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I started my professional career right out of college in customer service/marketing and worked my way up to the director of national accounts for a major lighting company in South Carolina when a life-changing event occurred in 2006. My father died unexpectedly, leaving his small real estate brokerage a ship without a captain.
Because my father didn’t have a will or trust, there were considerable financial complications. After a month of helping my stepmother navigate probate and digging into the brokerage business, I made the decision to quit my job, move back to California, and take over the company.
I hadn’t really considered working in real estate before, as I wanted to stay out of the family business and do my own thing. However, at the time, I was working 60-70 hours a week and traveling much of the time.
I had a big house that was half-furnished that I rarely spent time in. Something needed to change in my life, as I was on the fast track to Burnoutville.
Just leap
So, I made the leap, thinking I could transfer a lot of my knowledge from working in a corporate setting to running a small business. Boy, was I wrong.
But I knuckled down and figured things out. Fast forward to today, and the company is thriving: we have grown from a small boutique brokerage of seven agents to a robust 400-agent strong brokerage ranked in the Top 25 of the CENTURY 21 network.
I’ve reached a point where I have been able to reflect on this unexpected journey in my life. For those of you who may be thinking about or may have recently made the leap into real estate, know that you’re not alone in many of these experiences and feelings. Here are some other things you should know.
1. Understand the step you’re taking
I didn’t fully understand the implications of moving from financial security as a paid employee to an independent contractor. There is a lot of financial risk but also great potential for reward.
I was plagued by self-doubt and a pervasive feeling of “imposter syndrome.” I kept thinking I wasn’t that guy who could run his own business. It takes a lot of effort to shift your mindset and feel confident about a completely new profession.
2. Know your why
I had a very clear sense of why I was now working in real estate. In addition to carrying on my father’s legacy, I wanted to have my own legacy of significant impact by helping as many people as I could succeed in life through real estate and beyond.
Having that touchstone was very important for me when things were challenging. I reminded myself why I was in this situation, and it helped me push on through. Be sure to keep that compelling reason for why you started a second career path in real estate. It will keep you going.
3. Create a transition period
From a practical standpoint, it helps to have an emergency fund to get you through the first few months as you get your business up and running. Some people continue to work as employees, either full-time or part-time, while establishing their real estate business.
4. Know your numbers
It’s very important to know what a real estate agent’s budget looks like before embarking on a new profession in real estate. There are a lot of costs associated with doing business, such as association dues, marketing materials, lead gen fees and prop-tech.
While these items are all investments in building your business, they represent a considerable outlay of money during a time when you may not have any money coming in. It helps to know what it will cost to run your own business.
5. Choose the right broker and brokerage
As someone new to real estate, you may not know there are different business models for brokerages. Some brokerages offer a lot of support services in return for a percentage of your earned commission, while others let agents keep nearly 100 percent of their commission but offer very little in the way of business development resources and broker support. Think about what works best for you.
6. Have set business hours
All businesses post the hours they are open for business. Now that you are running your own business establish a schedule for when you will be conducting business. That’s not to say you can’t be flexible — that is one of the benefits of working for yourself — but in the beginning, it is very easy to say, I don’t have any listings, so I don’t have any work to do.
It’s critical to make a schedule and follow it, and to be accountable to yourself and your new business. Treat it like your old job. Show up and work.
7. Get real
The advent of all these real estate “reality” shows has done a disservice to the majority of people working in this industry. Real estate isn’t endless lunch dates or drinks at the country club. There is no magic pill to being successful in real estate. Hard work is required. The sooner you realize that real estate reality shows aren’t real, the better.
Starting a second profession in real estate can be daunting, but with some careful research and preparation, and aligning yourself with the right brand, brokerage and work team, your leap of faith can give you the wings to soar to success. I wish you the best in your new endeavor!
Mike Allen is the broker-owner of CENTURY 21 Jordan-Link & Company in Visalia, California. Connect with Mike on Facebook and Linkedin.