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Have you ever heard of John Henry? This guy’s entrepreneurial journey is truly inspiring. Considering the fact that he’s only 26 years old, he’s accomplished a heck of a lot.
Currently, he owns two multifamily properties and a private equity fund worth $25 million. On top of that, he’s starring in Viceland’s docuseries, Hustle. Like NBC’s Shark Tank, it gives struggling small-business owners the chance to get some awesome advice in addition to huge opportunities for growth.
John Henry
I had a great discussion with Henry during a recent podcast. In it, he drops some value bombs that could help you take your business to the next level.
For a quick overview of Henry’s tips for real estate professionals, read on. For more details and additional advice on entrepreneurship, listen to the complete podcast below.
1. Produce more content
99 percent of agents aren’t producing enough content to capture the interest of today’s digitally driven consumers. Putting more content out there is the key to getting more eyes on your business.
So, how much content should the average agent produce?
According to Henry, agents should be pushing out three-to-four pieces of content per day.
But this doesn’t mean that you have to spend endless hours working on marketing materials.
Scheduling a healthy spread of posts to platforms like Facebook and Instagram to supplement time-intensive pieces like videos and blogs can be an effective strategy. Plus, it’s not one that will leave you feeling burned out.
Also, as your business and its marketing budget grows, it’s perfectly fine to hire others to handle the bulk of your content-creation tasks.
2. Go super specific
Henry’s a big believer in the saying “there’s riches in the niches.” Trying to check all of the boxes with generalized marketing materials isn’t a sustainable strategy. Besides, it’s not very effective.
Hone in on what you’re passionate about in this industry. Let that passion fuel your marketing efforts. As a result, potential clients will sense your authenticity and want to work with you.
Instead of building your brand around something generic, like the idea that you know homes, become an expert in a specific market segment.
For example, if you really love working with first-time homebuyers, why not try focusing your marketing efforts on them specifically?
Remember this: Your target audience will be more likely to engage with a message that speaks directly to them. With the right message, you’ll also generate more business from clients who you truly love working with.
3. Leverage LinkedIn
LinkedIn has grown massively as a platform for professionals. Today, it’s absolutely one of the best places to expand your influence as a real estate expert.
The more top-of-funnel content you post on LinkedIn, the more brand awareness you’ll build. Not only will this boost your professional image, it’ll generate more leads and more opportunities for business growth.
In addition to sharing the content you create on LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to audit your profile every now and then to fix mistakes and make improvements. Here are a few of the most common LinkedIn mistakes along with easy fixes for each:
- Not including a summary: Your LinkedIn profile summary should sell visitors on you and your services. Be sure to include on your profile information the services you offer, what makes you unique and why you’re worth hiring.
- Not optimizing your profile: Unless you make an active effort to optimize with industry- and location-specific keywords, you’ll have a hard time getting the right eyes on your LinkedIn profile. Work keywords into your profile so that it’s more likely to pop up when people search for real estate services in your market.
- Omitting contact details: Too many people leave too few contact details on their LinkedIn profile. Give potential clients multiple ways to reach you, ideally by both phone and email. Also, if you haven’t looked at your LinkedIn contact details in some time, it’s a good idea to check them for accuracy.
Bonus: Henry’s thesis on real estate investing
As a real estate agent, why wouldn’t you leverage your expertise to make a few well-placed property investments of your own?
If you aren’t actively investing in property already, or if you’re keen on experimenting with a new strategy, you might be interested to learn how John Henry decided on the site of his first major real estate investment: Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Why, when living and working in New York City, wouldn’t Henry invest in something a little closer to home?
For starters, Allentown is the fastest-growing city in Pennsylvania and already has the infrastructure needed to support additional growth.
Plus, it’s in line with Henry’s thesis on real estate investing, which is this: Most major cities in the United States are too costly for the average American to live in. And for the average investor, properties in these cities are too expensive to turn a reasonable, timely profit or to generate positive cash flow.
So, instead of buying investment properties in high-cost cities like San Francisco or Los Angeles, buy in neighboring cities that are still affordable and predicted to grow.
With Allentown less than two hours away from New York City, it was the perfect place for Henry to buy. For $675,000, less than the average apartment costs in New York City, Henry was able to buy a total of 10 units.
Have questions for John Henry?
Do you have questions for John Henry on real estate, investing or entrepreneurship?
You’ll find links to his social media profiles in the podcast show notes. Henry makes an active effort to respond to all messages personally, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
Pat Hiban sold more than 7,000 homes over the course of his 25-year career in real estate. Now, he dedicates his time to helping others succeed as agents and investors. As host of the Real Estate Rockstars Podcast, Pat interviews real estate experts to explore what works in today’s markets. He also founded Rebus University, an online training platform for real estate agents and sales professionals.
