It is Saturday, June 21st and I am 3 days away of achieving my goal of becoming a real estate agent. I can't tell you how many people have said things like "are you crazy, in this market?" or "why would you want to do that?". But I don't worry about those people at all. I am so excited and I want to share my journey with you...
My name is Kiri Rawson and for the last 5 years I have been a stay at home mom in Lexington, SC. I have wanted to become a real estate agent since before my oldest child was born 8 years ago, but the timing was never right. 2 years I thought it was the right time, but it became quite clear that it was not. Instead I joined a direct sales company that sells children's books - Usborne Books At Home. That turned out to be a blessing. I became quite successful, gained sales skills and met a lot of great people. The money I am making from selling books is now paying for my training and start up costs.
This summer things are very different - everything is falling it to place perfectly for me to become a very successful agent. My husband is being fairly supportive. I was able to find childcare for my children in order to go to pre-liscensing school with relative ease. (no easy feat for a stay at home mom) And after a great struggle trying to pick a company, David Patterson with Keller Williams in Columbia, SC walked into my life and made the decision easy. That was the final piece of the puzzle that I needed to be 100% certain that I was doing the right thing for me and my family.
Picking a new company can be a very daunting task. For those of you that have been with the same company for a while and are now recruiting, you may not remember what it was like. It is scary, exciting and down right nerve racking. I started interviewing Brokers In Charge 2 years ago when I was very seious about going to school and starting my career. Things didn't work out then, but I learned a lot. I interviewed 4 companies and narrowed it down to 2 large companies in our market. This summer I went back to one of those BIC and left that day convinced that was where I would go and did not interview anywhere else. (Yes, the fees were high to start and the commission was low, but the BIC really made me believe in myself. That was all this self-esteem starved mom needed to hear)
Then it was off to a great school - The Real Estate School for Success for 60 hours of laws and regulations. The first day I was amazed that I was the only one in a room of 14 students that had talked to a broker, let alone picked one. I am a firm beleiver that God puts certain people in our lives for a reason. I think that first broker's role was to make me believe in myself. On the next to last day of class, a group of agents from a smaller office came at lunch time to recruit. That was the only day I didn't have to run children around, so I stayed for the free lunch. The night before my husband informed me that I needed to wait until fall to actually begin my career because the fees were so high to start. Needless to say, I was thrilled when this second company had almost no fees to start and a much higher commission split. So they didn't have a very structured training program or a large market presence, but I could go ahead and start! I spent 2 hours interviewing this company and left feeling good about it. The people were younger and seemed very eager to help me. I could really see myself successful with them. Now I was very stressed about making a decision. Would I disappoint the woman who inspired me? Would I wait 3 or 4 more months to pursue my dream? Would I disappoint the newer agency that had lisitings in a neighborhood I loved? URGHH!
Because of the delay in applying to take the South Carolina Real Estate exam and actually taking the test, I was advised to go ahead and take the Final Sales course. So I went straight from First Year sales to final sales the following week. I walked into class that first day and saw several of my former classmates. More than one asked if I had picked a company. I said no, I was struggling with making the right choice. When it was time for class to start, there was no instructor. 15 minutes later the secretary came in to say the instructor scheduled to teach our class was sick, but I substitute had been found and would be arriving in about an hour. "Great" I thought sarcasticly. Actually it was the best thing that has happened to me in quite a while.
My "new" instructor was David Patterson (www.thepattersonfiles.info). One of the first things he asked was what did we want to learn about. I stated that any advice he had about picking a company would be greatly appreciated. As class went on I asked all sorts of questions (I usually do) including things about IDX. I'm not sure what I said that morning that impressed David, but next thing I know he is telling me he will be bringing me a book and wants me to talk to his "Team Leader". At 5:00 that evening I was sitting in the Keller Williams Office in Columbia. By 5:30, I knew exactly what company I would choose.
That night I had a very restless night. I knew which company was the best choice for me and my family, but how was I going to break the news to the other two. Very early the next morning I sent a very nice emails explaining my decision to choose KW. Oh the news was not taken well. (For those of you that are recruiting, if someone tells youthey are choosing another company please do not make it more difficult) Since the decision was made and everyone notified I have been at peace with the decision.
This week I start my new career. I will be passing my state exam on Tuesday morning and getting my SC Real Estate Liscense. Please wish me luck!
Tomorrow I will tell you what I have been doing to prepare for my career and my 2 potential clients. (I promise it will be shorter)
:) Kiri
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