Can women turn around this real-estate market and help themselves gain more personal and financial independence in the process?

As a matter of fact, I am convinced we can. There has never been a better time to buy real estate and invest in our independence. Our research suggests that many women already hold the key to success in this field in their hands. And exactly NOW is the time for interested women to quit sitting on the fence. No more hesitation and wondering “what if “… Instead it’s time to obtain the education on how to invest in real estate.
But first let me share some eye-opening facts about us girls with you: Most of us strive for health and happiness as well as some kind of fulfillment in our private lives and at work; and ideally with all of this we hope for an end to our money worries by attaining financial freedom. The problem however is that too many women are going down a different path. Talk to any financial expert and he or she will tell you that not only are many Americans ill prepared for times of hardship, but that disproportionably more women than men are affected by it, be it through loosing their jobs, being beaten down by a severe illness or simply having to overcome the financial consequences of a nasty divorce or unfortunate business failure.

What it all comes down to is that women face far greater financial risk during their later years than men. Think about it: Women are the ones who most often give up their jobs to stay at home and care for their kids, or carry the burden of being the sole provider while also raising one or more children. Numbers show that we are less likely than our male counterparts to work for a company that offers benefits including a retirement plan. Therefore women are less likely to be vested in pension or other retirement savings plans. And even when things look fine during most of our younger years, too many women find themselves confronted with terrifying challenges once they reach their mid-fifties, the average age of widowhood in the United States. And according to government figures four out of five widows who are living below the poverty line were not considered poor prior to their husbands death. Given that almost a third of all women who are in their mid-sixties today will live well into their nineties, it is more then imperative than ever that we put personal independence and financial freedom on the very top of our life agenda.

While facing this reality might be enough to spoil someone’s day, it should not cause you to resign into depression believing that you are doomed. There are many ways for women to prepare themselves such that they still will be fine should they ever be confronted with hardship of any kind. The very first step is to achieve some form of personal independence by taking on the responsibility for one’s own finances. Many working women already have taken the first step simply by making their own money. But that’s only the beginning. Ideally the next step is to re-invest at least some of this money in a manner that it in turn earns them more money. Note the magic sentence: Generating lots of passive income!

This is where real-estate investing comes into play. Think about it: You can gamble with your hard earned money by putting it in the hands of Wall Street (“Good luck!”), you can follow Grandma’s advice and put it under the mattress (“Inflation ate my money.”) or you can take charge of your own fate by considering to invest in real estate. It all boils down to whom do you trust more – Wall Street, Washington or yourself? But – is real-estate investing indeed for you? How can you get motivated enough to take the first steps? And where will you find the right coaches to educate you in this field? To get you motivated and answer many of your questions in the process, my Co-Author Barbara Heil-Sonneck and I took it upon us to examine how exactly successful women investors do business. As a result we were able to create an informative guide “The Venus Approach to Real-Estate Investing” that has all the ingredients to provide a major motivational boost and all the helpful information a woman needs to take the first step into owning investment property.

In the process we compiled an in-depth examination into the gender-specific ways women investors use their inherent skills to identify business opportunities, interact with their counterparts, negotiate profitable deals and set up systems to streamline their course of action. And the best of it all: Women real-estate investors do all this while at the same time satisfying their natural desire to nurture their environment and fulfill their need for personal harmony and happiness.But there is more. The heart and soul of “The Venus Approach to Real-Estate Investing” revolves around the truly inspirational life stories of America's most successful women real-estate investors: Donna Bauer, Kathy Kennebrook, Liah Kraft-Kristaine J.D., Joanne Musa, Wendy Patton, Sharon Restrepo, Dwan Bent-Twyford, Lauri Waddell and Mary Wozny. They share their knowledge with others who also would like to get into this field. All of them are well known and respected in the industry. They are published authors, sought-after speakers and highly compensated business coaches. The book reveals how real-estate investing enabled them to find fame, fortune and even occasional romance.

So back to my initial question: Can women turn around this real-estate market and help themselves gain more personal and financial independence in the process?

YES, WE CAN!

What it takes:
• More women to quit sitting on the fence.
• More women to join the male majority of real-estate investors.
• More women to put their money, time and effort into the great opportunity this housing market it presenting us all with.
• If we come out in numbers, we can and will turn around this real-estate market - and also our own fortune in the process.

Let’s go for it!

S.A. Philipp - After almost two decades in international marketing and journalism S.A. Philipp changed her focus to developing a passive-income real-estate investing business. She's worked it from the ground up, getting her hands dirty doing her own rehab work, all the way to the truly passive investment as in warehouse conversion and mixed-use development with trusted partners. Visit www.venusapproach.com for more targeted information relating to women in real-estate investing and to obtain more details on “The Venus Approach to Real-Estate Investing.”