One thing I really like about having returned to RE sales, after 20+ years in the IT industry, is that "they" are not changing the rules all of the time. 

Oh, there is:

• the slow and gradual march toward more and more documetation, to protect the consuming public.  This we know.  
• the less slow but just as gradual improvement in the technology for new construction -- both for homes and commercial.  
• the need to implement more technolgy for the Internet savvy industry professionals, and the ways in which we communicate with our clients.   (I love text messaging, and email, and gmail, and google talk.  I love our Settlement Room software system which makes my life so easy as a RE agent who needs to pay attention to the details.  I love my Agent Office, and soon, I'm going to love sending out my next mailing of 1,500+ pieces in no time flat (though I wouldn't mind giving some of that effort up to others! Maybe it's time for me to employ someone from AIB for that?)  Anyhow, ...

Those looking for Des Moines investment real estate are looking for the same thing that those in LA, New York, or Jacksonville seek -- a reliable ROI, and of course achieving an excellent risk to reward ratio along the way.   

Yet by and large, compared to the IT industry, we're not shooting at nearly so fast a moving target.  The knowledge I gain about CAP Rates for today's investment property will be just as valid 10 or 20 years from now.  The ability to read a P&L statement or to discipher the net present value of a future income stream, that's a skill that can be learned once and applied forever.  I won't wake up tomorrow to find I have to learn a whole new language because the formula has changed -- that kind of thing. 

Applying this knowledge to working with all variants of people, however, therein lies the rub.  The key is to be able to find clients with whom the agent can form longer-term, mutually beneficial working relationships that spawn loyalty and mutual respect.  Now that does take some action.  This may be the biggest challenge for many agents, and I am included among them.     

Fortunately, there seems to be an endless stream of educational opportunities in the RE industry.  A key for me is  knowing when the level of knowledge I have is more than adequate and it's time to get out of the classroom and into the trenches. It's time to apply my knowledge and kick into action. 

Fortunately, in 2.5 years of being back, I think I've got a very good handle on the base.  Can it find enough people who I can help to reach their financial investment goals, through this vehicle we call Real Estate?  Only time will tell.  Along the path, I will try to help as many as possible to benefit from sharing my successes, and my stumblings. 

I've paid my dues, it's time to get out and help more people get what they want out of life, remembering "The Aim of Education is not Knowledge, but ... ACTION! "