Nate Armstrong is a career-long
investor who specialized in real estate. He currently works as the chair for
Home Invest in Illinois. Before rising to this position, he worked at Target.
Whilst there, he focused on managing north of $2 million worth of various
improvements to the company. More importantly, he led a team that contained 120
members and achieved the highest productivity level within the building in less
than seven months.
Nate Armstrong got his bachelor’s degree from Saint John’s University where he
also co-founded the Premium Painting organization. His efforts were recognized
when he received the Minnesota Collegiate Entrepreneur of the Year award. Thus,
his business-based ideas came to life long before he even entered the
entrepreneurial industry.
What do you think are some of the main reasons for your success as an investor?
I think that my career has been a perfect combination of patience and
discipline mixed with a lot of luck and dedication. In other words, there is no
clear-cut list that shows all the factors that played a role in my success.
After all, I have been in this field for many years now and every
accomplishment was a byproduct of something different. For instance, my success
at Target was directly related to my leadership and communication skills as I
managed a large team. Here at Home Invest, however, I have to focus more on my
investing intuition and knowledge of the market. Regardless, if I had to pick a
few skills that I value the most, it would certainly be the four that I
mentioned.
Would you agree with the statement that investors are made, not born?
Absolutely! Frankly speaking, I do not believe in investors that are simply
born with a talent for this job. The reason why is the fact that investing
quite literally changes from year to year and it is borderline impossible to
know what you are doing absent a lot of education and training. So, although
one can definitely have some killer instincts that make them capture profitable
deals fast, I do not see any skills that cannot be taught.
How difficult is it to train oneself in such a volatile industry? Especially for those who may not have the natural instincts that you mentioned?
Well, I would not label it as “difficult” for a few different
reasons. The most important one is the fact that those who want to be investors
will enjoy the training and education stages. Thus, they should not be bothered
by the potential level of difficulty or similar factors. Instead, the training
should be something that makes them want to work in this field even more.
What are some of the main areas of concern for newcomers to this market?
The risk of failure and a potential loss of capital is probably the most
worrisome concern. After all, nobody likes to be a victim of an economic
downturn and lose a lot of their portfolio’s value. Nevertheless, the sooner
that one realizes that they will eventually lose money, the more likely they
are to overcome this adversity. Also, people who are just beginning here should
beware of a lot of competition that comes from all sides. Just consider, for
instance, how many other investors there are in the market. So, you may have to
go into bidding wars or tough negotiations in order to earn sizeable
returns.
What do you think is a good starting point before getting into large purchases and complex financing?
Well, obviously make sure to get some college education that teaches you the
basics of business. I stress this due to the fact that it will help understand
things like financing, taxation, accounting, and similar. Then, look for a
mentor who can make the process of entering the field more seamless.
Ultimately, simply find a property that you would like to own and look for some
of the most common factors that indicate potential profitability.
These include things like a good location that is in an up-and-coming area,
decent price, solid structure, and so on. Be prepared to negotiate with
financial institutions who will often have to back you up on your first
purchase with financing. In the end, just listen to your gut and back up every
decision with a plethora of research.
