A young woman asked for my advice as she considered a career in real estate. So, I asked her why. And then I said, “Please don’t tell me it’s because you love looking at pretty houses.” Yep, and she got very quiet.
She explained that her supervisor was a successful real estate agent who also worked a full-time 9-to-5 job. From the outside, it looked easy. It looked flexible. It looked like fun. My question...why is he still working a 9-5 job? Maybe he is getting all of his buyers and sellers because of that day job? Probably not.
This gal was a go-getter, smart, motivated, and confident, all qualities needed for a career in RE, and she’d be good at it.
But I asked her a simple question: “How many people do you know right now who are ready to buy or sell a house?” She started counting on her fingers. She got to five. Then I asked, “How many are ready right now?” Her fingers slowly dropped to maybe one, and even that one wasn’t realistic.
Then we talked about income. Or more accurately, no income. Do you have enough saved to live a year without a paycheck? Nope. Do you understand commission splits? Nope. That the commission is split between buyer and seller brokerages, your broker takes their share, and your business expenses come out of what’s left. Nope. What you are looking at is the tip of the iceberg.
What expenses?
There are business cards, E&O insurance, signs, licensing, continuing education, MLS fees, lockboxes, advertising, gas, marketing, and more. All of it gets paid whether you make a sale or not.
And here’s the part no one tells you. There are a lot of people who make money because you decided to become a real estate agent. The school makes money teaching you. The state makes money licensing you. The broker collects fees. The MLS collects fees. The companies selling your business cards, signs, coaching programs, websites, CRM systems, and advertising platforms all make money. The photographers make money. The sign companies make money. The marketing companies make money. Everyone is getting paid…except the new agent, who may not see a check for many months.
She kept saying,
“No one ever told me that.”
Because from the outside, real estate looks glamorous. It looks easy. But what people don’t see is the time spent with buyers who never buy, sellers who never sell, weekends, evenings, learning forms and writing contracts, Real Estate ethics, CE classes, solving problems, building trust with people who are going to purchase, maybe their largest investment, and why should they trust you, a new agent? You will be building a business, and it takes time to get established.
And there’s another truth. Some of the people encouraging you to join real estate may even receive incentives or bonuses for recruiting you. There is an entire industry built around selling tools, programs, and promises to new agents:
“Buy this system, buy this course, buy this program, buy this book, and you’ll be successful.”
And you have to wonder, if those systems alone guaranteed success, why are they selling the system instead of just using it?
Before she left, she asked my advice. I told her, if you truly want to go into real estate, get licensed. Take your coursework at night...don't quit your day job... not at this time. Find a mentor, someone you like and respect. Agents are busy with many tasks throughout the day. Ask if you can help them in any way, running errands, delivering and picking up lockboxes, making extra keys, picking up sign riders, ordering supplies, or anything that will help that agent. And in turn, they may share their knowledge. They may let you show a house with them, go on a listing, or maybe witness a closing. Talk to a broker or a top agent. Learn everything you can. Find a mentor. Watch. Listen. Understand the business first. Keep your day job while you learn.
Real estate is a wonderful career. It has given me a lifetime of opportunities and relationships I treasure. But it is not as easy as it looks. It is not instant. And it is a lot more than looking at pretty houses.
It’s building a business. And that takes time.
What advice would you give a young person working 9-5 and who wants to become a real estate agent?
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