Her Mind Magazine reached out to me back in the fall to ask about real estate as a career for their December 2015/January 2016 issue. You can read the article here: http://hermindmagazine.com/wp/grow-your-career-work-force-development/
It’s hard to talk about real estate without laughing, crying and cursing but I managed to keep it professional during the interview. The author cut all but one or two sentences so that helped make me look better.
Since most of what we discussed did not make the article, I thought I’d highlight a few Pros and Cons, followed by some advice for anyone thinking about getting into real estate:
Pros:
1 - the barrier to entry is low
2 - the idea that you can create your own schedule is appealing
3 - you have some control over your income and your brand
4 - this is a career where you can be entrepreneurial and creative
5 - you own your business
Cons:
1 - it can take several years to build your business (3-5 years)
2 - the market is very competitive: our Baltimore/DC community is saturated with agents
3 - it is expensive to be in this business
4 - the work can require evenings and weekends
5 - you are “on” 24/7 and it takes a lot of practice to shut it down and really rest
And bonus #6 (because who doesn’t want more “cons”): it’s getting harder to compete with big teams
Advice:
1 - join a team for faster learning and enjoy a compressed learning curve so that in 1 year, you’ll learn what normally takes an agent 3 years to learn
2 - give it time and commit to this adventure for several years
3 - at a minimum, hook up with a mentor for the first few years
Again, our local Central Maryland market is saturated with agents. It can take 3-5 years to really make the money you want, especially if you are a solo agent.
I am grateful that I get to do work that I love, but it’s not easy work. It takes commitment, stamina and patience. However, as someone who has built a successful and rewarding real estate business, I’m glad I jumped on the bandwagon 10 years ago. If you’re thinking about getting into real estate, shoot me an email and I’d be happy to share my experiences and advice.