The skill to invest in this year

It’s teaching.

I hadn’t realized this before but it’s a skill I was able to monetize (on accident) while I was a real estate agent.

When I started real estate I had transitioned from fixing aircraft so I was obsessed with repeatable processes that could be learned quickly.

So I made sure to simplify basic processes that I hated doing so I could teach someone to replace me when and if the business scaled.

The processes were admin focused, they involved gathering all the contracts and documents that would need to be signed every time I did a transaction. I didn’t think much of this but this was a task a lot of the other agents struggled with.

I had focused so much on streamlining this that I was able to complete it in under 1 hour. Which included creating docs/files, gathering docs/files, getting them sent for signature, and then uploading the finished package to the brokerage’s transaction system.

This was noticed by other agents who would spend hours doing them, some actually printed out the files and DROVE across town them to their clients for signature (We have e-signature so that's crazy).

Some eventually started asking me for help and others paid me to teach them how. Eventually some just paid me do it for them.

Since it didn’t take me long to complete these tasks, it meant I could make a few hundred dollars an hour if I had multiple transactions to work.

Taking into consideration this was an accident, it had a good outcome, and an even better lesson.

There’s value in your knowledge. This was the first time I had someone pay me for something I knew that they didn’t.

So next came the realization of: What if this knowledge had been something I enjoyed and not just admin work?

You can start sensing the worth of your knowledge, even more so if you’re able to package it properly.

What I had learned wasn’t new, but it was convenient to those around me. So they paid me for help because it was valuable to them at that time.

So take the same idea and apply it to something you enjoy doing and can provide value for others.

You’d be surprised at what people will pay for.

True Story: I was in a coffee shop and had overheard a conversation between two friends. One was explaining to the other how he was charging people to help them complete Raids in Destiny 2 (Video game). I don’t remember the exact amount he mentioned, but I just remember being surprised at how he was making money teaching people in a video game.

There is probably something you know right now that people would pay for, and if that’s not the case then make it so.

Aim to teach others a few steps behind you in something you enjoy doing.

You won’t regret it.

Thanks for reading -OG