Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of obtaining my real estate license.
As an engineer, I tend to be very pragmatic. I weigh the pros and cons, and make a decision, and adjust later if the decision turns out not to have been the best choice.
Liz had been an agent for a couple of years on a team and the team lead was (well the old saying about if you can't say anything nice...) so it was time to do her own thing. She could hire help, or I could get my license. By that time I'd been at my engineering job for a dozen years and had been through multiple restructurings/downsizing/rightsizing...call it what you will..but job security is never guaranteed. So being pragmatic, adding a real estate license was the thing to do. 10 weeks of weekend classes, take test, join the same brokerage as Liz. That gave me a Plan B if corporate life gave me the heave-ho.
Initially I was the background guy, doing grunt work, going on appointments with Liz (especially when her spidey sense gave her warning signals), and learning the ropes and how I could apply what I knew from engineering to real estate.
And to quote Axl Rose "I used ta do a little, but a little wouldn't do it, So the little got more and more". Now he's talking about something else entirely, but it fits. More involvement in real estate was the natural path and a transition from what most agents would call "part time" to what I've considered "dual career".
It's a balancing act, but each job gets it's full share of "me", with some serious trade-offs in regards to my personal life. True vacations are scarce. Vacation days from my engineering job are mainly used for real estate business or catching up on home projects.
Fortunately, rarely does real estate, engineering and "zookeeper" work all hit peak demand at the same time. But when they do, I've got to make decisions about must do and nice to do. Pragmatism at work (again).
But part of being pragmatic also involves prevention. Identifying how I can best work in the industry and how I can attract the right type of business and clients. Niche blogging is VERY, VERY pragmatic. I look for red flags from clients before I've invested much time with them. I don't try to convert every call and lead, if not a good fit, catch and release.
Over time, I've learned how to blog in ways that are effective for me. Time spent, topics selected, etc. Your mileage may vary and your path and methods may need to be significantly different than mine. Maybe you need more of the social aspect of this community than I do present day. That's okay, you do you, I do pragmatic me.
The net result is 20 years have gone by and I can keep a steady supply of clients I WANT to work with thanks to blogging, IDX pages, and giving clients what they need when they hire me.
Top producer isn't a title I've actively sought. I need balance in my life, and enough closings to keep the zoo in kibble and vet visits (and that's a sizable expense on a monthly basis).
I'll continue to be pragmatic as we move to our new home this/next year. Keep the websites running, convert some leads, refer to a trusted partner. And if that doesn't continue to make sense after we've moved and I've crunched the numbers, I'll make another pragmatic decision and pull the plug on the real estate aspect of our life. TBD, just like many other things. Operate with the best information available at the time. Pragmatic.
Until next Tuesday, just Ask An Ambassador if you need help,
Bill & Liz aka BLiz
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