“Visualize what you want to get out of real estate, then set up stepping-stones for getting there.”
Michael Campana’s father was an Italian immigrant who started a masonry company in Fort Collins, Colo., and later built and invested in apartments.
Today Campana is following in his dad’s investing footsteps, buying land and developing it into apartments, condos, or town homes. He sells some and keeps others for rental income.
Campana spent just one year in sales with another brokerage; in 1996 he opened a company in which he could combine his construction and sales skills. “Things really took off when I stepped up to the plate and started my own little business,” says Campana, who has four siblings, all involved in real estate. “I set up a pyramid of goals for myself, from selling investment properties and houses to apartment construction projects and land development.”
Last year he did more than $3 million in sales, mostly multifamiliy units he built and sold. “I put in 120 percent all the time to make sure I get good referrals,” he says.