If you had been sitting next to me, well perhaps not next to me but on the same table (you’ll see why), on the 26th of November 2014 then you would have witnessed a dream, a vision, a goal, a plan and a lot of hard work come to fruition.
It was a wet night and I had travelled alone to the Awards ceremony as I couldn’t justify the cost of a second ticket for what in essence would be a night of small talk and watching others celebrate. But that particular night was different. That night they called my name, mine! I couldn’t believe it. In fact, when I stood up I was in so much shock that I had to grab my neighbour’s shoulders rather firmly to steady myself and stop myself from tripping. It was that big of a deal. I had won my first National Award and was recognised publicly for the first time as a Landlord. But that night meant so much more and in this article I am going to show you the mechanics behind the curtain of that night and how an action I had taken four years earlier had paid off in more ways than I could have imagined.
Four Years Earlier ….
Let’s rewind the clock. Four years before that night I was living in a rented two-bedroom semi-detached house in Northamptonshire. I had just convinced my now husband that we should leave London and move to somewhere we could build up a Buy To Let Property Portfolio in the hope that one day we could live off the income and build ourselves a pension pot. We had very little money and we were both commuting over four hours a day going back in and out of London to work. But we had both decided that we wanted to invest in property and after researching areas and logistics we felt this was the best place to build a property portfolio and we wanted to immerse ourselves in the area and our goal. We had a dream. It was in 2011 I came across this magazine front cover, a picture that captured my imagination and a picture that in essence gave my goal a framework.
The article was about the most recognised female landlords in the UK. I remember thinking … wouldn’t be amazing to be so good at what you do to be awarded for it. I remember thinking …. One day I want that to be me, I want to be on that cover. That was the start of it.
But HOW did I do it?
Why Vs How
Whenever people hear of my story (more on that a little later) they ask me how I did it? What property did I buy, where, how etc. All valid questions. As with anything there is always a mechanical side to it. But before I even look at the how I always ask myself and others – why? And there are two aspects of your why …
Why are you investing in property on a personal level?
Why property investment, why not something else?
I am happy to share my whys. Just before making the move to Northamptonshire I sat and worked through these questions myself.
For me, my why was I wanted to earn enough money to allow my now husband the chance to leave his role as a retail store manage if he wanted to. I also wanted enough financial security that if I was unable to get work as a journalist (I was a freelancer at the time and had experienced redundancy in the past so knew how unpredictable the industry could be) then I could sleep at night. I also knew at some point I wanted a family of my own and for me financial security was essential. So that was my why. And it was a why I shared with my partner.
Then the question is why property? This topic deserves an article in its own right. There are several ways I could have achieved the above. There are several ways to make money and several asset classes you can invest in. In fact, at the time I was presenting the financial news to millions of viewers as part of my day job. But for me, I chose property to put my focus into. I wanted an asset class I could touch and feel, I wanted something that would give me cashflow as well as capital growth. I wanted something I could have an element of control with. It was also an asset class I had had some previous experience with.
Those were my headline whys. I was very clear on the above before I even started looking at the how.
Which brings me to a question, why are you doing what you are doing? Why do you have the goals you do? Do they have people/faces behind them, do you have a strong reason why you are moving towards your goals? If not, then perhaps it is time to go back to the basics. If you do and you’re not where you want to be then again it is perhaps time to go back to the basics. As with property, goals need to be built on solid foundations.
Creating a GOAL
Having a dream, a vision, and in my case picking up a magazine cover and saying one day I want that to be me is all fine. However, without a framework and structure behind a dream then often it will just remain a dream. That is where goal setting comes in.
Most people have heard of SMART goals. In fact often people overlook the well-known acronyms and try to do something a little more complicated. However, if it isn’t broke don’t bother fixing it. So when I saw that magazine cover and had that twang in my belly I sat with a piece of paper and turned that dream into a SMART goal.
A SMART goal is …
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Relevant
T – Time Bound
When I went through the above framework I hit a few bumps and decisions I had to make.
When it came to the S I knew I wanted to win an award, but was that specific enough? I went through the article and looked at the categories and there was a ‘female under 30’ category – bingo – that was specific enough.
M – was it measurable? – In its simplest form I would categorically knew if and when I had hit it, there would be an award on my bookshelf.
A – achievable – in all honesty from where I was sitting at that point I could have easily said that it wasn’t that likely. After all, from memory I only had one BTL property which wasn’t local and I had just finished the refurbishment of my first one locally. But achievable and likely are two different words with different meanings. In my mind, it was achievable. Others had done it so why couldn’t I? I had four years to build up a portfolio and demonstrate some of the characteristics they had. So yes, I believed it was achievable.
R – Relevant. This is an important one. Goals can be seductive. However, it is so important to look at any goal and dream and see where it fits. For me this goal made total sense as I had already decided I wanted to build up a buy to let property portfolio. Winning an award for it only enhanced what I was already doing.
T – This particular goal was time bound. I was 26 at the time and knew I only had 4 years max to hit it.
So after running it through the SMART goal framework I now had the meat on the bones. After feeling that flutter in my stomach I now had a clearly defined goal with all the key components. I was ready to go.
Bring it to Life
At this point it would have been easy to put that piece of paper away and just get on with things. But I really wanted it. I decided in that moment that I really wanted it. I ripped the magazine cover off and sat and thought about what it would take to appear on it. After reading their stories I imagined all the work and frustrations I would likely have to go through. I imagined it in detail. And then I hung it up and I looked at it. I wanted to bring that goal, that dream to life. I wanted to imagine the journey there and what success would look like. I wanted to connect with it.
This is why it is so important that your goals are your goals and that you really do want them, after all, it will likely take a lot of work to get them.
“If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.”
― Stephen R. Covey
As it does for most people, life did then get busy. As I increased my property portfolio my goals became more specific and I just got my head down. In fact, the organisation that held the awards stopped the awards a few years later and I remember feeling gutted I had never made it. But there will be other awards I thought to myself.
And then, on the 26th of November 2014 I remember driving to an awards evening. I had entered the HMO Landlord of the Year category although I was aware I stood little to no chance of winning, BUT I was a finalist and that deserved celebration. So I went. I went alone and I dug out a black dress I hardly ever wore. Even now I remember the rain that night, I remember driving in my Silver Ford KA battling the rain. It was in that silver car it suddenly struck me, the vision I had four years ago – it occurred to me that I was a few months away from my 30th birthday – this was it, this was my last chance to make that dream a reality. Yes finalist is great but I allowed myself to think … but what if I won, if I win tonight I will have done it – I will have hit that goal I set four years earlier. What if ….
A few hours later that is exactly what happened. HMO Landlord of the Year. I couldn’t believe it. The next day I was contacted by industry magazines and for the first time in my career I was on the other side of the camera so to speak – I was answering the questions instead of asking them. The journalists visited me at my converted Windmill to interview me and in that moment I reflected on how much had changed in the last four years. It remined me of the importance of having a vision and translating that into a goal, mapping out the course to get you there, growing into the person you need to be to achieve that goal and on that night – celebrating it!
I have shared the fluffier side of this story as many people just see the results and they don’t quite understand how I got there. I hope this has encouraged you to create a vision for your life. If you would like some help in setting your goals and mapping out the strategy then I would suggest booking a call with me on my website (www.kellylemon.com) and I can go through the process with you. Alternatively I am also working on a PDF that will help structure your thoughts and put them into a plan and vision. As soon as this is ready you will find it on my website under complimentary resources. Either way, I would urge you to have a vision for your life, with the right work and support network you can get there. And when you do, it is well worth it.
Kelly Lemon
