Episode 1: Setting Realistic Passive Income Goals

Welcome to Building Passive Income, the podcast for professionals, entrepreneurs and investors who want to build wealth, diversify beyond Wall street, and create true financial freedom through passive commercial real estate investing. I'm Wayne Courageous III, founding and managing principal of Crei Partners, a leading commercial real estate company. I created CreiColin, an AI powered resource to serve as your investor education guide. Built on the insights and experience we've developed at CREI Partners, Creicollen is here to educate you through passive invest tax strategy topics to help your journey in passive investing. Just a quick disclaimer. This podcast and CRA Colin is for educational purposes only and is not legal tax or investment advice. Always consult with your attorney, CPA and financial advisor before making any investment decisions. I've spent nearly two decades helping investors understand the power of commercial real estate. From multifamily to storage to retail. Each episode is under 15 minutes, simple to follow, and packed with insights to help you grow your income and protect your capital without becoming a landlord. If you're ready to learn quickly and invest smarter, you're in the right place. Welcome to Building Passive Income. Let's build wealth together. Here's creicollen.

Hey there, I'm Crei Colin and welcome to Building Passive Income, the podcast where we help high income professionals like you build wealth through strategic, tax efficient real estate investing. If you're thinking about your financial goals for the year ahead, you're probably wondering how to generate more passive income. Diversify your portfolio, or finally take control of your financial future. Today we're talking about how to set realistic passive income goals. Goals that are ambitious enough to excite you, but achievable enough that you'll actually reach them. Because here's the truth. Most people set financial goals that are either too vague or too unrealistic. And then they wonder why they don't achieve them. Today, we're going to change that. Let me tell you about David. David is a successful dentist earning about $450,000 a year. Every year David would tell himself, this year I'm going to start investing in real estate. But it never happened. Why? Because start investing in real estate wasn't a real goal. It was a wish. David didn't have a specific target. How much to invest, a timeline, when to invest, a plan, how to find deals, accountability, who would hold him to it? So year after year, David would get busy with his practice, life would happen, and his goal would fade away. Then one January, David did something different. He set a Smart goal. By December 31, I will invest $200,000 across two commercial real estate syndications, generating an estimated $14,000 in annual passive income. Notice the difference? This goal is two syndications $200,000 total. Measurable he can track whether he invested the money $200,000 was realistic based on his savings Relevant Aligned with his goal of building passive income time boundaries by December 31st, David broke that goal down into quarterly Q1 research sponsors and attend webinars. Q2 complete due diligence on three to five potential deals Q3 make first investment $100,000 Q4 make second investment $100,000 and you know what? David achieved his goal. By year end, he had invested $200,000 in two quality syndications. The following year, David set an even more ambitious invest another $300,000 and increase his passive income to $35,000 per year. That's the power of setting realistic, specific goals. So let's talk about how you can do the same thing. Assess your current situation before you set goals for where you want to go, you need to know where you are. Financial Assessment what's my current annual income? How much do I have in savings and investments? How much liquid capital do I have available to invest this year? What's my current passive income, if any? What are my current expenses and financial obligations? Investment assessment have I invested in real estate before? What's my current portfolio? Stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. What's my risk tolerance? What's my investment timeline? Time assessment how much time can I dedicate to learning about investments? How much time can I dedicate to due diligence? Am I looking for truly passive investments or am I willing to be more hands on? Write down honest answers to these questions. This is your starting point. Define what success looks like. Now let's define your vision for success. Ask yourself Income goals How much passive income do I want to generate per year? By when? Do I want to achieve financial independence? What's my target monthly passive income at retirement? Investment goals how much capital do I want to deploy into real estate this year? How many investments do I want to make? What asset classes am I interested in? Multifamily self storage, mobile home parks, etc. Lifestyle goals what would financial freedom allow me to do? Do I want to retire early? Work less? Travel more? Give more to charity? What does my ideal lifestyle look like in 5, 10, 20 years? Get specific. I want to be wealthy is not a goal. I want to generate $100,000 per year in passive income within 10 years is a goal. Set your annual investment goals. Now let's set specific goals for this year I recommend setting goals in three categories. Category 1 capital deployment goals how much will you invest? This year I will invest $100,000 in real estate syndications. This year I will invest $250,000 across three to four different deals. I will invest $50,000 as a first time syndication investor. Make sure this number is realistic based on your available capital. Category 2 passive income goals how much passive income do you want to generate from your investments? My real estate investments will generate $15,000 in distributions. This year. I will increase my passive income from $20,000 to $35,000. This year I will generate my first $5,000 in passive income as a new investor. Remember, if you're making new investments this year, the the passive income might be small in year one since properties need time to stabilize. Be realistic. Category three Education and Relationship Goals what will you do to become a smarter investor? I will attend six sponsor webinars this year I will read four books on real estate investing. I will join an investor community or coaching program. I will build relationships with three to five quality sponsors. These goals are often overlooked, but they're critical. The more you learn and the better your relationships, the better your investment decisions will be. Make your goals smart. For each goal, make sure it's smart specific. Exactly what will you do? How will you track progress achievable? Is it realistic given your resources relevant? Does it align with your bigger vision? Time boundaries? When will you accomplish it? Example of a Smart goal by December 31st of this year, I will invest $150,000 across two multifamily syndications in growing Sunbelt markets with sponsors who have completed at least five successful deals, generating an estimated $10,500 in annual passive income, which is a 7% cash on cash return. That's a smart goal. Step 5 Break it down into quarterly milestones A one year goal can feel overwhelming. Break it into smaller chunks. Example quarterly breakdown Q1 January through March education and research read two books on syndication investing. Join CREI partners investor community get on email lists for five to ten sponsors. Attend at least three webinars. Q2 April through June due diligence and first investment review five to seven potential deals. Conduct deep due diligence on two to three deals. Talk to references from sponsors. Make first investment $75,000 Q3 July through September continue learning. Attend two more webinars. Review performance of first investment stay engaged with sponsor communications. Q4 October through December 2 review three to five new deals. Conduct due diligence make second investment $75,000 review year end performance and set goals for next year. When you break it down like this, it feels manageable. Step 6 Create accountability goals without accountability often fail. Create accountability by 1. Sharing your goals with your spouse or partner. They can support you and keep you on track. 2. Joining an investor surround yourself with people pursuing similar goals. 3. Working with a coach or mentor someone who can guide you and hold you accountable. 4. Tracking your progress monthly Set a recurring calendar reminder to review your goals. 5. Celebrating milestones when you hit a quarterly goal, celebrate it. Anticipate obstacles what could prevent you from achieving your goals? Common obstacles not finding quality deals Analysis paralysis Overthinking every decision Lack of time for due diligence Unexpected expenses that reduce available capital, market downturn or economic uncertainty. For each potential obstacle, create a contingency plan. I can't find quality deals Contingency I'll expand my search to include two to three additional sponsors and consider different asset classes. Planning for obstacles makes you more likely to overcome them. Sample goals for different investor profiles Let me give you some examples based on different situations. Profile 1 the first time investor annual goals invest $50,000 in my first syndication by June 30th. Attend six sponsor webinars and read three books on syndications. Join an investor community to learn from experienced investors. Generate my first $3,000 to $3,500 in passive income profile 2 the experienced investor annual goals invest $300,000 across three new syndications. Increase my annual passive income from $40,000 to $60,000 diversify into a new asset class Add self storage or mobile home parks Build my passive loss carry forward to $400,000 or more profile 3 the high income W2 employee annual goals invest $200,000 to generate $120,000 or more in first year depreciation. Build passive loss carryforwards to offset future passive income. Explore oil and gas investments for immediate tax deductions. Work with my CPA to create a comprehensive tax strategy. Profile 4 the Approaching Retirement Investor Invest $500,000 to increase passive income to $100,000 per year. Focus on stabilized cash flowing properties with less value. Add risk create a five year plan to replace my W2 income with passive income. Prepare to transition to financial independence. Choose the profile that matches your situation and adapt the goals. How to track your progress Set up a simple system to track your progress. I recommend a simple spreadsheet. Column 1 goal column 2 target date column 3 status not started in progress complete column 4 notes review this spreadsheet monthly. Ask yourself, am I on track? What obstacles have I encountered. What adjustments do I need to make? If you're falling behind, don't beat yourself up. Adjust your timeline or your goal. Life happens. The key is to stay engaged and keep moving forward. What if you don't hit your goals? Let's be real. You might not hit every goal you set. Maybe the market shifts. Maybe you can't find quality deals. Maybe an unexpected expense comes up. That's okay. Here's what matters. Did you make progress even if you didn't hit 100% of your goal? And did you move forward? Example. Your goal was to invest $200,000, but you only invested $100,000. That's still progress. You're $100,000 closer to financial freedom than you were at the start of the year. Did you learn? What did you learn from the experience? What will you do differently next year? Did you stay disciplined? Did you stick to your criteria and avoid bad deals, even if it meant not hitting your investment target? That's a win. Progress over perfection Always the compound Effect here's the beautiful thing about setting and achieving passive income goals year after year. The compound effect. Let's say you invest $100,000 per year for 10 years. Each investment generates a 7% cash on cash return. Year one, you invest $100,000. You receive $7,000 in passive income. Year two, you invest another $100,000. You receive$14,000 in passive income. Year three, another $100,000. You receive $21,000 in passive income. By year 10, you've invested $1 million total. You're receiving $70,000 per year in passive income. But it gets better. Many of those properties will also appreciate and be sold. You'll receive capital back, which you can reinvest. Your passive income grows even faster. And let's not forget the tax benefits. You're building passive loss carryforwards that will offset that passive income in the future. This is how you build generational wealth. One year at a time. One goal at a time. One investment at a time. The bottom Line Setting realistic passive income goals is the first step toward financial freedom. Don't make the mistake of setting vague, unrealistic goals that you'll abandon by February. Set smart goals. Break them into quarterly milestones. Create accountability. Anticipate obstacles. Track your progress. And remember, you don't have to do it all in one year. This is a long term game. Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Here's what I want you to do. This Step 1. Block one to two hours on your calendar for goal setting Step 2 Assess your current situation where are you financially? What resources do you have? Step 3 Define what success looks like what's your vision for passive income? Set 3 Annual A capital deployment goal how much you'll invest A passive income goal how much passive income you'll generate an education goal how you'll become a Smarter Investor Step 5 Break each goal into quarterly milestones. Step 6 Share your goals with your spouse, partner, or a trusted friend for accountability. Step 7 Set a monthly reminder to review your progress. That's it. Simple but powerful. If you want help setting your goals and building a roadmap for passive income investing, join our free Passive Investor coaching program@ passiveinvestorcoaching.com we'll help you create a personalized plan based on your income resources and timeline. You can also visit Creipartners.com or email us@investreipartners.com Remember, financial freedom isn't a dream, it's a decision. And setting clear, realistic goals is the first step in making that decision a reality. Let's make this your best year yet.

Thanks for tuning in to Building Passive Income. Today's episode helped shift your mindset or gave you a new tool to grow your wealth. Do us a favor and like subscribe and share this podcast with someone you care about. Want to go deeper? Join our free Passive Investor coaching program@ passiveinvestorcoaching.com it's the perfect next step to start building wealth through commercial real estate the right way. Remember, financial freedom isn't a dream, it's a decision. And it starts with Building Passive Income. We'll see you in the next episode. Sam.