Much is written about work life balance. The earliest know reference to balance in our lives was by Buddha who created a wheel to capture different areas of one’s life. Since then a second wheel has been added to identify areas of work.
Having been employed in the corporate world, in public education and as an executive leadership consultant and a small business sales coach, I can honestly state in real estate work life balance has been the most difficult to achieve.
"Balance is not something you find;
it’s something you create.”
Jana Kingford
First, building a real estate practice from the ground up in a new geographic area is a major undertaking. Thankfully for me, this was not my first rodeo as it has been said. I knew the first couple of years would be demanding of my time.
What I learned was that consumers (the general public) expected real estate agents to be available when the consumers are available usually this means weekends or evenings. Then there are those last-minute requests to tour a property as the potential clients drove by and saw the sign.
From my past five decades of sales experience, I knew how to say no. For those newly licensed real estate agents who need the income, saying No is not that easy.
Second work life balance means setting parameters. For a small business owner this requires having a strategic thinking and planning document aka as a strategic action plan. Often this essential and critical strategic action plan is not present even with more experience agents. What happens for many is the “spray and pray” marketing to selling actions. Spray one’s actions all over the place and then pray something will stick.
President Eisenhower who was a logistics expert understood the value of having a plan when he was quoted as “plans are useless, planning is everything.” Plans do change because of unexpected events. However, by engaging in planning aka thinking, those unforeseen events and their impact can be mitigated.
Third, a personal action plan is also necessary. Identifying key areas of one’s personal life to ensure existing relationships continue with success and well as personal goals. During the AZ summer months, when the outside temps are reasonable (under 90 degrees), my husband and I start each morning sharing coffee on our covered veranda. We also enjoy the evenings without television and just sharing the events of the day.
With grown children and grandchildren who live 6-23 hours away via vehicle, our position is different from many who have family in the house or nearby. For me, I do schedule personal time to go for lunch with friends as well as painting, reading and needle work.
Finally, being a state licensed professional real estate agent is not a part time gig. Even if the compensation received suggests part-time earnings, the time involved to secure that income is full time.
Now there are some agents who just show houses for other agents and that could be part time. Much depends upon other factors such as the financial security behind the real estate agent.
As an executive consultant and sales coach, one of the first actions I had with my clients was to complete the Work/Life Wheel. From this simple exercise, though not necessarily easy, clients were able to set goals both personally and professionally. Then usually after 3 to 6 months, this same exercise was completed. Clients saw their progress and often was genuinely surprised.
Life is a collection of minutes and precious moments. When we recognize that once that minute passes, we may have lost a precious moment. This alone is a reason to understand work life balance. Life is too short to be consumed by one’s professional goals as the expense of one’s happiness and peace of mind.
Maybe the words of Zig Ziglar sum up work life balance and real estate success.
"You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles."
The 24th and final part of this "She Works Hard for the Money" series ends with the beginning of the statement in part One "real estate agents should only make 2% compensation."
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Feature Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com
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