When I entered the real estate profession in 2002, it was with a fierce determination to succeed, almost 20 years in the workforce under my belt, a business degree, a professional certification, and no clue. Real estate classes were fun. Dry material, but a fun topic, and the classes are designed to be that way. You have to want to be there, and so sitting through the classroom hours is part of paying your dues.
Taking the real estate exam was another hurdle. It's designed to be difficult. Many people fail it the first time - either in part or as a whole. But, failure is most typically a sign that the test wasn't taken seriously enough. There's your first eye-opener: The general public thinks it's easy to be a real estate agent. People go in under-estimating the test, and they do, many times, fail the first attempt. What a wake-up call. This is going to be harder than you thought. Get used to it. That lesson is learned over and over in the first year.
Okay, having passed the exam, it's now time to hang your license with a broker, if you haven't already worked your way around town interviewing office managers. There's an interesting exercise! You aren't going to work FOR these people, but they are going to be a resource to you as you begin your career. And, they are going to try to help you if they see danger signs that your business might not be thriving. They aren't BOSS. And, make no mistake, they aren't FRIEND or CO-WORKER. Their job is harder than wrangling a herd of cats! They may have dozens of self-employed people running around, all doing the same job in a different way, and they have to try to oversee without treating you like an employee. It's a fine line they walk each day. Passing the exam does not make a real estate agent. Surviving the first year doesn't even make a real estate agent.
The making of a real estate agent comes with time and experience. After passing the exam, you really know absolutely nothing about the sale of real estate. And, yet, people presume that you know something. You know nothing. But, there are training tapes, classes, and mentors who can now help you how to go out and talk to people and make it known that you are in real estate. In it's most basic form, your job is now to gather appointments. You have to talk with people, email people, text people, mail people, interact on the internet with people, and find a way to make an appointment to talk about selling, buying, or leasing real estate. With enough appointments, real estate is like pasta - if you throw enough against the wall, something is going to stick. This, too, is much harder than it sounds. And, it's the intimidation of finding ways to get appointments that causes most of these well-intentioned people to lose their business in the first year.
So, how do you succeed in real estate? As I mentioned in the title of this blog, real estate is not a 24/7 venture. It sure feels like it in the early years. But, you have to work very hard to maintain hours of operation, as if your business had a private front door - through which clients could come and go. You aren't a 7-11 store. You aren't open 24 hours. You require sleep, food, down-time and family-time. Make no apologies for it. Protect your #1 asset at all times: Yourself. Eat, sleep, regular exercise, and personal time will keep you balanced and healthy as you build a business. As with the construction of any business, it starts with a solid foundation.
Real estate is also not a straight 8. I've seen rookie agents make the mistake of treating a real estate career like a corporate career. They work their 8 hours and go home. And, while they work their 8, they take breaks, they treat the other agents like co-workers in an office, and they socialize over long lunch hours. They are falling into a pitfall of treating themselves like the employee, and not like the boss. There are 12-16 hour days that you will have to work in order to get everything done. If you aren't prepared for those, then don't waste your hard-earned savings by attempting this career path. I am the hardest boss I've ever had. I do mix in the occasional 8-hour day now, but that's a decade later and my foundation was solidly built on 70-hour weeks.
If you want to make a career in real estate, then I wish you the best of luck. Don't expect other agents to even learn your name until you've been there for over a year. You have to prove yourself, and you have to build your foundation. The veterans may give you a wide berth, as they know you have a lot you should be working on when you're at the office. Your questions should be addressed with your office manager and not with these veteran agents. It isn't family. It's business. You aren't a co-worker. You are another contractor who happens to work in the office. The veterans may be nice, or you may be ignored. If you are being ignored, then ask yourself if they are seeing some bad habits that you're starting off with in your business. The writing is on the wall when we see a rookie agent start out, and we're pretty good at figuring out who has IT and who doesn't. Remember, 95% or more of those rookies are going to fail. That real estate office door should be on a revolving mechanism.
If you still want to enter real estate, then by all means start the process. We need more GOOD real estate agents. We lost some during the latest recession, and there is much to do.
Have a blessed day!
Ronda
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