I dunno about you, but when I get excited about an idea, I like to go after it full-steam-ahead. I like to build momentum. It makes everything feel “real” as opposed to an idea just living in my head.
But that approach has gotten me into trouble in the past.
Prior to doing anything with land investing, I knew that I needed to get a few things in order. Now, I’m not a lawyer or a CPA, so anything that falls into that realm I just reached out to the necessary professionals.
But I do happen to know how to get backend stuff done, given my experience as an entrepreneur. I’m not big on wasting time fiddling with stupid crap like logos, colors, business name, etc.
I couldn’t find anything written out there for land investors on what they should have in place before they start - therefore this article! If you’re considering taking a step into the land investing world, then hopefully you find this helpful!
I knew that before anything, I needed to have a professional presence. This included…
Business name & Logo
Website
LLC (taxed as an S-Corp)
Phone Number & Physical Mailing Address
Open Business Banking
Bookkeepers (optional)
Okay, let’s tackle these.
Business Name & Logo
Pretty self-explanatory. What was I going to call my business? Honestly, it could be anything. To get ideas, I used LeanDomainSearch to find available .com domains.
For a logo, I used looka. Whipped-up a logo in like 20min and was good to go.
Here is an example of a logo I created. I almost went with this name, but opted for something different.
I’ll share more on the business in a future post (waiting on a few things to materialize). But as you’ll see, I ended up going the easy-way with the website.
Website
Some people say this isn’t critical (at least when I was doing my research in the space). That’s idiotic advice. Yes, I needed a website. Who the hell would trust me if I didn’t have one? Anyway, I knew that I was going to use WordPress given my extensive experience with it.
I struggled deciding between self-hosting with SiteGround and using GeneratePress versus using a service like Carrot or REI Conversion. The latter are services that cater to real estate and land investors.
In the end, I chose REI Conversion because I preferred not to mess with managing my WordPress site. They have several templates (using Elementor, if you’re familiar with WordPress) that you can tweak accordingly. I made some minor adjustments and that’s it - everything else is their standard template.
Look, I’m not trying to waste my time being a web admin updating plugins and troubleshooting. That’s the problem with WordPress, you waste so much freaking time fixing stuff.
REIConversion also had all the configuration necessary for my forms, CRM (their Pebble offering - not required but something I’ll rely on), and more… so less set-up was needed on my part.
Does it cost more than just self-hosting WordPress? Yes, from a dollar perspective. But I know a self-hosted website and all the set-up & maintenance would cost me hours upon hours. I value my time. I also want to be 100% focused on the business and making money, not fixing plugin conflicts.
LLC (Taxed as an S-Corp)
I knew that I didn’t want to build my business in my own name, so I create an LLC for legal protection. Also, I plan to elect to be taxed as an S-Corp (this has to be done at the beginning of the year… honestly, just having my CPA handle it).
Why elect to be taxed as an S-Corp? Lowers your taxes. If you keep it an LLC, then any flips that you do will be taxed at your income tax bracket. If you’re cool with that, then don’t worry about the S-Corp status. However, if you aren’t and want a lower tax bracket (why would you?) then S-Corp it is.
Essentially, in an S-Corp, you pay yourself an acceptable wage for what you do in the business. Then you can take distributions after taxes are paid on top of your salary. Your salary is taxed at personal income brackets, so it has to be acceptable (meaning it can’t be $1,000 or whatever or the IRS will get pissed). Your distributions are not taxed at personal income brackets, which means more money in your pocket.
I set up my LLC and my CPA is waiting for the proper time to elect for being taxed as an S-Corp. Here is the service I used.
Phone Number & Physical Mailing Address
Pretty obvious. Not going to insult your intelligence on this one, but I will say that if you use the service I used, then you can knock out these two in one shot! I got my business address and phone number (which I can forward). Easy peasy.
Business Bank Account
In the past, I have used Chase Business Banking. Honestly, I never really had any problems with them. But seeing as how this is a new venture, I figured I’d look around to see what made sense.
I found Relay Financial. They looked very promising, and I actually opened an account with them. Very clean interface, integrates well with Quickbooks, and allows you to create multiple checking accounts with a few clicks (which is good for organizing funds).
In the end, I went back with Chase Business Banking. I am familiar with Chase, and I like having the option of a physical location should I need to go in to talk to someone. Plus, it’s one less bank that I have to manage - consolidate all the things!
Bookkeeping (optional)
Speaking of Quickbooks, let’s chalk this one up as a “lesson learned” from my previous entrepreneur endeavors. It’s tempting to do your own books, but it can get complex quickly. From my research, this looks especially true with real estate investing.
I am big on outsourcing. That is, I outsource things that I’m not an expert in. Legal and taxes are two of these areas, and for me, that includes the daily bookkeeping. Someone to be making sure expenses and assets are properly categorized so that the year-end taxes are easier.
I was having a hard time finding someone, but luckily, my network came through with a solid recommendation.
That’s it. Not overcomplicating it.
I know from experience how tempting it can be to continually look for new tools for your business. I used to see people fall into that trap all the time when I was actively involved in the WordPress industry. I learned that it’s best to get the minimum done and move forward. I know that I can revisit this stuff at a later time if necessary.
So, at this point, I am done with most of the configuration. I’m still waiting on that business credit card to come in, so I can get the expenses properly connected to Quickbooks, aside from that a and a few other things, I’m pretty close to working some deals.
Until next time!