As a regular reader of property magazines I’m instantly drawn to the profiles of ordinary investors. I love reading how the started out, what choices and mistakes they’ve made and how as regular people they manage to do extraordinary things. But the profiles I love most are the ones about women who are doing it on their own.
You see, it turns out we are in fact very good at it! Women aren’t afraid to ask ‘silly’ questions, we network like crazy with like-minded women, we are creative thinkers, and make relatively conservative decisions.
Over the years I’ve done the rounds of free and paid property seminars and what constantly surprises me is the number of women, especially young single women, who are in attendance. It’s clear to me that the latest generation of independent women, see property as a great opportunity to provide for their own future.
Last year I was fortunate enough to spend time working with an organization called Property Women. Property Women is a network of like-minded property investors who believe that networking, mentoring and common sense is the key to investing success. Within their enormous database of members from all walks of life, are everyday women who have built successful portfolios. Women like Audra Tracy, who accumulated 23 properties in the last 10 years, Sonia Woolley who had to start again at 40 with nothing and rebuilt her portfolio plus created a successful property career, and Amanda Orr who is the most dynamic woman under 30 you could ever meet.
So what do women do that’s so different to men when it comes to investing?
- Women love knowledge so have no problem asking what some might classify as ‘silly’ questions. Women are comfortable asking others for help and never let ego get in the way. Property investing is a complicated business if you don’t understand the fundamentals. With a much finer attention to detail than men, women take the time to research and educate themselves on the basics before tackling the bigger stuff.
- We love to network. There are numerous groups out there like Property Women, Australia Women’s Property Network and Chicks and Mortar that have a very active online presence and live events. Women only live events foster a safe environment for newbies to get involved and ask advice from more experienced investors. Plus women love to mentor so it’s a win-win.
- We are conservative. We crunch the numbers, don’t rush our decisions and if in doubt we pull out of a deal. Having a conservative approach and a lower risk tolerance seems to work well for women and we tend to have a more long term approach when it comes to building a portfolio.
This Saturday 10th October, Property Women are hosting a half day workshop and have invited our very own Kathryn Fantov to speak. Kathryn will be sharing her investment journey and discussing the importance of believing in yourself.
