Investor tip: The importance of education for goal-setting

"My plan was just that I knew that I had to do something. Things steam rolled quite quickly. It wasn't until I’d actually got that first property investment [that] I sat down with my accountant," Jim shared.

"He said, 'Okay, Jim. What are your goals?' I said, 'I don't have any goals...' He says, 'Well, okay. Let's work some goals out. What do you want to do?' I said, 'Well, I don't want to work forever. I like working but I don't want to work until I'm 65, 70.' He said, 'Okay. Let's look at a plan in terms of looking to replace your income through property investment...' He said, 'Based on the property portfolio worth X amount returning about 5 per cent, this is what you’d need to look to build over the years. Once you get some equity out, pull it out.'

"Once that all became a bit clearer I sat down with a piece of paper which I actually still carry around in my wallet. It's got my goals written down to create a property portfolio worth X amount, [which] will return X amount in these years."

As expected, things changed over the years. Jim and his family grew, and they had to move to a slightly bigger house—an event that put his investment journey on hold.

Despite this delay, having set his goals early on helped Jim find his way back and ultimately have some clarity on what he wants to achieve for the long term.

"I set the goals out and it just gives you something to aim for and a bit of clarity. It came quite quickly, to be honest, after that," he said.

Smart Property Investment's Phil Tarrant believes that the education that Jim got from his accountant at the beginning of his property investment journey helped him deal with sudden changes in his life that affected his investment journey.

Had it not been for the good orientation from a reliable mentor, the property investor may not have been able to bounce back and eventually succeed in creating wealth.

Phil explained that "[i]t's all about understanding what you want to achieve. It's about working out what information you need in order to be able to set goals".

While it may seem like a daunting task to find the right people in the vast property investment landscape, Phil and Jim agreed that anyone can have great access to experts as long as they have the patience and determination to succeed. After all, the property investment community is quite "collegiate"—not some special secret club for selected few.

"Property investors like talking about property investment to other property investors. There's so many people out there who are willing to share their experiences. It's not like some secret hidden game where only a couple of people have got the keys to the secret. Most property investors are really happy to chat about property investment," Phil concluded.

Tune in to Jim Hall's episode in The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about how he successfully built a portfolio on the fly, what he's learned along the way, and the lessons he is still learning up to this day.