Two weeks, 75 hours and a 15 dollar investment is what it typically takes to get your New York City Real Estate license. Speaking to most real estate agents today, many get into the industry by curiosity or after three episodes of “Million Dollar Listing”. I, on the other hand, got into the industry out of curiosity. During my time we didn’t have headline shows like MDL or the flashiness of social media to express what sold two minutes ago and earned five minutes after that. Not knowing what it really was like in the real estate world, I said to myself I need to try this. It went a little like this, 90 hour work weeks, sometimes more, plenty of day to day phone calls, the overwhelming broker breathing down my neck and the worry of closing my next deal to make yesterdays rent. All the sacrifice, but I fought through it and I didn’t want to give it all up. One of the main reasons I signed up for this and decided to give away not only my sweat and tears but my time as well was the flexibility. Yes, ladies and gents- the flexibility of making up my own hours, my own day to day operations and of course my own money!
At first, I was a struggling real estate professional. I was working my butt off; dealing with many clients every day and having to make ends meet. On top of all that, I needed to constantly make sure my sponsoring broker was always happy and not at the edge of his seat if I didn’t close a deal that month. In addition, having to give away nearly half of my commission on each deal! Yes, every damn deal I closed!
So what brings me here today? I believe when an agent reaches a certain point in their career they deserve more. Maybe just a higher percentage than what they originally received or maybe all of it. Of course with all fairness, you want to earn what you deserve.
Today I am part of an innovative company where experienced and veteran agents earn much higher commissions and aren’t obligated to give a big chunk of it away to their broker. Here, I have 24/7 access to multiple office spaces, a virtual desk, an organized listing database, access to most of my tools on the go and amongst all that; a team I can relate to and share my experiences and concerns. Below I put together a list of some of the qualities I found that inspired me to restart my career in Real Estate and turn the rusty engine back on.
1. What do you earn today in commission and how much of it goes to your company? I gave away 50% of my earnings and did 99% of the work. Today, I earn 90% of all my deals.
2. What did 50% of my commission give me in return? At first, it gave me someone I could go to for help if needed and a shared open rental and sale listing database. I learned all this in a year and still, I was giving away 50% for many years to come. Today I do all that myself and earn much more in addition to getting help if needed.
3. Office hours? At the time I had to abide by the office hours given to me. Today I have no floor time, and no obligation to having to be in the office, instead I have 24/7 access to office space in both Brooklyn and Manhattan with multiple conference rooms, lounge areas, unlimited beverages, and snacks. Clients love the space!
4. Old School Tech vs. New School? At first, the company I worked for only allowed me limited access to tools, software, and listings from within the office. Today, I have access to on the go tools. Access to a virtual desk allows me to collect client documents, view listings, manage client information and retrieve signatures from clients without having to go to the office. The time I save running back and forth allows me to concentrate on farming for new listings.
5. The flexibility. Earning is one thing, but being stress-free is more important. Here, I am no longer obligated to face a broker, meet a quota or forced to attend meetings. Instead, I can attend team meetings when I choose, quotas are thrown out the window and I act as my own broker and can work my own clients without obligations.
The inspiration behind this came from the enjoyment of my day to day lifestyle while doing real estate. Time is essential to everyone. All I ask is to take a few minutes to reevaluate what you deserve in real estate today, and most of all are happy doing what you love!
