Finding the best mentors is one key to property investment success

According to Tony: “Building a team round you, I find that helps a lot. I’d probably go and spend the money – go and see a good accountant, go and see a good advisor, and let them outsource it. Let them take charge and do it for you to make sure it gets done.”

Here are some guidelines in building the perfect financial team for your journey: 

Invest in yourself first

Education is the best preparation for your investment journey, Tony said.

He explained: “I invested in myself first. I wanted to get the knowledge. I just basically got every single book I could get my hands on, and read it back to front a couple of times.”

Find people who are smarter than you

After learning the things you need and finally making the first step in your journey, look around and find the smartest guy in the same field.

Good mentors will not only give you sound advice about your assets, their wisdom and experiences will also broaden your knowledge and build your confidence as you work to reach your goals.

Tony said: “The next step, ‘Okay, well, I’ve got this amount of knowledge. Who’s the smartest bloke in property I can find?’ I think it’s worth the investment. In every book that you read, it’s all about mentors. They talk about, ‘Why not go and use someone’s 25 years of experience and learn that in two minutes?’”

“I just sounded out the smartest blokes I could find. I remember being at a fundraising event one day and sitting next to this real estate agent who had 40 properties. So, while the blokes were talking on the stage, we sat down for 40 minutes. On the back of a napkin, [he] mapped out a strategy for me. Stuff like that – just meeting blokes who are a lot smarter than I was,” he added.

Even the smartest person you know would give the same advice: Find the best mentors.

Troy shared: “I was trying to give [my] son Jack a bit of advice, so I rang up one of the smartest blokes I thought I’d ever employed. He was so smart that everything came easy to him. I said, ‘Billy Bob, what advice would you give yourself now if you were 20 years old?’ It wasn’t go to Sydney Uni, get an honours degree in Economics and top the class, and get the best graduates jobs. It was like, ‘I’d go and find two or three of the best mentors I could find. The mistake I made was I thought I knew too much.’”

Choose people you enjoy spending time with

Aside from finding the smartest ones, it is also important to find people for your team who can be your friends outside all the talks on investment.

“If you wouldn’t have them around to meet your wife and kids and have them to your house for a BBQ because they just don’t cut that mustard, then you shouldn’t do business, you shouldn’t take advice (from them),” Tony said.

Troy added: “They’ve got to fit you. Find people that actually give you confidence, but know what they’re doing. You enjoy spending time with them and enjoy conversing about your loves with, whether it be property, music, business, or anything else. Makes the whole thing a lot easier. You can only work so much, and you got to work with people that enjoy you – you want to invest with people who enjoy your time.”

Property investment is a tricky landscape, even for the most seasoned investors. Education can help you get ahead, but finding the best mentors who can inspire you with their wisdom and experiences will give you an advantage better than most business books can ever do.

Tune in to Troy Phillips and Tony Caine’s episode in The Smart Property Investment to know more about wealth distribution and other keys to investment success.

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