“How do I become financially free?”
The answer is “Make more money”.
Sounds sarcastic I know, but really…you have to agree THAT answer IS right.
But it’s NOT that simple to become financially free or whatever it is you may be asking is it?
That’s because we ask questions in a very abstract way.
I’ve learned by coaching so many entrepreneurs, that our questions need to be VERY specific.
Let’s say a client asks me “how can I organize better?”
My question is: “WHAT do you want to organize?”
Is it your desk drawer? Your daily work flow? Your on-going projects? The ideas, ideas, reminders floating in your head every day?
You can see just by this short example there are many answer to the simple question “how do I organize?”
If you want detailed answers from YOUR coach, mentor or professional adviser, make sure you frame the question in as much detail as possible.
Here’s how…
How To Ask The Right Questions
The first step in asking the right question is to KNOW specifically what problem you want solved. You have to know exactly what you want the answer to.
A specific question might be: “five years from now, how do I make 10,000 a month buying single family homes in Barrie?”
That’s a bit more specific than “how do I make money in real estate?” wouldn’t you say? If you asked a mortgage broker this question (please have one that understands real estate investing fully) they would probably give you a better detailed answer.
One question your broker might ask would be “lets find out where you are financially, how much money you have to invest and how much money you will need to raise”
As crazy as it sounds, the more you define the problem, the better and faster you come to a solution.
All of my coaching clients learn this early on when they work with me. It’s because I ask them questions they should be asking themselves.
Such as:
Them: “How do I get more customers” – me: “what kind of customers do you want?”
Them: “How do I manage my time better?” – me: “what is taking up your time now?”
Them: “What’s the best way to get JV partners?” – me: “what have you already tried that didn’t work?” and “who is your JV Avatar?”
I could go on and on, but let me address the two first examples I’ve given.
In order to get “more customers”, you NEED to know what customers you want. Everyone thinks a customer is a customer.
They don’t realize there is a specific customer for your specific business / service. So the initial question is not clear. By asking my client “what kind of customer, JV” or whatever, it forces them to go back to the idea process and think things through a bit more.
What about the time management question? Well, if they want me to give them tips, tricks and ways to manage their time better, I NEED to know where it’s going in the FIRST place.
When we complain about “not enough time”, it’s because we’re filling it with SOMETHING ELSE. The question is, is that something else what you should or should NOT be doing?
A better question would be “I’ve only got 2 hours to work on my business because I work all day. When I come home, I’m exhausted and hungry. I don’t feel like “working” all over again. I wait until after the kids go to bed and try to use a couple of hours before bed to work. How can I manage this time more effectively?”
I’ve found the biggest problems with real estate entrepreneurs is they don’t think clearly enough.
Most of them want quick answers and move on to the next item on their “list”.
That’s cool, but it’s also a huge block in their progress. Again, it’s just my experience in coaching so many people that are “linear” thinkers. The “step-by-step” process people.
When they zoom in to ask specific questions based on their original question, things start to happen faster. Decisions (yes and no) become easier and clearer.
I understand the urgency you have in creating wealth and freedom. But you MUST slow down a bit to get the FIRST problems solved so you can move on to the next.
That took me eons to learn. Take my advice.
Let me know what you think below!
– Joey