Customer Reviews

The Venus Approach to Real-Estate Investing

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The Venus Approach to Real-Estate Investing turned out to be an excellent book for me. I read lots of business books and too many of them lack heart and soul. Authors S.A. Philipp and Barbara Heil-Sonneck managed to offer both, along with some great analytical writing. The stories contributed by the women real estate investors are fun to read and tremendously inspiring. What makes this book interesting from a business perspective, however, is to learn to which extend our approach as women in real estate differs from that of our male competitors. And that we do indeed make great real estate investors. Right on! Franci Edgerly, CEO. www.vacations2discover.com

There are so many Real Estate books out on the market today that standing out is quite the feat. Barbara Heil-Sonneck and S.A. Phillip's Venus Approach to the Real Estate Market focuses on the female perspective, bringing a fresh take to the genre. Whether it is your first venture into the real estate world, or you've been in the business for a while, you will undoubtedly find priceless information in these pages. As a woman who has only recently begun working in Real Estate, I have found this book to be incredibly helpful, supplying me with great insider tips and a solid, common sense approach tempered with inspirational often funny anecdotes. I recommend this book to anyone (man or woman, novice or seasoned pro) who is looking for a new perspective on the ever-changing, fast paced world of Real Estate Investing.

"The Venus Approach to Real Estate Investing" is a wonderful tool to help women gain a better understanding about the world of real estate investing. I found it to be very empowering and motivating. The authors are obviously passionate about this field and are very positive about sharing their knowledge to help others. The life stories of eight other successful female real estate investors are told. I found their stories to be very inspiring. By reading their stories you learn about the good and the bad experiences that can come from real estate investing. There are many valuable lessons taught in this book. In addition to the wealth of information and inspiring stories, there are also books and websites listed so that one can greatly research further into this area.
Not having much information about real estate investing prior to reading this book, I really learned a lot. I also discovered that there are professional organizations for real estate investors. These groups provide additional resources, information and support to investors. One of the most important chapters in the book is 12, "The Million Dollar Not-To-Do List." Following the advice discussed in this section will help many women avoid the pitfalls that other people have experienced in this field.
I highly recommend "The Venus Approach to Real Estate Investing." In today's economy it is important for women to use whatever tools they have at their disposal to be able to support themselves in a manner that is meaningful. The book stresses the importance of always maintaining respect and integrity when doing business. This is something that can apply to all areas of our lives. As a matter of fact, there are many ideas discussed that will help women succeed with anything that they chose to. I loved this, because I can apply many of these principles to my life right now, whether or not I choose to expand myself into the world of real estate investment. What a perfect gift this book will make for all women in your life!

First and foremost, this book is about encouragement. It gives women who have been wondering whether they have the requirements to succeed in the world of real-estate investing a push in the right direction. At the same time, it motivates women in general who have aspirations but are afraid to take the first baby steps towards fulfilling their dreams.

Some of the most successful women in real-estate investing share their compelling personal stories in an easy-to-read and entertaining manner. The book provides valuable links for anybody who wants to learn more about the different strategies that made these women thrive in their field.

I believe the book does a very good job at what it set out to do, that is describing a series of possibilities to women who may have never thought of investing in real estate. It gets you started. For more detailed and in-depth information, you will have to use the links provided or do your own research.

I've read the reviews on this book to date and the common theme from all reviewers is that this book is so motivating and inspiring to women. This was one of the underlying purposes of this book, to not only provide key information and techniques, but to show, to empower women, to recognize that real estate investing is a field of business that women are well suited to. It was not written for the men, if it had the title may have been The Mars Approach.....! So please the men out there, no offense intended, but this book was directed to women readers. It was written from the hearts of many successful women real estate investors who live normal lives just like their readers. As a contributing author, I was honoured to be asked to submit a chapter for the book and I am now thrilled to read the comments from other women who have taken the information and stories and drawn the inspiration and motivation from them ,as was meant to be. The moral values and integrity imparted that are the core of this book are the key life values that will stand by any person, man or woman as they move through life. Living your life with integrity and honesty, from the heart, acknowledging and finding the humour in the challenges we face will ensure your success and well being. The reality is that these principles apply not only to a business in real estate investing, but to all facets of our lives, both in our personal world and in our business world. Personally I am so very pleased that the reviewers have recognized this. I applaud you all and wish you great success!

The field of real estate can be a very profitable one, but what of women in the field? "The Venus Approach to Real-Estate Investing: America's Most Successful Women Real-Estate Investors Reveal It All: Trade Secrets, Stiletto Methods, and Motherly Love" is a compilation of stories and anecdotes from these agents as they tell their tales and give advice to any woman who is looking to break into the field. Answering many common questions about the difference between men and women in the field, getting fired, and how to succeed, "The Venus Approach to Real-Estate Investing" is a top pick for community library real estate collections.

Women have always led the way in read estate. Perhaps it's because they are (or were) the leaders of hearth and home. But real estate investing is a complicated affair. It takes special skill and knowledge. Fortunately, women can quickly get these skills and grasp this knowledge, perhaps better than men.

Of course, women generally go about things differently than men. And that includes the way they deal in real estate matters. In this book you'll discover:

What drives the successful female real estate investor?
Where low testosterone equals a vastly different investment approach
Why some have to get fired to become a wealthy real estate investor
Do you have what it takes to be a successful real estate investor
How to benefit from the million dollar "Not to do" list

The only issue I have with the book (and it has nothing to do with the content or information) is the frequent and unnecessary use of the hyphen. For example, real estate has no hyphen. Nor does million dollar. While these may seem minor issues, they take some credibility from the book. That's why I gave it three stars.

These are inspirational stories. I recommend it to anyone in or considering getting in real estate investing in any way.

Update: The authors advised me that according to the AP Stylebook, it is proper to use hyphens where they've used them. I won't argue with that. My argument is that it's not the common accepted way to use the terms. That certainly does not make it wrong. Nor does it take away from the value of the book.

-Susanna K. Hutcheson

When reading books like this, two facts must be kept foremost in mind.

1) In any area, it is possible to find eight people who have been successful, even if you stipulate long odds. When the goal is to promote something, the failures are not mentioned.
2) The material for this book was collected in a very strong real-estate market, making the odds of success for anyone in the real-estate field much higher. Since that time, the market has collapsed in many areas, so profits of any form are very difficult to achieve.

Therefore, while these stories of women succeeding in making a career in real-estate can be uplifting and the message of following your passion and ideals is a good one, it must be taken with a strong dose of reality.

There is a great deal of blatant sexism in this book. A primary theme is that a woman is much better suited by nature to succeed in real estate investment. For example, the following paragraph appears on page 151.

"To our male counterparts: Don't underestimate us! We may be pretty, or blond, or laugh and have fun, get emotional and shed a tear - all those cutesy and female things that men attribute to us. But most women have a strong and solid core, are enduring and loyal, are good negotiators and problem solvers along with usually being smarter than many men!"

On page 103 there is the sequence of sentences:

"Certainly the need to help others might be more prevalent in women. We tend to enjoy helping others. It must be that notorious caregiver gene."

Finally, there is the two paragraph set on page 24.

"So we asked ourselves, how in the world did these highly successful women real-estate investors compete so superbly for their fair share of the pie?

The answer to this mystery rests in their lack of colossal testosterone levels that precondition the infamous alpha-male to be the successful shark in suit and tie who dominates the waters. Again, this is not to diminish the accomplishments of male real-estate investors, but to pointedly show the differences in approach."

However, when you read the stories about these successful women, it is clear that all of them were successful for the same three reasons.

1) Determination
2) Determination
3) Determination

This would have been a much better book if it lacked all the sexist hyperbole.