By looking at BAM today – $300 million in assets under management, nearly 80 employees both at corporate HQ and on-site, it’s hard to imagine the humble beginnings of the successful entrepreneurship. Yet looking back post early-aughts, BAM began in a spare bedroom. By taking BAM founder and CEO, Ivan Barratt’s advice from years of grinding toward success – with more goals always in mind, here’s advice for how to (and how not) to be an entrepreneur…

Do:

Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

It’s easy to picture the finish line and the success that reaching your goals may bring; however, it’s a lot harder once you realize that in order to reach that finish line there has to be a lot of sacrifice. You’ll have to get creative at cutting costs and maximizing savings. That means you can forget your standing vacation, your weekly dinners out, and any subscription services you routinely spend disposable cash on. When Ivan first began, he was buying bargain-brand clothing and clocking in after hours for a part-time job to save extra money toward his goals! It isn’t just budgeting your money, it’s also about budgeting your time. If you routinely spend hours on time-sucks like your favorite fantasy football team, something has to go – and if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, it’s definitely going to be your hobbies.

Get Ready to Hustle

How motivated are you? Are you ready to get up day after day and do what needs to be done? Are you ready to network and meet people and work toward that goal? One of Ivan’s biggest lessons is that you often don’t get to do what you love until you’ve done what you hated. Ivan loves raising capital, but he knew that property management would build the machine that would allow him to pursue what he loved doing: so he got really good a property management. In the beginning, Ivan was taking calls at night and handling everything from rent to maintenance problems himself. Now, he’s able to do what he loves. Are you ready to hustle and prepared to do what you might not love in order to get to your end goal?

Don’t:

Over-prepare

You can become lost in the details of starting your business, whether that’s setting up your office space, or worrying about which font looks best on your business cards. None of that is nearly as important as actually doing the work! When Ivan started, he began with a phone in a spare room at his home, and he used a personal gmail account. The internet has made some things easier, but you can spend hours wasting time and worrying about branding and marketing when, in truth, those things can be done down the road once you’ve begun your real work. Make contacts. Get deals rolling. The font on your business cards can wait!

Give Up

You can become discouraged, don’t. You could also give up, but if you’re really determined to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to push through. Ivan has likened it to going to the gym: if you work out once or twice and expect fast results, you’ll be disappointed. Results come from putting in the work day after day and staying the course. It’s the same with your entrepreneurship. Although Ivan had setbacks early on, he chose to view those early lessons as “paying tuition.” That’s a positive way to view learning from early bumps in the road that has since delivered him to BAM’s current successful position – where he still sets new, ambitious goals.

Want more info on multifamily investing? Go to investments.barrattassetmanagement.com and sign up for an account. Once there, under “offerings” you’ll find a free library with articles and videos featuring Ivan and his insider knowledge and insight, as well as a ton of info on BAM, its team, track record, and offerings.