Note: This 7 part blog series is directed towards all those stay-at-home moms out there who always thought a career in real estate would have to wait until the kids were grown, and to the women Realtors out there struggling with finding the balance between their "ideal of success" versus what truly makes you happy. It's not a business model for everyone, but is something that has been on my heart to share for some time now. Take from it what you will, and know that everyone's journey in life and in real estate isn't and shouldn't be the same for it to be a SUCCESS...

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part 5: Time Blocking - How to Make Real Estate Fit Into Your Life - Without Letting It TAKE OVER Your Life!

1. PRIORITIES

Before you can begin filling in your schedule for the week, you need to have your priorities in check. I'll just say this now - if you don't make time for your family, your kids, your friends or for God - real estate will creep in and fill every nook and cranny of your life. It will slowly take over and you will be left stressed out, worn out and ready to quit the business. Sure, you may have more money in your pocket (ideally) than when you begain your new career, but what price can you put on your sanity? What price can you put on family time? That's not why you began this business!

Fill in these "appointments" first - before anything else. And yes, a soccer game IS an appointment. So is date night with your husband. And don't laugh here, but so are holidays...they were meant to be spent with family. NOT clients. Sorry! That's just how it is... how is HAS to be.

I also know of several agents who make it a point not to work on Sundays. That is a personal decision each person has to make for themselves.

-----> So step ONE, is to lay out your weekly schedule and fill in all days you want to devote to non-real estate things. Do this with your partner. This way you can make sure that if you have something going on on Tuesday, that they can be available. If they are busy Monday - then you make it a priority (if possible) to cover business on Monday.

Remember, the reason I suggest partnering up is that as moms we know exactly how busy our schedule can get with just kids activities. If you can balance your real estate business between the two of you, then there should almost always be someone available for real estate emergencies!

2. MANAGING TRANSACTIONS

One of the many benefits to being on a team is that the workload is cut in half! I'll explain how my partner and I manage our transactions and then you can use this example to structure your work:

Sellers:

a. Listing Appointments:

BOTH of us go on listing appointments together. I think that this is a powerful move when the seller can physically see that they will have TWO agents working for them. It's also helpful to balance out personalities. We know that not everyone always clicks with a personality type, but perhaps your partner will! Does the seller have difficult questions? Two heads are better than one when you find yourself searching for the perfect words. You get the picture...

When scheduling listing appointments where both moms have husbands that work outside the home, schedule appointments for the evenings when they will be home to tend to the kids. If this doesn't work, then see if a weekend appointment is available.

b. Listing Maintenance:

Weekly updates, printing flyers, answering emails, website and blog updates - all of this can be done from a home office and can be divied up to whom ever is available.

COPY EACH OTHER on all outgoing correspondance to insure that both of you are on the same page on each and every transaction.

c. Contract Negotiations:

Appoint one agent to do the contract negotiations - from start to finish. However long it takes. Some transactions are easy, others are harder, but the workload will balance out in the end. Trust me.

The other agent will negotiate repairs and maintain the transaction from this point to closing. Again, sometimes there won't even be any repairs requested. But on the flip side, repair negotiations can sometimes be the most time consuming part of the deal.

Help each other where needed, and always communicate daily as to where the transaction stands. The other agent will appreciate your teamwork, and your availability to answer questions more promptly than if there was just one agent.

Buyers:

a.  Showings:

In the case of buyer clients, it usually happens that whoever makes the first contact with a buyer is the one who initially goes on showings. Every transaction is different in regards to how many homes are shown, but if appears that many, many weekends will be required to show homes, then we usually split these appointments between the two of us.

At the first meeting with the buyer we make it clear that we are a team working for them, and the buyer recieves BOTH of our business cards.

b. Contract Negotiations:

Which ever agent shows the buyer THE home they want to buy is usually the person to write up the contract and begin the second phase of the transaction.

c. Inspections & Closing:

By now your partner has shown the buyers homes and secured them in a contract. From this point you attend the home inspection with the buyer and negotiate any repairs. Prior to closing you attend a final walk thru, maintain communication with the buyer's lender and attend the closing.

3. LEAD GENERATION

Yet another benefit to partnering up with another mom is that your sphere of influence is DOUBLED! You have twice the pool of referrals! It's important to continually nurture this database. How? I won't go into real estate marketing 101, but it's important to send out a business announcement as soon as you partner up with a newly taken photo of the two of you. Let them know of your new venture and that you would appreciate their support.

Make lead generation something that BOTH of you do weekly. Incorporate it into your daily life! Writing and sending out personal notes can easily be done while kids are napping, or while you are waiting at a long soccer practice. Share your good news when you see friends at the PTA meeting. Seek out your friends for play dates and let them know that you are in business. ASK FOR REFERRALS!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

In this Series I’ll cover:

• Introduction - Why you should begin a career in real estate before the age of 50. Why you should BREAK the stereotype!
  

• Forming your Dream Team – Partnering with another like-minded Mom creates the BASIS of this Business model

• The Basics – How to Become a Licensed Texas Realtor. What fees are involved.

• Choosing Your Brokerage – Training, Commission Splits & Corporate Culture

• Breaking Down the Workload – Time Blocking! This is how you get the part of "eating your cake too".

• Free and Inexpensive ways of Marketing Your Business – with an emphasis on Blogging & Social Networking

• Setting Yourself Up for Success in the Future – When the kids are older, and when your friends just start to think about a career in real estate...you're already on your way!