In the past two weeks, in addition to meetings with people to discuss private lending opportunities, I have attended 5 real estate investing events. For those of you who are curious about investing, I wanted to share what they were about, key take-aways as well as things to watch out for.

The first was a private investment group. It had a lot of big names, a great motivational speaker, and they really got the audience emotionally connected with their WHY for investing (I will be writing more about this soon). Unfortunately, many of these types of groups host free events or have a nominal cost, and then after a 1 to 2 hour presentation, they drop their pitch.

Usually, it is an online product, coaching program, or weekend seminar costing $$$$. Although I value education, some of these seminars can be off-putting, and taint the public's perception of the real estate industry or investing. Like all industries, there are some good apples and some not so good ones that try to exploit people so be cautious.

The second one was about flipping properties, didn't have too much new content for me, and ended with large sales pitch similar to the first event.

The third one was with a Venture Capital firm that raises money to fund real estate development projects. What I liked about this group is that the founders' mission and values were very much aligned with mine. They want to empower people to get financial freedom through real estate, and believe in education, community, and transparency. I can't stress this enough to find people who are aligned with your values. I will be meeting them again to discuss opportunities.

The fourth event was a great event in Vaughan about Multi-unit investing (apartment buildings). The speaker flew in from Alberta, and had a wealth of knowledge and was generous with his expertise. I really liked his approach, and learned a lot of new things about multi-family investing. Having already done investing in single family units, multi-family is a direction I am going in.

The last experience unfortunately was the least enjoyable. It was an event hosted by a female real estate agent and was about Joint Ventures. When I walked in, and noticed her branding and that the room was filled with only women, I asked if the event was only for women. She said no, and that I was welcome. After 40 minutes of grabbing snacks, mingling with people, I was sitting to wait for the speaker to begin when a mortgage broker on the team came and asked me to leave "because I was a man". Although I value that spaces and retreats for women are important, I have always believed in supporting women and working with women to collaborate and grow. I was shocked! I asked the realtor on the way out why her eventbrite event details didn't mention men weren't allowed, and felt like I wasted my time to commute and wait at the event. There was little remorse, and I was asked to leave.

Overall, my point with sharing these experiences is that like any industry, in real estate investing there are all kinds of people out there. But as my mentors always taught me, your reputation will always precede you. It is important to find alignment with people, groups, and projects that you invest in. They must align with your values, and if you don't know what they are, that is something I help investors with as well.

Most importantly, we must be grateful for the experiences that show contrast in our lives. Contrast to what we want, believe, and aspire to become. It is these ups and downs that help me stay aligned and stay the course towards my goals.

What are your values? What have you learned about yourself this past week?

Thanks for reading, and let's rise together!

Sahil