On a recent episode of the Relentless Growth Podcast, my co-host Jack Mayer and I got into a topic that comes up again and again when people ask how to get ahead in real estate or business: the power of just taking action. It’s easy to get stuck reading articles, listening to podcasts, or waiting until you’ve got the perfect plan figured out. But in my experience, the people who win are the ones who get in the game and learn as they go.
You Have to Be in the Game to Get Real Feedback
One of the biggest points Jack and I kept coming back to is that you can only learn so much from the outside. The construction and real estate industry is constantly changing underneath your feet. The way we operate today is different from how we did things five years ago, and that’s only because we were actually in the market getting real-world feedback. You can read every article and listen to every podcast out there, but nothing replaces being in the game and letting the market teach you. That feedback loop is what shapes good decisions over time.
What You Learn by Doing Is Often Worth More Than the Outcome
Here’s something I’ve seen firsthand in my own career: when you take action on a business idea, the value isn’t only in whether that business becomes a huge success. Even if it doesn’t blow up, even if it fails, what you learn along the way is often more valuable than the business itself. I started several small businesses when I was younger, and the knowledge and experience I picked up from those carried forward in ways I never could have predicted at the time.
We talked about how this plays out at every level. The skills and lessons you gather from one venture tend to come together later and set you up for whatever you do next. You simply can’t get that kind of education from school or from listening to other people talk about it. You’re far better off taking action, even if the first attempt or the second doesn’t work out the way you hoped.
A Real Example Here in Central Arkansas
To put it in concrete terms, I shared an update on what we’re working on at Apex Professional Construction. We got some infill lots under contract a while back in a little pocket of Central Arkansas that we’ve been redeveloping for years. We’ve bought and rehabbed duplexes there and built single-family homes and duplexes in the same area. We just got approved for a development construction loan on seven more duplexes in that pocket, and we’re about thirty days out from closing.
The plan is to go vertical on three or four of them to start, then build the rest once we start seeing lease-up. That whole area is overgrown and rough-looking right now, but once we finish, I think it’s going to look really nice. None of that would be happening if we’d waited around for perfect conditions. We took action on that neighborhood years ago, learned from each project, and kept building.
The Takeaway
If you’re sitting on an idea, whether it’s your first investment property, a remodel, or a new venture, the best thing you can do is start. The feedback, the experience, and the lessons you gain by getting in the game are what move you forward. Perfect rarely shows up. Action does.
At Apex Professional Construction, we build ground-up single-family homes, small multifamily, and commercial projects across Central Arkansas. If you’ve got a project you’re thinking about taking action on, give us a call at 501-500-5177 or request a quote. We’d love to help you get it off the ground.