Today I am a financially independent property investor. The passive income from my properties more than covers my lifestyle. I don’t have to work. Instead I am fortunate enough to be able to follow my passion which is speaking and helping other people to become financially independent through their property.

However it was not always that way. I started to invest in property in 1995 and for 6 years I was buying property learning by trial and error, making lots of mistakes, feeling I was doing it all alone. That was until one day it struck me like a bolt of lightning, that there must be other people who had done this before me from whom I could learn to save me time, money and effort. Connecting with other investors has been a major contributor to my success.

I attended my first property seminar in 2002. The seminar itself was useful and although I was already using many of the strategies that they taught, I certainly learnt some new strategies and was reminded of some that I knew of but for some reason was not applying. The other major benefit of attending the seminar was meeting the other investors, like-minded people who were interested in achieving the same thing as me. Having left the seminar all fired up I thought it would be great to keep in touch with the other delegates. The problem was that I could not find any property networking events and that is when I decided to set up my own. Now we have property investor’s network meetings every month in 12 cities around the UK. The idea is to provide a supportive environment for you to become an even more successful investor.

In this article I would like to share with you some tips on how to make the most out of property networking events.

The 4 main benefits of attending networking event

1. Meeting like-minded people who understand what you are doing and provide a supportive environment for you to learn more. This is particularly important if your family and friends just don’t get it. As investing in property can be a very lonely activity especially

2. The ability to find contacts and service providers from word of mouth recommendation, to minimise the element of trial and error that most investors experience.

3. The opportunity to keep up to date with what is happening in the property market and new strategies. This is particularly important now when the market has changed so much over the last 18 months. The strategies which worked two years ago are probably not the best strategies to use right now.

4. To find other investors who can look after your property for you and even source good investment opportunities. This is particularly useful if you want to invest in an area a fair distance from where you live. Simply attend a few networking events close to your desired investment area and you will probably find full time investors who can help look after and grow your portfolio.

So as you can see there are lots of great reasons to attend property networking events. But what do you do when you get there?

Here are 3 steps to maximise your networking experience:

1. Before you go to the event: Work out what you want to achieve by attending. Maybe you want to find someone who can recommend a good handyman or letting agent in your area, or you want an investor to put some money into a joint venture. Whatever it is, write down a clear intention so that when you meet people at the event you can clearly explain what you are looking for. Also think about any other investors who you know who might be interested in attending such an event and invite them to come along with you. Finally make sure you have some business cards to take with you for when people want your contact details. They don’t have to be fancy or expensive cards just something with all your details on. You can get some free business cards from people like www.VistaPrint.co.uk

2. At the event: Plan to arrive early and leave late. Speak to as many people as you can. Of course you should say hello to the people you already know but make sure you also speak to people who you don’t know. When you meet someone ask them what their name is, where they are from, what they want to get out of the meeting and how you can help them. Be interested in them first rather than telling all about you. Look for how you can help the people you meet. Also think about people you already know who may like to meet them. Make sure you also collect cards from all the people you meet. You may also like to write a little note on the card to remind you what they were interested in and how you might be able to help.

3. After the event: When you get home go through all of the business cards you have collected. Send a follow up email or text to everyone you met. Reconnect with them and send them any information and contact details you promised to give them. It is best to do this follow up the day after the event so that people remember you and the conversation. Keep in touch with them and build your personal contact list. There is no doubt the more people you know the more successful you will be because you will have a number of people you can call or email for advice and help.

There is of course another point to consider about networking. I think many investors don’t attend networking meetings because they really don’t like the idea of going into a room full of strangers and having to make small talk! The thing to remember is that the vast majority of people at property networking events are very friendly, approachable and happy to talk with you about property. You already have a common interest with everyone who is going to be there. I understand that some people may be nervous but it is good to push yourself outside of your comfort zone occasionally. I like to think that at the pin meetings we aim to make everyone as welcome as possible. We have a formal networking part of the evening which makes it easier to connect with other investors and make some new friends.
I have also met some experienced investors who don’t believe they could gain anything by attending a networking event because they are already very successful and think they know it all. Well the fact is you can never know everything. You can also build on your existing knowledge if you are open to it.

I have been running my own seminars since 2003, I have an Amazon No 1 best-selling Property Book called Property Magic, but even now I am still learning. I don’t claim to have all the answers. I attend other people’s property seminars with a positive expectation that I will learn something that I can use.

Why not come along to one of our evening seminars and see for yourself. Admission is just £20 per person for the evening when you book on line and £30 on the door.
To find out about the property investors network meeting closest to you just visit www.pinmeeting.co.uk

If you would like to read my book “Property Magic” it is available now CLICK HERE

Until next month, invest with Knowledge, invest with skill,

Kind regards,
Simon Zutshi

Founder, property investors network
www.PropertyInvestorsNetwork.co.uk