel, he is himself an investor and a very successful entrepreneur. The Host talks about how and what investors looks for in an entrepreneur, and interviews other investors, like himself, that justifies these points.
Here are a few of my favorite videos so far.
In How to find investor video, he goes through the “Best”, the “OK” and the “Worst” way to contact investors.
A phone Call is the worst way to contact an investor.
This last piece of information made me cave in my seat. I almost felt embarrassed when I think of the phone calls, I had made, to potential investors in my area prior to find these videos.
I was also angry at the program I had payed so much on, thinking I was on the best road to learning on how to finance properties without my own credit or money.
I focus on the positive.
The best way is to have an Introduction or Bump into them.
I had to work on my Network.
Networking.
Networking is key to encounter investors.
For months, I’ve been searching for Maritime investment groups online. I’ve send emails and Facebook messenger to different groups, most of them don’t reply back.
Since Covid, all gathering had been cancelled and no one has resume these activities.
I’ve found one great contact I’m happy to say he is a friend, Matt.
Originally from NB, lives in Alberta. He flips houses in both provinces using inventor’s money. When I told him about my struggles, he answered me what I already know all along.
“..New Brunswick isn’t’ very investor friendly…it’s a little harder to find private funds for flips.”
I do have another struggle.
When I tell my coach about situation similar to this, it’s like she doesn’t believe me, and thinks I don’t try hard enough or something.
I don’t think my coaches realizes, that she is currently my biggest criticism on this journey so far.
It might be our age difference, or the fact that she’s in Ontario and I’m in NB. But one things for sure NB is not Ontario.
I try my best to avoid conflict with my Coach. we are both very dominants personalities. I respect the fact that she is my coach and respect as much as I can everything she may tell me.
Doesn’t mean I have to do everything she tells me to do.
Might be time that she visits the Maritimes.
On a few of our first calls, she would tell me to ignore some criticism I may encounter on my road to success.
She often refers to Madagascar’s penguins, “Smile and wave”.
Although, you can’t smile and wave through a phone call, I say “uh-hu” a lot without agreeing.
Just another call
“If the person you talk to isn’t listening to you, stop talking to them.”-Jordan Peterson
On mu latest phone call with my coach, I suggested that I would look for investors online.
My she disagreed with me. She stated that my phone calls with potential local investors must be, poor. “Poor” was not the word she used, she suggested I needed practice with phone calls to investors. I honestly did not think so, however I agreed to her suggestion for some role playing. To my disappointed, it wasn’t going to be with her. Instead she decided to get another one of her student to call me for this role playing adventure.
At this point I was seriously doubting my 40K for a coach. I was expecting MY coach to do the necessary to coach me.
I wanted to share with her what kind of replied I had received from my phone calls in order to know what she would’ve replied back to in order to get the investments. I felt like she wasn’t listening to my issues and problems. She was only repeating the same information for the last few weeks, and I was starting to loose hope on putting any effort or energy on getting answers.
At this point I’m getting upset at the coaching strategies BlackcardU is providing me.
I have two options, walk away, or make an effort.
At 40K, makes it hard to walk away.
Role Playing
A few days later I was introduced to a BlackcardU lead strategist for some capital call roleplay.
I’m suppose to use 4 lines script that was provided to me since the beginning of the program with BlackcardU.
Truly making the effort, I play in their tactics. Needless to say it didn’t go well, and to my knowledge a waste of time. The meeting was recorded on Zoom, and send to me to review my own answers.
And I watch it.
I didn’t think anything of it, most of the stuff he said to me was something I already knew. Other stuff was nothing that Blackcard was teaching me to do.
Everything’s very controversial with them. The more I follow the program, the more I realize, It’s old dated and things have changed alot in the last 8 years.
Including phone calls to investors.
Now what?