How to Raise Money for Your Deals with Dave Dubeau

For today’s episode, I am happy to host Dave Dubeau, a real-estate investor, investor attraction expert, and a best selling author based in British Columbia, Canada. Dave famously began his career back in 2003, doing 18 deals in 18 months, and has continued to grow ever since, doing a remarkable number of client-first, rent-to-own deals, and later investing in multifamily properties. He is truly a master at what he does and has a proprietary 5 Step Money Partner Formula with which he continues to help his clients grow their portfolios significantly in record time by attracting investors.

Dave gives an insight into his childhood when he used to live in a 6-plex, where there were always tenants around, and the idea of rentals was not alien to him. He also gives credits to his mother, who was no slouch at real estate investing herself and racked up a sizable portfolio of over 50 doors while being a working mom. So, the seeds of real estate investing were planted into his mind from an early age.

Dave recalls that when his daughter was getting to school age, they decided to move to North America since it offered better opportunities and a safer environment for kids to grow up in. So, they moved to Canada and started all over again from scratch in 2003. He remembers coming across a Ron LeGrand commercial, saying that you could get into real estate investing with little or no money down, and thinking to himself that it’s perfect because that’s exactly what he had. He immediately took it to action and did 18 deals in 18 months.

Dave then went on to work with a real estate guru, who was pretty much the Canadian version of Robert Kiyosaki who saw what he was doing with marketing and other business dealings. He became the Director of Marketing for his companies and helped him grow from two employees to 128 employees with seven branch offices, clocking in $200 million a year.

Dave shares his non-conventional ways of making deals like instead of starting with the house, and then trying to find somebody for that house, he starts by finding the person and then buying a house for their requirements. He shares his philosophy of raising capital. He says, when it comes to the chicken and the egg, which comes first, the money or the deal, he says the money always comes first, which means that before you go around trying to make deals, you’ve got to have the capital to back you up. That's when you can go after the best deals, that's when you can negotiate the hardest, that's when you can go in with the Mojo because you know, you've got the money to back you up.

Dave then goes ahead and gives a glimpse of his 5 Steps Money Partner Formula. Step number one is to come up with a list of prospective investors, a list of 150 to 200 people. Hit your cell phone, take a look at your contacts, email, Linkedin, and all other profiles, and start making a solid list. Then, reconnect with these people. Before talking business, build a genuine relationship and gradually find out if or not they could be a potential investor. You’ll probably get 30 to 50 replies out of that list you’ve made.

Step number two is to go with a good presentation for when somebody puts up their hand and says, hey, I'm interested, tell me more. Most people aren't super experienced with raising capital as they aren't natural salespeople. So having a really good, well structured, well-laid out, attractive slideshow presentation can serve you very well.

Step number three is all about marketing. Dave stresses the importance of constant, consistent communication. Ideally, you want to be reaching out to your list of prospective investors once a week, but at the very least, consistently do it once a month. Keep in mind that the person coming in may not care about real estate investing, but they do like the idea of getting a good return on their money.

Step number four is all about demonstrating your authority and credibility. You only need to be seen as the expert, as an authority in the eyes of those people on your list. Again, keep in mind that the vast majority of those people have never purchased a single revenue property. So, if you even have closed one deal, you're already light years ahead of them. When you're meeting with somebody, even if it's on zoom, and you're talking about money, dress up professionally and show them respect. Dave advises that people speak knowledgeably about your strategy and your market.

Lastly, step number five, once you get a couple of investors on board, it's so much easier to get more of them with effective testimonials and referrals. If your investors are happy with what you're doing for them, if you do it properly, you can get referrals and testimonials from them, which will greatly boost your growth. Dave says that he firmly believes that a good real estate deal is the best way for everyday folks to make an above-average return on the money, backed by a solid, tangible asset, a real property.

What a fabulous episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast! So much great information and value from this wonderful conversation with Dave Dubeau!

Notable quotes:

“If I were going to write a book on the keys to success, there would absolutely be a chapter on self-awareness.”

Mike Simmons

“Instead of starting with the house, and then trying to find somebody for that house, we start by finding the person and then we buy them a house.”

Dave Dubeau

“Find a good deal and the money will find you.”

Dave Dubeau

“You need to turn every conversation into a real estate conversation. You have to get out there.”

Dave Dubeau

“I always tell people the best time to raise money is when you don't need it.”

Mike Simmons

“When it comes to the chicken and the egg idea, which comes first, the money or the deal? I say that the money always comes first.”

Dave Dubeau

“When it comes to raising capital, especially for people who are just getting started, just go after the low hanging fruit.”

Dave Dubeau

“Marketing is all about having constant, consistent communication, so we're planting the seed of real estate investing.”

Dave Dubeau

“When you're meeting with somebody, even if it's on zoom, and you're talking about money, dress up.”

Dave Dubeau

“I think it is really important to say that you firmly believe that a good real estate deal is the best way for everyday folks to make an above-average return on their money, backed by solid, tangible property.”