Is capital raising a real job in this business, or something people call themselves

Thirty people who could write a check and take your call is more than most people building a syndication business start with. I've done six months of research and I have four.

Taking your questions in order.

Who pays. The economics come from the sponsor side. Common arrangements are a fee on capital raised paid at closing, a share of the sponsor's promote in exchange for sourcing equity, or a salary or retainer for an in-house investor relations role. All three reduce what the sponsor keeps. The fee version is often paid out of the acquisition budget, which is funded by the raise, so investors do bear it indirectly and it should be disclosed.

What the work is. Building an investor network, presenting opportunities in a way that meets securities requirements, and then reporting to those investors quarter after quarter so they commit again. The third part is where most of the value sits. A first commitment is expensive to win. A repeat commitment from an existing investor is the entire economic case for the function.

How long. Slower than sales cycles you're used to. A prospective investor typically watches a sponsor through at least one deal before writing anything. Plan on the first year producing relationships rather than income, which conflicts with your constraint and is worth confronting now.

On the rules. Receiving transaction-based compensation for bringing investors into a securities offering is regulated, and whether a particular arrangement requires registration turns on your role, how you're paid, and the offering itself. Some people work as employees of a sponsor. Some take equity in the sponsor entity instead of a per-deal fee. Which of those is available to you is a question for a securities attorney before you take a dollar.

The most common entry point is the in-house investor relations seat at an existing sponsor, where you're paid a salary, learn the reporting side, and build a network with someone else's track record behind you.

The salary route rena-expert mentions at the end is the one to chase. You're describing a skill without a track record attached, and sponsors are buying the track record as much as the network. Borrow theirs for two years.

Honest question back at you. Would you put your own money into a deal you were going to show those thirty people? If the answer is no, you have a bigger problem than licensing.

@tylerbrooks9 that is the right question. Any operator with a handful of units wants the same thing from someone bringing a deal, that the person is in it themselves. @aaron_fitz10 the other thing is that your 300 people are small business owners in one metro, which means they will all be affected by the same local economy at the same time. If the metro has a bad two years the entire investor base gets cautious simultaneously. That does not kill the idea, but it is a concentration you should know you have.

Property managers see what happens after the raise. Sponsors who are great at raising and thin on operations end up with a property that misses budget and an investor base that was sold a story. The person who raised the money is the one those investors call, every time, and they call for two years. So if you go this way, pick the sponsor by how they operate rather than by what they will pay you. Ask to see a deal that went badly and how they communicated during it.

Worth finding out whether your state's real estate licensing rules touch any part of what you'd be doing, since that varies state to state and some activity around real estate investment offerings brushes against it. I'm going through licensing now and the coursework barely covers this stuff, so ask the regulator directly rather than an instructor.

Any investor you call will want to hear what you get paid before the pitch is over, rather than finding it in a document they sign later.

The first six months are better spent on something narrower than raising. Pick two sponsors you would actually invest with and put your own money in at the smallest amount they will take, then be an LP for a full year. You will see their reporting and how they handle a bad quarter, and when you go back and ask for an IR seat you will be someone who has read four quarters of their statements rather than someone who liked their webinar. It also answers @tylerbrooks9's question with a wire confirmation rather than an opinion.