Resource Review: How BiggerPockets.com Can Help Mobile Home Investors Network and Grow Their Business

(Note: I don’t receive any compensation for sharing this resource with you, I have to say this because of the disclaimer blogging rules).

Since I’m a strong believer in the power of networking, I thought I’d make a post about one of the resources that I frequent: BiggerPockets.com.

Actually, I found this site one day through a search on the Internet when I typed in “real estate forums.” It had been awhile since I visited the usual real estate forums I frequented back then. So, I wanted to see what else was out there and up popped a link to BiggerPockets.com.

At the time, I had never heard of BiggerPockets. So, I took a trip there on the “Internet Express” – I found it to be a very interesting and unique type of site – it wasn’t your typical real estate site, it was different. But, how?

First thing I noticed was that signing up as a member (basic membership is free), you could actually have a very detailed and customized profile. Members could add a profile pic, their signature with website address, pictures of properties, a blog, etc.

In my experience, I’ve never seen this type of ability to add in this kind of detail for a member profile with any of the other real estate forums that I frequented. Most of the real estate sites I visited only had a very basic profile, some with no profile at all – just an ability to post up questions and comments in the forums.

(Note: If you’re a real estate investor and have been in this business for awhile, you’ll probably know what sites I’m talking about).

What BiggerPockets.com allows you to do is create your own space. Think of it as a Facebook or MySpace for the real estate investing world.

As a member of BiggerPockets, you can share your real estate background information with other members just by creating a profile. Even more than just a forum to network with others in real estate, you also have the ability to create a personalized real estate blog, post up pictures of properties, submit real estate related articles, submit news through the “Bulletins” feature, share and post up events, join specific real estate related groups, keep up to date on real estate related news and trends by reading and/or subscribing to the BiggerPockets Blog, etc. I could go on and on about all of the features of the site – there’s just so many.

(Note: Check out this article by the Founder of BiggerPockets.com, Josh Dorkin, about the features of the site and “How to Market Yourself and Your Business With BiggerPockets”).

Here’s my profile on BiggerPockets:

(Note: If you’re already a member and/or just signing up, feel free to add me as a colleague if you’d like).

So you’re probably wondering,”How has BiggerPocket.com helped me?”

To be honest, I’m really one who takes after Lonnie’s philosophy of keeping things small – I like to keep a small operation. I’m not one who seeks out a large network. I believe in quality over quantity.

In the past, I’ve done things on a large scale and it’s really caused a lot of stress and time. At one point in my real estate investing career, I had 30 bird dogs working with me, 10 property managers, and was mentoring 100s of people – not fun. I found most of my time was spent managing people.

I had no time to sit back and enjoy myself. I was always answering the phone, checking email, answering questions, etc. My operation was too big and it got out of hand. I felt like I was the one training and directing people to do what I already knew how to do. It got so out of hand, that it really caused a lot of stress in my life.

So, I’ve scaled back – a lot. And, it’s made life much more enjoyable. Plus, it’s made this business even more fun.

However, I’ve found that I really enjoy hearing about and sharing real estate related stories with other investors. This is one thing that I enjoy very much. And, I’ve found that with BiggerPockets.com.

Through BiggerPockets, I’ve read about so many different stories other real estate investors have shared – it’s really quite enjoying and entertaining. Here’s one of the stories I enjoyed reading through my pal Shae’s blog on BiggerPockets:

And, here’s an article and another story I enjoyed reading by my pal Julie on BiggerPockets:

Speaking of stories, we all have stories to share especially in the mobile home investing world (That’s what Adventures In Mobile Homes is all about!) Another feature I enjoy on BiggerPockets, is the Mobile Home Investing Group and Mobile Home Investing Forum – it’s really a nice place to network and meet other mobile home investors.

Apart from networking with other mobile home investors, there are other companies and resources available who are members as well. From the site, I’ve had a variety of different BiggerPockets members contact me (i.e. commercial real estate agents, private lenders, wholesalers, bird dogs, landlords, mobile home lenders, etc). If it weren’t for BiggerPockets.com, some of these folks may never have found me.

By sharing BiggerPockets.com as a resource with you, I hope it can help you to network and grow your business. I’ve had some requests from people asking how to network and build a team, where to network, and if I can help build a network for them. I’m here to say, you might just find some folks to add to your network by checking out BiggerPockets.com. It’s a great resource, and also a lot of fun!

Happy investing!

p.s. For those of you who are already members of BiggerPockets and/or have decided to sign up, here’s a video from Josh Dorkin, the Founder of BiggerPockets, titled “How to Start Networking Effectively Using BiggerPockets.com.” Thanks for reading!