Wealth Building Strategies for Real Estate Agents

Financial success is a key part of any career. In a Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar, "Got Wealth? Use Real Estate For More Than a Paycheck," Dirk Zeller tells listeners how to create this success and build their wealth through real estate.

Dirk Zeller is an internationally-acclaimed speaker, best-selling author and CEO of a premier coaching company, Real Estate Champions. During his webinar, Zeller encourages agents to learn how to control their income in an effort to build their own wealth.

Creating a Successful Plan

Determining financial success can be a difficult thing. Zeller started off the webinar by telling agents that they ultimately needed to define what financial success means to them. For some, it might be buying material items, others may see wealth as being able to have more time with their family. Over the course of the webinar, Zeller explains how to achieve financial independence so his fellow agents can live their lives as they see fit.

According to Zeller, wealth is a state of mind. You have to create a strategy and prioritize your goals. Zeller quotes Napoleon Hill, stating that "what the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve." To him, this means that, if you want to achieve wealth, you need to have a plan and believe that it is possible. In order to make this happen, it's necessary to determine what drives you and how you determine financial security. For example, Zeller shares that, to him, financial independence doesn't mean driving a luxury car. Instead, it means having the freedom of time, choice, and opportunity.

Before being able to create a plan in order to determine what drives you and what type of wealth you'd like to achieve, Zeller suggests asking yourself some target questions. These can be questions like:

• What type of home do you desire?
• Why is financial freedom important?
• What type of annual income do you need?
• What will financial freedom do for you?
• What's the timeline to achieve it?
• What emotions will you feel having achieved it?

Zeller told his listeners that the most important thing is to determine what emotions you feel are connected to achieving financial independence. You have to start somewhere to get to that feeling of wealth. The greatest challenge is to actually save and start building your wealth. The most common reason people don't start is because they don't think it will amount to anything. However, Zeller says that "the habit is more important than the amount."

Strategy Ideas

One strategy is to focus on the replacement of income. This means that, if you're bringing in $5,000 per month, you'll need to look for a different way to generate that income plus a factor of inflation. It could be through rental properties, stocks, bonds, etc.

Another option is to evaluate your net worth number. This would be the number you need to reach in order to achieve financial independence. One tool Zeller suggests to find this is the Kiplinger retirement calculator, which estimates how much money you need to save each month to reach your goal. Something Zeller mentions people struggle with is seeing how much they should be saving per month and assuming they need to increase their revenue by that amount. However, he states that "the path is in the math"—it's also necessary to factor in the expenses and taxes to reach that goal.

Zeller also discusses the power of compound interest. By building a solid foundation, you would be able to let your money accumulate interest and build up over time. He uses Warren Buffet as an example of someone who used the power of compound interest to accumulate 99% of their wealth after the age of 50. Zeller states that a person's net worth should increase as they earn more and get older. After finding your net worth, you're then able to build your savings plan and formula for success.

Three Types of Wealth

• Aspirationally Wealthy – This means that you have high spending habits without the income to support it, as it's only an aspiration at the time.
• Income Statement Wealthy – Income statement wealth is when you have the necessary income to support high spending habits. However, at this stage, you're spending more or as much as you're bringing in.
• Balance Sheet Wealthy – This is the only type of wealth Zeller says is sustainable. When a person is balance sheet wealthy, they have created assets that aid them in achieving financial independence.

Before closing out the webinar, Zeller pushes agents to invest in what they're selling, as he believes real estate is a great opportunity for building wealth.

To learn more of Zeller's tips, join the Secrets of Top Selling Agents Facebook Group here. For more free real estate education, including best practices, visit the Secrets of Top Selling Agents website.

To view the original article, visit the Homes.com blog.