Okay, maybe we misunderstood what "cruise control" meant in your post.

I took it to mean "Okay, time to sit back and relax and let all the money roll in..."

No, it's never like that. Not even if your working a 9 to 5 job!

You'd be amazed at how many people think it's like that! LOL

If you Really, Really work your Butt off...You'll be making money your first year. Average agents start making a little money after years, but 2 slow months and their living off of Credit Cards. Get after it like your very life depends on it and you'll smoke 95% of the agents in your area. Good Luck

Thanks!

This is year #8 for me and while I consider my sales for the first year moderately successful (2.5m)it was year #4 before things really started to fall into place. The client referrals and past client move ups are absolutely a wonderful thing. I have saw many Realtors with 1-3 years under their belt leave the business lately but very few with 4+.

Yup - I saw an old family friend at the store the other day. He said "oh are you off because of the Teacher inservice thing?" I said "I'm not a teacher anymore." He said "you're not?" I said "no, I am a Real Estate Agent now"

His reply: "oh, so now you have EVERYDAY off!"

Sad, huh?

I wanted to say "Do you have any idea how many hours I spend each day trying to keep my head above water and learn this business well? Do you have any idea how much money I have spent getting started? Do you have any idea how much training I've been to, how much I have scheduled and that I've already attended 2 meetings today?"

But I didn't - I just laughed at his "joke" and told him to call me if he needed any RE help - since I obviously had plenty of spare time! LOL

It makes sense. A lot of agents go out of the gate full steam, many are high producers because of contacts, but then slow down. In any freelance business, you spend at least 5 years getting a base. I see many long time agents doing very well with repeat business and referrels.

well I am hoping with the help of this board....jennifers work..and reading all I can about this business of real estate that I can thwart the curve a bit and not work quite so hard...but then again.....if you love what you do....is it really work..

I am just about to start this roller coaster .....getting my license active finally and getting with a broker this next week, and i am hoping that my first year is as painless as possible and maybe I will be rookie of the year like Jennifer and others

Right now all the things that realtors do dont really seem like work after I have been in the restaurant business for the better part of 15 years,any amount of hours I put in will seem like a hobby that I get paid for rather than a job per say......

sorry for the long post all......just my thoughts...

This post reminds me of this story:

"While patiently awaiting a job interview in an established real estate firm, an applicant was approached by one of the senior associates who politely commented, "I understand you are applying for a sales position with our company. Why, may I ask, do you want to sell real estate?"
Shrugging a shoulder, the applicant replied,

"Well, I just thought I would try it for a while."

To that the seasoned 'Pro' responded. "You know, I would like to tell you something right now that I have learned the hard way....you don't try real estate....REAL ESTATE TRIES YOU!"

Your time line would have to be similar to anything you apply yourself to. Look at it like your apprenticeship to real estate success.

my first deal was a buyer... on my dining room floor and table i laid out every page of the offer to make sure that it was all complete and put into order as i wanted it to be presented. i swear that i had printed that thing out at least 3 times and spent at least 4 hours getting it ready.

i can now do an offer or a listing agreement in my sleep! no, not because i am complacent. i can do this stuff really fast and thoroughly because i do it every day!

when i think cruise control, i dont ever want that. i love the challenges that i face on a daily basis. i love the implementation of my systems to make my business grow.

the beauty is that at the end of the day, you and you alone are responsible for your success or failure, there is no one to blame but yourself. i dont like to fail so that leaves success as my only option.


if you love what you, you will become great at it and there wont be any competition for you.
if you love what you do, you wont worry about failure, but you will think "what do i need to do to go to the next level"
if you love what you do, it wont feel like work.

re is not a get rich quick scheme like some people think it is, but a business. the odds are against you from day 1. do you want to succeed? if you do, you can. you must work for it.


somewhere i read a quote and i dont know who it came from, but it went something like this.. "do what others won't to achieve what others cant"...you have that opportunity in this business

Tycoon: - I doubt very much that Cruise Control" will cut it. Consider, if you will, one way to survive and thrive in the real estate profession.

After 25 years in the business, I may not have seen it all, but I have seen a good portion of the business. I have seen agents who earned big commission cheques of a regular basis, but still lived from pay cheque to pay cheque as the more they earned, the more they would spend, leading me to believe that it isn’t what you earn, but what you saved that really counts.

Savings provide you with the necessary capital for "income earning investments", together with your increasing knowledge of the real estate business in general, giving you the ability to recognize "true investment opportunities", as well as the ability to reduce your risks in connection therewith.

No one plans to fail, they just failed to plan.

The “plan” in this instance, is to make your investment capital work for you. After a period of time you will have two incomes, one being your investment income to tide you over during the rough times, as well as providing for your retirement and your employment income which during the good times will aid you in adding to your capital investments.

Important Notice: This information is provided as basic educational information by the author and is not a substitute for the advice of an expert and/or the advice of a lawyer. There is NO representation as to legality, accuracy, correctness of the herein information and the reader is strongly urged to consult a lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction to ensure accuracy before acting on this information

I have to agree with your broker in essence - I've told people that at the 5 year mark I hit my stride, which means basically the same thing. Not that you're not still working hard, but you look back and realize that all of your clients are repeat business or referrals, and that when you think the phone hasn't rung in a while it suddenly does and you get a few new deals in your pipeline. You've built up momentum and it takes less effort to get carried along.

That being said, I marketed consistently to my client base for much of that time (more so during the later years), and I still tended to put in long hours many times, especially when the market was hot and I was working with buyers. No complaints though, when you reach that point you find that your previous efforts have really paid off.

Best wishes!
Irene Dorang
www.ToolsForRealEstate.com

This business is never easy.. it is simple though (there is a big difference). You need to start with a specific business plan... implement lead generation systems (only 2 to start) and then go "get 'em" -- take a look at this for some tips and advice: http://10MillionInYour1stYear.com