Here’s a decision you’ll run smack into when you start in real estate investing.

You have been doing your research into the world of real estate investing.

There is a stack of books on your nightstand, your computer has 20 new bookmarked favorites and you’ve scribbled a notebook full of tips, do’s and don’ts. Local markets, contractors, and township regulations are three subjects you are well versed on now. A great deal of information has been taken in but there is one step in the process that has you still questioning.

• How do you start down the real estate investing path?
• Do you keep it small or do you go for a big sale?

Settling for small deals seems to be a rallying call by more than just a few people. Why get yourself immersed in a big sale? Handling a few small deals will allow you to pay your bills and still put money into a savings with the goal of financing a big deal on your own. “That would be the safe way,” you say to yourself. With no credit or trade skills it is better to work toward the big sale taking baby steps. You see yourself holding down your full-time job and working on the small deals till you have a tidy nest egg of $50,000.

That isn’t a bad plan. You will eventually be able to make that one big purchase but to get there you are choosing the hard way.

Seems legit, right?

Might sound sensible, but it’s an illusion.

With several small deals you have the same amount of work that one big deal would generate but it is multiplied. Purchasing one house for a big deal allows you to concentrate fully on that home and the renovations, repairs and selling that is involved. Several small deals have your concentration divided generating more work for yourself for a smaller profit.

Starting your real estate investing career with the bigger the deal will actually add up to less work, less effort and a bigger payday. Bypass taking a course or hiring a coach as you get into real estate investing, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to run the race like your shoelaces are tied together. See, without trustworthy, no-nonsense, tried and true advice like this from an experienced investor who’s seen hundreds of students make the big leap and live to tell about it, all you’ve got is the voice of the crowd. The crowd’s not known for being wise – just loud.

If you’re serious about wanting to succeed in real estate investing, wanting to design and live the life you want to live, you’ll need to be smarter than the crowd. That means surrounding yourself with people who are running the same direction you are. You pick up energy, momentum, and road-tested wisdom from them, and you all get where you’re headed faster than you would if you went it alone.

Be sure to tune in every week for the Real Estate Investing Made Easy with Josh Cantwell podcast – and get just a taste of what it would be like to have a road-tested real estate investor right there with you, helping you on your path.