ForeclosuresMass - ForeclosuresMass Monthly - Nothing Succeeds Like Success - Joe Roche Gets to the Next Level via Coaching (January 2008)

If you've attended any of our Turning the Key networking meetings or other events, you may have met Joe Roche, a very successful real estate investor and President of East Coast Business Solutions. One would think that with a business as successful as his, Joe wouldn't be a candidate for coaching. In fact, as Joe explains in this interview, eight months ago he was stuck big time. He knew he wanted to expand his business, but he couldn't take on any more work. Read his story to learn how he used coaching to clarify his goals and accelerate his game plan - while tripling his income potential in just eight months!

Joe Roche: My business was actually doing quite well. However, I hit a wall. I had too many tasks and couldn't get everything done by myself. There was no room for me to do any more in terms of taking my business to the next level.

About that time I also attended a real estate conference. While on the plane I read the book, The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber and thought, "Wow. He's describing me!" Then at the conference, the speaker kept talking about the business side of real estate investing - I found out he had been an E-Myth coach.

When I came home, I asked a few friends about their businesses, which had really taken off, because I wanted to know how they had done it. I learned they were using an E-Myth coach. So I called David Hilton - he's a certified E-Myth coach - and signed on with him about eight months ago.

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FMM: Some people view coaching as a "touchy-feely" endeavor that doesn't have true ROI. What has coaching done for you - and how do you justify the cost?

JR: Coaching has helped me take my business to where I wanted to go. In just eight months I've tripled what I'm shooting for, and I'm working on things I didn't expect to get to for another two or three years. Coaching accelerated my plan. My business has expanded dramatically.

As for the cost, I looked at what coaching would cost and realized that in order to cover it, all I needed was one more deal. As for ROI, I've definitely made more than I've spent. As I said, I'm now doing things I didn't expect to do for another two years.

FMM: Ok, let's talk about the nitty-gritty then. You say you had too much work. Obviously you must have made some changes to your business. What where they?

JR: That's a great question. Because of coaching, I started looking at my business differently. The first thing we did was go right to the core of what I was trying to accomplish. I learned how to put a dollar value to my time and then judge tasks based on the value.

At the time, I was spending half my time trying to build a real estate agent business. Once I started seeing my business from a new perspective, it became obvious that doing the work of a realtor would hinder my progress. So I cut that part of the business. Or rather, I personally, no longer do it. I hired a real estate agent to do those things for me. As we speak, I'm on my way to view an apartment building in Ohio while she's back in Massachusetts handling offers on a house and interviewing renters for my rental units.

I also use an accountant and bookkeeper so I no longer have to handle financial tasks.

The point of these changes is that I handed off tasks in order to focus on the "big picture" opportunities that match my long-term goals.

Another change I made, which is subtle but huge, is exchanging my truck for a decent car. Selling my truck never came up in any of my coaching conversations, but I realized that I had bought the truck when I was doing my own rehab work. I no longer swing a hammer, so a nice car better reflects who I am now and where I'm going.

FMM: Speaking of coaching sessions, does your coach tell you what steps to take or do you figure it out yourself?

JR: David doesn't tell me what to do or what steps I must take. We'll come up with action steps based on the discussions of our sessions. He didn't tell me, for example, to stop going after listings. Part of the coaching process is clarifying your goals. Once I knew where I wanted to go, I realized that being a listing agent wasn't going to get me to my goal. The most important thing David does is get me to ask the right questions of myself.

With coaching, I determine what I want to do, why I want to do it, and then create and implement systems for getting it done. If I get stuck or run into a problem, David doesn't say, "You screwed up, you did it wrong." Instead, he asks, "What system can you put in place for the desired results for next time?"

He keeps me on track and truly challenges me. I'd also like to point out that David doesn't tell me how to run the real estate side of my business. He doesn't tell me how to make offers or how to talk to a motivated seller. He gives me objective feedback on a big picture scale. When you're in business for yourself, sometimes you lose track of the big picture - that is why coaching is so helpful.

Coaching has also helped me raise my own bar. Things have moved so fast that I'm restructuring my business for the third time this year! I'm now where I wanted to be two years from now - which means, I'm now thinking even bigger. My goals- and my potential income -is far greater than just a few months ago. It's amazing, to be honest.

FMM: Joe, do you have any final advice for people who may be considering a coaching relationship?

JR: A coach like David Hilton is the answer to the basic frustrations you hear from real estate investors. Frustrations are symptoms of a larger need. A coach can help eliminate the symptoms and put you on the road to faster and greater success.

Joseph A. Roche is an active real estate investor and President of East Coast Investment Solutions, a full service real estate firm located in Braintree, MA. He can be reached by phone at 781-789-7308 or via his website at www.ecishomes.com.