By Ronald Cagape
#1. Emphasis on Fundamentals
In Math, the Kumon method focuses on mastering fundamental computations. The focus is not on developing analytical skills or word-problem solving but rather on computational mastery. The objective is to develop the skill of computation at the calculus level.
If an 8-year-old can solve integral calculus at grade 2, I can imagine that the development of analytical skills will come easily as they grow older.
In real estate investing, I highly recommend you to master the skill of property valuation and investment analysis. In my opinion, these are fundamental skills for any investor because you need to buy at the right price and know if an investment is profitable or not.
When you have mastered these fundamental skills, you are able to develop rules of thumb for analyzing a property. One of our investors has a rule of thumb that if a property can be acquired for 100 times the monthly rent, it’s a good deal. He doesn’t stress about computing the expenses, taxes and selling price anymore.
#2. Mastery of Fundamentals Creates Extra Time
By learning the fundamentals early on, the student gets more time to study and prepare for the more difficult subjects. They don’t have to spend so much time and effort on solving an equation. As long as the equation is setup, solving it becomes a fairly easy exercise.
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In the same vein, the real estate investor should spend more time on developing business systems, negotiating deals and expanding his network. Analyzing a property should be done quickly. This can be done by doing the next secret.
#3. Begin At A Low Starting Point
Do the easy work first. Sometimes, parents are surprised that their children are made to do addition or subtraction drills when they are already at the high school level. But Kumon does this because the child has not displayed mastery yet.
Sure, they know how to do arithmetic operations but knowing and mastering are two different things.
That’s why the child has to start a low-point. Master the easy stuff first before going to big things.
In real estate investing, master the small deals first before going to the bigger and more complex deals. Some people want to jump right ahead to the big deals but they don’t know how to do basic stuff.
And they expect to do it no-money-down using other people’s money.
#4. Work Daily For 30-45 Minutes
Kumon is done for 30-45 minutes everyday. Literally everyday.
No holidays and no vacations. You do Kumon in the center twice a week then take some homework to do everyday.
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If a holiday is coming, you have to pickup the homework in advance. You do Kumon on Christmas, New Year, Holy Week and on your birthday.
No wonder the children become masters.
If you are working right now, you may not have a lot of time but allot an hour everyday to real estate investing. The Kumon kids are also busy with schoolwork so time should not be an excuse.
All you need to do is devote one hour everyday to analyzing properties.
#5. Develop Speed And Accuracy
Mastery is shown by the ability to do computations with speed and accuracy. Solve this in 7 seconds without using a calculator, what is 238 x 67?
You know you’ve reached mastery when you complete the fundamental stuff quickly.
Speed and accuracy is the product of all that daily work. When you work at it everyday, you will master it.
That was also one of the premises of the book, Outliers, where one of the biggest keys to success is practicing a specific task for 10,000 hours.
#6. Learn At Your Own Pace
The beauty of the Kumon method is the student learns at their own pace. They are not pressured to be at the same level as their classmates. They learn at their own pace.
Real estate investing is very simple yet very complex at times also. Different markets, different properties and different people lead to different results.
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So learn at your own pace. If you’re a beginner in real estate investing and you’re just starting out, don’t be in a hurry to do your first deal next week. Work at developing mastery and it will all play out in due time.
#7. Develop Self-Learning
This one really surprised me but the Kumon method teaches the children how to learn themselves. I mean, if you told me that I can learn calculus all by myself then I would tell you you’re crazy.
But somehow that is true with Kumon kids. They learn by themselves. They are taught learning techniques so that they don’t become dependent on their instructors.
This is almost counter-intuitive to everything I believe in real estate investing. I’ve always believed mentors are a powerful shortcut to success and well, I still do.
But what if the mentor can’t answer the question? What if the mentor, who is also human, makes a mistake?
In that case, you really should take responsibility since it’s your own business anyway. Look at it this way. When it all works out, you will enjoy the fruits of that deal. You will reap the profits.
Sure, still seek out mentors but develop that hunger and ability for learning on your own. When you solve problems on your own, you develop that belief and confidence in yourself that you can overcome problems. What can stop you from achieving your goals when you develop that?
Photo by Roslan Tangah
#8. Correct Your Own Mistakes
Well, related to the point above is this point. Kumon kids are encouraged to correct their own mistakes. The instructor guides them to determining the mistake then they just correct the mistake.
In the field, you may not always have the luxury of having a mentor check your work. So if something goes wrong and things don’t work as expected, you have to know how to identify the mistake and correct it.
As an investor, especially when you use other people’s money, you should be responsible to correct any mistakes when a deal breaks down. When a property is making money, everyone is happy but when it’s not, the investor should recognize the mistakes and correct them.
#9. Long Term Commitment
It’s a long-term commitment. Kumon kids don’t become calculus masters overnight. It’s a product of continuous, daily exercise, 30-45 minutes everyday. In fact, the instructor mentioned that parents should be prepared to invest around 3 years in Kumon and complete the whole program all the way to calculus.
Remember the Outliers, it takes 10,000 hours to become the best. If 10,000 is too big a number to digest then start with 1,000 hours. According to Michael Masterson, 1,000 hours is enough to be competent at anything. That is true for real estate investing.
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And you need to persevere.
#10. Persevere
Many Kumon kids almost quit.
It’s true. As good as the program is, it’s not easy for the kids who have to grapple with school work plus the additional daily Kumon work. While the kid is grappling with school projects, assignments, reports and quarterly exams, they also have to put in that extra hour of work to finish the Kumon assignments.
They may have to make sacrifices by not watching TV, playing games or going out with playmates.
But those who persevered were rewarded. I can only imagine what these kids will accomplish in the future.
And I can only imagine what you can accomplish if you will persist in real estate investing. It’s not all a bed of roses as some would lead you to think. There are many challenges along the way. You will probably have sleepless nights, empty pockets and many sacrifices.
But those who persevere will be rewarded. Many of the rich made money or keep their money in real estate. If you want to be rich, real estate is a sure and proven way but only if you will learn the lessons and persist along the way.
Here’s the key to help you persevere.
#11. Love And Passion First
Toru Kumon developed the Kumon method because he loved his son. He wanted to help his son overcome his difficulty. He initially bought materials for his son to work on and when he ran out of materials, he created them himself. He created worksheets everyday for his son to work on. He created those early Kumon worksheets by hand.
He did not do it because he wanted to make money. He did it because he loved his son.
That is a lesson for everyone whether you decide to go into real estate investing or not. In fact, even before you get into investing or if you are deep into learning it, try to step back and ask, “Why are you really doing this? Why are you making the sacrifice? Why are you putting up with the difficulty?”
Without love and passion, anything becomes a chore. But with love and passion, everything becomes bearable. And in real estate investing, success and profit will follow.
Thanks Ronald for the wonderful article, it will truly help us to be a successful real estate investor.
